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Code: Selfish
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Original UK release
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First released 9 March 1992 on Cog Sinister via Fontana LP: 512.162-1; cassette: 512.162-4; and CD: 512.162-2
01. The Birmingham School Of Business School
(Bush/Smith)
6:45
The car is at the roundabout
The policeman is at the roundabout
But I'm full of surprises now
And my friend, he said I'm full of surprises now
Let me tell you about scientific management
And the theft of its concealment
The Birmingham School of Business School
In Birmingham
It's main theme
Weave a web so magnificent
Disguise in the art of conceit
Give a very firm handshake
And take the bastards for everything that they rate
The Birmingham Business School of Business School
Deposits prisoner robotics
Home to their wives Stepford
Case-carrying
Business School
Birmingham School of Business School
Birmingham School of Business School
In the heart of Britain
The big heart of England
Lee Coopers on F.E.s [1]
The Birmingham School of Business School
[?] crash into walkin'
Hitching
Blazers
Builders
Tryna find a job
The jumped up prats
Birmingham Business School
The Birmingham School of Business School
Birmingham School of Business School
Laughing-stock of European
Olympic bidding again and again
Exciting developments
The Birmingham School of Business School X4
Note:
1. F.E. = Financial Executive
02. Free Range
(Smith/Wolstencroft)
3:58
In 2001
A Life code:
It pays to talk to no one.
Proliferating across the earth.
Also Sprach Zarathustra [1]
Faction Europa
Free Range.
2001
Also Sprach Zarathustra
Proliferating across the earth
Pressure guilt
Grudge match
12 cm flak unit
Range 1 stroke 35
This is the spring without end
This is the summer of malcontent
This is the winter of your mind
By 2001
Also Sprach Zarathustra
It pays to talk to no one
Europa, faction
Proliferating across the earth
Free Range
This is the spring without end
This is the summer of malcontent
This is the winter of your mind
Insect posse
will be crushed
Moravia, trouble
Moldavia
Europa
Every second third word
Europa
It pays to talk to no one.
Free Range.
Note: [1] Reference to Nietzsche's book Also Sprach Zarethustra. This reference
has double meaning in the song. Nietzsche's philosophy was espoused in misinterpreted form by the Nazis in their quest for pan-european domination; and composer Richard Straus used it as the title of a musical compostion, later used as theme music by Stanley Kuberik in his movie 2001: A Space Odyssey.
03. Return
(Hanley, S/Smith)
4:04
God bless the cold winds and its refreshing consequence, uh-huh,
Oh please return.
Hellas did tremble
Hellas did go away
Finding it difficult
To stand in its fury
Over the ironing board
But still this golden curl
Vented its Hellas fury
Return, baby baby baby come back to me.
Come back to me, return.
I was told to go easy and this one did
But still this golden creature raised its fury
Head sparkles
Return
Baby baby baby come back to me
Return
Is that a hair extension?
It's soaked in hair lotion
How can you smell your own head?
Return
Baby baby baby come back to me
I'll change the latch on the door
I'll get locks all over
I ran on up ahead
Sparkle and pander her
04. Time Enough At Last
(Scanlon/Smith)
3:48
It's time I started thinking on my feet
Instead of on my back
Now I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
It's been the bane of my life
But I've got time enough at last
I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
And sometimes people think you're just stupid
But I got time enough at last
I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
Cos I got time
Time enough at last
It's just stupid thinkin' 'bout the past
Cos I got time enough at last
In a city in turmoil
It's hard to extract
The brains from the head of a minor executive
Now I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
And the projectiles hit you
When you least expect it
But I got time
Time enough at last
From a summit of experience
To a pit of its knowledge
Cos I got time
Time enough at last
Time enough at last boy
Time enough at last
I got time
Time enough at last
05. Everything Hurtz
(Hanley, S/Smith)
4:07
Come to me
Come unto me
All ye that labor
You that are heavy laden
Cos everything hurts
And everything hurts
I've been pursuing the fuel too long
Got a big fat pain in my chest bone
Got an on-empty pocketbook
Got a big fat no no in my chequebook
And everything hurts
And everything hurts
I got the disease tinnitus
I'm speakin' like I've got Tourrette's
And everything hurts X3
I'm born X 2
I'm dressed like a road beacon
On my way to Valhalla breakfast
And everything hurts
Can't you see the bitches by my side
Followin' me through all my life
And everything hurts
I was born X 3
Come to me all ye that labor and are heavy laden
My head dip dip dip dipping, man
All my limbs are disconnected
And everything hurts X3
I've been pursuing the fuel too long
Got a big fat pain in my chest bone
And everything hurts X2
Everything hurts
[...] man
Cos everything hurts
I got a big fat foot on my knee bone
And the back of my [?] is in my septum
And everything hurts X2
06. Immortality
(Scanlon/Smith)
