This is a true British anthem and a poetic masterpiece in my opinion. The line “if you call your dad he could stop it all” is a commentary that sums up the class divide in just one line. Genius song.
The best bit is missing: "like a dog lying in the corner they will bite and never warn ya, so look out, they'll tear your insides out. Cos everybody hates a tourist, especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh, and the chip stains and grease will come out in the bath. You will never understand how it feels to live your life with no meaning or control and with nowhere left to go; you are amazed that they exist and that they burn so bright while you can only wonder why." Dylan Thomas never wrote anything better than that.
Fun fact: The lead singer wrote this song based on his real life encounter with a rich girl he met at the same college. She wasn't interested in him (unlike in the song) but her offhand comment about "living like common people" directly inspired
Even funnier fact is that the rich girl was Greek and was none else but Danai Stratou, daughter of the Stratou industtrialist family back in Greece who later became the 2nd wife of Yannis Varoufakis, the notorious Greek ex-minister of finance who in the previous governance back in 2015 clashed with german Chancellor Angela Merkel and her paraplegic german minister of finance Wolfgang Schäuble. Talk about high oligarchy, here, not at all "common people"! What is even more funny is that the song fits her image since indeed herself and her also wealthy husband Yannis Varoufakis (coming also from parents of high political-economic offices) are both pretending to be "common people" fighting the "system" when they were born as prime beneficiaries of the system they supposedly fight against. Talk about peak hypocricy. Good for Jarvis Cocker to call her out! For anyone wondering how is this verified - since Jarvis Cocker refused to name the girl, it comes from the lyrics. It says "she came from Greece" and "studied in St. Martin College" are extremely explicit. At the time, in St. Martin Arts College there were two ethnic Greek girls, one from mainland Greece, one from Cyprus and Jarvis met briefly both (though never been in couple with any of them contrary to the song). The girl from Cyprus was from a wealthy family too but nothing special, also not very good looking. However the girl from Greece was none else but Danai Stratou, the daughter of a multi-millionaire industrialist family (which at the time was selling out its industries as Greece had joined the EU and was getting de-industrialised...). Indeed a lot of money, very posh, and relatively good looking, hence it was bound she would make an impression on a young Jarvis Cocker. The Cypriot woman was asked on this and stated that she remembers vividly having said the phrase "I want to live like common people" during a discussion with Jarvis Cocker. However, she was not the pretty one, she would barely drag the interest of Cocker but maybe the phrase made an impression on him and stuck in his brain, especially so when the beautiful one, Danai Stratou was also pretending to be "a common girl". In an interview though he gave no names, Cocker said he was impressed by her and wanted to flirt with her but he had not chance with such a girl. The song thus is inspired by the persona of Danai Stratou but the phrase itself may had been uttered by the less known Cypriot girl with Cocker just combining the two Greek girls and using all that as an inspiration for his hit song.
unfortunately this "music video edit" version misses out a whole verse: "like a dog lying in a corner, they'll bite you and never warn you, look out! They'll tear your insides out. 'Cause everybody hates a tourist, especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh... and the chip stains and grease will come out in the bath... you will *never* understand how it feels to live your life with no meaning or control, and with nowhere left to go, you're amazed that they exist and they burn so bright whilst you can only wonder why"
Yes, it's not just censored [drink and screw etc] but edited, to remove the crucial verses about "everybody hates a tourist" and having no shred of control over your life...a predicament we're all in now, having allowed neo-fascist living conditions to be imposed on us supposedly for the sake of public health.
@@Grithron2 The thing with the 'tourist' line is that it's meant in a metaphorical sense. In that they're talking about a rich person slumming it and pretending to be working class. Nothing to do with tourists in the literal sense. But when you get soulless corporate types who don't understand nuance and sarcasm you end up with the censors swooping in banning things that they don't understand.
Brilliant song A vicious attack on snobby tourist students who like to slum it just for kicks, and it's hidden inside happy, bouncy tunes. The contrast between the angry lyrics and the happy tune is fantastic for me. Sorted for E's and Wizz is another favourite of mine.
Pulp are from Sheffield in England. Absolutely amazing band. One of my favourites. Other songs I love by them are, help the aged, this is hardcore, babies and acrylic afternoons. I had the privilege of seeing them on their last ever tour in their home town. Close to Christmas. They gave everyone a Christmas card with a free song download. Which I thought was sweet.
saw Pulp at Leeds, live, they give you a run for your money. It was the first time they did year 2000 live. But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
This song still gives me chills (goosebumps). It’s great to see some Americans give their thoughts on it. I live in the USA now and I feel like for the most part Americans don’t realize that most white British people are “common people” and have a lot of economic struggles, and constantly deal with classism in society.
I identified with this song immediately. I'm what Brits would call "working class" but somehow ended up in a pretty exclusive university. My friends and I developed a deep dislike for the preening overbearing rich kids who went there, but our deepest disdain was reserved for the ones who wanted to "slum it" out with us, who thought they "understood" us by listening to our music, dressing like us and even mimicking our speech patterns. Then they go to Ibiza for winter break. We Americans have been taught to not acknowledge class difference, but these encounters in college formed the lot of us. There was no experience as radicalizing as that.
Absolutely brilliant Band from here in UK, literally everyone in the UK knows and loves this song, it was that big. The reference to St Martins Art School is in Central London is where anyone who became anyone in the Art's studied. Part of the very talented 'Britpop' music scene from the 1990's one of a whole host of top bands over here making great music.....😃 Nice reaction, glad to see the message travelled across the Atlantic ocean ok.
