'Rain, Steam & Speed': A Steampunk Anthem?

For some reason, I guess it is because of the steampunk novella I am currently writing (I am on the third part so hope to be able to post it at the start of November) I had the phrase 'steam is the burn' in my mind and realised it came from a song that I had not heard in many years, 'Rain, Steam & Speed' (1989) by The Men They Couldn't Hang. I played it once as a student DJ and had a cassette recording of it, but guess I have not listened to it in about 15 years. I went looking for it on the internet and found one YouTube video of it: http://www.youtube.com./watch?v=PrfV4ZMn4EE It is a song which celebrates/commemorates the work that went into building railways in 19th century Britain. To some extent The Men They Couldn't Hang are what you would expect from a folk rock group aware of labour and radical history; such issues permeate the bulk of their songs. To some extent I imagine they were probably channelled into stereotypical looks by video makers, especially in the 1980s as when they appear in 'navvie' clothing in the video.

In some ways The Men They Couldn't Hang seem to stem from the legacy of that 1970s combination between folk music that was very popular at that time, an interest in 'everyday history', i.e. history of ordinary people rather than monarchs and politicians which began to be taught in schools at that time and political, especially labour, radicalism. Folk music has not disappeared, there is a weekly programme on Radio 2, annual awards and a number of festivals, but it seems to impinge less on the mainstream than it did in the 1970s and it is very rare that you hear anything even folk-influenced in the charts; Seth Lakeman being the notable exception. Certainly in our apolitical times none of it has any political flavour even to the extent of praising the efforts of workers let alone making any more political-orientated suggestions. Workers are not lauded in contemporary pop music, only those who make money through performing and the use of that money to lead a hedonistic lifestyle is the only 'acceptable' path shown. Alright, have aspirations, but do not forget the bulk of us will never come close to that lifestyle, but that does not make us worthless; take pride in the ordinary things you do. I suddenly seem to be turning into an advocate for folk music which was not my intention at all!

Anyway, back to The Men They Couldn't Hang. I saw them perform at a university in the late 1980s probably when they were at their peak of success. Like most acoustic bands they are great to see live because atmosphere is important for that kind of music and I suppose it would be a step a way from what their songs talk about if they were on a huge stage with numerous special effects. They started releasing records in 1984 and they covered the whole range of labour movement history from their first single, 'The Green Fields of France' (1984) about a First World War veteran. 'Ironmasters' (1984) linking historic and current working conditions; 'Ghosts of Cable Street' (1985) pretty self-explanatory; 'Shirt of Blue' (1985) about the 1984-5 Miners' Strike; 'The Colours' (1987) about a mutineer in the Napoleonic Wars and 'The Crest' (1987) about a stretcher bearer in the Second World War. By 1990 they were supporting David Bowie on tour, though I do wonder how Bowie's fans received them. 'Rain, Steam and Speed' was released as a single off their 'Silvertown' (1989) album, but by 1990's 'The Domino Club' album they had left behind folk for more conventional rock. It is interesting that this was the time when The Manic Street Preachers, though formed in 1986, were coming to much greater public attention with the release of their first album, 'Generation Terrorists' in 1992 and whilst touching on some similar themes to The Men They Couldn't Hang did it using a rock/pop approach. The Men They Couldn't Hang split in 1991 but reformed in 1996 and played their 25th anniversary gig earlier this month. The lyrics you can find online generally come from this latter period of recording.

The title 'Rain, Steam & Speed' comes from a painting by J.M.W. Turner, 'Rain, Steam and Speed - the Great Western Railway' first exhibited in 1844. It is also the name of a 1999 album by the New Zealand band, the Mutton Birds. I know there is much discussion about what steampunk encompasses and the modern manifestation of the genre was very young when this track was produced, but to me, it seems a suitably steampunk anthem in both celebrating steampower but also recognising the human cost of its application. Like some other songs by the band it also draws parallels between historical developments and current ones.

