Though we keep piling up the building blocks
The structure never seems to get any higher
Because we keep kicking out the foundations
And stand useless while our lives fall down.
I believe in life - and I believe in love
But the world in which I live in - keeps trying to prove me wrong.
Out in the pastures we call society
You can't see further than the bottom of your glass
Only young but easily shocked
You get all violent when the boat gets rocked -
Just like sheep - little lambs into the slaughter
Don't fully grasp what exactly is wrong -
Truth is you never cared - still -
You get all violent when the boat gets rocked -
Intelligence should be our first weapon
And stop reveling in rejection
And follow yourselves, not some ageing drain brain
Whose quite content to go on feeding you garbage
We're running on the spot - always have - always will?
We're just the next generation of the emotionally crippled.
Saturdays kids play one arm bandits,
they never win but that's not the point is it,
Dip in silver paper when their pints go flat,
How about that - far out!
Their mums and dads smoke Capstan non filters,
Wallpaper lives 'cause they all die of cancer,
What goes on - what goes wrong.
Save up their money for a holiday,
To Selsey Bill or Bracklesham Bay,
Think about the future - when they'll settle down,
Marry the girl next door - with one on the way.
These are the real creatures that time has forgot,
Not given a thought - its the system -
Hate the system - what's the system?
Saturdays kids live in council houses,
Wear v-necked shirts and baggy trousers,
Drive Cortinas fur trimmed dash boards,
Stains on the seats - in the back of course!
Ooh - you need to get away -
Ooh - you need a change of pace -
Because you're all dried up and you don't believe
You reckon I'm dreaming when I say I still feel real
You say you work for yourself and its the only way
But I look at you talking and to me you just scrape away -
What makes once young minds get in this state,
Is it age or just the social climate
You're talking like some fucking hardend MP
You're saying power's all!
And it's power you NEED!
Ooh - you need to get away -
Ooh - you need a change of place -
Because you've given up on hope -
You're emotionless -
You've no need for love it's just hate, hate, hate.
But I look at you shaking and it is you -
who is scraping away
You who is scraping away.
And when I'm walking down a rainy street
I think I hear you calling out to me
But it's just an echo I've arranged to meet
Free fall - we're out of control -
We never will know what went wrong
Too bad - what we had for a while
Has gone out of style this year
Your friends told me you moved out of town
I got your address and I wrote it down
I used the pen that you bought for my birthday
And every stroke, you know, reminded me of you
I realize that we'll never be together again
Wait a while - reclaim your loss
But it costs alot - you'll learn
Take five - it heals in time
You'll feel just fine - they say
But I feel it
See saw - in a way I'm glad
Though I still feel sad about you
I know it's too late for changing minds
And I'm still not sure I want to change mine
It's just a tiny part that says that this ain't right
See saw - up and down - around and round
They say it heals in time - they say you'll feel just fine
In a way I'm glad -
Though I still feel sad about losing you
'Bout losing you, 'bout losing you once more
Yeah the leather belt looks manly
The black boots butch
But oh what a bastard to get off
Promises, promises
They offer real solutions
But hatred has never won for long
You was so open minded
But by someone blinded
And now your sign says closed.
Promises, promises
They offer real solutions
But hatred has never won for long
I think we've lost our perception -
I think we've lost sight of the goals we should
be working for
I think we've lost our reason
We stumble blindly and that vision must be restored!
I wish that there was something
I could do about it
I wish that there was some way
I could try to fight it
Scream and shout it -
But something you said set the house ablaze!
It is called indoctrination
And it happens on all levels
But it has nothing to do with equality
It has nothing to do with democracy
And though it professes to
It has nothing to do with humanity
It is cold, hard and mechanical.
