I Was A Maoist Intellectual Lyrics - Momus

I always knew that I could seize the world's imagination 

And show the possibilities for transformation 

I saw a nation in decay, but also a solution: Permanent cultural revolution 

Whenever I played my protest songs the press applauded me 

Rolled out the red carpet, parted the Red Sea 

But the petite bourgeois philistines stayed away 

They preferred their artists to have nothing to say 

How did I pass my time on earth? Now it can be revealed: 

I was a Maoist intellectual in the entertainment field 

I showed the people how they lived and told them it was bad 

Showed them the insanity inside the bureaucrat 

And the archetypes and stereotypes that were my stock in trade 

Toppled all the ivory towers that privilege had made 

Though I tried to change your mind I never tried your patience 

All I tried to do was to point out your exploitation 

But the powers that be took this to be a personal insult 

And refused to help me build my personality cult 

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How did I pass my time an earth, what on earth got into me? 

I was a Maoist intellectual in the music industry 

I left the normal world behind and started living in 

A hinterland between dissolution and self discipline 

I burned the midnight oil to build my way of seeing 

A miner at the coal face of meaning 

The rich despised the songs I wrote which told the poor their worth 

Told the shy to speak and told the meek to take the earth 

But my downfall came from being three things the working classes hated: 

Agitated, organized and over-educated 

How did I pass my time on earth, how did I bear witness? 

As a Maoist intellectual in the entertainment business 

And how was I treated in this world and in this industry? 

As a Maoist intellectual in a business would be 

Photos 

I became a hotel doorman, I stood there on the doormat 

Clutching my forgotten discs in their forgotten format 

Trying to hand them out to all the stars who sauntered in 

The ones who hadn't been like me, who hadn't lived in vain 

I gave up ideology the day I lost my looks 

I never found a publisher for my little red books 

When I died the energy released by my frustration 

Was nearly enough for re-incarnation 

But if I could live my life again the last thing that I'd be 

Is a Maoist intellectual in the music industry 

No, if I could live my life again I think I'd like to be 

The man whose job is to stop the men who think like me 

Yeah! If l could live my life again that'd be the thing to be 

The man who plots the stumbling blocks 

In the lives of the likes of me!