Here's the Hope Six Demolition Project
Switching down the Benning Road
The well-known "pathway of death"
At least that's what I'm told
And here's the one sit-down restaurant
In Ward Seven, nice
OK, now this is just drug town, just zombies
But that's just life
In the Community of Hope
The Community of Hope
The Community of Hope
The Community of Hope, hope, hope, hope
Here's the highway pathway of death and destruction
South Capitol is its name
And the school that looks like shit-hole
Does that look like a nice place?
Here's the old mental institution
And the Homeland Security Base
And here's God's Deliverance Centre
A deli called M.L.K
And The Community of Hope
The Community of Hope
The Community of Hope
The Community of Hope, hope, hope, hope
They're gonna put a Walmart here
They're gonna put a Walmart here
They're gonna put a Walmart here...
PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project Album Lyrics
PJ Harvey - The Hope Six Demolition Project Lyrics
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
The Ministry Of Defence
This is the Ministry
Of Defence
Stairs and walls are
all that's left
Mortar holes let
through the air
Kids do the same thing
everywhere
They've sprayed graffiti
In arabic
And balanced sticks
In human shit
This is the ministry
of remains
Fizzy drinks cans
and magazines
Broken glass
A white jawbone
Syringes, razors
A plastic spoon
Human hair
A kitchen knief
And a ghost of a girl
Who runs and hides
Scratched in the wall in
Biro pen
This is how the
world will end
There's the bus depot
To the right
Levelled like
A building site
Those are the children's
cries from the dark
These are the words
written under the arch
Scratched in the wall
in biro pen
This is how the
world will end.
Of Defence
Stairs and walls are
all that's left
Mortar holes let
through the air
Kids do the same thing
everywhere
They've sprayed graffiti
In arabic
And balanced sticks
In human shit
This is the ministry
of remains
Fizzy drinks cans
and magazines
Broken glass
A white jawbone
Syringes, razors
A plastic spoon
Human hair
A kitchen knief
And a ghost of a girl
Who runs and hides
Scratched in the wall in
Biro pen
This is how the
world will end
There's the bus depot
To the right
Levelled like
A building site
Those are the children's
cries from the dark
These are the words
written under the arch
Scratched in the wall
in biro pen
This is how the
world will end.
Writer: POLLY JEAN HARVEY
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
A Line In The Sand
How to stop the murdering?
By now we should have learned
If we don't then we're a sham
Bad overwhelms the good
Bad overwhelms the good
Ooh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
What I've seen
Yes, it's changed how
I see humankind
I used to think progress was made
We could get something right
We could get something right
Enough is enough
A line in the sand
Seven or eight thousand people
Killed by hand
They stepped off the edge
They did not step back
If we have not learnt
By now
Then we're a sham
When we first got to the camp
Our supplies were not enough
I saw a displaced family
Eating a cold horse's hoof
Oh a cold horse's hoof
Ooh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
We sent up tents
Brought in water
Air drops were dispersed
I saw people kill each other
Just to get there first
Oh just to get there first
Enough is enough
A line in the sand
Seven or eight thousand people
Killed by hand
They stepped off the edge
They did not step back
If we have not learnt
By now
Then we're a sham
What we did?
Why we did?
I make no excuse
We got things wrong
But I believe
We also did some good
What we did?
Why we did?
I make no excuse
I believe we have a future
To do something good
Ooh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
By now we should have learned
If we don't then we're a sham
Bad overwhelms the good
Bad overwhelms the good
Ooh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
What I've seen
Yes, it's changed how
I see humankind
I used to think progress was made
We could get something right
We could get something right
Enough is enough
A line in the sand
Seven or eight thousand people
Killed by hand
They stepped off the edge
They did not step back
If we have not learnt
By now
Then we're a sham
When we first got to the camp
Our supplies were not enough
I saw a displaced family
Eating a cold horse's hoof
Oh a cold horse's hoof
Ooh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
We sent up tents
Brought in water
Air drops were dispersed
I saw people kill each other
Just to get there first
Oh just to get there first
Enough is enough
A line in the sand
Seven or eight thousand people
Killed by hand
They stepped off the edge
They did not step back
If we have not learnt
By now
Then we're a sham
What we did?
Why we did?
I make no excuse
We got things wrong
But I believe
We also did some good
What we did?
