Richard Thompson Album

Well, there's a house
In an alley,
In the squats and low rise
In a town with no future,
But that's where my future lies

It's a secret, but no secret
It's a rule, but no rule,
Where you find the darkest avenue,
You'll find the brightest jewel.

Now, my name, it is Mulvaney
And I'm known quite famously,
People speak my name in whispers,
What higher praise can there be?

But I'd trade my fine mohair,
For tie-dyes and faded jeans,
If she wanted me some other way,
She's my cooksferry queen.

She gave me one pill to get bigger,
She gave me one pill to get small,
I saw snakes dancin' all around my feet
And dead men comin' through the wall.

Well, I'm the prince of this parish,
I've been ruthless and I've been mean
but she blew my mind, and she opened my eyes, she's my cooksferry queen.

Well, she's got every way perfection,
All her looks beyond compare
She's got dresses that seem to float in the wind,
Pre-Raphaelite curls in her hair.

She could get the lame to walk, yeah
She could get the blind to see,
She could make wine out of Thames river water,
She could make a believer out of me.

Yes I'd trade it all tomorrow,
All the wicked things I've been
She's my bright jewel of the alley,
She's my cooksferry queen.

Yes I'd trade it all tomorrow,
All the wicked things I've been
She's my bright jewel of the alley,
She's my cooksferry queen.

Only a misdirected dart
At an unprotected heart
I'm sure it happens every day
Just a passing interlude
A fresh face to change the mood
I'll find my feet again you say

What rock I had you rolled
What rock I had you rolled away

But I live as best I can
Meet the uninhabited man
Please read the sign and walk away
What an old dry shell I am
The uninhabited man
I'll find my feet again you say

No doubt they'll pull me down
No doubt they'll pull me down someday

Who's been sleeping in my bed
Who's been sleeping in my bed

Who's been sitting in my chair
Who's been licking in my bowl
Who's been sleeping in my bed

A romantic ruin am I
Funny how I catch the eye
The vacuum slowly sucks you in
I'm left no skill, no art
To meet you heart to heart
You'll find no me beneath the skin
And if there's no me then there's no
And if there's no me then there's no sin

Who's been sleeping in my bed
Who's been sleeping in my bed

And who's been sitting in my chair
Who's been licking in my bowl
Who's been sleeping in my bed

Oh the last bus has gone
Or maybe I'm wrong
It just doesn't exist
And the words that flew
Between me and you
I must be crossed off your list
So I'm walking the long miles home
I don't mind losing you
In fact I feel better each step of the way
In the dark I rehearse all the right things to say
I'll be home, I'll be sober by break of day
Walking the long miles home

Not a soul is around
As I put more ground
Between me and you
And the whole town's asleep
Or maybe they're deep in the old "voulez vous"
So I'm walking the long miles home
And I don't mind losing you
Got the moon there for company each step of the way
And the rhythm in my shoes keep the blues all away
When you ride Shanks's Pony you don't have to pay
Walking the long miles home

Oh the party was grand
But I hadn't quite planned on staying so long
And while you accused me
The hours confused me and my friends had all gone
So I'm walking the long miles home
And I don't mind losing you
Ah there's nobody out but the cop on the beat
He's snoring so loud I don't hear my feet
I just laugh to myself and move off down the street
Walking the long miles home
I'm walking the long miles home
Oh walking the long miles home

Well we were heroes then, and the girls were all pretty
And a uniform was a lucky charm, bought you the key to the city
We used to dance the whole night through
While Al Bowlly sang "The Very Thought Of You"
Now Bowlly's in heaven and I'm in limbo now

Well I gave my youth to king and country
But what's my country done for me but sentenced me to misery
I traded my helmet and my parachute
For a pair of crutches and a demob suit
Al Bowlly's in heaven and I'm in limbo now

Hard times, hard hard times
Hostels and missions and dosser's soup lines
Can't close me eyes on a bench or a bed
For the sound of some battle raging in my head

Old friends, you lose so many
You get run around, all over town
The wear and the tear, oh it just drives you down
St Mungo's with its dirty old sheets
Beats standing all day down on Scarborough Street
Al Bowlly's in heaven and I'm in limbo now

Can't stay here, you got to foot-slog
Once in a blue moon you might find a job
Sleep in the rain, you sleep in the snow
When the beds are all taken you've got nowhere to go

Well I can see me now, I'm back there on the dance floor
Oh with a blonde on me arm, red-head to spare
Spit on my shoes and shine in me hair
And there's Al Bowlly, he's up on a stand
Oh that was a voice and that was a band
Al Bowlly's in heaven and I'm in limbo now

