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Thin Lizzy - Thin Lizzy lyrics



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01. The Friendly Ranger At Clontarf Castle

Lyrics by Eric Bell, Phil Lynott
The friendly ranger paused
And scooping a bowl of beans
Spreading them like stars
Falling like justice on different scenes

I'm damned
Indeed, comrade
I'm being bombed
And all the people's faces turned strawberry blonde

By the morning gate the friendly ranger waits
For the sun making sure it's not late
Just in time no need to fear well, just in case
And all the people are happy for another year

And in the evening shade he climbs upon the sun
Getting it's glow
He goes on
Singing this song

To feel the goodness glowing inside
To walk down a street with my arms about your hips, side by side
To play with a sad eyed child till he smiles
To look at a starry sky at night, realize the miles

To see the sun set behind the steeple
Clontarf castle, no king, queen or knightly people
A coal fire and it's pouring rain
To wave goodbye to a very good friend, never meet again
Little thoughts bring little memories of you to me

02. Honesty Is No Excuse

Lyrics by Lynott
Up till now I used to pass my time
Drinking beer so slowly, sometimes wine
No god, air, water or sunshine
And honesty was my only excuse
I took your love and I used it

Up till now my youthful stage
A useless rage, a torn out page, a worn out gauge
A dirty shade, a big charade, a has been made
And honesty was my only excuse
I took your love and I used it

I never, I never, I never

Up till now my love life
A few sweet kisses, a little missus, a fork and knife
A happy home, a hand to hold, a land to roam
And honesty was my only excuse
I took my life in my own hands and I abused it

Up till now I used to tap dance
Take a girl by the hand saying I need your , I need your romance
Oh I had so many chances
And honesty was my only excuse
I took your love and abused it

Up till now the path of life was fair enough
Enough was fair, all was right
And now I know, I see the light
And honesty was my only excuse

03. Diddy Levine

Lyrics by Lynott
In the later forties
When diddy levine lived with eunice king
He gave her the ring that she wore

Janice the smiling daughter
Who came from a marriage way before
But eunice was the father that she always saw

Though they never never never never told her
She always knew the score
You see kids were so much wiser after the wars

But diddy hadn't have enough
She had to get some more
On a ration piece of paper, she wrote eunice, I'm not sure

And with her child in her arms
She went looking for a fling
Besides, she didn't like the name mrs. king

The first time that she heard damper dan
Was on the radio
Crooning at a volume that was way, way down low

Diddy was surprised to hear that damper's name was dan
Soon after he was a calling
And he asked, begged and pleaded for her hand

Damper's heart was dampened
When diddy answered no, no, no, no, no
But if she changed her mind, she said dan, I'll let you know

With her child in her arms
She went looking for man
Besides, she didn't like the name damper dan

Janice the smiling daughter grew up to be a teenage queen
Through all of her mother's lovers
She kept the name levine

Behind the picture house she first made her scene
With a boy called allister
Who was dating a friend called celine

And celine wasn't mad when janice came in between
But allister got scared when he heard
And he joined the usa marines

Inheritance, you see, runs through every family
Who is to say what is to be is any better
Over and over it goes, goodness and badness winds blow

Over and over, over and over
Over and over and over and over and over and over and over
The good and the bad winds blow

04. Ray Gun

Lyrics by Eric Bell
I know someone
Who doesn't believe in god
Someone I know doesn't even know god

He came from a planet three thousand miles away
Just a short trip
A kind of brief holiday

Can you give someone somewhere to stay
I gotta warn you, he's gotta gun
I gotta warn you, he's gotta gun

I know someone who came on a short trip
Travelling lightly
Travelling by spaceship

He came from a planet three thousand miles away
Can you give someone somewhere to stay
I gotta warn you, he's gotta gun

Please look out woman
A ray gun!

05. Look What The Wind Blew In

Lyrics by Lynott
In the dismal darkness
I have sat and gazed, amazed
At the blazing factories

Like the lonely man
Who stands on the seashore
And I am afraid

As weary as I am
I try
I seem to see that things look ok

Run, run in your skin
Look what the wind just blew in

Many lovely ladies
I have felt, touched
And I was not afraid

I took them out dancing
Out romancing
And I was not afriad

Then somewhere from the north
This gale I knew just flew in
And I am afraid

Run, run in your skin
Look what the wind just blew in

Run, run in your skin
Look what the wind just blew in

Run, you got to run in your skin
Look what the wind just blew in

Look what the wind just blew in
You got to look what the wind just blew in
You got to look what the wind just blew in

06. Eire

Lyrics by Lynott
In the land of eireann
Sat the high king
Faced with the problems
The dreaded vikings

Gather all the men folk
Speaking the celtic tongue
The land is eireann
The land is young

Stands red o'donnell
Fighting the saxon foe
With hugh o'neil
Oh

All along the north land
They fight bitterly
The land is eireann
The land is free

07. Return Of The Farmer's Son

Lyrics by Brian Downey, Lynott
Well my father is a farmer
A damn good one at his trade
And he's always loved my mama
Though we laid her in the grave

I've been down, I've been down
A hustler and a cheat
I'll always love my father
His kind heart can't be beat

Oh...

I'd spit in your face if you laughed at me
Don't you know, don't you know
I might be a dipper, but I ain't a thief
Don't you know, don't you know

Oh yeah...
Come on...

Well my father is a farmer
Used to smack me on the ass
Used to dress me up in my sunday best
Get down, get down to sunday mass

And I've been down, so down
Don't you know, don't you know
I'll always love my father
I love him so

08. Clifton Grange Hotel

Lyrics by Lynott
Pack up your bags
Leave family society
Oh come with me
Where they treat you well

At the door
Old lou the jew
Will welcome you
In the corner lies the hotel

At this refuge of mercy
Head of the table
King of laughter
Percy

And if you speak too much
In company
You'll soon be heard
By that mynah bird and whiskey

At the top
You'll find another brother
Go ask my mother
She knows them all very well...hotel

09. Saga Of The Ageing Orphan

Lyrics by Lynott
Father and I waved goodbye
As we went to look
Uncle peter was writing a book
And his mama was starting to cook and she's ageing

We had come in search of one
Who evades us all
Never heeds the call
If only someone could stall this ageing

So I'll go and hope and know
That my time is near
Laughing through the years
Having only fears of ageing

10. Remembering Part 1

Lyrics by Lynott
Remember those golden days
We used to walk hand in hand
I was your friend, your fool, your lover
I was your man

I can see you then
Smiling, looking straight at me
You caught me unawares, I blushed
Let's sit beneath this tree

I can't get over the change in you
I can't get over the change in me

And I keep on remembering the old days
I keep on remembering the old ways

I can recall you running to a sweet shop
You stopped
Bought me something
And you handed it to me

You were my girlfriend then
The first that I ever had
The first that I ever kissed
And the first to make me sad

I can't get over the change in you
I can't get over the change in me

I keep on remembering the old days
I keep on remembering the old ways

Oh yeah

I keep on remembering
I keep on remembering

Oh yeah

I keep on remembering the old days
I keep on remembering

Your pretty dress
With the zip up the back
I used to love you like that
I used to love you like that

Oh yeah
I keep on remembering
I keep on remembering all about you

11. Dublin

Lyrics by Lynott
After our affair
I swore that I'd leave dublin
And in that line I'd left behind
The years, the tears, the memories and you

In dublin

At the quays friends come and say farewell
We'd laugh and joke and smoke
And later on the boat
I'd cry over you

In dublin

How can I leave the town that brings me down
That has no jobs
Is blessed by god
And makes me cry

Dublin

And at sea with flowing hair
I'd think of dublin
Of grafton street and derby square
And those for whom I really care and you

In dublin

12. Remembering Part 2 (New Day)

Lyrics by Lynott
I could wait and watch you
See it all unwind
I could wait and look at you
See you change your mind

Well, even though I'd enjoyed it
The truth to tell
Kid, I've got to leave
Those scenes behind

Here I go into a new day
Here I go into a new way

When you stood in that shady doorway
You winked your wicked eye
I looked at you in wide eyed wonder
Smiled, and said "Hi"

Just like you did woman with
That groovy guy that just passed by
Well, even though I adored you the truth to tell
Kid, I've got to leave those scenes behind

Here I go into a new day
Here I go into a new way

I guess I could call you my woman
But freedom I need
So down that road I'll be walking
Got to have time and space to breathe

Even though I loved you
The truth I've got to tell
I enjoyed every moment
But kid, you know darned well I've got to leave

Here I go into a new day
Here I go into a new way

13. Old Moon Madness

Lyrics by Lynott
Late, sometime before midnight
He comes creeping up
And before you get him sussed
He's gone before dusk

And when you arise
Red ruby rings circle your eyes
If it's later than you realized
Check with the stars and the skies

Old moon madness has struck again

A howl in the dark light
A flash of teeth bright white
A scream and a bite
Old moon madness has struck again tonight

But there's no need to worry
For the crimes that you've done
Worse has been committed
With no moon madness to blame it on

Old moon madness has struck again

In fact you could say you're lucky
You and me
Mother earth has only one moon
And not three

14. Things Ain't Working Out Down At The Farm

Lyrics by Lynott
There goes Moses carrying his bible book
Never has a problem, just has a cup
It's good clean alcohol and it fills you up
And here I go laughing like a fool, yeah

Things ain't working out down at the farm
Got no bag or baggage or love to keep me warm
And I ain't been in trouble since the day I was born
Things ain't working out down at the farm

I used to spend my sunny days supping aways
Along came Gogarty and he put me away
Down at the station was kept for strays
And I went laughing, geez he like busting me, he liked busting me

He caught me unawares and he made me strip naked
Oh I was scared, oh I was scared, I was shaking
And he said
It's you and me
And me and you
And me and me
And you and you
And me and me
And I just kept laughing like a fool, yeah

Things ain't working out down at the farm