Tag: songwriting

Noah

He had his head turned in a time that we forgot
He had his head turned, flattered by God
God said you’re the best of ‘em
Forget about the rest of ‘em
Build yourself and ark and let the bastards drown
Build yourself and ark and let the bastards drown
Build yourself and ark and let the bastards drown

God said Noah a hard rain’s gonna come
God said creation will be undone
So build yourself an ark
Build it big and smart
Build yourself an ark and let the bastards drown
Build yourself an ark and let the bastards drown
Build yourself an ark and let the bastards drown

Woah oh Noah won’t you let us on the ark
Woah Noah won’t you let us on the ark
Woah oh Noah won’t you let us on the ark
It’s 22 miles and we’re sinking fast

The animals came in two by two
The elephant and the kangaroo
Roo said my sister
Please save her mister
Noah said no, we’re gonna let the bastards drown
Noah said no, we’re gonna let the bastards drown
Noah said no, we’re gonna let the bastards drown

Woah oh Noah won’t you let us on the ark
Woah Noah won’t you let us on the ark
Woah oh Noah won’t you let us on the ark
It’s 22 miles and we’re sinking fast

The people heard that Noah was planning his escape
The people heard that Noah had left them to their fate
The people stormed the ark
And started to embark
What shall we do with Noah, shall we let the bastard drown
What shall we do with Noah, shall we let the bastard drown
What shall we do with Noah, shall we let the bastard drown

Woah oh Noah won’t you let us on the ark
Woah Noah won’t you let us on the ark
Woah oh Noah won’t you let us on the ark
It’s 22 miles and we’re sinking fast

The people stormed the ark, there was plenty inside
There was a little rain but no rising tide
They sang it’s always better
When we all work together
And there’s no need to ever let a single bastard drown
And there’s no need to ever let a single bastard drown
And there’s no need to ever let a single bastard drown

Woah oh Noah won’t you let us on the ark
Woah Noah won’t you let us on the ark
Woah oh Noah won’t you let us on the ark
It’s 22 miles and we’re sinking fast
It’s 22 miles and we’re sinking fast

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Benny Greene

In the year of Our Lord Eighteen Hundred and Six
Young Benny Greene’s up to old tricks
Brewing beer in the sticks with old Billy Buck
He’s about to come into some luck

‘Cause Benny’s old neighbours, Sir Pat and Lady B
Got into a jam, needed a guarantee
Right place, right time, Billy said please
And the plantation owners handed over the keys

Benny Greene kept slaves
When Britannia ruled the waves
Yeah, Benny Greene kept slaves
It’s the price of a pint he says

Now Benny the brewer’s a slave owner too
A slave owner’s wealth is his to accrue
Arguing the toss in the local rag
That slavery ain’t so bad

But the people of Bury got fed up with Benny Greene
So he left young Eddie to run the brewery
And set up a West India company instead
The labour of slaves now his daily bread

Benny Greene kept slaves
When Britannia ruled the waves
Yeah, Benny Greene kept slaves
It’s the price of a pint he says

All good things lamented Benny Greene
When abolition came in 1833
But it turned out business barely took a hit
‘Cause there was compo, really quite a bit

You see, the thing about compensation in those days
Is it went to the owners and not the slaves
So they worked on the plantation, still engaged
But this time on a minimum wage

Benny Greene kept slaves
When Britannia ruled the waves
Yeah, Benny Greene kept slaves
It’s the price of a pint he says

While Eddie took the brewery and merged with Freddie King
Charlie went to St Kitts to do his thing
In all the pleasures of a slaver did he partake
Leaving thirteen bastards in his wake

Eddie became a Tory MP
Deputy Lieutentant and a JP
Master of the hunt, he would speak at great length
And the brewery went from strength to strength

Benny Greene kept slaves
When Britannia ruled the waves
Yeah, Benny Greene kept slaves
It’s the price of a pint he says

The business passed on to Walter Greene
Fortuitously born at the brewery
Hunting, driving and sailing yachts
While Lake built an empire ne’er to be forgot

The biggest brewer now in the UK
But there are reparations to be paid
For old Benny Greene’s slavery days
Not forgetting Charlies wayward ways

Benny Greene kept slaves
When Britannia ruled the waves
Yeah, Benny Greene kept slaves
It’s the price of a pint he says

The good folk of St Kitts have come to collect
The good folk of St Kitts say never forget
Put down your IPA and listen to their tale
There’s more than hops and barley in the story of your ale

Benny Greene kept slaves
When Britannia ruled the waves
Yeah, Benny Greene kept slaves
It’s the price of a pint he says

Put down your IPA and listen to their tale
There’s more than hops and barley in the story of your ale

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John Charles Jones

John Charles Jones
Had crops in October
John Charles Jones
When it started to rain
John Charles Jones
Fields are under water
Now he’ll have to wait for Spring to come
To plant ‘em all again

John Charles Jones
Crops are underwater
John Charles Jones
But nobody came
John Charles Jones
Because there wasn’t any funding
Now he’ll have to wait for Spring to come
To plant ‘em all again

And the rain came down
And the rain came down
And the rain came down
On saturated ground
And the rain came down
And the rain came down
And the rain came down
When Storm Henk came around

John Charles Jones
Says the climate is a-changin’
John Charles Jones
Says it’s easy to explain
John Charles Jones
Says the atmosphere is warming
Now he’ll have to wait for Spring to come
To plant his crops again

