The British Are Coming
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| "The British Are Coming" | ||||||||||||||
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| Album track by Weezer | ||||||||||||||
| Album | Everything Will Be Alright in the End | |||||||||||||
| Released | September 23, 2014 | |||||||||||||
| Recorded | 2014, The Village, Los Angeles, CA | |||||||||||||
| Length | 4:08 | |||||||||||||
| Label | Republic Records | |||||||||||||
| Writer(s) | Rivers Cuomo | |||||||||||||
| Producer | Ric Ocasek | |||||||||||||
| Status | Officially released | |||||||||||||
| Live debut | October 16, 2014 | |||||||||||||
| Stream |  Spotify |
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 Apple Music |
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| Everything Will Be Alright in the End track listing | ||||||||||||||
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This song is part of the "The British Are Coming" lineage of songs
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"The British Are Coming" is the sixth track on Everything Will Be Alright in the End.
Contents
Appearances
Overview
"The British Are Coming" was the fourth song to be officially released prior to the album's release. Shortly after the album's release, an instrumental-only version of the album was leaked online. In December 2017, an earlier version of the song was leaked online, containing unique lyrics and lacking the album version's intro. It is rumored that the original version of the song also contained more explicitly personal lyrics. It is also said that this version contained a lyric about Boba Fett.
The liner notes for Everything Will Be Alright in the End groups songs by one of three themes. "The British Are Coming" is grouped under the category "Patriarchia" (songs about Cuomo's relationships with father figures). Many of the song's lyrics are references to the American Revolutionary War, specifically the ride of Paul Revere leading up to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. King George, the King of Britain at the time, is named. “One, if by land, and two, if by sea” is a phrase coined by Henry W. Longfellow in 1860 for his poem Paul Revere's Ride, referring to Revere's use of lanterns to signal to the Patriots the route used by British soldiers to advance to Concord. "Sons of Liberty" were a secret society who opposed the taxation of the American colonies by the British government.
Audio
Personnel
- Rivers Cuomo – guitar, lead vocals
- Patrick Wilson – drums
- Brian Bell – guitar, backing vocals
- Scott Shriner – bass guitar, backing vocals
- Ric Ocasek - producer
Lyrics
Welcome to the first level Literati
Our mission is to keep the tradition alive
It's up to us
It's our responsibility
Who else is going to do it?
This is the night
Light up a fire in the forge
We're not the coins in the coffer of old King George
One if by land
Two if they come by the sea
We'll show 'em we are the true sons of liberty
Punk-ass redcoats trying to run the show
Telling me what to do and where to go
Mount your horse 'cause it's time to tell the world
The British are coming
Smear on the soot
Tear up an old deerskin shirt
We know this shot will be heard all around the world
This is the destiny of all mankind
We will shake off these chains and shackles that bind
Come on, let's give them everything we have
Early lyrics
I'm burning my books
Tired of so many cooks
And y'know what?
I know how to shred this wood
I might be a fool
Bucking the shrewdest gurus
But nobody else has a clue what I'm meant to do
Punk-ass soldiers tryin' to run the show
Tellin' me what to do and where to go
Mount my horse 'cuz it's time to tell the world
The British are coming
It might take a sec
For me to make sense of this mess
Brush off the bugs
Uncover my naked breast
Punk-ass soldiers tryin' to run the show
Tellin' me what to do and where to go
Mount my horse 'cuz it's time to tell the world
The British are coming
This is the destiny of all mankind
We will shake off these chains and shackles that bind
C'mon, let's give them everything we have
The British are coming (coming)
Ecce Homo lyrics
I'm burning my books
Tired of so much input
And y'know what?
I know how to whittle wood
Nielsen's are jokes
Same with the Gallup polls
Nobody else has a clue what I'm meant to do
Roman soldiers tryin' to run the show
Tellin' me what to do and where to go
I get my horse 'cuz it's time to tell the world
The British are coming
It might take a sec
For me to defeat Boba Fett
I need a new gun
I'm tired of this broken one
Roman soldiers tryin' to run the show
Tellin' me what to do and where to go
I get my horse 'cuz it's time to tell the world
The British are coming
I got a special friend in my pocket
And he tells me everything I need to know
I know that he'll help me spread the word around
The British are coming
