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Truth & Fiction

by The Undercover Hippy

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1.
Rise & Fall 04:15
We created the state in Iran We created the afghan Taliban We created the hate in Iraq That provided the spark for the ISIS clan We created this mess Playing the world now like a game of chess Anybody wanna guess Who the pawns are? Getting fucked like a porn star? Damn right that’s us Any fool can tell Banging on the door at the gates of hell You’d do well To educate yourself Instead of getting caught up trying to make your wealth Forget about yourself for one minute people look around the world how bad does it need to get before you get upset and realise that you can rebel CHORUS You think you know now what you know But you know what you see And you see what they show you So come along You think the world is set in stone Look around how many Romans d’you see? Everything that rises must fall Think you know now what you know But you know what you see And you see what they show you So come along You think the world is set in stone Look around how many Romans d’you see? Everything that rises must fall Give your more to receive your less How many gadgets you get for your pound of flesh? Forty hours a week of pure stress Just to be able to dress to impress While the rest of the world might as well be Mars Empire never really meant to last Throw rocks in a house of glass Like a madman living in Centreparcs But don’t listen to me Go read up on your history and you’ll see It’s never really what it’s supposed to be Looking through the lens Of the shit they show on TV but the news we see At best serves the interests of the powers that be Saying if you wanna drink tea And live in a democracy Then the market’s got to be free CHORUS Wages fall and they push up the prices These people don’t know what nice is Take a look at the crisis with ISIS Governments left to their own devices You might think that’s unrelated But the fact is reality is complicated And the backroom deals that seal the fate Of these countries never even get debated at all Even when the countries at war Even when all the young men fall And all because the energy companies still want more While the poor Here in the UK can’t even afford to stay warm While they struggle surviving Profits are rising Ask yourself why we support the violence CHORUS Everything that rises must fall x4
2.
See these MP’s on the TV Talking on repeat like a scratched up CD So many lies that their face looks seedy So much to hide that they can’t talk freely It seems now we just simply allow That every single word that comes out of their mouths is Put politely, a load of cobblers gonna House the homeless, employ the jobless Man you gotta be a total idiot To buy any of that shit or even consider it So considerate, leave us a little bit Throw a few scraps then call that benefit What? I’m just saying that you can’t lie Get caught then make out you’re a nice guy When the cost of just living’s got so high People can’t even get buy And we try, but it’s still not enough Rent just doubled and I got laid off Caught in a struggle just to pay the debts off while I Make the best of juggling two jobs So why, do we cat like it’s such a surprise Every time we discover new lies We just sigh And then scroll on by saying CHORUS I don’t know what to believe no more When the truth becomes the fiction and the fiction is all When the politicians play their games of war We’re busy watching shadows on the wall I’ve given up looking up to leaders, Man they can’t even feed us let alone leads us Nurses eating out of food banks While they excuse banks and let the market bleed us Do you really wanna feed these leeches? Do you really wanna hear these speeches? Go scare some Daily Mail readers I’m throwing in my lot with the basket weavers Cos you lot are basket cases Having debates over who’s less racist It’s like we’re living in the end of ages And I still can’t tell whose mask is fakest But that’s how they keep you focussed Get your attention then you don’t notice That power never rests in the hands of the voters Nah that’s hocus pocus Now I’m not saying voting’s hopeless I’m just saying that your vote gets wasted When you let yourself get sucked in By the media telling you where you can’t place it Cos let’s face it, it’s just basic Human emotion mate, you can’t fake it So if you ever get a chance to vote for someone taking a stance You better damn well take it CHORUS x 2 Does anybody out there know Where the hell did our grip on reality go? It’s like we’re living in a tv show With a screenplay stolen from HBO And there’s a 8 year old in the director’s chair Giving a major role to anybody with a grand air Preferably two or three grand hair Effectively he doesn’t give a damn or care Why should he? The ratings are soaring Who said politics are boring? He logs in his google account each morning And watches the ad revenue just pour in And anyway he’s just reporting He knows trumps views are all appalling But he’s not gonna win so just ignore him Oh hang on: This just in, he just got sworn in CHORUS x 3
3.
