Added: 5 years ago
From: dublin75
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  • Kevin Carter was "overly sensitive and kind" in Marinovich's words- he loved music and his daughter (who he wasn't able to see) and tired his best to make a difference that difference cost him his life. How dare we judge that. However I will say this song is quoted in the book

  • I read the book "The Bang Bang Club" and saw the great movie. It was written by 2 of Carter's best friends & fellow club members Greg Marinovich & Joao Silva. Carter was a fun caring sensitive person who had a horrible childhood, worse experiences in the SA military, and a job that literally destroyed his soul. So he took that picture? The photo called attention to a entire civil war and thats worth more.

  • good stuff

  • Hahaha! How selfish of a lyricist to express his opinion. We should all ask them to fall in line, eh? I never could believe how a young man in his twenties from a working class Welsh background could feel so darn leftist! Seriously though, if you feel at all patronised by Richey or Nicky's lyrics please remember it's merely a point of view and if you don't subscribe to that stance that's fine. It seems, though, there was (and still is) a generation of fans who heard something special in those w

  • Sean Moore on the trumpet ladies and gentlemen

  • i just love this song it is really awesome i love you.

  • I don't want to like this band because I've always found the intellect behind their lyrics very puerile and adolescent, whether Edwards or Wire.

    But they had / have one of rocks greatest vocalists, and between them, Moore and Bradfield have emerged with the most brilliant melodies and harmonies between them.

    But I'll tell you something, Kevin Carter, the subject of this song, was being written about by a lyricist, Edwards, who wasn't as mature as his subject.

    Deal with it.

  • @seanreillyireland then dont bother listening to it then and fuck off back to your Radio 1 retardom

  • @seanreillyireland twat, GO LISTEN TO YOUR JLS TRAX

  • @DG4REAL71 Who's JLS? I was listening to Joy Division, Syd Barrett, Captain Beefheart, Love, Spirit, VU etc 20 years ago! MSP diehards can't take criticism. So it suits you to label anyone who criticises them as being uncool or whatever. Send me some JLS and I'll know what twatdom is?

  • @seanreillyireland I wouldn't check on JLS if I were you. It's absolutely dreadful, and seeing you like Joy Division and Syd Barrett, I think it wouldn't be up your alley. I know because I'm a huge fan of Barrett, Beefheart and Joy Division just like you.

  • @HonkyCat90 Thanks for that. You know, if Youtube would let me, I'd remove that comment. I don't want to upset anyone. I think JD is one of the best rock singers of all time, and he and the drummer are SUPERB songwriters. Its just the trendy far-left stance they've always taken annoys me in their lyrics. Its so cliched, though Richie was a gifted poet, I admit. As a working class lad myself (and I know they were working class), I just found their lyrics patronising. Thanks mate.

  • JD has gotten so tall in this one.

  • @brotherfrank62 the thing is, most Christians want to preach and teach what's convenient to them. They want to be their own Gods, instead of obeying the LORD. It's the natural sin: to try make oneself than God. Some examples? Satan, Eve, Adam, and a few others. It's shame, really.

  • Bollocks brotherfrank................

  • Christians should not be divided into divisions or denominations. The bible says that we should all speak the same thing.

  • Clearing up the misunderstanding about tithing in today's New Testament Church.

  • The trumpet solo has always reminded me of the end theme from "The Sweeney" in which Dennis Waterman played George Carter....

  • p.s. 12 dislikes? shame on them! 

  • Incredible. Enough said

  • Fact...MSP are the greatest welsh band of all time

    Fact...EMG is one of the greatest albums of the 90s

    Fact...Anyone who likes them, knows what quality music is.

    clic clic clic...! Viva the Manics!

  • I always find it random and amusing that Sean Moore plays the drums, and then plays the Trumpet. The two instruments are so different (obviously), and it always makes me smile.

    Can't wait for the new album!

  • i cant think of anyone in my life time who would turn a story that needs to be told into a song! Yes movie directors do it all the time but musicians? a fantastic piece of music and lyrics that is about real things that matter and not the shite we get released on a weekly basis now. Is there room in the charts for a MSP now? i think fuckin not!

  • grea song great lyrics the best manics yet

  • Good Song Great Video!

  • kevin wasnt a bad person .. he was just capturing what most people would never see .. so that they would see ..