Incredible mix of funny and dark in this song. That moment when he says, "pretend you've got no money" and her response was "oh you're so funny" and his rejoinder was "well I can't see anyone else smiling in here" gives a hint of what it must be like to have nothing but be surrounded by plenty. Excellent song that illustrates the modern class divide
4:43 is when you guys finally got the intent of the song. The second verse (cut out of the "Radio Edit" hits MUCH harder). This song is basically a British Anthem and I've seen pubs go wild when this song comes on (during my common person's life stationed in England in the military). Keep up the good work.
This was Pulp's only hit in the US, and not a huge hit. They were much more popular in Britain. They were the 90's version of the Kinks, with clever sarcastic lyrics, and social commentary, but with a lascivious twist. They did a lot of videos, I think British bands in the '90s made more than American bands did. "Help the Aged" is another sarcastic one.
You could say that most of the successful Britpop bands were versions of The Kinks in one way or another. Oasis and Blur were definitely influenced by them.
@@CoffeeConnected They may have all been influenced by them, but Oasis was rather openly more modelling themselves on the Beatles. I agree that Blur has some very Kinks influenced songs. But Pulp did the best job of capturing what made the Kinks stand out, which is to say the lyrics.
You will never understand, how it feels to live your life, with no meaning or control. That’s the line in this song that really stuck with me. And they cut it….
I've dealt with entitlement pretty much all my life and it made me HATE the upper class and the way they present themselves as "The better man." As for myself, I worked a job until my body basically gave up on me, actually making ends meet is a struggle and I still deal with chronic pains daily. But I'm still proud to be lower class, I'm one of the Common People Jarvis Cocker is talking about.
We live in a land of opportunity. Rather than condemn yourself to a life of jealousy why didn't you try to better yourself? Not all successful people are bad, many of them worked very hard to get where they are.
@@dopiaza2006 I agree with your comment, I too worked hard all my life, including shift work and heavy work. Retired at 55years old. Great pension, I still consider myself a member of the common people but now living amongst so called ‘privileged people’. Lower class is a different matter altogether, that’s a personal choice. BTW, I too have chronic pain. I should have been a pen pusher 😀
A defining song of the mid 90s in the UK. A very important number 1 hit that said everything about the time. Their album Different Class is regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 90s. Not a bad song on there.
This song is my top 10 songs of all time! I got to see Pulp in 1995 in London. It was insane! You need to see the live video for this song from Glastonbury and watch an entire generation of kids having a great time. Great reaction, thank you!
Sadie Frost is the woman in the video who used to be married to Garry Kemp from Spandau ballet and actor Jude Law.She was in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992.
This is a true story based on a girl he met a university. Apparently it's a popular thing for rich kids in Britain to do things like this for a bit after high school. They live amongst the lower class kids for a year or so pretending they're one of them but they go back home to their money once the novelty wears off.
Pulp and Suede were my favourite bands in high school. They sound very much like late 90s Britain but if you check out more, Pulp's Disco 2000 was a banger and from Suede Thrash, Beautiful Ones and Saturday Night.
@@CoffeeConnected totally agree!👍 Although these bands were more what my younger bro was into I still liked all these bands singles and suede are level with them
The Brits are known to make socio-realist material in films and music videos, where the message always show socio- economic differences, and the government failing them. "The Full Monty" is a fine example of a film.
@@DonnyShine you won’t regret it. It’s just a different type of music that exposes the artists fears, creativity, beauty and hope in a very cinematic way.
This came out around 1995. They are an English band and this type of music at the time was classified as Brit Pop. The song is regarded by many as the defining tune of that period. Absolute classic. The lead singer is called Jarvis Cocker and he was arrested after invading the stage when Michael Jackson was performing at the Brit Awards. Album version of the song contains another verse /bridge which adds even more to the song regarding the divide in class, between the rich and the common people (normal folk). Like a dog lying in a corner They will bite you and never warn you Look out, they'll tear your insides out 'Cause everybody hates a tourist Especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh Yeah and the chip stains and grease Will come out in the bath You will never understand How it feels to live your life With no meaning or control And with nowhere left to go You are amazed that they exist And they burn so bright Whilst you can only wonder why
This is a working class anthem in England. The lyrics are a scathing attack on the class system that still exists in today's Britain, delivered with a lot of humour in between.
I'm a Sheffielder and of all the bands and songs that have come out of there, none says Sheffield like this song (but the Artic Monkeys first album run a close second!).
The radio edit cuts a couple of verses that hit harder, worth listening to the whole thing if you can: Like a dog lying in a corner They will bite you and never warn you Look out, they'll tear your insides out 'Cause everybody hates a tourist Especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh Yeah and the chip stains and grease Will come out in the bath You will never understand How it feels to live your life With no meaning or control And with nowhere left to go You are amazed that they exist And they burn so bright Whilst you can only wonder why
Pulp are from Sheffield in Yorkshire, England, UK. The girl in the song was from Greece and 'her dad was loaded' that is, rich! Jarvis used to buy his clothes from charity shops. You guys 'got it', about how rich kids can try living like the rest of us, until they need daddy to bail them out.
Was coming to say that, a great job by Shatner with production by Ben Folds and a vocal assist from Joe Jackson. It's also easier to make out the lyrics, I may even like it better than the original. And while there were some good aspects to this video I think it takes away from the power of the song somewhat and bot just because of the missing verse.
@@ScottKornfeld First time I heard Shatner's version, I hadn't read the credits. When the actual singing starts, I'm like 'WUT? That can't be Shatner, can it?" No, it can't.
