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Holloway
Boulevard
As the liner notes indicate, Holloway Road in North
London lies at the heart of the Irish emigree community. One
review I found online
describing the drinking establishments on the road concludes
with this ditty about the Irish pubs in the area:
"The Irish pubs along Holloway Road, that is to
say the ones that appear to sell nothing but Guinness and
Murphy's are to be avoided, unless your family have been
drinking there for sometime and you once lived in
Ireland. The punters in these places and there are
thousands, including the Mulberry and the Half Moon, have
a peculiar addiction to all things connected to line
dancing and other Irish Institutions."
Platinum rogues in stolen
clothes,
Teaching others how to pose
All they're doing is wearin' out their brogues
Horse Mulcahy from the west
Stripped to his vest
Doggie Dordon in his Sunday best
John (thanks!) writes that "Horse" is a pretty common
nickname in the west of Ireland.
The nightlife, the music, and
the bars
The hookers, the dealers in their cars
All lying in the gutter, looking at the stars
Tonight on Holloway Boulevard
The penultimate line in this verse echoes one of Oscar
Wilde's better known witticisms: "We are all in the gutter,
but some of us are looking at the stars" (from Lady
Windermere's Fan [1892]). Thanks Tim for putting
me on the trail for that one.
The Red Room, the smell of
Brut
Old boys in electric soup
Black girls in high heeled boots
From Upper Street to Archway Towers
Bondage to golden showers
All you need to while away the hours
Upper Street is at the south end of Holloway Road; the
The Archway Tavern is at the north end (my thanks to Glen
for the geography). Brut is a brandname for a man's
cologne.
The nightlife, the music, and
the bars
The schemers, the dreamers, and the hards
All lying in the gutter, looking at the stars
Tonight on Holloway Boulevard
The winos, the losers at the
cards
The buskers, just beggars with guitars
All lying in the gutter, looking at the stars
Tonight on Holloway Boulevard
"Buskers" are street musicians.
From the Norfolk Arms to the
Brewery Tap
from the Favorite to the Workman's Tap
Everywhere you go, you can hear the old one's laugh
Tonight on Holloway Boulevard
The Favourite was a pub owned by Tom McManamon's father
(there's a pic of the front of the pub in the cd booklet
with a pic of Tom's dad top left on the same page and the
liner notes by Reg Hall mention it. Heck, there's even a cd
release of Irish dance music recorded at the place). A huge
thanks to Glen for the details on this one and clearing up
some of the missing lyrics.
Vaya Con
Dios
Maria Garcia, the hooker, met Padre
[??] Ramon
Before you could say that "popes like to pray"
The priest fell in love with the whore
Augusto's a friend of the padre
A sober and scholarly man
Said "go padre, take Maria away
Before the shit hits the fan."
Vaya con dios, amigos
May God go with you my friend
Let's drink a toast
say adios
til we meet again
Tomorrow they head for the
border
Tonight they sleep in the hills
The padre was eager to go get his beaver
Maria to practice her skills
In the hills they met with Hernando
A crazy, despicable hound
The padre was raped, Maria was snaked
They buried them both in the ground
Vaya con Dios, amigos
May God go with you my friend
Let's drink a toast, say "adios"
'Til we meet again
Vaya con Dios amigos
May God go with you my friend
I'll say an "ole" and be on my way
'Til we meet again
Hernando got killed in a
gunfight
A row over another man's wife
A shot to the head, bandito was dead
They cut his body up with a knife
In the small little town of San Pedro
When the people come to a feast
The village still talks of the ghosts that walk
The bandit, the whore, and the priest
Vaya con dios
May God go with you my friend
Let's drink a toast
And say adios
'Tl we meet again
Vaya con dios amigos
May God go with you my friend
Hasta la vista
and know that I'll miss ya
'Til we meet again
Thanks to Sinbad for help on the lyrics in the first
verse.
