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01 Living in a Northern Town

 

Northern Town Chorus:

Over and over and over again
Monotony saves us from feeling the pain
Doesn't feel good but we cannot complain
Cos we still remember the war

Don't question authority they know what's best
They trust us completely to keep us oppressed
Don't even think of our right to protest
Like our fathers and fathers before

 

Friday night at 5 o clock, is when we stop
Friday night at 5 o clock is when the weekly dirge is left behind
It's time to cool it and unwind

Working here is not so bad
It's not so bad
Nothing really going on
And all the news we read is second hand
We don't really understand

 

Living in a Northern town
Peace and loving all around
The world is changing far away
But it wont affect us here
Living in a Northern town
Peace and loving all around
There's a call for revolution
But we're too far away to hear

 

Friday night at half past 5, it's time for tea
Friday night we get dolled up, and worry if the boys we like will say
I like the way you look today

Meet each other in the town hanging out
Meet each other in the pub and in the picture house we sit again
Every week we do the same

 

Living in a Northern town
Peace and loving all around
The world is changing far away
But it wont affect us here
Living in a Northern town
Peace and loving all around
There's a call for revolution
But we're too far away to hear

 

There are Beatles on the radio
There are Beetles driving up and down our street
The sun is shining
And the air we breathe is sweet

Got some money in my pocket
Got my buddies and my life in front of me
No time for worries
Everything's groovy and carefree

 

But if you look you just might see

Underneath the surface

There's something more that we might be

If we take the chance, Take the chance

 

Living in a Northern town
Peace and loving all around
There's a call for revolution
But we're too far away to hear

We're all looking to tomorrow

The world is changing here in nineteen sixty, nineteen sixty, nineteen sixty

Nineteen sixty eight

Nineteen sixty eight

Nineteen sixty... eight

01

02 Happening Somewhere

 

Cyn:

On the TV in the news
There's a hundred different views
Of the life we have and what the future holds
If it's good or if it's bad, if we're sane or if we're mad
But I still feel like I'm doing what I'm told

 

Got a feeling Something is happening
Got a feeling something is happening
Got a feeling something is happening somewhere


Every day becomes the same
While we look for folk to blame
As the pop stars show us how to cut our hair
We are young and we are free
We are who we're told to be
There's no passion in the fashion we all wear

 

Got a feeling Something is happening
Got a feeling something is happening
Got a feeling something is happening

 

Somewhere lively, amazing and new

Somewhere magic, dark and taboo

Where minds are blown and dreams grow in the street

I can almost feel the heartbeat

 

Somewhere groovy, thrilling and cool

Somewhere, revolution will rule

Embrace the future, hear my voice aloud

I will make my Dad proud

 

In a world, where I fit, my clothes loved by all I'll be a hit

Think of the chicks wearing my dress

Think of the hipsters I'll impress

Forever right I do no wrong

I'll never fail I will be strong

 

Got to leave the mundane

Got to wake up to the scene

Leave the doubts behind

and find the strength to live my dream

All my life I've wanted folk to notice my designs

I was not born to reflect

No I was born to shine

I was born to shine

I was born to shine

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02

03 Square Man

 

Albert:

The times may be a changing, but they're changing too fast for me

Like clinging to a lifeboat in the coldest and roughest of sea's

And I'm not the only one who's drowning, hoping for some harmony

 

When classic becomes old and tragic what will be left of me?

Each day becomes a struggle, as if I can set them free!

It's a city wide obsession, It's a person I refuse to be

 

I feel like I'm a square man, in a place that I don't fit

Alien surroundings under pressure to submit

The gentle world I longed for, but i have never found

I'm feeling like a square man, in a city that is round

 

The world may be a changing but it doesn't mean war will end

Smoking dope and hippy clothing I would not recommend

Because dropping out means having nothing and I don't think that's what you intend

 

I feel like I'm a square man, in a place that I don't fit

Surrounded by confusion, and a thought I can't admit

The simple world I longed for, but i have never found

I'm feeling like a square man, in a city that is round

 

I think of what I've lost, the things I've left behind

Though my daughter left, she's never gone away

I always count the cost, but never pay the fine

Can I hang my head and live with "OK"

 

I feel like I'm a square man, in a place that I don't fit

I'm living in a new world, but I just can't commit

The peaceful world I longed for, but i have never found

I'm feeling like a square man...

