Pledge

Lyrics

(1)

Pledge your mind
In the time of defeat
In the time of disease,
Time of disease  (2)
Only carry on

Pledge, spend
Go see Josie White
When the fuckers went to people for money
It meant Pledge

When the workers asked Nellie for money
She says “Pledge! Pledge!”
And the workers ask Nellie for money
She says “And, Pledge! Pledge! Pledge!”
When workers went to Nellie for money
She said “And, Pledge!”    (3)

And when they were children, and
Pledge! Pledge!

When I go to TV for money
They said “No dough! Pledge!”
Bono Pledge! (4)

When the workers went to Nellie for money
They said “Pledge!”
They says “We Pledge!"

You don’t see money!
Pledge!
When I went to government for money
They said “Two Oh One Oh Pledge!” (5)
Pledge...

When they ask for creative money
They says “Two Ten Pledge! Pledge!” (6)

Went to get money for download,
They said “Two Ten Pledge!”
They said “Two Ten Pledge!”

When I went to TV for money they said
“No dough! Rich! No!
Kidnap Bono! Pledge!”
Pledge! It's pledge...

They said to come pledge...
When I went to go to work for money
They said “Download Pledge! Download Pledge!”

Go back! Go back!
Where to get money?
Download, they says…

Notes

1. Take these with a grain of salt. 

Reformation reports that Daren Garratt says the song was written in the dressing room minutes before its debut performance on May 15, 2014 at Manchester Cathedral.

MES seems to have encountered the dreaded "pledge" when he contributed to Mutation, a kind of metal/grindcore supergroup album with members of Napalm Death, Hawkeyes, Cardiacs and Young Legionnaire. The album was apparently funded via pledge...

^

2. One also finds the lyric "Time of disease" in "Stout Man."

^

3.   Bob's scoop: "Nellie Pledge was the name of the character played by Hylda Baker in the comedy series Nearest and Dearest (1964-1973) which also starred that other famous son of Salford Jimmy Jewel..." Bazhdaddy speculates that "Nellie" could be Eleni, handling payroll for the band...

^

 

4. Gizmodo suggests that this is short for "Pro Bono" (Wikipedia): "Pro Bono is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. Unlike traditional volunteerism, it is service that uses the specific skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them."

However, Zack points out that "MES said 'U2 pledge' at Glastonbury 2015, so perhaps 'Bono' is a reference to Bono Vox and MES is pointing out the contrast between artists who have to beg for money in order to make an album and superstars who can afford to give their albums away for free, as U2 did in 2014 with Songs of Innocence." Note that MES pronounces it the way Sonny Bono pronounces his last name, which would seem to lend support to Gizmodo's theory, but "U2 Pledge" makes it seem likely he's just mispronouncing the U2 guy's name. 

^

5. Bazhdaddy suggests that this "refers to the 2010 UK general election which brought in a coalition government with an agenda of greatly reduced public spending in the name of austerity."

^

6. Or maybe "Two tier pledge." This would refer to tiered pledging, where a certain amount will land you in a certain "reward tier," in Kickstarter lingo. 

Live, Zack points out that MES has said "Went to PRS for pledge..." PRS is a musical copyright collective. There is also a PRS that manufactures electric guitars, but the former is the more likely reference, I would think.

^

Comments (34)

rik
  • 1. rik | 31/07/2015
im thinking it might be Nelly instead of Mary...also

the second line after "when i go to TV for money is not 'no go" its...."No dough"
bzzfggt
  • 2. bzzfggt | 25/08/2015
Thanks, Rik, I'm going over it again now.
bbzffgt
  • 3. bbzffgt | 25/08/2015
"It's your mind could be "It's your money," in keeping with the theme...he just really says "Itch choa moaaaaaoaa"
bzfggtt
  • 4. bzfggtt | 25/08/2015
OK, I'm sold on both counts, now I don't know why I heard "Mary," it surely is "Nellie." I wonder who Nellie is? It's less generic than Mary so it seems like it ought to be someone.
Jeff Wheeler
  • 5. Jeff Wheeler | 25/08/2015
who are Nellie and Josie?

