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(Campbell, Farrell)
I lay on my back, stare up at the ceiling
try to talk myself out of the way that I'm feeling
moods become black, state of confusion
I'm caught in a trap, my life's an illusion
it's a life full of pages in a by the book story
would a blade across my wrist be my moment of glory?
I'm a piece of the puzzle that never did fit
when it came time to win, it was my time to quit
emotions turned violent, inside I was scared
feelings kept silent, ignore those who care
time never healed my wounds, the scars they grow bigger
would my trouble be over if I pulled on the trigger?
I don't want to live
but I don't want to die
I've got nothing to give and I'm not gonna try
don't tell me that's normal
I know it's a lie
nothing to lose
potential suicide
life ain't worth living
why waste another breath?
living life today is just a slow death
should I live or die?
which one will I choose
I'm dead either way
I got nothing to lose
I've lost all my dreams
I've lost all hope
would the final solution be the end of a rope?
I'm a piece of the puzzle that never did fit
when it came time to win, it was my time to quit
emotions turned violent, inside I was scared
feelings kept silent, ignore those who care
time never healed my wounds, the scars they grow bigger
would my trouble be over if I pulled on the trigger?
I don't want to live
so I'm gonna die
I've got nothing to give and I'm not gonna try
when they bury me no tears will be cried
nothing to lose
potential suicide
(Campbell, Farrell)
Keith Campbell: Youth Crimes is an American melodrama. It's about kids that are driving daddy's car and get too fucked up and wreck the car. They break into people's houses. It's a lack of attention from the parents.
Boyd Farrell: I've always felt that the first step of prevention with kids getting into trouble is parents being there for their kids. They have to be involved and show they care. It's really the first line of defense. I know when I was left to my own devices as a child I usually got into trouble, and I had supervision. It's just too damn easy these days for parents to bail on their kids.
kids on the street
they got nothin' to do
kids on the street
with no direction
they gather in the night
when it's past curfew
they never go home
they never feel no affection
mom and dad work so they never go to school
"I don't learn nothin', it's a waste of my time"
parents on your back and the teacher's a fool
they don't hear what you say
they don't see, they're too blind
youth crime, youth crime
now the kids retaliate
youth crime, youth crime
how much can you tolerate
youth crime, youth crime
they feel neglect
they're full of hate
youth crime, youth crime
ignoring them was your mistake
mommy's little boy now carries a knife
boots and leather jacket
his belt is a chain
daddy says nothing
'cause he fears for his life
too much PCP makes sonny go insane
sonny steals a car
but he's too drunk to drive
too many 'ludes and he's still gonna race
he hits another car but he gets out alive
wakes up in the morning
twenty stitches in his face
youth crime, youth crime
now the kids retaliate
youth crime, youth crime
how much can you tolerate
youth crime, youth crime
they feel neglect
they're full of hate
youth crime, youth crime
ignoring them was your mistake
youth crime, youth crime
there's nothing they appreciate
youth crime, youth crime
why can't we communicate
youth crime, youth crime
they won't change now it's too late
youth crime, youth crime
ignoring them was your mistake
nothing much to do on a Saturday night
got your girl in the car
got your hand down her blouse
take her home early
cause she started a fight
grab a couple buddies
and you break in a house
take the TV and some money
drink up all of the scotch
climbing out the window
someone fires a shot
your brother lies there bleeding
while you stand and watch
you never stopped to think that you might get caught
youth crime, youth crime
now the kids retaliate
youth crime, youth crime
how much can you tolerate
youth crime, youth crime
they feel neglect
they're full of hate
youth crime, youth crime
ignoring them was your mistake
youth crime, youth crime
there's nothing they appreciate
youth crime, youth crime
why can't we communicate
youth crime, youth crime
they won't change now it's too late
youth crime, youth crime
ignoring them was your mistake
(Campbell, Farrell)
Boyd Farrell: That song was written originally out of anger. This was at the time of the Iranian crisis and it was on everyone's mind. Everybody wanted to go over there and blow Iran off the map. After I calmed down a bit I rewrote it to take a tongue-in-cheek look at war but originally it was a patriotic reaction. It's kind of black humour.
John Stabb: Not only is World at War a great song but it helped change my band's name from the Stab to GI. I'm sure glad we didn't decide to keep the name the Mohawks—ha!
wanna war / I wanna be a GI
I wanna war / I wanna fight 'til I die
wanna war / I wanna go with the troops
I wanna war / I wanna shoot me some gooks
wanna war / I wanna sleep with a gun
I wanna war / I wanna kill everyone
wanna war / I wanna bomb all the cities
wanna war / I wanna show them no pity
I wanna war / I wanna show them my might
wanna war / I wanna beat the Third Reich
wanna war / I wanna cheap kind of thrill
I wanna war / I wanna reason to kill
world at war / guns in the streets
world at war / smoke fills the air
world at war / no hope for peace
panic everywhere
wanna war / I wanna jump out of planes
I wanna war / I wanna be like John Wayne
wanna war / I wanna march through Moscow
I wanna war / I wanna make Brezhnev bow
wanna war / I wanna see Fidel dead
I wanna war / I wanna wipe out the reds
wanna war / I wanna bomb all the cities
wanna war / I wanna show them no pity
I wanna war / I wanna show them my might
wanna war / I wanna beat the Third Reich
wanna war / I wanna cheap kind of thrill
I wanna war / I wanna reason to kill
world at war / no more detante
world at war / the strongest survive
world at war / take what we want
gotta stay alive
wanna war / I wanna bomb all the cities
wanna war / I wanna show them no pity
I wanna war / I wanna show them my might
wanna war / I wanna beat the Third Reich
wanna war / I wanna cheap kind of thrill
I wanna war / I wanna reason to kill
world at war / guns in the streets
world at war / smoke fills the air
world at war / no more hope for peace
panic everywhere
(Campbell, Carr, Cleary, Farrell)
Boyd Farrell: I can't tell you how many kids have come up to me and said how much that song reminded them of the kids they went to school with. You can go to any suburban parking lot across the United States of America and the song would apply.
America's youth, flannel shirts and blue jeans
spending their lives on drinking, drugs, and dreams
America's youth, tribal customs are crude
drinking six packs of Schlitz and eating quaaludes
America's youth / hair past their shoulders
sixteen forever, they never grow older
America's youth / the parking lot crowd
now that you're in, you can't get out
America's youth, the future don't matter
been given everything on a silver platter
America's youth, teenage frustration
they can't seem to cope with life's complications
America's youth / the re-run generation
Star Trek and Lucy, their only education
America's youth / Woodstock lives on
they don't seem to realize that their days are gone
America's youth, gods have guitars
stadium temples, religion for the lost
they have no ambition, content to be lost
star spangled banner's a thing of the past
asking questions but not hearing the truth
living on dreams, America's youth
America's youth / hair past their shoulders
sixteen forever, they never grow older
America's youth / the parking lot crowd
now that you're in, you can't get out
no hope / for America's youth
no hope / for America's youth
no hope / for America's youth
no hope
aka Analface
(Campbell, Farrell)
Boyd Farrell: I felt like Analface was a childish name for a song, so I renamed it Total Waste. Keith changed it back when he covered it with Tesco. I think I took myself too seriously back then. It should be called Analface. I went through a stage where I was starting to think of myself as more of poet. That was my first mistake.
lyrics classified
(Campbell, Farrell)
Backseat Sally, she is a schoolboy's blessing
while other girls dream of sex, Sally's giving lessons
sexy, sweet Sally, she is her teacher's delight
nevermind your homework girl, you're gonna stay with me tonight
oh, Sally, I can't take the way you tease me
yeah, Sally, the boys all tell me you're so easy
Sally, bathroom walls bear your name
yeah, Sally, I know you don't—don't feel ashamed
Sally's good in bed, but she's better in a van
Sally likes the boys, but she can handle any man
the girls all call her a slut, but she just laughs
what they consider cheap, to Sally it's a craft!
oh, Sally, I love the way you tease me
yeah, Sally, the boys all tell me you're so easy
Sally, bathroom walls bear your name
yeah, Sally, I know you don't—don't feel ashamed
Sally!
Sally!
Friday night's a treat with sweet little Sal'
rockin' in the backseat, she's a goodtime gal
you take her home that night, she'll leave you wanting more
but she'll be with another, she's a—she's a highschool whore
oh, Sally, I can't take the way you tease me
yeah, Sally, the boys all tell me you're so easy
Sally, bathroom walls bear your name
yeah, Sally, I know you don't—don't feel ashamed
Sally!
Sally!
(Bialer, Hatch)
originally by the Shirkers
Boyd Farrell: I always loved the Shirkers version of Drunk and Disorderly. It should have been a BMB song. I liked it more than a lot of our original material. It was always in the set. It always got people fired up when we played it live.
Mike Donegan: Drunk and Disorderly was the perfect song for Black Market Baby, and it was a lot of fun recording that at Inner Ear. I guess Boyd's vocals were on there and Margo, our manager at the time, heard it and said, [horrified voice] "Oh no, oh no, we can't have this 'punk me in the butt,' we can't have that! You can't sing that, Boyd!"
