The Pogues

One summer evening drunk to hell
I stood there nearly lifeless
An old man in the corner sang
Where the water lilies grow
And on the jukebox Johnny sang
About a thing called love
And it's how are you kid and what's your name
And how would you bloody know?
In blood and death 'neath a screaming sky
I lay down on the ground
And the arms and legs of other men
Were scattered all around
Some cursed, some prayed, some prayed then cursed
Then prayed and bled some more
And the only thing that I could see
Was a pair of brown eyes that was looking at me
But when we got back, labeled parts one to three
There was no pair of brown eyes waiting for me

And a rovin' a rovin' a rovin' I'll go
For a pair of brown eyes

I looked at him he looked at me
All I could do was hate him
While Ray and Philomena sang
Of my elusive dream
I saw the streams, the rolling hills
Where his brown eyes were waiting
And I thought about a pair of brown eyes
That waited once for me
So drunk to hell I left the place
Sometimes crawling sometimes walking
A hungry sound came across the breeze
So I gave the walls a talking
And I heard the sounds of long ago
From the old canal
And the birds were whistling in the trees
Where the wind was gently laughing

And a rovin' a rovin' a rovin' I'll go
For a pair of brown eyes

I've been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And I've cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways
We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into Heaven
Some of them fell into Hell

I took shelter from a shower
And I stepped into your arms
On a rainy night in Soho
The wind was whistling all its charms
I sang you all my sorrows
You told me all your joys
Whatever happened to that old song
To all those little girls and boys

Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
But there's a light I hold before me
And you're the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams

Sometimes I wake up in the morning
The gingerlady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I hear you in my head
I'm not singing for the future
I'm not dreaming of the past
I'm not talking of the fist time
I never think about the last

Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there's a light I hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams

Voici une histoire
D'un homme cajun
Amadie Adouin
Etat son nom
Avec sa guitare
Et avec sa voix
Amadie Adouin
Etait le roi

Here is the story
Of a Cajun man
Amadie Adouin
Was his name
With his guitar
And his voice
Amadie Adouin
Was the king

In a town seperated by railroad tracks
When one side's white the other side must be black

La sueur brulait
Dans ses yeux
Les blancs ont crie
N' arrete pas
Quand Amadie pouvait
plus jouer
Il demandait a Celine
Son mouchoir

The sweat burnt
In his eyes
The whites shouted
Don't stop
When Amadie couldn't
Play anymore
He asked to Celine
His handerchief

Black were the tears Amadie Adouin cried
Tears a white handkerchief just could not hide

Les bois d'Arcadia
Ils sont morts
Au fond de la terre
Amadie s'endort
Mais si vous voulez
Ecouter sa voix
Demande aux Ricains
De la chercher d'en bas

The forest of Arcadia
Is dead
Deep under the ground
Amadie falls asleep
But if you want to listen
To his voice
Ask the Yanks
To look for it from the bottom

They ran right over Amadie's vocal cords
Good old boys in a good ol' Model T Ford
Amadie took a walk by the railroad track
To the other side and he won't be coming back

They ran right over Amadie's vocal cords
Those good old boys in a good old Model T Ford
Amadie took a walk by the railroad track
To the other side and he won't be coming back

The dawn shines her light
To scare off the night
And the sun from his slumber is woken
The bells are ringing out
As the town crier shouts
Words too strong to be spoken

There's a rumble in the ground
And the air fills with sound
Trumpets in the wind are a' blowing
The townsfolk peep
Through the curtains of sleep
To the sound of the cocks all a' crowin

The winds may blow
Come rain, come slow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me

The sun wears a smile
And the clock winks its dial
The clouds in the sky are unfolding
The birds on the wing
Like angels they sing
The heavens are glowing all golden

The crowds all spill out
They cheer and they shout
Banners and flags are a' waving
The flowers all a' bloom
Blow kisses to the moon
As blossom falls on the paving

The wind may blow
Come rain, come snow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me

The whole world roars
A chorus of applause
Strangers from Delhi to Dublin
Are swept off their feet
As they kiss on the street
And the waters like champaigne are bubbling

The wind may blow
Come rain, come snow
Today's for you and me
I gave my heart to you my love
You gave your heart to me

