Gathered together here for the first time, the out-takes - previously featured on various CD reissues - from Why We Fight, John Wesley Harding’s New Deal, Awake, Trad Arr Jones and The Sound of His Own Voice.
released October 6, 2020
WHY WE FIGHT
Tracks 1-5
Previously released on Garden of Eden: The Fall EP
Produced by Kenny Craddock (1992)
Played and arranged by Kenny Craddock and Colin Gibson
Reproduced by JWH and David Seitz (2003)
Vocals by JWH
Drums by Ethan Eubanks, recorded by Oliver Straus at Mission Sound, Brooklyn
Mixed by David Seitz at Shelter Island Sound, NYC
Assisted by Sasha Victory
Mastered by Tom Hutton at Bionic Mastering, NYC
After the sad death of Kenny Craddock, these songs emerged on a forgotten reel of arrangements recorded before the Why We Fight sessions. They sounded so good to me, and the versions were so different, that I wanted to let them be heard. The original drums had been erased, and the lead vocals were by Kenny rather than me, so we did what we had to do, here they are and I hope you like them. It was about time Kenny and I did some duets. The biggest regret of my life is that Kenny and I never made a whole record together: it would have been the nearest I ever got to Alan Hull’s Pipedream.
JOHN WESLEY HARDING'S NEW DEAL
Tracks 6 & 7
Previously released on John Wesley Harding’s New Deal: The New Edition
Outtakes from John Wesley Harding’s New Deal
Produced, arranged and mixed by Chris von Sneidern & JWH
Track 8
Previously released on Other People’s Failure CD5
Alternative version of the same song from John Wesley Harding’s New Deal
Produced, arranged and mixed by Chris von Sneidern & JWH
Track 9
Previously released on John Wesley Harding’s New Deal: The New Edition
Recorded live for KFOG, SF at The Plant, Sausalito, CA 4/3/96
ft. JWH, Chris von Sneidern, Robert Lloyd, Bennett Bowman
Track 10
Previously released on John Wesley Harding’s New Deal: The New Edition
Recorded live for Acoustic Cafe at Solid Sound Inc, Ann Arbor, MI 3/28/01
ft. The Radical Gentlemen (JWH, Chris von Sneidern, Robert Lloyd, Kirk Swan, Kevin Jarvis)
Track 11
Previously released on John Wesley Harding’s New Deal: The New Edition
Recorded live at KSCA FM 101.9 Music Hall, Los Angeles CA 2/19/96
AWAKE
Track 12
Previously released on Awake: The New Edition
Produced by Scott McCaughey and JWH at Low Beat West, Seattle, WA
Track 13
Previously released on Awake: The New Edition
Outtake from Awake
Produced, engineered, arranged and mixed by JWH and Chris von Sneidern
Recorded at Ordophon-upon-Avon, San Francisco, CA
ft. Steve Bowman, Peter Straus and Robert Lloyd
Track 14
Previously released on Awake: The New Edition
Produced by Scott McCaughey & JWH at Low Beat, Ballard, WA
ft. JWH, Kurt Bloch, Jim Sangster, Mike Musburger and Scott McCaughey
TRAD ARR JONES
Tracks 15-18
Previously released on Trad Arr Jones: the Appleseed CD reissue
Recorded at Litho, Seattle, WA 4/26-27/2000 by David Fisher
Produced by Kurt Bloch
Mixed by Kurt Bloch, JWH and David Fisher
ft. The Minstrel in the Galleries (JWH, Kurt Bloch, Jed Jedrzejewski, Mike Musburger, Jason Stacek)
THE SOUND OF HIS OWN VOICE
Track 19
Previously released as a download with The Sound of His Own Voice
Produced by Scott McCaughey and JWH at Type Foundry, Portland, OR
Recorded by Adam Selzer
ft. The King Charles Trio (JWH, Scott McCaughey, Peter Buck, John Moen, Chris Funk, Jenny Conlee-Drizos, Nate Query
All Songs by John Wesley Harding (TOWNSONGS/ASCAP) except Cover by John Wesley Harding and Paul Muldoon.
Dynablob 5: EXTRAVERSE
-
Kill the Messenger (alternative version)
The messenger came with bad news from the front
Said "The soldiers are starving and their swords are all blunt
They need a show of support or some futile sign
That’s what they told me to tell you, not even the words are mine..."
