Life on Earth is a bloody hazardous affair
As in the city, the republic was collapsing away
I think the brilliant crust's hiding sad realities to come
And there's a decisive battle that we all had that we lost
I don't care if the fascists have to win
I don't care democracy's being fucked
I don't care socialism's full of sin
The untenable system engenders rot
But what is exciting's the challenge and stimulation
That the tensions help keep the creative nerve so taut
The absence of profounder transformation in the country
Make their hopes turn sour, feelings of let down in irony
Obviously once more it could be called treachery
Rappel à l'ordre, oh don't you get too revolutionary
I don't care if the fascists have to win
I don't care democracy's being fucked
I don't care socialism's full of sin
The untenable system engenders rot
But what is exciting's the challenge and stimulation
That the tensions help keep the creative nerve so taut
Life on Earth is a bloody hazardous affair
Impressive malleability of human identity
The horrors of the war were to be repeated anyway
It was like taking candy from a baby
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
Give me the strength, the lift, hope, and struggle
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
Give me the strength, the lift, hope, and struggle
Give me the strength, the lift, hope, and struggle
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
Give me the strength, the lift, hope, and struggle
Give me the strength, the lift, hope, and struggle
Give me the strength, the lift, hope, and struggle
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
Where is the lift, the hope, and the struggle?
We got to keep the lift, hope, and struggle
(The following signal was recorded equally on both channels, but is out of phase...)
Jenny Ondioline was written by Lætitia Sadier & Tim Gane.
Jenny Ondioline was produced by Phil Wright.
Stereolab released Jenny Ondioline on Tue Aug 24 1993.
The song on a lyrical point of view is about the Weimar years in Germany in the 30s, after the First World War onwards until Hitler had power. I was sort of making a parallel that stops at the fact that we were living in a world that’s becoming more and more right-wing, more and more militarized, an...