Keelhaul

 Don't you baste me ,

or bawl me out,

berate me,

or call me down,

I'm just trying to be a sailor man

There's no need to Keel haul

Oh don't you castigate me,

chastise me,

or chew me out,

I've been criticised

And I'll chew you up

And spit you out

Oh captain don't you

dress me down,

Or flay me

With a cat o nine tails

Of my nine lives

I've had eight

I'm not ready to go to the

Pearly gates

So there's no need to Keel haul

Don't you hammer me,

or jaw me,

Might as well hang and draw me

Because if all I'm good for

In the ocean's waste

Is just for you to lambast or lambaste

For more pace less haste

But just don't you keelhaul

Oh but you can lecture me,

rag me, or rail at me,

I'll turn student and learn the ropes

I'll learn one end of a yardarm

From a sergeant at arms with hope

But you may rant at me,

rate me, ream out the Ship of State at me

I just ask this if you don't hate me

No need to keelhaul

Oh, go ahead rebuke me Make me sick and whale fluke me

But if they approach will you reproach me

For crying "Whale Ahoy!" firstly?

Will you scold me with a fiery tongue Or brand me to know the score That you tongue-lash me

"It's for your own good, son"

Oh just don't keelhaul

Yes upbraid me, or downgrade me

Send me to the lower quarters

Get me to scrub the decks

Like the dreaming brows

Of your fair faced daughters

Oh bang me to rights

Or bang me up

Lock me in tight

Or in the stocks

Call me brass monkey

Let me carry shot

But just do not

Keel haul

Ass versus Ham

 I think I'm an assburger

Some people are assburgers and some

people are hamburgers

Some people in Hamburg

Are Asburgs

But very Few people in Asberg

Are Hamburgers

Head or heart, decisions, decisions

 Head or Heart

Right from the start I tried to solve the

Dilemma

A split two ways down the middle

Like a family structure

Without the heart I cannot start, I'd throw it all

To the wind

And dive in

But my head says no not again

To put my life into the hands of someone else

Entirely

Unthinking

Risk it all

But for love,

That's the thing

Then my head, says prepare for anything

Stand on your own two feet and be strong

In the country of your birth

In the town where you were born

And belong?

The sea is romantic to me

But what have I really there?

I can imagine the surfers

And the cool

Brown skin and blonde hair

But would the surf unearth

The worth in gold

IS it all just a shallow reflection

Of what is sold

In glossy magazines

And the shirts and shoes of vans

Can I control culture? , no

But I do not belong to it either

I have no place in England it seems

And Hungary has been the place of my dreams

And it is in my dreams I think and feel

What I can call real

To create a world of the imagination

But not within

This stolid nation

Except without 

I'm plagued by doubt

And totally reliant on the trust of relations

And a relationship to sail my boat

Onto firm foundations

If I follow the call of the sirens

I become trapped upon an island

Or I follow the call of the mermaids

And wander out to sea

My other dream to sail the oceans blue

May only ever come true 

if I follow that path now

Rather than live in a landlocked country

Like Hungary

Prayer for the living

 Death is not the final

Destination to which we steer

It is just another passage

Through which we all must clear

But it is harder for a camel to pass

Through the eye of a needle

Than a rich man to get his fat arse

In to heaven's golden steeple

So people if we are to last

We must build a heaven here

On earth

As each day is a blessing vast

Each a new chance at Eden

While Flowers remember

 I'm gonna look at the people I know

I'm gonna look at the people I've lost

I'm gonna ask

Now where did they go?

While the flowers remember their ghost

I'm gonna wander on down through the rows

I'm gonna shed a tear at the last post

I'm gonna wait in my room for hours

While the flowers remember their ghost

I've not come here to get silly

I've not come to get lost

I've just come on the Billy

And he's just held onto my ghost

Now don't just count me

In hours

When time is the enemy of most

They say kill time before it kills your powers

While the flowers remember their ghost

They say drink wine

They say get a clue

They say what is mine 

is yours and that's true

As long as it pours

From Heaven's retinue

Because it falls in buckets and spades on the coast

While flowers remember their ghost

The Jamie Oliver crew, topshop, or toploader moon

 Well the Jamie Oliver crew 

came to dance in the Art bank one day

Most you could say were smug Londoners

But don't let me influence you, hey

No some they were just the landlords or landladies

Owners of properties local

They all wore their beatnik bombers

Leather jackets

or beige jacket potatoes

Really they felt like they were young

When really they were all just middle-agers

They wore vans trainers and danced

Like they weren't just sad

wannabe teenagers

What really means it to be cool?

What when really you're insecure

So you put up a front

And pretend you're not a cunt

When you know

You're just late blooming

toploader

Family fortunes or Gods generation game

 Nice Demeter, Demeter nice

She was the mother of Persephone

persephone phone me, phone me perse,

 She was on the dog and bone

Every night to her underground colleagues

Oh they were the "Resistance" at first

Yes Hades raged against Zeus

But then he put on them a curse

And Hades was stuck under a roof

So Persephone his girlfriend went with him

Or you could say he kidnapped her

Kidnapping is a crime on a global scale

Much like Stealing a giant Panda bear

But they didn't have panda diplomacy

Not much at least in ancient Greece

Except it was left up to Pandora herself

To open her own box with her teeth

Now Prometheus he discovered fire

Or you could say he stole it from Zeus

But stealing from Kings is a crime

And gets you locked up which is proof

So Prometheus he was locked to a boulder

While ravens pecked out his liver as truth

Is extracted from a liar by torture

As nature is red in claw and in tooth

But torture is a crime internationally

Just take Guantanamo bay

If you mess with the empire

Such as stealing fire power

Then you better be sure you will pay

So we've learnt our methods from the Gods

We've tried our hand at their game

And you know they were really a bunch of sods

Who really are all much to blame

An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth

That was how it was until Jesus hit the roof

And literally tore the false Gods from the ceiling

And he said instead turn the other cheek

But who is listening to him now eh?

Christ's way seems to be thought of as weak

And I get the feeling that he must be reeling

Because no one is listening to him speak

Leaf

 Leaves lie on the ground

Leave me alone man

Take a leaf out of her book

Brook the pain with a leaving look

Leave the train, leave the station

Leave your mother

Leave your destination

Turn over a new leaf

And leaf it through again

Dry leaves are blown

Sometimes

The body is a tree

That has sown

It's seed in me

Sometimes

I am a leaf falling free

Sometimes like

Now

I am a leaf

Upon the ground

My veins stand out

And I feel tread upon

By heels of doubt

Bereft of my strong home

But I did my job

Now I am left alone

Of Mice and Man / Brick and span/ The Angel Gabion fan

 And the angel Gabion

Came down from up on high

And said I want a bridge here

Now get out your pigsty

Put down your hammers

Give the dog a bone

And build me some pillars 

out of rock and stone

But the people at first they built 

Them out of sand

And the good Angel Gabion

He couldn't understand

Why have ye builded me

These pillars of salt?

Do you not know

How the weathers will assault?

And the Lorries rumble

And the bicyclists vault

One crack in these

Will bring on a fault

And the whole bridge will crumble

And the night shall fall down

And heaven will be humble

She will lose her high crown

So if ye are not to let down

The plans of mice and man

Get off your arses

And make that bridge span

And build me some good gabions

Out of rock and stone

And don't put heaven in a rage

But make sure you pack them flatly

Inside their cage

Turn it into a smooth slope

We can follow with our eyes

And see it go gently up over the rise

And then together we'll cross the great divide

of the road to Pilton and reach the other side

But how shall we lay them 

asked one humble Sheptonian

And the man from Pilton he say

Lay man lay, 

lay them like great slabs

That the Cathedral stands on

They were built to last

And they hadn't even gabions

Just the master masons

And hand skills of the past

That surpassed all our expectations

But whose foundations still last

Yet we are not like the ancients

Neither in heroic skill or manner

But something of their way

Still passes on down the spanner

And we can still swing 

mattocks, shovels and hammers

And in the joints and limbs are feeling

At one with creation

And the intention of people to

Build something great

Whether resurrecting a railway

Or correcting a mistake

We'll soon get back on track

While the season lasts

And soon have the wheels rolling

Over the bridge running fast

And the people will be strolling

And admiring the view

And they'll thank their

lucky stars for we happy few

Who had the chance to build it

Or even just lend a hand 

in the spanning of the pilton road

Like in the works of mice and man

Rolling stones

 This is the road to somewhere

This is freedom mile

This is give me a handshake

And show me a smile

Lift and pass rock cake, clay cake

from the pile

Filling up gabions with mistakes

of a style

Broken hill makes for a prison of selves

Fragments of yesterday

Reveal themselves

In hillocks, and tussocks

In snags and strife

As they cut their trace

Into our life

The road to tomorrow

Leads on from yesteryear

Resurrecting

And grasping

For ideas out the air

But plans have been lain

And ideas sown

As each of us is rolling

And moving moss from stone

Lifting the weight 

like Atlas off his shoulders

Pushing rocks uphill

Like sisyphus and his boulders

But hoping for better

And hoping for new

Because we all write in our letters

What we hope to come true

Ordinary pain

 Ah

Paracetamol

For Ordinary pain relief

Oh I looked at that window ledge with

A little too much

indifference

ah

ordinary pain

Oh what can I do

I feel ordinary pain!

Why don't you try paracetamol

For ordinary pain relief

Do not take more than is in the bottle

Stop around midday

No more than 12 in 12 hrs

Stop

Stop taking paracetamol now

This is ordinary

It is everyday pain

No you do not need it 

Stop

Does it still hurt?

