Originally called "Arabicus Pulp" (although they shortened it to Pulp within a year), the band achieved sudden success some thirteen years after their formation and became known during the Britpop era as much for their music as for frontman Cocker's antics (notably conducting a stage invasion during Michael Jackson's performance of Earth Song at the 1996 BRIT Awards).
Achieving little success off the back of a Peel session in 1981, Pulp were finally able to release their debut album, It, in 1983. This album and its 1986 follow-up, Freaks, showcased a Pulp keen on Nick Drake (notably on the It single, My Lighthouse), with strong folk roots and little sign of the tendencies for storytelling and acid house music which would eventually bring forth success.
After the release and commercial flop of "Freaks", the band disbanded for a year, but reformed a year later to record a third album, Separations. Delayed for three years after its recording, Separations showed Cocker's increasing exposure to acid house, featuring multiple synths, and a hit single, My Legendary Girlfriend, which helped Pulp's career start to rocket.
Their next single, Babies, which would eventually feature on their 1994's commercial breakthrough His 'n' Hers, and it was the first example of the Pulp-sound most listeners associate with the band--cheap synths, rolling guitars, and Cocker's deadpan vocals telling a story. "His 'n' Hers" in sound, was lumped in with the Britpop movement of the time, receiving commercial and critical acclaim. However, it was the 1995 single Common People, which finally saw them become known, eventually charting at number 2 in the UK charts. Awash with Britpop guitars, catchy keyboard lines and that trademark Cocker vocal performance it has remained a favorite. A successful appearance at Glastonbury that summer cemented their fame, and their success was subsequently confirmed by the release of Different Class, which arrived at the peak of the Britpop movement and featured this song and other UK hits as Disco 2000 and Sorted for E's & Wizz.
Their last two albums, 1998's darker This Is Hardcore, -an album that marked the end of the Britpop era- and 2001's more downbeat We Love Life were commercial successes, but Pulp were no longer as famous or trendy as they had been in the height of Britpop. Following their curation of a music festival, Auto, in 2002, the band announced that they would be embarking on an "indefinite hiatus".
In 2003, Jarvis Cocker released an album as Relaxed Muscle and then two solo efforts, 2006's Jarvis and 2009's Further Complications.
On 8th November 2010, it was announced that the band with its most relevant lineup will reform to play a series of gigs in summer 2011.
Discography:
It 1983
Freaks 1986
Separations 1992
His 'n' Hers 1994
Different Class 1995
This Is Hardcore 1998
We Love Life 2001
Official website:
http://www.pulppeople.com
P.T.A. (Parent Teacher Association
Pulp Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you're so very young
But would you like to stay
Until next Saturday
Or Sunday?
I'll give you your own room
It's next door to my room
Well, maybe I just might
Oh take your clothes off won't you please?
You don't have to talk to me
Just leave the light on so I can see
You've got everything I need
Oh yeah
You know I can't forget
That special night we met
At the local P.T.A.
When your mother came to say
That you'd been taking days off school
I turned and looked at you, I said
"Yes, I understand
I'm gonna take this girl in hand."
Oh take your clothes off, one two three
No you don't have to talk to me
Just leave the light on so I can see
You've got everything you need
Oh yeah
'Cause I never had a woman before
I was too scared to touch the girls in the Poly
And I don't know what it's like to be young
'Cause all my life I've been knocking on forty
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
"So if I, put my hand, on your bosom..."
"Yeah?"
"Would that, give you an orgasm? No that's not right
But, but if we, if we kissed with tongues..."
Haha
"Won't that, wouldn't that make, wouldn't that make you come?"
Oh take your clothes off won't you please?
No you don't have to talk to me
Just leave the light on so I can see
You've got everything I need
Oh oh oh
Just one touch was all it took
No you can't learn it from a book
Let's go upstairs and have a
Look
Oh you've got everything I need
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah, oh yeah
Oh yeah
The lyrics to Pulp's song P.T.A. (Parent Teacher Association) depict the inappropriate and non-consensual sexual advances made by a middle-aged man towards a young girl. The man tries to entice the girl to stay over at his house by offering her a room of her own next to his, with the underlying intention of engaging in sexual activity with her. The lyrics suggest that the man is aware of the age difference between them, but he continues to pursue her nonetheless. The man then tries to coerce the girl into taking her clothes off and intimidates her by saying that he can see her in the darkness. Throughout the song, there is an eerie and threatening vibe that is symbolic of the darker side of humanity.
Line by Line Meaning
I know I'm getting on
I am aware that I am getting older
And you're so very young
You are significantly younger than me
But would you like to stay
Do you want to spend more time with me
Until next Saturday or Sunday?
Do you want to stay until the weekend
I'll give you your own room
I will provide you with a separate room
It's next door to my room
Your room will be adjacent to mine
And some time in the night
At some point during the night
Well, maybe I just might
I might consider doing something
Oh take your clothes off won't you please?
Could you undress for me
You don't have to talk to me
We do not need to converse
Just leave the light on so I can see
Keep the light on so I can observe you
You've got everything I need
You possess everything I desire
Oh yeah
Yes
You know I can't forget
I cannot forget
That special night we met
The night we first encountered each other
At the local P.T.A.
During a Parent Teacher Association meeting
When your mother came to say
When your mother informed me
That you'd been taking days off school
You had been absent from school
I turned and looked at you, I said
I looked at you and said
"Yes, I understand
I comprehend
I'm gonna take this girl in hand."
I will take control of this situation with you
Oh take your clothes off, one two three
Please remove your clothing in a countdown manner
No you don't have to talk to me
Talking is not required
Just leave the light on so I can see
I want to watch you with the aid of light
'Cause I never had a woman before
I have not had relations with a woman in the past
I was too scared to touch the girls in the Poly
I was too afraid to be intimate with the women in the Polytechnic school
And I don't know what it's like to be young
I have no knowledge of what it is like to be young
'Cause all my life I've been knocking on forty
As I have lived, I have grown closer to the age of forty
Oh yeah
Yes
Wouldn't that make you come?'
Would that not result in sexual climax for you
Oh take your clothes off won't you please?
Could you undress for me
No you don't have to talk to me
Talking is not required
Just leave the light on so I can see
I want to watch you with the aid of light
Just one touch was all it took
One physical contact was sufficient
No you can't learn it from a book
You cannot learn this from a book
Let's go upstairs and have a look
We should proceed upstairs to explore
Oh you've got everything I need
You possess everything I desire
Oh yeah
Yes
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: CANDIDA DOYLE, JARVIS BRANSON COCKER, MARK ANDREW WEBBER, NICK BANKS, RUSSELL SENIOR, STEPHEN PATRICK MACKEY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind