“Moses, Marx & Margaret Thatcher” – Frank Turner’s Lyrical History of Mankind (5th Edition, 2024)

It was about time this old piece got a proper overhaul, as it was only ever superficially revised – mostly to add items – since I first published it on 8th December 2020.

Now I not only managed to finally give my most nerdy Frank Turner fan-project a proper title, but also even a banner.

Be warned: Reading this piece will take some time. The final count comes to about 7.500 words, which equals the length of a proper academic paper. If this doesn’t deter you, I invite you to grab a cup of coffee / tea or any other beverage of your choice and delve in.

What’s This All About?

From early on – which by the time I’m writing this was over a decade ago – I’ve loved and admired how seamlessly Frank weaves references to historical events / people or quotes from literature into his lyrics. I’m an avid reader and I’ve always liked history: studying it in school, reading historical non-fiction and fiction, learning about it still. For me it is always a delight to discover a clever historical or literal reference in a song. Sometimes I recognize it right away. Sometimes I learn about the history / literature in a different context later and only then the penny finally drops.

I wish I could remember which song prompted me to wonder if anyone ever had compiled a list of the many historical and literary references in Frank’s lyrics. I searched online, but didn’t find anything and thus went ahead and compiled this list myself. In chronological order. With context. It was early December 2020. Germany had just entered another lockdown and I had nothing else to do. Literally! I also needed some distraction to keep the anxious thoughts at bay.

I could have left it at that point like I assume other people’s lockdown projects have been left at some stage and that would have been absolutely fine. But obviously Frank kept writing songs and referencing history and quoting literature. I still loved hearing it and I loved learning about it. I am still a bit of a history nerd. So here we are.

This following properly revised edition of “Frank Turner’s Lyrical History of Mankind” is not a complete list of any event, person, novel,…. ever mentioned in any of Frank’s songs. I’ve decided to from now on forego most of the music / pop-cultural references, especially when I feel they are meant less metaphorical, but rather used in a temporal / topical way, if that makes sense.

As this is my very own ‘scholarly’ project, I might, of course, feel free to still include some of those references whenever I see fit.

I’m aware that I’ve possibly still missed a few fundamental references in the original research in 2020 and since then. In interviews Frank on occasion mentions historical events / people or literature that have inspired him. As the scholar that I claim to be here, I then often try to find the original source (event, person, piece of art), but I don’t always manage to do that. Yet. Give it time.

Any other substantial deficits in my findings I blatantly blame on me being German and not being as well-versed in English history / literature as a native English person might be. I doubt anyone reading this here is more versed than Frank anyway. He’s thrice (or more) the history nerd I am. I say that in the most loving and awed way possible. And unlike me he’s got the academic credentials to prove it.

Some technicalities: This is still comprised of only songs released by “Frank Turner” (no Million Dead, Mingle Härde). Neither does it include “No Man’s Land” lyrics as that is a history project in it’s own right and the “Tales from No Man’s Land” podcast provides all the context.

To verify my own previous knowledge or new findings I’ve used two free online sources: The Encyclopedia Britannica and World History Encyclopedia. I’m referencing the King James Bible Online and I’ve used Shakespeare’s Words website for the bard’s quotes. Any other sources are linked at the relevant section.

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Bronze Age
Especially around 1400 – 1300 BCE

Every (hi)story has to have a starting point and in our case it’s ancient Egypt:

Moses was old, a chill in his bones.
Falling apart, he knew in his heart that his time had come.
As he lay in his tent in the hot desert sands,
He smiled at how he would never see his promised land.
(Journey of the Magi, 2009)

Whether a religious believer or not, I would assume all of us have heard of Moses, who is considered one of the most important religious leaders in world history and who is claimed as an important prophet of God by Judaism, Christianity and Islam. I was raised Christian so the bible is my source material.

According to the bible Moses not just received the Ten Commandments from God, but also led his people, the Hebrews, out of bondage in Egypt. While God sent plagues and death to the Egyptians, he also told the Hebrew community (via Moses) to put the blood of slaughtered lambs above the door to be recognised as Hebrew and thus be spared:

“[….] and when he seeth the blood upon the lintel, and on the two side posts, the LORD will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come in unto your houses to smite you”
(Exodus 12:23)

which is sort of referenced here:

Wiping the blood of your friends on your lintels.
(Non Serviam, 2022)

Late Bronze Age – Early Classical Antiquity
1250 BCE – 800 BCE

Only a few decades later (1250 BCE) the Trojan Wars supposedly took place in what we nowadays know as Greece. If they took place at all, because even though historians by now have found and could date evidence of Troy and its destruction, the events and people we (think to) know of might merely have been a part of Greek mythology and thus utterly fictional. We know about this mythology from Homer’s epic poem about these wars: the “Iliad”, which was written around 800 BCE. This already puts us into the Classical Era.

