Pulp - Common People

Pulp - Common People
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Pulp’s Common People, released in 1995 on the album Different Class, is a sharp, satirical Britpop anthem about class divide and cultural voyeurism. Inspired by a real conversation Jarvis Cocker had with a wealthy art student, the song tells the story of someone from privilege wanting to “live like common people” as a kind of novelty experience. With biting lyrics, escalating tension, and an urgent, almost sneering vocal delivery, Cocker exposes the impossibility of truly understanding poverty from the outside. Mixing irony, social commentary, and infectious energy, Common People became both a festival singalong and one of Britpop’s most enduring critiques of class inequality.