As I flit from shop window to window
I'm trying to pick up a friendly bargin
But it's not like the adverts all make out
And there's no one to greet you as a friend
I dress myself for the part
I smile but it just don't work
Something about my face - must just be the wrong shape
I better try another brand pretty quick
I'm haunted by the colours and holding a reminder that I must be
inadequate
High town - high street connection
With clothes at the top of my list
Pin stripe suit, clean shirt and tie,
Stops off at the corner shop, to buy The Times
'Good Morning Smithers-Jones'
'How's the wife and home?'
'Did you get the car you've been looking for?'
Let me get inside you, let me take control of you,
We could have some good times,
All this worry will get you down,
I'll give you a new meaning to life - I don't think so.
Sitting on the train, you're nearly there
You're part of the production line,
You're the same as him, you're like tin-sardines,
Get out of the pack, before they peel you back.
Arrive at the office, spot on time,
The clock on the wall hasn't yet struck nine,
'Good Morning Smithers Jones'
'The boss wants to see you alone'
'I hope its the promotion you've been looking for'
Let me get inside you, let me take control of you,
We could have some good times,
All this worry will get you down,
I'll give you a new meaning to life - I don't think so.
'Come in Smithers old boy'
'Take a seat, take the weight off your feet'
'I've some news to tell you'
'There's no longer a position for you' -
'Sorry Smithers Jones'.
Put on the kettle and make some tea
It's all a part of feeling groovie
Put on your slippers turn on the TV
It's all a part of feeling groovie
It's time to relax, now you've worked your arse off
But the only one smilin' is the sun tanned boss
Work and work and work and work till you die
There's plenty more fish in the sea to fry
Sad - never meant to break up
Sad - suppose we'll never make up
Sad about us
So bad about us
So bad about us
Bad - let the music stop now
Bad - suppose we can't turn back now
Bad about us
Apologies mean nothing when the damage is done
But you can't switch off my loving
Like you can't switch off the sun
So sad about us
So bad about us
Sad - never meant to break up
Sad - suppose we'll never make up
Sad about us
Sounds from the city, sound so pretty
Young bands playing
Young kids digging - And I dig them
The USA's got the sea
Yeah, but the British kid's got the streets
I don't mind, the city's right
Sounds from the street, sounds just fine
I know I come from Woking and you say I'm a fraud
But my heart's in the city, where it belongs
Words from the voices
Rock and roll rejoices
It's something new, it's something young for a change
Sounds from the street, they sound so sweet
They gotta take notice
Why should they stop us? We don't need them
We're never gonna change a thing
And the situation's rapidly decreasing
But what can I do?
I'm trying to be true
That's more than you, at least I'm doing something
'Cause we'll outlaw your voices, do anything we want
We've nothing to fear from the nation
We'll throw you out of your houses if you get too much
If we have to we'll destroy your generation
'Cause we've built up a frontage and we've gained respect
There's no one to endanger our position -
Standards rule OK
Standards rule OK
Standards rule OK
Standards rule OK
And we don't like people who stand in our way
Awareness is gonna be redundant
And ignorance is strength, we have God on our side
Look, you know what happend to Winston -
For knowing that someone in this world
Feels as desperate as me -
And what you give is what you get.
It doesn't matter if we never meet again,
What we have said will always remain.
If we get through for two minutes only,
It will be a start!
For knowing that someone in this life,
Loves with a passion called hate
And what you give is what you get.
If I never ever see you -
If I never ever see you -
If I never ever see you - again.
And what you give is what you get!
I was just a backseat driver in a car of love
Going wherever you take me
Don't know why I put up with the pain
'Cause no one else can make me
You've got me going - stoned out of my mind
And when you led me to the waters I drank it
But I drank more than I could hold
And you took my mind off my body
And now you want to take my soul
Where can I run?
Where can I hide?
Who can I talk to?
Tell me what more can I do?
