Saturday, July 12, 2008

The more things change the more they stay the same

Heartland from The The's Infected, because it came up in conversation with some fellow Loons yesterday...





Beneath the old iron bridges, across the Victorian parks

And all the frightened people running home before dark
Past the Saturday morning cinema
That lies crumbling to the ground
And the piss stinking shopping centre in the new side of town

I've come to smell the seasons change and watch the city
As the sun goes down again

Here comes another winter
Of long shadows and high hopes
Here comes another winter
Waitin' for utopia
Waitin' for hell to freeze over

This is the land where nothing changes
The land of red buses and blue blooded babies
This is the place where pensioners are raped
And the hearts are being cut from the welfare state

Let the poor drink the milk while the rich eat the honey
Let the bums count their blessings while they count the money

So many people can't express what's on their minds
Nobody knows them, nobody ever will
Until their backs are broken, their dreams are stolen
And they can't get what they want, then they're gonna get angry!
Well it ain't written in the papers but its written on the walls
The way this country is divided to fall
So the cranes are moving on the skyline
Trying to knock down this town
But the stains on the heartland can never be removed
from this country that's sick, sad and confused

Here comes another winter
Of long shadows and high hopes
Here comes another winter
Waitin' for utopia
Waitin' for hell to freeze over

The ammunition's being passed and the Lord's been praised
But the wars on the televisions will never be explained
All the bankers gettin' sweaty beneath their white collars
As the pound in our pocket turns into a dollar

This is the 51st state - of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state - of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state - of the U.S. of A.
This is the 51st state - of the U.S.A.

This is the 51st state - of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state - of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state - of the U.S.A.
This is the 51st state
State
State
State
State
State



was this really released as long ago as 1986?

f*** me...


/ old

.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Incredible.

I play this CD (Infected, by The The) quite often and I thought it might be apt to release the single at the back end of this year.

The Antagonist said...

Heartland's a sad indictment of so many things on so many levels.

Matt Johnson appears to have had a head-start on everyone else....

ARMAGEDDON DAYS ARE HERE

They're 5 miles high as the crow flies
leavin' vapour trails against a blood red sky
Movin' in from the East toward the West
with Balaclava helmets over their heads, yes!

But if you think that Jesus Christ is coming
Honey you've got another thing coming
If he ever finds out who's hi-jacked his name
He'll cut out his heart and turn in his grave

Islam is rising
The Christians mobilising
The world is on its elbows and knees
It's forgotten the message and worships the creeds

It's war, she cried, It's war, she cried, this is war
Drop your possessions, all you simple folk
You will fight them on the beaches in your underclothes
You will thank the good lord for raising the union jack
You'll watch the ships sail out of harbour
and the bodies come floating back

If the real Jesus Christ were to stand up today
He'd be gunned down cold by the C.I.A.
Oh, the lights that now burn brightest behind stained glass
Will cast the darkest shadows upon the human heart
But God didn't build himself that throne
God doesn't live in Israel or Rome
God doesn’t belong to the yankee dollar
God doesn't plant the bombs for Hezbollah
God doesn't even go to church
And God won't send us down to Allah to burn
No, God will remind us what we already know
That the human race is about to reap what it's sown

The world is on its elbows and knees
It's forgotten the message and worships the creeds
Armageddon days are here again

Shahid said...

You don't need to print the lyrics for me, that's for sure.