Elbow - Adriana Again
Today marks 25 years since the release of ‘Asleep in the Back’.

Originally released on 7th May 2001, elbow’s debut album introduced tracks including ‘Red’, ‘Newborn’, ‘Powder Blue’ and ‘Scattered Black and Whites’, and was later shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize.

To mark the anniversary, a selection of archive videos, live footage and clips from the long out-of-print ‘Asleep in the Back’ film are now being made available on the band’s official YouTube channel for the first time.

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Elbow

LEADERS OF THE FREE WORLD

I’m sick of working for a living
I’m just ticking off the days ‘til I die
I miss you Louise
And the sickest little pleasures keep me going
in between pulling teeth

Periscope up
I’ve been looking for a ladder
I need to see the Commander in Chief
And remind him what was passed onto me

Your mum don’t sleep
The friends you keep
I didn’t raise a thief

But the leaders of the free world
Are just little boys throwing stones
And it’s easy to ignore ‘til they’re knocking on
the door of your homes

My thinking isn’t driven
But the music always gives me a lift
I’m so easy to please
But I think we dropped the baton like the 60’s
didn’t happen. Oh no.

Periscope up
Should be looking for a ladder
I need to see the Commander in Chief
And remind him what was passed onto me

Your mum don’t sleep
The friends you keep
I didn’t raise a thief

Passing the gun from father to feckless son
We’re climbing a landslide where only the
good die young