UB40

Released: September 27, 1982

Songwriter: UB40

Producer: UB40

(chorus)
Hey folitician, me seh hey folitician
Me seh hey folitician
Mek you go long so
Hey folitician, me seh hey folitician
Me seh hey folitician
Mek you go long so

You come chatty chatty chatty run up you' mouth; (repeat)
One man, one vote you hear from the shout. (repeat)

You full of pure promise but you tell damn' lies; (repeat)
You make a mistake and then somebody dies. (repeat)

Hey folitician, me seh hey folitician
Me seh hey folitician
What you doin 'bout the slums?
You sit around all day, jus' a twiddle your thumbs;
You have a strange expression
Mek you look like you' dumb. (repeat)

You worry everybody 'til you put them in a box. (repeat)

Dub freak gone
Gone go check him record shop
Gone go check him record stock

Him climb upon the box

Him said him got to reach the top;
Him climb upon the shelf
Him seh you take care yourself
Him dance upon the floor
Him said a music galore. (repeat)

Dub freak, dub freak
Deh 'pon the go;
Say you never know
Because I told you so

Sippa, sippa, sippa, sippa, lightning crash; (repeat)
Drummer 'pon him drum, him jus' a play mish-mash. (repeat)
Keyboards in the middle jus'a jump and twiddle. (repeat)
Rhythm over here an' me seh rhythm over there;
Don't stop and stare because the rhythm gone clear

Dub freak, dub freak, in a dub freak style
Dub freak, dub freak, still a running wild
Him start from the bottom 'til him reach up the top
Him keep on rocking and him never stop
Wow and flutter, music jus'
A run like butter. (repeat)

Dub a slip an' slide
Dub a slip an' slide
Dub a slip an' slide
He can't find nowhere to hide

UB40 are an English reggae and pop band, formed in December 1978 in Birmingham. The band has had more than 50 singles in the UK Singles Chart. They have been nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Reggae Album four times, and in 1984 were nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. UB40 have sold over 70 million records. The ethnic make-up of the band’s original line-up was diverse, with musicians of English, Irish, Jamaican, Scottish and Yemeni parentage.

Their hit singles include their debut “Food for Thought”, “Red Red Wine” and “Can’t Help Falling in Love”. Both of these also topped the UK Singles Chart, as did the band’s version of “I Got You Babe”. Their two most successful albums, Labour of Love (1983) and Promises and Lies (1993), reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.

On January 24, 2008, it was announced that Ali Campbell would be leaving the group after 30 years. It was reported by some Birmingham newspapers on 13 March 2008, that Maxi Priest would be the new lead singer of UB40 and had recorded a cover of Bob Marley’s “I Shot the Sheriff” with the band.

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