  • WHAT THE FUCK IS HE SAYING? Can anyone see shit in his mouth?

  • @ScottyLovey, you're not supposed to notice there's no melody, either. I guess that's because this is art, or something. Or it's some scheme to get you to buy the CD, which presumably would provide those lyrics.

    But I did make out the words Kevin Carter being repeated a lot, and since he was a good guy we can appreciate that. :)

  • KC Motherfucker...

  • i think local h bound for the floor copped this vibe

  • my favourite Richey lyric

  • Alex Caaaaarterrrr!

  • kevin carter!...kevin carter!!....kevin carTAH!!!

  • it was more:

    hi time magazine , hi pulitzer prize , bye bye life for poor Kevin

    RIP Kevin Carter

    classic song!

  • takes me back to the summer of '96...

  • one of their bests .

  • Also i'm struggling to decode some of the meanings.

    'The elephant is so ugly, he sleeps his head, machetes his bed'.

    Any interpretations on what they mean would be muchly appreciated!

    Cheers.

  • Great song but maybe it means the way elephants get hunted down and cut up by machetes?

  • good call, that could well be it. i was wondering if it meant that the Sudan famine and Kevin Carter's pictures appearing in the west is like the 'elephant in the room', we all know it's happening but we don't talk about it. sorta thing. i like that it could have two meanings though, a literal and a metaphorical one. cheers!

  • I love how it starts with the flash of a bulb and ends with paparrazzi sounds.

    I'm studying poetry and decided to compare this lyric to a Carol Ann Duffy poem called 'War Photographer' for a seminar i have to give. i think i should show the video too cos i'm trying to align the themes of dissociation from suffering through constant representations and the relationship of the people behind the camera, witnesses to suffering, to the people who see the pics in Sunday suppliments.

    Bitchin tune!

  • Does anyone know if it's Sean Moore playing that trumpet solo on this? I hear he is an accomplished brass player as well.

  • @Rollo7

    Yep that's Sean on trumpet!

  • Thanks kindly, that's a helluva solo :)

  • is it just me or does anyone else think that nicky wire looks a lot like nikki sixx?

  • Just You

  • Kevin Carters story is one we should never forget.

    Love this song! 5/5

  • and whever you are in wales.... watch out! theres a ferrit about!

    Damn right!

    diolch yn fawr <3

  • kevin descansa en paz bro

  • A very accomplished sophisticated piece - that instrumental break gets me every time. I take my hat of to them for steering well clear of "my baby left me blah blah " cliches instead, creating intelligent, socially aware thought provoking songs. Kudos forever X

  • @OliviaBassClef Well said that man !!!!

  • @OliviaBassClef I was going to say what you said just not as intelligently

  • Couldn't agree with you more love...took the words right out of my mouth =)

  • Love JDB, nice to see him on the electric proms with shirley.

  • Ritchie Edward's lyrics

  • i think that this was such a great year for british music. brilliant

  • Poor Kevin. I hope this song has brought his spirit to rest.

  • The girl was under a mile away from a aid center! That was where she was trying to get. Poor thing.

    Though due to the media bullying him he killed himself.

  • pardon?

  • Great band from the great land of Wales....thank you Wales from Canada.....\m/ \m/

  • umm ... wales says "you're welcome!"

  • I always thought, when listening to this song when I was a kid, that he said 'Kevin Carter, can't fall over forever' in the last verse.

    I know it's actually 'Kevin Carter, kaffir lover, forever', but I think the former still applies... I wonder if that was an intention or not

  • @tw706 I knew I wasn't the only one who heard that!

  • Kevin Carter is not only the picture of the little girl dying of hunger.

    He spent almost 10 years as a photojournalist covering the situations in the black neighbourhoods during the apartheid. I read that he photographed people dying by extreme situations (some men killing a man with an axe).

    He was, somehow, used to this level of violence and hard way of living.

    It was natural to see that, it was his job, he was a part of the camera.

    When he realized of what he had become, he killed himself.

  • @diecer50

    That is one of the saddest stories i've ever heard.

  • @diecer50 Kevin never used to violence. He was born in family that was supporting apartheid. He started to photograph situation in South Africa and other suffering nations to stop it. His friends told that he cried a lot after shooting photos. He killed himself because he had enough. Because of what he saw. Don't say that he became a monster. His suicide was caused rather by a helplessness than lack of empathy.

