PULP - ACRYLIC AFTERNOONS - Listings, details and lyrics of Pulp's rare songs.

Listings, details and lyrics of some of Pulp's rare and unreleased songs.

The Boss

A live favourite that only saw the light of day after fourteen years when it was included on the bonus disc of the His 'n' Hers special edition CD. Coming in at little over two and a half minutes, the song is a stomping slice of synth-pop perfection, the likes of which Pulp began to craft so well during the Separations and Gift eras of the early 1990s. The Boss was written in advance of their demo for Island Records and was recorded on 7 May 1992 at the company's fallout shelter studio in the basement of their Chiswick headquarters. Along with the other tracks they demoed (Razzmatazz, Happy Endings, Watching Nicky, Styloroc (Nites of Suburbia) and Your Sister's Clothes), the final product helped to get Pulp signed to Island the following year. Shortly after the demo, and for most of 1992, The Boss appeared as a staple of their live sets, most notably during the O.U tour that same month. But Pulp were writing newer material at such a speedy pace that The Boss was soon quietly forgotten, sadly disappearing from their live sets altogether from 1993 onwards.

Lyrics:

Wearing a shirt that was trying too hard. Pissed on a train and he's falling around. And then I turned round you were out of sight. And now there's nowhere for me to stay tonight. And then I walked around town just to catch you out. I thought I'd lost myself somewhere in the night. Oh is he bigger? And does he make you laugh? Ma ma ma ma ma... let it go.

I could never do anything else. 'Cause what am I going to do with myself? I saw him kiss you in the afternoon. 'Cause I was next door in a double room. Oh I was listening through the wall as he laid you down. I don't know what you did but I heard a sound. Oh is he better? And does he make you scream? Ma ma ma ma ma... let it go. Let it go.

You've got to tell me now if he's better than me. I need to know. Oh, can't you see? Something strange is getting stronger. I can't hang on any longer. Don't you know I want to go away? Oh Jesus Christ I know I'm gonna lose the game. I've only got myself to blame. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. All right.

I'm going to leave town. I'm going to catch a train. I'm going somewhere where I can start again. I'm going to let go-go just like you said. I'm waiting for someone else who can take the blame. And is he younger? And can he make you laugh? Ma ma ma ma ma... let it go. Oh let it go.

After seven years down a dead end road. I'm going to get off here. I'm going to let it go. Let it go.

Can I Have My Balls Back, Please?

Demo recorded in late-1996/early-1997 as part of the This Is Hardcore sessions. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the This Is Hardcore Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "Some people buy a Mellotron and write OK Computer, we bought one and wrote this. The first song I wrote after returning from my American nightmare. It's pretty self-explanatory really."

Lyrics:

At the bottom of the stairway I turned round as I was ready to leave and said: 'Oh can I have my balls back, please?'
Well they might not mean that much to you. But they sure as hell mean so much to me. So can I have my balls back, please?

Oh can I have my balls back, please? Can I have my balls back, please?
How am I gonna get through my life if you don't return them to me? Oh, no no.
Oh can I have my balls back, please? Oh can I have my balls back, please?
I can't really be a man. Look at me I'm down on my knees. Yeah.

So I went to New York City to see a doctor thinking maybe that he would understand the state I was in.
He said: "I'd dearly love to help you son, but you see the same thing's happened to me."
So now I'm home and I'm asking you just once more. Please.

Oh can I have my balls back, please? Can I have my balls back, please?
How am I gonna get through my life if you don't return them to me? Oh, no no.
Oh can I have my balls back, please? Can I have my balls back, please?
Oh I can't really be a man. Look at me I'm down on my knees. Yeah.
Oh and I don't know how much longer I can live my life like this. Bring 'em back.

Oh can I have my balls back, please? Oh can I have my balls back, please?
Oh how am I gonna get through my life if you don't return them to me? Oh, no no.
So can I have my balls back, please? Yeah can I have my balls back, please?
Oh I can't really be a man. Look at me I'm down on my knees.
Oh and I don't know how much longer I can live my life like this.
Come on. Bring 'em back. They're no use to you anymore. Oh bring them back to me.

Catcliffe Shakedown

Demo recorded as part of the Different Class LP sessions at Sheffield's Axis Studio between 5-12 June 1995. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the Different Class Deluxe Edition.

Jarvis: "Now we're talking. The title is nicked from The Goodies' Cricklewood Shakedown (b-side to The Funky Gibbon, I think) which kind of sets the tone. An epic appraisal of the village just outside Rotherham that we used to rehearse in. Some notes on the words: Taxi drivers invariably did charge "a fare and a half" to get there - This is the first appearance of the "Pudgy 12 year-olds in Union Jack shorts" who were later to appear in Wickerman on 2001's We Love Life - They did actually build an airport there but it has since closed due to lack of interest - Parkin is a heavy, gingery cake usually consumed on Bonfire Night - Matchstalk Men & Matchstalk Cats & Dogs was a massive hit for Brian & Michael in the mid-70's - It told the story of the painter L.S. Lowry and they performed it wearing flat caps and clogs - The cooling towers are now going to be made into some kind of art project. I guess this song didn't make it on to the album due to its similarities (lyrically) to I Spy - (also, the fact that the music is frankly ridiculous might have had something to do with it)."

Lyrics:

Straight down the Parkway follow your nose to a place where nobody wants to go. It's a fare and a half, they're having a larf. Everybody's broken or they're a dwarf. Pierrot mirror on the wall who is the ace-est of them all? The Catcliffe girl who gets out before her 18th birthday. There's little old man by the side of the road. Just where he came from nobody knows. He's so picturesque, a physical wreck, a dirty old bloke with no self-respect. Oh!