I love Pulp. My two favourite albums by pulp 'Different class' and 'His n Hers'. Brilliant band, they were going for years before their first big single 'Common People' came out, even though earlier songs like 'Do you remember the first time' were Brilliant, but didn't achieve the status of their later songs. I'm boring you now right? I'll get my coat and shut up haha. I just get excited about people finding out néw music that I love. Seeing you all listen to some of the best bands and songs ever, that some didn't even make it in America. I went to see the Charlatans last Friday in Manchester, then Happy Mondays and James the week before and I've got tickets for Ocean Colour scene on the 23rd (yes we put a u in colour to confuse people 🤣) I bought all these tickets pre lockdown and in-between the second lockdown and they've all been rescheduled within weeks of each other, so I've been having and will be having some good nights out ✌🤘 I really will shut up now. Peace and respect from Burnley, Lancashire, England UK 🇬🇧
Pulp were a very English band who did not really cross over to other countries very well despite being every inch the equal of their contemporaries a bit like a 90s version of The Kinks.
This song is Britain in the 90's summed up in one song. It's about a class divide and about privilege. A divide between the working class and middle upper class.
PULP are a very special band - and Jarvis is a special poet. Have a lil look at "Must I Evolve?" a great song from his post-Pulp days. btw Pulp are from Sheffield, UK.
There's a verse and bridge missing from this video version but included in the album track, and they really drive home the song's message: "Like a dog lying in a corner They will bite you and never warn you - Look out! they'll tear your insides out 'Cause everybody hates a tourist Especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh Yeah, and the chip stains and grease Will come out in the bath You will never understand How it feels to live your life With no meaning or control And with nowhere left to go You're amazed that they exist And they burn so bright While you can only wonder why..." Class divide, in short. This is Pulp's biggest hit but I personally like "Disco 2000" more, including its similarly quirky video.
What an anthem. British genius from Pulp and Jarvis Cocker. Truly underrated. I'm so glad you reviewed this and great to see the American people like it. Another great video from you guys. Big fan from 🇬🇧
There’s so much more to Pulp than this song even though it’s one of their most well known ones. They’d been a band for years producing great, quirky lyrics and music before this hit. They also made a couple of excellent albums after this one. Try “Sunrise” or “This Is Hardcore” as well as “Disco 2000” and “Lipgloss” or “Pink Glove”
Blur, Oasis & Pulp are three bands that brought back Brit Pop in the 90s. This is a song everyone in the UK knew and loved. Disco 2000 is another great song by this band. P.S Pulp are the band in the dance scene in Harry Potter - The Goblet of Fire.
Brilliant song, a favorite for decades. Pulp was an immensely creative and talented band. Although many (snobby) fans will cringe at this: The cover by William Shatner, Ben Folds, and Joe Jackson on Shatner’s album Has Been is well worth a listen. Unlike many covers, it truly presents a different sound and orchestration which makes a great alternative version.
This is the edited version. Still great, but there's another verse in the longer version which is even more cutting than the previous verses (probably too real for the radio, hence the edited version).
Pulp are an English rock band formed in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield in 1978. Their best-known line-up from their heyday (1992-1997) consisted of Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Russell Senior (guitar, violin), Candida Doyle (keyboards), Nick Banks (drums, percussion), Steve Mackey (bass) and Mark Webber (guitar, keyboards). Throughout the 1980s the band struggled to find success, but gained prominence in the UK in the mid-1990s with the release of the albums His 'n' Hers in 1994 and particularly Different Class in 1995, which reached the number one spot in the UK Albums Chart. The album spawned four top ten singles, including "Common People" and "Sorted for E's & Wizz", both of which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart. Pulp's musical style during this period consisted of disco-influenced pop-rock coupled with references to British culture in their lyrics in the form of a "kitchen sink drama"-style. Cocker and the band became reluctant figureheads of the Britpop movement, and were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 1994 for His 'n' Hers. They won the prize in 1996 for Different Class and were nominated again in 1998 for This Is Hardcore. Pulp headlined the Pyramid Stage of the Glastonbury Festival twice and were regarded among the Britpop "big four", along with Oasis, Blur and Suede. The band released We Love Life in 2001 and then took a decade-long break, having sold more than 10 million records. Pulp reunited and played live again in 2011, with dates at the Isle of Wight Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Pohoda, Sziget Festival, Primavera Sound, the Exit festival, and the Wireless Festival. A number of additional concert dates were afterward added to their schedule. In January of 2013, Pulp released "After You", a song originally demoed for We Love Life, as a digital download single. It was the band's first single release since "Bad Cover Version" in 2002. On the 9th of March 2014, Pulp and filmmaker Florian Habicht premiered the feature documentary Pulp: A Film about Life, Death & Supermarkets at SXSW Music and Film Festival in Austin, Texas. The film toured the international film festival circuit and was released theatrically by Oscilloscope Laboratories in the US in November 2014. It is the first film about Pulp (and Sheffield) that has been made in collaboration with the band. The band once again went on hiatus following this, but in 2022, Cocker announced that the band would be reuniting for a second time to play a series of shows in 2023.
This is the anthem of the British common people. This song is about class tourism (i.e. the wealthy slumming it with the poor people), and Jarvis Cocker hit the nail straight on the head. Common people have no way out. I know, I come from a common working class background. I saw the trials and tribulations my parents suffered in their struggle in life. Class tourists can never understand how common people survive and burn so bright because they always have a way out. Pity that this was not the extended version. There is a further verse that makes this songs statement even more prophetic. Pulp are from Sheffield, England.
