Job Discussion Forums

[Irish Blood English Heart]

[Belmont]

[Stephen Jones]

I left in the early seventies, though I stopped living there in 1970 when I went to university.

To give you an idea of how long ago it was my Dad worked in Whitworth Street in the middle of the gay village, itself it wasn't a gay village, it was a load of warehouses and he worked in the bank branch that served all of them.

And the gays used to hang out in a bar near the cathedral, and it had some strange properties because everybody used to go into the loo with a limp and come out without one :)

They've always been knocking down the centre of Manchester and replacing it with something equally dreadful. I must have seen at least four rebuilds, one being precipated by the IRA who manifested a rare aesthetic conscience by blowing up the Arndale Centre.

[Irish Blood English Heart]

I must say that you should spend some time in Manchester again if you ever get the chance as im certain its changed a hell of a lot for the better that youre unaware off? No other city in the UK captures its bohemian spirit at all. Nor has any other city got a better collection of bars, musuems, resturants, clubs, public spaces or alternative shops in the UK.

[khmerhit]

That's all very well and good, IBEH. I believe you, too, having been there briefly, once. There is or was also a strong Jewish community in Manchester. So, why did the Smiths sing---

"Man-ches-ter--so much to ans-wer for!!!"--?
Is it a football reference?

Curiously Strong,
khmerit

[Irish Blood English Heart]

Yes there is a strong Jewish element in Manchester (one of the largest in the UK i believe), its a very multi-cultural city as I'm led to believe it also has Europe's highest concentration of Ethnic Chinese and of students and it also has a huge islamic population and west indian population. Where I lived in Hulme the population was only something like 45% white. Where I live in Newcastle it is 98.2% white which is a real shame.

That song Khmer was about the Moors Murders a paticually violent series of sexual murders of children by Ian Brady and Myra Hindley. At first the press launched an attack on Morrissey for his lyrics calling him all manner of sick stuff but its pretty well known now that his motives for the song are very anti-the murderers and he wrote it because he was the same age and from the same city as the children who were killed (and some never found).

The lyrics went like this:

SUFFER LITTLE CHILDREN

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Over the moor, take me to the moor
Dig a shallow grave
And I'll lay me down

Over the moor, take me to the moor
Dig a shallow grave
And I'll lay me down

Lesley-Anne, with your pretty white beads
Oh John, you'll never be a man
And you'll never see your home again
Oh Manchester, so much to answer for

Edward, see those alluring lights ?
Tonight will be your very last night

A woman said : "I know my son is dead
I'll never rest my hands on his sacred head"

Hindley wakes and Hindley says :
Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, and says :
"Oh, wherever he has gone, I have gone"

But fresh lilaced moorland fields
Cannot hide the stolid stench of death
Fresh lilaced moorland fields
Cannot hide the stolid stench of death

Hindley wakes and says :
Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, Hindley wakes, and says :
"Oh, whatever he has done, I have done"

But this is no easy ride
For a child cries :

"Oh, find me ... find me, nothing more
We are on a sullen misty moor
We may be dead and we may be gone
But we will be, we will be, we will be, right by your side
Until the day you die
This is no easy ride
We will haunt you when you laugh
Yes, you could say we're a team
You might sleep
You might sleep
You might sleep
BUT YOU WILL NEVER DREAM !
Oh, you might sleep
BUT YOU WILL NEVER DREAM !
You might sleep
BUT YOU WILL NEVER DREAM !"

Oh Manchester, so much to answer for
Oh Manchester, so much to answer for

Oh, find me, find me !
Find me !
I'll haunt you when you laugh
Oh, I'll haunt you when you laugh
You might sleep
BUT YOU WILL NEVER DREAM !
Oh ...
Over the moors, I'm on the moor
Oh, over the moor
Oh, the child is on the moor

http://www.oz.net/~moz/lyrics/thesmith/sufferli.htm