‘Message, The’ [6:35] (E Fletcher, M. Glover, S. Robinson, J. Chase), Mike Peters
Lead Vocals:Mike Peters
Lyrics
:
(It's like a jungle, sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under) Broken Glass everywhere People pissing on the stairs You know they just don't care I can't take the smell, can't take the noise Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice Rats in the front room, roaches in the back Junkies in the alley with a baseball bat I tried to get away but I couldn't get far 'Cause the man with the tow truck repossessed my car Don't push me Standing on the front stoop, hanging out the window Watching all the cars go by, roaring as the breezes blow Crazy lady, living in a bag Eating outta garbage pails used to be a fag hag Says she danced the tango, skip the light fandango Was zircon princess seemed to lost her senses Down at the peep show, watching all the creeps so She could tell the story to the girls back home She went to the city and got social security She had to get a pension, she couldn't make it on her own Don't push me Close to the edge I try not to lose my head Don't push me Close to the edge I try not to lose my head It's like a jungle, sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under It's like a jungle, sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under) Say what My brothers doing bad, stole my mothers TV Says she watches too much, it's just not healthy All My Children" in the daytime, "Dallas" at night Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight The bill collectors, they ring my phone And scare my wife when I'm not home Got a bum education, doubledigit inflation Can't train to the job, there's a strike at the station A neon King Kong, standing on my back Can't stop to turn around, broke my sacroiliac A mid-range migraine, cancered membrane I think I'm going insane Swear, I might hijack a plane So don't push me, I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head So don't push me, I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under Say what My son said, "Daddy, I don't want to go to school cause the teachers a jerk, he must think I'm a fool And all the kids smoke reefer, I think it'd be cheaper If I just got a job, learned to be a street sweeper Dance to the beat, shuffle my feet Wear a shirt and tie and run with the creeps Cause it's all about money, ain't a damn thing funny You got to have a con in this land of milk and honey They pushed that girl in front of the train Took her to the doctor, sewed her arm on again Stabbed that man right in his heart Gave him a transplant for a brand new start I can't run through the park 'cause it's crazy after dark Keep my hand on my gun Cause they got me on the run I feel like a outlaw Broke my last glass jaw Hear them say, "You want some more?" Livin' on a seesaw Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head Say what It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under Say what It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under A child is born with no state of mind Blind to the ways of mankind God is smiling on you but he's frowning too Because only God knows what you go through You grow in the ghetto, living second rate And your eyes will sing a song of deep hate The place that you play and where you stay Looks like one great big alleyway You'll admire all the number book-takers Thugs, pimps, pushers and the big money makers Driving big cars, spending twenties and tens You wanna grow up to be just like them, huh Smugglers, scrambler, burglars, gamblers Pickpockets, peddlers, even panhandlers You say "I'm cool, huh, I'm no fool" But then you wind up dropping out of high school Now you're unemployed, all nonvoid Walking around like you're Pretty Boy Floyd Turned stick-up kid but look what you done did Got sent up for a eight-year bid Now your manhood is took and you're a Maytag Spend the next two years as a undercover fag Being used and abused to serve like hell Til one day you was found hung dead in the cell It was plain to see that your life was lost You was cold and your body swung back and forth But now your eyes sing the sad sad song Of how you lived so fast and died so young Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge I'm trying not to lose my head It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder How I keep from going under �..
Notes
:Recorded at Sain Studios, Llandwrog, Wales
Produced by Mike Peters
Mixed by Risteard O’Monaigh & Field Marshall Slug
Engineered by Gethyn Evans
Mike Peters Notes
:”One of my first major influences as a musician was The Clash who were always a challenge to their audience. They have to take the credit for bringing Rap to the UK I remember the hostility when Grandmaster Flash ‘opened’ for them, on one of their early tours, a hostility which turned to admiration upon the release of ‘The Message.’ The stuttering lyrics have remained timeless and worked perfectly over the music of ‘War.’ The production is deliberately lo-fi, in fact the whole track was recorded and mixed in only a few hours. I may have had all the time in the world to record the album but sometimes speed ‘creates an excitement all of it’s own”.
(21st Century Fanzine #2)
Dave Sharp Notes
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Eddie MacDonald Notes
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Nigel Twist Notes
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