Posted by Eamonn
I'm still in a funny relationship with the song Grown-Ups (we do like each other but are wary).
The mid-section(s) has plenty of lyrical zingers but the line "Forget about Tina, get in a bad mood" got me thinking - have we ever had a classic ****er call-back before?
Self-referencing can of course come in different guises ("****er's masterful control of the bicycle", "I am not Jesus though I have the same initials", "I found myself face to face with a version of myself from 15 years earlier..." etc.) but in terms of actually mentioning another Pulp song or a character from a song - the obsession with Tina bleeding into the next track on the album is "low-key" genius - I'm sure he must have been clever and done it previously? Inside Susan is a self-contained trilogy so I'm not sure it counts, but I'm sure I'm missing something obvious or obscure...
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Posted by Ian
David is mentioned in "Babies" and referred to in the title of "David's Last Summer" though I don't think that he is mentioned in the lyrics. Is it even the same person?
The same Susan also features in "The Babysitter".
"Common People" and "Mis-Shapes" are both mentioned in "Cocaine Socialism".
Going off on a tangent here, but something I just thought of: in "Space", Jarvis says "How many times have you wished upon a star? Now you can touch it, you can touch the stars, go on" then in "Dishes" he says "I am not worried that I will never touch the stars". Hmmmmm.
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Posted by Eamonn
Great shouts!
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Posted by saw119
Aren't MLG and S:SC about the same woman? Jarvis notes say S:SC is the morning after the night before of MLG.
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Posted by Ian
Also, Spike Island is where Jarvis got his inspiration for "Sorted For E's and Wizz". Essentially, Jason Buckle was shouting "Spike Island come alive" at the same time/same place people were walking round asking if everyone was sorted for E's and Wizz...
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Posted by Eamonn
I think it was the DJ shouting that phrase in between tracks and Jason remembered it and told Jarvis which tickled him.
Forgot about S:SC being the aftermath of MLG. ..
Wasn't there talk of a Pulp musical in recent years? Think Nick mentioned it at one of his book promos. There's a lot more scope for compelling storytelling than the musical based on Hawley's music imo.
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Posted by Sturdy
Could be wrong but I like to imagine that "and he wants you" in Lipgloss is a sneaky nod to I Want You. Kind of works theme-wise.
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Posted by SarahAWilson
Eamonn wrote:
I think it was the DJ shouting that phrase in between tracks and Jason remembered it and told Jarvis which tickled him.
Forgot about S:SC being the aftermath of MLG. ..
Wasn't there talk of a Pulp musical in recent years? Think Nick mentioned it at one of his book promos. There's a lot more scope for compelling storytelling than the musical based on Hawley's music imo.
I asked this at Rough Trade East about s jukebox musical in the wake of " Standing at the Sky's Edge". Nick said it had been planned, but due to Covid it all fell through.
-- Edited by SarahAWilson on Friday 26th of September 2025 01:37:54 PM
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Posted by lipglossed
That Jarvis ****er. He's always at it, that Jarvis ****er.
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Posted by blueowl0708
Your Sister's Clothese / Babies - or is that too obvious
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Posted by Ste
Maybe too on the nose, but there's Catcliffe Shakedown's
'Those boys who said "Hey mister we just want your car 'cos we're taking a girl to the Reservoir" are outside the pub'
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Posted by Eamonn
Ah yes, of course.
The direct mention of Misshapes and Common People on Cocaine Socialism is the obvious one I was thinking of but these are all meta-gold.
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Posted by saw119
Does that mean we should include those chubby 12 years in union jack shorts addicted to coffee whitener and frankfurters?
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Posted by OlympusMons
Grown ups also references (it isn't even) Sunset which closes the album.
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Posted by
Ian
Jarvis mentions his name in "The Professional": "C0cker's short for... sucker". We know what the missing lyrics should be but some Island exec probably thought it was too extreme.
There is also that Barry Adamson song he provided the vocals for: I enter a room and all the girls say: "C'mon Jarv, can I be the first? Oh, you make us so hot we feel we're gonna burst.". I have just listened to that for the first time in years, it's quite interesting and the lengthy outro is vaguely similar to "My Sex" in terms of Jarvis noises. The whole album is pretty odd but it's quite interesting.
