Mile End

We didn't have no where to live, / we didn't have nowhere to go / 'til someone said /
'I know this place off Burditt Road.' / It was on the fifteenth floor, / it had
a board across the door. / It took an hour / to pry it off and get inside. / It smelt as
if someone had died; / the living-room was full of flies, / the kitchen sink was blocked,
/ the bathroom sink not there at all. / Ooh, / it's a mess alright, / yes it's / Mile End.
/ And now we're living in the sky! / I'd never thought I'd live so / high, / just like
Heaven / (if it didn't look like Hell.) / The lift is always full of piss, / the fifth
floor landing smells of fish / (not just on Friday, / every single other day.) / Below the
kids come out tonight, / they kick a ball and have a fight / and maybe shoot somebody if
they lose at pool. / Ooh, / it's a mess alright, / yes it's / Mile End. / [mumbled
mutterings... you love it...] / Oo-ooh / Nobody wants to be your friend / 'cause you're
not from round here, / ooh / as if that was / something to be proud about. / The pearly
king of the Isle of Dogs / feels up children in the bogs. / Down by the playing fields, /
someone sets a car on fire I guess you have to go right down / before you understand just
how, / how low, / how low a human being can go. / Ooh, / it's a mess alright, / yes it's /
Mile End. / (don't do that! Leave it out!) / Bababa... / Lalala...