Richard Thompson Album

Among the headstones you played as boys
Crypts and tombs like a roomful of toys
Just up the river from the smoke and the noise
Gethsemane
And there’s war-whoops and secret signs in the trees
Estuary smells coming up on the breeze
O perfect endless days like these
O Gethsemane

Sailboat on the Cadie, pushbike on the quay
In your eyes there’s fire, in your hand destiny
‘O be something, be something fine!’

Just down the river, into the noise and the smoke
Being daring with the staring, uncaring folk
Who laugh with you, laugh at you, you’ll never get the joke
Gethsemane
And they broke your spirit there in the marines
Flushed your head down in the latrines
Frozen in your sacrement, derailed in your teens
Never saw the enemy

And those bosses betrayed, soon let you go
The fire in your eyes, how could they know
‘O be something, be something fine!’

Now you’ve got your own boys, hell bent for leather
Dead before they’re 18, or bitter old men forever
They never saw the halo moon rise over the river
Of Gethsemane
Now there’s a pain in your head puts lead in your shoes
Better get it seen to, it’s going to be bad news
How did the perfect world get so confused
O Gethsemane

Who sucked out the freedom, days without end
Under the weight of it all you must bend
‘O be something, be something fine!’

My screenplay's on the block
My Tuscan villa's in hock
To Mister Pearly Jim
My wife and kids have scrammed
They say my phone is jammed
By Mister Pearly Jim

He dresses up in rags
He's mister money bags
They call him Pearly Jim
He'll show you Paradise
At least some place quite nice
They call him Pearly Jim

Why did you wait so long?
Can you help him sing his song?
'Alms for the poor,
Alms for the poor'
We need ketchup on our bangers and mash
This self-denial brings us out in a rash

I'm rolling dice for gin
I'm getting sliced too thin
By Mister Pearly Jim
I mortgaged my des. res
He needs a boost, he says
Does Mister Pearly Jim

He's got a compound down
The balmy side of town
The guards'll give you shits
He's got a pearly suit
For every new recruit
You'll feel so thrilled to bits

When he grits that pearly smile
Will you go that extra mile?
'Alms for the poor
Alms for the poor'
Chairman Mao's got a whole lot of thoughts
And R.D.Laing's got me tied up in knots

Does your conscience ever scream
Between the chaos and the dream
'Alms for the poor
Alms for the poor'
To save time just pay us here on the street
The whole universe will be our receipt

God never listened to Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker lived in vain
Blasphemer, womanizer
Let a needle numb his brain
Wash away his "Monkey Music"
Damn his demons, damn his pain

What's the point of Albert Einstein?
What do we need physics for?
Heresy's his inspiration
Which side was he working for?
Curse his devious mathematics
Curse his deadly atom war

There's a message on the wind
Calling me to glory somewhere
There are signs too deep for the dumb
Like perfume in the air
And when I get to heaven
I won't realize that I'm there

Shakespeare, Isaac Newton
Small ideas for little boys
Add them to the senseless chatter
Add them to the background noise
Hard to hear my oratory
Hard to hear my inner voice

Van Gogh, Botticelli
Scraping paint onto a board
Color is the fuel of madness
That's no way to praise the Lord
Gray's the color of the pious
Knelt upon the misericord

There's a message on the wind
Calling me to glory somewhere
There are signs too deep for the dumb
Like perfume in the air
And when I get to heaven
I won't realize I'm there

I'm familiar with the cover
I don't need to read the book
I police the world of action
Inside's where I never look
Got no time to help the worthless
Lotus-eaters, mandarins, crooks

There's a message on the wind
Calling me to glory somewhere
There are signs too deep for the dumb
Like perfume in the air
And when I get to heaven
I won't realize that I'm there

Hailstones and a sickle moon and the north wind races
One more night of running my mind over lost embraces
The steps you made when you walked away
Still frozen in the ground
Oh missie how you let me down
Oh missie how you let me down
Oh missie how you let me down
And lies won't break my fall
Lies won't break my fall

Your food's still sitting there at the table where you used to be
The shape of you is still in the bed there next to me
Maybe I could find some trace of you to keep around
Oh missie how you let me down
Oh missie how you let me down

For far too long you kept me waiting
Reaching out into empty air
Even now you'd never say it face to face
That you really don't care
And if you never liked pulling teeth
Then why, why did you tie me in the dentist's chair

Ah you left your mark on this old place, that you did
I could stew in here like a pressure cooker and screw down the lid
Or maybe I should just take a match
And burn the whole thing to the ground

