We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Our Condition

by Worldview

/

  • Streaming + Download

    Immediate download of 12-track album in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire. Includes CD artwork and promotional liner notes.
    Purchasable with gift card

      £6.49 GBP  or more

     

1.
One Rule For You 04:44
lyrics
buy track
We can see from the news on our screens That in some quarters life can be cheap And if life can be horribly cheap Well then what could life possibly mean? And if life can be quickly cut short Well then what could life really be worth? But you can’t afford to draw from this the obvious conclusions No you have to live within the mist of positive illusions You’ve got to tell yourself That there’s one rule for you and one for everybody else You’ve got to tell yourself It’ll come good for you if not for anybody else If you’re claiming that providence rules Because fate has been smiling on you Your philosophy doesn’t explain Why for others it deals only pain Or you chose to trust the Lord above to answer all your prayers But you can’t supply a reason why he never answers theirs You’ve got to tell yourself That there’s one rule for you and one for everybody else You’ve got to tell yourself That he’ll look out for you and dump on everybody else It’s the only way we can get on Seeing storylines where there are none And the knowledge of coming decay Is a thought we put off till that day No you’re better off protected from reality’s intrusions So you slip the tinted lenses on maintaining your illusions You’ve got to kid yourself That there’s one rule for you and one for everybody else You must convince yourself There’s a purpose for you if not for anybody else
2.
Jam Today 03:49
lyrics
buy track
I say patience is an overrated quality When you’re aching that’s the time for taking what you need Cos by the time you’ve earned something You find your fire’s gone It’s while you’re working for something That’s when the iron’s hot I won’t wait until tomorrow I’ll have my jam today And though I may pay tomorrow Tomorrow’s another day Tomorrow’s another day Now there’s a reason why they always preach austerity To keep you banking on a future that might never be There’s no sweetening the bitter pill With thoughts of afterlife But take comfort in the little thrills We’re drawn to by design I won’t wait until tomorrow I’ll have my jam today And though I may pay tomorrow Tomorrow’s another day Tomorrow’s another day And when your number’s called by fate It won’t be kind enough to wait So start savouring these tastes No don’t let them go to waste I won’t wait until tomorrow I’ll have my jam today And though I may pay tomorrow Tomorrow’s another day Tomorrow’s another day No don’t wait until tomorrow Scoop up your jam today And though you will pay tomorrow Tomorrow’s another day Tomorrow’s another day
3.
High Hopes 04:26
lyrics
buy track
Well I didn’t give up on the road to love But that road is long and that road is rough So you seek a diversion from all that work And I can’t get back now I strayed off into a shady resort Where perfect formulas quench your thirst They fix you up in the simplest terms And I can’t get back now And I saw things that you’re not meant to see Sights and scenes better left to your dreams And on the way my standards are rising I’m less prepared to compromise them And every day brings wider horizons So how’m I gonna get on the straight and narrow? How’m I gonna get on to you? And even if I could it may be too late Cos I hear that love runs on give and take That’s a deal to which I would not relate No I can’t do that now Cos I’m used to playing the waited-on guest Youth and beauty granting my every request Yeah on the way my standards are rising I’m less prepared to compromise them And everyday brings wider horizons So how’m I gonna settle for what’s on offer? How’m I gonna settle for you? Now I want things that we’re not meant to see Sights and scenes better left to our dreams And all the way my standards are rising I’m not prepared to compromise them And should I ever finally arrive there Then how’m I gonna settle for what’s on offer? How’m I gonna settle for you? Yeah how’m I gonna settle for something proper? How’m I gonna settle for you?
4.
Designed For Life 04:28
lyrics
buy track
If you get on in this world cos it suits you And do it without resorting to humour If you stand out from the crowd but not too far And hold no doubts about who or where you are Then you’re designed for life my friend Then you’re designed for life And are you designed for life my friend Are you designed for life? But if you didn’t arrive fully formed Then there’s a chance that you can’t be that strong Or if you’re knocked out of shape early on Then there’s a chance that you won’t get along Then you’re just managing the damage You’re only passing through Then you’re just casting out for something That might make good the wound If you can mark your prey out from a distance Then coolly charm your way past their resistance If you can get yourself hard in an instant And then continue to last for the distance Then you’re designed for life my friend Then you’re designed for life And are you designed for life my friend Are you designed for life? See those good-time girls who strut around town They’ve been designed for life See that beered-up boy bundled into the van He’s been designed for life And when you’re just managing the damage Then you’re not making hay Then you must hang it all on something A purpose for your stay And who’s not managing the damage Who’s not passing through Who’s not casting out for something That might make good the wound If you get on in this world cos it suits you And feel assured of a rosier future If you ignore all life’s miserable lessons And wouldn’t waste your time with the big questions Then you’re designed for life my friend Then you’re designed for life And are you designed for life my friend Are you designed for life?
5.
So Fearless 04:08
lyrics
buy track
