1. |
Roaring Days
05:49
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One roaring morning at the break of day
Me and my buddy were still wired awake
Though the fog was freezing and the streets were cold
We went hell for leather up the coastal road
Stopped the Honda on a cliff - my buddy threw up, I rolled a spliff
In the glorious autumn of our roaring days
The mist made haloes in our hair
As we came down slowly through the market square
A fresh fruit trader gave us one plum each
We sucked and swaggered till we hit the beach
Shouting down the esplanade
Two shifty misfits acting hard
In the glorious autumn
Of our Roaring Days
The tide comes in, the tide goes out
We go our separate ways
Our roaring twenties came and went
And vanished in a haze
Driven, drunken, discontent
Our oats were sown, our savings spent
In the glorious autumn... of our Roaring Days
In a jacked-up Datsun gleaming on the slip
Saw a teenage greaser eating eel and chips
We admired his styling - how we laughed and lied
Till he asked my buddy if we'd like a ride
Radio blazing Queen and Quo - all greased up, no place to go
In that glorious autumn of our Roaring Days
The tide comes in, the tide goes out
We go our separate ways
Our roaring twenties came and went
And vanished in a haze
Driven, drunken, discontent
Our oats were sown, our savings spent
In the glorious autumn... of our Roaring Days
We were deaf and selfish - we were smug and dumb
And our bleak mid-winter, it was still to come
My buddy turned ugly and so did I
He took my money and never said goodbye
But in my daydreams now and then I long to wake up once again
In the glorious autumn of our roaring days
The tide comes in, the tide goes out
We go our separate ways
Our roaring twenties came and went
And vanished in a haze
Driven, drunken, discontent
Our oats were sown, our savings spent
In the glorious autumn... of our Roaring Days
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2. |
Hard
04:44
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Men are husbands, men are dads
Casanovas, Jack the Lads
Men are brothers, men are sons
Pray their fathers' will be done
Men of science, men of God
Men of action, in a squad
Men are Real and men are New
And men are people just like you
So hard...
Men are friendly, men are flip
Laugh a lot and give you lip
Men are crazy, men are kind
Men are angels, men are swine
In the movies, men are brave
Seldom ever misbehave
Macho men are all the rage
Selling jeans and aftershave
Men are sexy, men are sweet
Men are faithful, never cheat
Men are tough and never cry
Men are truthful, never lie - and it's
So hard...
Men are restless, men are shy
Commit themselves, they'd rather die
Hide their feelings with a front
Say 'I love you' when they're drunk
Throw their clothes off in a heap
Crawl in bed and fall asleep
Kiss you quick and say goodbye
And I should know, cos I'm a guy
Men are sexy, men are sweet
Men are faithful, never cheat
Men are tough and never cry
Men are truthful, never lie - and it's
So hard... to be a man
At the factory, at the pool
At the match or sat in school
Riding bikes or making deals
Sat behind a driving wheel
In the playground, in the pub
In the bedroom - there's the rub
Boys impersonating men
And I should know - I'm one of them
Men are sexy, men are sweet
Men are faithful, never cheat
Men are tough and never cry
Men are truthful, never lie
Clever men with clever brains
Spend the weekend watching trains
Handsome men with happy lives
Damaged men with damaged wives...
So hard... they're
So hard... and it's
So hard... to be a man
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3. |
Loved
03:27
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Don't want to meet your family, I don't want to know your friends
I don't even need to know if this story has an end
I don't want to get no card on Valentine's day
Please don't write me letters, babe, inviting me to stay
Don't want to spend my evenings staring at the clock
Don't wanna be a-worrying every time your parents knock
But this sweet song within me is needing to be heard
We both know the rhythm, now come on and say the word
I just wanna be loved by you
Loved by you...
I wanna be loved by you
Don't want no big commitment, don't wanna plan our lives
Don't need no fancy dinners by romantic candlelight
This fire inside me is burning to get out
I don't care who hears me - I just wanna shout
I just wanna be loved by you
Loved by you...
I wanna be loved by you
Our love don't need maturing like some fine old claret wine
Let's uncork the bottle, now - I'm tired of wasting time
I just wanna be loved by you
Loved by you...
I wanna be loved by you
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4. |
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It was in the days of discontent
Of anarchy and rage
When Babylon was burning
That the music came of age
The bands were fast and furious
Commitment was the word
The future still unwritten
In the days that changed the world
It started out by word of mouth
That great unholy din
From auntie's midnight rambler
And the NME within
An empire seemed to tremble
As the revolution stirred
The pistols they were loaded
In the days that changed the world
Days that changed the world...
