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Thin Lizzy - Johnny The Fox lyrics



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01. Johnny

Lyrics by Phil Lynott
Somewhere on the waterfront
Johnny's hiding with a gun
Swears he'll kill any man that tells his story
He's not sorry for what he's done

He broke into a drugstore
To cure his daily need
He didn't mean to shoot the guard
But he was blinded by the greed

Oh johnny

You see that nun, she's his sister
She doesn't know that he's gone bad
When they told it to his father
It drove the old man mad

Just as his mother warned him
From her dying bed
It's alright to lose your heart
But never lose your head

Oh johnny

Now the cops have got him surrounded
And he doesn't stand a hope
He wonders how he could be in so much trouble
Over just a little dope

Five to one he gets away
That's the odds I'm going to give
Five to four they blast him away
Three to one he's going to live

Oh johnny

Back in the alley where he was slain
I thought I heard something move
Beside the trash can lay a heart and chain
The picture had been removed

Just another juiced up junkie
Looking for a bed
It's alright to lose your heart
But never lose your head

Oh johnny

02. Rocky

Lyrics by Brian Downey, Scott Gorham, Lynott
Cocky Rocky, the rock and roll star
He's got the talent to take him far
Started out playing hotel bars
Cocky Rocky, the rock and roll star

Spent his time just looking for kicks
Whipping out them tricks to pull the chicks
Just have a chance every way he rips
Come on Rocky take me into the night

The neon streets are shining bright
To all them queens you bring the light
That cocky Rocky
His belt is so tight

Hits the stage, the show begins
Dressed in black to make him thin
The speed they flash and when he grins
Sail away Rocky and nobody sings (?)

Come on Rocky and throw the dice
You threw it once, now throw it twice
Heavy boys, they want a slice
They paid their money, they want a choice

Cocky Rocky, the rock and roll star
He's got the talent to take him far
And all he needs is that old guitar
Cocky Rocky, the rock and roll star

03. Borderline

Lyrics by Lynott, Brian Robertson
Midnight in the big city
At the bar drinking all on my own
Just thinking about that girl and me
How something's going wrong

Mister, tell me, what's my saving grace?
The back room boys
Were all telling me
I'm a borderline case

Back on the borderline one more time

Seven beers and still sober
It's time to change to something stronger
I cannot take this scene no longer
She could have told me it's all over

Back in my home town
The old place is still the same
But time can cast a spell over something
You can't go back again

Back on the borderline one more time

Mister, fill me another
Till I go crazy and it turn my mind around
Just pass that bottle one more time
And slowly drink it down

Jeanie can I tell you?
The shame of my disgrace
It's just love or rejection
For this borderline case

Back on the borderline one more time

I'm on my bended knees crawling
I'm begging you darling

04. Don't Believe A Word

Lyrics by Phil Lynott
Don't believe me if I tell you
Not a word of this is true
Don't believe me if I tell you
Especially if I tell you that I'm in love with you

Don't believe me if I tell you
That I wrote this song for you
There might be some other silly pretty girl
I'm singing it to

Don't believe a word
For words are only spoken
Your heart is like a promise
Made to be broken

Don't believe a word
Words can tell lies
And lies are no comfort
When there's tear in your eyes

Don't believe me if I tell you
Not a word of this is true
Don't believe me if I tell you
Especially if I tell you that I'm in love with you

Don't believe a word

05. Fools Gold

Lyrics by Phil Lynott
In the year of the famine
When starvation and black death raged across the land
There were many driven by their hunger
To set sail for the americas

In search of a new life and a new hope
Oh but there were some who couldn't cope
And they spent their life
In search of fool's gold

The old prospector
He makes it to the four lane highway
His old compadre
Lies dead in the sand

With outstretched hands
He cries, are you going my way?
The people passing by don't seem to understand
The curse of fool's gold

Broken joe just lying in a gutter
He's gone as low as any man can be
He calls for wine but they'll only serve him water
The bartender say we don't sell sympathy

He tells a strange story
About his father
How sunday mornings they'd go down
To the church on the corner

As time grows older
His thoughts they grow younger
It is his wish
To search no longer for fool's gold

