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7 INCH (VS 672) :
THE LEBANON - (3.45) / THIRTEEN
- (4.11)
12 INCH (VST 672-12) :
THE LEBANON - EXTENDED
(5.53) / THIRTEEN - (5.00) /
THE LEBANON - (INSTRUMENTAL) - (5.06)
The Lebanon
"And where there used
to be some shops……...".
The (in)famous line from The Lebanon that was so regularly
ridiculed by the NME and other music hacks, who purported
to show (patronisingly, natch) that our dear Leaguers were
somehow a little 'beyond their depth' when tackling subjects
other than why yesterday's love had gone all amiss again.
Of course, the dumbtards at the NME were irredeemable musos
who could not be expected to have a clue about the sensibilities
of pure pop music. And really, of course, the criticism translated
as 'how dare this poofy synth band try and make a guitar record?'
Thus, not for the first time and certainly not for the last,
the muso knuckleheads missed out on a number of obvious things
that make The Lebanon a truly great record by Britain's greatest
pop group.
The lyrics are, of course, genius. They have the timeless
appeal that can only be achieved by words of such direct,
utterly literal bluntness. The words make the point that needs
to be made. They do the job. They do what it says on the cover:
they discuss, well, The Lebanon. "Who
will have won when the soldiers have gone?"
and "I must be dreaming;
it can't be true".
Well, quite.
 What
else needed to be said about the sorry state that was the
Lebanon in 1984? Who did win that 20 year war, or more accurately,
the whole series of wars that affected that blighted country?
It would be hard to say anyone did, whilst plenty of people
on all sides lost their lives, and the once resort city of
Beirut was reduced to rubble, and The Human League's simple,
effective point thus proves itself perfectly prescient and
pertinent.
 But
the lyrics are so much more than this. The first verse looks
back over the start of the troubled times from the eyes of
a Lebanese civilian woman (the oft-overlooked sufferers in
such wars), whilst the second describes more recent events
from the point of view of one of the young American or French
troops sent there on the disastrous multi-national peace-keeping
mission. The lyric is again so totally perceptive in its closing
lines of the second verse: "But now he finds he is at
war: "Weren't we supposed to keep the peace"?"
After the death of nearly 250 Americans in a massive explosion,
the attempt at peace-making ended, the troops were pulled
out, and still greater violence resumed. Brilliantly, this
knock-out blow of a lyric is delivered emphatically by both
Philip and the Girls. Overall, the unswerving candour (which
could surely only be penned by a Yorkshireman), and matter
of fact recantation of events, trash any other rock or pop
effort at covering recent wars.
 Indeed,
where were any of the '90s Brit-pop brigade when war spread
like a contagion across the Balkans? Nowhere to be seen, or
limply resorting to the most fey, coffee table twaddle like
the pretentious Bono. Hardly anyone managed a comment about
Iraq either (on either occasion, or in either direction) other
than the utterly ineffectual and ludicrous George Michael
- who, ironically, managed to commit his own crime against
humanity in massacring a Human League song in the process.
No, incredibly, it is actually The Human League, often dismissed
as light pop music, who actually made, released and took into
the top 20 the most straightforward serious record about a
contemporaneous war.
 Of
course, there is far more to The Lebanon than the memorable
lyrics. It's a Human League song and it's played on - guitars!
Not, of course, the dumb-headed warbling or screechy geetarz
of the League's tedious rockist contemporaries, but the totally
memorable bass line and precise yet raging guitar patterns
of Jo Callis. The song begins with an uninterrupted bass line,
explodes into a seething guitar, and yet is assisted through
the verses by the most simple two-fingered synth chords. The
heated righteously angry guitar sound complements the song
perfectly.
 The
sound, lyrics, and indeed whole vibe of the song made it a
brave, risky, perhaps even foolhardy choice of single - particularly
one as long anticipated as the lead single to the follow up
album from 'Dare'. And this is another fascination about The
Lebanon - that it is simultaneously both one of the best,
most brilliant Human League singles ever, whilst at the same
time one of their most uncharacteristic, unsynthetic songs,
and one of the most unsuccessful Human League singles in terms
of subsequent impact on their career.
