Jam, The - Thick As Thieves Lyrics






Times were so tough, but not as tough as they are now
We were so close and nothing came between us and the world
No personal situations

Thick as thieves us, we'd stick together for all time
And we meant it but it turns out just for a while
We stole the friendship that bound us together

We stole from the schools and their libraries
We stole from the drugs that sent us to sleep
We stole from the drink that made us sick
We stole anything that we couldn't keep
And it was enough, we didn't have to spoil anything
And always be as thick as thieves

Like a perfect stranger, you came into my life
Then like the perfect lone ranger
You rode away, rode away, rode away, rode away

We stole the love from young girls in ivory towers
We stole autumn leaves and summer showers
We stole the silent wind that says you are free
We stole everything that we could see
But it wasn't enough - and now we've gone and spoiled everything
Now we're no longer as thick as thieves

You came into my life
Then like a perfect stranger
You walked away, walked away, walked away, walked away

Thick as thieves us, we'd stick together for all time
And we meant it but it turns out just for a while
We stole the friendship that bound us together

We stole the burning sun in the open sky
We stole the twinkling stars in the black night
We stole the green belt fields that made us believe
We stole everything that we could see

But something came along that changed our minds
I don't know what and I don't know why
But we seemed to grow up in a flash of time
While we watched our ideals helplessly unwind

No, we're no longer as thick as thieves - no
We're not as thick as we used to be, no
We're no longer as thick as thieves, no
We're not as thick as we used to be

No it wasn't enough
And we've gone and spoiled everything
Now we're no longer as thick as thieves





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Jam, The Thick As Thieves Comments
  1. G.... P....

    Im touching 50yo, its the lyrics, the lead, base and drum. Its still fantastic.

  2. M.... O....

    More magic from His Modness. He got what the kids were on about......

  3. H.... R....

    Foxton's bass impeccable as always. Alas old Bruce's barnet was as moody as fuck as always too..

    H.... R....

    Always puzzled me why didn't Weller have a quiet word about the state of Bruce's hair..??
    Great fuckin bassist, well dodgey barnet.!!

  4. K.... D....

    So many memories god this band was so good iiconic music of the eightes great band

  5. B.... B....

    Not enough credit given to Paul for his guitar tone and playing. It's class.

    B.... B....

    dont think we will see the likes again glad i grew up in them

  6. M.... T....

    Some had parents, I had The Jam.

  7. T.... S....

    Best band ever 🇬🇧

  8. L.... F....

    😆😆😆😆

  9. K.... F....

    Setting sons the best jam lp naw fuk it there all great

  10. B.... B....

    Close cousin to when you're young

  11. s.... t....

    They shaped my youth aswell, they shaped how i have become, thankyou for getting through

  12. s.... p....

    Today I'm sixty, remembering seeing the Jam at the London roundhouse. My brother was on security and let us right down to the front. I climbed up on the edge of the stage to sing this along with Jam. Great memory of a great band

  13. f.... a....

    times are so tough....miscegeny made it tougher!!

  14. H.... Y....

    One of their best songs tbh .....I was a late teenager with i saw them at the Loch Lomond bear festival when they headlined .....ahhh those long summer nights 😜

  15. e.... ....

    amazing version of one of their greatest songs. it shows just how well crafted and performed their songs were when you can't even tell it's live.

  16. K.... M....

    Classic tune from a classic band.

  17. B.... t....

    Love these lads.

  18. s.... m....

    the marmites

  19. K.... D....

    The best punk power trio. Yes, blink 182 you SoCal fairies.


    Jk I'm from southern California too.

    K.... D....

    K D get bent!

  20. P.... R....

    A cockney southern band who spoke for the north
    X

  21. T.... S....

    Poetry meets punk - one of the best songs of the 70s,

  22. h.... ....

    Thick as Thieves
    Burning Sky
    Pretty Green
    Man in the Corner Shop
    Just Who is the 5 O’clock Hero
    RunnIng on the Spot

    h.... ....

    I Need You
    It’s Too Bad
    Wasteland
    Start!
    Happy Together

  23. T.... s....

    The lyrics to this song must have been a premonition because they are a eulogy to the actual band!

  24. c.... ....

    Evenings in my room playing this over and over again....simple times then

  25. D.... J....

    That's pep!

  26. T.... K....

    They made nothing but great songs! The lyrics still apply today!

  27. c.... ....

    Songs from The Jam...real life, real passion, gritty and British poetry at it's best.

