There are two artists with this name:
1. A British rapper
2. A Finnis… Read Full Bio ↴There are two artists with this name:
1. A British rapper
2. A Finnish rock band

1. Mike Skinner (born November 27, 1978), more commonly known by his stage name The Streets, is a rapper from Birmingham, England. He was born in Barnet in North London and that's where his accent, sometimes called 'Mockney' by the press, comes from. You can hear his actual accent on the start of 'Fake Streets Hats' from his album The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living recorded in 2006. He moved to Birmingham shortly after he was born and is a Birmingham City fan. He has suffered from epilepsy since he was five.

He signed a five album record deal in 2002, and has fulfilled his contract by releasing five albums: Original Pirate Material (2002), All Got Our Runnin's (2003), A Grand Don't Come For Free (2004), The Hardest Way To Make An Easy Living (2006), Everything Is Borrowed (2008) and Computers and Blues (2011).

When playing live, Skinner is joined by Kevin Mark Trail on backing vocals, Johnny Drum Machine on drums, Wayne Fibes on guitar and bass, Chris Brown on keyboards and Magic Mike on samplers.

In January 2011, Skinner's management announced that Skinner will no longer perform as The Streets.
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2. The Streets was a band originated from Turku, Finland in the early 1980's. Their most known song is Kestääkö siivet from the album Kestääkö siivet (1980), which is also featured on the soundtrack of Mika Kaurismäki's film Arvottomat (The Worhless) 1982.

The Streets were:

Asmo Kärkkäinen, guitar
Jouni Hemberg, lead vocals
Kari Laihonen, keyboard
Tapio Vesa, bass guitar
Eero Valkonen, drums

Can't Con an Honest John
The Streets Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Using the following, I'm going to show you:

A) how to con someone using their own greed,
B) that you won't feel bad 'cos they're trying to con you anyway, and
C) taking their money!

As I have come to realize, running the beats is just getting people's confidence.

This scam only works 'cos that man thinks he's working this scam
And that you man off his mark
Get your mate, let's call your mate piers
No, not piers, let's call him Farquhar
Anyway get Farquhar to crawl into a bar with his dog
Like I said, the barman will try and con you later
But you're gonna take all his money.
Anyway, get Farquhar to pass into a local bar
And call to the bar to look after a dog for a dart
Just for twenty quid for a while, claiming that he hated it
But it was worth more than his car
This, by the way, requires that you find and supply Farquhar
With an animal, and a life, from your local park.
Get a nice dog that doesn't bark
But not so nice that someone might miss this mutt from the park

Anyway, using this technique you're gonna take all this man's money
But you're not gonna care, cos he's gonna fucking deserve it

[Chorus]
You'll never con an honest john
An honest john you can't drag down (exactly!)
Con-do-lee get conned
When they think they're the cunning one (it's all one big con)
Neighbor you won't con
An honest john

Now listen, get Farquhar to dart out the bar
And just shop for some garm's, maybe
Just to pass an hour or so
I would go shopping cos' I gave up drinking
But whatever, just have Farquhar down the road
Now you walk in the bar, walk up to the barman
Order a jar, when you've caught him slouched on his own
Start eying the dog that he's minding by his side
Currently vibe him and start on about the dog you own.
Start asking the barman, if it's his fine specimen of a dog
Nod, smile, agree, look interested and cool
When he tells you it's someone else's you've just left previous
Tell him, 'this is a very rare breed of animal.'
Last time I lied my manager swiped me
But lie, and tell him it's like a fucking red-eared hunting spaniel.
Tell him it's worth 600 quid and you would pay handsomely if you were to accept finance at all

[Chorus]
You'll never con an honest john (sometimes...)
An honest john you can't drag down (...sometimes I think I should just go completely...)
Condolee get conned
When they think they're the cunning one
Neighbor you won't con an honest john (keep listening though, it's important that you keep listening...)

