The early 90s were the heyday for Britpop, with Oasis and Blur leading the charge. I already covered Oasis’ classic What’s the Story (Morning Glory)? so now it’s time to highlight the album with which it competed for the Britpop title in 1995.
In August of ’95, Blur and Oasis went head-to-head, releasing singles on the same day. Today’s SOTD, ‘Country House,’ wound up outselling Oasis’ ‘Roll With It,’ and gave the band their first #1 hit in the UK. Oasis, of course, went on to win the larger battle, as their album became one of the best-selling records in the world.
The Great Escape was Blur’s fourth album and their third in this genre. A couple of years later they would embrace alternative rock and have a minor U.S. hit with ‘Song 2.’
This is the third time I’ve covered a Blur album as part of a 90s retrospective. I previously wrote about 1993’s Modern Life is Rubbish and 1994’s Parklife and both times came away disappointed.
I guess I should have trusted myself and saved some time by skipping this album, because I feel the same way about it. I wrote that Parklife is “alternately too busy, too quirky, and too grating for my taste” — exactly how I’d describe The Great Escape.
When I get around to 1997 in the Decades series, please remind me that these guys have already earned three strikes.
So the story begins
[Verse 1]
City dweller, successful fella
Thought to himself, “Oops, I’ve got a lot of money” (Lot of money)
Caught in a rat race, terminally
I’m a professional cynic but my heart’s not in it
I’m paying the price of living life at the limit (To the limit)
Caught up in the century’s anxiety
Yes, it preys on him (Preys on him)
He’s getting thin (Getting thin)
Try the simple life
[Chorus]
He lives in a house
A very big house in the country
Watching afternoon repeats
And the food he eats in the country
He takes all manner of pills
And piles up analyst bills in the country
Oh, it’s like an animal farm
That’s the rural charm in the country
[Verse 2]
He’s got morning glory and life’s a different story
Everything’s going Jackanory (Jackanory)
Touched with his own mortality
He’s reading Balzac and knocking back Prozac
It’s a helping hand that makes you feel wonderfully bland
(Close your eyes, try it)
Oh, it’s a century’s remedy
For the faint at heart (Faint at heart)
A new start (New start)
Try the simple life
[Chorus]
He lives in a house
A very big house in the country
(Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don’t know why)
He’s got a fog in his chest
So he needs a lot of rest in the country
He doesn’t drink, smoke, laugh
Takes herbal baths in the country
(Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don’t know why)
But you’ll come to no harm
On the animal farm in the country
In the country, in the country, in the country
[Instrumental Interlude]
[Bridge]
Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don’t know why
Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don’t know why
[Chorus]
Oh, he lives in a house
A very big house in the country
(Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don’t know why)
Watching afternoon repeats
And the food he eats in the country
He takes all manner of pills
And piles up analyst bills in the country
(Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don’t know why)
Oh, it’s like an animal farm
That’s the rural charm in the country
Oh, he lives in a house
A very big house in the country
(Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don’t know why)
He’s got a fog in his chest
So he needs a lot of rest in the country
He doesn’t drink, smoke, laugh
Takes herbal baths in the country
(Blow, blow me out, I am so sad, I don’t know why)
But you’ll come to no harm
On the animal farm in the country
[Outro]
Who’s that? La-la
I wanna be, I wanna be
Meet Me In Montauk 
Will be happy to remind you.😀
Not to attempt to defend Blur (in fact I’m quite unfamiliar with their catalogue), I would suggest a listen to their song “Out of Time” from the 2003 album Think Tank. It’s really quite beautiful.
Thanks for the suggestion. Just gave it a listen and I agree, it’s lovely. Maybe I’d be a bigger fan of Blur after their 90s Britpop era.
“Country House” is a nice and naive pop song. Their “English Trilogy” is full of songs like this.