Discography
Private Investigations (2CD)
Mercury/Warner Bros. (2005)
Private Investigations (2CD)
Disc 1
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1.
Telegraph Road
A long time ago came a man on a track
walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
and he put down his load where he thought it was the best
he made a home in the wilderness
he built a cabin and a winter store
and he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
and the other travellers came riding down the track
and they never went further and they never went back
then came the churches then came the schools
then came the lawyers then came the rules
then came the trains and the trucks with their loads
and the dirty old track was the telegraph road
Then came the mines – then came the ore
then there was the hard times then there was a war
telegraph sang a song about the world outside
telegraph road got so deep and so wide like a rolling river. . .
And my radio says tonight it’s gonna freeze
people driving home from the factories
there’s six lanes of traffic
three lanes moving slow. . .
I used to like to go to work but they shut it down
I’ve got a right to go to work but there’s no work here to be found
yes and they say we’re gonna have to pay what’s owed
we’re gonna have to reap from some seed that’s been sowed
and the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
they can always fly away from this rain and this cold
you can hear them singing out their telegraph code
all the way down the telegraph road
You know I’d sooner forget but I remember those nights
when life was just a bet on a race between the lights
you had your head on my shoulder you had your hand in my hair
now you act a little colder like you don’t seem to care. . .
but believe in me baby and I’ll take you away
from out of this darkness and into the day
from these rivers of headlights these rivers of rain
from the anger that lives on the streets with these names
‘cos I’ve run every red light on memory lane
I’ve seen desperation explode into flames
and I don’t wanna see it again. . .
From all of these signs saying sorry but we’re closed
all the way down the telegraph road -
2.
Sultans Of Swing
You get a shiver in the dark
It’s raining in the park but meantime
South of the river you stop and you hold everything
A band is blowing Dixie double four time
You feel all right when you hear that music ring
You step inside but you don’t see too many faces
Coming in out of the rain to hear the jazz go down
Too much competition too many other places
But not too many horns can make that sound
Way on downsouth way on downsouth London town
You check out Guitar George he knows all the chords
Mind he’s strictly rhythm he doesn’t want to make it cry or sing
And an old guitar is all he can afford
When he gets up under the lights to play his thing
And Harry doesn’t mind if he doesn’t make the scene
He’s got a daytime job he’s doing alright
He can play honky tonk just like anything
Saving it up for Friday night
With the Sultans with the Sultans of Swing
And a crowd of young boys they’re fooling around in the corner
Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles
They don’t give a damn about any trumpet playing band
It ain’t what they call rock and roll
And the Sultans played Creole
And then the man he steps right up to the microphone
And says at last just as the time bell rings
‘Thank you goodnight now it’s time to go home’
and he makes it fast with one more thing
‘We are the Sultans of Swing’ -
3.
Love Over Gold
You walk out on the high wire
you’re a dancer on thin ice
you pay no heed to the danger
and less to advice
your footsteps are forbidden
but with knowledge of your sin
you throw your love to all the strangers
and caution to the wind
And you go dancing through doorways
just to see what you will find
leaving nothing to interfere
with the crazy balance of your mind
and when you finally reappear
at the place where you came in
you’ve thrown your love to all the strangers
and caution to the wind
It takes love over gold
and mind over matter
to do what you do that you must
when the things that you hold
can fall and be shattered
or run through your fingers like dust -
4.
Romeo And Juliet
a lovestruck romeo sings a streetsusss serenade
laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
says something like you and me babe how about it?
juliet says hey it’s romeo you nearly gimme a heart attack
he’s underneath the window she’s singing hey la my boyfriend’s back
you shouldn’t come around here singing up at people like that
anyway what you gonna do about it?
juliet the dice were loaded from the start
and i bet and you exploded in my heart
and i forget i forget the movie song
when you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong juliet?
come up on different streets they both were streets of shame
both dirty both mean yes and the dream was just the same
and i dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real
how can you look at me as if i was just another one of your deals?
when you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
you can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
you promised me everything you promised me thick and thin
now you just says oh romeo yeah you know i used to have a scene with him
juliet when we made love you used to cry
you said i love you like the stars above i’ll love you till i die
there’s a place for us you know the movie song
when you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong juliet?
i can’t do the talk like they talk on tv
and i can’t do a love song like the way it’s meant to be
i can’t do everything but i’d do anything for you
i can’t do anything except be in love with you
and all i do is miss you and the way we used to be
all i do is keep the beat and bad company
all i do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme
julie i’d do the stars with you any time
juliet when we made love you used to cry
you said i love you like the stars above i’ll love you till i die
and there’s a place for us you know the movie song
when you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong juliet?
a lovestruck romeo sings a streetsuss serenade
laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
says something like you and me babe how about it? -
5.
