Playlist Black 47

black 47 - wonderful life

Here I go out to sea again
The sunshine fills my hair
And dreams hang in the air

Gulls in the sky and in my blue eyes
You know it feels unfair
There's magic everywhere

Look at me standing
Here on my own again
Up straight in the sunshine

No need to run and hide
It's a wonderful, wonderful life
No need to laught and cry
It's a wonderful, wonderful life

Sun in your eyes
The heat is in your hair
They seem to hate you
Because you're there

And I need a friend
Oh, I need a friend
To make me happy
Not stand here on my own

Look at me standing
Here on my own again
Up straight in the sunshine

I need a friend
Oh, I need friend
To make me happy
Not so alone
Look at me here
Here on my own again
Up straight in the sunshine

black 47 - 40 shades of blue

Oh it's midnight on the Bowery and your feet are soakin' wet
And you've drank your last brass farthin'
You'd sell your soul for a cigarette
And the sounds from CBGBs are comfortin' to you
Then you think of the green fields of Ireland
And you feel 40 shades of blue
Ah you're back on the drink since September
And your head feels like a sieve
And you know that you're goin' from bad to worse
But you just don't give a shit
And the hymns from the Sally Army sound heavenly and true
Then you think of your friends and your family
And you feel 40 shades of blue
Ah you've got a great future behind you
But you're goin' nowhere fast Just up and down the Bowery from Canal Street to old St. Marks
And you wonder what she's up to now
Did she really find somebody new Ah how the hell could she just walk out like that
On your 40 shades of blue
And you wonder how it came to this
Was it always in the cards 'Cause workin' is for idiots And you loved the smell of bars
And the letters that you sent back home
Were full of all the things you'd done
But they don't say you're down there on Bleecker Street With your hand out on the bum
Now the dawn's comin' up on the Bowery
And you're heartsick and soakin' wet
With your tongue hangin' out for some Irish Rose
You'd sell your soul for a cigarette
And someday
I'm gonna give up this drinkin'
But then maybe someday
I'll win the lottery too
Then I'll go back home to old Wexford Town And paint her 40 shades off blue"

black 47 - american wake

Open up the door, she's standin' there
with the smile in her eyes but the grey in her hair
betrays the fact you strayed far from home
with your drinkin', your smokin', your whorin' around
sit down by the fire, put your feet on the grate
spend the night reminiscin' 'til the hour grows late
always remember at the end of the day...
you can always go home...you just can't stay.

then it's off to the pub for to see your old mates
ah, they all look older, but nothin' has changed
and you drink 'til you're nearly out of your head
"hey, what are yez all doin' snakin' off to bed?"
then you're outside her flat but she's no longer there
and the tears scald your eyes as you think of her hair
in the photo they sent you of her wedding day
you can always go home...you just can't stay.

then you see her at mass with the kids at her side
and it all comes back in the blink of an eye
the tears and the laughter, the love and the lies
and that dress she wore the night you said goodbye
then her husband says "it's good to have you back"
and she smiles for a moment and squeezes your hand
but you know what she's thinkin', she doesn't have to say
you can always go home...you just can't stay.

and you swear to yourself time and time again
it was all in the past, she don't mean anything
now your life is full of laughter and bars
what did you leave behind, just the sun...the moon...and thestars.

then it's up in the mornin' at the crack of dawn
with your stomach churnin', she says "c'mon now, sean,
you'll be late for the plane," but that crack in her voice
betrays the fact that you made your choice
a long time ago, now there's no turnin' back
cos last night you had your american wake
and the bells are still ringin', can't you hear what they say
you can always go home...you just can't stay.

say goodbye
say goodybe
say goodbye, in the wind and the pourin' rain...
one last drink
one last drink
one last drink at shannon airport, then you're outta here,
history around here, catch you again next year...
landin' at kennedy
landin'at kennedy
landin'at kennedy, all you feel is the pain,
but it's too late, cos last night you had, you had, you had your
american wake.