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03

04 The Centre of the Universe

 

The people of Swinging London:

Shining bright - out of sight

Welcome to the world of human dynamite

This place is hip - What a trip

Revel in the fun and join the fellowship

 

Stand up stand out

London Town is calling

Swinging nights dizzy heights

Come enjoy the centre of the universe

The centre of the universe

 

Living rich and loving free

Experience the world the way it's meant to be

Forget the past, have a blast

Enjoy the ride the scenery is changing fast

 

Stand up stand out

London Town is calling

Swinging nights dizzy heights

Come enjoy the centre of the universe

The centre of the universe

 

Beatles on the radio and beetles driving down the road

Mini skirts and dancing to last years rock n roll

Fashion and photographers are capturing our lives

Free the possibilities of "Out of control"

 

Make a wish just in case

Tearing down the old to make a better place

Try to catch a butterfly

Strike a pose

You're in the public eye

 

Tune in drop out

All the world is watching

Everybody knows that

Swinging London is the centre of the universe

The centre of the universe

 

Friday night at 6 o clock, is when we start

Friday night at 6 o clock is when the beatniks and the hip get loaded

This kaleidoscope exploded

Friday night at 6 o clock we come alive

Friday night at 6 o clock is when the weekly dirge is left behind

The weekend's here to blow your mind

 

High life

Jayne:

I'm just a normal girl

Living in this crazy world

With opportunities galore

As long as I look my best

The whole world trying to work out

Who is this mysterious guest

 

What do you expect a girl to do

I'm living the high life yeah

They hold your dreams in front of you

I'm living the high life

 

Film premier to attend?

If you've got lots of bread to spend

Then you can find me on your arm

Parties and shows galore

I'm your evenings devotion

But extras are gonna cost more

 

What do you expect a girl to be?

I'm living the high life yeah

They hold my dreams in front of me

I'm living the high life

 

As I look around is seems so unfair

That the beautiful people with so much to spare

Are living a life that I want to enjoy

But I don't get angry and I don't destroy

I use all the talent and charm I possess

To take all I can and become a success

That's how a girl who was ONCE on the street

Can leave all the downers and join the elite Yeahhhh

 

What do you expect a girl to do

I'm living the high life yeah

They hold your dreams in front of you

I'm living the high life

 

I'm living the high life yeah

I'm living the high life

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04

05 Thin End of the Wedge

Chief Inspector Jackson:

One small step, that is all it takes

One small step, and the world awakes

Different from before, changed a little more...

 

One small step, just a little change

One more step, rules are rearranged

All that we achieved...

All that we believed...

 

Gone, in a gradual eroding of a system that took decades for us to build

Gone, as society is moving and accommodating. Progress can't be stilled!

How can we stand and watch while civilisation's vandalised?

How can we pretend to be the audience yet close our eyes?

No! This I pledge:

I'll resist the thin end of the wedge.

 

One more inch, then they'll take a mile

They won't flinch, they won't falter while

Tearing down the rules. Such small-minded fools!

 

Yes, there's an argument for certain flexibilities when dealing with the press,

And yes, there has been a time or two when certain criminals were prompted to confess

But I am a bastion of pure unchanging constancy

I hold the line, discharge my duties, all responsibly

Oh! This I know:

 

Thirty years ago we fought a dark and bitter war

We couldn't afford to bend the rules or disrespect the law

This new generation will soon forget

The balance we won won't take much to upset

The price that we paid is a forgotten debt

 

Take a stand, that is my approach

Do what's planned, be beyond reproach

Apprehend the strangers and nothing ever changes!

 

If there's a crime, I will convict, I don't need evidence

If there's a wrong, I'll make it right and damn the consequence

If I can just hold back the tide and all it represents

If I can find a way to make this crazy world make sense

Yes! I'm on the edge

And I'll repel the thin end of the wedge.

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05

06 Bobbing Along

 

Darnel:

I'm bobbing along, bobbing along

I'm bobbing along, I'm doing fine

 

I'm bobbing along, bobbing along

I'm bobbing along, taking my time

 

You ask me what I'm gonna do

in your dynamic world

Oh no, You know I haven't got a clue

I need to relax

Chill out and have some fun again

Stop getting so uptight, alright

I'm not trying at all

 

I'm bobbing along, bobbing along

I'm bobbing along, I'm doing fine

 

I'm bobbing along, bobbing along

I'm bobbing along, taking my time

 

You ask me bout my point of view

In these unsettled times, oh my

I haven't got a clue

You need to unwind

Don't fret about things you cannot change

You don't have to lead the way, hey hey

I've got nothing to say

 

I'm bobbing along, bobbing along

I'm bobbing along, I'm doing fine

 

I'm bobbing along, bobbing along

I'm bobbing along, taking my time

 

Ignorance is blissful

Why aren't you?

