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Bloody Well Live!

by The Whisky Priests

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1.
THE ROW BETWEEN THE CAGES One morning when I went to work the sight was most exciting I heard a noise and looked around and who do you think was fighting I stood amazed and at them gazed to see them in such rages I never saw a row like that between the Brockwell cages The patent to the old cage says although I be a stranger I can work my work as well as you and free the men from danger But if the rope should break with me old skinny jaws just watch us You'll see me clag on to the skeets for I'm full of springs and catches When going up and down the shaft the patent cage did threaten For to take the old one's life if they stopped it meeting The old cage bawled out as it passed you nasty dirty patent Rub your eyes against the skeets I think you're hardly wakened The old cage says come over the gates because it's my intention To let you see whether you or me is the best invention The new one being raised took off his claes and at it they went dabbing The blood was running down the skeets and past the weighman's cabin The brakesman brought them both to bank the mischief for to settle They fought from five o'clock 'til six and the patent won the battle It took the brakesman half his shift to clag them up with plasters The old cage sent his notice in just to vex the masters (Tommy Armstrong)
2.
HALCYON DAYS I remember Charlie Douglas when we were still at school He was my very best friend But I passed him as a stranger in the street the other day He didn't even know my bonnie face And little Cathy Thompson with her hair and heart of gold I vowed I would love until the end of time But we were young and I failed to realise That she would never be mine I remember the times when we used to laugh and play But this cruel world always seems to take those times away Now it all seems like a dream that just happened yesterday Those times will never come again We rang bells and ran through gardens But caused no harm to anyone And the rows and fields were our own And we would mucky all our best clothes Jumping becks and climbing trees And stayed out late didn't want to go back home And the gypsy-camp battlefield where we used to play at wars Was innocent fun and games back then But now we are acting out our battle plans for real Though we say we are fully grown men In our ignorance and bliss we were happy in our lives And our innocence could never let us down On grassy moors we chased and in greeny lanes we roamed Creating our own world in our town But it could never last forever fate caught up on us in time And turned our whole world upside down For our minds then knew of guilt and all the pain of love and hate While our dreams were left shattered on the ground Oh what happened to you whatever happened to me What became of the people we used to be (Gary Miller)
3.
OLD MAN FORGOTTEN As the waves come rolling in Across the blackened shale An old man stands alone And carves an image of nostalgia In the dying sunlight you know And the features on his wondrous face Once shined like a million stars Now it’s cracked and worn His whole life is tattered and torn And he's filled with grief you know And as the day comes down He feels the years come down As the sands of time slip through his hands Like a burdened weary old pack horse Waiting for the slaughterman And he's spent his whole life in the area Working for the area But what recognition do they send his way But so long Joe it's time to go And as the day comes down He feels the years come down There is a weight upon this man Like a burdened weary old pack horse Waiting for the slaughterman And as the day comes down He feels the years come down Like a weight across the land Like a burdened weary old pack horse Waiting for the slaughterman And as the day comes down He feels the years come down "I toiled in this place" he says As the tears roll down his face For the family that has forgotten him And the land that has forgotten him (Gary Miller)
4.
BONNIE GATESHEAD LASS / JAMIE ALLAN BONNIE GATESHEAD LASS I'll warrant you've never seen my lass Her name I cannot mention For fear you'll go and tell her How I like her so I do It's just for lads and lasses For to whisper their affection The bonniest lass in Gateshead's Bonnie face is bothering me The first time I saw her I thought I didn't know her I was sure I'd seen her face before I couldn't think of where Her blue eyes met mine in passing Up the high street in the morning And her look was so entrancing That my heart was mine no more Well I didn't see her for a week Until one night at the bridge end I stamped upon her gown And the gathers they came away She told me I was clumsy And I said that I was sorry I humbly begged her pardon I was licked for what to say So I walked on by her side As if I had a right to do The conversation first was shy But then it turned first class We talked about the weather And she mentioned that her father Was a puddler down at Hawks's Oh my bonnie Gateshead lass She mentioned confidentially That her uncle was a grocer And her mother's father's cousin Was a fiddler on the shore She talked so nice and friendly And looked both sweet and pleasant I thought I'd never seen a lass So charming like before She says her mother keeps a shop And sells hot pies and candy Her brother he's a cobbler In the high part of the town Now she was a dressmaker And we got on so well together I blessed I'd been so awkward As to stand upon her gown I made her laugh and slap me lug For talking lots of nonsense But bless you when you're courting There's nowt so good'll pass I asked her would she be my lass And I'd take her out on Sunday To my delight she says "I might" My bonnie Gateshead lass (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests) JAMIE ALLAN [Instrumental] (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
5.
