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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
I took a deep breath and I just stood there staring
It could have been stupid but I was past caring It all seemed to depend on one little kiss Oh but who would have thought it would turn out like this And if I had I'd still have taken the risk Please pick me up, 'cause I'm falling apart That's why I try Hard not to start These affairs of the heart These affairs of the heart Out in the big world, it was coming on morning The newsreader on breakfast tv was still yawning An h-bomb in taiwan, a sex-bomb in spain If you spill that red wine, white will get out the stain Forget the mess, baby, when will I see you again Please pick me up while I'm playing this part That's why I try Hard not to start These affairs of the heart These affairs of the heart This movie is paper, it's 2-d, it's see-through I know what happens cos I saw the preview This mental fandango could drive me insane Just me, these six steel strings and you off in spain Plainly the rain mainly falls down my drain Please pick me up and then pull me apart That's why I try Hard not to start These affairs of the heart These affairs of the heart |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
I took a deep breath and I just stood there staring
It could have been stupid but I was past caring It all seemed to depend on one little kiss Oh but who would have thought it would turn out like this And if I had I'd still have taken the risk Please pick me up, 'cause I'm falling apart That's why I try Hard not to start These affairs of the heart These affairs of the heart Out in the big world, it was coming on morning The newsreader on breakfast tv was still yawning An h-bomb in taiwan, a sex-bomb in spain If you spill that red wine, white will get out the stain Forget the mess, baby, when will I see you again Please pick me up while I'm playing this part That's why I try Hard not to start These affairs of the heart These affairs of the heart This movie is paper, it's 2-d, it's see-through I know what happens cos I saw the preview This mental fandango could drive me insane Just me, these six steel strings and you off in spain Plainly the rain mainly falls down my drain Please pick me up and then pull me apart That's why I try Hard not to start These affairs of the heart These affairs of the heart |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Your footman barred me from the door
Said I couldn't see you no more What's with this bureaucracy When I filled the forms you left for me He's a loyal man who waits for you Where loyalty is such taboo Sixteen keyholes in one straight line I look through them from time to time The weather down your end looks fine But the forecast's grim down mine I'm no gamble better understand I like to know the story plan People say I got no sense But I'm waiting for an audience with you And all the wrestlers you've employed And all the boys with whom you toyed You tell me please don't get annoyed You're behaving like some Helen of Troy I don't care for original sin It's a stupid world we're living in Your paid assassin makes me wait He eats with fingers off his plate He says you've got a pressing date With r.i.ps and heads of state I know that he won't let me in Cos villains always have bad skin People say I got no sense But I'm waiting for an audience with you A plastic surgeon's your best friend He's got the means to any end He's so efficient, you're so vain So we won't see your face again Heaven knows how hard you tried Hell was such a bumpy ride The widow with the holy eyes Got a pistol strapped into her thighs Says you're as sweet as apple pie You only get so bitchy cos you're shy But that's a load of papal bull I put you on that pedestal People say I got no sense But I'm waiting for an audience with you Give me the strength of Hercules His fallen arches, water knees And please please let me be like I oughtta be Lost and lonely, hurt and happy With a singer's vanity Now everything seems like a myth The strength that I have performed with Two thousand stairs and there's no lift Gonna get to the top and there's no if What's for me when I get there Is it just wheelchairs and grey hair And never was one letter sent I told the truth but told it bent That's the custom that's the law But don't ask me the reason for I'm just a boy in love with you I'm rejected by the things you do People say I got no sense But I'm waiting for an audience with you |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002)
Buchan, it's bonny, oh and there lives my love
My heart it lies on him, it will not remove It will not remove for all that I have done Oh never will I forget my love Annachie For Annachie Gordon, oh he's bonny and he's braw He'd entice any woman that ever him saw He'd entice any woman and so he has done me Oh never will I forget my love Annachie Down came her father, standing on the floor Saying Jeanie you're trying the tricks of a whore You care nothing for a man who cares so very much for thee You must marry with Lord Salton and leave Young Annachie For Annachie Gordon he's only but a man Although he may be pretty but where are all his lands Salton's lands are broad and his towers they stand high You must marry with Lord Salton and forget Young Annachie With Annachie Gordon oh I'd beg for my bread Before that I'd marry Salton with gold to my head With gold to my head and with gowns fringed to the knee Oh I'll die if I don't get my love Annachie And you that are my parents oh to church you may me bring Ah but unto Lord Salton Oh I'll never bear a son A son or a daughter oh I'll never bow my knee Oh, I'll die if I don't get my love Annachie When Jeanie was married and from church she was brought home And she and her maidens so merry should have been When she and her maidens so merry should have been Oh she's gone to a chamber and she's crying all alone Come to bed now Jeanie, oh my honey and my sweet For to style you my mistress it would not be meet Oh it's mistress or Jeanie it's all the same to me For it's in your bed Lord Salton I never shall be And up and spoke her father and he's spoken with renown All you who are her maidens won't you loosen off her gown But she fell down in a swoon, so low down by their knees Saying Look on for I'm dying for my love Annachie The day that Jeanie married was the day that Jeanie died That's the day that young Annachie come rolling from the tide And Down came her maidens and they're wringing of their hands Saying woe to you Annachie for staying from the sands So long from the land and so long upon the flood Oh they've married your Jeanie and now she is dead All you that are her maidens won't you take me by the hand Won't you lead me to the chamber that my love lies in And he's kissed her cold lips until his heart turned to stone And he's died in the chamber where his true love lay in |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002)
Oh Annan Water's wondrous deep
And my love Annie's wondrous bonny I'm loathed that she should wet her feet Because I love her best of any Go saddle to me my bonny grey mare Go saddle her soon and make her ready For I must cross that river tonight And all to see my bonny lady And woe betide you Annan Water At night you are a gloomy river And over you I'll build a bridge That never more true love may sever He has ridden over field and fell On moor and moss and many a mile His spurs of steel were sore to bite And from the mare's feet flew the fire The mare flew over moss and moor And when she'd won the Annan Water She couldn't have ridden a furlong more Had a thousand whips been laid upon her And woe betide you Annan Water At night you are a gloomy river And over you I'll build a bridge That never more true love may sever Oh boatman come put up your boat Put up your boat for gold and money For I must cross that stream tonight Or never more I'll see my Annie The sides are steep, the waters deep From bank to brae the waters pouring And your bonny grey mare she sweats for fear She stands to hear the waters roaring And woe betide you Annan Water At night you are a gloomy river And over you I'll build a bridge That never more true love may sever And he has tried to swim that stream And he swam on both strong and steady But the river was broad and strength did fail And he never saw his bonny lady Oh woe betide the willow wand And woe betide the bush of briar For it broke beneath the true lover's hand When strength did fail and limbs did tire And woe betide you Annan Water At night you are a gloomy river And over you I'll build a bridge That never more true love may sever |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
I've lost my rifle and bayonet
I've lost my pull-through too I've lost the socks that you sent me That lasted the whole winter through I've lost the razor that shaved me I've lost my four-by-two I've lost my hold all And now I've got damn all Since I've lost you. |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Been living in the city too long now
Even my lungs have started to groan Everybody is singing their own song Sometimes I wanna sing alone Never been a primadonna Never seem to wanna be the one to complain Enough's too much and now I'm gonna Stop the madness soon before it drives me insane So, take me where the sun won't shine on me Take me where my conscience won't go Take me where the sun won't shine on me Don't tell me I'm backing out 'cause I don't wanna know Everyone around this town is so angry Blaring horns, swearing, shaking fists If everybody in the world was a hit man We'd wipe each other off each other's hit lists Who wants to stand and be counted All anger ever amounted to was lines on your face I don't want to be the one to start the shouting I'm part of this society and I know my place So, take me where the sun won't shine on me Take me where my conscience won't go Take me where the sun won't shine on me Don't tell me I'm backing out 'cause I don't wanna know Everything around this town is so boring Nothing changes, nothing doesn't stay the same Ten years ago when we had high ideals We couldn't wait to play the protest game But now we have our thing together Brand new leather, three bank accounts Who cares about the starving millions We're just happy that our cheques don't bounce So, take me where the sun won't shine on me Take me where my conscience won't go Take me where the sun won't shine on me Don't tell me I'm backing out 'cause I don't wanna know |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
Bob Dylan is my father, Joan Baez is my mother
And I'm their bastard son Though my roots show through I'm just 22 I don't belong to anyone When The Band was disbanded, I was disowned I got a number you can ring me on but I ain't got no phone Got a forwarding address, baby I ain't got no home I got no direction home That's the style of a bastard child This is the song of a bastard son Uncle Lenny used to make me laugh Took away my nightmares, tore my daydreams in half Showed them to me reflected upside-down In the mirror that Suzanne Vega found Lenny's still doing his tricks today Only goes to show that growing up might pay Bruce and James were family friends Took my mind to Carolina through the New Jersey bends Gave me a harmonica when I was three Nailed a banjo to my knees Now Bruce is a foreman and James is a slave Bruce gave in and James just gave up My family didn't grow up too well with technology And I think this is why they disowned me But now I wanna get back into the fold I don't wanna be a black sheep, I don't wanna grow old Here's to Warren, Neil, T-Bone, Andy, Lou, Townes, Elliott Tom, Steve, Elizabeth, Elvia, Dave You're singing something good and it's gotta be saved I think so! I've only just started playing guitar and already they say I'm a has-been Say my songs are too long, words are too strong, shoes aren't clean See the synthesizer's broken, the 12 inch does not exist It's gonna take a blessed life to get on to the hitlist I'm gonna need a blessed life to get on to the hitlist But I'm singing for the men, for the women and the kids Who grew up like me with seven basic instincts hid Bob Dylan is my father, Joan Baez is my mother And I'm their bastard son. |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Bob Dylan is my father, Joan Baez is my mother
