The 15 best Jarvis Cocker lyrics

19 September 2023, 9:34

Jarvis Cocker in 2001, around the time of the We Love Life album. Picture: Patrick Ford/Redferns/Getty Images

The Pulp frontman turns 60 on 19th September 2023, so here are some of the Britpop legend's finest lyrical couplets.

  1. "I said 'Pretend you got no money' - And she just laughed and said 'Oh, you're so funny'. I said Yeah... Well, I can't see anyone else smiling in here."

    Common People, 1995

  2. "Your name is Deborah, Deborah... It never suited ya."

    Disco 2000, 1995

  3. "I heard you stop outside the door, I know you won't believe it's true. I only went with her 'cos she looks like you."

    Babies, 1992

  4. "Do you remember the first time? I can't remember a worse time...But you know that we've changed so much since then."

    Do You Remember The First Time?, 1994

  5. "I lost my friends, I dance alone, it's six o'clock I wanna go home."

    Sorted For E's And Wizz, 1995

  6. "I wrote this song two hours before we met, I didn't know your name or what you looked like yet."

    Something Changed, 1995

  7. "His body loved her / His mind was set on other things."

    They Suffocate At Night, 1987

  8. "You could end up with a smack in the mouth, just for standing out."

    Mis-Shapes, 1995

  9. "I guess you have to go right down before you understand just how low a human being can go."

    Mile End, 1996

  10. "And now you're going with some kid / Who looks like some bad comedian."

    Razzmatazz, 1993

  11. "If you look very hard / Behind those lines upon their face / You may see where you are headed / And it's such a lonely place."

    Help The Aged, 1997

  12. "No wonder you're looking thin / When all that you live on is lipgloss and cigarettes."

    Lipgloss, 1993

  13. "The word's on the street, you've found someone new / If he looks nothing like me, I'm so happy for you."

    Bad Cover Version, 2001

  14. "Entertainment can sometimes be hard / When the thing that you love / Is the same thing that's holding you down."

    Party Hard, 1997

  15. "Your skin so pale against the fallen autumn leaves / And no-one saw us but the trees."

    The Trees, 2001