Beautiful South, The - Woman In The Wall Lyrics






He was just a social drinker but social every night
He enjoyed a pint or two or three or four
She was just a silent thinker, silent every night
He'd enjoy the thought of killing her before

Well he was very rarely drunk but very rarely sober
And he didn't think the problem was his drink
But he only knew his problem when he knocked her over
And when the rotting flesh began to stink

Cry freedom for the woman in the wall
Cry freedom for she has no voice at all
I hear her cry all day, all night
I hear her voice from deep within the wall
Made a cross from knitting needles
Made a grave from hoover bags
Especially for the woman in the wall

She'd knitted him a jumper with dominoes on
So he wore it everyday in every week
Pretended to himself that she hadn't really gone
Pretended that he thought he heard her speak

Then at last it seemed that he was really winning
He felt that he had some sort of grip
But all of his new life was sent a-spinning
When the rotting wall began to drip





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Beautiful South, The Woman In The Wall Comments
  1. S.... M....

    I remember going on holiday when I was a kid in a camper van with my mum and brothers with this blaring out on a mix. I knew it was dark but we all sang along I loved it

  2. S.... ....

    Album Cover ?!! [MI5/6 = OIL/Tax/Bank£R$/INCH£$... Made-Up £Xcuses !!] FIGHT ? Nah. $exy fuckball's on TV !!!

  3. G.... ....

    I play this song at open mic' nights and even the women applaud.

  4. E.... C....

    I grew up listening to The Beautiful South. I think they're flawless. Honestly way ahead of the times. I wish I had a chance to see them before they split. 🙁

  5. K.... D....

    Of all the versions this is the best....It reminds me of growing up with someone who was very rarely drunk but very rarely sober

  6. g.... a....

    They Said chivalry is dead

  7. G.... N....

    Having been a heavy drinker you can sink into deep disturbing mind altering experiences, never hurt no_one but did give my liver some onslaught back then

  8. H.... r....

    I love how half of their fans absolutely ignore the dark undertones that are in almost all of their songs and are able to just focus on the catchy tune.
    The fact that they managed to sell this sort of terminally cynical songs to the main public is brilliant.

    H.... r....

    I grew up with DV. My dad tried to kill us.
    And I love this song

    H.... r....

    N$A on PATrole ?

  9. N.... ....

    Great song, lyrics are so dark but the music is uplifting. This band had such a great sense of humor.

  10. D.... J....

    most haunting track ever

  11. R.... ....

    Shit is dark.... X

  12. N.... H....

    Hoover bags.

  13. G.... B....

    Alfred McAlpine stadium 1995..Fab..u..lous!

  14. J.... ....

    this song brings back fond memories when i murdered my wife

    J.... ....

    Well aint thar swell

  15. H.... M....

    Never heard this one although I'm a big fan... Creepy, though.

  16. S.... G....

    This is their best album. Got pretty much overlooked!

  17. S.... H....

    Saw this at Sheffield, bouncing about on the stage. magnificent.

  18. T.... H....

    I had this album cover just before they band it. They changed it with teddy bears i think.

    T.... H....

    My brother got his copy in 2005, with this original cover art.

    T.... H....

    @Secret Guy He was lucky. The original cover was banned in the UK

    T.... H....

    I had the original copy on cassette on my yts.

  19. G.... B....

    1995..Alfred mcalpine. ..stunning....

  20. J.... S....

    Women in the wall

  21. z.... ....

    This is dark, and brilliant.

  22. m.... ....

    People seem to think this song is weird due to the subject matter. But I remember being in a really violent relationship, with a guy who drank and became more and more violent each time. Listening to the lyrics of this song brings back those memories. I think if I had stayed, with his violent behaviour escalating as it was. I could easily have been that woman in the wall. Yes he was that bad. I'm well away from him now, but God forbid if he ever found out where I am. I spend my life looking over my shoulder.

