1. |
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When I get my head together,
I'll write a love letter,
send it in the first class post.
This ain't a time for subtlety,
I'll tell you confidentially,
you're the one I love the most.
Remember the day we met:
I was so fixed on you.
Get us together,
figure out what to do,
when I say there's a special lady,
you can have no doubt
- you're the woman I'm talkin' about.
Don't accuse me of running away,
you know I mean it when I say
I just want to treat you right.
When we're apart, I miss ya,
let me paint you the picture:
when we're near, all I do is smile.
When I'm bragging to the boys
about a girl I'd like to get to know
and I'm saving up my coins
for two tickets to the picture show,
when I say there's a special lady,
you can have no doubt
- you're that woman I'm talkin' about.
When I sing my songs all night,
read dusty books by candlelight,
I just can't take my rest.
I've got a fine bottle of wine
I'd like to share with you sometime
don't say you'd rather be someplace else
When my mind gets a-wandering,
nobody can hold me down,
when I'm working at the factory
like a slave by the hour
I'm thinking of my true love,
you can have no doubt
- you're the woman I'm talkin' about.
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2. |
If You See Me Laughing
03:49
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Take me to the river and I'll jump right in.
Pass me some of that engine grease
to mix with my gin.
I'll get stuck in the middle
given half a chance
but if you ain't interested,
why'd you take me to the dance?
Making eyes at the deputy's wife,
I nearly lost one for my trouble.
I saw the flash of his pig-iron
- I'm still waiting for the thunder.
On the corner of Bedlam and Squalor,
I missed my calling as a circus clown
but if you see me laughing
the lights're about to go out.
A classic fool, whose wisdom blooms
on the thorns of humiliation,
the poisonous truth,
I've got to be careful
of the council I keep
- it can be hard to tell
the beggars from the thieves.
I've played every juke joint across the land,
I'll fall down on my knees, raise up my right hand:
I see a life of struggle
in every grain of sand.
I've learnt to do the rumba,
I can surely twist and shout
but if you see me laughing
I'm ready for another round.
Sitting on a milk crate, threadbare necktie
around my throat.
I hold court with the rats,
chewing on a pigeon bone.
I can pack into a matchbox
almost everything I own
and anywhere I lay my head
I call my home.
Ha.
I heave and tow that dotted line,
feel that cat of nine tails
across my hide.
Put my head through a noose
to save a little time.
I'll cross my heart,
hope I don't get caught in a lie.
I know there's a stage for me
in the bright lights of the city.
I'll be drinking pink champagne,
none of that bootleg whisky.
From the ivory tower of Riches and Glamor,
I'll blow kisses to the crowd
and if you see me laughing,
I've got it all figured out!
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3. |
Grinning In Your Face
03:24
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Don't you mind people grinning in your face.
Don't you mind people grinning in your face.
Don't you bear this in mind:
your true friend is hard to find.
Don't you mind people grinning in your face.
Your mother may talk about you,
your sisters and your brothers too.
No matter how you're tryin' to live,
they're gonna talk about you still.
So don't you bear this in mind:
you're true friend is hard to find.
Don't you mind people grinning in your face.
They'll jump you up and down.
they're gonna spin you 'round and 'round
but as soon as your back is turned
they're gonna put you in the ground.
So don't you bear this in mind:
you're true friend is hard to find.
Don't you mind people grinning in your face.
Don't you mind people grinning in your face.
Don't you mind people grinning in your face.
Don't you bear this in mind:
you're true friend is hard to find.
Don't you mind people grinning in your face
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4. |
Punch Your Ticket
05:28
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It starts with bad directions and a sleight of hand
when you end up singing with the Cable street band.
In the tenement sweatshop
artists chew the bit
and I queue up ready to punch my ticket.
Loretta at the honky tonk casts her spell
and I stamp my boot heel to the stories she tells.
No cure for The Blues,
it's a terminal sickness,
it'll kill you if you ever stop
punching your ticket.
I'd rather not explain myself, I drink to forget.
Let me die in my footsteps, a poem under my breath.
Your troubles can give you strength
or stab you to the hilt
- you'll regret it if you never
punch your ticket.
In the candlelight, I try and relax.
If I'm caught I'll only give my name and rank,
when the pigs with tin shields
raid the barroom vigil
where, in the witching hour,
I punch my ticket.
Well,
You bring the medicine,
I've got the gold.
Darlin', sugar and spice
can be bought and sold.
You've got to
play the game
or place a winning bet
everybody's got an itch,
everybody's got to
punch their ticket.
When Marvin died,
the band drew a big crowd
but it was mere hours,
after the tears and the flowers
that, with faces soaked
in pilfered guilt, we were
back at The Gritseller's
to punch our tickets.
Papa Cedric has an endless
supply of poison
and a little black book
for his phonebooth appointments,
his out-patients keep
neat subscriptions,
for a price he can
punch any kind of ticket.
You bring the medicine,
I've got the gold.
Darlin', sugar and spice
can be bought and sold.
you've got to
play the game
or place a winning bet
everybody's got an itch,
everybody's got to
punch their ticket.
A grammar school natural
with a slick city career,
Fat Rat Albert hits the town
in ladies' underwear.
He knows the corner
for his particular kink
his wife thinks it's the fishing trips
that punch his ticket.
The doctor told the mystic,
"You've got a feeble heart."
The mystic asked,
"How'd you know?"
Doctor said, "I read your chart."
The mystic prays, fearing
punishment for his sins,
receives atonement
by punching that ticket.
You bring the medicine,
I've got the gold.
Darlin', sugar and spice
can be bought and sold.
You've got to
play the game
or place a winning bet
everybody's got an itch,
everybody's got to
punch their ticket.
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5. |
How Much More?
03:01
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I used to shine by boots
and salute the flag.
Now I'm singing The Blues,
my cap in my hand.
I holler on the corner all day
and I wonder how much more I can take.
My kin folk forgot me.
I never asked for much.
But there's nothin' I do
that makes me easy to love.
My best gal done forgotten my name
and I wonder how much more I can take.
I'm quick on the draw,
I've got an agile mind.
The bell tolled another round,
I never asked for a fight:
just a malted milk
and I'll be on my way.
I wonder how much more I can take.
I've never crossed anyone,
I've never wronged on purpose.
I've never known a hard time
but apparently I deserve it.
I've never asked a favour
but I've still got debts to pay
and I wonder how much more I can take.
I've been thinking of war
just across the horizon.
The short rope around my neck
is only bound to tighten
the farther from home I may stray
and I wonder how much more I can take.
When they set me on the gallows,
help me with that fall
but my will ain't broken.
Mama taught me to stand tall
and look that sheriff straight in the face.
I wonder how much more I can take.
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The Tin Can .44s London, UK
Philip Overton
Aaron Berk
Joe Strouzer
Jules Adams
Alex Edwards
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