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" There was the stage
Two red lights and a Dodgy P.A
You trod the planks way back then
And it's strange that you're
Here again - here again "
" And I wish , I wish I knew the right words
to make you feel better
Walk out of this place
Defeat them in your secret battle
Show them you can be your own man again "
" Don't, don't explain
Lots of little victories take on the pain
It takes so long to earn
You can double up or
You can burn - You can burn "
" And I wish, I wish I knew the right words
To make you feel better
Walk out of this place
Defeat them in your secret battle
Show them you can be your own man again "
" And I wish, I wish I knew the right words
To blow up the Pokies and
Drag them away
'Cause they're taking the food off your table
So they can say that the trains run on time "
" Flashing lights - It's a real show
And your wife - I wouldn't go home
The little bundles need care
And you can't be a father there
Father there "
" And I wish, I wish I knew the right words
To blow up the Pokies and
Drag them away
'Cause they're taking the food off your table
So they can say that the trains run on time "
Two red lights and a Dodgy P.A
You trod the planks way back then
And it's strange that you're
Here again - here again "
" And I wish , I wish I knew the right words
to make you feel better
Walk out of this place
Defeat them in your secret battle
Show them you can be your own man again "
" Don't, don't explain
Lots of little victories take on the pain
It takes so long to earn
You can double up or
You can burn - You can burn "
" And I wish, I wish I knew the right words
To make you feel better
Walk out of this place
Defeat them in your secret battle
Show them you can be your own man again "
" And I wish, I wish I knew the right words
To blow up the Pokies and
Drag them away
'Cause they're taking the food off your table
So they can say that the trains run on time "
" Flashing lights - It's a real show
And your wife - I wouldn't go home
The little bundles need care
And you can't be a father there
Father there "
" And I wish, I wish I knew the right words
To blow up the Pokies and
Drag them away
'Cause they're taking the food off your table
So they can say that the trains run on time "
Lyrics submitted by doctorbeak
Track duration: 03:25
"Blow Up the Pokies" as written by Timothy/gertler Freedman
Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Agree that it is one of the more heart-wrenching songs I've ever heard. Second only to "The Curse Stops Here."
This song has a touching message. A lot of us know people who are gambling addicts, or have been affected by it in some way. When I was in high school a good friend of mine had a gambling addict father, the races rather than pokies, but same sort of effect. She never talked about what it did to her family but you saw and heard things that just weren't quite right. Good on the Whitlams for talking about it. It's not exactly the first anti pokie crusade ever but the lyrics are raw and it's hard to ignore just what they're trying to say.
freaking AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!
to me, the way he uses "its a real show" is saying how important the gambler feels it is to win the pokies, how seriously he takes it?
well thats just what i think!
'Cause they're taking the food off your table
So they can say that the trains run on time
These lines refer to the money the governement makes off taxation of gambling and questions how can you justify collecting such revenue when gambling addiction destroys families.
My fav lines however are:
Flashing lights, it's a real show
Which compares the flashing lights of the pokie machines to the lighting at a rock and a roll show...
So they can say that the trains run on time
these two lines sum up the song and the statement about pokies and the purpose they serve.
did not know about andy.. makes it all the more powerful
"The music was written by Gretta Gertler and I wrote the words. I don't usually just write words to a pre-existing piece of music.I loved the tune so I tried to tell this story. It was sort of inspired by Andy, who was in the band at the start. He was the double bass player for the first three albums and he had a bad gambling problem. He'd already left the band when I wrote this song and tragicly about 6 months after the album came out, Andry committed suicide, after putting all his wages in a poker machine after working hard one week in Sydney."
For those really into it, an 11 piece string section was used for the album recording.
Love this song. One of the best on "Love This City"!!
yeh our govt is pretty fucked
pokies should be banned.
i used to work at a pub n ppl would come to gamble at 10 am.
whitlam was a good guy