Billy ran around with the rare old crew
And he knew an Arsenal from Tottenham blue
We'd be a darn sight better of if we knew
Where Billy's bones are resting now
Billy saw a copper and he hit him in the knee
And he took him down from six foot to five foot three
Then he hit him fair and square in the do-re-mi
That copper won't be having any family

Hey Billy son where are you now
Don't you know that we need you now
With a ra-ta-ta and the old kow-tow
Where are Billy's bones resting now

Billy went away with the peace-keeping force
'Cause he liked a bloody good fight of course
Went away in an old khaki van to the banks of the river Jordan
Billy saw the Arabs and he had 'em on the run
When he got 'em in the range of his sub-machine gun
Then he had the Israelis in his sights, went a ra-ta-ta
And they ran like Shiites

One night Billy had a rare old time,
Laughing and singing on the Lebanon line
Came back to camp not looking too pretty
Never even got to see the Holy City
Now Billy's out there in the desert sun
And his mother cries when the morning comes
And there's mothers crying all over this world
For their poor dead darling boys and girls

Have a Billy holiday
Born on a Monday
Married on a Tuesday
Drunk on a Wednesday
Got plugged on a Thursday
Sick on a Friday
Died on a Saturday
Buried on a Sunday

> Thanks and praises
Thanks to Jesus
I bet on the Bottle of Smoke
I went to hell
And to the races
To bet on the Bottle of Smoke
The day being clear
The sky being bright
He came up on the left
Like a streak of light
Like a drunken fuck
On a Saturday night
Up came the Bottle of Smoke
Twenty fucking five to one
Me gambling days are done
I bet on a horse called the Bottle of Smoke
And my horse won
Stewards inquiries
Swift and fiery
I had the Bottle of Smoke
Inquisitions and suppositions
I had the Bottle of Smoke
Fuck the stewards
A trip to Lourdes
Might give the old fuckers
The power of sight
Screaming springers and stoppers
And call out coppers
But the money still gleams in my hand like a light
Bookies cursing
Cars reversing
I had the Bottle of Smoke
Glasses steaming
Vessels bursting
I had the Bottle of Smoke
Slip a fifty to the wife
And for each brat a crisp new five
To give me a break on a Saturday night
When I had the Bottle of Smoke
Priests and maidens
Drunk as pagans
They had the Bottle of Smoke
Sins forgiven and celebrations
They had the Bottle of Smoke
Fuck the Yanks
And drink their wives
The moon is clear
The sky is bright
I'm happy as the horses shite
Up came the Bottle of Smoke

The bright lights are calling me
The bright lights are calling me
When the world is dark and cold
And I'm heading down the road
The bright lights are calling me

As the world is round, the road is long
I've trouble on my mind
I'll just keep on moving
Until the day comes round
The wind a' blowing on my back
And my feet a' flying
Flying down the road
Where the bright lights shine

Monday's in a pigtown
Tuesday's in a truck
Wednesday's a field of mud
And Thursday's out of luck
Friday's rain clouds
Saturday flies by
Sunday comes shining
From a blue blue sky

The bright lights are calling me
The bright lights are calling me
When the world is dark and cold
And I'm heading down the road
The bright lights are calling me

Some towns are golden
Some towns are stained
Some towns are shadows
Fading in the rain
Some towns are rust
And some towns they gleam
Some towns are mad dogs
Some towns are a dream

The bright lights are calling me
The bright lights are calling me
When the world is dark and cold
And I'm heading down the road
The bright lights are calling me

Some dreams are hollow
Some dreams are cold
Some dreams are crazy
And some dreams are bold
Some dreams are bought
And other dreams are sold
Some dreams lie waiting
At the end of the road

The bright lights are calling me
The bright lights are calling me
When the world is dark and cold
And I'm heading down the road
The bright lights are calling me

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
Kissed a girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Clouds a drifting across the moon
Cats a prowling on their beat
Spring's a girl in the street at night
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

Heard a siren from the docks
Saw a train set the night on fire
Smelled the spring on the smoky wind
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I'm going to make me a good sharp axe
Shining steel tempered in the fire
Will chop you down like an old dead tree
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

I met my love by the gas works wall
Dreamed a dream by the old canal
Kissed a girl by the factory wall
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty old town
Dirty old town

It was Christmas Eve babe
In the drunk tank
An old man said to me, won't see another one
And then he sang a song
The Rare Old Mountain Dew
And I turned my face away
And dreamed about you

