In the UK, the problem of child and juvenile delinquency is very relevant. In London and other large cities of the country, this phenomenon turned out to be so large-scale that leading British politicians are forced to take personal control of the fight against it, who are prevented by young lawbreakers from being successfully re-elected to their posts.
Musicians also do not leave this issue without attention. One of the songs dedicated to him was the composition Short Change Hero by The Heavy.
The story of creation and the meaning of the song Short Change Hero
Frontman Kelvin Swaby said that he wrote the song under the impression of the situation in which his young relative found himself:
He was about fifteen and already in a whole bunch of shit with the police. It was really bad. And in Britain, youth culture is on the rise. So many kids carry knives, and there’s been so many deaths in the last couple of years because kids just stab each other. It’s completely ridiculous. And the situation I wrote about was very, very similar to the one I just described. I don’t want to go into details, but it was very, very painful for the whole family.
SongFacts.com, 2010
Interestingly, the inspiration came to Swaby when he and guitarist Dan Taylor were sitting at the airport waiting for a flight:
I was at the airport making this rhythm, and then I started humming under my breath. So I hummed, composed a rhythm and showed them to Dan. He immediately started playing something that seemed to be taken straight from some western. I said, “Yes, that’s exactly the direction we need to go.” Because it reminds us of stories about the bad guy who comes to town and gets kicked out of there, if you know what I mean. That was the whole concept behind Short Change Hero. We needed to beat her in the spirit of the Ennio Morricone soundtrack.
Release and achievements
Short Change Hero was featured on The House that Dirt Built album released in 2009.
The song appealed to directors, television producers and creators of computer games. Various versions of her can be heard in the movie Faster than a Bullet, the TV series Haven, Longmire, The Vampire Diaries, Suits and The Mind Reader, as well as in the games NHL 13, Borderlands 2 , “Poker Night 2” and the trailer for “Batman: Arkham City”.
Video of Short Change Hero by The Heavy
As far as we know, there is no official video for Short Change Hero, so let’s listen to one of the YouTube recordings of the song.
Interesting Facts
- At the beginning of the song, footsteps are heard, which should give the listener the impression that the villain is entering the city. According to Swaby, for their recording, Dan Taylor walked in cowboy boots over cat litter.
Short Change Hero Lyrics by The Heavy
I can’t see where you’re coming from
But I know just what you runnin’ from
And what matters ain’t the, who’s baddest but
The ones who stop you fallin’ from your ladder, baby
And you feel like you feelin’ now
Doin’ things just to please your crowd
When I love you like the way I love you
And I suffer, but I ain’t gonna cut you ’cause
chorus:
This ain’t no place for no hero
This ain’t no place for no better man
This ain’t no place for no hero
to call home
Every time I close my eyes, I think
I think about you inside
And your mother, givin’ up on askin’ why
Why do you lie, and you cheat, and you try to make
A fool outta she
I can’t see where you’re coming from
But I know just what you’re running from
And what matters ain’t the, who’s baddest but the
Ones who stop you fallin’ from your ladder, ’cause
Short Change Hero by The Heavy Lyrics Alternate
I don’t know where you’re coming from
But I understand what you’re running from
It doesn’t matter who’s the baddest
It is important who will not let you fall down the stairs, baby
And you’re constantly insecure
And you do everything to please your company
But I love you as much as I can love
And I suffer but I will never hurt you because
Chorus:
There is no place for a hero
There’s no place for a better man here
There is nowhere for the hero
call home
Every time I close my eyes I think
I think what’s in your soul
And your mother, who has already stopped asking,
Why do you lie, cheat and try to expose
her fool
I don’t know where you’re coming from
But I understand what you’re running from
It doesn’t matter who’s the baddest
It is important who will not let you fall down the stairs, baby
Song quote
We wanted people to think we took it from a movie. And a lot of people were really asking, “Which movie is this from?”
Suobi (about the sound of footsteps at the beginning of the song), SongFacts.com