And I'm their bastard son Though my roots show through I'm just 22 I don't belong to anyone When The Band was disbanded, I was disowned I got a number you can ring me on but I ain't got no phone Got a forwarding address, baby I ain't got no home I got no direction home That's the style of a bastard child This is the song of a bastard son Uncle Lenny used to make me laugh Took away my nightmares, tore my daydreams in half Showed them to me reflected upside-down In the mirror that Suzanne Vega found Lenny's still doing his tricks today Only goes to show that growing up might pay Bruce and James were family friends Took my mind to Carolina through the New Jersey bends Gave me a harmonica when I was three Nailed a banjo to my knees Now Bruce is a foreman and James is a slave Bruce gave in and James just gave up My family didn't grow up too well with technology And I think this is why they disowned me But now I wanna get back into the fold I don't wanna be a black sheep, I don't wanna grow old Here's to Warren, Neil, T-Bone, Andy, Lou, Townes, Elliott Tom, Steve, Elizabeth, Elvia, Dave You're singing something good and it's gotta be saved I think so! I've only just started playing guitar and already they say I'm a has-been Say my songs are too long, words are too strong, shoes aren't clean See the synthesizer's broken, the 12 inch does not exist It's gonna take a blessed life to get on to the hitlist I'm gonna need a blessed life to get on to the hitlist But I'm singing for the men, for the women and the kids Who grew up like me with seven basic instincts hid Bob Dylan is my father, Joan Baez is my mother And I'm their bastard son. |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
The streets are doing a war dance
As their sight is restored to the blind And I'm sifting trash on the offchance That there might be something to find And Mary lets her fingers do the walking Her baby's nearly due She's listening but no-one's talking At the citizen's advice bureau And Joe is down on the dole-queue He should have signed on yesterday Even if he was a carpenter and she was his lady He still wouldn't be able to make it pay No And he don't believe in angels She's been seeing another man Infidelity runs in the family But that wasn't a part of the plan And shepherds watch the flicks by night At the King's Cross all night show Something's trying to catch their eyes But they're too grossed out to know And the three kings travel like three ships a-sailing They've got some gifts he'll need Cocaine for sniffing, money for corruption, and a whole load of videos of I Love Lucy But the king of the country he's getting frightened He doesn't want to be another man's pawn And he crushes the beer can between his hands He sees his fate, the clown yells Checkmate And another star is born But the baby is killed in an instant As though his whole life were a dream Though his book sells well and he pulls out the stops Everyone knows he's a hyped-up hasbeen And the t-shirts just embarrass And thought become memories after a while He's looking so much older now It's hard to belive that that was style And he throws his cloak out to his fan It's his last chance sacrifice The girls are crawling a cut-glass sea No-one even wants to look twice Cos the circle's all but full now But the stalls are empty for the latest son Who just smiles and says Give my regards to Fleet Street, I've gotta run The streets are doing a war dance As their sight is restored to the blind And I'm sifting trash on the offchance That there might be something to find... |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001)
If I die tomorrow
Don't read too much into this song I'll be as surprised as you are I always get predictions wrong If I die tomorrow Break out and play my best guitars Don't put this one in the Hard Rock Cafe In a case above the bar I'd like to take this chance to say good-bye You want the answers, don't look in my eyes You're asking me my opinion Well, baby, we're all gonna burn So light up and wait your turn in the fire I'm telling you my decision Baby we're all gonna burn There will be no return 'Cause, baby, we're all gonna burn If I die tomorrow There's one thing I'd ask of you A favour for your favourite friend When his living days are through Make sure it's me up on the funeral pyre Make sure the house band's playing Light My Fire You're asking me my opinion Well, baby, we're all gonna burn So light up and wait your turn in the fire I'm telling you my decision Baby we're all gonna burn There will be no return 'Cause, baby, we're all gonna burn |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
It is a 24 hour operation with a skeleton staff
The profits almost double when they cut the work force in half The boss votes the way the money goes, and the flags fly at half-mast He believes in the lie that is free enterprise and it just makes me laugh And it makes me nervous Careers service It makes me nervous You can't walk down the street now the corner-shop's been closed Who needs nostalgia when it belts you in the nose Big men put me out of business, made me sell budget garden hose Left you drunk on overpriced scotch, wearing a plastic rose And it makes me nervous Careers service It makes me nervous The boys in the queue The girls in the queue The men and the women all shouting at you Whatever happened to careerIs information Whatever happened to the pride of this nation No-oneIs giving us good vibrations Excitations You've got your best suit on for the interview Meeting people you shouldnIt have to meet, doing things you don't want to do Behind the desk, it's all sex on a casting couch, surely will bite you You don't even get the understudy amidst all this hullabaloo And it makes me nervous Careers service Well it's so worthless Careers service Well it's so worthless |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Sometimes when you get mystic
I have to leave the room Another accident statistic While the big bass drum goes boom There's an apocalypse now on Station Road If there's a nuclear winter, at least it'll snow Your talk turns all of me upside down You turned up my ticket at the lost and found And all I got was the current crown worn by Cathy's New Clown Our enemies are at the border We couldn't go back too soon Be a nice girl and don't take orders That's what they're saying in the back room You got a big black box that I can't get a look in And I wanna look at you but I don't get a look in I'm like a talking head with the sound turned down Or Pavlov's dog when he wasn't around I'm just a little bit lost so I'm heading downtown to be Cathy's New Clown One upon a time I didn't know you That's the way the story goes But how I wish, how I wish you'd let me show you That I love the lines but hate the clothes That's the way it goes Turn the speakers up to ten now Listen to what he has to say Watch out there's a body talking body-talk A big mouth just gets in the way, hey When I'm with you, there's something to it You know the old lie and you can see through it But now I'm alone and I'm homeward bound Cover my tracks up and cover new ground Put down the purse cos I'm buying this round I'm putting pepper down for the pack of bloodhounds And all I need is a single sound, I'll be Cathy's New Clown Here he comes..... |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Look over yonder
What do you see? The sun is a-risin' Most definitely A new day is comin', whoo-hoo People are changin' Ain't it beautiful, whoo-hoo Crystal blue persuasion Better get ready Gonna see the light Love, love is the answer, whoo-hoo And that's all right So don't you give up now, whoo-hoo It's so easy to find Just look to your soul (Look to your soul) And open your mind Crystal blue persuasion Mm-hmm It's a new vibration Crystal blue persuasion Crystal Blue persuasion Maybe tomorrow When he looks down On every green field, whoo-hoo And every town All of his children In every nation There'll be peace and good Brotherhood Crystal blue persuasion Yeah Crystal blue persuasion, aha Crystal blue persuasion, aha Crystal blue persuasion, aha (Oh) Crystal blue persuasion, aha Crystal blue persuasion, aha Crystal blue persuasion, aha Crystal blue persuasion, aha |
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
As I was out walking one night in the park
Cupid was out on the town in the dark And I couldn't resist as I saw him walk by So I asked him why he had a tear in his eye He said "i'm an outlaw but my hands are clean And I love this girl who won't look twice at me I've made love work for others and now it's my turn But these arrows are useless, they just crash and burn They're wide of the mark" Cupid and psycho, a couple much better apart When cupid's in love It's psycho left holding the darts And it tears us apart Psycho was sitting on her balcony Framed on the wall by a heart made of ivy Cupid said "stay here with me and you'll see what I mean" And he climbed on the tree that led up to his dream And she shook on the branch and he fell to my feet Bruised but still breathing, his crestfallen love Cupid he said "throw your hair from above" She said "just leave me alone, I'm bound for my bed All the voices I'm hearing are just in my head All the voices I'm hearing" Cupid and psycho, a couple much better apart When cupid's in love It's psycho left holding the darts And it tears us apart While cupid is crying, love waits to be born Broken in pieces, alone on the floor He'd let go of the reins and the ride was insane If he doesn't get back on, will love live again Could we be in love? would our hearts beat again? Could I love you? could you love me? Cupid and psycho, a couple much better in two When cupid's in love Psycho ends up so confused And it tears me and you |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
In an office two miles underground
They can't tell night from day Secretaries typing errors of judgement In eternally full in-trays Phones ring in, get put on hold Well I'm just waiting for my nails to dry I was coming unstuck with nothing to show You stuck to him like felt on velcro But now he's gone solo He's taken all the amps, smashed the bedside lamp Taken all the lightbulbs and the decorative wheelclamps You got a dark dark dark heart It's the heart of darkness Now you live in a filing cabinet You're another painful smiling face What you had doesn't even have the grace To be forgotten without a trace It lies, it cheats, it moans, it bleats Almost human in every detail In this stinking room, no-one goes to bed There's nothing to say that hasn't been said It's not enough to wish you were dead You had the last laugh but he didn't know why He jumped out the window, man, he thought he could fly You got a dark dark dark heart It's the heart of darkness Look at your body well you're lying still There's a smile across your face At the funeral yesterday Your corpse looked out of place You looked like death to the gathered throng But I knew you were laughing inside Something about your sense of humour Based on innuendo and rumour You were the ultimate consumer I took all your things, I threw away your wedding rings You had a big collection, baby, now they don't look so fetching You got a dark dark dark heart It's the heart of darkness It's 4 am inside my mind But it's dusk out on the street The lamps are burning fireflies Who couldn't stand the heat I got cool bed linen, baby So the story should be complete But somewhere in the back of behind There's a light that makes me feel unkind Those stupid things I made you sign It ain't deus ex machina It's not some soul subpoena It's just when things mean nothing it makes you meaner You got a dark dark dark heart It's the heart of darkness |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
With all your vice and volume the whole of last week
The plastic pretenders to paradise speak Of your fictions of triumph and legends of pain The sense that you'd left you'd be back once again There's a glint in your eyes and the sky starts to laugh It's two to one you never did things by half And I'm out on the rooftops yelling your name 'Cause without you this town will be too much the same You went driving in the rain I'll never see you again There's nothing in the air left to compare To all of your passion and genius pain You went driving in the rain I'll never see you again There was talk of an illness that came by surprise The papers did penance, the whole town took sides Oh, but it was your dancing and mischeivous mind And then we were shot of you, but no-one's that blind And there's flowers have bloomed down the side of your street Where you and your demons did openly meet And I hope it's wide open where you've got to There's closed minds in this town that couldn't accept you You went driving in the rain I'll never see you again There's nothing in the air left to compare To all of your passion and genius pain You went driving in the rain I'll never see you again They're making excuses, the reasons the facts They're reasoning how long you'll take to come back But there's guilt in their prayers, maybe shame in their pride They know it was no fault of yours down inside They steps can't be retraced cos tracks disappear And there'd be no welcome for you back here Because you were the worst side of everyone's soul They had to get rid or face up to the cold You went driving in the rain I'll never see you again There's nothing in the air left to compare To all of your passion and genius pain You went driving in the rain I'll never see you again |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
