Lord's Prayer

T.V. Smith was one of the seminal punk rockers of the 1970s as lead singer of the Adverts - whose hits included Gary Gilmore's Eyes, One Chord Wonders, and Bored Teenagers. But the Adverts broke up quickly and Smith found himself travelling from band to band.

In the early 1990s one of his reincarnations was as the frontman for Cheap - which lasted through all of one album. This effort was thoroughly forgettable, except for one song - Lord's Prayer.

Lord's Prayer, the final track on RIP ... Everything Must Go, is a pseudo-heavy metal rocker. On top of a driving beat and slashing guitars Smith hisses the lyrics with a sneer, almost convincing you he believes these words. But the pent-up anger he unleashes in the final verse gives him away. With unfeigned passion Smith tells us, as he assumes the voice of Jesus Christ, "I ain't coming, save yourself." But the meaning behind them is clear; "I ain't coming, because you don't fucking deserve it."

Rather than the nihlistic anthem this might seem at first, Smith has written an evangelical tirade against the all too common modern attitude of "gimme, gimme, gimme" and "me first." Three cheers for T.V. Smith.

Lyrics unavailable on the 'net - any mistakes are mine.

Lord's Prayer.

There's no saviour out there
To interfere in your affairs
There ain't no one else who cares
All your good deeds - lead nowhere

Life's the crime of passion
Designed for intolerant action
This is war - so all's fair
This is the Lord's Prayer
This is the Lord's Prayer

Give us the strength of purpose
To reverse all they taught us
Give us the power, give us the wealth
Or else we'll have to help ourselves

I'll recruit a ragged army
To wipeout all who harm me
An' I'll be devil may care
This is the Lord's Prayer
This is the Lord's Prayer

Back behind the Bible Belt
People scream and people yell
I ain't coming - save yourself
This is the Lord's Prayer

I ain't coming - save yourself
This is the Lord's Prayer