Panic was apparently a response to radio DJ Steven Wright’s callous reaction to the Chernobyll disaster, and to the soullessness of popular music, at least according to Wikipedia. I am going to presume that this story is correct, as I’ve not encountered any differing opinions as yet.
Beyond the meaning, it’s a great song, with the happily catchy “Hang the DJ” refrain at the end. I wouldn’t call it the best Smiths song, but it’s darned good.
And of course, the lyrics:
Panic on the streets of London
Panic on the streets of Birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again ?
The Leeds side-streets that you slip down
I wonder to myself
Hopes may rise on the Grasmere
But Honey Pie, you’re not safe here
So you run down
To the safety of the town
But there’s Panic on the streets of Carlisle
Dublin, Dundee, Humberside
I wonder to myself
Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music that they constantly play
IT SAYS NOTHING TO ME ABOUT MY LIFE
Hang the blessed DJ
Because the music they constantly play
On the Leeds side-streets that you slip down
Provincial towns you jog ’round
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
HANG THE DJ, HANG THE DJ, HANG THE DJ
HANG THE DJ, HANG THE DJ
HANG THE DJ, HANG THE DJ
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
HANG THE DJ, HANG THE DJ
HANG THE DJ, HANG THE DJ
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
HANG THE DJ, HANG THE DJ
HANG THE DJ, HANG THE DJ
Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ, Hang the DJ
HANG THE DJ
January 17th, 2008 at 1:22 pm
Love this song a lot. A song that sung so calmly — almost with a perky bent, and yet it has a pretty gruesome message — which reflects what the song rails about absolutely perfectly.