Got on a lucky one
Came in eighteen to one
I've got a feeling
This year's for me and you
So happy Christmas
I love you baby
I can see a better time
When all our dreams come true

They've got cars
Big as bars
They've got rivers of gold
But the wind goes right through you
It's no place for the old

When you first took my hand
On a cold Christmas Eve
You promised me
Broadway was waiting for me

You were handsome
You were pretty
Queen of New York City
When the band finished playing
They howled out for more
Sinatra was swinging
All the drunks they were singing
We kissed on the corner
Then danced through the night

The boys of the NYPD choir
Were singing 'Galway Bay'
And the bells were ringing
Out for Christmas day

You're a bum
You're a punk
You're an old slut on junk
Living there almost dead on a drip
In that bed

You scum bag
You maggot
You cheap lousy faggot
Happy Christmas your arse
I pray God
It's our last

I could have been someone
So could anyone
You took my dreams
From me when I first found you
I kept them with me babe
I put them with my own
Can't make it all alone
I've built my dreams around you

I am Francisco Vasquez Garcia
I am welcome to Almeria
We have sin gas and con leche
We have fiesta and feria
We have the song of the chochona
We have brandy and half corona
And Leonardo and his accordione
And calamari and macaroni

Come all you rambling boys of pleasure
And ladies of easy leisure
We must say Adios! until we see
Almeria once again

There is a minstrel, there you see,
And he stoppeth one in three
He whispers in this one's ear
"Will you kindly kill that doll for me"
Now he has won chochona in the bingo
All the town has watched this crazy gringo
As he pulls off the doll's head laughing
And miraldo! throws its body in the sea

El vienticinco de agosto
Abrio sus ojos Jaime Fearnley
Pero el bebe cinquante Gin-campari
Y se tendio para cerrarlos
Y Costello el rey del America
Y suntuosa Cait O Riordan
Non rompere mes colliones
Los gritos fuera de las casas

I am Francisco Vasquez Garcia
I am welcome to Almeria
We have sin gas and con leche
We have fiesta and feria
We have the song of the chochona
We have brandy and half corona
And Leonardo and his accordione
And calamari and macaroni

Come all you rambling boys of pleasure
And ladies of easy leisure
We must say Adios! until we see
Almeria once again

There is a minstrel, there you see,
And he stoppeth one in three
He whispers in this one's ear
"Will you kindly kill that doll for me"
Now he has won chochona in the bingo
All the town has watched this crazy gringo
As he pulls off the doll's head laughing
And miraldo! throws its body in the sea

El vienticinco de agosto
Abrio sus ojos Jaime Fearnley
Pero el bebe cinquante Gin-campari
Y se tendio para cerrarlos
Y Costello el rey del America
Y suntuosa Cait O Riordan
Non rompere mes colliones
Los gritos fuera de las casas

4 O'Clock in the morning
When the ambulance arrived
4 O'Clock in the morning
When the ambulance arrived
The blue lights were flashing
As they lay my baby down inside

They took her to the hospital
In the darkest hour of the night
They took her to the hospital
In the darkest hour of the night
It was silent as the grave
As my baby lay beneath the light

They turned on the gas and cut her open
She didn't feel no pain
They turned on the gas and cut her open
She didn't feel no more pain
Daylight was breaking
And down came the rain

Down came the rain
Down came the rain
Down came the rain
Down came the rain

How come when I got the ace of hearts
Ya always draw the ace of spades
How's it when your best friend
Brings you lillies on your birthday

Hey how come, hey how come
Well I ain't superstitious, but well these things I see
How come, how come
I ain't a superstitious fella, but it worries me

How come when your local clergy calls
He tells me that you shouldn't wear black
What kind of bread are you gonna' bake
With that hemlock in your spice rack

Hey how come, hey how come
Well I ain't superstitious, but well these things I see
How come, how come
I ain't a superstitious fella, but it worries me

The spider's run, the cobwebs gone
Did you eat it when the moon was new
I drowned your cat, what do you say about that
I've even broken up your broom

How come, how come
Well I ain't superstitious, but well these things I see
How come, how come
I ain't a superstitious fella, but it worries me
Well how come, how come
Well I ain't superstitious, but well these things I see
How come, how come
I ain't a superstitious fella, but it worries me

