2012/03/19

when we're backed in to a corner...


great piece of politics by mr. ben paul balance-drew. or is it just music? it certainly is gonna mess with your head. if what's inside there is still alive.
remembering bitterly what happened in london this summer (the looting, the burning) the song talks about what is behind these events. a society that is consumerist and superficial on one hand, and classist and socially racist on the other. in the interview below the intelligent and politically conscious musician explains how these kids "made life ten times harder for themselves" because "they just played in the hands of what certain sectors were thinking about them", remembering that what in england is commonly acceptable to be stated about the underclass is not simply stereotypical but plainly racist, because it strips the poor of their individuality and their humanity while at the same time hiding what keeps these people where they are, i.e. at the bottom: a constant and momentous vilification by the majority of the society, an education that doesn't provide the means to grab the fewer opportunities in this social stratum and a socioeconomic system that always has lived with social inequality as it's byproduct and is increasingly doing so since the 80s. ever tried to compare this with how french society looks at the banlieus, what germans think about people who are on welfare and get the so called 'hartzIV' benefits or what austrians mean when they use the word 'prolo'? not too far from the british chav, drew's refering to at 0:19 in the music video (1:50 in the interview), i'd say. the difference lies only in the level of inequality and antagonism, not in the dynamic or structure of social relations.
adressing the english middle class drew says: "just because you were lucky enough to be born into a family that can afford to give you an education doesn't make you better, it just makes you lucky." on the other side (or the under side): "why were there so many of them who don't care about getting a criminal record? why is that?" it's because they think "i'll never change the way you think about me, so i'm actually gonna play up to it."
we're only animals in the end: "when we're backed in to a corner we lash out."


2 Kommentare:

  1. Songwriters: SCHLIPPENBACH, VINCENT GRAF VON / CONEN, DAVID / BAIGORRY, PIERRE / SCHOSTAKOWITSCH, DIMITRI DMITRIJEWITSCH / BALANCE-DREW, BENJAMIN PAUL / SHUX, AL

    Let's all go on an urban safari
    we might see some illegal migrants
    Oi look there's a c.h.a.v.,
    that means council housed and violent
    He's got a hoodie on give him a hug,
    on second thoughts don't you don't wanna get mugged
    Oh shit too late that was kinda dumb
    whose idea was that...stupid...
    He's got some front, ain't we all,
    be the joker, play the fool
    What's politics, ain't it all
    smoke and mirrors, April fools
    All year round, all in all
    just another brick in the wall
    Get away with murder in the schools
    use four letter swear words coz we're cool
    We're all drinkers, drug takers
    every single one of us buns the herb
    Keep on believing what you read in the papers
    council estate kids, scum of the earth
    Think you know how life on a council estate is,
    from everything you've ever read about it or heard,
    Well it's all true, so stay where you're safest
    there's no need to step foot out the burbs
    Truth is here, we're all disturbed
    we cheat and lie its so absurd
    Feed the fear that's what we've learned
    Fuel the fire,
    Let it burn.

    CHORUS

    Oi! I said Oi!

    What you looking at you little rich boy!
    We're poor round here, run home and lock your door
    don't come round here no more, you could get robbed for
    Real (yeah) because my manors ill

    My manors ill

    For real

    Yeah you know my manors ill, my manors ill!

    VERSE 2
    [ Lyrics from: http://www.lyricsfreak.com/p/plan+b/ill+manors_21007509.html ]
    You could get lost in this concrete jungle
    new builds keep springing up outta nowhere
    Take the wrong turn down a one way junction
    find yourself in the hood nobody goes there
    We got an eco friendly government,
    they preserve our natural habitat
    Built an entire Olympic village
    around where we live without pulling down any flats
    Give us free money and we don't pay any tax
    NHS healthcare, yes please many thanks
    People get stabbed round here there's many shanks
    nice knowing someone's got our backs when we get attacked
    Don't bloody give me that
    I'll lose my temper
    Who closed down the community centre?
    I kill time there used to be a member,
    what will I do now until September?
    Schools out, rules out, get your bloody tools out
    London's burning, I predict a riot
    Fall in fall out
    who knows what it's all about
    What did that chief say? Something bout the kaisers
    Kids on the street no they never miss a beat, never miss a cheap
    thrill when it comes their way
    Lets go looting
    no not Luton,
    the high street's closer cover your face
    And if we see any rich kids on the way we'll make 'em wish they stayed inside
    here's a charge for congestion, everybody's gotta pay
    do what Boris does... rob them blind

    CHROUS x2

    Oi! I said Oi!
    What you looking at you little rich boy?
    We're poor round here, run home and lock your door!
    Don't come round here no more, you could get robbed for
    real (yeah) because my manors ill

    My manors ill

    for real

    yeah you know my manors ill , my manors ill!

    ILL Manors lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.

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  2. same story everywhere. poor people are there for everybody to free use. you can turn them into whatever you want that will make you or the people around you feel better, more intelligent, more industrious, more honest or whatever value you personally appreciate.
    remember mitt romney, republican presidential candidate, talking to his millionaire donors?
    "All right, there are 47 percent … who are dependent upon government, who believe that they are victims, who believe the government has a responsibility to care for them, who believe that they are entitled to health care, to food, to housing, to you name it."
    there are poor people for every occasion, it seems, and for every audience. but sometimes, well, you get "your" poor horribly wrong! though it's funny at the same time: http://economix.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/18/how-do-the-47-vote/#more-155961

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