Oh God you'd better leave town before you get caught in the Catcliffe Shakedown yeah. It's a step to the left, a step to the right. You do the Catcliffe Shakedown with all of your might. Oh baby. Shhh... Shhh-Shakedown. Shhh-Shakedown. Pudgy 12 year-olds in Union Jack shorts addicted to coffee-whitener and frankfurters. And those boys who said, "Mister we just want your car cos we're taking a girl to the reservoir" are outside the pub. Fine figures of men, exercising and dieting just doesn't suit them. "Have a meal in a glass, we're having a laugh, just come over here and your face we will smash." Oh!

Oh God you'd better leave town, before you get caught in the Catcliffe Shakedown yeah. Shakedown. Shakedown. Shakedown. Oh! Oh no it's not that bad really, not if you've been living in Bosnia for the last year. Home-brew is still big news around these parts - no airing cupboard should be without it. They were going to build an airport - can you imagine it? "Whilst you're in the area why not stock up on string or try some of our duty-free, Parkin?" Oh yeah, let's go.

See the rainbow high above the viaduct glowing with all the colours of a bottle of spilt milk. Oh it's so beautiful but I don't know what it means. Oh, rainbow high above - what exactly are you advertising? And our idea of sophisticated humour is setting fire to our farts with disposable lighters. Why not try our delicious lager-style drink with a chocolate-flavoured candy-covered biscuit? "Look at those buttercups over there Mummy!" "Hold one under your chin", "What's butter mummy?", "Oh, it's just a different make of margarine". See the rainbow high above the viaduct glowing with all the colours of a bottle of spilt milk. Oh it's so beautiful but I don't know what it means. Oh, rainbow high above - what exactly are you advertising?

The film now cuts to reveal who is watching this docu-drama. A middle-class couple sit in wonder as the titles roll. All the nicotine-stains and beer-bellies in this programme were real. But upstairs in his room, amongst the Airfix planes, is a small boy. He sits in the dark, listening for the sound of the train that crosses the viaduct at 4 o'clock every morning. The train that carries the dismembered remains, the dismembered remains of matchstalk men and matchstalk cats and dogs, and it's coming, and it's coming. Oh yeah!

"What you looking at?" "I don't know - label fell off." "I'm goin' aht!" "Am I so beautiful you can't stop looking at me? Am I so beautiful?" "You don't scare me." "I'll take you all on." "You and whose army?" "Me - me and my fist-y."

Catcliffe you don't intimidate me, your Parkway and your shopping centre, your Panda Pops, your pottery, your motorway junction, your overwhelming stench of failure. Lives that never left first base, stunted by vapours from the cooling towers and I will do everything, everything in my power to get away from you. Oh yeah.

Cuckoo Song

One of Pulp's most beautiful songs which was written and performed as part of a set of acoustic songs during 1999. It was inspired by Clarence Ashley's 'The Coo Coo Bird' from 1929: "Oh the coo coo is a pretty bird / She warbles as she flies / She never hollers 'coo coo' / Till the fourth day July". Featuring an Omnichord, it was demoed as part of the 'Pulp Sessions' at Cosford Mill Studios, Godalming, Surrey in November 1999, and remains stubbornly unreleased. Pulp performed it on only three occasions, all during 1999: Venice Palazzo Pisani Moretta (10 June), Edinburgh Queen's Hall (31 August) and the Liss Ard Festival, Ireland (2 September). Jarvis also performed it on 2 July 1999 at a tribute concert for Harry Smith's 'Anthology Of American Folk Music' which was one of a series of concerts for Nick Cave's Meltdown Festival at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Lyrics:

Might sound funny, but when your heart is nearly new, you say 'I'll try' rather than 'I do'.
Yeah, yeah I'll try and get there in the end.

The cuckoo is a pretty bird. It sings the sweetest song I've ever heard.
And it reminds me how you stole into my heart and then threw everything away. Away.

And it's tragic. It's disgraceful. The way that you and me could turn out being so tasteful.
And I know we said we won't, but you can call me if you want. And you know I'm always there.
I thought you'd like to know - I still think you are the most, though you left me living here still married to a ghost.

Oh it gets so cold at night time. Never knew it got so cold at night time.
But sometimes dreams come true. One night when the moon is blue, then I'll make up to you with a love that's nearly new.

Oh my love, well I... I tried to love you. But I guess I'm out of practise, and practising is strictly for the birds.

The cuckoo is a pretty bird. It sings the sweetest song I've ever heard.
And it reminds me how you stole into my heart and then threw everything away.

And you stay. And it's tragic. It's so shoddy. The way you're making love to someone else's body.
Oh but my flesh can go and crawl half way up the bedroom wall. And you know I'm always there.
I thought you'd like to know, well I still think you are the most, though you left me living here forever married to a ghost.

Oh it gets so cold at night time. Never knew it got so cold at night time.
But sometimes dreams come true. So one night when the moon is blue, then I'll make up to you with a love that's nearly new.

(Don't) Lose It

Demo recorded as part of the Different Class LP sessions at Sheffield's Axis Studio between 5-12 June 1995. Jarvis: "I think we were going for a kind of Barry White thing on this. It's amusing how I do 'lose it' towards the end of the song. Nice keyboards from Mark - who, of course, became a full member of Pulp during the recording of the album." The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the Different Class Deluxe Edition.

Lyrics:

Do it. Don't lose it. He wants to use it but don't change a single thing. He wants to put it down on paper and put it in a song to sing: How your Father went away. How your Mother got her way. How your brothers never let you join in. Didn't do too well at school, feel a failure but you'll be famous if you let him touch you. Don't lose it babe, don't go too straight, don't throw it away, no don't think it's all wrong. No, no, don't lose it babe. Don't throw it away, it means more than a song.