The messenger came with bad news from the war
Said "The fine young men forgot who they were fighting for
They don’t wanna be stars on your TV screen
That’s the general feeling, please don’t blame it on me"
And the people said "One and one is two
There’s nothing left for us to do
But since we can blame it all on you
We will kill the messenger"
The messenger came with bad news from the town
Said "The phone-lines are on strike and the doormen are all down
They’ve turned your den of thieves into a temple
They need someone of stature to set them an example"
And the people said "Two and two is four
Don’t tell us anymore
We all know the score
We must kill the messenger"
Someone brought the news to the messenger’s folks
He said "Your son’s been killed two times"
They said "Is that a joke?"
He said "No
He was the victim of ignorant minds
I hate to bring such bad news, please don’t think me unkind"
And the family said "One and one is two
There’s nothing left for us to do
But since you’re here and we can blame it on you
We will kill the messenger
So if you want to send a message... -
Hitler's Tears (alternative version)
One man’s tears stain the pillow
Where he used to lay his head
She’s left him for another man
So how come they’re both sleeping in his bed?
He can hardly sleep for misery
You can hear him catch his breath
And he grinds his teeth into the night
And God says "Hey, Adolf, are you alright?"
One boy’s tears stain the paper
Where he writes his Christmas list
And he inks in broken German
"Send me the skill of a fine artist"
Then he wipes out half a continent
With one flick of his wrist
He’s so lonely, so misunderstanding
As he pulls his blanket across the landing
You can hear them falling every day (Hitler’s tears)
Just open up the newspaper (Hitler’s tears)
You can hide, there’s no escape from Hitler’s tears--
Just what makes the Führer blue?
He’s crying for you
One man’s tears--he was a fascist
Before it was cool
’Cos now it’s so expected
Just accept it that power is cruel
So he’ll apply for reinstatement
By new reincarnation rules
’Cos he’s the only man, most certainly
Who could claim to have learned from history
Hitler cries himself to sleep, alone in Brazil, no-one calls
How must it feel to be the biggest loser of them all?
One man’s tears--saltwater salutes the final trip
A thousand naughty Nazis
A fraülein with a bullwhip
A lullaby of Über Alles
A shaking upper lip
It’s all become a Whitehall farce
That’s how we tear our fears apart
But you shouldn’t take it straight to heart
So the rest of us can get some sleep tonight
You can hear them falling everyday... -
When Dreams Come True
Nice girls are writing in journals
Things they wish they’d done
And all their bad sisters are walking high wires
Counting the days in a month
The awful truth doesn’t bear thinking
Nor does the half-baked lie
They get their hopes dirty once in a while
Wash them and hang them to dry
Everyone’s down except for the clowns
And Noah don’t know where to go
It’s hell up in heaven, there’s nothing much here
And all the real men are below
What happens when dreams come true?
Will we know what to do
When our dreams come true?
So a saviour rolls in past the big sign
That says "Strangers - Please Turn Round"
The men tie him up to a feeding post
And take his credentials down
The sun beats rays on our salad days
His lips get parched and dry
The girls bring him drink with a giggle and a wink
And his moment of glory expires
What happens when dreams come true?
Will we know what to do
When our dreams come true?
Mr.Sandman can’t believe it
He thought he gave them what they needed
You couldn’t get no higher
Than a handsome dark Messiah
But he’s got one more trick up his sleeve,
Before he gives up once again
A Siren goes off as she walks in
As the cowboy lies dying in the dust
She walks through the room where the gentlemen gather
Surrounded by debris and rust
She smoulders and steams, straight out of their dreams
But no-one will talk to her first
Big words are just words
They’re small and absurd
She leaves and we all die of thirst
What happens when dreams come true?
Will we know what to do
When our dreams come true? -
The Original Miss Jesus (alternative version)
"Hey you" she said
"I think that I have something in my eye"
And she posed beneath the standard lamp
As her clothes waved goodbye
And she was
Naked as a new apology
For something she hadn’t yet done
And he said "Did I ever tell you the one about
The Original Miss Jesus?"
