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The Old Main Drag Lyrics
When I first came to London I was only sixteen
With a fiver in my pocket and my ole dancing bag
I went down to the dilly to check out the scene
And i soon ended up on the old main drag
There the he-males and the she-males paraded in style
And the old men with the money would flash you a smile
In the dark of an alley you'd work for a five
For a swift one of the wrist down on the old main drag
In the cold winter nights the old town it was chill
But there were boys in the cafes who'd give you cheap pills
If you didn't have the money you'd cajole or you'd beg
There was always lots of tuinol on the old main drag
One evening as I was lying down in leicester square
I was picked up by the coppers and kicked in the balls
Between the metal doors at vine street I was beaten and mauled
And they ruined my good looks for the old main drag
In the tube station the old ones who were on the way out
Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout
And the coppers would come along and push them about
And I wished I could escape from the old main drag
And now I'm lying here I've had too much booze
I've been shat on and spat on and raped and abused
I know that I am dying and I wish I could beg
For some money to take me from the old main drag
With a fiver in my pocket and my ole dancing bag
I went down to the dilly to check out the scene
And i soon ended up on the old main drag
And the old men with the money would flash you a smile
In the dark of an alley you'd work for a five
For a swift one of the wrist down on the old main drag
But there were boys in the cafes who'd give you cheap pills
If you didn't have the money you'd cajole or you'd beg
There was always lots of tuinol on the old main drag
I was picked up by the coppers and kicked in the balls
Between the metal doors at vine street I was beaten and mauled
And they ruined my good looks for the old main drag
Would dribble and vomit and grovel and shout
And the coppers would come along and push them about
And I wished I could escape from the old main drag
I've been shat on and spat on and raped and abused
I know that I am dying and I wish I could beg
For some money to take me from the old main drag
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Yes, that's what "off the wrist" mean. Definition from a slang dictionary:
one off the wrist; quick one off the wrist noun (of a male) an act of masturbation. The adjective ‘quick’ (or occasional variations) does not denote an especially speedy endeavour, its purpose is to elaborate the basic term. UK, 1973
The song describes a 16-year-old (implied to be of Irish descent) coming into London as a dreamer, hoping to be a performer. After a brief tourist-style arrival, he finds his young, fit body is his only significant resource and finds solace in London's red light district.
He is introduced to a downtrodden yet oddly Bohemian community of sex workers and outcasts, and comes to know their customers. His life in male prostitution begins with handjobs in shady alleys.
Before long, the rough lifestyle and local culture has led him to become a habitual drug user, trading his earnings and services for the pills commonly available.
He relates a story where he was "lying down" in a public space, ambiguously either passed out drug/stoned or possibly giving his body to a customer. He is accosted by the local police, and beaten so severely (or possibly given a 'Glasgow grin' or similar mutilation) that his "good looks are ruined", damaging his value as a prostitute.
Thus flawed, he muses on the older and rougher denizens of the street community, who descend further into squalor and rough use as they age. He sees in them his future of abuse, degradation and decline, and sees his experience with the police play out again and again.
In the end he is a used-up shell, never having managed to raise himself up from the lifestyle he fell into. He has suffered every inhumanity, certain that he is dying either slowly from this way of life, or literally and immediately from injury or circumstance at the moment of retelling. The closing words, and musically unresolved monotone, can be interpreted either as the last thoughts of a dying man, or the depressing entreaties of a ravaged beggar telling his story to the listener.
@UnclePhil This makes me really sad because it seems like you know this song so well you could have been the one who wrote it, and not only that but wrote it from experience.
@UnclePhil This makes me really sad because it seems like you know this song so well you could have been the one who wrote it, and not only that but wrote it from experience.
The old main drag - London's Red Light District is about a narrator new to the city who becomes addicted to pain killers then abused and beaten by police
@Sir_commenting_slag OK, but tuinol isn't a painkiller. It's a barbiturate.
@Sir_commenting_slag OK, but tuinol isn't a painkiller. It's a barbiturate.
this is a great song. last year me and my friends made a music video for it for a project in photography class. they thought the song was hella gay and made fun of me for it, but fuck 'em. i did all the work and we had a great time taking the pictures.
anyway, i'm pretty sure a swift one off the wrist refers to a hand job from a hooker.
@MrGoodBar the narrator is the one giving the handjob in the alley for money.
@MrGoodBar the narrator is the one giving the handjob in the alley for money.
yeah that one seemed obvious. does anyone know how much (if any) of this is actually true to shane mcgowan comming to london, because he was definatly very young and very poor when he did.
for some reason i thought he came when he was about 12 or something. i know it says iin the 'if i should fall from grace' documentary.
I thought he was about 8. He was expelled from school for selling drugs, but i don't think he was ever a rentboy
anyway, i'm pretty sure a swift one off the wrist refers to a hand job from a hooker
its not from a hooker, he is the hooker. its about him being a rent boy, hence
"And they ruined my good looks for the old main drag"
A couple random bits:
The Dilly - Piccadilly Circus and vicinity. He later also mentions Leicester Square. The hustling was more likely done in Soho.
The metal doors at Vine Street - there was a police station there for a long time, now closed and replaced by a new property development.
Also sounds like he resorts to turning tricks in order earn drug money.I think a swift one off the wrist refers to a small shot of heroin or some other intravenous drug. This is a great song. I love how nitty gritty it is about street life. My favorite line is, "I been spat on and shat on and raped and abused".