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Little Palaces Lyrics
In Chocolate Town all the trains are painted brown
On the silver paper of the wrapper
There's a dapper little man
And he wears a wax moustache
That he twists with nicotine fingers
As he drops his cigarette ash
And someone comes and sweeps it up
And then he doffs his cap
And there's a rat in someone's bedroom
And they're shutting someone's trap
And they'll soon be pulling down the little palaces
And the doors swing back and forward, from the past into the present
And the bedside crucifixion turns from wood to phosphorescent.
And they're moving problem families from the South up to the North,
Mother's crying over some soft soap opera divorce,
And you say you didn't do it, but you know you did of course,
And they'll soon be pulling down the little palaces.
It's like shouting in a matchbox, filled with plasterboard and hope,
Like a picture of Prince William in the arms of John the Pope.
There's a world of good intentions, and pity in their eyes,
The sedated homes of England, are theirs to vandalize.
So you knock the kids about a bit, because they've got your name,
And you knock the kids about a bit, until they feel the same.
And they feel like knocking down the little palaces.
You're the twinkle in your daddy's eye, a name you spray and scribble,
You made the girls all turn their heads, and in turn they made you miserable.
To be the heir apparent, to the kingdom of the invisible.
So you knock the kids about a bit, because they've got your name,
And you knock the kids about a bit, until they feel the same.
And they feel like knocking down the little palaces.
In the 1987 on the Irish television programme THE SESSION Live, Elvis explained before singing this song:
"This is in a town where my family finally ended up, and the things that have happened to it ever since.
There is a company there that makes chocolate. You probably know it, Cadbury's. They've got a fixation about painting everything the same colour as their wrappers, even the train. You'd see these chocolate trains that went by, sort of brown and silver. (?) As if anybody'd stolen it, maybe they will. (?)
Last year we made an albumn sleeve that looked exactly like one of their chocolate wrappers and they sued us. Cause it's obvious our cassette looked, you know, tasted a lot better than their chocolate. Anyway, enough of this comedy."
Clearly about the plights of Ireland. This is one of his most beautiful songs.
@snizz Bournville (the chocolate town) isn't in Ireland. The song is clearly about England.
@snizz Bournville (the chocolate town) isn't in Ireland. The song is clearly about England.
i agree. when i first heard it i automatically thought child abuse, you know with the 'so you knock the kids about a bit..' lines, but that totally makes sense now
are you sure it's not
"there's a rat in someone's bathroom and there's shit in someone's trap"
?? makes more sense... and sounds better.
It's also about... I think the name of the company is Cadbury. As in Cadbury Chocolate confections.
It's also about... I think the name of the company is Cadbury. As in Cadbury Chocolate confections.
youtube.com/watch
youtube.com/watch
At the beginning of this video he talks about what the songs about.
At the beginning of this video he talks about what the songs about.
I think that it's correct as written: "There's a rat in someone's bedroom" could be a literal comment on the poor quality of the housing or could refer to some sort of informer, and "they're shutting someone's trap" means that someone is being made to keep quiet (probably violently).
I think that it's correct as written: "There's a rat in someone's bedroom" could be a literal comment on the poor quality of the housing or could refer to some sort of informer, and "they're shutting someone's trap" means that someone is being made to keep quiet (probably violently).
Always assumed this was about council houses, originally thought of as little palaces but today are abused by the tenants who, by and large, have lost the memory of private slum landlords (with wax moustaches) and respect for property or persons.