Their first album, produced by DJ Danger Mouse, was released on 22nd January 2007 and charted at no.2.
The Good, The Bad & The Queen reunited for a one-off gig in London to celebrate 40 years of Greenpeace in 2011.
By October 2018, the second new album's name and cover was revealed. Title track and lead single "Merrie land" premiered at BBC Radio 2 and published at streaming services, also on YouTube with the video at 23 October. Preorder for the new album, produced by Tony Visconti started in that day.
The Truce of Twilight
The Good the Bad & the Queen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Pernicious playgrounds and new age cultism
Outbreaks of optimism in care homes of England
The famous goodwill dumped in your fly tips so
Go raise your idols
Pull them out the marshes
Go give them sanctuary
Because everything is now a live stream
The noise is rising
Curtain twitchers can take out their sunscreen
It looks like it's come to rest
The truce of twilight the echoes of the horned ooser
In a Southend caravan park from shore to pierhead
The twelve that follow on they are camping on the cliff top
They not dreaming just looking to midnight
Go fill your pockets now
With tomorrow's landfill
The Lions and Unicorns
Are sleeping out in shop doors
Outside dreamland
Glassy eyed demography
The smell of cut grass
The swallows are returning
And it look's like they've come to rest
Bring me my shell box and my submachine gun
Because you can't get over anything quite like this
Where the water is darker than the mirror of the sky
And Demis Roussos playing "Forever" on the waterslide
Conscripted into ranks
Look what we have done
The feckless and the lazy
Look what we've become
Chicken collector man
Look what we have done
The fortune teller she sits with the starlings
Look what we have done
Oh the mass elopers turn to exhale
Look what we have done
In the dance schools of England
Look what we have done
The Good the Bad & the Queen's song The Truce of Twilight is a commentary on the current state of society and how it's changing rapidly. The opening lines "Enjoy it while it lasts because soon it will be different" suggests that the singer feels a sense of urgency to appreciate the present moment because it will soon be gone. The following lyrics, "Pernicious playgrounds and new age cultism, Outbreaks of optimism in care homes of England, The famous goodwill dumped in your fly tips so" paint a picture of a society that is unpredictable and not reliable. The singer is commenting on how the world is changing with the rise of new age beliefs, the emptiness of goodwill, and the lack of optimism in care homes.
The chorus of the song is an invitation for people to take action and do something. "Go raise your idols, pull them out the marshes, go give them sanctuary, put them in your new builds," is a call to action to save and preserve the things we hold dear. The singer acknowledges that everything is now a live stream and the noise is rising, suggesting that people are becoming disconnected from reality. The verse, "Go fill your pockets now, with tomorrow's landfill, the Lions and Unicorns, are sleeping out in shop doors," further emphasizes the disconnect in society. People are focusing on material possessions that are disposable, rather than valuing the things that truly matter.
The final verse of the song shows the bleakness of the current situation. The singer calls for their "shell box and submachine gun" as a form of protection against the world around them. The song ends with a series of short statements that showcase what society has become. The singer mentions the feckless, the lazy, the chicken collectors, and the mass elopers, alluding to various societal issues. The song ends with the line "Look what we have done," as if the singer is blaming society for its current state.
