16

It’s been sixteen days since you left me,

Told me we were through,

For sixteen days I’ve been thinking,

Of nothing else but you,

My friends when they come to see me,

Say I’ve got to try to forget,

So here I am in this nightclub,

Trying but then yet,

I miss you every second of every day,

I love you why did you have to turn me away?

I want a girl with bright blue eyes,

To pick me up and tell me lies,

Buy me a drink and treat me right,

Take me home, take me tonight,

And when I wake the pillows empty,

I don’t care that all she did was use me,

Just as long as I’m not alone tonight,

When the lights go out hold on tight.

I’ve been sixteen minutes stood at this bar,

Watching the world go by,

Sixteen tequilas are singing their song to me,

And a tear forms in my eye,

My friends are all out there dancing,

Each talking to a girl,

But I can’t help myself from thinking,

There’s nothing left in this world,

Without you what is to come of me,

I loved you but you said you had to be free.

I want a girl with bright blue eyes,

To pick me up and tell me lies,

Buy me a drink and treat me right,

Take me home, take me tonight,

And when I wake the pillows empty,

I don’t care that all she did was use me,

Just as long as I’m not alone tonight,

When the lights go out hold on tight.

 

It’s been sixteen hours since she left me,

Lying in my bed,

As I watched her sneak out of my door,

I thought of you instead,

My friends have all been calling me,

Asking how I spent the night,

Should I tell them of her bright blue eyes?

Or how she held me tight,

Or of you and what you meant to me,

I loved you but did you ever love me?

Ain't No Fun

I try to think about Shakespeare (he’s here),

The Beatles or the Rolling Stones,

I try to think about Picasso (O no),

Elvis won’t you come home?

I try to light a cigarette (not yet),

I’ve got nothing else to do,

I try to think about Dickens (missing),

But all I think about is you.

It ain’t no fun with a one track mind,

After it’s been derailed,

It ain’t no fun racing down the harbour,

To find your ship has sailed.

It ain’t no fun in the evening,

Looking towards the night,

When I ain’t got no loving,

When I turn out the light.

I try to think about Blair (god where),

Gordon and the dancing clowns,

I try to think about Monet (Manet),

Marylyn’s been lost and found,

I try to light a cigarette (not yet),

Maybe it’s not my time,

I try to think about Hitler (missed her),

Maybe further down the line.

It ain’t no fun with a one track mind,

After it’s been derailed,

It ain’t no fun racing down the harbour,

To find your ship has sailed.

It ain’t no fun in the evening,

Looking towards the night,

When I ain’t got no loving,

When I turn out the light.

I try to think about Jackie (Vicky),

Annabelle, Claire or Sue,

I try to think about Jenny (Penny)

Anybody but you.

But when I light my cigarette, (I get),

Looking down at me,

I try to think about Sarah, (Paula)

But baby you’re all I see.

It ain’t no fun with a one track mind,

After it’s been derailed,

It ain’t no fun racing down the harbour,

To find your ship has sailed.

It ain’t no fun in the evening,

Looking towards the night,

When I ain’t got no loving,

When I turn out the light.

Storyboard

I’m standing outside your door,

Waiting for you to let me in,

I want to tell you about my storyboard,

But I don’t know where to begin.

Little Susie sleeps on the streets,

Her daddy used to make her cry,

Now she’s got nobody else,

And all she can do is ask why?

I’m standing at the end of the street,

Waiting to see you walk past,

I’m watching as young lovers meet,

Wondering if they will last!

Uncle Jimmy plays on the drums,

Only he hears inside his head,

They’re taking him away tomorrow,

On the basis of what the doctor said.

I’m standing at the back of the room,

So no one can look behind me,

On the radio the DJ plays our tune,

But no one listens but me.

Cousin Bobby cries out at night,

For the friends he left behind,

In Helmand province they lie sleeping,

A grim reminder of our times!

I’m standing there before you,

But our eyes they never meet,

Even though I once adored you,

We now live on different streets.

Just like little Susie and Jimmy,

Cousin Bobby we’re just names,

Our only purpose is to amuse you,

And give you someone to blame.

I’m standing where you left me,

A fool found outside your door,

To be shaped into your stories,

A character on the storyboard!

Underneath the Golden Arches

There’s a place that I know,

Where I sometimes go,

And sit awhile.

A place steeped in history,

Packed full of humanity,

Who rarely smile.

There’s kid from the school,

All acting the fool,

Wanting to be seen.

I saw a failed rock star,

Trying to sell his car,

What might have been?

The girls from the store,

Boys trying to score,

In the car park.

Refugees from the cinema,

A man dressed as Himmler,

All there after dark.

