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1. |
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Desdemona
She never lacked for gold
But she could not be sold
She’s never proud
She’s never loud
She never looks behind
She never was so frail
Bit off the salmon’s tail
She’s very nice
Take my advice
You’ll never read her mind
Chorus:
Is it true that foul is fair?
Tell me that you love me, Desdemona
Never gonna cut my hair
Are you fed up of me, Desdemona?
She says she’s rich enough
She doesn’t want your stuff
Don’t be confused
She gets to choose
She’s a Venetian blind
Chorus:
Are you gonna waste my time?
Tell me that you love me, Desdemona
Am I still the first in line?
Are you fed up of me, Desdemona?
And now they speak of me and say my love’s unwise
They whisper secretly, the ones who would advise
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2. |
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Sputnik Sweetheart
The day
That you left home
You slipped away
From the Cosmodrome.
That night
Among the spheres
Another light:
the flying ear
Companion, beloved one
We’re on our way around the sun
Hello, hello
Can you hear me call?
When you’re near me, I can see you fall
You blacked out, your batteries died
You fell to earth and you fried
Sputnik sweetheart
Sputnik sweetheart
Tonight
We lie awake
No book to read
No pills to take
And now
Another day
Unsleeping fate
Is on its way
This is what we fear
no sight, no sound, nothing to hear
The power fails, and we wait in the night
One by one we start to see the lights
The milky way and our silent satellites
Floating with us
Floating with us
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3. |
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You Don't Know What You're Missing
He said, as she went up to bed,
“I’m going to my shed, I need to clear my head
...not that you’d care”
He thought, sat in his underwear,
“How come she’s never there, she doesn’t even care
...if I snuff it."
“I remember when she used to read me like a book,
nowadays I’m lucky if I get a second look!”
Cos you don’t know what you’re missing,
even now I can tell you’re not listening!
All I have to do is walk down that street,
you’ll be sorry...I’ll be on my way.
(The next day)
He’s off down to the bookies where,
100-1 seems fair,
‘bout time he had some fun,
no such thing
indoors she sits with phone in hand,
sinking into quicksand
(though no one ever knows about it)
The ball and chain tightens again,
she knows what he’ll say next:
“Cos you don’t know what you’re missing,
even now I can tell you’re not listening!
All I have to do is walk down that street,
they’ll come flocking...and you’ll rue the day”
“DON’T WALK AWAY!”
Now she knows what she’s been missing,
since she left him, she was listening.
When she closed that door and walked down that street
with a purpose
...she was on her way!
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4. |
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Heading to an unforgiving place
With readings from the book of your disgrace
When you take your final ride
Proud boys standing at your side
Sweat and makeup streaming down your face
You may learn the meaning of regret
Like every creeping jesus that you’ve met
Who walks the stations of the cross
But really doesn’t give a toss
Sinking ever deeper into debt
When you swim in the shallows
Never think you could drown
With your feet on the bottom
As you go down
One more chance to put your house in order
Before your nightmares swarm across the border
You couldn’t cheat them after all
So bang your fist against your wall
And tell it to a sympathetic warder
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5. |
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On the Motorway
Blue Boar Services, nearly six o’ clock
At Watford Gap
Egg and sausages, Yorkie from the shop
Consult the map
He left home just after dawn
Hit the road, radio on
Leaving it all behind
Following the signs
He’s on the motorway
Concrete artery, exit to history
At Plackett Lane
Try the carvery, taste prosperity
Avoid the rain
Abandoned towns and county lines
Barren fields, and petty crimes
What will remain of this?
A bottle filled with piss
Thrown on the motorway
There are flowers on the soft estate
In the brambles by a broken gate
Landmarks and greenery
The passing scenery here on the motorway
Time will put an end to you and me
Promenades will sink into the sea
When a thousand years have passed us by
Still the motorway will never die
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6. |
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We’ve been under the weather,
looking for comfort despite the cold
We can make it together,
turn a silver lining to gold
Scrimp and scrape,
life’s a struggle these days,
let’s escape - maybe that would help
“Let me take you on holiday”
That’s what you said in your stupid way
Did you think I’d melt in the sun,
and our troubles would fade away to none?
“Let me take you on holiday”
You promised me we would get away
And now I’m stuck in a cheap hotel,
it looks like hell, I wish I was at home
New York or Paris, the moon or Atlantis.
You choose, I really do not mind
As long as I’m with you then please understand this
It’s all the same, I know your game come rain or shine
Cheer up love, there’s a barbecue by the pool
I’m sick of sausages and you...
“Let me take you on holiday”
You’re only here for the Beaujolais
You only wanted to hit the bar,
three San Miguels and you’ll bid me au revoir
“Let me take you on holiday”
I didn’t want to come anyway
And now I’m burnt like the barbecue,
I’m red and blue,
I wish you were not here...
“Let me take you on holiday”
Oh lucky me and I get to pay
Two lousy weeks by the sea with you,
to be honest I’d rather be alone
“Let me take you on holiday”
maybe you should just go a-way
You can send me a postcard, with your fond regards,
next time I’ll stay at home
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7. |
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The Ballad of Billy Farthing
Young Billy Farthing came into the world
at the turn of the cen- tu- ry
Giving voice to the scream they were bound to ignore,
adding insult to in-ju-ry
He shivered in fright and he blinked at the light
as his blue eyes looked around
They will wrap him in cotton and cod liver oil
‘til they send him underground
Where has he gone?
Great Grandpa Billy in second best boots
With a shine at the knees of his grey flannel suit
Mackeson breath from a working man’s thirst
Stands in a queue where the last will come first
Thirty five years on the bike by the gate
With his snap tin and lamp every morning at eight
To drop in the dark at the end of a cable,
a duchess and eight scruffy tykes at the table
Oh Billy didn’t like to grumble
Oh Billy, salt of the earth, he was humble,
where has he gone?
Clutching the knot in his red handkerchief
Three ha’pence in change and a small piece of beef
He lies in the grocer’s shop breathing too fast
All of his eggs in one basket at last
After thirty five years in the dark and the danger
there’s no friendly face in amongst all these strangers.
Slates on the church shining bright after thunder,
finally granted some rest six feet under
Oh Billy didn’t like to grumble
Oh Billy, salt of the earth, he was humble,
where has he gone?
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8. |
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L-E-B-O-W-ITZ
NYC original, opinions unequivocal, tourist-dodging, nicotining, “What the hell is wrong with people?!”
L-E-B-O-W-ITZ
Hardworking, book-devouring, culture vulture commentating, straight-talking raconteuring, savage wit in
cowboy boots
L-E-B-O-W-ITZ
Widespread and legion are the subjects that annoy her
From ineffective presidents to rich Manhattan lawyers
Cellphones and computers are unnecessary to her
But she’s the kind of character the world-could-do-with-more-of
Fra- a- a- a- an times a zillion,
though I’m certain she’d disagree entirely, more than likely
And look out coz she’s never ever wro-ong
Fra- a- a- a- an she’s one in a million,
just don’t get in her way or she’ll cut you down with a single swipe of
her razor tongue and she will not give a da-mn
L-E-B-O-W-ITZ
She only loves one thi-ing but the Marathon’s in rehab, it’s absolutely pristine but the fuses cost a fortune
L-E-B-O-W-ITZ
Prolific public speaker on the way to put the world back-to-rights, should be a shoe-in for a job as a Supreme Court Judge
L-E-B-O-W-ITZ
Fast-talking, entertaining, fellow human being-avoiding, Papal Office so enticing, pets in clothes are rage-inducing
party-going, socialising, dead against suburbanising, Savile Row apparel-wearing, wise-cracking, sleep-deprived
A true one-off, a singular observer, what’s the worst could happen if we find a way to clone her?
Fra- a- a- a- an times a zillion,
though I’m certain she’d disagree entirely, more than likely
And look out coz she’s made of common sense
Fra- a- a- a- an fascinating civilian, we need to pay more attention to this pearl of a woman, only human
adored by many for the absence of pretence
Fra- a- an times a zillion, times a zillion, t-t-t-times a zillion, HEY! cos she’s one in a million,
Fran times a zillion, (WE WANT) Fran times a zillion, (WE WANT) Fran times a zillion
WHAM BAM THANK YOU FRAN!
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9. |
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How I Won The War
I know you’re out there waiting
And your plans are dark as night
I know you’re calculating
How to draw blood when you bite
We didn’t plan for this scenario
This might be victory, it’s too soon to know
What do you want it to be?
That’s how I won the war
How I won the war
You’re weak when you are strongest
And you’re strongest when you’re weak
I endured the siege the longest
I’m the champion of defeat
You built a golden bridge for me to cross
I didn’t even know that I had lost
When I surrender to you
That’s how I won the war
How I won the war
When we are serene and sober
Peace and love will conquer fighting
When at last the battle’s over
Get the terms agreed in writing
I’m lying in the pasture where I fell
And in the distance I can hear a bell
Will you lie here next to me?
