Hobart Paving

"Hobart Paving"
Single by Saint Etienne
from the album So Tough
A-side	"Who Do You Think You Are"
B-side	"You Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)"
Released	May 1993
Format	7", 12" vinyl, MC, CD
Recorded	1993
Genre	Indie pop
Length	4:55
Label	Heavenly – HVN 29 Warner – 9 40910
Writer(s)	Stanley/Wiggs
Saint Etienne singles chronology
"You're in a Bad Way" (1993) "Hobart Paving" (1993) "Xmas 93" (1993)

"Hobart Paving" is a single by British pop group Saint Etienne. It was released by Heavenly Records in May 1993 as a double A-side with the band's cover of "Who Do You Think You Are", originally released in 1974 by Jigsaw and a hit for Candlewick Green. It reached number 23 in the UK Singles Chart.

Lyrics

The song describes an unhappy woman, using characteristically surreal images such as "Rain falls like Elvis tears" and "Just like a harpsichordist she moves". The apparently meaningless title appears in the song's chorus: "Hobart paving, don't you think that's it's time, / On this platform with the drizzle in my eyes?" The title may derive from a construction firm called Hobart Paving Company Limited ^[1] in the town of Croydon, where two of the band members grew up.^[2]

Mixes

The track was slightly remixed for single release, adding subtle overdubs and extra instrumentation. "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" is a remix of "Hobart Paving", though the source material is unrecognisable in the mix, hence the different title.

An alternative mix of "Hobart Paving", created for the single but ultimately not used, was eventually released on the Nice Price outtakes collection in 2006.

Track listing

All tracks written and composed by Dyer and Scott; except where indicated.

European release

7" - Heavenly / HVN 29 (UK) (also available on MC (HVN 29C))

1. "Hobart Paving" (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:54
2. "Who Do You Think You Are" – 3:53

12" - Heavenly / HVN 29-12 (UK)

1. "Hobart Paving" (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:54
2. "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:12
3. "Who Do You Think You Are" – 3:53
4. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08

12" - Heavenly / HVN 29-12P (UK) (UK promo. Labelled "Aphex Twin Remixes")

1. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08
2. "Your Head My Voice" (Voix Revirement) (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:12

CD - Heavenly / HVN 29CD (UK)

1. "Hobart Paving" (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:54
2. "Who Do You Think You Are" – 3:53
3. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08
4. "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:12

US release

12" - Warner / 0-40910 (US)

1. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Strobelights & Platform Shoes Mix) – 7:00
2. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Saturday Night Fever Dub) – 6:59
3. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Tilt Dub) – 6:00
4. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08
5. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Nu Solution Mix) – 7:46
6. "Hobart Paving" (UK single version) (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:54

2x12" - Warner / PRO-A-6254 (US) (US 2x12" promo)

1. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Strobelights & Platform Shoes Mix) – 7:00
2. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Saturday Night Fever Dub) – 6:59
3. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Nu Solution Mix) – 7:46
4. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Tilt Dub) – 6:00

1. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08
2. "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:12
3. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Radio Remix) – 4:39
4. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Bonus Beats Down) – 4:55

CD - Warner / 9 40910-2 (US)

1. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Album Version) – 3:52
2. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Strobelights & Platform Shoes Mix) – 7:00
3. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08
4. "Hobart Paving" (UK single version) (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:54
5. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Nu Solution Mix) – 7:46
6. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Saturday Night Fever Dub) – 6:59
7. "Your Head My Voice (Voix Revirement)" – 4:12
8. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Radio Remix) (Stanley, Wiggs) – 4:39

Remixers

Aphex Twin

1. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Quex-Rd) – 8:08
2. "Your Head My Voice" (Voix Revirement) – 4:12

Roger Sanchez

1. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Strobelights & Platform Shoes Mix) – 7:00
2. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Nu Solution Mix) – 7:46
3. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Saturday Night Fever Dub) – 6:59
4. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Radio Remix) – 4:39
5. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Tilt Dub) – 6:00
6. "Who Do You Think You Are" (Bonus Beats Down) – 4:55

Cover versions

The 1997 German movie Bandits featured a cover version of the song called "Catch Me" (possibly to better match the movie's prison break story), released under the band name "Bandits". The "Hobart Paving" in the chorus was replaced by "Hold on, princess". "Catch Me" peaked at #42 on the German Media Control Singles chart^[3]

References

1. See Hobart Paving website
2. Saintetienne.net
3. "Single, Bandits, Catch Me". 2014 GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 2014-09-05.

External links

• Hobart Paving Company Limited, the probable source of the title