The year was 1991, it seems that freedom is dead and gone
The power of the rich is held by few
Keep the young paralyzed, educated by your lies
Keep the old ones happy with the news
Tell the singer not to song his song
Tell the poet that she's wrong
And in the courts you'll win the case with lies
Cos you sold them down the river-o
Do I belong to some ancient race
I like to walk in ancient places
These are things that I can understand
I don't believe in your modern way
Don't care about the things you say
Your policies have failed the test of time
Cos you sold them down the river-o
Now in a land not far away, there's men in prison because they say
The colour of your skin is not a question
Did you rally to their side
No, you sat back and let them die
I don't know how you get to sleep at night
CHORUS
Your money market goes round and round
The pound goes up, the dollar goes down
You need the power for your new towns
Cos you get scared when the night comes down
Won't you tell me where it is that we are bound
CHORUS
The power of the rich is held by few
Keep the young paralyzed, educated by your lies
Keep the old ones happy with the news
Tell the singer not to song his song
Tell the poet that she's wrong
And in the courts you'll win the case with lies
Cos you sold them down the river-o
I like to walk in ancient places
These are things that I can understand
I don't believe in your modern way
Don't care about the things you say
Your policies have failed the test of time
Cos you sold them down the river-o
The colour of your skin is not a question
Did you rally to their side
No, you sat back and let them die
I don't know how you get to sleep at night
The pound goes up, the dollar goes down
You need the power for your new towns
Cos you get scared when the night comes down
Won't you tell me where it is that we are bound
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Its a song about how any establishment figure - be they the police, politicians or other - will effectively sell you down the river if you do anything that doesn't conform to the party line. The idea is that freedom doesn't exist, and instead you see brainwashed kids and community censorship - and to anyone who feels differently, its like they come from an ancient time and their views are aged ones that no-one wants to hear.
It's so blatant and yet so deep. Beautiful, the chorus in particular.
This is my fave Lev's song, so relevant to the UK today as much as it was in 1991.
Love the first few lines of the chorus.
The BBCI collapsed in 1991 which makes the last verse particularly profound.