They're pinheads. Have you met them? But they've got nothing to say. Oh he just stands there in the corner and never dares join the game. He wants to take you out to find out what it's all about 'cos he can see that you've got something. But don't let him take you in - he's only after just one thing and that's the thing that makes you different. Don't lose it babe, don't go too straight, don't throw it away, no don't think it's all wrong. Baby, don't lose it babe, don't throw it away, it means more than a song. Don't lose it. Lose it.

These things are worthless - you see them in a magazine. T-t-trainers, slip-slip dresses, but you know what it means. They want a piece of something they have never felt, something they can't have and they go. In the end they want to suck you dry 'cos even though they turned out wrong. And you don't want to, don't want to, don't want to... Don't lose it baby, don't go that way, don't go too straight, don't think it's all wrong. Baby, don't lose it babe, don't throw it away, it means more than a song. Don't lose it. Don't lose it. Lose it (x7)

Duck Diving

A charming song first aired as part of Pulp's acoustic set of songs in 1999 and performed at the Venice, Edinburgh and Liss Ard shows that year. Back then the song was called Perry Reggae but has also been known as Return To Air after the short story by Philippa Pearce from which the lyrics are directly taken. Pearce originally wrote the story for the BBC School Broadcasting series Over To You in 1964 and was spotted by Jarvis in a 1971 English Project Stage 1 text book. Pulp also chose to play the song as part of their most recent John Peel session, recorded in Maida Vale Studio 4 on 12 August 2001 and broadcast on 28 August 2001.

Lyrics:

The Ponds are very big, so that at one end people bathe and at the other end they fish. Old chaps with bald heads sit on folding stools and fish with rods and lines, and little kids squeeze through the railings and wade out into the water to fish with nets. But the water's much deeper at our end of the Ponds, and that's where we bathe. You're not allowed to bathe there unless you can swim; but I've always been able to swim. They used to say that was because fat floats - well, I don't mind. They call me Sausage.

Only, I don't dive - not from any diving-board, thank you. I have to take my glasses off to go into the water, and I can't see without them, and I'm just not going to dive, even from the lowest diving-board, and that's that, and they stopped nagging about it long ago.
Then, this summer, they were all on to me to learn duck-diving. You're swimming on the surface of the water and suddenly you up-end yourself just like a duck and dive down deep into the water, and perhaps you swim about a bit underwater, and then come up again. I daresay ducks begin doing it soon after they're born. It's different for them.

So I was learning to duck-dive - to swim down to the bottom of the Ponds, and pick up a brick they'd thrown in, and bring it up again. You practise that in case you have to rescue anyone from drowning - say, they'd sunk for the third time and gone to the bottom. Of course, they'd be bigger and heavier than a brick, but I suppose you have to begin with bricks and work up gradually to people.

The swimming-instructor said, 'Sausage, I'm going to throw the brick in.' It was a brick with a bit of old white flannel round it, to make it show up under-water. 'Sausage, I'm going to throw it in, and you go after it - go after it, Sausage, and get it before it reaches the bottom and settles in the mud, or you'll never get it.'

He'd made everyone come out of the water to give me a chance, and they were standing watching. I could see them blurred along the bank, and I could hear them talking and laughing; but there wasn't a sound in the water except me just treading water gently, waiting. And then I saw the brick go over my head as the instructor threw it and there was a splash as it went into the water ahead of me; and I thought: I can't do it - my legs won't up-end this time - they feel just flabby - they'll float, but they won't up-end - they can't up-end - it's different for ducks... But while I was thinking all that, I'd taken a deep breath, and then my head really went down and my legs went up into the air - I could feel them there, just air around them, and then there was water round them, because I was going down into the water, after all. Right down into the water; straight down...

At first my eyes were shut, although I didn't know I'd shut them. When I did realize, I forced my eyelids up against the water to see. Because, although I can't see much without my glasses, as I've said, I don't believe anyone could see much under-water in those Ponds; so I could see as much as anyone.

The water was like a thick greeny-brown lemonade, with wispy little things moving very slowly about in it - or perhaps they were just movements of the water, not things at all; l couldn't tell. The brick had a few seconds' start of me, of course, but I could still see a whitish glimmer that must be the flannel round it: it was ahead of me, fading away into the lower water as I moved after it.

The funny thing about swimming under-water is its being so still and quiet and shady down there, after all the air and sunlight and splashing and shouting just up above. I was shut right in by the quiet, greeny-brown water, just me alone with the brick ahead of me, both of us making towards the bottom.

The Ponds are deep, but I knew they weren't too deep; and, of course, I knew I'd enough air in my lungs from the breath I'd taken. I knew all that. Down we went, and the lemonade-look quite went from the water, and it became just a dark blackish-brown, and you'd wonder you could see anything at all. Especially as the bit of white flannel seemed to have come off the brick by the time it reached the bottom and I'd caught up with it. The brick looked different down there, anyway, and it had already settled right into the mud - there was only one corner left sticking up. I dug into the mud with my fingers and got hold of the thing, and then I didn't think of anything except getting up again with it into the air.

Touching the bottom like that had stirred up the mud, so that I began going up through a thick cloud of it. I let myself go up - they say fat floats, you know - but I was shooting myself upwards, too. I was in a hurry. The funny thing was, I only began to be afraid when I was going back. I suddenly thought: perhaps I've swum under-water much too far - perhaps I'll come up at the far end of the Ponds among all the fishermen and foul their lines and perhaps get a fish-hook caught in the flesh of my cheek. And all the time I was going up quite quickly, and the water was changing from brown-black to green-brown and then to bright lemonade. I could almost see the sun shining through the water, I was so near the surface. It wasn't until then that I felt really frightened: I thought I was moving much too slowly and I'd never reach the air again in time.

Never the air again...

Then suddenly I was at the surface - I'd exploded back from the water into the air. For a while I couldn't think of anything, and I couldn't do anything except let out the old breath I'd been holding and take a couple of fresh, quick ones, and tread water - and hang on to that brick.
Pond water was trickling down inside my nose and into my mouth, which I hate. But there was air all round and above, for me to breathe, to live.
And then I noticed they were shouting from the bank. They were cheering and shouting, 'Sausage! Sausage!' and the instructor was hallooing with his hands round his mouth, and bellowing to me: 'What on earth have you got there, Sausage?'

So then I turned myself properly round - I'd come up almost facing the fishermen at the other end of the Pond, but otherwise only a few feet from where I'd gone down; so that was all right. I turned round and swam to the bank and they hauled me out and gave me my glasses to have a good look at what I'd brought up from the bottom.

Because it wasn't a brick. It was just about the size and shape of one, but it was a tin - an old tin box with no paint left on it and all brown-black slime from the bottom of the Ponds. It was heavy as a brick because it was full of mud. Don't get excited, as we did: there was nothing there but mud. We strained all the mud through our fingers, but there wasn't anything else there - not even a bit of old sandwich or the remains of bait. I thought there might have been, because the tin could have belonged to one of the old chaps that have always fished at the other end of the Ponds. They often bring their dinners with them in bags or tins, and they have tins for bait, too. It could have been dropped into the water at their end of the Ponds and got moved to our end with the movement of the water. Otherwise I don't know how that tin box can have got there. Anyway, it must have been there for years and years, by the look of it. When you think, it might have stayed there for years and years longer; perhaps stayed sunk under-water for ever.

I've cleaned the tin up and I keep it on the mantelpiece at home with my coin collection in it. I had to duck-dive later for another brick, and I got it all right, without being frightened at all; but it didn't seem to matter as much as coming up with the tin. I shall keep the tin as long as I live, and I might easily live to be a hundred.

Everybody's Problem

Released as a 7" single in September 1983. Also available on the Cherry Red re-issue CD of 'It', both of which are now very rare. The song is a surprisingly good second single driven forward by up-beat vocals, fast drumming and Trumpet fanfares. The fact that it sounds the most commercially 'pop' sounding song of their work at the time is no surprise as this was the track that was the outcome of manager Tony Perrin's persuasion to Jarvis to try and write songs like Wham. Vocally, Jarvis sounds exceptionally young, which he is of course, and compared to the vocally superior B side 'There Was', he sounds pretty refreshing and confident. You'd probably pay around �30 - �40 for a mint copy, so those who want to hear it are probably better off getting a tape recording of it or buying one of the Cherry Red compilation CDs.

Lyrics:

Standing there before you defences thrown aside. I thought I heard you laughing but when I asked you said you'd cried. I wanted to believe you. Yes I wanted to feel strong. But looking at my picture I realised I must be wrong.

Sounds so weak. It sounds so fey. It doesn't sound like what I meant to say. I speak to you with a borrowed tongue. Shall I stop right now, or blindly carry on?

It's everybody's problem, but I'm not everyone. I only have one viewpoint - don't talk to me of right or wrong. And didn't I often tell you, oh didn't I often say that something in your manner that really takes my breath away?

It's not weak to show I care. I know of those who wouldn't even bear. The fact remains I feel a need. Is it love or is it simply greed?
It's not weak to show I care. I know of those who wouldn't even bear. The fact remains I feel a need. Is it love or is it simply greed?

You choose what you believe in as far as I'm concerned. But one thing I can tell you is innocence cannot be learned. I wish you'd stop me talking, oh I wish you'd shut my mouth. Well the reason why I tell you is I think that you could help me out. And if you do then there's no doubt that all my problems won't just fly away.

Frightened

Demo recorded as part of the His 'n' Hers LP demos at Sheffield's Axis Studio between 10-11 September 1993. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the His 'n' Hers Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "Aha! This is like a Frankenstein that combines His 'n' Hers (the song) and The Fear. I was obsessed with the horror of domesticity at the time - I think the fact that we rehearsed in a pottery warehouse stuffed to the gills with trinkets and figurines had something to do with it. (Very collectable now, of course)."

Lyrics:

When his 'n' hers has taken hold.
And your sweatshirts match. Oh you'd better, oh you'd better buy Bold.
You're two of a kind and your pets look the same.
Yeah you're parading the aisles on a Sunday baby, can you remember your name?

And the figurines have taken over the house. And it's a hell of a mess.
And the pictures won't stand straight anymore. Don't they understand that you've given your best?
It looks like it's curtains for you. Just as long as they match with the chairs and the sofa.
Colour-coordinated for two, yeah.

Ooh, ooh yeah I'm frightened. Yeah, yeah, yeah it frightens me. The way I feel about you. The way I feel when I'm without you.
Ooh, ooh yeah I'm frightened. Ooh-ooh ooh yeah, it frightens me. The way I feel about you. The way I feel when I'm without you.

I cut your head off cause I've always loved your mind.
I took your clothes off just to see what I could find.
You never told me when to stop. Now I can't control myself.
Christ, to think I gave you all my heart and you put it on the shelf.

Ooh, ooh yeah I'm frightened. Yeah, yeah-yeah you frighten me. The way I feel about you. The way I feel when I'm without you.
Ooh, ooh yeah I'm frightened. Ooh-ooh ooh yeah, you frighten me. The way I feel about you. The way I feel when I'm without you.

Frightened. Frightened of wall coverings. Frightened of [??] Frightened of endowment plans.
Frightened of valances. Frightened of fitted sheets. Frightened of James Dean posters.
Frightened of storage jars. Frightened. Frightened of clip-frames. Frightened of 26-inch screens.
Frightened of... frightened. Frightened of video search mode microwave dralon-uphostered.

Got To Have Love

Demo recorded as part of the 'Pulp Sessions' at Cosford Mill Studios, Godalming, Surrey in November 1999.

Lyrics:

Got to have love. You got to have love. (x2)
Got to have love. You got to have love. (x2)
Got to have love. You got to have love. (x8)
Got to have love. You got to have love. (x5)

Grandfather's Nursery

Demo recorded as part of the 'Wessex Demos' at Wessex Studios, London in late 1999/early 2000.

Lyrics:

This used to be a garden, now it's a national tragedy
Oh lady of glass houses, where is the flower that will cover the stench of the city?
Well, it's lying in tatters among cellophane wrappers
And I have to get out of this nursery - yeah that would be a first for me
And maybe I'll find her and lay down beside her in fields of green and wait for the rain...

This used to be a forest, now it's a whiskey distillery
Oh lady of glass houses, where is the drink that will bring back my senses to me?
Well I search for the tree that she mentioned to me
But it's no good cause they all look the same - see I never learnt their names at school
And maybe I'll find her and lay down beside her in fields of green and wait for the rain...

This used to be a playground, now it's your Grandfather's nursery
Oh lady of glass houses, show me the plant that I can bring back my true love to me
Well she sailed down the river, now I long to go with her
I must find her before she reaches the sea - or it's the end for me
Oh maybe I'll find her and lay down beside her and plant a seed and wait for the rain...

And here comes the rain
And here comes the rain
And here comes the rain (here comes the rain, here comes the rain)
Yeah here comes the rain (here comes the rain, here comes the rain)
And here comes the rain (here comes the rain, here comes the rain)
Yeah here comes the rain (here comes the rain, here comes the rain)
Here comes the rain (here comes the rain, here comes the rain)
Yeah here comes the rain (here comes the rain, here comes the rain)
And here comes the rain

It's A Dirty World

Demo recorded in late-1996/early-1997 as part of the This Is Hardcore sessions. In spite of the fact the song was polished-up to the point that it was a finished product, Dirty World was unforgivably left off the This Is Hardcore LP and didn't even feature as a b-side. It was eventually released on the bonus disc of the This Is Hardcore Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "Towards the end of the album sessions we came up with this song which ended up being left off the final album. It was based on a girl I'd met in a night club who called herself 'Miss High-Kick' (with good reason). I never had any kind of thing with her but she... caught my imagination. The insistent 'beep' noise that goes through the track is the electronic horn I had on my bike at the time. God knows who played the timbales."

Lyrics:

She said she trained to be a dancer.
But she had a proper job by day.
Charlie Chaplin knew her father.
Before he passed away.

Asked could I help her with a problem.
She doesn't get out much no more:
"I'm not looking for a lover, no no no. I wanna dance that's all."
Oh I wanna dance that's all. I wanna dance that's all. I wanna dance that's all.

And all around the world are people singing "Hallelujah!"
And every man in town wants to do it to ya.
With your back up again the cigarette machine.
Oh it's bad for your health if you know what I mean, oh yeah. Oh yeah.

And the guys at the front have seen your act one million times before.
But nobody does it quite the same so they're sitting down for more.
But you're making them feel so useless and dumb. Cause they've seen it all and they still can't come. Ahhhhh.
Let me tell ya: It's a dirty world. Oh it's a dirty world. It's a dirty world. It's a dirty world. It's a dirty world.

And everybody in the house says "whoah".
And everybody in the house says "yeah".
Everybody in the house says "whoah".
Everybody in the house says "yeah".

With the period features and original dust and the china everywhere.
And you dance till the place goes up in flames.
Then you lay down in the charred remains.
That's where I come in with my second-hand excuse for technique, yeah. Technique, yeah.
Oh ain't that a treat, yeah?

Everybody in the house says "whoah".
And everybody in the house says "yeah".
Everybody in the house says "whoah".
And everybody in the house says "yeah".

You see, I always wanted to be a dancer.
But I just could not get it right.
It got me down at parties.
So I used to sit and drink all night.

Now I see it's not so hard.
All I needed was a partner.
Someone even dirtier than me.
And I'm so glad I found ya.
Yeah I'm so glad I found ya.

Oh it's a dirty world. It's a dirty world. It's a dirty world.

It's a dirty world. [repeat to fade]
Everybody in the house says "whoah". And everybody in the house says "yeah". [repeat to fade]

Live On

"This song is just about shit things... either you get depressed by shit things or you just have to make a joke of them. And I try to make a joke of them even though sometimes it's quite hard. But in the end you just have to live on." [Jarvis: Salford University concert 28 May 1992]

Another one of those hidden classics that was eventually shelved due to the personal nature of the lyrics - so Jarvis reckons. Nevertheless, it's still a blindingly passionate (if not spiteful) song, made even more interesting because of the sensative subject matter. Live On was performed frequently at Pulp's concerts between 1991-1993. A spectacular session version of the song is included on the bonus disc of the His 'n' Hers Deluxe Edition CD.

Lyrics:

I woke up in the morning I was still alive. The mirror says I'm fifty-five years old. If I don't look his way, I'm gonna do okay. I'm gonna last another day without your love ( Ma ma ma ma ma ma) Last another day without your love. Oh now no one lives alone for more than half a year. That's what a friend of mine once said to me. There's more things in the world than holding hands and kissing girls. You've got to last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) Last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) Last another day without your love.

