Madness - Baggy Trousers

The first song I ever danced to in a nightclub, when I was 17 years old, was this and to this day I've never seen a dancefloor respond so quickly and fun.  With the clatter of schoolbells that opens the tune, circles of conversation were tossed aside as the dancefloor was rushed with people.

Suggs of Madness more than once has mentioned that he wrote Baggy Trousers as a response to Pink Floyd's Another Brick in The Wall.  While that song is an absolute classic for me, it is understandable to see how Suggs felt about it.

Another Brick is an amazing song for the down points of school.  But there are two sides to every coin and if you turn the coin of another brick in the wall over, on the other side you'll see Baggy Trousers.

Baggy Trousers embraces the feeling of feet in the backhalls, fleeing teachers who have caught you up to no good.

It's the musical equivalent of a snowball fight in the early morning or taking a fly day off whenever you can.

It's the joy of an empty house on a schoolday, which will never feel quite as magical as it does when you know you're not supposed to be there.

It's baggy trousers and dirty shirts as much as it's Roger Water's thought control.

The song doesn't lack in commentary as well, the hook of the chorus could easily apply to half the people I knew in school, who learned how to get by with bending instead of breaking the rules.

But ultimately it's a piece of nostalgia that manages to avoid the soppiness of most of what we apply to that word.  It works on an emotional level that quite transcends the time period it was written in.  From the wriggling saxophone lines and jumping skanking guitar to the vocals, which are simple both lyrically and melodically, a fact which works to their benefit in making a song that you can always sing along to, that ten or twenty years after you first hear it, you'll still know word for word.

Indeed, considering how it was written as a bitter response to Roger Waters, it's surprising how well the two songs compliment each other.  If I was to ever make a film about school, I think you'd really need both songs in it.

Posted in: Baggy Trousers, Madness, Music, Music Review