‘Unsafe Building (1990)’ (The Alarm)

‘Unsafe Building (1990)’ [4:06] (MacDonald/Peters), The Alarm
Lead Vocals:Mike Peters
Lyrics
:

Declare yourself an unsafe building
Suffer the indignation of your world,

To climb the ladders you've gotta suss out the snakes
Remember your height Remember to never look down.

For now you've made your choice
You've gotta take your chance
Find a way out now

For I
I have declared myself unsafe
I have declared myself unsafe

Come out of the cupboard and into the real world
Open the window and let some light into your life
It's dark in the tunnel but keep on coming through

Straight down the line and sure enough you'll see the lights that shine

For now you're young
You've got to run
You've got to take the chance
Find a way out now

Oh now now I
I have declared myself unsafe
I have declared myself unsafe

Behind the wardrobe there lies a better life
Burn all your old clothes
Start again make yourself something new
Rebuild your life
Rebuild your home
Rethink your values
Rethink yourself right through

Oh now now I
I have declared myself unsafe
I have declared myself
Unsafe, unsound, unknown, unwanted, unnecessary
I've been condemmed
Oh I'm unsafe

Yes I am

Oh  I
I have declared myself unsafe
I have declared myself
Oh I
I have declared myself unsafe
I have declared myself
Oh I
I have declared myself unsafe
I have declared myself

Notes
:Produced by The Alarm
Engineered by Mark Phythanian
Recorded at Amazon Studios, Liverpool

Mike Peters Notes
At the time a was afraid for the life of The Alarm and, as with “The Road”, reworking “Unsafe” was another examination of the foundations upon which we were formed. I was trying to send a signal with the video that all was not well in the camp. “Each man kills a thing he loves for better or for worse.”. Two versions of the video exist, the edits were made by IRS who wanted a “safe” version for TV

(Internet interview 1996)