Olivia Rodrigo and Lily Allen dedicate ‘Fuck You’ Glastonbury performance to the Supreme Court
The ‘Good 4 U’ singer called out the Justices who overturned Roe v Wade abortion rights. We take a look at the song’s lyrics and their original target.
One of the world’s most iconic music festivals, Glastonbury, took place in England this weekend with some of the biggest names in music taking to the stage.
Performing at this year’s edition was Olivia Rodrigo, who used her slot on the festival’s Other Stage to address recent developments in the United States. On Friday, the day before she was due to perform, the Supreme Court overturned the constitutional right to abortion after 49 years.
Making her thoughts clear on the subject, Olivia Rodrigo brought out British singer-songwriter Lily Allen, and the pair performed the latter’s song ‘Fuck You’. Rodrigo directed the song to the Justices responsible for reversing the Roe v Wade ruling.
“Roe v. Wade, which is a law that ensures a woman’s right to a safe abortion, a basic human right” she said. “I wanted to dedicate this song to the five members of the Supreme Court, who showed us that at the end of the day they truly don’t give a shit about freedom.
The singer continued: “This song goes out to the justices, Samuel Alito, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barret, and Brett Kavanaugh. We hate you.”
Fuck you (Fuck you), fuck you very, very much
'Cause we hate what you do
And we hate your whole crew
So, please don’t stay in touch
What are the lyrics to ‘Fuck You’ sang by Olivia Rodrigo?
The song was released on Allen’s 2009 album It’s Not Me, It’s You and it originally failed to chart in the United Kingdom’s top 100 charts. However it would go on to be a big hit in mainland Europe, reaching number two in the Netherlands.
Despite Allen being an English artist, she has revealed that the song’s original target was an American. While performing in São Paulo, Brazil, Allen stated: “It was originally written about this fucking arsehole who used to be the President of the United States of America. His name is George W. Bush.”
The lyrics criticise the “small-minded” people who oppose gay rights and have pushed for greater military involvement overseas, but have been applied more widely in the past. Allen has previously performed the song at Glastonbury and used it to call out the far-right British National Party.
Here’s a little flavour of the lyrics…
“Do you get, do you get a little kick out of being small-minded?
You want to be like your father, it’s approval you’re after
Well, that’s not how you find it
Do you, do you really enjoy living a life that’s so hateful?
‘Cause there’s a hole where your soul should be
You’re losing control a bit, and it’s really distasteful”