Tunnel Of Love
getting crazy on the waltzers but it’s the life that i choose
sing about the sixblade sing about the switchback and a torture tattoo
and i been riding on a ghost train where the cars they scream and slam
and i don’t know where i’ll be tonight but i’d always tell you where i am
in a screaming ring of faces i seen her standing in the light
she had a ticket for the races just like me she was a victim of the night
i put a hand upon the lever said let it rock and let it roll
i had the one arm bandit fever there was an arrow through my heart and my soul
and the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
and i’m just high on the world
come on and take a low ride with me girl
on the tunnel of love
it’s just the danger when you’re riding at your own risk
she said you are the perfect stranger she said baby let’s keep it like this
it’s just a cakewalk twisting baby step right up and say
hey mister give me two give me two cos any two can play
and the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
and i’m just high on the world
come on and take a low ride with me girl
on the tunnel of love
well it’s been money for muscle another whirligig
money for muscle and another girl i dig
another hustle just to make it big
and rockaway rockaway
and girl it looks so pretty to me just like it always did
like the spanish city to me when we were kids
oh girl it looks so pretty to me just like it always did
like the spanish city to me when we were kids
she took off a silver locket she said remember me by this
she put her hand in my pocket i got a keepsake and a kiss
and in the roar of dust and diesel i stood and watched her walk away
i could have caught up with her easy enough but something must have made me stay
and the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
and i’m just high on the world
come on and take a low ride with me girl
on the tunnel of love
and now i’m searching through these carousels and the carnival arcades
searching everywhere from steeplechase to palisades
in any shooting gallery where promises are made
to rockaway rockaway from cullercoats and whitley bay out to rockaway
and girl it looks so pretty to me like it always did
like the spanish city to me when we were kids
girl it looks so pretty to me like it always did
like the spanish city to me when we were kids -
6.
Private Investigations
It’s a mystery to me – the game commences
for the usual fee – plus expenses
confidential information – it’s in a diary
this is my investigation – it’s not a public inquiry
I go checking out the reports – digging up the dirt
you get to meet all sorts in this line of work
treachery and treason – there’s always an excuse for it
and when I find the reason I still can’t get used to it
And what have you got at the end of the day?
what have you got to take away?
a bottle of whisky and a new set of lies
blinds on the window and a pain behind the eyes
Scarred for life – no compensation
private investigations -
7.
So Far Away
Here I am again in this mean old town
And you’re so far away from me
And where are you when the sun goes down
You’re so far away from me
So far away from me
So far I just can’t see
So far away from me
You’re so far away from me
I’m tired of being in love and being all alone
When you’re so far away from me
I’m tired of making out on the telephone
And you’re so far away from me
So far away from me
So far I just can’t see
So far away from me
You’re so far away from me
I get so tired when I have to explain
When you’re so far away from me
See you been in the sun and I’ve been in the rain
And you’re so far away from me
So far away from me
So far I just can’t see
So far away from me
You’re so far away from me -
8.
Money For Nothing
Now look at them yo-yo’s that’s the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and chicks for free
Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
Maybe get a blister on your little finger
Maybe get a blister on your thumb
We gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV’s
See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup
Yeah buddy that’s his own hair
That little faggot got his own jet airplane
That little faggot he’s a millionaire
We gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchens deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV’s
I shoulda learned to play the guitar
I shoulda learned to play them drums
Look at that mama, she got it stickin’ in the camera
Man we could have some fun
And he’s up there, what’s that? Hawaiian noises?
