1
I went out drinking with Thomas Paine
He said that all revolutions are not the same
They are as different as the cultures
That give them birth
For no one idea
Can solve every problem on earth
So don't expect it all to happen
In some prophesied political fashion
For people are different
And so are nations
You can borrow ideas
But you can't borrow situations
In Leningrad the people say
Perestroika can be explained this way
The people who told us
That two and two is ten
Are now trying to tell us
That two and two is five
We're living in a north sea bubble
We're trying to spend our way out of trouble
You keep buying these things but you don't need them
But as long as you're comfortable it feels like freedom
My American friends don't know what to do
But they'll wait a long time for a Beverley hills coup
War! what is it good for
It's good for business
He said that all revolutions are not the same
They are as different as the cultures
That give them birth
For no one idea
Can solve every problem on earth
So don't expect it all to happen
In some prophesied political fashion
For people are different
And so are nations
You can borrow ideas
But you can't borrow situations
In Leningrad the people say
Perestroika can be explained this way
The people who told us
That two and two is ten
Are now trying to tell us
That two and two is five
We're living in a north sea bubble
We're trying to spend our way out of trouble
You keep buying these things but you don't need them
But as long as you're comfortable it feels like freedom
My American friends don't know what to do
But they'll wait a long time for a Beverley hills coup
War! what is it good for
It's good for business
Lyrics submitted by SquidOmelet
North Sea Bubble Lyrics as written by Billy Bragg
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Any song that mentions Thomas Paine is bound to be good. This is a great song, with interesting meaning. Billy is a big fan of Tom Paine (as am I), the first two verses are in reference to democratic revolution that followed the fall of the USSR, around this time a man called Francis Fukuyama wrote a book called the End of History, arguing that Liberal Democracy is the natural end point in human political history. At this time many US republicans began fantising about democracy spreading, I think Billy is giving a word of caution, while he believes in Democracy, each country is at a difference stage of political devlopment and it cannot be rushed through. The third is a criticsm leveled at the USSR and its totalitarian system. The north sea bubble and rest of the song is critical of consumerism and capitalism, stating 'we are living in a north sea bubble, trying to spend our way out of trouble', odd this was written in the early 1990s, would be quite relevant today.
Going through old CD's and came across this album. Foreverdelayed is spot on, a politically leaning song written in the early 1990's yet, for the most part, quite applicable to today.
Like the 'War what is it good for' line in honour of the classic (and also timeless song) by Edwin Starr