The Celibate Rifles are a rock band from Sydney, Australia. The band was fo… Read Full Bio ↴The Celibate Rifles are a rock band from Sydney, Australia. The band was formed in 1979 and released their first album Sideroxylon in April 1983 on the Hot Records label. The band has toured both America and Europe extensively, releasing fourteen studio albums.
Members:
Dave Morris
Damien Lovelock
Kent Steedman
Paul Larsen
Jim Leone
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Kent Steedman, Dave Morris, Michael Couvret, Phillip Jacquet and Ian Martin conceived the band in 1979 when they were still in high school. The band's name is believed to be inspired by (being a complete antonym of) the Sex Pistols.

Hot Records signed the band and reissued the EP in March, 1983. James Darroch (bass; ex-Trans Love Energy, Fifth Estate, Slaughterhouse 5) replaced Couvret (who joined Mushroom Planet) and the band issued its debut album, Sideroxylon (May 1983). As the album came out, Steedman joined The New Christs when that band supported Iggy Pop on his June 1983 Australian tour.

Couvret and Jacquet left the band in September, 1986 to be replaced by Rudy Morabito (bass; ex-Amused) and Paul Larsen (drums; ex-Funhouse, Gun Control). The band toured Europe and recorded Roman Beach Party in Holland during June, 1987. The album appeared in November. Morabito left in 1988 to be replaced by Jim Leone (ex-No Man's Land). By that stage, Couvret was playing with The Lime Spiders, and Jacquet had joined Voodoo Lust. The Rifles' last release on Hot Records to that time was a 12-inch EP featuring a cover of Patti Smith's "Dancing Barefoot" (May, 1988). The Rifles signed to True Tone and issued Blind Ear (April, 1989), which contained several of the band's best singles, the riff-happy "Johnny" / "El Salvador" (February, 1989), the rollicking "O Salvation!" / "Fish and Trees" (June, 1989) and the double 7-inch "Wonderful Life" / "5 Lamps"; "Where the Action Is", "She's So Fine" / "Hot Stuff" (March, 1990).

Hot closed its Rifles account with the double retrospective set Platters du Jour (October, 1990), a selection of rare early singles and EP sides with a limited edition 7-inch EP containing three unreleased tracks. The band members undertook various extra-curricular activities between 1988 and 1990. Lovelock had already written and produced a one-off single in 1984, "Summertime (All Round the World)" / "Sunnyboyfriend", for Australian world female surfing champion Pam Burridge (issued under the name of Pam and the Pashions during October, 1984). In June, 1988 he issued his debut solo album It's a Wig Wig Wig Wig World followed by the single "Disco Inferno"/"Sisters" (April, 1990).

In October 1990, Larsen left The Rifles to join The Screaming Tribesmen. Nik Rieth took Larsen's place. At the end of 1991, the Rifles signed to Festival. They issued the double album Heaven on a Stick (March, 1992), the single "Groovin' in the Land of Love" (December, 1991) plus the double 7-inch single "Where the Wild Things Are..." (March, 1992). The Rifles shared "Where the Wild Things Are..." with The Hard-Ons to coincide with a joint Australian tour the two bands undertook mid-year. The Rifles' tracks were "5 Lamps" and "Electric Flowers". Straight after that, The Rifles embarked on the Live Stick '92 world tour which took in dates across the UK, Europe and the USA. Festival issued a second, double 7-inch single from Heaven on a Stick, "Cold Wind", in May 1992.
1992 ended for the Rifles with Hot issuing re-mastered CD versions of the band's first five albums. The Rifles returned to Hot For Yizgarnnoff (a second live album) and SOFA (a 20-track `Best of' compilation) which came out in May and December 1993 respectively. In late 1993, Steedman and Rieth joined Deniz Tek to record his Outside album. Steedman and Rieth toured extensively with The Deniz Tek Group over the next few years and recorded a new album in 1996, Le Bonne Route. Spaceman in a Satin Suit (May, 1994) was arguably The Celibate Rifles' best studio album since Blind Ear. The band also contributed a cover of The Sports' "Boys! (What Did the Detective Say?)" to the various artists project Earth Music. "Boys! (What Did the Detective Say?)" appeared on the Earth Music CD EP (August, 1994) along with Died Pretty covering Laughing Clowns' "Eternally Yours" and Painters and Dockers doing Mental as Anything's "The Nips Are Getting Bigger".

In late 1996, Hot issued the mail-order only On the Quiet, a selection of acoustic reworkings of previously released material. On the Quiet came with a limited edition bonus all-electric CD EP of Australian covers.

Society
The Celibate Rifles Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Society, society
Tells you sit and learn
But the things it teaches you
Makes you want to burn

Try to do the right thing
Try to follow the rules
But every time you turn your back

They're calling you a fool

Society, society
They're teaching you with ads
Teaching you the right from wrong
Teach you good from bad
It's reality quite pointless
Trying to reach the top
The higher up that you climb
The further that you drop

Society, society
Society's a sin
It's the devil's own machine
And it's gonna suck you in

Society, society
Society, society
Society, society
Society, society
Society

Society
Society

Overall Meaning

The Celibate Rifles's song "Society" critiques the societal norms and expectations that individuals face. The repeated phrase, "society, society," highlights how all-encompassing and inescapable these pressures can feel. The song suggests that society's teachings can be counterproductive; they cause more harm than good, encouraging individuals to want to rebel and break free from the constraints they feel. The line "they're teaching you with ads," is particularly poignant, as it highlights how advertisements in modern society are constantly bombarding people with messages about what they should look like, what they should wear, and who they should aspire to be. These messages often contribute to a great deal of insecurity and self-doubt, leading individuals to seek validation from external sources.

The chorus of the song, which repeats the line "Society's a sin," is a direct criticism of the institutions and systems that make up society. The song suggests that these systems have become so inextricably linked to power and money that they are only interested in maintaining the status quo, regardless of the consequences for individuals. The final line, "society," is almost spoken, and its repetition feels like a condemnation of the very word, suggesting that it can never escape its negative connotations.

Line by Line Meaning

Contributed by Cooper T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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TRACKS