Whoops Songtext
von Kae Tempest

Well, who′s this?
Staggerin' home, jabberin′
Lookin' like some street-smart arrogant gnome
Feet stickin' to the kerb like javelins, thrown
Gesturing wildly, having full-blown conversations with himself
Saying, "Haven′t you grown?" to his face in the windows, grimacing
Grappling with half a cigarette, not managin′

This is Pete
Pete grew up on this street
He moved away, but he's back livin′ at his dad's, so he can save
He rigs stages at live events, but every time he gets paid
He gets wasted and wakes up with less than he made
Then he hates it, but that′s life, right?


Fast-paced, shit-faced, low maintenance
And all of his mates are kind of on the same page
It's basic wages takes ages to get through the month
But then payday comes, and it′s drinks all 'round
Outrageous behaviour, livin' right now, no sense a′ later
Pills by the pocketful, nights last days, and look
Even if he never splashed out, he still couldn′t make the rent on his own place
Face it

It's 4:18
Pete′s 14 doors from home and his thoughts are like a pack of starving dogs
Fighting over the last bone

No, no, no, no, no, no, yeah!
No, anyway, what was I sayin'?
Fuck it, wait, hold on, I′m comin' up, wait
Good night, weren′t it? Must've been
Burnt too much on the good stuff, lucky me
I looked up, I saw my future unravel in the lights

Funny, innit? I love that sinking feeling, any minute
But you can't win the race unless you′re runnin′ in it, right?
Or you can't get a taste unless you′re takin' a bite
Man, I′m climbin' up the walls, things are gettin′ difficult
It's all take, take, take, and start early, work late
Puttin' in the hours for these drugs, tokens


Love′s a joke when your blood′s pulsin'
Love is real when you start chokin′
I'm double jumpin′ in the vast ocean
State of me, mate, blatantly the way I was made, y'see?
I′ve been gettin' on it since back in the day
Good place for a bad time, if you ask me
Trust me, nothin' gets past me
A bad place for a good time, if you know what I mean
Never met no one like you, this feels like a dream

Whoops! Back here again
How many times ′ave I sworn it′s the end?
Whoops! I know this feelin'
Shovelin′ the rubbish, then I'm starin′ at the ceilin'
Whoops! Dancin′ to a shit tune
Hands in the air when it hits you
Whoops! I'm lyin' in my bed
And my brain is eating my head

I got these demons that I can′t shake
My past is a vast place, you can′t get away
Life got grim back then, like it does
Do you know how it feels to lose people you love?
I like talkin' to ya like this, do you wanna come back?
Couple drinks, somethin′ like that
I got a gram on my nightstand
I got an eighth of squidgy black
I got this feelin' that we′re gonna be friends
I got this song, I wanna play it to you

I got this dream, I'm gonna make it happen
I got this thing, I wanna say it to you
See, I′ve been writin' poems, it's a thing that I do
And, would you mind if I shared one with you?
No, course not, right, sorry, this time a′ night
I always end up spoutin′ the same old tripe
It reminds me of this time I was tryna find my mind
In the back of this rave, this kid was spillin' blood all over the place
And I was lookin′ out for someone to save or be saved by
And I found this paper plate, started writin'

It felt fuckin′ great
I knew then, me an' the pen, we were one and the same
But, look, I can′t take this train of the days
I'm pretty sure I'm halfway to insane
You got such a nice face, and your eyes are like rain
I′d try and kiss you if I could just remember your name

Whoops! Back here then s′ppose
Don't watch the state of my nose
Whoops! My jaw′s gone west
And I've started gettin′ pains in my chest (Is that normal?)
Whoops! There goes my promise
All it took was two drinks, and I got on it
Whoops! I swear this person isn't me
We did have fun, though, didn′t we?
Didn't we? Yeah