1. |
Up Against The Wall
04:05
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Darkhaired dangerous schoolkids
Vicious, suspicious sixteen
Jet-black blazers at the bus stop
Sullen, unhealthy and mean
Teenage guerillas on the tarmac
Fighting in the middle of the road
Supercharged FS1Es on the asphalt
The kids are coming in from the cold
Look out, listen can you hear it
Panic in the County Hall
Look out, listen can you hear it
Whitehall (got us) up against a wall
Up against the wall...
High wire fencing on the playground
High rise housing all around
High rise prices on the high street
High time to pull it all down
White boys kicking in a window
Straight girls watching where they gone
Never trust a copper in a crime car
Just whose side are you on ?
Look out, listen can you hear it
Panic in the County Hall
Look out, listen can you hear it
Whitehall (got us) up against a wall
Up against the wall...
Consternation in Brixton
Rioting in Notting Hill Gate
Fascists marching on the high street
Carving up the welfare state
Operator get me the hotline
Father can you hear me at all?
Telephone kiosk out of order
Spraycan writing on the wall
Look out, listen can you hear it
Panic in the County Hall
Look out, listen can you hear it
Whitehall got us up against a wall
Up against the wall...
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2. |
Grey Cortina
02:19
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Wish I had a grey Cortina
Whiplash aerial, racing trim
Cortina owner - no one meaner
Wish that I could be like him
Twin exhaust and rusty bumper
Chewing gum at traffic light
Stop at red but leave on amber
Grey Cortina outa sight
Wish I had a grey Cortina
Whiplash aerial, racing trim
Cortina owner - no one meaner
Wish that I could be like him
Furlined seats and lettered windscreen
Elbow on the windowsill
Eight track blazing Brucie Springsteen
Bomber jacket, dressed to kill
Wish I had a grey Cortina
Whiplash aerial, racing trim
Cortina owner - no one meaner
Wish that I could be like him
Never cop a parking ticket
Never seem to show its age
Speed police too slow to nick it
Grey Cortina got it made
Wish I had a grey Cortina
Whiplash aerial, racing trim
Cortina owner - no one meaner
Wish that I could be like him
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3. |
Too Good To Be True
04:28
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Dreamed last night I was dreaming
Somebody answered my prayer
Cried out over my shoulder
Only the devil was there
Hold no hope for the future
Or good times seeing me through
Too good to be true
Too good to be true
Can't find the floor or the wardrobe
Can't find my way to the park
Life in a bedsitter bedlam
Afraid to go home in the dark
All day today just excuse for tomorrow
Tomorrow just something to do
Too good to be true
Too good to be true
I've given up reading the papers
I've given up watching TV
Hope in hell I'm able to tell
Whatever happened to me
Facing a phase in the future
Hope I've got something to lose
Too good to be true
Too good to be true
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4. |
Ain't Gonna Take It
03:08
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Prejudice poison
Polluting this land
I'm a middle-class kiddie
But I know where I stand
We got brothers in Brixton
Backs to the wall
Bigots on the backlash
Divided we fall
But we ain't gonna take it
Ain't gonna take it
They're keeping us under
But we ain't gonna take it no more
Women with children
Have to carry the can
Till they lose them in divorce courts
To some pig of a man
We got Rees-Mogg and Johnson
Trying to get us stitched
Cos abortion and a gay scene
Only meant for the rich
But we ain't gonna take it
Ain't gonna take it
They're keeping us under
But we ain't gonna take it no more
Sisters and brothers
What have we done
We're fighting each other
Instead of the Front
Better get it together
Big trouble to come
And the odds are against us
About twenty to one
But we ain't gonna take it
Ain't gonna take it
They're keeping us under
But we ain't gonna take it no more
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5. |
Long Hot Summer
04:47
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Hey Joe, get up and go
Wouldn't like to tell you twice
Hey mac, get off my back
Didn't ask your advice
There's all this heat
Out in the street
Telling us to move along
It's gonna be a long hot summer
From now on
Hey man, I don't understand
We ain't hardly bothering you
Say fag, you're just a drag
We ain't nearly finished with you
There's all this heat
Out on the beat
Telling us we don't belong
It's gonna be a long hot summer
From now on
Hey Dan, give us a hand
We won't make it alone
But we can all make a stand
Next time the whistle's blown
So get your feet
Out on the street
When you hear the heat is on
It's gonna be a long hot summer
From now on
Look out sisters
Look out brothers
We won't be fooled again.