You've got me going - stoned out of my mind
Playing around with every guy in town
It's funny I just can't put you down
See my head - it's spinning around
Since the day you let me down
I bought an A to Z guide book
Trying to find the clubs and YMCAs
But when you ask in a strange town
They say don't know, don't care
And I've got to go, mate
They worry themselves about feeling low
They worry themselves about the dreadful snow
They all ignore me 'cause they don't know
I'm really a spaceman from those UFOs
You've got to move in a straight line
You've got to walk and talk in four four time
You can't be weird in a strange town
You'll be betrayed by your accent and manners
You've got to wear the right clothes
Be careful not to pick or scratch your nose
You can't be nice in a strange town
'Cause we don't know, don't care
And we got to go, man
Rush my money to the record shops
I stop off in a back street
Buy myself a snort
We got our own manifesto
Be kind to queers
And I'm so glad the revolution's here
It's nice and warm now!
I've finished with clubs where the music's loud
'Cause I don't see a face in a single crowd
There's no one there
I look in the mirror
But I can't be seen
Just a thin, clean layer of Mister Sheen
Looking back at me
Oh, oh
Found myself in a strange town
Though I've only been here for three weeks now
I've got blisters on my feet
Trying find a friend in Oxford Street
I bought an A to Z guide book
Trying to find the clubs and YMCAs
They say don't know, don't care
And I've got to go, mate
They worry themselves about feeling low
They worry themselves about the dreadful snow
They all ignore me 'cause they don't know
I'm really a spaceman from those UFOs
Strange town
Break it up
Burn it down, shake it up
Break it up
Well come on pretty woman you know what I mean now
The beat's just screaming right thru' your head
You're shakin' my heart, you're shakin' my soul -
I just go crazy when you rock-n-roll
There you go takin' my love from me
There you go takin' my love from me
Drive you home my country rose now
Hold you tight never let you go now
Kissing and huggin' outside your door
Til your pa sees and wants no more
It's mixed with happiness - it's mixed with tears
Both life a death are carried in this stream
That open space you could run for miles
Now you don't get so many to the pound
True it's a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it's a dream that I'll always hang on to
That I'll always run to
Won't you join me by the riverbank
Paradise found down by the still waters
Joined in the race to the rainbow's end
No fears no worries just a golden country
Woke at sunrise, went home at sunset
Now life is so critical, life is too cynical
We lose our innocence, we lose our very soul
True it's a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it's a dream that I'll always hang on to
That I'll always run to
True it's a dream mixed with nostalgia
But it's a dream that I'll always hang on to
That I always run to
Won't you join me by the riverbank
Come on and join me by the riverbank
that's entertainment.
A smash of glass and the rumble of boots -
An electric train and a ripped up 'phone booth -
Paint splattered walls and the cry of a tomcat -
Lights going out and a kick in the balls -
that's entertainment.
Days of speed and slow time Mondays -
Pissing down with rain on a boring Wednesday -
Watching the news and not eating your tea -
A freezing cold flat and damp on the walls -
that's entertainment.
Waking up at 6 a.m. on a cool warm morning -
Opening the windows and breathing in petrol -
An amateur band rehearsing in a nearby yard -
Watching the tele and thinking about your holidays -
that's entertainment.
Waking up from bad dreams and smoking cigarettes -
Cuddling a warm girl and smelling stale perfume -
A hot summers' day and sticky black tarmac -
Feeding ducks in the park and wishing you were faraway -
that's entertainment.
Two lovers kissing amongst the scream of midnight -
Two lovers missing the tranquility of solitude -
Getting a cab and travelling on buses -
Reading the grafitti about slashed seat affairs -
that's entertainment.
Thick as thieves us, we'd stick together for all time,
and we meant it but it turns out just for a while,
we stole - the friendship that bound us together -
We stole from the schools and their libraries,
We stole from the drugs that sent us to sleep,
We stole from the drink that made us sick,
We stole anything that we couldn't keep,
And it was enough - we didn't have to spoil anything,
And always be as thick as thieves.
Like a perfect stranger - you came into my life,
Then like the perfect lone ranger - you rode away - rode away,
rode away - rode away.
