Get straight, wait here while I try to find the exit sign
When we stop asking strangers, no one wants what we want
Keep one eye on the door, keep one eye on the bag
Never expect to be sure

You're working for the police and the private, the pirates and the pilots
Fingerprinted waiting for the train
The doctor, the writer, the hairdresser,
Felt up and fingerprinted waiting for the train

Lord lord mother, you're all losing love
Lord listen lover, you're all missing mama
Lord lord mother, you're all losing love
Lord listen lover, you're all missing something I don't got

There's a place that ends here I know
When they close the gates I'll cry
I'm so tired of never sleeping
The whole world wants what we're on

Didn't make this up I learned, I learned it from a friend
My friend is coming clean, she told me
Keep one eye on the door, keep one eye on the bed
Never expect to be sure, who you're working for

You're working for the police and the private, the pirates and the pilots
Fingerprinted waiting for the train
The doctor, the writer, the garbage collector
Fingerprinted waiting for the train

Lord lord mother, you're all losing love
Lord listen lover, you're all missing mama
Lord lord mother, you're all losing love
Lord listen lover, you're all missing mama

Lord lord mother, you're all losing love
Lord listen lover, you're all missing mama
Lord lord mother, you're all losing love
Lord listen lover, you're all missing love

Got to get out
Got to get to you, the orphanage is closing in an hour



Lyrics submitted by public

Track duration: 03:44

"The Police and the Private" as written by Emily Haines James Shaw

Lyrics © CHRYSALIS MUSIC GROUP

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The Police and the Private song meanings
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  • 0
    My Interpretation:To me this song is about the corporate world,
    and working full time, you're just a pawn in the company and are never sure of who is at the top and who youre working for/who your company works for etc.

    she is looking for a way out but no1 wants her to stop working either, her fans (or boss depending on you), every1 is fingerprinted waiting for the train. i guess this could mean everyone has a record kept for them, trying to climb the corporate ladder. (take the train up)

    There's a place that ends here I know (cant think of something for this atm, its late)
    When they close the gates I'll cry (if they fire her she will loose her income and life)
    I'm so tired of never sleeping (working long hours for peanuts)
    The whole world wants what we're on (the whole world is greedy for money)

    Lord lord mother, you're all losing love (we're forgetting the other values in life, particular connections and relationship, since the corporate world is so cut throat)
    Lord listen lover, you're all missing mama (you've probably sacrificed a lot for your job, no time for your mother, friends, family)
    Flag improbablynotrighton May 30, 2012   Link
  • +1
    My Interpretation:The lines refering to "...when they close the gates I'll cry..." and the orphanage could also be taken more literally in that a prostitute had a child and couldn't raise them on the street, so sent them to the local orphanage, yet still loves and visits the child. Other than that, drugs, prostitution, making money any way you can on the streets.
    Flag didiwinon June 26, 2011   Link
  • 0
    Song Meaning:i can agree to that posted before,but i also see some reference to the holocaust
    in the song.
    "fingerprinted waiting for the train" ..."when they close the gates i cry"..."never expect to be sure who youre working for".
    it reminds me of every human having tha ability to do horrible things and that there is a atleast a bit of
    horrbile person in all of us.
    i love this song for all the ways you can interpret it
    Flag Angrybeaveron May 27, 2011   Link
  • 0
    My Opinion:At first i thought she was playing a game with some kids, know "you're working for the police and the privates..etc. etc." the whole "i learned this from a friend" probably and old friend she had that loved kids like her and it's a game she used to play with them. "When they close the gates I'll cry" and "got to get to you the orphanage is closing in an hour" she's sending them back after a day of play and will miss them until the next time. "Lord listen lover we're all missing momma", she can probably relate to them, maybe she doesn't have a parent or both. And the rest just goes with the game she's playing with them. Well that's what i thought at first, then i found this site! And the whole drug dealing makes sense to. But, music is music. We interpret it any way we want so we have a nice little story in our heads :)


    Love & Music,
    Tommy Lou
    Flag TommyLouon January 02, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Drugs & prostitution in this song are METAPHORS. On the surface, it is about not being able to trust people because you don't know if they are on your side or not. The song, however, is about trust in a larger sense, the trust it takes to get what you need, which is basically LOVE. Love is a risk, one which requires vulnerability, and you may never really know how the other person is going to deal with your heart. Will they hurt you or are they on your side? "We're all missing mama" means that as adults, we all search for that similar, unconditional love a mother gives, & the kind of comfort & safety a young child feels with its mother. Anyway, you can dissect it line for line, but I'm pretty sure that is the main theme.
    Flag voodoodollyon October 30, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I'm going to draw attention to two lines:

    "Felt up and fingerprinted waiting for the train"

    also, "When they close the gates I'll cry"

    So, with those two lines, the first perhaps referring to being searched, and the second to airport gates, I thought it was about the whole security movement, and so on. As an Australian, I see no reason why people outside USA wouldn't write about that, and this stuff was around for as long as there have been governments. There's a famous quote, I forget who: "A society that sacrifices liberty for security will lose both and deserve neither." which is way older than 9/11.
    Flag sibilationon September 14, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:but ya prostitution is involved for sure
    Flag seedless420on August 28, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think this song is about the police having a tap on someone and they dont know it , they are leading the police all over and filling them in on what is going on... Then one person gets trapped, and the other wants to save them... Sleepless nights and hiding out and the orphanage closing in an hour could be a rehab or sober liviNg
    Flag seedless420on August 28, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I think that if you're looking for drug references you can find them here but I do not think that's what the song is about at all. A lot of Metric's songs are about the government and society and I think is another one of them.

    Get straight, wait here while I try to find the exit sign - Trying to find a way out of this system
    When will you stop asking strangers - You can't trust anyone
    No one wants what we want - No one wants the freedom we want, they're content.
    Keep one eye on the door, keep one eye on the bag - Bag here referring to leaving/exiting like a suitcase
    Never expect to be sure - You can't be sure about anything

    You're working for the police and the private, the pilots and the pirates - We're all working for the same person, the government
    Fingerprinted waiting for the train - Go about our lives, fingerprinted and watched
    The doctor, the writer, the hairdresser - Again, everyone is a part of the machinery of society
    Felt up and fingerprinted waiting for the train - felt up and molested by the system

    Lord lord mother we are all losing love - We don't know how to love anymore
    Lord listen lover we are all missing mama - We just want to be children again
    Lord lord mother we are all losing love
    Lord listen lover we are all missing something I don't got - There's no room for love in this world

    There's a place that ends here I know
    When they close the gates I'll cry - the chance to escape is ending
    I'm so tired of never sleeping - can't sleep out of paranoia
    The whole world wants what we're on - Could be a reference to drugs, but I think it's being "high on life" for lack of a better phrase.

    Didn't make this up I learned
    I learned it from a friend
    My friend is coming clean, she told me - The friend used to see the same problems she does, but now she's become a part of the system too
    Keep one eye on the door, keep one eye on the bed - Not even safe while sleeping, as mentioned above
    Never expect to be sure who you're working for -We're all working for the same person

    Got to get out
    Got to get to you, the orphanage is closing in an hour - We're all orphans in a world without love


    Have you seen Brazil? This song really reminds me of it.
    All the dystopian literature like Brave New World and 1984 are reminiscent here.
    Flag Starsybyllon May 11, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I also wanted to point out that Emily Haines has sung about prostitution before on the Delerium song "Stopwatch Hearts." If you haven't checked that one out, I highly recommend it.
    Flag Crunkletonon August 11, 2009   Link

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