City boys, sit in traffic in Ferraris like Pretty boys, sipping soda camparis Comittee boys, committed to the company goal Well they say they sell futures Take a look and you’ll see what the truth is You were sold a lie Well the futures they were trading Were the futures of our children Who hold the light You opened your bed up To accept the company setup Then you offered them up your soul They played you for fun But when they take the money and run Tell me who’s got to take the fall? CHORUS Said we’re all, all in debt to you I don’t even know why we respected you When it all went bad, who picked up the tab Tell me, who’s in debt to who? X2 Too big too fail to tough to nail, that’s what they say Now they’re too rich for jail, too poor to bail Have it both ways Now I don’t need to speculate to set you straight, oh no Well this is not my theory this is history If you missed it Check the writings on the wall Sooner or later this fairytale elevator it was Bound to fall Now we’re falling flailing Trying to find someone to blame And leave the system all the same as before CHORUS x 2 Hey Mr Morgan Chase Mean old man with a gorgan face He likes to make what the organ plays Build a big bubble in the marketplace And then skank all the money you saved Every single one of us here we got played that day Like a round of Monopoly Bye bye property Seems like we never get bored of this game But all the same I think now we’re getting bored of playing I’m gonna Board a plane Travel all the way to New York just to Flip up the board reset get born again Cos in the hall of shame Corrupt politicians and bankers make up all the names I’m sick of all the money getting drained Like a trickle in the vein Of the god damn water main And then we all get blamed They say you’ve gotta give it back to the man No pain no gain It’s like a ball and chain Dragging the people down And taking all their chances away CHORUS x 3
4.
CHORUS One heart one life one planet to inhabit And only one chance left to hand it To our children in one piece Before the damage is too much But only if we all kick the habit now X2 Until the corporate can incorporate Anything above a love of money in their mental state then we Rely on the state to regulate Hold these people to account for all the mess they make, but wait There’s one problem with this proposition ‘cause whether leading or in opposition every single politician is on a mission to take his honoured position use it for his own ambition like he’s on a commision but it’s the same old story, Labour or Tory vote if you want to just don’t ignore me Until we separate the business and politics Politicians are gonna listen to all the lobbyists Until we separate the money and the media People stay obedient and power gets greedier Until we separate the lies from the fact Well it’s one step forward but it’s two steps back CHORUS Well I’m an addict for the oil like the rest of them Selfishness gets the better of the best of men It's like the emperor's new clothes So full of holes May I suggest we take a rest Then get dressed again Cause this mess we’re in, whoa oh oh It isn’t going anywhere unless we’re investing in, whoa oh oh The future generation don’t allow the wickedness to win, whoa oh oh Were heading for disaster but we can arrest the trend Stand testament to a future where humanity is blessed again, eh. CHORUS Well I’m a cynical lyrical animal Spinning all manner of flammable mannerisms Til I’m shackled and manacled like that Cannibal Hannibal I’m in it to win it Pushing the limit minute to minute but barely beginning to get a Grip on the basics yeah let’s face it you’re wasted mate You know you never even tasted it And you don’t even know my name You don’t even know my… You don’t even know my name You don’t even know my game x2 CHORUS x2
5.
Everybody's got a mate like that It’s 8 o'clock, you’re round at your mates You’re getting ready for a night on the town, It’s gonna be great But it’s getting late, so you all do a dab And neck a bottle of tequila while you order the cab It’s gone 11 when you finally rock up at the club The girls are hot as fuck and you’re a sucker for love The queue’s long but the skirts are short so of course You try your patter on the ladies and then work the floor An hour later and you're almost in in more Ways than one judging by this girls grin But then Jim, he’s been on the gin, he starts to Get that expression that can only mean one thing Next minute he’s up in the face Of the biggest bouncer trying to tell him he’s a fucking disgrace Before you know it there’s a scuffle and you’re out on your arses And Jim’s moaning that they broke his glasses! What the fuck Jim?! CHORUS Everybody’s got a mate like that The one who talks back to the bouncer when he’s being a twat And everybody’s got a mate like this Gets way too pissed and then tries to give your mother a kiss Everybody’s got a mate like me Prancing around like he’s on TV Not everybody’s got a mate like you Yeah the one who stays true when it all falls through Well anyone can be your friend But when it all falls down Will they be there to pick you up again? Re-wind, you’re 16 years old On a mission to never listen or do what you're told The only people who matter are your mates but some days You feel like you could batter them anyway, like one day… You had a party cos your mum was out, you stole a Bottle of whiskey cos the rum was out It’s getting messy when you suddenly hear your worst fear Keys in the front door and your mum’s appeared The room freezes, time stands still Jenny’s in the corner trying to hide Stan’s pills But you mum just laughs, throws you a wink Says “Is no one going to offer me a drink?!” No way man, your mum’s too jokes! She’s the Queen of the party, she’s the host with the most. Now she’s Of in the kitchen making everybody toast with baked beans Acting like she’s suddenly 18 But better than than she be acting grown up Discovering the bedroom where Emily’s thrown up So now you’re taking her a rum and coke Only to find some bloke with his tongue Halfway down her throat! What the fuck Jim?! CHORUS
