Jake Bugg – Two Fingers

This song caught my attention in 2012 when it was released. It has an older feel to it. It did not chart in America but it did peak at #28 in the UK charts. I like the echo in his voice and the chorus will stick with you.

In December of 2018 my son and I saw him at 3rd and Lindsley in Nashville with Kelsey Waters opening up. There was an even mixture of young and old to see the 23-year-old play. He has listed influences as diverse as  Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, to Nick Drake.

Jake Edwin Kennedy is his real name…but he records under the name of Jake Bugg. He grew up in the Clifton area of Nottingham and started playing guitar at the age of 12. He was later signed by Mercury Records after he appeared at the 2011 Glastonbury Festival. The song we hear is the demo he made. He wanted to go back and re-record it in a proper studio but the label loved it and released it as it was.

Jake Bugg’s debut album debuted at #1 on the UK charts. He was only 19 years old, he became the youngest British male ever to have an album enter the charts at the top position.

The song was about his home life growing up. He said it wasn’t exactly like the video but not far off.

I knew the two fingers meant something insulting so I looked it up… The “two-fingered salute” in which the index and middle fingers are put up at or to another person with the palm outward, is an obscene gesture of scorn or defiance. Its use as an insulting sign is largely restricted to the UK, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand. 

And….

British, informal

: to make an obscene gesture by holding up the index finger and the middle finger of one hand in the shape of a V while keeping the palm turned inward

Jake Bugg: “It’s a very personal song for me, I wanted to express how I felt, it’s a song about growing up and escaping and just life in general. I wanted to put it in the best words possible but also detailed and keeping everyone happy.”

Two Fingers

I drink to remember, I smoke to forget
Some things to be proud of
Some stuff to regret
Run down some dark alleys in my own head
Something is changing, changing, changing

I go back to Clifton to see my old friends
The best people I could ever have met
Skin up a fat one, hide from the Feds
Something is changing, changing, changing

So I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain
Light a cigarette and wish the world away
I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay
So I hold two fingers up to yesterday
Light a cigarette and smoke it all away
I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay
He’s down in the kitchen drinking White Lightning
He’s with my momma, they’re yelling and fighting
It’s not the first time praying for silence
Something is changing, changing, changing

So I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain
Light a cigarette and wish the world away
I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay
So I hold two fingers up to yesterday
Light a cigarette and smoke it all away
I got out, I got out, I’m alive but I’m here to stay

There’s a story for every corner of this place
Running so hard you got out but your knees got grazed
I’m an old dog but I learned some new tricks yeah

So I kiss goodbye to every little ounce of pain
Light a cigarette and wish the world away
I got out I got out I’m alive but I’m here to stay
So I hold two fingers up to yesterday
Light a cigarette and smoke it all away
I got out I got out I’m alive but I’m here to stay

Hey, hey it’s fine
Hey, hey it’s fine
Hey, hey it’s fine
I left it behind

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

27 thoughts on “Jake Bugg – Two Fingers”

  3. not half bad. I’d never heard of him, but sounds like he might have some good potential. Hard to peg the sound down from that one song but it put me in mind of The Smiths crossed with Bob Dylan.

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    1. I found this video back then and really loved that chorus and his voice. He was really good live also…just him and an acoustic but it was cool.

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    1. Oh yea…the Nixon peace sign? I’ve seen the two fingers on British television shows…I thought it equaled our middle finger up….that is my guess.

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  7. I have this album but haven’t listened to it too much at this point. I like the sounds of this one. Teenagers have a rough go of it in so many different ways. Anyone who survives those years alive and not addicted to something is a success story.

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      1. I bet he was. So neat to be able to go to concerts with your kids. My oldest son and I went to see Pearl Jam and Death Cab for Cutie together and also saw Cake at a small venue in Royal Oak, MI.

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      2. It’s special when you go with your kids… We have seen Bugg, The Who, Dylan (his favorite), McCartney, and Ringo … oh and Boston

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    1. I thought about you when I posted this… this song really got me into him and I showed my son and he really liked him. He was great live.

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  9. I had never heard of Jake Bugg. I can see why you liked that tune from the get-go. It’s really catchy. And how about becoming the youngest British male ever to have an album enter the charts at the top position. That’s certainly pretty impressive.

    Looks like Bugg just came out with a new album. Titled “The Happiest Man in the World OST”, it appears to be a soundtrack.

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    1. Well if you ever get the chance on your What’s New… if it lines up…give him a spin.
      He is kind of Beatle ish in a way…the chorus is straight away catchy.

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