Mile End

We didn't have nowhere to live
We didn't have nowhere to go
'Til someone said
"I know this place off Burditt 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 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

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