Richard Thompson Album

He was a species on the verge of extinction
She was an Air New Zealand hostess
They were mystically joined, like Rawicz and Landauer
Like Pinky and Perky, like Porgy and Bess
O he loved the pursuit and the romance
But the details were more of a chore
When the bride's veil lifted, his mind soon drifted -
At least that's what happened before

Let it Blow, let it snow
Let the mercury bubble and dive
Life's little traumas and courtroom dramas
Remind me I'm glad I'm alive

O she loved the clinking of glasses
When the toast was to noble and princes
In the conjugal nest she was seen at her best
With her keen eye for curtains and chintzes
She had all the furniture ordered
By the time they were naming the date
And her mother came speeding from distant Dunedin
To help with the flowers and cake

Let it Blow, let it snow
Let the mercury bubble and dive
Life's little traumas and courtroom dramas
Remind me I'm glad I'm alive

At the chapel of Partial Remembrance
The ushers went into a seizure
Mr. Bacchus, they said, Should we stand on our head?
Would sackcloth and ashes displease you?
And they honeymooned down in Ibiza
Where the sun and the nightlife were hot
As she lay on the sand, he said, Isn't it grand?
I bring all of my wives to this spot

Let it Blow, let it snow
Let the mercury bubble and dive
Life's little traumas and courtroom dramas
Remind me I'm glad I'm alive

A life of volcanic activity
Left him nothing to spout but hot air
A long interruption since his last eruption
Was disguised by sheer devil-may-care
But some charm and some skill and maneouvre
Had him rising to meet the occasion
And for once, they found bliss, but news of their tryst
Got to Fleet Street, and caused a sensation

Let it Blow, let it snow
Let the mercury bubble and dive
Life's little traumas and courtroom dramas
Remind me I'm glad I'm alive

And the press was baying for blood now
They gave them a week at the most
We were all glad to see it reach weeks two and three
But the fourth week, the whole thing was toast
And she dragged her tail back to New Zealand
With threats of High Court and revenge
Meanwhile his eye did stray to the ample bustier
Of a novelty dancer from Penge

Let it Blow, let it snow
Let the mercury bubble and dive
Life's little traumas and courtroom dramas
Remind me I'm glad I'm alive

For Whose Sake
For Whose Sake
Did I deliver
Sighs of love and vows forever
For Whose Sake
For Whose Sake
Did I learn real from true?

Fast times
What a scene you left behind
Skins shed
Bitter morsels said
And now you shine your little star
Ad did you come so far
Are you who you think you are?

For Whose Sake
For Whose Sake
Did I endeavor
Pledge myself forever
For Whose Sake
For Whose Sake
I know your signs
And I know your lines
But I don't know you
I don't know you
I don't know you

My dearest Miss Patsy, I'm writing to say
That I'm sorry to not be in touch
It's been quite a parade, but my thoughts never strayed
Too far, or too long, or too much

Miss Patsy, forgive all the choices I made
I've been fighting shadows on the wrong crusade
Looking for ghosts in a penny arcade
Miss Patsy, no more will I roam
Miss Patsy, won't you carry me home

They held me to ransom back there in the foothills
And nobody stumped up a bean
Not Swifty, nor Eddie, came up with the ready
It can make you think people plain mean

Miss Patsy, forgive all the choices I made
I've been fighting shadows on the wrong crusade
Looking for ghosts in a penny arcade
Miss Patsy, no more will I roam
Miss Patsy, won't you carry me home

I've been hanging out with some virtuous people
They emptied my bank account twice
The gave me self-confidence, even some clothes
And a truckload of love and advice
When they gave out the cyanide pills with a wink
And said, Wait for the word, any day now, we think
I knew it was time to pull back from the brink
Miss Patsy, no more will I roam
Miss Patsy, won't you carry me home

Miss Patsy, I looked at myself in the mirror
Decided I needed some work
Got me a nose job, a shave and a haircut
To drive all them ladies berserk
But the arm round my waist was a man in dark blue
He said, Ain't you him? We've been looking for you
Now I'm sharing a cell with a holy kung fu
Miss Patsy, no more will I roam
Miss Patsy, won't you carry me home

As I was walking down by old Thames side
Well my foot and my heart seemed to falter
For there you were standing by Custom House Landing
Like Venus risen out of the water

