Lippy Kids

This is one of my favourites songs...

Absolutely beautiful, captures a lot of what it is to be a teenager - what you have, what you do, what you see, and also what you don't know at the time but its only when you look back you notice..

"Do they know those days are golden Build a rocket boys"

I see this to mean that looking back at your teenage years, you see those as the happiest times of your life...first girlfriends, hanging with friends, feeling like you are invincible and all the scenarios that come with that. The only problem is that most people don't realise this until they are older. If only we could go back and tell our younger selves that these days are golden

"Build a rocket boys" indicates to me that Guy is trying to tell these young people that where they are at that point in their life, they can do anything, go anywhere...their life has so much to offer and that they can achieve so much if they just put their minds to it

I could talk about this song all day lone - but I have to get back to work..

From the CD booklet:

Lippy kids on the corner again Lippy kids on the corner begin Settling like crows Though I never perfected the simian stroll The cigarette senate was everything then

Do they know those days are golden Build a rocket boys

One long June I came down from the trees and kerbstone cool You were a freshly painted angel Walking on walls Stealing booze and hour long hungry kisses And nobody knew me at home anymore

Build a rocket boys

As far as I can hear, and as far as lyrical sense goes, I think it is probably:

'Stealing booze and our long, hungry kisses'

what do you think?

Walking on walls, Stealing booze And hour-long, hungry kisses Nobody knew me at home any more.

This is the most likely, I think. I have cited the probably-erroneous "outlawing hungry kisses" elsewhere and admittedly, it doesn't make sense. Guy's lyrics are usually intelligent and a little cryptic at times, but never nonsensical!

Hour-long, hungry kisses.... very teenager-ish, I think! Very apt!

It is for outlanders very hard to understand those lirics but can enyone xplaine what this song is about ?...i'm a very big ELBOW fan and try to imagine what mr. Garvey is singing thnx 4 the response if you are... Frank from Belgium

Guy said in an interview that this album would be drawing on experience from his/their childhood, I haven't given much thought to what the lyrics are actually about, i'm in too much awe from how great this song is.

hour-long, hungry kisses

I'm pretty sure it's 'the cigarette senate was everything then' - the image being a group of kids on a street corner gathering with cigarettes to discuss important kid stuff.

And I think it's 'kerbstone cool' too - the same idea, kids hanging out on a street corner.

I love this song.

Guy remembers when he was a teenager. Kids are looked down on, outlawed. He remembers being a rebellious teenager, drink, girls, smoking, walking (boppin we say nowadays). But he says "build a rocket boys!" What does that mean? That's the difficult part of this song. It could mean, make something that'll get you away from this all. Be free. Put effort into something, work hard, and you can be free. "Do they know those days are golden?" Teens don't have much time before they become adults. Make the most of your childhood.

-softmint

@ softmint

Where I come from, to build a rocket used to mean to roll a joint. Not sure what the kids call it these days! So it could just mean roll one up boys, forget about it and enjoy your youth.