Public Image Ltd. - Annalisa Lyrics

I like to think that this song really influenced Kurt Cobain

For anybody who does not know, find out about the true story behind this (the exorcism of a supposedly possessed German girl which led to her death). It is both a chilling and a cautionary tale.

The exorcism didn't really lead to her death. She had been struggling for years, and nothing helped, from exorcisms to medication to mental hospitals. She tragically starved to death by refusing to eat or drink for long periods of time.

This song Should Be On the excorcism Of Emily rose when credits rolling

It seems people in the comments don't get the point of the song...

Was thinking the exact same thing

Jah Wobble is a GOD!!!

Best pil record

My dad once asked the girl at the sandwich shop counter for a BLT. She said "Would you like lettuce and tomato with that?" He leaned over the counter, got face to face with her and said "What the fuck did you just say?" I told him that he reminds me of John Lydon. He said "Well you tell this John Lydon of yours that he's a rotten bastard." I spewed my soda. I think he knows...

Superb pour les anglophiles!

Superbe!

Emily rose...

Good song to jog to Ive found, that driving beat encourages you to keep running.

this was my out going message for a time..lol

Annalisa .....great song !!

They declare to be your enemy. ...

Happy Anniversary 😜

ANNALISA WAS FIFTEEN YEARS ....

MELODRAMA IN YOUR EYES...

What possessed her...?

Look up Annalise Michel, that's who the song is based on.

The music was very influential. Very solid musicians PIL. Annalisa the punk rock girl of my fantasies.

David Ellis you know the meaning behind the song, right

Annalisa, based on Annalise Michel, the girl who was supposedly possessed, then tragically died of malnutrition and dehydration after years of failed medications, psychiatric intervention and over 60 exorcisms.

Fascinating to me to hear this and compare it to Judas Priest, which, apparently, some people think of as a great band! I only heard them 2 weeks ago for the first time. And I was like, You're telling me people like this stuff!?! I know they're trying, but they could never come even close to this!
I'd bet 90% of Priest fanatics haven't even heard of this.

Hey look everyone, a pretentious and ignorant person is fishing for likes!

I never understood the appeal of Judas Priest either

Post Punk Classic!!!!

after punk orgasm

anneliese michels

I remember back in the day hearing that the lyrics were about Anneliese Michel a young German woman in the mid 1970s with epilepsy and psychosis who underwent a series of Catholic exorcisms lasting 10 months when psychiatric treatments failed. She starved to death and her parents and the Roman Catholic priests were prosecuted, though nobody did much jail time in the end. You can look it up. She wasn't 15 though, more like 21, but maybe he is making a comment on how tiny she was when found. I always found the song hypnotic and disturbing. Been seeing Johnny perform since the 1980s and last time I saw him, in 2011 or 2012, he was just as great a performer as ever.

The best song ever made

annalisaaaaaa..... 🙂🙃🙂😄

Was this song about Anneliese Michel?....

MrPaevo yep

who? @The clams Channel13

Optimistic Whovian aka Emily Rose

Does anyone think Mike Watt got the bassline for Toadies from this song?

maybe? honestly that kind of bass line structure isn't really that unique imo, it's easy for anyone to pick it out and use it, but toadies and annalisa are pretty similar.

This song is awesome, but the lyrics, unfortunatelly, are just a LIE about the real story of Anneliese Michel (but what could I expect after John Lyndon who's an atheist). Find out the documentary "The Exorcism of Anneliese Michel", it just opened my eyes, maybe it will open yours.

what about it Artur?..She was diagnosed with epileptic psychosis (temporal lobe epilepsy) and had a history of psychiatric treatment, what's johns atheism got to do with the fact religious intervention made things worse for her instead of better..When Michel was sixteen, she experienced a seizure and was diagnosed with psychosis caused by temporal lobe epilepsy. She soon had depression and was treated at a psychiatric hospital. By the time she was twenty, she had become intolerant of various religious objects and began to hear voices. Her condition worsened despite medication, and she became suicidal. Convinced she was possessed, her family appealed to a Catholic priest for an exorcism. While rejected at first, after much hesitation, two priests got permission from the local bishop in 1975. After her death, Michel's parents and the two priests were found guilty of negligent homicide and were sentenced to six months in jail (reduced to three years of probation) and a fine. The Catholic Church changed its position stating she was mentally ill, not possessed. The case has been cited as an example of a misidentified mental disorder, negligence, abuse and religious hysteria...so what's your point, did you watch a bias video that supports the magical mystery crap?..

The arts have always been laced with interpretation and the imagination. As Bunuel once declared, "reality without imagination is only half reality." You want the hard facts? Consult an archivist. The stated above doc was informative and shed light on a number of areas but there is still much mystery and speculation abound in this tragic occurrence that was suffered by a bright and promising young woman. I would say it wise not to confuse an artists' rendering with the work of a police reporter or journalist. Additionally, atheism has little to do with the matter. He is still a force to be reckoned with after 40 plus years experience on the scene.