"Born before
Her more famous little brother Mister Christ
Sure, there were miracles
But out of the public eye
So they didn’t
Think even to have her crucified
She just wrote some novels and then she died
And only her family cried for her
The Original Miss Jesus
And then he came
The one that they wrote all the books about
The King of the Rock Opera
Whom she could do without"
"Stop!" she said
"Jesus could have been a boy or girl
History would still have been unkind
If he’d been a her
Anyway
Just watch me turn this beer into air
As for Redemption Value, I don’t care
But if you want, I’ll even pretend to be
The Original Miss Jesus"
So she was
The saviour
Of that sad and lonely room -
Where the Bodies Are (alternative version)
Somebody went and killed some people
And they know who
The evidence fits around the facts
Like a favourite shoe
But nobody knows where the corpses are
Their whereabouts unknown
The killer’s in a frenzy
And he’s getting on the phone
So they put their thinking hats on
And spread out in their cars
But only I know where the bodies are
You know they can i.d. someone
From one cell of skin
But they couldn’t spot a crime scene
If the killer went and let ’em in
To genetic fingerprinting
We all take off our hats
To hide the little stains that spread
Across the welcome mat
You can put your best foot forward
And wish upon a star
But only I know where the bodies are
Lawyers defending guilty men
Depending on the bid
The question isn’t if they’re guilty
But if they’ll get acquitted
Justice goes unjustified
Beneath a police chief and an eagle
Pain’s too difficult to prove
They’re not going to make pain illegal
To think that we were once naive
To think we’ve come this far
To think that only I know where the bodies are
Some people don’t wanna know
The facts behind the scam
Or see "Who could I be?"
Peeking out behind "The great I am"
But most of us got enough to think about
Husbands and wives
To notice pointless death’s become
A brand new way of life
And this is just a sandwich board
That I wear out in the park
Saying only I know where the bodies are
(And I’m not telling you.) -
Death of the Ghostwriter
The ghostwriter sits at home
Paid for his trouble
And he's laughing at the light
That shines on fame
Nothing can be shared
He's no-one's equal or double
Money talks
And no-one ever says his name
She signs every book
With a flourish of fulfillment
And some red ink from a pen
He knew she stole
Now she's on Kaleidoscope
And someone says she's Milton
When she didn't even read the book
Or so he's told
Riding on a ghost train to a ghost town
An of-our-lives-we-made-less-than-the-most-town
Once you get in, you cannot turn around
The ghostwriter's found
So he sits at home
Where he writes his little novel
About the wicked winning out
Without remorse
They find him half-alive
In his half-house that's half a hovel
And his final words are
"Tell her, we are now divorced, of course
Hey you sad-sack hacks
And all you back-room boys beware
They'll buy you up
Like diamonds and fur
Then spit you out like coffee grounds
That fell through the filter
And say "The book could not have been written without her"
Riding on a ghost train to a ghost town
A Your-check-is-coming-in-the-post-town
Once you get in, you cannot turn around
She has found
The ghost of the ghostwriter
Noticed by no-one
It was his choice
So he's paying for it now
Deadlines and death taxes
All that's waiting for us
Wake up and sell the coffee
Milk the profits, kill the cow
It's coming on 2000, lads
Anything's allowed (and how)
Chorus (Your life is turning into toast town) -
Let Us Now
Let us now put pen to paper
Let us now be heard
Let us now see eye to eye
And praise the power of the word
And may the unlearned, the illiterate
Be allowed to know its worth
Let us now praise everyone
Let us now give praise to Allah
Let us now thank God
Let us now place all religions
In a king-sized melting pot
Let us not be scared by others
Who believe what we do not
Let us now hear everyone
Let us now hear everyone
Let us now be hopeful for success
Let us now clean up this mess
Let us now be open, honest
And let us now confess
Let us now shout out the window
Let us now give voice
Let us now raise the high the rooftops
Yet be heard above the noise
Of the ads for self-indulgence
And the false idols of choice
Let us now see everyone
Let us now see everyone
Let us now be hopeful for success
Let us now clean up this mess
Let us now be open, honest
And let us now confess
That our hopes and fears
Are falling on deaf ears
Let us now give up possessions
Let us now not care
Let us now live hand to mouth or
Let us all be millionaires
And may the source of all our worries
Up and vanish in thin air