There are some recurring lyrics on "More":
- The Universe: Spike Island / Grown Ups / Partial Eclipse
- A feeling: Spike Island / Grown Ups / Farmers Market / Background Noise
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Posted by Ste
saw119 wrote:
Does that mean we should include those chubby 12 years in union jack shorts addicted to coffee whitener and frankfurters?
I guess it should instead be the "pudgy fifteen-year olds addicted to coffee whitener" :D
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Posted by Sturdy
Mother, brother lover of course.
And don't the sun, the moon, the wind and the rain pop up a few times on Separations?
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Posted by saw119
Ste wrote:saw119 wrote:
Does that mean we should include those chubby 12 years in union jack shorts addicted to coffee whitener and frankfurters?
I guess it should instead be the "pudgy fifteen-year olds addicted to coffee whitener" :D
They grow up so fast.
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Posted by Eamonn
Sturdy wrote:
Mother, brother lover of course.
And don't the sun, the moon, the wind and the rain pop up a few times on Separations?
The Elements - Selected Jarvis ****er Lyrics Volume Two
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Posted by
Eamonn
Ian wrote:Jarvis mentions his name in "The Professional": "C0cker's short for... sucker". We know what the missing lyrics should be but some Island exec probably thought it was too extreme.
There are some recurring lyrics on "More":
- The Universe: Spike Island / Grown Ups / Partial Eclipse
- A feeling: Spike Island / Grown Ups / Farmers Market / Background Noise
You could add A Sunset to themes of the universe. Lyrics are credited to "the earth" after all.
As for that line in The Professional - I imagine it was Jarvis self-censoring and intentionally omitting the naughty word, it's more subtle and also works in the context of being a "professional". It's a living, can't you see?
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Posted by lipglossed
saw119 wrote:Ste wrote:saw119 wrote:
Does that mean we should include those chubby 12 years in union jack shorts addicted to coffee whitener and frankfurters?
I guess it should instead be the "pudgy fifteen-year olds addicted to coffee whitener" :D
They grow up so fast.
Not really they only aged three years between 1995 and 2001!
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Posted by
Ian
Jesus is mentioned in quite a few Pulp songs:
- Dishes: I am not Jesus though I have the same initials
- Slow Jam: I had a word with Jesus...
- Countdown: Jesus Christ now baby
- Death II: Jesus Christ now hey
- Do You Remember the First Time?: Jesus, it must be great
- Background Noise: Jesus Christ now, what a feeling?
- Joyriders: Hey you in the Jesus sandals
- The Boss: Oh, Jesus Christ, I know I'm gonna lose the game
- Sheffield: Sex City: Jesus, even the sun's on heat today
- Underwear: Give yourself to him, oh Jesus!
- Bad Cover Version: (perhaps an oblique mention) I heard an old girlfriend has turned to the church
- Relaxed Muscle - The Heavy: Jesus Christ it's only half-eleven
Granted, most of these are exclamations. Only "Dishes" and "Slow Jam" refer specifically to Jesus.
The town/city is mentioned several times on "Separations":
- Love is Blind: The city is shining
- Don't You Want Me Anymore: I'm gonna show this town who's master / And then the whole damn town...
- Separations: Now the sun shines on a new town
- My Legendary Girlfriend: We went walking through the sleeping town
- Countdown: But I walked my way round town (and several other mentions)
- Death Comes to Town: And I will take the first boy in every house in town (and the title of course)
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Posted by Sturdy
Eamonn wrote:Sturdy wrote:
Mother, brother lover of course.
And don't the sun, the moon, the wind and the rain pop up a few times on Separations?
The Elements - Selected Jarvis ****er Lyrics Volume Two
I was trying to bring them all to mind but couldn't so I've had a look:
Don't You Want Me Anymore - "On the night that I was leaving the moon rose in the sky... You're going to love me more than ever, and the sun will shine again"
She's Dead - "Those years of endless rain, they just washed her away"
Separations - "As the sun shines down on the land... Now the moon is high in the sky... Now the sun shines on a new town... Where the moon hangs high above him now... The same moon that she's praying on tonight, but the wind catches their words and the moon swallows them whole... Now the moon is high in the sky"
Countdown - "and stars and moon are falling down"
Legendary Girlfriend - "And oh the stars came out tonight, and the moon came on his face... And the sun and the moon and the stars all came down today"
Death II "Oh, if I knew the moon I'd ask him to shine his light in through your window"
This House Is Condemned - "He sees the moon, he sees the stars, he sees the sky"
Death Comes to Town - "And the sunlight on your window in the morning, And the wind that blows the blossom from the trees"
More than I thought! It must've been deliberate, but why?
