Get all 14 The Undercover Hippy releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of We Are Not Numbers (We Are Palestine), Poor Little England, Greed, Hey Boy, These Days, Fool Britannia, Truth & Fiction, Our Streets - DJ Hiphoppapotamus Remix, and 6 more.
1. |
Coming To The Gambia
04:57
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I'm just a man but I do what I can said I'm / spreading the message of the inspired ones and I / travel the land cos I got to understand how I / fit into the master plan. I'm coming to the / Gambia, that's where I'm spending my days, / collaborating with the youth on a the way in the / Gambia that's where the tourists play / but that's the modern day / what about the history of / exploitation under, occupation and the / subjugation of the, population it's the / same situation right across the nation and / across the world with the globalisation it's the / colonization of the modern day age / using economics now to create the slaves it's the / colonization of the modern day age / making sure the rich get paid. and I say / eh brikama do you hear what I say? I say / eh brikama are you thinking my way I say / eh brikama every, woman and man it's time to / dance your problems away - I say whoaa na na naaa / well it's the Europeans drew the lines on the map and now it's / time for the Africans to turn it back I said / erase the borders and erase the lines 'cause their / only divisions in the human mind and the / humankind is just one family, / you cut the skin it's always red when they bleed I said / humankind is just one family. / when will the people see? And I say / eh Brikama etc... / eh Brikama sounds like, Barack Obama he's the / first black man to lead the, Americans and I wanna / believe the world is gonna change for the better but I've / seen too much so I don't, hold my breath I just / accept that the world is led by, greedy men and so I / try to get out of their system then I find my / way to the wisdom in the, heart of man so I can / follow the master plan / and I'm coming to the Gambia etc.. Whoaa na na naaa / nata Brikama poro, cana denkilo la momo / mi lefita musicola ni momo lefita dongola / me I don't drink Cocacola, no I don't drink Nescafe / no I don't support these corporations on their next crusade / me I'm never gonna play that way, even though I know that crime does pay / livin my life in a rightfull way just mind what I say from the day to day while / these people convincing the poor to, spend their money on sugary water / most of the poor can't even afford to pay for the school for their sons and daughters / and if there's one thing life has taught me it's that we / we cannot live with this inequality no / if there's one thing life has taught me it's that we / We got to be free yeah, got be free no no (x2) / I said Whoaa na na naaa.
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2. |
Boyfriend
04:39
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I met her on the dancefloor / It must have been about 3 / I could tell by the way she’s looking at me / That she likes me / So I go and say hello / “What’s your name?” well she tells me it’s Flo / And I know that / Pretty soon we’re gonna dance / Maybe later there could be some romance / And I’m thinking, I might take a chance / And suddenly she’s holding my hand / Well I’m thinking I could be her man / I’m figuring she might be the one / Well I can feel her hand is on my bum / And now I’m thinking that maybe we could be drinking back at my place / So I put my hand to her face / Trace the line of her cheek / I tell her we could stay in bed for the whole of next week / And she smiles at me, / She says so evenly “you know, / That’d be just fine with me... / If I didn’t have a boyfriend / Yeah yeah / I could be your friend / Whoa whoa / If I didn’t have a boyfriend / Yeah Yeah / But I do so I’ve got to / Keep my hands off you” / So feeling rejected, I head back to the bar / Frustrated to have got so far then get knocked back / So now I’m knocking back a jar / When suddenly I spot this hottie from afar / And the next thing I know she’s next to me / Asking if I wanna do some ecstasy / My curiosity gets the best of me / Because the look that she’s giving says sex to me / And I think that maybe we’re falling in love / Well her lips they fit me like a glove / I lean in and whisper in her ear / Whoa baby let’s get out of here / She takes me by the hand, says / “That’d be just grand, if I didn't... / Off you, off you etc / It’s time to leave now my head is aching / My heart can’t take another breaking / I should be taking a taxi home alone not procrastinating / But then I feel a hand on my hips / And I turn around and see those lips / Her make-up painted on so thick / That I swear it’s dripping on her chips / And she looks me in the eye, she says / “Hello there sexy guy!” / But I see through the lies / I see through the smile cos I’m getting wise / “You’ve got a boyfriend, haven’t you? / I’ve heard it all before / You can’t be my friend / Yeah I know your game love / Yeah you’ve got a boyfriend / Well I can see it in your eyes / She says / “Actually I’ll have know I don’t thankyou very much!” / “But if I didn’t have a husband, six kids and a dog / Well maybe I would give you a snog / But I do yeah, in fact that’s him over there / The one coming at you waving that chair / And I think that, well boy you’d better run / Otherwise you’re gonna come get some / And I think I must’ve run all the way home.
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3. |
Borders
06:03
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We put up the borders that board us into our boxes / Oh can’t you see now how the locksmith lies? / Stoking up the national pride / While they’re keeping all the wealth inside (repeat)/ We put up the borders / To keep out the needy man / Borders / To protect the greedy man / Borders / To keep all the living men dead, dead, dead / We put up the borders / That separate us from our fellow human beings / Emphasizing difference instead of seeing / The reflections that connect us / Connections that perfect us / The similarities of factors that affect us in our / Everyday existence on this planet that we all live upon / Six billion expressions of the same essential one / The same essential force / That fundamental source / Of energy that manifests itself in oh so many different forms. And it’s / All alright and all ok and that’s just fine you know but / Me I know that sometimes you have to draw the lines just to make / Sense of what you see / Of this reality / But understand the lines you draw only exist within your mind, it’s the / Illusion of separation, whoa oh oh / Separating nation from nation, the / Justification for social segregation / So deep in our delusions like a world of mental patients, now it’s / Time to tear down the asylum walls and let the patients out, it’s / Time to let the refugees inside and share the wealth about, it’s / Time that we all understand / We are just one land / Just one people, people it’s time to make a stand and say / No woh woh woh / I won’t go woh woh woh / I won’t go quietly no no no / I won’t go quietly no no no / And if I do, well you should know / You can’t trap my soul / Trap my soul / Behind these / borders that board us...// We put up the borders / To keep out the needy man...// Borders / That elevate the status of those with resources / Never wonder from what plundering the source is misappropriated / Excavated from the living earth / Minerals like outlaw criminals flee from their place of birth and / Make the journey northwards / Destined for our waters where they’re / Welcomed in with open arms by the governments and corporates / Container ships slip over border points with ease / When they’re carrying the commodities that service our greed, but meanwhile / Deep down in the belly of the ship, a secret human cargo waits / No food or water’s passed a man’s lips for the last eleven days / Kept alive by memories of families they’ve left behind / They ride the waves towards the promise of a better life / Some flee from tyranny / Some simply seek a way / To lift themselves up from the poverty that stalks them every day / Some run away from never ending civil war / For every single one of them / This is the last resort and they say...
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4. |
Human Race
04:36
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The human race is a race against time / Everybody running but they don't know why / Said the human race is a race against time / Everybody running but they don't know why / I'm sick of hippies studying conspiracies on channel U / While doing sweet fuck all to act upon the scam that they / Already knew existed, the simple and yet twisted fact / That fat cats just don't give a damn about the likes of me and you / So what are we gonna do about it, maybe shout it from the / Rooftops till the floor drops out the market and the war stops making / Money for the corporations. I'm losing patience with the / machinations of developed nations towards their poor relations / How many so called liberations will it take / until we satisfy our appetite for power and we make a new / Direction, a peaceful insurrection. / The people casting off the masters of their old oppression, both / Inner and outer. Outer and inner / State and state of mind, priest and sinner / But don't ask me yeah cos I'm only a beginner / But I do know where the race ends so I'll let you be the winner cos the / human race is a... / So now we're running to the future, where maybe everything will / be made clear and all our fears will disappear / Carrying so much of the past on our backs / That we wind up having panic attacks, and then we wonder why the planet reacts / Never connecting ourselves to the cause of these planetary acts / cos we're addicted to facts. Always forgetting that the earth was flat and that was that. You know that / Knowledge is limited. Our own galaxy is massive and we're living on the outer perimeter / so just give it a minute to sink in and you'll / realise the lives that we're livin are miniature but don't / Let that diminish you. Not even one bit / Because the truth is your being is as big as it gets / and even if you haven't figured it yet / well that's ok just keep on livin without any regret because the human race is... // So what's the deal here? Everytime I feel near / to another human being at the same time I can feel fear / As if there's something that I'm trying to conceal here / caught in the conditioning of I don't know how many years / But the history of humanity weighs heavy on my shoulders / Systems of insanity that mould us / and hold us back from ever thinking we could change tack / and take it back to an older track / Back in the day, when our place was as part of the chain / not a race apart but part of the game / when all life was an expression of the one and the same / before we tried to separate and started running away / but now I'm trying to discover another way of communicating / Relegating this old mind state that we're celebrating / start deflating the ego and let go and / set my soul free for the next road, because the human race is a...
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5. |
Can't Stop The Tide
03:59
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I'm waiting for a sign / that the people see their lies / and we will rise / 'cause you might stop a single man / but you can't stop the tide / and it's a sad day, when you've a right to vote for one dictator / it's a sad day, when a man who questions is called a traitor / it's a sad day when a few rich mean can control the truth / and it's a sad day when we believe it all because we see it on the news / I'm waiting whoah for the time / that the people realise / and we will rise / 'cause you might stop a single man / but you can't stop the tide / and it's a sad day, when fear is all that our leaders give us / it's a sad day, when the blood of children it flows in rivers / it's a sad day you're afraid of truth and you believe the lies / and it's a sad day when our freedom is taken right before our eyes, our eyes / so we must rise, 'cause they might stop a single man / but they can't stop the tide.