  23. J.... D....

    Brilliant, what a tune ❤️

  24. G.... B....

    The most prominent song at Alfred McAlpine in '95..it was stunning.

    G.... B....

    woz there - Lecky went off during CAST !!!

    G.... B....

    I was there loved it when he asked for requests

  25. M.... J....

    Cry Freedom For the Woman In The Wall #ToutVaBien #WomenAbused #4AllAbused #Assez

  26. x.... D....

    Its a travesty that schoolboy lyrics from mediocrity laced bands and 'artists; are hailed as 'genius' simply because they are promoting one agenda or another at the time when social politics dictates and are then touted as masterclasses of musicianship when writers and bands such as this are relegated to also-rans.

  27. F.... E....

    Still sing this classic despite it never being a single. A classic that is sadly unknown to non-Beautiful South fans.

  28. N.... 4....

    Great song!

  29. F.... E....

    Love this song so much !

  30. t.... ....

    Grew up listening to this. My family's favorite sing- along on the album, I have memories of us all together singing with gusto. Which is both funny and disturbing to me now ... We were the strange family in the neighborhood.

    t.... ....

    i think allot of people have those memory's i just remember my mum shouting very loudly over the "fucks" in dont marry her haha

    t.... ....

    My mother had the censored version. I never really understood old red eyes and thought it was a really upbeat happy song.

    t.... ....

    twilightrose same lol xx

    t.... ....

    My friends and I at college did the same. At a repressive religious school. We were the strange group on campus :)

    t.... ....

    Made-Up INCH£$..?

  31. k.... ....

    I first read the lyrics to the song years ago... and I never imagined that it would sound like this

    if anything, I thought it would sound like "Coming Right Along" by The Posies

  32. m.... c....

    Ohhh memorys

  33. S.... B....

    Phil Collins big twat

  34. k.... ....

    so whats good music then

    k.... ....

    +kenny3983 This is

  35. N.... L....

    My housemate just told me to play this - I'll get the earplugs and go back to Phil Collins afterward (my apologies to those who think this is good music, but you have no taste whatsoever)

    N.... L....

    @greenmeister18

    you're probably a hapless loser like my landlady then. wasted your life listening to this shit, walking around like a tramp not 'aiming' for anything good in life.

    I'm driving cars that cost £200,000+ and you're talking shit to me?  What properties do you own?  What are you doing right now?  I'm not sat behind a desk or in some shit job because I chose to fail in life - I'm sat behind a laptop doing book keeping because I chose 'better'.  I chose NOT to listen to The Beautiful South.

    Read some books please :-) 

    N.... L....

    +Nicholas Lawrence The 2.52 vid ''Why Do Banks Make So Much Money?'' - the 3.19 ''How money gets destroyed - Banking 101 (Part 6 of 6),'' - the 3.01 ''Inequality:Why are the rich getting richer?'' and others by Positive Money UK [positivemoney.org] or internationalmoneyreform.org [choose a country] - Any vids on Complimentary Currencies/Local Money [e.g. The Bristol+Brixton Pound] Plus the 4.11 ''RISE UP - (Official Video),'' by Tragedy & Hope. A book ? ''The Future of Money,'' by Bernard Lietaer.

    N.... L....

    Lol...Nick the dick has spoken! 😛

    N.... L....

    Lol...Nick the dick has spoken! 😛

    N.... L....

    MAN-made NUMB£R$ !! Is there a lack of INCH£$ ?????????

  36. b.... ....

    Great song .. I just done a cover of it if anyone interested

    b.... ....

    +beestonpoet
    Nope..we'll pass thanks.

    b.... ....

    just like Forest said ''don't say nothin' if you don't have something nice to say'' .. so you should Keep Silent .. like the ''S'' in your surname

    b.... ....

    +beestonpoet
    I don't believe that is a Forrest Gump quote, however , you contradicted the quote by making the " not nice "comment about my surname..you fail.

    b.... ....

    no, no, not in the slightest....

