Lost in the supermarket….

“Lost in the Supermarket” is a 1979 song by The Clash.

I’m all lost in the supermarket
I can no longer shop happily
I came in her for that special offer
A guaranteed personality

I wasn’t born so much as I fell out
Nobody seemed to notice me
We had a hedge back home in the suburbs
Over which I never could see

I heard the people who lived on the ceiling
Scream and fight most scarily
Hearing that noise was my first ever feeling
That’s how it’s been all around me

CHORUS

I’m all tuned in, I see all the programmes
I save coupons from packets of tea
I’ve got my giant hit discoteque album
I empty a bottle and I feel a bit free

The kids in the halls and the pipes in the walls
Make me noises for company
Long distance callers make long distance calls
And the silence makes me lonely

CHORUS

And it’s not here
It disappear
I’m all lost …..

The lyrics describe someone struggling to deal with an increasingly commercialised world and rampant consumerism. The song opens with Strummer’s autobiographical memories of his parents’ home in suburban Warlingham, with a hedge “over which I never could see.” With lines such as “I came in here for that special offer – guaranteed personality”, the protagonist bemoans the depersonalisation of the world around him. The song speaks of numbers about suburban alienation and the feelings of disillusionment that come through youth in modern society