I always heard "kidnap Bono pledge" and imagined a worthy kickstarter, but knowing MES, I imagine his critique of the funding modelis not too different from his critique of Bono's millionaire-martyr, champaign socialism
bzfgt
  • 6. bzfgt | 05/09/2015
Jeff, I have no clue who Nellie and Josie are. If I did, there would be a note! It's not 100% certain that's what he said, I just tried to transcribe this as true to my ears as possible. He says some weird things, as we all know, but usually there is some kind of logic behind it I think, it's just that we may never know what that is.
Rik
  • 7. Rik | 13/09/2015
Pledge - from the vinyl version needs transcription .....for this line I just heard alone..."dad loan money" ..."it's the estate pledge"!

Pledge & facebook from the LP are the best!
Bob
  • 8. Bob | 11/10/2015
Nellie Pledge was the name of the character played by Hylda Baker in the comedy series Nearest and Dearest (1964-1973) which also starred that other famous son of Salford Jimmy Jewel.....
rik
  • 9. rik | 20/10/2015
Bobs post #8 is fantastic...Nellie Pledge... case solved for Nellie!! what about Josie....
Gizmoman
  • 10. Gizmoman | 25/10/2015
Bono isn't a reference to the U2 singer, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pro_bono
Pro Bono is a Latin phrase for professional work undertaken voluntarily and without payment or at a reduced fee as a public service. Unlike traditional volunteerism, it is service that uses the specific skills of professionals to provide services to those who are unable to afford them.
bzfgt
  • 11. bzfgt | 15/11/2015
Yes, a transcription from the vinyl is necessary. Right now I'm holding out in hopes I don't have to do it myself...
Wrayx8
  • 12. Wrayx8 | 18/12/2015
The line that comes after "Josie White" is fucking insane - I've just listened to the same 10 seconds about 20 times - no chance!
Wrayx8
  • 13. Wrayx8 | 18/12/2015
When I went to go to Nellie for money
They said “Two Oh One Oh Pledge!”

Is:

When I went to government for money
They said “Two Oh One Oh Pledge!”
bzfgt
  • 14. bzfgt | 23/12/2015
I do hope so, that's less perplexing anyway...I'll change it but I'm not listening to it right now so if anyone objects there'll have to be a full investigation.
bzfgt
  • 15. bzfgt | 23/12/2015
What about "when the workers ask Nellie for money" etc.? Damn it, I have to listen to it I guess.
bzfgt
  • 16. bzfgt | 23/12/2015
Yeah, OK, there still seems to be Nellie in there aside from the line you point out...I was kind of hoping we could get rid of her altogether.
Wrayx8
  • 17. Wrayx8 | 23/12/2015
I'm also hearing a "workers went on early for money," which works in a band context, but he does only say it once.

Yeah, I'd love to get rid of Nellie, though that Nellie Pledge link is pretty hard to ignore!
bzfgt
  • 18. bzfgt | 27/12/2015
That sounds pretty realistic, I have to listen again. It's almost worse to erode the ground under Nellie to a small spit of land, since if she clings on there with her toenails we'll always doubt whether she's really out there at all, or if it's just a standing rock in the most...
dannyno
  • 19. dannyno | 28/12/2015
There's an episode of Nearest and Dearest called "Workers Playtime", where the factory workers go on strike a couple of times. Wouldn't surprise me if there's a sequence where they're after a pay rise or something. There was a 1972 film spin-off too.

The entire series is on DVD, if anyone fancies watching the whole thing.

I'd do it, but I'm still grappling with TJ Hooker.
Wrayx8
  • 20. Wrayx8 | 04/01/2016
Watched that episode on the ol' youtube - nuthin' doin'.
Titfordshire
  • 21. Titfordshire | 17/01/2016
I hear the word 'download' a lot at the end of the song.
And I have also always heard kidnap:

When they ask for creative money
They says “Two Ten Pledge! Pledge!”
Went to get money for a download,
They said “Two Ten Pledge!”
They said “Two Ten Pledge!”

When I went to TV for money they said
“No dough! Pledge! No!
kidnap Bono Pledge!”
Pledge! Pledge...

It said two oh one oh...
When I went to go to work for money
They said “Download Pledge! Download Pledge!”

