Big Country

[fox69]

"Too Many Ghosts"

"Too Many Ghosts"



I took my past out for a ride
Along the North Sea
All my demons in the back seat
Crying out for me

Time to pay the piper, time to call in a marker
Time to cough it up
The last thing on my mind
Was another shot at love

Too many, too many, too many ghosts
One too many ghosts to fall in love

Avarice and drunkenness
Pride and infidelity
I left them off at a bus stop
Along the coast

You brushed past from nowhere
And you sat right up front with me
You were looking like a virgin
Unconfirmed, waiting for the host

But there are no virgins here
No novices
No innocence
Just the dark desire for forgiveness

Too many, too many, too many ghosts
One too many ghosts to fall in
Too many, too many, too many ghosts
One too many ghosts to fall in love

I took my new love out for a ride
Along the North Sea
Forgiveness or forgetfulness
It’s all the same to me

And as I stare into her eyes
And press her in my arms
I look over her shoulder
And there my demons are

Too many, too many, too many ghosts
One too many ghosts to fall in
Too many, too many, too many ghosts
One too many ghosts to fall in love

 

[fox69]

"Tracks Of My Tears"

"Tracks Of My Tears"



People say I'm the life of the party
Cause I tell a joke or two
And though I might be laughing
Loud and hearty
Deep inside I'm blue
So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears
I need you, need you, need you
Since you left me
If you see me with another girl
Look like I'm having fun
Although she might be cute
She's just a substitute
Because you're the permanent one

So take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears
I need you, need you, need you
(Outside) I'm masquerading
(Inside) my love is fading
I'm just a clown
Since you put me down
My smile is my make-up
I wear since my break-up with you
Baby take a good look at my face
You'll see my smile looks out of place
If you look closer it's easy to trace
The tracks of my tears

 

[fox69]

"Trouble The Waters"

"Trouble The Waters"



They took a southern working man and chained him to a car
Claimed before the judge we didn't pull him very far
Anyway, he looked at us with murder in his glance
We want to make a bargain, and the plea is self defense

Look mother trouble the waters
We've lost our sons and daughters
Blame religion, blame the family
It had to be somebody

Painless violence, daddy's silence
Feed the glamour of drugs and guns
Somebody tell me, you gotta
Who threw the stone to trouble the waters

They took a student farmer and they chained him to a post
And sent their finest greetings with him to the holy ghost
This is a place where men are men and we don't need his kind
We know what he planned for us, we could read his filthy mind

Look mother trouble the waters
We've lost our sons and daughters
Blame religion, blame the family
It had to be somebody

Painless violence, daddy's silence
Feed the glamour of drugs and guns
Somebody tell me, you gotta
Who threw the stone to trouble the waters

They took a box of rifles and they hauled them off to school
Set up like a sniper in that movie that was cool
Someone tripped the fire alarm and panic set about
They looked upon their enemy and calmly took him out

Look mother trouble the waters
We've lost our sons and daughters
Blame religion, blame the family
It had to be somebody

Painless violence, daddy's silence
Feed the glamour of drugs and guns
Somebody tell me, you gotta
Who threw the stone to trouble the waters

Look mother trouble the waters
We've lost our sons and daughters
Blame religion, blame the family
It had to be somebody

Painless violence, daddy's silence
Feed the glamour of drugs and guns
Somebody tell me, you gotta
Who threw the stone to trouble the waters

Who threw the stone that trouble the waters
Who threw that stone
Who threw the stone to trouble the waters
Trouble the waters

 

[fox69]

"Troubled Man"

"Troubled Man"



Once my dreams came true
Once but not for me
I told them all to you
But dreams are never clear

If I must be alone
Then let it be forever
For it takes a troubled man
To know the freedom of his fear

No longer will I look
For what can never happen
No deeper can I long
For what I know is dear

If I must live my life
In darkness and in shadow
For it takes a troubled man
To know the freedom of his fear

If words could fade away
And strangers go unanswered
Let friendships all be gone
And no acquaintance near

For I would rather die
Than love you for this moment
For it takes a troubled man
To know the freedom of his fear

I think I’m in trouble
Once again you come to me
I think I’m in trouble
Take this troubled man from me

 

[fox69]

"Vicious"

"Vicious"



Vicious
You hit me with a flower
You do it every hour
Oh baby you’re so vicious

Vicious
You want me hit you with a stick
But all I’ve got is a guitar pick
Oh baby you’re so vicious

When I watch you come
Baby I just want to run far away
You’re not the kind of person
Around I’d want to stay

When I see you walking down the street
I step on your hands and I nail your feet
You’re not the kind of person I’d even want to meet
Baby you’re so vicious

Vicious
Why don’t you swallow razor blades
You must think I’m some kind of gay parade
Oh baby you’re so vicious

When I see you coming
I just have to run
You’re not good
And you certainly aren’t very much fun

When I see you walking down the street
I step on your hands and I mangle your feet
You’re not even the kind of person I’d even want to meet
Baby you’re so vicious

 

[fox69]

"Wake"

"Wake"



Leave my kitchen
Leave my bedroom
Leave my fire

Take out all the gaming sets
That no one hired
Break up all the boats
Still tied up on the key

And the year is over now
And all the children kissed

When the bough breaks
And the cradle is down
I will wake and sing

Cover me with finest linen
Every morning
Bring me perfumes and tobacco
Every morning
Bathe my feet in Texan oils
And hold me down

And the year is over now
And all the children kissed

Strap the anchors to my neck
And bathe with me

When the bough breaks
And the cradle is down
I will wake and sing

Jump from wall to wall
On photographs of home
In the wheat field feeding beasts
Have lost their barn
Place them shaking on the table
Show them steel

And the year is over now
And all the children kissed

Store the relics
Mend the cracks
And hide the wheel

When the bough breaks
And the cradle is down
I will wake and sing

Dance on every wire here
Find little doll
As you danced in other beds
Before the fall
Take the wings from airplanes
And set them loose
The carpenter has shown his skill
And proved his use

And the year is over now
And all the children kissed

Strap the anchors to my neck
And bathe with me

When the bough breaks
And the cradle is down
I will wake and sing

 

[fox69]

"We Could Laugh"

"We Could Laugh"



Oh how we would run
All around the table
Lost in the summer sun
Catching jars of fables
Finding jewels in the trees
While the doors were growing smaller
Marking time with gifts
Oh how swiftly change positions

We could laugh
We could laugh
We could laugh

I can remember
I can remember

Oh how we would walk
Dragging days before us
Locked in a waltz of keys
As the jailer made his entry
Picking stars from the night
With a reckless indecision
Save a board and dice
For the rain will fall at wrong times

We could laugh
We could laugh
We could laugh

I can remember
I can remember

Colour cards in our eyes
We could dance a thousand hours
Hard without a thought
That such skirts would hang so heavy
In the echo of the wind
We could hear the strident seagulls
All forgetting the time when the grass
Would turn up so quickly

We could laugh
We could laugh
We could laugh

I can remember
I can remember

 

[fox69]

"We're Not In Kansas"

"We're Not In Kansas"



What did you learn in school today
Did you learn to run when the teachers pray
Did they teach you enough to know the state you’re in
Not enough to get out, not enough to win

What did you learn at home today
Did you learn to hate in the proper way
Did your liberated parents patronize your friends
Cos they had enough money cos they had the right skin

I sat me down and wondered, what kind of place this really is
Well maybe it’s in the parks, maybe it’s in the stores
I know if we’re being honest, it’s in the people
But they’re all caught up in the traffic
Listening to the weather

Well dog, I know we’re not in Kansas — the sky’s all colored wrong
I know we’re not in Kansas — the days are all too long
I sure don’t understand this — that’s what you’re howling for
I know we’re not in Kansas, Kansas anymore

What did you learn in your job today
Did you learn to sleep while the boss is away
Did you shut your mouth when he called you down
Cos there’s not much work in that kind of town

I wander around thinking, well what kind of place is this
Where they say hey well what did you do in the war
And I ask well hey man well what did you do with the peace
Well we built these real safe weapons, so we could sleep with ease

Well dog, I know we’re not in Kansas—the sky’s all colored wrong
I know we’re not in Kansas — the days are all too long
I sure don’t understand this — that’s what you’re howling for
I know we’re not in Kansas, Kansas anymore

Well what kind of place is this
On the wrong side of the rainbow where the twisters never come
And they tore up all the yellow bricks and they sold them to Japan
And still the advertisers tell you, hey, there’s no place like home

Well dog, I know we’re not in Kansas — the sky’s all colored wrong
I know we’re not in Kansas — the days are all too long
I sure don’t understand this — that’s what you’re howling for
I know we’re not in Kansas, Kansas anymore

I know we’re not in Kansas — the sky’s all colored wrong
I know we’re not in Kansas — the days are all too long
I sure don’t understand this — that’s what you’re howling for
I know we’re not in Kansas, Kansas anymore

 

[fox69]

"What About Peace"

"What About Peace"



I was a keeper in the Garden of Eden
I never knew what those kids were eatin’
I couldn’t tell about the snake and the apple
Cause I never get close to anything that a-rattles

I was the pilot of a nuclear bomber
I knew the rules about glory and honor
I never know how many people we carpet
Cause I don’t build the things, I only drop it

What about peace
What about love
What about me and you
What about the truth
What about changing your mind
While you still have time
To make up your mind

I was the leader of the United Nations
I dealt in platitude and procrastination
I never worried about making decisions
Well there wasn’t any danger of me going to prison

What about peace
What about love
What about me and you
What about the truth
What about changing your mind

What about peace
What about love
What about me and you
What about the truth
What about changing your mind
While you still have time
To make up your mind

I was the pilot of a nuclear bomber
I knew the rules about glory and honor
I never know how many people cop it
Cause I don’t build the things, I only drop it

 

[fox69]

"What Are You Working For"

"What Are You Working For"



There was a crooked man
And he wore a crooked smile
He built a crooked highway
And it ran for miles and miles

With money from the revenue
Sponsorship from Ford
It barely holds together
With the goodwill of the Lord

In the penthouse of the baron
The little children sleep
Daddy talks to smugglers
While the armed gorillas creep

Poison for the great unwashed
Business for the mob
Another teenage murder
It’s just trouble on the job

Now I see what I must see
The poor do time the rich go free
You keep the faith and they keep score
Is this what you were working for

A newsleak in the city
Another scandal breaks
Sex and drugs in city hall
Someone’s on the make

Legal bounty hunters
Aim their lawsuits well
The victim talks to Playboy
Says I guess I’ll go to hell

Now I see what I must see
The poor do time the rich go free
You keep the faith and they keep score
Is this what you were working for

Now I see what I must see
The poor do time the rich go free
You keep the faith and they keep score
Is this what you were working for

Now I see what I must see
The poor do time the rich go free
You keep the faith and they keep score
Is this what you were working for