I always think it's taking a pop at John Lennon. He wrote "Imagine", which he claimed was a musical setting of "The Manifesto of the Communist Party", but he owned a Rolls Royce and a large mansion, neither of which fits well with the Communist system he was advocating. He also sang a cover version of "Twist and Shout" with The Beatles.
It could also be seen as a criticism of hypocrisy in music generally.
I believe this song critisizes poser bands that sell themselves through the call revolutions. I think the song specifically mentions the beatles as of these bands, because of the 'twist and shout' and (john's) rolls royce references.
Apparently it was just about teenager rebellion. Or trying to encapsulate the rebellious attitude that teenagers hold.
I always thought it was about the counterculture of the 60s but after a quick Google search it seems as if no one else has made that connection.
I'm not the biggest TRex fan (well actually this is the only song of theirs I know) but I have always liked this song. Just because in my mind, I had it romantically linked to 60's youths challenging the orthodoxy of the establishment and (for the most part) winning.
it means smoking tons of crack with Pete backstage before his Live8 performance..Hey, has anyone seen my lighter?? I just had it a second ago but I gave it to Pete....
I think that the song is about glam rock poser bands. Poser bands may be even more popular than the real thing (Hence the "I drive a Rolls Royce 'Cos it's good for my voice" line"), but they only fool wannabe pre-teens ("But you won't fool The children of the revolution").
Funnily enough, things have not changed since the seventies.
This song is like heavy but still fun.
Makes me think of a gray city on a cloudy day.
I loved the scene on Billy Elliot (where theres a lot of TRex music) where they play this song with Billy and this girl he likes fighting with pillows (OH and did you notice her wall with white swans on it?? Ride a white swan!!!!!)
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