- BAD NEWS IS ALL THE WIND CAN CARRY (1971)
This house is dark and shuttered
Luck has gone out the door
No daytime will shine
In this empty room no more
Bad news is all the wind can carry
I heard a sound one morning
I bowed my head to weep
I heard a man dig my love's grave
The hole was dark, the hole was deep
Bad news is all the wind can carry
Some people say she wandered
And that she had a price, likewise
I'll cut their tongues and hang them high
They'll rot away with all their lies
Bad news is all the wind can carry
I'll steal a boat and rig her
On course I'll tie the wheel
I'll lay down to the stars
Until the bottom meets the keel
Bad news is all the wind can carry
- DRAGGING THE RIVER (1972)
You thought that you were smart, little tart
When you threw me over for Shorty McKay
You thought that I would take it like a white man
And squeeze your hand as we said goodbye
Now the Police are out there dragging the river
Looking for a body, five foot two
There've been complaints about the drinking water
So they're dragging the river for you
I spent a fortune keeping you quiet
And you found a nice way to pay me back
Now how does the future look without me
From the inside of a sack?
Now the Police are out there dragging the river
Looking for a bone in an Irish stew
God help the worms and God help the fishies
They're dragging the river for you
All my life I've been a coward
You know I never had the courage to fend for myself
Killing you was the best thing I ever did
You worked wonders for my mental health
Now the Police are out there dragging the river
Looking for a body, five foot two
The divers are down and the beaters are out
And they're dragging the river for you
- WHEN I'M PRIME MINISTER (1972)
Mister, mister, mister, I'm just an urchin lad
Me sentiments are noble, it's me manners that are bad
When I tried to do you favours and your chauffeur runs me down
Don't expect me to forget you when my turn comes around
When I'm Prime Minister and official duty calls
I'll have me heavies hold you when I kick you in the balls
I'll screw your daughter, and your wife, and when I'm through with her
You'll wish you'd never tangled with the next Prime Minister
Mister, mister, mister, I'm a reasonable lout
Don't push me out the window when you want me to get out
I'm a simple-minded fellow, so don't hand me rubber cheques
Or I'll become a politician just to break your neck
When I'm Prime Minister and official duty calls
I'll have me heavies hold you when I kick you in the balls
I'll screw your daughter, fuck your wife, and when I'm through with her
You'll wish you'd never tangled with the next Prime Minister
Mister, mister, mister, you're treading on thin ice
Upset me and the consequences won't be very nice
You think you're such a big man but you'll feel very small
When I have sixty million people at me beck and call.
When I'm Prime Minister and official duty calls
I'll have me heavies hold you when I kick you in the balls
I'll screw your daughter, fuck your wife, and when I'm through with her
You'll wish you'd never tangled with the next Prime Minister
Oh you'll wish you'd never tangled with the next Prime Minister
- BRAND NEW WAY TO HURT A WOMAN (1972)
Love can be a wild dog on the mountain
Love can be the sun before the rain
I can see you standing in the shadows
You found a way to break my heart again
I know every trick that's in the book
I've taken all the pain a woman can
But you must be some other kind of sorrow
You found a brand new way to hurt a woman
I feel good just to see you happy
Then I recall and I understand
You don't have to tell me why you're lying
You found a brand new way to hurt a woman
I know every trick that's in the book
I've taken all the pain a woman can
But you must be some other kind of sorrow
You found a brand new way to hurt a woman
You must be some other kind of sorrow
You found a brand new way to hurt a woman
- THE FLUTE TELLS A STORY (1977)
- RESCUE ME (1977)
Thanks to Derrick Leigh for his assistance
Ya Ya Hu Allah
We are shipwrecked sailors with nothing to lose
I cling to your rope, oh please don't refuse
You are the rich and I am the poor
With nothing to bring you I run to your door
Rescue me. Rescue me. Rescue me. Rescue me.
Free me from this jail of dust
Open the door before it turns to rust
I fought for my country, I fought for my home
This world is a stranger, I travel alone.
Rescue me. Rescue me. Rescue me. Rescue me.
Ya Ya Hu Allah
I yearn for you all through the night
Tears of blood are all that I cry
Take me to you, tear me apart
Break me to pieces, break my heart.
Rescue me. Rescue me. Rescue me. Rescue me.
- THE FIRE AND THE GARDEN (1977)
Thanks to Derrick Leigh for his assistance
Those who wait for the last day to come
They live in the same hotel
Some for the fire and some for the garden
The guests all mingle well.
In between there stands a mountain
Its wall are high and wide
And no one cares to bend their breast
To reach the other side.
Some lie in the ground like treasure
Some dark like lights
Between a hundred empty highways
A hundred empty nights.
See how they hang like beads on a necklace
The black bead and the white
The necklace breaks and the beads are scattered
Like guests who spent one night.
One half of the sea is sugar
Half of the sea is sour
Half of the sea, it shines like the moon
But half of the sea is dark.
Like the waves they dash together
Rise in peace and war
A man can cure another man's heart
Or crush it to the core.
Those who wait for the last day to come
They live in the same hotel
Some for the fire and some for the garden
The guests all mingle well.
- THE KING OF LOVE (1977)
- SPEECHLESS CHILD (1980)
Oh speechless child, who wants to touch you
Oh speechless child, no love in store
To dumb to scream, to dumb to answer
Can only listen and lock the door
Can't stand the sound of raging voices
Can't stand the sound of warring tongues
Shut in a place where none can reach you
A better place than this cruel one
Oh child, oh child, speechless child
Your mother blames you for her trouble
Your father needs to pick a fight
And you're the smallest and the nearest
Close the door and close it tight
See all the joys of family living
You're better off by far today
You're private life, you're private leisure
Oh life is sweeter, so they say
Oh child, oh child, speechless child
Oh speechless child, you'll never reason
Oh speechless child, the day will come
You'll haunt a man whose days are measured
Some day your eyes will strike him dumb
Oh child, oh child, speechless child
Oh child, oh child, speechless child
- YOU NEED SOMEONE (1980)
Lucky in life, unlucky in love
That's what they tell you, heavens above
Silver and gold is never enough
When you need someone
You may have a slice of whatever life brings
You might push buttons, you might pull strings
You can't cash it in when the pendulum swings
And you neeed someone
All you're doing is fooling yourself
If you think you can buy love plain off the shelf
A lover on your arm is more than wealth
When you need someone
Lucky in life, unlucky in love
That's what they tell you, heavens above
Silver and gold is never enough
When you need someone
You might see a young lion walking down the street
String on his pants and corns on his feet
Nothing in his pocket but he knows his sweet
When he needs someone
Don't think love is nothing but a hobby
Don't spend you're whole life standing in the lobby
Whatcha gonna do when you got nobody
And you need someone
Lucky in life, unlucky in love
That's what they tell you, heavens above
Silver and gold is never enough
When you need someone
Lucky in life, unlucky in love
That's what they tell you, heavens above
Silver and gold is never enough
When you need someone
Lucky in life, unlucky in love
That's what they tell you, heavens above
Silver and gold is never enough
When you need someone
- MODERN WOMAN (1980)
She leans by the pool and she dares you to stare her down
Her pulse never races and her feet never leave the ground
Her teeth are shiny, they're so manicured
She looks so distant, so self-assured
She'll take you home tonight, you'd better be alright
She's modern woman
You'll never see the wind blow the style right out of her hair
She's cool as a snake and some say it doesn't end there
She's got a brand new hat, up-to-date shoes
Latest fashion, modern point of view
