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Richard Thompson : Daring Adventures
1986

  1. A Bone Through Her Nose
  2. Valerie
  3. Missie, How You Let Me Down
  4. Dead Man's Handle
  5. Long Dead Love
  6. Lover's Lane

  7. Nearly In Love
  8. Jennie
    +1
  9. Baby Talk
  10. Cash Down, Never Never
  11. How Will I Ever Be Simple Again?
  12. Al Bowlly's In Heaven

A Bone Through Her Nose

Bm
Oh the drones on the corner don't look her in the eye
A
Bm
C#m
Bm
A
When she comes out to play
Bm
A
Bm
C#m
Bm
A
And three times now at the Club Chi-Chi they've turned her away
Bm
A
Bm
C#m
Bm
A
Last week she was the belle of the ball but another week passes
Bm
A
Bm
C#m
Bm
A
It's time to cast off crutches, scars and pebble glasses
G
She's got everything a girl might need
E
She's a tribal animal, yes indeed
Am
F
But she hasn't got a bone through her nose, through her nose
E
Hasn't got a bone through her nose She hasn't got a bone through her nose, through her nose She hasn't got a bone through her nose Hasn't got a bone through her nose, through her nose She hasn't got a bone through her nose Oh she gets her suits from a personal friend, Coco the clown She got dustman's jacket, inside out, it's a party gown If it's buffoons, she's got buffoons, if it's tat she got tat She got hoochie coochie Gucci and a pom-pom hat She's got everything a girl might need...
Break
Well, her ma writes cook books, she wrote one once, and it sold one or two Her pa's in the city, he's so witty, he calls it the zoo Her boyfriend plays in Scritti Politti, Aunt Sally's brown bread In a few more years she can marry some fool and knock it on the head She's got everything a girl might need...

Valerie

Tuning: DADGBE (Drop D)
Capo:
III
D
Valerie, you give me heart attack Valarie, you put me on the rack You say that I'm history, you say I'm no good Then you want to be two babes in the wood
Bm
A
G
Bm
That's what I call playing to the gallery
Bm
A
G
D
I'm wait, wait, waiting for Valerie Valerie, she's got a scar down here Valerie, she's got gold in her ear A figure like this, lips like that Red fingernails, teeth like a cat She never gets home till five or four or three I'm wait, wait, waiting for Valerie
Bm
I'm soft in the head, I give her hard cash
D
She spends all my money on junk and trash
Bm
Nylon fur, plastic shoes
E
And fifty-seven things she's never going to use
E
Never, never, never going to use Valerie, you're going to choke or drown Valerie, why don't you put that down? If you don't get over this eating jag They're going to take you home in a body bag I can't stand to see one more calorie I'm wait, wait, waiting for Valerie Every time I turn my back She's round the corner looking for a crack It's going to be the ruin of me I'm running on nervous energy Running on nervous energy Valerie, she want to move out of town Valerie, she want the money down She want leopard-skin this, tiger-skin that Matching luggage, lipstick, hat I can't afford her on my salary I'm wait, wait, waiting for Valerie

Missie, How You Let Me Down

Em
| |
G
|
A
Em
D
Hailstones and a sickle moon and the north wind races
Em
D
One more night of running my mind over lost embraces
Em
The steps you made when you walked away
D
A/c#
G
A/g
Still frozen in the ground
A/g
G
D/f#
A
G
Oh, Missie, how you let me down
A/g
G
D/f#
A
G
Oh, Missie, how you let me down
A/g
G
A
D
A/c
Bm
Oh, Missie, how you let me down
Em
A
And lies won't break my fall
Em
D/f#
G
Lies won't break my fall Your food's still sitting there at the table where you used to be The shape of you is still in the bed there, next to me Maybe I could find some trace Of you to keep around
A/g
G
D/f#
A
G
Oh, Missie, how you let me down
A/g
G
A
D
A/c
Bm
Oh, Missie, how you let me down
A
For far too long you kept me waiting
F#m
G
Reaching out into empty air
A
F#m
Even now you'd never say it face to face
G
That you really don't care
A
And if you never liked pulling teeth then why?
D
A
G
Why did you tie me in the dentist's chair? Ah, you left your mark on this old place, that you did I could stew in here like a pressure cooker and screw down the lid Or maybe I should just take a match And burn the whole thing to the ground Oh, Missie, how you let me down Oh, Missie, how you let me down Oh, Missie, how you let me down Oh, Missie, how you let me down Oh, Missie, how you let me down Oh, Missie, how you let me down And lies won't break my fall Lies won't break my fall

