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This Is Just a Modern Rock Song Lyrics

Emma tried to run away
I followed her across the city
She went out to the Easterhouse
Because she liked the sound of it

She didn't have a single penny
She stuck a finger in the air
She tried to flag down an aeroplane
I suppose she needs a holiday

I put my arm around her waist
She put me on the ground with judo
She didn't recognize my face
She wasn't even looking

Laura's feeling just ideal
Her horoscope was nearly perfect
She's thinking of something to do
Because she is the Birthday Girl

She walked out to the edge of town
She saw me lying in the park
She took Emma by the hand
They've got a lot in common

I'll leave them to do what they want
I'll leave them to do what they need to
I'll go and play with words and pictures
I'll admit I'm feeling strange

I'm not as sad as Dostoevsky
I'm not as clever as Mark Twain
I'll only buy a book for the way it looks
And then I stick it on the shelf again

Now I could tell you what I'm thinking
But it never seems to do you good
It's beyond me what a girl can see
I'm only lucid when I'm writing songs

This is just a modern rock song
This is just a sorry lament
We're four boys in corduroys
We're not terrific but we're competent

Stevie's full of good intentions
Richard's into rock 'n' roll
Stuart's staying in and he thinks it's a sin
That he has to leave the house at all

This is just a modern rock song
This is just a tender affair
I count "three, four" and then we start to slow
Because a song has got to stop somewhere
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Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

i love the movie i watch in my head everytime i listen to this.

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

I love this tune, especially since they demonstrate that they aren't above mocking themselves.

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

Brilliant song. I guess the common person haven't even heard of this band, but it would definitely not be a good idea to hear this song.

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

I love this song, clearly it's about the band simultaneously mythologising and mocking themselves, but it disappoints me that they changed the lyrics slightly from an earlier session version. Originally, the line 'I'm only lucid when I'm writing songs' went 'I'm only lucid when I'm riding buses', which is a far superior line. Of course, it could just be that riding on city buses for a hobby is sad, and the band don't want to be accused of that.

Buses are to Belle and Sebastian what bees were to Emily Dickinson.

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

This is a wonderful song, even though I have no idea why I find it so completely devastating to listen to. Help.

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

One of my favourite songs. I love almost every milisecond on this tune. It's even my ring tune.

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

Perhaps they changed the "lucid" line to make it more of a modern rock song. Dumbing down seems to be the modern thing after all.

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

this is the song to which all other B&S songs are now compared. it's pretty much a landmark in the band's career

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

in my opinion, best belle and sebastian song EVA.

Cover art for This Is Just a Modern Rock Song lyrics by Belle & Sebastian

Is it just me, or is there a bit of lesbian subtext in this song? "She took Emma by the hand, they got a lot in common... I'll leave them to do what they will, I'll leave them to do what they need to"

I don't think it's subtext.

 
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