I guess the denizens of The Smoking Lounge steampunk site will not be happy with me linking a song from a politically-interested group (though as you will see below, this song itself makes no blatant political points) and the steampunk genre. I suppose that is partly because many of them are located in the USA where politics is an even dirtier word than it is even in the UK. In addition, a lot of steampunk involves the writers, artists and commentators naturally projecting themselves into the roles of people of the Victorian elite, such as nobles, scientists and military officers, I do this myself. The thing is, with that comes an attachment to the Victorian-style hierarachy which in the UK is pretty much as it was 150 years ago. Thus, politics, especially labour politics seems to jar with elements of this take on the genre. In reflecting on this I think I have come to understand Michael Moorcock's complaint that what is being written now is 'steam opera' rather than 'steampunk'. I have no problem with that and will happily portray myself as a steam opera writer, but this does not mean that those who adopt a more '-punk' approach should be disparaged. The Smoking Lounge denizens seem to be very exercised by any connection, even in passing, from politics to their genre; I guess this stems from a fear that such an association will endanger them with censure from those who loathe any reference from politics and instead they want what they produce to continue to appear 'harmless', especially to the US public.

Despite extensive searches I have been unable to find a full set of lyrics for 'Rain, Steam & Speed', though you can find quite a few others by The Men They Couldn't Hang. Consequently, I have to apologise as these lyrics are derived from me listening to the track and writing them down and as with many songs, I could not work out everything that was being sung. I have put the bits I have guessed at in [ and ] and if you know what the real words are please email me so I can put the correct ones in.

Rain, Steam & Speed

'One man drills a powder hole, the colour of a bruise.
One man blows a bugle and another lights a fuse.
Blow, pick and shovel it; carry earth away.
Brains and brawn with hammers [strong], blasting through the glade.

Chorus
Rain is the cold; steam is the burn;
Speed is the way the World turns;
Speed is the way the World turns round.

Draughtsmen and surveyors work at pegging out the shaft.
Ten of us to breathe the dust; ten to do the graft.
Underneath the Pennine waste, the bodies lie in rags;
Forty miles of steel and [soil] follow in their tracks.


Chorus

Some men build a monument; some men build a tomb.
Some men move the World around to give them breathing room.
And some men carve a statue of Isambard Brunel;
Some men carve a tunnel into Hell.


Chorus

Spoken:
Drill the hole; pack it tight; [sound the horn];
Blow the rock; swing the pick;
Spade and hand will carry it.


Soon they'll build a tunnel under England through to France.
Will it make the tide run quicker? Will the [port] trade advance?
Underneath the ocean there's land of chalk and sand,
But coming up through the virgin rock will be a human hand.'

Chorus x 4

Pop Songs and the Spanish Civil War

Like many of my postings on pop music, this is going to sound a bit obscure, but there are many thoughts I have carried around with me often over a number of years as with the one about out-of-date technology in songs. I forget about them for ages then I hear a particular song on the radio and it sparks off the memory. Anyway, I suppose this is what this blog is about, casting out all those fragments of thoughts, little issues that I get momentarily het up about. I must have a lot of them because this is my 195th posting since last May. Of course new things come up all the time, shorter-term annoyance like all the house moving and the holiday and so on, but this blog has been wonderful at clearing out all the debris of stuff floating in my mind with benefit in terms of being able to get on with writing fiction and such like.

Now this one goes back to the 1970s. In 1976 ABBA then at the height of their success released 'Fernando' which reached number 1 in 12 countries, including the UK. A version with different lyrics (in Swedish) had been released by band member Anni-Frid Lyngstad in 1975. It was a romantic song whereas the re-written one was more about veterans from a conflict reminiscing about the events. The composers Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Stig Anderson claim it did not refer to any specific conflict or time period. The thing that annoyed me and continues to do so whenever it is dug out is that people say it is about the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) and in particular the International Brigades (foreigner volunteers who fought for the Spanish Republic). I observe, though, that the Wikipedia entry on the song is more accurate and it is actually about the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920) which as they note began in November 1910 when Francisco Madero led revolutionaries from Texas in the USA across its border with Mexico, the Rio Grande river as in the song the lyric goes 'that fateful night we crossed the Rio Grande'. Maybe it is the fact that to European audiences the Mexican Revolution is not an event in history that people are taught about or generally have even heard of.

