Damaged Goods

“Damaged Goods” was the 1978 debut single from Leeds-based post-punk innovators Gang Of Four. The song offers a critique of everyday life— characterizing the “Damaged Goods” of a breakup in the terms of a financial transaction. This song featured the original Gang—Jon King on lead vocals, Andy Gill on guitar and vocals, Hugo Burnham on drums, and Dave Allen on bass. Jon King told Clash Magazine: “Saturday afternoons, we wandered, walleyed, through the sun-bright aisles of Morrison’s supermarket in Leeds, looking for a 2-4-1 bargains and generic baked beans. The hopeless in-store slogan at the point of sale was: “The change will do you good” meaning “change” as in money and “change” as in switch store. Someone got paid for this rubbish!. I found this good starter for words about a doomed relationship where legover had become, maybe, too much of a good thing. Or at any rate, a thing. Andy (Gill, guitarist) punctuates the main lyric with a call and response thing and sings the iconic mid section “Damaged goods, send them back” words. The music’s cute: alternate the guitar and bass duh duh dink! Duh duh dink! & build the song around this R&B clatter among dynamic drop outs where everyone got to feature. We didn’t want a pop structure. We’d had it with dominant, subdominant, tonic chord progressions. So we had none, instead.“

[Verse 1] The change will do you good I always knew it would Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you But I know it's only lust Your kiss so sweet Your sweat so sour [Verse 2] Your kiss so sweet Your sweat so sour Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you But I know it's only lust The sins of the flesh Are simply sins of lust Sweat's running down your back Sweat's running down your neck Heated couplings in the sun (Or is that untrue?) Colder couplings in the night (Never saw your body) Your kiss so sweet Your sweat so sour Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you But I know it's only lust The change will do you good I always knew it would You know the change will do you good You know the change will do you good [Bridge] Damaged goods (Ah-ah-ah-ah) Send them back (Ah-ah-ah-ah) I can't work, I can't achieve (Ah-ah-ah-ah) Send me back (Ah-ah-ah-ah) Open the till (Ah-ah-ah-ah) Give me the change you said would do me good (Ah-ah-ah-ah) Refund the cost (Ah-ah-ah-ah) You said you're cheap but you're too much [Verse 3] Your kiss so sweet Your sweat so sour Sometimes I'm thinking that I love you But I know it's only lust The change will do you good I always knew it would You know the change will do you good You know the change will do you good [Outro] I'm kissing you goodbye (Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye) I'm kissing you goodbye (Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye) I'm kissing you goodbye (Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye) I'm kissing you goodbye (Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye) I'm kissing you goodbye (Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye) I'm kissing you goodbye (Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye) Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, bye (Goodbye) (Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye)