The Stranglers - 1.01 - Sometimes

Over the last few weeks I've been listening to the Stranglers a lot. I don't like all their music. I like their first three studio albums, when they were a hard punk band, and the live album that captures one of their concerts in London. After these albums they went soft.

I've decided to present their first three albums in my blog this month. I shan't link to the songs on YouTube, because they're unofficial copies of the songs. If you want to listen to them you'll have to buy the CDs or listen to the music with a streaming service like Amazon Prime. All I'll do is give you the lyrics of each song. The words are powerful in themselves and should give an impression of this incredible band from the early days of the punk rock movement. I might write a few words about some of the songs, but in most cases I won't. I intend to present one song each day, but there are more than 30 songs on the first three albums, so I might present two songs on some days. I'll decide as I go along.

In 1977 "Rattus Norvegicus" hit the music scene like a bomb. It was like nothing ever heard before. The front cover of the LP didn't give the name of the group or the album. The only word written was the number four in Latin, IV. This confused many people. Was it their fourth album? No, it was their first. Was IV the name of the group? No, they were the Stranglers. Was IV the name of the album? No, it was "Rattus Norvegicus". Most likely it was a private joke by the group.

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Sometimes

Some day I'm going to smack your face,

Some day I'm going to smack your face,

Somebody's going to call your bluff,

Somebody's going to treat you rough,

Sometimes there is only one way out,

I've got to fight.

Sometimes I get to feel so mean,

Sometimes I get to feel so mean,

Sometimes you look like you're too clean,

Sometimes I see the in-between,

Sometimes only one way,

I've got to fight.

You're way past your station,

Beat you, honey, till you drop.

You're way past your station,

It's useless asking you to stop.

I've got morbid fascination,

Beat you, honey, till you drop.

Sometimes you're going to get some stick,

Sometimes you're going to get some stick,

Somebody's standing in our way,

Somebody's gonna have to pay,

Sometimes there is only one way,

I've got to fight.