Suburbia

Lost in the high street, where the dogs run

roaming suburban boys

Mother’s got a hairdo to be done

She says they’re too old for toys

Stood by the bus stop with a felt pen

in this suburban hell

and in the distance a police car

to break the suburban spell

Let’s take a ride

and run with the dogs tonight

in Suburbia

You can’t hide

Run with the dogs tonight

in Suburbia

Break a window by the town hall

Listen! A siren screams

There in the distance like a roll call

of all the suburban dreams

Let’s take a ride

and run with the dogs tonight

in Suburbia

You can’t hide

run with the dogs tonight

in Suburbia

I only wanted something else to do but hang around

It’s on the front page of the papers

This is their hour of need

Where’s a policeman when you need one

to blame the colour TV?

Let’s take a ride

and run with the dogs tonight

in Suburbia

You can’t hide

run with the dogs tonight

in Suburbia

1985. We went to see Suburbia, a film by Penelope Spheeris about punks in decaying suburbs of Southern California, and wrote this shortly afterwards. Although our suburbia is very British and has recent memories of riots in Toxteth and Brixton, the running dogs motif was inspired by the film.