Music

Private Investigations

Private Investigations (2CD)

Released: Mercury/Warner Bros. (2005)

Private Investigations (2CD)

  • 1. Telegraph Road
    A long time ago came a man on a track
    walking thirty miles with a sack on his back
    and he put down his load where he thought it was the best
    he made a home in the wilderness
    he built a cabin and a winter store
    and he ploughed up the ground by the cold lake shore
    and the other travellers came riding down the track
    and they never went further and they never went back
    then came the churches then came the schools
    then came the lawyers then came the rules
    then came the trains and the trucks with their loads
    and the dirty old track was the telegraph road

    Then came the mines – then came the ore
    then there was the hard times then there was a war
    telegraph sang a song about the world outside
    telegraph road got so deep and so wide like a rolling river. . .

    And my radio says tonight it’s gonna freeze
    people driving home from the factories
    there’s six lanes of traffic
    three lanes moving slow. . .

    I used to like to go to work but they shut it down
    I’ve got a right to go to work but there’s no work here to be found
    yes and they say we’re gonna have to pay what’s owed
    we’re gonna have to reap from some seed that’s been sowed
    and the birds up on the wires and the telegraph poles
    they can always fly away from this rain and this cold
    you can hear them singing out their telegraph code
    all the way down the telegraph road

    You know I’d sooner forget but I remember those nights
    when life was just a bet on a race between the lights
    you had your head on my shoulder you had your hand in my hair
    now you act a little colder like you don’t seem to care. . .
    but believe in me baby and I’ll take you away
    from out of this darkness and into the day
    from these rivers of headlights these rivers of rain
    from the anger that lives on the streets with these names
    ‘cos I’ve run every red light on memory lane
    I’ve seen desperation explode into flames
    and I don’t wanna see it again. . .

    From all of these signs saying sorry but we’re closed
    all the way down the telegraph road
  • 2. Sultans Of Swing
    You get a shiver in the dark
    It’s raining in the park but meantime
    South of the river you stop and you hold everything
    A band is blowing Dixie double four time
    You feel all right when you hear that music ring

    You step inside but you don’t see too many faces
    Coming in out of the rain to hear the jazz go down
    Too much competition too many other places
    But not too many horns can make that sound
    Way on downsouth way on downsouth London town

    You check out Guitar George he knows all the chords
    Mind he’s strictly rhythm he doesn’t want to make it cry or sing
    And an old guitar is all he can afford
    When he gets up under the lights to play his thing

    And Harry doesn’t mind if he doesn’t make the scene
    He’s got a daytime job he’s doing alright
    He can play honky tonk just like anything
    Saving it up for Friday night
    With the Sultans with the Sultans of Swing

    And a crowd of young boys they’re fooling around in the corner
    Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles
    They don’t give a damn about any trumpet playing band
    It ain’t what they call rock and roll
    And the Sultans played Creole

    And then the man he steps right up to the microphone
    And says at last just as the time bell rings
    ‘Thank you goodnight now it’s time to go home’
    and he makes it fast with one more thing
    ‘We are the Sultans of Swing’
  • 3. Love Over Gold
    You walk out on the high wire
    you’re a dancer on thin ice
    you pay no heed to the danger
    and less to advice
    your footsteps are forbidden
    but with knowledge of your sin
    you throw your love to all the strangers
    and caution to the wind

    And you go dancing through doorways
    just to see what you will find
    leaving nothing to interfere
    with the crazy balance of your mind
    and when you finally reappear
    at the place where you came in
    you’ve thrown your love to all the strangers
    and caution to the wind

    It takes love over gold
    and mind over matter
    to do what you do that you must
    when the things that you hold
    can fall and be shattered
    or run through your fingers like dust
  • 4. Romeo And Juliet
    a lovestruck romeo sings a streetsusss serenade
    laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
    finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
    says something like you and me babe how about it?

    juliet says hey it’s romeo you nearly gimme a heart attack
    he’s underneath the window she’s singing hey la my boyfriend’s back
    you shouldn’t come around here singing up at people like that
    anyway what you gonna do about it?