Possibly this element was played down a bit for American audiences as the USA (where the song reached number 13) was never really happy having a revolutionary government on its southern border. The party that ran Mexico 1929-1946 was the National Revolutionary Party and it then became the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI); the concept of institutional and revolutionary seems contradictory. The PRI remained in power until 2000. Thus, avoiding reference to this element of history and instead focusing on the better known Spanish Civil War might have made it more acceptable in some circumstances. It also may have had something to do with the timing of the release of the single because in November 1975 General Francisco Franco, who had been dictator of Spain since 1939, died.

Out of all of this, though, it is intriguing that I can think of no other number 1 song in the Western world which had the theme of revolutionary conflict at its core and to some degree it was out of step with the more romantic songs that were the staple of ABBA's output, but I guess it successfully substituted nostalgia for romance, or maybe it mixed them. One aspect which is appealing is that it is sung by a woman and there is an implicit suggestion that the singer and this Fernando sacrificed a chance of romance and a normal life in the cause of revolution which is a common theme in romantic fiction. The reference to them 'losing' in the song might be seen to suggest that possibly they were not on the winning side of the revolution, though the revolutionaries did win so, maybe, in fact, the loss is about the loss to their lives in terms of 'normality' and what seems to be a love unrequited due to the focus on revolution.

In contrast to the rather mis-attributed background of 'Fernando' is 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next' released by the Manic Street Preachers in 1998. This came from the album 'This is My Truth Tell Me Yours'; the title itself quotes Aneuran Bevan the Welsh Labour politician. The Manic Street Preachers clearly were in a political phase and one of long titles, 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next' is recorded as the longest single title without brackets. The title comes from a Spanish Republic poster of the war and lines such as 'If I can shoot rabbits/then I can shoot Fascists' comes from 'Miners Against Fascism: Wales and the Spanish Civil War' by Dr. Hywel Francis (1984) also a Labour MP. The song went straight to number 1 in the UK but was less successful elsewhere. The single cover used a photograph of International Brigade soldiers from the war.

Nicky Wire (aka Nick Jones) who wrote the lyrics also stated that he was influenced by the song 'Spanish Bombs' released as a track on the album 'London Calling' by The Clash in 1979. The Clash were a similarly left-wing leaning pop group who were pretty successful in the UK charts despite the political focus of many of their songs. The UK seems able to tolerate one such group at a time and I imagine they still sell well to students looking for something different to the highly commercialised, sanitised, even music of the charts of these days. The song interesting contrasts the terrorism of ETA, the Basque separatist movement active in the 1970s and 1980s with the fight for freedom of the Republicans in the 1930s. It also slips in a reference to Ireland, possibly seeking to similarly contrast with the IRA of the past with the Provisional IRA of the 1970s and their violence. The song by referencing red and black flags also speaks about the Anarchists who made up part of the Republican side along side Socialists and Communists. Of course anarchism had had a burst of popularity during the punk era of the late 1970s (notably 'Anarchy in the U.K.' released by the Sex Pistols in November 1976) It is fascinating that you can buy 'Spanish Bombs' as a ringtone, though without the lyrics it means little and to some extent has been overtaken by events in Spain and Ireland.

Is it wrong to use the history of such conflicts to sell records? Well, they do not sell millions, they are not commercially there week after week. The motives of ABBA probably differed greatly from Manic Street Preachers and The Clash who did take a political angle on things. Their songs also contain real messages for today when there are lots of dictatorships and oppression going on no different to the Fascist Nationalist takeover of Spain 1936-9. People still die for what they believe in, notably at the moment in Tibet, but so many of us in the West just sit comfortably at home or walking around the shops with no concept of such sacrifice or that if we are complacent our freedoms will be snuffed out just as easily.

