Arctic Monkeys

Released: August 19, 2009

Songwriter: Alex Turner

Producer: Josh Homme

[Verse 1]
I heard the truth was built to bend
A mechanism to suspend
The guilt is what you will require
And still you've got to dance little liar
Just like those fibs to pop and fizz
And you'll be forced to take that awful quiz
And you're bound to trip
And she'll detect the fiction on your lips and dig a contradiction up

[Chorus]
And the clean coming will hurt
And you can never get it spotless
When there's dirt beneath the dirt
The liar takes a lot less time

[Verse 2]
I'm sure it's clear and plain to read
It's not an alibi you need just yet
Oh, no, it's something for those beads of sweat
Yes, that will get you back to normal
And after you have dabbed the patch
You'll breathe and then proceed to scratch
The varnish off that newly added calmness
So as not to raise any alarms too soon

[Chorus]
And the clean coming will hurt
And you can never get it spotless
When there's dirt beneath the dirt

[Bridge]
The liar takes a lot less time to decide on the saunter
Have you got itchy bones? And in all your time alone
Can you hack your mind being riddled
With the wrong memories?

[Instrumental break]

[Chorus]
And the clean coming will hurt
And you can never get it spotless
When there's dirt between the dirt

Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in 2002 in High Green, a suburb of Sheffield, England. The band consists of Alex Turner (lead vocals, rhythm/lead guitar), Matt Helders (drums, vocals), Jamie Cook (lead/rhythm guitar) and Nick O'Malley (bass, backing vocals). Former band member Andy Nicholson (bass guitar, backing vocals) left the band in 2006 shortly after their debut album was released. Their sound has changed extensively from album to album, gradually evolving from raw, youthful post-punk revival music to R ‘n’ B and jazz-inspired experiments.

All four original members of the band were devoted fans of hip-hop when they were younger, a genre that would have an immense influence on their later work, but it was the sound of The Strokes and The Libertines that would help shape their early style. The Arctic Monkeys became one of the first bands to find fame and recognition purely through internet publicity and social media; the Arctics used to sell their demos CDs at a bar where Alex Turner used to work, but due to the limited number of CDs, their fans started to upload them on the internet.

Initially, they refused to sign a record contract with any label through fear that they would want the band to change their songs, going as far as to refuse scouts guaranteed entry into their gigs. However, they eventually signed with Domino because of the “do it yourself” attitude of founder, Lawrence Bell, who ran the label from his own house.

more tracks from the album

Humbug

From the album

Humbug (2009)

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Arctic Monkeys

Humbug