Oh but I dreamt (or thought) of you last night. And the world split into two - I tried to listen to some records but they were all singing about you. I can't live on never knowing where my soul is going when I die. I can't last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) I can't last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) I can't last another day without your love.
Oh yeah, well I realise I should think about somebody new instead. That's what I tried to do, but the ones I liked looked just like you - Gotta last another day without your love ( ma ma ma ma ma ma) Last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) Last another day without your love.

Oh but I dreamt (or thought) of you last night. And the world split into two. I tried to listen to some records but they were all singing about you. I can't live on never knowing where my soul is going when I die. I can't last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) I can't last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) I can't last another day without your love.

It's okay, I'm not a kid anymore. I can last another day without your love. If I focus all my thoughts on something stupid, I can last another day without your love. Ooh gonna last another day, last another day, last another day, last another day, last another day, last another day, last another day, Good god!

Oh but I dreamt (or thought) of you last night. And the world split into two I tried to listen to some records but they were all singing about you. I can't live on never knowing where my soul is going when I die I can't last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) I can't last another day without your love (ma ma ma ma ma ma) I can't last another day without your love.

Modern Marriage

Demo recorded in late-1996/early-1997 as part of the This Is Hardcore sessions. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the This Is Hardcore Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "An attempt to imagine a new set of wedding vows more suited to the modern age. I am audibly inebriated on this recording which is probably because I was engaged at the time. The marriage never took place. The second appearance of "Pudgy blobs wearing Union-Jack underpants" who were finally to surface in Wickerman on 2001's We Love Life. The first was in Catcliffe Shakedown."

Lyrics:

I promise not to rip you off. And I promise not to sell you out.
I will never smoke all your stash if I happen to find it whilst tidying up. Which let's face it is unlikely.
Well, I would always leave you at least a joint's worth anyway.
And I will never eat the last bit of cereal and then put the empty packet back hoping you won't notice.
Or if I do I'll pay for the next lot I promise. Because I know that really gets on your nerves.
And I will never sleep with any of your friends. Well not your best friends.

I don't know just what I'm meant to do. I don't want to make it wrong for you.
How can we escape what's happened to all those others who've gone before us two?
Baby we have lived together. Now we'll do it all forever.
Hold my hand, don't ever let it go. Close your eyes, hold tight and here we go.

And how do we avoid being like all those other cheese-masters?
Demonstrating the facilities of their new car and the trouser-press.
From hunter-gatherer to washer-dryer is a long, strange trip.
And what if our kids turn into pudgy blobs wearing union-jack underpants, addicted to coffee-whitener?
Bloated caricatures of something vaguely recognisable as a human being - a human being that you once loved.

I don't know just what I'm meant to do. I don't want to make it wrong for you.
How can we escape what's happened to all those others who've gone before us two?
Baby we have lived together. Now we'll do it all forever.
Hold my hand, don't ever let it go. Close your eyes, hold tight and here we go.

So this is it. We're walking down the aisle, the dawning of a new era.
Is this the start of a new airbrushed Disney-life or some 36-part depressing-as-hell Northern drama to be repeated every night for the rest of our lives?
And I'm frightened, oh yeah, I'm shitting Barratt houses here. Is this the right thing?
And then suddenly I'm turning to look at your face and I'm saying "I do. I do. I do".

I don't know just what I'm meant to do. I don't want to make it wrong for you.
How can we escape what's happened to all those who have gone before us two?
Baby we have lived together. Now we'll do it all forever.
Hold my hand, don't ever let it go. Close your eyes, hold tight and here we go.

Oooh-oooh. Oh ooh-ooh ooohh. Ah-oooh. Ah-oooh. La-la la-la. Ooh la-la. La-la la-la-la. La-la la-la-la. La-la la-la la-laa la-la.

"I do."

My Erection

Demo recorded in late-1996/early-1997 as part of the This Is Hardcore sessions. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the This Is Hardcore Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "The genital obsession continues. I think I was so desperate to be somebody else that I started singing through a vocoder to try to completely erase my personality. Party Hard and Seductive Barry also came from this period. Very good Fender Rhodes playing from Mark on this."

My First Wife

Recorded from the audience by Mark Webber at the Barracuda Club, Nottingham, 15 July 1987, and released later that year along with 'Don't You Want Me Anymore' on the "Oozing Through The Ozone Layer" Cassette. Thanks to Mark Sturdy for details.

Nights Of Surburbia

Recorded live at the Octagon Centre, Sheffield on 1 September 1985 at the Dolebusters Festival. Eventually released on the Dolebusters compilation tape in 1987 called "See You Later Agitator" which also featured Steve's pre-Pulp band 'Trolley Dog Shag'. The song is different to Styloroc: Nites Of Suburbia which was first recorded for the Island Demo in 1992. However, the lyrics for Styloroc: Nites Of Suburbia first appeared in the "See You Later Agitator" tape booklet which is reproduced in the latter half of the Pulp People Scrapbook Volume 1. Thanks to Mark Sturdy for details

Paula

Demo recorded as part of the Different Class LP sessions at Sheffield's Axis Studio between 5-12 June 1995. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the Different Class Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "Paula was a girl from Hull in a wheelchair, who used to come to a lot of our concerts. Her hair was actually a very nice bright red colour. The song isn't about her at all; I just liked her name. In fact, I don't know who it's about really. Features the cheesiest guitar solo ever (can't remember whether it was me or Russell who played that one)."

