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Public Image Lyrics

Hello, hello, hello (ha, ha, ha)

You never listen to a word that I said
You only seen me
For the clothes that I wear
Or did the interest go so much deeper
It must have been
The colour of my hair
The Public Image
What you wanted was never made clear
Behind the image was ignorance and fear
You hide behind this public machine
Still follow same old scheme
Public Image
Two sides to every story
Somebody had to stop me
I'm not the same as when I began
I will not be treated as property
Public Image

Two sides to every story
Somebody had to stop me
I'm not the same as when I began
It’s not a game of monopoly

Public image

Public image
You got what you wanted
The public image belongs to me
It's my entrance
My own creation
My grand finale
My goodbye

Public image
Goodbye
Song Info
Submitted by
dougievile On Sep 28, 2004
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8 Meanings

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Cover art for Public Image lyrics by Public Image Ltd.

This song I reckon is Lydon telling us that he is not "Johnny Rotten", and that everyone will always see him as this trouble making punk but he's saying that's not always him.

Cover art for Public Image lyrics by Public Image Ltd.

At the beginning he's also saying that some of those "punks" that the Sex Pistols influenced only saw it as an image without paying much attention to the ideas and messages they were expressing in and out of the music. And he says he's going to be an individual, not a cliched cartoon. It's ironic how today most punk has become a cliche, which is what they were originally railing against.

Cover art for Public Image lyrics by Public Image Ltd.

good point. I hate people who try to be punks just to sell records without caring about the punk ideas and it original meaning. Joe Strummer must be rolling in his grave. They are doing exactly what great punks like Lydon were against.

The original meaning of punk was the same as the original meaning of Rock n Roll: a burst of melodic energy delivered by passionate but unremarkable musicians. It happened about 12 years after that first shot. No offense to those who worship at their alters, but by the time the Pistols and the Clash adapted to the fashion ('76), punk was already a commercial enterprise. Indeed, they're probably the two groups that most represented that commercialization (the Clash, for adapting their sound to the trend post-facto and the Pistols, for focusing on fashion [founded by the owner of a boutique,...

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While I agree with a lot of your points, specifically about punk honing the same spirit as rock 'n' roll, I think you're missing a very essential aspect of the punk ethos in that punk, at its heart, was about not confining oneself to a uniform mentality. It was sort of existential in that way, partnered with its obsession with wilful self-definition. Punk was about progress, it was about proposing new ideas even if it meant you had to be a bit violent with it, and while that may seem absurd in light of the spirit of '77 (ie. sped...

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Cover art for Public Image lyrics by Public Image Ltd.

I think John is having a go at Malcolm McLaren.

My Interpretation

@Icon6386 I think so yes.

Cover art for Public Image lyrics by Public Image Ltd.

I agree. Also, this song rocks.

Cover art for Public Image lyrics by Public Image Ltd.

An attack on punk as a fashion statement / uniform, but mainly a parting / opening shot at Malcolm McClaren - two sides to every story...... I will not be treated as property.

yea def agree, must in part be aimed at McClaren

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Cover art for Public Image lyrics by Public Image Ltd.

One of my all time favorite songs.

Cover art for Public Image lyrics by Public Image Ltd.

Part of it is definitely a rant against the fashion punks, but it's also directed at Malcolm McLaren who claimed to have "invented" Johnny Rotten, etc.