Hillbilly
Soul
Don't live in the country
Don't make moonshine
Never worked the lands
Nor been down the mine
I'm just a city boy
With a back street jelly roll
But when it comes to music
I've a hillbilly soul
chorus
Hillbilly rock, hillbilly roll
I'm just a city boy with a hillbilly soul
Hillbilly rock, hillbilly roll
I'm just a city boy with a hillbilly soul
Ain't been to the mountains
Don't know no mountain folk
Never tried a lifestyle too busy in the smoke
All those open spaces, the fresh air makes me choke
But when it comes to music it's hillbilly 'til I
croak
chorus
Now I ain't superstitious
Don't put my trust in god
Don't believe in healers
Or the wisdom of the lord
Don't need no 4 leaf clover
I don't need no cure
But when it comes to music it's hillbilly or it's
pure
chorus
Thanks to Paula for help on the lyrics in the second
verse.
Sleepless
Nights
What in the world is happening?
Look at the state I'm in
I can't believe I feel this way again
Just when I thought I got it made
The ghosts in my life they go digging my grave
What in the world is happening?
Look at the state I'm in
There ya go, getting me uptight
I'm lying awake again
She's giving me sleepless nights
No wise man's words
Are gonna help
When your lover don't love you
You can't love yourself
So I'm lying awake
Chained to the bed
Night after night, counting the days
What in the world is happening?
Look at the state I'm in?
There ya go, getting me uptight
I'm lying awake again
She's giving me sleepless nights
How can you say (repeat)
It's gonna be alright
I'm lying awake again
She's giving me sleepless nights
Yeah, she's giving me sleepless nights
Wo, she's giving me sleepless nights
Yeah, she's giving me sleepless nights
Wo, she's giving me sleepless nights
Pumpaction
Paddy
I never did no man no harm
But they gave me 10 years on the old work farm
I shot smack and I shot speed
Got what I got for the life I lead
Spend my days in the county
jail
Sewing up bags for the U.S. Mail
Cons they want me to be their bitch
Screws they want me to be their snitch
Keep my head down I'll get by
Cuz the woman who loves me keeps me high
chorus
She brings me everything I want
She brings me everything I need
Uppers, and downers and moonshine whiskey
Coke and dope and smack and speed
Warden he won't hear my plea
Don't give parole to little punks like me
Gave me a room with my own tv
Three meals a day, good company
The old lady's got a visitor's pass
Said she smuggled my dope up the crack of her ass
I keep my body fit and tone
For the woman who loves me keeps me stoned
chorus
My woman goes to college each
day
Got 2 jobs to pay her own way
Studying hard for her law degree
And when it comes she gonna set me free
If that don't work she got a break out plan
Gonna come blastin' with a back up man
Love that woman 'til the day I day
Cuz the woman who loves me keeps me high
chorus
Thanks to Patrick for help on the lyrics in the last
verse.
Hills
of Connemara
Gather up your pots and your old
tin can
Mash and the corn the barley and the bran
Run like the devil from the Garda van
In the hills of Connemara
The "Garda" are the Irish police force.
Keep your eyes well peeled
today
The excise men are on their way
Searching for the mountain tay
Keep the smoke from rising Rabbi
Swinging to the left, swinging to
the right
The excise men will dance all night
Search for tay in the broad daylight
Keep the smoke from rising Rabbi
A jug for ???, a squirt for Tom
A bottle or two for ??
To help them both move along
In the hills of Connemara
Mind your ground, for it's too
late
The excise men are at the gate
Jesus Christ they're drinking it straight
In the hills of Connemara
The
Beast
Late at night in Rosie's Pub in a
room marked 666
You can hear some wicked music as the devil
[treats?] the mix
And if you dare to venture where the Tennessee waters
flow
On a mattress in the corner, you'll find the legend from
Mayo
Aside the piles of dishes, and the charred remains of
priests
Underneath the bedclothes, between the mouldy sheets
Lies the mother of all pluckers, the high priest of
freaks
The legend on the mattress, is the man they call "The
Beast."
New
Rose
Everything was broken, the world
worn out and old
My days were too long, my nights lonely and cold
From the cry of a child
To the winds in the wild
Nothing was right, nobody smiled
Now you come along, plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose
Everyone was waiting, the story's
to be told
No matter what I did, nothing would turn into gold
The light was unsteady, the plow was too heavy
My time had come and I wasn't ready
Now you come along, plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
From the cry of a child, to the
winds in the wild
Nothing was right, nobody smiled
Now you come along, plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose
Plant a new rose
Plant a new rose
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new rose in my heart
Plant a new
rose
Jukebox
(spoken) "Hi Jack, I don't know why
you're calling here bothering Rick and I here this morning.