4:30
You try and change it
You try and arrange it
You try and shape it
But it's immortality, yeah
It's immortality
You cannot change it
Or rearrange it
It's immortality
Immortality
Immortality
That's where you're at, dear
You're shedding your mentality
But it's immortality
And you cannot buy it
You cannot put it in your pocket book
You cannot put it in your BCI
Don't try and shape it
Cos it's immortality
It's immortality, yeah
Immortality, yeah
It's where you're at, yeah
Immortality
Immortality
The Viking gods had it
[Lord/Nord] Odin had it
Don't try and change it
Don't try and put it in your pock-book-et
It's immortality
It's immortality, yeah
And you cannot change it
And you cannot rearrange it
And you cannot shape it
Cos it's reality, yeah
It's immortality, yeah
You cannot buy it
And that's all you're gonna get
From immortality
Immortality
07. Two-Face!
(Scanlon/Smith)
6:01
Two-face
That's what they call me
They call me a two-face
Two-face
That's what they call me
They call me a two-face
Two-face, boat-race disgraced
His face displaced again
Into two dimensions
Into two directions
Two-face, boat-race displaced
My face disgraced again
Into the dimensions
Into two directions
Nowhere for him to go X2
That's what they call me
They call me a two-face
Two-face
That's what they call me
They call me a two-face
Two-face, boat-race
Disgraced hisface
Displaced again
Into two dimensions
Into two directions
Two-face, boat-race
Displaced his face
Disgraced
Into two dimensions X2
Origin horrible
Two-face, boat race
Disgraced
His face Displaced again
Into two dimensions
Into two directions
For all
For all to see
He thinks at dawn
He acts at noon
He stays alone
And in the evening
Two-face, both ways
Disgraced
His face displaced again
Into two directions
Into two dimensions
Left-side, horrible
Two-face, boat race
Disgraced
His face displaced again
Into two directions
Into two dimensions
Two-face
That's what they call me
They call me a two-face
Two-face
That's what they call me
They call me a two-face
Two-face, both ways disgraced
His face displaced again
Into two directions X2
08. Just Waiting
(Smith/Williams)
4:38
Pensioner's waiting for leap year to come
and the young singer's waiting to sing
and there's a gardener outside a big estate
waiting for the grass to turn green
The drunk is waiting for an easy mark
the hitchhiker is waiting for a ride
and the prisoner's waiting for a prison break
and the surfer is waiting for the tide
Ah just waiting
You know everything comes to a standstill
nothing seems to make a turn
cause the worm's still waitin' for the early bird
and the early bird's waitin' for the worm
And nobody wants to do nothing
just waiting for a finger in the pie
and waitin' for a call from a TV show
or waitin' for an uncle to die 1-2-3
Everybody's waitin' for something
and nothing ever turns out right
because the night shift is waiting for the morning
and the burglar is waiting for the night.
Congregation is waitin' for the vicar
and the vicar is waitin' for the groom
the groom is waiting for his new bride
But the bride is waitin' for June
And everybody is just waitin'
and nobody wants to settle down
They got their heads in a holo-video
The cretin is waitin for U2 to come on MTV again
but the producer is waiting for the blonde bird
and the blonde girl's waitin' for him
Nobody wants to do nothing
just waiting for their chips and their pie
waitin' for a call from a big quiz show
or waitin' for some rich relation to die
You know everything comes to a standstill
nothing ever makes a turn
and the worm is waitin' for the grass to turn green
while the early bird is waitin' for the worm
I don't think I can really stand it no more
I don't think I can go through it again
I'm just waiting
I'm just waiting
I'm just waiting
I'm just waiting
Yeah bees are waitin' for honey
and I'm putting it on the back burner for now
cause everybody's racing and fawning and skivin'
and honey I'm waitin' for you
Ah-just waitin'
Ah-just waitin'
Ah-just waitin'
Ah-just waitin'
09. So-Called Dangerous
(Bush/Hanley, S/Smith)
3:46
The selfish smiling fool and the sullen frowning fool shall both be thought
wise
Think.
Like mountain climbing
or skiing in the alps
Think of it.
I don't.
It was a big fat February
Wet, the ugly pavement cracked
Pause, unsafe.
I thought:
Insect posse will be crushed.
It was a bit of Code Selfish.
There was not much going on
in the minds of the weak.
They were unprepared to be torched
By lighter kleptomaniacs,
So-called dangerous.
There is mad
And there is bad
And there is sad
And there is bad and sad.
Dangerous.
And the meek shall inherit the mirth.
They were big, panoramic
"Same again, sir?"
How can you have the same again?
