Only following orders...
indie
beatles
guitars
pixies
wildhearts
clash
cardiacs
Story behind the song
A rather bleak song in 7/4
The title and tag line come from A Little Hatred by Joe Abercrombie.
If you haven't read any Joe Abercrombie, you should. Now.
Surely the best fantasy writer today bar none.
The complete phrase is "In the camps, the first thing you learn is you stand with the winners", and that leapt off the page and hit me like a football to the back of the head. The song doesn't follow the story but thank you, Mr Abercrombie, for the inspiration.
Lyrics
With that first punch to the stomach
You know how it's going to be
And it isn't like it is in your picture books
Big dogs just love to throw their weight
Always looking for someone they can push around
So you make a choice - which side you're on
Which isn't any choice at all:
Spend your whole life being trodden on
Or find a new way to crawl
Lost in a hostile land
First thing you learn is
You stand with the winners
So you learn to lick their arses
Tell them what they wanna hear
Talk tough, stay clever
Don't look different
Buying survival by
Whoring your conscience
Just another self-loathing sycophant
Til they turn on you as you know they will
Because you were only ever a means to an end
Did you think you were anything more than roadkill
Pour encourager les autres?
Now you understand
They were never gonna let you
Stand with the winners
So now what?
Retire to lick your bruises?
You did your job, played your part
Cos no-one wins until someone loses
And all the beautiful things you love
All spring from an ugly source
All your heroes are thugs
(Impeccably dressed of course)
Now I've seen it first hand
Now I've seen it first hand
Now I've seen it first hand
I'm never gonna stand
With the winners