We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

A Revolution In An Empty Room

by Joe Solo

/
  • Streaming + Download

    Includes high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more. Paying supporters also get unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app.
    Purchasable with gift card

      name your price

     

  • Full Digital Discography

    Get all 46 Joe Solo releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.

    Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Farewell Hatfield Main, Sledgehammer Songs, Twenty From Twenty, Answer Machine/See You When I Get There, These Are My People, Fight The Good Fight Club Revisited, Upstairs At Park Street, Collected, and 38 more. , and , .

    Purchasable with gift card

      £35.25 GBP or more (25% OFF)

     

  • A Revolution In An Empty Room CD
    Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

    £5 from sale of this album will be donated to helping feed and house the homeless of Greater Manchester.

    CD version of 'A Revolution In An Empty Room' complete with 8-page colour booklet and shrink-wrapped in a jewel case.

    Includes unlimited streaming of A Revolution In An Empty Room via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

    Sold Out

1.
I've been banging my head against a brick wall all day And what's left of my soul is slowly wasting away But I ain't gonna die here, alone in the gloom I'm gonna start a revolution in an empty room I'm gonna sing out Too-ra-la-la yeah Too-ra-la-lay Put your best foot forward, brother Come what may There maybe only me and my shadow In the light of the moon But I can start a revolution in an empty room But it don't mean nothing Unless you shout it out loud To four corners of silence Or the cries of the crowd You see we know something's wrong here Yet we all just assume We can't start a revolution in an empty room But we're wrong now Too-ra-la-la yeah Too-ra-la-lay Put your best foot forward, brother Come what may There maybe only you and your shadow In the light of the moon But you can start a revolution in an empty room Words and music by Joe Solo
2.
Everybody got a cross to bear Yet everybody's trying to get somewhere Everybody's got their fight to fight But what so wrong with trying to do things right? What's so wrong with trying to do things right? What's so wrong with trying to do things right? Nothing good will come without a fight What's so wrong with trying to do things right? Everybody says that life ain't fair Yet everybody's out to get their share We feed the greed and we concede the fight But what's so wrong with trying to do things right? What's so wrong with trying to do things right? What's so wrong with trying to do things right? Nothing good will come without a fight What's so wrong with trying to do things right? I believe that in the heart of man There's something makes us do the best we can Let's drag it kicking out in to the light What's so wrong with trying to do things right? What's so wrong with trying to do things right? What's so wrong with trying to do things right? Nothing good will come without a fight What's so wrong with trying to do things right? Words and music by Joe Solo
3.
The doctors say, the doctors say I'm dying Miss The doctors say I'm dying don't you know And I've a little list of things I wanna do Before that old fat lady sings and I've got to go And I never swam with dolphins in the ocean And I never sailed away around the world And I never helped Guy Fawkes with an explosion And I never kissed a New York City Girl But then maybe you can, maybe you can help me Miss Maybe you can help me ease my load And help a poor boy with a dying wish Fot tomorrow I'll be off on down the road And I never swooped with Swallows in the summer And I never found an oyster with a pearl And I never got to shake hands with Joe Strummer And I never kissed a New York City Girl Your mother, yeah your mother, well she taught you right And you should just turn me out of here to die But they said a little tender loving care at night might help me It's a long shot, but I guess it's worth a try I never swam with dolphins in the ocean And I never sailed away around the world I never felt, I never felt emotion Like when you kiss a New York City Girl... Words and music by Joe Solo
4.
When I blow down the road knowing how the wild wind feels When I ain't got that Black Dog a-howling at my heels When I roll like a river rolls, with no memory When that day comes there'll be no stopping me When my shadow's passed like the last cloud on the hill When my breeze has blown out and your meadow grass is still When my colours run like a sunset on the sea When that day comes there'll be no stopping me Words and music by Joe Solo
5.
Post-Psychosis Blues (free) 04:40