black 47 - black rose

Mr frankie diamond was my best friend
we were partners in a business down on c & 7th
nothin' ever got this good brother down
he was a real live wire in an electric town
frankie started hangin' with an uptown girl
a harlem lady in the social whirl
on saturday night he'd put on his best clothes
and go out steppin' with his black rose

now frankie went upstate for a couple of years
a guest of the nation and he was in tears
he called me up, he said "hey friend of mine
i got one favour to ask ya while i'm doin' my time

she's the queen of new york city
she bewitch all men soul
she the blood that flow right through me
so don't be messin' with my black rose
keep your hands off my black rose"

my black rosie, he don't own ya...

while frankie was upstate, his harlem girl
continued to spiral in her social whirl
so i paged her from my gig on east 7th
i said, "hey, babe, you doin' anythin' roundabout 11?"
she said "uh-uh" in her uptown voice
so we met at beiruit for cocktails and ice
when she crossed that room in her tight red dress
i wasn't thinkin' of frankie, I have to confess

she said "hey, best friend, let's go back to my place
i need to fix my mascara and remodel my face"
but it rained on the way back to her house
and when she closed the door she took off her blouse

she's the queen of new york city
she bewitch all men soul
next thing i know i'm whisperin' sweet nothin's
lyin' in bed with my black rose
i'm makin' love to my black..
my black rosie, he don't own ya
so stay with me tonight...

at nights i'd lie there and listen to her breathe
with the sweat on my brow, how could she sleep?
so deep, so sweet as calm as a rock
while i pushed back the seconds oozing from the clock...
now the letters i wrote frankie returned unread
the word leaked out i'd be better off dead
but in the crimson dawn, black rose would unfold
and drain all the poison from my soul...
drain me rosie...

now i'm standin' up here on forty deuce
another terminal man waitin' for his bus
here come frankie with his head all shaved
is that a piece in his pocket, or is it a blade?
now i'm lyin' face down in the terminal dirt
with a hole in my chest, but i don't feel no hurt
i don't wanna go to heaven, i been there before
just spent two years in paradise with my black rose...

she's the queen of New york city
she bewitch all men soul
when you go and find her body
bury me next to my black rose
still in love with my black rose
she's up in heaven now, my black rose
you won't be makin' love to my black...
my black rosie, he don't own ya...
so stay with me tonight, for the rest of your life...

roisin dhubh me no can get over you
a time is in me mind no matter what i do
roisin dhubh me no can get over you
now frankie comin' back and i know that i am through
mister frankie diamond tell me do the right thing
watch his girl while he away at sing sing
but me and rosie, we have a little fling
now frankie comin' home, wicked trouble it will bring...
wicked trouble it will bring...
lord have mercy!

black 47 - blood wedding

Carlita is waiting down on c & 9th
In mantilla and lace and her lover's knife
Cries out for revenge but she is silent like a stone
And beautiful in her widow's weeds i wait in the darkness
Forever now alone
Too late for any tear shedding
While his bride waits down on c & 9th for her blood wedding
Why did you have to go out tonight
With the full moon in scarlet
And his silver knife waiting for you
And the remains of your life
Ticking away like some pitiful clock
And i who could not even be called your wife
Safe and warm in your bedding
And you the bridegroom off on your way
To your blood wedding
And the ukranian ladies
Light candles in the street
Where his body lay bleeding
And the projects are silent
Bracing for the heat
That must come from his blood wedding
Carlita why do you hate me so much i long for your body i die for your touch on my burning skin
And the smell of your perfume will always remain on my bed
But i died every time you entered his room i could not let him go on living and now you wait down on c & 9th
Dying to celebrate my blood wedding i wait in the shadows of c & 9th
With my fingers caressing
His sacred knife you loved my body
But he loved my soul
You thought you knew me
But what do men know
Except my lover whose shape is etched in chalk on the street
Soon to be washed away by the rain
While you wait in the darkness dreading
The shock of my knife
At your blood wedding

black 47 - bobby sands mp

My name is bobby sands, mp
Born in the city of belfast
Divided by religion
I grew up fast

