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The Worst Band In The World
10cc Lyrics


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It's one thing to know it but another to admit
We're the worst band in the world
But we don't give a

If Garbo played guitar with Valentino on the drums
Then we'd be nothing more than a bunch of darma bums
So tune up, tune up

Well we've never done a days work in our life
And our records sell in zillions
It irrigates my heart with greed
To know that you adore me
Up yours, up mine
But up everybody's that takes time
But we're working on it
Working on it (Ooh)

We never seen the van - leave it to the roadies
Never met the roadies - leave them in the van
All because of circumstances way beyond control
We became the darlings of this thing called rock and roll, ooh

Here I am a record on a jukebox
A little piece of plastic with a hole, ooh
Play me
Buy me and you play me then my plastic turns to gold

Here we are together on your hi-fi
A little piece of plastic with a hole, oh
Fade me, fade me, fade me, fade me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of 10cc's "The Worst Band In The World" convey self-deprecating humor about the band's musical skills and success, while also poking fun at the music industry and celebrity culture. The first verse admits that despite their lack of talent, they still hold the title of the worst band in the world with pride, as it sets them apart from the masses of other successful artists. The following lines imagine a hypothetical scenario where even if famous celebrities like Garbo and Valentino were in the band, they would still be nothing more than a ragged bunch of hippies. The call to "tune up" is a nod to their imperfect instrumentals, but instead of apologizing or trying to improve, they invite the listener to join in on the fun.


The second verse takes a more sarcastic tone, boasting about their effortless financial success without ever having to "work a day in [their] life". The lyrics reveal that their so-called artistic success is fueled purely by greed and their fans' adoration, which they acknowledge while simultaneously flipping them off. However, they also admit that their lack of involvement in the technical production of their work (such as the van or the roadies) is out of their control, and they've stumbled into the "darlings" of the rock and roll world because of it. The final lines of the song refer to the physical record itself, highlighting how a little piece of plastic with a hole can hold so much power and influence in the music industry.


Line by Line Meaning

It's one thing to know it but another to admit
Acknowledging that we are the worst band in the world is harder than just knowing it.


We're the worst band in the world
Our band is terrible, but we embrace it.


But we don't give a
We don't care about our lack of talent.


If Garbo played guitar with Valentino on the drums
Even if we had famous actors playing instruments, we would still be awful.


Then we'd be nothing more than a bunch of darma bums
Our lack of talent is so severe that we wouldn't even be good enough to be called hippies.


So tune up, tune up
We need to prepare ourselves and our instruments for our mediocre music.


Well we've never done a days work in our life
We have never worked a day job because we are able to make money from our terrible music.


And our records sell in zillions
Despite our lack of skill, our records still manage to be successful.


It irrigates my heart with greed
Our success fills us with greed and desire for even more fame.


To know that you adore me
Our adoring fans fuel our egos and love for adulation.


Up yours, up mine
We don't care what other people think.


But up everybody's that takes time
Everyone has to work hard and improve, but we don't want to.


But we're working on it
Despite our lack of effort, we claim to be working on improving our band.


We never seen the van - leave it to the roadies
We have never even seen the van we use for touring because we let the roadies handle it.


Never met the roadies - leave them in the van
We don't bother to interact with the roadies and leave them to their own devices.


All because of circumstances way beyond control
Our success is out of our hands and more due to luck than anything else.


We became the darlings of this thing called rock and roll, ooh
Despite our lack of talent, our music fits into the genre of rock and roll and has garnered us fame.


Here I am a record on a jukebox
Our music is not personally significant, just an object in a jukebox.


A little piece of plastic with a hole, ooh
Our records are just cheap plastic with a hole in the middle.


Play me
Our only purpose is to entertain and be played for people.


Buy me and you play me then my plastic turns to gold
Our records turn to gold if people purchase and listen to them.


Here we are together on your hi-fi
Our music may be on someone's hi-fi system, but we are not physically there with them.


Fade me, fade me, fade me, fade me
Our music is not important enough to be remembered or replayed, just fade away into the background noise.




Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: GRAHAM GOULDMAN, LOL CREME

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

@buckbumble

A great song as well as a humourous one. You have to give it to Dilla for listening to all sorts of music and not just sticking to samples from Funk, Soul, R&B and Blues. He really had a broad palette with a really good ear for a sample. Much respect to both artists for creating this level of genius.

@Baloonboy105yt

totally. so cool how he sampled various artists and genres.

@andrewhutter820

Well said

@tombeasley4769

Agreed.

@sirvidia

the think about the Dilla track is I thought he'd patched together various tunes to make wokinonit, I didn't realise he basically lifted it all from here!

@stabaholic187

Dilla sampled this ??... which beat ?

2 More Replies...

@pauldevlin3841

It’s is next to IMPOSSIBLE to unhear any portion of JDilla’s ‘workinit’ while listening to this one.

@weejim48

10cc one of the most underrated bands ever. Every song told a story and the stories were mostly humorous with great music to back it all up. 👍

@Barefoot433

Their prog-rock was far ahead of typical prog-rock. They're just so good. They are that good. Way ahead of their time.

@Brendan-Black

I don't get the love for 10cc. Their songs are weak w/ lame attempts at humor and incessant blathering about love and random tripe. It's baby-soft rock with zero grit.

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