That’s how I won the war
How I won the war
Loser, I’m a lo - ser
That’s how I won the war
How I won the war
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10. |
Extraordinary Years
04:30
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It’s astonishing and painful to walk through the halls of this place
Where they told you to be grateful, and talked of your fall and disgrace
you discover that it’s never been easier to leave her,
the teacher who taught you
that ignorance goes on
Chorus
Nobody needs your questions.
You’re lucky that you are here.
The answers are known
Don’t try to go it alone
Or we will grind your bones
Through a kaleidoscope of tears
In the extraordinary years
You’ll find out who you really are
V2
In the playground it’s a jungle, you struggle, they love to taste fresh meat
Before the spider in the tangle you dangle, ‘til you’re big enough to eat
Fascinating that’s it’s never been better, you float like a feather
You left here for ever and moved on
Chorus 2
Now you can ask your questions
We’re happy that you are here
Now that you’ve grown
You are not on your own
And the future’s unknown
In the extraordinary years
The extraordinary years
You’ll find out who you really are
Are we moving in a new direction?
Do we threaten to approach perfection?
(Solo)
Now that you’ve grown
You are not on your own
And the future’s unknown
In the extraordinary years
The extraordinary years
You’ll find out who you really are
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11. |
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Love is the Worst
My diplomat’s immunity
Won’t save me in the end
and care in the community
Will drive me round the bend.
Heartbeat irregular
a sudden rise in temperature -
The signs suggest I’m sickening, again
I may go out tonight
And meet someone who’ll change my life.
Oh, it’s not impossible
You’re damaged goods, but aren’t we all
You know what comes before a fall.
Oh, it’s not impossible
The hand of fate may finger great and small
Ridicule the naked ape
His arms hang down, his knuckles scrape
Don’t make a monkey out of me, my dear.
Your take on evolution
Only leaves me in confusion now
Unnatural is how I must appear
Chorus
You may go out tonight
And meet someone who’ll change your life.
Oh, it’s not impossible
Your special subject was yourself
A mastermind in mental health
Oooh, you’re impossible
You’ve started so you’ll finish me as well.
Stop it for a minute -
I’m afraid my heart could burst.
Though it’s fine when you begin it,
In the end love is the worst.
They say the best is yet to come
The worst is almost gone
They say the best is yet to come,
Your worst has all been done
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12. |
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The Magic Gang
In a little shop on Christmas steps
With playing cards and cabinets
I met a man in evening dress
Who wasn’t there but nonetheless
He told me of his crazy plans
In camouflage on burning sands
With paper tanks and paper guns
A desert fox that’s on the run.
We’re the Magic Gang
We make it come true
We’re the Magic Gang
And we’re coming for you
We’re coming for you
Upper class and strange
I was steeped in lore
From the west end stage, to
Theatre of war
Oh oh oh, oh oh oh
We’re the Magic Gang
From here to Kathmandu
We’re the Magic Gang
And we’re coming for you
We’re coming for you
I was the third in line
Of the brotherhood
With a tank command
Made of earth and wood.
We’re the Magic Gang
We oversee the weird
We’re the Magic Gang
The mystery you feared
We’re coming for you
The Indian sword basket!
The amazing crystal casket!
Catching bullets in our teeth
Mystic powers beyond belief
Hiding Suez with false trails
Making Rommel chase his tail.
We’re the Magic Gang
We flatter to deceive
We’re the Magic Gang
With nothing up our sleeves
We’re coming for you
We’re the Magic Gang
We have a secret lair
And when the war was won
We vanished in thin air
We’re coming for you
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13. |
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A Gun and a Badge
I could be a special agent with a wooden heart of oak
In snow-white lizard loafers and a purple velvet cloak
Underneath the desktop, you pressed a secret switch
The tape recorder came to life, the King became a snitch
A gun and a badge for Elvis,
is what the doc prescribed
And fifty shiny yellow pills
to make him feel alive
I’ve got ideas by the dozen, and deep fried pink eyed kissin’ cousins
Standing brave and loyal here with me
We’ll send the San Francisco hippies, floating down the Mississippi
And drive the redcoats back into the sea
They won’t be burning draft cards, they’ll all respect the flag
And wave me through security with my special doctor’s bag
The limousine passed out of view,
down Pennsylvania Avenue at noon
I’m not sure what just happened
but y’all come back and visit us real soon
A gun and a badge for Elvis,
is what the doc prescribed
With Purple Hearts and Angel Dust to make him feel alive
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emperor penguin UK
Savage Frenzy Productions is proud to present those peerless purveyors of powerful pop: EMPEROR PENGUIN.
Nigel: guitar,
bass, vocals
JT: guitar, bass, vocals, harmonica, ebow
Rich: drums
Neil: guitar, vocals, keyboards, computer stuff
... more
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