"Mile End" lyrics

We didn't have nowhere to live
We didn't have nowhere to go
'Til someone said, "I know this place off Burdett Road."
It was on the fifteenth floor
It had a board across the door
It took an hour to prise it off and get inside
It smelt as if someone had died
The living-room was full of flies
The kitchen sink was blocked
The bathroom sink not there at all

Ooh, it's a mess alright
Yes, it's Mile End

And now we're living in the sky
I'd never thought I'd live so high
Just like heaven, if it didn't look like hell
The lift is always full of piss
The fifth floor landing smells of fish
Not just on Friday, every single other day
Below the kids come out tonight
They kick a ball and have a fight
And maybe shoot somebody if they lose at pool

Ooh, it's a mess alright
Yes, it's Mile End

Oo-ooh

Nobody wants to be your friend
'Cause you're not from 'round here, ooh
As if that was something to be proud about
The pearly king of the Isle of Dogs
Feels up children in the bogs
Down by the playing fields, someone sets a car on fire
I guess you have to go right down
Before you understand just how
How low, how low a human being can go

Ooh, it's a mess alright
Yes, it's Mile End

(Don't do that! Leave it out!)