Black Country duo BIG SPECIAL return with a banger, carrying the same old indignation towards our leaders in “GOD SAVE THE PONY.” Everyone’s tired, everyone’s going through something, and the world’s getting worse – but we can take that exhaustion and become something special. That time is now.
follow our Today’s Song(s) playlist
“GOD SAVE THE PONY.” – BIG SPECIAL
On the 4th of July, BIG SPECIAL released their sophomore LP NATIONAL AVERAGE., much to the surprise of fans and lovers of their 2024 debut POSTINDUSTRIAL HOMESICK BLUES. It’s the first music we’ve gotten since that album, and it came packed in with a lead single – “GOD SAVE THE PONY.” It immediately sounds unique, even compared to the rest of the new album.
Go in faith and folly
God save the pony
I hope you’re never tired
I hope you’re never lonely
Go in faith and folly
God save the pony
I hope you’re never tired
I hope you’re never lonely
It’s hard to be political. It’s harder to be funny. It’s near impossible to be both. BIG SPECIAL nailed it on “GOD SAVE THE PONY.” and packaged it up in a bow for us on a funky anthem nodding as we grow stronger. It’s a banger to fight for tomorrow.
The band shared with Atwood Magazine how it came together: “This was the last song we made in our sessions for this second album. We don’t tend to make lists of what we want to achieve when it comes to songwriting, we just crack on and jam and hold tight to the glimpses of ideas that show up. We were surprised how this song came out super funky, and that sort of vibe definitely helps us carry over the themes and deliver a hopeful banger to the folks who are listening.”
BIG SPECIAL have made their money making spoken word tunes where lead singer Joe Hicklin sounds almost possessed.
It’s punk, but it’s also poetic. It’s frequently funny, and always political. “GOD SAVE THE PONY.” goes one step further, where almost every single bar is hilarious in a vacuum. Outside of a vacuum, each lyric is dripping in political rage:
Wah wah wah
It’s all potholes and the price of fish
And how a conservative therapist off wish
Saved me £13.66 from my electricy bill
And taught me to praise the rich
And fake knowledge and happiness at will
There’s so many issues and qualms in our societies, and every issue can be traced back to individual people. BIG SPECIAL direct their anger at the rich and the lords. We’re stuck here thanking others for a £13 break on a monthly expense while the profiteers can holiday the world. It sucks, but we have to keep on going. We have to keep on fighting.
“‘GOD SAVE THE PONY’ is about how our cargo has changed shape, how we learn and grow with our struggles and with ourselves, outwardly into our life and times, we change shape with our frustrations and intentions,” BIG SPECIAL explain.
It’s up to us to grow with the baggage we carry, and this tune’s got a chance to remind you to continue to fight. The last verse ends with Hicklin saying, “You’ve been beaten into something beautiful” – a continued reminder that hardships make us unique. It’s the uniqueness that makes us human, and empathy is our native superpower. For BIG SPECIAL, their baggage brought them to release two sensational albums, embark on a number of European tours and festival dates, and a tour of the US scheduled for this December.
We also have to remember to laugh and never lose our joy. BIG SPECIAL will always remind us, and they’ll always deliver it with chap whit. The whole tune is politically motivated and rife with just societal anger, yet halfway through the tune we get a grand thank you, and a plan for what’s next:
If I’m honest I can’t believe how long it’s already lasted
Stuby my ciggy out in a cremebrule
I wanna do a backflip at a french sex party
Sacrablu the boy’s so arty
We’ll see if the backflip ever comes; maybe by the third album, we might get an update. In the meantime, I’ll be bumping “GOD SAVE THE PONY.” and the entirety of NATIONAL AVERAGE. for the foreseeable future.
— —
:: stream/purchase NATIONAL AVERAGE. here ::
:: connect with BIG SPECIAL here ::
— —
“GOD SAVE THE PONY.” – BIG SPECIAL
— — — —
Connect to BIG SPECIAL on
Facebook, 𝕏, TikTok, Instagram
Discover new music on Atwood Magazine
© Isaac Watson
© Isaac Watson
:: Today’s Song(s) ::
follow our daily playlist on Spotify
:: Stream BIG SPECIAL ::
