Citizen Fish - Marker Pen

Here's a great big, bouncy, in your face tune by scene veterans Citizen Fish. From Bath, England, formed in 1989 and featuring several members who've also played in Subhumans and Culture Shock, they mix up punk and ska, and throw in the distinctive vocals of Dick Lucas to produce an eclectic mix of socially aware material. As well as having a sizable back catalogue they also put out a split album with Leftover Crack called Deadline but today's song is taken from their 2011 Goods lp and it's called Marker Pen.....

The nicest bloke I've ever known
Got locked up in a nursing home
Some disorder of the brain
It had a scientific name
They filled him full of pills and then
Left him with a marker pen
With no paper to his name
He started up a little game

Wrote upon the t.v. screen
And the beverage machine
'Out of order' - wrote on chairs
That someone else was sitting there
Wrote on exit doors 'return'
Wrote on curtains 'will not burn'
Wrote on the telephone 'lines are dead'
Wrote 'on his head' on his head

Even though he was insane
Driven mad by the constant strain
Of repetition and empty scenes
Where everything is and nothing means
Subverting symbols back to front
Proved he was intelligent
So they let him out and left me behind
Now I got his pen and plenty of time

All of this just goes to show
What words can do with the status quo