Banksters

As previously mentioned, Ed O'Brien aka EOB has just launched a solo career with a debut album called Earth due out after Easter. Last month, he performed a set of intimate shows in North America as a warm-up and a clever way to promote his upcoming record and tour, knowing it would be filmed and shared on social media at no expense for his record company. Please, don't get the wrong idea: I do welcome the idea and I find it brilliant. It was also interesting to hear live renditions of his two currently available singles, "Brasil" and "Shangri-la" and the outcome largely exceeded all expectarions. I've always felt that Ed would turn out to be the most interesting member of Radiohead once he'd find the confidence to step out of the shadow of the Yorke-Greenwood tandem. I was so enthralled by these four shows available on YouTube that I felt I had to share some of his still-unreleased material with you now. I must confess I had a hard time choosing. I have been torn between this song and a folky tune called "Long Time Coming" with lyrics that resonate strongly with me as if they were my own words. Did we ever meet?

I finally opted for "Banksters", the first song actually written for his upcoming album in response to the 2007-2008 subprime mortgage crisis. “It's an angry song“ Ed says. “I was fucking angry around 2009 – austerity, why did that happen? Because of the fucking City. I was also angry with my best mate. I was in business with him and he stitched me up. But I must admit that’s the one song I feel hasn’t fulfilled its potential. I wanted it to be more Brazilian and we made it more electro at the end.” (Source)

We (Jo, B. and myself) do apologise for the blanks and lack of accuracy of the transcribed lyrics below. They will be edited out in due time after the official release. But we enjoyed the challenge, it was real fun. Some kind of a Franco-Anglo-American Chinese whisper game with each one of us hearing different things.

Enjoy and please, leave a comment.

Ey@el

Who knows where we're going?
Who knows where the flow is?
The unwinding boom and bust
Of Ponzi schemes in God we trust,^†
In God we trust.

Who knows where the dough is?
Cos I know there's a flow here.
When Wall Street devours Main Street,
??? have no shares,
Yeah, you've not a share.

Where did all the money go?
Where did all the money go?
Where did all the money go?
Where did all the money go?

You know where you're going
Cos I know to say
No no no no no no... NOW!

Where did all the money go?
Where did all the money go?
Where did all the money go?
Where did all the money go?
Where did all the money go?
Where did all the money go?

It feels like you're the fucking bomb,
To others it just feels like Earth
Moving superpowers
Waiting for the world to turn.

Everybody knows the reason,
Everybody knows the score.

They shoot you down
And break you down,
Breaking free free free free free...

Breaking free
Breaking free
Breaking free

Breaking free free free free free...

Working in a coal mine
Going down down...
Working in a coal mine
Going down down...

Working in a coal mine
Going down down...
Working in a coal mine
Going down down...

Original text by ED O'BRIEN

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