Lyrics

An Acquaintance Of Mine
(words and music by Anthony John Clarke)
from the CD: 'An Acquaintance Of Mine'

lyrics mp3

Blame It On Dolores
(words and music by Anthony John Clarke)
from the CD: 'Man With A Red Guitar'

lyrics mp3

Easy Piano
(words and music by Anthony John Clarke)
from the CD: 'Just Bring Yourself'

lyrics mp3

If I'd Only Learned To Dance
(words and music by Anthony John Clarke)
from the CD: 'Just Bring Yourself'

lyrics mp3

Irish Eyes
(words and music by Anthony John Clarke)
from the CD's: 'Straight On - No Problem' and 'A Sideways Glance'

lyrics mp3

Of Course I Will
(words and music by Anthony John Clarke)
from the CD: 'An Acquaintance Of Mine'

lyrics mp3

One Night Stand
(words and music by Anthony John Clarke)
from the CD: 'Just Bring Yourself'

lyrics mp3

Tuesday Night Is Always Karaoke
(words and music by Anthony John Clarke)
from the CD's: 'Straight On - No Problem' and 'A Sideways Glance'

lyrics mp3

Acquaintance of Mine

He's out on the road now
A quarter past nine
His destination, some way down the line
He done his fair share of talking, his fair share of time
And he knows
As he kicks off the dust from the place he has been
A white car pulls over and as he bundles in
I see lines on his face
Grey hairs on his chin
And he knows

He's a winner, a loser, an acquaintance of mine
He's a page from her novel
She's the dust on his wine bottle
He's never early, he's rarely on time.....

He stops from his travels
A lonely hotel
Puts both suitcases down, gently rings on the bell
And the lady is smiling, she knows him so well
And he follows her in the hall
To where the carpets are faded and the windows are stained
The portraits are hung in Victorian frames
And he touches her face
As she whispers his name
And they know

He wakes in the morning
And she is still there
Hers shoes on the floor and her clothes on the chair
He tries hard not to wake her as he touches her hair
It's a though
The wall clock is broken so he keeps his own time
He knows that she loves him one day at a time
And her breathing is sweet love in a Burgundy wine
And they know
There is no need to speak out
There's no one else there
Alone words are only loose shapes in the air
And she may be be sleeping but at least
She is there
And they know...

Blame It On Dolores

I want to get this show on the road
But a few things held me up
Engine breakdown Newry, I nearly gave up
My shoes are leakin', my voice is creakin'
My girlfriend she just left me for some banker out in Peking
And as evenings go this ain't much
Of a Saturday night

But I blame it on Dolores
Even though she is not here
I blame it on Dolores
Though I've not seen her for years
I blame it on Dolores
Of the farewell flashing smile
If only she'd forgive me
I'd be alright

I'm on the ocean
Tonight the sea is rough
The bar room's full of truckers, boy those boys look tough
The boat's not handling, the crew is scrambling
Some big guys are gambling and some drunk is ramblin
And he's showin me beautiful photos
Of his beautiful wife

I wanna see that movie
The video don't work
I like to go out dancing but I burnt my dancing shirt
I'm feeling old and I think I've got a cold and
Round here they're far too old to rock and roll and they just turn
The radiator up and the radio down
Livin here is risky, the police are always busy, there's drugs on every schoolyard
And the kids like drinking whisky and the old men and women
They have to take a taxi to town

This morning's milk was missing
Your mother stole my gin.
I must have lost my keys last night cos the kids won't let me in
The television bores me,everyone ignores me
I walk into a bar and say hello and someone floors me
I stare about to find a friend but they've both left town
And your family didn't warn me when you went oriental
I've no wish to be vindictive or over-sentimental
But somebody come and pull me from this merry-go-round

But Then I'm Irish

I've been doing this for years now
I'd like to think that you could tell
This guitar is mine and it's paid for
And it serves me well
But I worry about those empty seats and if my albums do not sell
But that's not everything
And sometimes it all goes perfectly
And sometimes it all falls flat
Some people come for beers and jokes
But I don't get paid for that
I've yet to learn a single card trick, I can't pull rabbits from my hat
Because that's not everything
I once thought the stage was calling
One starlet gave me such a time
She dressed me up as a woman
And she helped me learn my lines
For one summer by the seaside, sweeping up and painting signs
And that's not everything
And then there's Irish music
My friends say I should play more
But there's no dance like De Danaan's "Ballroom"
There's no show like Christy Moore
I remember "She Moved Through The Fair" was like no song I'd heard before
It was everything

But then I'm Irish
And it's sometimes expected of you
"Hey don't play that fancy music! Sing us a rebel song!
Sing another Dublin song, play another Irish air
So we all can dance

So I've been doing this for years now
Do try to keep in touch.
As this troubadour grows older, he don't look like much
But if you listened to a song or two
I say thank you very much
That still means everything!!!!!