This song is awesome....


'nuff said, Yeah...?

@jozef hemmings The fact that her condition worsened despite all medication and psychiatric help tells me that they were failing her. The exorcisms did NOT cause her death. Her parents refusing to consult doctors and other medical experts is what did it. In fact the priests originally told them to continue medical treatment, but both Annalise and her parents refused and begged for exorcism. But even then, as all medical help was failing, would they really be able to save her? She may have lived, but would it not be a tortured and horrible existence? I guess she would at least have been alive still, and they could keep trying... but it just keeps me thinking, man.

Remember a friend getting every punk album virtually five minutes after it was pressed and playing this, it just had a dark energy at the time in Autumn London that confirmed emphatically that we were now in a new era. The punk thing in 77 might have been the explosion but this was the fall-out and there was no going back.

pretention_is_generally_a_thing_to_be_avoided._You_seem_to_have_failed_to_avoid_it.

Oh dear what a pity nevermind do what John knockiton the 'ead cor blimey bollocks givin somma thaat!!!

DEDICATO A MIA MOGLIE

Anna!!!!!!!!!! li!!! sa!!!!!!!!!

Oh. This song has an intro almost 100% same as The light pours out of me of Magazine has. I am pretty sure one of these songs inspired another.

the drums are similar, the bass guitar and vocals? not so much

100% the same is a stretch....

The light pours out of me of Magazine is more like rock'n'roll from garry glitter ?

Minutemen even stole that bass line on Toadies

J'suis pas anglais mais j'avais aussi 15 ans quand j'ai écouté ça la première fois.... Un concert à Tokio me reste plus particulièrement en mémoire
... So fucking good !

Yeah, listening to this since I was 15..38 years ago..bought the album on release day..Same with the PIL siingle in the newspaper cover..Still have all those old records..The singles newspaper cover is now like a yellowed piece of parchement..

Raw Amazingness. Nothing like it when it came out.

I'm twenty and I'm listening to PiL since I'm 15 ;)

Good on you. Keep going and keep discovering.

Tripp de boeuf I'm 50 and I've been listening to PIL since I was 14. Guess what.. I saw them in concert in 1995. Was pretty damn amazing.

1985 I meant

My favorite song when I was fifteen. 32 years ago.....

Was fifteen 32 years ago as well and was listening to this song back then, too
.

was 15 last year, and i'm still called annalisa on all my social media accounts.

Probably the strongest Lydon vocal on record imo.The song section before the ad-libbed Annalisa screams at the end is so haunting tone wise.

that is to say "one of the few who IS NOT NOT NOT a hypocrite"

I'm having such a reunion with pil pil pil pil. not Johnny, you know, because he is the real deal. the shit. the man. a voice of truth and like one of the very few hypocrites of our time. very rare these days....which is why I LISTEN when he says something.

Haha my dad called me Annalisa after this song 👍👍

I was named after John Barry, cool but as cool as yours!!!

Typo error I meant to type "but not as cool as yours"!!!!

Not a bad song to be named after, good punk song. Do you like the song though is the question?

@The clams Channel13 my grandma is german too lol so kinda goes hahaha

@Annalisa S awe weve got same initials xxx

I feel like this song was it, really one of a kind, and that it influenced all of post punk and grunge. Gang of four, joy division, the cure, even later bands like nirvana and tool, this song really seems to be the first instance of that certain angsty feeling being expressed really well

for anneliese michel

Isn't Emily Rose?

You're a fucking jerk.

@Ian Christopher Why is he/she a jerk?

that kick drum sound is fucking well fantastic

UHHMNN?!!....WHATEVER HAPPENED TO "ANNALISA!!"............♥✴✴✴✴✴✴✴‼▪▪▪" OR IS IT??!!...."ANNASTACIA?!!"....YEAH??!!....WHAT HAPPENED TO HER??!!.....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anneliese_Michel

An unbelievable 36 years on and still fantastic!!

Never noticed before the similarity of this sound with Steve Albini stuff, all makes sense now.
Spent many hours annoying parents and neighbours with this........

holy crap. now that you mention it. totally. though I've had PiL and Rapeman just a couple inches apart in my vinyl collection forever. :)

@broomers3 yeah, you made me realise it for the first time too

It's not just the 'sound'. This entire song was ripped off by Nirvana and renamed 'Radio Friendly Unit Shifter'.

Sounds a lot like Jesus Lizard albums he produced.

@jayrobb9 Steve Albini produced In Utero so it's quite understandable.

Does anyone know what this song is about?  I can't find that info anywhere,and I believe J.L. writes from personal experiences

It is about a botched exorcism that killed a girl (Annalisa).

@Beth Shadowen I just heard him briefly talk about it on an hour long interview from 1978. It's about a German woman named Anneliese Michel that starved to death from the exorcisms because she suffered from mental illness. She had died in 1976 at age 23, just a couple of years before this song had come out. I imagine it must've been all over the news at the time. Needless to say, her story is very shocking & sad & her death could've been prevented.

