As the years progressed, the PiL line-up would change, adding renowned drummer Martin Atkins in 1979 as the direction of the band evolved. Compared to their first three albums, the later 1980's/early 1990's period saw a more conventional sound to the musical aspect, but still retaining Lydon's biting lyrics. The album compact disc (aka Album or Cassette, depending on what format you have it on), recorded by Lydon with a slate of studio musicians organized by producer Bill Laswell, is considered the artistic highpoint of this period of PiL's evolution. PiL reached their commercial zenith with their aptly titled ninth album, 9, during 1989/1990.
PiL kept going as a Lydon project until 1993, when Lydon disbanded the group. Their final lineup consisted of Lydon, Ted Chau (guitar, keyboards), Mike Joyce of The Smiths (drums), John McGeoch of Magazine and Siouxsie and the Banshees (guitar), and Russel Webb (bass).
In September 2009, Lydon announced that the band would reform, including earlier members Bruce Smith and Lu Edmonds, for a number of Christmas shows in the UK. The One Drop Songfacts reports that Lydon financed the reunion using money he earned doing a UK television commercial for Country Life butter. This Is PiL, the band’s first album for 20 years was recorded at Steve Winwood’s studio, which is located in a barn, in the middle of the Cotswolds in southern England. It was released on May 28, 2012.
This Is Not a Love Song
Public Image Ltd. Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
Happy to have, not to have not
Big business is very wise
I'm crossing over into
E-enter-prize
Love song
Love song
Love song
Love song
I'm going over to the other side
I'm happy to have not to have not
Big business is very wise
I'm inside free enterprise
I'm adaptable
I'm adaptable
I'm adaptable and I like my new role
I'm getting better and better
And I have a new goal
I'm changing my ways where money applies
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
Now are you ready to grab the cradle
That tunnel vision-not television
Behind the curtain-out of the cupboard
YOu take the first train-into the big world
Now will I find you-now will you be there
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
This is not a love song
The lyrics of "This Is Not a Love Song" by Public Image Ltd (PIL) are defiant and self-assertive. The song's repeated refrain of "This is not a love song" is a direct challenge to the standard expectations of popular music. The song's lyrics make explicit that this is a song about enterprise and capitalism, not caring and affection. The singer is happy to be part of the money-making machine, even as punk purists considered the band a sellout. The lyrics juxtapose materialism and individualism against conformity and society's expectations. The singer's refrain of "I'm adaptable" is a refusal to be held down by any one label or ideology.
John Lydon's vocals throughout the song are full of anger and frustration towards traditional pop music, love songs, and the controlling music industry. The song's lyrics find a different way of singing about free expression and rebellion than other punk songs, instead considering the challenges of making art under capitalism. PIL's intense, dissonant sound matches the lyrics' intensity, creating a song that resists categorization.
Line by Line Meaning
This is not a love song
The song is not about love
This is not a love song
The song is not about love
This is not a love song
The song is not about love
This is not a love song
The song is not about love
This is not a love song
The song is not about love
This is not a love song
The song is not about love
Happy to have, not to have not
I am content with what I have, rather than what I don't have
Big business is very wise
Large corporations are highly intelligent
I'm crossing over into E-enter-prize
I am transitioning into enterprise, or business
Love song
A repeated attempt to clarify that the song is not about love
Love song
A repeated attempt to clarify that the song is not about love
Love song
A repeated attempt to clarify that the song is not about love
Love song
A repeated attempt to clarify that the song is not about love
I'm going over to the other side
I am changing my perspective
I'm happy to have not to have not
I am content with what I have, rather than what I don't have
Big business is very wise
Large corporations are highly intelligent
I'm inside free enterprise
I am now functioning within a capitalist system
I'm adaptable
I am versatile and can adjust to different situations
I'm adaptable and I like my new role
I am able to adjust to my new situation and enjoy my current position
I'm getting better and better
I am constantly improving
And I have a new goal
I have set new objectives for myself
I'm changing my ways where money applies
I am altering my behavior in relation to finances
Now are you ready to grab the cradle
Are you prepared to take control of your situation
That tunnel vision-not television
Do not be limited by a narrow field of view
Behind the curtain-out of the cupboard
Hidden aspects are being revealed
You take the first train-into the big world
Take a risk and venture out into the unknown
Now will I find you-now will you be there
Will we be able to connect and meet our objectives together
This is not a love song
The song continues to clarify that it is not about love
This is not a love song
The song continues to clarify that it is not about love
This is not a love song
The song continues to clarify that it is not about love
This is not a love song
The song continues to clarify that it is not about love
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Peermusic Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: John Lydon, Keith Levene, Martin Clive Atkins
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@martywhitevan
after listening to the song on repeat for 24 hours i am beginning to think that this may NOT be a love song ...although i questioned it for the first 12 or so hours
@martywhitevan
upon later analysis with an additional 30 hours of listening i am beginning to think this "could" indeed be a love song..thoughts on theory?
@IndridCold
I dunno it is a song, I also love this song. Though I have no idea if it could be a love song from that perspective, even upon your 9 months and 30 more hours Can any of us really say what love is?
@martywhitevan
it is very interesting because i think that this could possibly be love in the form of a song but then again is it a song?
@IndridCold
Well...I suppose that is up for interpretation... I mean Just because I thought it was a song, does not in fact mean it was actually a song.
Perhaps it was always just a message.
or poetry... I mean the artist defines a song as does interpretation, But I am sure 50% of people see a rant from a permanent agitated Johnny.
you sir raise some interesting points in this back and fourth.
@martywhitevan
i would prefer to go fourth at this point and as of 0600 in the am, i am currently convinced that this is "art" and might be considered
a love song
@peterabram62
I think when he says "Are you ready to grab the candles. Out of the cupboard. No television." He's referring to the early 70s power blackouts that made our life a misery in 70s Britain. At our house the tv would go off and my Nan always made sure I was ready to grab the candles and light them.
@Roan7995
I like that one part where he says "This is not a love song."
@timothykozlik6707
***** this is not rap its punk rock
@timothykozlik6707
Well seeing how it is punk