Mother, last night I shot a famous man
His music, his life, I was his greatest fan Mother, I'm sorry for all the things that I did I've been hiding it all of my life, shouldIve kept it still hid Should've kept it still hid Mother, last night I shot a famous man Ain't it funny the things a man does cos he knows that he can When I raise my voice, it's a small feeble sound in the wind To make yourself heard in this big bad world, you must know where to begin You must know where to begin Mother, last night I shot a famous man But today I can't say it all went according to plan He just looked at me, he stared me straight in the eyes Now I know how he felt every day til he died Every day til he died Mother, well now people listen to me I'm the King of America, some say that I'm the King of Comedy Mother, now that I know what it means to be heard I wish I put down my gun, like he put down his guitar And I wish that I'd swallowed my words Wished I'd swallowed my words Mother, I knew him, but he never knew me |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006) | |||||
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5:34 | ||||
from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
There was this man
Who lived on the seashore The house with the steel door You passed it on the way to where you are He stares at the sand From his bedroom window Shakes as the wind blows Through the passing tail-fins of your car Nothing matters anymore If it does, he doesn't care The devil lives below him God lives upstairs He's trying to sleep So hard in the daylight Impossible at night Between those neighbours driving him insane Footsteps from above Below, it's all-night parties And it's drink up, my hearties They're stoking up for the furnace once again Nothing matters anymore If he does, he doesn't care The devil lives below him God lives upstairs He hasn't a prayer Between the heated floorboards And the quiet guy on the third floor Who never even picks up all his mail He knows where it goes Downstairs is stealing He stares at the ceiling He knows that all he has to do is fail Nothing matters anymore If it does, he doesn't care The devil lives below him God lives upstairs The devil lives below him God lives upstairs |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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4:34 | ||||
from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
I went from door to door
From town to town To find somewhere To lay myself down Somewhere to call my own I am out on the street The lengths I've gone To hear myself Keep on beating on Instead of this dialing tone Because I'm a heart without a home An arrow with no aim A man without a name Identity unknown A heart without a home Everyone stops and stares Because I belong In the lonely chair You drew my picture on So many years ago Now I'm a heart without a home I'm an arrow with no aim A man without a name So come and meet john doe Because I'm a heart without a home Everybody says I have no right to stay on Where I don't belong So if I look you up Send me on my way To an old address From yesterday That is where I will roam I'm on a journey with no end And I'm about to start again Identity unknown A heart without a home |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
With half an eye on history
And half an ounce of hope Sold his soul in the vestry Money for old rope Been this way a million times But now his time is nigh He steps into the spotlight He wants to say 'hi Hello, we're so glad you came You've never seen me before' He's so ambitious, he's so game But yesterday he was dressed the same Then he was so much easier to ignore Here Comes The Groom But the world's not an inn and there isn't any room for you But here he comes He married into money Just to kiss and tell He ripped the contract open He's out of his shell He looks into a mirror Practising his poise But it reflects so badly The groom just gets annoyed He gasps, he forgets his lines He's never done that before The scientists say he's doing fine This fumbling frantic frankenstein Soon he's gonna do the dinosaur Here Comes The Groom His fingers are on the cliff edge His head is going under Is that applause? No that's just thunder.... Why do you keep saying I do? What does the bride mean to you? Play me some Puccini Make it heavy on the strings Walk me to the altar The choir can't even sing Right side for the photographs Left side for the kids God made me do it So that's what I did He coughs, loosens his bow-tie You've never seen him before He kisses the bride, oh you know why Love's one more thing you can buy He was unfaithful before he went outdoors (and now he's in the graveyard) Here Comes The Groom..... |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
I've read that it's official
That our love has solidified in ritual And all our sweet nothings melted into vitriol We eat it up, we chew it round, we spit it out But I doubt that we've got a lot to shout about The time has come, the bell has rung and now it's seconds out I'm just a man but I try to be a human I'm just a man but I try to be a human Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum All this silence, it will only lead to violence Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum Watch out I've seen the big oaks falling And I've heard the dying voice of England calling No vote is worth a damn, we're stuck here in our heartland stalling Her nerve is twice as cold as the icebox in my fridge I'd write you letters but she took away my privilege I'll be there at the auction just to see how high she'll bid I'm just a man but I try to be human I'm just a man but I try to be human Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum All this silence, well it might only lead to violence Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum Watch out They clipped my ticket but they took away the cinema Well now they just show films with things the way they think they are Some things may be black and white but not when there's a color bar You tell me not to throw it's only someone's policy I think you oughta know I'm sick of ideology yeah I'm gonna hide right now, will you clear up this mess for me? I'm just a man but I try to be human I'm just a man but I try to be human Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum All this silence, well it could only lead to violence Now the inmates are in charge of the asylum Watch out They're taking my humanity and they're trying to squeeze it out of me They're taking my humanity and they're trying to squeeze it out of me I'm just a man but I try to be a humane man |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
I can tell when you're telling lies
I can see it in your smiling eyes I can't help when you're telling lies I can see it in your lack of surprise I can see just where the truth doesn't lie Watching you cut through the bind that ties Once upon a time a story with a happy end But that's all in the past now, it's all around the bend You can't appease me now, those hopeless things you send And you can't please me now and we can't start again There's too much history, and no clean sheets When I get to hear his story, it puts my feet to sleep It's all romantic nothing about a heart in a rage Murdered by some cartoon villain who ripped out the last page I can tell when you're telling lies I can see it in your smiling eyes I can't help when you're telling lies I can see it in your lack of surprise I can see just where the truth doesn't lie Watching you cut through the bind that ties Happy ever after, a prince apparent and his bride All his disarming charm and her unfaithful side He's scouting for success and she's his girl guide The day the die was cast, it was the day I died And now your hips are up for grabs and now the chips are down I could be jetting with the set instead of with this clown You want it to be unabridged, all bridges should be burnt Sometimes you must recross them, that's something you never learnt I can tell when you're telling lies I can see it in your smiling eyes I can't help when you're telling lies I can see it in your lack of surprise I can see just where the truth doesn't lie Watching you cut through the bind that ties There are some tricks you can't pull I mean the wool that is Over my eyes That's what happens when lookng for love Becomes a game of I Spy I know you're combing someone's hair, or someone's soothing you A lie may well fool someone else but it tells the truth About you to you I can tell when you're telling lies I can see it in your smiling eyes I can't help when you're telling lies I can see it in your lack of surprise I can see just where the truth doesn't lie Watching you cut through the bind that ties |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001)
I just woke up
And I feel so good And I'm looking straight ahead My thoughts are wild All I do is smile And I'm jumping out of bed I Just woke up (just woke up) I just woke up And the sun is bright And it's shining down on me If you've got big ideas I'm all ears But all I plan to do is be And I just woke up (just woke up) From a bad dream...... I just woke up (just woke up) |
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
Everything's changed and it's all for the best
And it's all gone according to plan It's out in the open and now it's all over Three cheers for every woman and man Terry and julie still stand on the bridge But only in our memory Don't look to them to draw a conclusion Just love them and set them free Julie hangs out by the banks of the river Where the garbage all flows to the sea Something's washed up, it's sacrifice to her From the twentieth century She sees the smokestacks and she sees the city She sees the stadium's covered in snow The streets have been cleaned except for the bedrooms Of all the people with nowhere to go Terry will clutch at threads where the rope was As he's freefalling fast to the floor But nobody claps because nobody's watching It's his lawyers who get all the applause Time's on the move, and I'm on the redeye Where I'm hoping to find one more song But it's like looking for rain in the river Better not leave it too long Terry and julie filled out the coupon And they won tickets tonight to the show But it's the aisles in the new stores that beckon As they shine a divine guiding glow The bridge through the city, it has just crumbled And that link is what kept them all sane The two of them tumble into the river Forget to come up for air again |
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
There was you and me and then there was him
Which leaves me out on a limb Out in the cold where the wild things grow Where no one talks because no one knows That there are 26 letters, just five vowels And you can use them all, it's allowed If you've got the patience Because there are infinite combinations There are cars on fire and burst balloons Which one of us must mend soon But it's a dark old path through the dead of night And only one way to get there right Because there are 20 million roads And 20 million coming home You can find the longest way, it's not unknown If you've got the patience Cos there are infinite combinations Your heart is safe, I don't have a key Your heart is a safe that's locked to me But when the lights go out, I'll place my bets Because we're not finished yet There are endless numbers and finite moves But you can try them all, it's been proved If you have the patience Because there are infinite combinations |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002)
Oh the sky was dark and the night advanced
When a convict came to the isle of france And round his leg was a ringing chain And his country was of the shamrock green I'm from the shamrock this convict cried That has been tossed on the ocean wide For being unruly I do declare I was doomed to transport these seven long years When six of them they were up and past I was coming home to make up the last When the winds did blow and the seas did roar They cast me here on this foreign shore So then the coastguard he played a part And with some brandy, he cheered the convict's heart Although the night is far advanced You shall find a friend on the isle of france So he sent a letter all to the queen Concerning the wreck of the shamrock green And his freedom came by a speedy post For the absent convict they thought was lost God bless the coastguard this convict cried For he's saved my life from the ocean wide And I'll drink his health in a flowing glass And here's success to the isle of france |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001) | |||||
