The penultimate track on the second studio album Favorite Worst Nightmare (2007) by the famous British rock band Arctic Monkeys was the composition Old Yellow Bricks (“Old Yellow Bricks”). Its authors were the band’s frontman Alex Turner and his old friend John “Reverend” McClure, the founder of the band Reverend and the Makers.
The title of the song may seem unusual. But, in fact, the yellow brick road is a very common image, borrowed from the famous fairy tale “The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.” It was written by the writer Lyman Frank Baum, and was known to Soviet children in the adaptation of Alexander Volkov as “The Wizard of the Emerald City.”
Along the same road, the girl Dorothy, in the company of new friends, went to the Emerald City in search of the Wizard. There is no point in retelling the entire storyline. We only recall that at the end the main character realizes that she misses home and happily returns to her native land.
The yellow brick road traditionally means the desire to start a new life away from home. It leads to the world of desires and fantasies, which – alas! – do not always come true.
“Old Yellow Bricks” is no doubt a reference to Baum’s work. Moreover, the text of the composition ends with the words “Dorothy was right”, which is a clear indication of the source of inspiration for the authors. It can be said that the song is about how the idea of getting away from home often turns out to be not so good as it might seem in youth.
The track was released on the album “Favourite Worst Nightmare” in 2007. It was not released as a single and did not rise to high positions in the charts.
There is no official video clip for Old Yellow Bricks, so let’s take a look at an amateur clip compiled from various photos of the Arctic Monkeys.
Interesting Facts
- The image of the yellow brick road has also been used by many other famous musicians, including Elton John (“Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”) and Eminem (“Yellow Brick Road”).
- At the Brit Awards 2007, the musicians from Arctic Monkeys appeared in costumes of characters from Frank Baum’s fairy tale Lyman.
Lyrics
Old Yellow BricksTranslation of the song
Old Yellow Bricksold yellow bricks
Love’s a risk
Quite the little ‘escapologist’
Looked so miffed
When you wanted
For a thousand places better than this
Love is a risk
You wanted to disappear like a little magician
And I was so impatient
When I wished
Any place out of a thousand others, as long as it’s not Chorus:
You are the fugitive
But you don’t know what you’re running from
You can’t kid us
And you couldn’t trick anyone
Houdini
Love you don’t know what you’re running away from
Who wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up
Blinded by nostalgia?
Who wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up?
You are like a fugitive
But you don’t know what you’re running from
You won’t fool us
And you won’t fool anyone
Houdini
Baby you don’t know what you’re running from
Who wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up
Blinded by nostalgia?
Who wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up? She wasn’t raised but the way
That the emperor put traps in the cage
And the days she was dull
Lead to nights readin’ beer bottles
So someone can lock her in a cage
And sad days
Changed nights with beer bottlesChorusChorus You’re at a loss
Just because
It wasn’t all that you thought it was
After all, everything turned out
Not the way you imagined You are a fugitive, but you don’t know what you’re runnin’ away from She said, “I want to sleep in the city that never wakes up
And revel in nostalgia.”
I know I said he wants to sleep in the city that never wakes up, but…
I know I said he wants to sleep in a city that never wakes up, but… Dorothy was right though