For reference:

'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next' by Manic Street Preachers (1996)
The future teaches you to be alone
The present to be afraid and cold
So if I can shoot rabbits
Then I can shoot Fascists

Bullets for your brain today
But we'll forget it all again
Monuments put from pen to paper
Turns me into a gutless wonder

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

Gravity keeps my head down
Or is it maybe shame
At being so young and being so vain
Holes in your head today

But I'm a pacifist
I've walked La Ramblas
But not with real intent

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

And on the street tonight an old man plays
With newspaper cuttings of his glory days

And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
And if you tolerate this
Then your children will be next
Will be next
Will be next
Will be next

'Spanish Bombs' by The Clash (1979)
Spanish songs in Andalucia,
the shooting sites in the days of ’39.
Oh, please leave, the VENTANA open.
Federico Lorca is dead and gone:
bullet holes in the cemetery walls,
the black cars of the Guardia Civil.

Spanish bombs on the Costa Rica -
I’m flying on in a DC-10 tonight.
Spanish bombs; yo te quiero infinito.
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón.
Spanish bombs; yo te quiero infinito.
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón.

Spanish weeks in my disco casino;
the freedom fighters died upon the hill.
They sang the red flag,
they wore the black one -
but after they died,
it was Mockingbird Hill.

Back home, the buses went up in flashes,
the Irish tomb was drenched in blood.
Spanish bombs shatter the hotels.
My señorita’s rose was nipped in the bud.

Spanish bombs; yo te quiero infinito.
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón.
Spanish bombs; yo te quiero infinito.
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón.

The hillsides ring with 'free the people' -
or can I hear the echo from the days of ’39
with trenches full of poets,
the ragged army, fixing bayonets to fight the other line?

Spanish bombs rock the province;
I’m hearing music from another time.
Spanish bombs on the Costa Brava;
I’m flying in on a DC-10 tonight.

Spanish bombs; yo te quiero infinito.
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón.
Spanish bombs; yo te quiero infinito.
Yo te quiero, oh mi corazón,
oh mi corazón,
oh mi corazón.

Spanish songs in Andalucia:
mandolina, oh mi corazón.
Spanish songs in Granada,
oh mi corazón,
oh mi corazón,
oh mi corazón,
oh mi corazón.


'Fernando' by ABBA (1976)
Can you hear the drums Fernando?
I remember long ago another starry night like this
In the firelight Fernando
You were humming to yourself and softly strumming your guitar
I could hear the distant drums
And sounds of bugle calls were coming from afar
They were closer now Fernando
Every hour every minute seemed to last eternally
I was so afraid Fernando
We were young and full of life and none of us prepared to die
And I'm not ashamed to say
The roar of guns and cannons almost made me cry

There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though I never thought that we could lose
There's no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando

Now we're old and grey Fernando
And since many years I havent seen a rifle in your hand
Can you hear the drums Fernando?
Do you still recall the fateful night we crossed the Rio Grande?
I can see it in your eyes
How proud you were to fight for freedom in this land

There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though I never thought that we could lose
There's no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando

There was something in the air that night
The stars were bright, Fernando
They were shining there for you and me
For liberty, Fernando
Though I never thought that we could lose
There's no regret
If I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando
Yes, if I had to do the same again
I would, my friend, Fernando...


P.P. 30/03/2009 - Over the weekend I read with a mixture of amusement and alarm that 'If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next' has been put on a BNP (British National Party - a Fascist political party) website by a supporter of the party. The party removed it pretty quickly, partly because they were violating copyright. They dismissed it saying 'you can interpret the lyrics anyway you want', but it is clear that their supporter simply read the title and was trying to use it as a scare tactic about what these racists see as the consequences of immigration. However, the use of this song simply reinforces how ignorant BNP supporters are. Of course, most BNP supporters probably think 'Fascism' is a republic in Central Asia and will be campaigning to stop the immigration of Fascists into the UK. As we know with the case of General Galtieri, former dictator of Chile, the UK actually welcomes Fascists with horrific records.