Disappear
Red Rum Club Lyrics
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Four broken sticks for guns
Smoking cigarettes and running from
Our next door neighbour′s pass
Another messed up kid
But nobody bats an eyelid
But I did
We were frightened of the dark
And it's getting kind of hard
Now that you′re no longer 'round here
Ooh, show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
No sign of him at school
My God, you're that so cruel
He′s probably getting high and
Breaking up high score on Golden Eye
Another messed up kid
And nobody bats an eyelid
But I did
We were frightened of the dark
And it′s getting kind of hard
Now that you're no longer ′round here
Ooh, show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
We were frightened of the dark
And it's getting kind of hard
Now that you′re no longer 'round here
Ooh, show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
Through the walls I hear them fight
It′s almost every night
Every time I see your flashing light
I think of all the things that we did
He's a messed up kid
We were frightened of the dark
And it's getting kind of hard
Now that you′re no longer ′round here
Ooh, show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
We were frightened of the dark
And it's getting kind of hard
Now that you′re no longer 'round here
Ooh, show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
Show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
Show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
The opening verse of Red Rum Club's song "Disappear" describes a group of young people engaging in precarious behavior, smoking cigarettes, and brandishing broken sticks as mock weapons. These kids are scared of their neighbor, or at least afraid of getting caught doing whatever it is they're up to. The second verse continues to describe this group's antics, mentioning video games, drug use, and the general judgment of society. However, the chorus is where things become more melancholic and emotional: the singer reminisces about a friend who used to "disappear" like magic. Now that this friend is gone, they feel alone and frightened of the dark.
The bridge and final verses of the song return to the idea of fear and the conflict within the community. The singer can hear their neighbors fighting through the walls, a reminder of the violence and chaos that surrounds them. Meanwhile, they continue to think of their absent friend and the moments of joy they shared together. The repeated refrain of "show me how you do that thing you do when you disappear" reflects a sense of longing and loss for both the friend who is gone and the time when the group could escape into fantasy and magic.
Line by Line Meaning
Four magic tricks for fun
They're young and having fun with the four magic tricks that they know how to do
Four broken sticks for guns
They're pretending to have guns with broken sticks
Smoking cigarettes and running from
Our next door neighbour′s pass
They're smoking and running away from their neighbour's attention
Another messed up kid
But nobody bats an eyelid
But I did
They know another kid, who could be going through a tough time, but no one seems to care except for them
We were frightened of the dark
And it's getting kind of hard
Now that you're no longer 'round here
Ooh, show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
They were scared of the dark and it's tough now that their friend is gone. They want to know how their friend used to cope when they disappeared
No sign of him at school
My God, you're that so cruel
He′s probably getting high and
Breaking up high score on Golden Eye
Their friend is absent from school, and they're worried that someone might have said something to him. They speculate that he might be getting high or playing video games while he's absent
Through the walls I hear them fight
It's almost every night
Every time I see your flashing light
I think of all the things that we did
He's a messed up kid
They can hear their neighbours arguing almost every night. Whenever they see a flashing light, they're reminded of their friend who is in a troubled state
Show me how you do that thing you do
When you disappear
They want to know how their friend copes when he disappears. They want to learn his survival trick
Writer(s): Francis Doran, Joe Corby, Michael Mcdermott, Neil Lawson, Simon Hepworth, Thomas Williams
Contributed by Violet Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.