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Pan's People

from The Post Office Tower by Ian Evans

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about

This song was written very quickly on my 30th birthday (26th July 2006). I usually spend a long time fiddling with songs, but this one appeared very quickly, in about 20 minutes. I had a day off work, which I spent watching Doctor Who and Reeves and Mortimer DVD’s, writing this song and eating ice cream. It was great! My housemate came home at 6pm and we went to the pub, with this song all finished. It’s about my love of nostalgia and obscure subjects comforting me from the loss of Ariana (my first proper girlfriend, who had moved back to America).

lyrics

Sew patches on jean pockets. And fish fingers for tea
Dread LWT power cuts. Pan’s People on TV
The thinking schoolboy’s crumpet
And for sure Eldrad must live
This one’s for every good Dad, designing toys in sheds

The sacred cluttered boxes, of dinosaur remains
And Waterhouse’s archways make us feel less alone
The Post Office Tower generates each children’s TV show
It’s good that people care about each minute hobby world

Because I am separate from my girl…. I need reasons not to destroy the world

References

* Patches on jean pockets – In the 1970’s, it was common for Mum’s to sew brightly coloured patches onto their children’s jeans
* Fish fingers – A type of frozen food popular with kids (and me)
* Tea – In this case, tea refers to the afternoon meal, held in England at approximately 6pm
* LWT – The London Weekend Television company
* Power cuts – When I was young, it was common for TV shows to loose sound or be cancelled due to power cuts, which I used to hate
* Pan’s People – A 1970’s dance troupe, who appeared on the British music show Top of the Pops. They were a favourite of Dads and looked incredibly sexy and, “girl next door-like,” at the same time. They look ridiculously old fashioned now, but are lovely
* Crumpet – English slang for a pretty girl (or occasionally any attractive person). It was also common to use the phrase, “the thinking man’s crumpet,” to describe a classy/intelligent girl. I believe it was first used to describe Joan Bakewell
* “Eldrad must live” – A phrase from the 1970’s Dr Who episode The Hand of Fear, which I’d just bought on DVD
* “This one’s for every good Dad” – This is a tribute to a similar line in an Auters song. I listened to their After Murder Park album a lot, in my last year at university
* Dinosaur remains – As a child, I used to find museums literally spiritual places. Like churches to something better than religion. I still find them really emotional and happiness inducing
* Waterhouse – The architect of the Natural History Museum in London
* The Post Office Tower – At the time I wrote this song, I hadn’t realised that the Post Office Tower actually *was* used to broadcast British TV. It’s a perfect name for this album, as it really was a central generator of pop culture
* “I need reasons not to destroy the world” – After Ariana had to move back to America, I felt that the world had no inherent goodness

NB. The false ending of this song (in which the guitar solo stops suddenly and then fades back up again) was inspired by a similar trick in the song Love Circles by Squeeze

credits

from The Post Office Tower, released January 6, 2006
Ian Evans, all instruments and singing

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Ian Evans UK

Pop/experimental/rock musician and songwriter from London

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