Sam Fender — Crumbling Empire
Album: People WatchingAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 118
Length: 4:53
Plays (last 30 days): 4
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Road like the surface of the moon
A Detroit neighbourhood left to ruin
Gil at the wheel, showing me the sight
Of this crumbling empire
Following suit in the Atlantic mirror
Under the Byker Bridge, they shiver
It's one for me, and one for the dead, and one
For my crumbling empire
I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where they'd take me
In this crumbling empire
My old man worked on the rail yard
Getting his trade on the electrical board
It got privatised, the work degraded
In this crumbling empire
My mother delivered most the kids in this town
My step-dad drove in a tank for the crown
They left them homeless, down and out
In their crumbling empire
I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where I'd be
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling
In this crumbling empire
Earl was a kid when they threw him out
Living on the streets down Camden town
Under the arches, strung right out
In a crumbling empire
Twenty-five years on - and dope
Begging to pay for synthetic hope
Just another kid failed by these blokes
And their crumbling empire
I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where they'd take me
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire (oh)
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire (oh)
In our crumbling empire (crumbling)
In our crumbling empire
In our crumbling empire (crumbling)
In our crumbling empire (oh, oh)
Yeah
(Oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
A Detroit neighbourhood left to ruin
Gil at the wheel, showing me the sight
Of this crumbling empire
Following suit in the Atlantic mirror
Under the Byker Bridge, they shiver
It's one for me, and one for the dead, and one
For my crumbling empire
I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where they'd take me
In this crumbling empire
My old man worked on the rail yard
Getting his trade on the electrical board
It got privatised, the work degraded
In this crumbling empire
My mother delivered most the kids in this town
My step-dad drove in a tank for the crown
They left them homeless, down and out
In their crumbling empire
I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where I'd be
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling
In this crumbling empire
Earl was a kid when they threw him out
Living on the streets down Camden town
Under the arches, strung right out
In a crumbling empire
Twenty-five years on - and dope
Begging to pay for synthetic hope
Just another kid failed by these blokes
And their crumbling empire
I'm not preaching, I'm just talking
I don't wear the shoes I used to walk in
But I can't help thinking where they'd take me
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire (oh)
In this crumbling empire
In this crumbling empire (oh)
In our crumbling empire (crumbling)
In our crumbling empire
In our crumbling empire (crumbling)
In our crumbling empire (oh, oh)
Yeah
(Oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
(Oh, oh)
Comments (6)add comment
Edweirdo wrote:
So rad. Plus Bruce Hornsby and War on Drugs. Good stuff!
On first listen, I like this ... echoes of Springsteen but that's rarely a bad thing.
So rad. Plus Bruce Hornsby and War on Drugs. Good stuff!
Is he produced by the war on drugs by any chance?
edit...
I can answer my own question...
People Watching is the third studio album by English musician Sam Fender, released on 21 February 2025 on Polydor Records.[2] The album was co-produced by Adam Granduciel (from the war on drugs), Markus Dravs, and Fender himself, with additional production from his bandmates, Dean Thompson and Joe Atkinson.
edit...
I can answer my own question...
People Watching is the third studio album by English musician Sam Fender, released on 21 February 2025 on Polydor Records.[2] The album was co-produced by Adam Granduciel (from the war on drugs), Markus Dravs, and Fender himself, with additional production from his bandmates, Dean Thompson and Joe Atkinson.
This Geordie boy understands certain sections of Detroit. A crumbling empire indeed.
At the same time, the city's population is slowly increasing. So there's that.
At the same time, the city's population is slowly increasing. So there's that.
I keep hearing this guy and have to turn up the volume. He's growing on me. Giving 9's now. Thinking he'll get me with another song.
BTW, Happy Birthday, Sam!
BTW, Happy Birthday, Sam!
On first listen, I like this ... echoes of Springsteen but that's rarely a bad thing.
This Geordie boy understands certain sections of Detroit. A crumbling empire indeed.
At the same time, the city's population is slowly increasing. So there's that.
Decades ago my dad and I took one of his coworkers for a tour of downtown Detroit. The coworker was from Australia working in the States on a short term basis. He wanted see the good (not much at the time) and the bad (plenty). Reading the lyrics I thought of that experience almost immediately. The Aussie was fascinated by the shear scale of the complete devastation that could be found in the city in that time. This would have been a half a world away and a few years before Sam was born, but Sam does a good job of capturing that day of touring "our" crumbling empire. The conversations that day on the "who" and "why" followed similar themes in the lyrics here.
Detroit is doing better these days and it was nice to see the changes on a recent visit. It is a long way from where it was a century ago, but there is a small feeling of hope that didn't exist in the 1980's..