The Citizens Band

Tried my hand at the citizens band I'm a mischievous ne'er-do-well interrupter who interrupts (/breaks the law) And my call sign is "goblin" (devious!) I'm on air and I'm breaking the law I just switch myself on And wait until I've been received/understood

Like a phone It's a similar thing Similar thing To speak to you It's a beautiful thing Beautiful thing

Me and you So many ways to communicate What you want to say

I'm not going to get caught by the police I just speed away on the interstate Back to my own home location The cops say I'm just part of a lonely channel-hogging group But don't you worry 'bout me Coz I'm just a friendly chatter

Pigs are a similar thing (to cops) Similar thing Cutting me off/Making me leave the channel/not speak until we meet face to face again

Me and you So many ways to communicate What you want to say

Take my Love and kisses until we meet face to face again

Mic in hand on the citizens' band (X8)

(Black stallion (presumably another user's handle?) Black stallion for the country Vote for the country) (????)

Adding to this song's brilliance (and least of all straightforwardness) is the fact that it's hidden in the lead-in to track 1 on the Super Furry Animals' album Guerilla. You have to rewind it 5 minutes to find and hear the song. This parallels the big CB radio culture that was probably even bigger in the UK in the 80's, popularized by American films such as Smokey and the Bandit.

One gets the sense and thrill of being in on something special and secret when finding the song, almost the band's mission statement: to stay true to the people, the fans. And they've found this new way to get the message across; so many ways to communicate. They are the Citizens' Band, there writing music for us, under the radar, and for the purpose of communication. It works so well on all these levels.

For once, it seems to be a SFA song that's fairly straightforward: it appears to be about someone communicating on Citizens' Band Radio during their drive. Here's a breakdown of the slang:

A "breaker" is one using a channel; to "break" is to request permission to interrupt someone or to request to use a channel, or to initiate communication. ("Breaker breaker" means to request a channel hold off on its routine chatter.) I think 'Breaking the law' is wordplay, and a reference to how CB radio is often assumed to be used to dodge the cops and break the law; 10-4 means "message received", and to "copy" means to receave a message clearly.

A "bear" or "Smokey" is a cop, derived from troopers wearing similar hats to the fire-prevention-awareness character Smokey the Bear. Thus, "feeding the bears" is getting pulled over and ticketed. To "hit the big slab" is to get on the highway, and one's "home twenty" is their home location, from 10-20 which is ten-code for location: "What's your 10-20?" = "What's your location?" (i.e., Where are you?) A "cartel" is one or more users making a frequency unusable by taking it up all the time; "good buddy" is a general term for another user without specifically referring to their handle. So this verse sounds sounds to me like police trying to play friendly, but with malicious intent--hogging a channel, 'reading the mail' (listening in on transmissions).

"Go-go girls" refer to farm animals, or specifically, pigs. I'm not sure what that verse is about. To "eyeball" is to see someone, so to "eyeball again" is to see someone again.

"Eighty-eight" is originally from ham radio, meaning "love and kisses"; it can generally mean any sort of good sentiment. This line seems to mean "Best wishes/Sending my love until we see each other again."

"Mic in hand on the citizens band", therefore, is talking about his adventures on the CB airwaves.

It might be talking about falling in love over a CB radio? "Me and you, so many ways to communicate"/"88 receive me 'til we eyeball again." Or maybe it's a straightforward travelogue. Anyone know if any of the Super Furries are CB users or ex-truckers?

This song encapsulates everything that is so unbelievably awesome about SFA. It\'s my favorite song of all time this week. Maybe next week it\'ll be another SFA song and I could roll from one SFA song to the next that way easily for a year or more as I\'ve done for the past few months.\n\nCitizens\' Band has at least 5 distinct melodies that will get stuck in your head forever. The harmonies are sublime. The playing is perfect. And as with so many SFA songs this one effortlessly perfects a certain form - a stadium rock anthem building to an overwhelming crescendo that will have you pumping your fists in the air and shouting... "Mic in hand on the citizens\' band..."????\n\nAnd that finally brings me to the lyrics. Out of an SFA catalog filled with laugh out loud word play, moving profundity, and headscratcing bizzarity, this song really packs it all in. So... apparently CB radios and their slang are a thing in the UK, and particularly in Wales? And even given that, how on earth did they decide to write a song about CB radios in seamless CB slang that ends up sounding so fluid and natural, musically and lyrically? Plus it\'s hilarious. The word genius gets thrown around too much in pop music but this song marks a high confluence of incredible creativity on so many levels it will put a huge grin on my face every time I hear it for the rest of my life. In a just world I could buy a coffee table book at Costco detailing every word and note recorded on every SFA album and Sir Paul McCartney would be famous primarily for chewing celery.\n\nSo much love for SFA! SFA OK!!!!