  37. k.... ....

    Best track on that definitive album, from the ripped off Bad Manners bass line to the Paul Simon'esque Afro mambatta! 

    No one else could make the best musical experiment of the decade and twist it to something more niche and off the track.

    I personally like to view this track as highlighting  feminist issues, but, I may just be looking for deeper consternations that aren't really there.

    k.... ....

    do you use big words to sound intellectual?

    k.... ....

    +keasyman I like belligerent. you man lesbo.

    k.... ....

    Just to check, if you are 'personally' viewing it as something, would that be purposefully desecrating the memory of the actual murdered woman the song is based on?

  38. r.... ....

    superb song from a near faultless album....

    r.... ....

    Indeed!!!!

    r.... ....

    Indeed not easy to make a dam good song about domestic violence

    r.... ....

    Still have this casette with this cover

    r.... ....

    Yo whats the album called dude i know this comment is old but i need to know:(

    r.... ....

    @chromoxylography Corsair Welcome to The Beautiful South, by the Beautiful South.
    It's well worth investing in, great tracks throughout.
    Hope you find it, mate.

  39. g.... b....

    and they said romance was dead...

  40. N.... K....

    I don't care what the subliminal message was it was me and my besties best tune ever EVER! So many happy nights at the gigs, playing the albums,singing the songs.  Soundtrack to my youth...happy happy days 

    N.... K....

    Subliminal message? It's about a bloke who kills his missus.
    And it's still fucking fab!

  41. t.... g....

    get back together please  biggest regret not seeing them live

    t.... g....

    been now saw paul and jacqueline at leeds was heaven and everything i thought it could be  magic 

    t.... g....

    my mum wanted to take me but i was too young

  42. K.... D....

    Creepiest song ever. Also, rad.

  43. S.... ....

    Have a vague memory of reading an interview explaining this song was really a veiled dig at the 'special' relationship tween the USA (him?) and the UK (her?). Kind of see that in the lyrics but could be wrong. Peace

    S.... ....

    'We Are Each Other,' IS probably closer  [than most]
     - don't forget the 3min10 vid ''REAL HOPE - PAUL HEATON & JACQUI ABBOTT.''

    S.... ....

    the 1.43 yt video 'The Coming War on China - a film by John Pilger - Official Trailer,' by DartmouthFilms.

  44. c.... r....

    pure CLASS!!!HEATON IS MY GOD!!!

  45. A.... N....

    Just the name of this song is creepy as fck. It's obviously about a man who killed his wife and buried her in the wall but the fact that he pretended to himself that she hadn't really gone and pretended that he thought he heard her speak is just fcking insanity. I can't be the only person who thinks like this

    A.... N....

    Edgar Allen Poe.
    "The Telltale Heart".
    Read it.

    A.... N....

    i dont think that people realise that this is taken from a true story. late 80s on crime watch a man was on the run for killing his wife and put her in a cuboard and filled it it in. the police described him as wearing a hand knitted domino jumper. he is now doing a life sentance.

    A.... N....

    +Eamonn Donohoe - I did not know this was a true crime story! Thanks for telling us.

    A.... N....

    You would be horrified at some of the things that happen in real life

    A.... N....

    I know what you mean. I find this song both brilliant and hard to listen to at times.

  46. S.... P....

    This song needs more views!

  47. P.... G....

    always loved this song, played full blast, to hell with the neighbours lol

  48. G.... R....

    ONLY PAUL HEATON CAN DO A TUNE ABOUT MURDER AND MAKE IT GREAT... WHAT A TUNE

    G.... R....

    Gary Rogers ❤️

  49. D.... C....

    So engaging!

  50. H.... L....

    if there are angels, they are.

  51. J.... M....

    What a top, top song!

  52. D.... B....

    If the start of the chorus line doesn't give you goosebumps, I don't know what will...

  53. A.... D....

    no words needed from me classic