  28. R.... A....

    What a great song. One of The Jam's best

  29. P.... R....

    wot a tune the jam happy day when l was alive ha ha

  30. J.... S....

    best band ever 💕💕💕💕💕

  31. �.... ....

    Paul so cool✨✨✨✨

  32. T.... ....

    Paul Weller writing songs like this at 20/21 yrs of age!. Enough said really.

  33. E.... R....

    OM RONNIE PICKERING!!!!

  34. J.... ....

    I am Jonesing for Aldi Nuts right now!

    Is it just me?

  35. p.... b....

    A time where turning out with your mates was the only thing that mattered. Looking good.

  36. S.... E....

    Screw the Style Council...just crap compared to The Jam..I tells ya!

    S.... E....

    Could not agree more the style council were Shiite

    S.... E....

    kick out the Style, bring back the Jam!

    S.... E....

    Really liked both bands, and Paul Weller solo. You can't expect him to stay doing the same stuff forever. The music still exists and is as good as ever. Weller would probably be a bit naff if he was still in the Jam it's good to change, he still performs all his music. Weller is a great musician and composer, looking forward to more from him.

  37. m.... c....

    i was very unlucky to never have saw the jam i was only 9 when i fell in love with there music and 40 years later i am still in love with the jam i think you are very lucky if u find one bacn in your whole lifetime that influenced you and always seems to have a song for whatever you are feeling well for me thats the jam

    m.... c....

    Saw them as a young 18 year old at the Loch Lomond bear festival when they headlined ....unbelievable ..honestly ....apart from the skinheads kicking off now and then it was a great night ... In fact Paul stopped the gig a few times to get it sorted 😒

  38. F.... L....

    Love this post . Engage with the faces as you take in the lyrics . The song is so true for both us old jam fans and the band its self who would sadly go on to spoil everything ...But that's life .....They grew up and so did we....And wow! What a legacy they left us with , eternally grateful

  39. j.... c....

    still remember now buying setting sons, wish it was possible to go backin time

  40. C.... M....

    holy phuck! The best shit ever written.

    C.... M....

    Chris Morrison phuck yea it is!

  41. h.... h....

    My fave Jam song and have my band Where Angels Play dedicated to them

  42. J.... M....

    Fire and fucking skill baby!

  43. M.... E....

    the jam 4 life

    M.... E....

    5 mad years that have lasted a lifetime :-)

    M.... E....

    Mark, absolutely !

  44. B.... H....

    14 wankers

  45. j.... s....

    great band saw them live twice there were great times

  46. F.... G....

    Timeless classic ..X :)

  47. S.... G....

    An all time fave . Best band ever in my time in my era ...

  48. A.... d....

    love em

  49. D.... E....

    my dads favorite band :'( god rest his soul :'(

    D.... E....

    David Elliott bet ya dad liked saturdays kids

    D.... E....

    your dad had taste

  50. S.... S....

    they stole from the drink that made us sick.......

  51. M.... m....

    top record

  52. H.... ....

    One of the best songs The Jam did , awesome

  53. S.... Y....

    Properly takes me back.

  54. r.... ....

    Not heard this version for a while.....

    thumbs up and thanks

    r.... ....

    and it's brilliant btw

    r.... ....

    All time favourite jam track and this is a great version

  55. C.... ....

    Saw them four times in the early eighties. cool as fuck.

    C.... ....

    You lucky sod!!

  56. P.... M....

    They shaped my youth. Earned my trust. Influenced my taste. Today, 32 years on...they manage to do the same. Genius - unique - adored.

    P.... M....

    paul Macgregor. that sums it up for me. I love my kids and I love my grandkids and I love the jam. in no particular order.

    P.... M....

    Paul could'nt have said it better mateb

    P.... M....

    Spot on mate

    P.... M....

    Just about sums it up mate..

    P.... M....

    Paul MacGregor in 198-

  57. F.... G....

    F...  Brilliant.....They blew my mind seeing them live......X :)

    F.... G....

    Chloe Delores GiT

  58. G.... ....

    Brilliant tune, brilliant band.
    This is art.

    G.... ....

    Hear Hear...Love The Jam..X :)

  59. a.... v....

    C00L as fook pic

  60. h.... ....

    This is the John Peel set of Thick as Thieves from 29/10/79, this version in particular, along with Saturday's Kids they did on the same set gives you probably the very best examples of how awesome they were live, just stunning.

    h.... ....

