Richard Thompson Album

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

She's telling me she don't need headlights
She's telling me the storm is friendly
She says the volts are inviting
She talks in couplets, she steers by lightning

She takes a knife to my seatbelt
She says the brakes need mending
She says my mood needs heightening
She talks in couplets, she steers by lightning

Two angels sitting in the back seat
They're pointing at their watches
I feel eternity biting
She talks in couplets, she steers by lightning

My Maggie, she's got a loose one
She uses Milton as a road map
My Maggie, she is a bright thing
She talks in couplets, she steers by lightning

Becky loved me and I let her
Wish I could have loved her better
On the day we pulled apart
She primed a time-bomb in my heart
Now there's a shadow hiding
Now there's a horseman riding
Lover of all broken things
Standing waiting in the wings

Sometimes I wonder why I love and let it die
Can't give, can't live just to hold back, hold back

There's a dark hand, there's a dark hand
There's a dark hand over my heart

There's a dark hand, there's a dark hand
There's a dark hand over my heart

You call me fraud and faker
You call me user, taker
You say I throw you scraps
Prove my strength by holding back
But I shine my honour brightly
Swear my allegiance nightly
But through my hands it slips
The same old demons paint their lips

Sometimes I wonder why I love and let it die
I can't give, I can't live just to hold back, hold back

There's a dark hand, there's a dark hand
There's a dark hand over my heart

There's a dark hand, there's a dark hand
There's a dark hand over my heart

There's a dark hand, there's a dark hand
There's a dark hand over my heart

Oh there's a dark hand, there's a dark hand
There's a dark hand over my heart

I sigh when people pass by and I hide it away
I wipe a tear from my eye and I hide it away
When I need you the most
I hold the ghost of you inside
So I keep the flame, and go on my way
Laugh at the game and I hide it away
Hide it away
Hide it away

I break down in the street and I hide it away
Can't speak, can't move my feet and I hide it away
I smile through the mask of my face
But deep and wide is the hurt inside
So I live to love some other day
Laugh at the game and I hide it away
Hide it away
Hide it away

When I need you the most
I hold the ghost of you inside
So I keep the flame, and go on my way
Laugh at the game and I hide it away
Hide it away
Hide it away
Hide it away

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

I got sinister things waiting for you in my rattle bag
Egyptian rings, and the dust of kings, and the tooth of a hag
The bones of Keats, the tongues of cheats, and a mad dog's eye
And I'm going to make you love me and you won't know why

I've got all the magic I need, all the magic I need
I've got all the magic I need
I'm going to do the business on you
I'm going to do the business on you
I'm going to do the business on you
I've got all the magic I need

I've got a drop of Elvis' sweat from Caesar's Palace
I've got Virginia McKenna's tears from A Town Like Alice
I've got a hair from the underwear of the Empress Josephine
And I'm going to come for you, darling, in the middle of a dream

I've got all the magic I need, I've got all the magic I need
I've got all the magic I need
I'm going to do the business on you
I'm going to do the business on you
I'm going to do the business on you
I've got all the magic I need

I've got war paints, the skulls of saints, don't you want to see 'em
The blood of popes, and Tyburn ropes from the Black Museum
I've got Frederick Delius' finger, Wordsworth's tattoo
And I'm going to love you with everything, and I think you're going to love me too

I've got all the magic I need, all the magic I need
I've got all the magic I need
I'm going to do the business on you
I'm going to do the business on you
I'm going to do the business on you
I've got all the magic I need

I'm going to pretend you like me too
All of my messages come from you
If I keep it up it might even drive you crazy
I'm going to pretend you're my squeeze
Arm in arm on the Champs Elysee
If I keep it up it's the only thing might save me

All of my life is a ritual dance, a ritual dance around you
And the worship hurts to pieces
Touch me here, touch me here on the precious jewel
I wear in my head for you
That only your hand releases

Let me steal your thunder, won't you
Let me be your boy wonder, won't you
Let me thrill you, will you, won't you
And no's not a word we use around here
No's not a word we use around here
No's not a word we use around here