And they'll say it's because I'm a fool in love
That I swear there's no beauty before you
But those that deny or think that I lie
Well those are the ones never saw you

O there never was anyone perfect as you
As you stood there and smiled to greet me
And I looked for a phrase to capture your ways
But that's a task will always defeat me

And they'll say it's because I'm a fool in love
That I swear there's no beauty before you
But those that deny or think that I lie
Well those are the ones never saw you

You and your big ideas
Taking your time with me
Faithful as I faltered
Steady as I stumbled
A lifeline tossed in a boiling sea

Whose dream was that -
To parcel up my soul and pass the hat?
That's not a style that suits you much
You lack that tender touch
That brings them back for more
Drove your old man out the door
When you tried it on before

You and your big ideas
And now the scars don't show
How Does Your Garden Grow?

My Soul My Soul My Soul
My Soul My Soul My Soul
My Soul My Soul My Soul

She's never going to shake it up
She's never going to shake it up
She's never going to shake it up
She'll never be satisfied

She's never going to eye me right
She's never going to eye me right
She's never going to eye me right
The way I want to be eyed

The way she crimps her curls
The way she calls that hog
The way she sips her tea
The way she smokes that log
The way she bangs the wall
The way she walks the dog

I showed her my invitation
I showed her my invitation
I showed her my invitation
If she didn't go and scratch me off

She gave me my party favours
She gave me my party favours
She gave me my party favours
But nothing was sweet enough

Haven't I flip you
A thousand times or more
Haven't I flip you
A thousand times or more
Haven't I flip you
A thousand times or more

My Soul My Soul My Soul

She's never going to shake it up
She's never going to shake it up
She's never going to shake it up
She'll never be satisfied

She's never going to eye me right
She's never going to eye me right
She's never going to eye me right
The way I want to be eyed

Love that holds its breath for fear
Of scaring love away
I rush my lines
I care too deeply
O will she keep me
For idle games

I stare into
I stare into
The dying flames

I raise my eyes to see her there
Shining in a daydream
I raise my eyes
I see too much
I know her touch
What her touch would mean

I stare into
I stare into
The dying flames

Feel that sting across your back and Row, Boys, Row
Don't wait for the whip to crack and Row, Boys, Row
Is it wise to be moaning when the Captain comes?
Tip your hat and get grinning though you're worn to the gums
Is it wise to be needy in the land of the free?
Is it wise to be bleeding in a shark-filled sea?

Seven years of bad luck
Should have read the small print...

Save my soul, save my soul
I'm chained below, I'm chained below
Carving sailors' little keepsakes
Out of teeth and nails and driftwood
Got to keep the old ship moving
Ploughing through the Sea of Cortez
Living skeletons for neighbors

Hear the Bo'sun beat the drum and Row, Boys, Row
Slavery till Kingdom Come and Row, Boys, Row
Is it wise to be asking for a morsel more
When you see what they done to him what asked before?
Is it wise to be kneeling with your arse poking free?
Is it wise to be bleeding in a shark-filled sea?

Is it wise to be moaning when the Captain comes?
Tip your hat and get grinning though you're worn to the gums
Is it wise to be needy in the land of the free?
Is it wise to be bleeding in a shark-filled sea?

Strolling down on Mutton Street
The moon is peeping through
Old wives say, Young Man, you;d better
Watch your Ps and Qs
But life is good on Mutton Street
If you know the why and where
Romping on the bombsites
There's magic everywhere

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

We came upon those Burley boys
They were shaking like a leaf
We had our stones and dusters
We were armed right to the teeth
We fired a friendly volley
And we only maimed a few
And quick as greasy lightning
They disappeared from view

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

Now Bonfire Night it was a sight
The bonfire how it blazed
It nearly set the street alight
So they called the Fire Brigade
The Fire Brigade got busy
But we cut the hoses clean
And suddenly the Mutton Boys
Were nowhere to be seen

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

Alky on the corner
Shell-shocked fusilier
Tip him a little drink, he'll get you
Cigarettes and beer
Thomas Tapling Senior
Got soda pop and news
Scott and son's got toys for boys
But they push their Christian views

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

We're the boys of Mutton Street
Mutton Street, Mutton Street
We're the boys of Mutton Street
We give no ground

Precious One, Precious One
Thought you stood so sweet upon your own two feet
Precious One, Precious One
Thought there was no breeze could bring you
to your knees
But I was wrong
I was wrong

Precious One, Precious One
Should have been a light to guide you through the night
Precious One, Precious One
Wanted to believe you had no need to grieve
But I was wrong
I was wrong

I was wrong, I was wrong
Should have wrapped you in my arms
Around you tight
To say, I'm here
What's done is done
What's done is done

Precious One, Precious One
Wish there was a tide to bring you me to your side
Precious One, Precious One
Didn't want to run or leave it all undone
O I was wrong
I was wrong

Precious One, Precious One
Thought you stood so sweet upon your own two feet
Precious One, Precious One
Thought there was no breeze could bring you
to your knees
But I was wrong
I was wrong

Sometimes I long for the solitary life
Parents long gone, no kids, no wife
Sister somewhere in Australia
Never did keep in touch
Sex no more than a how-do-ye-do
With a copy of Penthouse in the loo
Socially a bit of a failure
Nice not to have to try too much

A solitary life
A life of small horizons
Dull as the pewter sky over North West Eleven
A solitary life
A life of small horizons
Dull as the pewter sky over North West Eleven

A serious hobby in the garden shed
Model trains, or soldiers in lead
Join the suburban boffins of Britain
Experts on trivial things
And holidays in the Yorkshire Dales
Or cycling tours of the North of Wales
Unenvious of those flea-bitten
On continental flings

A solitary life
A life of small horizons
Dull as the pewter sky over North West Eleven

Excitement comes by subtle means
The satisfaction of routines
Small revenges at the office
Smug little victories
You work on your pallor, complexion like paste
Like the grey defeat on an inmates face
A life spent adding losses and profits
Resigning by degrees

A solitary life
A life of small horizons
Dull as the pewter sky over North West Eleven

A solitary life
A life of small horizons
Dull as the pewter sky over North West Eleven

And come to the end, sad and alone
A steady reliable tumour you've grown
From selfish years, while all your peers
Have stressfully jogged to health
In life you were always quite numb
And foggier now, you soon succumb
In drab St. Barts on the new by-pass
Death overcomes by stealth

A solitary life
A life of small horizons
Dull as the pewter sky over North West Eleven

A solitary life
A life of small horizons
Dull as the pewter sky over North West Eleven

Should I betray you to your spouse?
The wife who waits back at the house
She doesn't know that you're a louse
That's not the man she wed

She doesn't know the deals you make
The throats you cut, the vows you break
To buy up some old lady's stake
Quick before she's dead

She doesn't see your oily smarm
You pour on in the place of charm
When you've got some shopgirl by the arm
Steering her into bed

That virgin forest you chopped down
To build another ugly town
I'll tell your wife you bribed them round
To back your plan instead

But perhaps she doesn't want to see
The heel that you've turned out to be
That's why she'll take a gin or three
To drive doubts from her head

While she's working hard enough
With housework, kids and all that stuff
You're out there with some bit of fluff
Cruising on the Med

She thought the leopard's spots were paint
She thought she'd turn you to a saint
Kept hoping, though the hope grew faint
That you were better bred

Should I betray you to your spouse?
The wife who waits back at the house
She doesn't know that you're a louse
That's not the man she wed

All he ever wanted to do was harm
All he ever wanted to be was cruel
At 12 years old Fate marked his brow
And he said, I have a mission now
But we laughed at his clothes
And the blackheads round his nose
When We Were Boys At School

Teachers spoke of Hannibal and Hector
Nimrod and Nietzsche were more his fuel
Swastikas and pentagrams
Flourished from his tender hands
But we watched in the rain
As the bully beat him up again
When We Were Boys At School

And he said, my camouflage will hide me
I'll be as grey as the world is grey
A thousand government corridors
Behind which of a thousand doors
Will I delegate and rule
O little boys at school

All he ever wanted to do was harm
All he ever wanted to be was cruel
And sometimes when the night is still
I can feel the gathering of his will
I can feel him flex the strings of power
And grope to his appointed hour
But we laughed at the dirt
And the frayed cuffs on his shirt
When We Were Boys At School