Arthur - the Tiger Lillies
Listen.
What can you say? In England anytime, anywhere, especially in post Brexit England, if you don't get this, you ought to emigrate to one of your offshore havens and not come back.
The wonderful Tiger Lillies can be obscene, violent, savage, anti-establishment, anarchic, lyrical and tender. And they have never been more tender and lyrical than here in this ode to the modern ordinary Englishman. Lower class and neglected, this is the man from the estate, and you could say that lead singer and songwriter Martyn Jaques is being patronising in his romantic description of "Joe Normal" but I beg to differ:
"Arthur I love you
though you've got b.o.
and your trainers are dirty
and your brain's rather slow
Arthur I love you
though you read the Sun
and you wear a leisure suit
when you're having fun
and you're not a fascist
you're just a cock (or is it cog?)
and you keep a Pit-bull
'cause their a lovely dog
Arthur I love you
you're no piece of slime
just used and accused
by the ruling class swines
let's face it Arthur,
Arthur you're fucked
you never could say
that enough
that enough
that enough
that enough
that enough
that enough
that enough
that enough
that enough
was enough."
Despite the comments on Arthur's style and intelligence and the socialist rhetoric there is real love here, affection for the lifestyle and a love that appreciates the tragedy of his existence.
The word "enough" is repeated nine times, symbolising the levels of everything he suffers in life. And you realise that this is also a lament for a revolution than never happened.......and never will happen. So beautiful, so tragic, so unfair, so English.