Umm, obviously you have your crack whore with you. My cell
phone went dead that's why I couldn't, didn't continue to
speak. Anyway, it would be a great favor for me... if you
would please sign the divorce papers, okay? You live your
life in a drug infested world with crack whores, and that's
just how you're going to be. And, by the way, we had a
great time in this bed last night. bye"
Don't listen to the radio
Don't watch tv
Don't hang around the house all day
Doing the G
Go down to the pub
Play pool all day
Put money in the record machine
And let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
I useta be a rich man, but not
anymore
Spent every penny I made on a high class whore
If I do it all over, won't throw it away
Spend every penny I make, at the Whiskey Cafe
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
I said, Lord, Lord, Lord, let the
jukebox play
Lord, Lord, Lord, let the jukebox play
Lord, Lord, Lord, let the jukebox play
Lord, Lord, Lord, let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
Let the jukebox play
I said, Lord, Lord, Lord, let the
jukebox play
Lord, Lord, Lord, let the jukebox play
Lord, Lord, Lord, let the jukebox play
Lord, Lord, Lord, let the jukebox play
Waitress
As I drove out toward Dublin
On a warm September day
I stopped for a cold beer
At a smokey pub in Bray
I spied a pretty waitress, standing with a tray
She could not believe her ears, when she heard me
say
Waitress, oh waitress, come sit on
my face
Eating ain't cheating, it's no disgrace
Bring me a cold beer, make it a case
Waitress, oh waitress, sit on my face
Walked over to the jukebox, I was
feeling kind of mean
The waittress said "hey stupid, that's a cigarette
machine"
I turned to the waitress, who was standing by the bar,
"If that ain't a jukebox honey you can smoke my
cigar."
Waitress, oh waitress, come sit on
my face
Eating ain't cheating, it's no disgrace
Bring me a cold beer, make it a case
Waitress, oh waitress, sit on my face
Yes I come from Wicklow, Wicklow is
my home
And I'm on my way to Dublin and I'm feeling so alone
I got me a job playing guitar, I play a bit on TV
Put down your tray, get your pay, come sing along with
me
All aboard, this face leaves in 5
minutes
Thanks to Griff for help completing the "smokey pub" line
and correcting the second line of the chorus, to Sinbad for
the first line of the last verse, and to Glen for the last
few lines in the last verse.
This is the Popes version of the Kinky
Friedman tune entitled "Waitret,
Please, Waitret," (click the link to open a window with
the full lyrics).
Chino's
Place
There's a party going on
Down at Chino's place
You can see both the old and young
Over at Chino's place
We can be as one international scum
Meet me at Chino's place, meet me at Chino's Place, meet me
at Chino's Place
And he gives you the first one
free
Down at Chino's place
You gonna grow into a scumbag like me
There's a priest took me for a pretty face
Down at Chino's place
It's the best shooting gallery down at Chino's Place
and everything's all right, in the warm celestial light
down at Chino's Place
wooo
Down at Chino's Place
Chino was doing a long hard
stretch
He packs a pump and a monkey wrench
I had tequila when I was young
Now nobody's going to spoil my fun
Church communion every week for him
He can only live by sin
The last line above also appears in a song from the Nips
(Shane's first band) called, I think, "The Happy Song."
Woo, wooo, wooo, wooo,
Wooo, woooo, down at chino's Place
woooo, woooo, wooo, woooo
Wooo, woooo, down at chino's Place
wooo, wooo...
came in last night
down at Chino's Place
...
The way this tune ends is just a further reminder that
Shane should be kept as far away as possible from the mixing
board (IMHO of course). Big thanks to ShaneMacGowan57 from
AOL for help on some of the more indecipherable bits.