Go back! Go back!
Went to get money
Download they says…
bzfgt
  • 22. bzfgt | 19/01/2016
Shit, that all might be right...I adopted some...
Gizmoman
  • 23. Gizmoman | 23/02/2016
I hear "kipnap bono pledge", the provisional IRA once threatened to kidnap Bono but never went through with it, another broken pledge? The phrase " two -ten pledge" is wrong, it's "two tier pledge" - a reference to crowdfunding where you get a better reward for a bigger donation.
Zack
  • 24. Zack | 13/03/2017
MES said "U2 pledge" at Glastonbury 2015, so perhaps "Bono" is a reference to Bono Vox and MES is pointing out the contrast between artists who have to beg for money in order to make an album and superstars who can afford to give their albums away for free, as U2 did in 2014 with Songs of Innocence.

Another lyrical variation at Glastonbury: "Went to PRS for money." http://www.prsformusic.com/Pages/default.aspx
bzfgt
  • 25. bzfgt (link) | 23/03/2017
I assume that's the guitar maker, or is there another PRS?
Zack
  • 26. Zack | 23/03/2017
^ PRS For Music: "We license organisations to play, perform or make available copyright music on behalf of our members and those of overseas societies, distributing the royalties to them fairly and efficiently."

If you assume...
bzfgt
  • 27. bzfgt (link) | 01/04/2017
I suppose I made a Hume out of U and Me?
Basmikel
  • 28. Basmikel | 20/06/2018
Kidnap Bono! Pledge!
bzfgt
  • 29. bzfgt (link) | 15/07/2018
Oh yeah, you're surely right!
Bazhdaddy
  • 30. Bazhdaddy | 22/09/2018
My take on this one. First part;

Pledge your mind
In the time of defeat, time of disease, only carry on
Baxter, Bosie, Josie White

When the fuckers went to people for money, they said "pledge"

When the workers asked Nellie for money, she says, "Pledge! Pledge!"
When the workers asked Nellie for money, she says "M. Pledge! Pledge, pledge!"
When workers went to Nellie for money she said “M., pledge!”
(workers= the group, Nellie = Eleni, M= MES?)
---
at 3.45 in the context of "went to government for money" I would take 2 o -1 -o pledge to refer to the 2010 UK general election which brought in a coalition government with an agenda of greatly reduced public spending in the name of austerity
"two tier pledge" I think is then "two-ten pledge"

At 5:32
"they said tea-time pledge
When I went to government for money
They said "download pledge, download pledge""

at 6:14" "Download" they says"
bzfgt
  • 31. bzfgt (link) | 13/10/2018
Yeah I think you have a lot of it closer than I had it
bzfgt
  • 32. bzfgt (link) | 13/10/2018
I deviated a little in spots, but I think this is a big improvement
Joshua Ross
  • 33. Joshua Ross | 11/04/2019
From 'The British Masters' interview with John Doran

'I've got a CD of it [the masters of the Mutations recordings] and I was thinking of using it [for the Fall], but I thought no cos they're all on Ginger's Pledge. He's like a Jehovah's Witness. He got everyone separately and told them about this Pledge... You get fans to give you like a thousand fooking Japanese fooking Yen or whatever it is, he was saying to us The Fall could make a quarter of a million, I'm not fooking going round to Japanese people and fooking saying 'fookings Give us $10,000' and to American fans, all 10 of them, 'give us this money'. I said look Ginger I believe in record companies they should spend as much as you can fooking get out of the same he said no not on the pledge! U2 can be on this LP just give us £10,000 and they'll be here next week.'

Roughly 5-7 minutes in here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHpZlkbL_C4&t=461s
Mark Oliver
  • 34. Mark Oliver | 30/09/2023
The repeated use of both 'Nellie' and 'Pledge' MUST be a deliberate reference to Nellie Pledge; 'Nearest and Dearest' was a much-loved sitcom with a distinctive Lancashire flavour, notable for the very fractious off-screen relationship between leads Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel (basically, they detested each other). Hylda was apparently very difficult, an insecure and highly competetive performer. It's not only Beat Groups who have such problems. The show ran from 1968-1973, so MES would almost certainly been familiar with it. In 1973, apparently, an American version of it made by ABC, titled 'Thicker than water', with Julie Harris and Richard Long- I've never seen it and there are no clips of it on YouTube; despite this, I'm 100% certain that it stinks to high Heaven.

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