Why we did?
I make no excuse
I believe we have a future
To do something good
Ooh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh
Writer: POLLY JEAN HARVEY
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Chain Of Keys
Fifteen keys hang on
Fifteen keys hang on a chain
The chain is joint
The chain is joint and forms a ring
The ring is in
The ring is in a woman's hand
She's walking on
She's walking on the dusty ground
The dusty ground's a dead-end track
The neighbours won't be coming back
Fifteen gardens overgrown
Fifteen houses falling down
The woman's old
The woman's old and dressed in black
She keeps her hands
She keeps her hands behind her back
Imagine what
Imagine what her eyes have seen
We ask but she
We ask but she won't let us in
A key so simple and so small
How can it mean no chance at all?
A key, a promise, or a wish
How can it mean such hopelessness
"A circle is broken", she says
"A circle is broken", she says
Fifteen keys hang on a chain
The chain is joint
The chain is joint and forms a ring
The ring is in
The ring is in a woman's hand
She's walking on
She's walking on the dusty ground
The dusty ground's a dead-end track
The neighbours won't be coming back
Fifteen gardens overgrown
Fifteen houses falling down
The woman's old
The woman's old and dressed in black
She keeps her hands
She keeps her hands behind her back
Imagine what
Imagine what her eyes have seen
We ask but she
We ask but she won't let us in
A key so simple and so small
How can it mean no chance at all?
A key, a promise, or a wish
How can it mean such hopelessness
"A circle is broken", she says
"A circle is broken", she says
Writer: POLLY JEAN HARVEY
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
River Anacostia
Oh my Anacostia
Do not sigh, do not weep
Beneath the overpass
Your Savior's waiting patiently
Walking on the water
Flowing with the poisons
From the naval yards
He's talking to the fallen reeds
Saying "What will become of us?"
What will become of us?
Oh...
Wade in the water
God's gonna trouble the water
A small red sun makes way for night
Trails away like a tail light
Is that Jesus on the water
Talking to the fallen trees?
Saying "What will become of us?"
What will become of us?
Oh...
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
What will become if God's gonna trouble waters?
What will become if God's gonna trouble waters?
What will become if God's gonna trouble waters?
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water
God's gonna trouble the water
Do not sigh, do not weep
Beneath the overpass
Your Savior's waiting patiently
Walking on the water
Flowing with the poisons
From the naval yards
He's talking to the fallen reeds
Saying "What will become of us?"
What will become of us?
Oh...
Wade in the water
God's gonna trouble the water
A small red sun makes way for night
Trails away like a tail light
Is that Jesus on the water
Talking to the fallen trees?
Saying "What will become of us?"
What will become of us?
Oh...
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
What will become if God's gonna trouble waters?
What will become if God's gonna trouble waters?
What will become if God's gonna trouble waters?
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water, God's gonna trouble the water
Wade in the water
God's gonna trouble the water
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
Near The Memorials To Vietnam And Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
At the refreshments stand
A boy throws out his hands
As if to feed the starlings
But really he throws nothing
It's just to watch them jump
See the people coming
They're moving over the grass
To squeeze in two plastic chairs
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
Three notes, a bugle call
A black man in overalls
Arrives to empty the trash
Hauls it to a metal hatch
A doorway opens up
To the underworld
The boy throws empty hands
And the starlings jump
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
At the refreshments stand
A boy throws out his hands
As if to feed the starlings
But really he throws nothing
It's just to watch them jump
See the people coming
They're moving over the grass
To squeeze in two plastic chairs
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
Three notes, a bugle call
A black man in overalls
Arrives to empty the trash
Hauls it to a metal hatch
A doorway opens up
To the underworld
The boy throws empty hands
And the starlings jump
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
All near the memorials to Vietnam and Lincoln
Writer: POLLY JEAN HARVEY
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
The Orange Monkey
A restlessness took hold my brain
And questions I could not hold back
An orange monkey on a chain
On a bleak uneven track
Told me that to understand
You must travel back time
I took a plane to a foreign land
And said, "I'll write down what I find"
Beneath a mountain's jagged shelves
Cloaked with snow and shadows sheer
Plates tipped up upon themselves
The pain of fifty million years
And mules and goats were running wild
A happy chaos carried on
And old men and the young boys smiled
And worked until the day was gone
The packs of sandy-coloured dogs
Walked streets that looked like building sites
But piles of rocks and dust and smog
Could not block out a different light
When I returned I ran to meet
The monkey, but his face had changed
He stood before me on two feet
The track was now a motorway
And questions I could not hold back
An orange monkey on a chain
On a bleak uneven track
Told me that to understand
You must travel back time
I took a plane to a foreign land
And said, "I'll write down what I find"
Beneath a mountain's jagged shelves
Cloaked with snow and shadows sheer
Plates tipped up upon themselves
The pain of fifty million years
And mules and goats were running wild
A happy chaos carried on
And old men and the young boys smiled
And worked until the day was gone
The packs of sandy-coloured dogs
Walked streets that looked like building sites
But piles of rocks and dust and smog
Could not block out a different light
When I returned I ran to meet
The monkey, but his face had changed
He stood before me on two feet
The track was now a motorway
Writer: POLLY JEAN HARVEY
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Medicinals
I was walking through the National Mall
Thinking about medicinals, how they used to grow there
When the ground was a marshland
Undisturbed by human hands, and I heard their voices:
Sumac said "We're always here"
Witch Hazel - "We're always here"
Sassafras - "We're always here"
Bluestem grasses always here
I looked about, and what I see?
