Their first official release was a split album with Metal Duck. Lawnmower Deth’s side of the record was entitled Mower Liberation Front and positive responses led to their debut studio album, Ooh Crikey, It’s… Lawnmower Deth. Lawnmower Deth’s second studio album, Return of the Fabulous Metal Bozo Clowns, was released in 1992. For this release Paddy was replaced by Kev Papworth.
The band covered several famous songs in their time, including Fleetwood Mac's "The Chain", Motörhead's self-titled song, Squeeze's "Up the Junction", The Osmonds' "Crazy Horses", and Kim Wilde's "Kids in America" which was released as the band's only single in 1991. "Return of the Fabulous Metal Bozo Clowns" was released in 1992. The band's sense of humour extended into their cheap but enjoyable music videos. Both "Kids in America" and "Lawnmowers for Heroes, Comics for Zeros", the latter from Metal Bozo Clowns, were recorded on home video cameras and edited in an amateur fashion.
The band's third and to date latest studio album "Billy" was released in 1993. The band tried to take a slightly different direction on the album, verging towards the kind of pop punk feel pioneered by the likes of Green Day at the time, with most of the band's thrash metal roots left behind. Poor sales and less popular live dates led the band to break up later on that year.
Up the Junction
Lawnmower Deth Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With me and the girl from Clapham
Out on that windy common
That night I ain't forgotten
When she dealt out the rations
Or some or other passions
I said, "You are a lady"
"Perhaps," she said, "I may be"
We moved into a basement
With thoughts of our engagement
We stayed in by the telly
Although the room was smelly
We spent our time just kissing
The Railway Arms we're missing
But love had got us hooked up
And all our time it took up
I got a job with Stanley
He said I'd come in handy
He started me on Monday
So I took a bath on Sunday
And I worked eleven hours
And bought the girl some flowers
She said she'd seen a doctor
And nothing now could stop her
I worked all through the winter
The weather brass and bitter
I put away a tenner each week to make it better
And when the time was ready
We had to sell the telly
Late evenings by the fire
With little kicks inside her
This morning at four-fifty
I took her rather nifty
Down to an incubator
Where thirty minutes later
She gave birth to a daughter
Within a year a walker
She looked just like her mother
If there could be another
And now she's two years older
Her mother's with a soldier
She left me when my drinking
Became a proper stinging
The devil came and took me
From bar to street to bookie
No more nights by the telly
No more nights nappies smelling
Alone here in the kitchen
I feel there's something missing
I'd beg for some forgiveness
But begging's not my business
And she won't write a letter
Although I always tell her
And so it's my assumption
I'm really up the junction
The song “Up the Junction” by Lawnmower Deth is a cover song. The original song was written and performed by Squeeze in 1979. The song tells the story of a man’s life from his first meeting with a girl on a common, to their relationship, working life, marriage, and then the breakdown of the relationship.
The first verse is about the singer’s first meeting with the girl. The pair has “rations” together, possibly representing their first date. The singer refers to the girl as a lady, and she responds by saying she may be, suggesting that she is not as respectable as he perceives her to be.
The second verse mentions that they move into a basement, likely a reference to their modest means. They seem content, and spend their time kissing and frequenting the Railway Arms pub.
The third verse takes a more serious tone. The singer has started working for Stanley, and is putting away money each week to make a better life for himself and the girl. When the time is right, they sell their TV and focus on spending quality time together.
In the fourth verse, the singer’s life takes a downward spiral. The girl has a daughter, and the relationship deteriorates when the singer starts drinking heavily. The girl leaves him for a soldier, and the singer is alone in the kitchen, feeling like he’s “up the junction”.
Overall, the song is a depiction of ordinary life with its ups and downs. It encapsulates the reality of everyday living, relationships, and the heartbreak that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Never thought it would happen
I never imagined that this could happen.
With me and the girl from Clapham
I was with this girl from Clapham.
Out on that windy common
We were out on a windy common that evening.
That night I ain't forgotten
That night is still vivid in my memory.
When she dealt out the rations
When she gave me some food or other pleasures.
Or some or other passions
Or some other intimate moments.
I said, "You are a lady"
I addressed her respectfully by saying she is a lady.
"Perhaps," she said, "I may be"
She responded politely, saying that perhaps she is indeed a lady.
We moved into a basement
We moved into a low-level dwelling.
With thoughts of our engagement
We were thinking about getting engaged.
We stayed in by the telly
We spent our time watching television.
Although the room was smelly
Even though the room had an unpleasant odor.
We spent our time just kissing
We spent our time kissing each other.
The Railway Arms we're missing
We missed going to the Railway Arms pub.
But love had got us hooked up
But we were deeply in love and committed to each other.
And all our time it took up
Our love took up all our time and attention.
I got a job with Stanley
I found a job working for Stanley.
He said I'd come in handy
He said I would be useful to him.
He started me on Monday
He gave me a start date of Monday.
So I took a bath on Sunday
I took a bath on Sunday to prepare for my job.
And I worked eleven hours
I worked for eleven hours.
And bought the girl some flowers
I bought the girl some flowers to show my affection.
She said she'd seen a doctor
She told me she had seen a doctor.
And nothing now could stop her
She said that nothing could stop her now.
I worked all through the winter
I worked throughout the winter.
The weather brass and bitter
The weather was cold and harsh.
I put away a tenner each week to make it better
I saved ten pounds every week to improve our situation.
And when the time was ready
When the time was right.
We had to sell the telly
We had to sell the television.
Late evenings by the fire
We spent our late evenings by the fire.
With little kicks inside her
With her baby kicking inside her womb.
This morning at four-fifty
This morning at four fifty.
I took her rather nifty
I took her cleverly or quickly.
Down to an incubator
I took her to an incubator.
Where thirty minutes later
Thirty minutes later.
She gave birth to a daughter
She gave birth to a baby girl.
Within a year a walker
Within a year the baby was able to walk.
She looked just like her mother
The baby girl looked exactly like her mother.
If there could be another
If there could be another child.
And now she's two years older
Now the baby is two years older.
Her mother's with a soldier
Her mother is with a soldier.
She left me when my drinking
She left me when my drinking became.
Became a proper stinging
Became a proper problem.
The devil came and took me
I became consumed by the evils of alcoholism.
From bar to street to bookie
From the bar to the street to betting offices.
No more nights by the telly
I no longer have nights spent watching television.
No more nights nappies smelling
I no longer change nappies, a once joyful smell for me.
Alone here in the kitchen
I am alone here in the kitchen.
I feel there's something missing
I feel like I'm missing something.
I'd beg for some forgiveness
I would like to beg for forgiveness.
But begging's not my business
However, begging is not something I do.
And she won't write a letter
She won't write me a letter.
Although I always tell her
Even though I always tell her how much I miss her.
And so it's my assumption
So I just assume.
I'm really up the junction
I'm really stuck in a bad situation.
Contributed by Victoria H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.