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3:37 | ||||
from High Fidelity (2000)
You in the argument
at the end of every night I never know the perfect time to hit the bedside light Then we lie awake and watch headlights climb the blinds I want you to know what's going on in my mind I thought I was immortal a little while ago I thought that I was right but now I know I'm wrong about everything I think that I can sing And when you hear the song you'll wanna sing along I'm wrong about everything think I know what's happening I think you'll like our song but I'm wrong The colours fade to grey and I'm left with black and white Don't know why I try to fight with what is right The truth is on our lips it looks like time to tell But you know I could be wrong about that as well I thought a happy ending was more or less assured I thought a little warmth could win the war I'm wrong about everything I think that I can sing And when you hear the song you'll wanna sing along I'm wrong about everything think I know what's happening I think you'll like our song but I'm wrong wrong wrong I'll do the best I can to be your lover man I'll stand corrected just to be elected I'll do what I can do to get up close to you Listen Sh I'm wrong about everything I think that I can sing And when you hear the song you'll wanna sing along I'm wrong about everything think I know what's happening I think you'll like our song I think you'll like our song I think you'll like our song but I'm wrong wrong wrong |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
Well it was July the 13th 1985
The Global Jukebox came alive well we fed the world that day we fed the world that day it was a day for a party we made a lot of food and we ate it sure as hell vegetarian salads they had no meat there were leftovers as well everybody laughed when i said think of all the people dying or dead lets pick up the leftovers and send them to the dying children in Ethiopia My mother used to say that Sure I was pleased to give money cause it was not a political cause I just remember the smiling faces, the music and the applause I spent 30 quid on coke I smoked a little too much dope I was wiped out from 5 to 7 I missed bands like bally and u2 It was July the 13th 1985 was the day we watched live aid The global jukebox came alive and we fed the world that day what about the music? yeah the music was fucking brilliant and that madonna she sure can move by the time paul macartney's microphone failed yeah we were all well into the live aid groove Paul macartney he sang well it must have been a bit of an irony because if you let it be nothing will improve but it was the first time i heard......... .................. .............. I was really moved It was July the 13th 1985 was the day we watched live aid The global pukebox came alive and we fed the world that day Well the powerful force of pop music solved the problems fed the world so what if there weren't any blacks involved there was everybody but the gold bob geld has no ego that man should get the nobel prize by the time he sang a solo on feed the world I thought he should be canonized I felt guilty about the starving but i felt good to be alive but i must admit i shed a tear for the moving video of that great car song Drive saint bob made me feel like shit so i opened an envelope and got out a very crisp 10 pound note it was the same one i used earlier to snort my coke that made me feel good inside sending the money, not snorting the coke It was July the 13th 1985 was the day we watched live aid The global jukebox came alive and we fed the world that day I personally with my 10 pound note that i used to snorth the coke fed the world that day the night goes on who's gonna take me home who's gonna drive you home |
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
In Westminster, the bell fell down
Took three hundred years to touch the ground Fall leaves drifted by and turned brown A foreign plane was downed Dogs came running from their cold dog pound They leapt through the fence and ran downtown And the convicts turned their ship around And they were homeward bound Kiss me, miss liberty Take me to bed So I can be free as well Not just in my head Kiss me, miss liberty Lift me alone Unchain my heavy heart Fill me with love Miss liberty, kiss me And the slave were saved from their chain-gang Knives cut men down just about to hang Lost love returned just like a boomerang And it was I who sang Kiss me, miss liberty Take me to bed So I can be free as well Not just in my head Miss liberty, kiss me Freedom, show me to your foreign shore Lay me in your arms at your front door I can't face confinement anymore I won't be ignored Kiss me, miss liberty Take me to bed So I can be free as well Not just in my head Kiss me, miss liberty Lift me above Unchain my heavy heart Fill me with love Miss liberty, kiss me |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002)
As it fell out upon a day
As many in the year Musgrave to the church did go To see fair ladies there And some came down in red velvet And some came down in pall And the last to come down was the lady barnard The fairest of them all She's cast a look on the little musgrave As bright as the summer sun And then bethought this little musgrave This lady's love I've won Good day good day you handsome youth God make you safe and free What would you give this day musgrave To lie one night with me I dare not for my lands, lady I dare not for my life For the ring on your white finger shows You are lord barnard's wife Lord barnard's to the hunting gone And I hope he'll never return And you shall slip into his bed And keep his lady warm There's nothing for to fear musgrave You nothing have to fear I'll set a page outside the gate To watch til morning clear And woe be to the little footpage And an ill death may he die For he's away to the green wood As fast as he could fly And when he came to the wide water He fell on his belly and swam And when he came to the other side He took to his heels and ran And when he came to the green wood 'twas dark as dark can be And he found lord barnard and his men Asleep beneath the trees Rise up rise up master he said Rise up and speak to me Your wife's in bed with little musgrave Rise up right speedily If this be truth you tell to me Then gold shall be your fee And if it be false you tell to me Then hanged you shall be Go saddle me the black he said Go saddle me the grey And sound you not the horn said he Lest our coming it would betray Now there was a man in lord barnard's train Who loved the little musgrave And he blew his horn both loud and shrill Away musgrave away I think I hear the morning cock I think I hear the jay I think I hear lord barnard's horn Away musgrave away Lie still, lie still, you little musgrave And keep me from the cold It's nothing but a shepherd boy Driving his flock to the fold Is not your hawk upon it's perch Your steed is eating hay And you a gay lady in your arms And yet you would away So he's turned him right and round about And he fell fast asleep And when he woke lord barnard's men Were standing at his feet And how do you like my bed musgrave And how do you like my sheets And how do you like my fair lady That lies in your arms asleep It's well I like your bed he said And well I like your sheets But better I like your fair lady That lies in my arms asleep Get up, get up young man he said Get up as swift as you can For it never will be said in my country I slew an unarmed man I have two swords in one scabbard Full dear they cost my purse And you shall have the best of them I shall have the worst So slowly, so slowly he rose up And slowly he put on And slowly down the stairs he goes Thinking to be slain And the first stroke little musgrave took It was both deep and sore And down he fell at barnard's feet And word he never spoke more And how do you like his cheeks, lady And how do you like his chin And how do you like his fair body Now there's no life within It's well I like his cheeks she said And well I like his chin And better I like his fair body Than all your kith and kin And he's taken up his long long sword To strike a mortal blow And through and through the lady's heart The cold steel it did go As it fell out upon a day As many in the year Musgrave to the church did go To see fair ladies there |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
It's so easly to forgo, so hard to forget
So hard for to realise that I'm not dead yet When everything that we wanted is beyond beyond And all that I hoped for is long dead gone So how can I sleep in this memory bed Where I feel like a grave with a tomb for a bedhead With your name and my name carved deep in the stone Now faded away cos we're long dead gone We're long dead gone, long dead gone Now faded away because we're long dead gone And love lies bewildered, checking its pulse To see if it compares to anything else And two things still beating, but never as one And one thing lies choking cos it's long dead gone So here rests in pieces Whatever it was that we could admit to Whatever it was that was me and you So why won't I just let it die and get rid Of the truth that we both would've rather kept hid Better to live a lie than pretend that you're not And to live out a love that is long dead gone It's long dead gone, long dead gone Don't live out a love which is long dead gone Never live out a love that is long dead gone Don't live out a love which is long dead gone |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002)
In the heat of the day
When the sun shines so freely There I met Master Kilby So fine and so gay I pulled off my hat And I bowed to the ground And I said 'Master Kilby Oh, where are you bound?' 'I'm bound for the west In hope to find rest In the arms of my dear Nancy I'll build a new nest And if I was the master Of ten thousand pounds In bright gold and silver Or in King William's crown I would part with it all With my own heart so freely It's all for the sake Of my charming Nancy She's the fairest of girls She's the choice of my heart And her skin shines like silver In every part Oh, I gave her some kisses It was down on the sea shore But still she lay asking Lay asking for more' |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001)
I was born with a coathanger in my mouth
Oh yeah, and I was dumped down south I was found by the richest man in the world Oh yeah, who bought me up as a girl My sheets are satin but my mind's a mess But there are worse things I confess Than drinking tea in a pretty dress and I'm here to tell you that it's not all bad Count your blessings and maybe you'll be glad When he died, I inherited his wealth Oh yeah and I revealed my self I was snubbed by the friends he'd never had Oh yeah, who sided with my dad All my riches are beyond control But it's the same old rigmarole They say I've lost my very soul Maybe I have But I'm here to tell you that it's not all bad Count your blessings and maybe you'll be glad And as I grew so did my fame So I gave it up and changed my name It's catch as catch can and You'll never know who I am When I died, I hoped to hear the angel's song Oh yeah, but was I wrong They threw me back there in that lane Oh yeah and they said "start again" So when you're turning out the bedside light Consider me and my wretched plight Looks like I'm gonna have to get it right this time But I'm here to tell you that it's not all bad Count your blessings and maybe You'll be glad |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
There's nothing that's better at all
That's better than the sound of the closest call Tells you to act proud, act proud, walk tall There's nothing that's better at all There's nothing that can be compared To the silver braid that plaits your hair It's as if you didn't care There's nothing that can be compared There's trouble in your town The wind blew in and your confidence drowned Hasn't been the same since you found There's trouble in your town I didn't read your letters With you, they're never news And they're no substitute for the times I never see you That's all anyway What have you got to lose Goes for me too.... There's nothing I'd rather do Take you in and pull you through Take you in and pull you through There's nothing I'd rather do There's nothing I'd rather do |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
He got shafted in Bradford for his out of date routines up there
