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National Service

from Never Mind the Boolocks by Insane Society

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about

Wag: Yes, I know this has been released before, but had we known at the time that this Garry Johnson album would see the light of day, then it would not have been included on 'Cover it Up' For those who don't know, it was originally the opening track on 'Strength through oi' and released in 1981. As with all Garry's poems, I had to stretch or condense each line to fit the tempo of the song, so this seems a slower rendition of the original, but it isn't.

Garry: I don't believe in National Service or wars, and this is all about working class kids and teenage tearaways saying 'no' to becoming cannon fodder for the establishment. It was inspired by our brave british lions who were led by donkeys in world war one.

lyrics

Born in a city of tower blocks,
Alcatraz without the rocks,
sent to over-crowded schools,
beaten up if you broke the rules.
How our mothers sit and cried,
‘cos they know were gonna die,
we beat the boredom with slimming pills,
go to the seaside in stolen wheels.

They took away my liberty,
they took away my soul,
they tried to break the man in me,
and left me in a hole.

Bunk off school every other day,
If we get caught, they make us pay,
so we watch out for the boys in blue,
you never know who’s watching you.
Soldiers wearing pin striped suits,
want us to wear marching boots,
army life they say is fun,
clear the streets of all the young.

They took away my liberty,
they took away my soul,
they tried to break the man in me,
and left me in a hole.

National Service, hup two three four,
National Service, hup two three,
National Service, hup two, up two
could’ve made a man outta me.

We want you to go to war,
kill another country’s poor,
we are the class who fight their wars,
sometimes steal from department stores,
we are the class that their kind hate,
‘cos we live on council estates,
so they’ve invented a new state game,
playing soldiers is the name.

credits

from Never Mind the Boolocks, released March 28, 2020
Music © 2007 Paul D Waghorn
Words by Garry Johnson
Additional lyrics by Paul D Waghorn

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Insane Society Royal Tunbridge Wells, UK

Insane Society have been around for about 18 years. The first three albums had Sheldon Hannaford on lead vocals. Steve and Wag are almost ever present and Chris is the 4th bassist following Stefan (died) Gavin (retired due to fatherhood) and JJ Kaos who is still playing bass for The Last Resort. Sheldon took a free transfer to Vicious Rumours in 2011 before being dropped. ... more

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