This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
Your back's against the wall
There's no-one home to call
You're forgetting who you are
You can't stop crying
It's part not giving in
And part trusting your friends
You do it all again
And I'm not lying
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Standing in the way of control
You live your life
Survive the only way that you know
I'm doing this for you
Because it's easier to lose
And it's hard to face the truth
When you think you're dying
It's part not giving in
And part trusting your friends
You do it all again
But you don't stop trying
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
[x4]
Because Standing in the way of control
You live your life
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Standing in the way of control
We live our lives
Because we're standing in the way of control
We will live our lives
Because we're standing in the way of control
We live our lives
Because we're standing in the way of control
We will live our lives
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Your back's against the wall
There's no-one home to call
You're forgetting who you are
You can't stop crying
It's part not giving in
And part trusting your friends
You do it all again
You don't stop trying
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Standing in the way of control
Survive the only way that you know
There's no-one home to call
You're forgetting who you are
You can't stop crying
It's part not giving in
And part trusting your friends
You do it all again
And I'm not lying
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Standing in the way of control
You live your life
Survive the only way that you know
I'm doing this for you
Because it's easier to lose
And it's hard to face the truth
When you think you're dying
It's part not giving in
And part trusting your friends
You do it all again
But you don't stop trying
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
[x4]
Because Standing in the way of control
You live your life
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Standing in the way of control
We live our lives
Because we're standing in the way of control
We will live our lives
Because we're standing in the way of control
We live our lives
Because we're standing in the way of control
We will live our lives
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Your back's against the wall
There's no-one home to call
You're forgetting who you are
You can't stop crying
It's part not giving in
And part trusting your friends
You do it all again
You don't stop trying
Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Oh oh Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Standing in the way of control
Survive the only way that you know
Lyrics submitted by SparksOfGold
Standing in the Way of Control Lyrics as written by Mary Beth Patterson Hannah Blilie
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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No Surprises
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Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Blue
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
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Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
“Head > Heels” is a track that aims to capture what it feels like to experience romance that exceeds expectations. Ed Sheeran dedicates his album outro to a lover who has blessed him with a unique experience that he seeks to describe through the song’s nuanced lyrics.
Page
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Wikipedia says: "The band's breakthrough song "Standing in the Way of Control" was written by Ditto as a response to her government's decision to deny gays the right to marriage in the US. "Nobody in the States was that surprised or shocked by what Bush did, but it made everyone I know feel helpless and cheated," Beth says. "I wrote the chorus to try and encourage people not to give up. It's a scary time for civil rights, but I really believe the only way to survive is to stick together and keep fighting.""
Interesting, eh?
beth ditto rocks
"The Gossip's breakthrough single "Standing In The Way Of Control" is a savage attack on George W. Bush" - Uncut magazine interview with Beth.
savage attack on Bush, eh? Then for that reason alone, I love it. :)
What I love about this song is that its intentional meaning is not obvious so people can relate to it in many ways. It's intentional meaning however is about gay marriage, this song is almost answering back to Bush's decision on gay marriage. Correct me if I'm wrong but I also get this feeling is about hope from thius song. As in, you have to stay together and keep on fighting for that right...
i never knew this song was about gay rights? i always took it as about when you are under the influence of drugs/alchohol, and you are "losing who you are", "can't stop crying"... i thought it was illustrating how we are hindering the control we have over our own selves when we get f*cked up and how we live our lives anyway and continue to do drugs and have no control. And it's hard to face the truth When you think you're dying It's part not giving in And part trusting your friends
^ i thought those lines kind of talk about how people get messed up on drugs so they don't have to deal with problems and you still don't stop doing drugs and you just trust your friends who tell you to do them.
but i think i probably just associate it this too much with Skins, you know? cause now that i analyze it again, it definitely makes sense about the gays fighting for rights.
i'm just going to say it can have a double meaning!!!!
This is an amazing song...can't believe no one's commented on it yet!
wicked
Pity this has forever been associated with drunk trashy teenagers, in the UK at least.
Yea kool song. The soulwax nite version for the show Skins is pretty awesome too. It just reminds me of that show now.