Traffic

submit, submerged / nobody, nobody / it's not good, it's not right / a mirror, a sponge / but you're free // show me the money / party with a rich zombie / suck it in through a straw / party with a rich zombie / crime pays, she stays / in Kensington and Chelsea / and you have to make amends / to make amends to me // i can't breathe, i can't breathe / there's no water, there's no water / a drip feed, foie gras / a brick wall, a brick wall / but you're free // show me the money / party with a rich zombie / suck it in through a straw / party with a rich zombie / crime pays, she stays / in Kensington and Chelsea / and you have to make amends / to make amends to me

Throughout 2015, Thom and Nigel played a few gigs in support of Tomorrow's Modern Boxes. Among an assortment of songs from Thom's solo records, they also played four previously unreleased songs: 'Traffic', 'Not The News', 'Twist' and 'Impossible Knots'. This performance comes from august 15th 2015 in Tokyo:

Thom: As I often do, I play with what I say. "Show me the money, party with a rich zombie, suck it in through a straw." That sounds like I'm angry at someone, but it very well could refer to myself too. When I hear the word "traffic", I think of the idea of people becoming commodities, objects you can mess with and sell. Workers are called "human resources" these days. As if you can just dig them out from the ground and when you no longer need them, you put them back in the dirt. Wonderful! The lyrics are just dripping with sarcasm, irony, anger and fear, it's all there at the same time.

OOR, July 15th 2019