I was stabbed and i was spat upon
My family run out of its home
There was only one solution
Turn the whole system upside down

But the system had other ideas
I got lifted for carryin' a gun
In a trial without a jury
I got fourteen years from the judge

Screws beat me regularly
But they couldn't break me because
I had the love of my comrades
And a burnin' faith in my cause

Still i left a girl outside pregnant
Married her while on remand
Now i got a son and a pain in my heart
When he doesn't recognize his old man

Your soul's on ice oh oh oh oh
But they can't stop the desire
To break on out oh oh oh oh
When your heart is on fire

We wouldn't wear their convict clothes
So they stripped us to the bone
Threw in some threadbare blankets.....

And when they jeered us about our nakedness
As we slopped out down the halls
We wouldn't come out of their prison cells
We smeared shit on their prison walls

Stuck in an eight foot concrete box
With a bible, a mattress
And the threat of violence every day....

Can i make it through these fourteen years
Will my son remember my face
I don't blame her for the separation
But for christ's sake let him keep his name

Your soul's on ice oh oh oh oh
But they can't stop the desire
To break on out oh oh oh oh
When your heart is on fire

Five simple things we ask of them
Five simple things denied
But thatcher will not compromise....

I ask my mother's permission
To finally break her heart
We have come to a decision
......hunger strike

Three comrades starve behind me
I pray to god that my
Death will lead to compromise....

I can no longer see your face
My bones break through my skin
I'm goin' back to belfast city
You can't cage my spirit in

Your soul's on ice
But they can't stop the desire
To break on out
When your heart is on fire

Change
I remember you back in 1992
When they were putting us down
Trying to tramp us into the ground
You exploded like a flame in the night
With a righteous indignation
Told us "everything gonna be alright"

Change come slowly like the ocean
But it keep on comin' nonetheless
Take my hand, oh dear companion,
We may not find happiness
But peace and then some real contentment
And a measure of social justice
Oh change come slowly like the ocean
But they can't stop the tide
And they're never ever goin' to stop us

They've got the bullets and the guns
And the propaganda machine
All we ever had was an impossible dream
You stood tall as steel in the flaming night
Said "let us have no fear
The victors will be those who can the most endure

Sally came to me with flames in her eyes
And her long hair blowin' in the breeze
She said "dry up your tears, boy, we've been down too long
It's time we were up off our knees"

Oh the stars in the heavens are blazin' tonight
The moon she is glidin' on high
And the drum roll of liberty beats in my heart
As the warm winds of change blow by

Don't ask me to be a slave anymore
I couldn't be if i tried
For the pipes scream an anthem of hope in my heart
As the warm winds of change blow by

She moved like a ghost through the enemy lines
But her laugh was defiant and clear
She kissed me hard on the mouth and said "goodbye,
I'll love you forever, my dear"

black 47 - brooklyn girls

Standing in your hallway
Kiss your angel hair
Hear your old grandmother
Recite her immigrant prayer
If she knew what you had to do
She'd probably kill you first
But hold on, darlin, this time tomorrow
You'll be over the worst

Brooklyn girls just break your heart
Then they watch you fall apart
With their - incredible eyes
Moistened by the goodbyes
'til i forget all i ever learned
About those - crazy brooklyn girls

Now i'm on the sidewalk
Night lights up your room
Go down to the narrows
Watch the raging moon
Beam down on staten island
With its unforgiving sheen
And i'd give everything not to
Hemorrhage all of your dreams