An Iliad played out without a shadow of doubt
Between the end of the club and the sun coming out.
(Poetry of the Deed, 2009)

But what actually started the Trojan Wars? According to mythology it all came down to Trojan prince Paris being tasked with giving a golden apple to the most beautiful of three goddesses: Hera, Athena and Aphrodite. He picked Aphrodite, because she offered him help to win the most beautiful mortal woman in return: Helen, who was married to king of Sparta. Paris and Helen fell in love, eloped to Troy, her husband then raised an army to besiege Troy and get his wife back.

But if I had an apple to give then it would be yours.
And the others would rage as I turned them away,
But you’d follow me down to the shore.
And for you I’d start a war, so baby yes I’m sure.

[….]

You’re wary and you’re wise like Athena,
Like Artemis, you’re wild and you’re free,
You carry yourself like you’re Hera,
But quietly you’ll always be little Aphrodite to me.
(Little Aphrodite, 2016)

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Homer didn’t just write the Iliad. In modern times we might say he also wrote a spin-off: “The Odyssey”, which begins after the Trojan Wars ended and which follows war-hero Odysseus on his long, long, long way home.

Now Odysseus sat tired and alone.
He’d always held out, against all the doubts, that he would come home.
But now he was here, his soul felt estranged.
His wife and his dog, his son and his gods, everything changed.
(Journey of the Magi, 2009)

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Another reference to Greek mythology needs to be included here as well, even though I didn’t really manage to date it (yet). It is part of the mythology and it’s mentioned in the Iliad, so it sort of fits. 

According to the mythology Daedalus, a figure famous for his sculptures and clever inventions fell out of favour with King Minos. Thus Daedalus and his son Icarus had to flee and they constructed wings to achieve that. Daedalus warned his son not fly too high or the sun’s heat would melt the wax that attached the wings to his arms.

Young Icarus decided to not heed his father’s advice, flew too close the sun, plummeted into the sea and drowned. 

Can you fly like Icarus, land like Evel Knievel?
(Show People, 2024)

Let’s not dwell on the ‘fact’, that mythological Icarus obviously could NOT fly…

Classical Antiquity
500 BCE – 300 CE

In Athens in 399 BCE the philosopher Socrates was put on trial and sentenced to death, which his student Plato described a few years later. According to Plato, one of the things Socrates stated while on trial was:

“The unexamined life is not worth living.”

And I’ve heard it said that the unexamined life
Isn’t much worth living, and I’m sure they’re right,
[….]
So I had a go, I tried examining life.
It wasn’t much worth living – I guess they’re right,
(Once We Were Anarchists, 2007)

[Personal Fun Fact #01: I might have heard about the “unexamined life” – Socrates reference before, but never made the connection when I heard the lyrics. Only years later it was brought back to my mind with a… cute Dino comic on Instagram.]

Socrates died by drinking hemlock, which is what a lot of people might think of when they hear “hemlock” in the first place. At least I did…

Banish me and sentence me to drink the hemlock,
(Non Serviam, 2022)

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In 333 BCE Alexander the Great had marched into the city of Gordium, where he encountered a wagon, its yoke tied with an knot, so entangled that it seemed impossible to unravel. According to an oracle the man who did manage to, would be ruler of all Asia. Alexander didn’t bother too long trying to untie it, but rather sliced it with his sword.

Here’s hoping that the kids have fangs
To chew their way through this little Gordian knot,
(No Thank You For The Music, 2024)

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Fast forward a few centuries to 50 – 30 BCE and move from Greece once more back to Egypt, where Cleopatra ruled at that time. She was partly supported by the Romans under Julius Caesar, who had also been her lover until he was killed. She later was in a relationship with another Roman leader, Marc Anthony. That ended rather tragically, as they both died by suicide once it was clear they would loose a war against Marc Anthony’s former brother-in-law Ocatvius.

I’d say I was Anthony begging at your door,
But I know that you’d laugh and just ask me what for,
And then you’d roll your eyes as I fell on the floor
To swear that I’m yours.
(Cleopatra in Brooklyn, 2016)

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“And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed.”
(Luke 2:1)

Those days being of course the ‘Year 0’. The Birth of Jesus Christ. I know some people consider that a mythological tale as well. I call myself an agnostic Catholic, so… I just don’t know. We all heard the story though, about the stable and the baby in the manger and the three Wise Men, the Magi from the East: Melchior, Caspar and Balthazar.

