1. |
Punch and Judy Man
02:59
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Punch and Judy man
Puppets in your hand
See the children sit
Round you on the sand
And they don't mind if the sun won't shine
You've put the moon in their eyes
Punch and Judy man
Make the voices ring
Make the children dance
Make the children sing
And they don't mind if the sun won't shine
You've put the moon in their eyes
Punch and Judy man
May until September
You know they'll remember you're their friend
Punch and Judy man
Can you hear their laughter
Echoing long after summer's end
As I pass along
I listen to the noise
My shadow it has left me
It's with the girls and boys
And I don't mind if the sun won't shine
You've put the moon in my eyes
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2. |
Man From Brummagem Town
04:28
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I'm a man from Brummagem town
And a Brummie won't stay down
I've worked from dawn, to the sun next morn
With a shovel and a pick and a deal of brawn
I put the bullring there
I built Victoria square
I saw the nobs give tips with bobs
And I thought I'd get my share
Well you might say I'm nouveau
Not fit to mix with gentry
But if you make a show
It's money gains you entry
I've got my country home
My carriages and horses
I might be nouveau, but I'm riche
Playing the market forces
A labourer's just a fool
A pawn and a boss's tool
So I cast my mind and what did I find?
Well, I found me a golden rule
Give odds of six to four
Ten to one the draw
They'll bet all day, they'll always pay
And then come back for more
Well it must be God's good plan
So I take it all I can
The chapel gate, the silver plate
Were bought by this God-fearing man
And my son will have it all
The pub, the lodge, the hall
He's an empire lad just like his dad
And he's heard his country's call
They might say he's nouveau
Not fit to mix with gentry
But I gave him such a show
My money bought him entry
He's got the best there is
In uniforms and horses
He might be nouveau, but he's riche,
And an officer in the forces
He's smart that lad of mine
He'll serve his country fine
The Kaiser screams of war it seems
But he'd better toe the line
War would bring us hell
But jobs of work as well
Be it gun or blade, it's Brummie made
And we live by what we sell
He's smart, that lad of mine
He'll keep out of the line
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3. |
I'm Coming Home Molly
05:21
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I'm coming home Molly, I’m coming home
No more to roam Molly, no more to roam
We came out as boys Molly, we'll come back as men
They're sending me home Molly, to love you again.
You'll never believe Molly the things I’ve seen
Places I’ve been Molly, just where I’ve been
The war to end wars Molly, that's what they say
Well, it's finished for me Molly, so any day…
Glory and grief Molly, I’ve seen it all
For medals and mud Molly, the good men fall
We've won a war Molly, we've won a war
But I wonder what for Molly, I ask what for
I'll be home soon Molly, meet on Snow Hill
I love you still Molly, I love you still
They won't get me back Molly, I’m through with drill
I'm with you to stay Molly, I always will
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4. |
Cousin Joe
02:14
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Here's a song for Cousin Joe
We saw him come and we saw him go
And that's about all you need to know
'Cause he never done nothing at all
He never wined, he never dined
He never loved, and he never pined
And all he said was ‘never mind,
I never done nothing at all’
Cousin Joe, he was there
Happy as a millionaire
How I wish I could share
The secret of his savoir faire
He never served, he never fought
He wasn't dumb, but he wasn't taught
He wasn't shunned, but he wasn't sought
'Cause he never done nothing at all
And when they laid his bones to rest
They asked his friend who knew him best
And on that stone the mason dressed
Was he never done nothing at all, in style
He never done nothing at all, but while
He never done nothing at all he'd smile
'Cause he never done nothing at all
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5. |
Navy's In Dock
04:12
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‘Watch for the sailor,’
Say frightened old ladies
He's terrorising the town
Handsome and sprightly though he's nearly ninety
He's never slowing down
The language he'll use when he's been on the booze
The stories he'd tell
Well, they'd never choose to listen
But sometimes they glance at their husbands and sigh
For an old salt sea-dog who winks
And gives them the eye
When we were in dock
We'd flock where the whores go in Rotterdam
In old navy blue
We'd drink to a new love with every dram
And the blousy hostesses in short frilly dresses
The young and old
They'd seen it before in peace and in war
They'd been bought and sold
And the bars never close till they've taken your money for rotgut booze
And your head hits the ground and the world's spinning round in a game you lose
And you cry out the pain but you shell out again for another glass
And you pray that the morning will come and the ache in your head will pass
The ladies display
Every day in the windows of Amsterdam
Whatever your dream
You're the cat with the cream when the shutters slam
And the guilt that you feel when you find it's not real
Is an old, old friend
And you say not again, well maybe, now and then
Will it never end?
