Richard & Linda Thompson Album

Thompson

Little boy running and the little girl too
Got the money tucked up in their hand
Over the wall and down into the street
Give your man to the hollering man
Give your man to the hollering man

Everybody runs for Hokey Pokey
Hear the ringing on the ice-cream bell
He's got the stuff that'll cool you right down
It's the best that they ever did sell
It's the best that they ever did sell

Girl on the corner with the tight dress on
You know she don't know nothing so fine
Feels so good when you put it in your mouth
Sends a shiver all down your spine
Sends a shiver all down your spine

"Cat got your tongue" says Frankie to Annie
"Girl you haven't said a word all night"
Well Annie she smiled and she took another bite
Hokey Pokey made her feel all right, all right
Hokey Pokey made her feel all right

Well some like it round and some like it flat
And some like a poke or two
But everybody runs for Hokey Pokey
It's the natural thing to do
It's the natural thing to do

Down in the prison, number 999
Working like a bee in a hive
He's still dreaming of Hokey Pokey
Helps to keep that boy alive
Helps to keep that boy alive

Boss man he says to choir-boy Rocky
Don't you sing to the boys in blue
Or you won't get no more Hokey Pokey
By the time we're through with you
By the time we're through with you

Fellas in the alley all look like girls
With their lipstick and their high-heeled shoes
Feel so pretty and the boys all say
That they know just what to do
That they know just what to do

Thompson

Whisky helps to clear my head
Bring it with you into bed
If I beat you nearly dead
I'll regret it all in the morning

I'm so drunk I couldn't care
If that's a wig or your own hair
Here's my ticket, take me there
I'll regret it all in the morning

I'll regret it all in the morning
When I see your smiling face
I'd rather be in any place but here

The years have left their mark
Your skin feels smooth as bark
As we shiver in the dark
I'll regret it all in the morning

As you gaze around in fright
With your knuckles turning white
You're a lonely, lonely sight
To wake up to in the morning

This is no way to exist
With some girl who keeps a list
Naming all the boys she's missed
And she's longed for in the morning

I'll regret it all in the morning
When I see your smiling face
I'd rather be in any place but here

Now the room is spinning fast
And it fades away at last
When this empty night is passed
I'll regret it all in the morning

Thompson

Smiffy was a little boy, different from the rest
He had one eye pointing East and one pointing West
Ever since Tiny Murphy hit him with a sling
Smiffy with his glass eye glittering

Playing in the school yard, how the kids would marvel
When Smiffy popped his glass'un out and used it for a marble
He was such a character the kids would sing
Smiffy with his glass eye glittering

Walking down the street when two big louts
Come and tripped up Smiffy and his eye fell out
They used it as a conker on a piece of string
Smiffy with his glass eye glittering

The girls all laughed when Smiffy passed them by
They called him Cyclops, he only had one eye
He never had a girl-friend, or that sort of thing
Smiffy with his glass eye glittering

"Ooh, there's Smiffy coming to the Infirmary.
He's got a glass eye, you ken."
"No you're joking, how'd you find out?"
"Och, it just came out in conversation."

Smiffy used to dream of the Judgement Day
When the flood came and carried all his school-friends away
He was lifted up to Heaven on an Angel's wing
Smiffy with his glass eye glittering

Nobody cried when his world fell apart
And poor Smiffy died of a broken heart
You have to turn a blind eye to that sort of thing
Smiffy with his glass eye glittering

Thompson

Now Hobnail Kelly and the Beefcake Kid
Just rolled into town from the land of sewn-up faces
Looking for a woman who can punch and kick and bite
Slide on down to the Egypt Room
Find the only woman who's holding all the aces
The Princess is dancing at the Egypt Room tonight

Don't be late, (Don't be late)
Don't be late, (Don't be late)
Don't be late

She's a nightclub floosie, nothing but a tramp
But she moves like a snake and she shimmies like a fish in the ocean
She can fool with a man till he doesn't know wrong from right
She's got diamonds flashing, ruby rings
She sparkles like the Nile when she does her original motion
The princess is dancing at the Egypt Room tonight

Now don't be late, (Don't be late)
Ah don't be late, (Don't be late)
Oh don't be late

The man with the cane and Italian shoes
He walks like a lion looking for a lonely Christian
He peeps at the princess and his bloodshot eyes open wide
He says "Meet me, Princess, after the show
I'm a gambling man but I think I like your system.
I'll see you at the back of the Egypt Room tonight"

Now don't be late, (Don't be late)
Oh don't be late, (Don't be late)
Ah don't be late

Thompson

Oh, who will remember? Oh, who will be sure?
And still feel the silence as close as before
And was there a season withou any rain?
Ah never, oh never, oh never again!

The time for dividing, and no-one will speak
Of the sadness of hiding, and the softness of sleep
Oh will there be nothing of peace till the end?
Oh never, oh never, oh never again!

Old man how you tarry, old man how you weep
The trinkets you carry and the garlands you keep
For the salt-tears of lovers and the whispers of friends
Come never, oh never, oh never again!

Thompson

Me Mammy told me "Isabel, now don't stay out too late.
One day they'll throw you out of school, so get yourself a steady date"
But Georgie meets me every night we go out and we have a bite
Eyes of blue, and money too, he's rattling the garden gate
And I can hardly wait

When Georgie's on a spree all the girls are jealous of me
'Cause I'm the one he spends his money on, we spend it one, two, three
Driving in his Chevrolet I'm perfect company
He's the king and I'm his queen when Georgie's on a spree

We don't see bad company, we mix it with the best
Rubbing shoulders with the rich and no time for the rest
When I see something that I need my Georgie buys the street for me
And when we're tired of the Ritz he's got a little nest
Where I put him to the test

When Georgie's on a spree all the girls are jealous of me
'Cause I'm the one he spends his money on, we spend it one, two, three
Driving in his Chevrolet I'm perfect company
He's the king and I'm his queen when Georgie's on a spree

One day Georgie hung his head and sadly he did say
"Little girl, I'm leaving you, I have to go away.
But I'll be back in a week or two and I'll be thinking just of you.
Sit beside your telephone until that lucky day,
When I come home to stay"

When Georgie's on a spree all the girls are jealous of me
'Cause I'm the one he spends his money on, we spend it one, two, three
Driving in his Chevrolet I'm perfect company
He's the king and I'm his queen when Georgie's on a spree

Thompson

I was walking down the street when I met with Billy
He shook his head at me and then he shook my hand
He said "I've seen the world, I've done some living,
I don't believe in giving, you've got to take it while you can"

I'm an old man inside a young man,
You've got to take it while you can.
I'm just an old man inside a young man,
Take a heart and break it while you can.

He said "I'm sick of whores, madams and misses.
The only kiss for me is the kiss of a knife.
There's no one thing on earth that I'm not through with.
What can I do with the rest of my life?"

I'm an old man inside a young man,
You've got to take it while you can
I'm an old man inside a young man,
Take a heart and break it while you can

Billy turned and he walked away. He said "I must be going.
There's just no knowing who follows me around.
They see my fancy clothes and they want to shoot me.
I'd rather be dead on my feet than dead down in the ground"

I'm an old man inside a young man,
You've got to take it while you can
I'm just an old man inside a young man,
Take a heart and break it while you can

I'm just an old man inside a young man,
You've got to to take it while you can
I'm an old man inside a young man,
Take a heart and break it while you can
(repeat and fade)

Thompson

The urchins are writhing around in the mud
Like eels playing tag in a barrel
The old Sally Army sound mournful and sweet
As they play an old Christmassy carol
The world is as black as a dark night in hell
What kind of a place can this be?
Old people like hermit crabs run into doorways
Fearing to say "Do you feel as downtrodden as me?"

Ting-a-ling, Ting-a-ling
The Devil he leans on your bell
The future looks black as before
And the sun never shines, the sun never shines on the poor

The rich man he dreams of his gold and his plate
And his house and his car and his women
The poor man he dreams of his one-roomed estate
And his wage packet, short by one shilling
The last penny falls through a hole in your jeans
Now ain't that the way when you're down?
Just walking in circles for the rest of your life
And feeling so low that your chin scrapes along on the ground

Ting-a-ling, Ting-a-ling
The Devil he leans on your bell
The future looks black as before
And the sun never shines, the sun never shines on the poor

Now some of the people are poor in the purse
They don't have the cash at the ready
And some of the people they're crippled and lame
They can never stand up true and steady
And some of the people they're poor in the head
Like the simpleton fools that you see
But most of the people they're poor in the heart
It's the worst kind of poor, it's the worse kind of poor you can be

Ting-a-ling, Ting-a-ling
The Devil he leans on your bell
The future looks black as before
And the sun never shines, oh the sun never shines on the poor

I know the way that I feel about you
I'm never gonna run away
I'm never gonna run away
I never knew the way when I lived without you
I'm never gonna run away
I'm never gonna run away

I came to you when no one could hear me
I'm sick and weary of being alone
Empty streets and hungry faces
The world's no place when you're on your own
A heart needs a home

Some people say that I should forget you
I'm never gonna be a fool
I'm never gonna be a fool
A better life they say if I never met you
I'm never gonna be a fool
I'm never gonna be a fool

Tongues talk fire and eyes cry rivers
Indian givers, hearts of stone
Paper ships and painted faces
The world's no place when you're on your own
A heart needs a home

Waterson

Like the flowers, like the bees
Like the woodlands and the trees
I like the Byrds on their LP's
And I'm a refugee
(Chorus)
I wanna be a mole in a hole, digging low and slow
I wanna be a fly flying high in the sky
I wanna be a mole in a hole, digging low and slow
I wanna be a fly flying high in the sky
I had a friend who had a friend in Jesus
He used to read the good book every day
But my friend got so friendly with friend Jesus
Friend Jesus took my only friend away
(Chorus)
Well, my feet are smelly and hair's a mess
My teeth are yellow and I've got bad breath
I may look great but I feel like death
And I'm a refugee
(Chorus)
My friend he was as wise as Mister Wise Owl
He could count from one to ten, from A to Z
My friend he was so wise he got religion
That's why I'm alive today and he is dead
(Chorus)

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