town called malice

The Jam had their only American hit with this Motown-flavoured exhortation to the exploited masses. 'Town Called Malice' was a bleak, yet bouncy picture of unemployment in Thatcher's Britain. Paul Weller admits, "It could have been written about any suburban town, but it was in fact written about my hometown of Woking." It was released as a double A-side single with 'Precious'. The twelve inch version included a live version of 'Town Called Malice' and an extended version of 'Precious'. Both formats were counted together and the song made its debut at number one. It was a top twenty hit in Australia, Canada, and New Zealand. In the US, it went to number thirty-one on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. About the pop appeal of the song to politically conservative fans, Weller says: "I think I pretty much nailed where I was at to the mast. But people come to gigs for different reasons: it isn't necessarily about what the person on stage is singing. But at the same time, you do think, 'Well, maybe this'll change their minds'."

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Better stop dreaming of the quiet life

Cause it's the one we'll never know

And quit running for that runaway bus

Cause those rosy days are few

And, stop apologizing for the things you've never done,

Cause time is short and life is cruel

But it's up to us to change

This town called malice.

Rows and rows of disused milk floats

Stand dying in the dairy yard

And a hundred lonely housewives clutch empty milk

Bottles to their hearts

Hanging out their old love letters on the line to dry

It's enough to make you stop believing when tears come

Fast and furious

In a town called malice.

Struggle after struggle, year after year

The atmosphere's a fine blend of ice

I'm almost stone cold dead

In a town called malice.

A whole street's belief in Sunday's roast beef

Gets dashed against the Co-op

To either cut down on beer or the kids new gear

It's a big decision in a town called malice.

The ghost of a steam train, echoes down my track

It's at the moment bound for nowhere

Just going round and round

Playground kids and creaking swings

Lost laughter in the breeze

I could go on for hours and I probably will

But I'd sooner put some joy back

In this town called malice.

The Jam became the first act since the Beatles to perform both tracks of a double A side on Top Of The Pops.