“LDN” (shorthand for, and pronounced as, “London”) is a song recorded by English singer/songwriter Lily Allen. It was co-written by Future Cut, and features a Colombian porro from the country’s Caribbean coast. The song was originally released on limited-edition 7″ vinyl (500 copies) in the UK on 24 April 2006, accompanied by album track “Knock ‘Em Out”. It was reissued in September 2006 following the huge success of Allen’s first mainstream single “Smile”.
The re-release peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart. The song is used in the soundtrack of the film The Nanny Diaries and in the trailer for Happy-Go-Lucky. it reached number 30 on Rolling Stone’s list of the 100 Best Songs of 2007. In 2008 the song was included in the soundtrack of the Mike Leigh film Happy-Go-Lucky.
Regal Records gave Allen £25,000 in 2005, when she signed to the label, a fact which she considered to be a “small development idea”. The money was to produce an album, but the label were unable to provide much support due to its preoccupation with other releases. Taking advice from Lady Sovereign, Allen created an account on MySpace and began posting demos in November 2005. By March 2006, they attracted thousands of listeners, and 500 limited edition 7″ vinyl singles of “LDN”, one of the demos, were rush-released and sold for as much as £40. Thus the song became Allen’s first single.
Allen also produced two mixtapes to promote her work. As she accumulated tens of thousands of MySpace friends, The Observer Music Monthly took interest. Few people outside of her label’s A&R department had heard of Allen, so the label was slow in responding to publications which wanted to report about her. Her label was displeased with the sound of the demos, so it assigned the singer to top producers and songwriters, who approved some of her songs for the album,Alright, Still. Among the songs Allen claimed she was happy with was “LDN”.
LYRICS
Riding through the city on my bike all day
‘Cause the filth took away my license
It doesn’t get me down and I feel okay
‘Cause the sights that I’m seeing are priceless
Everything seems to look as it should
But I wonder what goes on behind doors
A fella looking dapper and he’s sittin’ with a slapper
Then I see it’s a pimp and his crack whore
You might laugh, you might frown
Walkin’ ’round London town
Sun is in the sky
Oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?
Sun is in the sky
Oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?
When you look with your eyes
Everything seems nice
But if you look twice
You can see it’s all lies
There was a little old lady, who was walkin’ down the road
She was struggling with bags from Tesco
There were people from the city havin’ lunch in the park
I believe that is called ‘al fresco’
When a kid came along to offer a hand
But before she had time to accept it
Hits her over the head, doesn’t care if she’s dead
‘Cause he’s got all her jewelry and wallet
You might laugh, you might frown
Walkin’ ’round London town
Sun is in the sky
Oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?
Sun is in the sky
Oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?
When you look with your eyes
Everything seems nice
But if you look twice
You can see it’s all lies
Life
Yeah, that’s city life
Yeah, that’s city life
Yeah, that’s city life
Life
Yeah, that’s city life
Yeah, that’s city life
Yeah, that’s city life
Sun is in the sky
Oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?
Sun is in the sky
Oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?
Sun is in the sky
Oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?
Sun is in the sky
Oh why, oh why would I wanna be anywhere else?
When you look with your eyes
Everything seems nice
But if you look twice
You can see it’s all lies
When you look with your eyes
Everything seems nice
But if you look twice
You can see it’s all lies