My salt sailor days are a haze
There's a red light to show the way
When you're battered and bruised
You forget who abused you, that's yesterday
But here on the land with a glass in my hand
If a wish were mine
I'd be back on a ship and I'd take me a trip
To the good old time
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6. |
Jowett Javelin
02:48
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Sun is out sky is blue
Everybody in
Fortified with tea and cakes
Just a little gin
Smell the leather, smell the wood
Isn't it a sin!
Going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
Going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
Jowett Javelin, Jowett Javelin
Going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
Jowett Javelin, Jowett Javelin
Going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
Going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
Uncle's at the steering wheel
With a happy grin
He revs her up, lets her go
Makes the wheels spin
Auntie whacks him on the leg
Isn't it a sin!
Going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
Going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
Sutton Park by the lake
Shiny as a pin
Driving by the hoi polloi
Quieting their din
Waving like the king and queen
Wondering if they've been
Ever going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
Going for a ride in a Jowett Javelin
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7. |
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Annie in the morning rain
With her future planned
Did he understand?
Annie in the morning rain
Suitcase in her hand
'Til the morning passes and the sun breaks through
The waiting's over and the future's new
For Annie in the morning rain
Suitcase in her hand
Annie in the morning rain
With her freedom won
Wonders what she's done
Annie in the morning rain
Wonders will he come
For the note she left them was a last goodbye
They won't believe her but she hopes they'll try
Annie in the morning rain
Wonders will he come
Picking up his coat and keys
Still he can't decide
Should he go to work,
Or drive with her by his side?
Annie in the morning rain
With her pages turned
Wonders what she's learned
Annie in the morning rain
With her bridges burned
In her heart she hears him as he says ‘I do’
With her belly swollen and her baby due
Annie in the morning rain
With her bridges burned
Annie in the morning rain
With her pages turned
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8. |
Saturdays
02:55
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Well every Saturday, if you were down our way
You'd find us in the parlour by the fire
Uncles and aunts would call, cousins and nieces all
Prepared to do a party piece, but not to arty,
Please we'd say, let Uncle Jackson play
He'd take down his battered old guitar
He only had one song, he could play all night long
The only words he knew were la la la
The pianola played, we drank the lemonade
All the grown-ups drank the stout and ale
Then we'd form our queues outside the outside loos
That served for twenty four but on Saturday for more
And then we'd go to bed but in our weary head
We heard the songs the others sang below
And the last we'd hear, sweet and clear
Was Uncle Jackson playing soft and low
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9. |
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Is it really that long since I held my tiny little sister?
Is it really that long since I held her tiny little hand?
Here's a card from far away to say how much I've missed her
Now we're both on the shores of time
Counting every grain of sand
Every grain of sand, a day to last forever
Every grain of sand, a memory of time
Every hope we lost, every bridge we crossed
We did it all together
Every dream we shared, every day we cared
And tried to understand
How our lives were planned
But still a grain of sand
In the streets we played the games we learned from others
In the streets we played, till Mother called us home
And the days were long, like a summer song
That never told of winter
And the chalk lines ran to a distant land
We'd one day come to see
And we'd ask the stars
Whoever will we be?