    juliet the dice were loaded from the start
    and i bet and you exploded in my heart
    and i forget i forget the movie song
    when you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong juliet?

    come up on different streets they both were streets of shame
    both dirty both mean yes and the dream was just the same
    and i dreamed your dream for you and now your dream is real
    how can you look at me as if i was just another one of your deals?

    when you can fall for chains of silver you can fall for chains of gold
    you can fall for pretty strangers and the promises they hold
    you promised me everything you promised me thick and thin
    now you just says oh romeo yeah you know i used to have a scene with him

    juliet when we made love you used to cry
    you said i love you like the stars above i’ll love you till i die
    there’s a place for us you know the movie song
    when you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong juliet?

    i can’t do the talk like they talk on tv
    and i can’t do a love song like the way it’s meant to be
    i can’t do everything but i’d do anything for you
    i can’t do anything except be in love with you

    and all i do is miss you and the way we used to be
    all i do is keep the beat and bad company
    all i do is kiss you through the bars of a rhyme
    julie i’d do the stars with you any time

    juliet when we made love you used to cry
    you said i love you like the stars above i’ll love you till i die
    and there’s a place for us you know the movie song
    when you gonna realise it was just that the time was wrong juliet?
    a lovestruck romeo sings a streetsuss serenade
    laying everybody low with a lovesong that he made
    finds a convenient streetlight steps out of the shade
    says something like you and me babe how about it?
  • 5. Tunnel Of Love
    getting crazy on the waltzers but it’s the life that i choose
    sing about the sixblade sing about the switchback and a torture tattoo
    and i been riding on a ghost train where the cars they scream and slam
    and i don’t know where i’ll be tonight but i’d always tell you where i am

    in a screaming ring of faces i seen her standing in the light
    she had a ticket for the races just like me she was a victim of the night
    i put a hand upon the lever said let it rock and let it roll
    i had the one arm bandit fever there was an arrow through my heart and my soul

    and the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
    and i’m just high on the world
    come on and take a low ride with me girl
    on the tunnel of love

    it’s just the danger when you’re riding at your own risk
    she said you are the perfect stranger she said baby let’s keep it like this
    it’s just a cakewalk twisting baby step right up and say
    hey mister give me two give me two cos any two can play

    and the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
    and i’m just high on the world
    come on and take a low ride with me girl
    on the tunnel of love

    well it’s been money for muscle another whirligig
    money for muscle and another girl i dig
    another hustle just to make it big
    and rockaway rockaway

    and girl it looks so pretty to me just like it always did
    like the spanish city to me when we were kids
    oh girl it looks so pretty to me just like it always did
    like the spanish city to me when we were kids

    she took off a silver locket she said remember me by this
    she put her hand in my pocket i got a keepsake and a kiss
    and in the roar of dust and diesel i stood and watched her walk away
    i could have caught up with her easy enough but something must have made me stay

    and the big wheel keep on turning neon burning up above
    and i’m just high on the world
    come on and take a low ride with me girl
    on the tunnel of love

    and now i’m searching through these carousels and the carnival arcades
    searching everywhere from steeplechase to palisades
    in any shooting gallery where promises are made
    to rockaway rockaway from cullercoats and whitley bay out to rockaway

    and girl it looks so pretty to me like it always did
    like the spanish city to me when we were kids
    girl it looks so pretty to me like it always did
    like the spanish city to me when we were kids
  • 6. Private Investigations
    It’s a mystery to me – the game commences
    for the usual fee – plus expenses
    confidential information – it’s in a diary
    this is my investigation – it’s not a public inquiry

    I go checking out the reports – digging up the dirt
    you get to meet all sorts in this line of work
    treachery and treason – there’s always an excuse for it
    and when I find the reason I still can’t get used to it

    And what have you got at the end of the day?
    what have you got to take away?
    a bottle of whisky and a new set of lies
    blinds on the window and a pain behind the eyes

    Scarred for life – no compensation
    private investigations
  • 7. So Far Away
    Here I am again in this mean old town
    And you’re so far away from me
    And where are you when the sun goes down
    You’re so far away from me