6.
Pull up a chair let’s have another one Just don’t get me started on the Government We'll be here all night, because I'm mighty pissed off with all these toffs who talk shite Just give it a rest you're like Fred West, nothing but a well-dressed sex pest Doing his best to make sure that his mates with the money are left to make more and I'm Sick of seeing all the lies you spin, sick of seeing all the suckers get sucked in and I'm At the end of my tether, whether or not I'll ever see a better day I don't know but hey whatever Until that day we might as well have fun Because when everything is said and done We're just a bunch of clever monkeys on a rock spinning round the sun What, am I the only one? No CHORUS I don't want to play this game, it's getting old now I don't want to be your slave until it all falls down Anyone feels the same, well come on over Cos time’s running out Check this, this is for all of my listeners, lyrical satirical business Got revolution on my christmas wish list Oh wait a minute that's a risky business yeah So if you're listening in GCHQ Get a proper job mate the public hates you I know you're probably just some overweight dude Trying to compensate because you can't relate to Anybody in the real world Evil geek genius dreaming ‘bout the body of a real girl I bet in Second-Life you're like a player Soothsayer, dragonslayer, eh ya Down here on Earth you're just a pawn in a game Being played by the people who were born into money They all think it's funny when they're calling your name And you're running like a dog on a chain, so log in again This time do the right thing, copy all the data to your keyring You could be like Edward Snowden Horns posse blow dem, whistle posse blow dem CHORUS Here I go again taking a pen And taking issue with the mission of these eminent men But what do I know? I’m good at hitting a high note What gave me the impression I was ever entitled To talk back, take back the power to break that Conditioned inhibition I could every debate that Or take that tack with the people who make fact Mate, give me a break I hate that! So while you fixate on click bait they’re gonna instate Slick new visions of a world in which they can dictate Every angle of a debate Until the very definition is you live in a cage Live in a world where exploitation is a given The only way of living is the one where you’re driven To earn more, own more, borrow, loan more You can’t afford the rent, now you’re living at home more We own more shit now than ever before We’ve never been more connected and we never get bored And so you wonder why we haven’t left this crap behind us… Mate, there’s not an App for kindness CHORUS x 2
7.
CHORUS This one’s for all my Bristol peeps Staggering these streets half asleep trying to lift your feet This ain't trick or treat Wake up and smell the roses X2 What’s that? What you tryin to say? Your lips move like you're trying to communicate But your eyes are all glazed What’s that you say? You done too much... Ohh K! Yeah it’s all clear now That’s why you’re on the floor crawling around And you’re calling out To your mates but your mates can’t help you Cos they’re falling about like Zombies in a B-movie That’s all you ever really seem to be But it seems to me the only brains you eat Are the ones that you may soon need So get up and get yourself outside Watch the sun rise Open up your eyes Cos there’s so much more to your life CHORUS Everyone I’d like you to meet mixie 16 going on 60 Used to have a sparkle in her eye and her smile could lift me But now the skies are misty, eh Cos these days She hoovers up lines like a dyson Gets knocked out like mike tyson Yeah half the time it’s white lines and white lightning As for the other half Well it’s way to frightening Being sober when you gotta face All the shadows of the past that you can’t erase So now you’re running to that other place It’s written in the lines all over your face And you say you’re having fun That you’re not the only one You say it’s just a game You can take it as it comes But when you’re all alone That’s when the cracks begin to show You fill them in the only way you know CHORUS Well your logic it’s lost on me Seems like a pretty high cost to me Only 23 now it hurts to pee Yeah pretty soon you’ll have your very own colostomy So wake up before you wreck yourself Take a minute to collect yourself You gotta learn to respect yourself You better check yourself before you wet yourself And maybe I don’t know what I’m missing But I’ve got a bladder not a bag to piss in Yeah I don’t gotta be no mathematician to figure that’s a rash decision And even if nobody listens Well it doesn’t matter cos I’m no magician I’m just a poor musician Trying to make some people listen CHORUS x2
8.