Dangerous
10. Gentlemen's Agreement
(Scanlon/Smith)
4:33
We plough the fields together
In all types of intemperance
Our bones cracked in unison
Gentlemen's, gentlemen's agreement
You know what he is
And probably still is
Sticking his colours
To whatever new mast there is
But our agreement is over
I thought we had some kind of agreement
But with you it was just prurience
You're addicted to excitement
My energies are down now with yours
And you're sitting on my back fence
But I thought we had an agreement
Gentlemen's, gentlemen's agreement
Your brain is software
Your brain is Game Boy
It's filled with excretement
And your short-term memory
Will fleetingly remember
Our gentlemen's, gentlemen's agreement
Gentlemen's, gentlemen's agreement
Gentlemen's, gentlemen's agreement
11. Married, 2 Kids
(Hanley, S/Scanlon/Smith)
2:45
In 1978
Was in a hotel in Notting Hill Gate
Now in 1992
Staying in a hotel in Notting Hill Gate
Abject
I'm too busy to think
Too busy to work
Just can't cut it
Married, 2 kids
Married, 2 kids
I pretend to go to work
I pretend to go to work
Got a porta-fax
Aftershave like mustard
Two pints of lager do me in
And The Spirit of Man
Is a pub I go in
I'm married, 2 kids
Have a peculiar goatish smell
Am a long-winded article
I get livid
Married, 2 kids
Married, 2 kids
12. Crew Filth
(Smith/Wolstencroft)
5:20
From the valleys of Leicestershire
And all over
Came mystic crew filth
The first was Dave Bush-babe
The second was Graham pony-tail
They were mystic crew filth
Crew filth
[mock Urdu or Punjabi]
Then from the land of the accordion
Came Dave Kiwi
He was crew filth
He had the shirts
He wouldn't meditate
on his monitor room
Mystic
Crew filth
Hey mystic crew filth
Crew filth X4
Where did they come from?
The little motherfuckers
Nobody knows
Nobody bothers
Crew filth
Crew filth
Crew filth
One was a Kiwi
One was a Bush-baby
One had tattoos on his legs
One had brown spectacles on his head
Motherfuckers
Crew filth
Crew filth
Hey Kenny, tell us about crew filth
Crew filth X3
But those crew filth
They had sensitive sides to their nature
They would smoke pot in their rooms
They were always behind you
That's why we kept our backs to the walls
You gotta watch your wallet, man
Crew filth
What about crew filth Bill?
Bill was King of the fucking Motherfucker crew filth
He had to do some work one night
Then his hair turned white
Crew filth baby X3
Crew filth motherfucker
He was the worst, one of the worst X3
Gotta watch your friends
Watch your girl
You never can tell
He might kill a tab
While you're jumping off
All your friends might turn out to be
Crew filth
(LP and cassette side 1: tracks 1-6; side 2: tracks 7-11)
(CD: tracks 1-12)
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Credits
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Mark E Smith - vocals, tapes
Craig Scanlon - guitar
Steve Hanley - bass
Simon Wolstencroft - drums, keyboards
Dave Bush - keyboards, machines
With:
Cassell Webb - vocals
Craig Leon - keyboards
Simon Rogers - keyboards
Produced and mixed by: Craig Leon, Simon Rogers and Mark E Smith
Cover artwork: Pascal Le Gras
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Recording info & notes
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Recorded at Air Studio, London and Glasgow late 1991.
There are different mixes/edits of tracks 3-5 & 9 on the Free Range single.
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2002 Voiceprint reissue
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Reissued on 23 September 2002 on Cog Sinister via Voiceprint CD: COGVP133CD with the original tracklisting plus bonus tracks:
13. Ed's Babe (Smith/Scanlon) 3:18
14. Free Ranger (Smith/Wolstencroft) 4:05
Tracks 13-14 comes from the Ed's Babe single.
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2003 Voiceprint double pack
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Reissued on 22 September 2003 on Cog Sinister via Voiceprint CD: VP241005CD (2 CDs). A double pack CD - the 2002 Voiceprint reissue of Code: Selfish coupled with the 2002 Voiceprint reissue of Shift-Work.
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2007 Universal reissue
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Reissued on 7 May 2007 on Fontana/Mercury Records, a Universal Music company, CD: 9847302 (2 CDs). The original LP tracklisting was on CD1, with the following bonus tracks on CD2:
01. Free Range (Smith/Wolstencroft) 4:21
02. Return (Smith/Hanley, S) 4:04
03. Dangerous (Smith/Hanley, S) 4:01
04. Everything Hurtz (Smith/Hanley, S/Bush) 4:07
05. Ed's Babe (Smith/Scanlon) 3:17
06. Pumpkin Head Xscapes (Smith/Scanlon/Hanley, S) 3:49
07. The Knight The Devil And Death (Smith/Scanlon/Wolstencroft) 3:23
08. Free Ranger (Smith/Wolstencroft) 4:04
09. Noel's Chemical Effluence (Smith) 6:24
10. Legend Of Xanadu (Blaikley) 3:29
11. Free Range (Smith/Wolstencroft) 4:05
12. Kimble (Perry) 3:55
13. Immortality (Scanlon/Smith) 4:27
14. Return (Hanley, S/Smith) 4:10
Tracks 1-4 come from the Free Range single; tracks 5-8 come from the Ed's Babe single; track 9 comes from the live compilation The Twenty Seven Points; track 10 comes from the Various Artists compilation Ruby Trax; tracks 11-14 come from John Peel radio session #15. There was a promotional sampler CD containing 3 tracks each from the reissues of Extricate, Shift-Work and Code: Selfish and also a promotional postcard (see image gallery).
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