Unfair… Read Full Bio ↴The Auteurs was a British alternative rock band of the 1990s.
Unfairly dismissed as the egotrip of acclaimed songwriter Luke Haines, The Auteurs were one of the unsung bands of the mid-nineties Britpop movement. Releasing their first record, New Wave, in 1993, the Auteurs were compared to Suede, and the resurgent glam-rock movement, and began to amass a reasonable cult following. 1994's second album, and commercial highlight, Now I'm A Cowboy, saw the band embracing at times a more contemporary sound, notably on the single Lenny Valentino, which probably remains Haines' best-known song. Now I'm A Cowboy was marked out by sprawling guitar lines as much as by Haines' inimitable lyrics, a kind of visceral social commentary. While touring this album in 1995, Haines jumped off a fifteen-foot wall, breaking both ankles, resulting in his being in a wheelchair for the rest of that year, recording the starker, angrier third album After Murder Park, most notable for the ballad-like lead single Unsolved Child Murder, released for Christmas at Haines own bidding. Following this, Haines took time out to work on other projects such as Black Box Recorder and Baader Meinhof, reforming the Auteurs in 1999 for the release of the mostly overlooked final album, How I Learned To Love The Bootboys.
While Haines remains widely respected for his lyrical eloquence and eye for the minutae of life, his eccentric, confrontational personality, and habit of styling himself as a louche ne'er-do-well, perhaps impeded the formation of a more affectionate bond with his fans. The Auteurs, similarly, tended to be respected rather more than they were loved.
School
The Auteurs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To collect me from the station
He will drive me past your house
And the bridge and the precinct
Later on he'll stuff my mouth
With flies, sit astride me
I am waiting for a man
And the kids around the flats
The mums and dads, your uncle
And I'm never going back
To your old school
Some blank verse from Michael Ray
Blue and white power on his fifteenth
Join the army or the National Front
When you're sixteen
Mickey says you were undressed
Easily led in the back field
Maybe I could come around
Your brother's out, cop a feel
And the kids around the flats
The mums and dads, your uncle
And I'm never going back
To your old school, school
I am standing in the front room
With your mother and your father
I am talking to a man
Who says he baptized you
On the way back from the church
Your brother got home early
I am waiting for a man
To collect me from the station
Does the aerosol on brick
Just make you think you still rule?
And I'm never going back
To your old school
And the kids around the flats
The mums and the dads, your uncle
And I'm never going back
To your old school, to your old school
The Auteurs' song School seems to be about the desperation and frustration of being trapped in one's past and one's hometown, and the fear of being sucked back into a life that one has worked hard to escape from. The opening lines depict a seemingly innocuous situation of waiting for someone to pick up the singer, but then the imagery of having their mouth stuffed with flies and being sexually assaulted takes a dark turn. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for feeling like they are being suffocated and violated by the town that they are returning to. The mention of "the kids around the flats" and "the mums and dads, your uncle" further reinforces the small town feel and how everyone knows everyone's business, which can be claustrophobic and oppressive.
The latter part of the lyrics describes Michael Ray, who seems to represent the baby boomers who wielded power in the UK at the time when the song was written. He is portrayed as offering only a bleak future of joining the army or the National Front, two options that seem unappealing and confining. The mention of "Blue and white power" could be a reference to the British National Party or the National Front's colors. The idea of being easily led and taken advantage of is a recurring theme, with Mickey insinuating that the woman in the song was sexually victimized. The song ends with the singer talking to a man who claims to have baptized their former schoolmate, and the feeling of being pulled back into the past is palpable.
Line by Line Meaning
I am waiting for a man
The singer is waiting for a man to come pick her up from the station.
To collect me from the station
The man she's waiting for will come to the station to take her away.
He will drive me past your house
The man will take her for a drive and pass by the house of someone important to her.
And the bridge and the precinct
The drive will pass over a bridge and through a neighborhood called the precinct.
Later on he'll stuff my mouth
Later on, the man will do something unpleasant to the artist.
With flies, sit astride me
The man will put flies in her mouth and sit on top of her.
And the kids around the flats
The singer is observing the children living in the apartment complex nearby.
The mums and dads, your uncle
She's also noticing the parents and relatives of the kids she's observing.
And I'm never going back
The artist has no intention of returning to the place she's currently at.
To your old school
She specifically doesn't want to go back to the old school of someone important to her.
Some blank verse from Michael Ray
The singer is referring to a poem written by Michael Ray.
Blue and white power on his fifteenth
Michael Ray was strongly involved with white supremacist beliefs at the age of 15.
Join the army or the National Front
Michael Ray advocated for joining either the military or a far-right political group called the National Front.
When you're sixteen
Ray believed that joining one of these groups was something that should be done at age 16.
Mickey says you were undressed
Someone named Mickey is claiming that the person she's referring to was undressed in a certain situation.
Easily led in the back field
Mickey is also claiming that the same person was easily influenced in a private outdoor area.
Maybe I could come around
The artist is considering the possibility of visiting someone's house.
Your brother's out, cop a feel
She's noting that the person's brother isn't home, possibly implying that they can engage in sexual activity.
I am standing in the front room
The singer is currently in the front room of someone's house.
With your mother and your father
The parents of the person she's referring to are also present in the front room.
I am talking to a man
She's having a conversation with a man who's also in the front room.
Who says he baptized you
The man she's talking to has claimed to have performed a religious ceremony for the person she's referring to.
On the way back from the church
The person she's with went to church at some point and is now on their way back home.
Your brother got home early
The person's brother returned home earlier than expected.
Does the aerosol on brick
The singer is asking a rhetorical question about the effects of putting graffiti on brick walls.
Just make you think you still rule?
She's questioning whether completing acts of vandalism makes one feel powerful or in control.
To your old school, school
The singer is once again reiterating that she has no intention of going back to the old school of someone important to her.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LUKE MICHAEL HAINES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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