Let us now be everyone
Let us now be everyone -
In Paradise (unedited version)
Everything’s changed and it’s all for the best
And it’s all gone according to plan
It’s out in the open and now it’s all over
Three cheers for every woman and man
Terry and Julie still stand on the bridge
But only in our memory
Don’t look to them to draw a conclusion
Just love them and set them free
Julie hangs out by the banks of the river
Where the garbage all flows to the sea
Something’s washed up, it’s sacrifice to her
From the Twentieth Century
She sees the smokestacks and she sees the city
She sees the stadium’s covered in snow
The streets have been cleaned except for the bedrooms
Of all the people with nowhere to go
Terry will clutch at threads where the rope was
As he’s freefalling fast to the floor
But nobody claps because nobody’s watching
It’s his lawyers who get all the applause
Time’s on the move, and I’m on the redeye
Where I’m hoping to find one more song
But it’s like looking for rain in the river
Better not leave it too long
Terry and Julie filled out the coupon
And they won tickets tonight to the show
But it’s the aisles in the new stores that beckon
As they shine a divine guiding glow
The bridge through the city, it has just crumbled
And that link is what kept them all sane
The two of them tumble into the river
Forget to come up for air again -
Kiss Me, Miss Liberty (live)
Up in Westminster, the bell fell down
Took three hundred years to touch the ground
Fall leaves drifted by and turned brown
A foreign plane was downed
Dogs came running from their cold dog pound
They leapt through the fence and ran downtown
And the convicts turned their ship around
And they were homeward bound
Kiss me, Miss Liberty
Take me to bed
So I can be free as well
Not just in my head
Kiss me, Miss Liberty
Lift me above
Unchain my heavy heart
Fill me with love
Miss Liberty, Kiss me
And the slaves were saved from their chain-gang
Knives cut men down just about to hang
Lost love returned just like a boomerang
And it was I who sang
Kiss me, Miss Liberty
Take me to bed
So I can be free as well
Not just in my head
Miss Liberty, kiss me
Freedom, show me to your foreign shore
Lay me in your arms at your front door
I can’t face confinement anymore
I won’t be ignored
Kiss me, Miss Liberty
Take me to bed
So I can be free as well
Not just in my head
Kiss me, Miss Liberty
Lift me above
Unchain my heavy heart
Fill me with love
Miss Liberty, Kiss me -
The Secret Angel #2
The secret angel fell from grace
Condemned to wear a human face
Evicted from her paradise
Excommunicated twice
Settled for second best
And so she found me
Don’t ask the nature of her crime
Don’t ask her why she’s serving time
Don’t ask this girl why she can’t cry
Don’t ask her questions that start "why"
I’m trying to help her start anew
To learn to walk when once she flew
Above the ups and downs
That floor and ground us
Into the dark, she was reborn
She says tonight will have no dawn
And all the light drains from her eyes
As she forgets to say goodbye
To one more memory
That tries to lift her high
She drafts new plans and draws designs
To find a way for her to fly
I hide them when her back is turned
The secret angel never learns
She just gets burned again
And falls eternally... -
When The Beatles Hit America
Due to a miracle marketing strategy
Beyond the realms of reasonable possibility
It is announced simultaneously
On radio, compact disc and TV
That John, Paul, George and Ringo
Are going to be reforming as The Beatles in 1993
Things skip into action immediately
George buys the film rights in a flurry of activity
Paul says they’re not going to play Japan
Ringo cancels his three year chat show plan
And John, who was never the quiet one.
John stays silent for the time-being
And the world sings
When the Beatles Hit America
When the Beatles Hit America
It’s going to be sponsored by…
When the Beatles Hit America
When the Beatles Hit America
And lawyers start to draw up large contracts
Involving sponsorship, t-shirt deals, Michael Jackson
They’re interviewed on live TV
About management deals and corporate policy
And who’s gonna be the manager of the new Beatles?
The manager is made up of cloned parts of Col Tom Parker and Col Sanders
And George says he’s not even going to play
Unless they bring the Maharishi
Yes, the Fab Four are interviewed on live TV
But for some reason they’re just the Fab Three
And a cardboard cut out of John
With a very strange smile and no shoes on
Which starts a scurrilous John is Dead rumor
Which Rolling Stone reveals is just hype for the tour
And the world sings
When the Beatles Hit America
When the Beatles Hit America
It’s going to be sponsored by ….