Oh my name is Jock Stewart I'm a canny gun man
And a roving young fellow I've been
So be easy and free when you're drinking with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

I have acres of land I have men at command
I have always a shilling to spare
So be easy and free when you're drinking with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

Well I took out my dog and him I did shoot
All down in the county Kildare
So be easy and free when you're drinking with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

So come fill up you glasses of brandy and wine
Whatever it costs, I will pay
So be easy and free when you're drinking with me
I'm a man you don't meet every day

If I should fall from grace with god
Where no doctor can relieve me
If I'm buried 'neath the sod
But the angels won't receive me

Let me go boys
Let me go boys
Let me go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

This land was always ours
Was the proud land of our fathers
It belongs to us and them
Not to any of the others

Let them go boys
Let them go boys
Let them go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

Bury me at sea
Where no murdered ghost can haunt me
If I rock upon the waves
No corpse can lie upon me

It's coming up three boys
Keeps coming up three boys
Let them go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

If I should fall from grace with god
Where no doctor can relieve me
If I'm buried 'neath the sod
And still the angels won't receive me

Let me go boys
Let me go boys
Let me go down in the mud
Where the rivers all run dry

Jesse James we understand
Has killed many a man
He robbed the Union trains
He stole from the rich and gave to the poor
He had a hand and a heart and a brain

Well it was on a Saturday night
The stars were shining bright
They robbed the Glendale train
And the people they did say from many miles away
It was those outlaws Frank and Jesse James

Now Jesse had a wife
Lived a lady all her life
Her children they were brave
But history does record
That Bob and Charlie Ford
Have laid poor Jesse in his grave

Well it was Bob and Charlie Ford
Those dirty little cowards
I wonder how they feel
For they ate of Jesse's bread
And they slept in Jesse's bed
And they laid poor Jesse in his grave

Well the people held their breath
When they heard of Jesse's death
They wondered how he came to fall
Well it was Robert Ford in fact
Who shot him in the back
While he hung a picture on the wall

My girl could break my heart
And tear my soul apart, but I
Couldn't see myself living in a world
Without her

She's a tear, she's a scream
Takes me high, but my worst dream
Could I survive living in a world
Without her

As my mother said open the door
I didn't want to be that boy
All my friends told me I'd pull through

But all that's said and all that's done
Won't persuade me that I'm wrong
I know I'd die living in a world
Without her

All my hopes and all my dreams
Rest with her, or so it seems
I never want to see the world
Without her

She's a saint, she's a clown
Picks me up when I'm down
There'd be so much missing from the world
Without her

Tangled up in falling vines
She took my hand, I know she's mine
Pickin' up the pieces of the past

Well, I awoke before the dawn
Dreamed we'd fought and she had gone
Now I know how it feels
Without her

An empty club, when we first met
Sharing our last cigarette
How could I have lived in a world
Without her

The sweetest girl I ever had
She's the best, she must be mad
There's no way I would live in a world
Without her

We walked four miles to get back home
Through the crowds we walked alone
She told me all about her last stand

The sun came up and lit the scene
She looked so fine, so I see
There's no way I'm living in a world
Without her

The devil moon took me through the alley
Down by the Kardomah and the Centrale
To the Mews running through the backstreets
Where the Blacks sold fire and sleep
The devil moon took me out of Soho
Up to Camden where the cold north winds blow
Sucked along by a winter shower
To stand beside your shining tower

This could be our final dance
This could be our very last chance
Just the sound of your voice
Wherever I may be changes everything
And then the world's right with me
You're my London girl
The way that you walk
You're my london girl
The way that you talk
Just the sound of your voice
And I ain't got no choice

The light was going out, the moon was dying
The night was turning to a fine Spring morning
The dogs were barking and the kids were shouting
The sun was splashing in a crystal fountain
When the cold winds come to find you
Blowing down from the top of the high rise
I'll come and take you back down to Soho
Away from all those mad men's eyes

This could be our final dance
This could be our very last chance
And if you cut me
Don't you think I feel
Is this body made of clay
Is this heart made of steel
You're my London girl
The way that you walk
You're my London girl
The way that you talk
Just the sound of your voice
I ain't got no choice

