I met you in No Man's Land
Across the wire we were holding hands
Hearts a-bubble in the rubble
It was love at bomb site

Well, all you give me is barbed wire love
I'm all caught up in barbed wire love
Tangled up in barbed wire love
Throw my leg over barbed wire love
Well, barbed wire love snags my jeans
Barbed wire love
Barbed wire love
Barbed wire love

When I fell it was awful nice
Caught when not suspecting vice
The night was rife with wasteland life
You set my arm alight

All you give me is barbed wire love (doo-doo-doo-doo)
All caught up in barbed wire love (doo-doo-doo-doo)
Tangled up in barbed wire love (doo-doo-doo-doo)
Throw my leg over barbed wire love (doo-doo-doo-doo)
Barbed wire love (ooh-ooh-ooh) snags my jeans

Bar-bar-bar-barbed wire love
Bar-bar-bar-barbed wire love
Bar-bar-bar-barbed wire love
Bar-bar-bar-barbed wire, barbed wire love
Barbed wire love
Barbed wire love

Blasted by your booby-traps
I felt the blow in both knee-caps
Your eyes did shine, your lips were fine
The device in your pants was out of site

But nothing really matters because all you give me is barbed wire love
I'm all caught up in barbed wire love
Tangled up in barbed wire love
Throw my leg over barbed wire love
Well, barbed wire love snags my jeans
Barbed wire love
Barbed wire love
Barbed wire love
Barbed wire love


Lyrics submitted by black_cow_of_death

Barbed Wire Love Lyrics as written by Gordon Ogilvie Jake Burns

Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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Barbed Wire Love song meanings
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10 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment

    "Caught when not suspecting vice The night was rife with wasteland life"

    Sounds like "suspect device" and "wasted life", two songs on the album before this track. Even more evidence Jake is a genius.

    MattieCampon January 20, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    first stiff little fingers song i heard, and it's fucking great, too.

    hippie_trashon October 14, 2002   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    yeah, this was the first stiff little fingers song i had heard, and it's still one of my favorites.

    speraticalon June 17, 2003   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    At first, I didn't like this song as much as the others...but I grew to love it. Descibing love as barbed wire? Genius!

    the_roadon May 06, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    best slf song ever. love the way it has war language the whole way through. if u get what i mean. sort of play on words like "arm alight". JAKE BURNS YOUR A GENIUS!

    just_insaneon September 19, 2005   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Brilliant song, but SLF didn't so the lyrics, they were done by a journalist, whose name i forget. Love the doo-wop breakdown in the middle just before the guitar solo.

    bearhunteron March 23, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    according to my brother this song is actually mocking the beach boys and bands like that. If you really listen to the song it does make sense. making Jake Burns even more of a genious

    nouuseforaname16on June 14, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I really dont think it's mocking the 50s and 60s bands, i think it more of an homage, with a slightly comical, exagerated sound, to show that without bands like the beach boys, there would be no rock n' roll, so there would be no deep purple, so there would be no STIFF LITTLE FINGERS!!, who started out as a deep purple tribute band, so we should all be thankful for the 50s, or there would be no punk rock! I mean, look at the ramones, so many of their compositions are built the same way that 50s rock songs were made, same chord structure( check out sheena is a punk rocker, or, rockaway beach, and you'll see what i mean.)

    shenlong152on June 28, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Bearhunter is right - lyrics were written by Gordon Ogilvie, who was a journalist with the Daily Express

    gsleithon October 22, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Actually, Gordon Ogilvie, according to Jake Burns, simply provided the merest scrap of lyric which got Jake writing and building on it.

    wednesdayaddamson August 02, 2008   Link

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