Now Balthazar rode for seven long years.
Eastwards and far, he followed his star, and it brought him here,
To a stable in ruins in some backwater town,
To a virgin defiled, no king but a child, too small for a crown.
(Journey of the Magi, 2009)

General Fun Fact: In an interview years ago Frank did mention a geographical error in these lyrics, which he hadn’t noticed until too late. I admit that even with having done A level Geography I probably wouldn’t have noticed the error either, had he not pointed it out. The Magi came from the East. Thus they followed the star not east-, but westwards.

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60 years on the Romans ruled most of southern and central Europe and had also started conquering the British Isles. But they met some opposition there and one of the fighting armies was led by a woman: Queen Boudicca or Boadicea.

Corinna rides like Boadicea tonight.
Fearful crowds part ways without a fight.
Corinna rides like Boadicea tonight.
London town trembles at the sight,
Because tonight is her night.
(Our Lady of the Campfire, 2009)

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At the time of Boudicea’s ultimate defeat the Roman emperor had been Nero, who only a few years later had troubles of his own at home in Rome. In 64 CE for instance, when the Great Fire of Rome burnt down most of the city.

Then retire to your palace on Smith Street as the old Rome burns.
(Cleopatra in Brooklyn, 2016)

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Sometimes around those years the Gospel of Luke was written / put together and Luke 4:23 says:

“And he said unto them, Ye will surely say unto me this proverb, Physician, heal thyself: whatsoever we have heard done in Capernaum, do also here in thy country.“

Hey physicians, heal thyself.
I’ll make my own way down to hell without your help.
(Demons, 2018)

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I didn’t find solid evidence that Saint Christopher was killed by Roman decree or if it just happened at the time of Roman rule around 250 CE. He is recognized as martyr and is, of course, the patron saint of travellers, often depicted as a giant carrying people across a river.

Not a lyric, but a fitting title for a song about a touring musician:

St. Christopher is coming home, 2008

Middle Ages
500 CE- 1500 CE

England – well the West-Saxons and the Anglo-Saxons – in the lat 900s was ruled by Alfred the Great, who did not just defended the country against the Vikings, but also codified a set of laws, the Doombook, also known as the Laws of King Alfred.

That Winchester’s should be the only law across the land,
The law of old King Alfred’s time, of free and honest men.
(Sons of Liberty, 2009)

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Our (mostly English for the time being) history picks up in 1100, when

A low and evil deed was done
In the dark of the New Forest.
(English Curse, 2011)

I think the story of the curse itself might fall under creative licence, but the fact remains: King William II (aka Rufus) was killed that year in a ‘hunting accident’ in the New Forest.

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The Middle Ages keep the references coming: “The Fisher King” is a part of the whole King Arthur / Holy Grail legend from the 1200s.

And in Battersea power station, the Fisher King
Ponders on his ruin, among many other things.
(The Fisher King Blues, 2013)

Of course there is another hidden reference to that in “The Angel Islington”

I’m the king of a kingdom of mistakes.
I’ve broken all the things I could break.
Fuck the fishing, I will abdicate,
(The Angel Islington, 2015)

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The next bit was a bit tricky to actually put on a timeline. Stories of Saint George, who slayed a dragon and saved an innocent woman were told over centuries in the Middle Ages. He’s supposed to have been killed in 303, which would put him in the Classical Era. But he’s featured here in his role as patron saint of England, as which he only emerged a thousand years later. Most consider the reign of King Edward III as the era when Saint George as patron saint was established; among other things through the Order of the Garter, which was set up in 1348.

Jay is our St George, and he’s standing on a wooden chair,
And he sings songs and he slays dragons, and he’s losing all his hair.
(I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous, 2007)

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Edward III’s successor to the throne was his grandson Richard II. During his reign happened the Peasant’s Revolt, which had a lot of causes, political and socioeconomical and was triggered by a new poll tax. It had a bit of an early success, but was crushed down in 1381. Wat Tyler, one of the leaders was killed shortly after he had met the king.

Wat Tyler led the people in 1381
To meet the king at Smithfield to issue this demand:
That Winchester’s should be the only law across the land
The law of old King Alfred’s time, of free and honest men.
(Sons of Liberty, 2009)

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King Edward III, King Richard II and three (!) King Henrys – IV, V, and VI – fought a war with France: the Hundred Years’ War from 1337 – 1453. In 1415 a surprise English victory at the Battle of Agincourt boosted morale among the English forces and started a new period of English dominance in this conflict.

