Music

Private Investigations

Private Investigations

Released: Mercury (2005)

Private Investigations

  • 1. 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’
  • 2. 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
  • 3. 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?
  • 4. 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
  • 5. 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
  • 6. 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
  • 7. 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
  • 8. 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
  • 9. 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
  • 10. Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)
    Instrumental
  • 11. 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
  • 12. 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, yeah
    it’s dog eat dog
    rat eat rat
    kroc-style
    boom, like that

    the folks line up
    all down the street
    and i'm 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
    and 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
    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
    it’s dog eat dog
    rat eat rat
    kroc-style
    boom, like that
  • 13. 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

    ADDITIONAL MUSICIANS
    Aubrey Haynie: violin
  • 14. 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, 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 an 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
    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
    and 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