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Penny Dreadful Lyrics
Forgive me if I'm out of order -
This new music has no soul
It may be good for making money,
Sadly that is not my goal
Integrity and honesty are words
That you don't understand,
But you're the best - it says so
In the penny dreadful in your hand
I saw you in a magazine,
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong
If we'd played this riff more punk
Then maybe we'd have had a million seller
But this piper's tune is not for sale,
I'm glad to say I'm not that kind of fella
D.J.s, V.J.s, pimps and trollops,
Never mind music - this is bollocks
I saw you in a magazine,
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong.
Turn on, tune up, cash in, sell out
Turn on, tune up, cash in, sell out
Stand your ground behind the times -
And refuse to follow fashion
Write your poetry with anger,
And then sing it with a passion
Painted faces in a circus -
Images that spring to mind,
When I read my penny dreadful
Filled with pictures of your kind
I saw you in a magazine,
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong
Commercial suicide's appealing after
Ten years on this losing streak
'Cause I'd rather be called sour and bitter
Than be deemed the flavour of the weak
Of the weak, of the weak
Weak of the weak
I saw you in a magazine,
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong
"Extra, extra, read all about it!"
I saw you in a magazine,
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong
This new music has no soul
It may be good for making money,
Sadly that is not my goal
Integrity and honesty are words
That you don't understand,
But you're the best - it says so
In the penny dreadful in your hand
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong
Then maybe we'd have had a million seller
But this piper's tune is not for sale,
I'm glad to say I'm not that kind of fella
D.J.s, V.J.s, pimps and trollops,
Never mind music - this is bollocks
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong.
Turn on, tune up, cash in, sell out
Stand your ground behind the times -
And refuse to follow fashion
Write your poetry with anger,
And then sing it with a passion
Painted faces in a circus -
Images that spring to mind,
When I read my penny dreadful
Filled with pictures of your kind
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong
Ten years on this losing streak
'Cause I'd rather be called sour and bitter
Than be deemed the flavour of the weak
Of the weak, of the weak
Weak of the weak
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong
They're calling you messiah
They must be living in a dream -
They couldn't be more wrong
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Obviously, it's about not not wanting to sell out, but there's a little bit more to it, also.
In the 1900's the term "penny dreadful" was used to refer to a cheaply printed, poorly written horror story. Penny dreadfuls were bit like dime novels, but with horror plots instead of action or romance stories and they were generally or poorer quality than even the dime novels. Almost no penny dreadfuls have survived intact into this century, they were so cheap they all self-destructed (I've read reprints of a few of them, it doesn't seem like we lost much, they are pretty bad). I think Elvinking is really making a point comparing today's pathetic magazines to the Victorian penny dreadfuls, just have to be a little behind the times yourself to see that point :)
Oh, and the song is originally by Skyclad. Just so you know ;p
Seems like its about not wanting to sell out. Cool song, nice and catchy :)
Haha exactly right