When a song starts with the line: 'One of those fucking awful black days' you can tell it's going to be foray into the emotions. Be Safe is most certainly that - a passionately dark monologue about life and death over the top of The Cribs' ominous intrumentation.
Lee Ranaldo of Sonic Youth fame is the speaker, a dark, angry, earnest voice of great depth that fits perfectly with the tone of the speech. The bass and drums are low-key but tense - they rise slowly as the intensity of the song increases - and Jarman's vocals are perfectly matched to the monologue, cutting in at just the right moment.
However, it is the actual monologue that makes the song. The images invoked are vivid and emotional: 'telephone poles like praying mantis against the sky', 'you're moving so fast I can't hold your image'. Yet The Cribs are obviously aware of the risks of being too 'emo' and melodramatic - in writing the monologue they have made it self-aware: 'a monologue on top but no girl in shot' so much so that album version of the song ends with: 'Wasn't my best one, but who cares?'.
It's not a song that actually breeds anger within you, but it is satisfying to listen to if you are angry about something. It's an outpouring of emotion and as you listen to it all your latent anger will drain. I wish I could quote the entire monologue to you right here, but I'm just going to give you a link.
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