And the trouble he ran into Brighton was more than his share He's been running for thirty years, he would have settled down But each town he appears in puts a red nose on the clown You can buy the old showbills and frame them, they're nearly antiques You can trip up on his big clown shoes as you're starting to speak He squirts the flower, hurts your hand, it'll always catch you And his tears are etched so deep that they might just be tattooed The one man circus is coming to town Put the banners up, take your trousers down Paint on a smile, wipe off the frown Heaven knows he won't hurt us The loose, the lovely and the lonely One night only He said 'I played Chaplin for Hitler in March 44 Been a black and white minstrel before that whole thing was outlawed And I've dragged it on every pier in every seaside town But there aren't any dances today, the pavilions have all been pulled down I came over straight after the war and they hijacked my name I waited for so many years but my wife never came I've been learning these lines every day since 1945 And I'll recite them everyday I wished I was alive' The one man circus is coming to town Get the dogs out, tear the posters down Paint go home on the walls til he is elsewhere bound Don't you know he could hurt us The loose, the lovely and the lonely One night only He's tripping over backwards, taking off his clothes And no-one helps him, everyone knows We laugh at the misfortune of others Everytime the glass empties, the lions they all get set free On a town full of unsuspecting tourists who scream when they're happy And the scarecrow's on probation just for making faces in a mirror The past put a hand on his shoulder and drowned him in tears Now he ushers and watched the movies where children don't age And the dancing horse stole all the keys and took charge of the stage And the freaks are on the razzmatazz, they're all fuelled on coke and gin And the cast-out's on the street and we've already let him in The one man circus |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
He got shafted in Bradford for his out of date routines up there
And the trouble he ran into Brighton was more than his share He's been running for thirty years, he would have settled down But each town he appears in puts a red nose on the clown You can buy the old showbills and frame them, they're nearly antiques You can trip up on his big clown shoes as you're starting to speak He squirts the flower, hurts your hand, it'll always catch you And his tears are etched so deep that they might just be tattooed The one man circus is coming to town Put the banners up, take your trousers down Paint on a smile, wipe off the frown Heaven knows he won't hurt us The loose, the lovely and the lonely One night only He said 'I played Chaplin for Hitler in March 44 Been a black and white minstrel before that whole thing was outlawed And I've dragged it on every pier in every seaside town But there aren't any dances today, the pavilions have all been pulled down I came over straight after the war and they hijacked my name I waited for so many years but my wife never came I've been learning these lines every day since 1945 And I'll recite them everyday I wished I was alive' The one man circus is coming to town Get the dogs out, tear the posters down Paint go home on the walls til he is elsewhere bound Don't you know he could hurt us The loose, the lovely and the lonely One night only He's tripping over backwards, taking off his clothes And no-one helps him, everyone knows We laugh at the misfortune of others Everytime the glass empties, the lions they all get set free On a town full of unsuspecting tourists who scream when they're happy And the scarecrow's on probation just for making faces in a mirror The past put a hand on his shoulder and drowned him in tears Now he ushers and watched the movies where children don't age And the dancing horse stole all the keys and took charge of the stage And the freaks are on the razzmatazz, they're all fuelled on coke and gin And the cast-out's on the street and we've already let him in The one man circus |
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3:52 | ||||
from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
Maybe you're insecure
Neck deep in life's manure Maybe your heart's impure Inured to all small compensations Maybe you're born to lose Could be caught out or confused Wearing the condemned man's shoes Worn out, beyond a warning There might be one million ills that ail ya But why do you take pleasure in other people's failure? Each day since time began You'll meet a modest man Who says he understands Your plans, your dreams, your schemes, your feelings But rather you than me That's his mentality He's a slave to gravity And he watches laughing as you fall down He doesn't even have to nail ya That's why he takes pleasure in other people's failure It is a rule of thumb Inside the coliseum That when the time will come We'd rather see the losers slaughtered And no-one can resist This vicarious kiss It is our greatest bliss The twist that gives success it's flavour A psychopathic psychedelia.... That's why we take pleasure in other people's failure |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001)
Poor heart
What to do? Dim the light There's no respite For you Poor heart Can you see? Or will you beat A sad retreat for me Poor heart? Poor mouth Poor eyes Poor soul Poor mind Poor start Poor heart Poor heart Look around Who else remains Who can contain Your frown? Poor heart Why so vain? Are you rich enough To play so rough Again Poor heart? Poor heart Poor eyes Poor soul Poor mind Poor start Poor heart Poor heart Play your part Nothing's done Til it is sung Poor heart |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
I was standing on a corner kicking my heels
Had my coat buttoned up beneath my chin And I saw in some girl's eyes, she thought I was making deals There was just me and the clock struck out I was looking for something to scream and shout about So I took a train and I went back home There was no one to tell so I didn't telephone That place is just another big unknown to me That place is just another big unknown to me The sea made angry faces, the waves were getting high Saw them kicking down onto the front And the cars dodged the water that was flooding on by And I just stood there, an orphan fool I saw kids smoking chain on their way back from school A tramp got reckless in the center of town He was talking about Jesus as the sun went down A lifetime of sorrows, he was ready to drown A lifetime of sorrows, I think he was going to drown Well I hit this bar where I used to hang out Talked to the guy behind the bar, then dropped a few names He didn't know what I was talking about So I put my money down and I shot some pool Beat two punks, I was feeling cool A couple of girls started to flirt And I felt really old as they tugged my shirt And I walked outside as they hurled some dirt at me I walked outside as they hurled dirt at me Went to visit Helen by St. Helen's Park That place used to frighten me now all I can see Was a couple of wide-boy sharks flashing their teeth in the small-town dark Huddled myself in the cold That old red brick house I can find it blindfolded I loved her when I was sixteen She was an old town new brown beauty queen Now I just spend my time filling the gaps in between her and me Well I just spend my time filling the gaps that have grown in between her and me Midnight in the subway, we'd huddle up and laugh When we missed the last bus home, we'd just sit there all night And we'd play guitars until the night-time passed I went there to count some sheep With the smell of glue, I couldn't sleep Made my excuses to no-one, left town To leave it in the city at the lost and found Where the steps my father walked don't echo on down And my mother's voice calling doesn't make no sound And there's no yesterdays to tie you down And as I hit the city, I remember this sound Waves on the shore going pound pound pound The streets in the city still swirling around And my mother's voice calling me, calling me, calling me back I was standing on a corner kicking my heels Had my coat buttoned up beneath my chin I saw in some girl's eyes, she thought that I was making deals |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
I was standing on a corner kicking my heels
Had my coat buttoned up beneath my chin And I saw in some girl's eyes, she thought I was making deals There was just me and the clock struck out I was looking for something to scream and shout about So I took a train and I went back home There was no one to tell so I didn't telephone That place is just another big unknown to me That place is just another big unknown to me The sea made angry faces, the waves were getting high Saw them kicking down onto the front And the cars dodged the water that was flooding on by And I just stood there, an orphan fool I saw kids smoking chain on their way back from school A tramp got reckless in the center of town He was talking about Jesus as the sun went down A lifetime of sorrows, he was ready to drown A lifetime of sorrows, I think he was going to drown Well I hit this bar where I used to hang out Talked to the guy behind the bar, then dropped a few names He didn't know what I was talking about So I put my money down and I shot some pool Beat two punks, I was feeling cool A couple of girls started to flirt And I felt really old as they tugged my shirt And I walked outside as they hurled some dirt at me I walked outside as they hurled dirt at me Went to visit Helen by St. Helen's Park That place used to frighten me now all I can see Was a couple of wide-boy sharks flashing their teeth in the small-town dark Huddled myself in the cold That old red brick house I can find it blindfolded I loved her when I was sixteen She was an old town new brown beauty queen Now I just spend my time filling the gaps in between her and me Well I just spend my time filling the gaps that have grown in between her and me Midnight in the subway, we'd huddle up and laugh When we missed the last bus home, we'd just sit there all night And we'd play guitars until the night-time passed I went there to count some sheep With the smell of glue, I couldn't sleep Made my excuses to no-one, left town To leave it in the city at the lost and found Where the steps my father walked don't echo on down And my mother's voice calling doesn't make no sound And there's no yesterdays to tie you down And as I hit the city, I remember this sound Waves on the shore going pound pound pound The streets in the city still swirling around And my mother's voice calling me, calling me, calling me back I was standing on a corner kicking my heels Had my coat buttoned up beneath my chin I saw in some girl's eyes, she thought that I was making deals |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
He's done it all a million times
The gags, the repartee, the little crimes Every audience is special and that goes for you He looks into your eyes again He never does it but he tries again That old boy lost look could bruise you black and blue Everybody's looking for a single row so they can be alone Cos every time the lights go up, they'd rather be at home I looked through all the wanted ads with a fine toothed comb And all I came up with was another evening Doing the same thing twice That's what I was doing All the drinks that he's been sinking Never ask him what he's thinking Every audience is unique and that goes for you Dead or alive you're coming with me Because everything's my cup of tea That's why I've got a gold suit and some green italian shoes Everybody says they had, but we all know they didn't It's impossible to be a little bit pregnant Give me the whole fruit cos I'm getting just a segment And all I end up with is another evening Doing the same thing twice Well it hurts so bad to get this stoned By ugly looking bureaucrats with ears like headphones Reading The Sun, Sunday Sport, S.Ideal Home, Woman's Own Looks like you're on your own Bring me on the magic sponge My dying gasp, my final lunge It's all over now bar the dance Do it now but don't get caught I've been having third thoughts They can be so clever, only when the script demands You cluttered up the sky now so you can't follow any star Someone's sitting next to you in an empty cinema No-one wants to end up face down in a reservoir And I don't wanna end up with another evening Saying the same thing twice |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
He's done it all a million times
