Richard Thompson Album

How many boys, one night stands,
How many lips, how many hands, have held you
Like I'm holding you tonight
Too many nights, staying up late,
Too much powder and too much paint
No you can't hide from the turning of the tide

Did they run their fingers up and down your shabby dress
Did they find some tender moment there in your caress

The boys all say "You look so fine"
They don't come back for a second time
Oh you can't hide from the turning of the tide

Poor little sailor boy, never set eyes on a woman before
Did he tell you that he'd love you, darling, for evermore?

Pretty little shoes, cheap perfume,
Creaking bed in a hotel room
Oh you can't hide from the turning of the tide

Did they run their fingers up and down your shabby dress
Did they find some tender moment there in your caress

The boys all say "You look so fine",
They don't come back for a second time
Oh you can't hide from the turning of the tide

Oh she danced in the street with the guns all around her
All torn like a rag doll, barefoot in the rain
And she sang like a child, toora-day toora-daddy
Oh how will I ever be simple again

She sat by the banks of the dirty grey river
And tried for a fish with a worm on a pin
There was nothing but fever and ghosts in the water
Oh how will I ever be simple again

War was my love and my friend and companion
And what did I care for the pretty and plain
But her smile was so clear and my heart was so troubled
Oh how will I ever be simple again

In her poor burned-out house I sat at her table
The smell of her hair was like cornfields in May
And I wanted to weep and my eyes ached from trying
Oh how will I ever be simple again

So graceful she moved through the dust and the ruin
And happy she was in her dances and games
Oh teach me to see with your innocent eyes, love
Oh how will I ever be simple again
Oh how will I ever be simple again

All your bitterness and lies
Sting like tears in my eyes
And a thousand lovesick tunes
Won't wash away the wounds from my mind
You've been seen around, you're a news sensation
You got a better deal and you took his invitation
You've been sitting on his lap and taking his dictation
Mercy, we used to love all day and drive all night
Mercy, jealousy used to whet your appetite
Mercy, we were low as dogs and high as kites
Why must I plead with you darling,
For what's already mine
My friends are indiscreet
And I sing myself to sleep
And I don't mind the red wine
Or the pickup line as long as it's cheap
I ask you what 's wrong, and you say I'm all yours
I ask who your friend is, and you say Santa Clause
I ask you to come home, you say yoU're tired of being indoors
Mercy, you know you signed on that dotted line
Mercy, you signed yours and I signed mine
Mercy, you said forever till the end of time
Why must I plead with you darling,
For what's already mine

1. Was there ever a winter so cold and so sad
The river too weary to flood
The storm and the wind cut through to my skin
But she cut through to my blood

2. I wasn't looking for trouble to tangle my line
But trouble came looking for me
I knew I was treading on treacherous ground
I was sinking too fast to run free

Refrain:
With her scheming, idle ways
She left me for naught
The storm and the wind cut through to my skin
But she cut through to my blood

3.

When the spell is broken
When the spell is broken
How you ever gonna keep her now
You can't cry if you don't know how
When the spell is broken
When the spell is broken
All the joy is gone from her face
Welcome back to the human race
How long can the flame
Of love remain
When you curse and fight
And never see like
Or hear like spoken
When the spell is broken
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
When the spell is broken
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
Oh when the spell is broken
All your magic and your ways and schemes
All your lies come and tear at your dreams
When the spell is broken
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
When the spell is broken
Now you're handing her that same old line
It's just straws in the wind this time
When love has died,
There's none starry-eyed
No kiss, no tears,
No farewell souvenirs
Not even a token, when the spell is broken

Don't swear your heart
From the very start
Love letters you wrote
Are pushed back down you throat
And leave you choking, when the spell is broken
(When the spell, When the spell, When the spell is broken)
When the spell is broken
When the spell is broken
(When the spell, When the spell, When the spell is broken)
When the spell is broken
When the spell is broken

(Can't cry if you don't know how)
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
(You can't cry if you don't know how)
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
(Can't cry if you don't know how)
(Can't cry if you don't know how)

Stow your gear and charge your lamp
Say goodbye to dark and damp
DSS will pay your stamp
Last shift, close her down

Leave your manhood, leave your pride
Back there on the mucky side
Take the cage for one more ride
Last shift, close her down

Put the business in the black
And they've stabbed us in the back
With old school ties and little white lies
They left our town for scrap

