How fantastic it is to listen to a record called ‘No Time To Be 21’ which came out long before you were 21, now that you’re an old old punkgirl more than double that. So here’s the wonderful Adverts with Gaye Advert herself plonking brilliantly on the bass.
At the time, it was thrilling and it genuinely felt like it wasn’t a time to be 21, even though I was only in my early teens. But, re-reading the lyrics, living through the last 10 years, listening again with fresh ears, – 1978 probably was the best possible time to be 21!
Life’s short, don’t make a mess of it
To the ends of the earth, you’ll look for a sense in it
No chances, no plans
I’ll smash the windows of my box
I’ll be a madman
It’s no time to be 21
To be anyone
Hold back, see what you miss of it
Out of the shadows, into the thick of it
No maybes, no guessing
I’m getting wound up
The plot sickens
It’s no time to be 21
To be anyone
Strip down to the bare facts of it
Into the cold heart, no hope and all that shit
No chances, no plans
I think I’ll be somebody else
Or else a madman
It’s no time to be 21
To be anyone
We’ll be your untouchables
We’ll be your outcasts
We don’t care what you projects on us
It’s no time to be 21
Gaye Advert, you are the foundation of punkgirl and once again, we bow down and salute madly!