Bangin’ on the bongoes like a chimpanzee
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Get your money for nothin’ get your chicks for free
We gotta install microwave ovens
Custom kitchen deliveries
We gotta move these refrigerators
We gotta move these colour TV’s
Lord now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
You play the guitar on the MTV
That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free
Money for nothin’ and chicks for free -
9.
Brothers In Arms
These mist covered mountains
Are a home now for me
But my home is the lowlands
And always will be
Some day you’ll return to
Your valleys and your farms
And you’ll no longer burn
To be brothers in arms
Through these fields of destruction
Baptisms of fire
I’ve watched all your suffering
As the battles raged higher
And though they did hurt me so bad
In the fear and alarm
You did not desert me
My brothers in arms
There’s so many different worlds
So many different suns
And we have just one world
But we live in different ones
Now the sun’s gone to hell
And the moon’s riding high
Let me bid you farewell
Every man has to die
But it’s written in the starlight
And every line on your palm
We’re fools to make war
On our brothers in arms -
10.
Walk Of Life
Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
He do the song about the sweet lovin’ woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life
Here comes Johnny and he’ll tell you the story
Hand me down my walkin’ shoes
Here come Johnny with the power and the glory
Backbeat the talkin’ blues
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
He do the song about the sweet lovin’ woman
He do the song about the knife
He do the walk, he do the walk of life
Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
He got the action, he got the motion
Yeah the boy can play
Dedication devotion
Turning all the night time into the day
And after all the violence and double talk
There’s just a song in all the trouble and the strife
You do the walk, you do the walk of life -
11.
Your Latest Trick
All the late night bargains have been struck
Between the satin beaus and their belles
And prehistoric garbage trucks
Have the city to themselves
Echoes roars dinosaurs
They’re all doing the monster mash
And most of the taxis and the whores
Are only taking calls for cash
I don’t know how it happened
It all took place so quick
But all I can do is hand it to you
And your latest trick
My door was standing open
Security was laid back and lax
But it was only my heart got broken
You must have had a pass key made out of wax
You played robbery with insolence
And I played the blues in twelve bars down Lover’s Lane
And you never did have the intelligence to use
The twelve keys hanging off my chain
I don’t know how it happened
It all took place so quick
But all I can do is hand it to you
And your latest trick
Now it’s past last call for alcohol
Past recall has been here and gone
The landlord finally paid us all
The satin jazzmen have put away their horns
And we’re standing outside of this wonderland
Looking so bereaved and so bereft
Like a Bowery bum when he finally understands
The bottle’s empty and there’s nothing left
I don’t know how it happened
It was faster than the eye could flick
But now all I can do is hand it to you
And your latest trick
Disc 2
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1.
Calling Elvis
All the late night bargains have been struck Between the satin beaus and their belles And prehistoric garbage trucks Have the city to themselves Echoes roars dinosaurs They’re all doing the monster mash And most of the taxis and the whores Are only taking calls for cash I don’t know how it happened It all took place so quick But all I can do is hand it to you And your latest trick My door was standing open Security was laid back and lax But it was only my heart got broken You must have had a pass key made out of wax You played robbery with insolence And I played the blues in twelve bars down Lover’s Lane And you never did have the intelligence to use The twelve keys hanging off my chain I don’t know how it happened It all took place so quick But all I can do is hand it to you And your latest trick Now it’s past last call for alcohol Past recall has been here and gone The landlord finally paid us all The satin jazzmen have put away their horns And we’re standing outside of this wonderland Looking so bereaved and so bereft Like a Bowery bum when he finally understands The bottle’s empty and there’s nothing left I don’t know how it happened It was faster than the eye could flick But now all I can do is hand it to you And your latest trick
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2.
On Every Street
There’s gotta be a record of you someplace You gotta be on somebody’s books The lowdown – a picture of your face Your injured looks The sacred and profane The pleasure and the pain Somewhere your fingerprints remain concrete And it’s your face I’m looking for on every street A ladykiller – regulation tattoo Silver spurs on his heels Says – what can I tell you, as I’m standing next to you She threw herself under my wheels Oh it’s a dangerous road And a hazardous load And the fireworks over liberty explode in the heat And it’s your face I’m looking for on every street A three-chord symphony crashes into space The moon is hanging upside down I don’t know why it is I’m still on the case It’s a ravenous town And you still refuse to be traced Seems to me such a waste And every victory has a taste that’s bittersweet And it’s your face I’m looking for on every street
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3.
Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)
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4.
Darling Pretty
It’s time to come away, my darling pretty It’s time to come away on the changing tide Time to come away, darling pretty And I need you darling by my side Heal me with a smile, darling pretty Heal me with a smile and a heart of gold Carry me awhile, my darling pretty Heal my aching heart and soul Just like a castaway Lost upon an endless sea I saw you far away Come to rescue me Cast away the chains, darling pretty Cast away the chains away behind Take away my pain, my darling pretty And the chains that once were yours and mine There will come a day, darling pretty There will come a day when hearts can fly Love will find a way, my darling pretty Find a heaven for you and I Love will find a way, my darling pretty Find a heaven for you and I
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5.
Long Road (Theme From Cal)
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6.
Why Aye Man
We had no way of staying afloat We had to leave on the ferry boat Economic refugees On the run to Germany We had the back of Maggie’s hand Times were tough in Geordieland We got wor tools and working gear And humped it all from Newcastle to here Why aye man, why aye, why aye man Why aye man, why aye, why aye man We’re the nomad tribes, travelling boys In the dust and dirt and the racket and the noise Drills and hammers, diggers and picks Mixing concrete, laying bricks There’s English, Irish, Scots, the lot United nation’s what we’ve got Brickies, chippies, every trade German building, British-made Why aye man, why aye, why aye man Why aye man, why aye, why aye man Nae more work on Maggie’s farm Hadaway down the autobahn Mine’s a portacabin bed Or a bunk in a nissen hut instead There’s plenty deutschmarks here to earn And german tarts are wunderschoen German beer is chemical-free Germany’s alreet with me Sometimes I miss my river tyne But you’re my pretty fraulein Tonight we’ll drink the old town dry Keep wor spirit levels high Why aye man, why aye, why aye man Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
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7.
Sailing To Philadelphia
I am Jeremiah Dixon I am a Geordie Boy A glass of wine with you, sir And the ladies I’ll enjoy All Durham and Northumberland Is measured up by my own hand It was my fate from birth To make my mark upon the earth… He calls me Charlie Mason A stargazer am I It seems that I was born To chart the evening sky They’d cut me out for baking bread But I had other dreams instead This baker’s boy from the west country Would join the Royal Society… We are sailing to Philadelphia A world away from the coaly Tyne Sailing to Philadelphia To draw the line The Mason-Dixon line Now you’re a good surveyor, Dixon But I swear you’ll make me mad The West will kill us both You gullible Geordie lad You talk of liberty How can America be free A Geordie and a baker’s boy In the forest of the Iroquois… Now hold your head up, Mason See America lies there The morning tide has raised The capes of Delaware Come up and feel the sun A new morning is begun Another day will make it clear Why your stars should guide us here… We are sailing to Philadelphia A world away from the coaly Tyne Sailing to Philadelphia To draw the line The Mason-Dixon line
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8.
What It Is
The drinking dens are spilling out There’s staggering in the square There’s lads and lasses falling about And a crackling in the air Down around the dungeon doors The shelters and the queues Everybody’s looking for Somebody’s arms to fall into And it’s what it is It’s what it is now There’s frost on the graves and the monuments But the taverns are warm in town People curse the government And shovel hot food down The lights are out in city hall The castle and the keep The moon shines down upon it all The legless and asleep And it’s cold on the tollgate With the wagons creeping through Cold on the tollgate God knows what I could do with you And it’s what it is It’s what it is now The garrison sleeps in the citadel With the ghosts and the ancient stones High up on the parapet A Scottish piper stands alone And high on the wind The highland drums begin to roll And something from the past just comes And stares into my soul And it’s cold on the tollgate With the Caledonian Blues Cold on the tollgate God knows what I could do with you And it’s what it is It’s what it is now What it is It’s what it is now There’s a chink of light, there’s a burning wick There’s a lantern in the tower Wee Willie Winkie with a candlestick Still writing songs in the wee, wee hours On Charlotte Street I take A walking stick from my hotel The ghost of Dirty Dick Is still in search of Little Nell And it’s what it is It’s what it is now Oh it’s what it is What it is now
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9.