Spend too long creating

Things to do

Tune out and succumb to:

 

Bobbing along, bobbing along

I'm bobbing along, I'm doing fine

 

I'm bobbing along, bobbing along

I'm bobbing along, taking my time

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06

07 These Things

 

Darnel:

These things that I hear in the words of an old fashioned song

These things that I read from the hearts of the poets

Laughing at me all along

Oh, all very well, but you see:

These things never happen to me

 

My friends have told me about this magical stuff (hah!)

The moment it hits and tears them to bits and

The fact that they can't get enough

Oh, walk in my shoes, and you'll see:

These things never happen to me

 

What can I say, what if it's true

And the person I count on is you

To fire me up and take me away

From the darkness I feel everyday

 

Cyn:

These things that I see every time I look around

They fly in the air on a wing and a prayer

While I keep my self on the ground

Oh, here in my heart I guarantee

These things never happen to me

 

Darnel & Cyn:

What can I say, what if it's true

And the person I count on is you

to fire me up and tear me away

From the darkness I feel everyday

What if it's true, I'd have to agree

Could this thing finally happen to me?

 

Darnel:

I look at you

I can't say that my dreams have come true

But I feel that there could be a chance that one day they might

 

Cyn:

The factory girls used to say

That I'd find a nice fella someday

It's Strange to think after all they could have been right

 

Darnel & Cyn:

What can I say, what if it's true

And the person I count on is you

to fire me up and tear me away

From the darkness I feel everyday

What if it's true, I'd have to agree

This thing might have happened to me?

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07

08 Rules of Survival

 

Jayne:

Do you know how you sound

Trying to be so profound

Argue till your words get rearranged

What you need is a plan

Forget about "The Man"

There is no way that things will change

 

Take the cards that they deal to you,

Don't care how they feel to you, you have no choice

Whoa, the rules of survival

 

That's the way that I live my life

And sure, it's a sacrifice to have no voice

Yeah, you need the rules of survival

You gotta go with the flow

Can't change the status quo

So make the most of what you've got

 

It's not to everyone's taste

You may think it's a disgrace

At least I'm happy with my lot

Take the cards that they deal to you

They might not appeal to you, here's what you need

Whoa, the rules of survival

 

No point in sitting debating it

You'll just end up hating it, so just concede

Yeah, you need the rules of survival

 

Everyone around me thinks they are the centre

Of their private universe

Stars of their own story, hogging all the glory

Only makes things ten times worse, then all the pity

When they cannot change the past

Look at what's around you, try to make the good times last

Hope they last

 

Take the cards that they deal to you,

They may not seem real to you, but boy, they are!

Whoa, the rules of survival

 

If you go on protesting

You know they'll try arresting you, you won't get far

Yeah, you need the rules of survival

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08

09 Thin Blue Line

 

Officers:

We were there to help and keep the public safe

We were there to keep things peaceful

 

We laid down the law I just can't believe

That we could receive such hate from flower people

 

Jackson speaks:

 

Officers:

We won the day, never had a doubt

Never disrespect the boys in blue

We should be so proud overcame the mob

We knew what to do, Stand true, Review, Fight, Subdue, Thank you

 

Jackson and Reporter speaks:

 

Officers:

Are you sure we're right to congratulate ourselves

Did we act too late

Did we take their bait

Are we not the heroes

 

 

Jackson and Reporter speaks:

 

Young Policeman:

Panicked women

Screaming children

Frightened men cover their heads

Running from me

I'm the monster

See my truncheon dripping red

 

 

Jackson and Reporter speaks:

 

Officers:

We're the thin blue line And we didn't break

Look around and praise our brothers

We should be so proud overcame the mob

We knew what to do, Stand true, Review, Fight, Subdue, Thank you

 

British Pathé reports:

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09

10 If I Could Only Find the Words

Rosemary:

If I could find the words

I'd tell you why I ran away

And all the feelings I kept bottled up inside

 

If I could find the words

I'd tell you all about the fear

The hidden days and sleepless nights I sat and cried

If I could find the words

 

If I could find the words

Although I'd hate to have to say them

If they sound like I need you to take the blame

 

If I could find the words

Not in the heat of battle

Take the credit for the girl that I became

If I could find the...

 

Albert:

If you could find the words

Could you find the selfish reasons

Leaving me without a daughter and a wife

 

If you could find the words

And the courage to admit you're wrong

We'll start again and build a brand new life

 

Albert & Rosemary:

Find restraint (Don't tell me what to do)

Humility (That's rich coming from you)

Or don't come crawling (Crawling on my knees?)

On your knees to me

 

You hurt me (I don't know how I feel)

I couldn't grieve (I don't know how to heal)

Had no choice

I knew I had to leave

 

I'm alright (I worried every day)

I've made some friends (Saw you running away)

I'm not here

To try and make amends

 

How dare you presume to know why I am here

(I forgive you)

Frustration and love, reuniting and fear

(You hurt me so much)

I want to resolve

 

And I didn't mean to hurt you

With the things I never said

I wish that we had promised

To communicate instead

 

I tried to find the courage

But my prayers were never heard

Now I'm standing here before you

If I could only find the words

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10

11 Choose Love

 

Cyn:

Did you hear what you said?

You're gonna fight for peace

With the hands you use to build you will destroy

Will you take what you want in any way you can

It sounds to me, like you're trying to be the man

 

We are still fighting, and trying to win the war

Why do we choose the weapons we failed with before

Why can't we choose love

 

Peter:

Try to stand in our shoes

For a man it's hard to lose

And be told things are the way they they ought to be

We've tried to change the world but they put us in our place

And that loss of control, is a thing I can't erase

 

Cyn & Peter:

We are still fighting, and trying to win the war

Why do we choose the weapons we failed with before

Why can't we choose love

 

Cyn:

We are standing around after they knocked us down

Are we beaten and broken and scared

Do we feel that we should fight for change? fight for good?

If it's for the right reason I swear

I shall march with my heart in the air

And our love shall shine everywhere

 

Vince:

What will protect you from batons and boots

As you insist that you acted for good

Hear the sound of police laughing loud at your peace

You did all you thought that you should

Your intentions were misunderstood

As you stand in pools of blood

 

Cyn:

Did you hear what you said

You can't fight for peace

 

Cyn, Rosemary & Peter:

If we are fighting, we'll never win the war

We cannot use the weapons we failed with before

We have to choose love

choose love choose love

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11

12 Daddy's Eyes

 

Jayne:

He told me I was special

Daddy's little star

Before I knew of love I knew a pain that doesn't scare

 

No one ever noticed

Or heard my silent cry

I couldn't talk of things I knew my father would deny

 

Everyone said “What a pretty girl”

But my face I will always despise

A reminder of when I heard people say

“You've got your daddy's eyes”

 

What became of that girl?

How did I get here?

I didn't let it beat me

I didn't run in fear

 

But people still abuse me

My body's still a toy

And while they're feeling groovy

One more piece of me destroyed

 

But shame no longer taunts me

The pain no longer haunts me

I've found something I trust

Take pleasure from their lust

 

Everyone says “What a pretty girl”

But if you take this paint from my skin

You will find that my strength and my confidence

Are only paper thin

 

And it opens up the floodgates, my tears flow for all to see

I won't make excuses this is who I am

And it is who I chose to be

 

Staring in the mirror what am I trying to find?

A glimpse of some forgotten girl? A shadow undefined?

My past is at my shoulder I will cut the ties that bind

Move into my future and never look behind

 

I’m trying to find a way to get wise

To find myself after all these years of lies

And rid myself of the things I despise

Rid myself of my Daddy’s eyes...

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12

13 Very Best Intentions

 

Jayne:

I don't have a way with words

Always misunderstood

I only tried to lend a hand

In the only way I thought I could

I want to give the world to you

I didn't want to see you hurt

I only tried to help you

And now you look at me like I'm just dirt

 

They say the very best intentions

Pave the road to Hell

I only thought I'd help you

I only want to see you do well

I don't feel like the Devil

But it's getting harder to tell

If I've got the very best intentions

Or if I'm on the road to Hell.

 

I don't have a way with life

Always misunderstood

The men just want their pound of flesh

The women look at me like I'm no good

 

And they say the very best intentions

Pave the road to Hell

I only thought I'd help you

I only want to see you do well

I don't feel like the Devil

But it's getting harder to tell

If I've got the very best intentions

Or if I'm on the road to Hell.

 

Maybe Hell's not such a bad place

If my motive's always pure

I don't regret the things I've done

I've been heard, judged, charged

And locked away

Like an old cliche

 

I thought that had changed with you

My doubt in people redefined

But now I've got to find a way

To maybe leave the past behind

 

They say the very best intentions

Pave the road to Hell

I only thought I'd help you

I only want to see you do well

I don't feel like the Devil

But it's getting harder to tell

If I've got the very best intentions...