Yes

Ok take co-codamol

Or go on Sertraline

I miss Budapest

 I miss Budapest

And the tunnel with the mess

Near the Nyugati station

That you walk under to find the street of thunder 

Where the bullet holes

From the revolution lie

Like blocks of swiss cheese

Left by the armies

The Russian soldiers

Hungarian revolutionaries

How I miss Budapest 

It's all such a fucking mess

But that is why

I love that country

England is so boring and

Predictable nothing

Happens but the rains

And a submersible

Goes missing down a drain

A mother suffers

Pain

Or a PM forgets the name

Of his wife

Then

The Economy unbounds

I mean like when 

Paradise Lost is found

And he calls for all Football fans to lament

And he calls for all Opera fans

To start laying cement

On the yellow brick road To Eden

Or Scotland or was it

Swindon

I forget

I am forgotten

Because at Bottom

We are top

And ready to Rock

The world to its foundations

Just hold the gun

And pull the trigger

Because you know he is bigger

But you are better

Despite your

first reservations

So hold true to your quiver

And deliver the river

Of hearse resuscitations

I mean rehearsed recitations

I miss Budapest

and you

Baby

I miss Budapest

and you

Ship-shape and Bristol fashion

 Light the candle wick

Spick and span

With the soap brick

Scrub man, scrub

Til the deck is clean enough to lick

Ship-shape and Bristol fashion

Haul on the bowline

Don't cross the line

Toe the line

Full sail flickering

In a cool night breeze

Reminds me

Of my home

in England

When the wind is in the apple trees

Ship shape and Bristol fashion

Better tighten your belt

Get a new ink blot

Watch how it's spelt

Watch how he knelt

Captain at his prayers

First mate on the boardwalk

Coming down the stairs

Everything is quiet

Save the swinging of the hammocks

Monks in their bunks

Ship-shape and Bristol fashion

Cooks in the galley

Slaves in our chains

Singing how green is your valley

They'll be singing in vain

Rum is in the blood

In the jug and the alley

Keel sliding perfectly

Like two legs in a foul

Ship-shape and Bristol fashion

Sam and the oil rig jam

 Maybe you can buy your way into good company

Respectable living of the nouveaux riches

Maybe you'll get elected to the board of directors

Of a charitable organization for rescued fish

Maybe the chamber of commerce will take you

Maybe they have you marked down as a counsellor

Where you can do good works, and pretend you never hurt

The environment with your shirt of many colours

Maybe you'll be seen at all the dances

Of the society balls

And rub shoulders with ladies who give you glances

And ask you to meet them outside propriety walls

Maybe they will drop their fur coats for you

Maybe they will run off down the street

With all the rats and the mink 

who never had chances

Than to be skinned for their fur pelts

While discarding their meat

And then when you've become king of the castle

And green washed yourself so you look

Nice and neat

You can look back and say I worked for the establishment

And joined the pyramid at the bottom

But now I'm complete

Because you never did nothing to change the status quo

Nor provide equality for the poor of other countries

That Britain just stands on to gain its control

And feeds off of like an octopus with many

Sucker feet

Go on then work on your oil rig

Go on uncle Sam

Join

Sides with the dark forces

Just mind the sea horses

That you crush with both hands

The oil rig jam

 They call it the oil rig jam

Yeah you work for years on an oil rig

Tough, hard work for a real man

Gives you pride in yourself

You can say yeah I know who I am

You lookin' at me buddy? 

Call me Uncle Sam

But it ain't no good thing to carry that can

No they call it the oil rig jam

You see you got blood on your hands

Though it ain't red

It's as black as those thoughts that

Run through your head

When you think of the people and

habitats that are dead

All because of your oil rig jam

You see you can't expunge all the guilt

That is yours

Just by turning over a green leaf and start working 

Outdoors

Volunteer for community projects

Helping the poor

Yeah, now do you say I know who I am?

No, uncle Sam

No more

Because now you're in the oil rig jam

Yeah you drilled into the earth

And pillaged her plunder

You raped the sea bed

Of all its life and its wonder

Just to line your own pockets

With gold thread galore

And to buy a four bed home

Near cathedral doors

You might as well face it

You've been working for hell

And the devil is your master

And he rings your bell

Everytime you hear the kerching

Of the cash register ring

It is sad to say it Sam

But you're in the oil rig jam

Thousands of gallons of crude oil spill

across oceans killing the sea life

They're drowning in your devotion

To the black gold you worship

And the master you serve

Oh you've gone and blown it

I hope you get what you deserve

Because you can't pretend now

That you're a big boy scout

When really it's your boys' toys

That have put us up the spout

And you have the gall

To tell me how to live my life!?

