I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous Lyrics
We're lovers and we're losers
We're heroes and we're pioneers
And we're beggars and we're choosers
We're skirting around the edges
Of the ideal demographic
We're almost on the guestlist
But we're always stuck in traffic
We've watched our close associates
Up and play their parts
Chatting up the it girls
And they're tearing up the charts
While we were paying with coppers
To get our rounds in at the bar
We're the C-Team, we're the almost famous
Old friends of the stars
Justin is the last
Of the great romantic poets
And he's the only one among us
Who is ever gonna make it
We planned a revolution
From a cheap Southampton bistro
I don't remember details
But there were English boys with banjos
And he sings songs and he slays dragons, and he's losing all his hair
And Adam is the resurrected spirit of Gram Parsons
In plaid instead of rhinestone and living in South London
And no one's really clear about Tommy's job description
But it's pretty clear he's vital to the whole damn operation
And Dave Danger smiles at strangers, Tre's the safest girl I know
Zo and Harps will scamper up to victory in the city we call home
We won't change our ways, we will proud remain when the glory fades
When the glory fades
Yeah, I am sick and tired of people
Who are living on the B-list
Yeah, they're waiting to be famous
And they're wondering why they do this
And I know I'm not the one who is habitually optimistic
But I'm the one who's got the microphone here, so just remember this
Yeah, well life is about love, last minutes and lost evenings
About fire in our bellies and furtive little feelings
And the aching amplitudes that set our needles all a-flickering
And help us with remembering that the only thing that's left to do is live
Yeah, the only thing that's left to do is live
For the heroes and the pioneers
The only thing that's left to do
Is get another round in at the bar
About
In this song, Frank Turner describes the life of a minor celebrity such as himself, and then lists the exploits of his nearest and dearest friends, other musicians from other groups in the London scene. The London scene is one of the most vital in contemporary rock music, featuring acts like The Vaccines, Beans on Toast, The Holloways, Mumford & Sons, Laura Marling, Noah and the Whale, Johnny Flynn, and Ben Howard.
Turner uses the image of the main character in T.S. Eliot’s poem The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock as a metaphor for his own life and his friends'. Prufrock is a man who, as he grows old, continues to live his mundane life and doesn’t do the things he really wants to do, reminiscing about lost opportunities. This is exactly the point of the song: revolutions planned, but not carried out; people stuck on “the B-List”; etc.
However, Frank maintains that that’s what life is all about: living, despite our little failures.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous
- 4.Substitute
- 5.Better Half
- 12.Jet Lag