Lions

All alone in the country
Took a walk in the country
All alone in the country yeah yeah yeah

Blade of grass in the country
Sour mash in the country
All the cash in the country yeah yeah yeah

There are no lions in England
There are no lions in England
There are no lions in England no no no

I'll call your home
Then you start delivering
Taking my time then you start your quibbling
Now I know your pedalling, you're still back pedalling
I should have quit you a long long, a long long, a long long time ago

There are no lions in England
There are no lions in England
There are no lions in England no, no, no

There are no lions in England
There are no lions in England
There are no lions in England no, no, no

There are no lions in England
There are no lions in England
There are no lions in England no, no, no

Lyrics by:
Brown

Available on:
Unfinished Monkey Business (6.52)
Corpses In Their Mouths (as b side) (3.49)
Remixes / B-Side Tracks: 1. Can't See Me (Harvey's Invisible Mix) / 2. Can't See Me (Bacon & Quarmby Vocal Dub) / 3. Lions (With Denise) / 4. Under The Paving Stones: The Beach (Gabriel's 13th Dream Remix) / 5. Jesus On The Move (Polydor, POCP 7357, Japanese CD, released 12th January 1998)

Details:
This duet with Denise Johnson is a poor effort.

Lions is a criticism of the false association of lions with England (e.g. three lions on England sports shirts). The song is a negative reaction to the official song of the England football team - 'Three Lions' - for the 1996 European Championships, which were held in England. The music was written by The Lightning Seeds, with lyrics from comedians David Baddiel and Frank Skinner. This is Ian's explanation, from Uncut, February 1998 (the England-Germany game he refers to is the Euro '96 semi-final, when Germany defeated England on penalties):

From the lyrics to Lions, it seems you considered quitting England ?

"Nah. I got the idea from the England-Germany game. I thought it was pathetic, grown men crying. Years ago there was a religious programme on BBC2, and they had a dread answering questions about his faith. And, as the credits went up, this dread's beating his staff going 'There are no liiions in Inglannd'. Why do they have lions in Trafalgar Square and on the England shirt ? There's never been lions here."

The song breaks down four and a half minutes in, then starts again in a different style, rather like 'Love Hangover' by Diana Ross.

The line "I should have quit you a long long...time ago" is close to that of a Led Zeppelin track, 'The Lemon Song', where Plant states "I should have quit you, long time ago". Brown has stated in press interviews since the Roses split that he seriously considered leaving the band in the early 90's, during the hiatus. Is the extended use of this Led Zeppelin lyric (who Squire was fixated with circa Second Coming) aimed at Squire, stating that Brown should have quit him ? The entirety of this third verse appears to focus on Squire:

I'll call your home - Brown stated in the 1996 Reading press conference that he'd been knocking on Squire's door but got no answer.

Then you start delivering - Cocaine ?

Taking my time, then you start your quibbling - Also at the Reading press conference, Brown stated that the rest of the band were happy to sit back ("taking my time") and let Squire get 'his' album out of his system. But divisions would soon appear. Brown blames an argument with Squire ("then you start your quibbling") as Reni's reason for leaving the band.

Now I know your pedalling, you're still back pedalling - using Squire's fondness for cycling to make a metaphorical point about where his life is going, through his (alleged) use of drugs ?

I should have quit you a long long, a long long, a long long time ago

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