1) an Austral… Read Full Bio ↴There are at least nine artists with the name Paul Kelly:
1) an Australian singer-songwriter
2) an American film and TV composer
3) an American soul singer & songwriter
4) an Irish folk singer and songwriter
5) a member of British bands Birdie and East Village
6) a member of English rock band Northern Uproar
7) an English multi-instrumentalist for The Islanders
8) an American bass player
9) a member of The Martial Arts, BMX Bandits and How to Swim
1) Paul Kelly is an Australian singer-songwriter, based in Melbourne, and widely considered as an icon of Australian music. He has released music under his own name and as Paul Kelly and the Messengers, Paul Kelly and the Coloured Girls, and Paul Kelly and the Stormwater Boys. His output has ranged from bluegrass to studio-oriented dub reggae, but his core output comfortably straddles folk, rock, and even some country. His lyrics, simply and laconically voiced, have managed to speak to Australian experiences and history perhaps more broadly and directly than any other artist.
2) Paul Kelly is an American composer based in New York City. He is the talent that brings music to the world of film, TV, and advertising. He has been sought after by renowned directors, like Oliver Stone, for his blockbuster films, Savages, Any Given Sunday, Comandante and Oscar-Nominated short film Everything In This Country Must. Glowing reviews that Kelly has received, can be seen in the following from Thom Jurek, Soundings in Film, who say, “His moving sound constructions are full of emotions and moods — not all of them pleasant — and his takes on funk, rock, and blues are not journeyman, but those of a musician who takes these art forms seriously and seeks to represent them accurately in his utterances. Kelly may be a sketcher, but his sketches stand on their own outside the realm of the image,” and Frank O. Gutch Jr, Evolution In Film, who give glowing context to the work of Kelly in the following, “Paul Kelly knows what music is. He knows that it can be a setup, a climax, or an anticlimax. He knows the value of music applied to other media. More than that, he knows music. Not at all unlike a classical composer or even the rock band which plays beyond the fringe, he creates music for a reason.”
Visit http://paulkelly.com for more information.
3) Paul Kelly (born Paul Laurence Dunbar Kelly in Overtown, Miami, Florida, USA on 19 June 1940) is an American Soul singer, musician and producer. He is best known for the song "Stealing in the Name of the Lord", which was a hit in 1970. And in 1974 another hit with "Hooked, Hogtied & Collared" from the album with the same title. He also wrote "Personally", which has been widely-covered, and was a hit for soul singer Jackie Moore, as well as country singers Karla Bonoff and Ronnie McDowell. Other songs have been covered by gospel artists, including The Mighty Clouds Of Joy and The Staple Singers.
4) Paul Kelly (born 1957 in Dublin) is an Irish folk singer and songwriter. He has played Irish traditional music, bluegrass and country, and is equally at home in a variety of different styles of music.
5) Paul Kelly is a British member of Birdie and East Village
6) Paul Kelly is a member of English rock band Northern Uproar
7) Paul Kelly is an English multi-instrumentalist for The Islanders
8) Paul Kelly is an American bass player
9) a member of The Martial Arts, BMX Bandits and How to Swim
Every Fucking City
Paul Kelly Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The vin rouge helped us make it sweet again
But by the time that we got down to Lyon
Everything I said was wrong and you cursed me in the rain
We split up for a while in Barcelona
We met up six days later in Madrid
I was hoping that the break would make things go a little better
And for a little while it almost did
Now I'm in a bar in Copenhagen
Trying hard to forget your name
And I'm staring at the label on a bottle of cerveza
And every fucking city feels the same
You said to call you when I got to London
A French girl told me that you'd left a note
I said to her "I like your accent" and she thought I sounded funny
So we ended up drinking in Soho
Foolishly I followed you to Dublin
Like a ghost I walked the streets of Temple Bar
And all the bright young things were throwing up their Guinness in the gutters
And once I thought I saw you from afar
Now I'm in a disco/nightclub in Helsinki
And they're playing La Vida Loca once again
And I can't believe I'm dancing to this crap but I'm a chance here
Yeah, every fucking city sounds the same
At a cafe in the port of Amsterdam
An E-mail from you said you'd gone to Rome
For a minute I thought maybe but my funds were getting/running low
And anyway it sounded like you weren't alone
So I headed north and ended up in/until I got to Hamburg
A chilly city suits a troubled soul
And on the Reeperbahn I paid a woman far too much
To kick me out before I'd even reached my goal
Now I'm in a restaurant in Stockholm
And the waiter here wants me to know his name
And I can order sandwiches in seven different languages
But every fucking city looks the same
Arriverderci, au revoir, aufwiedersen, hasta la vista
Yeah, every fucking city's just the same
Paul Kelly's "Every Fucking City" is a song about the disorientation and repetition of travels. The lyrics chronicle the singer's journey through various cities in Europe where he had gone with a lover before they parted ways. The first few stanzas recount the arguments they had in train stations and the hope of a change of pace as they moved into new cities. However, everywhere they go, things seem to stay the same, and eventually, the singer is left alone in a bar in Copenhagen, trying hard to forget the memories of his past relationship. The song's final stanza brings together a list of various farewell phrases in different languages, demonstrating how each city might be unique in its language and culture, but the experience of urban living is universal.
