I was raised on punk rock; in Manchester in the 90s this wasn’t normal. I remember thinking it strange that none of my school friends knew the damned or the buzzcocks or Rezillos. I think I’m the only person on earth who got into folk music as a teenager to rebel against their parents. Germany is my take on the sort of punk rock songs that I was raised on; aggressive but fun. The main vocal on the recording is the first and only take I did, the song has been hanging around for a few years and when I came to record the vocals I just knew exactly how I wanted it to be. I screamed at the start of the take to find my key, but it sounded great so we just left it in.
Lyrically the song is simple as they come. Years ago, I met a German girl called Anne-Marie one night in Manchester; she was over visiting her friend who was a student at the University of Manchester. We had one of those infinite nights together that only happen when you know you’re never going to see that person again, it was a holiday romance in my home town. We kept in touch for a while after but that was never really the point. It came at a perfect time when I was getting a bit stir crazy and was about to embark on a few years of wandering.
lyrics
I’m gone to some degree
But these feet are the roots of a tree
So I’m chained to this place
By some feeling I can’t yet escape
Once more I took for granted another week that I’ve had to unwind
Thank God for second chances, stop me losing my poor fucking mind
I was talking to a girl in Germany
About her brother’s punk band that I’ve got to see
And how her best friend is moving to Manchester
And we should hook up when you’re visiting her
This town is wearing thin
But an ocean is raging within
Airports and sleeper trains
Oh, God I can’t wait to see her again
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