8 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Once We Were Anarchists Lyrics
Demonstrations got boring,
Well it was obvious that the government was ignoring us
It’s hard to drag yourself through empty streets
On an empty stomach with no sleep
The shortcomings got clearer
As the price we paid got dearer and dearer
It’s supposed to be a case of give and take
Well I was feeling the give and making the mistake
And I’ve heard it said the unexamined life,
Isn’t much worth living, and I’m sure they’re right
But it’s hard to keep on fighting the good fight
When no one else seems bothered
Yeah, when no one’s on your side
Because I’m young enough to be all pissed off
But I’m old enough to be jaded
I’m at the age where I want things to change
But with age my hopes have faded
I’m young and bored of being young and bored
If I was old I could say I’ve seen it all before
In short; I’m tired of giving a shit
I’ve got friends who are bankers
And it’s an easy rhyme to call them wankers
But I must say I envy the way that they live
And it’s all; it’s all take and no give
Well I’m playing the lone ranger
Riding to the rescue with 6 billion strangers
Armed with only an original song
And a sense that something’s wrong
And I must admit that I’m tired of saying no, all the time
Well I must admit that I don’t really know what would be right
And if politics, is helping all the people
Then my political career is pretty fucked
Because the truth is I don’t like people all that much
The times they aren’t a-changing
Yeah England’s still shit, and it’s still raining
And everybody’s jaded and tired and bored
And no one lifts a finger, because
It’s just not in our culture
Our culture is carryin’
And we’re all vultures
And no one seems bothered by the state of play
It seems that the stench is with us to stay
So I had a go, I tried examining life
It wasn’t much worth living
I guess they’re right
And I’m tired of fighting a fight that’s not my fight
So is everybody else, we’re all on the same side.
Because I’m young enough to be all pissed off
But I’m old enough to be jaded
I’m at the age where I want things to change
But with age my hopes have faded
I’m young and bored of being young and bored
If I was old I could say I’ve seen it all before
In short; I’m tired
And in short; I’m probably fired
If the revolution doesn’t want me, I don’t give a shit.
Well it was obvious that the government was ignoring us
It’s hard to drag yourself through empty streets
On an empty stomach with no sleep
The shortcomings got clearer
As the price we paid got dearer and dearer
It’s supposed to be a case of give and take
Well I was feeling the give and making the mistake
And I’ve heard it said the unexamined life,
Isn’t much worth living, and I’m sure they’re right
But it’s hard to keep on fighting the good fight
When no one else seems bothered
Yeah, when no one’s on your side
But I’m old enough to be jaded
I’m at the age where I want things to change
But with age my hopes have faded
I’m young and bored of being young and bored
If I was old I could say I’ve seen it all before
In short; I’m tired of giving a shit
And it’s an easy rhyme to call them wankers
But I must say I envy the way that they live
And it’s all; it’s all take and no give
Well I’m playing the lone ranger
Riding to the rescue with 6 billion strangers
Armed with only an original song
And a sense that something’s wrong
Well I must admit that I don’t really know what would be right
Then my political career is pretty fucked
Because the truth is I don’t like people all that much
Yeah England’s still shit, and it’s still raining
And everybody’s jaded and tired and bored
And no one lifts a finger, because
It’s just not in our culture
Our culture is carryin’
And we’re all vultures
And no one seems bothered by the state of play
It seems that the stench is with us to stay
So I had a go, I tried examining life
It wasn’t much worth living
I guess they’re right
And I’m tired of fighting a fight that’s not my fight
So is everybody else, we’re all on the same side.
But I’m old enough to be jaded
I’m at the age where I want things to change
But with age my hopes have faded
I’m young and bored of being young and bored
If I was old I could say I’ve seen it all before
In short; I’m tired
And in short; I’m probably fired
If the revolution doesn’t want me, I don’t give a shit.
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
yeh i agree its not really about him being a pussy, i think its set in the same mould as many songs or lyrics in certain songs. its the whole thing people have talked of for years, when people grow older, and after years of the system winning and not being defeated people and protesters become disheartened however strong they feel about there cause. he is just saying how tired he has become from the government and the system not being changed as a result of protests, like strummer wrote "he who f*** nuns will later join the church" he wasn't writing it about himself, he wrote this when he was a man, not a angry teen. he was simply commenting on how the majority of protesters, your students, who protested through there student years actually cease to protest once they graduate, as they settle for a "normal life" complying with the system they rebelled against, yet some may carry on rebelling in there heads, they rarely actually protest like they did in the streets, as he says in teh song. you only need to read his forum which he frequently posts on to see his spirit isn't dead, not one bit.
ah man i hate that!! "student protesters" lol
ah man i hate that!! "student protesters" lol
they join in "the cause" cos thats "what students do"
they join in "the cause" cos thats "what students do"
then when they leave school they don the suit n tie and blend in wi all the other faceless voiceless bastards lmao ... o yeah and their spine dissolves at some point during this time too...
then when they leave school they don the suit n tie and blend in wi all the other faceless voiceless bastards lmao ... o yeah and their spine dissolves at some point during this time too...
how can you call him a pussy? he has a whole lot more balls than you will ever have just for saying the truth about himself. he's probably been fighting his cause a lot longer than you have. you will probably end up being hypocritical when you get tired too. its human to get exhausted of fighting.
"Our culture is carryin’ And we’re all vultures"
surely its carrion?
Carrion is the carcass of a dead animal that becomes food for other scavenging animals.
yep, it is carrion
I dunno if that's quite what he means by this - he's saying he still feels the anger and has the same beliefs but that the older he gets the more jaded he gets and the less will to fight he has. He wants to fight but how much he rallied against the system without anything happening has made him lose the will to do it anymore, or at least in the same way.
best. song. ever.
i do relate to his lyrics, he's the same age as my little sister (6 yrs younger than me) so i can relate both him and her (my sis) and also how i relate to them...
my sis's answer? F**k off to Oz lol! BUT WE DON'T WANT FRANK TO DO THIS!!! (selfishly we want to keep im ere lol)
but i SOOO do relate to this...
BUT there is one single time that i recall where things changed... anyone here heard of Hillgrove Cat Farm?? (they bred cats to be sold to labs for experiments) well, i went on demos there, i did lots of subversive things... aka harrassment of the owner - BUT never did or threaten violence btw!!! - anyway, one morning i woke up to the news that it had closed!!!
it may be one teeny slither of light at the end of the tunnel, but at least it was summat eh!
keep on it Frank m8 lol keep faith in us lots who're 6 yrs older (and more fked) than you :oD xx
Nice to see that Frank is a huge pussy now, and that everything he stood for in MD has gone to shit.