JENNY GREY I watched as you watched me with hope in my heart And I wondered what your eyes were telling me then But a wall drew around me and trapped me forever And there was no key could free me again I passed by a headstone which no shadows darkened There I saw a young woman with flowers and tears And I envied the soul for whom she was grieving And I lost all desire to continue my years When they are drying the blood from my body And the flowers and grieving are all for me And when I am gone into Hell or to Heaven Oh Jenny, Jenny Grey cry for me We walked together in the cool summer morning And the birds were all singing in the valley below But the wind stole their voices as the sweet vision faded And I walked home without you alone The factory gates have all closed down before me And the lights have all dimmed on the edge of the town And they are singing a sad hymn in the church in the village And your face looks so sad as the tears flow down (lyrics: Gary Miller / music: Glenn Miller)
6.
INSTRUMENTAL MEDLEY NO.2: a) THE BORDER WIDOW'S LAMENT b) NEE GUD LUCK c) THE HESLEYSIDE REEL [Instrumental] (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
7.
THE RAVEN You were born a handsome lad There was never one more bonnie The apple of your father's eye His fine and dashing Johnny Your mother she was proud of you She swore there was none better And your father taught you all he knew For better or for worse But when they come to lay him down After his final blessing oh Will he depart in peace and pride Or will his shame lay him down low The clouds hung low and the sleet and snow Spewed forth like a plague across the earth The thunder rolled while the north wind moaned And the lightning witnessed the birth At six a.m. the bastard was born And blessed with the warm blood of God His parents loved and doted upon And bred the miserable sod His heart was made like an evil blade Hard steel with a thirsty lust for blood His soul dwelt on the dark side of the grave And his body held no love Suffering was his bliss and evil got him pissed And he feasted on the food of human hate And when darkness came he played the lycanthrope game When his body and his ego would inflate He could have been such a dashing blade With a heart full of goodness and love But all around the world he's heard it said That the raven is stronger than the dove (Gary Miller)
8.
EASINGTON We prayed for a new day dawning On a village shrouded in grey Where people spend their dole lives Waiting day by day Waiting oh so patiently For good luck to come along But that would be like finding gold On the streets of Easington Little bairns with mucky faces Playing in the colliery streets Reminds us of our childhood years Oh they were so sweet Me and Mary Walker Were going to be wed But you lose all hope and love When all your dreams are dead But let’s not hang our sorrows On the gates of misery We'll get the bairns up laughing And we'll sing We'll show there is joy in Easington From the outer villages To the beaches by the rocks The old men who degrade themselves Stoop to pick the black For what was once their livelihood Has laid their land to waste But there are no inner cities here Where the slag surrounds the coast But let’s not drown our sorrows On the dregs of misery We'll get the lasses drinking And we'll sing We'll show there is joy in Easington From the broken windows Of the houses in the night You can see the pithead pulley wheel In the lamplight burning bright But what about the young lad Who must leave the town where he was born It never can be easy When your heart is in that town But let’s not dwell on sorrow Nor think of misery We'll get the old folks dancing And we'll sing We'll show there is joy in Easington (Gary Miller)
9.
THE RISING OF THE NORTH [Instrumental] (Gary Miller)
10.
LAND OF THE DINOSAUR Here amongst the memories That belong to yesterday The monolithic metal beasts No longer rule the waves The ruins of a greater age Lie strewn across wasteland The dinosaurs are now extinct Their bones rust in the sand The timbers burned The wheels have turned The ships have sailed away Yet the dinosaurs stand tall and proud In the graveyard that remains See the greatness now expired In the hearts and lives of men Monuments of men Monumental men And their epitaph shall be: 'They walked on water They parted the waters Until the seas of power engulfed them' (Gary Miller)
11.
PERFECT TIME Now down the row where the icemen grow There dwelt a caring man His body seemed cold but his heart was warm Though he had always felt so alone And down the way where hearts seem clay There came a bonnie lass And it seemed that Heaven opened its arms And blew away all of the past They walked together down Timeless Street Together they were in perfect time But only time would tell if a perfect tale Like the ones in fairy tales and dreams Would be told in perfect time Now time took on a different role For it seemed the perfect time To cast away all past fears And look towards a brand new life But life is cruel at imperfect times And fate is more cruel still And fate caught up like it always does And in a short time things turned ill He walked across the lonely moors He was in a timeless zone And the eerie mist cast ghostly shapes Amongst the trees and stones He fell into the mystic spell As he felt for Mary's hand But it wasn't there it never was For he had failed to understand Now he sits alone in a smoke-filled room And he feels too weak to stand He sits alone for he is all alone Clutching his life in his hands And in the corner the smallpipes play The hauntingly beautiful 'Sweet Hesleyside' Then he staggers home where he is all alone To be haunted forever by the broken dreams Which the darkness cannot hide (Gary Miller)
12.
DOL-LI-A It's fresh I come down Sandgate Street Dol-Li, Dol-Li My best friends here to meet Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A Dolly Coxon's pawned her shirt Dol-li, Dol-Li To ride upon a baggage cart Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A The green cuffs have gone away Dol-Li, Dol-Li That will be a crying day Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A The black cuffs are coming in Dol-Li, Dol-Li That will make the lasses sing Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li, Dol-Li Dol-Li, De-Dillen-Dol Dol-Li-A (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
