1. Home
  2. Chumbawamba
  3. Chumbawamba Songs
  4. More Whitewashing

More WhitewashingChumbawamba

Children in school forced to the desk
Finger the atlas and study the text
Lies and opinion presented as fact
Taught to accept, and never to ask
Those smiling workers in Ladybird books
They're not picking coffee at all
They're busy with bricks and mortar
Building the company wall
Flickering pictures hypnotize
We spend our lives watching others' lives
Too much watching to realize
That this is a smokescreen
And this is why people die
Those smiling news presenters
They're not reading cue-cards at all
They're busy with brush and bucket
Whitewashing the company wall
Set yourself up and play it again
Force the tears and entertain
Sing about a world of make-believe
Force this charity and leave
Rich people who claim to know
What's wrong with this world
Can't know anything at all
They're busy giving the orders
For us to build their second homes

Flickering pictures hypnotize
Flickering pictures hypnotize
And we who take the orders
And refuse to question it all
We're busy with spade and Bible
Burying the poor
Burying the poor
We spend our lives watching others' lives
Too much watching to realise
That this is a smoke screen
And this is why people die

Mass-manufactured and given away
Blinkers to get you through your day
So you'll never ever know to what extent you're involved
Easily fooled, all your problems solved
You'll say starvation has nothing to do with you
You saw it in print, so it must be true
And the documentary explained it all
It's a simple matter of birth control
And if you send a little money you can sleep tonight
Or starve in sympathy on a Limmits Diet
And you know that charity cures malnutrition
And hunger put the sparkle back in television
Hunger put the sparkle back in television
Hunger put the sparkle back in television

Chumbawamba

Anarcho-pop band from Leeds.

Originally formed in the early 1980s as Chimp Eats Banana, Chumbawamba first emerged in the anarchopunk scene which was dominated by bands such a pacifist punks Crass. As Chumbawamba increasingly differed from their peers in outlook and tactics, they began to adopt a new musical style which incorporated elements of folk music, indie rock and hip-hop.

After drifting between labels, their change in direction culminated in signing a record deal with major label EMI, a choice which sparked outrage amongst their former comrades, outrage that culminated in a “Fuck Chumbawamba” compilation. By chance, Chumbawamba’s new work with EMI resulted in an internationally best-selling single, “Tubthumping”, and a sudden rise to fame.

more tracks from the album

Pictures of Starving Children Sell Records: Starvation, Charity And Rock & Roll - Lies & Traditions

From the album
Chumbawamba popular songs

2021 © gotlyric.com