The days that changed the world...
The pistols they were loaded in
the days that changed the world
When Ziggy got his big idea
And Slowhand showed his cards
We rallied to the carnival
And partied in the parks
Fat Martin and his bullyboys
From marching were deterred
When black and white united in
The days that changed the world
But later on the telethon
The stars came out to play
The global conscience came alive
To feed the world that day
And after famous, rich and laid
The saint became a sir
He earned his reputation in
A day that changed the world
The days that changed the world...
A day that changed the world...
He earned his reputation in
a day that changed the world
The songs have been forgotten
And the Verses have been burned
While dirty Mags and Rupert's rags
Have left no stone unturned
With talking vermin crawling out
In colours new unfurled
Like you and I they all survived
The days that changed the world
Now Johnny's wearing Mambo suits
With thinning orange hair
And Joseph in his combat coat's
a denim millionaire
And me - so glad to be a dad
and living with a girl -
I hardly ever think about
The days that changed the world
Days that changed the world...
The days that changed the world...
I hardly ever think about
The days that changed the world
But sometimes in the dead of night
I dream of other men
Of Rolan Adams, Rodney King
and Jean Marie Le Pen,
The many friends who passed away
Whose voice was never heard...
Humanity's still waiting for
The days that change the world
Days that change the world...
The days that change the world...
Humanity's still aching for
The days that change the world
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5. |
Driving Seat
04:26
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Seems like yesterday you first started
As a rodeo cowboy in the big bull market
As the enterprise culture reached its pinnacle
Driven by an upbeat privatised miracle
Life is hard, though and times are leaner
For the banker, the broker and the window cleaner
And nobody's straw's shorter than yours
As the cuts get tougher and the streets get meaner
When the dividend of a divided nation
Is stepping over bodies in the underground station
The just rewards of the high and haughty
Are the P-45 and the UB40
In a downward spiral with zero option
You're fleeced in a deal of your own concoction
As the panic grows you suddenly know how it feels
As the boss says 'We're letting you go now'
Ain't gonna be in that driving seat no more
Ain't gonna be in that driving seat no more
So hang up your braces and your paisley tie
You've lost your shirt, now you're wondering why
Your fairweather friends have all disowned you
And only your banker and the bailliffs phone you
Repossessing everything they burst the bubble, you
Hand back the keys to your BMW,
Lose your home with the sky high loan
And the lows on the Dow Jones cease to trouble you
Ain't gonna be in that driving seat no more
Ain't gonna be in that driving seat no more
Well maybe you could lecture on management structure
Or work part time as a driving instructor
But the business college is undersubscribed
And the motoring school's on an economy drive
You become a expert in adversity
Enrolled in the Hard Knocks University
Students everywhere beg and borrow, now
Praying they can pay it all back tomorrow, now
Ain't gonna be in that driving seat no more
Ain't gonna be in that driving seat no more
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6. |
Green Green Green
03:39
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We got water in bottles for a dollar a litre
Melamine Chippendale by the metre
Beer without alcohol, twice the price
Meat free sausages, nice nice nice
So sit up and listen to the marketing man:
We can save the environment for twenty five grand
We just need a brand new executive car
Just how green do you think we are?
Green green green...a lovely BMW is
Green green green... just buy a new detergent and you're
Green green green green green green green green...
It's an eco-revolution using market forces
As we carry on guzzling the world's resources
There's a special green credit card to help the poor
It's just an excuse to sell you more more more
The nuclear fools are getting in on the act
Even late lamented Maggie's been saluting the flag
And if she gives a shit about the ozone layer
Then I'm a banana and a poll tax payer
Green green green... they're cynical and greedy but they're
Green green green... they'll sell you up the Amazon
Green green green green green green green green...
There's a gaping hole in the enterprise zone
And there's human pollution half a mile from home
All the biodegradable teenage creeps
Who beg in the subways, sleep on our streets
Recycle paper to escape the cold
Breathing lead-free fumes at the side of the road... they're
Green green green... they're ice cool, baby
Green green green... they're chilling out together, cos they're
Green green green green green green green green...
