Get all 4 John Wilkins releases available on Bandcamp.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of king of the past, Sing Like A Fat Man, The Bygones of Pasty Town, and Odd Cowboy.
1. |
sweet 02 fiesta
03:59
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Sweet 02 Fiesta
The tyres are bald
and the brakes are worn
the tank's run dry
and the seats are torn
if you're driving this year's model
you don't even kmow you're born
sweet 02 fiesta, sweet 02 fiesta
on the street where the chrome don't shine
02 fiesta of mine
hitting nought to fifty
in under sixty years
half a million on the clock
and five disraeli gears
if you're driving this year's model
then you know why the end is near
sweet 02 fiesta, sweet 02 fiesta
on the street where the chrome don't shine
02 fiesta of mine
lord have mercy I'm thirteen payments behind
I'm out of warranty and parts are hard to find
at the end of the road
on the street where the chrome don't shine
02 fiesta of mine
hear you begging 'wash me'
in the tailgate dust
I was bound for glory
til the satnav bust
could've had any colour, but now its just a shade of rust
sweet 02 fiesta, sweet 02 fiesta
on the street where the chrome don't shine
02 fiesta of mine
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2. |
I like chicken pie
04:24
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Chicken Pie
I went up on the mountain just to give my horn a blow
thought I heard a pretty girl saying 'yonder goes my beau'
well a chicken crows at midnight, and a chicken crows all day
down come an owl and 'for you know it stole my chicken away
the hardest work that ever I done was ploughing a field of rye
the easiest job that ever I done was eating chicken pie
it was chicken pie for breakfast, chicken pie for tea
chicken pie for suppertime, chicken pie for me
crow black chick crow all day
crow black chicken fly away
crow black chicken, did I say
I like chicken pie
I went down to the farmyard just to get myself a goose
'cos when you're making chicken pie, a parrot ain't no use
that parrot talks all nighttime, and that parrot talks all day
won't somebody give me some peace and haul that parrot away?
You can call my turkey Bernard
and my darling Clementine
you can call me Ishmael if you like
but that chicken pie is mine
crow black chick crow all day
crow black chicken fly away
crow black chicken, did I say
I like chicken pie
had a bird that whistled, had a bird that sings
now I got me a pie with pastry, and beak and feathers and wings
crow black chick crow all day
crow black chicken fly away
crow black chicken, did I say
I like chicken pie
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3. |
king of the past
05:44
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King of the Past
lately she's been struggling to remember
what's his name, whenever they're apart
he used to be the number one contender
he was the king of her heart
lately he's remembering his prayers
the future has been preying on his mind
what if things don't turn out any better, next time
these days of yours you're sure they're gonna last
turn around you'll find, find you're the king of the past
Frankie says there's no time like tomorrow
says the future's gonna be a blast
I was born in time to see, the end of history
I'm the king of the past
lords of creation, made a bigger splash
but who'd have thought we'd blow the whole stash
and where did it go so fast?
Wish I had a gift that I could leave you
not just these wide oceans choked with trash
there ain't no future left to borrow
so good luck with tomorrow
from the king of the past
these days of yours you're sure they're gonna last
turn around you'll find, find you're the king of the past
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4. |
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Burning to the Ground
she was a devotee of the haute cuisine
I was big on the all day breakfast scene
she settled on me like a cool mountain dew
on a half empty can of special brew
we argued I remember why
we took it in turn to see eye to eye
we were getting along like a house on fire
burning down to the ground
she was a parton of the performing arts
I enjoyed the occasional game of darts
she was a friend of Satre and Camus
I was partial to a spot of five a side too
I liked the wind blowing in the wires
she like the sound of a male voice choir
we were getting along like a house on fire
burning down to the ground
sometimes things they just ain't meant to be
you could call that incompatibilty
she was the brightest spark in the mix and match
I was a qualified pyromaniac
we heard the king singing 'love me tinder'
I said ' you shall be going to the ball, Cinders'
and if them slippers ain't too tight
we'll be dancing under the moon tonight
we'll be getting along like a house alight
burning down to the ground
sometimes things they just ain't meant to be
you could call that incompatibilty
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5. |
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Loners Need to Stick Together
saw you down at the celebrations, stoney faced in the laughing crowd
recognised a fellow traveller, a ray of sunshine between the clouds
saw the message on your T shirt, 'what you staring at down here?'
