Arctic Monkeys

Released: January 23, 2006

Songwriter: Alex Turner

Producer: Jim Abbiss

[Verse 1]
We'll ask if we can have six in
If not we'll have to have two
Well, you're coming up at our end aren't you?
So I'll get one with you
Won't he let us have six in?
Especially not with the food
He could have just told us no, though
He didn't have to be rude
You see her with the green dress?
She talked to me at the bar
Well, how come it's already two-pound fifty?
We've only gone about a yard
Didn't you see she were gorgeous?
She were beyond belief
But this lad at the side drinking his Smirnoff Ice
Came and paid for her Tropical Reef

[Chorus]
And I'm sitting, going backwards
And I didn't want to leave
I said, "It's High Green, mate
Via Hillsborough, please!"

[Verse 2]
Well, how funny were that sketch earlier
Up near that taxi rank?
Oh no, you would have missed it
Think it were when you went to the bank
These two lads squaring up, proper shouting
'Bout who were next in the queue
The kind of thing that'd seem so silly
But not when they've both had a few
Well, calm down, temper, temper
You shouldn't get so annoyed
Well, you're acting like a silly little boy
Oh, they wanted to be men
And do some fighting in the street
He said, "No surrender
No chance of retreat"

[Instrumental Break]

[Chorus]
And so why are they in the taxi?
'Cause I didn't want to leave
I said, "It's High Green, mate
Via Hillsborough, please!"

[Verse 3]
Drunken plots hatched to jump it
Ask around, "Are you sure?"
Went for it, but the red light was showing
And red light indicates doors are secure

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

Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not

From the album

Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not (2006)

Arctic Monkeys popular songs

Red Light Indicates Doors Are SecuredArctic Monkeys

Arctic Monkeys

Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not