Environmentally sound

Like you're some saint without doubt

You're a hypocrite by nature and name

Sam

And that's why you're in the Oil rig jam

In the company of Angels

 I wish for the company of angels

I wish for the company of man

I wish for the company of animals

That live upon the land

Yes I wish for the company of the sea's fish

I wish for the birds of the sky

And I wish for your company my woman

For I will love you til I die

 I wish for the company of angels

I wish for the company of man

I wish for the company of animals

That live their lives on the land

Oh give me love everlasting

Give me love at thy command

Oh give me something like blasting

The fires from the burning sand

 I wish for the company of angels

I wish for the company of man

And all the trees in the rain

They are leaving their leaves

Oh I wish for the company of them

Yes I wish for the company of lions

To lie down inside their dens

I will pull the thorn from out their paws

Like Daniel and lie down with the lambs

I wish for the company of angels

I wish for the company of man

I wish for the trees and leaves

and everything that grows in the breeze

I wish for the company of them

Oh give me your love lord everlasting

Give me it, serve it on a plate

I will earn your love, by my love lasting

If it's the last thing I do, if it's too late

Give me cheapside, give me riches

Of the pitches of the poor

I need your hope in the glasses

When the beer and liquor pours

Come keep me strong in your guidance

Keep me holding to the plough

Keep my line true in the field

Lord, and don't let me furrow your brow

 I wish for the company of angels

I wish for the company of man

I wish for the company of animals

That crawl or walk upon this land

Give me fish, give me sea,

Give me everything between

Give me love lord, 

oh give me all your plans

Give me secrets to hold

Give me nights and days of olde

Oh give me gold

Or give me nothing for a man

All I need is your love to keep me strong, Lord

All I need is your love from day til night

In the morning come and greet me in my bed, Lord

And be there when I put out my light

 I wish for the company of angels

I wish for the company of man

I wish for the company of animals

That crawl or walk upon this land

Blow your thistle down

 Thistle down, oh thistle down

Whistle down, oh whistle down

In the browning of the dill

On the frowning of the hill

Whistle down, blow the whistle down

Blow the whistle up again

Blow the thistle, blow the thistle, 

Blow the thistle down

Where the bramble and the thorn

All the places we have gone

Blow the thistle, barren down

Down and down again

Seeds are wasted, seeds have shown

Seeds have thrown and seeds have grown

In the places we have known

Oh thistle down, blow your thistle down

Blow the whistle down, 

blow the whistle down

In the happy stances

In the thrones of kings and queens

Where they stood in equity

Oh blow your thistle down

Blow your thistle down

England's Rose and Scotland's queen

Blow the thistle in between

Thistle crown, oh thistle crown

The crown that we shall wear

Is the crown of thorns of care

Whistle down, blow your whistle down

Blow it all over town

Running through the tunnels up and down

Blow the thistle down

Blow the whistle down

Hear them shoot upon their horn

Hear them shoot the new day's morn

Throwing out the old day's corn

Blow your thistle down

Whistle down,

Thistle down

Blow, blow

Your whistle down

Everything is on the ground

Just blow your whistle down

How do you know the raging winds?

Or the rains upon the skins

Any day that we have come and gone

Come and gone again

Thistle down, blow your whistle down

All these places we have known

Everything must go

Thistle down, blow your whistle down

In the places of the town

And the places grown in sound

Blow your thistle down

Blow your thistle down

Just passing

 I saw a twister in a field of grass

Just pass

Like a spirit

On your funeral day

I looked at the sky and saw

A helicopter cut the sun like glass

I saw it

Just pass

Like a broken vase

It cracked the sky

I waited outside the church

Then sang the hymns within

Listened to the your eulogy

And yet I can't begin

To unravel what it all

means to me

It is strange not having a thing

Is not the same as losing it

If your bonds of affection were not

tight

Holding the cane

Letting it fall

picking it up again

Letting the good times come

and go

and just pass

Passage

 Gonna make that final passage

Out of the salt sounding seas

Up into the skies 

Sail my ship

To heaven's shores

I'm gonna weigh anchor at the gates of Saint Peter

And I'll clamber out 

And get down on my knees

Oh the passage is a hard one

And I've worked my journey

Sometimes my cards won

Sometimes I pushed the gurney

But nothing sounds better than

than the snap of a sail

Like the belts of Spanish leather

In the wind of a gale

I've worked my passage and I'm on my way now

To the promised land of freedom and eternal ease

I'll not scrub the decks nor haul on the line now

For I'm following the light of the beckoning seas

The Gondolier's chat

 The Gondolier's song

You sticka ina de pole

You take a outta de pole

Hey presto

You are a Gondolier

Punting round the Venice canals

Blocking up the waterways

Punt the summer holidays

Punt oh punt away

Ye Gondoliers

Taxi drivers of the canal

LIfe for a gondolier is far from banal

Do you know who I had

In the back of my Gondola the other day?

South of Venice

This time of night

With this much traffic

You must be joking