I added these lyrics tonight because, after admiring this song for years, I finally understood what it meant.
Maybe it's because I am American & was misled by the word "lorry." In my heart, I knew it meant "truck," in the same way that "lift" means "elevator" or "knackered" means "tired." But the context escaped me.
Tonight, though, playing this song for friends in the context of Britpop I love, it all clicked. "It fell off the back of a lorry" is the same as "it fell of the back of a truck."
That's why the singer of this song addresses the "Officer." He's explaining that the stuff he has is not stolen, but it just fell off the back of a lorry. Not only that, he wants the officer to recognize that the kids who swiped the goods (with him?) were just making a mistake - their first. Lawrence even enlist the kids, who sing the "Oh, Officer!" lines to convince the servant of the law.
But it sounds like they're all going to jail. It fell off the back of a lorry! What a terrible excuse.
(I feel so dumb for not figuring this out sooner.)
I added these lyrics tonight because, after admiring this song for years, I finally understood what it meant.
Maybe it's because I am American & was misled by the word "lorry." In my heart, I knew it meant "truck," in the same way that "lift" means "elevator" or "knackered" means "tired." But the context escaped me.
Tonight, though, playing this song for friends in the context of Britpop I love, it all clicked. "It fell off the back of a lorry" is the same as "it fell of the back of a truck."
As this Urban Dictionary link explains: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fell+off+the+back+of+a+truck to say something "fell of the back of a truck" means it's probably stolen, but it's a lame excuse you'd give a cop.
That's why the singer of this song addresses the "Officer." He's explaining that the stuff he has is not stolen, but it just fell off the back of a lorry. Not only that, he wants the officer to recognize that the kids who swiped the goods (with him?) were just making a mistake - their first. Lawrence even enlist the kids, who sing the "Oh, Officer!" lines to convince the servant of the law.
But it sounds like they're all going to jail. It fell off the back of a lorry! What a terrible excuse.
(I feel so dumb for not figuring this out sooner.)