‘Do Nothing’ – The Specials

Gill writes:

It feels to me that The Specials and Fun Boy Three have provided a backing track for my life over the last three or four years. ‘The Lunatics Have Taken Over The Asylum’, ‘You’re Wondering Now’, ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘Our Lips Are Sealed’ mostly, but it’s ‘Do Nothing’ that I have honed in on recently.

The song features in Sam Mendes’ latest film ‘Empire of Light’ – a story set in a British seaside town in the early 1980’s. Both the film and the song take you right back to the early 80’s when the Thatcher Government was starting to find their feet. The Winter of Discontent was fresh in people’s minds and the country had backed Margaret Thatcher’s bid for leadership in the hope that her administration would prevent unions from wielding such power again, that the individual would become key, and that privatisation was the route to a successful modern economy.

Yet here we are in 2023 and in some ways it feels like we’re back to 1980 once again. The approach that Margaret Thatcher’s government took appears to have eventually brought us back to square one, rather than change things.

Nothing ever change, oh no
Nothing ever change

But is that really the case? Has nothing ever changed since 1980? I think, maybe, the answer is quite a complicated one and I’m not sure I can reach a conclusive answer.

Have I changed, for example? Have you? Well, physically I have but I think there is still a lot of the teenage me still there. When I was leaving a job at the age of 24, my boss said to me ‘Try not to change too much. Just be yourself in life.’

People say to me just be yourself

Yet I have lived and learned more about me over the years, so maybe I am not only myself but even more myself? Perhaps I am a stronger, less diluted version of the 24yr old who was encouraged not to change too much.

Has society changed? Well, yes and no. We are more progressive, more aware and more inclusive in some ways. Yet in other ways, it feels like we have regressed to the post-war (or even inter-war) years. The song talks of police brutality, and only this week we have been reminded of crimes committed by police officers. 43 years on and it seems that nothing has changed. Perhaps we humans don’t change as much as we like to think we do.

Has the church changed? Well – yes and no. Again, like society, we are more inclusive and progressive but then I ask myself ‘how would the church respond to the members of The Specials if they turned up today’ and I can’t help thinking that many (though not all) churches wouldn’t know how to welcome and include a bunch of young men in their late teens/early 20’s. Especially young men who felt that their life had no meaning. Would we really want to hear about them feeling like they have no value or meaning? Would we really want to do something about it?

I’m just living in a life without meaning
I walk and walk, do nothing
I’m just living in a life without feeling
I talk and talk, say nothing

It’s a good job then, that even though the lyrics could be viewed as depressing and full of despondency, and that offer a succinct summing up of life for young people in the 1980’s, I can feel God giving me a nudge. A poke of my social and spiritual conscience. A call to action.

It’s when we are at our lowest ebb that sparks of love, joy and hope can break through. Instead of doing nothing, it provokes me to do something. How about you?

You may know that Terry Hall, the lead singer of this song, died on 18th December 2022. For some, there was a prophetic nature about his ability to give voice about racism, poverty and politics. What a legacy then, that the songs he made with The Specials, Fun Boy Three and The Colourfield, will continue to challenge and change perception. Thank you Terry and may you rest in peace.

The Specials still have a website – https://www.thespecials.com/