Skip Groff: I know you love the Shirkers, but the BMB/Ian version knocks its dick in the butt. Can I say that?
going down to the neighborhood bar
behind the school in an old parked car
outside the liquor store
go back in and get some more
got a bottle in a paper bag
evening's here and I am glad
going down to the kiddie park
here we are drinking in the dark
drunk and disorderly / trying to stand up
drunk and disorderly / wearing handcuffs
drunk and disorderly / got nothin to lose
drunk and disorderly / drinking that booze
see the lights and hear the noise
I'm just out drinking with the boys
no, there ain't nothing wrong with me
I'm standing here holding up this tree
going me down to the police station
they ask me for identification
put me in a little cell
I'm so mean I'll go to hell
drunk and disorderly / I can't stand up
drunk and disorderly / they wanna punk me in the butt
drunk and disorderly / got nothin to lose
drunk and disorderly / now I'm drinking that booze
drunk and disorderly / I can't stand up
drunk and disorderly / they try to punk me in the butt
drunk and disorderly / I got nothin to lose
drunk and disorderly / now I'm drinking that booze
oh my god, I'm in trouble
I'm in jail and I'm seeing double
could it be that a little wine
led me to this life of crime
going down to the neighborhood bar
behind the school in an old parked car
outside the liquor store
go back in and get some more
go back in and get some more
drunk and disorderly / can't to stand up
drunk and disorderly / and I'm wearing handcuffs
drunk and disorderly / got nothin to lose
drunk and disorderly / drinking that booze
drunk and disorderly / I'm trying to stand up
drunk and disorderly / and I'm wearing handcuffs
drunk and disorderly / got nothin to lose
drunk and disorderly / drinking that booze
aka You're a Motherfucker
(Campbell)
Boyd Farrell: I didn't write it, but I really liked the song and I felt it would never get airplay with that title. So I changed it to Just Like All the Others. Keith and Tommy refused to call it that and would always yell, "The song's called Motherfucker!" into the mic after I would introduce it as Just Like All the Others.
you smile in my face
then you stab me in the back
well that's alright, yeah, that's okay
things are gonna turn around
there's gonna be a change
you're gonna see one day
'cause I won't be a happy man
'til I'm doing everything I can to bury you
turned into your last dead end
never to get out
what you gonna do? / what you gonna do?
never think before you act
you'd cheat your own mother
you stab me in the back
you're just like all the others
you say you're not reponsible
for the harm and pain that you provocate / provocate
except when someone like yourself
compliments you on the way you hate
you say that you're above the law
for all I know you are
but that won't stop me
cause I can make my own laws too
and there's nothing you can do
just wait and see / wait and see
your hate is coming back on you
you're gonna fall, you know it's true
you'd cheat your own mother
you're just like all the others
I can see in your mind that you want my kind
to vanish from Earth
so you've got the odds, we got the numbers
you're gonna learn their worth
you say you're not reponsible
for the harm and pain that you provocate / provocate
except when someone like yourself
compliments you on the way you hate
you say that you're above the law
for all I know you are
but that won't stop me
cause I can make my own laws too
and there's nothing you can do
just wait and see / wait and see
your hate is coming back on you
you're gonna fall, you know it's true
you'd cheat your own mother
you're just like all the others
(Dolfi, Farrell)
you'd better say your prayers
he's a burned out boy with an evil stare
he's led a life of crime
a cold-blooded killer with a criminal mind
hear the angry voice / the blood street boys
he never had a choice
another life destroyed / the blood street boys
a live inside a void
he's seen a life of drugs
raised on the street by a gang of thugs
he's seen his brother die
had to pay the price for getting high
hear the angry voice / the blood street boys
he never had a choice
another life destroyed / the blood street boys
a live inside a void
get high
big score
drive-by
turf war
gunfight
hothead
cold night
two dead
they kill, they steal, they lie and they cheat
the blood street boys are taking over the streets
he's from a broken home
too many nights left alone
the story's always the same
a bright young boy wants to play the game
he's made a fortune selling crack
a blood street boy and he can't go back
you'd better say your prayers
he's a burned out boy with an evil stare
he's led a life of crime
a cold-blooded killer with a criminal mind
hear the angry voice / the blood street boys
he never had a choice
another life destroyed / the blood street boys
a live inside a void
they're coming after you
hear the angry voice / the blood street boys
there's nothing you can do
he never had a choice / the blood street boys
they're gonna give it to you
another life destroyed / the blood street boys
life inside a void / the bloodstreet boys
here are the angry boys / the blood street boys
he never had a choice / the blood street boys
the blood street boys
the blood street boys
(Campbell, Farrell)
Were things really to the point where nobody wanted you guys in DC?