The verazanno hangs like a string of pearls in the night
I'd steal them for you
Wear them tomorrow
Make everything be alright

black 47 - brooklyn goodbye

Josie, are you listenin', can you pull the veil apart
Is the circle still unbroken, can you touch my serpent heart
Is the light still in your window, the latch open on your door
Or does some stranger occupy my footprints on your floor
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye in the wind and the pourin' rain
Latino boys call out your name
Why can't you still be mine
Brooklyn, goodbye

Why did i ever leave you, was i clean out of my head
To rise up on that blue monday and quit your perfumed bed
Though it all made perfect sense, i was such a fool
To leave behind the one who loved me more than all the world

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye in the wind and the pourin' rain
Latino boys call out your name
It's getting harder to recall when you were mine
Brooklyn, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye,
I just can't deal with the way
Those bay ridge boys all know your game
Why can't you still be mine
Brooklyn, goodbye

Now the storm is over and the streets are sparkling clean
Do you sit upon your fire escape and read your mister greene
Though we did the best for everyone concerned
The price we paid cannot be measured in literary terms

Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye in the wind and the pourin' rain
Down on 47th, latino boys call out your name
It's getting harder to recall when you were mine
Brooklyn, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye,
I just can't deal with the way
Those bay ridge boys all know your game
Why can't you still be mine
Brooklyn, goodbye

black 47 - change

I remember you back in 1992
When they were putting us down
Trying to tramp us into the ground
You exploded like a flame in the night
With a righteous indignation
Told us "everything gonna be alright"

Change come slowly like the ocean
But it keep on comin' nonetheless
Take my hand, oh dear companion,
We may not find happiness
But peace and then some real contentment
And a measure of social justice
Oh change come slowly like the ocean
But they can't stop the tide
And they're never ever goin' to stop us

They've got the bullets and the guns
And the propaganda machine
All we ever had was an impossible dream
You stood tall as steel in the flaming night
Said "let us have no fear
The victors will be those who can the most endure

Sally came to me with flames in her eyes
And her long hair blowin' in the breeze
She said "dry up your tears, boy, we've been down too long
It's time we were up off our knees"

Oh the stars in the heavens are blazin' tonight
The moon she is glidin' on high
And the drum roll of liberty beats in my heart
As the warm winds of change blow by

Don't ask me to be a slave anymore
I couldn't be if i tried
For the pipes scream an anthem of hope in my heart
As the warm winds of change blow by

She moved like a ghost through the enemy lines
But her laugh was defiant and clear
She kissed me hard on the mouth and said "goodbye,
I'll love you forever, my dear"

black 47 - czechoslovakia

One bright and sunny mornin' down on avenue b
as i was returnin' home from a night of debauchery
i met me landlord boris, "yo," sez he,
"would ya ever go over to czechoslovakia,
marry me daughter for me?"

he waved a pistol and 5000 dollars in me face
"she better be a virgin, when she hits the states"
i told him i had some business with the pope in rome
so he threw in a ticket to italy on me way back home

would you ever go over to czechoslovakia, marry me daughter forme
she's the finest girl in prague, you'll ever see
her name is citizen gertie, a communist is she
she wants to come to america, be a capitalist like me

when i landed in slovakia, i drank a dozen pints
but when i caught a glimpse of gertie i nearly died of fright
she was 6 feet in her stockings, she viewed me with dismay
"is this the best they can do for me in the dear old usa?"

but despite me splittin' headache, i wooed her like a man
and very soon thereafter we were married in prague
i remembered boris' pistol and me vow of chastity
but when she pinned me to the bed that night, i gave upinstantly..

bright and early next mornin' i went to see the pope in rome
gertie left for america, make new york her home
she landed down on avenue b lookin' for a mansion grand
boris was drunk, the building stunk, the city was mad
she'd been had,
this was the height of depravity - not what she'd seen onmtv...

