Here’s the third in Ian A Anderson‘s trilogy of videos filmed at the Wardrobe Theatre in Bristol, following Black Crow Blues and Lord Allenwater which we premiered in August/September.
Ian wrote this song way back in 1984 for an album he made with Mike Cooper and has recently started performing it again in his revitalised solo gigging career after having been struck by its scary topicality.
“I usually introduce it as a song of advanced paranoia,” he says, “but it was always intended to be a light-hearted way of addressing a range of serious issues effecting everyday life. The dreadful thing is that virtually nothing has changed in the 35 years since I wrote it – and in fact, almost everything seems to have worsened. Traffic pollution (actually I wrote my first song about traffic pollution in 1969!), food additives, the Tory threat to the NHS, the arms race and sales, climate change – I’m not even sure if it had a name back then – everything has got far more serious. The only positive change – the one and only verse dropped from the original – is the banning of smoking in bars and restaurants, a tiny victory.”
“I chucked some ideas at Jonathan and Abbie Darley of Caraway Studios after their initial filming and they came up with this great set of moving images to cut in. Let’s just say that with an election coming up, you won’t be surprised to know I’ll be rooting for the Green Party and am completely behind Extinction Rebellion . . . ”
Music and words: Ian A. Anderson
Every time I’m walking down the street
There’s cars and buses blowing all their fumes at me
They’re all trying to kill me
They’re all trying to kill me
Everybody’s doing it, everybody’s killing me.
Take a packet of food from the supermarket rack
The chemicals and colourings will lay you on your back
They’re all trying to kill me
They’re all trying to kill me
Everybody’s doing it, everybody’s killing me.
The Tories want your taxes want them yesterday
But need a hospital bed and there’s three years to wait
They’re all trying to kill me
They’re all trying to kill me
Everybody’s doing it, everybody’s killing me.
The Americans and Russians and the British too
They’re all building missiles like there’s nothing else to do
With our money
They’re all trying to kill me
Everybody’s doing it, everybody’s killing me.
I thought I’d take a holiday in Tuvalu
But the temperature’s rising and the sea level too
They’re all trying to fry me
They’re all trying to drown me…
Everybody’s doing it, everybody’s killing me.
So I’m back again I’m walking down that same old street
Getting heart attacks from every pretty girl I meet
Well I’d rather that killed me
Yes I’d rather that killed me
If something must do it, I’d rather that was killing me
Filmed August 2019 at the Wardrobe Theatre, Bristol by Caraway Studios.
Other notes for anoraks: it’s a custom made 1979 Thornbory Silverton guitar and an Ear Trumpet Myrtle microphone.
Keep up to date with Ian at www.ianaanderson.com
CDs via https://ghostsfromthebasement.bandcamp.com/
Photo Credit: Elly Lucas