After Arctic Monkeys taxi rank scenes in Sheffield night-life, a double header focusing on the drivers with a dismissive attitude and different attempts to hail them on either side of the pond.
A taxi journey is transaction based on mutual trust. More than simply A to B, a taxi is a brief moment in a hired capsule of privacy. It is the limousine of the elite and exclusive, it is the ticking meter clock of the city's official rate, it is the unlicensed and bargained, the Venetian water boat, the juddery long-distance jitney, or it's the ramshackle hand-pulled, auto or cycle rickshaw. And so many a taxi journey and all that is contained therein, contain the right ingredients, and length of time, to make up a song. And the key moment is that first interaction between driver and customer. But what if the driver refuses? In these two examples the artist is unable to hail a cab at all, due to the driver’s prejudice not just about race, but in particular, what they associate with black men with dreadlocks. In the first of these examples, Lenny Kravitz, from arguably his first, and best album, Let Love Rule (1989). Here the Manhattan-born musician is unable to get a ride in his own city in a song with a simple rock riff and bassline, with added overdubbed backing vocals. it’s a fresh, engaging sound that also has echoes of Lou Reed’s New York album.
The reggae band from Handsworth, Birmingham addresses exactly the same serious issue. However they use with a much more lighthearted approach, packaged in a poppier, more commercial style than much of their other reggae material, full of conversational asides, chatty accents and toasting in their 1993 single.
[Verse 1]
Mr. Cab Driver, won't you stop to let me in
Mr. Cab Driver, don't like my kind of skin
Mr. Cab Driver, you're never going to win
Mr. Cab Driver, won't you stop to pick me up
Mr. Cab Driver, I might need some help
Mr. Cab Driver, only thinks about himself
Here we go
[Chorus]
Mr Cab Driver
Mr Cab Driver
Mr Cab Driver
Mr Cab Driver
[Verse 2]
Mr. Cab Driver, don't like the way I look
He don't like dreads, he thinks we're all crooks
Mr. Cab Driver, reads too many story books
Mr. Cab Driver, pass me up with eyes of fire
Mr. Cab Driver, thinks we're all 165ers,
Mr. Cab Driver, fuck you, I'm a survivor
Oh yeah, one more time, aha!
Let me in!
Mr cab driver
Now hear this crowd of people
I man well vex
And just have fe big up me chest
Cause the Taxi Driver don't have no respect
Want I fe catch bus hop truck and
Ride bike and stand up on the road
And hitch hike
But you see me...dem deh things can't go on
Cause Natty Dread RIDE THE STORM
CHORUS
Taxi Driver
Won't stop for me
Whenever I flag him down
He won't stop for me
DJ BUMBO BROWN:
In a London city and in a New York
There are no go areas after dark
I say muggers on the streets
And thief in the park
Tramps pon the sidewalk
A dem a sky lark
Some a catch the taxi - when they reach
Their spot
Pretend to pay the driver
And then they just run off
Some a argue with the driver
And say the fare ain't right
The next thing you know
They have a kitchen knife
CHORUS
Taxi Driver
Won't stop for me
Whenever I flag him down
He won't stop for me
To hail a cab
You got to be fast
You try to catch a taxi
But they just drive past
DAVID DREAD:
The taxi-cab driver never stop for me
They got all kind of excuses up his sleeve
Some say they off duty
Some say they not free
The taxi cab driver never stop for me
Because of my dreadlocks looking wild
They think I'm a mugger of some bad guy
No they never stop they just pass me by
They treat me like a leper
Who's left to die Yo!
Excuse me mate can you get me a taxi
Is that the driver
Boy...Jungle
DJ BUMBO BROWN
You think that bad
Mek I tell you what the brute
Do to me youth
Well I was walking with my son
Who was just a child
And still the Taxi Driver
Won't give me a ride
He was caught by the traffic lights
And had to slow down
So I opened the back door
And sat my son down
So he tried his best to
Stop me from coming in
I say move yourself man
And start your driving
He was very angry
But he asked where to
I said take me to the station
My train leaving soon
So guess what he did to me
Just for spite
He stopped at every single traffic light
He took the wrong turn
And the long way too
He stopped at the bar
Just to use the loo
When I got to the station
It was all in vain
Good golly good gosh
I say I miss my train
Me kick up the taxi
Me kick up the Taxi Driver
Me lick up the taxi
Me lick up the Taxi Driver
Not stopping
He just not stopping
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