5.15 A.M.
5.15 A.M. Snow laying all around A collier cycles home From his night shift underground Past the silent pub Primary school, workingmens club On the road from the pithead The churchyard packed With mining dead Then beneath the bridge He comes to a giant car A shroud of snow upon the roof A mark ten jaguar He thought the man was fast asleep Silent, still and deep Both dead and cold Shot through With bullet holes The one armed bandit man Came north to fill his boots Came up from cockneyland E-type jags and flashy suits Put your money in Pull the levers Watch them spin Cash cows in all the pubs But he preferred the new nightclubs Nineteen sixty-seven Bandit men in birdcage heaven La dolce vita, sixty-nine All new to people of the tyne Who knows who did what Somebody made a call They said his hands Were in the pot That he’d been skimming hauls He picks up the swag They gaily gave away Drives his giant jag Off to his big pay day The bandit man Came north to fill his boots Came up from cockneyland E-type jags and flashy suits The bandit man Came up the great north road Up to geordieland To mine The mother lode Seams blew up or cracked Black diamonds came hard won Generations toiled and hacked For a pittance and black lung Crushed by tub or stone Together And alone How the young and old Paid the price of coal Eighteen sixty-seven My angel’s gone to heaven He’ll be happy there Sunlight and sweet clean air They gather round the glass Tough hewers and crutters Child trappers and putters The little foals and half-marrows Who pushed And pulled the barrows The hod boys And the rolleywaymen 5.15 A.M.
Boom, Like That
I’m going to San Bernardino ring-a-ding-ding Milkshake mixers that’s my thing now These guys bought a heap of my stuff And I gotta see a good thing sure enough now Oh my name is not Crock, that’s Kroc with a K Like crocodile but not spelled that way now It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat Kroc style… Boom! like that Folks line up all down the street Now I am seeing this girl devour her meat now And then I get it Wham! as clear as day My pulse begins to hammer then I hear a voice say: These boys have got this down ought to be one of these in every town These boys have got the touch It’s clean as a whistle and it don’t cost much Wham! Bam! You don’t wait long, shake, fries, patty you’re gone How about that friendly name, heck, every little thing ought to stay the same Or my name is not Crock, that’s Kroc with a K Like crocodile but not spelled that way now It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat Dog eat dog, rat eat rat now Oh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat Kroc style… Boom! like that You gentlemen ought to expand You’re gonna need a helping hand now So gentlemen well what about me? We’ll make a little business history now Oh my name’s not Crock, you can call me Ray Like crocodile but not spelled that way now It’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat Kroc style… Boom! like that Well we build it up and I buy 'em out But man they made me grind it out now They open up a new place flippin meat So I do too, right across the street I got the name but I need the town, sell em' in the end and it all shuts down Sometimes you gotta be an S.O.B. you wanna make a dream reality Competition sent em south, if they’re gonna drown put a hose in their mouth Do not pass "Go", go straight to hell I smell that meat hook smell Oh my name is not Crock, that’s Kroc with a K Like crocodile but not spelled that way now Ohh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat Dog eat dog, rat eat rat now Ohh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat Kroc style… Boom! like that
Sucker Row
Somebody’s gotta crack A whip around here Who’s minding the store? Shake it up sell some beer What’s your Money maker for? Pay day We’re packin' 'em in Six-gun Annie And Buffalo Jill But who’s to say They’ll be back again For a refill? Honey, you know the drill Ain’t no left turn Down sleepy time street You gotta be fast But you gotta stay loose Thinking On your feet Slick as grass Through a goose We gotta Rationalise The payroll Is giving me chills You and me’s Getting organised It’s kill or be killed Honey, you know the drill Well they can all look down On sucker row But they all forget The tallest trees From acorns grow Though they ain’t yet I never look down On a sucker stake They all pay the bills I never gave a sucker An even break And I never will A beautiful vision Keeps coming to me I see A miracle mile Flying in For free Service With a smile High rollers Fancy hotels Big time singers Topping the bill You gotta have a feel For the stuff that sells Call it a skill Honey, you know the drill Somebody’s gotta crack A whip around here Who’s Minding the store? Shake it up Sell some beer Money walking Through the door Annie’s arriving At a dangerous age Don’t you Go getting ill Get another woman Up in the cage Who ain’t over the hill Honey, you know the drill
The Trawlerman’s Song
We’re taking on water Diesel and stores Laying up awhile Before I’m back on board They’re patching her up To go fishing again They’re welding her rudder Scrubbing her keel Scars on her belly Need time to heal In the dock With the trawlermen I know all the people There’s nobody new Soon we’ll be leaving With the same old crew On the green water The tumbling sea They ain’t running Like the good old days Time’s just slipping Down the old slipways In the dock So dear to me Dark is the night I need a guiding light To keep me From foundering On the rocks My only prayer Is just to see you there At the end Of my wandering Back in the dock I could use a layoff Getting my strength back But there’s a loan to pay off And a few skipjack So it’s a turnaround Back in the southerly wind Pirates coming in To steal our gold You can count yourself lucky With a profit in the hold In the dock When we come in Dark is the night I need a guiding light To keep me From foundering On the rocks My only prayer Is just to see you there At the end Of my wandering Back in the dock
