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It's Nothing Personal, It's National Security

by The Social Services

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  • Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

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1.
The Baltic Sea (free) 03:43
Oh, Sweden I'm sorry to say that you're tedious sometimes Your Natural Beauty is unsurpassed Your children are healthy and ruddy Your recycling facilities are second to none You're and ethical peace-loving nation You design such great furniture and storage solutions And mass-produce them too But nobody smiles back at me On the underground on my way to work You're as cold as the Baltic Sea And you close your doors so readily But your lakes are so clean for swimming in Your mountains so white for skiing on Your forests are so full of blueberries Your summer are cloudless skies But nobody smiles back at me On the underground on my way to work You're as cold as the Baltic Sea And you close your doors so readily I can be your friend, I'll come round for tea when your all alone I can make you laugh, chat to you all night long on the phone We can be your friends We can be your friends
2.
Folkan 02:44
The stage has been empty for a number of years It was here that Greta Garbo spilled her very first tears It was October and so cold when we climbed into the gods And took a journey through the stage mechanisms and cogs This house is just like a drug I'd tear out my soul just to tread on it's boards But the swines are tearing it down We slipped in unnoticed down a ladder to the stage We stepped back in time to a forgotten golden age We saw the costumes and the glamour Heard the laughter and song knew that one day every soon all tgrace of this would be gone This house is just like a drug I'd tear out my soul just to tread on it's boards But the swines are tearing it down
3.
Up in Arms 03:21
We got to war to liberate Seek only to emancipate But in reality it's just kill And take take take. The planes that land so secretly Then go off on a torture spree If this is what you call democracy You're crazy. You might put your gun to my head, Beat me till my blood runs red But i'm not joining your army. There must be some other way Life's too high a price to pay For not finding an answer. A boy of only eight years old Was given a gun and some drugs and told Kill your family or we'll kill you. While little girls are brutalised We close our apathetic eyes. Then war breaks out And we say it's no surprise.
4.
Hailstones 02:45
Eating dried mango in Notting Hill with a sister of mine Battered by hailstones and hangovers on Monday afternoon Having a luxury crisis about what to do with our lives so many choices it is dizzying for our small minds But this is enough, we have all we need But this is enough, we have all we need The silence is only broken by the phone and the coffee machine In this white room, so far removed from the life we knew I sit so obediently wondering how I ended up here Thinking of what could have been I shed the occasional tear But this is enough, we have all we need We are alive, we are warm and safe we are loved this is enough
5.
It's not without regret I warp my fingers round this apple And opening the window, throw it down at your head It's the colour of your skin I really don't think you fit in It's nothing personal It's national security If you would only listen then you would hear that I was born here too And I work at the airport so it could have been me burning there not you Under the same grey sky Everyone's breathing at the same time I read about your kind in the paper everyday I'm not afraid to be a hero In fact I'd be proud to say That I helped clean up this country and I did it my way So take your bags and bombs and kid And get out of my city Your son hangs out with my son after school every day He doesn't tell you because he is scared of what you'll say He's only 9 years old but he's 100 percent sure that this is our home as well as yours Under the same grey sky Everyone's breathing at the same time It's the colour of my skin It's the city we live inn It's my patience wearing
6.
Garmoshka 03:00
We're sunbathing and we cover our eyes We sit by the fire and look to the sky You can't find the words But I realise I couldn't put it better if I tried Why don't we just take there fold-up chairs Your red shoes and my black hair And wonder till we're lost somewhere A marble under your tongue There's a space where words should have come Pounded by the beating of my own heart I turn my back and depart Why don't we just take there fold-up chairs Your red shoes and my black hair And wonder till we're lost somewhere tomorrow will come too soon
7.
Seven Dwarves (free) 02:57
This song if for seven people who I know You're all quite small just no but you will grow And before you're getting all old There are some things that I want you to know The world is a terrible and wonderful place To live here well we all need courage and grace What ever life holds, whatever awaits Meet it with a smile upon your face. Not one of us is perfect Not even me and not even you If we forgive and forget We won't end up bitter and blue Do something that scares you today and every day Talk to that person who you really fancy Because they might, you know they just may Say yes and be your best friend all your days Sometimes the sin will shine on your plans Life will roll along and feel like a dance Other times you'll fall and you might feel small But angels pick you up each time you fall Not one of us is perfect... You are all beautiful and funny and kind You score all the goals and have the cleverest minds You can go anywhere you can do anything Follow your dreams and see what you find
8.
When you close your eyes what's the first thing that you see The car you bought last week or your new plasma screen tv The next thing that you'll buy To fill the aching hole inside The worlds that we'll consume Too much too soon We'll all l live on a landfill site It's not your stuff that makes you you It's not your clothes your posh hairdo Just be yourself that's what you were born to do. We slap on lots of make-up And we straighten our curls We worry that we won't fit in When the next new trend unfurls We have to get that beach body Because skinny will set us free And forget to see that We are beautiful already
9.
10.
Take me to the Belle Angel Before it burns down again. Take me to the Belle Angel Before it burns down again. We're all feeling the strain, except you You're feeling a stranger And I didn't think that was in the rules When you kissed me this morning. We've been spending our nights With fireflies in our eyes It's no surprise We're feeling the strain. Take me to the Belle Angel... The smoke has blown away And the music is still But it's friday untill Our hearts stop tripping and dancing
11.
Well I'm so far away if I keep going I'l be back I'm as drunk as I've ever been The sky is cracking from the weight of this storm. So long my dream. So long Electric Brae From the land of my father You used to make me laugh Now you're so far away So long Electric Brae. So long Glasgow town It's been a while since I've been around. I miss you red skies and your gracious frowns. So long Glasgow town Well I woke up this morning Mistook the rising sun For my electric light I burned my fingers trying to pull it out And then I begged for the night. I've crossed three oceans Walked for eight days straight. Just to lose the faith that you gave me. But as the sky cracked open and the sky fell in the sea I realise I'm only passing though. So long Electric Brae..

about

The Social Services' debut album, It’s Nothing Personal, It’s National Security, was released in late 2008 on London-based label Stereo Test Kit Records. Comparisons were made to Regina Spektor, Saint Etienne, the Television Personalities and early Cardigans with a touch of the melancholy of Mogwai.

Here’s what some critics had to say about it:

"Put you in mind of the best bits of The Divine Comedy, Camera Obscura and British Sea Power...playful but bittersweet. There’s even space for politics and moments of sweeping melancholy that give this album more depth than the rambunctious surface vibe might first suggest."
The List (4/5)

"Sweetly comic, unexpectedly poignant"
The Skinny (4/5)

"Rich in wit and vocal harmonies”
Clash magazine

credits

released June 10, 2008

Artwork By [Design] - Agustin Moreaux , Anders Orrberg
Bass, Piano, Organ, Accordion, Harmonica, Vocals - Emma Naismith
Cello - Gustaf Spetz (tracks: 1, 3, 5, 6, 9, 11)
Drums, Bass, Glockenspiel, Zither, Vocals - Martin Frödén
Mastered By - Jeff Mortimer
Mixed By - Gustaf Spetz
Music By, Lyrics By - Social Services, The (tracks: 1 to 8, 10, 11)
Photography - Staffan Axelsson
Piano, Bass, Saxophone, Clarinet, Melodica, Vocals - Lucy Cathcart
Producer - Gustaf Spetz

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