Songtext Living in the past Pet Shop Boys

Living in the past

I arrive in the city
Where they've unveiled a bust
Of my predecessor
Still much discussed
We tried to forget him
His crimes were catalogued
But in the new circumstances
Once again he's a god

The past isn't even past
That's how long it lasts

I want them to fear me
Like everyone feared him
Arrested and shot but
Still they revered him
Like him I'll win
I won't be eclipsed
I want men to die
With my name on their lips

The past isn't even past
That's how long it lasts

The past isn't even past
That's how long it lasts

I'm the living embodiment
Of a heart of stone
A human monument
To testosterone
Though inside I'm dead
It's too late to lose
I'm all they ever talk about
On their news cycle of abuse

I'm there on your borders
Not gonna quit
To new world orders
I will never submit
Call me a warmonger
And I'll give you a war
Say I'm a cheat
And I'll still fake the score

There's no defeat
That I'll answer for
The West is effete
And they're begging for more
I'll get it all back
The old status quo
I remember how it was
And I won't let it go

That's how long it lasts

The past isn't even past
That's how long it lasts