    I found a rare copy of their odeon Hammersmith concert in my local shop the other week, amazing record. Second live album I've gotten from them.

  61. R.... J....

    damn fine song, makes me feel 17 again.

  62. J.... H....

    ,Fuckin magic

  63. S.... S....

    Tune🍺

  64. t.... ....

    First time i have have heard this version. So clear! Can hear all the care that went into the harmonies. A lovely BBC ness to it. The timing of the harmonies and the lack of overdubs has made all my tiny hairs become erect.
    They were such a sterling band. Seeing them live and being whacked round the head with Weller's Rickenbacker, about 2 months after this recording, was a treat. (Woking YMCA - no stage!).

    t.... ....

    theonlyantony Is this a Peel Session recording?

  65. T.... G....

    Who would put a dislike on this song?

    T.... G....

    Paul Eyles I thought the Best Bands that I ever saw Live were a total surprise..
    The Stranglers.
    Bad Manners
    Dr. & The Medics.
    Depends how hungry they are ...?

    T.... G....

    JETJOOBOY Hiya m8. I can still remember the 1st time that I saw the Human League on t.v. show Top of the pops. The year was 1981. And I was at Lingfield hospital school in Surrey. And that was the night that I simply fell in love with Joanne Catherall of the Human League. (as Joanne Catheralls number 1fan 4ever xx ofcorse. And not as a stalker) little did I knew that I wud get 2meet up and chat up both of the Human League sweethearts ie Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley. And 5times in Joanne Catheralls case. And m8. The Jam song That's Entertainment. always reminds me of a Ace Human League gig that I gone 2c. And a chess match that iv played in. 4m8 I have been playing Chess 4 42years now. And I can also copy the sounds of Bedhampton and Cosham level crossing with the gates coming down and a class 205 distal train departing from a station and even 2 class 205s diseal trains passing each other at speed and even a drum kit. And I have done it in front Simon Cowell.. Shame that I ill at the time. because if I was feeling o.k.. I wud do my impression of Cosham and Bedhampton level crossings with the gates coming down. And m8 I can just see it now in the news. Simon Cowell gets scared. By someone doing a impression of Cosham and Bedhampton level crossings with the gates coming down. Strange tanlet that I've got m8.. But I can do all the sound affect impressionis mentioned above. And All is self tault and done by mouth alone . except the drum kit. which is done 2my music on my I.pod. And m8 I even know a good chess question that the experts of chess won't get the right arswear 2. Mind u m8. The arswear 2the question has got nothing 2do with chess what so ever. And the question 4u2 answer is this What do the squares A1 A2 B1 and B2 on a chessboard got in common? U give in? well the answer is this m8. They r all ex Portsmouth bus routes. from Paul Eyles from Portsmouth

    T.... G....

    Paul Eyles Holy!
    I never would have got that one....
    Is there video of you & Simon Cowell?

    T.... G....

    JETJOOBOY .Hiya m8. I Dared myself 2do my drum kit sound affect impression in front of Simon Cowell. And I have got all of the Human League albums and most r signed by my all time favourite pop band i.e. the Human League. And m8. Dare is the Human Leagues3rd album. And m8 I even wud love 2give Simon Cowell a good game of chess. And beat him. in 4moves. playing with the white peaces. And m8 the quickest way to win my game of chess. is in 2moves. And it's called fools mate.And black wins. And I have been playing Chess 4 42years now. And 5times 4hampshire losing just 1of them. And that's y I nickname the 2 Human League sweethearts ie Joanne Catherall and Susan Sulley Queen. And Philip Oakey King ather Chess peaces and that I simply adore the Human League.And the Jam r my 2nd favourite band. from Paul Eyles from Portsmouth

    T.... G....

    @paul eyles.get a grip you fukin divvy

  66. m.... n....

    best jam song after in the city

  67. M.... G....

    Great Track

    M.... G....

    Too right Groves

  68. M.... S....

    Takes me back :)

  69. h.... ....

    If you think it is “not a big deal” if White people are Blended out of existence, then nominate a non-White people to blend out of existence.

    Together we can demand the borders to all of their nations and only their nations, be opened to millions of foreigners until they become a minority. We will encourage everyone to mix in until they disappear. We will call it “anti-racism” and “humanism” but just between you and me, the motivation is Hate.

    h.... ....

    humberkid Why on this video though?

    h.... ....

    Shut the fuck up you fucking nazi. Don't come near this band. They'd kick your fucking head in with your ethno state bollocks. You make me sick