Monday 17 September 2018

Mid-Life Crisis Songs #30: I Coulda Been A Contender


Now that she's older
As the embers of romance
Fade to mortgages and leccy bills
Being comfortable and that
Nobody told her
That she'd ever reach the stage
Where her husband bored her
Or she lied about her age

The folly of youth is that you think you have all the time in the world to make your dreams a reality. 

He's compromising
At least he's got a job for life
Get born, get schooled
Get job, get car
Pay tax and find a wife
And on that note
The end can't come too soon
If you're not living on the edge
You take up too much room

Then one day you wake up and it's too late. And you realise how much time you wasted in your 20s...

At school, he used to dream about being Bruce Lee
But the need for chops
In the Manor Top
Ain't all that great, you see
And so he gave up
On his black belt and first dan
As near as he got to China
Was a week in Camber Sands

The ironic thing about the most famous song by Reverend & The Makers is that it's all about almost making it... just as they almost did. Heavyweight Champion of the World was a Top Ten hit in 2007, but it was their only one. Still, they carry on regardless. I need to go check out a few of their most recent releases because Jon McClure is a great songwriter. I hope he's been successful enough that he's never had to take a day job... and be like everybody else...

It's boring, it's boring
It might put you to sleep
It's the same old routine
Repeating week after week
You work harder, work harder
You're told that you must
And you must earn a living
And you must earn a crust

And be like everybody else
Be like everybody else
Be like everybody else

Just be like everybody else



3 comments:

  1. I've just looked up John McClure to see how old he was in 2007, presumably around the time he wrote those lyrics - aargh, he was born in 1981 and was therefore only 26! In a way that helps me to feel less depressed about the words, they are the imaginings and assumptions of a mere youngster who has yet to experience the reality of getting older. And for me that gives them a certain rather clichéd naiveté. It all helps!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Meant to add - a great song, still...

      Delete
    2. Yeah, what do these young uns know, eh?

      Delete

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