The vulture sits on top
Of the big top circus arena
He's seen this show before
Knows someone is going to fall

Just near the part
Where the beautiful dancing tightrope ballerine
Forgets that the safety net
Isn't there at all

Down he swoops with claws drawn to take her
Razor sharp so savagely is she mauled
Oh my god, is there no one who can save her?
In steps the fox to thunderous applause

Fool's gold

06. Johnny The Fox Meets Jimmy The Weed

Lyrics by Downey, Gorham, Lynott
Johnny the fox he called to jimmy the weed
He said hey man, I know your name
I seen you cruising with the low riders
Hanging out down on first street and main

Tuned into and listen to the hoodoo rhythm devils
Around the bay
They've got some crazy djs
Send you right out to heaven

Jimmy the weed for greed was taken aback
Johnny the fox you old sly cat
Cleverly the fox concealed his stash
Crisp dollar bills leave no tracks

In the back of a black cadillac
The voodoo music travels
Down skid row only black men can go
The shady deal unravels

Johnny the fox, hot to hustle
Jimmy the weed won't use no muscle
That cat's so sly, slick and subtle
Johnny the fox breaks out the bottle

Tuned into and listening to
The voodoo music travels
The beating drum for the lonely one
Sends you out to heaven

07. Old Flame

Lyrics by Phil Lynott
There's a girl I'll remember
Oh for such a long, long time
This girl I'll remember
She was an old flame of mine

Beneath the stars just sipping wine
Young lovers then in summertime
I'll always remember
That old flame of mine

Love, she comes and gove
True love, she hides then shows
My love, may I propose
That love she comes and goes

Two hearts together two hearts alight
To keep us warm on winter nights
With each dying ember
I remember that old flame of mine

Once this flame it did brightly blaze
Among the ashes there still remains
A glowing spark in my heart
For that old flame of mine

08. Massacre

Lyrics by Downey, Gorham, Lynott
At a point below zero
There's no place left to go
Six hundred unknown heroes
Were killed like sleeping buffalo

Through the devil's canyon
Across the battlefield
Death has no companion
The spirit is forced to yield

There goes the bandolero
Through the hole in the wall
He's a coward but doesn't care though
In fact, he doesn't care at all

The general that's commanding
He's defending what he fears
While the troops they are depending
On reinforcements from the rear

If God is in the heavens
How can this happen here?
In his name, they used the weapons
For the massacre

There is a point below zero
Where the sun can see the land
Six hundred unknown heroes
Lay dead in the sand

09. Sweet Marie

Lyrics by Gorham, Lynott
Sweet marie you mean a lot to me
In my memory I hold you very dearly
Once in all my dreams, my plans, hopes and future schemes
There was sweet marie

But my home is where my heart is
And my heart is not at home
Whenever we are parted
I feel so all alone

With twilight falling
The moon is calling sweet marie
What the sea tells only sea shells
Are whispering sweet marie

Into the darkness goes this message sweet marie
Some lovers are sometimes parted
They must end what they have started
All that's left is the broken hearted, I must depart my sweet marie

Somewhere out in arizona
Such a long way from california
I felt so alone there
I was two thousand miles away from home there

Tonight we're going to play boston
I still don't know what the hell is going on
Oh but I wrote this song
To keep me thinking on about my sweet marie

Sweet marie you mean a lot to me
This melody it keeps haunting me
My sweet marie
In harmony, it's will me constantly, sweet marie

But my home is where my heart is
My heart it's not at home
Now that we are parted
I feel so all alone

10. Boogie Woogie Dance

Lyrics by Phil Lynott
In france, they've got a dance
A feel real crazy dance
A touch of class and a dash of romance
Feel that crazy dance

Boogie woogie dance
Boogie woogie dance

In spain, they give it a name
A real chic cheeky name
One you know it you're not the same
But you really take a chance

Boogie woogie dance
Boogie woogie dance

In brazil, they got a pill
A real hard power packed pill
Take one too many you'll feel quite ill
But you really take a change

Do the boogie woogie dance
Boogie woogie dance

Oh dance, get out and dance