The Jam Lyrics

    ------ About the song BURNING SKY performed by The Jam

When I was a teen I bought The Jam "Extras" from a CD club to fill out my order (remember buy 1 get 8 free?!? - those were the days!) Had never heard of them but liked the name and thought I'd give them a try. If I were on a desert island with only a handful of CD's/albums to bring with me, this would be one of them. This is my favourite track from the album and it closes it out as well. The little guitar strum and bang of the kick drum and cymbal at the end is kind of cheesy and takes away from the song's impact. I don't think there is any older adult (I'm 36) this does not speak to and kinda makes me well up linstening to it. Great songwriting.

    ------ About the song GOING UNDERGROUND performed by The Jam

The song was in 1980 not 1982. I was 18 at the time and the Jam were the most important band to the youth of Britain. Paul Weller was and still is the most underrated singer/guitarist/lyricist of all time in my opinion. Doesn't get the genius status he deserves. Perhaps his songs were too anti establishment. That said the lyrics seem correct. Kidney machines it is.

    ------ About the song TALES FROM THE RIVERBANK performed by The Jam

I am a massive fan of The Jam, although born in May 1998, after their prime time. I am a massive cycling supporter, and so it is my country's star cyclist, Bradley Wiggins's love for The Jam that got me interested in them. If you like this song I recommend their other big songs, such as 'Town Called Malice', 'Going Underground', 'Ghosts', 'That's Entertainment' and of course 'In The City'

    ------ About the song THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT performed by The Jam

This song is pure genius (the poetry ... sorry, the lyrics ... paint as vivid a picture as any work by Keats or Wordsworth) and to those reveling in their snobbery; thinking that rock 'n roll is a loud "voiceless" bit of non-art, I can only say ...
That's Entertainment.

Chris Traynor
USA

    ------ About the song GOING UNDERGROUND performed by The Jam

I was at college in Wales when this shot straight to Number 1 in the UK charts. It was a searing inditement of the government philosophy of what to spend on and how disaffected youth felt. It summed up societal feelings in an amazing, unique (no other song sounds anything like this) few minutes. The Jam were one of the best bands ever to come out of the UK. Shame they didn't make it big in the USA, but they did in plenty of other places. Paul Weller was (and is) a master of his craft. They (The Jam) came up out of punk and like a lot of us who had punk leanings (even if we couldn't get away with the edgy punk look) spoke to a nation of youngsters. Many of us, like Paul W, are now middle aged but still punks inside.Put this song on, turn up the volume and go back to 1982 Britain.

    ------ About the song MR. CLEAN performed by The Jam

keen observation by paul weller in this song the sad story goes not only of the social context but the emotional one. life is a drink and you get drunk when your young. we grew up and now we growing old but the lyrics of paul weller came close to being hypocritical as mods we wore suits went to work in office jobs that we hated.It was just idealistic and young and had a limited lifespan and audience unless you were a football hooligan . in his twenties he realised this and made a business move into the style council as the jam just weren't marketable anymore the anger had gone and the movement had changed but i also like all good writers the observation of human character remains the same from shakespere ,charles dickens and even our mutal friend paul weller

    ------ About the song ART SCHOOL performed by The Jam

I miss the days of pure energy. Paul Weller might just be the smartest lyricist alive! Just a great message to the world - Do what the fuck you want and don't care what people think!

    ------ About the song THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT performed by The Jam

these lyrics to me say it all about parts of the north (which I call the outback or the northern territiories, being vast and outlying. If you live here for any length of time you will get sucked in, UNLESS you see all this as entertainment, because this is no way to live but the fact is that it is a way of life! - when I hear another story I just say 'That's Entertainment' and wonder at it all ... bang on anthem Paul - you are a master voyeur/composer

    ------ About the song WHEN YOU'RE YOUNG performed by The Jam

A genius lyric about the optimism of youth and how the reality of life drains away at it. Great tune as well, and yes fantastic bass line from Mr Foxton. The quintessential song "about the young idea", as Mr Weller sang on an earlier Jam track, and the cynicism of life today is such that young bands dont even talk like this any more. They're all into the "corporations" ethic by the time of their first demo tape...

Great track from one of England's finest ever bands, God bless 'em

    ------ About the song THAT'S ENTERTAINMENT performed by The Jam

Written by a true Jam fan who wrote a poem and sent it to Paul Weller, Weller then rearranged it. And to the guy above, couldn't agree more, I'm 17 and my Dad did the same thing, I can't get enough of them.