Back To Tupelo
Around the time of 'clambake' Movie number twenty-five You and the lying dutchman Are still in overdrive You’re as strong as when you started Mississippi in your soul You can still be marlon brando And the king of rock and roll It isn’t just the records No, you must have hollywood The songs alone are not enough That much is understood You’ll soon be back in memphis Maybe then you’ll know what to do The storylines they’re giving you Are just not ringing true Oh, it’s a ways to go Back to Tupelo When you’re young and beautiful Your dreams are all ideals Later on it’s not the same Lord, everything is real Sixteen hundred miles of highway Roll back to the truth And a song to give your mother In your first recording booth Around the time of 'clambake' That old dream’s still rolling on Sometimes there’ll be the feeling Things are going wrong The morning star is fading Lord, the mississippi’s cold You can still be marlon brando And the king of rock and roll But it’s a ways to go Back to Tupelo
Our Shangri-La
It’s the end of a perfect day For surfer boys and girls The sun’s dropping down in the bay And falling off the world There’s a diamond in the sky Our evening star In our shangri-la Get that fire burning strong Right here and right now It’s here and then it’s gone There’s no secret, anyhow We may never love again To the music of guitars In our Shangri-La Tonight your beauty burns Into my memory The wheel of heaven turns Above us endlessly This is all the heaven we’ve got Right here where we are In our Shangri-La This is all the heaven we’ve got Right here where we are In our Shangri-La In our Shangri-La In our Shangri-La
Everybody Pays
I got shot off my horse So what? I’m up again And playing In one of these Big saloons on main You can come up here Take a look Around these sinners' dens You’re only ever going to find One or two real games Nobody’s driving Me underground Not yet anyway But either on the strip Or on the edge of town Everybody pays Everybody pays to play Yeah, you ought to stay Right where you are In sawdust land It’s probably the Safest place to be With your Greasy little pork pies And your shoestring hands It makes No difference to me All those directions Which we never took To go our different ways Who went and wrote The oldest story in the book? Everybody pays Everybody pays to play Curl up inside A boxcar dream And disappear With a couple Low roller friends You were never one For trouble So get out of here I knew the game Was dangerous back then But nobody’s breezing Through these swinging doors Just ups and walks away Everybody has to leave Some blood here on the floor Everybody pays Everybody pays to play
Song For Sonny Liston
So many mouths To feed on the farm Sonny was the second To the last one born His mamma ran away And his daddy beat him bad And he grew up wild Good love he never had He had a left Like henry’s hammer A right like betty bamalam Rode with the muggers In the dark and dread And all them sluggers Went down like lead Well he hung with the hoods He wouldn’t stroke the fans But he had dynamite In both his hands Boom bam Like the slammer door The bell and the can And the bodies on the floor Beware the bear’s in town Somebody’s money says The bear’s going down Yeah, the bear never smiles Sonny’s going down For miles and miles Sonny’s going down For miles and miles The writers didn’t like him The fight game jocks With his lowlife backers And his hands like rocks They didn’t want to have A bogey man They didn’t like him And he didn’t like them Black cadillac Alligator boots Money in the pockets Of his sharkskin suits Some say the bear Took a flop They couldn’t believe it When they saw him drop He had a left Like henry’s hammer A right like betty bamalam Rode with the muggers In the dark and dread And all them sluggers Went down like lead Joe Louis was his hero He tried to be the same But a criminal child Wears a ball and chain So the civil rights people Didn’t want him on the throne And the hacks and the cops Wouldn’t leave him alone Beware the bear’s in town Somebody’s money says The bear’s going down Yeah, the bear never smiles Sonny’s going down For miles and miles Sonny’s going down For miles and miles At the foot of his bed With his feet on the floor There was dope in his veins And a pistol on the drawer There was no investigation As such He hated needles But he knew too much Criss-crossed On his back Scars from his daddy Like slavery tracks The second-last child Was the second-last king Never again was it the same In the ring He had a left Like henry’s hammer A right like betty bamalam Rode with the muggers In the dark and dread And all them sluggers Went down like lead They never could be sure About the day he was born A motherless child Set to working on the farm And they never could be sure About the day he died The bear was the king They cast aside Beware the bear’s in town Somebody’s money says The bear’s going down Yeah, the bear never smiles Sonny’s going down For miles and miles Sonny’s going down For miles and miles
Whoop De Doo
If I’m over the moon It’s because I’m over you A day at a time And I’m tickety-boo I don’t carry on The way I used to Whoop de doo Whoop de doo If I’m doing great It’s because when I get home I don’t go straight To my answerphone And the tears don’t come The way they used to Whoop de doo Whoop de doo So many little things Are so much better now They were only the little things Anyhow If I’m over the moon It’s because that’s what I am Funny that once I used to give a damn And I’d do anything In the whole wide world for you Whoop de doo Whoop de doo Anything Anything you’d want me to Whoop de doo Whoop de doo