    So far away from me
    So far I just can’t see
    So far away from me
    You’re so far away from me

    I’m tired of being in love and being all alone
    When you’re so far away from me
    I’m tired of making out on the telephone
    And you’re so far away from me

    So far away from me
    So far I just can’t see
    So far away from me
    You’re so far away from me

    I get so tired when I have to explain
    When you’re so far away from me
    See you been in the sun and I’ve been in the rain
    And you’re so far away from me

    So far away from me
    So far I just can’t see
    So far away from me
    You’re so far away from me
  • 8. Money For Nothing
    Now look at them yo-yo’s that’s the way you do it
    You play the guitar on the MTV
    That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
    Money for nothin’ and chicks for free
    Now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
    Lemme tell ya them guys ain’t dumb
    Maybe get a blister on your little finger
    Maybe get a blister on your thumb

    We gotta install microwave ovens
    Custom kitchen deliveries
    We gotta move these refrigerators
    We gotta move these colour TV’s

    See the little faggot with the earring and the makeup
    Yeah buddy that’s his own hair
    That little faggot got his own jet airplane
    That little faggot he’s a millionaire

    We gotta install microwave ovens
    Custom kitchens deliveries
    We gotta move these refrigerators
    We gotta move these colour TV’s

    I shoulda learned to play the guitar
    I shoulda learned to play them drums
    Look at that mama, she got it stickin’ in the camera
    Man we could have some fun
    And he’s up there, what’s that? Hawaiian noises?
    Bangin’ on the bongoes like a chimpanzee
    That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
    Get your money for nothin’ get your chicks for free

    We gotta install microwave ovens
    Custom kitchen deliveries
    We gotta move these refrigerators
    We gotta move these colour TV’s

    Lord now that ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
    You play the guitar on the MTV
    That ain’t workin’ that’s the way you do it
    Money for nothin’ and your chicks for free
    Money for nothin’ and chicks for free
  • 9. Brothers In Arms
    These mist covered mountains
    Are a home now for me
    But my home is the lowlands
    And always will be
    Some day you’ll return to
    Your valleys and your farms
    And you’ll no longer burn
    To be brothers in arms

    Through these fields of destruction
    Baptisms of fire
    I’ve watched all your suffering
    As the battles raged higher
    And though they did hurt me so bad
    In the fear and alarm
    You did not desert me
    My brothers in arms

    There’s so many different worlds
    So many different suns
    And we have just one world
    But we live in different ones

    Now the sun’s gone to hell
    And the moon’s riding high
    Let me bid you farewell
    Every man has to die
    But it’s written in the starlight
    And every line on your palm
    We’re fools to make war
    On our brothers in arms
  • 10. Walk Of Life
    Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
    Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
    Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
    Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
    He got the action, he got the motion
    Yeah the boy can play
    Dedication devotion
    Turning all the night time into the day

    He do the song about the sweet lovin’ woman
    He do the song about the knife
    He do the walk, he do the walk of life

    Here comes Johnny and he’ll tell you the story
    Hand me down my walkin’ shoes
    Here come Johnny with the power and the glory
    Backbeat the talkin’ blues
    He got the action, he got the motion
    Yeah the boy can play
    Dedication devotion
    Turning all the night time into the day

    He do the song about the sweet lovin’ woman
    He do the song about the knife
    He do the walk, he do the walk of life

    Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies
    Be-Bop-A-Lula, Baby What I Say
    Here comes Johnny singing I Gotta Woman
    Down in the tunnels, trying to make it pay
    He got the action, he got the motion
    Yeah the boy can play
    Dedication devotion
    Turning all the night time into the day

    And after all the violence and double talk
    There’s just a song in all the trouble and the strife
    You do the walk, you do the walk of life
  • 11. Your Latest Trick
    All the late night bargains have been struck
    Between the satin beaus and their belles
    And prehistoric garbage trucks
    Have the city to themselves
    Echoes roars dinosaurs
    They’re all doing the monster mash
    And most of the taxis and the whores
    Are only taking calls for cash

    I don’t know how it happened
    It all took place so quick
    But all I can do is hand it to you
    And your latest trick