From the land of revolution and Agincourt,
(To Take You Home, 2008)

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Leaving English soil for a bit for a look at Florence, Italy, where a Dominican friar with extreme views – Girolamo Savonarola – rapidly gained popularity. Savonarola spoke out against the exploitation of the poor and against the vices of Renaissance Italy. He preached self-discipline and called for all vain things like luxurious goods, paintings, books to be burned. He obviously was so convincing that even artists like Botticelli himself willingly offered their art to be destroyed. The biggest one of those events happened on 7 February 1497 and became known as

“the bonfires of the vanities”

I’m building bonfires of my vanities and doubts
To get warm just like everybody else.
(Reasons Not To Be an Idiot, 2008)

[Personal Fun Fact #02: I always had a vague idea that the “bonfires of my vanities” meant… something. And then recently I read a novel from the marvellous “The Chronicles of St. Mary’s” series]

Renaissance
1450 – 1600

Let’s move forward over a century to the time of William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616). In a slightly twisted way our history picks up, where we left of still in the 1400s. Henry VI, during whose reign the Hundred Years War ended with English defeat, also experienced massive troubles on the home front. The War of the Roses. Google it. At some point Henry’s nephew became king: Richard III.

In 1592 Shakespeare wrote a play about him and here’s a quote:

“A horse, a horse! My kingdom for a horse!”
(Richard III Act 5, Scene 4)

Which, obviously, also is a song on “Sleep Is For The Week”

My Kingdom For A Horse, 2007

In 1596 Shakespeare wrote “King John” and there is the line

“Heaven take my soul, and England keep my bones!”
(King John, Act 4, Scene 3)

Again, quite obviously an album title in 2011

England Keep My Bones

but of course later another lovely nod with

London, you can keep my bones.
(Farewell To My City, 2022)

In 1599 Shakespeare wrote “Julius Caesar” (see: Cleopatra) in which Marc Anthony (again… see: Cleopatra) says the following at Caesar’s funeral:

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears”
(Julius Caesar, Act 3, Scene 2)

Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Hear ye, hear ye, friends and Romans, countrymen.
(I Still Believe, 2011)

1601 saw the play “Hamlet” take shape. Many of us know “To be or not be? That’s the question” and “There is something’s rotten in the state of Denmark”, but there ist at least one more well known and established quote from that play:

“The lady doth protest too much, methinks”
(Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 2)

The make-up doth protest too much.
(Heartless Bastard Motherfucker, 2008)

Early Baroque
1600-1700

On the British Isles we’ve now reached the reign of King Charles II (1660 -1685) who “is thought to have been the first to insist that the ravens of the Tower be protected after he was warned that the crown and the Tower itself would fall if they left.” [Source: Historic Royal Palaces]

When the ravens leave the tower,
And you’re cowering for fear in the city;
(Going Nowhere, 2018)

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Blaise Pascal (1623 – 1662) was a French philosopher and also mathematician, physicist, theologian. Those lists of accomplishments always make me feel a bit like a slob. I’ve got one job, isn’t that enough? But I digress… Besides various scientific papers, he later in life wrote a lot about philosophy and religion; those pieces were posthumously released as the “Pensées” (Thoughts). The most famous thought from that in my own words in short: you’ve got more to gain if you believe in God, than if you don’t. It’s called Pascal’s Wager.

If life gives you demons, make a deal.
Meet them at the crossroads, cross your fingers, and then sign and seal.
Hey philosophers, make way.
Pascal never had too much stomach for gambling anyway.
(Demons, 2015)

Age of Enlightenment / Early Age of Revolution
1700 – 1800

In 1755 Benjamin Franklin, a scientist, writer, philosopher, politician, diplomat (once again, all those jobs!) in the American Colonies included the following in a letter written on behalf of the Pennsylvania Assembly:

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.”
[Source: National Archives / Founders Online]

Because a man who’d trade his liberty for a safe and dreamless sleep
Doesn’t deserve the both of them, and neither shall he keep.
(Sons of Liberty, 2009)

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10 years later, in 1765 a revolutionary organisation in the colonies, called the “Sons of Liberty” fought taxation by the British crown.

Stand up, sons of liberty, and fight for what you own.
Stand up, sons of liberty, and fight, fight for your homes.
(Sons of Liberty, 2009)

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Let’s move back to London, at that time one of the major geopolitical forces next to Amsterdam and Paris in Europe. And basically the whole world.

Samuel Johnson (1709 – 1784) was a writer, biographer and… Londoner. His possibly most famous quote from 1777:

“Why, Sir, you find no man, at all intellectual, who is willing to leave London. No, Sir, when a man is tired of London, he is tired of life; for there is in London all that life can afford.”

A man is bored of life if he’s bored of these islands,
(Sweet Albion Blues, 2014)

Facing Samuel Johnson down.
A soul to wear down London Town,
(The Angel Islington, 2015)

I got tired of London, not tired of life.
(Farewell To My City, 2022)

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A few years later and we’re back in France, where the Enlightenment combined with the horrid living situations for most of the population led to one of the most consequential public uprisings in modern history: The French Revolution of 1789 and with it the birth of the Tricolor as the French Flag.

