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.
The Upper Classes
The Auteurs Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Make you glow in the dark - make you light up
The room on your own
Formative years were a drag
but we passed the time somehow
I'm in cahoots with the upper classes now
Put it all in a trust fund
Amazing the cruel hand of fate
A tax loss against the state
You had to move three times this year
I'd rather be any where but here
The champagne highs and the giddy lights
- Are paradise
House guest is here
can't believe that the vanishing point appeared
Can hardly believe - people live in houses behind the trees
Formative years were a drag
but we passed the time somehow
I'm in cahoots with the upper classes now
That cunt's really got it sussed
Selling wine, selling drugs
You can get so far with a perishing wit
But the money's in trust - isn't it?
What treasures can you you hold and name
You don't have the right face
But the champagne highs and the giddy lights
- Are paradise
Some of your friends, from your other life
Just don't belong
They're crude and they're plain
It's not their fault it's the world they're from
(And) you can't come here no more
Unless you use the tradesmans door
There's nothing wrong with inherited wealth
If you melt the silver - yourself
Put it all in a trust fund
She's an heiress at twenty one
The champagne highs and the giddy lights
- Paradise
Some of the clothes you stole from your lovers home
Are better than the clothes we stole from the Shops on your own
Formative years were a drag but we passed
The time somehow
I'm in cahoots
with the upper classes now...
The Auteurs' The Upper Classes is a satirical commentary on the elitism and excess of the upper class society. The first verse starts off by describing how the singer has stolen clothes from their lover's home, which make them glow in the dark and light up the room when they are alone. This suggests that the individual has resorted to such actions to stand out and make a mark; and that they are no longer content with their middle-class life.
The chorus suggests that the singer has moved up in the ranks through their association with the upper classes. They've put their wealth in a trust fund, and are looking forward to enjoying the paradise that would come with it. The second and third verses allude to how the singer is now mingling with people they couldn't have dreamed of associating with in their formative years. They're now in cahoots with the upper classes and are benefitting from their corrupt ways. By the end of the final verse, the singer has seemingly left their old life behind and is part of the elitist society.
The lyrics can be seen as a commentary on the whole class system, highlighting how certain groups are able to climb the ladder while others struggle to make ends meet. The song is critical of such elitism and suggests that it is an arbitrary construct that can be manipulated with money and influence.
Line by Line Meaning
Some of the clothes you stole from your lovers home
Some of the outfits you took from your partner's residence
Make you glow in the dark - make you light up
Give you a glow-in-the-dark appearance, lighting up the room
The room on your own
You are alone in the room
Formative years were a drag
The early years of your life were tedious
but we passed the time somehow
But we managed to occupy ourselves in some way
I'm in cahoots with the upper classes now
I am conspiring with the elite society
Put it all in a trust fund
Place all your assets in a trust account
She can't touch `till she's twenty one
She cannot access it before she turns twenty-one
Amazing the cruel hand of fate
It is astonishing how fate can be brutal
A tax loss against the state
A reduction in taxes paid to the government
You had to move three times this year
You had to relocate three times in the current year
I'd rather be any where but here
I would rather be somewhere else than here
The champagne highs and the giddy lights
The thrilling feeling from sipping champagne and the dazzling lights
- Are paradise
- Are a heavenly experience
House guest is here
A visitor is present in the house
can't believe that the vanishing point appeared
Can't fathom that the departure point has arisen
Can hardly believe - people live in houses behind the trees
Can barely believe that there are houses hidden amongst the trees
That cunt's really got it sussed
That jerk has it all figured out
Selling wine, selling drugs
Peddling alcohol and narcotics
You can get so far with a perishing wit
You can only go so far with a decaying sense of humor
But the money's in trust - isn't it?
However, the funds are in a trust account, right?
What treasures can you hold and name
What valuable possessions do you own that have a name?
You don't have the right face
You do not possess the correct physical features
But the champagne highs and the giddy lights
However, the thrilling feeling and the dazzling lights from champagne
- Are paradise
- Are a heavenly experience
Some of your friends, from your other life
Some of your acquaintances from your previous existence
Just don't belong
Just do not fit in
They're crude and they're plain
They are vulgar and unrefined
It's not their fault it's the world they're from
It is not their fault, it is the environment they grew up in
Unless you use the tradesmans door
Unless you use the service entrance
There's nothing wrong with inherited wealth
There is nothing inherently wrong with wealth passed down through inheritance
If you melt the silver - yourself
As long as you earned the riches yourself
She's an heiress at twenty one
She is an inheritor at the age of twenty-one
Are better than the clothes we stole from the Shops on your own
Are superior to the outfits we stole from the stores by ourselves
I'm in cahoots
I am a co-conspirator
with the upper classes now...
With the high echelon of society now...
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: LUKE MICHAEL HAINES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@shergar8049
1 of 4
2 of 4
Some of the clothes you stole from your lovers home
Make you glow in the dark - make you light up
The room on your own
Formative years were a drag
but we passed the time somehow
I'm in cahoots with the upper classes now
Put it all in a trust fund
She can't touch `till she's twenty one
Amazing the cruel hand of fate
A tax loss against the state
You had to move three times this year
I'd rather be any where but here
The champagne highs and the giddy lights
- Are paradise
House guest is here
can't believe that the vanishing point appeared
Can hardly believe - people live in houses behind the trees
Formative years were a drag
but we passed the time somehow
I'm in cahoots with the upper classes now
That cunt's really got it sussed
Selling wine, selling drugs
You can get so far with a perishing wit
But the money's in trust - isn't it?
What treasures can you you hold and name
You don't have the right face
But the champagne highs and the giddy lights
- Are paradise
Some of your friends, from your other life
Just don't belong
They're crude and they're plain
It's not their fault it's the world they're from
you can't come here no more
Unless you use the tradesmans door
There's nothing wrong with inherited wealth
If you melt the silver - yourself
Put it all in a trust fund
She's an heiress at twenty one
The champagne highs and the giddy lights
- Paradise
Some of the clothes you stole from your lovers home
Are better than the clothes we stole from the Shops on your own
Formative years were a drag but we passed
The time somehow
I'm in cahoots
with the upper classes now..
@palandi
"formative years were a drag but we passed the time somehow". enough said.
@avantgardenmusick
Pure genius.
@benderdostokowski
A perfect pop song !!!!!!!
@space75gr
i v missed those burning and shining guitars.
@philjames5763
Underrated group love the album with the pink sheep on the cover.
@benjaminrawson3386
"How I Learned To Love The Bootboys" is the album you are talking about
@Gurenmn
The auteurs merecia mais
@avantgardenmusick
Muito mais.
@alexisjambon9674
The auteurs were better than Radiohead.they didn't have the regnozisation they deserve
@73Jes
Radiohead whining and moaning, never a fan. I love Now I'm a Cowboy album by Auteurs but Spiritualized were the best and still my favourite