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Posted by hawalius1
The Professional also nods to the back catalogue - "just another song about single mothers and sex" (anything from Little Girl all the way through to Seductive Barry).
Weeds II also feels very self-aware with the "funny little dance" comment, I'm sure Jarvis mentioned in an interview that this was about his un selfconscious moves that he was forced to become aware of.
The start of The Fear samples the end of Bar Italia, how's that for a callback.
Possibly the Safeway and Tesco namechecks in After You are harking back to the shuffling supermarkets in F.E.E.L.I.N.G.C.A.L.L.E.D.L.O.V.E.
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Posted by
Ian
Jarvis hints in the sleevenotes that there is a link between "Frightened" and "The Fear".
There are also quite a few Pulp songs that talk about travel/transport i.e. wandering the streets at night, on a train or bus, along the river
- Boats and Trains
- Blue Glow: essentially the whole song depicts Jarvis wondering the streets at night
- Goodnight: You make your way down the yellow streets past rows and rows of houses; curtains drawn tight against the cold night air
- Being Followed Home: I don't think an example is needed here
- My Legendary Girlfriend: So I woke her, and we went walking through the sleeping town (this contains an earlier line similar to "Goodnight": Outside I can see all the houses - curtains shut tight against the night)
- Don't You Want Me Anymore: Soon as I get off this train
- Separations: With a smile, he gets off the train
- OU: She's at the station because she's leaving town
- Sheffield: Sex City: And now I'm wandering up and down your street calling your name
- Inside Susan: literally depicts Susan's bus journey
- Street Lites: I'll walk it off in the rain somehow / On the back seat of the top deck
- Catcliffe Shakedown: The train that crosses the viaduct
- The Professional: She will meet me from the train and she won't know a thing...
- Like a Friend: You are the train I never should have caught
- Wickerman: Yeah, a river flows underneath this city, I'd like to go there with you now my pretty and follow it on for miles and miles
- After You: Don't stop 'til the train has pulled into the station
- Tina: Saw her this morning on the train
- Grown Ups: It was the night they let me out of the home, it was the night I caught the bus on my own
- Background Noise: I got on a train, started thinking about being single again
Another interesting fact: whilst there are plenty of songs about Sheffield, only two have the name of the city in the title, "Sheffield: Sex City" and "I Scrubbed the Crabs that Killed Sheffield", only the latter mentions it in the lyrics.
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Posted by Eamonn
Re Sheff - Alex Turner's side-project, Last Shadow Puppets' last album contained a song called The Dream Synopsis that namechecks "Sheffield City Centre". Jarvis played it on his 6Music show and said something like "Hmm, he's managed to put Sheffield city centre in a chorus better than me!" or words to that effect.
Re supermarkets - the one in Common People is probably the most important one of all.
Re Seppy's obsession with moons, stars, suns and weather... did that Scott Walker mixtape given to JC in the late 80s predate the lyrics written for Separations? We might find out in Good Pop Bad Pop Part II. If they were, maybe this is a tenuous link but it's clear that by then Jarv had a new hero who sung beautifully of...
The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore
Turn Out The Moon (and the stars in the sky) - the chorus music of Birds In Your Garden also seems to be lifted from the chorus on this a little*
It's Raining Today
Lost In The Stars
Sunshine/Ain't No Sunshine/Sundown/Walking in the Sun/Delta Dawn (all covers!)
to name but a few.
*Speaking of Walker lifts, one of my favourite songs of his is Always Coming Back To You from Scott 1 and the line "I kissed your eyes awake" from Birds In Your Garden is surely a (sub)conscious steal from "When you kissed my eyes awake" from this track.
