Thomas Dolby - Dissidents (Official HD Video)

Official HD video of Thomas Dolby performing Dissidents

Taken from the 40th Anniversary Edition of the album The Flat Earth.

Lyrics:
One more young writer slid away in the night
Over the border he will drown in light
Hold it, wait a minute
I can't read my writing, my own writing!
Like tiny insects in the palm of history
A domino effect in a cloud of mystery
My writing is an iron fist
In a glove full of Vaseline
Dip the fuse in the kerosene
I too become a dissident
Courting disaster we ran in the night
Wings of an angel torn in flight
Check it, verify it
It's all here in writing, down in writing!
At the hands of the press
And in the eyes of the government
I fell from grace
I too became a dissident
Like tiny insects in the palm of history
A domino effect and an early end to this story
My writing is an iron fist in a glove full of vaseline
But dip the fuse in the kerosene
I too become a dissident

Follow Thomas Dolby:

[davidfarrer]

The sad thing about this excellent song is that 40 years later the scenario in this video needs little or no explaining!

[TrooperTru]

I never paid much attention to this song when it first came out in 1984... but now, considering the events happening in Washington DC, this song is just what we need right now!
Thank you, Thomas Dolby!

[stevesilverstone]

I can't believe that there are only 63 comments, 64 now.
For this album!! This is a brilliant brilliant album, I couldn't stop listening to it for years. One of the best albums from the 80's.

[antonkern]

this sounds so refreshing 2 me in 2024

[kennethbryant]

Thomas Dolby made synthpop an art. It is not an accident I keep going back to this brilliant music. A genius!

[rbotton]

Thomas Dolby The Dissidents string message even in 2024!!

[rustybearden]

I've been a Thomas Dolby fan since the very beginning and I always grimace when people comment "oh, the Blinded Me With Science guy!" Ugh. The man is so much more. Third world adventurer explorer ambience mixed with jazz, funk and sci fi kitsch and a dash of rocket science. Very difficult to explain his genius - you either get it or you don't. Was lucky enough to see him in concert back in 1984 in Dallas TX during the Flat Earth Tour - one of the great live concerts I've ever seen. Love me some Thomas Dolby. NEVER get tired of listening to his work.

[Rupert]

I got to see Thomas on this tour against the stage in Atlanta with the incredible Matthew Seligman on bass (RIP).
Thomas had a typewriter onstage with paper in it, and tapped on it at the appropriate moments in the song. The piece of paper ended up onstage and l yoinked it.
It is a setlist, with Mr. Dolby's random gibberish typing on the back. A neat memento. I could never get any of my friends to get that it had an extra dimension of cool because if he had looked at it, he couldn't read his own

[colinhare]

A genius from an age where music had a story

[dragonpop]

Side one of this album is one of those perfect "sides" from the LP era. 

[carolcooks]

Just love this album. Screen kiss and flat earth are beautiful

[jeffcook]

this album was on constant play in the early 90's for kiss still shatters me to this day.

Dolby is always telling us some good stories in his videos

[_MrPink_]

Absolutely love this record. Dolby brilliance. As someone else said, you either get it, or you don't.

[richardevans]

One word - Funk. He had it and may well still have it.

[aldopinzonerbes]

2:26 reference to "radio silence", caroline is the name of the girl in the car in that video

[josephjmonier]

According to my Russian girlfriend the Russian is "when a human is born, he is weak and flexible; when he dies- he is strong and callous. when a tree grows, it is tender and flexible, and when it is dry, it dies, it dies."

[perekman]

Fun fact maybe; When touring for this album in 1984, TD brought an actual typewriter and used it for the typewriter noises on this track only. It stood on top of the Fairlight, which in its turn resided on a piano, if I recall correctly.

[VeronicaWood-ou]

I've been humming this to myself lately (for some reason) and wanted to see the video again. Glad I did, so relevant now.

[ManfredElsingBielefeld]

This is a brilliant brilliant album, I couldn't stop listening to it for years. One of the best albums from the 80's!!