It all began in 1994. Of course, in the previous years large groups had paved the way. Names like Suede, Elastic e Pulp, to name but three, had skilfully blended the irresistible British melodies of the new-wave (wave hello to Morrisey and his The Smiths), with a more modern compositional approach. However, it was in 1994 that the worlds collided: i Blur publican Parklifetheir third studio album, and Oasis give the world one of the greatest records of all time: Definitely Maybe. It is on Blur’s work that we want to focus, and on one of the driving singles of the disc, the title track Parklifeof which today we will tell you about its genesis and meaning.
First signs of a war: the context
We are in April 1994. The English people, who firmly believe in three indisputable religions: football, beer and music, must do without the first. Indeed, England did not qualify for the USA ’94 World Cupand the British drown their sorrows in the other two certainties: music and alcohol.
On March 7, a hypnotic song is released that goes crazy on the radios. It is irresistible and has a refrain that repeats obsessively “girls who want boys who want boys to be girls” (which my father bought at the market).
It’s a song by Blur, chosen as a single that anticipates the new album. The result is a smashing pop hit, and the song just did what a first single off an album should do: raise expectations ahead of the album’s release.
The album arrives on March 25th Parklife, with which Blur definitively take over the roof of the world. But it is good to clarify one thing: Blur are Londoners. A detail not to be overlooked.
Londra vs Manchester
Already because in the north of the country, Manchester area, i hotties of the capital who wear Polo and sing about the good life are not too well regarded. The city of Manchester has been the breeding ground for an absolutely non-aligned underground scene, with incredible bands such as Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, Happy Mondays e Joy Division.
In the city, on the City side (the team supported by working class workers, not like the bourgeois who support United) there is a lot of talk about two brothers who, when they manage not to smash guitars on each other’s heads, play pretty good music.
They’re called Oasis, a name borrowed from a clothing store, and they played their first gig in a pub, after threatening the owner to wreck the place if they didn’t let them perform. We will hear about it.
The battle between the two superpowers, the one that will be remembered as the Great Britpop War complete with the iconic NME cover, it will only break out in 1995, but it is in the English summer without football of ’94 that the two bands impose themselves in the eyes of the world.
In fact, on August 22, the disruptive third single by Blur is released: Parklife, while the following week, on August 29, Oasis debut with their first album: Definitely Maybe.
The genesis and meaning of Parklife of Blurs
Blur record album Parklife ai Red House Studiosin the Fulham district of London. It’s an absolutely quiet, middle-class area, light years away from the industrial gloom of Manchester from which Oasis came and from the Sheffield steel mills of the Pulps.
With its manicured parks and green spaces, Fulham in 1994 was populated by people in Adidas tracksuits jogging. And that’s exactly what Blur see every day when they go to the studio: hordes of joggers, pigeons and street cleaners who ensure the cleanliness of the neighborhood. TO Damon Albarnhistrionic frontman of the band – and hands down one of the musical geniuses of the century – comes an idea: we tell the life of the people of the park.
Damon writes the lyrics, also inspired by the novel London Fields by Martin Amis, and the band records an early demo of the song. Their label, Food Records, hates it. The choruses are ok, but those verses? It’s more spoken than sung, there’s no melody, just a jumble of words. For a record that contains hits like Girls & Boys e End of a Century more needs to be done.
Blur have a completely different opinion: the bassist Alex James or Parklifedeems it one of Blur’s best songs, while the guitarist Graham Coxon an idea comes up: “since the verses are almost recited, let’s call a real actor”.
Damon Albarn likes the idea, but who to call? Actually Blur already have the answer. The band had in fact already invited to the studio Phil Danielsthe Jimmy of Quadrophenia, who was supposed to recite a poem to a tune called The Debt Collector. However Albarn was having difficulty finding a suitable text, so it was decided that The Debt Collector would have been an instrumental track, while Daniels could have performed the verses of Parklife.
From a musical point of view
The composition and arrangement of Parklife, seemingly simple as it is, is studded with small elements very interesting. The saxophone that is heard in the background is played by guitarist Graham Coxon who, as the text reads “projection by technology” (2:33 minute of the official video) takes up part of the German national anthem.
At the beginning of the song (around 00:22 of the official video) glass is heard breaking. It’s actually a recording by the drummer Dave Rowntree breaking a ceramic plate.
For the rest, the verses alternate the parts recited by Daniels (with a fortissimo cockney accent) with the iconic yell “parklife“. The refrains, on the other hand, are very open, with a broad melody, in full Blur style, in stark contrast to the non-sung of the verses.
The meaning of the text of Parklife of Blurs
Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as (Parklife!)
And morning soup can be avoided if you take a route straight through what is known as (Parklife!)
John’s got brewer’s droop, he gets intimidated by the dirty pigeons, they love a bit of it (Parklife!)
Who’s that gut lord marching? You should cut down on your pork life mate, get some exercise
As mentioned, the text exaggerates and makes fun of the Fulham district’s obsession with jogging. In the first verse Daniels stands as a fundamentalist of the park lifestyle. The term “morning soup” is a British slang that indicates traffic smog, which can be avoided if you prefer physical exercise to cars. In the last sentence Daniels takes aim at an obese person, telling him to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
All the people
So many people
And they all go hand in hand
Hand in hand through their parklife
In the choruses comes Damon Albarn instead, who describes us a world made of joggers, who hold hands and live their park life.
I get up when I want, except on Wednesdays
when I get rudely awakened by the dustmen (Parklife!)
I put my trousers on, have a cup of tea
and I think about leaving me house (Parklife!)
I feed the pigeons, I sometimes feed the sparrows too,
it gives me a sense of enormous wellbeing (Parklife!)
And then I’m happy for the rest of the day,
safe in the knowledge there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it
In the second verse Daniels describes a typical week of the man in the park. He wakes up when he wants (those who have the time to jog every day evidently don’t have to clock in) except on Wednesdays, when he is woken up by the street sweeper who does his job.
After waking up, the protagonist gets dressed, drinks tea and feels comfortable feeding the pigeons (sometimes even the sparrows). This distinction between pigeons and sparrows could underlie a social criticism, as if the protagonist welcomes one race over the other.
In its ironic meaning, Parklife by Blur never gives us judgments, but lets us understand the madness of the jogging fundamentalists.
The official video, Oasis teasing and live performances
The official video features Blur as well as Phil Daniels. The latter plays an unlikely glass salesman, who pesters several people and bullies his assistant (played by Damon Albarn). The video was directed by Pedro Romhanyi and filmed in Greenwich. It will win Best Music Video at the 1995 BRIT Awards.
Performing year however, at the 1996 BRIT Awards, when Oasis dominated the night, Liam and Noel Gallagher found a way to poke fun at rivals Blur. On receiving the award for best British band, thus beating Blur, Liam said: “I want to thank all the people”, before starting to sing the chorus of Parklifeadapting it to an untranslatable “shitelife”.
Parklife it is obviously a fixed element of Blur’s live setlists. On big occasions, such as festivals and special concerts, the band made use of the presence of Phil Daniels on stage. This happened, for example, on the occasion of the Glastonbury Festival 2009 and the reunion in Hyde Park in 2012.
In recent weeks Blur have announced the new album and the new tour. In the first dates the band returned to host Phil Daniels for a selected number of concerts.
Blur will be in Italy for a single date in Lucca on 22 July 2023. As for Oasis, however, Liam Gallagher has promised that if Manchester City win the Champion’s League final against Inter, he will call his brother Noel for a reunion. Don’t believe the hype.
Offer
Park Life
- Music
- Audio CD – Audiobook
- 06/14/1994 (Publication Date) – Editore: Warner Music