'reading this you're much too close', 'mess with me it'll cost you dear'
and they're marching up with their big ideas
marching up with their torchlight games
looking for someone just a little bit different
looking for someone to take the blame
loners need to stick together, no-one else is gonna give a damn
I'll be waiting for you back at the safe house, only you know who I am
they found the pistol you hid in the library, behind the history of the rise and fall
that gun's as dangerous as a little learning
but it ain't as dangerous as no learning at all
and they're marching up with their big ideas
marching up with their torchlight games
looking for someone just a little bit different
looking for someone to take the blame
loners need to stick together, no-one else is gonna give a damn
I'll be waiting for you back at the safe house, only you know who I am
stocking up on fertiliser, passports under assorted names
come the day when they come calling
you'll hear it blow twenty miles away
and they're marching up with their big ideas
marching up with their torchlight games
looking for someone just a little bit different
looking for someone to take the blame
loners need to stick together, no-one else is gonna give a damn
I'll be waiting for you back at the safe house, only you know who I am
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6. |
ask for directions
05:18
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Ask for Directions
Don't call the doctor, I'm ready to be born
the waters are receding, I can see the crack of dawn
don't try to ruch me, 'cos I weren't born yesterday
I was not born yesterday
time was my teacher, there were lessons to be learned
irons to go in the fire, and bridges to be burned
there were mountains to climbed and corners to be turned
there were corners to be turned
early in the morning when I'm lying in my bed
numbers rolling round and round in the space inside my head
Jesus was my saviour, but the devil was my friend
that devil was my friend
don't call the police 'cos I ain't done nothing bad
can't even remember the last good time that I had
some of us are guilty and some are just born bad
some of us are just born bad
where the hell I'm heading the devil only knows
maybe down the swannee with the other so-and-so's
ask for directions, he'll tell you where to go
he'll tell you where to go
pray for me daddy, to the spirit in the sky
I've blown it alll this time around, but the second coming's nigh
I can whistle Dixie, but I don't know the Messiah
can't handle the Messiah
where the hell I'm heading the devil only knows
maybe down the swannee with the other so-and-so's
ask for directions, he'll telll you where to go
he'll tell you where to go
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7. |
it's a mystery to me
06:06
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The Iguana Lounge
the iguana lounge was empty,I was drinking 'cos I could
on the jukebox something 'bout a worried mind
I was thinking 'bout my daddy, he's been gone these thirty years
and the cigarettes that he went out to find
I been searching for directions, in a land that's strange but near
where they do things kind of different I believe
'what's the shortest route to heaven, can you tell me, daddy dear?'
'all I know, son, is I wouldn't start from hear.'
'cos these lips, they might be lying, and these hands might need to steal
if this heart is just for breaking
then the world it's a mystery to me
been no rain since mama's funeral, and the river's ceased to flow
so we're packiong up for somewhere we ain't known
and they'll meet us at the border, their knuckles white with fear
'keep on walking boys, there ain't nothing for you here'
'cos these lips they don't do welcomes
and these hands ain't made to give
if this heart ain't made for sharing
then the world its a mystery to me
ain't your brother, ain't your cousin
ain't your kin, ain't family
and a stranger on his knees is still a stranger
and the world it's a mystery to me
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8. |
blood on the slacks
05:06
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Blood on the slacks
old man, alone in the park, faded union jack
one eye on the streets turning dark, stepping between the cracks
lifetime of struggle, lifetime of debt, lifetime of taking crap
prisoner of memory like a starving dog, with his leg in a steel sprung trap
sweat on the collar, mud on the boots, maybe blood on the slacks
how much history can an old man recall
before his belt and braces snap?
DM's and a stayprest days, oxblood graduate
kick a boy to death for growing his hair, that's how things were them days
NF and s BMP, skins for evermore
britons never shall be free, let me show you the door
sweat on the collar, mud on the boots, maybe blood on the slacks
how much history can an old man recall
before his belt and braces snap?
Exiled in the here and now, from a foreign land
they do things different from the then and there, you wouldn't understand
times change, and sometimes they don't
then they stay the same
people change, and sometimes they won't
they just play their games
sweat on the collar, mud on the boots, maybe blood on the slacks
how much history can an old man recall
before his belt and braces snap?
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9. |
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The World might not be Saved
I believe I carry the mark of Cain
believe that someday I might be sane
but I'm doing the same thing again and again
believing someday the world might change
sun come up every break of day
poor old sun, you know he must be crazy
'cos every night the darkness falls
daylight don't change nothing at all
and all the promises that we made
if end to end we had 'em laid
they'd reach to the moon and back again
and the world might not be saved, the world might not be saved
chasing heaven for heaven's sake
every hour we're awake
except of course the seventh day
when our weary heads we lay
and dream the empty hours away
pouring all our hard earned gain s
we're just pouring 'em down that red red lane
like the world might not be saved
and all the promises that we made
if end to end we had 'em laid
they'd reach to the moon and back again
and the world might not be saved, the world might not be saved
ride that train to the end of the line
747 to the edge of the sky
yellow cortina down on nostalgia drive
running the red lights and give way signs
I walk on by with my feet of clay
all this was new once but it had to change
I'd have let it be if I'd a had my way
now the world might not be saved
and all the promises that we made
if end to end we had 'em laid
they'd reach to the moon and back again
and the world might not be saved, the world might not be saved
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10. |
best left unspoken
04:00
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Best Left Unspoken
all week long it's rained across the border
waters are rising up to the door
Noah left a message on God's number
we won't ne needing that boat no more
take to the high ground, there's no time to pack
yesterday's rainbows are fading to black
promised, then taken back
who will unbreak the day once the dawn has cracked
a hot wind has been blowing through the treetops
causing the wisdom of ages to fall
some say that it's just the seasons turning
some say we build ourselves a wall
build it high and we'll build it wide
keep that awkward truth outside
hear them crackers lie, they'll try to tell you its dark when it's broad daylight
there are words best left unspoken
while the roadside poppies bloom red
you'd as soon mend the dawn once it's broken
as you'd take back a word once it's said
some of us ain't got no conversation, natural strangers to repartee
ain't got much to say 'bout what we're thinking
and even less about howwe feel
no need to own up, we just confess
we've no desire to get things off our chest
schtum is what we do best
who will unbreak the eggs, once the bird's left the nest
there are words best left unspoken
while the roadside poppies bloom red
you'd as soon mend the dawn once it's broken
as you'd take back a word once it's said
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John Wilkins England, UK
The recordings on this site are all of my own material.
Many thanks to Jimmy Smith, John Timney, Stephen Cunningham
for their help with the various recordings, and Georges Shovlin and Lamb, and Don and Jimm for their tireless work on open mic sessions where most of this material has been first aired. Also to the too many to mention friends and supporters over the years.
... more
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