I loved watching your reaction to this and how music from a different culture, which in this case is quintessentially Brit Pop, has struck a chord with you. The band is Pulp and Jarvis Cocker is an interesting guy, born in Sheffield England and brought up by his Mum as his Dad left when he was young. I wouldn't say he is totally working class but he relate to it from living in Sheffield I guess. Cocker has a great way of 'telling stories; with his lyrics. Check out Babies too. As mentioned in other comments, this version is the single version and a great verse is missing about how rich people percieve poor people. I absolutly love this song and again, a great reaction from you
I can't believe this wasn't a bigger hit in the US. Such an epic song. This is the shortened edited version though which skips the final verse and crescendo.
99.9% of us are common people, we keep our heads down, we work , we survive and we hope tomorrow is a little brighter but we are pragmatic enough to deal with the truth that this is reality, we are not shiny movie stars, we are not millionaires, we are not leaders of nations.....we are the common people who make the world turn, we may not be the face of a generation but without us there is no next generation and without us the world stops turning....remember that all you common people like me
The subject of the song is a girl Jarvis Cocker met at St.Martins she was a Greek "socialist" and the daughter of a millionaire, a champagne socialist, hence Jarvis's cutting lyrical irony.
This is a true British anthem and a poetic masterpiece in my opinion. The line “if you call your dad he could stop it all” is a commentary that sums up the class divide in just one line. Genius song.
Absolutely spot on.
Absolutely. This is the class system dissected poetically and forensically…sheer genius.
@Wankshaftsbury Doesn't matter because she can "call her dad and fix it all"
The best bit is missing: "like a dog lying in the corner they will bite and never warn ya, so look out, they'll tear your insides out. Cos everybody hates a tourist, especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh, and the chip stains and grease will come out in the bath. You will never understand how it feels to live your life with no meaning or control and with nowhere left to go; you are amazed that they exist and that they burn so bright while you can only wonder why."
Dylan Thomas never wrote anything better than that.
Absolutely
Fun fact: The lead singer wrote this song based on his real life encounter with a rich girl he met at the same college. She wasn't interested in him (unlike in the song) but her offhand comment about "living like common people" directly inspired
Greeces prime minister leftist dope
Even funnier fact is that the rich girl was Greek and was none else but Danai Stratou, daughter of the Stratou industtrialist family back in Greece who later became the 2nd wife of Yannis Varoufakis, the notorious Greek ex-minister of finance who in the previous governance back in 2015 clashed with german Chancellor Angela Merkel and her paraplegic german minister of finance Wolfgang Schäuble. Talk about high oligarchy, here, not at all "common people"! What is even more funny is that the song fits her image since indeed herself and her also wealthy husband Yannis Varoufakis (coming also from parents of high political-economic offices) are both pretending to be "common people" fighting the "system" when they were born as prime beneficiaries of the system they supposedly fight against. Talk about peak hypocricy. Good for Jarvis Cocker to call her out!
For anyone wondering how is this verified - since Jarvis Cocker refused to name the girl, it comes from the lyrics. It says "she came from Greece" and "studied in St. Martin College" are extremely explicit. At the time, in St. Martin Arts College there were two ethnic Greek girls, one from mainland Greece, one from Cyprus and Jarvis met briefly both (though never been in couple with any of them contrary to the song). The girl from Cyprus was from a wealthy family too but nothing special, also not very good looking. However the girl from Greece was none else but Danai Stratou, the daughter of a multi-millionaire industrialist family (which at the time was selling out its industries as Greece had joined the EU and was getting de-industrialised...). Indeed a lot of money, very posh, and relatively good looking, hence it was bound she would make an impression on a young Jarvis Cocker.
The Cypriot woman was asked on this and stated that she remembers vividly having said the phrase "I want to live like common people" during a discussion with Jarvis Cocker. However, she was not the pretty one, she would barely drag the interest of Cocker but maybe the phrase made an impression on him and stuck in his brain, especially so when the beautiful one, Danai Stratou was also pretending to be "a common girl". In an interview though he gave no names, Cocker said he was impressed by her and wanted to flirt with her but he had not chance with such a girl. The song thus is inspired by the persona of Danai Stratou but the phrase itself may had been uttered by the less known Cypriot girl with Cocker just combining the two Greek girls and using all that as an inspiration for his hit song.
unfortunately this "music video edit" version misses out a whole verse:
"like a dog lying in a corner, they'll bite you and never warn you, look out! They'll tear your insides out. 'Cause everybody hates a tourist, especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh... and the chip stains and grease will come out in the bath... you will *never* understand how it feels to live your life with no meaning or control, and with nowhere left to go, you're amazed that they exist and they burn so bright whilst you can only wonder why"
Yes, it's not just censored [drink and screw etc] but edited, to remove the crucial verses about "everybody hates a tourist" and having no shred of control over your life...a predicament we're all in now, having allowed neo-fascist living conditions to be imposed on us supposedly for the sake of public health.
@@Grithron2 The thing with the 'tourist' line is that it's meant in a metaphorical sense. In that they're talking about a rich person slumming it and pretending to be working class. Nothing to do with tourists in the literal sense.
But when you get soulless corporate types who don't understand nuance and sarcasm you end up with the censors swooping in banning things that they don't understand.
agree the shortened version is not the same
Absolutely, the very best lyrics in a really powerful song, sadly missing from this edit
Yes very true
Great choice! This song is a masterpiece. If there were any justice in the world, this would’ve been a huge hit in the US.
Its very English though I was at school with him, not a friend though just same school
The Americans have a problem with Jarvis Cockers voice though struggling to understand it. 😟
Lol as if Americans could see through the racial veil to see their class-divide
It was a hit song in Canada
@@donnajean3202 yes it was 🙂
“She told me that her dad was loaded, I said in that case I’ll have a rum and Coca Cola, she said fine” I love that line so much 🤣
It's perfect and everybody can imagine it happening.