The gags, the repartee, the little crimes Every audience is special and that goes for you He looks into your eyes again He never does it but he tries again That old boy lost look could bruise you black and blue Everybody's looking for a single row so they can be alone Cos every time the lights go up, they'd rather be at home I looked through all the wanted ads with a fine toothed comb And all I came up with was another evening Doing the same thing twice That's what I was doing All the drinks that he's been sinking Never ask him what he's thinking Every audience is unique and that goes for you Dead or alive you're coming with me Because everything's my cup of tea That's why I've got a gold suit and some green italian shoes Everybody says they had, but we all know they didn't It's impossible to be a little bit pregnant Give me the whole fruit cos I'm getting just a segment And all I end up with is another evening Doing the same thing twice Well it hurts so bad to get this stoned By ugly looking bureaucrats with ears like headphones Reading The Sun, Sunday Sport, S.Ideal Home, Woman's Own Looks like you're on your own Bring me on the magic sponge My dying gasp, my final lunge It's all over now bar the dance Do it now but don't get caught I've been having third thoughts They can be so clever, only when the script demands You cluttered up the sky now so you can't follow any star Someone's sitting next to you in an empty cinema No-one wants to end up face down in a reservoir And I don't wanna end up with another evening Saying the same thing twice |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
When it's time to pack your bags
When everything appears as the drag that it is Get down that brown case that your grandma had Open it up and think of your dad When you're feeling empty And the echos round this cold white room have no identity When it's time to pack your bags Save a little room for me When it's time to buy a home When you're sick of using a different phone everyday Settle up your debts and then settle down Take that suitcase back to the lost and found When you're feeling lonely I guarantee the neighbourhood community will rally round you Wait and see When it's time to buy a home Save a little room for me When it's time to lie down When you're sick of the sound and the sight hurts your eyes Wrap up warm in a single bed Tie up the loose strings that are in your head When you're feeling empty Dreams will fill you up in the Big Sleep City When it's time for you lie down Save a little room for me Save a little room for me |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
When it's time to pack your bags
When everything appears as the drag that it is Get down that brown case that your grandma had Open it up and think of your dad When you're feeling empty And the echos round this cold white room have no identity When it's time to pack your bags Save a little room for me When it's time to buy a home When you're sick of using a different phone everyday Settle up your debts and then settle down Take that suitcase back to the lost and found When you're feeling lonely I guarantee the neighbourhood community will rally round you Wait and see When it's time to buy a home Save a little room for me When it's time to lie down When you're sick of the sound and the sight hurts your eyes Wrap up warm in a single bed Tie up the loose strings that are in your head When you're feeling empty Dreams will fill you up in the Big Sleep City When it's time for you lie down Save a little room for me Save a little room for me |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
When it's time to pack your bags
When everything appears as the drag that it is Get down that brown case that your grandma had Open it up and think of your dad When you're feeling empty And the echos round this cold white room have no identity When it's time to pack your bags Save a little room for me When it's time to buy a home When you're sick of using a different phone everyday Settle up your debts and then settle down Take that suitcase back to the lost and found When you're feeling lonely I guarantee the neighbourhood community will rally round you Wait and see When it's time to buy a home Save a little room for me When it's time to lie down When you're sick of the sound and the sight hurts your eyes Wrap up warm in a single bed Tie up the loose strings that are in your head When you're feeling empty Dreams will fill you up in the Big Sleep City When it's time for you lie down Save a little room for me Save a little room for me |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
Well, the power of the bullet is fascinating
They're polishing the luga facsimiles The little kids grow up imitating Cowboys shoot indians before puberty Don't get me to the battle on time I'd be useless in the front line Don't point that thing at me You know I'm scared of guns You can argue, say it's harmless In the nightmare fairground gallery We're all under pain of death To keel right over gracefully I ached to be a uniform man And toss that baton in a marching band Don't point that thing at me You know I'm scared of guns I'm scared of guns, they're out of your hands I'm scared of guns, they might go bang I'm scared of guns, Hey Joe, they're out of control I'm scared of guns, fear eat the soul Don't shoot me I wanna put flowers in the barrels Like the famous photo, understand That I'd rather get hit on the head That hold cold metal in my hand The new arrival, the latest addition The little boys running out of ammunition Don't point that thing at me You know I'm scared of guns |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Well, the power of the bullet is fascinating
They're polishing the luga facsimiles The little kids grow up imitating Cowboys shoot indians before puberty Don't get me to the battle on time I'd be useless in the front line Don't point that thing at me You know I'm scared of guns You can argue, say it's harmless In the nightmare fairground gallery We're all under pain of death To keel right over gracefully I ached to be a uniform man And toss that baton in a marching band Don't point that thing at me You know I'm scared of guns I'm scared of guns, they're out of your hands I'm scared of guns, they might go bang I'm scared of guns, Hey Joe, they're out of control I'm scared of guns, fear eat the soul Don't shoot me I wanna put flowers in the barrels Like the famous photo, understand That I'd rather get hit on the head That hold cold metal in my hand The new arrival, the latest addition The little boys running out of ammunition Don't point that thing at me You know I'm scared of guns |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001)
Dear Mum
Everything's gone wrong And I wish I'd listened to what you said The times you sat down on my bed And told me 'bout my life Told me 'bout my life Dear Mum I've been out of touch I guess I just didn't need you that much But now I'll scream and shout Cos I've got something to write home about Dear Mum Everything has changed I don't know if you'd know me today I wonder what we'd have to say When I told you 'bout my life Now everything's a blur I know what happened but lost the words We can't live without Now I've got something to write home about And so It's time to go I'm glad we've had this time alone It almost felt like time at home Before I went away Now I've got something to write home about |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001)
I wish I could go back in time
Tell you it has turned out fine Like it has, like it has, like it has I sit here singing in the sun Words not meant for anyone Just you, just you, just you 'Cause this is the song, this is the song Oh yeah This is the song that I wrote myself in the future The air was shot of hope Knots became your name for the rope Then the noose, then the noose, then the noose You put it down and found it made no sense You bought the farm and then you built the fence At your expense, at your expense And this is the song, this is the song Oh yeah This is the song that I wrote myself in the future I know it's hard as you hear this for you to see The desperation you feel now will disappear one day For you, for me 'Cause this is the song, this is the song Oh yeah This is the song that you wrote yourself in the future |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Well you can dance on tv with your diamonds on
Sing in tune for a world that is going for a song Get the steps all right but the words go wrong And you can wake up in the morning with sweaty hands Turn the radio on to the right waveband Think about today and the one that you planned Under the desperate gaze of the whole wide world You turned into a spaced cowgirl Spaced Cowgirl Lock up the medicine chest This wild wild woman is way out west Spaced Cowgirl Lock up the reins and the spurs None of you cowboys are true to her Well, you can be a good lover, hammer nails into hearts And you can be a big loser when the real horror starts You can blow hot and cold on the sacred graph You had a good evening but you don't know where All you recall is a fall guy with an up for sale stare Fell down by the bed and not to say your prayers Under the watchful eye.... Sometimes I listen to you, it's the whiskey talking Sometimes I watch you move and it's the whiskey walking Sometimes I sit and think of the things that might have been Well, your eyes never open, when you sleep they don't close And it rained so hard and your a delicate rose Then it got so cold that your feelings froze No, I still don't believe in all your second sight The automatic pilot flies your eyes tonight Smile at the bird, we'll get you home alright (alright) Under the watchful eye... Spaced Cowgirl Lock up the medicine chest There's no frontier left way out west Spaced Cowgirl Wasn't she the first to say I can't remember my lines today.... |
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
I saw you yesterday
I couldn't let you be I had to sift through broken glass To find out if you missed me But all I found was a slow fade And a gift-wrapped box of band aids With a note that said "i'm never coming home" Beneath my single bed Everything's haphazard There's boxes full of bits of you And none of them are numbered And when I search, it's deja vu Things I think I knew I should have thrown away this time last year Everytime I touch you You move so slow And you're still like your photo I heard me yesterday Repeating my own name To convince myself That none of us had changed And now I'm walking round the grooves Of a record I lost when we moved There's dust and scratches mixed with all these tears Everytime I touch you You move so slow And you're still like your photo Should we throw it all away The failed long shots through far distant styles Those forced smiles, those forced smiles It started so on the mark But it missed by one million miles Nothing has developed This darkroom gets me down I'd throw on all the lights But I'm afraid you'd come around You're living in a limbo hell A life that's only parallel Is the real you aware what's going on? Everytime I touch you You move so slow And you're still like your photo |
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from John Wesley Harding - Awake (2001)
I am here
You are here too my dear We're drowning in the sun We're so near We're getting closer and We're sweat tears blood and come We are now Our skin is fusing somehow What will we become? Why write songs? They only turn out wrong Sweat tears blood and come But I think that I know That I want more of you What are we? Some future yet to be? The present leaves me numb Look at you There's so much left of you to do Sweat tears blood and come But I think that I know That I want more of you We're inside Who would want to hide? Who would need to run? We're afloat The bed's a drunken boat Of sweat tears blood and come |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002)
By the margin of the ocean
One pleasant evening in the month of June The pleasant singing blackbird His charming notes to tune Then I saw a woman All in great grief and woe Conversing with young Bonaparte Concerning the bonny bunch of roses, oh And then up and spoke the Young Napoleon And he took hold of his mother's hand Oh mother dear be patient And soon I will take command I'll raise a terrible army And through tremendous danger go And in spite of all of the universe I'll conquer the Bonny Bunch of Roses, oh And when first you saw the Great Napoleon You fell down on your bended knee And you asked your father's life of him And he's granted it most manfully Then he took an army And over the frozen alps did go He said I'll conquer Moscow And come back for the Bonny Bunch of Roses, oh And so he's took three hundred thousand fighting men And kings likewise for to join his throng He was as well provided for Enough to take the whole world along But when he came to Moscow All overpowered by driving snow And Moscow was a-blazing And he lost the Bonny Bunch Of Roses-o Oh my son don't speak so venturesome For England she has a heart of oak And England and Ireland and Scotland Their unity has never been broke So son think on your father In St.Helena, his body it lies low And you will follow after Beware of the Bonny Bunch of Roses, oh And it's goodbye to my mother forever For I am on my dying bed Had I lived I might have been clever But now I bow my youthful head And while our bodies do molder And weeping willows over us do grow The deeds of brave Napoleon Will sting the bonny bunch of roses-o |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
