Rat Trap Lyrics
Cruising time for the young bright lights
Just down past the gasworks, by the meat factory door
The five lamp boys were coming on strong
And the, the pulse of the corner boys just sprang into action
And young Billy watched by the yellow street light
And said "tonight of all nights, there's gonna be a fight"
He says the traps have been sprung long before he was born
He says "hope bites the dust behind all the closed doors"
And pus and grime ooze from its scab crusted sores
It's a rat trap Billy, but you're already caught
And you can make it if you wanna or you need it bad enough
You're young and good-looking and you're acting kind of tough
Put on the bright suit Billy, head for the right side of town
It's only 8 o'clock but you're already bored
You don't know what it is but, there's got to be more
You'd better find a way out, hey kick down that door
It's a rat trap and you've been caught
In this town, Billy says "everybody says you gotta follow rules"
You walk up to those traffic lights
You switch from your left to right
You push in that button and that button comes alight
it says:
Walk, don't walk
Talk, don't talk
Talk, don't talk"
Walk, don't walk
Talk, don't talk
Talk, don't talk"
Billy take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Billy take a walk, take a walk, take a walk
Hey Billy, take a walk with me
Swing high, swing free
But mum and dad are fighting don't they ever stop
She takes off her coat and walks down into the street
It's cold on that road, but it's got that home beat
Deep down in her pockets she finds 50p
Hey is that any way for a young girl to be?
I'm gonna get out of school work in some factory
Work all the hours God gimme, get myself a little easy money
Now, now, now na na
Her hands in her pockets, coat buttoned 'gainst the cold
She finds Billy down at the Italian cafe
And when he's drunk it's hard to understand what Billy says
But then he mumbles in his coffee and he suddenly roars
"It's a rat trap Judy; and we've been caught"
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught (the boys are 'round and they're lookin' for a mate)
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught
In a rat trap, you've been caught
It's about growing up in shitty surroundings and dreaming of a way out to somewhere else. An escape from the trap that is urban life decay.
this was the boomtown rats first number 1 song did u know that???
bob geldof does a good bruce springsteen interpretation on this song.
The guitarist now trains dogs. True story, he is on 'Over the rainbow' on the BBC, looking for a dog to play the part of Toto. Somehow, this is even worse than when I found out that Jeffrey off Rainbow was working as a shelf stacker in a supermarket.
They were soldiers once, and young...
A bit off-topic but just to add that Geoffrey Hayes later became a cab driver. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Hayes
A bit off-topic but just to add that Geoffrey Hayes later became a cab driver. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_Hayes
As for Gerry Cott, it is not ALL bad. He is actually doing what he loves. And he still plays. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Cott
As for Gerry Cott, it is not ALL bad. He is actually doing what he loves. And he still plays. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gerry_Cott
Unlike Garry Roberts who became an insurance salesman and then went into boiler maintenance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Roberts
Unlike Garry Roberts who became an insurance salesman and then went into boiler maintenance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Garry_Roberts
Bob Geldof definitely had the best/most successful career after the band ended...
Bob Geldof definitely had the best/most successful career after the band ended...
"Rat Trap" was a single by The Boomtown Rats which reached #1 in the UK singles chart for two weeks in November 1978, the first single by a punk or new wave act to do so. It is a rock ballad telling the tale of a boy called Billy who feels the depressing town he lives in is a "Rat Trap". It was written by Bob Geldof and produced by Robert John "Mutt" Lange. It replaced "Summer Nights", a hit single for John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John from the soundtrack of Grease, at number one in the UK charts after Summer Nights' seven week reign at the top. When the band performed the song on Top of the Pops (which is also mentioned in the song) in 1978, the band members began by tearing up pictures of Travolta and Newton-John. Alan Homes did not appear; Geldof mimed the saxophone part on a candelabra, a jest referring to the TOTP practice of bands miming to a backing track. In the music video, various members of the band are seen reading copies of the novel "Rat Trap" by Welsh author Craig Thomas, although the book has no connection to the song. The lyric about "puss and grime..." was changed to "blood and tears pour down the drains and the sewers". One of the more popular Boomtown Rats songs, it was performed by them at Live Aid and is still performed by Geldof to this day. In 1996 Geldof recorded a self-mocking cover version of the song with Dustin The Turkey.
Rat trap
Is there a song that sums up 70s life in the UK any more than this? I'm not sure there is.