I'm going to pretend you're head over heels
Sending me flowers, cooking me meals
If I keep it up it might even drive you crazy
I'm going to pretend we don't even sleep
Bending the bedsprings, dogs on heat
If I keep it up it's the only thing that might save me

You don't need me creeping around, creeping around your door
Like a lovesick labrador
You don't need a bird-brain from the bottom of the food chain
At the Rory O'More
But it's what you'll get for sure

Oh let me steal your thunder, won't you
Let me be your boy wonder, won't you
Let me thrill you, will you, won't you
And no's not a word we use around here
No's not a word we use around here
No's not a word we use around here
Oh no's not a word we use around here
No's not a word we use around here
No's not a word we use around here
I said no's not a word
No's not a word
No's not a word

Oh I can't get started, and I'm broken hearted
You smile so sweet but you're fast on your feet
Do you want me to catch you, or just get near?
Should I chase you forever? I think I got the idea

Am I wasting my love on you?
Am I wasting my love on you?
Am I wasting my love on you?
Must be better things I can do

Oh I went to a party, you were standing there
You looked so retiring with that fruit in your hair
I said "What gives?" and you said "I do"
And that was the last sense I ever got from you

Am I wasting my love on you?
Am I wasting my love on you?
Am I wasting my love on you?
Must be better things I can do

Well I'm wasting my love, wasting my love, wasting my love on you
Wasting my love, wasting my love, wasting my love on you

Am I wasting my love on you?
Am I wasting my love on you?
Am I wasting my love on you?
Must be better things I can do

I went to your house, and I drank your tea
We were getting very cosy on Greek philosophy
You chewed on my ear and when I begged for more
You went off to bed, barricaded the door

Am I wasting my love on you?
Am I wasting my love on you?
Am I wasting my love on you?
Must be better things I can do
Than wasting my love, wasting my love, wasting my love on you
Am I wasting my love, wasting my love, wasting my love on you
I'm wasting my love, wasting my love, wasting my love on you
Am I wasting my love, wasting my love, wasting my love on you

Got a bank vault in heaven, got my name on the door
Every day I get richer, add a little bit more
Come you tellers and lenders and lend me some more
Got a bank vault in heaven and it's mine for evermore

And the angels sing "Fly, fly, fly"
The angels sing "Fly, fly, fly"
Fly from the darkness that covers you all
Fly to the sky where the only wall is infinity, infinity

Going to shine down from heaven right into your room
Take the minds of your children right off to the moon
Every mud hut and igloo, every penthouse and farm
I'll shine down from heaven and I'll do my snake-charm

And the angels say "Sing, sing, sing", "Sing, sing, sing"
Oh the whole world is singing the same happy tune
Something so low even hound dogs can croon to insanity, insanity

Oh there's a signpost in heaven, in the firmament blue
You can run to the wastelands, but it points straight at you
I've got a bank vault in heaven, what joy will it bring
All you Punchs and Judys, I'll be pulling your strings

If that was our goodbye kiss
Seems a habit too good to miss
Once more for the memory
Hit the heights too well that time
To leave it there would be a crime
Seems more like beginning to me

At least we tried, took the biggest bite
Least we did it right
With all our soulds and all our might

Blue murder on the dance floor
French kisses in the rain
Blood wedding in the water
Till I see you again
Dutch courage is the game
And the ghost of you walks, the ghost of you walks
The ghost of you walks

The ghost of you walks right through my head
Sleepwalks at the foot of my bed
Sends old shivers over my skin
Love like that, won't let go
It's got some kind of a mind of its own
I can't break out and I can't break in

At least we lived, took it all at a rush
At least we loved too much
Felt too much, cared too much

Blue murder on the dance floor
French kisses in the rain
Blood wedding in the water
Till I see you again
Dutch courage is the game
And the ghost of you walks, the ghost of you walks
The ghost of you walks