Line by Line Meaning
Enjoy it while it lasts because soon it will be different
Find pleasure in the present moment because the future will bring change
Pernicious playgrounds and new age cultism
Unpleasant or harmful recreational areas and beliefs in unconventional spiritual practices
Outbreaks of optimism in care homes of England
Instances of hopefulness in facilities for the elderly in England
The famous goodwill dumped in your fly tips so
Acts of generosity and kindness being discarded in undesirable places
Go raise your idols
Elevate those you admire
Pull them out the marshes
Rescue them from adverse circumstances
Go give them sanctuary
Provide them with a safe haven
Put them in your new builds
Include them in your modern constructions
Because everything is now a live stream
Because everything is now available in real-time over the internet
The noise is rising
The level of commotion is increasing
Curtain twitchers can take out their sunscreen
Nosy individuals can prepare for the sun's rays
It looks like it's come to rest
It appears to have reached a state of stillness
The truce of twilight the echoes of the horned ooser
A peaceful agreement at dusk with echoes of the devil-like creature from folklore
In a Southend caravan park from shore to pierhead
In a mobile home park in Southend, extending from the shore to the end of the pier
The twelve that follow on they are camping on the cliff top
The next group of twelve are camping at the top of the cliff
They not dreaming just looking to midnight
They are not asleep, just waiting for midnight
Go fill your pockets now
Collect as much as you can now
With tomorrow's landfill
With things that will soon be thrown away
The Lions and Unicorns
Symbols of strength and purity
Are sleeping out in shop doors
They are homeless and sleeping outside of stores
Outside dreamland
Outside of an amusement park called Dreamland
Glassy eyed demography
A population with a dull and lifeless gaze
The smell of cut grass
The fragrance of freshly trimmed blades of grass
The swallows are returning
Birds known as swallows are coming back from migration
Bring me my shell box and my submachine gun
Bring me items used for combat or self-defense
Because you can't get over anything quite like this
Because it's impossible to fully recover from something like this
Where the water is darker than the mirror of the sky
Where the water is so dark that it appears darker than the sky as reflected in it
And Demis Roussos playing 'Forever' on the waterslide
And music by Demis Roussos being played while going down a water slide
Conscripted into ranks
Composed of people who were forced to join
Look what we have done
Look at the damage we have caused
The feckless and the lazy
People who are irresponsible and apathetic
Chicken collector man
A person who collects chickens
The fortune teller she sits with the starlings
A person who claims to predict the future sits with birds known as starlings
Oh the mass elopers turn to exhale
Oh, the many people who have escaped are now breathing a sigh of relief
In the dance schools of England
In establishments where dance lessons are taught
Look what we have done
Look at the destruction we have caused
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Anthony Oladipo Allen, Damon Albarn, Paul Gustave Simonon, Simon Tong, ALLEN ANTHONY OLADIPO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Kurishi
[Verse 1]
Enjoy it while it lasts because soon it will be different
Pernicious playgrounds and new age cultism
Outbreaks of optimism in care homes of England
The famous goodwill dumped in your fly tips so...
[Chorus]
Go raise your idols
Pull them out the marshes
Go give them sanctuary
Put them in your new builds
Because everything is now a live stream
The noise is rising
Curtain twitchers can take out their sunscreen
[Post-Chorus]
It looks like it's come to rest
[Verse 2]
The truce of twilight the echoes of the horned ooser
In a Southend caravan park from shore to pierhead
The twelve that follow on they are camping on the cliff top
They not dreaming just looking to midnight
[Chorus]
Go fill your pockets now
With tomorrow's landfill
The Lions and Unicorns
Are sleeping out in shop doors
Outside dreamland
Glassy eyed demography
The smell of cut grass
The swallows are returning
Post-Chorus]
And it look's like they've come to rest
[Verse 3]
Bring me my shell box and my submachine gun
Because you can't get over anything quite like this
Where the water is darker than the mirror of the sky
And Demis Roussos playing "Forever" on the waterslide
[Outro]
Conscripted into ranks
Look what we have done
The feckless and the lazy
Look what we've become
Chicken collector man
Look what we have done
The fortune teller she sits with the starlings
Look what we have done
Oh the mass elopers turn to exhale
Look what we have done
In the dance schools of England
Look what we have done.
angry grouse
Honestly, I'm blown away. This album is mind boggling on so many levels. Never stop making music, Damon.
Stuart
Pareil ça m'a sacrément soufflé :o
DFOwl
He said that after completing the next Gorillaz album, he wants to hide in Africa.
angry grouse
@DFOwl not surprised
angry grouse
But he'll most likely still be making music, I just won't be able to hear it ;)
Dominican-American
He's never gonna stop.
235T1NGR4Y23
Just totally in love with the haunted seaside carnival-on-a-pier aesthetic they went for with this.
Joseph Reising
235T1NGR4Y23 Damon said he was making ‘pilgrimages’ to different parts of the country in an interview that but that the whole album was originally inspired by Blackpool
Eoin Ryan
It's really unique
Drake Gutierrez
Good way of putting it!