@pessimystica the clergy and the parents went down for it, I wonder if that would have happened in this country? I hope so

The exorcisms did not cause her to die...

I forgot all about this song know I'm in a bad mood thank u johnny

Master of the world

ジャケットの眼力が強すぎる。

Y mucho menos haya parecido entre pi y te hives, pensaba que era mas moderna esta. Musica

INUっぽい♪

Pure fucking awesome.

I've been listening to this since I was 14 in 1978. Still fresh, still fantastic!!

i may not be able to find a pen or a bike vanity plate with my name on it, but goddammit, i have a song.

went to their gig last night. They played for something like 1h40 mins or something like that - too short to cover all their wonderful material. So, for example, this great song didn't make it to their repertoire

you mentioned it first dickface

people are so arugmentive for no reason here, x-box broken? music is to be enjoyed, if not don't listen to it

My fav. at the time..

keep on delving...

mm English beat now drum and bass synth

Wow very early Drum and Bass wow

rotten but never forgotten

@robotdl3 wow it must of taken a lot of balls to say that to me over the Internet . Why don't you troll somewhere else

wow, awesome. want a fucking medal?

I agree with Ryan Larkin, Nirvana was really what brought me into this kind of rock and away from purely classic rock(aerosmith, Zepplin, etc.). then i moved onto pixies, wire, L7, minutemen, Beat Happening, and so on and i delved deeper into this stuff and discovered another realm of rock music. Cool shit.

F****** awesome as f***. This is the real s***.

How come?I'm not going on virtuosity here(i'd go for Jack Bruce or Jack Cassidy on that one),or musicality(paul mccartney),i'm going on groove,sheer weight of bass sound and also individuality,think Jah is the only rock(n roll) bass player to beat the Jamaicans at their own game and to make two or three notes sound positively awe-inspiring(poptones,careering,albatross are good examples).Case closed lol

that's silly

Agreed!!!And Levene takes most guitarists to the cleaners also,lets not forget.

I vote Jah Wobble as the best bass player in the history of "rock".

Nick Morfitt ...along with Lemmy and Youth...

@Paddy Campbell I immediately thought of Lemmy myself...Then there's Ian Hill of Judas Priest, Geddy Lee of Rush - they work. OH! what about Deep Purple?! - they've had some bass guitar moments that stood the test of time.

So was I. I was about 14 or 15 . PIL got to love it.

Yeah!!! This is the right stuff!

lovely track!

creepy...

Great tune, my favorite band...can't believe 10 goobers wanted to say they hated the song and other dorks are mentioning lame bands here...GO BACK TO YOUR CAGES...you squares.

What u talking about?

...you're in the wrong neighborhood, little boy.

Anyone know what tHE rOLLING sTones sound like on one last hit by The Rolling sTONES ? BESIDES THEY SAY IT'S ABOUT THE KENNEDY'S and ireckon it was one on the back one on the left as far as The Kennedy' in I think it was in 1962 in Dallas there goes the American Dream I think Kennedy was going to make a speech about War and Civilisation before he was shot .

i JUST THINK IT SOUNDS AWFULL.ANYONE EVER CATCH THEMSELVES SINGING A PIL SONG TO THEMSELVES AND THINKING DAMN THAT SHIT ROCKS HAHA NOPE

My name is Alisa. My first born child was a male. My husband got one named after him. I thought with my second, a girl, I would get one named after me. But it woud be vain of me to call her Alisa so I called her Annalisa!! I had no idea it was an Italian name!! But I could not be happier!!! (By the way I am of German and Irish decent) .

I was around when this was released - suckers

lol, you're pretty unrepentant about being an idiot, aintcha? Well, have at it, sir - its funny to watch.

Thumbs up those who came here after listening to Jilted John

Excuse me?

Why are they shit? Because they're popular? Stupid hipster

Although your name is probably Gerard Ritzer and you're a male.

Well I just ADORE this,Anna,my grandmother and Lisa,ME! How cool!!

hello annalisa

Kurt said this was one of his favorite albums. I think this song influenced that one heavily.

I only got here because of Misadventures.
fuck.

Radio Friendly Unit Shifter anyone?

Everything can be creepy if you want it. Creepy in your heart. Type O joke.

Anneliese Michel. She died after a year of semi-starvation and repeated exorcisms, her parents had put her in the hands of the priests and therefore did not want doctors involved.I think the exorcisms were unofficial, the Bishop's permission not having first been sought.There are recordings of the exorcism on YouTube.

Good So Good..

never duplicated

I t's about a girl who died in an exorcism gone wrong in Germany True! Hence the reference to 'roseary beads'. Lydon's an interesting guy. He got meningitis at 7, was in a coma, and it wiped his memory. He didn't know who he was or anything. True. Check out his interview with Andew Graham Dixon on 'The Culture Shoe' by OfficialADG on YouTube.

this rocks!!!!