Oh baby, she don't know what to do with herself
Oh baby, she don't know what to do with herself
She might wipe her tears on a rusty nail
Rest her cheek on a cold steel rail
Oh baby, she don't know what to do with herself

Oh baby, she don't know what to do with herself
I said baby, she don't know what to do with herself
When trouble comes down, it comes in threes
Catches her breath and she falls to her knees
Oh baby, she don't know what to do with herself

And I gaze on, gaze on
And I gaze on, gaze on

Ah baby, she don't know what to do with herself
Oh baby, she don't know what to do with herself
She presses her lips on the window pane
Cries "God in heaven" again and again
Oh baby, she don't know what to do with herself

And I gaze on, gaze on
And I gaze on, gaze on
And I gaze on, gaze on

Midnight in her room
There was music and incense and mirrors all round
By the light of the moon
Her silver dress slipped to the ground
Then she knelt like St Joan
And invisible armies attended her there
And her knife brightly shone
As she cut off her long silken hair

Trapped, I suppose
Lied for my sake
Crushed like the rose
That somebody picked by mistake

Oh I knew it would come
I knew she would leave me for some better start
Oh I knew it would come
She was too well rehearsed in her part
And I measured my life
And my heart fairly broke with the sorrow and care
As she took down the knife
And she cut off her long silken hair

Oh there's some who believe
Oh there's some who believe there are reasons to lie
And there's some who deceive
And the truth is right there in their eyes
Oh but I don't see why
In all of my life I've seen nothing so fair
And I don't see why
She cut off her long silken hair

I don't see why
I don't see why

I sigh when people pass by and I hide it away
I wipe a tear from my eye and I hide it away
When I need you the most
I hold the ghost of you inside
So I keep the flame, and go on my way
Laugh at the game and I hide it away
Hide it away
Hide it away

I break down in the street and I hide it away
Can't speak, can't move my feet and I hide it away
I smile through the mask of my face
But deep and wide is the hurt inside
So I live to love some other day
Laugh at the game and I hide it away
Hide it away
Hide it away

When I need you the most
I hold the ghost of you inside
So I keep the flame, and go on my way
Laugh at the game and I hide it away
Hide it away
Hide it away
Hide it away

Oh you speak the words locked in my breast
But it's late for me, let an old man rest
One more black and tan on the barricade
To keep me safe from loving
When I close my eyes, close my eyes
To the cold flame of the Northern Lights
When I close my eyes, close my eyes
And I see you still in the shuttered night

What a new-found friend is honesty
To see ourselves as others see
To see the shy boy inside the man
Is that all I am? Just starved of loving

When I close my eyes, I close my eyes
To the cold flame of the Northern Lights
When I close my eyes, close my eyes
And I see you still in the shuttered night

She's sitting on the train, the train's gonna to leave
Bags in her hand, tears on her sleeve
Banging on the window with all of my might
But she won't look to the left or the right
We had a fight and it wasn't pretty
Now she's leaving, ain't it a pity
Going to wait tables, down in the city
Hold that red light one more minute
6:18's got my baby in it
Train don't leave, heart don't break
Train don't leave, heart don't break

Mister guard, get out of that van
Wave that flag, I'm a lonely man
Mister driver, hand off the throttle
Or I'll shoot my luck, lose my bottle
One more minute, I can talk her right 'round
Get her size sixes back on the ground
Train whistle is a lonely sound
I didn't mean the things I told you
Empty arms waiting to hold you
Train don't leave, heart don't break
Train don't leave, heart don't break

She's getting off the train, she'd mad and sore
She pokes at my nose with the old southpaw
Swings and misses, turns right 'round
I catch her in time and we fall to the ground
She's got tears but she's laughing as well
We kiss like fools, you never can tell
How a little minute can cast its spell
We never want to see this station again
It's a sad old place for lonely men
Train, train, get down the track
Hell, you can leave and never come back

Here I am in your room going through your stuff
Said you'd be gone five minutes, that's time enough
Here in your drawer there's lacy things
Old credit cards and beads and bangles and rings
Well I think I've found what I'm looking for
Hidden away at the back of the drawer
Here's the life that you led before

Old photographs of the life you led
Arm in arm with Mr X Y and Z
Old boyfriends big and small
Got to see how I measure up to them all
There is a place we all must start, love
Who were you holding in that fond embrace
I've found a door into your heart, love
And do you still feel the warmth of cold kisses

Here I am behind enemy lines
Looking for secrets, looking for signs
Old boyfriends big and small
Got to see how I measure up to them all
This one's handsome, not too bright
This one's clever with his hands alright
Tougher than me if it came to a fight
And this one's a poet, a bit of a wet
Bit of a gypsy, a bit of a threat
I wonder if she's got over him yet

Old passions frozen in the second
Who were you holding in that fond embrace
Hearts have a past that must be reckoned
And do you still feel the warmth of cold kisses

Time to put the past away
That's your footstep in the street I'd say
Tie the ribbon back around it
Everything just the way I found it
And I can hear you turn the key
And my head's buried when you see me
In a Margaret Miller mystery
And do you still feel the warmth of cold kisses
Do you still feel the warmth of cold kisses

Me name is Sam Jones and it's bones me occupation
Chuck your old hocks out for my consideration
Thirty years a bone man, up and down the nation
Sam Jones deliver them bones

I've been among the shamrock and I've been among the thistle
I like it all picked over, clean as a whistle
No sign of meat on, no sign of gristle
Sam Jones deliver them bones

I've seen battlefields white with human ivory
Noble dukes and princes stripped of flesh and finery
When the crows have done their job, they say that's the time for me
Sam Jones deliver them bones

And I even dream of bones when I'm lying very ill
Roomsfull of skeletons a-dancing the quadrille
Rows and rows of skulls singing Blueberry Hill
Sam Jones deliver them bones

And if you're unburied, the likes of me will find you
You're no good to worms, but you might become the finest glue
We'll grind you up and spread you out as fertiliser, too
Sam Jones deliver them bones

And I've got a lorry, it's me own boneshaker
Where's there old knuckle joints I'll be the undertaker
I'll come calling 'round just like the butcher and the baker
Sam Jones deliver them bones

Me name is Sam Jones and it's bones me occupation
Chuck your old hocks out for my consideration
Thirty years a bone man, up and down the nation
Sam Jones deliver them bones
Oh, Sam Jones deliver them bones
Sam Jones deliver them bones

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 found your picture in a corporal's pocket
His cold fingers still pressed it to his chest
Sniper's bullet took his eyes and his breath away
Now he lies out in the forest with the rest

You looked shy in your grandmother's wedding dress
Feet set wide like a farm girl stands
Too young to love and too young to lose
In a cracked picture frame in a dead man's hands

I kept it with me for the luck, for the magic
Maybe fate wouldn't strike in the same place twice
But something stirred and I dared to dream of you
And I knew I'd look for you if I should survive

Whe we stood down at last it was easy to find you
And mine was the shoulder you cried on that day
Just an old comrade doing his duty
Bringing the news from the woods of Darney

When I showed you the picture, perhaps I felt jealousy
As your tears welled up with each reminisce
And my hands may be rougher and my tongue may be coarser
But I knew I could give you a love good as his

Now we lie in the darkness together
Often we lie without speaking this way
As you stare in the dark do you see your young corporal
Who never came back from the woods of Darney

Is it him that you see when we make love together?
Is it him that you see when war fills the sky?
Was he there as you stood in your grandmother's wedding dress
As we made our own vows, you and I?

Now the bugle calls, they say this is the big one
A curse on the life of a soldier, you say
But don't you know that's a soldier's small comfort
For the bugle to sound, and to hear, and obey

And I'll carry your picture, the one that he carried
I'll wear your innocence and take my chance
On a frozen field, in a far-flung war
To win back what we lost in a field in France

And it's many a soldier who goes into battle
Your corporal and I, we just hear and obey
Perhaps we'll lie in the darkness together
With your love to bind us, in the woods of Darney