Mile End

We didn’t have no where to live, / we didn’t have nowhere to go / 'til someone
said /
'I know this place off Burditt Road.'/ It was on the fifteenth floor, / it had
a board across the door. / It took an hour / to pry it off and get inside.
/ It smelt as if someone had died; / the living-room was full of flies, / the kitchen sink
was blocked,
Heaven / (if it didn’t look like Hell.) / The lift is always full of piss,
/ the fifth
floor landing smells of fish / (not just on Friday, / every single other day.
) / Below the
kids come out tonight, / they kick a ball and have a fight / and maybe shoot
somebody if they lose at pool. / Ooh, / it’s a mess alright, / yes it’s / Mile End.
/ [mumbled
mutterings… you love it…] / Oo-ooh / Nobody wants to be your friend /
'cause you’re
not from round here, / ooh / as if that was / something to be proud about.
/ The pearly
king of the Isle of Dogs / feels up children in the bogs. / Down by the playing
fields, /
someone sets a car on fire I guess you have to go right down / before you
understand just
how, / how low, / how low a human being can go. / Ooh, / it’s a mess alright,
/ yes it’s /
Mile End. / (don't do that! Leave it out!) / Bababa… / Lalala…