Postcards From Paraguay
One thing was leading to the next I bit off more than I could chew I had the power to sign the cheques It wasn’t difficult to do I couldn’t stay and face the music So many reasons why I won’t be sending postcards From Paraguay From Paraguay From Paraguay I robbed a bank full of dinero A great big mountain of dough So it was goodbye companero And cheerio I couldn’t stay and face the music So many reasons why I won’t be sending postcards From Paraguay From Paraguay From Paraguay I never meant to be a cheater But there was blood on the wall I had to steal from Peter To pay what I owed to Paul I couldn’t stay and face the music So many reasons why I won’t be sending postcards From Paraguay From Paraguay From Paraguay
All That Matters
My darling girl My darling girl You’re all that matters In this wicked world All that matters All that matters My darling boy My darling boy All of my sunshine And all of my joy You’re all that matters All that matters Well, I can’t stop the pain When it calls I’m a man And I can’t stop the rain When it falls, my darling Who can? My darling girl My darling girl You’re all that matters In this wicked world All that matters All that matters My darling friend My darling friend All we’ve got going Is love in the end It’s all that matters All that matters
Stand Up Guy
Brew the coffee in a bucket Double straight man and banjo If you don’t got the snake oil Buster, you don’t got a show Who puts the doh-re-me In our pockets Keeps the party going on? It’s the man Who sells the potions I’m just one who plays the songs Now they generally buys The bigger size They usually rub it in I drank it once, it tasted Like grease and paraffin It’s mostly alcohol, okay You can’t deny it’s strong We was going through the motions 'til the doctor came along There stands the bottle Ladies and gentlemen All these bottles Don’t have to tell you, friends These days miracles Don’t come falling from the sky Raise your glasses to the doctor To a stand up guy When the monkeyshine is flying And he’s promising the cure He says the french For your lovesick blues La maladie d’amour He gets the chumps all laughing But he gets a few to buy Here’s to beefsteak When you’re hungry And whiskey when you’re dry Now the band’ll blow their moolah Like sailors gone ashore Now we’re going to west helena To gamble, drink and whore Let’s you and me All make whoopee Here’s mud in your eye Here’s to all the gals you ever want And heaven when you die There stands the bottle Ladies and gentlemen All these bottles Don’t have to tell you, friends These days miracles Don’t come falling from the sky Raise your glasses to the doctor To a stand up guy There’s a big cheese with a cigar Been sizing up the show He wants to get the doctor Pitching on the radio I will make a switch to guitar But the rules all still apply They want to trust somebody Yeah, they want a stand up guy There stands the bottle Here’s to absent friends All these bottles Dead soldiers in the end These days miracles Don’t come falling from the sky Raise your glasses to the doctor To a stand up guy To the doctor A stand up guy
Donegan’s Gone
Donegan’s gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Play that big grand coulee dam Nobody loves like an irishman Gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Donegan’s gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Lord, I’m just a rolling stone Rock my soul I wanna go home Gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Donegan’s gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Stackalee and a gamblin' man Rock my soul in the bosom of abraham Gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Donegan’s gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone Time just goes on rolling by Lord, I feel like I could cry Gone, Lonnie Donegan Donegan’s gone
Don’t Crash The Ambulance
Don’t often open up this floor Since I handed in my gun What all these keys are for Now my tour of duty’s done You got to know the switches Now you got your turn Watch and learn, junior Watch and learn Now you will get your Trouble spots Here’s one from Down voodoo way Bragged he had me By the you-know-whats Very funny, you don’t say The big enchilada Stealing elections Had to go down there Trash collection Got his cojones On my desk in there Made into a souvenir Set of cufflinks, nice pair The rest of him’s Someplace up here Sometimes you got to Put a shoulder to the door Not so fast, junior Listen to your pa Here, son I’m handing over to you Don’t crash the ambulance Whatever you do What we have here’s A dung hole place Thought it was fly shit On the map Fat bastard, ugly face And the personal crap You can’t move the barriers You can’t mess with oil and gas Had to go down there Stick a couple Aircraft carriers In his ass Fancy dress Medals chest It’s all in here For all the gigs Gas mask Bullet-proof vest All the usual rigs There’ll be things they missed They didn’t mention You’ve even Got a whistle in there For attracting attention Well, I think you’re gonna Be okay, son You’ve had the tour, I guess These two buttons By the way This one I hope You never press Some holy fool, just watch Who’s not like you or me That one’s the whole Shooting match Right there It’s the whole shitaree We don’t forget Who put us here, jack That’s page one We talk soft But carry a big stick And pack the biggest gun We don’t like accidents Major or minor You don’t want yourself An incident Don’t ever invade china Here, son I’m handing over to you Don’t crash the ambulance Here, son I’m handing over to you Don’t crash the ambulance Whatever you do