Oh missie how you let me down
Oh missie how you let me down
Oh missie how you let me down

Oh missie how you let me down
Oh missie how you let me down
Oh missie how you let me down
And lies won't break my fall
Lies won't break my fall

Now I remember the promise I gave you
The night I shipped out as a peace volunteer
As we sat holding hands in the Lamb and Flag tavern
I swore I'd be back for you same time next year

But I killed a man in a Brazzaville street fight
I tried to hold back, but he taunted me so
5 years till they freed me from that Brazzaville prison
Out of boredom or pity, I never will know

Now I bear the stain
The scar on my name
I never can go back again

There's a love you can't survive
And it burns you up inside

I sailed my boat into New Orleans harbour
Tied up at the jetty, as bold as you please
With a half-ton of charlie built in to the bulkhead
Right under the noses of all them police

Now here I sit in my house on the mountain
King of the clouds and all I survey
There's women who are willing, and the law can't touch me
Yours is the one face that won't go away

One door opens, another shuts behind
One sun sets and another sun she rises
Love comes to you in old familiar ways
Love comes to you in shadows and disguises

She may quit you, she may forsake you
Drift away like a phantom in a fever
Who walks in to your heart of solitude
Who walks into the lair of the deceiver

They say it was my turn
They say I had it coming
They say that's what you earn
For living through a lie
If I could have my way
I'd leave it all tomorrow
There's sorrow if I stay
I've other fish to fry

When love breaks like a precious string of pearls
A thousand memories, they roll away and scatter
Make believe that there's ice runs through my veins
Shrug my shoulders, as if it doesn't matter

Don't mind me, friend of a friend
Bent the key to my lost weekend
Don't mind me, along for the ride
Diz the Gasman says it's all right

I'll Tag Along
And get a taste of things
And flap my little wings
I'll Tag Along

You could be my kind of crowd
Little bit edgy, little bit loud
I test the water, I feel the heat
Before I jump in with both feet

I'll Tag Along
I'll keep out of your hair
You'll hardly know I'm there
I'll Tag Along

Love those swirly whirly lights
Love that girl with the rips down her tights
Might have to hurl when the Molotov bites
I'll Tag Along

I didn't do it, it wasn't me
I was right at the back, invisible, see?
I'm 100 per cent, and that's a fact
You can ask Diz , I'll be right back

I'll Tag Along
And get a taste of things
And flap my little wings
I'll Tag Along

Light fantastic, pop a few
My brain's elastic, appetite too
Cash or plastic? I'd kill for the loo
I'll Tag Along

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

Is this the togetherness she meant - so rosy
I thought we'd share a continent - so cosy
I thought love's passions really
Would be more touchy-feely

She said it was Destiny
She said it was written somewhere
But if it was destiny
Why am I over here and she's over there
She said it was in the stars
Something that just had to be
But Venus aligned with Mars
Always really takes it out of me

O I'm not proud of my deceit - you know that
To come so near and then retreat - you know that
One beat before I fell
Somewhere I heard a bell - ring, ring

She said it was Destiny
She said it was written somewhere
But if it was destiny
Why am I over here and she's over there

There's clouds across my crystal ball - too misty
Was I too quick to give it all - when she kissed me
She's thrown a net on me
Razor wire geometry

She said it was Destiny
She said it was written somewhere
But if it was destiny
Why am I over here and she's over there
She said it was in the stars
Something that just had to be
But Venus aligned with Mars
Always really takes it out of me

She said "Darling I'm in love with your mind.
The way you care for me, it's so kind.
Love to see you again, I wish I had more time".

She was laughing as she brushed my cheek
"Why don't you call me, angel, maybe next week
Promise now, cross your heart and hope to die".

But I misunderstood, but I misunderstood, but I misunderstood
I thought she was saying good luck, she was saying good bye
But I misunderstood, but I misunderstood, but I misunderstood
I thought she was saying good luck, she was saying good bye

Things I tried to put shine in her eyes
Wire wheels and shimmering things
Wild nights when the whole world seemed to fly

She said "The thing that's so unique
When we're together we don't have to speak.
We'll always be such good friends, you and I"

Oh but I misunderstood, but I misunderstood, but I misunderstood
I thought she was saying good luck, she was saying good bye
But I misunderstood, but I misunderstood, but I misunderstood
I thought she was saying good luck, she was saying good
I thought she was saying good luck, she was saying good
I thought she was saying good luck, she was saying goodbye

Oh, she was saying goodbye, oh, she was saying goodbye
Oh, she was saying, saying, saying, saying

Oh Valerie! You give me heart attack
Oh Valerie! You put me on the rack
Oh you say that I'm history, you say I'm no good
Then you want to be two babes in the wood
That's what I call playing to the gallery
Well I'm a-wait, wait, waiting for Valerie

Hey Valerie! She got a scar down here
Valerie! She got gold in her ear
A figure like this, lips like that
Red fingernails, teeth like a cat
She never gets home till five or four or three
Well I'm a-wait, wait, waiting for Valerie

Well I'm soft in the head, I give her hard cash
She spends all my money on junk and trash
Nylon fur, plastic shoes
And fifty-seven things she's never going to use
Never, never, never going to use
Oh Valerie! Oh Valerie! Oh Valerie!

Well Valerie! You're going to choke or drown
Valerie! Why don't you put that down?
If you don't get over this eating jag
They're going to take you home in a body bag
I can't stand to see one more calorie
Well I'm a-wait, wait, waiting for Valerie

Now every time I turn my back
She's 'round the corner, looking for a crack
It's going to be the ruin of me
Well I'm running on nervous energy
Running on nervous energy

Oh Valerie! She want to move out of town
Valerie! She want the money down
She want leopard-skin this, tiger-skin that
Matching luggage, lipstick, hat
I can't afford her on my salary
Still I'm a-wait, wait, waiting for Valerie
I'm a-wait, wait, waiting for Valerie
Hmm I'm a-wait, wait, waiting for Valerie

Valerie! Oh Valerie! Well! Whooo!

I started to cry, they put gin in my cup
I started to crawl, and they swaddled me up
I got up and run, they said "Easy, son,
Play up, play the game"

They told me to think and forget what I'd heard
They told me to lie and they questioned my word
They told me to fail, better sink than sail,
Just play the game

Oh, towers will tumble and locusts will visit the land
Oh, a curse on your house and your children and the fruit of your hand

They said "You can't win. You can't win.
You sweat blood. You give in.
You can't win. You can't win.
Turn the cheek. Take it on the chin.
Don't you dare do this. Don't you dare do that"
We shoot down dreams, we stiletto in the back
Oh the nerve of some people, the nerve of some people,
The nerve of some
I don't know who you think you are, who you think you are

Oh what kind of mother would hamstring her sons?
Throw sand in their eyes and put ice on their tongues
Ah better to leave than stay here and grieve
And play the game

Don't waken the dead as you sleepwalk around
If you have a dream, brother, hush, not a sound
Just stand there and rust, die if you must
But play the game

Oh, if we can't have it, why should a wretch like you?
Oh, it was drilled in our heads, now we drill it into your head too.

They said "You can't win. You can't win.
You sweat blood. You give in.
You can't win. You can't win.
Turn the cheek. Take it on the chin.
Don't you dare do this. Don't you dare do that"
We shoot down dreams, we stiletto in the back
Oh, the nerve of some people, the nerve of some people,
The nerve of some people
I don't know who you think you are
The nerve of some people, the nerve of some people
The nerve of some people, the nerve of some people
The nerve of some people, the nerve of some people
The nerve of some people, the nerve of some people

O sweet Rosie Lee
Like a sister to me
But you thought I was playing you smart

Jealous Words
Won't lie still
In my heart

You saw us there dancing
And you thought us romancing
Suspicion has ripped us apart


With your interpretation
On my reputation
You blinded yourself to the truth
To add some more weight
To your ramblings of late
Well, dear won't you bring us some proof

How you cursed and you cried
As you locked me outside
You said I was bad from the start


How your father abused
And your mother accused
They said I was acting a part


O I knew when we met
You'd never forget
Each pothole and bump in the road
And if I left your side
What a blow to your pride
You're that better than me, I suppose

O the doubt in me's growing
And it hurts me just knowing
Another night's sleep will depart

I must leave this tainted place
Of slow and hidden pain
By all and any means
All the past I shall erase
And never look again
On child's memories

If you'll have me, truly have me
Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen
I'm new-born to be your lover
Word Unspoken, Sight Unseen

Take my trophies from the rack.
The medals from my chest
The walls wash clean
All my life is on my back
And swiftness suits me best
I'm travelling lean

So I come to you a shell
Make of me what you must
And I shall bend
What you need I cannot tell
But I shall sweep the dust
And patch and mend