1. |
No Chance
03:21
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NO CHANCE
Tim Malone took the long road home
As the night was closing in
And the cruel wind struck and wailed in angry moans
With his scarf wrapped tight around his neck
And his cap pulled over his eyes
He fought to keep the cold out of his bones
As he passed by closed down factories
Waste ground and crumbling walls
He recalled the evening's events oh what a story
The cinema's woodbine smells
The patriotic war film as well
And the end to the tune of 'Land of Hope and Glory'
"Cheer up there bonnie lad"
Says the man who knows no cares
"It's no use crying needlessly"
(I'm all right Jack)
"Get up off your backside"
Says the man who knows it all
It’s no use waiting until your boat comes in
(I see no ships round here)
"Because you'll find out son it's never coming in"
At the shipyard on the quayside
He watched the men come out
And the boss said "Are you looking for a job"
He sang "Weel may the keel row"
To the tune of fifty quid
But the boss said "Try some busking with your gob"
(Weel may the keel row that my laddie's in)
He'd sit and curse at four grey walls
And watch his life go slowly by
Waiting for next pay Friday to come
Then he'd sit and sup his beer
Watch people come then disappear
And wonder if their lives were fashioned out of stone
(Gary Miller)
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2. |
The Coal-Digger's Grave
02:34
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THE COAL-DIGGER’S GRAVE
There had just been a big cave-in in the depths of Belly Row
And Jim Greenwood was stretched out on the ground
And those with no guts were smiling at the back
While the strong men had failed to bring him round
The burial party had just reached the top of Dead Man's Hill
It was well past closing time and all the men had drunk their fill
They were starting to shovel the soil over his head
When he jumped up and yelled, "Give us whisky!"
The top men are calling for enquiries round the town
They've got a lot of face to save
And they've sent out appeals for the men to rally round
"Will someone put a body in the coal-digger's grave?"
Jim Greenwood had survived many pitfalls in his time
And the thinkers couldn't think what else to do
"We cannot starve your family and we cannot steal your home
But somehow we're going to get you"
And they sent him off to fight in the war
And the bullets knocked him to the ground
And they said, "That's the end of you my son"
But the bugger he came back round
(Gary Miller)
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3. |
The Hard Men
03:15
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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
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
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
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
(Gary Miller)
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4. |
Wise Man
02:52
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WISE MAN
On an empty seashore says the old book of lore
Lives a man as old as the world
He’d traveled around and been up and down
Places of which you’ll never have heard
As wise as an owl he prophesied doom
And things not yet come to pass
In the ways of the world he was very well versed
For he’d seen all these things in his glass
He sailed on a ship on a round the world trip
Skippered by an old Geordie sea dog
The ship capsized and the crew lost their lives
But he made it to shore on a log
He discovered a land that was covered in sand
And the water was dry in the well
And when the folks didn’t blink who refused him a drink
He knew he had landed in Hell
He saw cannons and guns and big heavy bombs
That could blow a whole city in two
He saw idiots debating the world they were wasting
Like monkeys down at the zoo
He saw lions and donkeys obeying the monkeys
The donkeys leading the lions to their death
And the sheep in the field were following the lead
Of one that didn’t know its right from its left
He learnt what it was like to be thin as a spike
When there wasn’t enough food to go round
He saw mothers crying while children were dying
And others lay dead on the ground
It was worse than that hell where the rain never fell
And people prayed for deliverance to come
But their prayers went unheard by that chap with the beard
Who despaired at what his children had done
He saw lights in the sky that slowly passed by
And he knew from whence they had come
He saw night in the sky for the rest of all time
After the death of the sun
He shook hands with the Lord who took him on board
Like he’d done with Ezekiel before
Then he knew in a flash why men fought for cash#
And why they were obsessed with war
He saw towers of fire with smoke rising higher
Which gave off a very bad smell
He saw green become grey and grass become hay
As Eden was turned into Hell
He had a fear in his head that filled him with dread
That tomorrow the sky would fall down
But he knew in his heart that whatever he thought
Tomorrow would never come round
(Gary Miller)
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5. |
The Bonnie Pit Laddie
02:04
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THE BONNIE PIT LADDIE
The bonnie pit laddie
The canny pit laddie
The bonnie pit laddie for me oh
He sits on his cracket
As black as his jacket
And brings the black siller to me oh
He works hard
And he brings me all his money oh
He takes me in his arms
And calls me his hinny oh
The bonnie pit laddie
The canny pit laddie
The bonnie pit laddie for me oh
He sits on his hunkers
And hacks at the bunkers
And brings the black siller to me oh
He comes home
And he tells me all his troubles oh
He's had a row with the gaffer
About his lazy marrers oh
The bonnie pit laddie
The canny pit laddie
The bonnie pit laddie for me oh
He sits in his hole
As black as the coal
And brings the black siller to me oh
(Trad. arr. The Whisky Priests)
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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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