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6. |
The Winter Of 79
05:15
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All you kids that just sit and whine
You should have been there back in '79
You say we're giving you a real hard time
You boys are really breaking my heart
Spurs beat Arsenal, what a game
The blood was running in the drains
Intercity took the trains
And really took the place apart
That was the year Nan Harris died
And Charlie Jones committed suicide
The world we knew busted open wide
In the winter of '79
I'd been working on and off
A pint of beer was still ten bob
My brand new Bonneville got ripped off
I more or less give up trying
They stopped the Social in the spring
And quite a few communists got run in
And National Service come back in
In the winter of '79
When Marco's caff went up in flames
The Vambo boys took the blame
The SAS come and took our names
In the winter of '79
It was us poor bastards took the chop
When the tubes gone up and the buses stopped
The top people still come out on top
The government never resigned
The Carib Club got petrol bombed
The National Front was getting awful strong
They done in Dave and Dagenham Ron
In the winter of '79
When all the gay geezers got put inside
And coloured kids was getting crucified
A few fought back and a few folks died
In the winter of '79
Yes a few of us fought
And a few of us died
In the winter of '79
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7. |
The Man You Never Saw
03:26
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Have you heard an ugly whisper
Is the rumour really true
Just in time, we're next in line
They're really after me and you
Since the demonstration
Clamping down on every side
Rounding up the kids at random
Army curfew every night
Don't repeat this conversation
Don't let on we've met before
Try and make like I'm a stranger
I'm a man you never saw
Church police were round this morning
And the army's on our track
Took away my books and papers
Only just got out the back
I just called in to tell you
That your place is being watched
Don't go into work tomorrow
Try and make it down the docks
Don't repeat this conversation
Don't let on we've met before
Try and make like I'm a stranger
I'm a man you never saw
Dump your car and burn your letters
Smash your glasses, cut your hair
Buy a suit and take a raincoat
When you go, don't tell us where
Take a look outside my window
I don't recognise that van
Someone standing in the doorway
Better make it while you can
Don't repeat this conversation
Don't let on we've met before
Try and make like I'm a stranger
I'm a man you never saw
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8. |
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All you downtrodden people
Always bear the brunt
Just sit back on you fat backsides
Till you have to face the Front
Waiting till the bullyboys get you
Don't make no kind of sense
And pretty soon there'll be no room
For sitting on the fence
You better decide which side you're on
This ship goes down before too long
If Left is right then Right is Wrong
You better decide which side you're on
Too bad for the gay revolution
This is as far as we get
And if you think you're free, well listen to me
You ain't seen nothing yet
We're all gonna feel the backlash
Of puritannical power
And kicking us down into the ground
Gonna be their Finest Hour
You better decide which side you're on
The chips go down before too long
If Left is right then Right is Wrong
You better decide which side you're on
Too late, trendy thinkers
Your time is running out
Ain't no time to wonder why
Ain't no time for doubt
Clowns and Christian Soldiers
Are out to get your guts
You better decide which side you're on
Forget those ifs and buts
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9. |
You Gotta Survive
03:39
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Three boys working on a slave gang
Chained in the cottage at night
Killed the overseer, broke down the door
Now they gonna shoot us on sight
Night time sticking to the 'B' roads
Hiding from the men with the guns
Hitting the ditches
Everytime somebody comes
Every single house has been looted
Every single city's been burned
Every can of food has been opened
Every single stone has been turned
Found this Parka on a deadman
Jamie got a couple of knives
Countryside crawling with maniacs
You gotta survive
Carrion crows on the motorway
Old woman dying of the plague
She cried "put me out of my misery"
Charlie had to give her his blade
Streets full of slavers on the rampage
Wild boys running by the score
Weeks without eating
Can't carry on anymore
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10. |
Power In The Darkness
06:21
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Power in the darkness
Frightening lies from the other side
Power in the darkness
Stand up and fight for your rights
Freedom...we're talking bout your freedom
Freedom to choose what you do with your body
Freedom to believe what you like
Freedom for brothers to love one another
Freedom for black and white
Freedom from harassment, intimidation
Freedom for the mother and wife
Freedom from Big Brother's interrogation
Freedom to live your own life... I'm talking 'bout
Power in the darkness
Frightening lies from the other side
Power in the darkness
Stand up and fight for your rights
Today institutions fundamental to the British way of life are under attack
Our schools and universities, social housing, pensions, public transport, Legal Aid, even our magnificent Health Service is no longer safe from those who would undermine everything decent and human in our society... and it's about time we said enough is enough
And sawa a return to the traditional British values of tolerance, justice, equality, fairness, standing up for the underdog, for the weak... and universal human dignity and freedom.
Not the freedom for the City Of London to print money to pay themselves obscene bonuses while making the rest of us pay for it with austerity.
Not the freedom for floppy haired millionaire toffs to flog off our last remaining public services to their boardroom cronies and stash the cash offshore.
Not the freedom for swivel-eyed racist bigots to shout insults at British citizens out of the windows of passing cars.
Because make no mistake about it: when The Sun, The Daily Mail and The Daily Express have the gall to call themselves champions of freedom, what they mean is...
Freedom from the unemployed, freedom from the destitute
Freedom to treat people like scum
Freedom from honesty, freedom from integrity
Freeedom to look after Number One
Freedom from the Europeans, freedom from immigrants
Freedom from alternative views
Freedom from the needs of ordinary people
Freedom from the likes of you..."