Such great lyrics. I want to sleep with common people like you. “I’ll see what I can do” 😂
@@G02372 right ! It’s brilliant 🤣
@@NikkieTwix you must be English 😂 and maybe from London as you said “right “ I’m a Londoner 😂
@@G02372 I’m from Scotland 😁
Brilliant song
A vicious attack on snobby tourist students who like to slum it just for kicks, and it's hidden inside happy, bouncy tunes. The contrast between the angry lyrics and the happy tune is fantastic for me.
Sorted for E's and Wizz is another favourite of mine.
yes right on
This is one of the best songs of the 90s. Hands down. Jarvis is a lyrical genius.
"Best britpop band? Blur? Oasis?" "Pulp."
@@randallpetersen9164 I concur, amigo.
Pulp are from Sheffield in England. Absolutely amazing band. One of my favourites. Other songs I love by them are, help the aged, this is hardcore, babies and acrylic afternoons. I had the privilege of seeing them on their last ever tour in their home town. Close to Christmas. They gave everyone a Christmas card with a free song download. Which I thought was sweet.
saw Pulp at Leeds, live, they give you a run for your money. It was the first time they did year 2000 live. But I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
now pulp is performing and touring again, THANKFULLY.. privileged to have seen them last week at a festival and he was absolutely unhinged
@@lailadxx5615 I just saw them again in Sheffield. It was amazing. What festival was it?.
This song still gives me chills (goosebumps). It’s great to see some Americans give their thoughts on it. I live in the USA now and I feel like for the most part Americans don’t realize that most white British people are “common people” and have a lot of economic struggles, and constantly deal with classism in society.
I identified with this song immediately. I'm what Brits would call "working class" but somehow ended up in a pretty exclusive university. My friends and I developed a deep dislike for the preening overbearing rich kids who went there, but our deepest disdain was reserved for the ones who wanted to "slum it" out with us, who thought they "understood" us by listening to our music, dressing like us and even mimicking our speech patterns. Then they go to Ibiza for winter break. We Americans have been taught to not acknowledge class difference, but these encounters in college formed the lot of us. There was no experience as radicalizing as that.
And all of us “Common People” know exactly what he’s talking about here with poverty tourists.
Absolutely brilliant Band from here in UK, literally everyone in the UK knows and loves this song, it was that big. The reference to St Martins Art School is in Central London is where anyone who became anyone in the Art's studied. Part of the very talented 'Britpop' music scene from the 1990's one of a whole host of top bands over here making great music.....😃 Nice reaction, glad to see the message travelled across the Atlantic ocean ok.
Great reply, can confirm that everyone in the UK loves this song
Took over a decade to get "best newcomer" brit award. Fantastic band.
I'm a metal fan. Still love it.
Nah
"Literally everyone in the UK knows and loves this song." GREAT COMMENT -- imagine a band that's not huge being that big!!!
This is the edited single version of the song. The unedited album version is even better.
The missing part from the album is so vital. "They shine so bright that you can only wonder why...."
Definitely!!!!
This song didn't really have anything that could reasonably be cut out, but they did it anyway.
Incredible mix of funny and dark in this song. That moment when he says, "pretend you've got no money" and her response was "oh you're so funny" and his rejoinder was "well I can't see anyone else smiling in here" gives a hint of what it must be like to have nothing but be surrounded by plenty. Excellent song that illustrates the modern class divide
Try Seconds. Another amazing song by Pulp. Very simple and catchy melody but serious lyrics.
@@Targanar- Great song, but heavily influenced by the Stones' Let's Spend The Night Together
4:43 is when you guys finally got the intent of the song. The second verse (cut out of the "Radio Edit" hits MUCH harder). This song is basically a British Anthem and I've seen pubs go wild when this song comes on (during my common person's life stationed in England in the military). Keep up the good work.
This was Pulp's only hit in the US, and not a huge hit. They were much more popular in Britain. They were the 90's version of the Kinks, with clever sarcastic lyrics, and social commentary, but with a lascivious twist. They did a lot of videos, I think British bands in the '90s made more than American bands did. "Help the Aged" is another sarcastic one.
You could say that most of the successful Britpop bands were versions of The Kinks in one way or another. Oasis and Blur were definitely influenced by them.
@@CoffeeConnected They may have all been influenced by them, but Oasis was rather openly more modelling themselves on the Beatles. I agree that Blur has some very Kinks influenced songs. But Pulp did the best job of capturing what made the Kinks stand out, which is to say the lyrics.
“Help the motherfuckin’ aged”
@@andrewt836 haha, shit man i'd forgotten about that classic collab!!
Oh wow!! Nice to see Americans react to PULP. Well known, but a smaller following in the States. Very cool to see. One of my favorite bands.💕
You will never understand, how it feels to live your life, with no meaning or control.
That’s the line in this song that really stuck with me.
And they cut it….
You should check out the full, album version. The single version leaves out the best verse. :)
I've dealt with entitlement pretty much all my life and it made me HATE the upper class and the way they present themselves as "The better man."
As for myself, I worked a job until my body basically gave up on me, actually making ends meet is a struggle and I still deal with chronic pains daily. But I'm still proud to be lower class, I'm one of the Common People Jarvis Cocker is talking about.
I treat people as they come there's wrong uns in all classes.
We live in a land of opportunity. Rather than condemn yourself to a life of jealousy why didn't you try to better yourself? Not all successful people are bad, many of them worked very hard to get where they are.