We stole the love from young girls in ivory towers,
We stole autumn leaves and summer showers,
We stole the silent wind that says you are free,
We stole everything that we could see,
But it wasn't enough - and now we've gone and spoiled everthing,
Now we're no longer as thick as thieves.
You came into my life -
Then like a perfect stranger you walked away - walked away -
walked away - walked away.
Thick as thieves us - we'd stick together for all time,
and we meant it but it turns out just for awhile,
we stole the friendship that bound us together.
We stole the burning sun in the open sky,
We stole the twinkling stars in the black night,
We stole the green belt fields that made us believe,
We stole everything that we could see.
But something came along that changes our minds,
I don't know what and I don't know why,
But we seemed to grow up in a flash of time,
While we watched our ideals helplessly unwind.
No - we're no longer as thick as thieves - no,
We're not as thick as we used to be - no,
We're no longer as thick as thieves - no,
We're not as thick as we used to be -
no it wasn't enough - and we've gone and spoiled everything
Now we're no longer as thick as thieves.
Thick as thieves us, we'd stick together for all time,
and we meant it but it turns out just for a while,
we stole - the friendship that bound us together -
We stole from the schools and their libraries,
We stole from the drugs that sent us to sleep,
We stole from the drink that made us sick,
We stole anything that we could keep,
And it was enough - we didn't have to spoil anything,
We'd always be as thick as thieves.
Like a perfect stranger - you came into my life,
Then like the perfect lone ranger - you rode away - rode away,
rode away - rode away.
We stole the love from young girls in ivory towers,
We stole autumn leaves and summer showers,
We stole the silent wind that says you are free,
We stole everything that we could see,
And it was enough - we didn't have to spoil anything,
We'd always be as thick as thieves.
Like a perfect stranger
You came into my life -
Then like a perfect stranger you rode away - rode away -
rode away - rode away.
Thick as thieves us - we'd stick together for all time,
and we meant it but it turns out just for awhile,
we stole the friendship that bound us together.
We stole the burning sun in the open sky,
We stole the twinkling stars in the black night,
We stole the green belt fields that made us believe,
We stole everything that we could see.
But something came along that changes our minds,
And I don't know what and I don't know why,
But we seemed to grow up in a flash of time,
While we watched our ideals helplessly unwind.
No - we're no longer as thick as thieves - no,
We're not as thick as we used to be - no,
We're no longer as thick as thieves - no,
We're not as thick as we used to be -
No it wasn't enough - and we've gone and spoiled everything
Now we're no longer as thick as thieves.
And you think you've got it worked out
And you think you've got it made
And you trying to play the hero
But you never walk home in the dark
I think it's time for truth
And the truth is you've lost uncle Jimmy
Admit your failure and decline with honour while you can
And you think you've got it sussed out
And you think that we're brain washed
And you're trying for a police state
So you can rule our body and minds
What ever happend to the great empire?
You bastards haved turned it into manure
Time for the young to stick together now
I bet you sleep at night with silk sheets and a clean mind
While killers roam the streets in numbers dressed in blue
And you're trying to hide it from us
But you know what I mean
Bring forward those six pigs
We wanna see them swing sod high
To be rich and have lots of fans
have lots of girls to prove that I'm a man
And be No. 1 - and liked by everyone
Getting drugged up with my trendy friends
They really dig me and I dig them
And the bread I spend - is like my fame - it's quickly diminished
And there's no more swimming in a guitar shaped pool
no more reporters at my beck and call
no more cocaine it's only ground chalk
no more taxis now we'll have to walk
But didn't we have a nice time -
didn't we have a nice time
Oh wasn't it such a fine time
I realize I should have stuck to my guns
instead shit out to be one of the bastard sons
and lose myself - I know it was wrong - but it's cost me a lot
And there's no more drinking after the club shuts down,
I'm out on me arse with the rest of the clowns
It's really frightening without a bodyguard
so I stay confined to my lonely room
Tonight at noon, I'll touch your hand
Held for a moment amongst strangers
Amongst the dripping trees
Country girl
Walking in city squares in winter rain -
Walking down muddy lanes or empty streets -
Arranging a time and place to meet -
Tonight at noon, you'll feel my warmth
You'll feel my body inside you
We'll be together for hours
Time and tears -
Won't wait for evermore
For the time is now -
And now is the time to explore
Why waste the world outside
When you're sure -
Rows and rows of disused milk floats
stand dying in the dairy yard
And a hundred lonely housewives clutch empty milk
bottles to their hearts
Hanging out their old love letters on the line to dry
It's enough to make you stop believing when tears come
fast and furious
In a town called malice.