Interestingly, the line "Now like children in the dark, we hold hands and watch the rain" on the same song sounds like it would fit perfectly on a ballad from Freaks. Or even as an addendum to the Freaks subtitle "Ten stories about power, claustrophobia, suffocation and holding hands".
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Posted by Ian
Jarvis said the following in December 1994:
[Following the "Little Girl (With Blue Eyes)" single], "a Scott Walker for the 80s"! People said, "you'd like Scott Walker," but all I'd heard sounded like Tom Jones. It wasn't until 1987 when somebody gave me a tape of his proper solo albums that I understood his genius.
My guess is that he received the tape early in the year because the intro to "Rattlesnakes" (performed in March and recorded in July) is similar to Walker's "The Seventh Seal". It could be purely coincidental.
They didn't demo or record anything for "Separations" until 1989 though the bulk of it (including "She's Dead", a blatantly obvious attempt at a Walker style ballad) was performed in 1987 and 1988. So "Separations" was definitely the first album they recorded after Jarvis became fully aware of Scott Walker.
Oh and by "sounded like Tom Jones", he must be referring to the "TV Series" album or some of the MOR covers he did in the early 1970s.
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Posted by Eamonn
Good research and knowledge Clarky.
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Posted by Ian
Zhivago: Days out in the snow, they seem so long ago
Tina: Do you remember walking past me in the snow 14 years ago
I can't believe I didn't notice this before.
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Posted by Eamonn
Well the former is the epitome of an obscurity so don't berate yourself too much! I can't even think of how Zhivago goes like...from which gig recording did it surface?
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Posted by
Ian
The Hallamshire Hotel on 28th February 1982 (https://pulpwiki.net/Pulp/Live28February1982HallamshireHotelSheffield)
It is on YouTube:
Great song if you ask me, probably my favourite from 1982.
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Posted by Ian
Anorexic Beauty: "Brittle fingers and thin cigarettes, so hard to tell apart"
Lipgloss: "No wonder you're looking thin when all that you live on is lipgloss and cigarettes"
Jarvis made the following comments about "Lipgloss": "The title came from a story I heard about an anorexic girl who used to eat only lipgloss. And the rest of the song - about a girl who has her self-confidence bashed down by a bad relationship - is based on someone I knew. I think it's important to express these stories so that victims know they're not the only ones suffering."
They are most likely different girls so a very tenuous link between the two songs.
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Posted by Eamonn
Also, the lyrics were written by Dave Kurley and "sold" to Russell and Pulp! Not that this prevents "lore"-links, tenuous or otherwise.
Did Jarvis sing any Pulp songs that he didnt write lyrics for? Just the disturbing, "lewd" League Of Gentlemen-esque spoken word part in Fairground, maybe? Although the lyrics for that song is credited to Russell, that part does sound like Jarvis came up with it. Russell wasn't as mucky.
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Posted by Sturdy
I think Jarvis and Russell used to collaborate on lyrics a bit in the very early days. Maureen and Back in LA had been done by Russell in his earlier bands, and there was a very different version of Maureen on display at the Good Pop exhibition in London. And Little Girl too - I think in that case it was Jarvis' initial effort on display before Russell "toughened it up".
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Posted by JohnWayne
I cant remember any mucky bits in Fairground, what have I missed?
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Posted by Pulped WTL
Ian wrote:
Zhivago: Days out in the snow, they seem so long ago
Tina: Do you remember walking past me in the snow 14 years ago
I can't believe I didn't notice this before.
There's also 'You Are The One' as well:
"You sat next to me in the cinema, you walked past me in the snow"
There's also a link between that song and 'It's A Dirty World', too:
"I kissed you once by a cigarette machine as the club was about to close"
"With your back up against the cigarette machine, oh it's bad for your health if you know what I mean"
There are also quite a few references to the window incident throughout Pulp and Jarvis's discography:
"Somebody falls in love, Somebody falls from a window sill" - Tonite
"And I fell from a very high building, but I didn't feel a thing" - Didn't Feel a Thing
"I was shivering on crutches, more dead than alive, it was Christmas 1985" - Grown Ups
I'm sure there were more references, but I can't remember them at the moment.
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Posted by Eamonn
Maybe subconsciously, "You'll never watch your life slide out of view" !
Btw, what's Pulp WTL?
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