Entitled

Lyrics

(1)

Hands up, I can't do that
Wait till tomorrow
Pretends to think a lot
Not user friendly (2)

Entitled
Entitled

So when we go in a second
What does that mean to you?
You tickle from the back
We're so respectable

But I'm entitled
Entitled

Entitled
Entitled

Why can you not relax
When I'm behind you?
I don't make passes from the back
Is it something usual
To be so entitled?

Entitled
Entitled

Remember with this photograph
Take care of photograph
Drowned in plastic
You've got good reason to laugh

Give up, I can't do that
Wait until tomorrow
My reputation's in tatters
Where does that leave you?

Disentitled

 

Notes

1. An easygoing and understated song with simple but, as usual, enigmatic lyrics. MES: "It's about being friendly - not in the male, sexual sense, just friendly - to someone who didn't accept that."  

^

2. As far as I can tell this was a fairly new term at the time (1986). It was first applied to computers in the '70s (Dan found an instance from 1972), and began to be extended to other spheres in the early 1980s; however, it was not as widely used as it is today at the time of recording.

^

More Information

Entitled: Fall Tracks A-Z

The Story of the Fall: 1986

Comments (15)

dannyno
  • 1. dannyno | 17/10/2013
"User friendly"

The earliest citation in Oxford Dictionary of English is from 1972. That's not necessarily the absolute first ever use, mind you.
Zack
  • 2. Zack (link) | 01/06/2016
In the interview linked above, MES states that "In fact, I wrote a couple of love songs for the new LP [Bend Sinister], but we didn't put them in because they didn't sound like us. They sounded like Buddy Holly!"

I believe that "Entitled" (later released as a b-side to "Hey Luciani") is one of those love songs. The drums are similar to those of "Peggy Sue."
dannyno
  • 3. dannyno | 14/11/2019
Note #1: the link to MES comments is dead. Can be found here: https://web.archive.org/web/20191114084957/https://sites.google.com/site/reformationposttpm/Home/bibliography/1989---july-august---meijer-interview
nairng
  • 4. nairng (link) | 10/02/2021
Eyyyy
He says "entitled" twice after "user friendly"
Also, I'm hearing "You tickle from the back," not "take her." Which would suggest the 'being friendly...to someone who didn't accept that" might be someone coming up from behind and giving a 'friendly' tickle. I had a friend in work who used to do that to me, we fell out cos I fucking hated it.
Martin
  • 5. Martin | 29/03/2021
I think the transcription of the song misses out a couple of entitled[/i]s and also features a misplaced question mark. My version:

[i]Hands up, I can't do that
Wait till tomorrow
Pretends to think a lot
Not user friendly

Entitled, entitled

So when we go in a second
What does that mean to you?
You take her from the back
We're so respectable

But I'm entitled
Entitled

Why can you not relax
When I'm behind you?
I don't make passes from the back
Is it something usual

To be so entitled?
Entitled

Remember with this photograph
Take care of photograph
Drowned in plastic
You've got good reason to laugh

Give up, I can't do that
Wait until tomorrow
My reputation's in tatters
Where does that leave you?

Disentitled.

I don't hear tickle, but rather a Northern English pronunciation of take.

"Drowned in plastic"? Refers to some kind of laminated ID card ?¨I'm not even convincing myself with this, but what does it mean in this context?
bzfgt
  • 6. bzfgt (link) | 03/04/2021
Thanks, Martin!
bzfgt
  • 7. bzfgt (link) | 03/04/2021
4: It seems like it could be either, damn it. No live versions, either.
bzfgt
  • 8. bzfgt (link) | 03/04/2021
OK--slowed down to 40% it almost definitely says "tickle"!
bzfgt
  • 9. bzfgt (link) | 03/04/2021
Yeah this song is an enigma to me.
bzfgt
  • 10. bzfgt (link) | 03/04/2021
Also "tickle" seems to fit MES's claim that it's about a platonic friendship. I'm 90% sure after slowing it down.
harleyr
  • 11. harleyr | 11/04/2021
In this context I took 'plastic' to be a reference to old polaroid photos, although that may well reflect a misconception on my part about how the polaroid process worked. But anyway, from that doubtful basis I though 'drowned in plastic' referred to someone who tries to capture memories on camera and ends up with vast numbers of photos to deal with, a laughable situation in Smith's view. Similar in theme to 'People take pictures of each other' by The Kinks.
bzfgt
  • 12. bzfgt (link) | 17/04/2021
Yeah seems plausible...anyone know if there is plastic involved?
dannyno
  • 13. dannyno | 03/07/2021
Comment 11 and 12. Apparently there is plastic involved. I am agnostic, however, about what is intended.
Terry Bucknell
  • 14. Terry Bucknell | 19/02/2022
“Take care of photograph / Drowned in plastic”

To take care of a photograph you could put it in a photo album or frame it. In either case it’s drowning in plastic. You can look, but you can’t touch. Which fits the theme of the song.
thehippriestess
  • 15. thehippriestess | 23/01/2023
Surely it's "you tackle from the back". It would fit in better with the 2nd verse line about "I don't make passes from the back" - the relationship (of whatever type) being likened to a contact sport.

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