Lyrics:

Hey hey Paula, I never thought we'd last this long. Your voice annoys me and your hair's all wrong, so wrong.
Oh and Paula, I don't like any of your friends. Yes, and horoscopes just send me fast asleep.
Oh funny how we still spend the night together, oh even though we don't see one thing the same. But we still do it again. Oh yeah we do it again.
Oh Paula, I just can't get it through my head how you can look so bad but be so good in bed. So good.
Oh funny how we still spend the night together, oh even though we don't see one thing the same. But still we do it again. Oh yeah we do it again, yeah.
Oh funny how we still spend the night together, oh even though we don't see one thing the same. And still we do it again. Oh yeah we do it again.
Oh now Paula. I think it's time that you should go. Until tonight at least and then we can go to bed. Let's go to bed.
Ooooooo. Ooooooo. La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la. La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la (x3). Oh.

The Quiet Revolution

Demo recorded as part of the 'Pulp Sessions' at Cosford Mill Studios, Godalming, Surrey in November 1999. Performed live in 1999 at Venice Palazzo Pisani Moretta (10 June), Edinburgh Queen's Hall (31 August) and the Liss Ard Festival, Ireland (2 September).

Lyrics:

You never saw my homework
And it was something to see
Hiding under a duvet cover, tragically
My Macbeth was an error of judgement, and no-one wants to see my Lear
Oh the quiet revolution's here

In domestic dramas
All across the nation
Gifted amateurs tread the boards all night full of inner motivation
Is this a microwave I see before me as the clock strikes 3am?
Thus it would appear
I can hardly wait for my fate to appear
Oh the quiet revolution's here

Oh but you - you keep on rocking even though your friends are dropping dead like flies, wearing stockings
Oh keep rockin', yeah yeah yeah

You could have heard a pin drop at Gatecrasher last Thursday 4am
Of people dancing to the rhythm of their own heartbeats, 140bpm
Oh but you gotta slow down my son if wanna know just what's happening here
Oh the quiet revolution is here

Yeah, I've seen how the world ends
And it's not with a bang, but a whisper
And no-one provided an emotional commentary
Oh what you gonna to do with the rest of your life now there's never nothing good on TV?
Oh if the world's a stage, how you may as well be the star of your own play
Cause the quiet revolution is here to stay

Oh well you could, you keep on rockin' even though your friends are dropping dead like flies, wearing stockings
Oh, yeah keep rockin' yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah-yeah yeah
Shhh! Shhh! Shhh! Shhh!
Oh the quiet revolution is here

Rattlesnake

Demo recorded at FON Studios, Sheffield in July 1987.

Lyrics:

I just went back on my promise. The one I kept through countless ages
All I did was hold her hand. The world split into two tonight

And it's so big I can't believe it. Hovers over every action
In the distance getting nearer. It will be here by tonight

Thought that I could live without it. Tried but it just came back stronger
Just one touch and it's all over. I must have it all tonight

And this time it could be forever. It might only last an hour
Turn my head to see her face. And I must give my life tonight

Oh give it now. Oh I will be your love tonight
Oh I can't give it now. Give me your life tonight
Mmm give it.

And the hardest part. The hardest part is when you stop

Ohhh... la laa... la la la la la-la-la
Ohhh...oh-hooo. Oh-hooo-ooo. Oh-hooo-ooo.
Ohhh... la la la la la

Street Operator

Demo recorded in late-1996/early-1997 as part of the This Is Hardcore sessions. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the This Is Hardcore Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "Once we got famous I couldn't drink in normal pubs anymore so I started going to the Groucho Club in Soho. Having read a lot of Jeffrey Bernard I thought maybe I would get involved in heated discussions with inebriated painters. Instead I found a load of cocked-up ex-public schoolboys listening enthralled to a certain well-known author describe scoring drugs from someone on a council estate."

There Was

The wonderfully soothing B side to 'Everybodys Problem'. At its simplest, it is made up of a repetitive guitar playing through Jarvis' smooth voice, backed up by a female voice (not at all unlike the songs that Saskia and others provided vocals for on 'It'). Out of this summery hazyness come some excellent cheesy organ 'beep beeps' which make you feel like you're sailing down a river out to the sea. If you try hard enough you can even see the Seagulls squarking around the Lighthouse. Very 'It' like indeed, and Jarvis' vocals are superb - unlike 'Everybodys Problem, it's seems like the past one and a half decades have not changed his voice at all. Love it!

Lyrics:

We're talking again. Smiling and laughing. Ignoring the past. Well I hope you're happy.
I know there was something. Please don't let it die away. I know what you're thinking. I know what you want to say.
I won't give it names for names have no uses. Just shots in the dark or easy excuses.
I know there was something. Please don't let it die away. I know what you're thinking. I know what you want to say. Lala-lala (x13).
I know there was something. Please don't let it die away I know what you're thinking. I know what you want to say.

Watching Nicky

Recorded for Island in the 'Fallout Shelter' Demo on 7 May 1992. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the His 'n' Hers Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "Another one from the audition tape. I guess this was an attempt to write another song like Babies - seeing as Nick came up with the guitar bit for Babies maybe that explains the title. It was actually based on the true-life story of a girl I'd gone out with about a year before. And the 'kids throwing stones' incident took place underneath the viaduct that was later to star in Wickerman."

Lyrics:

Watching Nicky turn from a girl into a wife is like watching all the life drain out of Nicky. Seventeen last June, thirty-four this May. What else can I say about you, Nicky?

Oh no she's not painting any more. Spends the evenings locked indoors, and now, something's just not going right for Nicky. Oh yeah. Her mother said she'd mind the kid, and when it came she never did. Now you're not smiling anymore, no Nicky. Oh no no no no no no Nicky.

