Plan A

Info

Plan A is a track released in 2002 by The Libertines as a B-Side to their single Up the Bracket. The track name refers to a plan of action formulated in the early days of The Libertines by their manager at the time, Banny Poostchi, in order to get the band signed to ROUGH TRADE. Although the track is only a B-Side and no other session versions exist, it is often considered to be somewhat of a fan favourite.

In response to a question on the song, Peter wrote, "[I]t just came out one night all in one go, Carlos' riff and sinister things."

After the announcement of Dirty Pretty Things imminent split, Doherty dedicated Plan A to Barat when he performed at the Hackney Empire on the 2nd October 2008 - "I'd like to dedicate this song to Carlos Barat. He announced the death of Dirty Pretty Things. They're going to see out the tour but after that, that's that."

Appearing on

#1 (Up the) Albion Radio (Up the Bracket B-side)	Peter Doherty	Fan mixtape	2014-02-01
Up the Bracket [Single]	The Libertines	Single	2002-09-30
Horrorshow in London Town	The Libertines	Session	Unknown

Concerts

Paris, Triptyque	Dirty Pretty Things	Paris	2005-10-18
Covo, Bologna	Dirty Pretty Things	Covo Club, Bologna Italy	2005-10-12
Tim Festival, Brazil	The Libertines	Jockey Club, São Paulo, Brazil	2004-11-07
Fine Line Music Cafe	The Libertines	Fine Line Music Cafe, Minneapolis; Minnesota US	2004-10-08
Live at Kenthish Town Forum (& Mayday)	The Libertines	London, UK	2003-12-17
Shinjuku Liquid Room, Tokyo	The Libertines	Higashi, Shibuya, Tokyo	2003-04-13

Lyrics

There’s one man left to thank
Built it with his hands
One man left to thank
He didn’t need to carve it into something
Carve it into something new
Carve it into something

And there’s plan A
Take a seat A
Watch them play
Keep a receipt
Sharpen up and carve them into something
Carve it into something
Carve ‘em into something new

Tell me what it is that you see
With your stolen eyes
And your singing one two three
Open up my eyes

My twin he tends to be me
He walks abroad
He like the broads
While I smoke and shake alone at home
Chewing on my bone
Smash big boulders into stones
Till I don't need no bit of faith
Need no human race
Though I read every review
No one's got a fucking clue

Sold his soul and bought new shoes
You never choose
You're born to lose
By the end of the road
Come on I need to know

Like to craft the songs
State where you belong
And if you come from nowhere
You'll end up straight back there
You may as well

Carve, carve, carve it into something
Carve it into something new
Carve it into something
Carve it into something new