Lyrics to
Real By Reel

This version of Real By Reel was released by Xtc in 1979.

Our Xtc Songs profile has Real By Reel lyrics from 1979 and most if not all of the lyrics by Xtc that we have here at Decade Lyrics.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Xtc or about the 1970s in general.

In this secret time, invading on our privacy
Unknowing we mime, we play for the ministry
The can film you in bed
Or when you take a bath
They can tape every cry
They can tape every laugh
They can turn you around so you won’t know what’s

Real by reel
Busy little bees recording everything you feel
On real by reel
Documented down like rats
They’re catching up on every squeal
On real by reel
Real by reel by real by

In this hidden time, ignorance may help you to cope
Rehearsing for crimes, in government cinemascope
The can film you at work
Or when they let you play
They can tape what you think
They can tape what you say
They can’t blur your I.D. so you won’t know what’s

Now I lay me down to sleep
Knowing that your lenses peep
Now I eat my daily bread
And into the tape spool I’ll be fed

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Want more lyrics and songs by Xtc?

Xtc has released many songs over the years besides Real By Reel. Xtc released songs from 1978 to 1992 spanning across albums like White Music, Go 2, Drums And Wires, Black Sea, Mummer, The Big Express, Skylarking, Chips From The Chocolate Fireball, and Nonsuch. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Xtc.

If you're a fan of popular 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1979 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Real By Reel by Xtc

When you decide to study the lyrics to Real By Reel, you're looking at the words, verses and background chorus from the 1979 song by Xtc. Some of the lyrics to Real By Reel have clear meanings and some contain metaphorical references. Like most songs, only Xtc and their collaborators know the full story behind any of the their songs.

You can understand the lyrics to Real By Reel if you take apart the structure of the words. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Real By Reel" means the words set to the music of Real By Reel, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Xtc. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Real By Reel and the lyrics to Real By Reel are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Xtc who came here looking just for the lyrics to Real By Reel, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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