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One of my favourite bands of all time is without a doubt the almighty Amebix, formed in England 1978. The music, the lyrics, the artwork – everything is perfect. I will write a longer text about them further on, but for now I just want you to discover their fine malt lyrics in the shape of the opening lines to Nobody’s Driving from the Monolith (1987) album. This is real poetry to me, and the way it is sung is beyond artistry. But more about that later. Just dwell on these lines for a while. It’s not their best song (and certainly not their worst either, I love it!), but it displays the power, creativity and true independence of the band. No gods, no masters!
I awoke in a sweat from the American Dream
They were loading the bomb bay of the iron bird
Giving their blood to the Doomsday Machine
I screamed into the wind my goodbye to the world
Worship, on your knees, feeble bastards!
I awoke in a sweat from the American Dream
They were loading the bomb bay of the iron bird
Giving their blood to the Doomsday Machine
I screamed into the wind my goodbye to the worldIt was dark in the desert so we walked through the night
The vessel was waiting where we had been led
An awesome machine to tear through the sky
The last exodus from the land of the dead[Chorus:]
We are swimming in the lunar sea
Drowning in insanity
Look to the shore you will see
Your leaders were lying
Nobody’s driving!Upon the horizon is the earth I once knew
Now a red ball of light suspended in space
So we erected a stone on the shore of the sea
As a grim epitaph to the lost human race[Repeat first verse]
[Chorus:]
We are swimming in the lunar sea
Drowning in insanity
Between the devil and the deep blue sea
Our world is dying
And nobody’s driving!