From a king’s blood stain on a Tricolor,
(To Take You Home, 2008)

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While American colonies fought for independence and the French people fought against oppression, the Italian adventurer and author Giacomo Casanova (1725 – 1798) travelled around Europe on a variety of missions. He’s mostly known now for his many complicated affairs with women, but he actually might have led a quite interesting life as writer, soldier, spy, and diplomatist. Here’s a song title:

Casanova Lament, 2008

1800 – 1900

We’ve reached the early 1800s, where German Composer Beethoven did not just write music, but also love letters to Josephine Brunsvik. Historians aren’t sure though, if she was the intended recipient of (unsent) letters to the “Immortal Beloved”, found among Beethoven’s belongings after his death.

In France at the same time Napoleon was in the last throes of his regency. Napoleon had also loved a woman called Josephine, made her his Empress, but when she didn’t bear him a child, discarded her to marry someone who could. As (powerful) men so easily did back then. Napoleon abdicated in 1815 and retreated to Elba, from where he returned to France after 100 days, rallied his troops one more time, but then lost against allied troops at Waterloo.

I could have been Napoleon, could have been Beethoven,
[….]
I’m a defeated commander, I’m a half-deaf composer,
[….]
I’m Napoleon on Elba, and you’re a hundred days in 1815.
I wrote all of these letters to my immortal beloved
(Josephine, 2015)

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Charles Baudelaire (1821 – 1867) was a French writer, art critic and… dandy, might be a good word to describe him. Short time revolutionary in the revolution of 1848 as well.

Put your Baudelaire away,
And come outside and play.
(Poetry of the Deed, 2009)

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The 1800s are of course, also the age of Industrialization with all the good and all the very bad that came with that. One of the most influential – to this day – philosopher, economist and social revolutionaries of this era was Karl Marx. I think we all have at least heard of the Communist Manifesto, which he wrote together with Friedrich Engels in 1848.

In chapter 01 “Bourgeois and Proletarians” they write

“All that is solid melts into air, all that is holy is profaned…”

When everything you had that was solid
Has melted into air;
(Going Nowhere, 2018)

[Personal Fun Fact #03: I only realized this was a literary quote, when I read the novel “The Essex Serpent” a few years ago, where one of the characters also quotes these words from Marx. I hadn’t read anything by Marx, so for a few days I absolutely racked my brains to figure out why these words felt so familiar.]

In 1852 Marx wrote an essay about the French coup of 1851 in which Napoleons nephew Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte seized power by force. The Essay is titled “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte” and it includes the following lines:

“Hegel remarks somewhere that all great world-historic facts and personages appear, so to speak, twice. He forgot to add: the first time as tragedy, the second time as farce.”
[Source: Marxists.org]

The first time it was a tragedy, the second time it’s a farce.
(1933, 2018)

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While Louis Bonaparte was seizing and keeping power in France, England was at war once more. Against Russia in the Crimean War (1853 – 1856) this time. In 1854 a military action involving the Light Brigade of the cavalry failed disastrously.

And then ride to the valley like the old Light Brigade,
(Love, Ire & Song, 2008)

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Lets leave war and disaster for a bit now and have a look at literature and arts, which often explore human relationships and human psychology especially in those troubled times. One of the most known and accomplished writers from this time was Russian poet and writer Fyodor Dostoevsky (1821 – 1881).

That Wat Tyler, Woody Guthrie, Dostoevsky and Davy Jones
Have all dissolved into the ether and have crept into my bones,
(One Foot Before The Other, 2011)

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A decade later Frank quotes another Russian writer: Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), whose probably best know novel “Anna Karenina” (1878) includes the line

“He was in the position of a man seeking for food in a toyshop or a gunsmith.”

Trying to find us some kind of food in toyshops and gunsmiths,
Searching for subjects, we are Resurrectionists.
(The Resurrectionists, 2022)

With these lyrics and title Frank also pays homage to one of the great English novelists of this time or at least “borrows” from him: Charles Dickens (1812 – 1870), who at some point mischievously left a calling card which stated “Charles Dickens – Resurrectionist – in search of a subject”. 

[Full Disclosure #01: That’s one of the few times I have to rely on Frank’s words as verification, because my internet sleuthing did not find a source (yet) for this tidbit about Dickens he told in an interview. But it’s such a great story.]

1900 – 1945

The century starts with still more revolutions and more wars. But like in every other age there also was arts and culture and entertainment for the public and not just the gentry or nobility. The turn of the century saw the rise of British music halls in the tradition of Vaudeville.

This is my family’s trade, my father built this place
At the turning of the twentieth century.
[….]
We are the ghosts of Vaudeville,
Unnumbered.
We are the fathers of the halls,
(Balthazar Impressario, 2011)

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At the same time on the other side of Europe – in the Russia Empire – people were revolting. Twice within less than 15 years: The Russian Revolution in 1905 and the Bolshevik October Revolution in 1917. We’ve all felt and still feel the reverberations of the 2nd revolution for decades after.