i wasn't farin' much better with the holy father in rome
some turkish wiseguy whacked him and he wasn't even at home
so i landed back in new york oh so sad
stared down the barrel of boris's gun, jeez was he ever mad
he accused me of buggerin' his daughter but to make mattersworse
she'd spent over 20 grand in macys and in saks
she sat there in her underwear, gave me a dirty wink
but when i thought about the credit cards me love began toshrink

so we drove her out to kennedy 14 trunks and all
and we said a prayer for the holy father back in rome
but as her plane rose over rockaway, boris he said to me
"would you ever go over to czechoslovakia and marry me daughterfor me..."

black 47 - danny boy

Danny came over to old new york
From bandon town in the county cork
He got a room on the avenue in woodside queens
And a job off the books doin' demolition
He was kind of different than everyone else oh he liked to hang out all by himself
Didn't hit those bars in sunnyside queens
Went straight into the village to check out the scene
One day on the job the foreman said
"hey danny boy we think you're a fag with your ponytail and that ring in your ear
Hey, we don't need no homos foulin' up the air"
Danny just smiled and picked up a 2 by 4
And he split that jerk from his jaw to his ear
Said "you can stick your job where the sun don't shine
But you're never gonna stop me bein' what i am, boy!"
Then he met a man down in sheridan square
They moved in together for a couple of years
Said it was the happiest he'd ever been
Doin' what he wanted and livin' his dream we used to drink together down on avenue b
One gray dawn he confessed to me
"love's the only thing that makes the world go round
And i'm never gonna see another sunset over sweet bandon town"
Last time i saw dan he was in a hospital bed
Two tubes hangin' out the nose of his head
But he smiled at me with them stone blue eyes
And he said, "hey, how you doin', guy?
I'm history 'round here in a couple of weeks
But i did what i wanted - i got no regrets
So, when you think of me crack a beer and smile
Hey, life's a bitch and then you die"
Oh danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are callin'
From glen to glen, and down the mountainside
The summer's gone and all the flowers are dyin'
'tis you, 'tis you, must go and i must bide
But come you back when summer's in the meadow
Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow
'tis i'll be there in sunshine or in shadow
Oh danny boy, oh danny boy, i love you so i love you so,
Danny boy, i love you so

black 47 - different drummer

Born on a black monday, me mother screamin' curses
me ould lad in the pub losin' money on the horses
me granny kicked in the door, said "get a job you bastard"
and i come rollin' into the world, a walkin' talkin' disaster

with a toot on the flute and a twiddle on the fiddle oh
music in me soul and a beat on me boombox oh
up down turn around and crash into the wall
dancin' to the beat of me own different drummer oh

at the age of 16 years i was apprenticed to a grocer
but they never knew me name, all they wanted was 'yes and nosir'
so i bought a cheap guitar, i learnt to write me poetry
and me and rock and roll set off to see the country

oh we played in pubs and dancehalls, we even played in brothels
i learned all about the good life through the ass end of abottle
i learned about love from many's the fine lady
but i was always searchin' for me one true darlin' baby

oh i searched from coast to coast from florida to canada
with me heart upon me sleeve screamin' out "hi, where are yeh"
til i went home with a six foot girl from the south side ofchicago
but it turned out she was a man, oh can you imagine thedisaster?

but the sweetest girl of all was from the state of california
oh she took me home to bed, kept me rockin til the mornin'
then the door came crashin' in, in the midst of me shenanigans
and her husband beat me up so bad, i'll never get it up again

oh i'm goin' back to brooklyn with me tail between me legs oh
i'm givin' up this rock and roll, 'tis far too dangerous workoh
stay at your steady jobs, me boys, get married and have babies
and keep the hell away from them california ladies

black 47 - downtown baghdad blues

Got a buddy in najaf, he?s playing it straight
Prays to the lord jesus christ every night
Got a homey in samarra goin? up the wall
Every time he hear an islamic prayer call
Me, i don?t care much for jesus or mohammed
They don?t stop bullets to the best of my knowledge
Later for the both of you, catch you in eternity
Hopefully, towards the end of this century

I didn?t want to come here, i didn?t get to choose,
I got the hup, two, three, four downtown baghdad blues.