She swans around my neighbourhood I’d be her shadow if I could Marking her movements in my book To hang around along her route But beauty has a lethal ray And I dissolve beneath her gaze So when she passes on the street I bow my head down in defeat You know exactly what you’re doing When you’re throwing out that look And you’d only leave me dangling Once you’ve got me on your hook But I like the wave of gold That’s in your shock of raven hair And I love the way you smoulder With that blunt and brazen stare Oh you look so good Yeah you look so fine But what gets me breathless Is you look so fearless, so fearless She’s skipping through her working day While winning new fans all the way The bolder ones will have a crack And it’s all water off her back You know exactly what you’re doing And exactly what you are And exactly where you’re going And it isn’t very far Hardly noticing the catcalls Cos you get them everywhere And you owe it all to nature Isn’t nature so unfair? And you look so good Yeah you look so fine But what gets us breathless Is you look so fearless, so fearless Well I want you to know what I think of you You look almost as cool as you think you do Yeah I want you to know why you have my heart Cos you’re almost as hot as you think you are But if I ever got you back home I’d be overcome with fear You would see I’ve got no backbone It could only end in tears No there’s no lead in my pencil I could never follow through Cos it went into these sentences I dedicate to you Cos you look so proud And you look so tough And you scare me witless Cos you look so fearless, so fearless
6.
Payback 04:01
lyrics
buy track
There is a thing called payback Or call it time’s correction I’ve felt a gift for payback More times than I can mention It’s a gift that I don’t question In case it may desert me To dish out without effort Revenge on those who’ve hurt me What goes around comes around I sang as you passed me on the way down What goes around comes around Never knew what they meant by it until now What goes around comes around I got strung along for your pleasure When I was young and green But you’re old enough to know better Now round two goes to me And it’s not a sensation I treasure No, gloating would be in poor taste To watch you repent at your leisure No trace of a smile on my face There is a thing called payback Though some would term it karma If you commit a cruel act You’ll suffer sometime after And from the smack of payback Nobody is immune I’d be lying if I claimed that I haven’t felt it too What goes around comes around You sang as I passed you on the way down What goes around comes around Never knew what they meant by it until now What goes around comes around It’s a lesson that everyone should take down What goes around comes around What goes around comes around
7.
Entitlement 04:36
lyrics
buy track
A revelation’s dawning on you And it doesn’t even feel that new That a lot of what you want is just not going to come your way You can shout it loud if you want Or in a whisper pass it on That a lot of what you want is just not going to come your way But they give you this sense of entitlement This sense of entitlement Blurring the line between them and you Promising you can have all that too They give you this sense of entitlement This sense of entitlement That makes no allowance for circumstance And takes no account of the start you had And our engine runs on that dream But it’s building up a head of steam Cos a lot of what you want is just not going to come your way And when the pressure builds up enough And a failure leads you to erupt Then a lot of ugly stuff is surely gonna come our way Cos they give you this sense of entitlement This sense of entitlement And dizzy delusions will cloud your mind That you’ve got a claim on what’s caught your eye They give you this sense of entitlement This sense of entitlement And great expectations will fill your head Till what you can’t buy you will steal instead But these things you hunger for They only shine in the distance Yeah these things you pander to Are not so bright once you’re near them Yeah these things you suffer for They only shine in the distance They’re best admired from a distance So get rid of this sense of entitlement Oh you live with this sense of entitlement This sense of entitlement Blurring the line between them and you Promising you can live as they do They give you this sense of entitlement This sense of entitlement And I thought it had my name on it Could have sworn it had my name on it Yeah I thought it had my name on it Could have sworn it had my name on it
8.
Tourist 05:11
lyrics
buy track
You’re on a permanent vacation That’s funded by your desperation The feeling you never do truly belong You dip your toe in foreign water At some once-fashionable resort But you always were a little slow to cotton on Yeah you’re always the last party to arrive You’ve been jumping on bandwagons all your life And you can’t stand still Because you don’t know where you stand And you can’t stand still Because you don’t know where you stand And you can’t stand still No you won’t stand still And out there you can get creative You’re undercover, going native Mixing almost as well as you think you do Seduced by all their simple customs But you won’t stop to live among them That should give you a clue what they think of you And you can’t stand still Because you don’t know where you stand And you can’t stand still Because you don’t know where you stand And you can’t stand still No you won’t stand still And you can’t stand still Won’t you please stand still And losing yourself in the masses Won’t cure an alienated heart It’s only in your own inner world That you belong I think you need to see your rightful home And then live in it I think you need to reach your own time zone And then stick to it And you can’t stand still Because you don’t know where you stand And you can’t stand still Because you don’t know where you stand And you can’t stand still Because you can’t stand what you are No you can’t stand still Won’t you please stand still
9.
Buy Into It 04:04
lyrics
buy track
