The JCB Song

Album: Half These Songs Are About You (2005)
Charted: 1
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • JCB is a company that makes construction equipment. In the December 16, 2005 Daily Mail, guitarist and singer Luke Concannon said: "The single is based on a true story. My family run a construction firm, building roads. As a youngster, I'd often sit in the (JCB) diggers with my dad. We'd have a great laugh, singing songs and holding up the traffic as we drove down country roads. It's a song about memories, essentially. It's about me feeling proud of my dad, but also about the emotions of a 5-year-old boy who is having a tough time with bullies at school. Sitting in my dad's digger was a release from that."
  • Nizlopi is the duo of Luke Concannon and bassist John Parker. They formed in 2001, taking their name from a Hungarian schoolgirl, Nina Nizlopi, who they both fancied during their teenage years in their hometown of Leamington Spa near Birmingham in England.
  • Luke Concannon on BBC3's 100 Most Annoying Songs: "It's a song from that really strong vivid memory of being young and being with my Dad in a digger and holding up the traffic spaceship and imagining it turning into a spaceship and destroying all the bullies and teachers." >>>
    Suggestion credit:
    Edward Pearce - Ashford, Kent, England, for all above
  • A teenage Ed Sheeran was Nizlopi's guitar technician in the late 2000s. "I followed them to every gig," he told The Mail on Sunday. "After a while they were like, 'OK, do you want a job?' So, rather than following them about, I was in a van with them. That experience – seeing how they performed, how they interacted with their fans and how professional they were backstage – was the foundation for what's happening to me now. It's all about hard work, graft and being nice to people. That's the best way to do it."

Comments: 6

  • Amanda Bibby from WokingParty appearance
  • Lloyd from Birmingham Hits me right in the feels this one does
  • Louise from Newcastle, United KingdomOooh, this is so irritating! The video was cute, however.
  • Michaela from Shropshire, Englandthis song is really cute, with the lilo boy in the video aswell :) awwww!
  • Sander from Wirdum, NetherlandsIt's a really cute song! Especially the clip, so sweet =D
  • Claire from ManchesterAwww i love this song it's soo cute =) And whoever does the vocals on it has a really nice voice.
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Vanessa Carlton

Vanessa CarltonSongwriter Interviews

The "A Thousand Miles" singer on what she thinks of her song being used in White Chicks and how she captured a song from a dream.

Jello Biafra

Jello BiafraSongwriter Interviews

The former Dead Kennedys frontman on the past, present and future of the band, what music makes us "pliant and stupid," and what he learned from Alice Cooper.

Fire On The Stage

Fire On The StageSong Writing

When you have a song called "Fire," it's tempting to set one - these guys did.

Randy Newman

Randy NewmanSongwriting Legends

Newman makes it look easy these days, but in this 1974 interview, he reveals the paranoia and pressures that made him yearn for his old 9-5 job.

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")

Terry Jacks ("Seasons in the Sun")Songwriter Interviews

Inspired by his dear friend, "Seasons in the Sun" paid for Terry's boat, which led him away from music and into a battle with Canadian paper mills.

Stan Ridgway

Stan RidgwaySongwriter Interviews

Go beyond the Wall of Voodoo with this cinematic songwriter.