Lily Allen Says "F You" to Homophobes

[The Pecman]

Howard Stern played a piece of this song the other day on his Sirius Radio show, and i have to admit, I laughed for five minutes when I heard it.

The full song is up on YouTube:

and it includes a scenic walk through London (among other places).

Very funny song, with some pro-gay sentiments in the chorus.

[dude]

I've posted this elswhere in the AD Forums.

While YouTube is a bit squeamish about making this available, the Lily Allen song was adopted by a bunch of gay teens who produced the video which you can see HERE

[JamesSavik]

Fuck You

Lily Allen

Look inside

Look inside

Your tiny mind

Then look a bit harder

Cos we're so uninspired

So sick and tired

Of all

The hatred you harbour

So you say

It's not okay to be gay

Well I think

You're just evil

You're just some racist

Who can't tie my laces

You're point of view

Is medevil

F*ck you, f*ck you

Very, very much

Cos we hate

What you do

And we hate

Your whole crew

So please

Don't stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you

Very, very much

Cos your words

Don't translate

And it's getting

Quite late

So please

Don't stay in touch

Do you get

Do you get

A little kick out

Of being

Small minded

You want to be

Like your father

His approval

Your after

Well that's not how

You'll find it

Do you

Do you really enjoy

Living a life

That's so hateful

Cos there's a hole

Where your soul

Should be

You're losing

Control of it

And it's really

Distasteful

Fuck you, fuck you

Very, very much

Cos we hate

What you do

And we hate

Your whole crew

So please

Don't stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you

Very, very much

Cos your words

Don't translate

And it's getting

Quite late

So please

Don't stay in touch

Look inside

Your tiny mind

Then look a bit harder

Cos we're so uninspired

So sick and tired

Of all

The hatred you harbour

Fuck you, fuck you

Very, very much

Cos we hate

What you do

And we hate

Your whole crew

So please

Don't stay in touch

Fuck you, fuck you

Very, very much

Cos your words

Don't translate

And it's getting

Quite late

So please

Don't stay in touch

[DesDownunder]

I am sure Lily's song is meant with the best of intentions, however I just can't get my tongue around the "we hate" phrase.

It just doesn't seem to contribute to a positive discussion on overcoming the homophobic attitudes or the war on homophobia itself.

Indeed I think it alienates the homophobe mentality into adopting an even harsher anti-homosexual stance.

Maybe I am a cranky ol' bastard, but I don't think the song is funny; still if it serves the purpose of letting off the frustration we all feel about homophobic attitudes I guess it serves at least that purpose.

I would just prefer a more positive attack in the cause of gaining acceptance than the reaction this song promotes.

[colinian]

I've posted this elswhere in the AD Forums.

While YouTube is a bit squeamish about making this available, the Lily Allen song was adopted by a bunch of gay teens who produced the video which you can see HERE

I like this version more than the Lily Allen version (which is clever).

In this version the kids are cute, the elderly lady with the chihuahua is a gas, the slips of paper with "f**k you" on them are brilliant, and the hand-held camera makes it seem so real.

Colin

[Drewbie]

I've posted this elswhere in the AD Forums.

While YouTube is a bit squeamish about making this available, the Lily Allen song was adopted by a bunch of gay teens who produced the video which you can see HERE

I follow one of the guys who are in that video on youtube, and lilly allen saw (when she appeared on a french tv show) their video and a few other groups, and she said she she's honored.

original youtube video that was posted up and gives a description why they made it.

[The Pecman]

C'mon, Des. Don't take the song so seriously.

It's a funny throwaway pop song, despite it's somewhat-serious message. Take it as a joke and it isn't that bad.

The line that got me was "don't stay in touch," which is so very, very LA. F'ing hilarious!

And she's not a bad singer, either. Very catchy tune.

[DesDownunder]

C'mon, Des. Don't take the song so seriously.

It's a funny throwaway pop song, despite it's somewhat-serious message. Take it as a joke and it isn't that bad.

The line that got me was "don't stay in touch," which is so very, very LA. F'ing hilarious!

And she's not a bad singer, either. Very catchy tune.

How is it possible to not take it seriously? If this song had been sung by those at whom it is directed, by those who hate us, we would be up in arms over it.

As I said I understand that frustration causes people to lash out in such forms.

As songs go, the singer and the tune are okay, the words by themselves are not funny, but they could rise to being satirically humorous in the correct setting, which the video almost achieves, but to do that successfully, it would then need a final verse to emphasise that the point of the satire was to show that one hate crime does not justify another. (Read and listen to the lyrics of the songs from HAIR and you might see what I mean.)

You want peace and acceptance, then make a contribution to it, and not an immature confrontation that can only invite retaliation.

As it stands the song invites such retaliation. That is my objection and I understand that my view is well and truly outside that of the pop culture for which the song is intended.

To allow the song to stand without challenge on these grounds, is to accept that unthinking reactionary tactics are okay if we are the ones using them.

Therefore, I feel honour bound, not by any intellectual consideration, but by my deep aversion to every kind of cruelty and hatred, to make my feelings and opinion known.

Now let's hug and get back to trying to make the world a better place for everyone.