When the Beatles Hit America
When the Beatles Hit America
Well, The Who, The Stones, Debbie Gibson and Diana Ross
Record a Supergroup single at great cost
But it’s so hard to make the charts
Because everyone’s taken the new Beatles to heart
And from the time of the announcement of the gig
To the gig at Che Stadium two years later
Every record in the Top Forty on both sides of the Atlantic
is written by Lennon McCartney
And finally they get into the studio
To be co-produced by George Martin and Jeff Lynne
And Ringo disappointed to find that no one
needs him anymore except for the vibe
Because he’s been sampled
And he’s now part of the Great Drummers Sampled series
George gets Monty Python in to do the vocals
Linda takes a lot of photos
For a book that’s sold out
Before she even though of putting it out
And John, who was never the quiet one,
makes all his press contributions from his old songs,
In tune, in time and with the backing track behind him
And they ask him how it’s been in the studio,
he says “It’s been a hard day’s night”
And now one understands him but he always was the cryptic one
And the world sings
When the Beatles Hit America
When the Beatles Hit America
It’s going to be sponsored by…
When the Beatles Hit America
When the Beatles Hit America
Finally the record hits the shelves
And it’s called The Beatles… From Ourselves
And for anyone who didn’t realize or know
It sounded a lot like ELO, or ELP, or XTC, ABC, YMO, BTO
But it’s didn’t sound much like PSI.. Love You
And the day before the big gig at Che
The rumor goes round
People saying they’re not going to play
That the whole thing’s been a big insurance scam
To get the reissues selling again — CYNICAL - but isn’t John dead?
Suddenly we’re over in the stadium
We’re live on CNN, MTV, BBC
And the lights go down and the screaming stops
And you could hear a pin drop….
And suddenly they’re there
All four of them
And I get scared
As they go into I Saw Her Standing There
And thunder through the best set in the world
And encore with the whole of Sgt Pepper
IN ORDER, and they’re Gods,
And I’m in HEAVEN…
but on the very last chord of A Day in the Life,
The Beatles are beamed off into outer space
Into a waiting spaceship
Which takes them to a better place
A place where reunions are not expected of anybody
Not even…
This is my dream
I bought it
I bought the product
And now I’m happy
You can believe what you like
It happened
That’s all folks
And the world sings
When the Beatles Hit America
When the Beatles Hit America
It’s going to be sponsored by…
When the Beatles Hit America
When the Beatles Hit America -
Wooden Overcoat
There’s a man in a pitch black hat
And his underwear’s made of mud
He jumps like a pouncing cat
And he lands with a sickening thud
His head is surrounded by ravens
The plague has progressed to his heart
Best that you meet him clean shaven
Cos his razor is not kept sharp
And he’s wearing a wooden overcoat
He’s known in the underworld
He lives in the undergrowth
And he’s knowingly undersold
Though he’s never been under oath
His devils are arrayed in armies
And his angels will fix the fight
He’ll shape you like origami
And throw you away at night
And he’s wearing a wooden overcoat
His house is a damp museum
And all of his servants worms
Mating in mausoleums
Licking the floor for germs
And his cabinet’s full of wonders
There’s specimens everywhere
He’s negative six feet under
And has to submerge for air
And he’s wearing a wooden overcoat
Don’t ever act too humble
Don’t eat away thy heart
He’s tearing apart each dungeon
His tail’s an evil dart
And he’s wearing a wooden overcoat -
Punch 'n' Judy
The Beadle says I killed them all
My wife, my screaming child
I’m dying in the morning
And they wonder why I smile
So I’ll sit and write my memoirs
Of a life upon the stage
And hope to die of middle age
Jim Crow The Abyssinian
Has sung his final song
The Grand Turk of Senoa
Always gets his English wrong
He could just say "Shallaballa"
But he’d say that word three times
And nobody knows my crimes
They’ll say that I’m an outlaw
But I tell you, that I’m your friend
You know I’m only in for
Punching Judy again
The radical gentleman
Complained about my bell
I said it was an organ
And I rang that thing like hell
The Objector backed me up on
Any name I said it is
And guess which one of them will live
While riding on my hobby horse
I was overthrown
To the doctor I was sent
To cure my broken bones
He beat me without reason
’Til I had to give to him
A taste of his own medicine
They’ll say that I’m an outlaw
But I tell you, that I’m your friend
You know I’m only in for
Punching Judy again
The executioner arrives
Jack Ketch is that man’s name
He thinks he’s gonna hang me
But he doesn’t know my game
I can’t get my head into his noose
He’s gonna show me how
And I’m gonna hang him now
I’m ready for the devil
And I see that he’s appeared
Like Mr.Faust before me
I will pull old Satan’s beard
So for Toby my old terrier
And everyone of you
I’m gonna kill him too
They’ll say that I’m an outlaw
But I tell you, that I’m your friend
You know I’m only in for
Punching Judy again -
I Just Woke Up (complete version)
I just woke up
And I feel so good
And I’m looking straight ahead
My thoughts are wild
All I do is smile
And I’m jumping out of bed
I Just woke up (just woke up)
I just woke up
And the sun is bright
And it’s shining down on me
If you’ve got big ideas
I’m all ears
But all I plan to do is be
And I just woke up (just woke up)
From a bad dream...
