Straight To The Man

Saying this revelation
Cordelia Station
An initiation
All, you'd better beware

Who'll cast the first stone ?
Skin to the bone
Bring it all on home
Bring it on for Jerome

So new castle build a brand new castle
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah
Straight to the man

On an island of traders
You know they're trying to fade ya
No-one can train you
No-one evade you
No-one can fade you

Saying don't be late
No the train won't wait
Saying don't be late
Oh the boat can't wait
Saying don't be late
No the train nor the boat
Or the train can't wait yeah

Do do do do do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do do do do
Do do do do do do do...
Heading straight to the man
Oh you know they'll never evade you

So now I stand here
Love cuts down a revolver
I'm stood damned in Sodom and Gomorrah

So I'm singing to King Stone
Our teaching it's on
They say it's a fable
Though I was made able
I slipped through the net
Wanna bet it's a ramble, a sandstorm
One slip you know you'll never forget
Who could ever forget ?
You know I never forget

Do do do do do do do do do do do do do
Do do do do.. straight to the man

Oh you know they're trying to fade you

Saw this revelation, Cordelia Station
I don't need no powder
One kinda easy blind ya
Yeah the eyes of Grand Bretagne owes a debt
Say the eyes of Grand Bretagne
All the eyes of Grand Bretagne
All the eyes of Grand Bretagne owes a debt
Yeah the eyes of Grand Bretagne
All eyes, yeah Grand Bretagne owes us a debt

Lyrics by:
Brown

Music by:
Brown

Written:
1993

Personnel:
John Squire (guitar)
Ian Brown (vocals)
Gary Mounfield (bass)
Alan Wren (drums, backing vocals)
Simon Dawson (Jew's Harp, Wurlitzer electric piano)

Producer:
Simon Dawson & Paul Schroeder

Engineer:
Simon Dawson & Paul Schroeder

Available on:
Second Coming (3.15)

First live performance:
Never performed live

Details:
This song was the only solo lyrical composition by Brown on the album; while not anywhere close to being the best song on the album, along with the acoustic based tracks, it provides an important counterbalance to the heavy rock nature of the overall project. Ian adds a couple of splendid vocal touches (e.g., how he stretches out the word 'straight' in the last chorus).

The music has a distinct Aboriginal sound, and drifts along with nice rhythm in much the same way as The Who's 'Join Together', only more laid back. The lyrics are damning of British colonialism ("All the eyes of Grand Bretagne owes us a debt"), and the arbitrary treatment of colonies once owned by her ("no, the train won't wait"). On 22nd August 1770 on Possession Island, off what is now northern Queensland, James Cook claimed all eastern Australia for King George III. The local Aboriginal inhabitants had, over tens of thousands of years, mapped the land their way - through their Dreaming (the source of the Kate Bush song - see below), a complex intertwining of land, culture, language, family relations and spiritual selves; this was to be put under pressure from the first moment of Cook's landing at Botany Bay in 1770. Colonialism was a feature of the great powers' exploits in the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The acquisition of colonies was seen as being symbolic of a Great Power status. Some aspects of it were beneficial - medicine, education, administration - but this New Imperialism had damaging effects on conquered territories. Not only would this territorial expansion have negative effects on the colonised countries themselves, but the rivalry among the great powers to continue to be seen as 'great' would also contribute to a breakdown in relations between them in the years leading up to World War One, after a century of relative peace in Europe following the Napoleonic Wars. Ian's interest in documenting the perils of imperialism and conquest has continued in his solo career (see 'My Star' and 'First World'). See this essay for details of Ian's literary choices on colonialism. Just as 'The Dreaming' by Kate Bush portrays the plight of Aboriginal people having their lives upturned by the colonial race among the major powers, Straight To The Man attempts to put across the plight of those without a voice (the one occasion on which an aboriginal person tries to speak at the end of the video for The Dreaming, his voice is almost smothered by the sand. This is chosen as the last image of the video so as to strongly remain in the memory of the viewer).

