our favorite shop - the style council

1985

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Our_Favourite_Shop

side a.

1. shout to the top! (usa remix)

i was half in mind - i was half in need,
and as the rain came down - i dropped to my knees and prayed


i said "oh heavenly thing - please cleanse my soul,
i've seen all on offer and I'm not impressed at all".

i was halfway home - i was half insane,
and every shop window i looked in just looked the same

i said send me a sign to save my life
'cause at this moment in time there is nothing certain in
these day's of mine

y'see it's a frightening thing when it dawns upon you
that i know as much as the day i was born

and though i wasn't asked (i might as well stay)
and promise myself each and every day - that -

when you're knocked on your back - an' your life's a flop
and when you're down on the bottom there's nothing else

but to shout to the top - shout!

2. walls come tumbling down

album commercial on t.v. 1985

3. our favorite shop

4. with everything to lose

live

from the playground to the wasteground
hope ends at 17 -
sweeping floors and filling shelves
forced into government schemes -
11 years spent to dig out ditches,
forget your schoolday dreams -
guarantees and lie-filled speeches,
but nothings what it seems -
qualified and patronised and with everything to lose.
no choice or chance for the future
the rich enjoy less tax -
dress the girls in pretty pink
the shit goes to the blacks
a generation's heart torn out
and covered up the facts
the only thing they'll understand
is a wall against their backs
the only hope now left for those - with everything to lose.

in desperation empty eyes,
signed up and thrown away -
there's drugs replacing dignity,
the short sharp shock repaid -
there'll be no money if you dare to question
working the tory way -
the truth is up there carved in stone,
where 21 dead now lay -
a family's loss for a few pounds saved -
with everything to lose.

5. luck

6. the lodger (or she was only a shopkeeper's daughter)

original version

single version

no peace for the wicked - only war on the poor
they're batting on pickets - trying to even the score
it's all inclusive - the dirt comes free
and you can be all that you want to be
oh an equal chance and an equal pay
but equally there's no equal pay
there's room on top - if you tow the line
and if you believe all this you must be out of your mind

there's only room for those the same
those who play the leeches game
don't get settled in this place
the lodger's terms are in disgrace

getcha brains blown out - in a captain's mess
stand for the queen if you can stand the test
it's all thrown in and the lies come free
and you can be all that they want you to be

oh if you work hard you can be the boss
but if you don't work at all then that's nobody's loss
there's room on top - if you dig in low
and the idea is what they reap you sow

with an old school tie and a reference
you can cover up crimes in their defence
it's all thrown in and the lies come free
and you can be all that they want you to be

7. down in the seine

catch me i'm falling so fast and i can't seem to find
all the reasons i had when the purpose was mine
now i stumble so fast rolling into the night
kiss me quick before i land and am broken in two
keep me on the right track, hold my dreams in tact too -
i get lost in this place - i get lost, yes it's true


quand on n'a plus rien en soi - quand on n'a plus de refuge -
quand on ne peut plus fuir - quand on ne sais on courir
noir comme la nuit - oui, noir comme mon ame -
noir comme les eaux - dans lesquels je sombre


help me i'm sinking so fast into waters unplanned
that i once held onto but have got out of hand
now the things that i loved are the things i can't stand

squeeze me slow before i come to that part of the ground
it's a million miles up and a million miles down
i get lost in between and i wait to be found

quand on n'a plus rien en soi - quand on n'a plus de refuge -
quand on ne peut plus fuir - quand on ne sais ou courir -
noir comme la nuit - oui, noir comme mon ame -
noir comme les eaux - dans lesquels je sombre

and in the waters i sink and in the waters i drink
until i rise to the top which in truth is not
to make you feel your alright, to make you feel there's no fight -

side b.

8. a man of great promise

paul weller live

9.boy who cried wolf

10. the stand-up comics instructions

11. a stone throw away

for liberty there is a cost - it's broken skulls and leather cosh,
from the boys in uniform - now you know whose side their on -
with backing - with blessing,
from earthly gods not heaven,
a stones throw away from it all.


whatever pleasures those who get - from stripping skin with rhino whip,
are the kind that must be stopped - before their kind take all we've got -
with loving - with caring,
they take great pride in working,
the stones throw away from it all.


whenever honesty persists - you'll hear the snap of broken ribs,
of anyone who'll take no more - of the lying bastards roar -
in chile - in poland,
johannesburg - south yorkshire,
a stones throw away: now we're there.

12. internationalists

if you believe you have an equal share
in the whole wide world and all it bears
an' that your share is no less or more than
your fellow sisters and brother man
then take this knowledge and with it insist
declare yourself - an internationalist!


if you lay no blame at the feet of next door
an' realise this struggle is also yours
an' that without the strength of us altogether
the world as it stands will remain forever
then take this challenge and make it exist!
rise up as - an internationalist!


if your eyes see deeper than the colour of skin
then you must also see we are the same within
an' the rights you expect are the rights of all
now it's up to you to lead the call
that liberty must come at the top of the list
stand proud as - an internationalist!

if you see the mistake in having bosses at all
you will also see how they all must fall
for under this system there is no such thing
as the democracy our leaders would have us sing
no time for lies now as only truth must persist
rise up now and declare yourself - an internationalist!





 

13. come to milton keyens

14. all gone away

the wind blows whispers down the street,
having free reign with the town so bleak -
like everything else it's - all gone away.
the town hall clock gives forth it's chime,
for no-one there to ask the time -
like everything else they've - all gone away.



the grocer's shop hangs up it's sign
the sign say's closed it's a sign of the times -
like everything else they've - all gone away.



but somewhere the party never ends
and greedy hands rub together again -
shipping out the profits that they've stolen


an eerie wail comes from the pit,
the ghosts of the men take the morning shift -
just like clockwork - rusting away.


come take a walk upon these hills
and see how monetarism kills -
whole communities -
even families -
there's nothing left so - they've all gone away.

15. homebreakers

good morning day, how do you do
i wonder - what will you do for me?
i should be on my way, i should be earning pay,
i should be all the things that i'm not -
and i've tried on my own, now there's nothing to keep me at home,
like my brother has too - gotta leave to get out of this view,
you see they, tell you to move around -
if you can't find work in your own town.


as i rise from my bed i can hear the old man
blaming heaven & mother for this
30 years with one firm, 13 months redundant,
yes i'd say that's unlucky for some -

now our tears fall like rain, as my mother walks me to my train,
with a kiss & a wave - "come home weekends" - that's if i can save.
i swear i'll take it out on the man -
who ever devised this economy plan.

all the love in the world - can't put - dinner on the table -
all the hate that i feel no love could put right

good morning day, how do you do
i wonder - what will you do for me?
i should be on my way, i should be earning pay,
i should be all the things that i'm not -

and i've tried on my own, now there's nothing to keep me at home,
all the love and the strength has been taken by this government,
you see they, tell you to move around -
if you can't find work in your own town.

father's in the kitchen, counting out coins,
mother's in the bedroom, looking through pictures of her boys,
one is in london, looking for a job,
the other's in whitehall - looking for those responsible!

+ 16. shout to the top!

17. long hot summer

18. speak like child