Elvis Costello

Secondary Modern

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Secondary Modern Lyrics

This must be the place
Second place in the human race
Down in the basement
Now I know what he meant
Secondary modern
But there must be a problem till the girls go home

This is the hand that you never shook
You never gave me the chance that I took
Secondary modern
But there won`t be a problem till the girls go home

Is it out of the question
Between you and me
Is it pleasure or business
Or a packet of three?

Nobody makes me sad like you
Now my whole world goes from blue to blue
Secondary modern
But there won`t be a problem till the girls go home

Submitted by

mopnugget On Jul 01, 2002

Watching the Detectives

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gilbert113

2022-09-01 19:29:14

gilbert113

2022-09-01 19:28:52

Mopnugget

Submitter

2002-07-01 21:02:36

2 Meanings

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by gilbert113

3y ago

This seems to be a fairly simple (for Costello) song about thwarted love and/or lust. FWIW "packet of three" is a reference to the practice of selling condoms in threes.

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by DC1966

2y ago

A brilliant mashup of condemnation of the selective education system in England, (Costello failed his 11-plus in the late 1969s and went to a secondary modern in Hounslow), with youthful romantic suffering. Low self-worth is experienced in both arenas. ‘Second place in the human race’ is a pithy summary of the failure imposed on the majority who didn’t make it to grammar schools. But when you’re a teenager love/lust matters more than social injustice. As is customary with Costello in this period, the poignancy is undercut with smut - the condom reference.

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