This could be our final dance
This could be our very last chance
And if you cut me
Don't you think I feel
Is this body made of clay
Is this heart made of steel
You're my London girl
The way that you walk
You're my London girl
The way that you talk
Just the sound of your voice
I ain't got no choi

I just want to see you
When youre all alone
I just want to
catch you if I can
I just want to be there
When the morning
light explodes
On your face it radiates
I cant escape
I love you till the end

I just want to
tell you nothing
You dont want to hear
All I want is for you to say
Why dont you just take me
Where Ive never been before
I know you want to hear me
Catch my breath
I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I just want to be there
When were caught in the rain
I just want to see you
laugh not cry
I just want to feel you
When the night
puts on its cloak
Im lost for words
don't tell me
Could All I can say
I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I love you till the end
I love you till the end
I love you till the end
All I can say
I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I love you till the end
All I can say
I love you till the end

I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I just want to see you
When youre all alone
I just want to
catch you if I can
I just want to be there
When the morning
light explodes
On your face it radiates
I cant escape
I love you till the end

I just want to
tell you nothing
You dont want to hear
All I want is for you to say
Why dont you just take me
Where Ive never been before
I know you want to hear me
Catch my breath
I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I just want to be there
When were caught in the rain
I just want to see you
laugh not cry
I just want to feel you
When the night
puts on its cloak
Im lost for words
don't tell me
Could All I can say
I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I love you till the end
I love you till the end
I love you till the end
All I can say
I love you till the end
I love you till the end

I love you till the end
All I can say
I love you till the end

I love you till the end
I love you till the end

> As I walked down by the riverside
One evening in the spring
Heard a long gone song
From days gone by
Blown in on the great North wind
Though there is no lonesome corncrake's cry
Of sorrow and delight
You can hear the cars
And the shouts from bars
And the laughter and the fights
May the ghosts that howled
Round the house at night
Never keep you from your sleep
May they all sleep tight
Down in hell tonight
Or wherever they may be
As I walked on with a heavy heart
Then a stone danced on the tide
And the song went on
Though the lights were gone
And the North wind gently sighed
And an evening breeze coming from the East
That kissed the riverside
So I pray now child that you sleep tonight
When you hear this lullaby
May the wind that blows from haunted graves
Never bring you misery
May the angels bright
Watch you tonight
And keep you while you sleep

The canals and the bridges, the embankments and cuts
They blasted and dug with their sweat and their guts
They never drank water but whiskey by pints
And the shanty towns rang with their songs and their fights

Navigator, Navigator rise up and be strong
The morning is here and there's work to be done
Take your pick and your shovel and the bold dynamite
For to shift a few tons of this earthly delight
Yes to shift a few tons of this earthly delight

They died in their hundreds with no sign to mark where
Save the brass in the pocket of the entrepreneur.
By landslide and rockblast they got buried so deep
That in death if not life they'll have peace while they sleep.

Their mark on this land is still seen and still laid
The way for a commerce where vast fortunes were made
The supply of an Empire where the sun never set
Which is now deep in darkness, but the railway's there yet.

The night stank of diesel
And a stranger came to town
A cold wind blowing
And the rain pouring down
Street lights flicker
And the power lines moan
The moon beat down
On a river of bone
Someone put the lights out
No one make a sound
You won't find a thing
Down in Oretown

Foundry spits fire and smoke
Air's foul and choking
Sky full of sulphur
Mountains flat and broken
Black fogs and whirlwinds
Thunder and rain
Open drink madness
And purple mad pain
The circus is over
Exit the clowns
Nobody's laughing
Down in Oretown

The ship's in the harbour
Cargo's been pawned
Barrooms spilling sailors
All shipwrecked at dawn
Smelling of salt and rust
Uniforms torn
Came looking for flowers
Only found thorns
Dreaming of mermaids
In pearly white gowns
tain is sleeping
Down in Oretown

There's a madman down on mainstreet
Eyes all aflame
Laughing in the thunder
Of the Number 9 train
Selling old postcards in rusty frames
A thousand views of Oretown
And they all look the same
Dressed up in sandals
And a barbed wire crown
A lot of people loose their minds
Down in Oretown

Lock up the lawman
Let go the thief
Rounding up the grey men
Nail them to a tree
This town was a palace
This town was aglow
Then the sky burned orange
And the iron river flowed
The night stank of diesel
A stranger came to town
The night folded over
Down in Oretown