richard thompson
al bowlly's in heaven
Well we were heroes then, and the girls were all pretty And a uniform was a lucky charm, bought you the key to the city We used to dance the whole night through While Al Bowlly sang "The Very Thought Of You" Now Bowlly's in heaven and I'm in limbo now Well I gave my youth to king and country But what's my country done for me but sentenced me to misery I traded my helmet and my parachute For a pair of crutches and a demob suit Al Bowlly's in heaven and I'm in limbo now Hard times, hard hard times Hostels and missions and dosser's soup lines Can't close me eyes on a bench or a bed For the sound of some battle raging in my head Old friends, you lose so many You get run around, all over town The wear and the tear, oh it just drives you down St Mungo's with its dirty old sheets Beats standing all day down on Scarborough Street Al Bowlly's in heaven and I'm in limbo now Can't stay here, you got to foot-slog Once in a blue moon you might find a job Sleep in the rain, you sleep in the snow When the beds are all taken you've got nowhere to go Well I can see me now, I'm back there on the dance floor Oh with a blonde on me arm, red-head to spare Spit on my shoes and shine in me hair And there's Al Bowlly, he's up on a stand Oh that was a voice and that was a band Al Bowlly's in heaven and I'm in limbo now