@@dopiaza2006 lol land of opportunity, isn’t that an American thing? Jarvis is British
@@dopiaza2006 I agree with your comment, I too worked hard all my life, including shift work and heavy work. Retired at 55years old. Great pension, I still consider myself a member of the common people but now living amongst so called ‘privileged people’. Lower class is a different matter altogether, that’s a personal choice. BTW, I too have chronic pain. I should have been a pen pusher 😀
@@louem1375 There's plenty of opportunity in the UK if people can be bothered to look and work for it. Yes, Jarvis is British - your point?
What a year 1995-1996!! Britpop ...these were by far the most underrated and this should have been no1
Disco 2000 is another great Pulp song to react to.
Great reaction guys, you got into the spirit and the meaning of the song straight away, yeah he mean common people like US!!!
A defining song of the mid 90s in the UK. A very important number 1 hit that said everything about the time. Their album Different Class is regarded as one of the greatest albums of the 90s. Not a bad song on there.
Didn't actually get to number 1. Peaked at 2.
Such a TUNE!! This is classic 90s Britpop!
The greatest front man ever, Jarvis Cocker, an absolute showman !
This song is my top 10 songs of all time! I got to see Pulp in 1995 in London. It was insane! You need to see the live video for this song from Glastonbury and watch an entire generation of kids having a great time. Great reaction, thank you!
It’s one of my favourite songs, it’s on many of my playlists!
Jarvis Cocker punched Michael Jackson at the MTV or Britt awards, absolute legend!
“Help the Aged” and “This is hardcore” are two other great pulp songs, 🔥
Sadie Frost is the woman in the video who used to be married to Garry Kemp from Spandau ballet and actor Jude Law.She was in Bram Stoker's Dracula in 1992.
“mis-shapes”, “your sister’s clothes” and “seconds” are all fantastic pulp songs y’all should give a listen to…
I thoroughly ENJOYED watching you enjoy that British jewel of a song! Be blessed! ✌🏼
This is a true story based on a girl he met a university. Apparently it's a popular thing for rich kids in Britain to do things like this for a bit after high school. They live amongst the lower class kids for a year or so pretending they're one of them but they go back home to their money once the novelty wears off.
I love the look on Mel’s face when Jarvis sung about the roaches on the wall. It was like, wait a minute - he actually knows - it’s not just lyrics.
Pulp and Suede were my favourite bands in high school. They sound very much like late 90s Britain but if you check out more, Pulp's Disco 2000 was a banger and from Suede Thrash, Beautiful Ones and Saturday Night.
I would really like to see what Americans make of suede.am hoping now they've done one pulp they'll do more Brit pop.
Suede seem to be the band from that era that gets forgotten about. Criminally so in my opinion. They're right up there with Pulp, Blur, and Oasis.
@@CoffeeConnected totally agree!👍 Although these bands were more what my younger bro was into I still liked all these bands singles and suede are level with them
@@CoffeeConnected Definitely, these bands were known as Britpop's big four - although Suede and Pulp didn't want to be so commercial
The Brits are known to make socio-realist material in films and music videos, where the message always show socio- economic differences, and the government failing them.
"The Full Monty" is a fine example of a film.
It was the beautiful running beat that got me listening, and then the words are fantastic. This song is on my playlist
This tune always cheers me up. Hands down, a classic.
The band is touring the United States this summer/fall. It’s going to be beautiful
really, I need to check it out
@@DonnyShine you won’t regret it. It’s just a different type of music that exposes the artists fears, creativity, beauty and hope in a very cinematic way.
@@goudagalindo1790 thanks I know who pulp is
This came out around 1995. They are an English band and this type of music at the time was classified as Brit Pop.
The song is regarded by many as the defining tune of that period. Absolute classic.
The lead singer is called Jarvis Cocker and he was arrested after invading the stage when Michael Jackson was performing at the Brit Awards.
Album version of the song contains another verse /bridge which adds even more to the song regarding the divide in class, between the rich and the common people (normal folk).
Like a dog lying in a corner
They will bite you and never warn you
Look out, they'll tear your insides out
'Cause everybody hates a tourist
Especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh
Yeah and the chip stains and grease
Will come out in the bath
You will never understand
How it feels to live your life
With no meaning or control
And with nowhere left to go
You are amazed that they exist
And they burn so bright
Whilst you can only wonder why
This band is from Sheffield, I once made the band cups of teas while they were practicing for a show!
This is a working class anthem in England. The lyrics are a scathing attack on the class system that still exists in today's Britain, delivered with a lot of humour in between.
PULP one of UK's finest
This song got too number 2 in the UK Top 40 the week i left school in 1995. Greatest song ever!!!!
william shatner did an amazing cover of this ..... different, but equally good in its own way :D big love to all people :)
WOW!
@@davidhoward2487 It was produced by by Ben Folds and also featured Joe Jackson. It's really a good cover
th-cam.com/video/KXWEM4gZhg4/w-d-xo.html
That's how I first discovered this song and Pulp. I initially listened to Shatner's album for a laugh, but found it to be surprisingly enjoyable.
Another true to life PULP song is "Like a Friend" and "Do You Remember the First Time?" Both worth listening. 💕
I'm a Sheffielder and of all the bands and songs that have come out of there, none says Sheffield like this song (but the Artic Monkeys first album run a close second!).
Also Sheffielder and agree, although weirdly it's also one of their least 'sheffield' songs :D
You get a subscribe for reacting to Pulp!
Same here. Loved this reaction of one of my favorite songs of all time.
Greetings from Sweden.