I shot John F. Kennedy in Dallas in 63
They blamed it on Oswald carelessly But it was the devil in me Put Jesus on the cross, I put a gag on the Boss I kissed him on the cheek so he couldn't speak But that was the devil in me It was the devil in me It's the devil in me that's unlevelling me Put it down to the devil in me I made you breakfast, put poisoned sheets on the bed I made you cry, couldda made you laugh instead But that was the devil in me So I killed you off, I tore your famous brown furcoat I laughed at your cough, ignored your suicide note But that was the devil in me..... I blew up the bus, I started World War III Hijacked the plane with Qadaffi, blew the hostages free That was the devil in me I'm sponsored by a company that I don't believe in I advertise their things for cash, that ain't deceiving No, that's just the devil in me It was the devil in me.... I gave you acid rain I polluted the sea I covered your thoughts up With graffiti You can call me by my real name Or you can call me humanity Because it all seems just like human behaviour It all seems like human behaviour to me Put it down to the devil in me It was the devil in me It was the devil in me Well it's the devil in me makes me do these things Devil in me that makes me sing Devil in me gave you a wedding ring Put it down to the devil in me |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Well you say you've got everything you wanted
All your beds are full and your houses are haunted And everything you need, well you got it on credit There's nothing we can think and you haven't said it But something tells me that everything is gonna change When your shares hit low and the world starts to rearrange And when it does I know that You won't be where it's at You better learn The facts of life I guess that no-one ever took you aside And pointed out the difference between black and white And now it seems that role has fallen to me Which is kinds strange when you consider who you wanna be And you come you don't know How low you'll have to go To realize the facts of life You're too old to learn your ABCs And it's much more sinister than the birds and the bees You know I told you it was, didn't I? So now you're dead buried and neglected And you're learning much more than you ever expected No-one can explain your heart attack Now everyone's bringing up baby behind your back Bet you wish you'd listened close Instead of taking an overdose Bet you wish you knew The facts of life The facts of life |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002)
I went unto my love's chamber window
Where I often had been before Just to let her know unto Flandyke Shore Unto Flandyke Shore Never to return to England no more Never to return to England no more I went unto my love's chamber door Where I never had been before There I saw a light springing from her clothes Springing from her clothes Just as the morning sun when first arose Just as the morning sun when first arose As I was walking on the Flandyke Shore Her own dear father I did meet My daughter she is dead he cried She is dead he cried And she's broken her heart all for the love of thee So I hove a bullet on to fair England's shore on to fair England's shore Just where I thought that my own true love did lay |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002)
Oh it's of a young squire in Tamworth we hear
And he courted a nobleman's daughter so fair For to marry her it was his intent And the friends and relations had given their consent Now a date was appointed for their wedding day And the farmer he was appointed to give her away But as soon as the lady this farmer did spy Her heart was inflamed and bitterly she did cry And she turned from the squire but nothing she said But instead of getting married she took to her bed And the thoughts of the farmer so ran in her mind A way for to have him she quickly did find Coat waistcoat and trousers the young girl put on And away she went a-hunting with her dog and her gun And she hunted around where the farmer he did dwell Because in her heart oh she loved him so well And she oftentimes fired but nothing she killed Until this young farmer came into the field And to talk with him it was her intent With her dog and her gun then to meet him she went Oh I thought you would be at the wedding she cried To wait on the squire and to give him his bride Oh no said the farmer I'll take a sword in my hand By honor I'd gain her whenever she command And the lady was pleased when she heard him so bold And she gave him a glove that was made out of gold And she told him that she found it (as?) she was coming along As she went out a-hunting with her dog and her gun And this lady went home with a heart full of love And she gave out a notice that she'd lost her glove And whoever found it and he brings it to me Whoever he is then my husband shall be The farmer he was pleased when he heard of the news And with a heart full of love to the lady he goes Oh lady oh lady I've picked up your glove And I hope that you'll be pleased for to grant me some love Oh it's already granted (and?) I will be your bride For I love the sweet breath of the farmer she cried I'll be mistress of your dairy and I'll milk all your cows While me jolly old farmer goes whistling on his plow And its when they got married and they told of the fun How she'd gone out a-hunting with her dog and her gun |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
The king puts on his raiment
And surveys the royal scene And tries to put his finger on The source of all his ennui But when something goes, it's gone, you know Starts at the top, spreads down Just check out the faded bodywork Beneath his rusted crown They're waiting for impeachment But they can't see the day The queen can't give him any heirs The word is he's to blame So he beheads her for amusements And now he's quoting nietzsche You'd think that he would have known She was his one redeeming feature But the king isn't dead, the king's dead boring That's the song that the millions sing You name it, he's lost it, he lacks everything The king is dead boring He used to be a don juan Now he's just the royal slut Knocking up the servant girls Waking up a half-cut He gets a chance to win them back But gives them some old spiel And all they see's the ghost Of his former ex-appeal But the king isn't dead, the king's dead boring That's the song that his minions sing You name it, he's lost it, he lacks everything The king is dead boring They used to sing long live the king He was the man with everything But now they shout "get that dull bastard out" He used to be so carnaby So out of all our leagues Now it's all that he can do To zip up his fatigues If only he could make excuses Engage with us somehow But effort is so out of place And failure's not allowed Because the king isn't dead, the king's dead boring That's the song that the millions sing You name it, he's lost it, he lacks everything The king is dead boring |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
In the movie of your life
They'll get some real jerk to be you Edited so he can act Cast because of his TVQ In the movie of your life You'll be less famous than he is That'll be a strange turn of events You'll be a cameo amongst the rushes And you're learning all the lines Though it was you who said them in the first place Since then someone wrote them down To pay for his new beach space There's all these things you can't recall And things you know you didn't say But in the move of your life The truth just flirts and runs away And it's so plain to me You're happy with this parody But in a glittering instant you hold the light so we can see That your joke's become your reality All your tricks so limp and tame You said you were a stage magician But it's only moths in light Heaven burnt out in collision It's only seats that they're booking In the movie of your life The truth won't get a look-in And it's so plain to me You're happy with this parody But in a glittering instant you hold the light so we can see That your joke's become your reality Everyone knows that you're divine so we await your resurrection And they say that you'll be just fine After you dry out on the critical clothesline And you know it's all made up How come your face has ceased to be you? All your doubts and greatest fears They will be confirmed at the preview Celluloid has shaped the day And put the cat amongst the coughers One business lunch on drugs Now you're waiting for the next big offer And it's so plain to me You're happy with this parody But in a glittering instant you hold the light so we can see That your joke's become your reality |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Got a stupid job, but it's fair money
Got a brand new car but I can't drive I've got a sweetheart, I call her honey And I've also got a wife People say that they're depressed But they go out, they're so well dressed What is it that makes them feel that way? Can't get it in no drug store No man's an island, that's for sure And it looks like the world just ran out of things to say So, give me some of the people's drug Give me some of the people's drug Whatever makes you feel that good I'll take it like I know I should So, give me some of the people, people's drug Give me some of the people's drug Pick me up and take me to a movie Give me an ending that I can understand Sell me a rocking soundtrack, make it groovy Give me backstage passes to the band People always whine whine whine Shut up and pay the fine fine fine What's the difference anyway Beteween being safe and being rad When the big joke is we've all been had You won't get to read the news in USA Today So, give me some of the people's drug Give me some of the people's drug Whatever makes you feel that good I'll take it like I know I should So, give me some of the people, people's drug Give me some of the people's drug God, it's a wacky race we're running And I must atone for all my sins God grant me some of what you're giving Heard you don't need needles, don't need pins I'll pay prescription where's the bill I thought it was a bitter pill But what's it matter what I feel Take the dog and take the wife Shoe me how to life the life The price you people pay well it's gotta be a steal So, give me some of the people's drug Give me some of the people's drug Whatever makes you feel that good I'll take it like I know I should So, give me some of the people, people's drug Give me some of the people's drug |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
I put my forehead to the door
And I heard the famous sound of infidelity Looks like I loved and lost once more, Oh, but all's fair in love and war supposedly I couldn't even burst in on you See scrabbling sheets hear your excuse Give you the evil eye or verbal abuse Why do you do what you do When the things that you do hurt the person you are Why do you do what you do When the things that you do hurt the person you are I slam my glass down on the bar And my problems they hit the floor so gracefully I don't know where I parked the car But that's ok, tonight I'm on the town without me Tonight it's just me and my evil twin The one who slips one more drink in The one who slips away, when I start sinking Why do you do what you do When the things that you do hurt the person you are Why do you do what you do When the things that you do hurt theperson you are The person you are I got a job to pay the rent Put people out of work by repositioning Now no-one's sitting on the fence Whose garden will we end up sitting in? It's getting much too hot to heal the sky And it hurts too much to open up our eyes To fundamental truths that we hold as lies Why do we do what we do When the things that we do hurt the people we are? Why do you do what you do When the things that you do hurt the person you are? The person you are The person you are The person. |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
Midweek and we reached Scarlet Town
