Shag Tobacco – Lyrics

All the song lyrics for Gavin Friday‘s album Shag Tobacco.

Shag Tobacco

I have ordinary addictions

I’ve outgrown the ways of the street and the nightshade

hey! goodnight ladies… ladies bye bye.

I work odd hours, get home late most nights

she’s upstairs, I’m downstairs,

drinking coffee in the kitchen

spoon in the sugar, knife in the butter… i want you.

do you love me? say you do, i’d like to see you undress

let the light shimmer down, I’ve ordinary addictions

whisper soft into my ear, secret words heaven sent ….

so you can read my mind

hush dear….the night is always young

there’s no day here, tomorrow never comes

let colours fly, we’re safe from harm

see orange glow, let our love flow

no romeo no juliet,

what we got is deeper than that

lets stay in bed, watch t.v. and shag tobacco

i want you, i want you….

you’re my amphetamine you’re my lover….

and there’s no other…. ….there’s no other…. there’s no other

 

Caruso

no, i’m not myself today.

je suis salome…. i am romantic

je suis apollo…. i am gigantic

hey! stronzo,

i’m standing next to you in the supermarket

yeah! you are obvious. i am oblivious

salome, apollo, in technicolour

i walked on the moon to touch the stars,

a legend in my lifetime.

oh momma! my rosa! from an early age

i was used and abused, no more those bad reviews

take me back to ’72 my coo ca choo,

oh! ignorance was bliss,

spunk-a-flow, to the joy of my first kiss

i’m not me…. i’m not me…. i’m not me…. not me….

non sono io!

oh mi lord, i’m so bored, what’s on the t.v.?

do we really need these pissy pop stars

when there’s not enough of me!

oh dada, my dali, un chen de lou lou….

i am the art in your party,

not a twist cap sniffing bore.

it’s tough in the queue, it’s as unto a platform shoe,

oh! trampled underfoot,

i’m fred astaire, i face the music and dance.

i’m not me…. i’m not me…. i’m not me…. not me….

no i’m not myself….today

oh glorioso deliver us not into frustration

salome, apollo, in technicolour,

i walked on the moon to touch the stars.

hey stronzo…. ancora!

i’m not me…. i’m not me…. i’m not me…. not me….

non sono io!

heave ho…. heave ho….

leonardo! marlon brando! machiavelli!

and bertolt’s belly!

a millionaire with curly hair, i’m your burning empire.

greta garbo! andy warhol! and his jam-roll!

nero plays his violin, seezer his accordian

i’m sitting in the bathtub watching the dirty water

swirl down the plughole…. and on my stereo….

….is caruso.

 

Angel

angel…. hold on to me, love is all around me

angel…. hold on to me

oh come…. closer to me…. don’t go, don’t leave me

angel…. hold on to me, love is all around me

so silent your love, like the stars above

so silent your love…. hold on…. hold on…. to me

angel…. hold on to me, i call, call out to you

its paradise, you take me to

’cause my love for you love will always be

 

Little black dress

here she comes like a child with a gun

she makes you feel like you’re the only one

she smiles and it’s dangerous…. in a little black dress

superman and the filthy rich

get in the queue to scratch her itch

sticky fingers pulling at the hem

of her little black dress

baby don’t mind

she can leave it behind.

she don’t want anything

baby’s a star, she’s got to keep on shining

she moves like an animal

the women sigh “it’s political”

you could get arrested around here

for that little black dress

not so simple, it’s complicated….

all this being loved and hated

i wanna know what else she’s hiding

in that little black dress

baby don’t mind

she can leave it behind.

she don’t want anything

baby’s a star, she’s got to keep on shining

don’t pay no mind, you’re gonna leave me behind

i don’t want anything, baby you’re a star

i wanna hear you sing

 

The slider

I could never understand

the wind at all

was like a ball of love

i could never never see

the cosmic sea

was like a bumble bee

and when i’m sad…

i slide

i have never kissed

a car before

it’s like a door

i have always always

grown my own before

all schools are strange

and when i’m sad…

i slide

i have never never

nailed a nose before

that’s how the garden grows

i could never understand

the wind at all

was like a ball of love

and when i’m sad…

i slide

watch now

i’m gonna slide

i slide….

have you ever seen a woman coming out of

new york city with a frog in her hand?

 

Dolls

on the darkest of streets, at around eleven

the lights shine brightest, on avenue seven

from ‘noho’ to ‘soho’ they congregate

gladrags and handbags we anticipate

boom! boom! cha-cha! and cock becomes vagina

no guys here – dolls! no guys here – just dolls!

mother fisting friends, say romance is cheap

so it’s time for eve to put adam to sleep

lovely, lovely, love me

with dreams with drugs, with lipstick and la rouge

no guys here – dolls! no guys here – just dolls!

with feather boa, like lotte lenya,

high heels and a vicious tongue,

jesus, ‘fantasia’ tu est tres fantastique

so kinky gerlinky, so much fun

no guys here – dolls! no guys here – just dolls!

cock incognito! vag incognita!

knock, knock, who’s there?

oh! here they come, the belligerent scum,

as your immorality would say “all men are queer”

how civilised that you’re despised

knock, knock, who’s there?

dorothy that’s who, she’ll make a man of you!

a man of you! a man of you!

ich bin eine puppe, eine puppe mit scheide!

ich bin ein mann, ein mann mit schwanz

geweg! geweg! lab mich allein! lab mich allein!

das kleine ja! ja! das grobe nein! nein! das kleine ja! ja!

sie macht einen mann aus dir,

eine puppe mit schwanz!, ein mann mit mose!

