Song Meaning

John Wesley Harding's "July 13th, 1985 (Live, 2008)" isn't just a nostalgic look back at Live Aid; it's a skewering of the self-congratulatory, often hypocritical, sentimentality that surrounded the event. The song meaning resides in the uncomfortable space between genuine empathy and performative altruism, a tension Harding navigates with characteristic wit and cynicism. The chorus, a seemingly straightforward recollection of "the day we watched Live Aid," becomes increasingly ironic as the verses unfold, revealing a narrator caught in a web of privilege and moral ambiguity. Harding dissects the collective ego boost of feeling like we "fed the world that day," while simultaneously indulging in the excesses of a comfortable Western lifestyle. The lyrics analysis reveals a sharp critique of the disconnect between awareness and action. The narrator's confession of spending "thirty quid on coke" and missing Spandau Ballet due to being "wiped out" lays bare the superficiality of their engagement with the cause. The song cleverly juxtaposes the grand gesture of Live Aid with the individual's often-contradictory reality. Later, Harding escalates the satire, pointing out the lack of Black representation at the event with the aside, "So what if there weren't any blacks involved?" and then sarcastically lauding Bob Geldof's ego. This is not a sincere assessment of Geldof; it's a jab at the deification of a figure who, in the narrator's eyes, became a symbol of the very self-importance the song is criticizing. The line about using the same ten-pound note to snort coke and then donate to the cause is a brutal distillation of this hypocrisy. It's a moment of dark humor that forces the listener to confront the uncomfortable truth that even well-intentioned actions can be tainted by self-interest and a desire for absolution. The "Interlude" section, where Harding breaks character to address the audience directly, is particularly scathing. He leads the crowd in a deliberately awful, off-the-cuff singalong: "We own the world / We are rich bastards / We are the ones who drive flash cars / And don't pay taxes." This isn't just a throwaway gag; it's a Brechtian moment of alienation, pulling back the curtain on the power dynamics that underpin the entire spectacle of global charity. The song concludes with the plaintive line, "But you can't go on as if nothing's wrong / So who's gonna drive me home tonight?" This final question is not a plea for a literal ride; it's a desperate acknowledgment of the moral hangover that follows the fleeting high of collective do-gooding. The song, therefore, grapples with the complexities of human nature, challenging us to examine our own motivations and the uncomfortable truths that lie beneath the surface of our charitable impulses.

John Wesley Harding - Pop

July 13th, 1985 (Live, 2008)

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Duration: 4:27

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[Chorus] Well, July 13th, 1985 Was the day we watched Live Aid The global jukebox, it came alive And we fed the world that day We fed the world that day [Verse 1] It was a day for a party We made a lot of food and we ate it sure as hell Vegetarian salads without any meat ('Cause I was a student) There was leftovers as well Everybody laughed when I said Thinking of the children either dying or dead Let's pick up the leftovers And send them to the starving children in Ethiopia ('Cause my mother used to say that) Sure I was pleased to give money 'Cause it was not a political cause I just remember the smiling faces The music and the applause I spent thirty quid on coke I smoked a little too much dope I was wiped out from five till seven And I missed Spandau Ballet and the reformed Who [Chorus] It was July 13th, 1985 Was the day we watched Live Aid The global jukebox came alive And we fed the world that day We fed the world that day [Verse 2] Well, the music was fucking brilliant And that Madonna she sure can move By the time Paul McCartney's microphone had failed (Remember that? Whatever. I just don't have any jokes about Live 8, you know? There was no joke to be made.) We were all well into the Live Aid groove And Paul McCartney, Paul McCartney sang (Same joke again—awesome!) Well, which must have been a bit of an irony 'Cause if you "Let It Be" nothing will ever improve, but It was one of the first times I ever heard one of the real Beatles singing a real Beatles' song live on the television And I was really moved [Chorus] And it was July 13th, 1985 Was the day we watched Live Aid The global jukebox came alive And we fed the world that day We fed the world that day [Bridge] Well, the powerful force of pop music Solved the problems, feed the world So what if there weren't any blacks involved? There was Everything But The Girl Bob Geldof has no ego That man should get the Nobel Prize By the time he sang the solo on "Feed the World" I thought he should be canonized [Verse 3] And I felt guilty about the starving But I felt good to be alive And I must admit I shed a tear or two In the moving video for the Cars song Drive And Saint Bob made me feel like shit So I got out an envelope, opened it Put in a very crisp ten pound note It was the same one I used earlier to snort my coke (That's satire) And that made me feel good inside (Sending the money) [Chorus] It was July 13th, 1985 Was the day we watched Live Aid The global jukebox came alive And we fed the world that day We fed the world that day (Everybody) [Interlude] We own the world We are rich bastards (Don't actually sing, that's not gonna work. I just didn't expect anybody would.) We own the world We are rich bastards We are the ones who drive flash cars And don't pay taxes This is crap we're singing We're stoned out of our minds And we didn't even bother to make it rhyme (Except for that bit) [Outro] But you can't go on As if nothing's wrong So, who's gonna drive me home Tonight?

Credits

Writers: John Wesley Harding

July 13th, 1985 (Live, 2008)

July 13th, 1985 (Live, 2008)

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