I just woke up (just woke up) -
Canadee-i-o
It's of a fair and handsome girl, she's all in her tender years
She fell in love with a sailor boy, it's true that she loved him well
For to go off to sea with him, like she did not know how,
She longed to see that seaport town, called Canadee-I-O.
So she bargained with a young sailor boy, all for a piece of gold
Straightway he led her all down into the hold
Saying I'll dress you up in sailor's clothes, your jacket shall be blue,
You'll see that seaport town, called Canadee-I-O.
Now, when the other sailors heard the news, they fell into a rage,
And with all the whole ship's company, they were willing to engage,
Saying "We'll tie her hands and feet me boys, overboard we'll throw her
And she'll never see that seaport town, called Canadee-I-O."
Now, when the captain he's heard the news, he said that ne’er shall be
For if you drown that fair young maid, then hanged you shall be
He said "She'll stay all in sailor's clothes, her colour shall be blue,
She'll see that seaport town, called Canadee-I-O."
Now when they came down to Canada, scarcely above half a year,
She's married this bold captain, who called her his dear,
She's dressed in silks and satins now, and she cuts a gallant show
She's the finest of the ladies down in Canadee-I-O.
Come all you fair and tender girls, wheresoever you may be,
I'd have you follow your own true love when he goes out on the sea,
For if the sailors prove false to you, well the captain he might prove true,
To see the honour that I have gained by the wearing of the blue -
Billy, Don't You Weep for Me
"Sally where are you going? that you do look so gay
I know that I've not asked you to take a walk today"
"You have not asked me; well indeed, it's a tidy cheek of you,
For you think that there's no more young chaps; I've got a dozen or two
Billy don't you weep for me,
I'm going to St. James Park, me cousin Joe to see"
"Cousin Joe, now who is he - he's a soldier I can tell
For I know that you're fond of lobsters both raw and boiled as well"
"My Cousin Joe's a guardsman, and he is a handsome chap
"And he wears such fine moustachios and a stunning furry cap"
"Oh Billy don't you weep for me
I'm very fond of Cousin Joe, and he's very fond of me"
"We're going to the play tonight, Jack Sheppard for to see
And when that it is all over, we'll all have a jolly good spree
I've got money for a pint of stout and when we're short of tin
I'll even go and porn me smock to buy us a bottle of gin
Billy don't you weep for me
I'm going after Cousin Joe and I'll sit all on his knee”
"Whatever is the use of him? He never can keep you
You'll have to work from morn til night, that's what you'll have to do
You'll have to make shirts at a penny each, or else stand at the tub
And mark my words, there’s many a day you'll go very short of grub
And then, Sally, you'll cry for me
Book it back to Cousin Joe, and sit all on his knee !"
In about a twelve months after, young Sally come back to me,
She said that she was sorry that she'd ever been on that spree
Wanted me to take her back, says I, "Don’t come to me
For I see you got a baby to dance all on your knee"
"Oh Billy how can you serve me so? You really drive me mad
I'll have you up before the beak and I'll swear you are it's dad
When you get before the bench they will not let you speak
And you'll have to keep the young one on 30 pence a week
So, Billy, how can you serve me so?
For I'm sure the child belongs to you, not to Cousin Joe".
Well in a week she gets this summons but she found it was no go,
For the magistrate decided that the child belonged to Joe.
She went up to Billy's backyard, quickly the door she shut,
And when at last they found her, she'd drowned in the water butt
So young women take a warning from me
Never love a soldier or sit all on his knee -
Edward
What’s that blood all on your shirt?
Son, come tell to me
Oh that’s the blood of me own greyhound
He wouldn’t run with me, with me
He wouldn’t run with me
Oh, it’s too pale for your greyhound’s blood
Son, come tell to me
Then it’s the blood of me own grey mare
He wouldn’t hunt with me, with me
He wouldn’t hunt with me
Oh, it’s too red for your grey mare’s blood
Son, come tell to me
Then it’s the blood of my own dear brother
He wouldn’t ride with me, with me
He wouldn’t ride with me
And what were you all quarreling about?
