‘Running the World’: Jarvis Cocker’s political middle finger
As the frontman and sole continuous member of Pulp since the age of 15, Jarvis Cocker has had quite a career. Far from being his only claim to fame, he’s also enjoyed success as a solo artist, radio broadcaster and voice of supermarket adverts in more recent years. Though Cocker has endured many changes across his career, one thing that has always remained constant is his outspoken nature and penchant for mischief.
There was always a wittiness about his lyrics, often delivered in a dry and tongue-in-cheek manner as he sang about tales of working-class life in the north of England, but there was always a seediness to it as well. After the initial dissolution of Pulp following seven studio albums and huge mainstream success, Cocker decided it was time to have a go at making music by himself. Ever the man for a bold statement, his first solo single, ‘Running the World’, was nothing if not radical and provocative.
On the surface, the track initially seems like a downcast ballad bemoaning the sorry state of the world, but it’s when the chorus delivers its now infamous C-bomb that the listener realises just how much pent-up anger there is in the words Cocker is spitting.
It would be remiss not to acknowledge that the often redacted full title of the song is ‘(Cunts Are Still) Running the World’, and its this shocking expletive that really hammers home the true nature of how the Britpop icon was feeling about things when he wrote the track. While it may have been lauded by fans for its brave display of coarse language aimed at the leaders of the world, it unsurprisingly didn’t land quite so well on the radio due to the inclusion of the naughty word.
During an interview for Penguin Books, Cocker discussed the impact that the song had, all the while still skirting around what he refers to as “quite a major expletive”. Understanding of the lack of airplay it received in the UK, he seemed a lot more surprised by a particular broadcasting of the song overseas. “We went over to France and played it on this TV show, and they seemed absolutely fine with it,” recalls Cocker with a smirk on his face.
He later goes on to talk about how the track took on “a life of its own” in later years, with it being used as a protest song that is played at marches, and was adopted both by the anti-austerity movement in Spain and Extinction Rebellion as an unofficial anthem. It’s easy to see why it resonated with such groups due to its matter-of-fact view of the world, and it has achieved something of a cult status within his otherwise hit-laden discography.
The song re-entered the public consciousness in the UK in 2019 when it became part of a bid to reach the top of the charts as a protest against Conservative rule in the country, but ultimately failed to have the same success as a similar guerrilla movement made for Rage Against The Machine’s ‘Killing In The Name’ ten years prior. Despite that, it still remains one of the most impactful songs of Jarvis Cocker’s discography and perhaps the most shocking moment of his career – and this is a man who mooned Michael Jackson at the Brit Awards.
“I keep hoping that I’ll stop playing this song, but unfortunately, the world hasn’t changed sufficiently,” muses Cocker in the interview. Let’s hope that one day, his hopes come true.
