I always saw this song as being a commentary on the economic decay of the pre-Thatcherite England of the early-seventies that the members of Wire would have grown up in, and the gloom and depair it brought down on everyone but the lucky - and greedy and exclusionary - so-called upper classes. England had fallen into economic ruin and it was no surprise that the anger and resentment that people felt toward government and institutions of leadership and authority (who were responsible for the mess) gave birth to punk, which as we know changed everything. Within the context of the song, which is bleak and depressing, people can't even afford milk ("the milk bottles stand empty") and all they can afford to eat is cheap, mass produced junk ("fish fingers all in a line") like fishsticks, as we call them here in North America. The big line for me in this song is "Next week will solve your problems," which speaks to the cycle of lethargy and hopelessness that so many are caught up in, unable to take action or regain control of their lives because the economic reality is so dire (skyrocketing unemployment for example) and so, they try to just not think about it; ie, put off looking for work until "next week" because there's nothing out there right now anyway. And I have always seen that line as being spoken by those same upper classes: Don't worry people, everything will be fine next week; for now, you just keep on watching TV; we'll handle everything out here. And meanwhile, they pilfer and destroy the country's economic support structures that were there to help people avoid circumstances like this in the first place. Great, great song. A big message song and all in less than a hundred words. As as per everything Wire, it is musically awesome. I have lost count of how many people I have turned on to the album 'Pink Flag.' Here's hoping I helped the lads pick up a royalty cheque or two over the years, help keep them in milk anyway. PS: Absolutely no clue why it is called Ex Lion Tamer.
@madoal I think you’re spot on man! “Fish fingers all in a line” referring to how you line up fish sticks on a baking sheet pan. Not a meal you have if you have money to spare. “The milk bottles stand empty” people used to get milk through a delivery service that would collect the empty milk bottles to be reused. This line is highlighting the fact that the normalcy of services we all come to expect during a healthy economy has slowed downed/stopped due to economic decline. As long as we stay tuned to our favorite heroes and their...
@madoal I think you’re spot on man! “Fish fingers all in a line” referring to how you line up fish sticks on a baking sheet pan. Not a meal you have if you have money to spare. “The milk bottles stand empty” people used to get milk through a delivery service that would collect the empty milk bottles to be reused. This line is highlighting the fact that the normalcy of services we all come to expect during a healthy economy has slowed downed/stopped due to economic decline. As long as we stay tuned to our favorite heroes and their weekly programming and we continue pushing forward, things have to get better next week, or soon, right? This song is a brilliant time capsule of 70’s England and is as relevant today as it will be in 50 years. As long as conservatively principled politicians and economic recessions/depressions, due to gambling futures on stock markets, persist in disrupting societal conditions, this song will never lose it’s incredibly poignant value.
I always saw this song as being a commentary on the economic decay of the pre-Thatcherite England of the early-seventies that the members of Wire would have grown up in, and the gloom and depair it brought down on everyone but the lucky - and greedy and exclusionary - so-called upper classes. England had fallen into economic ruin and it was no surprise that the anger and resentment that people felt toward government and institutions of leadership and authority (who were responsible for the mess) gave birth to punk, which as we know changed everything. Within the context of the song, which is bleak and depressing, people can't even afford milk ("the milk bottles stand empty") and all they can afford to eat is cheap, mass produced junk ("fish fingers all in a line") like fishsticks, as we call them here in North America. The big line for me in this song is "Next week will solve your problems," which speaks to the cycle of lethargy and hopelessness that so many are caught up in, unable to take action or regain control of their lives because the economic reality is so dire (skyrocketing unemployment for example) and so, they try to just not think about it; ie, put off looking for work until "next week" because there's nothing out there right now anyway. And I have always seen that line as being spoken by those same upper classes: Don't worry people, everything will be fine next week; for now, you just keep on watching TV; we'll handle everything out here. And meanwhile, they pilfer and destroy the country's economic support structures that were there to help people avoid circumstances like this in the first place. Great, great song. A big message song and all in less than a hundred words. As as per everything Wire, it is musically awesome. I have lost count of how many people I have turned on to the album 'Pink Flag.' Here's hoping I helped the lads pick up a royalty cheque or two over the years, help keep them in milk anyway. PS: Absolutely no clue why it is called Ex Lion Tamer.
@madoal I think you’re spot on man! “Fish fingers all in a line” referring to how you line up fish sticks on a baking sheet pan. Not a meal you have if you have money to spare. “The milk bottles stand empty” people used to get milk through a delivery service that would collect the empty milk bottles to be reused. This line is highlighting the fact that the normalcy of services we all come to expect during a healthy economy has slowed downed/stopped due to economic decline. As long as we stay tuned to our favorite heroes and their...
@madoal I think you’re spot on man! “Fish fingers all in a line” referring to how you line up fish sticks on a baking sheet pan. Not a meal you have if you have money to spare. “The milk bottles stand empty” people used to get milk through a delivery service that would collect the empty milk bottles to be reused. This line is highlighting the fact that the normalcy of services we all come to expect during a healthy economy has slowed downed/stopped due to economic decline. As long as we stay tuned to our favorite heroes and their weekly programming and we continue pushing forward, things have to get better next week, or soon, right? This song is a brilliant time capsule of 70’s England and is as relevant today as it will be in 50 years. As long as conservatively principled politicians and economic recessions/depressions, due to gambling futures on stock markets, persist in disrupting societal conditions, this song will never lose it’s incredibly poignant value.