Cocaine Socialism Lyrics
When you said "I want to see you
To discuss your contribution
To the future of our nation's heart and soul
Six o'clock, my place, Whitehall"
But you said "It doesn't matter"
"I understand your situation
And your image, and I'm flattered
Oh and I'd just like to tell you
That I love all of your albums
Could you sign this for my daughter?
She's in hospital, her name is Miriam
Now I'll get down to the gist:
Do you want a line of this?
Are you a (sniff)
socialist?"
Buzzin' all the time
Just one hit
And I feel great
And I support
The welfare state
Oh, you must be socialist
'Cos you're always off out on the piss
In your private member's bar
Oh yes you are
Yer superstar
Well you sing about common people
And the mis-shapes and the misfits
So can you bring them to my party
And get them all to sniff this?
And all I'm really saying
Is come on and rock the vote for me
All I'm really saying
Is come on roll up that note for me
Your choice in all of this is:
Do you want hits?
Or d'you want misses?
Are you a socialist, yeah
Socialist, yeah
Socialist, yeah
Oh yeah"
Just as long as you don't try to compete with me
And we've waited such a long time
For the chance to help our own kind, so now
Please come on and tow the party line
Oh you owe it to yourself
Don't think of anybody else
And we promise we won't tell
Oh we won't tell, and we won't sell"
No we won't
No we won't
Your choice in all of this is: Do you want hits? Or d'you want misses?
This is truly a great Pulp song. Listen to it
This seems to be pretty straightforwardly about Tony Blair and New Labour and how they'd moved away from socialist values and the use of image and celebrities to get them into power in the '97 general election, with such cringe inducing sights as Blair and Noel Gallagher cracking jokes about Cocaine in number 10. This song is just a satire of that whole time and ideas. I must agree a truly great Pulp song.
Wait, this IS Glory Days
hastalavictoria, Jarvis wrote the lyrics to 'Cocaine Socialism' first, but decided he didn't want it do discourage people from voting Labour. So he re-wrote it as Glory Days, because the tune was too good to waste.♥
csa has it down pretty much. also important to mention how it's a play on champagne socialism. just like rich people being all glamorous and leftist and hip, but the champagne of the past had turned into the cocaine of britpop. almost like a common people type meaning but being specifically political as opposed to the personal as political from CP.
Sounds very much like Glory Days.