Violent Femmes - The Blind Leading the Naked

If you know the Violent Femmes then you almost certainly know their classic self-titled debut album Violent Femmes (1982)  which is just full of great songs.  This album is owned and enjoyed by tons of people but I don´t think a lot of people are as familiar with many of their other songs and albums.    Now  I am a pretty diehard Femmes fan and I even like their country-ish second album quite a bit for its dark songs about throwing children down wells and such.  However, I want to recommend their third album, The Blind Leading the Naked, which was released in 1986.

The first track I am going to recommend is Good Friend.  Here´s an excerpt of the lyrics:

If only you could know
How I'd love you so
The way good friends do
The way I would be you

One thing I noticed when looking for the lyrics is that none of the versions I found included what is said at the very end of the song.   He says, "someone who won´t let me down like I was let down."  and "I´m talking about a really good, friend, not just someone you run into once in a while and say hello to."    I think these lines are an important element of the song as they show that the speaker has been disappointed in the past and he also references those who AREN´T such good friends,  those people who you might call friends but don´t have regular contact with.  

GOOD FRIEND

 

The second song that I would like to mention is World Without Mercy which I just found out was only included as a bonus track on the cassette and import versions of the album.    This is quite a slow and serious song for the Femmes, similar to Good Friend in that respect.   However, I find it very touching.

When your words have no meaning
and you're known as no one,
am I someone to you,
someone to turn to,
even when others turn away?
Even though others turn away?

WORLD WITHOUT MERCY

As always, if you know of any other interesting songs by this artist  or someone similar I would love to hear your suggestions.