XTC It's Nearly Africa

From their 1982 album English Settlement

Lyrics:

Chant your spirit free;
Rush to greet truth like a dart
Shake your bag o'bones,
Shake your bag o'bones.
That's not traffic roar,
That's a leopard in your heart,
Shake your bag o'bones,
Shake your bag o'bones.

Go tell your stale friends,
go tell false prophets,
And drug traffickers,
Not to try to push our bodies any faster
We're dancing with disaster,
And the first will be the last,
It's nearly Africa,
Oh-oh,
It's nearly Africa,
Oh-oh,

Any day now,
Any day, now now

Unplug future plans;
Finger-paint the sun on you,
Shake your bag o'bones,
Shake your bag o'bones,
Mend your missing links,
I think trust should be the glue,
Shake your bag o'bones,
Shake your bag o'bones,

Go tell your warboys,
Go tell all leeches,
And blind panickers,
Not to try to push your bodies any faster,
We're dancing with disaster,
And the first will be the last,
It's nearly Africa,
Oh-oh,
It's nearly Africa,
Oh-oh,

Any day, now
Any day, now now

Our civilisation car is running wild,
Who did you give the wheel to?
The fat man driving us over the edge of the nearest cliff-face,
Is he the same god that I've seen you kneel to?

Category:

Music

Tags:

• XTC
• It's
• Nearly
• Africa
• English
• Settlement

[entertherat]

Nottotrytopushyourbodiesanyfas­tercausewe'redancingwithdisast­erandthefirstwillbethelastit's­nearlyafrica!

[Boylieboyle]

@TumbrelJockey Just spotted that - amazing words in a song or anywhere.

[maskof]

such an amazing song. meaningful lyrics combined with perfect rhythm and melody. the needle wore a deep groove in the vinyl in the 80s from the countless plays of all my XTC albums.

[LanceHelmut]

saw 'em on tour during this period..no b.s. studio tricks and it was FULL sounding in the agora ballroom that night in'82 in atlanta ga.

[puntagordy]

English men playing African music!

[sader199428]

@falkenhayn98 thats just what happened to me I played this cassette untill it would`nt play anymore in 1983

[torrymarrs]

Only two words can describe this piece of music, this double album, SHEER GENIUS! Like a novel, each song follows like chapters in a super cool book circa 1982. Find it and revel in the production values and music/lyics! GENIUS I tell you!

[joeyrider]

XTC are a lost treasure

[probrojeffro]

Man, anyone listening to this album has to think "Genius." It reeks!

[bricepc1]

this civilization car ... is running wild ... who'd you give the wheel to?