Golden handshake, sling our hooks
Now we're nursemaids, now we're cooks
Now our kids steal pension books
Last shift, close her down

Now the scrapper boys infest
And the wrecking balls caress
Like vermin round a burial ground
They catch the smell of death

Old Grimey's lost its soul
Fifty million tons of coal
And we're beggars on the dole
Last shift, close her down
Last shift, close her down

Pharaoh he sits in his tower of steel
The dogs of money all at his heel
Magicians cry "Oh truth! Oh real!"
We're all working for the Pharaoh

A thousand eyes, a thousand ears
He feeds us all, he feeds our fears
Don't stir in your sleep tonight, my dears
We're all working for the Pharaoh

It's Egypt land, Egypt land
We're all living in Egypt land
Tell me, brother, don't you understand
We're all working for the Pharaoh

Hidden from the eye of chance
The men of shadow dance a dance
We're all struck into a trance
We're all working for the Pharaoh

The idols rise into the sky
Pyramids soar, Sphinxes lie
Head of dog, Osiris eye
We're all working for the Pharaoh

And it's Egypt land, Egypt land
We're all living in Egypt land
Tell me, brother, don't you understand
We're all working for the Pharaoh

I dig a ditch, I shape a stone
Another battlement for his throne
Another day on earth is flown
We're all working for the Pharaoh

Call it England, you call it Spain
Egypt rules with a whip and chain
Moses free my people again
We're all working for the Pharaoh

And it's Egypt land, Egypt land
We're all living in Egypt land
Tell me, brother, don't you understand
We're all working for the Pharaoh

Pharaoh he sits in his tower of steel
Around his feet the princes kneel
Far beneath we shoulder the wheel
We're all working for the Pharaoh

If I cross your path again
Who knows where, who knows when
On some morning without number, on some highway without end
Don't grasp my hand and say
"Fate has brought you here today"
Oh, fate is only fooling with us, friend

Keep your distance, oh, keep your distance
When I feel you close to me, what can I do but fall
Keep your distance, keep your distance
Ah with us it must be all or none at all

It's a desperate game we play
Throw our souls, our lives, away
Wounds that can't be mended and debts that can't be paid
Oh, I played and I got stung
Now I'm biting back my tongue
I'm sweeping out the footprints where I strayed

Keep your distance, keep your distance
When I feel you close to me what can I do but fall
Keep your distance, oh, keep your distance
With us it must be all or none at all

Keep your distance, oh keep your distance
When I feel you close to me what can I do but fall
Keep your distance, oh, keep your distance
With us it must be all or none at all
With us it must be all or none at all
With us it must be all or none at all

I hand you my ball and chain
You just hand me that same old refrain
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling

I wish I could please you tonight
But my medicine just won't come right
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling

Too many steps to take
Too many spells to break
Too many nights awake
And no one else
This grindstone's wearing me
Your claws are tearing me
Don't use me endlessly
It's too long, too long to myself

Where's the justice and where's the sense?
When all the pain is on my side of the fence
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling

Too many steps to take
Too many spells to break
Too many nights awake
And no one else
This grindstone's wearing me
Your claws are tearing me
Don't use me endlessly
It's too long, it's too long to myself

It scares you when you don't know
Whichever way the wind might blow
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling
I'm walking on a wire, I'm walking on a wire
And I'm falling.

I know the way that I feel about you
I'm never gonna run away
I'm never gonna run away
I never knew the way when I lived without you
I'm never gonna run away
I'm never gonna run away

I came to you when no one could hear me
I'm sick and weary of being alone
Empty streets and hungry faces
The world's no place when you're on your own
A heart needs a home

Some people say that I should forget you
I'm never gonna be a fool
I'm never gonna be a fool
A better life they say if I never met you
I'm never gonna be a fool
I'm never gonna be a fool

Tongues talk fire and eyes cry rivers
Indian givers, hearts of stone
Paper ships and painted faces
The world's no place when you're on your own
A heart needs a home

[No lyrics]

You and I
Tempted by the promise of a different life
Time has fled
There's a constant battle running through my head
I don't know what to do
'Cause I still believe
After all the foolish things you've put me through
I could always make a start on something new
And I'll always be a man who's open to
Persuasion