When there ain't no point in trying Cos everything you do goes wrong When all your old get up and go Has got up and gone When you're feeling like an also-ran That never had a shout And your hopes and dreams are cigarettes That life keeps stubbing out Keep on keeping on When you've one foot in the past And that's what stops you moving on Like a School Reunion full of strangers Dancing to that song That no-one ever liked and never will Still it's 'those were the days...' It's time to burn the bridges down The flames will light the way Keep on keeping on We wanted no more heroes So we stripped em of their crowns We put them on that pedestal And then we pulled it down and now it's Primetime Sellevision when they once Were all the rage The pink receding mohawk Of Punk Rock in Middle Age Keep on keeping on To the freaks and to the misfits To the wounded and the weak To the locked out ones with answers But who have no voice to speak It's no use knocking on their door now Cos they'll tell you 'Go To Hell!!" Your Culture isn't culture If your Culture doesn't sell Keep on keeping on So we're spoonfed paranoia Til we hate and fear and blame While the self-help guru's try to turn Self-loathing into fame And we analyse our lives through the lens Of a mobile phone And we wonder why with all them 'friends' We still feel so alone Keep on keeping on Words and music by Joe Solo
6.
You'll never have a song to sing If you're ducking every battle You're never gonna change a thing Following the cattle down A dead end street In a one-horse town You're never gonna win a hand By folding with the Aces You're never gonna make a stand Tripping over laces tied Together forever In a knot of pride You never let the light go out You need a little spark and so You never let the light go out No, no, no, no, no You never let the light go out It'll leave you in the dark I know You never let the light go out You're talking like a hammer, yeah But you're living like a nail and You ask me why I even try at all When I know I'm gonna fail and I tell you every dog'll have his day That's why I'm barking and I'm biting Cos if I'm going down now I'm going down fighting You never let the light go out You need a little spark and so You never let the light go out No, no, no, no, no You never let the light go out It'll leave you in the dark I know You never let the light go out You either take a look around now And say that apathy beat us Or you try to rev it up now Until there's nothing can defeat us You never let the light go out You need a little spark and so You never let the light go out No, no, no, no, no You never let the light go out It'll leave you in the dark I know You never let the light go out Words and music by Joe Solo
7.
Money (free) 02:05
Ain't got no money I ain't got no money, no Ain't got no money I ain't got no money, no Ain't got no money got no money no Ain't got a penny in my pocket any more than I owe Ain't got no money I ain't got no money, no They ain't never had nothing so they don't know how it feels They ain't never had nothing so they don't know how it feels They ain't never had nothing, they don't know how it feels When you're going without, so your kids can have meals They ain't never had nothing so they don't know how it feels Give a man a gun he can rob a bank boys and girls Give a man a gun he can rob a bank boys and girls Give a man a gun he can rob a bank boys and girls Yeah, but give a man a bank and he'll rob the whole damn world, yeah Give a man a gun he can rob a bank boys and girls Words and music by Joe Solo
8.
Strollin' 02:16
Still kicking Still screaming Still hoping And I'm still dreaming Still rollin' Still strollin' along I ain't broken I ain't bitter Ain't quit Cos I ain't no quitter Still rollin' Still strollin' along Two things you can rely on Orion my old friend You'll be gone by morning And I'll be back again I ain't a-looking back And a-crying I'll live forever or I'll Die trying Still rollin' Still strollin' along Words and music by Joe Solo
9.
The box in the corner is still simpering away But I just can't reconcile those words with what I've seen today From the bunting in the gutter as we trudged home in the rain To the girl who said 'God Save The Queen' Then asked me for some change And we're one step from eviction and we're barely scraping through But that's the world beneath your flags Of red and white and blue Now Mr Singh has run that shop for 27 years And his father fought the fascists with the Royal Fusiliers But the 'Made in England' barcode posse put his windows through That's the world beneath your flags Of red and white and blue Now a thief can pick your pocket, and a girl can break your heart But a goverment can take your job and tear your world apart I took that humiliation, now I'm taking this one too You wave as I drown in a sea Of red and white and blue Sure I love my country as the proud land of my birth But my measure is compassion, not how much a man is worth So I call the ghost of William Blake, cos I know he'll understand Why I'd try to build Jerusalem, in this grey unpleasant land And until it's fit for heroes I'm afraid I've work to do To change the world beneath your flags Of red and white and blue Words and music by Joe Solo