Pulp... Comon People... Britpop at its best!!! Love this anthem.
Great to see you understand the message of this. Great reaction
The radio edit cuts a couple of verses that hit harder, worth listening to the whole thing if you can:
Like a dog lying in a corner
They will bite you and never warn you
Look out, they'll tear your insides out
'Cause everybody hates a tourist
Especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh
Yeah and the chip stains and grease
Will come out in the bath
You will never understand
How it feels to live your life
With no meaning or control
And with nowhere left to go
You are amazed that they exist
And they burn so bright
Whilst you can only wonder why
Pulp are from Sheffield in Yorkshire, England, UK. The girl in the song was from Greece and 'her dad was loaded' that is, rich! Jarvis used to buy his clothes from charity shops. You guys 'got it', about how rich kids can try living like the rest of us, until they need daddy to bail them out.
Another son of this band : Disco 2000, Bad Cover Version, Do You Remember the First Time, Sylvia
@@group-music I agree, nothing beats the original version
Jarvis cocker, born Sheffield UK.
There's is or was a plaque on Division Street were he climbed fell out of a window and broke his leg😆 Found out my friend dated his sister.
As a common person (skint) this was an ANTHEM of the time. This song had real meaning!
Jarvis Cocker is a legend.
At the Brit awards he stormed the stage and mooned Michael Jackson.
The William Shatner cover of this song is brilliant.
Was coming to say that, a great job by Shatner with production by Ben Folds and a vocal assist from Joe Jackson. It's also easier to make out the lyrics, I may even like it better than the original.
And while there were some good aspects to this video I think it takes away from the power of the song somewhat and bot just because of the missing verse.
@@ScottKornfeld First time I heard Shatner's version, I hadn't read the credits. When the actual singing starts, I'm like 'WUT? That can't be Shatner, can it?" No, it can't.
I was so lucky to be in my twenties during the 90s. Such a fantastic decade. ❤
Yeah, it really was.
That whole album is brilliant
Pulp are from Sheffield England 🏴 brilliant group who are doing some live gigs in the UK 🇬🇧 and Ireland 🇮🇪 next year 😎😁
Jarvis Cocker the singer in Pulp was the singer in the band Weird Sisters in Harry Potter and the Goblet of fire.
I love Pulp. My two favourite albums by pulp 'Different class' and 'His n Hers'. Brilliant band, they were going for years before their first big single 'Common People' came out, even though earlier songs like 'Do you remember the first time' were Brilliant, but didn't achieve the status of their later songs. I'm boring you now right? I'll get my coat and shut up haha. I just get excited about people finding out néw music that I love. Seeing you all listen to some of the best bands and songs ever, that some didn't even make it in America.
I went to see the Charlatans last Friday in Manchester, then Happy Mondays and James the week before and I've got tickets for Ocean Colour scene on the 23rd (yes we put a u in colour to confuse people 🤣) I bought all these tickets pre lockdown and in-between the second lockdown and they've all been rescheduled within weeks of each other, so I've been having and will be having some good nights out ✌🤘 I really will shut up now. Peace and respect from Burnley, Lancashire, England UK 🇬🇧
My favourite Pulp song is Disco 2000
Thanks guys💚💚💚My favorite band! Sending you my love from Greece
As a common person, I can’t help but watch other common people react to common music on a common platform. What a time to be alive.
Pulp were a very English band who did not really cross over to other countries very well despite being every inch the equal of their contemporaries a bit like a 90s version of The Kinks.
Pulp are reforming to play concerts next year. Spread the word.
You get it! Honestly one of my favourite songs of the late 90's...great to drive to stepping on the gas when it gets going
This song is Britain in the 90's summed up in one song.
It's about a class divide and about privilege.
A divide between the working class and middle upper class.
Best band of the 90s best song by them too
PULP are a very special band - and Jarvis is a special poet. Have a lil look at "Must I Evolve?" a great song from his post-Pulp days.
btw Pulp are from Sheffield, UK.
Such a masterpiece. Was a fan ever since it first came out. What a tune...
Elite never can understand working class
He played at the Hogwarts Yule Ball in one of the Harry Potter films
You should check out sorted for e's and whizz by pulp, classic mid nineties Brit pop magic!!! Great reactions by the way! ❤️👍
Yeah. My fave pulp song.
Pulps songs are surprising , clever and funny
There's a verse and bridge missing from this video version but included in the album track, and they really drive home the song's message:
"Like a dog lying in a corner
They will bite you and never warn you -
Look out! they'll tear your insides out
'Cause everybody hates a tourist
Especially one who thinks it's all such a laugh
Yeah, and the chip stains and grease
Will come out in the bath
You will never understand
How it feels to live your life
With no meaning or control
And with nowhere left to go
You're amazed that they exist
And they burn so bright
While you can only wonder why..."
Class divide, in short. This is Pulp's biggest hit but I personally like "Disco 2000" more, including its similarly quirky video.
Good old Britain 🇬🇧 👏
When did they take out ‘screw’ as in dance and drink and screw, cause there’s nothing else to do. I’m sure it was there in the 90s.
What an anthem. British genius from Pulp and Jarvis Cocker. Truly underrated. I'm so glad you reviewed this and great to see the American people like it. Another great video from you guys. Big fan from 🇬🇧
There’s so much more to Pulp than this song even though it’s one of their most well known ones. They’d been a band for years producing great, quirky lyrics and music before this hit. They also made a couple of excellent albums after this one. Try “Sunrise” or “This Is Hardcore” as well as “Disco 2000” and “Lipgloss” or “Pink Glove”
Pulp are from the Steel City of Sheffield, Yorkshire , England.
go and watch the lyric video. At the end he was angry and disdain.