    My door was standing open
    Security was laid back and lax
    But it was only my heart got broken
    You must have had a pass key made out of wax
    You played robbery with insolence
    And I played the blues in twelve bars down Lover’s Lane
    And you never did have the intelligence to use
    The twelve keys hanging off my chain

    I don’t know how it happened
    It all took place so quick
    But all I can do is hand it to you
    And your latest trick

    Now it’s past last call for alcohol
    Past recall has been here and gone
    The landlord finally paid us all
    The satin jazzmen have put away their horns
    And we’re standing outside of this wonderland
    Looking so bereaved and so bereft
    Like a Bowery bum when he finally understands
    The bottle’s empty and there’s nothing left

    I don’t know how it happened
    It was faster than the eye could flick
    But now all I can do is hand it to you
    And your latest trick
  • 12. Calling Elvis
    All the late night bargains have been struck
    Between the satin beaus and their belles
    And prehistoric garbage trucks
    Have the city to themselves
    Echoes roars dinosaurs
    They’re all doing the monster mash
    And most of the taxis and the whores
    Are only taking calls for cash

    I don’t know how it happened
    It all took place so quick
    But all I can do is hand it to you
    And your latest trick

    My door was standing open
    Security was laid back and lax
    But it was only my heart got broken
    You must have had a pass key made out of wax
    You played robbery with insolence
    And I played the blues in twelve bars down Lover’s Lane
    And you never did have the intelligence to use
    The twelve keys hanging off my chain

    I don’t know how it happened
    It all took place so quick
    But all I can do is hand it to you
    And your latest trick

    Now it’s past last call for alcohol
    Past recall has been here and gone
    The landlord finally paid us all
    The satin jazzmen have put away their horns
    And we’re standing outside of this wonderland
    Looking so bereaved and so bereft
    Like a Bowery bum when he finally understands
    The bottle’s empty and there’s nothing left

    I don’t know how it happened
    It was faster than the eye could flick
    But now all I can do is hand it to you
    And your latest trick
  • 13. On Every Street
    There’s gotta be a record of you someplace
    You gotta be on somebody’s books
    The lowdown – a picture of your face
    Your injured looks

    The sacred and profane
    The pleasure and the pain
    Somewhere your fingerprints remain concrete
    And it’s your face I’m looking for on every street

    A ladykiller – regulation tattoo
    Silver spurs on his heels
    Says – what can I tell you, as I’m standing next to you
    She threw herself under my wheels

    Oh it’s a dangerous road
    And a hazardous load
    And the fireworks over liberty explode in the heat
    And it’s your face I’m looking for on every street

    A three-chord symphony crashes into space
    The moon is hanging upside down
    I don’t know why it is I’m still on the case
    It’s a ravenous town

    And you still refuse to be traced
    Seems to me such a waste
    And every victory has a taste that’s bittersweet
    And it’s your face I’m looking for on every street
  • 14. Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)
    Instrumental
  • 15. Darling Pretty
    It’s time to come away, my darling pretty
    It’s time to come away on the changing tide
    Time to come away, darling pretty
    And I need you darling by my side

    Heal me with a smile, darling pretty
    Heal me with a smile and a heart of gold
    Carry me awhile, my darling pretty
    Heal my aching heart and soul

    Just like a castaway
    Lost upon an endless sea
    I saw you far away
    Come to rescue me

    Cast away the chains, darling pretty
    Cast away the chains away behind
    Take away my pain, my darling pretty
    And the chains that once were yours and mine

    There will come a day, darling pretty
    There will come a day when hearts can fly
    Love will find a way, my darling pretty
    Find a heaven for you and I

    Love will find a way, my darling pretty
    Find a heaven for you and I
  • 16. Long Road (Theme From Cal)
    Instrumental
  • 17. Why Aye Man
    We had no way of staying afloat
    We had to leave on the ferry boat
    Economic refugees
    On the run to Germany

    We had the back of Maggie’s hand
    Times were tough in Geordieland
    We got wor tools and working gear
    And humped it all from Newcastle to here

    Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
    Why aye man, why aye, why aye man

    We’re the nomad tribes, travelling boys
    In the dust and dirt and the racket and the noise
    Drills and hammers, diggers and picks
    Mixing concrete, laying bricks

    There’s English, Irish, Scots, the lot
    United nation’s what we’ve got
    Brickies, chippies, every trade
    German building, British-made

    Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
    Why aye man, why aye, why aye man

    Nae more work on Maggie’s farm
    Hadaway down the autobahn
    Mine’s a portacabin bed
    Or a bunk in a nissen hut instead

    There’s plenty deutschmarks here to earn
    And german tarts are wunderschoen
    German beer is chemical-free
    Germany’s alreet with me

    Sometimes I miss my river tyne
    But you’re my pretty fraulein
    Tonight we’ll drink the old town dry
    Keep wor spirit levels high

    Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
    Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
  • 18. Sailing to Philadelphia
    I am Jeremiah Dixon
    I am a Geordie Boy
    A glass of wine with you, sir
    And the ladies I’ll enjoy

    All Durham and Northumberland
    Is measured up by my own hand
    It was my fate from birth
    To make my mark upon the earth…

    He calls me Charlie Mason
    A stargazer am I
    It seems that I was born
    To chart the evening sky

    They’d cut me out for baking bread
    But I had other dreams instead
    This baker’s boy from the west country
    Would join the Royal Society…

    We are sailing to Philadelphia
    A world away from the coaly Tyne
    Sailing to Philadelphia
    To draw the line
    The Mason-Dixon line

    Now you’re a good surveyor, Dixon
    But I swear you’ll make me mad
    The West will kill us both
    You gullible Geordie lad

    You talk of liberty
    How can America be free
    A Geordie and a baker’s boy
    In the forest of the Iroquois…

    Now hold your head up, Mason
    See America lies there
    The morning tide has raised
    The capes of Delaware

    Come up and feel the sun
    A new morning is begun
    Another day will make it clear
    Why your stars should guide us here…

    We are sailing to Philadelphia
    A world away from the coaly Tyne
    Sailing to Philadelphia
    To draw the line
    The Mason-Dixon line
  • 19. What It Is
    The drinking dens are spilling out
    There’s staggering in the square
    There’s lads and lasses falling about
    And a crackling in the air

    Down around the dungeon doors
    The shelters and the queues
    Everybody’s looking for
    Somebody’s arms to fall into

    And it’s what it is
    It’s what it is now

    There’s frost on the graves and the monuments
    But the taverns are warm in town
    People curse the government
    And shovel hot food down

    The lights are out in city hall
    The castle and the keep
    The moon shines down upon it all
    The legless and asleep

    And it’s cold on the tollgate
    With the wagons creeping through
    Cold on the tollgate
    God knows what I could do with you

    And it’s what it is
    It’s what it is now

    The garrison sleeps in the citadel
    With the ghosts and the ancient stones
    High up on the parapet
    A Scottish piper stands alone

    And high on the wind
    The highland drums begin to roll
    And something from the past just comes
    And stares into my soul

    And it’s cold on the tollgate
    With the Caledonian Blues
    Cold on the tollgate
    God knows what I could do with you

    And it’s what it is
    It’s what it is now
    What it is
    It’s what it is now

    There’s a chink of light, there’s a burning wick
    There’s a lantern in the tower
    Wee Willie Winkie with a candlestick
    Still writing songs in the wee, wee hours

    On Charlotte Street I take
    A walking stick from my hotel
    The ghost of Dirty Dick
    Is still in search of Little Nell

    And it’s what it is
    It’s what it is now
    Oh it’s what it is
    What it is now
  • 20. The Trawlerman’s Song
    We’re taking on water
    Diesel and stores
    Laying up awhile
    Before I’m back on board
    They’re patching her up
    To go fishing again
    They’re welding her rudder
    Scrubbing her keel
    Scars on her belly
    Need time to heal

    In the dock
    With the trawlermen I know all the people
    There’s nobody new
    Soon we’ll be leaving
    With the same old crew
    On the green water
    The tumbling sea
    They ain’t running
    Like the good old days
    Time’s just slipping
    Down the old slipways