Well they can read your face like a book, one look I’m telling you that’s all it took, that’s all it takes To catalogue your past mistakes Write your pattern to a database And it all happens in the blink of an iphone Communication at the speed of light Passing through the eye of the cyclone Everything I own I’m gonna pass it all down Not to my kids, instead I’ll give it to my clone Or my clan, with an indefinite life-span Wanna live until the end of the world? Come follow my plan, eye-scan Across your retina vettin ya Getting all of your letters and never letting you blend in To the back of the background Barack Obama telling us he’s backing a crackdown American smackdown Wearing a pack on your back and you’re black You better be expecting attack now CHORUS But you’ve nothing to lose if you follow the rules Kids killing other kids on PS2’s with real drones Dropping real bombs on real homes With real bones In the rubble of the enemy zones x2 Paranoia is a valid reaction When your government is monitoring every action That you take Every choice you make every stance you take Every unnecessary law you break So wake up, and take action Together we can Beat It like Michael Jackson, our Biggest enemy’s our own inaction But together we’re a movement that’s gaining traction And I hope someday we find our way Better be soon or there’ll be nobody left Who we can call sane We feel connected like we’re part of something bigger In reality we’re talking to ourselves in the mirror CHORUS POST CHORUS But there’s hope, I have hope, I have hope Cos I know, that every seed we sow If we water it, water it, it will grow And there’s no knowing where this could go Next time, you and your lover do Facetime Sexting bare selfies, but not of the face kind Remember what you’re doing is having a three-way Just you, your lover, and Teresa May So please obey the rules we make Follow the news we fake the views we take Cos every single move you make or bond you break or breath you take We’ll be watching you Closer than anybody’s ever watched before When the price of freedom is conceded as the cost of war We’re losing liberties across the board And if we give in then we’re lost for sure But what’s more well These days we’re giving up our privacy willingly Become our own worst enemy, man it’s killing me The stupidity of my own ability to buy it Hash-tag #Share if you’re feeling me CHORUS / POST CHORUS
9.
CHORUS Ukip telling me Ahh they keep on telling me no no To turn upon my neighbour no no I won’t turn upon my neighbour no no Cos where I’m living there’s a shop on every corner With a million food to try, whoa oh oh And where I'm living there’s a face of every colour In the street when I go walking by, whoa oh oh And if you listen you can hear the sound of music From the windows as your walking by, whoa oh oh That’s what you're missing when your wishing for a Britain That was never even real so why… yeah CHORUS I said I’ve been around the world Seen a lot of things yeah And the one thing I know is that People are people wherever you go X2 CHORUS You’re so dramatic, act like a fanatic It’s such a classic misdirection dirty tactic While we’re distracted, picking on that black kid The real villains rob us blind as a bat yeah So if you wanna point that finger of blame Aim a little higher, aim a little higher my friend And if you wanna point that finger again Aim a little higher, aim a little higher And then you’ll see the target you’ve chosen Is just another victim of a system so broken Even as the waters are closing in The borders are closing down CHORUS x2
10.
Young Dave fights crime for a living Never being thanked for the time that he’s giving, but he Dons his uniform at the crack of dawn And counts the days down to Friday Dave is an undercover raver, cheesy quaver Whistles, white gloves and wild behaviour During the week he’s a man of the law Come the weekend he’s a demon on the dancefloor Most happy when he’s busting moves He never really got off on busting the youths But he never really felt like he got to choose And now he’s got too much to lose CHORUS How many lives do you hide to get by How many lies do you try to justify Before you wonder why, why Why you even try Try to fool them all When you know that all along it’s just a lie. Well Barry was a barrister born and bred 25 years of corporate law stored in his head Cut straight to the chase, poker face, No silly business please he’s got no time to waste At least that was until Barry would go to bed See Barry always slept in a water-bed Wearing a man-size nappy that he always wet With a woman that he paid by the week to breastfeed him While she read aloud from the Law Gazette But the fact is we’ve all got a little bit of Barry in us All got a dirty little secret that we carry in us And maybe it’s alright to hide If it’ll add a little spice to life, so tell me CHORUS Big Mike, works on a building site Used to wolf-whistle every girl in sight And let The Sun decide the words he’d say Then one night, must’ve been his drink got spiked Suddenly his mind is alight And he understands the world in ways he can’t convey Now he’s an undercover hippy but a brickie by day Has to pull a sickie cos he just can’t say That he needs time off for his chakra healing workshop So instead he has to practice being all Page 3 tits and PG Tips and Extra mushy peas with his cheesy chips Doing his best to deceive these kids But does anybody there even give two shits or Are they too busy trying to blend in Everybody in his own way pretending The big secret we’re all defending… CHORUS x 2