Easy Piano

You left the room so quietly
I thought I heard you whisper but I can't be sure
You spread our things so carefully, some mine some yours
You left the room so quietly
Is that you singing or the wind outside?
I can hear you - ah no - must be mistaken
It's just that sometimes I think you've only slipped away to hide
One more year you said then you'd leave and
perhaps get to spend a little more time with me
Write that book of yours and with luck volunteer
to keep all those little promises you promised me
The postman he still asks politely how I'm doing
I'm sure I saw some junk mail with your name on in his bag
And the dog still wonders where the hell you went to
And when her best friend's coming back

And here's that book of songs for Easy Piano
The bass guitar you had no time to play
That little snowy globe from rainy County Sligo
The one when you shake it, it plays
A picture of the island we never got to go to
The tape you made for me on Christmas Day
And that little garden bird still pecking at your window
Ah - you should have seen the way she looked at me today
That book of yours for Easy Piano
The hat you bought and wore on Saturdays
One cup, one saucer, one occasional table
The one you occasionally tried to throw away

For all those kisses that you never got to give me
And all those places you never ever got to go with me
And all those songs that you never got to sing with me (even once)
And all the words you never said
I'll keep that book of songs for Easy Piano
The bass guitar you had no time to play
That little snowy globe from rainy County Sligo
I still shake it, it plays

If I'd Only Learned To Dance

The bar was pretty early and storefronts, they were still lit up
I took the time to sit with you a while
You talked about those Dixie Chicks and movies from the sixties
You ordered some fruit relish on the side
I hung on every word that you said to me
I laughed at every joke and ordered beers
I didn't understand where you were coming from
But I really hoped you'd end up here

You looked up at the clock above the powder room
And you tapped your foot in time to Johnny's snare
The little mirror in your purse, you dropped it I caught it
You fixed your make up and combed your hair
One second you were sitting here and the next you were gone
He spun you round the floor without a care
I didn't exactly know where you were going to
But I really hoped to join you there

If I'd only learned to dance I could be loving you
If I'd only learned to dance we'd be away
If I'd only learned to dance you would be lying in these arms tonight
That'll have to wait another day

I've heard or so the story goes
If you shine the shoes and wear the clothes
And fix your hair back fine
The music slips into your soul, be it new age, waltzes, rock 'n' roll
Your body moves in time
I tell myself each morning well I'll do that
I tell myself one million times a day

If I'd only learned to dance I could be loving you
If I'd only learned to dance we'd be away
If I'd only learned to dance you would be lying in these arms tonight
That'll have to wait another day

Irish Eyes

John's family it was everything and the children were his life
And the neighbours always spoke of John so well
For once the cards stacked in his favour, and an offer came his way
Twenty pounds for one night's work he might as well
John drove his lorry down an empty road
From Carryduff through Saintfield, Tullymore
But they found poor John's body on the side of a lonely road
And the neighbours heard the police tap on the door

Well the police they took the phone call, said there'd been some mistake
And apologies were sent to all concerned
Two hooded men had stopped John's lorry on the side of a lonely road
But their bullet had been meant for someone else
John's family tried to understand it
And they prayed in church for strength to pull them through
But they'd been seeing lorries on the sides of the lonely roads
From 1969 to 92

CHORUS

This ain't no precious song about Ireland
So don't you dare mistake it
For the ones that you whistle when you're going home
It's not all leaving from some harbour
It's not all step into my parlour
Why should Irish eyes keep smiling through it all?