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6. |
Our Streets
04:23
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My street's in flames again / fueled by the hype on the news at ten / now another bored kid he wants to join in / go and set alight to a wheelie bin, well / I've had enough of these incidents / but don't insult my intelligence / telling me the riot was a consequence of / criminality and insolence, no. / Cause I've seen the inequality / that you breed in this society / cut-backs that make the people bleed / for your ideology of greed / and you tell me that's the life they choose / but I say they've nothing left to lose / nothing left to lose / Now there's a riot going on in our streets / And they're bleeding, bleeding / And nothing in our leader's speech / That I can believe in, believe in (x2) / I hear them chatting on the radio / like parrots, regurgitate the same old / news media bullshit but what do they know / what it feels like to be living below / The poverty line when every time you go / out into the street all around there's dough / but money always moves in a one way flow / from bottom to top, it makes you feel low oh oh... / Sooner or later you're going to blow oh oh... / When you gonna stop demonising the youth you failed / Telling us morality must prevail / sticking every kid with a hoodie in jail with no bail / for your fairy tale, when you / force feed them materialism without / giving them a hope of ever making a living / and you wonder why they're finding other ways to get cash / and why you're shop displays they get smashed / And you tell me oh / these single mums their sons they just don't know / right from wrong cos their dad was a no show / that's why they're looting whiskey from a tesco / but you don't know / these words you write you must type on a stereo / two dimensional villain from a tv show.
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7. |
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Well I don’t know bout you but me I’m kinda feelin confused / Like everything I thought I knew and understood’s no longer true / But if that was all a lie, the reasons why that justify / the differences dividing us and them well that just makes me want to / Cry, out, fist in the air, people all shopping like they just don’t care and / Me, I was so unaware, till I took a trip and I went down there but / Now I’m still livin a lie, in my big house with my van outside while my / Friends down there they try to survive on one quid a day when I just spent five on a / Bottle of wine. So fine. Need that shit just to help my mind / Unwind. Cos sometimes, living at the top can still be a grind / But that line, well I find, it doesn’t really hold weight most of the time / Cos even as I sit here writing this rhyme, something I say just serves to remind me / That even though I may not have that much / What I have is way more, than enough / And even at the top we’re still looking up / Looking up. Cause it’s a... / Long way down from the top to the bottom yeah / It’s a long way down from the top to the bottom ey / Well it’s a long way down from the top to the bottom yeah /(Waye kuomase thcuo suf daem thcuo kaow meti na yea)/ It’s a long way down from the top to the bottom ey / (but it's a longer way up from the bottom to the top yeah)/
kama hamala lemajang bitemreow sounow bege naow yae mou yowmboulol sounow bege dem dem mou metilo metilo le metilo le
(Let me tell you what I learnt about europe. When they like to come to our country, it's really easy for them, but when we are trying to go, it's going to be much harder, much harder)
Well it’s a long way down it’s true. Waiting at the airport with nothing to do / Long haul flight all night til you rock up the next day in someplace new / Man I hope that we get there soon got no leg room and a plastic spoon and / Fork, with which to eat my pork. Or should I say pork-like processed food / And then I put, my head to the window and look / Down at the sea and put down my book / And there in the waves I spot, an almost invisible little black dot / Now there’s 60 men in this boat. 10 women 2 children and a goat / Lost at sea now they’re barely afloat, captain says that he still don’t know where they’re going / Cos he can’t find North. Compass is broke and he can’t plot a course by the stars no more / Cos he’s just a fisherman by trade but he got paid to be captain for the day / Anyway this is now day twelve, foods all gone you gotta fend for yourselves / Thinking of the moment you made your farewells to your family back where your memory dwells / But it’s too late to turn back now. Following your dream to milk the white cow. / Save up enough to build a new house then send back the money to make your dad proud / And then you turn your face to the sky, wiping at the tears that well in your eyes / and watching as a plane it passes you by, passes you by.
