Boomtown Rats Album

Chorus:
Banana Republic
Septic Isle
Screaming in the suffering sea
It sounds like crying
Everywhere I go
Everywhere I see
The black and blue uniforms
Police and priests

And I wonder do you wonder
While you're sleeping with your whore
That sharing beds with history
Is like a-licking running sores
Forty shades of green yeah
Sixty shades of red
Heroes going cheap these days
Price; a bullet in the head

repeat chorus

Take your hand and lead you
Up a garden path
Let me stand aside here
And watch you pass
Striking up a soldier's song
I know that tune
It begs too many questions
And answers to,

repeat chorus

The purple and the pinstripe
Mutely shake their heads
A silense shrieking volumes
A violence worse than the condemn
Stab you in the back yeah
Laughing in your face
Glad to see the place again
It's a pitty nothing's changed

repeat chorus

Dave'd called me up yesterday
Everything he loved had moved away
I felt despair come crawling through
that phone
I know the feeling but don't get me
wrong
Dave I've always thought that you
were touched by fate
It's never easy but why throw it
away?
Maybe you were both chasing this
Flirt with death but never kiss her,
Dave

Oh, I keep dreaming, I'll set the
scene,
So what's a fiver? Why so mean?
The golden moment, the blinding
gleam
It's all over, that's too cheap.

I see you bleed,
I know you feel the squeeze,
But please,
Believe,
The view from on your knees
Deceives
Keep going.
Dave,

I know you're empty, I know you're
numb
And you can't function, I know that
you're drunk
But Dave I've always felt that you
were touched by fate
The thing that gets me is the stupid
waste.
So pick it up and don't put it down,
A newer story in another town

I see you bleed
I know you feel the squeeze
Time heals
Believe,
Then it will seem you dreamed these
things,
Long Ago.

"Traffic's wild tonight"
Diamond smiles her cocktail smile.
Tonight she's in heavy disquise.
She looks at her wrist to clock the
passing time.

"Weather's mild tonight"
She wonders do they notice her eyes,
She wonders will her glamour survive,
And can they see she's going down a
third time.

Everybody tries,
It's Dale Carnegie gone wild,
But Barbara Cartland's child
long ago perfected the motionless
glide.

In the low voltage noise,
Diamond seems so sure and so
poised
She shimmers for the bright young
boys,
And laugh's "Love is for others, but
me it destroys"

The girl in the cake
Jumped out too soon by mistake,
Somebody said the whole things half
baked
And Diamond lifts her glass and says
"cheers"

She stands to the side
There's no more to this than meets
the eye,
Everybody drinks Martini dry,
And talks about clothes and the latest
styles.

Chorus:

They said she did it
With grace.
They said she did it
With style.
They said she did it all
Before she died
Oh No
I remember Diamond's smile

Nobody saw her go,
They said they should have noticed
'cos her dress was cut so low.
Well it only goes to show
Ha, ha, how many real men any of us
know.

She went up the stairs,
Stood up on the vanity chair,
Tied her lame belt around the
chandelier,
And went out kicking at the perfumed
air.

Repeat Chorus

Drag me down in colors pink and gold
(Like a ship that's going under..
Bring me home in rain and thunder)
Bless the night before the day grows
old
(Like a ship that's going under...
Bring me home in rain and thunder)

Drag me down in colors pink and gold
(Like a ship that's going under...
I'll be home in rain and thunder)
Bless the night before the day grows
old
(With pink and...With pink and gold)

It's just a moment of terror
A fraction of bliss
Your hearts in my mouth and
My soul's in your wrist
I love you I think
But is it always like this with you?

Tuck me up with stories I've been
told
(Like a ship that's going under...
I'll be home in rain and thunder)
Then wake me up with days that
come and go
(With pink and...With pink and...With
pink and gold)

And when the record is over
The passion's been spent
The movie winds down and says
"The End" in French
I'll turn on the lights
But do I have to pretend it's true?

I love you....oh, oh, oh, oh...
and...
I need you...oh, oh, oh, oh...

Drag me down, Drag me down, oh,
oh, oh, oh...
Drag me down, Drag me down, oh,
oh, oh, oh...
Drag me down in colors pink and
gold.

Somewhere a screen door slammed
Somewhere, someplace, somebody's
killing a man
Down the road I'm told five people
died
And I wonder are you making love to
anyone tonight.

Cos she and I, we're still sitting here
Our eyes are dry but we're bored to
tears
She said lets talk about the future,
lets forget about the past
Did I forget to tell you time never
lasts,

CHORUS:
Can I hold on that long
Is it worth the same old stringalong
There's been a few rights but there's
plenty wrongs
I can make it if you can.

Don't trust anything, especially love
Be careful of the broken bottles on
the wall above.
They burn your brain and they tear at
your mind
I know I won't be making love to
anyone tonight.

Cos she and I we're still sitting here
Our eyes are dry but we're bored to
tears.
Don't talk about the future, please
don't talk about the past
Lets forget about the present, it
makes me want to laugh.

REPEAT CHORUS

Silicon chip inside her head
gets switched to overload
and nobody's gonna go to school
today
she's gonna make them stay at home
And daddy doesn't understand it
he always said she was good as gold
and he can see
no reasons
'cause there are
no reasons
what reason do you need to be
shown

tell me why
i dont like mondays
tell me why
i dont like mondays
tell me why
i dont like mondays
i want to shoot the whole day down

The Telex machine is kept so clean
And it types to a waiting world
And Mother feels so shocked
Father's world is rocked
And their thoughts turn to their own
little girl
Sweet 16 ain't it peachy keen
No, it ain't so neat to admit defeat
They can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need, oh-h-h

(Chorus)
Down, down, shoot it all down

And all the playing's stopped in the
playground now
She wants to play with her toys
awhile
And school's out early and soon we'll
be learning
And the lesson today is how to die
And then the bullhorn crackles
And the captain tackles
With the problems and the how's and
why's
And he can see no reasons
'Cause there are no reasons
What reason do you need to die, die,
oh-h-h

tell me why
i dont like mondays
tell me why
i dont like mondays
tell me why
i dont like, i dont like
tell me why
i dont like mondays
tell me why
i dont like, i dont like
tell me why
i dont like mondays
tell me why
i dont like mondays
i wanna shoot, oooo-ooo-ooot,
the... whole... day... down

Sooner or later when the dawn was
breaking
The joint was jumping and the walls
were shaking
Joey sneaked in the backdoor way
Pretending he was with the band, he
never used to pay
He was no great draw at pulling the
chicks
He used to lie against the wall like he
was holding up the bricks
And all the things that guy used to do
to get his kicks
He was a legand in his lifetime with
the neighborhood kids

They said "Joey did this" and "Joey
did that"
Oh that guy was crazy, what a crazy
cat
Then something strange would
happen, there's trouble on the way
And trouble only means one thing....
Joey's on the street again.

Joey grew older, older without a
cause
Got married, had some kids and had
his brushes with the law
Settled down and got a job, then said
"I'm leaving" one day
"I've gotta hang loose a while, take
care while I'm away."
People said they'd seen him, they
were nearly always wrong
'Cause no one knew how much he
had, where he'd gone or for how long
'Til one day there came a rumor,
floating from the docks
Saying a crazy stranger had been
found lying among the rocks.

The said "Joey was this" and "Joey
was that"
Oh that guy was crazy, what a crazy
cat
But no one quite believed it, all
rumors are the same
And now if something happens they
say....
Joey's on the street again.

When Joey moved away
A lot of the kids said "I can't stay
around here"
They said "I'm moving out, going
away
They said "I'm leaving, getting out
"I'm gonna go somewhere where it
doesn't stink
Away from the alleys, somewhere I
can think
Wash the dirt from my hands, watch it
wash down the sink
It's a strain on the brain living close to
the brink

Look at the brickwall gravestone
where some kid was sprayed
Saying nobody could be bothered
here to rule O.K.
Don't believe it, don't believe it what
they say on TV
There's no romance, no romance
For Joey in this city.

I'm not disconnected
I'm not unaware
I'm in one place at one time
I'm neither here nor there
I'm hooked to the mainstream,
Tuned into the world
Plugged into my surroundings,
I'm not out on a limb.
I'm thinking in a straight line,
I'm thinking that these thoughts are
mine,
My heart is beating oh so fast
I feel the hours crashing
Because my mind keeps time like
clockwork,
And I think in sync like clockwork.

She's done away with emotion,
She sees things clearly now.
She says she sees it all from her room
And it looks so small from her room
It's all right, it's all right,
I'm on your side...for a while,
She thinks time is a concept by which
we measure our pain
(She'll say it again)
She wants to say it again, but she
don't have time,
And now her heart beats time like
clockwork
And she thinks in sync like clockwork

Count the hours, count the months
and minutes,
You're born in tears and die in pain
and that's your limit
You're lookin' for a reason but there's
none
There, why don't you admit it
We'll make the most of what we've
got, that's the tickit
My, my, my.

I stayed in that room a long, long time
And watched the seasons gliding
past
And hey...what's the matter?,
We've got time, lots of time
It's alright, it's alright,
I'm on your side for a while,
We'll wind up
We'll slow down
We'll speed up or slow down and
we'll maybe overwind...
but now or minds, etc.

The world owes me a living
I've waited on this dole queue too
long
I've been standin' in the rain for
fifteen minutes
That's a quarter of an hour too long.

I'll take all they can give me
And then I'm gonna ask for more
Cos the money's buried deep in the
bank of England
And I want the key to the vault

CHORUS:
I'm gonna take your money
Count your loss when I'm gone.
I'm alright, Jack,
I'm lookin' after number one.

If I want something I get it
Don't matter what I have to do
I'll step on your face, on your mother's
grave
Never underestimate me I'm nobody's
fool

(repeat chorus)

Don't wanna be like you.
Don't wanna live like you.
Don't wanna talk like you, at all.

Don't give me love thy neighbour
Don't give me charity
Don't give me peace and love or the
good lord above
You only get in my way with your
stupid ideas

I am an island
Entire of myself
And when I get old, older than today
I'll never need anybody's help in any
way.

(repeat chorus)

Don't wanna be like you.
Don't wanna live like you.
Don't wanna talk like you, at all.

I'm gonna be like
I'm gonna be like
I'm gonna be like ME!

Sittin' in the front row
Mary of the fourth form
Turnin' all the boys on
She's turnin' all their heads around
Hitchin' up her short skirt
Stretchin' out her long legs
Pullin' up her stockings
She's combing out her long hair
Starin' at the teacher
Openin' her lips wide
Shiftin' in her seat. Yeah,
She slowly moves her hips aside

But in the middle of the night
She wakes her Mom to turn out the
light
Her make-up's on and her jeans are
skintight
And she's heading to the Pillar Bar
Johnnie looks alright tonight she
thinks
He gives her a smoke and he buys
her a drink
He shoots a frame and they head off
into the night.

Mary of the fourth form.
Mary of the fourth form.
Mary of the fourth form.
Mary of the fourth form.

Teacher's losing control
Thankfully the bell rings
Mary's left all alone
With no one but the teacher
She quickly drops her pencil
And slowly bends to get it
Teacher is a natural man
His hand moves out to touch her
She straightens and looks around,
yeah
She laughs and leaves the room,
yeah
Heartbreak for the teacher
Sweet dreams for young Mary

But in the middle of the night
She wakes her Dad to turn out the
light
Her make-up's on and her jeans are
skintight
And she's headed to the Pillar Bar

Johnnie looks great tonight, she
thinks
He gives her a smoke and he buys
her a drink
Shoots off a frame and they head off
into the night.

Mary of the fourth form.
Mary of the fourth form.
Mary of the fourth form.
Mary of the fourth form.

Life pours down into the neon heart
(It's late at night)
Cement City is all a-spark (Yeah that's
right)
The whores are loose and the dames
are abroad (My pants are tight)
There's a price on their hearts you
can't fail to afford.

Drink to the bitch and we'll dance for
a while
If you can't do the module than you'll
have to try the slide
It was all cool enough if you had the
zazz
The night was still young and it was
all we had

I picked her up at the bar that night
(What did you do)
I took her home she didn't put up a
fight (What did you do)
She was real good-lookin' but she
wasn't too bright (So what's new)
We pulled the curtains and then
locked out the night

I was fighting to maintain my cool
I walked the thin line between animal
and fool
'Til I felt her hand in mine and said
"Your wrong about me"
"I'm a boy from a good family" I told
her

The juke box played an out-of-time
tune (So what's new)
Made Tricia cry, oh her mascara was
ruined (So what's new)
She looked such a sight, the
sorrowful bitch (What did she do)
She rushed to the bathroom and she
slashed both her wrists

Everybody screamed and roared for
more
Lonestar Angels shouting "Encore"
Time was the enemy, we had to kill it
dead
The clock kept creeping round so we
went to bed instead.

I'll tear down the sky
Don't stop now
No never in a million years

I'd spit in their eye
Don't stop now
But I won't be a volunteer

And now
I'm always dreaming of dreams
That lie in state
Waiting for me to wake
And make
A life for them
I know I'll never let
Those self-defeating fears
Spoil those golden years
These days that pass us by
So slow

And now
I always wander
Through fields that never stood
Can't see the trees for the wood
Or maybe - yes I could
Oh no

I'll tear down the sky
Don't stop now
No never in a million years

[No lyrics]

La-la-la-la
She's so 20th century
She's so 1970's
She knows the right things to say
She's got the right clothes to wear
Cos she's a modern girl, oh yeah
A modern girl yeah, ga-ga-ga-ga-ga.
A modern girl, oh yeah.

And Suzie is a jewel,
She flashes when she smiles.
She's cunning and she's clever
She's got the lowdown in her files.
Magenta is the best
You know whe really makes me laugh
She's always tryin' her impressions
She wants to be a photograph, I
gotta say now

She's so 20th century
She's so etc....

Jean confided to me
She's Mona Lisa's biggest fan
She drew a mustache on her face
She's always seen her as a man
And Charlie ain't no Nazi
She likes to wear her leather boots
Cos it's exciting for the veterans
And it's a tonic for the troops.

She's so 20th century, oh yeah.

On a night like this I deserve to get
kissed at least once or twice
You come over to my place
screaming blue murder, needing
someplace to hide.
Well, I wish you'd keep quiet,
Imaginations run riot,
In these paper-thin walls.
And when the place comes ablaze
with a thousand dropped names
I don't know who to call.
But I got a friend over there in the
government block
And he knows the situation and he's
taking stock,
I think I'll call him up now
Put him on the spot, tonight.

They saw me there in the square
when I was shooting my mouth off
About saving some fish.
Now could that be construed as
some radical's views or some liberals'
wish.
And it's so hot outside,
And the air is so sweet,
And when the pressure drop is heavy
I don't wanna hear you speak.
You know most killing is committed at
90 degrees.
When it's too hot to breathe
And it's too hot to think.

There's always someone looking at
you.
S-s-s-s-someone.
They're looking at you.

And I wish you'd stop whispering.
Don't flatter yourself, nobody's
listening.
Still it makes me nervous, those
things you say.
You may as well
Shout it from the roof
Scream it from your lungs
Spit it from you mouth
There's a spy in the sky
There's a noise on the wire
There's a tap on the line
And for every paranoid's desire...

There's always Somone looking at
you.
S-s-s-s-someone looking at you...
They're always looking at you.