So there were investigations, five minutes on the news
And the mass card wore a picture of John's face
There was outrage, two letters in the paper
And both sides of the fence they sensed disgrace
And sure enough there were elections
Familiar cowboys tried to steal the show
Men spoke of changing attitudes while thirteen tired platitudes pushed
Hope and poor John's lorry off the road

CHORUS

IT WASN'T ME

It wasn't me who stood and watched you
Heading for a fall
It wasn't me who argued with his face against the wall
It wasn't me who smashed the glass
Broke your mandolin
It wasn't me who left you
It was him

It wasn't me who watched the laughter
Drip out of your smile
It wasn't me who gave an inch
And then demanded miles
It wasn't me who broke your heart
Left you paper thin
It wasn't me who left you It was him

And it wasn't me who said when you had heartache
Take a pill
It wasn't me who ordered steak
And couldn't pay the bill
It wasn't me who smashed the glass
Broke your mandolin
It wasn't me who left you
It was him

What a price to pay
Now he's out of the way
We all need shelter on a rainy day

It wasn't me who bought
A one-way ticket to your arms
It wasn't me who left you parked, unlocked
With no alarm
It wasn't me who kissed your sister
When the lights were dim
It wasn't me who left you
It was him.....

Of Course I Will

She had a stomach every bit as flat
As the table that she danced on
A tattoo just below the knee
She could whistle every tune
That I could pay for on the jukebox
And then she danced for me
She was looking for an Irish lover
With a twenty dollar bill
She asked me to show her the moon
I said 'Of course I will'

Perhaps I was mistaken
She was cold but I was taken in
By the way she looked at me
She sat by the piano
With a shot glass in her hand
And then she turned and spoke to me
She asked me if I knew 'OLD LOGAN'
I said I know him well
She asked me to show her the moon
I said 'Of course I will'

She moved on up on the piano stool
Inviting me to sit down onit
She said I just won this piano in a poker game
How'd ya like to be the first song I write on it?
I was her Irish lover I had a twenty dollar bill
She asked me to show her the moon
I said, 'Of course I will'

She said I made her smile
She let me stay with her a while
An old man called Michael let us in
She gave me tea, she gave me breakfast
A book about some captain's mandolin
I was her Irish lover with a twenty dollar bill
She asked me to show her the moon
I said, 'Of course I will'

One Night Stand

Damp dress don't stress stick it in the hot press
Let me take you dancing at a night club
Nice roots! Tight suit! Lose the purple high boots!
Shed a pound or two in the hot tub!
He said he'd come over but you knew he wouldn't make it
And you said he made you happy but I think you knew he faked it
It was always on a plate and all he had to do was take it
And he took it and he took it....

Tell me that he's just forgotten 'cos he's busy
And he'll call me up again some night
Tell me that he's flown away to Tokyo on business
For the most important meeting of his life
Tell me that he's lost the piece of paper that I slipped him
When he kissed me on the lips last night
Tell me that he thinks about me every single evening
When he stumbles into bed beside his wife

Great flat! Cool hat! Don't you have a cute cat
A little dry ginger if you fancy?
There's nothing on the TV, take the paper look and see!
I'll ring and book a table down at Nancy's
You only see a movie if Johnny Depp is in it
You buy yourself a new dress
Wear it once and then you bin it
You get your weekly ticket but you know you'll never win it
'Cos he took it and he took it....

Bring me toast and coffee every Sunday when I wake up
And I'll love you 'til the end of time
Let me wear your favourite yellow jumper when I want to
And I'll never tell your friends it's mine
Tell me that you meant the things you whispered to me sweetly
When you kissed me on the lips last night
And tell me that he thinks about me every single evening
When he stumbles into bed beside his wife

Got cash? Don't dash! Oooh the silver looks flash!
Brush a little bronzer on your neckline
Cab late? Why wait? Never starts 'til after eight
Give the boys a ring and tell them white wine

Saving The Best 'Til Last

Out to the west of Sligo, I just came down a mountainside
My head is sore and my bones are aching from the rain in the tent last night
My song is on the radio between Hey Jude and The Ace of Spades
The DJ does not seem to understand, she just talks hit parade
We give this guy a lift he says please don't do more than fifty
In the back he's looking shifty so we let him out
I'm staring at my watch and I make it nearly ten but then my watch is slow
The roads are getting busy a beer has made me dizzy
And the beer's not like the beer I know. It's kinda sweet and fizzy
We start goin round in circles and it's very clear to me
We don't know where to go

Hey not too fast
This rain won't last she said
I may be living in the past sometimes... but I'm savin it!!!!!!!!

