The Human League

Released: June 30, 1978

Songwriter: Ian Craig Marsh Martyn Ware Philip Oakey

Producer: The Human League

OK, ready. Let's do it

Listen to the voice of Buddha
Saying stop your sericulture
Little people like your offspring
Boiled alive for some god's stocking
Buddha's watching, Buddha's waiting

Just because the kid's an orphan
Is no excuse for thoughtless slaying
Children don't forget this torture
Just because you call her mother
Doesn't mean that she's your better

Once more with the voice of Buddha
He'll say carry on your slaughter
Who cares for the little children
You may slice with no conviction
Blind revenge on a blameless victim

The Human League are a synth pop band from Sheffield, England, formed in 1977. They generated a string of synthesizer-backed dance pop hits throughout the 80s. David Bowie dubbed the group “the sound of the future” in 1981.

The band is best known for its third studio album released in 1981, Dare! The fourth single from Dare, “Don’t You Want Me,” catapulted to #1 in the UK and US.

Phil Oakey is the only core member of the group. The band’s first incarnation was as an arty all-male synthesizer group, composed of Oakey, Martyn Ware, and Ian Craig Marsh. In the 1980s, Ware and Marsh left the group after continued conflicts with Oakey—they went on to form Heaven 17.

more tracks from the album

Greatest Hits (1995 Version)

From the albums

The Human League popular songs

Being Boiled (Fast Version)The Human League

The Human League

Greatest Hits (1995 Version)