Or if I'm on the road to Hell

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13

14 Nothing Special About My Song

 

Cyn:

He's gone, he's gone crawling back home to Dad, instead of standing tall

He's gone, and he's leaving his girl behind, did I know him at all?

 

A hundred other women

Have cried a hundred tears

Their fears were just the same as mine

There's nothing special about my song

 

Men leave, they run off to their wars and play their stupid games

Men leave, in a world full of changes, some things stay the same

 

A thousand other women

Have cried a thousand tears

The years keep turning just the same

There's nothing special about my song

 

Life goes on, reigniting

Standing strong against the fighting

The time is now, although the fire's dead inside

 

A million other women

have cried a million tears

And here's the thing that drives us on

There's something special about our song

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14

15 A Voice That Won't Stay Silent

 

Peter:

Up till now, I've hidden in the background

Though I can speak like a queen, In public, she is not seen

But this is new, A cause I truly believe in

I think it's time, for my light to shine

 

Inside us all

Is a voice that won't stay silent

But it yearns to fly

We're scared of what it tells us

We ignore it's cry

It's easier than facing up to truth

 

Can't sleep at night?

Do you dream about injustice

you have brushed aside?

Your head is in the sand

But still you cannot hide

It's easier than facing up to truth

 

With all the conflict in the world

You can't decide to take a side

So listen to your voice

And understand and take a stand

Speak Out

 

Stand up

 

Not long ago

It was men of my persuasion that would hide away

The loathing illegality of being gay

"The most disgusting people in the world"

 

But we stood up

We promised to comport ourselves with dignity

Now it's legal but they tolerate reluctantly

And finally I feel I have a voice

 

If one speaks then another

Soon a group is born that wont conform

Groups become a movement

 

And the crowd gets heard, you spread the word

 

Peter & Cyn:

Don't miss out your chance to speak

All around you seems so bleak

Join us now and have a say

Change the things that aren't OK

Take a breath and raise your head

Lose the fear distrust and dread

All your anger will release

And you can finally sing for peace

 

Cyn:

Ripped in pieces and betrayed

Like a cloth that's split and frayed

We can sew the world together using love

Tired of anger in your heart?

Feel your life is torn apart?

We can sew the world together using love

 

Peter:

Inside us all

Is a voice that won't stay silent

 

(In June 1966, the Earl of Dudley said "Homosexuals are the most disgusting people in the world... Prison is much too good a place for them; in fact, that is a place where many of them like to go—for obvious reasons” After passing the Sexual Offences act in 1967, Lord Arran said “I ask those homosexuals to show their thanks by comporting themselves quietly and with dignity… any form of ostentatious behaviour now or in the future or any form of public flaunting would be utterly distasteful… And make the sponsors of this bill regret that they had done what they had done”)

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15

16 I Don't Know What's Going to Happen Next..

 

Cyn pauses and looks around

Peter: Are you OK

Cyn: Can you hear that.. it's the sound of just a little part of the world changing... and WE caused it (Smiles) Us nobodies

Jayne: Speak for yourself

Cyn: You know what I mean. It's 1968.. everything is changing.. we have the power.. if we want it enough ANYTHING can happen!

Jayne: I don't know what's going to happen next..

 

Jayne:

But it's guaranteed to blow your mind

 

Cyn, Jayne & Chorus:

What do you expect a girl to do

We're living the high life yeah

I hold my dreams and they come true

We're living the high life

 

The world will change, but so will you

We're living the high life yeah

Turn the page and start anew

We're living the high life

 

There are Beatles on the radio
There are Beetles driving up and down our street
The sun is shining
And the air we breathe is sweet

Got some money in my pocket
Got my buddies and my life in front of me
No time for worries
Everything's groovy and carefree

 

Groovy

Yeahhh

 

Life in nineteen sixty eight
Full of love and peace and hate
There's a call for revolution
And it's still ringing in the air

We're all looking to tomorrow

The world is changing here in nineteen sixty, nineteen sixty, nineteen sixty

Nineteen sixty eight

Nineteen sixty eight

Nineteen sixty... eight

 

Ripped in pieces and betrayed

Like a cloth that's split and frayed

We can sew the world together using love

Tired of anger in your heart?

Feel your life is torn apart?

We can sew the world together using love

 

Nineteen sixty eight

Nineteen sixty... eight

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