10.
In the City of Reason, you queue on the corner of doubt Like a wise man who whispers at fools who are drowning him out And if ever there's writing there, someone will whitewash the wall You're just like the others here You're learning to crawl When you tell that story, you're showered in glory it seems You're a Working Class Hero, yeah, just like you are in your dreams But here in your company tie you're not walking so tall You're just like the others here You're learning to crawl So we crawl to the corner and queue at the end of the street Not a one of us wondering if as one we rose to our feet Would we each find that we had the answer right here after all? If we stood shoulder-to-shoulder Instead of just learning to crawl Words and music by Joe Solo
11.
My and Jimmy we grew up round here And we always talked of getting out But raised on chips and beans and TV We was never in with much of a shout We'd spread a map out on my bedroom floor And draw a pencil line from coast to coast We'd sit and whisper at the back of the class About the best place to meet Elvis's ghost We always swore that we would fly out there And buy ourselves a big old Chevrolet And hit the road, boys Hit the road, boys From New York to LA We left school and Jimmy moved away And me and Julie settled down To supermarkets and to overtime There's not much else in this town She'd sometimes ask what I was thinking of And I'd say nothing, like us blokes do But I'd be out there on some open road In a big old Lincoln '52 We always swore that we would fly out there And buy ourselves a big old Chevrolet And hit the road, boys Hit the road, boys From New York to LA Days turn into weeks and months to years Your life slips away so fast Julie said I should have grown up now I'm still that loser at the back of the class I lost my job, they shut the factory down And Julie left me for some bloke Who worked for someone shutting factories down And they say God don't like a joke Then I met Jimmy in the street one day He'd been through the mill like me We raised a glass for dreams that never were And a dozen more for what could be We're in the airport now to fly out there And buy ourselves that big old Chevrolet To hit the road, boys Hit the road, boys From New York to LA Words and music by Joe Solo
12.
It's that light at the end of the tunnel of your darkest day It's the moment you know, that everything'll be ok It's how we live, it's how we breathe, it's how we cope It's that crazy little thing called hope It's that island of calm in the eye of the storm It's that coat on your back in the blizzard that's keeping you warm Can turn a mountain to a gently rising slope It's that crazy little thing called hope When the rain's set in, and it's looking like it's here to stay Hope's that little bit of blue sky, to chase the clouds away It's a step from the shadow of doubt That says I didn't make this problem But I'm damned-well gonna figure it out Turns on the spotlight and turns off the microscope It's that crazy little thing called hope It's how we live, it's how we breathe, it's how we cope It's that crazy little thing called hope Words and music by Joe Solo
13.
I knew this day was coming And I've known it all along When rights fought long and hard for Have been taken one by one I knew this day was coming And I've known it from the start But you will not break my spirit And you'll never break my heart When my body's cold and lifeless And you think you've finally won When at last my voice is silenced By your tear gas and your gun When my body's cold and lifeless And you've tossed it on the cart Know you did not break my spirit And you'll never break my heart To you Water Cannon Diplomats With your baton-round replies You can try to kill the answers But the question never dies I'm just one man of many And I've been proud to play my part You will not break my spirit And you'll never break my heart Words and music by Joe Solo

about

A collection of songs about empowerment in one way or another, about not rolling over and giving up because that's easier than trying to navigate a course through a world that doesn't care. Download available now with the CD to follow in February 2013. Enjoy x

credits

released January 25, 2013

Joe Solo

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Joe Solo Scarborough, UK

Joe Solo is an award-winning musician, writer, poet, activist, broadcaster and washing machine engineer from Scarborough.

Live he has an ever growing reputation as both a performer and raconteur, being thought-provoking, comical and punch-the-air political often in the same breath.

He is not an artist you forget in a hurry.
... more

shows

contact / help

Contact Joe Solo

Streaming and
Download help

Shipping and returns

Report this album or account

Joe Solo recommends:

If you like Joe Solo, you may also like: