Video will appear as you scroll through the story
Lily Allen · S2 E2
LDN
The song that made London sound the way London feels
Lily Allen is sitting at a computer, Googling William Wordsworth. She finds his 1802 poem about London at dawn and thinks: that's what he saw. What do I see?
LDN, Lily Allen (official music video, directed by Nima Nourizadeh). Watch the visual trick: Lily walks through London leaving a trail of Technicolor beauty behind her, but as she moves forward, the reality kicks in. Litter, violence, homelessness. She exits the tube at Ladbroke Grove. This is her neighbourhood.
The Opening Line
"Riding through the city on my bike all day, cause the filth took away my license." "Filth" is London slang for the police. The song begins with a confession: she lost her driving license. Every observation that follows comes from the saddle of a bicycle.
“I remember thinking, "I want to write about London," and looking at that poem online and thinking, "That's what he thought, what do I think?" I was looking at his viewpoint; how he told what he felt at that particular moment.”
— Lily Allen, on the Wordsworth inspiration for LDN
LDN, Lily Allen (2006)
Key of F major. Tempo: 100 BPM. Produced by Future Cut. The reggae bounce comes from a Tommy McCook horn sample, brass giving it that rocksteady warmth. The melody is pure sunshine while the lyrics describe crack addicts and muggings. Your body says summer. Your brain says danger. That tension is London.
TAP TO REVEAL: The record store in the video is a hidden joke
Ladbroke Grove Station, London
Lily exits the tube here in the music video. This is her London: the streets between Ladbroke Grove and Portobello Road where she grew up with Miquita Oliver, roaming the market and skipping school.
Friend of Mine
From Alright, Still (2006). Where LDN maps the city, Friend of Mine maps the betrayal inside it. A ska-inflected takedown of a backstabbing friend. Lily names no names but leaves no doubt.
Which poet did Lily Allen cite as inspiration for writing "LDN"?
The song reaches number six and the video becomes a landmark. But Lily is not just uploading music to MySpace. She is blogging every thought that enters her head, and the British press is about to discover what happens when a pop star has no filter.
0 XP earned this session