Rock
'n' Roll Band
Been up all night, talking shite,
taking pills and dope
Left Shane in the morning when he was running out of
coke
Took a cab to my place, to try to get some sleep
When I got there all I got was thrown out on the
street
No more, I can't take it, I can't
take no more
A monkey on my shoulder always showing me the door
No more, I can't take it, gotta find a plan
Jesus Christ it's a hard old life playing in a rock and roll
band
Got a call from a music hall over
in the USA
Gonna fly us out there to play on Paddy's Day
We all meet up in Billy's pub to talk about the show
Shane falls off the barstool, breaks his fucking
hip
No more, I can't take it, I can't
take no more
New York's out the window, singer's on the floor
No more, I can't take it, gonna make a stand
Jesus Christ it's a hard old life playing in a rock and roll
band
Tired of all the hotels, the
glowing of tvs
Tired of all the nightclubs, the parties and the sleaze
Tired of all the cocaine, the groupies, and the girls
But most of all we're sick and tired of playing with
ourselves
No more, I can't take it, I can't
take no more
New York's out the window, singer's on the floor
No more, I can't take it, gonna make a stand
Jesus Christ it's a hard old life playing in a rock and roll
band
No more, I can't take it, I can't
take no more
Got a monkey on my shoulder always showing me the door
No more, I can't take it, gonna make a stand
Jesus Christ it's a hard old life playing in a rock and roll
band
Walk
Tall
Walk tall, walk straight, and look
the world right in the eye
That's what my momma told me when I was about knee high
Said "Son now be a proud man, and hold your head up high
Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right in the
eye,"
When I was young boy ...
But I was young and foolish then, and much too blind to
see
I ignored the things she said as if I never heard
Now I see and understand the meaning of her words
Walk tall, walk straight, and look
the world right in the eye
That's what my momma told me when I was about knee high
Said "Son now be a proud man, and hold your head up high
Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right in the
eye,"
Started going to places, where
youngsters shouldn't go
Got to know the kind of girls it's better not to know
Fell in with a bad crowd and laughed and drank with them
And through the laughter mama's words would echo now and
then '
Walk tall, walk straight, and look
the world right in the eye
It's what my momma told me when I was about knee high
Said "Son now be a proud man, and hold your head up high
Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right in the
eye,"
Got in trouble with the law, and
I'm in prison now
Through these prison bars I see things so much different
now
I got one year left to serve, and when my time is done
I'll walk tall and I'll walk straight, and mama'll be proud
to call me son.
Walk tall, walk straight, and look
the world right in the eye
That's what my momma told me when I was about knee high
Said "Son now be a proud man, and hold your head up high
Walk tall, walk straight, and look the world right in the
eye,"
Walk tall, walk
tall
Thanks go to Sinbad for help on the fourth Stanza.
Last
Call
Grab your partner before you go
Swing 'em around to and fro
Teach em how to doe-si-doe
Last chance for a dance
Grab your partner while you can
Every woman, every man
Show them all that you still can
Last chance for a dance
A "doe-si-doe" is a traditional square dance maneuver
involving a change of partners.
Last chance for a dance
Last chance for a dance
Last chance for a dance
Last call for alcohol
Now's the time to take the
plunge
Andy's doing it on the drums
Quick before they call the nuns
Last chance for a dance
Bobby does it on the bass
Staring out there into space
We all know he's off his face
Last chance for a dance
Last chance for a dance
Last chance for a dance
Last chance for a dance
Last call for alcohol
Tommy does it on the ol' banjo
Fiddler does it with his bow
If you squeeze you'll let him know
Last chance for a dance
Go on give that box a squeeze
Play that thing between your knees
Oh that boy he's such a tease
Last chance for a dance
Last chance for a dance
Last chance for a dance
Last chance for a dance
Last call for alcohol
Like a
River
The tears on your face, they taste
so sweet
Words can't explain, so don't you speak
Now is the time to ease your pain
So open your heart, let it rain
Put your head on my shoulder
And let it all go
Put your arms around me
Like a river let it flow
Like a river let it flow
Like a river let it flow
Like some mountain made of stone,
yeah
You stood your ground, you walked alone
Now is the time to bare your soul
You can't be a rock, if you don't let it roll
Put your head on my shoulder
And let it all go
Put your arms around me
Like a river let it go
Like a river let it go
Like a river let it go
Like a cold wind blowin'
Like the drivin' snow
Put your arms around me
Like a river let it flow
Put your head on my shoulder
And let it all go
Put your arms around me
Like a river let it flow
Like a river let it flow
Like a river let it flow
Like a river let it flow
Like a river let it flow
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