Blur, Oasis & Pulp are three bands that brought back Brit Pop in the 90s. This is a song everyone in the UK knew and loved. Disco 2000 is another great song by this band.
P.S Pulp are the band in the dance scene in Harry Potter - The Goblet of Fire.
only Jarvis Cocker, and by the way guitarist and drummer from Radiohead. Another one Ien Braun from Stone Roses in Prisoner of Azkaban
@@ФутбольныйМячик-е5с you mean Ian Brown from the Stone Roses
I'm here cos of Shawn's breakdown when watchin Millie Tipperton singing "Loving you". brill...check it out.
Brilliant song, a favorite for decades. Pulp was an immensely creative and talented band. Although many (snobby) fans will cringe at this: The cover by William Shatner, Ben Folds, and Joe Jackson on Shatner’s album Has Been is well worth a listen. Unlike many covers, it truly presents a different sound and orchestration which makes a great alternative version.
the cover actually conveys the anger in the song much better especially to American audiences
You should react to Disco 2000 next. It's just as good and fun as this one
This is the edited version. Still great, but there's another verse in the longer version which is even more cutting than the previous verses (probably too real for the radio, hence the edited version).
British anthem. We do have culture its just a little different to other countries. 😂
Listening to the live version. Unbelievable
Pulp are an English rock band formed in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield in 1978.
Their best-known line-up from their heyday (1992-1997) consisted of Jarvis Cocker (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Russell Senior (guitar, violin), Candida Doyle (keyboards), Nick Banks (drums, percussion), Steve Mackey (bass) and Mark Webber (guitar, keyboards).
Throughout the 1980s the band struggled to find success, but gained prominence in the UK in the mid-1990s with the release of the albums His 'n' Hers in 1994 and particularly Different Class in 1995, which reached the number one spot in the UK Albums Chart.
The album spawned four top ten singles, including "Common People" and "Sorted for E's & Wizz", both of which reached number two in the UK Singles Chart.
Pulp's musical style during this period consisted of disco-influenced pop-rock coupled with references to British culture in their lyrics in the form of a "kitchen sink drama"-style. Cocker and the band became reluctant figureheads of the Britpop movement, and were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize in 1994 for His 'n' Hers.
They won the prize in 1996 for Different Class and were nominated again in 1998 for This Is Hardcore.
Pulp headlined the Pyramid Stage of the Glastonbury Festival twice and were regarded among the Britpop "big four", along with Oasis, Blur and Suede.
The band released We Love Life in 2001 and then took a decade-long break, having sold more than 10 million records.
Pulp reunited and played live again in 2011, with dates at the Isle of Wight Festival, Reading and Leeds Festivals, Pohoda, Sziget Festival, Primavera Sound, the Exit festival, and the Wireless Festival.
A number of additional concert dates were afterward added to their schedule.
In January of 2013, Pulp released "After You", a song originally demoed for We Love Life, as a digital download single.
It was the band's first single release since "Bad Cover Version" in 2002.
On the 9th of March 2014, Pulp and filmmaker Florian Habicht premiered the feature documentary Pulp: A Film about Life, Death & Supermarkets at SXSW Music and Film Festival in Austin, Texas.
The film toured the international film festival circuit and was released theatrically by Oscilloscope Laboratories in the US in November 2014.
It is the first film about Pulp (and Sheffield) that has been made in collaboration with the band.
The band once again went on hiatus following this, but in 2022, Cocker announced that the band would be reuniting for a second time to play a series of shows in 2023.
This is the anthem of the British common people. This song is about class tourism (i.e. the wealthy slumming it with the poor people), and Jarvis Cocker hit the nail straight on the head. Common people have no way out. I know, I come from a common working class background. I saw the trials and tribulations my parents suffered in their struggle in life. Class tourists can never understand how common people survive and burn so bright because they always have a way out. Pity that this was not the extended version. There is a further verse that makes this songs statement even more prophetic. Pulp are from Sheffield, England.
Listen to 'babies' .. do you remember the first time and 'something changed.. brilliant songs by one of sheffields finest 👍👍👍
I loved watching your reaction to this and how music from a different culture, which in this case is quintessentially Brit Pop, has struck a chord with you. The band is Pulp and Jarvis Cocker is an interesting guy, born in Sheffield England and brought up by his Mum as his Dad left when he was young. I wouldn't say he is totally working class but he relate to it from living in Sheffield I guess. Cocker has a great way of 'telling stories; with his lyrics. Check out Babies too.
As mentioned in other comments, this version is the single version and a great verse is missing about how rich people percieve poor people. I absolutly love this song and again, a great reaction from you
I can't believe this wasn't a bigger hit in the US. Such an epic song. This is the shortened edited version though which skips the final verse and crescendo.
Fun song with witty, clever lyrics.
Great song about the normal people - for the normal people
You’re reacting to such great songs!!! Thank you! 👏🏻👏🏻
99.9% of us are common people, we keep our heads down, we work , we survive and we hope tomorrow is a little brighter but we are pragmatic enough to deal with the truth that this is reality, we are not shiny movie stars, we are not millionaires, we are not leaders of nations.....we are the common people who make the world turn, we may not be the face of a generation but without us there is no next generation and without us the world stops turning....remember that all you common people like me
You should check you a live version of this, they still finish live gigs with this and its even better live!!
The subject of the song is a girl Jarvis Cocker met at St.Martins she was a Greek "socialist" and the daughter of a millionaire, a champagne socialist, hence Jarvis's cutting lyrical irony.