    In the dock
    So dear to me
    Dark is the night
    I need a guiding light
    To keep me
    From foundering
    On the rocks
    My only prayer
    Is just to see you there
    At the end
    Of my wandering
    Back in the dock

    I could use a layoff
    Getting my strength back
    But there’s a loan to pay off
    And a few skipjack
    So it’s a turnaround
    Back in the southerly wind
    Pirates coming in
    To steal our gold
    You can count yourself lucky
    With a profit in the hold

    In the dock
    When we come in
    Dark is the night
    I need a guiding light
    To keep me
    From foundering
    On the rocks
    My only prayer
    Is just to see you there
    At the end
    Of my wandering
    Back in the dock
  • 21. Boom, Like That
    I’m going to San Bernardino
    Ring-A-Ding-Ding
    Milkshake mixers that’s my thing now
    These guys bought a heap of my stuff
    And I gotta see a good thing sure enough now
    Or my name’s not Kroc,
    that’s Kroc with a K
    Like crocodile but not spelled that way now
    It’s Dog eat dog, rat eat rat
    Kroc style
    Boom, like that

    Folks line up all down the street
    Now I am seeing this girl devour her meat now
    And then I get it, Wham
    As clear as day
    My pulse begins to hammer
    And I hear a voice say:
    ‘These boys have got this down
    Oughtta to be a one of these in every town’
    ‘These boys have got the touch
    It’s clean as a whistle and it don’t cost much
    Wham bam you don’t wait long,
    shake, fries patty, you’re gone
    How about that friendly name
    heck, every little thing oughtta stay the same’

    Or my name’s not Kroc,
    that’s Kroc with a K
    Like crocodile but not spelled that way now
    It’s Dog eat dog, rat eat rat
    It’s Dog eat dog, rat eat rat
    Kroc style
    Boom like that

    You gentlemen ought to expand
    You’re gonna need a helping hand, now
    So gentlemen well, what about me?
    We’ll make a little business history now
    Or my name’s not Kroc,
    Call me Ray
    Like crocodile but not spelled that way now
    It’s Dog eat dog, rat eat rat
    Kroc style
    Boom like that

    Well we build it up and I buy ‘em out
    But man they made me grind it out now
    They open up a new place flipping meat
    So I do too, right across the street
    I got the name I need the town,
    they sell up in the end and it all shuts down
    Sometimes you gotta be an S.O.B.
    You wanna make a dream reality
    Competition send ‘em south,
    If they’re gonna drown put a hose in their mouth
    Do not pass ‘go’ go straight to hell
    I smell that meat hook smell

    Or my name’s not Kroc
    that’s Kroc with a K
    Like crocodile but not spelled that way, now
    Ohh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat
    Dog eat dog, rat eat rat now
    Ohh it’s dog eat dog, rat eat rat
    Kroc style – Boom like that

  • 22. All The Roadrunning
    A million miles our vagabond wheels
    Clocked up beneath the clouds
    They’re counting down to show time
    When we do it for real with the crowds
    Air miles are owing but they don’t come for free
    And they don’t give you any for pain
    But if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    The rim shots come down like cannon fire
    And thunder off the wall
    There’s a man in every corner
    And each one is giving his all
    But this is my piper and this is my drum
    So you never will hear me complain
    And if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    All the roadrunning
    All the roadrunning

    Well if you’re inclined to go up on the wall
    It can only be fast and high
    And those who don’t like the danger soon
    Find something different to try
    And when there is only a ring in your ears
    And en echo down memory lane
    Then if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    All the roadrunning
    All the roadrunning

    The show’s packing up, I sit and watch
    The carnival leaving town
    And there’s no pretending that I’m not a fool
    For riding around and around
    Like the pictures you keep of your old wall of death
    You showed me one time on a plane
    But if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    I’ve a million miles of vagabond sky
    Clocked up above the clouds
    I’m still your man for the roaming
    For as long as there’s roaming allowed
    There’ll be a rider and there’ll be a wall
    As long as the dreamer remains
    And if it’s all for nothing
    All the roadrunning has been in vain

    All the roadrunning
    All the roadrunning