Paul Kelly

[fox69]

"The Pretty Place"

"The Pretty Place"



Take me to the pretty place where once we used to run all day
From silver dawn to golden setting sun
Take me where the water flows and bumps along on pebbled stones
And sweetly sings its never-ending song
We're going to the pretty place, going to the pretty place

Take me where the fishes swim and shimmer in and out of vision
Underneath the hanging willow tree
Do you remember Charlie Boots? He broke the rope
Back on the slope we laughed so hard I thought I'd have to pee
Going to the pretty place, the pretty place

In my mind it's shining bright
I've had enough of all this stuff
Now I'm going to the pretty place

I know our pretty place has gone, it's been so long
And everything and everyone I know is moving on
But though my eyes are growing dim, still I can see the fishes swim
And I can hear that never-ending song
I'm going to the pretty place, going to the pretty place

In my mind I see the light
I've never been so ready
Now I'm going to the pretty place

 

[fox69]

"The Sweetest Thing"

"The Sweetest Thing"



When you came into the room
You didn’t walk in through the door
You didn’t steal through the window
Neither did you rise up through the floor

You’re the sweetest thing that ever happened to me
Baby, you’re the sweetest thing that ever happened to me

Ah, your daddy ain’t so rich
But your mama sure is fine
Don’t you know he’s got a song for you
The words keep a-changing all the time

You’re the sweetest thing that ever happened to me
Honey, you’re the sweetest thing that ever happened to me

I’m living in a strange new world
Things are never gonna be the same
I’m a slave to a selfish girl
And she don’t even know my name!

She’s the sweetest thing that ever happened to me
Sure is the sweetest… mmmm… the sweetest thing that ever happened to me

 

[fox69]

"The Way Love Used To Be"

"The Way Love Used To Be"




The way love used to run to me
and we carved a heart upon the tree
The way love used to make a stand
they used to laugh, they didn't understand
My eyes deceived me, love wasn't real

Now you come on along
Now you come on along

The way love used to run me round
I was here and there, I could not be found
The way love used to kiss my lip
but my hold on love would always slip
My eyes deceived me, love wasn't real

Now you come on along
Now you come on along

The way love used to sing to me
I thought my ears had starved that melody
The way love used to count to ten
Am I to believe tis gonna happen again?
Am I deceived, can this be real?

Now you come on along
Now you come on along

 

[fox69]

"These Are The Days"

"These Are The Days"



I got a long-legged girl
We go all around the world
No one knows the shape we're in
In a first floor yellow room
In the middle of the afternoon
We breathe out and we breathe in
We're giving it all away
We're giving it all away
These are the days, these are the days

She don't believe in God
Or Jesus Christ our Lord
But she likes to call their names
She wants a little baby child
And she's running out of time
She needs a man who wants the same
We're giving it all away
We're giving it all away
These are the days, these are the days

Days of aching sunshine, days of sweetest rain
Days we know will never come again

I got a long-legged girl
With a laugh like a-ringing a bell
She sets my heart aflame
She don't believe in God
Or Jesus Christ our Lord
But she sure loves to call their names
We're giving it all away
We're giving it all away
These are the days, these are the days
Got a hard-headed girl
She's ringing a bell
Only time will tell

 

[fox69]

"They Thought I Was Asleep"

"They Thought I Was Asleep"



We were driving back from the country one night
Mum and dad up the front and the rest of us snug and tight
My kid brother grizzled for a little minute
‘Til my big sister told him he’d better quit it or die
It had been a long day in the countryside
Playing with the cousins on my mother’s side
The sound of the radio closed our eyes drifting over the seat
And then I fell asleep

I don’t know what woke me up
Maybe a country song or a big truck passing by
I could hear my mama and papa talking
Papa said something then mama began to cry
No more words then, just soft sobs and my head began to throb
I just lay there playing dog breathing slow and deep
They thought I was asleep
They thought I was asleep

