Hype-THE BEST NEW NAMES, FIRST

Upset-DORK'S HOME FOR ALL THINGS LOUD

Festival Guides-YOUR ESSENTIAL FESTIVAL COMPANION

Hype-THE BEST NEW NAMES, FIRST

Mixtape-DORK'S BEST NEW TRACKS

Play-DORK'S NEW MUSIC FRIDAY EDIT

Upset-DORK'S HOME FOR ALL THINGS LOUD

Playlist Covers

Playlist Directory

Before Doors-LIVE SESSIONS

Music Video Directory

Down With Boring-THE DORK PODCAST

Chart Attack-UK NUMBER ONES, DISSECTED

Dork Radio

Live

Live 24/7

Dork Radio

Down With Boring

Join thousands of music lovers getting the best new tracks, exclusive interviews, and breaking news delivered straight to your inbox every week.

In print now

June 2026

Latest issue variants

Dork, June 2026 (Bleachers cover)

Bleachers

Dork, June 2026 (Myles Smith cover)

Myles Smith

Dork, June 2026 (Towa Bird cover)

Towa Bird

|

Privacy Policy|

Cookie settings

© 2026 The Bunker Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

Advertise on this site.

Manic Street Preachers – Primitive Painters (2009) | Track profile | Dork

Tracks
Manic Street Preachers
Journal for Plague Lovers
Primitive Painters

TRACK

Manic Street Preachers

Primitive Painters

Release date: 18th May 2009

From Journal for Plague Lovers

Adult Alternative

Spotify More on Manic Street Preachers

About This Track

"Primitive Painters" is a track by Manic Street Preachers, from the album Journal for Plague Lovers, released 18th May 2009. It's filed under Alternative. Full lyrics are available below. Dork has published 16 articles about Manic Street Preachers.

About the Artist

Manic Street Preachers

Manic Street Preachers

Lyrics

Primitive Painters

[Verse 1]

I just wish my life could be as strange as a conspiracy

I hold out but there's no way of being what I wanna be

Dragons blow fire, angels fly, spirits wither in the air

I'm just me, I can't deny, I'm neither here nor anywhere

[Chorus]

Oh you should see my trail of disgrace

It's enough to scare the whole human race

Oh you should see my trail of disgrace

It's enough to scare the whole human race

[Verse 2]

I don't care about this life, they say there'll be another one

Defeatist attitude I know, will you be sorry when I've gone?

Primitive painters are ships floating on an empty sea

Gathering in galleries, we're stallions of imagery

[Chorus]

Oh you should see my trail of disgrace

It's enough to scare the whole human race

Oh you should see my trail of disgrace

It's enough to scare the whole human race

Oh you should see my trail of disgrace

It's enough to scare the whole human race

Oh you should see my trail of disgrace

It's enough to scare the whole human race

Lyrics provided by LRCLIB

View full lyrics page →

Track details

From Journal for Plague Lovers

2009

Listen

Album

Journal for Plague Lovers

Manic Street Preachers

Release year

2009

1Peeled Apples
3:33
2Jackie Collins Existential Question Time
2:24
3Me and Stephen Hawking
2:47
4This Joke Sport Severed
3:04
5Journal for Plague Lovers
3:45
6She Bathed Herself In a Bath of Bleach
2:18
7Facing Page: Top Left
2:40
8Marlon J.D.
2:50
9Doors Closing Slowly
2:52
10All Is Vanity
3:34
11Pretension//Repulsion
2:05
12Virginia State Epileptic Colony
3:23
13William's Last Words
4:18
14Marlon J.D. (NYPC's Wire Up Mix)
4:56
—Alien Orders/Invisible Armies
—Primitive Painters

More from Manic Street Preachers

Albums & EPs

Critical Thinking

Critical Thinking

Lifeblood 20

Know Your Enemy (Deluxe Edition)

Know Your Enemy (Deluxe Edition)

The Ultra Vivid Lament (Deluxe Edition)

The Ultra Vivid Lament (Deluxe Edition)

The Secret He Had Missed (Piano Acoustic Version) [feat. Cat Southall] - Single

The Secret He Had Missed (Piano Acoustic Version) [feat. Cat Southall] - Single

Gold Against the Soul (Remastered)

Gold Against the Soul (Remastered)

Resistance Is Futile (Deluxe)