Power in the darkness
Frightening lies from the other side
Power in the darkness
Stand up and fight for your rights
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11. |
Martin
03:28
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I just want to tell you about Martin
Cos nobody I know has got a brother like him
As kids we could never be parted
The neighbours all knew us as the terrible twins
At school some kids were always looking for a fight
But Martin never wanted a fuss
Bigmouth Brown thought he'd push him around
Being three years older than us
So I smashed him in the teeth with the cloakroom stool
I got six of the best and suspended from school
But it was worth it with a brother like Martin
It was worth it with a brother like him
We used to nick motors for a joyride
Till we rammed a Black Maria in this XJ6
To give Martin time to get clear
I tried to punch a few policemen before I got nicked
I got Borstal for taking and driving away
And beating up the boys in blue
But Martin never missed a single visiting day
He hitched from Clapham to Crewe
With all me racing mags and the little bits of news
Smuggling in ciggies and a little bit of booze
No-one ever had a brother like Martin
No-one ever had a brother like him
People get the wrong impression with Martin
I know he doesn't mix much but he's no snob
The weekend I got out of remand home
He'd got Uncle Ruby to find me this job
And back at my Nan's he'd repainted my room
And bought me a brand new carpet
There was all me old records and books on a shelf
And a secondhand telly from the market
You can get a bit hard when you've been inside
But I hugged the old bastard and I almost cried
Cos no-one ever had a brother like Martin
No-one ever had a brother like him
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12. |
Glad To Be Gay
04:50
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The British Police are the best in the world
I don't believe one of these stories I've heard
'Bout them raiding our pubs for no reason at all
Lining the customers up by the wall
Picking out people and knocking them down
Resisting arrest as they're kicked on the ground
Searching their houses and calling them queer
I don't believe that sort of thing happens here
Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way
Pictures of naked young women are fun
In Titbits and Playboy, page three of The Sun
There's no nudes in Gay News our last magazine
But they still find excuses to call it obscene
Read how disgusting we are in the press
The News of The World and the Sunday Express
Molesters of children, corruptors of youth
It's there in the paper, it must be the truth
Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way
Have you heard the story about Peter Wells
Who one day was arrested and dragged to the cells
For being in love with a man of 18
The vicar found out they'd been having a scene
The magistrate sent him for trial by the Crown
He even appealed, but they still sent him down
He was only mistreated a couple of years
Cos even in prison they...
Look after the queers.
Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way
For 41 years now I've fought for the right
For people to love just whoever they like
Today we can laugh as we march to the park
And Clause 28's been consigned to the past
If Gay Liberation means freedom for all
A label is no liberation at all
Bisexual, lesbian, flexible, straight
We're here and we're human and... all happy to say
Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way
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13. |
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We first met in the winter
Said "let's give it a try"
I swallowed my fears
A couple of years
Just living a lie
I'd just come from the country
Wide-eyed and naive
I signed on the line
I signed a long time
Now you won't let me leave... but you
Don't take no for an answer (x3)
When you've nothing to lose... no you
Don't take no for an answer( x3)
Put yourself in my shoes
I don't want any trouble
I ain't after a fight
But well-respected man
Please understand, man
You're standing in my light
No use sticking together
I've gotta get out and get off
I offered you a slice
You told me no dice
Cos you wanted the lot... but you
Don't take no for an answer (x3)
When you've nothing to lose... no you
Don't take no for an answer( x3)
Put yourself in my shoes
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14. |
2-4-6-8 Motorway
06:51
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Drive my truck midway to the motorway station
Fairlane cruiser coming up on the left hand side
Headlight shining, driving rain on the window frame
Little young Lady Stardust hitching a ride... and it's
2-4-6-8 ain't never too late
Me and my radio truckin' on thru the night
3-5-7-9 on a double white line
Motorway sun coming up with the morning light
Whizzkid sitting pretty on your two-wheel stallion
This ol' ten-ton lorry got a bead on you
Ain't no use setting up with a bad companion
Ain't nobody get the better of you-know-who
2-4-6-8 ain't never too late
Me and my radio truckin' on thru the night
3-5-7-9 on a double white line
Motorway sun coming up with the morning light
Well there ain't no route you could choose to lose the two of us
Ain't nobody know when you're acting right or wrong
No-one knows if a roadway's leading nowhere
Gonna keep on driving home on the road I'm on...
2-4-6-8 ain't never too late
Me and my radio truckin' on thru the night
3-5-7-9 on a double white line
Motorway sun coming up with the morning light
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Tom Robinson London, UK
Tom Robinson (b.1950) is a UK songwriter & broadcaster first known in the 70s as an anti-racist and LGBT campaigner. He released 19 albums between 1975-2001 with various bands and has co-written songs with Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Dan Hartman and Manu Katché. He's an award-winning presenter at BBC Radio 6 Music, and released Only The Now (his first album in 19 years) in October 2015. ... more
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