Straight To The Man is more direct in its attack than The Dreaming in that Ian points the finger of blame at one specific nation - Great Britain (in interviews, Ian has always been keen to bring attention to the failures of British policies in history, stating in Melody Maker (03/06/89) that the British were the first to set up concentration camps, in the Boer War (there were two Boer wars: 1880-1881 and 1899-1902), and in India, Britain's most important colony. In March 1901, the new commander of the British Army, Lord Kitchener, adopted a scorched earth policy and started stripping the countryside of anything which could be useful to the Boer guerillas, seizing livestock, burning crops and farms, poisoning wells and forcibly moving the families that lived in them into concentration camps. The policy eventually led to the destruction of 30,000 farmhouses and about 40 small towns. In all, 116,572 Boer men, women and children were moved into camps, roughly a quarter of the Boer population, along with approximately 120,000 black Africans. When Ian resignedly sings that he is "stood damned in Sodom and Gomorrah", he is using the imminent doom of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah as an analogy to describe the fate of inhabitants of Britain's colonies (the apocalyptical Begging You, which shortly follows the mention of Sodom and Gomorrah sits well, with the resonant image in one's mind being its destructive end - destroyed by God because of their evil inhabitants):

By the time Lot reached Zoar, the sun had risen over the land. Then the LORD rained down burning sulphur on Sodom and Gomorrah - from the LORD out of the heavens. Thus he overthrew those cities and the entire plain, including all those living in the cities - and also the vegetation in the land. But Lot's wife looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.
(Genesis 19: 23 - 26)

Love (God - see Love Spreads for another usage of this) cuts down a revolver - firing down burning sulphur. I propose that this is also explored by Bono on 'Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses', from the U2 album 'Achtung Baby' (1991). Bono draws heavily upon the Bible in his work and in the lyrics below, Bono appears to be narrating the request of God to Lot's wife not to look back. Two angels were sent to Sodom to forewarn Lot of the dreadful catastrophe about to happen, and they took Lot, his wife, and two his daughters by hand and drew them forcibly out of their house, saying, Flee for your lives ! Don't look back, and don't stop anywhere in the plain ! Flee to the mountains or you will be swept away !" (Genesis 19: 17). Lot entreated the angels, who consented that he might retire to Zoar. His wife, looking back on Sodom, was turned into a pillar of salt. Perhaps Bono is hinting towards this in the line "Who's gonna taste your saltwater kisses ?"; this line forms part of the chorus that immediately follows the lines below:

Don't turn around, don't turn around again
Don't turn around, your gypsy heart
Don't turn around, don't turn around again
Don't turn around, and don't look back
Come on now love, don't you look back !

U2, Who's Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses (1991)

In interviews, Ian shows that he uses the Bible in order to form an historical perspective:

"I read The Bible whenever it takes me. I read Exodus a lot during the Gulf War, when we were recording in Wales. It hit home cos here was this rich family who was bringing the biggest army in the world to kill poor people. We couldn't do anything to stop it."
(Ian Brown, Melody Maker, May 13th 1995)

Another example of Ian drawing upon a biblical story in discussion of modern events can be found in this Channel 4 interview, where Ian draws comparison between the final hours of the lives of Jesus Christ and Martin Luther King, Jr. The "Why now, why now ?" plea from King has echoes of Jesus on the cross where He cried out at the ninth hour, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?", which means, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me ?" (see Mark 15: 34). The opening of the second verse, asking "Who'll cast the first stone ?" refers to Jesus forgiving the woman being castigated for committing adultery (John 8: 1 - 11). A trap is set for Jesus in the situation presented to him; Moses' law specifies death by stoning for adultery, yet Roman law forbids the Jews from carrying out executions. Would Jesus obey Moses or Rome ? In His response to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees, Jesus looked not toward physical laws, but to the grace of God:

But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, "If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her." Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.

At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Jesus straightened up and asked her, "Woman, where are they ? Has no one condemned you ?"

"No one, sir," she said. "Then neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin."
(John 8: 7 - 11)

I interpret Ian as singing "Cordelia Station" as opposed to "Call Delia Station" (which other sites interpret it as). Cordelia Station is a Philadelphia train station built in 1881 - click here for more details. (Saint) Jerome (340 - 420), referenced in the second verse, was the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. His edition, the Vulgate, is still the official biblical text of the Roman Catholic Church and he is recognized by the Vatican as a Doctor of the Church.

There is perhaps a sly reference to John's (alleged) cocaine dependence circa Second Coming - "I don't need no powder."

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