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Hampstead Girl Lyrics
Hampstead girl on Parliament Hill
Drinks in the situation
Hampstead brown not dressed to kill
In a thousand variations
And her blue ayes
See those dark shadows in the sky
And her choir like voice
Cries For Love
And you'd do anything you could
Just bring back the smile to her face
Take all the blue out of her eyes
And fill up the empty space
With love and affection
Take all the grey out of this town
Give your protection
If she'd just turn 'round
Ouside she smiles at the people
But inside she cries
Inside Hampstead girl in the Vale of Health
With a hundred imitations
Hears the magic in the church bells
but still longs for invitiations
And you'd like to take her with you
But the time is never right
And so you lose her
When you go back down to the other side of town
Drinks in the situation
Hampstead brown not dressed to kill
In a thousand variations
And her blue ayes
See those dark shadows in the sky
And her choir like voice
Cries For Love
And you'd do anything you could
Just bring back the smile to her face
Take all the blue out of her eyes
And fill up the empty space
With love and affection
Take all the grey out of this town
Give your protection
If she'd just turn 'round
Ouside she smiles at the people
But inside she cries
Inside Hampstead girl in the Vale of Health
With a hundred imitations
Hears the magic in the church bells
but still longs for invitiations
And you'd like to take her with you
But the time is never right
And so you lose her
When you go back down to the other side of town
Song Info
Submitted by
fletch699 On Apr 15, 2002
More The Dream Academy
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This song comes on the one of the most under-represented albums ever - Dream Academy's Rememberance Days. Here, they were ahead of their time bringing back the spirit of the 60's - only 2 or 3 years before the 60's/90's revival.
Here's what I think this song is about: I think it's about how a guy sees a girl - not how she really is, but how HE sees her and imagines her wants and needs.
Look, if she 'longs for invitations' to weddings and 'cries for love' why doesn't she DO something about it? She's clearly fit and pretty and in the 'vale of health'. Or could it be that the girl is also as inept as the writer at meeting someone? I don't think so.
I think this is all Nick Laird-Clowes fantasy. I think he sees this girl and writes a song about her and what he imagines (or hopes) she's thinking about finding someone. He'd do 'anything he could just to bring back the smile to her face', but he doesn't either because 'the time is never right'.
But the truth is, Nick lives 'back down on the other side of town'. Do you suppose that's lower in altitude or standard of living? The EXACT line in the song goes, "And you'd like to take her AWAY with you..." Away to where? The other side of town of course - but, alas, the time is never right.
As a Hampstead girl - drinking on Parliament Hill, she is obviously an upper-class woman, the writer is afraid to approach her - regardless of fantasy - because he knows for all his intentions, he'll never be enough for her.