So come on old friends to the streets
Let’s be 1905 but not 1917,
Let’s be heroes, let’s be martyrs, let’s be radical thinkers
Who never have to test drive the least of their dreams.
(Love, Ire & Song, 2008)

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I’m not sure if the following actually is a reference or if it just sounds like one to me, because I’ve read the source material quoted in different contexts many many times before.

“Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.”

which are the final lines in the famous poem “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost, published in 1915.

So which path to choose, the one less travelled or the one more used?
(Do One, 2024)

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In the same year an American-born British poet published a modernist poem:

“The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock”

That poet was T.S. Eliot (1888 – 1965) and I admit before I’ve started listening to Frank’s music I only very vaguely knew of him in a “Isn’t that a writer / poet?” kind of way.

I confess even a decade later I still haven’t read any T.S. Eliot. He wrote long modernist poetry. And English isn’t my first language. It’s daunting. Anyway, I first looked up Eliot in the summer of 2013, when I worked my way through Frank’s back catalogue and tried to figure out who that Prufrock person is, who isn’t actually featured anywhere in the song.

I Knew Prufrock Before He Got Famous, 2007

It’s safe to say that Frank very much appreciates T.S. Eliot’s work. For instance “The Waste Land” (1922) where the first (of five) part – “The Burial of the Dead” – opens with the lines

“April is the cruellest month, breeding
Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing
Memory and desire, stirring
Dull roots with spring rain.”

and the third part “The Fire Sermon” ends with

“Burning, burning, burning, burning
O Lord Thou pluckest me out
O Lord Thou pluckest
burning”

And I will find a way that leads from cruel April into May,
(The Opening Act of Spring, 2015)

I am lost and I’m gone away
(Oh Darling Thou Pluckest Me Out)
And I don’t even know where you are
(Oh Darling Thou Pluckest Me Out)
And I don’t even know who you are anymore.
(Sea Legs, 2008)

The title “The Waste Land” is also a reference to the “Fisher King” (see above) who according the legend rules the Waste Land and there are various more references to that in the poem, even if the Fisher King as such isn’t mentioned by name.

The last T.S. Eliot reference I found – for now, there might be more – is the end of “The Hollow Man” (1925)

“This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.”

Not with a bang but with a whimper.
It wasn’t hard, it was kind of simple.
(Anymore, 2013)

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The next one was a bit difficult to put on a timeline as it involves someone in 1916/1922 quoting something from 1667. In John Milton’s epic poem “Paradise Lost” (from 1667) about the biblical story of Adam and Eve, the Fall of Men, the fallen angel Lucifer states

“Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heaven.”
(Book 1, Line 263)

which can be considered the origin of another quote in the work of another famous writer: James Joyce. In “A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man” (1916) the main character Stephan Dedalus hears the following in a priest’s sermon:

“Theologians consider that it was the sin of pride, the sinful thought conceived in an instant: non serviam: I will not serve. That instant was his ruin.”

Which Stephan Dedalus states once more in Joyce “Ullyseus” (1922)

“The intellectual imagination! With me all or not at all. Non serviam!”

I found an online article which explains a bit more here. And of course this all leads us to

Non Serviam, 2021

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A few years later in 1933 Hitler came into power in Germany and quickly turned the country into a dictatorship. And much much worse. It didn’t start suddenly with the war in 1939 and we all do well to remember that.

The first time it was a tragedy, the second time it’s a farce.
Outside it’s 1933, so I’m hitting the bar.
(1933, 2018)

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Between 1936 and 1939 Spain was torn apart by a war between left-wing and right-wing parties, royalists vs. republicans, Communists vs nationalists. About half a million people lost their lives. In the end the nationalists won which led to the Franco dictatorship till 1975.

If it were just the best of us against the rest of us,
It wouldn’t even really be an argument at all.
It would be a victory, or a Spanish Civil War,
But I’m really not so sure that it is the way it is at all.
(Common Ground, 2018)

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In September 1939 Britain and France declared war against Germany, after Germany had invaded Poland and ignored British ultimatums. Even though Britain observed it all from a far, the mood in the country wasn’t too worried yet. A series of two motivational posters failed to achieve the intended impact to the extent that a third design wasn’t even distributed anymore:

A copy of this poster was discovered in the late 1990s in a London bookshop and from there the image, slogan and everything gained it’s massive popularity long after WWII [Source BBC].