[Cole Parker]

As it stands the song invites such retaliation. That is my objection and I understand that my view is well and truly outside that of the pop culture for which the song is intended.

I have a different objection. I think singing to people over and over that you hate them means they've gotten through to you, that you're expending a significant amount of energy thinking about them, that you're allowing them too much entrance into your life.

I prefer to ignore them. Yeah, I know, ignorance is bliss. But hatred isn't the answer, and in this instance, singing about it looks phony.

C

[DesDownunder]

Cole, in theory I think we are both saying the same thing; that hatred isn't the answer.

I would also say that ignoring someone is not necessarily the same thing as ignorance. Indeed ignoring idiots is often advisable.

I am also mindful of the anti-Nazi songs sung by the troops in WWII, as well as the protest songs during the Vietnam war years, but the ones I heard were anti-war songs, not pro-hate, even when they ridiculed leaders and the enemy.

Make no mistake, I do think we are in the middle of a war, a war that has been with humanity for hundreds if not thousands of years, a war born of slavery and subversion of difference and diversity as well as denying human rights. It is a war on free will as much as freedom of expression, and the freedom to love others. Whether it is by custom, slavery, law or religious doctrine, there can be no greater horror than the enforced impossibility of people loving each other. That amounts to a torture from which the human race can barely survive and very nearly didn't in WWII.

Protest songs and poems, are a natural part of any war, but they only feed war when they stop being anthems for a peaceful freedom for all Mankind.

[colinian]

Speaking as a member of the younger generation, I think the song is hilarious. With people like Fred Phelps and some of the radical right-wing commentators on the radio telling those of us who are part of the LGBT community that we should die and we'll burn in hell and that they hate us, a song like F**k You is a perfect response.

Go read this NYTimes article Richard Norway posted on another thread here on AD. Then chill, guys!

Colin

[dude]

Speaking as a member of the older gay generation, at least the segment of which that is not alienated from my juniors, I also find the song hilarious and the depictions by the American and French gay kids very creative.

I moved out of the closet and all it's self-loathing implications ten years ago and I'm not going back in, nor am I going to try to make myself 'acceptable' or 'likable' to those who hate me. To them, I echo Lily's message... 4Q!

I personally play the videos at least twice every morning to get me going, along with my first and second cups of coffee.

[DesDownunder]

Speaking as a member of the younger generation, I think the song is hilarious. With people like Fred Phelps and some of the radical right-wing commentators on the radio telling those of us who are part of the LGBT community that we should die and we'll burn in hell and that they hate us, a song like F**k You is a perfect response.

Go read this NYTimes article Richard Norway posted on another thread here on AD. Then chill, guys!

Colin

This has nothing to do with a specifically 'gay' generation gap. We are dealing with basic human reactions, which rarely make adjustment for consequences.

I can only ask for a deeper consideration of the irrationality of such response, no matter how wonderful we may initially feel this video and song is, in responding to the extremists.

Why is it only the bad parts of history repeat themselves? That is a rhetorical question I am asking myself, while I chill out.

[JamesSavik]

Hate has a bad rap and is one of the most confusing things to explore. For generations the Christian church have sought to discourage it while actively fostering it- hence the confusion caused by crap like love the sinner, hate the sin. Lately it has become politically incorrect to express hatred- except when you disagree with some politically correct person who will then call you things that are best not discussed here.

Hate is one of the most basic and powerful human emotions. It's also one of the most honest if you understand where it comes from, most manipulated, most exploited and the least understood.

In studying apes, our closest biological relatives, they have two basic emotions: yikes and goody or more percisely fear and pleasure. All the rest of their emotional states are somewhere in between. Goody we can all easily understand. It's the reaction to spending time with our mate, sex, our favorite food, physical comfort, etc.

Yikes is a response to a threat- either real or perceived. It is how apes respond to something that is unfamiliar or not understood. It evokes in apes a fight or flight reaction. Apes will either run from or confront something that frightens them. So we have Yikes changing into Anger. Does this sound at all familiar?

Hate is a combination of fear and anger: the fear of a threat and anger at what that threat may represent. Most of the time it is easily difused by understanding but that's a complex human thing that's really hard to come by.

Human emotion is a lot more complex than apes. Apes don't know how to lie. Humans are adept at dishonesty- so much so that they often end up lying to themselves. What has happenedin society is that social pressure is discouraging people from showing or voicing hate. On the surface this sounds like a good thing and I suppose that it is. Those that openly preach hate are viewed with suspicion and disgust.

The problem is that that hate doesn't really go away. It is internalized and carried around, political correctness be damned. It comes out in small doses while looking at employment applications, performance reviews, and a thousand other little ways where internalized hate can replace judgment.

Is this really better? I don't know. When we hear a hate preacher like Phelps, Hucklebee or Dobson carrying on like a baboon, at least its honest and we know where we stand-- even if we won't turn our back on them. Where things get really dangerous is when that internalized hate is concealed behind a smile and a warm handshake.

To me it is easier when the haters rave. You can protect yourself from the danger that you see. I takes a politically correct bigot that professes to love everybody to really hurt you.

IMHO: let the haters hate. I'll buy them t-shirts. It's never the snake that you see that bites you. It's always the snake in the grass.