I don't think they're talking about modern England, racism nowadays is extremely rare here.
The song, to me, is in two parts and I don't think they're strictly connected but both are deeply ironic.
They've taken a Nazi theme, the first part a German soldier says to a Jewish prisoner that he can live but he has to take part in the genocide of his own people - working his socks off, of course in the process, however, when they say 'on the gate read......', I believe they're implying that the work setting him free, will always keep him imprisoned - in his mind at least because how do you recover from that?
Or it could suggest the ones being made free (liberated from torture and inhumanity) are the ones who he's working his socks off to get rid of - he's doing all the work and being made to suffer, yet they are being 'set free'.
The second part, for me, they are painting a picture of the 70's and I always imagine Alf Garnett when I hear the second part of the song - the daughter with rollers in her hair (so 70's) and a cigarette in her mouth has to listen to her dad, Alf go on about winning the war with such pride and the irony of what the Allies were fighting for, liberating Europe and fighting the racist Nazi's, is lost on him as he is no different.
I don't think they are talking about current society and more likely, they were off of their faces when writing the song and possibly saw a film about the Nazi's or saw an old episode of 'til death do us part' or possibly both - perhaps Barat wrote the first part and Doherty the second - who knows.
It's a brilliant and witty song with great lyrics but I don't think it's supposed to be as profound as we are assuming - they're both excellent wordsmiths and I'm sure they were just 'sparring' at the time.
I don't think they're talking about modern England, racism nowadays is extremely rare here.
The song, to me, is in two parts and I don't think they're strictly connected but both are deeply ironic.
They've taken a Nazi theme, the first part a German soldier says to a Jewish prisoner that he can live but he has to take part in the genocide of his own people - working his socks off, of course in the process, however, when they say 'on the gate read......', I believe they're implying that the work setting him free, will always keep him imprisoned - in his mind at least because how do you recover from that? Or it could suggest the ones being made free (liberated from torture and inhumanity) are the ones who he's working his socks off to get rid of - he's doing all the work and being made to suffer, yet they are being 'set free'.
The second part, for me, they are painting a picture of the 70's and I always imagine Alf Garnett when I hear the second part of the song - the daughter with rollers in her hair (so 70's) and a cigarette in her mouth has to listen to her dad, Alf go on about winning the war with such pride and the irony of what the Allies were fighting for, liberating Europe and fighting the racist Nazi's, is lost on him as he is no different.
I don't think they are talking about current society and more likely, they were off of their faces when writing the song and possibly saw a film about the Nazi's or saw an old episode of 'til death do us part' or possibly both - perhaps Barat wrote the first part and Doherty the second - who knows.
It's a brilliant and witty song with great lyrics but I don't think it's supposed to be as profound as we are assuming - they're both excellent wordsmiths and I'm sure they were just 'sparring' at the time.