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The Specials - Ghost Town 1981
I found an old VHS at home with this music video in it.
(via buttondownmoda)
Blank Expression - The Specials
Where did you get that blank expression on your face?
(via diddywah)
A different live recording from the one I posted before.
Iconic Ska band The Specials play their famous song Monkey Man live for Rock Goes to College on the BBC.
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye!
Tell you baby,
You huggin up the big monkey man
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye!
Tell you baby,
You huggin up the big monkey man
I never saw you, I only heard of you
huggin up the big monkey man
I never saw you, I only heard of you
huggin up the big monkey man
It’s no lie, it’s no lie
Them a tell me,
You huggin up the big monkey man
It’s no lie, it’s no lie
Them a tell me,
You huggin up the big monkey man
Now I know that, now I understand
You’re turning a monkey on me
Now I know that, now I understand
You’re turning a monkey on me
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye!
Tell you baby,
You huggin up the big monkey man
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye!
Tell you baby,
You huggin up the big monkey man
I was on my way to Banbury Cross,
Then I see a monkey upon a white horse
With rings on he fingers, bells on him toes
Sing a little song, wherever he be
‘Cos he’s a monkey, ‘cos he’s a monkey
‘Cos he’s a weedy little monkey man
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye!
Tell you baby,
You huggin up the big monkey man
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye!
Tell you baby,
You huggin up the big monkey man
(via theoldludwigvan)
Legendary Ska band The Specials play Monkey Man, followed by Blank Expression, at Montreux, Switzerland 1980.
Monkey Man:
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye
Tell you baby, you huggin up the big monkey man
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye
Tell you baby, you huggin up the big monkey man
I never saw you, I only heard of you
huggin up the big monkey man
I never saw you, I only heard of you
huggin up the big monkey man
It’s no lie, it’s no lie
Them a tell me, you huggin up the big monkey man
It’s no lie, it’s no lie
Them a tell me, you huggin up the big monkey man
Now I know that, now I understand
You’re turning a monkey on me
Now I know that, now I understand
You’re turning a monkey on me
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye
Tell you baby, you huggin up the big monkey man
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye
Tell you baby, you huggin up the big monkey man
I was on my way to Banbury Cross,
Then I see a monkey upon a white horse
With rings on he fingers, bells on him toes
Sing a little song, wherever he be
‘Cos he’s a monkey, ‘cos he’s a monkey
‘Cos he’s a weedy little monkey man
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye
Tell you baby, you huggin up the big monkey man
Aye aye aye, aye aye aye
Tell you baby, you huggin up the big monkey man
Blank Expression:
Snow is falling all around, seven o’clock and the roads are blocked
So I walk down town, there’s no-one around
I walk in a bar and immediately I sense danger
You look at me girl as if I was some kind of a, a total stranger
Where did you get that blank expression on your face?
Where did you get that blank expression on your face?
The streets are dark, and there’s no-one about
I wander home and all the ,the lights are out, I keep wondering
Where did you get that blank expression on your face?
(Source: spaceghostzombie)
Gangsters, by The Specials
Why must you record my phone calls?
Are you planning a bootleg L.P?
Said you’ve been threatened by gangsters
Now it’s you that’s threatening me.
Can’t fight corruption with con tricks
They use the law to commit crime?
I dread, dread to think what the future will bring
When we’re living in gangster times.
“Don’t call me Scarface!”
Don’t interrupt while I’m talking
Or they’ll confiscate all your guitars.
A catch - 22 says if I sing the truth
They won’t make me an overnight star.
Don’t offer us legal protection
They use the law to commit crime.
I dread to think what the future will bring
When we’re living in real gangster times.
“Bernie Rhodes knows, don’t argue.”
Ghost Town, by The Specials
Addressing themes of urban decay, deindustrialisation, unemployment and violence in inner cities, the song is remembered for being a hit at the same time as riots were occurring in British cities. As such, it is remembered as a major piece of popular social commentary.
In Autumn 1980, during the More Specials tour, the band arrived in Glasgow for a performance. The song was inspired by the sight of elderly women selling their possessions on the Glasgow streets. Keyboardist Jerry Dammers said: “It was unbelievable. It was clear that something was very, very wrong.”
Wikipedia
The lyrics:
This town, is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place, is coming like a ghost town
Bands won’t play no more
too much fighting on the dance floor
Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?
We danced and sang, and the music played in a de boomtown
This town, is coming like a ghost town
Why must the youth fight against themselves?
Government leaving the youth on the shelf
This place, is coming like a ghost town
No job to be found in this country
Can’t go on no more
The people getting angry
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
This town, is coming like a ghost town