And I won’t keep calm, I won’t carry on
(Pandemic PTSD, 2024)

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A year later the front on the continent had moved west. Germany had occupied Belgium and British troops had to evacuate from Dunkirk. On June 18th 1940 the new prime minister Winston Churchill gave a rousing speech in the House of Commons, calling for support and unity and determination to defeat the Germans in the to expected Battle of Britain:

“If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands.”
[Source: International Churchill Society]

So don’t you worry, all things must end.
There are sunlit uplands around the river bend.
(Glorious You, 2015)

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The Battle of Britain started soon after, where during “The Blitz” bombing campaign in 1940/1941 more than 40.000 people lost their lives, over 100.000 were injured and 60% of London was damaged or destroyed. But the “bombed but not defeated” morale of the “Blitz spirit” prevailed. [Source: Historic UK]

It’s easy enough to talk about Blitz spirit
When you’re not holding the roof up and knee deep in it.
(The Next Storm, 2015)

1945 – 2000

It’s a bit tricky now to move on from a war with so many casualties to something ordinary as literature. Which is, of course only ordinary in contrast to big world changing historical events. Music, literature, songs, books and stories are vital for any civilised society, because we reflect and learn and grow and heal through it. At least I hope we do.

In 1952 John Steinbeck published “East of Eden”, a novel about two families – the Trasks and the Hamiltons – and in Frank’s own words: “it’s about moral responsibility and the idea that in the end we’re each of us responsible for the choices and decisions that we make and that blaming it on somebody else is the coward’s way out” (quoted from the Live in Newcastle Album, 2020).

Adam Trask is on my back and in my ears,
And the sound comes clear and brings the awful truth
That I can’t stand what I’ve done to you.
(Redemption, 2011)

In 1957 Jack Kerouac published his first novel “On the Road”, which made him into an icon of the Beat Generation.

Leave Kerouac at his desk;
We have romance in our risks.
(Poetry of the Deed, 2009)

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Let’s now for a moment step into the world of sports. The one and only Muhammad Ali is known not just for his boxing success or his politics, but also for quite a few memorable quotes. In 1964 early in his career he answered the question about his strategy / tactics as the underdog with

“Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee”

which Frank modified to

If self loathing was a sport, I’d be Muhammad Ali,
Because I can sting like a butterfly and sink like a bee.
(“Haven’t Been Doing So Well, 2021)

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Evel Knievel was an American stunt performer and daredevil most known for his motorcycle jumps. The first big jump over two pickup trucks happened at the National Date Festival in Indio, California in 1966 . [Source: EvelKnievel.com]

Can you fly like Icarus, land like Evel Knievel?
(Show People, 2024)

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In 1971 a man – later known as D.B. Cooper – managed to hijack a plane on the way from Portland to Seattle. He demanded a parachute and 200.000 $ in cash. His demands were met in Seattle, where he let the passengers go. With the remaining staff on board he redirected the plane to Mexico and sometime after the plane left Seattle, parachuted out the back and was never seen again. [Source: FBI History].

DB Cooper now in second place. International hide and seek champions.
(International Hide & Seek Champions, 2024)

[Full Disclosure #02: I have no idea when/who started the “DB Cooper Hide & Seek Champion since 1971” meme, but there are tons of shirts, mugs, whatever available all over the internet. In an interview Frank mentioned that he saw a documentary on DB Cooper and someone was wearing that shirt.]

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Chronologically the next reference is the granddaughter of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst – Patricia – who was kidnapped aged 19 by left-wing organization in 1974. She was allegedly coerced and brainwashed under humiliating conditions of confinement. For a few months she remained at large with her captors / confederates ? and participated in various criminal activities before they were captured by the FBI.

Dreams of pirate ships and Patty Hearst
Breaking through a life over-rehearsed.
(I Am Disappeared, 2011)

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John Otway, who – quoting from his own website “is an English singer-songwriter who has built a sizeable cult audience through extensive touring, a surreal sense of humour and a self-deprecating underdog persona.” – started making music and touring in the 1970s with a hit single in 1977. Almost 40 years and 5.000 gigs later he’s still doing it.

You’re more likely to be John Otway than the Beatles,
But Otway’s still on tour. Hats off to the show people.
(Show People, 2024)

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I don’t think of myself as “punk”, at least not in the typical – be a fan of the music genre or member of the subculture – kind of way. I love some punk-(adjacent) music / bands and some of the subculture’s ethos, but to be honest, I don’t know enough about any of it and that’s fine.

But I haven’t been living under a rock, so of course even as a teen in the late 80s/early 90s I had heard of the Sex Pistols and had seen the iconic album cover image from their in fact only album, released in 1977. When I first heard (of) Frank’s song “Never Mind the Back Problems” (2024) I immediately thought it must be a reference. I didn’t find any evidence of that though. Until I saw a photo of the merch at LE VII in Toronto.

