Gordon Brown Under Pressure Song

First attempt at one of these songs. I'm a bit unsure of myself so any feedback would be appreciated.

TO THE TUNE OF "APPLY SOME PRESSURE" BY MAXIMO PARK:

You know that I would love to be here next year
I hope that I am still in charge next year
Before Tone left the economy was doing fine
Now that I'm here, I may be forced to resign

When Tone stood down he really left me in the lurch
Now all the kids are really p*ssed at Stop and Search
You know that I would love to be here next year
I hope that I am still in charge next year

What's the chance?
Well how am I supposed to know?
Read the papers?
Well, they all say I've got to go
X2

I had to wait for ten long years till I could stand
And now it seems I'll be replaced by Miliband
He is like Tone, real clean and real smug
I want to knock that bloody smile off his mug

My cabinet has really left me reeling
I didn't think they'd have that depth of feeling
You know that I would love to be here next year
I hope that I am still in charge next year

What's my view?
Well how am I supposed to know?
Read the papers?
Well, they all say I've got to go
X2

I'd like to wait to see how things turn out
But I'm under pressure
X2

What happens if I lose everything?
I'll just move to Spain
Yes, I'll go live in Spain
X2

I'd like to wait to see how things turn out
But I'm under pressure
X2

What happens if I lose everything?
I'll just move to Spain
Yes, I'll go live in Spain
X3

What happens when you're under pressure
To David's pleasure, and David's pleasure (alternate pics of Cameron and Miliband)
To David's pleasure, and David's pleasure
To David's pleasure, and David's pleasure (pic of David Frost?)
X2

You know that I would love to be here next year
I hope that I am still PM next year
You know that I have always wanted this address
I hope that I will stay and live at this address.

I *really* liked this! Thought it fit really well, especially considering the pace of the song emphasising the idea of pressure. However, this line didn't seem to fit with the song, beat-wise:

Quote: Rob0 @ August 4 2008, 1:25 PM BST

He is like Tone, real clean and real smug

View original

It feels like the "real"s should be "really"s to fit with the original syllabic pattern of the song? Just a suggestion though.

It reads well, but I don't know the original. You may find that's an issue.

It's good, and funny.

Albeit I'm hopeless at spotting rhymes and sylables counts.

That said it's not that well known a song.

Very, very familiar ones like show tunes, Beatles, etc are the usual choice.

Quote: Graham Bandage @ August 4 2008, 1:35 PM BST

It reads well, but I don't know the original. You may find that's an issue.

View original

Exactly my thoughts. I know very little about music so I dont know whether Graham and I are in the minority or not.

I think that it is crucial that the song is imediately identifiable by the audience, if not it can be as well written and clever as you like but it will probably die on its arse.

So how old is this song? Is it likely to be well known by your target audience?

So BSG'ers, are Graham and I totally out of touch? Who knows this song?

Me! \o

So.... who are they Scatters? What have they done? Will anyone in their 30's have of heard of them?

Your educating those od us that are of touch dont forget

They're quite a big band, but I say that referring to their fan base among indie teenagers. Apply Some Pressure is probably their most well-known song, and I would vouch for them being quite widely heard-of.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zx00NuMSipc

Quote: Scatterbrained Floozy @ August 4 2008, 2:22 PM BST

They're quite a big band, but I say that referring to their fan base among indie teenagers. Apply Some Pressure is probably their most well-known song, and I would vouch for them being quite widely heard-of.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zx00NuMSipc

View original

Ooh, I like big bands. Are they more Glenn Miller, or Victor Sylvester?

Firstly, thanks for the feedback - it was certainly constructive and not nearly as scary as I'd feared.

Quote: Scatterbrained Floozy @ August 4 2008, 1:30 PM BST

I *really* liked this! Thought it fit really well, especially considering the pace of the song emphasising the idea of pressure. However, this line didn't seem to fit with the song, beat-wise:

It feels like the "real"s should be "really"s to fit with the original syllabic pattern of the song? Just a suggestion though.

View original

I quite agree, I'll be sure to change that. Propa English to

Quote: Sofa_Matt @ August 4 2008, 2:14 PM BST

So.... who are they Scatters? What have they done? Will anyone in their 30's have of heard of them?

Your educating those od us that are of touch dont forget

View original

Well, that was my biggest fear, and I haven't really been listening to the music charts the past year myself. I suppose the reasoning behind using the song was:

1)It fit in with the under pressure theme
2)The Band sing with Geordie accents, so might adapt well to a dour Scot
3)On Match of the Day (and other shows) last year their songs seemed to provide the backing to many clips, so I assumed they were big enough (unless their royalties are just dirt cheap). Also, they've played at Glastonbury, headlined an NME tour, and supported The Police (says Wikipedia).

I guess the question is whether there are more people like Scatter... or whether it's too niche a song and people will be too busy trying to work out what it is than just enjoy the lyric-tune combo.

So, is it worth further work or just a valuable learning experience?

Quote: Rob0 @ August 4 2008, 3:50 PM BST

So, is it worth further work or just a valuable learning experience?

View original

Both, probably. I just think the track you've chosen is still a bit niche. Why not try and pick up a few clips of Gordon Brown, record yourself singing the lyrics over a backing track and chuck it on YouTube?

Quote: Graham Bandage @ August 4 2008, 3:56 PM BST

Both, probably. I just think the track you've chosen is still a bit niche. Why not try and pick up a few clips of Gordon Brown, record yourself singing the lyrics over a backing track and chuck it on YouTube?

View original

It's an idea. Although by the time I manage to collate a video and a decent singing effort he might be long gone