Man in the Corner Shop by The Jam

Album: Sound Affects (1980)

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This is a slice of social commentary from Paul Weller, lead singer and songwriter for the Jam. "The whole song is a comment or piss-take, whatever way you look at it, me being flippant about the class system," Weller explained in Daniel Rachel's The Art of Noise: Conversations with Great Songwriters. "It keeps coming back to the man in the corner shop: the person underneath who's jealous because he thinks he's making all the money, but the man in the corner shop's struggling and the boss in the factory also gets his cigarettes from the corner shop. So it becomes a central focus people come back to, but then they're all equal in the eyes of the Lord, the church."

Comments: 3

Adam from LondonPatrick is correct for the first verse. It's the lyrics of the second verse which Rambo is commenting on, I believe, and his suggestion is not only correct in the logical sense, but also if you listen to the song - it's clear Paul is saying 'he is jealous is the man in the corner shop'.

The factory worker is jealous of the man in the corner shop, who is jealous of the boss of the factory; which puts the lie to the church's assertion that we're all created equal.
Patrick from LondonNo Rambo, it is the last customer who is jealous of the man in the corner shop, who in turn envies the boss from the factory.
Rambo from UkIts "he is jealous is the man in the corner shop" Not "Of" Otherwise lyrics wouldn't make sense

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