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To some it might come as a surprise (shock? disbelief?) that I am still sort of a Bruce Springsteen illiterate. I know his hits of course and then some, but so far I just didn’t manage to get all that interested in his work. Considering this though I admit I felt quite proud, once I had figured out the next reference. Don’t ask me how and when I did it, I honestly don’t remember.

In 1982 Bruce Springsteen released an album: Nebraska.

Well I’ve been to Texas state, I didn’t think it was that fucking great,
And Nebraska is just a bunch of songs
Holloway and Hampshire is where I belong.
(Nashville Tennessee, 2008)

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We’ve finally reached the years and events I personally remember, because I’ve lived through them. I was 10 years old in early 1986 and even though I didn’t see the live broadcast, I very well remember the news reports and replays and the articles afterwards: The Challenger Disaster, where a space shuttle exploded live on TV shortly after it’s launch.

On the 28th of January 1986 Christa McAuliffe
Gazed in horror as the O-rings failed,
And she died, and she died, and she died.
(Silent Key, 2015)

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A year later in September 1987 Conservative UK Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher used the phrase

“There is no society”

multiple times in an interview for Woman’s Own magazine [Source: Margaret Thatcher Foundation]. She thus probably summed up her political view in all it’s disastrous consequence, but that’s just my take on it. I didn’t actually live through that as I didn’t grew up in Britain and even though I vaguely remember Thatcher from the news at night, I had no idea of her politics. I was 11 years old in another country!

We spent ten long years teaching our kids not to care
And that “there’s no such thing as society” anyway.
(Thatcher Fucked The Kids, 2008)

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I shy away from calling a reference to the 1990s a “historical” reference, because I’ve been a teen in those years and calling it history makes me feel old as fuck, but maybe I’ll have to get used to that. The 1990s underground feminist alt-rock/punk movement the Riot Grrl movement needs to get a shout-out here [Source: The Guardian, 2009].

I’m in love with the girl from the record shop,
Sat behind the counter in her Riot Grrl top.
(Girl From The Record Shop, 2024)

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Even though I right away felt like I knew which song from the 1990s band “The Verve” (lead singer Richard Ashcroft) Frank was referencing, I had to look it up and then experienced a “Duh! Of course!” moment. From their 1997 hit “A Bitter Sweet Symphony”:

But I’m a million different people from one day to the next

Fifteen year old Francis,
We need to have a word.
I know because I remember
That you cannot stand The Verve. But Richard Ashcroft had a point
Now I’m old enough to see
There’s a million different people
You will be before you’re me.
(Ceasefire, 2024)

21st Century

Of course this last section has to begin with

I’ve got the Twenty-First Century survival blues,
A condition brought on by watching the news.
(The Twenty-First Century Survival Blues, 2018)

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In 2008 the American psychotherapist (and writer) Irvin Yalom published the book “Staring at the Sun: Overcoming the terror of death” in which he at some point writes: 

“… sooner or later she had to give up the hope for a better past.” 

Giving up on hope for a better past,
Passing through the bitterness.
(Undefeated, 2024)

[Full Disclosure #03: Once more I have to give credit to Frank, because he mentioned his inspiration in an interview. But as this line means a lot to me, I wanted it be included here. The book went on my long “to-read” list as well.]

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A proper historical reference – or at least reference to real events – happens to be the whole song about the London Riots in 2011, when a protest against the police killing of a young man erupted in widespread rioting in the North London area of Tottenham and spread from there through other areas of Greater London but also other British cities.

Last night the kids set London alight,
They started out in Tottenham and the flames spread through the night,
(Riot Song, 2014)

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2013 saw the release of “Tape Deck Heart” which includes these lyrics in “The Way I Tend To Be” 

“It turns out hell will not be found
Within the fires below,
But in making do and muddling through
When you’ve nowhere else to go.”

Yes, it’s a weird kind of meta – moment, when Frank quotes himself in song, but to me this feels less self-referential and just lovely and thus I include it here: 

I’m tired of just making do, I’m tired of just muddling through
Aren’t you tired of just making do? Tired of muddling through?
(Letters, 2024)

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The last of the references is still one of the most profound and inspirational quotes used by Frank in any of his songs. He’s been talking a lot about why he picked

Be More Kind

as title for the 2018 album and what inspired it: a few lines in the poem “Leçons de Ténèbres”, by the late Clive James (1939 – 2019), published in 2013

“I should have been more kind. It is my fate
To find this out, but find it out too late.”

And thus concludes over 3.000 years of human history told through Frank Turner lyrics. Looking back on the endless wars and armed conflicts dominating even this partial and fragmented timeline of events, I more than ever agree with Clive James. And Frank. Let’s be more kind. To each other. To ourselves. To the world we live in.