They say the first step to recovery Is owning up to your dependency But you’re not going to hear a sound from me And I like to think I’m pretty clever But it hooks me on some deeper level Their streaming feed of cheap sensation Is speaking to my isolation Yeah I buy into it anyway I buy into it everyday I buy into it anyway Cos it’s what I need to get by They say the first step to recovery Is facing up to your dependency But I could drop this anytime I please But I still haven’t found a reason Or something easier to believe in The tabloid junk that runs in our veins Will carry us through one more dry day And I buy into it anyway I buy into it everyday I buy into it anyway I buy into it every day Popstar child, with her smile so bright Give me more of the same, give me more of the same Smile so bright, that it hurts my eyes Give me more of that pain, I want more of that pain And it reminds me of the chicken and the egg Cos are they putting these desires into my head Or only tapping into what’s already there? Well I do believe I’m being exploited But I choose to fill the consent form in When there’s an itch you have to scratch it And this brings instant satisfaction So I buy into it anyway Yeah I buy into it everyday I buy into it anyway I’ll buy into it anyday Cos it’s what I need to get by Yeah it’s what I use to get high And it’s all that brings me alive
10.
What's Your Poison? 04:17
lyrics
buy track
What’s your poison? What’s your substance? What’s your pickup? Where’s your comfort? It’s no mystery to me Why you use to console With these tragedies you meet Through no fault of your own And the hit you get is fleeting But it’s going to numb the pain And the memory of it spurs you on To work for it again And you can check out any time That’s your right and mine You can check out any time That’s your right and mine The only meaning that you’ll find Is in what’s keeping you behind And for the lucky ones it’s love What’s your poison? What’s your substance? What’s your downfall? Where’s your comfort? In a life you never asked for But one you’ve meant to wear Though it’s rarely less than hostile And hardly ever fair Now you’ve seen through all the teachings That make sense of your despair And no supernatural story Makes it easier to bear And you can check out any time That’s your right and mine You can check out any time That’s your right and mine The only meaning that you’ll find Is in what’s keeping you behind And for the lucky ones it’s love When this world betrays our trust We’ll take solace where we must And though the law may come down hard There’ll still be poison on demand Poison on demand You can’t always be expected To fill up your heart with joy And it’s no good to condemn When you fill up on something more Cos you can check out any time That’s your right and mine Yeah you can check out any time That’s your right and mine The only meaning that you’ll find Is in what’s keeping you behind And for the lucky ones its love For the lucky ones it’s love If you’re lucky once it’s love Yeah you’re lucky once it’s love
11.
No Takers 05:06
lyrics
buy track
Remember when those dark clouds lifted To offer you a bright new vista The day had come to set your stall out You’d got the goods to knock them all out On a high of self-esteem You were confidently waiting on the call But the world thought differently No the world it didn’t think of you at all You found no takers, no takers You must have been so rudely awakened No takers, no takers You couldn’t reach the movers and shakers No takers, no takers Peddling your wares will wear you out To say you live and learn is quite true But by the time you’ve learned your life’s through How could you know you’d end up worse off By trying to mould it to some purpose? Took you all that time to see Hard work hardly enters into it at all That the world works differently No the world it didn’t think of you at all You found no takers, no takers This world welcomes chancers and players No takers, no takers, We get on through fluke or through favours No takers, no takers Peddling your wares will wear you out But none of this bothers me Cos my eye’s on posterity And over time we will see If hindsight’s going to honour me I’ll be slow burning, for slow learners Yeah some of my mud will stick If I’m slow burning, for slow learners Will I live to witness it? No takers, no takers, You never got to prove you’re the greatest No takers, no takers You couldn’t move those movers and shakers No takers, no takers, And they may get it sooner or later But I’m jaded, hopes fading Peddling these wares has worn me out Peddling my wares has worn me out Peddling your wares will wear you out
12.
Our Condition 04:02
lyrics
buy track
We make light of our condition It’s the only thing to do And I laugh louder longer Cos I’ve got it worse than you We look into our condition It’s a natural thing to do And I look harder further Cos I’ve got no work to do And all the insults and the injuries That come through human agency I trace them back one more degree Cos we’re all doing our best aren’t we? No you are not to blame I want to make that clear I want to make that plain You are not to blame Oh this I do believe No matter what they say We make light of our condition It’s the only thing to do And it gives us such rich pickings That we can’t afford not to We lose sight of our condition When there’s love to turn our heads But I don’t have that distraction Cos it hasn’t turned mine yet And all those sick ideas and crazy schemes By which you made a mess of me You chose them through necessity Cos we’re all doing our best aren’t we? And you are not to blame I want to make that clear I want to make that plain You are not to blame Oh this I do believe No matter what they say And when you cheated and lied With a wink and a smile It was all brought on by Our condition And for the suffering that comes to us The buck must surely stop with God But I never could believe in him No I never could wish that on him But you are not to blame I hope I’ve made that clear I hope I’ve made my case No you are not to blame Yeah this I will believe No matter what they say And if you drank yourself blind And chose to punch out our lights I’d hold no grudge against you I’ll always put it down to Our condition Our condition Our condition This thing called living