  • @blp111 I agree with most of what you said. I didn't say he became a monster. He worked hardly to show to the world what was (has it ended?) happening in Africa. His job was too tough. He, in some way, lost the sense of humanity (he did not care about the little girl's situation after he took that famous picture). It doesn't mean he was a monster... he was eaten by the facts which surrounded him for more than 10 years. Many people blame on him... they don't understand that he was a humble hero.

  • @diecer50

    He was human, he couldn't handle the drugs and he couldn't earn any money. He killed himself. I don't feel right speculating about what exactly made this photographer kill himself but I think photography had a very little part of it. People have overblown this entire aspect of the little girl photo.

    He was a great photographer, but he was also an addict that won the pulitzer prise and lost his best friend all within the span of a couple of months. Who wouldn't be driven to suicide?

  • Comment removed

  • Kevin Carter left the kid. No matter what he did he still left the kid. That just sums up my opinion of him.

  • No he didn't, read the story.

  • What should he have done then? Bundled the kid onto the UN aid plane and kidnapped it from its parents? Get real.

  • Thats the beauty of hindsight. He had been told on good authority not to pick up sick kids. thios was to prevent the spread of disease. The world is often a nasty place.

  • judgmental much.

  • Kevin Carter sólo se mató a si mismo, cosa que si muchos otros hicieran mejoraría el mundo, por ejemplo, todos los militares y los que están a favor de las armas

  • yes tw706, my comment was in response to the other posts, I think his photo is the epitome of how an image can say so much more than any words, I do have a bit of a problem with Carter not helping the child reach the feeding post, he waited 20 mins hoping the bird would spread it's wings, it didn't, he left. no one knew if the little girl ever completed her journey or not. It's a sad reflection of our society tho that we criticise Carter rather than focus on the appalling conditions in Sudan.

  • kevin carter was a photographer, it was his job to share with the rest of the world the images he witnessed, it was just easier to criticise Carter than do something about the situation he was portraying, and he paid the ultimate price

  • this song isn't a criticism of Carter's life or work, at least not for me. I see it as more of an account of how Carter felt about his own work (the awards he won with High Time Magazine, being in his own eyes, earnt from images taken in horrific circumstances).

    Of course, if you're responding to people that posted other comments, then nevermind!

  • judas iscariot? man, what would you say about those renaissance artists attending executions and dissecting bodies? are they criminals, thugs of some sort? for fuck sake, the man was a photographer, not the fucking red cross- and photographers should photo

  • Comment removed

  • merulin your such a twat,kevin carter an judas,yer a silly cunt,anyone wants to know the real story about this man,go get a book called the bang bang club,about 4 south african photographers working in the townships at the height of all the trouble in the late 80's.get the facts merulin,silly fuckstick.

  • how sad it is tho that carter killed himself for the guilt he felt for taking that picture of that littleboy sitting in the desert crying alone.was it ethiopia? cant remember ?he musta been a man of true value if he felt like that after taking photos of nothing he could do to stop.

  • I like this video! Nicky Wire looks cute in it

  • maybe its just me, but this reminds me of the theme tunes from 70's cop show The Sweeney

  • Great song but i've never understood the line "Kevin Carter kaffir lover forever"

  • "Kaffir" is/was a sort of catch-all word for black Africans, and a racial insult in some circles - a "kaffir-lover" was/is someone who sided against the discrimination against black people, generally in Africa. Kevin Carter was opposed to the discrimination, and some of the motivation to take photographs of the things he did was to highlight the brutality black people were being subjected to... etc.

  • I know. I'm not a fan of the word "Kaffir" so was surprised to hear the Manics' using such a term

  • I think that it's derived from the Arab/Hebrew "kafir", wich roughly means "infidel". It was taken to Africa by the Dutch who used it as a word for basically every black inhabitant. It is still used in Belgium and to a lesser extent in Holland to indicate a person that is not smart or shows boorish behaviour.

  • Is it?! I thought Holland was a nice place , remind me not to visit ( - ;

  • thanks,i always wondered who they were singing about!!!!

  • Actually,

    i took about 20-30 minutes to take that picture because he wanted to get the volture at the right time. Because the bird knew that the girl was dieing. Kevin Carter shooed away the bird away after the picture was taken.But did not help the litlle girl,she was trying to make her way to the feeding center.I am doing reasearsh on kevin carter and its some intresting things about him.