Blind romance
There'll be no half measures given half a chance
But we never learn
Trusting in the fire while the cruel flame burns
And we need to rebuild
What was never there
What got left behind
After all the foolish things that we've been through
I could always make a start on something new
And I'll always be a man who's open to
Persuasion

And it's written in the my heart
So that everybody can see it

And it's written in my soul
After all, I still believe it
I still believe it
I still believe it
I still believe it

I don't know what to do
'Cause I still believe
After all the foolish things you put me through
I could always make a start with something new
And I'll always be a man who's open to
Persuasion
Persuasion
Persuasion
Persuasion
I still believe it
I still believe it
Persuasion
I still believe it
I still believe it
I still believe it
Persuasion
Persuasion

After the death of a thousand kisses
Comes the catacomb of tongues
Who can spit the meanest venom
From the poison of their lungs

Cruelest dance is the razor dance
Circle in and circle around
He said, she said, she said, he said
Thrill to put the other one down
The razor dance, the razor dance

This time, gone too far
This time, can't heal the scar
I want to break out of this spin
But gravity's pulling me in
The razor dance, the razor dance

What flies straighter than an arrow
What cuts deeper than a lance
Your wit may shine on the withering line
Cruelest dance is the razor dance
The razor dance, the razor dance

Blood boils, tears burn
Some people never learn
If time could crawl back in its shell
And mischievous tongues could untell
But that's not the meaning of Hell

Take your partners for the razor dance
Take your partners for the razor dance
Take your partners for the razor dance
The razor dance
The razor dance, the razor dance

I'm beating my retreat
Back home to you
I'm beating my retreat
Back home to you
I'm burning all my bridges
I'm burning all my bridges
I'm burning all my bridges
I'm running back home to you

I'm trailing my colours
Back home to you
I'm trailing my colours
Back home to you
This world is filled with sadness
This world is filled with sadness
This world is filled with sadness
I'm running back home to you

I'll follow the drum
Back home to you
I'll follow the drum
Back home to you
There was no joy in my leaving
There was no joy in my leaving
There was no joy in my leaving
I'm running back home to you

Let me ride on the wall of death one more time
Let me ride on the wall of death one more time
You can waste your time on the other rides
But this is the nearest to being alive
Let me take my chances on the Wall of Death

You can go with the crazy people in the crooked house
You can fly away on the rocket or spin in the mouse
The tunnel of love might amuse you
And Noah's Ark might confuse you but
Let me take my chances on the Wall of Death

On the Wall of Death
All the World is far from me
On the Wall of Death
It's the nearest to being free

Well you're going nowhere when you ride on the carousel
And maybe you're strong, but what's the use of ringing a bell
The switchback will make you crazy
Beware of the bearded lady
Oh let me take my chances on the Wall of Death

You are going nowhere when you ride on the carousel
And maybe you're strong, but what's the use of ringing a bell
The switchback will make you crazy
Beware of the bearded lady
Let me take my chances
Let me take my chances
Let me take my chances

It was three in the morning when she took me apart
She wrecked the furniture, she wrecked my heart
She danced on my head like Arthur Murray
The scars ain't never going to mend in a hurry

Just when I thought I could learn to forget her
Right through the door come a tear-stained letter
Oh, oh, oh love love
Cry, cry if it makes you feel better
Set it all down in a tear-stained letter
Oh, oh, oh love love love
Cry, cry if it makes you feel better
Set it all down in a tear-stained letter

Well my head was beating like a song by the Clash
It was writing cheques that my body couldn't cash
Got to my feet, I was reeling and dizzy
I went for the 'phone but the line was busy

Just when I thought that things would get better
Right through the door come a tear-stained letter
Oh, oh, oh love love
Cry, cry if it makes you feel better
Set it all down in a tear-stained letter
Oh, oh, oh love love love love
Cry, cry if it makes you feel better
Set it all down in a tear-stained letter

Well I like coffee and I like tea
But I just don't like this fiddle-di-dee
It makes me nervous, it gives me the hives
Waiting for a kiss from a bunch of fives

Just when I think I could learn to forget her
Right through the door come a tear-stained letter
Oh, oh, oh love love love
Cry, cry if it makes you feel better
Set it all down in a tear-stained letter
Oh, oh, oh love love
Cry, cry if it makes you feel better
Set it all down in a tear-stained letter
Oh, oh, oh
Cry, cry if it makes you feel better
Set it all down in a tear-stained letter