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,
6x9 and counting down in one after the other
They'll go running up and down the road, angry as their mothers
Over senseless acts of selfishness on made up English oceans
And made up English stomach contents tied to senseless notions
Once you grab them by the pride their hearts are bound to follow,
Their natural fear of anything less manly or less natural,
Like gunless sheriffs caught on lonesome roads and live to tell it
How hard it is for meaner men without the lead to sell it
Only simple men can see the logic in whatever
Smarter men can whittle down till you can fit it on a sticker
Get it stuck like mud and bugs to names that set the standard,
They'll live it like it's gospel and they'll quote it like it's scripture
6x9 and counting down in one after the other
They'll go running up and down the road, angry as their mothers
Over senseless acts of selfishness on made up English oceans
And made up English stomach contents tied to senseless notions
Its no matter if they dress real nice and sit up straight and stupid
And say their prayers in quiet ancient tongues
They're no different that the ones who close their eyes
And fall down to the ground
And twitch just like their nerves have come undone
So be it if they come to find out feeling good's
As easy as denying that there's day or night at all
Til what it takes to feel a thing seems so far out of reach
They just claw their skin and grind their teeth and bawl
They'll go running up and down the road, angry as their mothers
Over senseless acts of selfishness on made up English oceans
And made up English stomach contents tied to senseless notions
Once you grab them by the pride their hearts are bound to follow,
Their natural fear of anything less manly or less natural,
Like gunless sheriffs caught on lonesome roads and live to tell it
How hard it is for meaner men without the lead to sell it
Only simple men can see the logic in whatever
Smarter men can whittle down till you can fit it on a sticker
Get it stuck like mud and bugs to names that set the standard,
They'll live it like it's gospel and they'll quote it like it's scripture
6x9 and counting down in one after the other
They'll go running up and down the road, angry as their mothers
Over senseless acts of selfishness on made up English oceans
And made up English stomach contents tied to senseless notions
Its no matter if they dress real nice and sit up straight and stupid
And say their prayers in quiet ancient tongues
They're no different that the ones who close their eyes
And fall down to the ground
And twitch just like their nerves have come undone
So be it if they come to find out feeling good's
As easy as denying that there's day or night at all
Til what it takes to feel a thing seems so far out of reach
They just claw their skin and grind their teeth and bawl
Lyrics submitted by withinyourreach
Made Up English Oceans Lyrics as written by John Cooley
Lyrics © Hipgnosis Songs Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Cooley wrote this song.
@WeR138 Thanks for your post. I am familiar with the repertoire and know Patterson has his own style of writing (which was actually the hardest for me to get).<br /> <br /> So I sound like a poser and wish I could edit that post, I was basicallly trying to say dogma is relative and refractionary. <br /> <br /> Also don't think Cooley was jabbing at Isbell probably the bay bridge just wondering how they broke up after The Dirty South, bad blood etc.<br /> <br />
@WeR138 Sorry for double-post. I just wanted to mention that Hood was a part of the writing process of this song. It's not just his rhythms in his guitar some of the rhythms he does some of this is Hood although a majority may be Cooley. But I hear Hood as a cowriter and I have a trained ear so take my word for it, even if he isn't officially listed.
I could transcribe it for you and explain it but it's in the rhythms.<br /> <br /> If you read my posts that Dirks Bentley bullshit was very clear cut and Jason got fucked. Nobody asks about that and that case is so clear cut I could write it out in a jiffy.<br /> <br /> Not because I think I've been to law school but because I had extensive training in avoiding plagarism as a jazz studies major, and have read the jurisprudence, which they have no balls, the lawyers who do it have no balls basically. It's green goo to them.<br />