Yesterday, I couldn’t touch things Today, I can touch things Yesterday, I couldn’t sing Today, I’m singing I’m singing I’m singing
What about me? I’m CEV A year in isolation, cough free Does anyone care about my captivity?
Yesterday I couldn’t go out Today I can go out Yesterday, I couldn’t sing Today, I’m singing I’m singing I’m singing
Kids with vaccines Wanna live their dreams Sick of the disease Time to do what they please So, is it goodbye Jason and Joanna?
Yesterday, I couldn’t work things out Today, I still can’t work things out But yesterday, I couldn’t sing Today, I’m singing I’m singing I’m singing
What about me? I’m CEV A year in isolation, cough free Does anyone care about me?
Yesterday, I couldn’t touch things Today, I can touch things Yesterday, I couldn’t sing Today, I’m singing I’m singing I’m singing I’m singing I’m singing
Born in Hammersmith Went to school at Eton Then Trinity College Oxford Presided over the Tory Association Went into the City Started a hedge fund Amassed what they call A significant fortune Estimated worth 150 million Married into money Helen The Chair A mate of his sister’s Who was always there
Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish
Moved into politics In ‘97 Didn’t get elected then Or even at the next ‘un In Scotland they though he was Too posh Canvassing with nanny Got a resounding 9% Fuck off, toff Complained to Piggy Cameron That his quotas weren’t right Said parliament oughta be 95% white Nicked a speech off Trevor Kavanagh Faked an interview and then Got a seat in North East Somerset In 2010
Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish
In parliament he became King of the filibuster Thought he was funny With his history and verse Holding the record in the Commons For the longest word spoken But spoke other words That were even worse Addressing members of the far-right Traditional Britain society Who would have some of us Made deportees And said quarter of a million quid Spent on MPs portraits Was just chicken feed
Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish
He got a hand up into government From a fellow Old Etonian Leader of the House of Commons, no less Then was kept away from the mics and the cameras After he said the Grenfell victims Lacked common sense Now , chief Eurosceptic Out of all the Eurosceptics Said Trump will be our best ally After Brexit He likes Brits to be Brits And the poor to be poor And says gay marriage Still breaks the church’s law
Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish
He broke the lockdown rules ‘Cos he prefers a Latin mass His relationship with god Is more important, more pious Than your relationship With coronavirus He wasn’t born to follow He was born to lead And his vicious defence of the status quo Is just born of greed
Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish Jacob’s fish are happy fish But Jacob can just fuck off
After the success of Santa is English, we’ve decided for as long as we’re locked down we’ll produce and put out a new video every few weeks, recorded and shot in isolation but brought together by our nascent mixing and video editing skills and the power of the internet.
The first one lands this week, using up previously unreleased footage from the last time that we were allowed to meet up outdoors, after that, we really are flying solo (together).
We hit some real form with great shows at What’s Cookin’ and The Birds Nest when the curtain unexpectedly fell in March. We girded our loins and learned how to fake a live-but-beaming-in-from-different-locations video, which served us well for a couple of online festivals (and a massive shout out is due here for Joe Solo, Matt Hill and Pete Yen for getting WSO Isolation Festival not only off the ground but out in front of anyone else hosting online festivals, including the big corporates).
As soon as the noose loosened a little, we started the occasional socially-distanced park meeting with instruments and shot our video for the, now online, Tolpuddle Martyrs’ Festival in a little-known Walthamstow beauty spot.
Slightly less restricted again, we were able to just about stay two metres apart in Steve’s house where we played a few online gigs, either live or pre-recorded, and took advantage of the fine summer weather to enjoy each other’s company in the garden over a drink or two.
But then London went from tier two to tier three to lockdown to tier three and now tier four. Face-to-face ain’t happening but undaunted while more than a little disappointed, we thought we’d find out just what we could do together in isolation. Although The debased street music of the vulgar was all recorded at Steve’s house, this track had to be recorded in five houses on equipment ranging from mobile phones to inexpensive USB interfaces, free software and, in some cases, our employer’s laptop (shh!).
So here it is, our Christmas gift to you. We hope you like it. Keep smiling, keep fighting, and we’ll see you in the flesh soon with any luck.
Never less than thought-provoking, whilst also being highly entertaining, the band who to my mind can be seen as a musical equivalent of Coldwar Steve, indeed the group that can be relied upon to contribute to the soundtrack of the fight against inequality and a better, fairer world, not least because they have something eminently worthwhile to say, deserve a listen.
It’s been four years (four years!) since the last Protest Family release but finally we’ve got something to share with you that’ll give you an idea of what we sound like these days.
It’s a 100% DIY affair, recorded mostly at my house with some percussion recorded at Andi’s but that said, we’re pretty pleased with the results.
A DIY release comes with a DIY marketing department, of course, and that’s, um, you lot. So do us a favour and tell everyone you know and if you enjoy the EP then tell ’em all again, and if anyone fancies reviewing it then please let us know; someone else’s words always carry so much more weight than ours on occasions such as these.
If you really, really want a copy but finance is an issue, get in touch privately, I’m sure that we can sort something out.
Steve White & The Protest Family 