What a fool I was
What a thin disguise
Brando mumble
Mingus eyes
Was a time she fell
But then she got wise
Brando mumble
Mingus eyes
Never had the squint of James Dean
or the Stanislavsky tears
Or the rebel hunch that kills
Or the smile that slowly disappears
What a fool I was
What a thin disguise
Brando mumble
Mingus eyes
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If you don't want me I'll dry my tears and move on
If you don't want me I'll dry my tears and move on

You treated me just good enough until now
But if you're tired of me I'll get over you somehow
Oh, if you don't want me I'll dry my tears and move on

If you don't need me there's someone else who needs me out there
She's kind and tender and one day I'll find her I swear
So set me free while I've still got time
Don't try to hide your shame, dear, from my eyes
Oh, if you don't want me I'll dry my tears and move on

Faded love
As if you need a reason
Am I out of your dreams
Or just out of season
Oh the flame of love
Oh you wouldn't understand
You hide it in your heart
You don't hold it in your hand

If you don't want me I'll dry my tears and move on
If you don't want me I'll dry my tears and move on

My suits got creases and my shoes have got shine
Let me know soon I'll find a better use for my time
Oh if you don't want me
If you don't want me
Oh, if you don't want me I'll dry my tears and move on
I'll dry my tears and move on
I'll dry my tears and move on

Jackknife with a precious load
Spills it's guts all over the road
Excuse me, I had to smile
Lost my grip too for a while
Easy there, steady now
Easy there, steady now
She didn't have the decency
To sweep away what's left of me
I don't have the presence of mind
To walk along in a straight line
Easy there, steady now
CHORUS
I call your name
I call it loud
I see your face
In every crowd
Nosebleed down the bathroom wall
Leaves a pool down in the stall
I wonder where you are tonight
Red dress, skin so white
Easy there, steady now
3 AM an empty town
Doctor Martens echo down
Old man Heartbreak follows you
Corruption's shadow swallows you
Easy there, steady now
CHORUS
Jackknife with a precious load
Spills it's guts all over the road
Excuse me, I had to smile
Lost my grip too for awhile
Easy there, steady now

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

Bathsheba smiles
She smiles and veins turn to ice
She smiles and heads bow down
She works the room
Air-kisses every victim twice
She spreads her joy around

Do you close your eyes to see miracles
Do you raise your face to kiss angels
Do you float on air to hear oracles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
No doubt can cross her mind
Cross her mind

Bathsheba knows
She knows you better than yourself
Confess it on your knees
She shares her love
And sharing love is sharing wealth
Dig in your pockets please

Do you close your eyes to see miracles
Do you raise your face to kiss angels
Do you float on air to hear oracles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
No doubt can cross her mind

No pain no gain's a strain
But she never seems to hurt
Catwalk pilgrims sing this song
Hello heaven, goodbye dirt
And no hair shirt

Do you close your eyes to see miracles
Do you raise your face to kiss angels
Do you float on air to hear oracles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
No doubt can cross her mind

Do you close your eyes
Do you raise your face
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Bathsheba smiles, smiles
Bathsheba smiles

My sweetheart she bounced right out of my arms
She was gone before I remembered to cling
Did I reach out too slowly to catch her
Or was she by nature a slippery thing

Into the arms of Mr Rebound
Into the arms of Clean Up Joe
Into the arms of Mr Rebound
Mr Rebound, as if I didn't know

He'll give her laughs and he'll give her dreams
I gave her the kids and the pots and pans
He'll do for the dash and he'll do for the sprint
But he won't do for a marathon man

I know for a fact that she ain't coming back
To tell you the truth, I'm a little bit glad
She may be blind with the things on her mind
But how can she stand to touch something that bad

Did you call my name? Did you call my name in the night?
In the whispers and sighs, in the whispers and sighs of the night
Ah ghosts in the wind, eh ghosts in the wind

Now this old house moves, this old house moves and moans
The tongues of the night, the tongues of the night stir my bones
Ah ghosts in the wind, oh ghosts in the wind
When will my sore heart ever mend

I'm empty and cold, I'm empty and cold like a ruin
The wind tears through me, the wind tears through me like a ruin
Ah ghosts in the wind, oh ghosts in the wind
When will my sore heart ever mend
Ghosts in the wind, ah ghosts in the wind

I keep my nose clean, I keep my speech plain
I keep my promises, she twists the knife again
I shut my memory, I close my eyes and then
She takes another bite, she twists the knife again

She never leaves me my dignity
Makes a dunce of me in mixed company
No bygone can be a bygone
She throws the spanner in, she puts the screws on

In the middle of a kiss, she twists the knife again
When I get up off my knees, she twists the knife again
When I think I'm off the hook she gets me
She twists the knife again, she twists the knife again

I make my moves well, I let her tell me when
I walk a fine line, she twists the knife again
Just when the scar heals, just when the grip unbends
Just when her mind reels, she twists the knife again

She can give it out, she can't take it
She smells something bad, she has to rake it
I bring home my packet, my white-collar money
I'm in a fist fight, she thinks she's Gene Tunney

In the middle of a kiss, she twists the knife again
When I get up off my knees, she twists the knife again
When I think I'm off the hook she gets me
She twists the knife again, she twists the knife again

She never leaves me my dignity
Makes a dunce of me in mixed company
No bygone can be a bygone
She throws the spanner in, she puts the screws on

In the middle of a kiss, she twists the knife again
When I get up off my knees, she twists the knife again
When I think I'm off the hook she gets me
She twists the knife again, she twists the knife again
She twists the knife again

In the dark, who can see his face?
In the dark, who can reach him?
He hides like a child.
He hides like a child.
Keeps his finger on the trigger
You know he can't stand the day
Shoot out the lights.
Shoot out the lights.

Keep the blind down on the window
Ah, keep the pain on the inside
Just watching the dark.
Just watching the dark.
Ah he might laugh but you won't see him
As he thunders through the night

Shoot out the lights.
Shoot out the lights.

In the darkness the shadows move
In the darkness the game is real
Real as a gun.
Real as a gun.
As he watches the lights of the city
And he moves through the night
Shoot out the lights.
Shoot out the lights.
Shoot out the lights.
Ah, shoot out the lights.

This time you hurt me
You really did it this time you did
Did you count your fingers after shaking my hand
God forbid
Riff raff crawling from the slums
Right there in front of all your chums
I swear by the pricking of my thumbs
I'll make your day and melt away

I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
But you won't have to stand next to me
You won't have to introduce me
You won't have to think about, talk about, care about, me
I'll crawl back

I've got a nerve just showing my face don't you think
Scruffy little likes ought to know their place don't you think
Old boy, sorry to intrude
Damn shame pretty bloody rude
I should be horsewhipped and sued
Then I'll go quietly my tail between my knees

I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
But you won't have to stand next to me
You won't have to introduce me
You won't have to think about, talk about, care about, me
I'll crawl back

I want to be middle class
Floors and ceilings made of glass
I just want to be, I just want to be free

You had me in a second you had it all reckoned, you did
You guessed my game and my name, rank and number, you did
Somehow I gave myself away
Some code, some word I didn't say
I missed one line in the play
And the trap shut tight and you did me all right

I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
I'll crawl back under my stone
But you won't have to stand next to me
You won't have to introduce me
You won't have to think about, talk about, care about
You won't have to ask about, fuss about, discuss about
You won't have to mind about, swear about, forget about, me
Crawl back
I'll crawl back
I'll crawl back
Crawl back

I'll crawl back
Crawl back
Crawl back
I'll crawl back

Old friend, it's been so long, and it's been so real
And if I helped you once it was no big deal
Too bad I can't be there when they call your name
They're going to write you down in the hall of fame

You really got what you wanted, I'm thrilled as pie
It really couldn't happen to a nicer guy

Put it there pal, put it there
Now and then just throw me a crumb
Put it there pal, put it there
Thanks for the help when I needed it, chum

You saw me drowning, you said I was a fake and laughed
Then you jumped right in and used me for a raft

You shot me down with friendly fire
You were all dressed up to play Gun For Hire
The rope you threw me was made of barbed wire
But put it there pal, put it there, pal
Put it there

I know you mean well, call me a sentimental fool
I know sometimes you've got to be kind to be cruel
When you pat me on the back, that was quite some slap
That kind of compliment, it could kill a chap

So I'll drink your health, oh this emotion's given me a thirst
But maybe I'll have my food-taster drink it first

Put it there pal, put it there
You deserve everything you got coming
Put it there pal, put it there
Call me up if you want to come slumming

Some say you're a rattlesnake in the grass
But I say the sun shines out of your arse

So it's no hard feelings, live and let live
With a gift like yours, you're born to give
You're so full of love it leaks out like a sieve

So put it there pal, put it there pal
Put it there
Put it there
Put it there
Put it there, pal
Put it there, pal
Put it there, pal