Old ladies with blue rinses,

Discussing the merits of chintzes,

As they sit down to eat.

Next to a nervous young boy,

And a girl looking coy,

Tapping her feet.

I see a whole rugby team,

And a kid looking mean,

As his mother pays.

There’s a man in a dress,

The kid’s making a mess,

As his mother explains.

The boys from the city,

Now things aren’t that pretty,

All turn up.

A man dining alone,

Girls on their mobile phones,

Who won’t shut up.

It’s a place that I love,

Fits me like a glove,

And I can supersize.

Spy on the human race,

Put a name to that face,

And eat burger and fries.

Burger and fries!

Supersize!

Promises

At the side of the platform,

Danny got down on one knee,

He looked in her eyes,

When I get back,

Will you marry me?

Janie looked down,

At the ring in her hand,

I don’t want you to leave,

But wherever you go,

You’ll always be my man.

When will you go?

Where will you be?

Whatever you do,

Promise me one thing,

You’ll come back to me.

He boarded the train,

A young man off to war,

Religion or oil,

He no longer cared,

What he was fighting for.

She stood on the platform,

And watched the train depart,

A tear in her eyes,

He carried with him,

A little piece of her heart.

When will you go?

Where will you be?

Whatever you do,

Promise me one thing,

You’ll come back to me.

The bullets were flying,

As he lay on the sand,

He thought of Janie,

Danny lay dying,

In some foreign land.

The tears had stopped flowing,

The letter on her knee,

He’s never coming back,

But she’ll never forget,

What could have been.

Wherever I go,

Whatever I do,

No matter what it be,

I promise you one thing,

I’ll be thinking of you.

The Day Michael Jackson Died

Sitting on my sofa watching TV,

I wonder to myself what the news will be,

And then my wife says O my god,

I put down the paper she’s got my attention,

Are they speaking about the Middle East tension,

O no I got it wrong.

There’s a world out there that they’re getting wrong,

Six billion souls who can’t get along,

So what’s on the news?

Is it our soldiers fighting in Afghanistan,

Or the Ayatollah’s edict direct from Iran,

Maybe Paris Hilton’s shoes?

Today’s the day that he fell in love,

Her first son was born,

And he finally closed his eyes.

But to them whatever it means,

To the world it’s just,

The Day Michael Jackson died.

I went to the net to see what it had to say,

And what I found made me afraid,

It was all the same.

Jobs being lost were put to one side,

Everybody was talking about how he had died,

Everywhere I saw his name.

The morning after as I got out of bed,

My hands searching to comfort my head,

I see the papers on the floor.

The economic crisis pushed to one side,

For a picture of a singer recently died,

On pages one to twenty four.

Today’s the day that he fell in love,

Her first son was born,

And he finally closed his eyes.

But to them whatever it means,

To the world it’s just,

The Day Michael Jackson died.

Inside every paper and on every station,

There’s a tribute going out to a man,

They all vilified.

Forgive me if you can if I don’t shed a tear,

Simply because it’s the story of the year,

Michael Jackson died.

Today’s the day that he fell in love,

Her first son was born,

And he finally closed his eyes.

But to them whatever it means,

To the world it’s just,

The Day Michael Jackson died.

The Man Who Would Be King

The sun was setting the House his backdrop,

Cameras rolling as he took to the stage,

Once silent crowds stirred eagerly,

And as they chanted he fed upon their rage.

Look around at what has become of us,

A once proud people crying out for change,

But there is hope I can save our lands,

Come gather round the man who would be king.

Brick by brick we’ll build you up,

Until you could reach the sky,

Brick by we’ll pull you down,

And you’ll never know why.

He declared war but not in a foreign land,

Upon our soil he raised his banner high,

The first stone was thrown riots swept our towns,

And on street corners the mothers began to cry.

I fight for you he shouted always from safety,

We fight for you, you could hear them sing,

We will not stop until we have conquered,

Behind the man who would be king.

You were winning the public adored you,

Young children cheered your victory parade,

Then they waited for the new era to begin,

What happened to the promises you made?

With the fervour gone the fires began to die,

A nation realised your words didn’t mean a thing,

They believed you were better than the one before,

But you’re just a man who wanted to be king.

Brick by brick we’ll build you up,

Until you could reach the sky,

Brick by we’ll pull you down,

And you’ll never know why.

In the park he sits or waiting for a bus,

Melancholy now it’s all been taken away,

Nothing left his dreams evaporated,

No one listens to anything he says.

There once was a man who sought power,

Who wanted to be king,

He stirred a nation fed it’s fears,

The man who would be king.