credits

released May 20, 2017

All songs written and produced by Billy Rowan Salisbury. © & ℗ Uncivil Records 2017. All Rights Reserved. Arrangements by Billy Rowan Salisbury, Zak Ranyard, Theo Grimshaw, Andreas Millns, Zac Harkavy. Additional horn arrangements on track 1 by Simon Strange.

All tracks recorded and engineered by Dean Forrest at Cube Studios. All tracks mixed by Dean Barratt. Additional production on track 4 by Tristan Shaw (DJ Hiphoppapotamus). Additional production (tracks 3,4,9) Dean Barratt. Additional production on track 1 by Dean Forrest. Mastered by Gaz Williams.

Guitars, lead vocals, backing vocals - Billy Rowan Salisbury. Drums - (tracks 1,4,5,7,9) Theo Grimshaw; (tracks 2,3,6,8,10) Zac Harkavy. Bass - Zak Ranyard. Keys - Andreas Millns. Trumpet - Simon Dobson. Saxophone - Dan Hillman. Additional synths (tracks 1,5,8,9); Additional guitars (tracks 1,3,6,8,9); Backing vocals (track 1); Percussion (track 7) - Dean Forrest. Additional backing vocals (tracks 3,7,8,9) - Adjua.

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The Undercover Hippy Bristol

The Undercover Hippy is actually UK based singer-songwriter Billy Rowan. After 7 years spent DJ’ing and MC’ing on the Drum & Bass circuit, Billy ditched the decks for a guitar and started out as a solo act in 2007. He now plays with a 5 piece band, bringing together, keys, drums, bass, congas and backing vocals to create a high energy, interactive and highly entertaining live show. ... more

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