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They opened up a cocktail bar, in the shadow of Engel’s Court
Now folks dress up, and spend their cash, you can’t deny their London pride
They say:
“Who won the war?
Who ruled the world?
Who showed them all?”
Well, who cares?
chorus:
Run from the past
Into the past
Your job will go
Your house will go
But they will wave from their video
And the Police will be there as well
With a boot or a gun to cry on
[chorus]
Into the past, she ran
Under school and underfed
And she runs through the death city, looking for a well payed job
And she finds it on the gin house floor
And the papers always say
Go back to work
You’re all alone
Old-fashioned week
And childish
[chorus]
Now folks dress up, and spend their cash, you can’t deny their London pride
“Who won the war?
Who ruled the world?
Who showed them all?”
Run from the past
Into the past
Your house will go
But they will wave from their video
And the Police will be there as well
With a boot or a gun to cry on
Under school and underfed
And she runs through the death city, looking for a well payed job
And she finds it on the gin house floor
Go back to work
You’re all alone
Old-fashioned week
And childish
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Some major corrections: "But they will weigh? from their video" "Underschooled and underfed" "Old fashioned, weak, and childish"
Interpretation: The upper class meets at a cocktail bar and reminisce about the good old days The underpayed call a strike for better pay/work conditions and the police is called to supress them The papers put the workers down calling them old-fashioned, weak and childish, and call them back to work
What kind of work "she" finds on the gymhouse floor is up for further interpretation
(gotta say I love the end guitar solo)
Thought it was Gin House floor. Always saw that as a mixture of bar work and/or prostitution.
Thought it was Gin House floor. Always saw that as a mixture of bar work and/or prostitution.
Interpretation as good as any- specifically written around the time of the 1980's miner's strike in the UK where the papers were trying to break the strike by saying "10 more miners" gone back today type thing.
Interpretation as good as any- specifically written around the time of the 1980's miner's strike in the UK where the papers were trying to break the strike by saying "10 more miners" gone back today type thing.
Generally agree, except that it is "gin house floor" not "gym house".
What the heck is a "gym house" anyway? LOL You just call it a "gym" dont you?
It's been corrected
It's been corrected
Just a good slagging off of yuppie London in the 1980's.
Certain types still living in the glory years of empires (Falklands war etc) and the rich with their conspicuous consumption contrasting with a country where there were increasing pockets of poverty (highlighted by the prostitution comment as a "well paid job").
Plus there's a critique of pop music "waving from their videos", keeping the masses happy and refusing to engage with the social issues of the day and acting as escapism. At one stage he did "The Smiths will wave from their video" which was a bit unfair (they did at least cover social issues) but there was conflict with Rough Trade who were using all their resources to promote the Smiths and Microdisney didn't get a look in.
I especially like the line about "go back to work/you're all alone/old fashioned weak and childish". This I think is specifically about the 1984-1985 miners strike in England where we were treated to daily propaganda from the government, newspapers and TV about how the miners would lose and were wasting their time. You can see the same pattern of propaganda in the Junior doctors strike in 2016, so still relevant today.