Lyrics for Progressives (iii) - The Mekons

"Empire of the Senseless"

no one's making any noise now, sshhh,
we've been waiting for so long,
they took away our films and tapes and notebooks
but it's ok 'cos we've self-censored this song.
but these lines are all individuals
and there's no such thing as a song
and even the silent are now guilty in the empire of the senseless...

what's your line of questioning sir?
i can't intercept a one word sentence,
invent a war in secrecy
sliding scenery like a vintage toy,
isn't plastic surgery wonderful?

satellite secret national security,
empire of the senseless
turning journalists into heroes takes some doing,
empire of the senseless
boring ollie north down in the subway dealing drugs and guns,
empire of the senseless
turning little liars into heroes, it's what they've always done,
empire of the senseless

this song promotes homosexuality
it's in a pretended family relationship with the others on this record
and on the charts and on the jukebox
and in the radio and in the radio

no one's making any noise now, sshhh,
stay quiet,
all unacceptable gropings have been removed from the screen,
only eyes full of unspeakable thoughts remain,
and even the silent are now guilty in the empire of the senseless...

baked beans, sugar, and margerine
bread, jam, groceries, and lard,
for the unsentimental,
the men who like the lady hard,
the men who like the hard lady.
and you know people are really rather afraid.
afraid of being swamped.
afraid of being swamped by selfishness and greed.

From The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll (Release date: September 1989). Lyrics via.

Like many songs, this one loses much of its impact when divorced from its recording, as much of the dark quality is conveyed through the vocalist's singing style, which runs the gamut from shouted declarations to an intimate almost-whipser. And I'm leaving out the many background repetitions of the line "empire of the senseless", which bludgeon the listener at the end of the song.

"Empire of the Senseless" is an attack on yellow journalism, citing the Ollie North and the Iran-Contra scandal, and how journalists turn "little liars into heroes, it's what they've always done". The scathing wit of "turning journalists into heroes takes some doing" makes this one of its most memorable lines.

But its ambitions are greater than that. It attacks censorship, authority, and hints at post-structuralist theory and class ("baked beans, sugar and margarine"). The final lyric that people are really rather afraid of "being swamped by selfishness and greed" certainly addresses the 1980's culture of greed and nihilism. Most impressively, the rebellious declaration halfway through that "This song promotes homosexuality" places it squarely in the progressive camp. Whether the band members are homosexual or not is beside the point: the statement is symbolic, especially considering the long history of censorship in the arts. The topic of homosexuality is a good barometer of a society's degree of tolerance for difference and whether it truly values freedom of speech.

If you're interested in trying out The Mekons, two good places to start would be The Mekons Rock 'n' Roll and The Mekons Honky Tonkin'.

Related links:

• Amazon.com reviews of Rock 'n' Roll
• Bells and Whistles has a post-election piece (2004) that quotes some of the above lyrics (which is how I found it, via Google).
• The band Pansy Division places the "homosexuality" lyric in context in their FAQ.
• Hello Cruel World - a compilation book of Mekons lyrics
• Punk Rock - new CD by The Mekons
• Club Mekon a fan site with a mailing list, discography, band news and history, and more.