The band drew upon a variety of stylistic influences over the course of their career, including 1960s beat music, soul, rhythm and blues and psychedelic rock, as well as 1970s punk and new wave. The trio was known for its melodic pop songs, its distinctly English flavour and its mod image. The band launched the career of Paul Weller, who went on to form The Style Council and later had a successful solo career. Weller wrote and sang most of The Jam’s original compositions, and he played lead guitar, using a Rickenbacker. Bruce Foxton provided backing vocals and prominent basslines, which were the foundation of many of the band’s songs, including the hits "Down in the Tube Station at Midnight", "The Eton Rifles", "Going Underground" and "Town Called Malice".
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Saturday's Kids
The Jam Lyrics
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Drink lots of beer and wait for half time results,
Afternoon tea in the light-a-bite, chat up the girls, they
Dig it!
Saturdays girls work in tescos and woolworths,
Wear cheap perfume cause its all they can afford,
Go to discos they drink baby cham talk to jan, in bingo
Accents.
They never win but that's not the point is it,
Dip in silver paper when their pints go flat,
How about that, far out!
Their mums and dads smoke capstan non filters,
Wallpaper lives cause they all die of cancer,
What goes on, what goes wrong.
Save up their money for a holiday,
To selsey bill or bracklesham bay,
Think about the future, when they'll settle down,
Marry the girl next door, with one on the way.
These are the real creatures that time has forgot,
Not given a thought, its the system,
Hate the system, what's the system?
Saturdays kids live in council houses,
Wear v-necked shirts and baggy trousers,
Drive cortinas fur trimmed dash boards,
Stains on the seats - in the back of course!
The Jam's song 'Saturday's Kids' is a vivid portrayal of working-class life in Britain during the 1970s, made clear by its lyrics. The song describes three different groups of people: the boys, the girls, and the kids, each with their unique way of living. The boys are shown drinking beer, waiting for half-time results, and flirting with girls. The girls work in places like Tesco and Woolworths and go to discos drinking low-priced champagne, talking in bingo accents. The kids, despite not winning in one-arm bandits, still continue trying their luck and dipping in silver paper to make their pints last.
The song highlights how people's lives revolve around their social status and income, which limits their access to leisure activities and basic necessities. The lyrics also uncover another issue related to the working-class lifestyle where they smoke cigarettes, which many observed causing cancer. The song then goes on to describe how they aspire to go on a holiday to places like Selsey Bill or Bracklesham Bay, marry their next-door neighbour, have a baby on the way, and settle down.
Overall, The Jam's 'Saturday's Kids' is a fascinating depiction of British society's working-class lives in the 1970s, which exposed some of the problematic aspects of that society, including social status barriers and health-related issues.
Line by Line Meaning
Saturdays boys live life with insults,
Boys who call Saturdays by the name 'Insults' love to drink beer, and wait for the half-time results of some sport. They exchange pleasantries at afternoon-tea parties, and chat up the girls.
Drink lots of beer and wait for half time results,
They drink a lot of beer while they wait for the half-time results of their favorite sport.
Afternoon tea in the light-a-bite, chat up the girls, they
Dig it!
In the evening, at tea time, while eating something light, they chat up with girls and enjoy it.
Saturdays girls work in tescos and woolworths,
Girls of Saturdays work in Tesco and Woolworth stores.
Wear cheap perfume cause its all they can afford,
They wear an inexpensive perfume because that's what they can afford.
Go to discos they drink baby cham talk to jan, in bingo
Accents.
They often visit discos where they drink 'Baby Cham' and try to talk to Jan with a bingo accent.
Saturdays kids play one arm bandits,
Kids of Saturdays play the one-arm bandit gambling game.
They never win but that's not the point is it,
They don't usually win, but that's not what they care about. They just enjoy playing.
Dip in silver paper when their pints go flat,
They use silver paper to keep their pints from going flat.
How about that, far out!
They are impressed and excited about this.
Their mums and dads smoke capstan non filters,
The parents of Saturdays' boys smoke Capstan non-filters.
Wallpaper lives cause they all die of cancer,
Their lifestyles are beyond shabby, and they even die of cancer due to smoking.
What goes on, what goes wrong.
No one knows what is actually going on or what went wrong.
Save up their money for a holiday,
They save money for their vacation.
To selsey bill or bracklesham bay,
They go to Selsey Bill or Bracklesham Bay for their vacations.
Think about the future, when they'll settle down,
They think about settling down in the future.
Marry the girl next door, with one on the way.
They marry their neighbor's daughter, and have a kid on the way.
These are the real creatures that time has forgot,
People belonging to this group are utterly neglected and forgotten by time.
Not given a thought, its the system,
They are not thought about by society, so this is a failure of the system.
Hate the system, what's the system?
People in this group hate the system, but they don't know precisely what the system is.
Saturdays kids live in council houses,
Kids of Saturdays live in council houses or social housing.
Wear v-necked shirts and baggy trousers,
Kids of Saturdays wear shirts with a V-shaped neckline and baggy trousers.
Drive cortinas fur trimmed dash boards,
They drive Cortina automobiles that have a dashboard with fur trimmings.
Stains on the seats - in the back of course!
The seats in the back of the car are stained, of course.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: PAUL JOHN WELLER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind