That Charlie Sedarka was a-playing the piano
like he was pawing a dirty book
He bit a hole in his big bottom lip and gave his
very best little boy look
It was a song with a topical verse which I'm
afraid he then proceeded to sing
Something about the moody doomed love of
the Fish-Finger King
Chorus:
You're nobody in this town
You're nobody in this crowd
You're nobody 'til everybody in this town
thinks you're poison,
Got your number knows it must be avoided
You're nobody 'til everybody in this town
thinks you're a bastard
Mr. Getgood moved up to Self-Made Man Row
Although he swears that he's the salt of the earth
He's so proud of the "kick-me-hard" sign that
they hung on his back at birth
He said "I appreciate beauty, if I have one, then
it's my fault"
"Beauty is on my pillow, beauty is there in
my vault"
Chorus
The girl with the eternity rock went down on
her bookie to buy some stock
Now all her signs in the shopping arcades say
"The corporation thief is The New Jesse James"
Her clothes and her attention were scant, her
eyes were everywhere,
Her eyes were like abstinthe [sic]
The little green figures that dance on his screen
say everything you want to hear and nothing
they mean
They made love while she was changing her dress
She wiped him off she wiped him out and then
she made him confess
A little amused by the belief in her power
You must remember this it was the fetish of
the hour
Chorus
Let Him Dangle
Bentley said to Craig "Let him have it Chris"
They still don't know today just what he meant
by this
Craig fired the pistol, but was too young to swing
So the police took Bentley and the very next thing
Let him dangle
Let him dangle
Bentley had surrendered, he was under arrest,
when he gave Chris Craig that fatal request
Craig shot Sidney Miles, he took Bentley's word
The prosecution claimed as they charged them
with murder
Let him dangle
Let him dangle
They say Derek Bentley was easily led
Well what's that to the woman that Sidney
Miles wed
Though guilty was the verdict, and Craig had
shot him dead
The gallows were for Bentley and still she
never said
Let him dangle
Let him dangle
Well it's hard to imagine it's the times that
have changed
When there's a murder in the kitchen that is
brutal and strange
If killing anybody is a terrible crime
Why does this bloodthirsty chorus come round
from time to time
Let him dangle
Not many people thought that Bentley would
hang
But the word never came, the phone never rang
Outside Wandsworth Prison there was horror
and hate
As the hangman shook Bentley's hand to
calculate his weight
Let him dangle
>From a welfare state to society murder
Bring "back the noose" is always heard
Whenever those swine are under attack
But it won't make you even
It won't bring him back
Let him dangle
Let him dangle (String him up)
Deep Dark Truthful Mirror
One day you're going to have to face
A deep dark truthful mirror
And it's going to tell you things that I still love
you too much to say
The sky was just a purple bruise, the ground
was iron
And you fell all around the town until you
looked the same
Chorus:
The same eyes, the same lips, the same lie from
your tongue trips
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror
Deep dark, deep dark truthful mirror
Now the flagstone streets where the newspaper
shouts ring to the boots of roustabouts
But you're never in any doubt, there's something
happening somewhere
You chase down the road 'til your fingers bleed
On a fiberglass tumbleweed
You can blow around the town, but it all shuts
down the same
Chorus
So you bay for the boy in the tiger-skin trunks
They set him up, set him up on the stool
He falls down, falls down like a drunk
And you drink 'til you drool
And it's his story you'll flatter
You'll stretch him out like a saint
But the canvas that he splattered will be the
picture that you never paint
Chorus
A stripping puppet on a liquid stick gets into it
pretty thick
A butterfly drinks a turtle's tears, but how do
you know he really needs it?
'Cos a butterfly feeds on a dead monkey's hand,
Jesus wept he felt abandoned
You're spellbound baby there's no doubting that
Did you ever see a stare like a Persian cat?
Chorus
Veronica
Is it all in that pretty little head of yours?
What goes on in that place in the dark?
Well I used to know a girl and I would have
sworn that her name was Veronica
Well she used to have a carefree mind of her
own and a delicate look in her eye
These days I'm afraid she's not even sure if her
name is Veronica
Chorus:
Do you suppose, that waiting hands on eyes,
Veronica has gone to hide?
And all the time she laughs at those who shout
her name and steal her clothes
Veronica
Veronica
Did the days drag by? Did the favours wane?
Did he roam down the town all the time?
Will you wake from your dream, with a wolf at
the door, reaching out for Veronica
Well it was all of sixty-five years ago
When the world was the street where she lived
And a young man sailed on a ship in the sea
With a picture of Veronica
On the "Empress of India"
And as she closed her eyes upon the world and
picked upon the bones of last week's news
She spoke his name outloud again
Chorus
Veronica sits in her favourite chair and she sits
very quiet and still
And they call her a name that they never get
right and if they don't then nobody else will
But she used to have a carefree mind of her
own, with devilish look in her eye
Saying "You can call me anything you like, but
my name is Veronica"
Chorus
God's Comic
I wish you'd known me when I was alive, I was
a funny feller
The crowd would hoot and holler for more
I wore a drunk's red nose for applause
Oh yes I was a comical priest
"With a joke for the flock and a hand up your
fleece"
Drooling the drink and the lipstick and
greasepaint
Down the cardboard front of my dirty dog-collar
Chorus:
Now I'm dead, now I'm dead, now I'm dead,
now I'm dead, now I'm dead
And I'm going on to meet my reward
I was scared, I was scared, I was scared, I was
scared
He might of never heard God's Comic
So there he was on a water-bed
Drinking a cola of a mystery brand
Reading an airport novelette, listening to
Andrew Lloyd-Webber's "Requiem"
He said, before it had really begun, "I prefer
the one about my son"
"I've been wading through all this unbelievable
junk and wondering if I should have given
the world to the monkeys"
Chorus
I'm going to take a little trip down Paradise's
endless shores
They say that travel broadens the mind, 'til you
can't get your head out of doors
I'm sitting here on the top of the world
I hang around in the longest night
Until each beast has gone bed and then I say
"God bless" and turn out the light
While you lie in the dark, afraid to breathe and
you beg and you promise
And you bargain and you plead
Sometimes you confuse me with Santa Claus
It's the big white beard I suppose
I'm going up to the pole, where you folks die of cold
I might be gone for a while if you need me
Now I'm dead, now I'm dead, now I'm dead,
now I'm dead, now I'm dead and you're all
going on to meet your reward
Are you scared? Are you scared? Are you scared?
Are you scared?
You might have never heard, but God's comic
Chewing Gum
With their cardboard hands by their sides,
here's a naked man and lady
And they're yours to cut out and keep
So you can dress them up maybe
They don't know just who they are, or who they're
supposed to be
You can make them happy or sad
Or assume their identity
So here they are in the departure lounge
It's the "Gateway to the East"
She is just another mail-order bride
She doesn't know he's a kinky beast
So he gives her a picture of Maradona and child
She wants to "roll and rock"
As he spills his beer over her, bumps and he
grinds, as he repeats "Bang-Cock"
Chorus:
There must be something that is better than this
It starts with a slap and ends up with a kiss
Begins with you bawling and it ends up in tears
Oh my little one, take that chewing gum out of
your ears
She might as well be in the jungle
She might as well be on the moon
He's away on a business trip, in Dusseldorf [sic], but
she's becoming immune
To the lack of glamour and danger in a West-
German city today
The nearest she comes to the "Dynasty" he
promised her
Is a Chinese takeaway
Chorus
Though he only taught her three little words, it
doesn't matter if they're dirty or clean
He can only control what they look like
He can never possess what they mean
Now he wants to whisper in her ear
All the shrinking nothingness
But something always comes between them,
I wonder if you can guess
Chorus
Tramp The Dirt Down
I saw a newspaper picture from the political
campaign
A woman was kissing a child, who was obviously
in pain
She spills with compassion, as that young child's
face in her hands she grips
Can you imagine all that greed and avarice
coming down on that child's lips
Well I hope I don't die too soon
I pray the Lord my soul to save
Oh I'll be a good boy, I'm trying so hard to behave
Because there's one thing I know, I'd like to live
long enough to savour
That's when they finally put you in the ground
I'll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down
When England was the whore of the world
Margeret [sic] was her madam
And the future looked as bright and as clear as
the black tarmacadam
Well I hope that she sleeps well at night, isn't
haunted by every tiny detail
'Cos when she held that lovely face in her hands
all she thought of was betrayal
And now the cynical ones say that it all ends
the same in the long run
Try telling that to the desperate father who just
squeezed the life from his only son
And how it's only voices in your head and
dreams you never dreamt
Try telling him the subtle difference between
justice and contempt
Try telling me she isn't angry with this pitiful
discontent
When they flaunt it in your face as you line up
for punishment
And then expect you to say "Thank you"
straighten up, look proud and pleased
Because you've only got the symptoms, you
haven't got the whole disease
Just like a schoolboy, whose head's like a tin-can
filled up with dreams then poured down
the drain
Try telling that to the boys on both sides, being
blown to bits or beaten and maimed
Who takes all the glory and none of the shame
Well I hope you live long now, I pray the Lord
your soul to keep
I think I'll be going before we fold our arms
and start to weep
I never thought for a moment that human life
could be so cheap
'Cos when they finally put you in the ground
They'll stand there laughing and tramp the
dirt down
Stalin Malone
(Instrumental)
I'm going to make you even fear the dream
you dream
So don't even think about it don't make a wish
You think that I don't see you as you trawl
those young weak fish
Hooked on those poor wonders, 'til they want
you alone
Though they can't tell a cuckoo-clock from the
squeals of saxophones
That's when they'll fear my name
Stalin Malone
I'm telling you the day will come when this
man gets what he merits
Though people still wear animal skins to ward
off evil spirits
Only wife-swapping and witchcraft woke the
dormitory town
'Til horse's heads up in the trees came
dripping down
Yes, horse's heads up hung in the trees after
the bird had flown
Did you wonder of my whereabouts as the
barrack-room was blown
Did anybody call my name?
Stalin Malone
In a room called creation, where you all obey
my laws
Where Seconal is gravity and pain is like
applause
You think that this phenomenon is some
coincidence
But I've got people everywhere, you're under
my surveillance, in the pocket of my pants
Okay, she left me, but I'll soon get over that
Falling out of the "Blood Tub" and rolling, on
my back
Waking up to the one o'clock gun with a
Punch and Judy bird
Reaching out for a gelignite beer that fills me
up with murder
To overhear forbidden songs her lover must
have known
Between the pity and advice... "There's no one
here to help you now, but speak after the tone"
Leave for me a message of hope
Stalin Malone
Now the church door is a roller-shutter with
padlocks and keys
Just like all of the other dispensaries
The saloon is like a casket, stained wood and
human dust
Stale with conversation that hangs on your
clothes like smoke
The wooden clock said she would dance
dressed only in flower
As the jazz band drowns the hysterical bird that
it spits out on the hour
I'd drop out of sight and disappear, turn up in
another town, but somehow
I just can't seem to put it down, put it down
put it down
I just want to hold her now in that I'm not alone
but do I have to see her fall into his arms
before I can atone..
Get my jacket on, get my story straight,
I'm leaving on my own
Satellite
She looked like she learned to dance from a
series of still pictures
She's madly excited now, she throws her hands
up like a tulip
She looks like an illustration of a cocktail party
Where cartoon bubbles burst in the air,
champagne rolls off her tongue
Like a second language
And it should have been her biggest night
The satellite looks down on her as she begins
to cry
All over the world at the very same time people
sharing the same sorrow
As the satellite looks down her darkest hour is
somebody's bright tomorrow
He pulled on a cigarette, in the crook of his
first finger
Felt the static electric charge of her perfect
hour-glass figure
As he undressed her with his eyes her weakness
was his talent
How could she know as she stepped through
the lights, that her dress would become
transparent
And with his face pressed to the screen, he
muttered words he'd never dare to say if she
could see him
All over the world at the very same time
People sharing the same cheap sensation the
thrill of watching somebody watching those
forbidden things we never mention
Chorus:
The satellite looks down right now and forever
What it has pulled apart let no man tether his
own body to his dream,
His dream to someone else
Oh no, oh no.
She went back to a pitiful compromise
He'd go back to his family
But for the matter of a thousand miles that
separated them entirely
In the hot unloving spotlight, with secrets
it arouses
Now they both know what it's like inside a
pornographer's trousers
And in a funny way it's anonymous, the satellite
it blesses us and makes these dreams come
true... All over the world
Chorus
Pads, Paws And Claws
She's a feline tormentor, not any vaudeville wife
But with a drunk-town lament he leads her a
miserable life
But when he's full of that beer-champagne
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
And if he should wake up in some terrible dive
And he don't know if he's so-so
But he's so surprised he's alive
"Come on little honey, let me under your hive"
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, pads around the bedroom, practicing
ways to flirt
He paws, pours another drink and anything in
a skirt
Anything wearing a necklace
He thinks of claws scratching his back he's
going out there he's not coming back
She's got spider-leg fingers, sharpened whenever
he strays
And she carries a bird-purse, with all of her
womanly ways
'Til he's drinking hairspray, she knows that he
never would dare
She could be in pictures if she wasn't all covered
in fur
He's coming home now and here's the surprise
You wouldn't believe the lies that he tries
She cut him down to her favourite size
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
She pads, paws, pads, paws and claws
Baby Plays Around
It's not open to discussion anymore
She's out again tonight and I'm alone once more
She's all I have worth waiting for
But baby plays around
And so it seems I've always been the last to know
To hold on to that girl, I had to let her go
I wish to God I didn't love her so
'Cos baby plays around
I try to be strong hold on to my pride
She doesn't even know it's wrong, how much
I hurt Inside
And heaven knows I've tried
But baby plays around. just a plaything
It's hard to reconcile the facts I'm facing
It's not open to discussion anymore
She walks those shiny streets
I walk the worn out floor
She's all I have worth living for
Baby plays, baby plays around
Miss Macbeth
All the children testified that Miss Macbeth
wore a fishbone slide in her cobweb tresses
Her eyes were black like first foot coal, clutched
as white as chalk-dust
Her fingers sweated india-ink and poison-pen
letters
There is a hungry hanging tree, just below your
bedroom window
You can hear her take a broom to beat out a
tattoo on the ceiling
Her bloodless face ran red inside but was she
really evil, was she only pantomime
Now the chalk on the wall says that somebody
saves, that somebody's face has just been
washed off the pavement
Into a puzzle where petrol will be poisoned by rain
Miss Macbeth saw her reflection
As confetti bled it's colours down the drain
Chorus:
And everyday she lives out another love song
It's a tearful lament of somebody done wrong
Well how can you miss what you've never
possessed
Miss Macbeth
Well we all should have known when the
children paraded
They portrayed her in their fairytales, sprinkling
Deadly Nightshade
And as they tormented her she rose to the bait
Even a scapegoat must have someone to hate
And everyday she lives out another love song
"You're up there enjoying yourself, and I know
it's wrong"
Well how can you miss what you've never
possessed
Miss Macbeth
Sometimes people are just what they appear to be
With no redemption at all
We try to walk upright when we can't even crawl
Miss Macbeth has a gollywog she chucks under
the chin and she whispers to it tenderly
Then sticks it on a pin
And It might be coincidence, but a boy down
the lane, that she said "went white as he could
do," then doubled over in pain
Chorus
Any King's Shilling
You're a fine one, oh yes you are
You're a fine one just like me
And we're friends now, oh wouldn't you say?
We've been friends now, oh haven't we?
Stay at home tonight if you know what's good
for you
I can't say more it would be telling
For if you don't what will become of you
Just isn't worth any king's shilling
I will answer when they make that call, pull
upon this ragged uniform
Up 'til now I know it's been your trade
Spit and polish the potato parade
Stay at home tonight if you know what's good
for you
I can't say more it would be telling
For if you don't what will become of you
Just isn't worth any king's shilling
Please don't put your silly head in that pretty
soldier's hat
You've done your duty, that's enough of that
I don't know if what I'm doing is right
I don't know if you should be forgiving
But for me it seems it means my life
While for you it could just be a living
Stay at home tonight if you know what's good
for you
I can't say more it would be telling
For if you don't what will become of you
Just isn't worth any king's shilling
Please don't put your silly head in that British
soldier's hat
You've done your duty that's enough of that
You're a fine one, oh yes you are
You're a fine one, just like me
Coal Train Robberies
Yesterday's coal train came to rest in the bitter
cutting
And as the signals took an age to change it was
easy pickings
So you go to the movies where they smash it up
You want to feel your heart pumping it makes
you feel good
All through the karaoke girls were squealing
the hits
As another Mercedes-Benz gets blown to bits
While all the time in the camptown theatres
of Piccadilly
They're going to throw a black-face minstrel
show for the barefoot children
That they're always selling
They'll say "It's quaint" as the guilty ones faint
and claim they ain't underneath this paint
We interrupt these liberal saints with their
whips and watermelon
Reports are coming in of a coal-train robbery
It's like another world, or it had better be
So we return to whitewashed pout of his
committed lips
Since he was declared the long lost fountain
of youth that drips and drips and drips
They'll be sending him round from door to door,
to sell you back what's already yours
"So many good deeds, so little time"
Say the advertising agency swine
When man has destroyed what he thinks he owns
I hope no living thing cries over his bones
If you don't believe that I'm going for good
You can count the days I'm gone and chop up
the chairs for firewood
Reports are coming in of a coal-train robbery
It's like another world, or it had better be
Last Boat Leaving
Hush my little one don't cry so
You know your Daddy's bound to go
They took his pride
They took his voice
Don't upset him now, don't make a noise
They said "You're lucky son you've still got
a choice"
Last boat leaving
Don't waste your tears
It's not as if I'm in chains
I don't want to go now, it would be better for
you, too, if I don't look back when we sail
Hush my dear, while I whisper it in your ear
We're not going to sail tonight
We're going to disappear
And it feels like a punishment, but I don't know
what for
Take care of your mother, son, it's you that
she adores
'Cos no matter how long we sail we'll never
reach the shore
Last boat leaving
So dry your tears
It's not as if I'm in chains
When you go to school, son, you'll read my
story in history books
Only they won't mention my name
So hush now, my darling, my sweet little one
I hope that you never have to do what I've done
Do you know what I've done?
Why I'm going away? On the last boat leaving
this stinking town
It's the last boat leaving, it's the last boat leaving
You've had my innocence, you've had my
heartbreak
You've taken the place where I once belonged
Now what more can you take?