"Bodies" is a song by the
Sex Pistols
The Sex Pistols were an English punk rock band formed in London in 1975. Although their initial career lasted just two and a half years, they were one of the most groundbreaking acts in the history of popular music. They were responsible for ...
, from their 1977 album ''
Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols''. The song tackles the subject of abortion with lyrics described as "some of the most uncompromising, gut-wrenching lyrics imaginable".
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Lyrical content
The lyrics contain very graphic imagery about a terminated foetus
A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...
and feature a great deal of profanity
Profanity, also known as cursing, cussing, swearing, bad language, foul language, obscenities, expletives or vulgarism, is a socially offensive use of language. Accordingly, profanity is language use that is sometimes deemed impolite, rud ...
for the time: the third and final verse begins with a couplet
A couplet is a pair of successive lines of metre in poetry. A couplet usually consists of two successive lines that rhyme and have the same metre. A couplet may be formal (closed) or run-on (open). In a formal (or closed) couplet, each of the ...
in which the word ''fuck
''Fuck'' is an English-language expletive. It often refers to the act of sexual intercourse, but is also commonly used as an intensifier or to convey disdain. While its origin is obscure, it is usually considered to be first attested to aro ...
'' is repeated five times in rapid succession.
The song is mostly about a fan named Pauline, who was (as the song states) from Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
.[ She had been in a mental institution, where she apparently lived in a tree house in its garden.][ This was where the line 'Her name was Pauline, she lived in a tree' comes from. The institution was also where she seems to have been raped by one of the male nurses.][ When she was released, she travelled to London, where she became a punk rock fan. She had several abortions. According to ]John Lydon
John Joseph Lydon (; born 31 January 1956), also known by his former stage name Johnny Rotten, is an English singer and songwriter. He was the lead singer of the late-1970s punk band the Sex Pistols, which lasted from 1975 until 1978, and aga ...
, she showed up once at his door wearing nothing but a clear plastic bag and holding an aborted foetus
A fetus or foetus (; plural fetuses, feti, foetuses, or foeti) is the unborn offspring that develops from an animal embryo. Following embryonic development the fetal stage of development takes place. In human prenatal development, fetal develo ...
.[ This was re-iterated in the 2002 ''Classic Albums'' documentary when discussing ''Bodies''. In a 1977 interview, when asked about the backstory of the song, Lydon also claimed that she was arrested after entering a ]discotheque
A nightclub (music club, discothèque, disco club, or simply club) is an entertainment venue during nighttime comprising a dance floor, lightshow, and a stage for live music or a disc jockey (DJ) who plays recorded music.
Nightclubs gene ...
with the aborted foetus.[
According to Lydon's ]autobiography
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
, she told Lydon about becoming pregnant and then having abortions and she described them in detail to him. This affected Lydon enough to write the song. Most of the band also had experiences with Pauline, but have spoken less about it.
Reception
With its repeated mentions of "I'm not an animal," of "Mummy," and of a dying baby, the song has been interpreted as anti-abortion,[ music critic ]Robert Christgau
Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...
contemporarily calling it "effectively anti-abortion, anti-woman, and anti-sex."[ In 2006, '']National Review
''National Review'' is an American conservative editorial magazine, focusing on news and commentary pieces on political, social, and cultural affairs. The magazine was founded by the author William F. Buckley Jr. in 1955. Its editor-in-chief i ...
'' magazine put the song at #8 on its list of the "50 Greatest Conservative Rock songs", due to its negative and unflinching description of abortion.[ Lydon himself, in a 2007 interview with '']Spin Magazine
''Spin'' (stylized in all caps) is an American music magazine founded in 1985 by publisher Bob Guccione, Jr. Now owned by Next Management Partners, the magazine is an online publication since it stopped issuing a print edition in 2012.
Histor ...
'', said "I don't think there's a clearer song about the pain of abortion. The juxtaposition of all those different psychic things in your head and all the confusion, the anger, the frustration, you have to capture in those words."[ In the BBC documentary series '']Classic Albums
''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music.
Format
The TV ser ...
'' (2007) about The Sex Pistols' "Never Mind The Bollocks" album Lydon further said: "That song was hated and loathed. It's not anti-abortion, it's not pro-abortion. It's: 'Think about it. Don't be callous about a human being, but don't be limited about a thing as 'morals' either. Because it's immoral to bring a kid in this world and not give a toss about it.'"[
Along with the later "]Belsen Was a Gas
"Belsen Was a Gas" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. The song is about one of the Nazi concentration camps in Nazi Germany, Bergen-Belsen, which was liberated by British troops in 1945.
History
According to the ASCAP, cred ...