Boyd Farrell: Well, we always had a huge chip on our shoulder and after we replaced Paul with Dolfi, there was a lot of backlash from the DC punks that followed us. We had definitely come to a point where our "If it feels good...do it!" philosophy was starting to clash with the beginnings of the straight edge movement. At the time I felt they had abandoned us. Looking back we were just so different to them from the start. They were young, idealistic, nice kids, in a lot of cases from well to do families. We were older, jaded, and sort of nasty. Keith had been a biker before he seriously got into music and my friends were all these crazy redneck bastards. We also got caught up in the whole rock-n-roll lifestyle and some of us were frankly quite rude to a lot of these kids. I think we unintentionally alienated a lot of people at that point. The clubs were afraid to book us because of our reputation and the fact that things always got damaged whenever we played. Mainly due to some of the people we were hanging out with. When the scene started to splinter, the druggie, derelict punks seemed to follow us. It got so huge there were a lot of different factions. That's kinda when the bent edge shit started.
The song was unreleased until 1997, when the live version from the original 9:30 Club's last hurrah was released on CD. Why did it take so long?
Boyd: I didn't feel it was up to standard. Lyrically it seemed sort of nursery-rhyme-like. It was always done sort of tongue in cheek. It was our nanny-nanny-boo-boo song. It was meant to be released in a live format.
Nobody Wanted Us isn't the most sophisticated BMB lyric, but it's a great snotty punk rock song.
Boyd: That I agree with. We did it the last time we played together.
we've been trouble from the start, gettin' drunk every night
smashing up bars and gettin' in fights
now they don't want us in crapitol city...
our music's good fun, but our attitude's shitty...
the trendies don't like us, they say were too violent
they don't understand, we won't remain silent
we don't care what they say, ban us from the stage
you can stop us from playing, but you can't hide our rage
nobody wanted us in Washington, DC
there isn't any way to / make it easy
we don't care if they fuck us up again
they make trouble for us...we'll make double for them
people criticize me, they say I got my nerve...
but I'll tell you now, you get what you deserve
you don't mean shit to me 'cause you think you're in style
just cross me once and I'll wipe off that smile
we are the assholes in Black Market Baby
we'll piss in your beer, then we'll fuck your old lady
we don't care if they fuck with us again
they make trouble for us...we'll make double for them
if you think we regret it, I'll tell you we don't
if you want us to stop, I'll tell you we won't
go on if you like...snub us again...
the first time you fall we'll kick your face in
nobody wanted us in Washington DC
there isn't any way to make it easy
we don't care if they fuck us up again
they make trouble for us...we'll make double for them
they fucking hate us
nobody wanted us
nobody wanted us
nobody wanted us
nobody wanted us
(Bialer, Hatch)
Shirkers version
goin' down to the neighborhood bar
behind the school in an old parked car
outside the liquor store
go back in and get some more
got a bottle in a paper bag
evening's here and I am glad
goin' down to the little park
here we are drinkin' in the dark
drunk and disorderly
try to stand up
drunk and disorderly
wearing handcuffs
drunk and disorderly
got nothing to lose
drunk and disorderly
drinkin' that booze
see the lights and I hear the noise
I'm just out drinkin' with the boys
no there ain't nothin' wrong with me
I'm just here holdin' up this tree
take me down to the police station
ask me for identification
put me in a little cell
tellin me I'll go to hell
drunk and disorderly
try to stand up
drunk and disorderly
wearing handcuffs
drunk and disorderly
got nothing to lose
drunk and disorderly
drinkin' that booze
drunk and disorderly
try to stand up
you're just drunk and disorderly
wearing handcuffs
drunk and disorderly
got nothing to lose
drunk and disorderly
drinkin' that booze
mama mia, what's the trouble
I'm in jail and I'm seein' double
could it be that a little wine
led me to that life of crime
goin' down to the neighborhood bar
behind the school in an old parked car
outside the liquor store
go back in and get some more
you gotta go back in and get some more
drunk and disorderly
try to stand up
drunk and disorderly
wearing handcuffs
drunk and disorderly
got nothing to lose
drunk and disorderly
drinkin' that booze
drunk and disorderly
try to stand up
drunk and disorderly
wearing handcuffs
drunk and disorderly
got nothing to lose
drunk and disorderly
drinkin' that booze
© Dementlieu 2005
Music and lyrics © Black Market Baby