Resistance Is Futile (Deluxe)

Dylan & Caitlin (feat. The Anchoress)

Dylan & Caitlin (feat. The Anchoress)

International Blue (The Bluer Skies Version)

International Blue (The Bluer Skies Version)

Futurology

Explore

More tracks by Manic Street Preachers

Out Of Time RevivalCritical Thinking

Let the Light Return / Johatsu

Critical ThinkingCritical Thinking

Being BaptisedCritical Thinking

Let The Light Return

Hiding in Plain SightCritical Thinking

Late Day PeaksCritical Thinking

Brushstrokes of ReunionCritical Thinking

Deleted ScenesCritical Thinking

My Brave FriendCritical Thinking

OneManMilitiaCritical Thinking

People Ruin PaintingsCritical Thinking

Dear StephenCritical Thinking

Decline & FallCritical Thinking

Solitude Sometimes Is (Tony Visconti Mix)Lifeblood 20

1985 (Gwenno Mix)Lifeblood 20

The Love of Richard Nixon (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

1985 (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

I Live to Fall Asleep (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

Emily (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

I Live to Fall Asleep (Live at BBC Maida Vale)Lifeblood 20

Fragments (Live at BBC Maida Vale)Lifeblood 20

Cardiff Afterlife (Tony Visconti Mix)Lifeblood 20

Glasnost (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

Always / Never (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

To Repel Ghosts (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

A Song for Departure (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

Empty Souls (Live at BBC Maida Vale)Lifeblood 20

Cardiff Afterlife (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

Fragments (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

Empty Souls (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

Solitude Sometimes Is (Remastered)Lifeblood 20

1985 (Steven Wilson's Extended Eighties Mix)Lifeblood 20

A Song for Departure (Live at BBC Maida Vale)Lifeblood 20

The Love of Richard Nixon (Live at BBC Maida Vale)Lifeblood 20

1985 (Steven Wilson’s Extended Eighties mix)

Found That Soul (TLA Mix)

Epicentre (TLA Mix)

His Last Painting (TLA Mix)

Studies in Paralysis

Sweet Child o’ Mine

Bring on the Dancing Horses

In Between Days

The Endless Plain of Fortune

View all tracks by Manic Street Preachers →

1985 (Gwenno Mix)Lifeblood 20
4:34
A Song for Departure (Live at BBC Maida Vale)Lifeblood 20
4:20
Emily (Remastered)Lifeblood 20
3:34
Empty Souls (Live at BBC Maida Vale)Lifeblood 20
4:16
The Love of Richard Nixon (Live at BBC Maida Vale)Lifeblood 20
3:48
1985 (Remastered)Lifeblood 20
4:07
1985 (Steven Wilson's Extended Eighties Mix)Lifeblood 20
8:27
1985 (Steven Wilson’s Extended Eighties mix)
A Song for Departure (Remastered)Lifeblood 20
4:19
All or Nothing

Showing 10 of 50

If you like Manic Street Preachers

James Dean Bradfield

James Dean Bradfield

Suede

Suede

Mansun

Mansun

Catatonia

Super Furry Animals

Super Furry Animals

Ocean Colour Scene

Ocean Colour Scene

Pulp

Pulp

Ash

Ash

Shed Seven

Shed Seven

Supergrass

Supergrass

READ MORE ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS

READ MORE ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS

READ MORE ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS

READ MORE ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS

READ MORE ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS

READ MORE ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS

READ MORE ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS

READ MORE ABOUT MANIC STREET PREACHERS

Manic Street Preachers and Suede have announced a co-headline arena tour

Manic Street Preachers and Suede have announced a co-headline arena tour

Nine dates confirmed across Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Cardiff, London and more.

24 Apr 2026 • 3:43 pm

The comperes and livestream details have been revealed for Robert Smith's Teenage Cancer Trust week

The comperes and livestream details have been revealed for Robert Smith's Teenage Cancer Trust week

Bosnian composer and accordionist Nihad Hrustanbegovic will perform around the historic venue on each night of the week-long run.

20 Mar 2026 • 3:27 pm

Teenage Cancer Trust have launched a new exhibition and print series feat. The 1975, Fontaines D.C., Wolf Alice and more

Teenage Cancer Trust have launched a new exhibition and print series feat. The 1975, Fontaines D.C., Wolf Alice and more

Twenty-one signed silk screen prints from iconic live music moments go on sale today.

18 Mar 2026 • 11:59 am

Robert Smith is curating 2026's Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at Royal Albert Hall, feat. Wolf Alice, CHVRCHES, my bloody valentine and more

Robert Smith is curating 2026's Teenage Cancer Trust concerts at Royal Albert Hall, feat. Wolf Alice, CHVRCHES, my bloody valentine and more

Tickets go on sale at 9am GMT on Friday, 12th December.

8 Dec 2025 • 4:24 pm

Manic Street Preachers are going to headline a Heritage Live show at Audley End

Manic Street Preachers are going to headline a Heritage Live show at Audley End

The Welsh rock band will perform at Audley End's Heritage Live Festival in August 2025, supported by The Charlatans and Ash.

21 Feb 2025 • 10:38 am

Manic Street Preachers lead UK album chart race ahead of Sabrina Carpenter

Manic Street Preachers lead UK album chart race ahead of Sabrina Carpenter

The Welsh band's fifteenth album 'Critical Thinking' leads the UK charts, outpacing Sabrina Carpenter's release by 2,700 units.

18 Feb 2025 • 1:41 pm

Manic Street Preachers: "Muzzling young people only leads to bitterness"

Manic Street Preachers: "Muzzling young people only leads to bitterness"

Three decades in, and Wales' most vital band return with 'Critical Thinking', an album that turns their legendary scrutiny inward

31 Jan 2025 • 10:30 am

Manic Street Preachers, Hard Life, Sports Team and more have joined Live At Leeds: In The Park 2025

Manic Street Preachers, Hard Life, Sports Team and more have joined Live At Leeds: In The Park 2025

Manic Street Preachers, The Snuts, and Public Service Broadcasting join the lineup for Leeds' one-day festival at Temple Newsam Park.

30 Jan 2025 • 10:00 am

Manic Street Preachers have released their new single 'People Ruin Paintings'

Manic Street Preachers have released their new single 'People Ruin Paintings'

The Welsh rock band releases their third single from upcoming album 'Critical Thinking', describing it as a telepathic musical collaboration.

10 Jan 2025 • 12:28 pm

Manic Street Preachers have announced their new album 'Critical Thinking' for January 2025

Manic Street Preachers have announced their new album 'Critical Thinking' for January 2025

The new record features lead vocals from bassist Nicky Wire for the first time on single 'Hiding In Plain Sight'.

25 Oct 2024 • 3:23 pm

Manic Street Preachers have dropped a new single, 'Decline & Fall'

Manic Street Preachers have dropped a new single, 'Decline & Fall'

The track marks their first new material since 'The Ultra Vivid Lament' in 2021.

30 Aug 2024 • 1:25 pm

Manic Street Preachers unveil new photo book 'Little Baby Nothings' with photographer Valerie Phillips

Manic Street Preachers unveil new photo book 'Little Baby Nothings' with photographer Valerie Phillips

The project was initiated after Nicky Wire rediscovered some lost prints in the band's archive.

21 Jun 2024 • 9:29 am

Manic Street Preachers have announced a 20th Anniversary Edition of their seventh studio album 'Lifeblood'

Manic Street Preachers have announced a 20th Anniversary Edition of their seventh studio album 'Lifeblood'

Catch the band on tour with Suede this summer.

7 Feb 2024 • 11:52 am

Manic Street Preachers and Suede have added a Margate show to their summer co-headline tour

Manic Street Preachers and Suede have added a Margate show to their summer co-headline tour

Tickets for the new date are on sale later this week.

27 Nov 2023 • 11:08 am

Manic Street Preachers and Suede are hitting the road for a co-headline tour in summer 2024

Manic Street Preachers and Suede are hitting the road for a co-headline tour in summer 2024

Tickets go on sale 9am Friday 13th October.

6 Oct 2023 • 8:51 am

Manic Street Preachers have joined the bill for this year's BBC 6 Music Festival

Manic Street Preachers have joined the bill for this year's BBC 6 Music Festival

They'll play Clwb Ifor Bach on 31st March.

16 Mar 2022 • 7:51 pm

Credits

Production & Engineering

Writer: Lawrence, Maurice Deebank
Producer: Dave Eringa, Greg Haver, Loz Williams