Dead Man's Handle

G
Keep your weight on the dead man's handle
Em
Or the wheels won't hold the rail
G
Keep your weight on the dead man's handle
Em
Or the steam brake's bound to fail
C
D
Whoa she'll jump boys and she'll slip
Bm6
C
If your hand should lose it's grip
G
C
On the dead man's handle The dead man's handle The dead man's handle
D
C
D
G
Keep your mind on the journey's end Remember all of your skills and learning, Gonna need them now Remember all of your words of warning, Gonna need them now There's just one bridge left to cross Keep her moving or the day is lost The dead man's handle The dead man's handle The dead man's handle Keep your mind on the journey's end
Bsus4
Look down, look down, look down
G
The valley is burning, fire without end
Bsus4
Look down, look down, look down
A
D
And you'll never get back on the tracks again Keep your weight on the Dead Man's Handle Till you see that the day is won Too many's the foolish man who's fallen 'Cause he jumped the gun See ahead, your brother stands Ease the brake, stretch out your hand The dead man's handle The dead man's handle The dead man's handle Keep your mind on the journey's end
Repeat verse 1

Long Dead Love

Somebody's walking, oh, somebody's walking There on the grave of our love And somebody's kicking the dust and the ashes away Why don't they just let it die And fade and grow cold again? Better our footsteps divide And our memory grow old again Oh, long dead love Long dead love How much dirt must you shovel on what's already dead? Don't send flowers to remember, send thorns instead And who's that polishing the tombstone over our heads? Oh-oh-oh Somebody's dancing on our sad misfortune Oh there on the grave of our love And somebody's sweeping the splinters of my broken heart away Why don't they just let it die And fade and grow cold again? Better our footsteps divide And our memory grow old again Oh, long dead love Long dead love It's been so long it's even hard to find the right place Was it you who paid for Burke and Hare to come in on the case? You know grave-robbing is a sin and this is a crying disgrace
Guitar Solo
Deep in the night The cruel intention comes stealing Deep in the night I can't close my eyes for that feeling Oh, long dead love Long dead love Long dead love Ooh, ooh, ooh

Lover's Lane

Bm
False hand in false hand
G
Em
Bm
Down Lovers' Lane, we walked, we two
Bm
Love sold for fool's gold
G
Em
Bm
Down Lovers' Lane, we walked, we two
G
E
On your back I'll climb
G
E
Or you climb on mine
A
G#
F#m
Deception is the rule
Bm
Down Lovers' Lane
Bm
Fine friend, fine friend
G
Em
Bm
I held such dreams in my caress
Bm
Fine airs, fine airs
G
Em
Bm
The best of manners and address
G
E
On your back I'll climb
G
E
Or you climb on mine
A
G#
F#m
Deception is the rule
Bm
Down Lovers' Lane

Nearly In Love

|
D
|
G
|
x4
D
Love makes people so blind, that's why I can't make up my mind
Bm
F#m
G
A
If you stop me dead in my tracks or you just paper over the cracks
D
You're the one I've wanted so long but then again I might be wrong
Bm
F#m
G
A
Now you look just right in the pale moonlight, let me turn the headlights on
D
G
'Cause I'm nearly in love, I'm nearly in love
Em
Bm
A
I'm almost aware of walking on air, yes, I'm nearly in love
D
G
I'm nearly in love, I'm nearly in love
Em
Bm
A
I wish I was really, I'd love to dearly but I'm nearly in love I don't want to cause you doubt but I'm really checking you out You're the closest to my heart bar none except for my wallet and my gun I never felt like this before, that's why I want to make quite sure That it's not just a dose of the flu that gives me the chills for you 'Cause I'm nearly in love, I'm nearly in love I'm almost aware of walking on air, yes, I'm nearly in love I'm nearly in love, I'm nearly in love I wish I was really, I'd love to dearly but I'm nearly in love
A
I reserve the right to love you
E
A
E
After all I'm the first in line
Bm
I'm not one for shout and screaming
G
D
Mine, all mine, all mine, all mine, all mine 'Cause I'm nearly in love, I'm nearly in love I'm almost aware of walking on air, yes, I'm nearly in love I'm nearly in love, I'm nearly in love I wish I was really, I'd love to dearly but I'm nearly in love