I remember we went out and got stuck under a bridge. The kids were throwing stones at me and Nicky. If I could see her now, I'd shout across and say, "Hey Nicky - run away, do it now Nicky."

Because she's not painting any more. She spends her evenings locked indoors, and now, something's just not going right for Nicky. Oh yeah. Her mother said she'd mind the kid, but when it came she never did. Now you're not smiling anymore, no Nicky. Oh no no no no no no Nicky. Oh Nicky. Oh Nicky. Nicky. Mamamama (etc).

Oh she's not painting any more. Spends the evenings locked indoors, and now, something's just not going right for Nicky. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah Nicky. Ma ma ma ma ma ma Nicky. Oh whoa whoa whoa whoa oh Nicky. Ma ma ma ma ma ma Nicky. Oh yeah yeah yeah yeah. Nicky.

We Can Dance Again

Demo recorded as part of the Different Class LP sessions at Sheffield's Axis Studio between 5-12 June 1995. Pulp have only performed the song once before at the London Theatre Royal on 18 December 1994, when it had very different lyrics in the verses (it opened with: "Oh you've been waiting for this moment to arrive since late September 1985 / And you watch the icebergs melt before your eyes / You can dance again"). Jarvis: "At one time we thought this was going to be our next big hit after 'Babies'. We played it at our Christmas 1994 show at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane and it brought the house down (quite literally: the balconies to the venue suffered pretty severe structural damage). My Mum still asks me when we're going to release it." The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the Different Class Deluxe Edition.

Lyrics:

We have made a choice - no we don't want to die. We want to look the future firmly in the eye. Speaking personally I have to say that I would like to dance again. Yeah we know that 99% is crap but we're the other 1% - what you gonna do about that? We want something to happen, we want it to come fast. We want to dance again.

Oh we can dance again, take a chance again. If you can make it outdoors you can do it once more. It's alright again. And if you hold me tight I might just stay the night and we'll forget where we've been, all the crap we have seen. It's alright again. Alright again. Alright.

Can you believe that it was only yesterday? That there was nothing going on - nothing to play. We don't want trouble - no, we only want to say: We'd like to dance again. And so although it doesn't mean a single thing, oh well it might just make us laugh, and it might just make us sing. And it might help us forget that we don't know where we're going. If we can dance again. Dance again, oh yeah.

Oh we can dance again, take a chance again. If you can make it outdoors you can do it once more. It's alright again. And if you hold me tight I might just stay the night, we'll forget where we've been, all the crap we have seen. It's alright again. Alright again. Alright. La-la la-la la.

Oh it's okay. Oh it's not the end of the world. It's just some boys and some girls making fools of themselves. Everybody's singing! We can dance again, take a chance again. If you can make it outdoors, we can do it once more. It's alright again. And if you hold me tight I might just stay the night. We'll forget where we've been, all the crap we have seen. It's alright again. Alright again. Alright.

Oh we can dance again, hold my hand again and it's alright. Your hair is beautiful, yeah. Oooo-hooo-ooo-ooo. Oh yeah we can dance again, hold my hand again and it's alright. Your hair is beautiful, yeah. Oooo-hooo-ooo-ooo. La-la la-la la.

Whiskey In The Jar

Pulp played this Thin Lizzy cover version as part of the Black Sessions broadcast on Radio France, 30 October 1995. This session track is available on both the Childline CD and on special copies of the French Common People CD. To my knowledge Pulp have since performed the song on only two other occasions - at the V96 Festival soundcheck at Chelmsford Hylands Park on 17 August 1996, and at the special Holsten Pils concert at the Teatre Grec Ampitheatre, Barcelona on 24 August 1996.

You Are The One

Demo recorded in late-1996/early-1997 as part of the This Is Hardcore sessions. The track was eventually released on the bonus disc of the This Is Hardcore Deluxe Edition. Jarvis: "'You are the one' was a phrase we used to use whenever anybody did something exceptionally good or entertaining. I guess if more songs like this had made it on to the album people might not have found the gulf between This Is Hardcore and Different Class so wide. But they didn't."

Other Rare Pulp Items...

His 'n' Hers US promo paperback book

Issued to promote the His 'n' Hers LP in America.

ISLBN 314-524 006 214

Part One: The Words
Part Two: The Facts
Part Three: The Biography
Part Four: The Discography
Epilogue

Common People Comic Book

A fantastic promo item issued by Island in France which was included with some copies of the Common People CD. The comic illustrates the lyrics to the song Common People and also includes a Pulp discography. It sells for approximately �10 although you'll have to pay more for a shrink wrapped copy which includes the Common People CD. Here's the introduction that was written to educate the French masses about the wonders of Pulp:

"They're part of melodic continuum that began in England's dance hall during WW1. More recent points on that timeline have included The Kinks, Roxy music, Bowie (Diamond Dogs era), The Smiths and Blur. Pulp's songs present a very English slice of life, garnished with bathos, wit and humor. The melange includes guitars, bass, drums, violin, a very cheesy Farfisa organ (how retro!) ans [sic] the inimitable vocal stylings of Mr Jarvis Cocker. Pulp have been around for almost 15 years as a loose entity with a mottled indie past. Pulp's Island Records signing and subsequent release of their album, "His 'n' Hers" marked their major label debut. With "Different Class", they triggered a real Pulpmania. As a tribute to the single "Common People", the Tank Girl cartoonist, Jamie Hewlett, specially drew a cartoon, illustrating the lyrics."

Click here to see the cartoons... 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5 > 6

Disco 2000 Sunglasses

Made in exceptionally limited quantities to promote the German release of Disco 2000, these unfeasibly large wraparound specs are �ber cool!