Perfect coffee
Kate Tempest Lyrics

Now just two doors down
Zoe is moving out of her apartment which is near a different apartment

In the first floor flat
Zoe's apartment is located on the first floor

And the old ramshackle house
The building is old and dilapidated

With the broken down porch and the novelty doorbell
The building has a porch in a state of disrepair and the doorbell is decorative rather than functional

The lights are still on
Zoe's lights are still on because she hasn't finished packing

Zoe plays her music low, she's got a bottle on the go
Zoe is drinking from a bottle while listening to music at a low volume

Everything's in boxes
Zoe has packed all of her belongings

It's been a long night packing
Zoe has been packing for a long time and is likely tired

Clothes in black bin bags
Zoe packed her clothes in black bags meant for the garbage

Blu-Tack greasing the paintwork
Zoe used Blu-Tack to hang things on her walls and now the wall paint is damaged

What the fuck is all this stuff?
Zoe is overwhelmed by the amount of stuff she has accumulated

There's the road sign stolen from Quick Shag Street
Zoe has a road sign she stole from a street with the word 'Shag' in its name

Shirts, and skirts, posters, CDs
Zoe's belongings include clothes, posters, and CDs

Comedy coasters, broken TV
Zoe has some humorous coasters and a broken TV

Birthday card that her sister made
Zoe has a handmade birthday card her sister made for her when they were younger

In the distant past when she turned 13
The card is from when Zoe was 13 years old

Hair stuff, books, love letters she can't bin
Zoe can't bring herself to throw away personal items such as hair products, books, and love letters

And outside, the night, and inside, the last hurrah
Zoe is spending her last night in the apartment

Limited edition Air Max 1 tens
Zoe has limited edition Nike Air Max 1 sneakers

Che Guevara bust, complete with his ornamental glass cigar
Zoe has a decorative bust of Che Guevara along with his glass cigar

Naff for years, the landlord never fixed the shower
The shower in Zoe's apartment has been broken for years and the landlord never fixed it

And the mold kept growing up the kitchen walls
Mold has been growing on the kitchen walls due to poor ventilation

He'll do it up nice now, sure
The landlord plans to make renovations to the apartment

Repaint it, he's tripled the rent
The landlord plans to repaint the apartment and raise the rent significantly

He's gonna get it, and all
The landlord expects to find a new tenant willing to pay a higher rent

She's only got a few hours left
Zoe has very little time left to finish packing

To get the room all packed and clean
Zoe needs to finish packing and clean the apartment before she moves out

Zoe goes to the window
Zoe walks to the window in her apartment

Looks to the street
Zoe gazes out the window at the street below

Lights up a smoke
Zoe lights a cigarette

It's 04:18
The time is 4:18 am

The squats we used to party in
Zoe reminisces about the rundown places she used to party at

Are flats we can't afford
Those rundown places are now renovated apartments that Zoe can no longer afford

The dumps we did our dancing in
Zoe and her friends used to dance in rundown places

Have all been restored
Those places have been renovated and look completely different now

Pints are up two quid
The price of pints has gone up by two pounds

The staff are beautiful and bored
The staff at new, trendy establishments are attractive but uninterested in their jobs

You think it's coming up 'round here?
The area seems to be becoming more expensive

It's falling on its sword
The area is becoming too expensive for longtime residents to afford

It don't feel like home no more
Zoe no longer feels at home in the area

I don't speak the lingo
Zoe feels out of place because she doesn't speak the same language as many of the new residents

Since when was this a winery?
The area has changed so much that there are now wineries where there weren't before

It used to be the bingo
The area used to have bingo halls instead of wineries

I've walked these streets for all my life
Zoe has spent her entire life living in this area

They know me like no other
The people in the area are familiar with Zoe and her family

But the streets have changed
The area has changed so much that Zoe no longer recognizes it

I no longer feel them shudder
Zoe no longer has an emotional connection to the area

Alright, alright, I get the gist
Zoe understands that the area has changed for the worse

Who's city is this? It doesn't want me no more
Zoe doesn't feel welcome in the city anymore

I've had a glimpse into the future, it stinks
Zoe has seen what the future holds for the area and is not happy about it

London's a walled fort, it's all for the rich
The city of London is becoming a place only the wealthy can afford

If you fall short, you fall, and you know where the door is
If a person can't afford the rising costs of living in the city, they are forced to leave

Board up the broken, do it up, sell it back
Properties are renovated and resold at a higher price

Make it bespoke, it's all out in the open
Renovations are made to make the properties unique and expensive

It's fine, man, hike the price right up
People are willing to pay whatever price is asked for the renovated properties

And smile with your friends in the posh new nightclubs
The new residents of the area enjoy themselves in exclusive nightclubs

My streets have been dug up, repaved
The roads in the area have been paved over

New routes for commuters, the landscape has changed
New roads have been built for commuters and the area looks completely different

I'm lookin' for the old tags
Zoe is searching for old graffiti that used to be on the walls of the area

The graffs that once meant safe territory
The old graffiti used to indicate areas where Zoe and her friends were safe

But it seems every hieroglyph gets whitewashed eventually
Old graffiti is eventually whitewashed and replaced with something new

And so I'm moving on
Zoe has decided to leave the area

I've got it all to play for
Zoe sees moving as an opportunity to start fresh

I'll be the invader in some other neighbourhood
Zoe is excited to explore a new neighbourhood and make it her own

I'll be sipping perfect coffee
Zoe imagines herself enjoying a cup of coffee in her new neighbourhood

Thinkin', 'This is pretty good'
Zoe will likely enjoy her new neighbourhood

While the locals grit their teeth and hum
The locals in the new neighbourhood will not be happy about someone new moving in

'Another fucking one has come'
The locals will be angry about a new person moving into their neighbourhood

All I see is luxury tenements, woebegone residents
Zoe sees expensive properties and unhappy residents in the city

Redolent resin-heads puffing on pleasure
Zoe sees people smoking weed in the city

Everyone's reckoning something is beckoning
Everyone in the city is looking for something different

There's never been anything, there's only forever
No matter what people are looking for, they will never find it

Towering tower blocks, scaffolding rattling
Tall apartment buildings are being built and construction noises can be heard

The tube is prattering ram full of passengers
The subway is overcrowded with passengers

Smashing its way into town, we are scavengers
People in the city are forced to find ways to survive in an increasingly expensive environment

Scrapping around in the sludge for our sustenance
People in the city are struggling to make ends meet

Have a dash party life, rubbing our shoulders
Despite the struggles, people in the city still try to have fun and socialize

Into the mold, yes, we do what we're told
People in the city conform to societal norms out of necessity

We're Sisyphus pushing his boulder
People in the city feel stuck in a cycle of struggling to survive

The kids are alright, but the kids will get older
Young people in the city are surviving for now, but the future is uncertain