It's Lucy in the sky and all kinds of apple pie
She giggle[s] at the screen 'cause it looks so green
There's carpets on the pavement
And feathers in her eye
But sooner or later, her new friends will realize
That Julie's been working for the Drug Squad
Julie's been working for the Drug Squad

She can't even look you in the eye

(Well) Well it seemed like a dream; too good to be true
Stash it in the bank while the tablets grow high
In their Millions
And everybody's high (Hi, man...)
But there's someone looking down
From that mountain side
'Cause Julie's been working for the Drug Squad
'Cause Julie's been working for the Drug Squad
Gumbo!

[And it's] Ten years for you
Nineteen for you
And you can get out in twenty-five
That is if you're still alive
Oh oh, alive
Oh yeah, alive
Oh oh, alive
Oh!

And then there came the night of the greatest ever raid
They arrested every drug that had ever been made
They took eighty-two laws
Through eighty-two doors
And they didn't halt the pull
Till the cells were all full
'Cause Julie's been working for the Drug Squad
Julie's been working for the Drug Squad

They put him in a cell, they said 'you wait here'
You got the time to count all of your hair
You got fifteen years
That's a mighty long time
You could have been a physicist
But now your name is on the mailbag list
Julie's been working for the Drug Squad
Julie's been working for the Drug Squad
Gumbo!

Ten years for you
Nineteen for you
And you can get out in twenty-five
That is if you're still...
Alive
Oh oh, alive

You're still
I said you're still


Lyrics submitted by aebassist, edited by Mellow_Harsher

Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad Lyrics as written by Mick Jones Joe Strummer

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Julie's Been Working for the Drug Squad song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

11 Comments

sort form View by:
  • 0
    Song Meaning

    o my gosh! none of you know! it was based on an actual drug bust that put just about 84 people in jail. julie was the name of the girl who sold out the operation.

    punkrocker9997on September 14, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
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.
Album art
Blue
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.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.