," it is probably the most graphic and controversial Sex Pistols song in both its subject matter and style. A 2017 article in The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...
described the song as "a gurgling bloody depiction of an abortion replete with a volley of expletives from Rotten".[ Musically, it is also the fastest and heaviest][ song in the Sex Pistols canon — characterized by thudding drums, droning buzzsaw guitar, and shouted vocals.][
]
Recording
"Bodies" is one of two songs on '' Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'' which original Pistols bassist Glen Matlock
Glen Matlock (born 27 August 1956) is an English musician, best known for being the bass guitarist in the original line-up of the punk rock band the Sex Pistols. He is credited as a songwriter on 10 of the 12 songs on the Sex Pistols' only alb ...
did not co-write.[ It is also one of only two songs on the album on which ]Sid Vicious
John Simon Ritchie (10 May 1957 – 2 February 1979), better known by his stage name Sid Vicious, was an English musician, best known as the bassist for the punk rock band Sex Pistols. Despite dying in 1979 at age 21, he remains an icon of the ...
actually plays bass, although his part was later overdubbed by Steve Jones, after Matlock refused to return to play the part.[ The song was, like all other Sex Pistols songs, credited to the entire band, though Vicious was in the hospital with ]hepatitis
Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...
when the band finished it.[
]
Other versions
The Sex Pistols' album ''Filthy Lucre Live'' - recorded at Finsbury Park
Finsbury Park is a public park in the London neighbourhood of Harringay. It is in the area formerly covered by the historic parish of Hornsey, succeeded by the Municipal Borough of Hornsey. It was one of the first of the great London parks ...
, London on 23 June 1996, and released on 29 July that year - includes a performance of "Bodies."[ This same performance is a B-side on the "]Pretty Vacant
"Pretty Vacant" is a song by the English punk rock band the Sex Pistols. It was released on 2 July 1977 as the band's third single and was later featured on their only album, ''Never Mind the Bollocks, Here's the Sex Pistols'', released during t ...
(live)" single, under the title "Buddies,"[ and is a different mix from the track on the live album (the audience noise is mixed much higher, with John Lydon's vocal barely audible under the audience singing the first verse). "Buddies" is a bonus track on the Japanese edition of '']Filthy Lucre Live
''Filthy Lucre Live'' is a 1996 live album by the reformed Sex Pistols. The album was recorded live at London's Finsbury Park on 23 June 1996 during the band's Filthy Lucre Tour. BBC Radio 1 broadcast the concert live, featuring the complete ...
.''[
In the film '']Sid and Nancy
''Sid and Nancy'' (also known as ''Sid and Nancy: Love Kills'') is a 1986 British biographical film directed by Alex Cox, co-written with Abbe Wool, and starring Gary Oldman and Chloe Webb. The film portrays the life of Sid Vicious, bassist of t ...
'' the title characters, played by Gary Oldman
Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy Fi ...
and Chloe Webb
Chloe Webb (born June 25, 1956) is an American actress, best known for her roles in the films '' Sid and Nancy'' (1986), ''The Belly of an Architect'' (1987), '' Twins'' (1988), and '' Heart Condition'' (1990). She also was nominated for a Prime ...
,[ sing the song for the siblings of ]Nancy Spungen
Nancy Laura Spungen (; February 27, 1958 – October 12, 1978) was the American girlfriend of English musician Sid Vicious, and a figure of the 1970s punk rock scene.
Raised Jewish in Philadelphia, Spungen was an emotionally disturbed child who ...
to their delight and to the horror of their parents.
In 2005, a "barnyard" arrangement by Steve Jones and Scott Weiland
Scott Richard Weiland (; né Kline, October 27, 1967 – December 3, 2015) was an American singer and songwriter. During a career spanning three decades, Weiland was best known as the lead singer of the rock band Stone Temple Pilots from ...
was performed on Jones' radio show, with the use of the word "fuck" changed to "pluck".[
The song has been covered by ]Liam Gallagher
William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He achieved fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Oasis from 1991 to 2009, and later fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2009 to 2014, before starti ...
,[ ]Veruca Salt
Veruca Salt is an American alternative rock band founded in Chicago, Illinois, in 1992 by vocalist-guitarists Nina Gordon and Louise Post, drummer Jim Shapiro and bassist Steve Lack. They are best known for their first single, " Seether", th ...
,[ ]Velvet Revolver
Velvet Revolver was an American hard rock supergroup consisting of Guns N' Roses members Slash (lead guitar), Duff McKagan (bass, backing vocals) and Matt Sorum (drums, backing vocals), alongside Dave Kushner (rhythm guitar) formerly of punk b ...
,[ ]Suede
Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...
,[ The Almighty,][ ]Killing Joke
Killing Joke are an English rock music, rock band from Notting Hill, London, England, formed in 1979 by Jaz Coleman (vocals, keyboards), Paul Ferguson (drums), Geordie Walker (guitar) and Youth (musician), Youth (bass).
Their first album, ''Ki ...
,[ ]Sepultura
Sepultura (, "grave")Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 17. is a Brazilian heavy metal band from Belo Horizonte. Formed in 1984 by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera,Barcinski & Gomes 1999, page 16. the band was a major force in the groove metal, thra ...
,[ and ]Raimundos
Raimundos is a Brazilian punk/hardcore band formed in 1987 by Digão and Rodolfo Abrantes, in Brasília, Distrito Federal. They had with major influences from 1980s punk bands, especially Ramones, from which their name is a play of. Raimundos wen ...
,[
]
References
{{authority control
1977 songs
Sex Pistols songs
Songs about abortion
Songs written by Paul Cook
Songs written by Steve Jones (musician)
Songs written by Sid Vicious
Songs written by John Lydon
Song recordings produced by Chris Thomas (record producer)