It seemed forever ‘til the sobbing stopped
Then they talked for a little while but just too soft to hear
Daddy kept looking at the side of her face
One hand on the wheel and one hand stroking her hair
The headlights shining from the other way
Showed tears on the cheeks of daddy’s face
I prayed for Jesus to send his grace
And all our souls to keep
Back then I believed
They thought I was asleep
The night was dark and deep
How I wish I was asleep

 

[fox69]

"Things We Said In The Dark"

"Things We Said In The Dark"



Well I held you baby, I held you close
Well I held you baby, I held you close
Hip-to-hip and toe to toe
Hip-to-hip and toe to toe
All the things we said in the dark
All the things we said in the dark
In the dark, in the dark, in the dark
In the dark, in the dark, in the dark
When you're moving your body you're showing your soul
When you're moving your body you're showing your soul
Body and soul
Body and soul
Hip to hip and toe to toe
Oh the things we did in the dark
Oh the things we did in the dark
In the dark, in the dark, in the dark
In the dark, in the dark, in the dark

 

[fox69]

"Tighten Up"

"Tighten Up"



Mama don't like your holey shoes
Scrapping in the back yard-four be two
Daddy's smokin' motor didn't make it up the hill
Mama can't pay, she got one day
She got no money for the telephone bill
Tighten up, tighten up
Everything falls apart

Mama says to Papa now 'Where ya been?'
Papa says 'I'm sorry Mama, I got a full skin'
Mama get excited, she having an attack
Mama spins round, Daddy hits the ground
For too long now she's been taking up the slack
Tighten up, tighten up
Everything falls apart

Jimmy coming home now-see him on the run
Mama's going through the cupboards, looking for a can
Daddy on a ladder, TV on the blink
Mama can't think, Daddy's feeling like a drink
And all the dirty dishes, lord, are piling up the sink!
Tighten up, tighten up
Everything falls apart
Tighten up, tighten up
Everything falls apart

 

[fox69]

"Time And Tide"

"Time And Tide"



Time and tide wait for no-one
And they won’t wait for you or me
You got to know
When to stay and when to go
When to do, when to be

Time and tide sometimes hurry
Sometimes move so slow
You got to be ready
To jump or hold steady
A-rocking and a-rolling with the flow

No matter what you think or do
Sometimes it really isn’t up to you
You just got to get out of the way!
And if you can’t shift at all
There’s nothing you can do at all but pray

Time and tide keep on pushing and pulling
Pushing and pulling on you and me
Sometimes our flood runs high
Sometimes we’re both left bone dry
Dreaming of the deep blue sea

 

[fox69]

"To Be Good Takes A Long Time (To Be Bad No Time At All)"

"To Be Good Takes A Long Time (To Be Bad No Time At All)"



One day, then another
One step at a time
The battle's never over
The Devil so close behind
Cry, cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
Cry each time I fall
To be good takes a long time
But to be bad no time at all

I learned it before, now I'm learning again
Before you can walk you must crawl
To be good takes a long time
But to be bad no time at all

Fine-sounding intentions
Pave the road to hell
I walked out my front door
And after that I can't tell
Cry, cry, cry, cry, cry, cry
Cry each time I fall
To be good takes a long time
To be bad no time at all

 

[fox69]

"To Her Door"

"To Her Door"



They got married early, never had much money
Then when he got laid off they really hit the skids
He started up his drinking, then they started fighting
He took it pretty badly, she took both the kids
She said: "I'm not standing by, to watch you slowly die
So watch me walking, out the door"
She said, "Shove it, Jack, I'm walking out the fucking door"

She went to her brother's, got a little bar work
He went to the Buttery, stayed about a year
Then he wrote a letter, said I want to see you
She thought he sounded better, she sent him up the fare
He was riding through the cane in the pouring rain
On Olympic to her door

He came in on a Sunday, every muscle aching
Walking in slow motion like he'd just been hit
Did they have a future? Would he know his children?
Could he make a picture and get them all to fit?
He was shaking in his seat riding through the streets
In a silvertop to her door