Released: May 12, 2001
Songwriter: Chris Lowe Neil Tennant
Producer: Craig Armstrong Pet Shop Boys
[Verse 1]
An inspirational tirade against me
How to explain my life?
Girls to the left of me
Boys to the right of me
Neither husband nor wife
Though the days are filled with pain
There is no one who'll explain
Why I'm coming under friendly fire
Shot in the fatal cause of rock 'n' roll
But there's no one, really no one, to say
[Verse 2]
Why I endure under force majeure
Slander without shame or tact
I who studied make-up, mime and Buddha
Who taught two generations to react
About me the critics lied
I ignored them and survived
In spite of coming under friendly fire
Shot in the fatal cause of rock 'n' roll
But there's nothing, really nothing, to deny
[Bridge]
When I look back, my eyes are filled with tears
Danger to mascara, applause to my peers
[Verse 3]
When fame sustained me and arenas acclaimed me
I floated through life on a cloud
Of love and insanity and pagan profanity
Before a worshipping crowd
Now my status is ill-defined
As an icon I'm inclined
To be coming under friendly fire
Shot in the fatal cause of rock 'n' roll
But whatever dull or clever points they've scored
I have never, oh no never, been ignored
An inspirational tirade against me
How to explain my life?
Girls to the left of me
Boys to the right of me
Neither husband nor wife
Though the days are filled with pain
There is no one who'll explain
Why I'm coming under friendly fire
Shot in the fatal cause of rock 'n' roll
But there's no one, really no one, to say
[Verse 2]
Why I endure under force majeure
Slander without shame or tact
I who studied make-up, mime and Buddha
Who taught two generations to react
About me the critics lied
I ignored them and survived
In spite of coming under friendly fire
Shot in the fatal cause of rock 'n' roll
But there's nothing, really nothing, to deny
[Bridge]
When I look back, my eyes are filled with tears
Danger to mascara, applause to my peers
[Verse 3]
When fame sustained me and arenas acclaimed me
I floated through life on a cloud
Of love and insanity and pagan profanity
Before a worshipping crowd
Now my status is ill-defined
As an icon I'm inclined
To be coming under friendly fire
Shot in the fatal cause of rock 'n' roll
But whatever dull or clever points they've scored
I have never, oh no never, been ignored
more tracks from the album
Format: B-Sides and Bonus Tracks 1996-2009
- The Calm Before The Storm
- I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today
- Gin and Jag
- Nightlife
- Transparent
- How I Learned to Hate Rock ‘n’ Roll
- Up and Down
- Delusions of Grandeur
- Betrayed
- After the Event
- Blue on Blue
- Between Two Islands
- The Former Enfant Terrible
- Disco Potential
- Always
- Confidential (Demo for Tina)
- In the Night (1995)
- Casting a Shadow
- We’re The Pet Shop Boys
- Discoteca (New Version)
- The Boy Who Couldn’t Keep His Clothes On
- Party Song
- Searching For the Face of Jesus
- Friendly Fire
- We’re All Criminals Now
- Girls Don’t Cry
- The Resurrectionist
- The Truck-Driver and His Mate
- Sexy Northerner
- The Ghost of Myself
- Silver Age
- Screaming
- In Private
- Bright Young Things
- View From Your Balcony
- Hit and Miss
- Lies
- No Time for Tears (Single Mix)
From the albums
Pet Shop Boys popular songs
- West End Girls
- It’s a Sin
- Opportunities (Let’s Make Lots of Money)
- Go West
- Always On My Mind
- Being Boring
- Suburbia
- What Have I Done to Deserve This?
- Domino Dancing
- The Pop Kids
- Left to My Own Devices
- Rent
- New York City Boy
- Love etc.
- Love is a Bourgeois Construct
- Burning the heather
- Dreamland
- All Over the World (This Is A Dub)
- After All
- Fugitive (Richard X Extended Mix)
- So Hard
- Breathing Space
- Radiophonic
- Memory of the Future