She never sits still, 'till she's over the hill
Modern woman
Oh, you'll never see her laugh, you'll never see her fret nor frown
But the wheels of her mind go around and around and around, and around
Oh she's free as a bird and she goes wherever she please
She'll take you along if you'll just get up off your knees
She's got no strings, she likes it that way
No little babies crying all day
She doesn't need the fuss, it's so obvious
She's modern woman
Well these modern woman, they're all the same
They just want your body they don't want your brain
She'll bid you adieu when she's had enough of you
Modern woman
She looks so demure, you feel so insecure
Modern woman
She's cool as ice, she never looks twice
Modern woman
She never sits still, 'till she's over the hill
Modern woman
- JEALOUSY (1982)
Jealousy
I saw you kissing him, telling him lies
I held my breath and I closed my eyes
Oh jealousy
Count to three
And maybe the pain will leave my heart
I'll get used to being apart
Oh jealousy
You're looking at him the way you used to look at me
Just like a wild cat looking at a bird in a tree
Oh you don't love me
But you know that I never stopped loving you
I just can't stand to see the things you do
Oh jealousy
Every time I see you somebody's in my shoes
You were the one thing I could never stand to lose
Oh jealousy
You're breaking me up with your new romance
I'd even take you back if I had the chance
Oh jealousy, jealousy
Oh jealousy, jealousy
- IN OVER YOUR HEAD (1984)
Run ragged and wounded so deep
Close your eyes, poor body asleep
I could never stand to watch you
In over your head, in over your head
And now I watch you torn and hung by a thread
If you called me I never did hear
Couldn't tell when the need was real
Saw you slipping, you were already gone
In over your head, in over your head
I had nothing new, nothing new to show to you instead
- PUSH AND SHOVE (1988)
Well people get love all wrong
But we know how to get along
Well we know love is a-running wild
So put on your rags and war paint little child
We know love is a dangerous friend
Screaming tyres on a hair-pin bend
Never knowing when the pushes spark will end
Oh you gotta push and shove, push and shove
Push and shove if you want to be loved
Push and shove, you gotta push and shove
Push and shove if you want to be loved
Well any fool can find romance
In a Meryl Streep weepie or a drunken dance
Or you find your thrills in Mills and Boon
Or cry for some greasy lounge tune
Well that's tired love for tired old fools
Wet dreams for girls in school
You and me, we know how to bend the rules
Oh you gotta push and shove, push and shove
Push and shove if you want to be loved
Push and shove, you gotta push and shove
Push and shove if you want to be loved
Well who says a man must breathe
And who says a heart must grieve
And who says that life's for the living
And who says the gift's in the giving
Well who's got time for the human touch
Little things that mean so much
When the chips are down the ride is rough enough
Oh you gotta push and shove, push and shove
You gotta push and shove if you want to be loved
You gotta push and shove, push and shove
You gotta push and shove if you want to be loved
(If you want to be loved)
You gotta push and shove, you gotta push and shove
You gotta push and shove if you want to be loved
- MY DADDY IS A MUMMY (2001)
Oh my name is Amenhotep
I'm a prince of the Nile
When my daddy died
He really went in style
They put him in his burial chamber
With his favourite things
For his afterlife journey
Oh that's because he's a king
Now my daddy is a mummy
He's inside a pyramid
Oh my daddy is a mummy
Close the door, shut the lid
(Join me kids)
My daddy is a mummy
He's inside a pyramid
Oh my daddy is a mummy
Close the door, shut the lid
Well a priest made a potion
And he rubbed him lots
Then they wrapped him up in bandages
Put him in a stone box
Then they covered it in gold
And they sealed it up tight
'Cause you wouldn't want him sneaking out
In the middle of the night
Well my daddy is a mummy
He's inside a pyramid
Oh my daddy is a mummy
Close the door, shut the lid
Three thousand years later
