"A Town Called Malice"

[RandomKoolzip]

"Better stop dreaming of the quiet life - cos it's the one we'll never know
And quit running for that runaway bus - cos those rosey days are few
And - stop apologising for the things you've never done,
Cos time is short and life is cruel - but it's up to us to change
This town called malice.

Rows and rows of disused milk floats stand dying in the dairy yard
And a hundred lonely housewives clutch empty milk bottles to their hearts
Hanging out their old love letters on the line to dry
It's enough to make you stop believing when tears come fast and furious
In a town called malice.

Struggle after struggle - year after year
The atmosphere's a fine blend of ice
I'm almost stone cold dead
In a town called malice.

A whole street's belief in Sunday's roast beef
gets dashed against the Co-op
To either cut down on beer or the kids new gear
It's a big decision in a town called malice.

The ghost of a steam train - echoes down my track
It's at the moment bound for nowhere
just going round and round
Playground kids and creaking swings
lost laughter in the breeze
I could go on for hours and I probably will
but I'd sooner put some joy back
In this town called malice.


The Jam, 1982

[asthmaticeog]

1. Oooooh -- I LOVE that song.

Thanks for posting that - there were always some lyrics I was never quite able to parse.

[RandomKoolzip]

2. Yup. Worse comes to worst, that MIGHT be my favorite song

of all time. I loooooooove the Jam, but Paul Weller's accent is fuckin' impenetrable, plus some of the references are so exclusively British it's absurd ("milk floats?")

After GbV, my favorite band is probably The Jam.

[asthmaticeog]

3. "Absolute Beginners" is a big fave of mine, too:

In echoed steps I walked across an empty dream
I looked across this world, there was no one to be seen
This empty feeling turned and quietly walked away
I saw no warmth in life - no love was in my eyes
I stared a century thinking this will never change
As I hesitated, time rushed onwards without me
Too scared to break the spell too small to take a fall
But the Absolute luck is - love is in our hearts!

I lost some hours thinking of it
I need the strength to go and get what I want
I lost a lifetime thinking of it
an' lost an era daydreaming like I do

In echoed steps you walk across an empty dream
But look around this world, there's millions to be seen
Come see the tyrants panic see their crumbling empires fall
Then tell 'em we don't fight for fools -
'cos love is in our hearts!

I lost some hours thinking of it
I need the strength to go and get what I want
I lost a lifetime thinking of it
an' lost an era daydreaming like I do

You can lose some hours thinking of it
You need the strength to go and get what I want
You can lose a lifetime thinking of it
And lose an era daydreaming like I do

[RandomKoolzip]

6. God, I love all those songs.

Paul Weller is just a fuckin' genius.


I remember buying the Jam's "Snap!" Grestest hits album the same week I fell in love for the first time. Every time I hear "Absolute Beginners," it reminds me of that era.

The stuff I love by The Jam the most is their very first material ("I Got by in Time:" HOLY SHIT!) and their very last material. All the stuff in between was great, but the original stuff has the highest energy, and the last stuff show how much Weller had grown as a singer and songwriter.

[tk2kewl]

4. The Jam Rocks!

I saw Weller at Town Hall in NYC last year. Good show.

[tk2kewl]

5. Not the Jam but good Weller Lyrics from Style Council

Internationalists

If you believe you have an equal share
In the whole wide world and all it bears
An’ that your share is no less or more than
Your fellow sisters and brother man
Then take this knowledge and with it insist
Declare yourself - an internationalist!
If you lay no blame at the feet of next door
An’ realise this struggle is also yours
An’ that without the strength of us altogether
The world as it stands will remain forever
Then take this challenge and make it exist!
Rise up as - an internationalist!

If your eyes see deeper than the colour of skin
Then you must also see we are the same within
An’ the rights you expect are the rights of all
Now it’s up to you to lead the call
That liberty must come at the top of the list
Stand proud as - an internationalist!

If you see the mistake in having bosses at all
You will also see how they all must fall
For under this system there is no such thing
As the democracy our leaders would have us sing
No time for lies now as only truth must persist
Rise up now and declare yourself - an internationalist!

[RandomKoolzip]

7. Too bad the Style Council's music never lived up to their

lyrics or The Jam's output. There's some gems in there ("Speak Like A Child") but the production is Sooooooo outdated and the feel is so...."Swing Out Sister" or something.

It sucks, too, because by then, Weller's voice was in prime condition.

[tk2kewl]

8. Internationalists rocked pretty good though

I know a lot of Jam fans hated the Style Council, but I was an 80s kid, I liked them.

[RandomKoolzip]

9. Me, I'm a rabid Jam partisan.

And Paul Weller's solo stuff is good too.