MCR Calling

[00:00.09] It was jar of pickled onion, some cheese and onion crisps
[00:18.97] A city in the '70s that no-one would've kissed
[00:25.05] Before LGBTQ, it was simply one-off wrist
[00:30.58] And that was Manchester calling
[00:34.43]
[00:37.25] It was the hassle of Haçienda entry and stupid acid house
[00:40.72] When Johnny Marr's cool outweighed Stephen Patrick's mouth
[00:47.02] Before alf 'bleeding' Garnett of Lancashire 'bleeding' South
[00:50.68] That was Manchester calling
[00:55.75]
[01:02.17] It was go straight to strangeways, get outta jail free
[01:07.14] Then cruising through Rusholme, fat cigar and Ford Capri
[01:12.27] It was always 'wrote for luck', never ever let it be'
[01:17.06] That was Manchester calling
[01:22.84] Back in day, Mancunian was neither fat nor fit
[01:27.30] And City and United were both bordering on shit
[01:32.16] And eating upmarket was Canadian Charcoal Pit
[01:37.21] And that was Manchester calling
[01:42.77] It was Emily Pankhurst's grit over Shaun Ryder's teeth
[01:52.23] Never was it 'Shameless', certainly not 'cold feet'
[01:57.18] It was Bernard Manning spitting bile on Comic relief
[02:02.21] That was Manchester calling
[02:07.44] Nowadays, the arena and, apparently, the bomb
[02:12.32] And tiny worker bee gives folk the strength to carry on
[02:17.01] From Summerbee and Whiteside to diving like a swan
[02:22.06] That's Manchester calling
[02:27.26] Now outside Haçienda flats on Tony Wilson street
[02:32.45] Shuffling under skyscraper at least a thousand feet
[02:37.51] Growth removed the wings of bee, and honey, that ain't sweet
[02:43.37] That's Manchester calling
[02:47.32] And that's why folk love Coventry, Dundee, Perth, and Hull
[02:51.19] It's a zero lack of sights to see but a total lack of bull
[02:57.23] And they don't live in place defined by posh bird it wants to pull
[03:02.52] That's Manchester calling
[03:07.17] And the largely redundant Irwell, like Thames and Rhine before
[03:12.29] Looks up at sky, lets out a sigh, then looks back down to floor
[03:17.20] And in Irwellian irony, it's been no use since '84
[03:22.81] That's Manchester calling
[03:28.32] Industrial Revolution, when workers counted cost
[03:32.52] Ancoats down to moss side, where 'boddies' used to waft
[03:37.10] Now the gangsters ride on tricycles and the hard men have gone soft
[03:42.69] And that's Manchester Calling
[03:44.26] Half the size of London, slightly less than Brum
[03:51.86] Half the population with head lodged up its bum
[03:56.14] Now property developers look down on Northern scum
[04:03.51] And that's Manchester calling
[04:08.77] As Ian Brown passes on his low rider bike
[04:13.31] They're pulling down last building anyone actually liked
[04:17.82] Let's throw another tower up with Gary Neville's head on a spike
[04:23.24] Name it 'Manchester calling'
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