Ah it's really too bad
They put him in a museum
Won't you come and see my dad
Oh my daddy is a mummy
He's inside a pyramid
My daddy is a mummy
Close the door, shut the lid
Yes my name is Amenhotep
Be my penpal, write to me
Just send me a postcard
To a 1000 BC
Then send it off to Egypt
Well that's the name of my land
But please write in hieroglyphics
Or I won't understand
Yeah my daddy is a mummy
He's inside a pyramid
Ohh, my daddy is a mummy
Close the door, shut the lid
Aay my daddy is a mummy
He's inside a pyramid
Oh my daddy is a mummy
Close the door, shut the lid
- MADONNA'S WEDDING (2001)
Out of wedlock is my son
Two bastards now instead of one
What can publicly be done
To rectify my honour
A wedding! That'll pull me through
I'll marry husb... father number two
Get me Scotland, that'll do
Just say "It's for Madonna"
Get me a castle nice and old
Lots of armour, lots of mould
Not too shabby, not too cold
Say "It's for Madonna"
A tartan for the bride and groom
A few close friends, there ain't much room
Sting's place for the honeymoon
If we can stand the squalor
Oh, baby Rocco needs a dip
In holy water, ain't it sick
Get me a cathedral, quick
Say "It's for Madonna"
Oh let's do that Scotland thing
Whisky and a Highland Fling
Limo waiting in the wings
To whisk you where you wanna
Oh the locals think it's some big deal
They're flattered by the showbiz spiel
They thought Braveheart was for real
Upon my word of honour
We'll get Hello magazine
To photograph the happy scene
We'll make those other divas green
With envy of Madonna
'Cause you see, my dear, it's down to class
What good's talent? Tits and arse!
If your lifestyle's deeply crass
Like those would-be Madonnas
- I AGREE WITH PAT METHENY (2001)
I agree with Pat Metheny
Kenny's talents are too teeny
He deserves the crap he's going to get
He overdubbed himself on Louis
What a musical chop suey
Raised his head above the parapet
Well Louis Armstrong was the king
He practically invented swing
Hero of the twentieth century
He did duets with many a fella
"Fatha" Hines, Bing, Hoagy, Ella
Strange he never thought of Kenny G
A meeting of great minds, how nice
Like Einstein and Sporty Spice
Digitally fused in an abortion
Kenny fans will doubtless rave
While Satchmo turns inside his grave
Soprano man's bit off more than his portion
Oh brainless pentatonic riffs
Display our Kenny's arcane gifts
But we don't care, his charms are so beguiling
He does play sharp, but let's be fair
He has such lovely crinkly hair
We hardly notice, we're too busy smiling
How does he hold those notes so long?
He must be a genius. Wrong!
He just has the mindlessness to do it
He makes Britney sound like scat
If this is jazz I'll eat my hat
An idle threat, I'll never have to chew it
So next time you're in a rendezvous
And Kenny's sound comes wafting through
Don't just wince, eliminate the cause
Rip the tape right off the muzak
Pull the plug, or steal a fuse, Jack
The whole room will drown you in applause
Yes, Kenny G has gone too far
The gloves are off, it's time to spar
Grab your hunting rifle, strap your colt on
It's open season on our Ken
But I await the moment when
We lay off him and start on Michael Bolton
I agree with Pat Metheny
Kenny's talents are too teeny
- WORD UNSPOKEN SIGHT UNSEEN (2001)
I must leave this tainted place
Of slow and hidden pain
By all and any means
All the past I shall erase
Never look again
On child's memories
But if you'll have me, truly have me
Word unspoken, sight unseen
I'm newborn to be your lover
Word unspoken, sight unseen
Take my trophies from the rack
The medals from my chest
Walls washed clean
All my life is on my back
And swiftness suits me best
I'm travelling lean
But if you'll have me, truly have me
Word unspoken, sight unseen
I'm newborn to be your lover
Word unspoken, sight unseen
So I come to you a shell
Make of me what you must
And I will bend
What you need I can't tell
I will sweep the dust
And patch and mend
But if you'll have me, truly have me
Word unspoken, sight unseen
I'm newborn to be your lover
Word unspoken, sight unseen
Word unspoken, sight unseen
Word unspoken, sight unseen