Son, come tell to me
Oh it’s all about a little holly bush
And it might have made a tree, a tree
Might have made a tree
And what will you do when your father comes to know?
Son, come tell to me
I’ll set sail in the little sailing boat
I’ll sail across the sea, the sea
I’ll sail across the sea
And what will you do with your pretty little wife?
Son, come tell to me
Oh she’ll sail along in my little sailing boat
She’ll sail along with me, with me
She’ll sail along with me
And what will you do with your eldest son?
Son, come tell to me
Oh I’ll leave him here for you to raise
Rock all upon your knee, your knee
To rock all upon your knee
And when will you come back again?
Son, come tell to me
When the sun and the moon they’re on yonder hill
I know that will never be, never be, I know that will never never be -
The Humpback Whale
’56, I sailed on board a ship called Byron One
She’s carried trawler men on deck and a harpoon whaling gun
A tractor for a whale winch and the ship’s an old fair mile
Twin diesels turned the screws around, she’ll whale a fine old style
Oh you trawler men, come on, forget your snapper and your prawn
For it’s out of Ballard we’ll sail, fishing for the humpback whale
Keep a sharp look out, my lads, the whale she’s on the run
And we’ll drive her into Byron bay and we’ll shoot her with our guns
The harpoon and the lines fly through very deep into the whale
She split the timbers of the ship with a flurry of her tail
Oh you trawler men, come on, forget your snapper and your prawn
For it’s out of Ballard we’ll sail, fishing for the humpback whale
The rigging struts are snapped in two, we reel beneath the blow
The gunner fires a killer shot and that humpback sent below
Make her tail fast to the bows, we got no time for bed
For four and twenty hours each day, we kept that factory fed
Oh you trawler men, come on, forget your snapper and your prawn
For it’s out of Ballard we’ll sail, fishing for the humpback whale
The flensing men upon the land, some had been jackaroos
They skin the blubber from the whales like they’re skinning kangaroos
A hundred whales and then fifty more, through the factory we did send
Then the orders came ‘Knock off, my lads, your season’s an end
Oh you trawler men, come on, forget your snapper and your prawn
For it’s out of Ballard we’ll sail, fishing for the humpback whale
Back into Baliner we steered, tied up and stowed the gear
All hands headed for the pub and we filled ourselves with beer
Oh you trawler men, come on, forget your snapper and your prawn
For it’s out of Ballard we’ll sail, fishing for the humpback whale -
Cover
I’ve covered Prince and Michael Jackson
The Simons, Paul and Carly
Fleetwood Mac and Saxon
Bob Dylan and Bob Marley
I’ve done the Pogues & Pixies
Van Halen & Vandross
AC/DC, ABC, Dixie
Chicks, Styx & The Boss
Joe Brown and the Bruvvers
Mott the Hoople, Motley Crue
The only one I haven’t covered is you
I’ve covered Reg and Elvis Presley
The Wilsons, Jackie & Pickett
Calvin Newborn, John Wesley
Harding and The Crickets
I’ve done Meat Loaf and Mountain
The Byrds, Bananarama
Wayne Fontana, Fountains
Of Wayne and The Mamas and
The Papas, The Mothers
Of Invention and The Moody Blues
The only one I haven’t covered is you x 2One day I’ll get my chance to demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt
I’ve covered P.F. Sloan and Leonard Cohen
That Freddie Mercury was Persian
And when you hear my bold take on romance, you’ll know
It's the definitive version
The Joplins, Scott and Janis
Chuck D and Buck Owens
The Church and Praying Mantis
I've done Rod Stewart and The Faces
Talking Heads and Levon
Helm, The O’Jays and Oasis
Warrens, Haynes and Zevon
Jojo and The Modern Lovers
Bill Haley, Husker Du
The only one I haven’t covered is you x 2One day I’ll get my chance to demonstrate beyond a shadow of a doubt
I've covered Queen & B.B. King
The joys of joint creation
And when you hear my new take on romance
You’ll know that it's a bold reinterpretation
Cece Winans and Dee Snyder
WASP, The Scorpions & Sting
Mitch Miller and Mitch Ryder
I've covered Simply Red, Sonny Terry
Brownie McGee, Whitesnake & Yello
Chuck Berry, Neneh Cherry
Bing Crosby, Tom Morello
Deep Purple's Roger Glover
The 4 tops, US3, U2
The only one I haven't covered is you x 3