 Sadly,
it stalled at number 11 (thus setting the trend for the Hysteria
singles falling short of the top 10) as many fans won over
by the classic synth-pop of the previous hits stopped short
of a guitar-led record with such hard-hitting lyrics. It also
gave critics of the League plenty of ammunition to criticise
them for allegedly over-reaching their abilities- the NME
predictably described 'Hysteria' as a 'Leba-knees-up'. To
people with brains, however, it is to the eternal credit of
The Human League that they made, let alone released as a single,
this incredible record.
The League have certainly always taken the song very seriously
and have always endeavoured to treat it with the sincerity
and earnestness it demands. The sleeve of the record was plain
- the first Mark II League single not to feature picture of
our guys 'n' gals. The video was filmed with just the band
performing the song in front of ecstatic fans.
 Even
the appearance on Top of the Pops was workmanlike - or should
that be statesmanlike? - Philip appearing unshaven and gruff,
the girls looking serious and determined. And why shouldn't
they have? It's an absolute corker of a record, instantly
memorable, totally recognisable as the League and yet so different
from anything they had done before and even now sounds as
brilliant musically and lyrically, as it did when released
to such shock 20 years ago.
Secrets Online rating: 9
out of 10
 Trivia
(1) Philip
has said that he was inspired to write the song after Jo Callis
presented him with the demos of the guitar tracks, which the
band instantly thought sounded reminiscent of Siouxsie and
the Banshees' 'Israel'
 (2)
The Lebanon was one of two songs
that The Human League performed live on 'The Tube' in 1986,
their first live appearance on British television. Philip
dedicated the song to people like then Prime Minister Thatcher
"who would rather kill people than sit down and talk
to them".
(3) The Video was shot in a theatre
in London's West End after a Radio One appeal for Human League
fans to turn up and take part. Some of the lucky participants,
apart from featuring in the video, were given a free copy
of the single and other HL goodies.
 (4)
The League famously refused
to perform the song on German television (rather as they famously
had with 'Don't You Want Me' in the States) after they were
told they would be performing in front of burning dustbins
and rubble.
·(5) Live, The Lebanon
is now almost always performed as a segue from 'Seconds' with
which it blends thematically and perfectly. This was at its
most effective on the Octopus tour in 1995, when The Lebanon's
bass sound was an incredibly effective squiggly synth bass.
Lyrics
She dreams of 1969
Before the soldiers came
The life was cheap on bread and wine
And sharing meant no shame
She is awakened by the screams
Of rockets flying from nearby
And scare she clings on to her dreams
To beat the fear that she might die
And who will have won
When the soldiers have gone?
From The Lebanon
The Lebanon
Before he leaves the camp
he stops
He scans the world outside
And where there used to be some shops
Is where the snipers sometimes hide
He left his home the week before
But now he finds he is at war
Weren't we supposed to keep the peace?
 And
who will have won
When the soldiers have gone?
From The Lebanon
The Lebanon
The Lebanon
From The Lebanon
I must be dreaming
It can't be true
I must be dreaming
It can't be true
(repeat chorus)
Smash Hits review
The Human
League: The Lebanon (Virgin)
Long time no hear, and it's a pretty
heavy subject. A rousing chorus and a snappy guitar riff (that
reminds me somewhat of the Banshees) go together to make a
big hit.
Opposite: 1984 NME 'Leba-knees-up'
cartoon - click on image for full sized version
All lyrics are property and copyright of their owners and
are provided for non-profit purposes only.
Text © Ian
Fribbance 2003
/ screengrabs
by Tony B / Photoshop
manipulation - orac
Being
Boiled / Sound Of
The Crowd / Love
Action / Don't
You Want Me / Mirror
Man /
(Keep Feeling) Fascination /
The Lebanon /
Life On Your Own /
Louise / I
Need Your Loving /
Heart Like A Wheel Review 01 / Heart
Like A Wheel 02 /
Tell Me When
/ One Man In My Heart
/ AIEW
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