Carbona Not Glue

It's Caroline's fault I am this way
Mom and Dad want to put me away
From the early, early morning to the late, late show
When it's over there's nowhere to go

June 6th 1977, I saw the Ramones, Talking Heads and the Saints at the Roundhouse in Chalk Farm. My life changed & I suddenly got music. More than that, I got a life! I got a guitar and I got a band. My sister Caroline had a spare ticket and dragged me along. My mum warned her that if I turned into a wrong 'un, it would all be her fault. This clip was made less than a month later. It sent shivers down my spine to see it. They really were the world's greatest live band and I guess I saw them 20 or 30 times.

Shortly after I bought Leave Home by the Ramones. Carbona Not Glue was my favourite track and I used to sing the above lyrics to my Dad to annoy him (and stay out of thumping distance). I turned my best mate Dermot on to the Ramones as well. He asked me to get him the album which I did. When we played his new copy, guess what? Carbona had gone, to be replaced by the drippy track "Babysitter". I asked big sis what was going on. She replied that a Tory MP had kicked up a fuss so it had been banned. To this day I've never forgiven the Conservative Party. Dee Dee Ramone said in one interview that he couldn't believe an elected politician would be so stupid to see that it wasn't satirical. He said that anyone stupid enough to sniff cockroach spray, wouldn't be influenced by the Ramones. I agreed with his view that Ramones fans are the highest, not the lowest form of human life !

Anyway, as my music career has gone from strength to strength and the studios see the likes of Amy Winehouse, Kate Nash, The Damned, The Beautiful South etc pass through, she reckons that by my mum's reckoning, I owe her my fortune as it's all her fault.

Anyway, the moral of this story? Beware of Tories pretending to like the Ramones. They banned Carbona ! I've loved this track for 32 years and I've not turned to the gluepot or the roachspray yet.

Just for the record, here's the real lyrics.

Carbona Not Glue

Wondering what I'm doing tonight I've been in the closet and feel all right

Ran out of Carbona Mom threw out the glue
Ran out of paint and roach spray too It's TV's fault why I am this way

Mom and pop wanna put me away
From the early morning movie to the late late show
After it's over nowhere to go And I'm not sorry for the things I do

My brain is stuck from shooting glue I'm not sorry for the things I do

Carbona not glue