The song's lyrics convey a sense of disorientation and the feeling that the cities he visits blur inwardly. The line "every fucking city feels the same" is repeated throughout the song, underscoring the monotony and similarity of life on the road. The song's message is relatable to anyone who has travelled and experienced the feeling of disconnection and unfamiliarity in every new city. However, the song goes beyond just the experience of travelling; it is also an insightful commentary on the sameness and repetition of life in the 21st century.
Line by Line Meaning
We argued on the channel train to Paris
We had a disagreement on the train to Paris that left us sour
The vin rouge helped us make it sweet again
Drinking red wine helped us make up
But by the time that we got down to Lyon
Everything I said was wrong and you cursed me in the rain
By the time we got to Lyon, we had another argument and you were very upset with me
We split up for a while in Barcelona
We met up six days later in Madrid
I was hoping that the break would make things go a little better
And for a little while it almost did
We took a break from each other in Barcelona, but we got back together six days later in Madrid. I hoped it would be better and it was, but just temporarily.
Now I'm in a bar in Copenhagen
Trying hard to forget your name
And I'm staring at the label on a bottle of cerveza
And every fucking city feels the same
I am now in Copenhagen, trying to forget you while staring at a beer bottle. However, every city feels the same to me.
You said to call you when I got to London
A French girl told me that you'd left a note
I said to her "I like your accent" and she thought I sounded funny
So we ended up drinking in Soho
You told me to contact you when I reached London, but a French girl told me that you had left a note. I complimented her accent, but we only ended up grabbing drinks in Soho.
Foolishly I followed you to Dublin
Like a ghost I walked the streets of Temple Bar
And all the bright young things were throwing up their Guinness in the gutters
And once I thought I saw you from afar
I followed you to Dublin, but you weren't there. I walked the streets and saw people throwing up, and I thought I saw you but I didn't.
Now I'm in a disco/nightclub in Helsinki
And they're playing La Vida Loca once again
And I can't believe I'm dancing to this crap but I'm a chance here
Yeah, every fucking city sounds the same
I am now in a Helsinki disco where they're playing the same music again. I don't like it, but I'm dancing anyways because every city feels the same.
At a cafe in the port of Amsterdam
An E-mail from you said you'd gone to Rome
For a minute I thought maybe but my funds were getting/running low
And anyway it sounded like you weren't alone
I got an email from you in Amsterdam saying you went to Rome. I figured it wasn't worth pursuing because my money was running low anyways, and it sounded like you were with someone else.
So I headed north and ended up in/until I got to Hamburg
A chilly city suits a troubled soul
And on the Reeperbahn I paid a woman far too much
To kick me out before I'd even reached my goal
I went to Hamburg and paid too much for a woman to kick me out before I could even accomplish my goals. A cold city suits me right now though.
Now I'm in a restaurant in Stockholm
And the waiter here wants me to know his name
And I can order sandwiches in seven different languages
But every fucking city looks the same
I am now in Stockholm and the waiter wants me to know his name. I can order sandwiches in seven different languages, but ultimately all the cities feel the same.
Arriverderci, au revoir, aufwiedersen, hasta la vista
Yeah, every fucking city's just the same
Goodbye in Italian, French, German, and Spanish. Essentially, every city is the same.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PAUL MAURICE KELLY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Gary Leigh
Truly one of the underrated classics.
soggyturnip
End of 2020 and I still love this frickin song
Billybob Fudpucker
I love everything this man does.
Jackalope40
Very happy to have seen him twice in great venues. His nephew is crucial! 🙃
Peter Peter
zajebiste brawo Paul !!!
Ryan Mitchell
I fuckin love it. Almost 20 years ago I first listened to this song.
Jason H.
Great song, bought the 'Roll on Summer' EP with this on it, then went to Europe. Sadly, the song is all true.
Jason Tresize
I still remember seeing it performed in 2000 in Rosaland Park Bendigo live for Triple J
newts8
every fucking word is class!
Wayne Dieckmann
A learned man. Never met him. But I get the song.