Know something about this song or lyrics?
Add it to our wiki.
Panic on the streets of London
Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again?
The leeds side-streets that you slip down
I wonder to myself
Hopes may rise on the grasmere
But honey pie, you're not safe here
So you run down
To the safety of the town
But there's panic on the streets of Carlisle
Dublin, Dundee, Humberside
I wonder to myself
Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed dj
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life
Hang the blessed dj
Because the music they constantly play
On the Leeds side-streets that you slip down
Provincial towns you jog 'round
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj
Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again?
The leeds side-streets that you slip down
I wonder to myself
Hopes may rise on the grasmere
But honey pie, you're not safe here
So you run down
To the safety of the town
But there's panic on the streets of Carlisle
Dublin, Dundee, Humberside
I wonder to myself
Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed dj
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life
Hang the blessed dj
Because the music they constantly play
On the Leeds side-streets that you slip down
Provincial towns you jog 'round
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj
Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery
Track duration: 02:21
"Panic" as written by Johnny Marr, Steven Patrick Morrissey
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
By the way, uvlight, how on Earth would Morrissey know about Jimmy Saville?
Jimmy Savile was a resident DJ in at least one Manchester club for awhile so maybe thats how Morrissey knew. My guess though is he probably heard one or two things from other folk in the music industry back at the time, maybe even through JP when doing Peel sessions, not that JP is on a pedestal nowadays either, but maybe somebody like JP mentioned it.
The band Half Man Half Biscuit were alluding to his behaviour back in 1985 with the track 'I left my heart in Papworth General' (go look it up its on Youtube), and then you've got Mark Lamarr and others on the music panel show 'Never Mind The Buzzcocks' referencing it numerous times, pretty much a decade ago.
Many people knew for a long time it seems. Many folk tried to speak out, but were silenced or ignored it seems. To me this looks like Morrissey putting it out there indirectly without finding himself subject to being sued and potentially something more sinister happening, bearing in mind those that Savile associated with.
'The Leeds side streets that you slip down, the provincial towns you jog 'round', it's so obvious now listening to it.
The original promo video shows the lead character smoking throughout (albeit a cigarette and not a cigar) and passionately kissing a skull at the end (a reference to one of Savile's bizarre 'interests'), and throughout has a first person view of an outstretched hand running down sidestreets in a groping fashion, whilst switching back to children playing in the playground, as the line 'Hang the DJ' is sung by youngsters. There are also other possible references in the video. It's funny the original promo video was remade with live footage overlaid over the original video, obscuring most of the content in the process, but both can be found on YouTube.
I'm sure some of the inspiration may have come about because of the Steve Wright / Wham thing referenced earlier, and the line 'the music that they constantly play' is clearly in tune with that line of thinking, but I'm almost certain this is about Savile.
A less cynical view would be that Morrissey was taking a cheap shot at Savile and Top of the Pops.
It criticizes music for the lack of meaning, while also recognizing it's truly limited importance with the ironic request to "Hang the DJ". (Also see Rubber Ring for putting music in its proper place.)
"Hang the blessed DJs... because the music that they constantly play... it says nothing to me about my life" - I believe that there is a search for meaning. We all relate to some songs (or any art form for that matter) because they bring something that we hold deep inside. The new music however feels like they hold no feelings.
It's a song about being lost in a society that no longer pays attention to meaning...
I know this isn't what the song is about or why it was written but its one interpretation. =]