Liars Bar:  The Seediest of Tapes

J. Chumley

I have something to say to everyone who likes The Beautiful South but doesn't like "Liar's Bar":

You are missing one hell of a song.

It seems as if many people are so put off by Paul's vocals that they fail to appreciate the finer qualities of the song. My personal opinion is that the vocals are a perfect match to the lyrics. They really 'put you there,' so to speak. You can easily picture someone--maybe the guy on the single's cover--sitting alone in a bar, dragging on a cigarette and staring at the drink in front of him. Paul's vocal range is, in fact, one of my favorite things about the band. How many other vocalists that you know could give you both "Let Love Speak Up Itself" and "Liar's Bar?" Don't be put off by the vocals. Let them paint the picture for you.

Back to my point about "Liar's Bar" being a dreadfully underappreciated song. I have heard some rumblings about "Quench" being lacking lyrically. Well, the same can not be said about "Liar's Bar." The track is more lyrically creative than any other track on "Blue Is The Colour" (excepting "Little Blue") and than most of the tracks on the other The Beautiful South albums as well.

Primarily, though, the sentiment of "Liar's Bar" is what makes it the great song it is. If it weren't for the scratchy vocals, I think most people would agree. In fact, if you take 'Liar's Bar" and set it to beautiful vocals, you get..."The Slide."

I think the comparison of "Liar's Bar" to "I May Be Ugly" is shallow. It exists for no other reason than the slightly similar vocals. Have a look at the lyrics, and you will see exactly what I mean.

While the two songs come from different perspectives, they still take a different attitude toward alcoholism. The man in "Liar's Bar" hates his own addiction, and he wishes he could escape from it:

"I've turned over enough leaves to fill an autumn, and if I had one final wish I'd be your slave for a decade, if you could take me away from this If you took me away from this, I'd be different you'd see 'Cause I didn't choose the drink, a drink just chose me"

Also, "Liar's Bar" sees the man achieving a measure of self-realization. In the beginning of the song, he declares that "You'll find that I'm not like the other men/Their noses are red whilst mine is only pink/And they didn't choose the drink, their drink chose them." By the end of the song, he realizes that he is just like the other liars in the bar, and he wishes he could escape.

In this way, "Liar's Bar" is more similar to "The Slide." "The Slide," with the vague suggestion that it is written from the persepective of one who has already made that evil trip, echoes the same warnings that "Liar's Bar" makes. While the subject matter has changed from alcohol to drugs, the message is the same. Both will snare you with their powers, and both will slowly but surely kill you.

"I May Be Ugly," on the other hand, is less about drugs or alcohol than it is about "ugly fame." The alcohol is irrelevant. I am still trying to figure out _exactly_ what the song is about. The "ugly fame" line and the last two verses confuse me a bit. The first two verses seem pretty straightforward. You get the idea that the guy turns to alcohol as a way to escape from himself, whom he hates. Or whose appearance he hates, anyway. One thing is certain, however. He is in no way ashamed of his drinking. I don't think you can say the same about the fellow in "Liar's Bar."

I think you will find alcohol and alcoholism treated in many different ways by The Beautiful South, and from many different perspectives. You've got the social drinker who was social every night and didn't think the problem was his drink, the guy who killed the woman in the wall. Then you've got Old Red Eyes, a chap who could have accomplished great things but instead drank himself to death, an empty bottle of whiskey by his side and a little tear running from each eye. You've got the self-denying drunk in "Liar's Bar," the "...Ugly" guy, the drunk sire in "Your Father And I," I could go on an on. Pockets is probably a drunk, too, for all we know. And don't forget all those things Paul found in his beer. I am sure that Paul, like all other drinkers, often has changes of heart himself about his habit.