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7. |
Living In The DDR
04:10
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I grew up living in a Welfare State
Just the other side of the Brandenburg Gate
It's called East Germany everywhere
But locally we know it as the DDR
Waiting for tomorrow, living for today
Living in the DDR
Sitting on a time bomb, we don't care
We're living for today
Living in the DDR
It's a people's paradise, you better believe it
Every other week people dying to leave it
Trucks full of Russkis carrying guns
We'll be first in the fire when the third war comes
Waiting for tomorrow, living for today
Living in the DDR
Sitting on a time bomb, we don't care
We're living for today
Living in the DDR
After the party when the Wall came down
They closed all the factories in my home town
Shops full of everything money can buy
Skint and miserable, wishing that I
Was still living in the DDR
Waiting for tomorrow, living for today
Living in the DDR
Sitting on a time bomb, we don't care
We're living for today
Living in the DDR
top of page
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8. |
Fifty
03:37
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What if we live to be fifty
And the optimists win by a mile
Supposing we stop the starvation and slaughter
And the century ends with a smile
Maybe recycling paper
Will bring back the forests again
And maybe the five year old psychos with knives
Will grow up to be happy and sane
So give up your cigarettes
Work out and study
And carry a packet of three
We'll live to be rich and a hundred and seven
Unless you know better than me
What if we live to be fifty
And help all the weak and oppressed
We'll cancel their debts & no-one will expect us
To work any harder for less
We'll spend our way out of recession
The West will invest in the East
So hordes of the poor never swarm at our door
Demanding a share of the feast
So give up your cigarettes
Work out and study
And carry a packet of three
We'll live to be rich and a hundred and seven
Unless you know better than me
Science will beat every fatal disease
And plutonium's perfectly safe
They'll find a solution to all the pollution
It's only a matter of faith
What if we live to be fifty
And the bomb doesn't drop after all
And we never lie destitute, freezing and sick
As the mortar shells batter our walls
We'll cheer as our glorious leaders
Develop new weapons for peace
They'll base a new military laser in space
And the ozone will heal in a week
So give up your cigarettes
Work out and study
And carry a packet of three
We'll live to be rich and a hundred and seven
Unless you know better than me
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9. |
Can't Stand The Silence
03:04
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Well I woke up screaming when I found you gone
And now I can't even sleep without the TV on
Cos I can't stand the silence
In the night
Well the bed is empty but the room is full
Of all the memories of things you used to do
I just can't stand the silence
In the night
When it's four in the morning and I'm lost in the dark
Cos I can't find the target and I'm missing my mark
All my faith starts fading as the palpitations start
This silence is a nightmare and it's tearing me apart
I can stand the loneliness
Friends who never call
The chance remarks of strangers
And the writing on the wall
I just can't stand the silence
In the night
Coincidences make crazy sense
And I still feel you with me in the present tense
I just can't stand the silence
In the night
When it's four in the morning and I'm lost in the dark
Cos I can't find the target and I'm missing my mark
All my faith starts fading as the palpitations start
This silence is a nightmare and it's tearing me apart
I can take uncertainty
And I can handle pain
And I can stand the emptiness
That's with me once again
I can stand the loneliness
Friends who never call
The chance remarks of strangers
And the writing on the wall
I just can't stand the silence
In the night
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10. |
If I Had My Chance
04:52
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If I had my chance I'd do it all over again
If I had my chance I'd do it all over again
Been treated badly, been abused
Been suicidal and confused
But if I had my chance I'd do it all over again
I was seventeen when I made my way to the smoke
I was seventeen, I was homeless, hungry and broke
I hustled subways for a bite
And crashed in the cardboard city at night
But if I had my chance I'd do it all over again
I asked for change and you smiled, the day that we met
I asked for change - you offered me food and a bed
You gave me back my selfrespect
Yeah, loving you's one thing I'll never regret
And if I had my chance I'd do it all over again
You weren't cute but you knew what I wanted to do
You weren't cute but you knew what I wanted from you
Where you took me I'd never been
Or dreamed of in my wildest dreams
And if I had my chance I'd do it all over again
Since you've been gone I can't sleep easy at night
I've got this cough and I can't sleep easy at night
The friends we had are gone and dead
But you're one friend I can never forget
And if I had my chance I'd do it all over again
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Tom Robinson London, UK
Tom Robinson (b.1950) is a UK songwriter & broadcaster first known in the 70s as an anti-racist and LGBT campaigner. He released 19 albums between 1975-2001 with various bands and has co-written songs with Elton John, Peter Gabriel, Dan Hartman and Manu Katché. He's an award-winning presenter at BBC Radio 6 Music, and released Only The Now (his first album in 19 years) in October 2015. ... more
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