Struggle after struggle - year after year
The atmosphere's a fine blend of ice -
I'm almost stone cold dead
In a town called malice.
A whole street's belief in Sunday's roast beef
gets dashed against the Co-op
To either cut down on beer or the kids new gear
It's a big decision in a town called malice.
The ghost of a steam train - echoes down my track
It's at the moment bound for nowhere -
just going round and round
Playground kids and creaking swings -
lost laughter in the breeze
I could go on for hours and I probably will -
but I'd sooner put some joy back
In this town called malice.
Imagine if tomorrow the workers went on strike
not just British Leyland but the whole world
who would earn their profits?
who would make their bombs?
you'd see the hands of oppression fumble
and their systems crash to the ground
and you men in uniform will have to learn the lesson too
not to turn against your own kind
whenever governments tell you to.
Get the trans-global express moving
and see our marvellous leaders quiver
they know that if it happens
their lazy days are over
the day the working people join together
we'll all rest much more easy
the responsibilty you must bear
when it's your own future in your hands
maybe a hard one to face up to
but at least you will own yourself!
We'll sit amongst the rubber tyres,
Amongst the discarded bric-a-brac,
People have no use for - amongst the smouldering embers of yesterday.
And when or if the sun shines,
Lighting our once beautiful features,
We'll smile but only for seconds,
For to be caught smiling is to acknowledge life,
A brave but useless show of compassion,
And that is forbidden in this drab and colourless world.
Meet me on the wastelands - the ones behind,
The old houses - the ones - left standing pre-war -
The ones overshadowed by the monolith monstrosities -
councils call homes.
And there amongst the shit - the dirty linen,
The holy Coca-Cola tins - the punctured footballs,
The ragged dolls - the rusting bicycles,
We'll sit and probably hold hands.
And watch the rain fall - watch it - watch it -
Tumble and fall - tumble and falling -
Like our lives - like our lives -
Just like our lives.
We'll talk about the old days,
When the wasteland was release when we could play,
And think - without feeling guilty -
Meet me later but we'll have to hold hands.
Tumble and fall - tumble and falling -
Like our lives - like our lives -
Exactly like our lives.
Let's take a chance with beginner's luck
We have nothing so there's nothing to lose
I can't believe the only reasons we're here
Are the reasons in the Bank of England
Hear me now
We've only started
They'll just exploit us but it's only day one
We haven't got that far
Not far at all
Life is new and there's things to be done
You can't wait to be grown up
Acceptance into the capital world
You pull on some weed, then you pull on someone when you're young
But you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to comprehend
Why you set up your dreams to have them smashed in the end
But you don't mind you've got time on your side
And they're never gonna make you stand in line
You're just waiting for the right time
You're fearless and brave - you can't be stopped when you're young
You swear you're never ever gonna work for someone
No corporations for the new age sons
Tears of rage roll down your face
But still you say "it's fun"
And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam
It's got you in its grip before your born
It's done with the use of a dice and a board
They let you think you're king but you're really a pawn
You're fearless and brave - you can't be stopped when you're young
You used to fall in love with everyone
Any guitar and any bass drum