Favorite New Model Army Songs #2 - "Lights Go Out"

@teamfreak16 (43613)
Denver, Colorado
October 6, 2017 4:24pm CST
Being a music fiend, there are a lot of bands that I like, and a lot of bands that I love. And then, there are bands that transcend both of those designations, bands that I absolutely revere. England's New Model Army is one of those groups, and I've been celebrating them with a countdown of my favorite NMA songs. We are at #2: "Lights Go Out." "Lights Go Out" is the second track on the band's 1986 album, The Ghost of Cain. While the group is known for protest songs, they also do a bang up job on songs about class struggle, and "Lights Go Out" is one of the best of those, containing one of my all-time favorite lyrics: as a restless, ambitious young man implores his mother to make him King, she puts him into his place by telling him "You were born with nothing, to nothing you'll return." (That, and the telling "We don't need you now," instead of a thank you, after you've outlasted your usefulness.) Although an extended mix and a dub mix were included on an EP, the song was never released as a single. Which is a shame, because it rocks. (Info verified by Wikipedia)
Provided to YouTube by Warner Music Group Lights Go Out · New Model Army The Ghost Of Cain ? 1986 Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company Compos...
3 people like this
3 responses
@FourWalls (86755)
• United States
9 Oct 17
Yeah, that's us now. Politicians, too ("we don't need you now," as in, "Got your vote, sucker, come see me at the next election!"). I hear some Clash influence in this.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (86755)
• United States
9 Oct 17
@teamfreak16 -- that's a tough thing to live up to, like all of those singer/songwriters who got slapped with "the next Dylan" label.
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@teamfreak16 (43613)
• Denver, Colorado
9 Oct 17
That's not surprising. In the early days, the fans referred to them as "The New Clash."
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@crossbones27 (52912)
• Mojave, California
7 Oct 17
That is what I have been trying to tell people and they just tell me to shut up and not make a scene. People are so setting themselves up.
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@teamfreak16 (43613)
• Denver, Colorado
7 Oct 17
Yep. These guys obviously write from a British viewpoint, but I've always been able to envision their lyrics fitting us over here.
@JohnRoberts (109841)
• Los Angeles, California
7 Oct 17
That is a rather somber tune.
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@teamfreak16 (43613)
• Denver, Colorado
7 Oct 17
Yeah, especially since Corporate America thinks the same way.
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