31 Oct 2008
A dot com sitcom about a hip hop chip shop
Excuse me for getting a bit excited, but every now and then you come across a Half Man Half Biscuit song which you’d sort of forgotten about, and which turns out to be brilliant. And Thy Damnation Slumbereth Not fits into that category. It’s the A Country Practice or National Shite Day of Cammell Laird Social Club and it contains so many great references, I don’t know where to start. So I won’t, I’ll just let you get on with it. Thanks to EskimoEric
See lyrics to Thy Damnation Slumbereth Not
12 Letters Sent:
Fredorrarci
“…blag my way into the aftershow”
And maybe:
“Now the Britpop refugee…”
Agree completely about this song. The Ken Livingstone bit cracked me up something silly the first time I heard it.
Oct 31st, 2008
Ben
The bit from ‘Come saddle my milk white steed” through to the shouty coda, is about as angry as Blackwell has ever sounded, it’s also the most ‘sing-alongy’ Biscuits bit till ‘Trad Arr Tune’ came along.
Anyone ever heard them do this live? I’d love to hear it ‘in a live environment’.
Oct 31st, 2008
Neil G
‘Come saddle my milk white steed’ comes from ‘Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard’, as performed by Martin Carthy on the album Prince Heathen. I recommend it highly. The line may have been used in other folk songs, I don’t know, but that’s the one that sticks in my mind. Actually, I’ve just been singing it to myself and it’s ‘Go saddle me my milk white steed’. How embarrassing. I shall never live this down. I wish I could go back in time and not press the SUBMIT button.
Oct 31st, 2008
Charles Exford
As I set off for the gig in Manchester tonight, I notice it’s 40 years ago today that the Beatles played their ‘final gig’ on the roof of Apple as the band disintegrated…and I think of this song.
The connection, I reckon, is a scene in the Rutles spoof of the Beatles’ career called ‘All you need is Cash’ …
It seems to me that the line I’ll be “stealing the lead off the roof ” isn’t just random … not just the sort of scallyish thing Nige would love to say to the pretentious tw*ts at a music business party, but also a sort of quote of that moment in the Rutles film where as Apple disintegrates, the Beatles’ hangers-on are basically nicking everything from the Apple building including the lead off the roof ….
Will post more about this song when I have more time but wanted to post that cos’ it was 40 yaers ago today ….
Jan 30th, 2009
Ben
Following on from Exford (absolutely loving your/his* work by the way) how appropriate is ‘Stealing the leaf off the roof!” (again I yearn to hear this live, though I listened to it today on CD) in view of the fact that tonights gig (7.5/10 in HMHB live gigs (that I’ve seen)I reckon) was opposite ‘The Holy Name Church’ from Vicar in a Tutu “I was lifting the lead off” fame.
*”Full marks to the blockhead who thought it was a great idea to leave a pony in” etc Arf!
Jan 31st, 2009
Peter
Please tell me if this is too petty to bother with…but I’m pretty sure it’s “Oh yes we’re really excited”, not “And yes…”, and later on it’s “So I’ve sprayed it onto the wall”, rather than “I sprayed it…”.
Just tried to do the lyrics of She’s from Broadstairs, only to be totally defeated by the couplet that ends with the word “equator”. I’m sure it’s not “a scenic regulator”, as someone posted on their myspace page.
Apr 10th, 2009
Chris The Siteowner
Nothing’s ever too petty Peter, but I’d like to hear others’ comments!
Apr 10th, 2009
NIck Ink
Brilliant site Chris and a constant refuge from the triviality of non HMHB-related business.
But why the commas in the coda? Isn’t it just a statement ‘Thy damnation slumbereth not’ , i.e you lot are going to hell sooner than you think?
Nov 7th, 2009
Charles Exford
I reckon NB would go for ‘placing a comma after each word, as if to give pause while that word was driven well home to the reader’s heart’.
Nov 7th, 2009
Exxo
And talk about meerkats
And come out with statements like:
“Well of course music these days is the slave of mammon and as a result
It has become corrupt and shallow
Its real essence is industry
Its moral purpose is the acquisition of money
Its aesthetic pretext is the entertainment of those who are bored…”
I thought it might have been Nietzsche, but in fact it turns out this is quoting Wagner from “Art and Revolution” (1849).
Except the bit about meerkats, like
Feb 19th, 2010
TWO FAT FEET
Not necessarily my all-time favourite, but defnitely my favourite track from my favourite album. Even if it was just the guitars and drums for twenty minutes it would be brilliant.
Apr 6th, 2010
Alex B
Sorry for going over old pedantry, but I’d say it was neither ‘and yes’ nor even ‘oh yes’ but ‘though yes, we’re really excited…’. As in saying how shallow and soulless the music industry is, before then trying to flog their new album. Kind of in the ‘we’re forever slagging off the majors’ spirit?
To distract from this dreadful pettiness may I say how much I’m looking forward to the old farm games again next year – it’s not been the same down here in League 1 without you.
Apr 7th, 2010
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