The Trawlerman’s Song
We’re taking on water Diesel and stores Laying up awhile Before I’m back on board They’re patching her up To go fishing again They’re welding her rudder Scrubbing her keel Scars on her belly Need time to heal In the dock With the trawlermen I know all the people There’s nobody new Soon we’ll be leaving With the same old crew On the green water The tumbling sea They ain’t running Like the good old days Time’s just slipping Down the old slipways In the dock So dear to me Dark is the night I need a guiding light To keep me From foundering On the rocks My only prayer Is just to see you there At the end Of my wandering Back in the dock I could use a layoff Getting my strength back But there’s a loan to pay off And a few skipjack So it’s a turnaround Back in the southerly wind Pirates coming in To steal our gold You can count yourself lucky With a profit in the hold In the dock When we come in Dark is the night I need a guiding light To keep me From foundering On the rocks My only prayer Is just to see you there At the end Of my wandering Back in the dock
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10.
Boom, Like That
I’m going to San Bernardino Ring-A-Ding-Ding Milkshake mixers that’s my thing now These guys bought a heap of my stuff And I gotta see a good thing sure enough now Or my name’s not Kroc, that’s Kroc with a K Like crocodile but not spelled that way now It’s Dog eat dog, rat eat rat Kroc style Boom, like that Folks line up all down the street Now I am seeing this girl devour her meat now And then I get it, Wham As clear as day My pulse begins to hammer And I hear a voice say: ‘These boys have got this down Oughtta to be a one of these in every town’ ‘These boys have got the touch It’s clean as a whistle and it don’t cost much Wham bam you don’t wait long, shake, fries patty, you’re gone How about that friendly name heck, every little thing oughtta stay the same’ Or my name’s not Kroc, that’s Kroc with a K Like crocodile but not spelled that way now It’s Dog eat dog, rat eat rat It’s Dog eat dog, rat eat rat Kroc style Boom like that You gentlemen ought to expand You’re gonna need a helping hand, now So gentlemen well, what about me? We’ll make a little business history now Or my name’s not Kroc, Call me Ray Like crocodile but not spelled that way now It’s Dog eat dog, rat eat rat Kroc style Boom like that Well we build it up and I buy ‘em out But man they made me grind it out now They open up a new place flipping meat So I do too, right across the street I got the name I need the town, they sell up in the end and it all shuts down Sometimes you gotta be an S.O.B. You wanna make a dream reality Competition send ‘em south, If they’re gonna drown put a hose in their mouth Do not pass ‘go’ go straight to hell I smell that meat hook smell Or my name’s not Kroc that’s Kroc with a K Like crocodile but not spelled that way, now Ohh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat Dog eat dog, rat eat rat now Ohh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat Kroc style – Boom like that
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11.
All The Roadrunning
A million miles our vagabond wheels Clocked up beneath the clouds They’re counting down to show time When we do it for real with the crowds Air miles are owing but they don’t come for free And they don’t give you any for pain But if it’s all for nothing All the roadrunning has been in vain The rim shots come down like cannon fire And thunder off the wall There’s a man in every corner And each one is giving his all But this is my piper and this is my drum So you never will hear me complain And if it’s all for nothing All the roadrunning has been in vain All the roadrunning All the roadrunning Well if you’re inclined to go up on the wall It can only be fast and high And those who don’t like the danger soon Find something different to try And when there is only a ring in your ears And en echo down memory lane Then if it’s all for nothing All the roadrunning has been in vain All the roadrunning All the roadrunning The show’s packing up, I sit and watch The carnival leaving town And there’s no pretending that I’m not a fool For riding around and around Like the pictures you keep of your old wall of death You showed me one time on a plane But if it’s all for nothing All the roadrunning has been in vain I’ve a million miles of vagabond sky Clocked up above the clouds I’m still your man for the roaming For as long as there’s roaming allowed There’ll be a rider and there’ll be a wall As long as the dreamer remains And if it’s all for nothing All the roadrunning has been in vain All the roadrunning All the roadrunning