And the rain came down
And the rain came down
And the rain came down
On saturated ground
And the rain came down
And the rain came down
And the rain came down
When Storm Henk came around

When climate change came round

John Charles Jones
Crops are under water
Now he’ll have to wait for spring to come
To plant ‘em all again

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Arise, Sir Tim

From Orwell’s imaginary pub
To an invitation to join the club
Arise, Sir Tim
We’re sure you’re gonna fit right in

Arise, Sir Tim Wetherspoon
The cheap booze in warehouses tycoon
The Brexit beermat cartoon
The politics of public and saloon

Arise, Sir Tim
Whose pubs are never prim
Whose pint is always full to the brim
Whose views are uniformly grim

From Orwell’s imaginary pub
To the King’s chummy little club
Raise a glass to Empire and Crown
You were never going to turn one down

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Step Up

You can see it
But life goes on
All around you
Like there’s nothing wrong
Step up, step up
Step up, step up

The sticker in the window
Reads Free Palestine
You know that it’s right
But you don’t have the time
Step up, step up
Step up, step up

Because a better world
Begins with us
A better world
If we just step up
Step up
Step up, step up

Dead babies daily
In your feed
Ethnic cleansing
Guaranteed
Step up, step up
Step up, step up

Dead babies daily
Every day
We’re privileged enough
We can look away
Step up, step up
Step up, step up

Because a better world
Begins with us
A better world
If we just step up
Step up
Step up, step up

Because a better world
Begins with us
A better world
If we just step up
Step up
Step up

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Trickle Down Town: Reviewed by The Devil Has The Best Tuna

From the excoriating take down of the unhinged right on Bin Bags to the Duryesque Cockney wordplay of title track Trickle Down Town with it’s refrain of “only shit trickles down”, Steve and his Protest Family offer more opposition in 43 minutes than Starmer and his gang of wannabe Tories have offered in the last 3 years.

From four hour waits for ambulances to dumping toxic and human waste into our rivers Steve chronicles the state of the nation like a furious Billy Bragg fronting Chumbawumba. 

Read the whole review here.

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Not a Damn Thing

Just Stop Oil getting on a plane
Gap year protest I hear you all complain
But you know she’s right and she has a life too
What exactly do you think that she’s supposed to do
Affected by the issues, here’s a helpline you can ring
It might make you feel better, but it won’t change a damn thing

Not a damn thing

You could be more mindful, here’s a book to colour in
But that won’t stop the fascism they’re tryin’ to usher in
Or you could do some yoga, do a downward dog or two
Take a deep breath and welcome in the new you
Affected by the issues, here’s a helpline you can ring
It might make you feel better, but it won’t change a damn thing

Not a damn thing
Not a damn thing

It won’t change a damn thing, but we can change anything
It won’t change a damn thing, but we can change anything…. (Yes, we can)

One has got the eyes, the other’s got the stare
There ain’t a fag paper between them to be fair
They ain’t on your side, you know this much is true
They ain’t on your side, so what you gonna do
Affected by the issues, here’s a helpline you can ring
It might make you feel better, but it won’t change a damn thing

Not a damn thing
Not a damn thing

They won’t change a damn thing, but we can change anything
They won’t change a damn thing, but we can change anything…yes, we can

How about some CBT or pop a pill or two
How about you drown it out in your choice of booze
Maybe you could meditate, and it would be OK
Maybe if we stick together there’s a better way
Affected by the issues, here’s a helpline you can ring
It might make you feel better, but it won’t change a damn thing

Not a damn thing
Not a damn thing

It won’t change a damn thing, but we can change anything
It won’t change a damn thing, but we can change anything…yes, we can

Just Stop Oil getting on a plane
Just Stop Oil glued to the road again
You say the wrong tactics at the wrong time
But what are you prepared to do to combat climate crime
Affected by the issues, here’s a helpline you can ring
It might make you feel better, but it won’t change a damn thing

Not a damn thing
Not a damn thing

It won’t change a damn thing, but we can change anything
It won’t change a damn thing, but we can change anything…yes, we can

Not a damn thing
Not a damn thing
Not a damn thing
Not a damn thing

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Perfectly Decent

As crass as Johnson’s letterbox
As nasty as GB News
As hateful as Douglas Murray
As ugly as Suella’s views

She says they’re mainstream
She says they’re insightful
Perfectly decent

Like a speech from the Right Honourable Member
For Northeast Somerset
From Bournemouth to Blackpool Council
They’re as bad as you will get

She says they’re mainstream
She says they’re insightful
Perfectly decent

From Enoch Powell’s rivers of blood
To Thatcher’s apartheid friend
From swarm and invasion to describe immigration
To the hostile environment

She says they’re mainstream
She says they’re insightful
Perfectly decent

So who needs Tommy Robinson
Who needs the Britain First crowd
Who needs Reform, who needs Reclaim
When the Tories are saying it loud

She says they’re mainstream
She says they’re insightful
Perfectly decent

She says they’re mainstream
She says they’re insightful
But they’re just racist

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Reviewed by The Rocking Magpie

What I do like though are the punchy and vibrant Dead End Friends and the crackling Supersonic, which is no relation to the Oasis song of the same title; but I think Noel wishes he could still write a song as insightful as this is.

You can read the full review here.

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