Ball and Chain ( Social Distortion song ) - Wikipedia Ball and Chain ( Social Distortion song ) `` Ball and Chain '' Single by Social Distortion from the album Social Distortion Released March 27, 1990 Format CD single Recorded Genre Cowpunk, punk blues Length 5 : 44 Label Epic Songwriter ( s ) Mike Ness Producer ( s ) Dave Jerden Social Distortion singles chronology `` Story of My Life '' ( 1990 ) `` Ball and Chain '' ( 1990 ) `` Ring of Fire '' ( 1990 ) `` Story of My Life '' ( 1990 ) `` Ball and Chain '' ( 1990 ) `` Ring of Fire '' ( 1990 ) `` Ball and Chain '' is a hit song by Social Distortion, a Southern California punk rock band, featured on their self - titled album, released in 1990, as well as on Live at the Roxy ( 1998 ). In the words of lead singer / writer Mike Ness, `` Ball and Chain '' is `` a hard luck story, '' a forceful cry, a lament, a plea, a `` folk prayer. '' Trivia The song was played in episodes of My Name Is Earl, Scrubs and Hindsight as well as the film Jarhead ( 2005 ) Frontman Mike Ness recorded a `` Honky Tonk '' version of this song on his solo album Under the Influences in 1999. The song was also transcribed in the January 2005 issue of Guitar World. The song was used as the entrance song for Ricardo Almeida at UFC 101. The song appears in the videogame Saints Row : The Third on fictional radio station The Mix 107.77. Notes Jump up ^ Mike Ness, Introduction to performance of `` Ball and Chain '', Live at the Roxy Jump up ^ Mike Ness, Liner Notes, Live at the Roxy This 1990s rock song - related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Ball_and_Chain_(Social_Distortion_song)&oldid=850505603 '' Categories : 1990 songs Social Distortion songs Epic Records singles Rock ballads Songs written by Mike Ness Songs about alcohol Songs about drugs Songs about prison 1990s rock song stubs Hidden categories : Use mdy dates from June 2017 Articles with hAudio microformats All stub articles Talk About Wikipedia Add links This page was last edited on 16 July 2018, at 09 : 01 ( UTC ). Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who wrote ball and chain by social distortion
Answer: Mike Ness