I wish i was back home rootin? for the padres
?stead of dodgin? bullets from mookie el sadr
I wish i was back in the land of giuliani
Instead of takin? heat from ayatollah sistani
Don?t know what i?m doin,? but one thing is clear
Twenty years old, i can kill but i can?t buy a beer
Keep your head down, don?t get your brain cells fried
You?ll be home by christmas - dead or alive!

I wish i was back in the us of a
Instead dodgin? rockets in falluji-ay
There?s a lady with my tattoo on her so special
Dream of her and me out in the desert
She ridin? round in her daddy?s ford explorer
I?m kickin? in doors, hey, i thought this war was over
Got sand in my nose, sand in my eyes
But the sand can?t cover up the sights of a
Sniper with my number, got his finger on the trigger
Hope my baby?s okay, still waitin? for a letter
All i get are emails, so much unsaid
It?s hot here, baby, but it?s so cold inside my head.

Mission accomplished, yeah, up on deck
Got no armor for my humvee, left facin? this train wreck
Shia don?t like me, want islamic revolution
Sunni say civil war is part of the solution
Maybe someday there?ll be peace in fallujah
Mcdonald?s on the boulevard, cadillac cruisin?
I?m tryin? hard to keep this whole thing straight
But will someone tell me what am i doin? here in the first place?

black 47 - elvis murphy

I?ll never forget that day back in 1969
At my sister?s wedding reception
I was still wearing corduroy short pants
Hadn?t had my first erection
The band was playin? waltzes
The crowd was getting? bored
When this teddy boy materialized on the floor
He jumped up on the stage
Like a tiger from a cage
Yeah, he changed my whole life direction

Oh, elvis murphy, jailhouse rock knocked me out that day
And love me tender almost melted me away
And my blue suedes were here to stay
The crowd was goin? crazy, all dancin? and then
Hey, i knew i?d never be the same again.

When i left school, i got a job in a bank
Be a real successful person
I?d work all day in my three-piece suit
But at night i?d be guitar rehearsin?
My boss said ?young man, concentrate on your work!?
But elvis said ?hey, kid, i got this gig in hamburg
For fifty quid a week,? i was so thrilled i couldn?t speak
I told my boss to shove his dumb occupation.

I hear his song but i still think of you
Oh, man, i?d do anything just to have a drink with you
The way you moved and played your guitar
Oh, elvis baby, you just showed me the way.

The years flew past, some slow some fast
Many a short lived sensation
I got a job with a band in the states
Had to find my own generation
So, come on elvis don?t you be no square
Just ?cause you got six kids don?t mean
You don?t care
The sixties is gone but the party goes on
Rock ?n roll is your only salvation.

black 47 - fatima

Fatima rises at dawn
The hunger like a flame inside her
It's the feast of ramadan
And her father's been praying for hours
He wears his disapproval
In a silence, cold but hysterical
Saw her last night with that christian boy
And his world falls apart in america

Her mother fusses about
Her brother laughs in the kitchen
Then the phone explodes on the wall
Oh, my god, don't let it be michael
Her father's glare is like violence
Who else would break the tradition
Except someone who laughs at our holy ways
Tears us apart in america

Fatima, you're breaking his heart
He doesn't understand your dilemma
A girl becomes a woman alone
Those who love her
Can no longer help her
Why didn't they tell him back home
Things fall apart in america

Fatima picks up the phone
Michael is his usual hilarious
She listens in silence and wonders
Why american boys are oblivious
I love you but this is good-bye
There are too many rivers between us
Father, forgive me, you're right
Things fall apart in america

Fatima, you're breaking his heart
He doesn't understand your dilemma
A girl becomes a woman alone
Those who love her
Can no longer help her
And michael stares at the phone
As things fall apart in america

black 47