I just crossed over the border, hey there's the Erne on the left hand side
And Ballyshannon is one hell of sight with its hydro-electric
We pull over for breakfast, eggs information please?
The waitress smiles and she is pretty. " Straight On No Problem"
The news is all of peacetalks and reconciliation
And the buzz word now is ceasefire, that's a novel situation.
Despite all that they've said there's still a checkpoint up ahead
The sign reads "Very Slow"
I wind my window down with identification
A young soldier lies down on the grass by a disused petrol station
We all agree it's one bad day and the policeman waves us on our way
And off we go

I count forty miles of motorway, right into Belfast
And it's not quite like I remember it but it's grand to see Goliath
And the old place
And there's the old bar in Belfast across from the Europa
Jesus that place has had some shakes in its day
But it's still standing

Hey not too fast
This rain won't last she said
I may be living in the past sometimes
But I'm saving the best 'til last

Seven In Ireland

Would you like to be seven in Ireland
Not know what's going on around
Fall asleep on a cool summer evening
Wake up with the sound of gunfire all around

Don't ask me what we're fighting for
Is it our home?
No we've got our home?
Then what are we fighting for?

I'm starting to get so frustrated
Yeah I'm getting real hung up about the way it's been
And my ma she says I'll be a little delinquint
When I grow up but that's ok by me

My brother he was lifted last Tuesday
So I asked my daddy if they'd come and lift me
I just wanted to know if he'd be returning
And whether or not he'd be back in time for tea

Because it's so crazy being seven in Ireland
Everyone in England looks so free
You don't need a police escort there
An I wish somebody could explain it all to me

Smooth Old Talk

I write songs about politicians
Corruption and sedition and my songs they tiptoe over the line
My literary ineptness, my political incorrectness
Mea Culpa all these songs they are mine,
And I may reach a crescendo with a little touch of innuendo
Or throw in an item of news.....
There'll be songs of deep depression at a Karaoke session
And I might write a song about you

CHORUS

But I want to know what brings you here tonight
I want ot know what brings you here tonight
You see I'm up here, you're over there
And you could be home in you easy chair
But I want to know what brings you here tonight
Was it some smooth old talk?
Did you just take the doggy for a big long walk
Or did you just sneak out behind your wife
(Oh no you would not do that)
(For the fifth time this week baby)
(We've got no words for this bit)

There'll be one for my friend Lorna
She lives just round the corner, now Lorna only ever listens to the Blues
And one for her friend in Chester, whose particular friend Lester
Has just left him to go back on the booze
This overweight musician, I'm an incompetent magician
I failed to saw my woman in two
While acting arty tarty at some late night tinkers' party
So I might write a song about you

Singing on Rathlin Island...
Being seven years old in Ireland and my one great vacation romance,
That time up in the cafe on the coast road when delicious Sister Mary Joseph
Sidled up to me and begged me for a dance
There was the pretty little acrobat, she gave me peppermint tea and a pretty little hat
And she did fifteen cartwheels on my floor
That's a topic none too cosy for a big drag queen called Rosie
Who's never heard her crowd call out for more

THAT'S LIFE

Dolores said she'd take me to the pictures
Guess what, she let me down.
She turned up late ,twenty five pat eight
I said we' never be in time for town
So she blamed her carburettor
She said, " I nearly killed a roller-blader
And like the hair on my head ,my patience was wearing thin.

CHORUS

She said,
" That's life, there's nothing you can do about it
That's life, pull up your chair don't bitch about it
That's life, there's nothing that's been said that ain't been said before"
She said, "That's life, sit back relax and take it easy
That's life, it's a breeze it's easy peazy
That's life, get off the blocks and take things slow.
I went to pick my kids form school
I was the only daddy there,
And the way those women they stared at me
I was anxious, I was scared.
The kids came out, they were overjoyed,
The teachers presuming I was unemployed,
And like the patches on their elbows
My patience was wearing thin.

CHORUS

What did you get for Christmas?
Did Santa come this year?
Did you get anything you needed
Or did you shoo that Christmas cheer? (screw)
I got some trousers, waist line "Equator!"
A coffee cup, no percolator,
One seriously sophisticated super calculator,
It had to go right back
Why don't you pick my shoes and socks up?
Scrub my kitchen floor?
Run for cover, here comes mother!
Slam my bedroom door!
Pump my wheels, click your heels , pay my bills , cook my meals
The diet's not working but my patience is wearing thin.

