Engines Made From Soup
My People
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Engines Made From Soup return with ‘My People’. This is a dramatic song with a dark glimmer and, on this occasion, they combine their alternative rock sound with flickers of The Smiths.
The song starts with a chord progression that brings a semi-tonal doomy inevitability into the otherwise bright and crisp sound. This is no accident as the lyrical themes do exactly the same thing, a strong top line with unexpectedly punchy words.
The chorus is a shift, it has more of a pop sensibility than the dark verse – yet it still uses similar transitions to maintain the mood. It’s not a noticeably louder chorus, but you feel the transition to the next verse so the dynamics certainly change.
After the second chorus, the intro gets an alternate rendering. The extra punch from the guitar comes back to underscore the coming chorus and the outro with its multi-vocal swirl.
Although those melodic moments hint at The Smiths, the overall effect is more like The Frank and Walters, which is no bad thing in my opinion.
My People Lyrics
Thought I was free
From mindless scandalous talk
I was never immune
No matter where I walked
I had an ear to the ground
Was that abuse that I heard?
I thought I was free
But I was starting to destroy myselfMy people, my people
You have defamed me
Oh my people, yes my people
Rick Nixon phoned me
My people, my people
You have deserted me
Oh my people, yes my people
Joe Stalin wrote to meIt entered my mind
My rotting decaying mind
Every avenue turned
Every sinew burned
So how can I tell?
Was it because they fumed
With their minds struck dumb?
I was starting to betray myselfMy people, my people
You have defamed me
Oh my people, yes my people
Rick Nixon phoned me
My people, my people
(Tick tock tick tock, any minute headlock)
You have deserted me
(Backtrack feedback, double barrel attack)
Oh my people, yes my people
(You’re gonna take me down, you’re gonna take me down)
Joe Stalin wrote to me
(Down, down, down)Oh what’s charisma?
What’s personality too?
I was always thinking of
What the hell were you doing
You called yourself friend
But never breathed a word
Of the time we might have
I was starting to despise myselfMy people, my people
You have defamed me
Oh my people, yes my people
Rick Nixon phoned me
My people, my people
(Tick tock tick tock, any minute headlock)
You have deserted me
(Backtrack feedback, double barrel attack)
Oh my people, yes my people
(You’re gonna take me down, you’re gonna take me down)
Joe Stalin wrote to me
(Down, down, down)Every avenue turned
Every sinew burned, burned
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Written by Fenton on