  • R.I.P Kevin

    Your work and name shall not be forgotten.

  • i like the photo with the homeless people and the camera

  • I'm interested in to what this song means for different people.......?

  • and one more thing for allll you un educated people !

    HE DID CHASE AWAY THE BIRD AND HELPED THE POOR GIRL TO HER FEET TO A FOOD CENTER!!!!!!!

    A PHOTO TAKES 1 second

  • excuse me sir!!

    who says he was trying to change things?

    (even if he was )

    that photo had caused awareness you fucking idiot !!!!!!!!!

    thats one of the most important thing this world needs

    WITHOUT AWARENESS WE WOULDNT KNOW WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE FIRST PLACE

  • no yr all wrong,it was the vietnam war aka 47

  • Fuck off Kevin Carter was fucked off with the fucking world and no matter what he could do he couldn't change a fucking thing. the difference he made was we are now fucking aware of it all

  • this is a song for a photograph called kevin carter, he died sucide, affter seen some incredible bad things in africa.

    one of last picture of him was shot to a little children, who.. starving ..was trying to walk, and a volture , behind the chiltren, waiting for her death.. to eat her.

    this is the sad story.

    sorry for my english

  • Whats upi with "THE EYE"

  • Doesn't Kaffir mean nigger? just wondering...

  • Yes,but also is the Islamic word for 'non-believer'. Take your pick

  • I didn't know about the "non-believer" thing, but I do know that Carter and his colleagues were called "nigger-lovers" in Afrikaans by other white South Africans. So that may be where it is.

  • luv the song but is it criticizing carter, defending him, or neither?

  • I think the lyrics critize him, but also lamenting his sad fate

  • people need to remember that even though he didnt help the girl as much as he should have that photo probably has helped a lot of those children, that was one of the first images to really reach out to our society and motivate people to help. its important people became aware

  • mint song. Kevin cahhhhhhhtaaaaaah.

  • that whole albums great

  • a very stylish video!

  • his fellow bang bang club photographers said that he didnt wait 20 minutes, they spent 20 minutes delivering food. during the time kevin took many similar shots before they all rushesd back onto the helicopter and left, also the childs parent were only meters away for a few minutes getting food.

  • He was goooood lookin'!

  • Kevin Carter was criticised for his famous picture, he waited 20 minutes to take the picture instead of helping the little girl. Here are the words of one critic: "The man adjusting his lens to take just the right frame of her suffering might just as well be a predator, another vulture on the scene."

  • could you put close caption to this video cuse mi english is no good tnx

  • does anyone have the t in the park 1996 performance of this song

  • very poignant. KC took a world famous picture of a starving african kneeling in the dirt next to a vulture and made a fortune from the sale of the photo. he killed himself profiting a fortune from famine.

  • His picture showed the world the famine though. And why did he kill himself then? for a laugh or something? Or perhaps because he couldn't deal with what he saw.

  • That's what it was. But in fairness somebody needs to take those photos and videos.

  • why?

  • The same reason we have war corespondents. People need to see this. You can aim a camera and take a picture, but to capture feelings like he did. It's important.

  • ok...before posting something get your facts straight. kevin carter did not make a fortune. in fact he was very poor. in his suicide note he wrote that he is depressed from what he saw and because he had no money for child support and other things. and if you weren't there you don't really know if he helped the girl or how long it took to take the picture

  • Love the lyrics.

  • very sad story about kevin carter.

  • F*****g shame that MH died. Incredible guy. RIP mate.

  • WHO?

  • WOW :O

    Nicky looks soo thin!

    I LOVE NICKY WIRE!

    =D

  • my mum and bro hate this song! and i dnt see why, i think its great! :D its better thn half the shit they like..

  • They fans of Scouting For Girls by any chance? ;) And yes this song most certainly does rock!

  • I love this video so much!

  • Great song!

    It got me curious. So to find out about who Kevin Carter was I read a book called The Bang Bang Club. I learnt a lot about a tumultuous time in South Africa and the ethics of group photo journalists in there for their slice of the pie.

    Unlike my friend who thought it was about drugs because the chorus went

    "CHEM-I-CAL-AL-AL-ALS".

