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A Few Notes
“Electric Avenue” by Eddy Grant is one of those songs that instantly transports you back to a different era. With its infectious groove and unmistakable synth-driven sound, it’s the kind of track that sticks in your head, even if you only hear it once.
It’s upbeat on the surface, but once you listen closely to the lyrics, you realize there’s a deeper, more serious message underneath. That contrast is probably what makes it timeless: it’s danceable, catchy, and thought-provoking all at the same time.
“Electric Avenue” is inspired by the 1981 Brixton riots in London. Despite its lively rhythm, the song talks about poverty, violence, and social injustice. “Electric Avenue” itself refers to a real street in Brixton, one of the first in London to have electric street lighting. The song uses it as a symbol of urban struggle and resilience, highlighting the gap between progress and reality.
Boy! Boy!
Now in the street, there is violence
And-and a lots of work to be done
No place to hang out our washing
And-and I can’t blame all on the sun
Oh no, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Oh, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Workin’ so hard like a soldier
Can’t afford a thing on TV
Deep in my heart, I abhor ya
Can’t get food for the kid
Good God, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Ho, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Oh no
Oh no
Oh no
Oh no
Oh God, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Ho, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Who is to blame in one country?
Never can get to the one
Dealin’ in multiplication
And they still can’t feed everyone
Oh no, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Ho no, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Ho, out in the street
Out in the street
Out in the daytime
Out in the night
Oh, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Ho, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Out in the street
Out in the street
Out in the playground
In the dark side of town
Ho, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
And then we’ll take it higher
Hey, we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
(Oh, yeah) And then we’ll take it higher
(Rock it in the daytime) we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
(Rock it in the night) and then we’ll take it higher (Electric Avenue)
(Rock it in Miami, mama, meh) we gonna rock down to Electric Avenue
(Whoa in a Brixton) and then we’ll take it higher (Electric Avenue)
Official Music Video
Live Performance
North of Nowhere
South of Somewhere
I’m sorry, I can’t hear you over the sound of me pretending I’m in a music video.
The reason why so few people are agreeable in conversation is that each is thinking more about what he intends to say than about what he is being answered.
Every project goes through a phase where it looks like a crime scene. If it doesn’t, you aren’t doing it right.