Did you slip the noose when the
beast broke loose
The elephants graveyard ain't the
place to be
And white turns black, dies of heart
attack
The elephants graveyard needs the
change of scene.
You got the money, but who needs
the tension
And fear's no cheaper on the old age
pension
There's just one thing that I forgot to
mention
What've you got to lose when you
know

You're guilty 'till proven guilty
Isn't that the law
Guilty 'till proven guilty
That's what we saw

Do the blue rinse shuffle with the
beach boy muscle
Waiting all your life for this golf cart
life
You see the judge and then you
check the jury
She does her hair and calls the
lawyer curti
It's Disneyland under martial law
Titch on the TV tell me what you saw

They wre guilty 'till proven guilty etc....

Justice isn't blind
It just looks the other way
Not from want of trying
I have nothing left to say

The sky burns bright, 24 hour night
And you don't pay death duties when
your on death duty
You came here looking for the peace
and quiet
The healthy air and the healthy diet
The sea's so calm but the street's a
riot
Taken years off your life when you've
no years left to give
Yeah you're

Guilty 'till proven guilty etc.

Shame shame shimmy shame.
Shame shame shimmy shame.

The offices are emptying their pale-
faced wards into the street,
Flickering their strip-light eyes,
shivering they readjust their lives
From the air-conditioned heat.
The humdrum and mundane
Is nearly driving them insane.
But you get hooked so quick to
anything
Even your chains,
You're crouching in your corner 'til
they open up your cage.

Chorus:
And when the night comes
It'll help you disappear
And when the night comes
Forget about the day that brought you
here.

Frankie takes the train and makes it
home in time to catch the evening
news,
Opening a can of beans he learns the
world has turned without much help
from him.
Hey Frank, why not get drunk
tonight?
Hey Frank, I think it'll be alright,
You'll be too far gone to notice when
the neighbors start complaining,
But they're used to it by now, every
day's the same.

(repeat chorus)

And when the night comes,
He might get on the phone,
She's a stuck-up bitch,
But she lives on her own,
And he heard her talking dirty to the
girls the other day,
And she knew that he had heard her
and she looked "as if to say"
And then later up in marketing while
going through the files,
She bent a little too far down, then
turned around and smiled.
He got her number,
He got the phone,
He dialed the number,
He heard the tone.
He said "Tonight's the night that I've
been waiting for,
Oh I know you've seen me worship
you from afar,
And I might tell you that I love you
and I will but just for
Tonight, one night, alright tonight."
In his three piece cunning
camouflage nobody
can guess what Frankie's thinking,
Last night she said "I don't know if I'm
drowning
Maybey it's because I'm sinking."
He said "It'll be okay
I'll get outta here one day"
And she said "Frankie, you're no
different from any of the rest,
They've nailed you to that table and
chained you to your desk."
But when the night comes....

(repeat chorus)

I never loved Eva Braun (oh no?)
No, a thousand people say I did (oh
yeah?)
Yeah, she was just some girl who was
on the make (Yes, we see)
Boy she wanted to be so big.
And in the end it got to be a drag,
She's doing her exercises every day
No matter what people say,
I never loved Eva Braun.

I never heard all the screams (oh no?)
I never saw the blood and dirt and
gore (oh yeah?)
That wasn't part of the dream, (yes,
we see)
Of maps and generals and uniforms.
I'd always like the big parade,
I always wanted to be adored,
In '33 I knew I had it made,
I never loved....

Eva Braun wasn't history,
She wasn't even part of my destiny
She never really fitted in the scheme
of things
She was a triumph of my will,
Oh yeah!

I saw the blondies and the blue eyes,
(oh yeah?)
I saw the millions mouthing me, (oh
yeah?)
But underneath I was really gentle,
(oh yeah?)
D'ja ever see me touch a scrap of
meat?
O yeah I conquered all those
countries
They were weak an' I was strong
A little too ambitious maybe,
But I never loved Eva Braun.
Gee!