Oct. 1, 19771 viewer
God Save the Queen (Symphony) Lyrics
My name is Malcolm McLaren
I have brought you many things in my time
But the most successful of all
Was an invention of mine they called punk rock
Ah, let me start from the beginning
Find just four kids
Make sure they hate each other
Make sure they can't play
There was Steve Jones
Eighteen years of age
A brilliant cat burglar
I nominated him guitarist
Ah, there was another fellow, Paul Cook
Seventeen years of age
A phenomenal acrobat in A-1 condition
Always on time, he had to provide the beats
Lurking in the corner of the shop
I noticed this Dickensian figure
Had it not been for his green hair
I’d have thought him
Something out of “David Copperfield”
I took the opportunity of confronting him
He pretended to think me an idiot, pushed me aside
When I learned he was Irish
And Steve saw his green teeth
We called him Johnny Rotten
I have brought you many things in my time
But the most successful of all
Was an invention of mine they called punk rock
Ah, let me start from the beginning
Find just four kids
Make sure they hate each other
Make sure they can't play
There was Steve Jones
Eighteen years of age
A brilliant cat burglar
I nominated him guitarist
Ah, there was another fellow, Paul Cook
Seventeen years of age
A phenomenal acrobat in A-1 condition
Always on time, he had to provide the beats
Lurking in the corner of the shop
I noticed this Dickensian figure
Had it not been for his green hair
I’d have thought him
Something out of “David Copperfield”
I took the opportunity of confronting him
He pretended to think me an idiot, pushed me aside
When I learned he was Irish
And Steve saw his green teeth
We called him Johnny Rotten
Then there was Sidney, with a natural terrorist
Working in the clubs ensured him
That every gig the group played
Ended up in an unpredictable, bloody mess
Bashing and jumping all about
He invented the Pogo
I call them the Sex Pistols
With the line-up complete
We immediately set about
Putting our plan into effect
To swindle our way
To the top of the Rock ’n’ Roll industry
It was a plan that within two years
Was to bring us close to a million pounds
Working in the clubs ensured him
That every gig the group played
Ended up in an unpredictable, bloody mess
Bashing and jumping all about
He invented the Pogo
I call them the Sex Pistols
With the line-up complete
We immediately set about
Putting our plan into effect
To swindle our way
To the top of the Rock ’n’ Roll industry
It was a plan that within two years
Was to bring us close to a million pounds
About
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Genius Annotation
“God Save the Queen (Symphony)” is an instrumental that plays in the beginning of Sex Pistols‘ 1979 official movie “The Great Rock 'n’ Roll Swindle” while their manger, Malcolm McLaren, narrates their story.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.God Save the Queen (Symphony)
- 3.Roadrunner
- 4.Black Arabs
- 6.Substitute
- 12.Silly Thing
- 13.My Way
- 14.I Wanna Be Me
- 15.Something Else
- 17.Lonely Boy
- 19.C’mon Everybody
- 20.EMI (Orchestral)
- 23.You Need Hands
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Release Date
October 1, 1977
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