13.
GOBLINS [Instrumental] (Gary Miller / Glenn Miller)
14.
SHUT DOON THE WAGGON WORKS The lights are going out on the edge of Ghost Town As a coldness penetrates through curtained windows For the colliery streets shed no warmth light or heat But our hearts are always warm here in winter As me and my marrers go to get ourselves a pint All we get are looks that make us shiver For the people have changed though the place still looks the same But the waggons don't run here anymore Times are hard in this world When you get put out of work The people up in power Have shut down the waggon works There are jobs up for grabs in other parts I hear While our village has been scrapped through lack of care They've decided to scrap jobs in the places they matter most Though the towers still belch their smoke into the air (Gary Miller)
15.
FAREWELL JOHNNY MINER Johnny Miner you were born Never to see the rising dawn Now its time that you were gone Farewell Johnny Miner You battled with the sliding scale With blackened lungs and faces pale Now your body's up for sale Farewell Johnny Miner They promise you the earth sometimes To get coal from their stinking mines Now the justice for their crimes Is farewell Johnny Miner So farewell John, don't take it hard Unemployment isn't bad They'll treat you well in the knackers yard Farewell Johnny Miner Farewell Durham, Yorkshire too Nottingham, the same to you Scotland, South Wales, say adieu Farewell Johnny Miner (Ed Pickford) THE LADS OF WEAR AND TYNE Still round the banners we'll stand In love and truth combine And children yet unborn shall sing The Lads of Wear and Tyne Brave Hepburn and our delegates Like rays of virtue shine Their fame shall long be echoed Round the planks of Wear and Tyne On Boldon fell a flag shall wave Like victory's wreaths entwine That peace shall be the motto still With lads of Wear and Tyne We envy not the rich and great Whose dazzling greatness shine While we the hardy sons of toil Can labour in the mine Our happy wives and children now All former cares resign And sing with joyful mirth and glee The Lads of Wear and Tyne (Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
16.
THE COLLIERY The pit where I worked was built in Eighteen-Ten It's claimed the lives of many good men Like rats in a hole we crawled underground Digging for coal at the colliery I had long shifts to put in every day And I worked like a slave for a poor man's pay We hated our boss because the bastard worked us hard For a pittance to keep our families And the curse of God was on our lives Though we prayed to Him for better times We learned to cry and we learned to die Down at the colliery I had a wife and six bairns to feed We paid the price of a rich man's greed I sweated and toiled in that unholy black hell Feeding the fires of Britain's industry And we found no joy in our toil As our lungs filled with dust and soot and soil We laughed and cried we prayed and died Down at the colliery Both servants and masters shared the land They abused our humanity they used our bloodied hands And they would steal our brains to destroy our souls But we were put on God's earth to go below it for coal This land was built by men of steel But the fires are now dying in its industries The machines have rusted and the pit stands dead The men lie idle no more prayers are said (Gary Miller)
17.
THE HARD MEN In the wild bad lands of England Where the law is our own We'll cause such a bloody riot You'll be trembling in your homes We'll lie in wait to ambush you In an alley that's our lair Whichever town you go to You will always find us there We've never tasted whisky Just lager and red wine But by Christ we can't half knock 'em back When it comes to judgement time We'll take you on at drinking And if you lose we'll skin your hide Then you'll say we're the hardest gang in town And we'll go home drunk with pride We'll leave our calling card If you're passing by our way If you're looking for a fight We can lick you any day We'll take you for a drink Just make sure you can pay We're the hard men We know you've worked hard all your life But we couldn't give a damn Because we're all just lazy bastards As I'm sure you'll understand And don't you be misled By our deceptive words of grace Because there's nothing we'd like more Than to smash a bottle in your face There's always at least ten of us Just for company you see The sticks and stones we carry Are just our imagery The long knives in our pockets Are just for carving meat But human flesh is favoured If it's helpless in the street We're meaner than Clint Eastwood And we're tougher than John Wayne We hate you if you're better than us We're all the fucking same We're like an evil disease Spreading through the land We have the Devil in us And his will is our command (Gary Miller)

credits

released March 1, 1993

Recorded live at the Markthalle, Hamburg, Germany, 31st December 1992 / 1st January 1993, using the GAGA Mobile.
Produced by Gary Miller & Glenn Miller.

The Whisky Priests line-up on this recording:

Gary Miller – Vocals, Acoustic Guitar
Glenn Miller – Accordion, Vocals
Mick Tyas – Bass Guitar, Vocals
Paul Carless – Mandolin, Harmonicas
Tony McNally – Drums
Mike McGrother – Fiddle


℗ & © 1993 Whippet Records

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Gary Miller Durham, UK

Gary Miller first rose to international prominence with folk-punk/rock pioneers The Whisky Priests (1985-2002), founded with his twin brother Glenn - “the Joe Strummer and Mick Jones of Folk Music". He now performs as a solo artist and with his new band 'Gary Miller's Big Picture' whose debut album is coming soon. ... more

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