Then we found our men, promised them forever
Then we found our sons, promised them the world
And we watched them grow, we watched them go
As we had left each other
And we tried to write, but we never quite
Knew what we ought to say
Now I send my love
This and every day
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10. |
Birthday Boy
03:36
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Saturday morning, children's pictures
I'm the birthday boy
On the screen it's Roy Rogers
We all cheer for Roy
Aniseed balls, ten a penny
Liquorice wood, ain't got any
Bubblegum cards, swop Tom Finney
For the boys in royal blue
One day I'll be centre forward
Scoring goals for you
Birthday cake, nine red candles
School friends in their shorts and sandals
Postman's knock, what a scandal
If the grown ups knew
Gotta find time to read The Rover
Hotspur, Wizard too
Under the sheets torchlight shining
Tales of derring-do
Rockfist Rogan fights for Blighty
Tough of the Track, Morgan the Mighty
Wrestling crocs who never bite
He always sees it through
One day I will be a hero
Save the world for you
Why can't we all pass the test and
Why can't we all be the best and
Tell the truth, shame the rest and
Fight for what is right
Growing up isn't easy
But I suppose I will
Fall in love then get married
Jane or Joan or Jill
Have three kids and a roast on Sunday
Get up, go to work on Monday
Will there ever be a funday, someday to enjoy
Like Saturday morning, children's pictures
I'm the birthday boy
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11. |
Ghost Town
03:27
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It was a Saturday morning bus to town
For grandma, mother and me
With a list of the shops we'd need to call at
Before the cakes and tea
There was the butcher, the baker, the bookshop too
So many things for us to do
But with Oxfam and Heartbeat and Save The Children
Who'll save the old town now?
The cinema stood on the railway's corner
Courting couples would queue
Now it's a big fat supermarket
You have to drive out to
They've got the meat and the veg
The fruit and the flowers
They've killed the little shops with their hours
And with Oxfam and Heartbeat and Save The Children
Who'll save the old town now?
Who'll save the old town? Now it's a ghost town
Once it was my town, a warm as toast town
But with charity shops and boarded windows
It's not my old town now
Jimmy and Joe met John the poacher
For beer at the old King's Head
Now it's been closed down and the new off-licence
Has Australian lager instead
So the charm of the old town starts to pall
As everyone goes to the shopping mall
And with Oxfam and Heartbeat and Save The Children
Who'll save the old town now?
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12. |
Old Tin Bath
01:53
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What'd come out on a Saturday night?
The old tin bath
Put in the kitchen right under the light
The old tin bath
We'd fill every kettle, we'd fill every pot
We'd boil 'em up until scalding hot
Then where did we pour the boiling lot?
In the old tin bath
Kitchen awash with water and steam
And the old tin bath
You'd dip in a toe, and you'd give out a scream
In the old tin bath
Kid's go first then Dad'd sit tight
Mother went last, she said it's alright
Then she emptied it, polished it, made it a sight
The old tin bath
When Mother got out, the water was cold
In the old tin bath
She longed for the day we finally sold
The old tin bath
She nagged away from night till noon
For a plumbed in bath in a separate room
And soon there came the day of doom
For the old tin bath
When they carried it out we cheered and clapped
The old tin bath
'Cause we had a new room all tiled and tapped
Not the old tin bath
With a gleaming tub as big as a pool
Cold and hot, well it made you drool
We splashed and scrubbed and played the fool
We were hydropaths
Goodbye old tin bath
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13. |
Fifty Years On
03:31
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He was first one out of the landing craft
When the ramp hit the churning sand
He was first one out of the red-cross train
To the sound of the big brass band
He was first in line for his demob suit
When the war he'd fought was won
Then he settled down, rebuilt his town
Thought his job was done
Fifty years on, fifty years on
He's grown too old, his house is sold
And all his money's gone
Like him it's thrown to the nursing home
Fifty years on
She ferried fighters through the sky
She flew the big ones too
There was no job the air force had
She felt she couldn't do
From dawn she'd toil with plug and coil
Her scent was oily rag
Her mad days and her salad days
Given to the flag
Fifty years on, fifty years on
Her face is bruised, she's been abused
And all her spirit's gone
He was just a child, but the kids are wild
Fifty years on
Fifty years on, fifty years gone
And they've lost a war they could have sworn they'd won
Fifty years on, fifty years gone
And the kids say please to the Japanese
Can we work for the new Nippon
Fifty years on
Yes the kids are wild and on the street
Fifty years on
But the courts are mild when they mug and beat
Fifty years on
They were youngsters then, they were boys not men
Girls who grew too fast
They were our front line now it's me and mine
And the old ones come last
Fifty years on, fifty years on
They're fighting still, they always will
But with so many gone
They stand with pride, but someone lied
Fifty years on, times passed
Fifty years on, they're last
Fifty years on
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