 

Mr. Pussy

in ’67, his debut year, a pussy cat did appear

in soho bars rather shady,

a most discerning, misleading lady

he knew marlene, judy was a friend

hey! johnny ray, all those that bend

a legend born, on a london stage

when ginger beers, were outrage!

mr. pussy. mr. pussy.

nante! no nante! nante parlare

vada omi! you silly cow!

come see a star shine,

come see him laughing through a mask of tears

he should have been in the movies….

you know those movies that make you cry

“oh! immortalise me! oh! immortalise me!

write a song, write a sad song,

make it 25 years a long…. oh!”

….says mr. pussy…. mmmh…. mr. pussy.

 

You, me and world war three

Throw your arms around me,

there’s no time to be blue,

it’s the end of the world,

let’s talk deep and meaningful things,

it’s up to you and down to me…. what’s going on?

it’s you, me and world war three.

you and me, me and you,

we hurt each other ’cause we gotta get through

we’re ‘a to b’ and back again,

a sort of funky electrocution,

trigger happy and shoot to kill,

what a honeymoon in hell!

our world is spinning helplessly…. what’s going on?

it’s you, me and world war three

you and me, me and you,

we hurt each other ’cause we gotta get through

we hurt each other…. we gotta get through

we’re out there orbiting the planet blue….

i shout you scream, it’s all so illogical

you bite my tongue…. i blow up in your face

in hateful times…. it’s time for loving

let’s start to dance…. it’s ‘true romance’

you me and world war three

you me and world war three

put on that dress you know your

throwing yourself out the window dress,

i’ll wear my suit, my wedding ring

and together we will sing, “la la la la la la….”

you and me, me and you,

we hurt each other ’cause we gotta get through,

you and me, me and you,

we’re out there orbiting the planet blue….

….orbiting the planet blue

 

Kitchen sink drama

Good morning america, you’re my favorite t. v. show

slow down now, i’ve a headache,

sometimes it’s hard to think,

the phone rings how are you? oh! i’m not up to much

you don’t say, oh really! it’ll end…. end in tears

here i go again,

all i have is what i might have been

where’s my long lost friends?

somewhere over the rainbow

when the dark clouds come,

the angel valium will call

to take me far away,

to a place where i don’t have to feel

i’m happy as i hoover, it’s one o’clock, time for lunch

marshmallows with coffee,

can’t forget my slimfast drink,

the garden’s depressing, i think i need a hair-do

a gin and a tonic, ah! that should do the trick

here i go again,

all i have is what i might have been

where’s my long lost friends?

somewhere over the rainbow

when the dark clouds come,

the angel valium will call

to take me far away,

to a place where i don’t have to feel

it’s monday afternoon, the kids are off at school

sunset boulevard, the channel four matinee

sit down, relax with a nice cup of tea….

…. oh! the sweet smell of butane…. and humdrum.

…. gloria swanson…. from here to eternity….

 

My twentieth century

I woke up this morning,

dreading the thoughts of another, dull and boring day

hey! woe is me.

i go out on the streets, northside of the city

i see the steel, the fading rust

and the fields i used to play in….

my friends are famous and all my foes live happy

loved by lycra, fooled by velcro

and fucked by what they need….

but who am i to criticise? my pointing finger backfires

i hang my head down low.

i once believed in jesus,

now i can’t believe in rock ‘n’ roll

from baptism to alcohol, in a land suffocatingly green

hey! the myth is magic, do you know what i mean?

the politics of sin and of sex

suffer the fools, pawn our jewels, will it ever change?

but who am i to criticise? i’ve made my bed, i lie on it

and hold my head up high

my disbelief. my fake redemption.

my twentieth century.

my holy war. my self indulgence.

my twentieth century.

my human flesh. my sad dependence.

my twentieth century.

my apathy. my big decision.

my twentieth century.

 

The last song i’ll ever sing

I’m inviting you to my vaudeville

“oui encore” you say, “and on with the show”

ladies, gentlemen, before i sing to you

the light that shines twice as bright,

burns half as long.

come let me entertain you all

leave all your troubles big and small

life’s a ball, life’s a ball.

hitch a ride on my crooked merry-go-round

hear the clinking-clanking sound

of the song that i bring

take my song, take my hand, never let me down,

like love let me down, like love pushed me around

so long, goodbye, i lost, did try

this is the last song i’ll ever sing

the last song i’ll sing

i played in the cabaret of love

i wore heart, fist and glove.

push and shove, push and shove….

and all for love

take my song, take my hand, never let me down,

like love let me down, like love pushed me around

so long, goodbye, i lost, did try

this is the last song i’ll ever sing

the last song i’ll sing

this is the last song i’ll ever sing

the last song i’ll sing

here, with words that can’t be said

we take songs to our bed

sing – a – long, sing – a – long…. to my last song.

 

Le Roi d’Amour

Have you heard of”

‘Dido and Aeneas’..

of ‘Pyramus and Thisbe’…

of ‘Popeye and Olive’…

of ‘Oscar and Lord Alfred’…

… Je suis le roi d’amour.

 

All titles written & arranged by Gavin Friday & Maurice Seezer except The Slider which was written by Marc Bolan. All songs published by Blue Mountain Music except for The Slider which is published by Wizard (Bahamas) Ltd.

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