Medicinals grow around me, rising from the gravel
Sumac and the Witch Hazel
Come to soothe our primal sores, come to soothe our troubles
Sumac said "We're always here"
Witch Hazel - "We're always here"
Sassafras - "We're always here"
Bluestem grass is always here
But do you see that woman, sitting in the wheelchair?
With her Redskins cap on backwards
What's that she's singing?
As from inside a paper wrapper
She sips from a bottle
A new painkiller
For the native people
Thinking about medicinals, how they used to grow there
When the ground was a marshland
Undisturbed by human hands, and I heard their voices:
Sumac said "We're always here"
Witch Hazel - "We're always here"
Sassafras - "We're always here"
Bluestem grasses always here
I looked about, and what I see?
Medicinals grow around me, rising from the gravel
Sumac and the Witch Hazel
Come to soothe our primal sores, come to soothe our troubles
Sumac said "We're always here"
Witch Hazel - "We're always here"
Sassafras - "We're always here"
Bluestem grass is always here
But do you see that woman, sitting in the wheelchair?
With her Redskins cap on backwards
What's that she's singing?
As from inside a paper wrapper
She sips from a bottle
A new painkiller
For the native people
Copyright: Lyrics © Original Writer and Publisher
The Ministry Of Social Affairs
See them sitting, in the rain
As the sky is darkening
Three lines of traffic are edging past
The ministry of social affairs
At a junction on the ground
An amputee and a pregnant hound
Sit by the young men with withered arms
As if death had already passed
Through every alleyway, and left
A million beggars silhouettes
Near where the money changers sit
By their locked glass cabinets
What has happened, let go and ask
The ministry of social affairs
Near where the money changers sit
By their locked glass cabinets
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
As the sky is darkening
Three lines of traffic are edging past
The ministry of social affairs
At a junction on the ground
An amputee and a pregnant hound
Sit by the young men with withered arms
As if death had already passed
Through every alleyway, and left
A million beggars silhouettes
Near where the money changers sit
By their locked glass cabinets
What has happened, let go and ask
The ministry of social affairs
Near where the money changers sit
By their locked glass cabinets
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
That's what they want, oh yeah
Money, honey
Writer: JERRY MCCAIN, POLLY JEAN HARVEY
Copyright: Lyrics © EMBASSY MUSIC CORPORATION, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © EMBASSY MUSIC CORPORATION, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
The Wheel
A revolving wheel of metal chairs
Hung on chains, squealing
Four little children flying out
A blind man sings in Arabic
Hey little children don't disappear
(I heard it was 28,000)
Lost upon a revolving wheel
(I heard it was 28,000)
Now you see them, now you don't
Children vanish 'hind vehicle
Now you see them, now you don't
Faces, limbs, a bouncing skull
Hey little children don't disappear
(I heard it was 28,000)
All that's left after a year
(I heard it was 28,000)
A faded face, the trace of an ear
(I heard it was 28,000)
A tableau of the missing
Tied to the government building
8,000 sun-bleached photographs
Faded with the roses
Hey little children don't disappear
(I heard it was 28,000)
Lost upon a revolving wheel
(I heard it was 28,000)
All that's left after a year
(I heard it was 28,000)
A faded face, the trace of an ear
(I heard it was 28,000)
And watch them fade out
And watch them fade out
And watch them fade out...