Now take all his shopping off him
Get your mate Farquhar to pop in
Looking straight gutted a bit later on
He should order a jar, talk at the bar
Ensure he looks calm, warm with the barman
And generally start conversating on.
Farquhar should start falling apart
About how he's arsed up some chance
And how arsed up his day was.
Or in the event, the spread betting he's getting ready to accept
That his rent's not getting payed up.
The barman's mind will chime slowly for a while
He might wipe the bar, as his mind is making sums.
Farquhar should continue to moan about money
And that this mutt is not the greatest of his worries.
And like 'ching!', the barman will five out of six times
Kindly offer his greed to buy the dog for a price of three hundred quid
And after some bartering, your barman will haggle and charge harder
In greed of the scent of the scheme in his head. (that's right, neighbor!)

You'll never con an honest john
An honest john you can't drag down
Condolee get conned
When they think they're the cunning one
(the barman, is gonna see how much he can stitch you up for.)
Neighbor you won't con an honest john
(how does that work? cos' every time it's based around someone who thinks they're conning you.)

They'll never imagine the whole scenario is prepared solely for him
Why should he?
That sort of paranoia can get you in the loony bin!

As I have come to realize, running the beats is just getting people's confidence.
And than taking their money!

It's all one big con.

Overall Meaning

The song "Can't Con an Honest John" by The Streets is a narrative of a scam. The singer explains how to con people using their own greed, making them think they are working a scam but ultimately you are taking their money. The singer tells a story of how someone with the help of their friend Farquhar, places a dog in a bar and gets the barman to look after it for 20 quid. Later, they return to the bar with Farquhar, who starts talking to the barman about how he is broke and can’t afford the rent, trying to convey that he is very stressed. Eventually, he sells the dog to the barman for 300 quid, even though the singer had claimed that it was worth 600.

The song is an example of a 'long con' and the lyrics show how this type of scam works by building trust with the target victim over a period of time, in order to get them to part with large sums of money. The song also illustrates how greed plays a significant role in the success of the con. The singer's tone is dispassionate throughout, showing that they have no qualms about stealing someone's money, especially if they believe the person is trying to con them.

Line by Line Meaning

This scam only works 'cos that man thinks he's working this scam
The scam relies on the mark believing they are in control of the situation

And that you man off his mark
You have identified someone who is vulnerable to being scammed

Anyway get Farquhar to crawl into a bar with his dog
The first step is to send Farquhar into a bar with a dog to set up the scam

Like I said, the barman will try and con you later
The barman is the mark and will be scammed after being convinced to buy the dog

But you're gonna take all his money.
The ultimate goal is to take all of the barman's money

This, by the way, requires that you find and supply Farquhar, with an animal, and a life, from your local park.
The scam requires providing Farquhar with a dog, which you will get from a local park

But not so nice that someone might miss this mutt from the park
The dog should not be too identifiable or someone may notice it missing

But you're not gonna care, cos he's gonna fucking deserve it
The mark deserves to be scammed since they are trying to con you

Tell him, 'this is a very rare breed of animal.'
Claim that the dog is a rare breed in order to increase its value

Last time I lied my manager swiped me
There is a risk in lying, as there are consequences if caught

But lie, and tell him it's like a fucking red-eared hunting spaniel.
Lie about the breed of the dog to make it seem more valuable

Tell him it's worth 600 quid and you would pay handsomely if you were to accept finance at all
Claim that the dog is worth a high amount and be willing to pay for it through financing

And like 'ching!', the barman will five out of six times
The barman will most likely fall for the scam

And after some bartering, your barman will haggle and charge harder
The barman will try to negotiate a higher price for the dog

In greed of the scent of the scheme in his head.
The barman is motivated by greed and the potential profit from buying the dog

They'll never imagine the whole scenario is prepared solely for him
The mark will not suspect that the situation has been set up solely to scam them

That sort of paranoia can get you in the loony bin!
Being overly paranoid can lead to mental illness

It's all one big con.
The entire song is about how to successfully run a con

You'll never con an honest john
Honest people cannot be scammed

Con-do-lee get conned
Those who try to con others will eventually be scammed themselves

When they think they're the cunning one
The mark will believe that they are the one in control of the situation

Neighbor you won't con an honest john
It is difficult to scam someone who is honest

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: MICHAEL GEOFFREY SKINNER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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