This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
We charge into danger
No guarantees or safe places
No one can be trusted
Everyone is a suspect
And all the money's worthless
The town is trite and exaggerated
The food is turning
And the water is poisoned
And it's rotting your teeth right out of your head
Sight and hearing quickly faded
Your gut's expanding, your hairline's receding
The sores are opening and the cancer's spreading
And the antibiotics aren't working
All the drugs just strangely sobering
And the skeletons in your closet have
Opened the door and they started talking
[Repeat: x2]
Just like Miami (Miami)
Fucking Miami (Miami)
Sharks circling for the feeding
All hope has been abandoned
Like bodies drifting into the ocean
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey
They're in your room while you're sleeping
They're in your car behind the seat waiting
All the rifle sights are on the back of your head
They're slipping it into your drink when you're not looking
And they're selling it to you as art
It's every other word in movies and songs
All the public is buying
It's business as usual
And the business is capitalizing
On your fear, your greed, your perversions and vices
They say you're guilty, they got the evidence to prove it
The mistakes are obvious, the faults are glaring
The plane is on fire, the fucking ship is sinking
And you're swept away in a hurricane
You're buried in the rubble of an earthquake
It's terminal, inoperable
They're amputating
Massive hemorrhaging
Major fucking complications
[Repeat: x2]
Just like Miami (Miami)
Fucking Miami (Miami)
Sharks circling for the feeding
All hope has been abandoned
Like bodies drifting into the ocean
(Miami)
No guarantees or safe places
No one can be trusted
Everyone is a suspect
And all the money's worthless
The town is trite and exaggerated
The food is turning
And the water is poisoned
And it's rotting your teeth right out of your head
Sight and hearing quickly faded
Your gut's expanding, your hairline's receding
The sores are opening and the cancer's spreading
And the antibiotics aren't working
All the drugs just strangely sobering
And the skeletons in your closet have
Opened the door and they started talking
[Repeat: x2]
Just like Miami (Miami)
Fucking Miami (Miami)
Sharks circling for the feeding
All hope has been abandoned
Like bodies drifting into the ocean
Hey, hey
Hey, hey
Hey
They're in your room while you're sleeping
They're in your car behind the seat waiting
All the rifle sights are on the back of your head
They're slipping it into your drink when you're not looking
And they're selling it to you as art
It's every other word in movies and songs
All the public is buying
It's business as usual
And the business is capitalizing
On your fear, your greed, your perversions and vices
They say you're guilty, they got the evidence to prove it
The mistakes are obvious, the faults are glaring
The plane is on fire, the fucking ship is sinking
And you're swept away in a hurricane
You're buried in the rubble of an earthquake
It's terminal, inoperable
They're amputating
Massive hemorrhaging
Major fucking complications
[Repeat: x2]
Just like Miami (Miami)
Fucking Miami (Miami)
Sharks circling for the feeding
All hope has been abandoned
Like bodies drifting into the ocean
(Miami)
Lyrics submitted by redpatcher, edited by ncc74656m
Miami Lyrics as written by
Lyrics © ROUGH TRADE PUBLISHING
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Gentle Hour
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No Surprises
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The chorus had me cracking up the first time I heard this, but then when I listened to it over a few times, I started to understand the lyrics, and then the meaning. What a hell of a song.
Laura Jane's my fucking hero.