"Ganglord"
(Morrissey/Alain Whyte)

 

These words are transcribed without permission the way they appear in the "Swords" album. Additions to the printed lyrics are in darker text while omissions are striken out.

Ganglord, the police are
kicking their way into my house
and haunting me - taunting me
wanting me to break their laws
Ganglord, the police are
kicking their way into my house
and haunting me - taunting me
wanting me to break their laws 1
and I'm turning to you to save me
and I'm turning to you - to save me
Ganglord, the police are
grinding me into the ground
the headless pack are back
all small-boy jokes and loaded guns
Ganglord
the police are
grinding me into the ground
the headless pack
are back
small boy jokes and loaded guns
and I'm turning to you to save me
and I'm turning to you to save me
save me
save me
save me
to save me
save me
to save me
save me
save me
save me
save me
to save me

Ganglord, there's a clock on the wall 2
making fun of us all
Ganglord, the clock on the wall
makes a joke of us all
and I'm turning to you to save me
and I'm turning to you to save me
save me
save me
save me
save me
to save me
save me
to save me
save me
save me
save me
save me
to save me

Ganglord, remember
  the police can always be bribed
Ganglord, remember
  the police can always be bribed
they say:
   "to protect and to serve" 3
but what they really mean to say is 4
  "get back to the ghetto
  the ghetto
    get back to the ghetto
    the ghetto
      get your fat ass yourself back to the ghetto 5
      the ghetto
      get yourself back to the ghetto 5
      the ghetto
      get yourself back to the ghetto
5

 

1 Early on the 2007 Greatest Hits tour Morrissey often sang "wanting me to break their silly laws".

2 On the Tour Of The Tormentors MMVI Morrissey rarely sang this verse twice the same. He would switch "there's a clock on the wall" for "the clock on the wall" or vice versa and/or switch "making fun of us all" with "makes a joke of us all". He sometimes reversed that verse's two halves, or repeat the first one twice. In late 2006 and in early 2007 the "clock on the wall" was said to make fun and made a joke "of you all" instead of "...us all". On the 2007 Greatest Hits tour Morrissey alternated between "the clock on the wall makes fun of us all", "the clock on the wall makes a joke of us all" and "the clock on the wall is making fun of us all". By the 2009 Swords tour he mostly stuck to "there's a clock on the wall making fun of us all".

3 In live performances of this song near the end of 2006 Morrissey sometimes changed this LAPD motto to "they say to protect you and to serve".

4 On the 2007 Greatest Hits tour Morrissey usually sang "but what they really want to say is get back to the ghetto".

5 In live performances of this song in the latter half of 2006 and in early 2007 Morrissey often changed one or several of these lines to "get your fat ass back to the ghetto". On the 2007 Greatest Hits tour he would sing the latter, and often follow it with "get your scrawny ass back to the ghetto". He did this again on the 2009 Swords Tour when he also added "get your miserable ass back to the ghetto".