Jennie

G
Dm
G
Oh trouble becomes you, it cuts you down to my size
G
Dm
G
And you never were less than perfect in my eyes
C
But I lost my way somehow
D
G
/b
C
For three hard winters I held in till now
G
Now I can't help it
F
G
Oh Jennie my love
F
G
Oh Jennie my love Now you pin up your hair like you did when first we met Oh how many days of his life can a man regret? And if my tears were a train Then I'd cry my way back into your arms again Now I can't help it Oh Jennie my love Oh Jennie my love
Solo
Now I count the time we had and the times we missed Now I stand here love unsworn and lips unkissed And you don't know how hard I try To kill the vision of you as another man's bride Now I can't help it Oh Jennie my love Oh Jennie my love Oh Jennie my love Oh Jennie my love

Baby Talk

Oh, I care for you, honey, at my own expense But something's spoiling my sentiments You open your mouth and it makes no sense All you ever give me is baby talk You're a fine grown woman, and that's a fact But who could tell from the way you act? When I pull up the car and we climb in the back All you ever give me is baby talk I love sweet nothings, sitting in the dark And I like to bill and coo But it breaks my heart the minute you start On goo goo goo and a-coochie coo You drive me crazy, where will it end? I feel embarrassed in front of my friends It's a wonderful thing that you learned how to walk All you ever give me is baby talk Oh well, I love sweet nothings, sitting in the dark And I like to bill and coo But it breaks my heart the minute you start On goo goo goo and a-coochee coo I'm sending you back to nursery school When you start talking you sound like a fool You can't even eat with a knife and a fork And all you ever give me is baby talk All you ever give me is baby talk Well, all you ever give me is...

Cash Down, Never Never

Young love, I wish you well Shotgun and wedding bells Semi-semi and the damp is peeling Hole in the roof wet the baby's head Back streets, real scum about Need a car, a little run-about Some down and a fistful later Sign on the line like the nice man said Need a Slumberland or a Frigidaire Or a video? Sign right there In over your head, head Cash down never never Cash down never never Cash down Get a job, good overtime Shop floor, assembly line Six months and no more company No more factory, no more shift Get a job, you're gonna go far Hot wire and a crow bar Nobody gonna feed the baby That's if they catch you, if, if, if Vegetating, frustrating Repossessions, distressing In over your head, head Cash down never never Cash down never never Cash down never never Nothing's so hard as living on the easy plan
Instrumental Break
Need a Slumberland or a Frigidaire Or a video? Sign right there In over your head, head Cash down never never Cash down never never Cash down never never Nothing's so hard as living on the easy plan

How Will I Ever Be Simple Again?

Capo:
I
A
D
A
She danced in the street with the guns all around her
A
E
All torn like a rag doll barefoot in the rain
A
D
A
She sang like a child to-ra-day-to-ra-da-dee
A
E
A
Oh how will I ever be simple again? She sat on the banks of the dirty gray river And tried for a fish with a worm on a pin There was nothing but fever and ghosts in that water
A
E
A
/a
/b
/c
Oh how will I ever be simple again?
D
A
War was my love my friend and companion
D
A
E
What did I care for the pretty and plain
A
D
A
Her smile was so clear and my heart was so troubled
A
E
A
Oh how will I ever be simple again?
Solo
In her poor burned out house I sat by her table The smell of her hair was like cornfields in May I wanted to weep and my eyes ached from trying Oh how will I ever be simple again? How graceful she moved in the dust and the ruins How happy she was in her dances and games Teach me to see with your innocent eyes love Oh how will I ever be simple again? Oh how will I ever be simple again?

Al Bowlly's In Heaven

[Show chord shapes]
Em7b5 xx2333
Dm
A7
Dm
We were heroes them, and the girls were all pretty
Dm
And a uniform was a lucky charm
Bb7
A7
Bought you the key to the city
F
We used to dance the whole night through
Bb7
Eb7
While Al Bowlly sang "The Very Thought of You"
Em7b5
A7
Dm
Al Bowlly's in heaven, and I'm in limbo now 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 de-mob suit Al Bowlly's in heaven, and I'm in limbo now
F
C
F
C
Hard times, hard, hard times
F
C
F
C
Hostels and missions and dosser's soup lines
F
C
F
C
Can't close me eyes on a bench or a bed
Bb7
A7
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 of it just drag 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, got to foot slog Once in a blue moon, you might find a job Sleep in the rain, sleep in the snow When the beds are all taken, you've got nowhere to go I can see me now, back there on the dance-floor With a blonde on me arm, red head to spare Spit on me shoes and shine in me hair And there's Al Bowlly, up on the stand That was a voice, and that was a band Al Bowlly's in heaven, and I'm in limbo now