I have a question especially for those of you who are native speakers of (British) English. I am currently writing my thesis on how british pop songs from the 1960s to the 90s reflect their respective zeitgeist, and I'm stuck with two lines from songs that I particularly chew on.
The first one is Elvis Costello's Shipbuilding which contains the lines "someone got filled in / For saying that people get killed". Am I right in my assumption that "to get filled in" means something like to be denigrated? I couldn't find this in any dictionary.
The second is Sinèad O'Connor's Black Boys on Mopeds In the chorus, the speaker says that "England's not the mythical land of Madame George and roses". Does anyone have an Idea what that refers to? Who is said Madame George?
Thanks in advance...
"Filed in" could mean either killed or hurt, though the following line means that he might mean something different here. I'll listen to the song, might make sense in context.
O Connor means that England isn't the same England you read about in story books etc, and is a much harsher reality than the idealised view alot of foreign people have of the country.