Hung on chains, squealing
Four little children flying out
A blind man sings in Arabic
Hey little children don't disappear
(I heard it was 28,000)
Lost upon a revolving wheel
(I heard it was 28,000)
Now you see them, now you don't
Children vanish 'hind vehicle
Now you see them, now you don't
Faces, limbs, a bouncing skull
Hey little children don't disappear
(I heard it was 28,000)
All that's left after a year
(I heard it was 28,000)
A faded face, the trace of an ear
(I heard it was 28,000)
A tableau of the missing
Tied to the government building
8,000 sun-bleached photographs
Faded with the roses
Hey little children don't disappear
(I heard it was 28,000)
Lost upon a revolving wheel
(I heard it was 28,000)
All that's left after a year
(I heard it was 28,000)
A faded face, the trace of an ear
(I heard it was 28,000)
And watch them fade out
And watch them fade out
And watch them fade out...
Writer: Polly Harvey
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Dollar Dollar
The boy stares through the glass
He's saying dollar dollar
Three lines of traffic past
We're trapped inside our car
His voice says dollar dollar
I turn to you to ask
For something we could offer
Three lines of traffic past
We pull away so fast
All my words get swallowed
In the rear view glass
A face pock-marked and hollow
He's saying dollar dollar
I can't look through or past
A face saying dollar dollar
A face pock-marked and hollow
Staring from the glass
He's saying dollar dollar
Three lines of traffic past
We're trapped inside our car
His voice says dollar dollar
I turn to you to ask
For something we could offer
Three lines of traffic past
We pull away so fast
All my words get swallowed
In the rear view glass
A face pock-marked and hollow
He's saying dollar dollar
I can't look through or past
A face saying dollar dollar
A face pock-marked and hollow
Staring from the glass
Writer: POLLY JEAN HARVEY
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Copyright: Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
The Hope Six Demolition Project is the ninth studio album by the English singer-songwriter and musician PJ Harvey, released on 15 April 2016 on Island Records. It followed her acclaimed Mercury Prize-winning album Let England Shake, released in 2011.
The record's demo collection was released on March 11, 2022 to conclude Harvey's chronological re-release campaign of vinyl reissues and demo session offerings beginning in 2020.
At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, her fourth nomination in that category and seventh nomination overall.
The album's title is a reference to the HOPE VI projects in the United States, "where run-down public housing in areas with high crime rates has been demolished to make room for better housing, but with the effect that many previous residents could no longer afford to live there, leading to claims of social cleansing". The HOPE VI program is directly referenced in the album's opening track and second single, "The Community of Hope".
The title is inspired by Harvey's trip to Washington D.C. with photographer/filmmaker Seamus Murphy where she was given a tour by Paul Schwartzman of The Washington Post, who directly influenced some of the lyrics on the song. Upon its release, the song drew criticism directly from politicians running for the council seat in Ward 7 in Washington, D.C.
Performed By:
PJ HarveyThe record's demo collection was released on March 11, 2022 to conclude Harvey's chronological re-release campaign of vinyl reissues and demo session offerings beginning in 2020.
At the 59th Annual Grammy Awards, the album was nominated for Best Alternative Music Album, her fourth nomination in that category and seventh nomination overall.
The album's title is a reference to the HOPE VI projects in the United States, "where run-down public housing in areas with high crime rates has been demolished to make room for better housing, but with the effect that many previous residents could no longer afford to live there, leading to claims of social cleansing". The HOPE VI program is directly referenced in the album's opening track and second single, "The Community of Hope".
The title is inspired by Harvey's trip to Washington D.C. with photographer/filmmaker Seamus Murphy where she was given a tour by Paul Schwartzman of The Washington Post, who directly influenced some of the lyrics on the song. Upon its release, the song drew criticism directly from politicians running for the council seat in Ward 7 in Washington, D.C.
Genre(s): Indie rock
Producer(s): Flood, John Parish, PJ Harvey
Length: 41:51
Released: April 15th, 2016
Year: 2016