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8. |
Monkey Suit
03:40
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I'm just a monkey with a big-ass brain / caught in a battle with my DNA / over control of the decisions I take / provisions I make / to honour the behaviour I wanna display / I'm sick of thinking with my dick all the time / and always trying to protect what's mine / I've got a feeling that there's more to life than replicating my genes / and then protecting the family line / 'cause this mind of mine has now developed to the point where I'm / aware of my instinctive reactions in time / that I can choose to change and rearrange the way / that my mainframe considers how to play the game / but if I'm playing the game for the fame and success / I'm only gonna wind up stressed and never give it my best / because I'm too busy trying to get my name in the press / and get the girls undressed / What does it mean to be a human being / Tell me is it really no more than it seems / Am I really no more than the sum of my genes / Won't somebody tell me please / Because I've really got to know / so I can see which way to go / I'm feeling like I'm losing my control / A little ego in a monkey suit / barely moved on from the chunky soup / where the competition began / back when being a man was just a possibility / contained in the inorganic multitude / but now we're moving on / and social evolution is the movie song that sets the next scene / where we get to dream what it means to be a human being / and if you disagree prove me wrong / because for way too long we've been living a lie / given white lies since you was knee high / over simplified replies to your / "who am I? what am I? where am I? why?" but / nobody knows any more than you do so / don't ask nobody what it means to be you 'cause / you are unique yes a freak of nature / made to break from fate - be your own creator 'cause / you got your own mind / and you can use it any way you like, No oh / you got your own life / and you can lose it any time... // So what does it mean / like really at the fundamental level of being / what is the plot of this / incredible scene / 'cause I've been looking for the truth since I was fifteen / big themes for a kid with big dreams / but the battle of genes is old hat now / today the tussle of ideas is the battle ground / people giving us our dreams from the top down / next generation of teens to get locked down - what now? / you wanna play this game? drop this name? / looking up at people 'cause they got this fame? / you wanna take a better look at yourself mate / before you suffocate on your self hate / 'cause fear is a led weight / the sooner you lose it the quicker you can elevate your head-state / vacate the dead weight / try to figure out a way of liberating your own fate / before it's too late.
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9. |
Last Chance To Dance
03:59
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Hello and welcome to the show / nobody knows where this might go / open your mind to the sound / and let the rhythm of the band take hold, hold and / Dance, like it's your last chance before the DJ begins to play trance yes / Dance, let the rhythm take hold of your mind body and soul and lose control and / Dance, like your the only one here, throwing those shapes like you got no fear and / Dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, dance, da-da-da-da-dance, Oi! / Dance like a man possessed / caressed by the rhythm like a hand to a breast / understand that it's not about the way your dressed / or whether your moves are the best / Dance like a woman who's got no pride / forget about trying to attract those guys / dance til you can't feel your burning thighs no more / and you're sweating off a whole dress size, oh Dance, like it's...// Dance like a lunatic / stop thinking with your dick and trying to look slick / just pick up your feet to the beat and feel the bass kick / and anyway the girls love that shit / dance like a full blown heart attack / sweat like a river running down your back / making a puddle on the floor surrounding your feet / that's deep enough to drown your cat, oh / Dance...//
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10. |
Life's Good
03:33
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Life's Good (LG Electronics), I'm lovin it (McDonalds) / Livin it to the max (Pepsi Max) / despite the threat of bomb attacks / and monetary collapse / and yes perhaps I am naive / but I believe (Sony) in what I do / Cos the world we make believe could be / the world where dreams come true (Disney) / So let's just do it (Nike), cos we're worth it (Loreal) / be inspired (Dell) to start again / cos the rules were only written with / some paper and a pen / and not everything in black and white makes sense (Guinness) my friends / so challenge everything (EA Sports) / follow your own rules (Audi) until the end / Cos life's good / and I mean the real thing (CocaCola) / not that bullshit superficial image that your given / on your tv screen / Life's good // There are some things in life / that money can't buy (Mastercard) / some truths from which you can't hide / so obey your thirst (Sprite) for knowledge / and expand your mind, change your world (New Statesman Magazine) and re-align / Cos understanding comes with time (Time Magazine) / and mankind needs to find / a brand new paradigm / Before the world gets wrecked / but don't get upset, learn to treat it with respect (Toyota Yaris) / cos it's without a doubt / the best a man can get (Gillette)/ And yes I know that we've / a way to go just yet / but impossible is nothing (Reebok) / when there's nothing to correct and... // We need a world where people matter (RBS) more than profit / you want it, you get it, you got it (Burger King) / but tell me where's the product / that can reach out and touch someone (AT&T) / become the choice of a new generation (Pepsi) of people / willing to give up making a killing / by selling and start / considering whether or not / it's really intelligent / to be chasing after money / while the world decays / so live like you mean it today (Bacardi)..
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The Undercover Hippy Bristol
The Undercover Hippy is actually UK based singer-songwriter Billy Rowan. After 7 years spent DJ’ing and MC’ing on the Drum & Bass circuit, Billy ditched the decks for a guitar and started out as a solo act in 2007. He now plays with a 5 piece band, bringing together, keys, drums, bass, congas and backing vocals to create a high energy, interactive and highly entertaining live show. ... more
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