about

Worldview is fronted by Oliver Shaw, an Oxford-based songwriter, performer and producer. Worldview aims to fuse the sounds of Indie and Dance music with insightful lyrics reminiscent of Elvis Costello or Morrissey and the melodic sensibility of the classic 60’s acts. “Worldview's aptly titled "Our Condition" takes a snapshot view of modern living, with its raw honest exploration of life today...It's a strong offering with music that combines the ballads of REM with the dance beats of Duran Duran" - Oxfordshire Music Scene.

1. ONE RULE FOR YOU: Epic opener with shades of The Beatles, Elliott Smith, and, some have said, The Lightning Seeds. Or perhaps Oasis with a laptop and more words. Oliver Shaw ruminates on mortality, death and our necessary delusions, setting out some of the album's key themes.
2. JAM TODAY: Oliver comes on like a better looking Kylie Minogue in this toe-tapping, handbag-swinging disco paean to instant gratification.
3. HIGH HOPES: Sleazy lo-fi Britrock number about how consumerist totems of sex'n'success hopelessly inflate our standards and expectations. Except for Oliver himself, who will marry a supermodel.
4. DESIGNED FOR LIFE: Oliver owns up to his many failings on this downtempo trip-hoppy number, going on about how hard it is to be alive for us sensitive types and how that's a good excuse for being a work-shy artist. Note the alarmingly George Michael-like hushed vocal croon.
5. SO FEARLESS: A simple tale of unrequited lust, stalking, and fear of sexual inadequacy. The subject of this Prince/Clash-inspired pop nugget has since contacted the police.
6. PAYBACK: Richard Hawley-influenced retro ballad about the law of Karma, or as Indian restauranteers call it, Korma.
7. ENTITLEMENT: One of Oliver's occasional sociological missives in which he castigates the lower orders for buying into vacuous consumerist hopes'n'dreams. Sounds like The Beatles with IT certificates.
8. TOURIST: New Order go on holiday somewhere and soon wish they hadn't. A would-be Ibiza anthem about a voyeuristic, moor-less tourist of people, places or situations.
9. BUY INTO IT: Oliver castigates himself for buying into vacuous consumerist hopes'n'dreams. Sounds a bit like The Rolling Stones.
10. WHAT'S YOUR POISON?: Oliver comes on like a cut-price Bono fronting an electro U2 as he preaches about Substance Abuse, and how necessary it is.
11. NO TAKERS: Sounds like Elvis Costello meets Goldfrapp, or a glamrock Depeche Mode. It's the bitter ravings of an overlooked genius, and therefore not autobiographical.
12. OUR CONDITION: Oliver puts the c*nt in country & western in this twangy, uptempo musing on the human, er, condition. Thus nicely distilling the album's themes. Notable for the first outing of the banjo in Worldview's oeuvre.

credits

released March 9, 2008

Written, performed & produced by Oliver Shaw.
Art by Cozmic.

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Worldview image

Worldview UK

Worldview is the alias of Oliver Shaw, an Oxford UK-based songwriter, performer and producer mingling rock, pop, dance and folk with insightful lyrics and an overarching melodic sensibility.

contact / help

Contact Worldview

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Worldview, you may also like:

Bandcamp Daily  your guide to the world of Bandcamp

On Bandcamp Radio

Fabiana Palladino stops by to talk about her mesmeric debut LP.
listen now