Song of the Week, 2011-004 - The Fix, by Elbow

Elbow made some very interesting music, and their lyrics can be witty and playful, actually i think they deserves more attnetion from the public. So it is good that their latest album The Seldom Seen Kid won the 2008 Mercury Music Prize and made a commercial success. Last week I have chosen One Day Like This by them, this week I decided to pick another song by them, also in their awarded album.

As much as I always like to believe that meaning of any artwork is subjective to the audience, I love to know what the artist wants to say. The Fix by Elbow is one of those songs, that without local knowledge (in this case, it is horse racing in England) or the artist's explanation doesn't really make much sense. It's lyrics contain lots of slangs and In-jokes.

The Fix is a song literally talking about rigging a horse race.

Once you know that, the featuring of Richard Hawley in the song doesnt only make sense, but it is actually a brilliant magic touch of the song. Since a fix seldom happens without teamwork, and Corruption never appears through a single hand.

So when we are talking about a morbid society, we need to have a bunch of inhumane capitalists, an absurd government and a large amount of mindless citizen... Yes, I am always cynical. Yet I never deny that I am part of this morbid society, in fact I might just contribute to its morbidness.

Our world only makes sense in a nonsense way.
Rationality is just another form of stupidity.

p.s. Richard Hawley looks awfully like To Kit (陶傑)...

p.s.2.
Here is the lyrics and some of the interpretations I found out or made up, any other suggestions are welcome:

The Fix, by Elbow

The fix is in
There's a nag(1) gonna dance home at Epsom(2)
The fix is in
Can't wait to see how it upsets 'em

Too many times we've been postally pipped(3)
We've loaded the saddles, the mickeys are slipped(4)
We're swapping the turf for the sand and the surf and the sin
Cause the fix, the fix is in

The fix is in
The odds that I got were delicious
The fix is in
The jockey is cocky and vicious

The redoubtable beast has had pegasus pills(5)
We'll buy him the patch in the Tuscany hills
And the Vino di Vinci(6) will flow like a river in spring
Now the fix, the fix is in

The fix is in
The snaps of the steward so candid
The fix is in
Yes, our pigeons have finally landed

The Donahue sisters will meet us in France
In penguins and pearls, we'll drink and we'll dance
'Til the end of our days, cause it ain't left to chance
That we win
Cause the fix, the fix is in

(1) nag = a horse in old informal English;
(2) Epsom = Epsom Downs Racecouse near London;
(3) postally pipped = "pipped at the post", which means marginally lost in a race;
(4) mickeys are slipped = slipped someone drugs, in this case probably the jockey or the horse is drugged;
(5) pegasus pills = pegasus is a winged flying horse in Greek mythology, pegasus pills probably means drugs or steroid is given to one of the horses;
(6) Vino di Vinci = Wine of Victory