    Dickhead!

  • The chorus is Kevin Carter, not Chemicals! L.O.L!

  • was ur friend on some at the time??

  • yes..that likelihood is very high (no pun intended).

  • Wa ha ha.

  • free Darfur!

  • It's a war/genocide over land and resources, not a Tibet situation. Try to have a basic grasp of the causes you support.

  • This was awesome at oxegen.

    tents have soo much more atmosphere than stages

  • Its usually fairly average live compared to other songs, but it was shit hot at oxygen :D!

  • great song this!

  • nice sound quality !!

  • This song is so neat, it feels too short sadly.

  • I saw them play this live at city of manchester stadium when they were supporting the foo fighters and ive been randomly singing kevin carter out loud ever since!

  • I was at that gig, umbrella was amazing wasn't it!

  • hey!:D

    i was that gig too. they were amazing weren't they:D

  • So was I! :P

    :D

  • *story

  • The song is about Kevin Carter who was a South African photojournalist.

    In 1994 he won the Pulitzer Prize for the picture of the starving sudanese girl with the vulture behind her.

    He later committed suicide as a result of a number of extenuating circumstances which included one of his best friends being killed in the field and as well what he had seen in war.

  • whats the stroy behind the song and they r my fave welsh band :D

  • good song, there a crap band today

  • R.I.P Kevin...

  • your aching soul, Kevin rest in Peace

  • class song i like everything about this song

  • wot a fucking song. top album as well..lost my copy might hav to purchase that shit agen

  • I don't care to know what's brought this on sutadi1970 but you sound like you've got chips on both shoulders, and your hateful rubbish has spoiled my enjoyment of the vid. Btw it seems the Scythians 'invented' scorched earth. I await your views on those terrible people with interest.

  • the greatest manics song

  • Typical You Tube antagonistic verbal volleying going on here. Anyway, could someone please confirm that the person talking at the very start of the video is Kevin Carter? Or if not, who is it? Thanks.

  • Great to see this Classic Here.

    There is No Music around These Days, except Noise.

  • Ace song I loved this album, can everyone stop argueing and just enjoy the song *Hugs to all the Manic fans* :)

  • Smart.

  • this video is really badly out of sync near the end.

    stop the arguing. for every thing you notice about this song there are a hundred things you missed!

  • fatuesque, you are THE worst kind of person, and I really, REALLY mean that. I'm not going to justify you with reasonable argument as it is so obviously beyond you.

    for anyone who thinks im being harsh, just read this guy's previous comments.

  • to be quite honest, i doubt racism is intended in this very much. just dont take things so seriously, and dont presume its the exact meaning, the manics are a deep band, thought goes into these things.

    But yes, good song. I miss the old days.

  • I don't mean to join the debate but all i will say is why can't people just enjoy the music wihtout butchering the song trying to find meanings. Just enjoy the music,That's my opinion though so feel free to disregard if you will.

  • Having discussed these lyrics in an English class doesn't necessarily afford you any more insight than somebody hearing it for the fist time. You've committed the fallacy of argumentum ad verecundiam if ever I've heard it. So unless your going to provide us with the relevant information regarding the academic achievements of whoever it is that provided you with this ironclad interpretation of a manics song, then you ought to abstain from snapping at people about "getting their facts straight".

  • Nice to see a well-argued point with a little intelligence behind it for a change.

  • i agree

    wats wrong with hitler crying in a torture chair with a baby between his thighs and squeezing the baby with his hands

    nothing thats what

  • oh, shut the fuck up.. what bits are racist?

    tribal scars??

    they are just reffering to photography..

    and kevin carter

  • dont lecture me when you dont know your stuff,i have studied this in my English course.Kaffir is a racist insult towards africans,they call Carter a "Kaffir lover forever",they said he clicked himself to death (with a camera)very respectful inst it? This song is used to tribute Carter,but if the lyrics are analysed in detail,you can see manic preacher's true nature

  • Having discussed these lyrics in an English class doesn't necessarily afford you any more insight than somebody hearing it for the fist time. You've committed the fallacy of argumentum ad verecundiam if ever I've heard it. So unless your going to provide us with the relevant information regarding the academic achievements of whoever it is that provided you with this ironclad interpretation of a manics song, then you ought to abstain from snapping at people about "getting their facts straight".