The Broken Years

The whole family's sitting watching TV
The only thing that makes them feel better
And no one plays the radio,
The news is always bad
The kids they been keeping daddy up all night
Rockin, rollin, shoutin, fightin,
Tomorrow is the marching season
We'll meet at the roundabout

I want to eat at the same table, break the same bread.
March down the same streets, hear the same bands.
Sing the same songs, say the same prayers
Together we can mend the broken years

Jimmy would get married in September
But first of all he had to write a letter
Requesting dispensation just to be with the girl he loved
And in the end hardly anybody came
Mother sighed and blamed it on the weather
Three cheers for the broken years

Conor's late for school again
He's out of work and running at the double
To get his education, he had to take the long way round
For he knew that if he stayed out on the main road
Chances are he'd run into some trouble
Three cheers for the broken years

With all those pretty colours on the pavement
The green and gold, red white and blue and all
And all the little broken shops and houses
With those badly spelt slogans on the wall
It's no wonder that everyone was leaving
It's no wonder at all at all at all
Three cheers for the broken years

The Only Life Gloria Knows

The smoke on the street from the hamburger stand is
Hurting her nose and her eyes
Each doorway's a bedroom for Gloria now and it's there
That one day she may die
She sells that paper but that ain't enough
And she sleeps every night in her clothes
Gloria's out on the street tonight, it's the only life Gloria knows

Drink and she'll dance for the men on her own
Or she'll go for a ride in their car
And the seat's nice and warm when you've stood for so long and those men
Ain't so bad before dark
But they never pay much and their touch is so rough
They say she's no life in her soul
Gloria's out on the street tonight, it's the only life Gloria knows

The days on the street wear the shoes from her feet and the wind
Puts a knife in her arm
She grabs at his throat and refuses a coat from a young man
Who means her no harm
She'll often chat if the kids will chat back
But most of her time she's alone
Gloria's out on the street tonight, it's the only life Gloria knows

She misses her brother can't speak to her mother since her own father
Told her to go
Evening is falling, she thinks about calling but something inside her
Says no!
She spends her loose change on a bottle again
Drinks it all down in one go
Gloria's out on the street tonight, it's the only life Gloria knows

And there'll be trouble in life between a husband a wife and the bad days
Can bring you both down
But be sure that you know where the little ones go and always have
Enough love to go round
Gloria sleeps in a doorway and the wind bites her fingers and toes
Gloria's out on the street tonight, it's the only life Gloria knows

Tuesday Night Is Always Karaoke

The wind blew so cold against the west coast of Ireland
That Rita would not go into the water
Picture the scene, mothers fathers ice-creams
Huddled round their little sons and daughters
The rain it cut right thru me , it kept on pouring down
I found myself a hotel bar on the harbour side of town
I said I'd play for nothing since the tourist was in town
But Tuesday night is always Karaoke

Oasis all the rage, young Dan from Cork he climbed on stage
He could hardly hold the mic for all that brandy
He intro'd far too late and poor old Sally had to wait and
Rita hollered that some words would come in handy
Fathers pushing mothers up against the microphone
Sisters goading brothers, "Won't you leave the lad alone"
And a priest from Knockaraha shook his head and headed home
Cos Tuesday night is always Karaoke

Jim sang Carrickfergus, with his eyes shut, lots of verses
And John well he passed out at the next table
Smokie Mud and Sweet with Guinness good enough to eat
Jim tried to sing in tune but was not able
People stood on chairs and tables rocking to them all
Knocking over nuns and children, laughing as they'd fall
And Sister Mary Joseph, she's the biggest drunk of all
Those singing nuns just love their Karaoke

Hectic and electric Kev said no cos he's dyslexic
A wee Sligo Susanne Vega sang Marlene
A coach load up from Galway clapped their tour guide singing My Way
We all did that silly dance in Macarena
Then the priest appeared from nowhere with those "Fields of Athenry"
And a Welshman murdered Vincent and American Pie
A fight broke out when someone said his levee must be dry
But no one really cares it's Karaoke

There were fiddlers from Rostrevor who drank so much they stayed for ever
And Sister Mary Joseph she just stood there screaming
She lifted up her skirt she grabbed the nearest priest she began to flirt
And the tour guide said hey Anthony John, "Am I dreaming?"
Then the police arrived in wagons like some extras from the Sting
They called for reinforcements and as all their mobile phones did ring
They shouted at her, "Hey sister Mary Joseph, do you know what time it is?"
She "No but you humm it and I'll sing"
Cos Tuesday Night is always Karaoke

There's only Karaoke up on Enniscrone
The whistles and the fiddles and the bodhrans stay at home
I never heard a single mandolin or an accordian drone
Cos Tuesday night is always Karaoke

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