I was almost dying of thirst We parked the car in some old schoolyard The windscreen caked in dirt There was no water in the engine left No tread upon the tyres The electrics were broke cos you went mad You ripped out all the wires Across the road, a small cafe In this state of disrepair You went for papers and a shave So I saved you a chair I knew it wasn't the journey's end And that your dream was incomplete But I just could not stand anymore I was dead upon my feet I was dead upon my feet There's nothing there in the market square But the ghost of the Scarlet Town Crier I was dead upon my feet I sing the red rose and the briar I sing the red rose and the briar The waitress told me her life story She'd always meant to up and go She wiped a cup on her red pinafore As we waited for you to show And I told her just a little of you But left the picture incomplete You still weren't there to paint it in person So I skipped out on the street I skipped out on the street The newsagent grinned, he said yes you'd been in You bought a local paper and some shades The washroom attendant said that you'd freshened up That you'd left but you hadn't paid And I couldn't figure out where you were So I went back just to look near the car There was nothing there where it should have been Just oil on dirt and tar Just oil on dirt and tar There's nothing there in the market square But the ghost of the Scarlet Town Crier And there was nothing there where it should have been I sing the red rose and the briar I sing the red rose and the briar I saw it parked way down the street In a garage off on the right And a man said 'get your hands off son' I just traded that wreck for a motorbike There was nothing left of mine inside Not even the broken radio And I couldn't figure out where that left me So I went back to look for Rose The Cafe Rouge was a lunchtime rush Of regulars yelling for food The service in there left a lot to be desired And all the regulars were getting rude I saw an apron thrown over a chair A note said 'hey John we're gone, we're gone' And I just smiled cos I loved you both So I put the apron on I put the apron on There's nothing there in the market square But the ghost of the Scarlet Town Crier And I just put the apron on I sing the red rose and the briar I sing the red rose and the briar |
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
The secret angel fell from grace
Condemned to wear a human face Evicted from her paradise Excommunicated twice Settled for second best And so she found me Don't ask the nature of her crime Don't ask her why she's serving time Don't ask this girl why she can't cry Don't ask her questions that start "why" I'm trying to help her start anew To learn to walk when once she flew Above the ups and downs That floor and ground us Into the dark, she was reborn She says tonight will have no dawn And all the light drains from her eyes As she forgets to say goodbye To one more memory That tries to lift her high She drafts new plans and draws designs To find a way for her to fly I hide them when her back is turned The secret angel never learns She just gets burned again And falls eternally.... |
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from John Wesley Harding - Trad Arr Jones (2002) | |||||
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2:56 | ||||
from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
I've lived my life backwards
Or heaven knows I've tried Hope I find my perfection before I die Maybe once we were fantastic Maybe once we were divine Now we're flailing in the wake Of progress passing by At the speed of normal Ever since you were the baby You've been trying to grow up But that's nothing that a therapist can cure There's an unconfirmed report Or could it be a cruel hoax That death is just the punchline To a tall tale told At the speed of normal So for everyone who's anyone And you know who you are Hope you don't drop behind in the hundred yards war The winners and the losers Overtaken in the end By their very shadows Taking the last bend At the speed of normal |
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
I sing of the triumph of trash
The rise to success of hard cash The birth of annihilation The end of my patience I sing of the triumph of trash Trash is the product of greed Selfishness planted the seed Everybody knows Money makes it grow Trash is the product of greed Trash needs nostalgia to breathe It brings a familiar relief Deja vu is all that matters Unless we predicted it, it never happened Trash needs nostalgia to breathe Trash is at once high and low It panders to the worst parts of both We're so pleased we're in agreement Our heads in clouds, our feet in cement Trash is at once high and low Hope is left out in the cold Looking for pieces of gold Our refuse has no limits She tries to live in it Hope is left out in the cold I sing of the triumph of trash The past is a grate full of ash No morals and no sinners So there's no losers and no winner And I sing of the triumph of trash |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
I was holding up a cigarette and trying to find my mouth
Tyring hard to look so cool like any other ticket tout People sipping on each other's blood, they're all out for the count Talking turkey all around me, what are they all on about? It's the world and all its problems The world and all its problems The world and all its problems I'm walking out it's past midnight, so I stay in the light Please stop breathing on my shoulder, he's just trying to start a fight He says "What was that you called me?" And something says I might Just try to reason with him, where's the beaten track tonight? It's the world and all its problems The world and all its problems The world and all its problems Jesus Gandhi's on a limb out where good guys don't go Telling all these parables that everybody knows And no-one wants to hear them cos he tells them all so slow You can catch him on the news when he becomes a superhero It's the world and all its problems The world and all its problems The world and all its problems I'm sitting on your sofa Thinking about how things rhyme How I wish you'd plug the dansette in And turn it up just one more time One more time Everybody wants all the truth but it's easier to lie Me I love this girl called Ruth, we had to say goodbye I loved her so much sometimes that it made me wanna die And I'd hate her so much sometimes and we knew the reason why It's the world and all its problems The world and all its problems The world and all its problems |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
You might remember this conversation when you get older
You may recall the warning signs on the road But if you lose all recollection Or misplace your sense of direction Here's a quarter taped to the number of my phone When childish habits are slow to die You might look up and wonder why Things snowball in the twinkling of an eye You could be paying for the present on expenses You might realise your biggest lies on a movie screen You might be living in a mansion Your corporation in expansion With a broken heart that far exceeds your wildest dreams Somewhere way under the rainbow Dragging round an empty pot of glue Bruised and confused it could happen to you Seeing for the first time that dreams can come true I was living up the stairs from a mortuary He could hear me bring the bodies home at night He tried to say "I was just like you" I shouted back "you're an old fool" He said "listen" and I told him "I'd rather die" But I changed my mind |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005) | |||||
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from John Wesley Harding - John Wesley Harding's New Deal (1996)
To whom it may concern
Whatever your address I didn't think I'd have the nerve To write this I confess To get it off my chest But now that I have your attention I must make sure I get it right To whom it may concern Dear madam or sir I don't know your name Or if you'll ever read these words I know that sounds absurd I know you don't know who I am You know that we haven't met Yet And I hope this is alright with you I hope this is alright with you I remain your faithful servant To whom it may concern Let me cut to the chase We're gonna have to meet one time Before we quit this place Gone without a trace And you may have already won So please fill out this questionnaire And say a prayer To whom it may concern Now we will begin I'm not gonna post this I'll just throw it in the wind And wonder where it lands But I know that it will reach you somehow I know that it will be received I must believe I hope we'll be alright with you I hope we'll be alright with you I remain your faithful servant.... |
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from John Wesley Harding - Here Comes The Groom/ The Name Above The Title (2006)
It's been raining for a million years
And the weather just won't turn Try to build a fire round your place And the damned logs refuse to burn The braindead have been sitting on their sunbeds Where's heaven for its own sake Lying dead or half-forgotten At the bottom of a bottomless lake But when the sun comes out The world's gonna go crazy Everybody's gonna move their arms about Cos what they believed is turned inside-out When the sun comes out It's been raining since I don't know when We're all in for a big surprise Go to the woods in your dreams tonight And when you awake you won't believe your eyes It's all the rage, it'll make the front page Gotta get the gutter press going down the drain Butter melts if you leave it near the window And it's time to try and use a deckchair again But when the sun comes out.... When the sun comes out His pa will be so disappointed To find out his son was double-jointed Some will flounder Some will be anointed The son couldn't wait to do a turn-about It's been raining but it's gonna stop Cats and dogs will shake themselves Time to work, time to pick those hops I gotta go and mend the greenhouse shelves This was meant, well, it's all heaven-sent Go out naked and have no fear One boy spent a little life in torment But now he's grinning from ear to ear Now he's grinning from here to here... |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
You got a brain just like a steam shovel
And I'm tar upon the road You've got a body like a shotgun That I'm trying to unload If you are yin and yang then Baby I must be ego and id I'm the Man from La Mancha, whoever he is And you're a bold El Cid Well come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Come on Baby I wanna know who you really are You got a beret like Che Guevara But your dress makes me see stripes and stars Oh come on Baby I wanna know Who you are Who you really are You got imagination like a lift I'm stuck between the floors Your soul looks like a doorman I'm revolving in his doors I try to read you like a book You laugh between the lines You got a sense of humor like a motorway Clearly I'm not an exit sign Well come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Well you tell us that you're going far How come your stocks are still where they are Oh come on Baby I wanna know Who you are Who you really are You've got a future like a family photo And I'm just out of shot Well when your car is freezing over My collar's getting hot You're fighting wars in your inside And I'm a pacifist Yeah, but if you were my country Baby You know that I'd enlist Oh come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Well I guess I'm in the gutter gazing at stars Baby don't tread me down too far Guess I'm in the gutter gazing at stars Baby don't tread me down too far Guess I'm in the gutter gazing at stars Baby don't tread me down too far Oh come on Baby I wanna know Who you are Who you really are |
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from John Wesley Harding - It Happened One Night & It Never Happened At All (2005)
You got a brain just like a steam shovel
And I'm tar upon the road You've got a body like a shotgun That I'm trying to unload If you are yin and yang then Baby I must be ego and id I'm the Man from La Mancha, whoever he is And you're a bold El Cid Well come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Come on Baby I wanna know who you really are You got a beret like Che Guevara But your dress makes me see stripes and stars Oh come on Baby I wanna know Who you are Who you really are You got imagination like a lift I'm stuck between the floors Your soul looks like a doorman I'm revolving in his doors I try to read you like a book You laugh between the lines You got a sense of humor like a motorway Clearly I'm not an exit sign Well come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Well you tell us that you're going far How come your stocks are still where they are Oh come on Baby I wanna know Who you are Who you really are You've got a future like a family photo And I'm just out of shot Well when your car is freezing over My collar's getting hot You're fighting wars in your inside And I'm a pacifist Yeah, but if you were my country Baby You know that I'd enlist Oh come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Come on Baby I wanna know who you really are Well I guess I'm in the gutter gazing at stars Baby don't tread me down too far Guess I'm in the gutter gazing at stars Baby don't tread me down too far Guess I'm in the gutter gazing at stars Baby don't tread me down too far Oh come on Baby I wanna know Who you are Who you really are |