Imperial Bedroom

Giving you more of what for
Always worked for me before
Now i'm a shabby doll
What's going on behind the green elevator door
With just a shabby doll

There's a hit man facing
A compromising situation
With just a shabby doll
And a very neat line in character assassination
She's just a shabby doll

She's just a shabby doll
She's putting him off and putting you on
She's just the shabby doll
You're swearing upon you know in your heart
She's gone you know in your heart
She's just a shabby doll

There's a girl in this dress
There's always a girl in distress
She's just a shabby doll
She's so sure she's self-possessed
Then again she's half undressed
She's just a shabby doll

The boy that i used to be
Showed no sign of sympathy
For just a shabby doll
I have betrayed you and me
And paid for my own bribery
With just a shabby doll

(chorus)

He's the tired toy that everyone enjoyed
He wants to be a fancy man but he's nothing but a nancy boy
He's all pride and no joy

And being what you might call a whore
Always worked for me before
Now i'm a shabby doll
Untie the gag the cat's out of the bag
But won't show his claws
He's just a shabby doll

She said you must be joking
Some things are left unspoken
You're just a shabby doll
He's lying limp and soaking
He was openly broken
By just a shabby doll

(chorus)

History repeats the old conceits
The glib replies the same defeats
Keep your finger on important issues
With crocodile tears and a pocketful of tissues

I'm just the oily slick
On the windup world of the nervous tick
In a very fashionable hovel

I hang around dying to be tortured
You'll never be alone in the bone orchard
This battle with the bottle is nothing so novel

So in this almost empty gin palace
Through a two-way looking glass
You see your alice

You know she has no sense
For all your jealousy
In a sense she still smiles very sweetly

Charged with insults and flattery
Her body moves with malice
Do you have to be so cruel to be callous

And now you find you fit this identikit completely
You say you have no secrets
And then leave discreetly

I might make it california's fault
Be locked in geneva's deepest vault
Just like the canals of mars and the great barrier reef
I come to you beyond belief

My hands were clammy and cunning
She's been suitably stunning
But i know there's not a hope in hades
All the laddies cat call and wolf whistle
So-called gentlemen and ladies
Dog fight like rose and thistle

I've got a feeling
I'm going to get a lot of grief
Once this seemed so appealing
Now i am beyond belief

(repeat chorus)

I know the name on the tip of your tongue
And i know that accusing look
Everybody knows i've been so wrong
That's the problem and here's the hook

Tears before bedtime
There'll be trouble tonight
I don't want to talk about it anymore
I don't want to have another fight
I don't want to talk i don't want to fight
How wrong can i be before i am right

For the tears that you boo hoo hoo hoo
There can be no defence
You say you'll forgive and forget
But it's only a pretence

Either you can leave the past behind
Or give me something to disconnect my mind
I sleep with my fists clenched tight
When i don't lie awake all night
I guess time gave up the ghost too late
And the balance of our love
Very soon turns to hate

Darling your suspiciousness
Tortures me at night
But i can't excuse the cruel words
That i use whenever we fight

(chorus)

Oh, well, now you're the girl i'm simply mad about.
Oh yes, i'm really glad it's been me. oh yeah.
I hope that you've been getting ready,
'cause i'm gonna ask you to go steady with me.
I got two eyes that happened by ya,
And when they saw you, they said they knew you were fine.
I got two lips that long to kiss you,
And when they speak, they say they wish you were mine.

Hey, sweet baby, oh don't you know that i am yours from head to toe.

Oh, i got a little heart inside me beating
And when it speaks it keeps repeating your name all the time.
You better watch out 'cause of what i say
Cause baby, don't you know that i ain't playing a game?

Hey, sweet baby, oh don't you know that i am yours from head to toe.
All the way down from the top to the ground, sweet baby.

I got two legs and i got two feet that always take me to your street
Everyday, all the time.
No matter which way i try to go, my legs and my feet
They seem to know the way.

Hey, sweet baby, oh don't you know that i am yours from head to toe.
All the way down from the top to the ground. hey, sweet baby.
I am yours from head to toe. sweet baby.

Wait until the light goes out,
I don't want to be seen about,
Maybe we could find a place to go.
Find a crowded place where they don't care about your face,
Or if your name is even santa claus or joe.
I'll be right at home if they leave me alone.
That's why i only operate at night time.
Wait until the clock strikes ten,
It'll all start happening then.
Baby, just you wait and see.
We can have a little party, laugh and sing and everything,
I know you'll like it, just you wait and see.
Maybe first we'll dig a movie,
Then we'll hit they high spots feelin' groovy.
That's why i only operate at night time.
The right time is the night time.
I wait `til it's late and i can concentrate,
Making love by the light of the moon.
So when it's way past nine, get ready for a swinging time,
`cause i don't know where to draw the line.
We can have a little party, laugh and sing and everything,
I know you'll like it just you wait and see.
Maybe first we'll dig a movie,
Then we'll hit the high spots feelin' groovy.
That's why i only operate at night time.
Night time.
(repeat 5 more times and fade)

He saw no tears in her eyes
Say you wouldn't kid about it
She's telling all of those lies
She swore she'd never told before
But i doubt it

So he bit his tongue
And tried hard to capture his breath
When she said i waited all my life
For just a little death

Say you wouldn't kid about it
Say you wouldn't kid about it
Say you wouldn't kid about it

Sometimes he takes himself so seriously
She makes her movements mysteriously
Slow fast or furiously
It's a big responsibility
With a face full of mixed ability
Big dreams of elegance
Singing the leaving of liverpool
And turning into americans

Say you wouldn't kid about it
So what if this is a man's world
I want to be a kid again about it
Give me back my sadness
I couldn't hide it even if i tried girl

We fight so frail
Making love tooth and nail
You gave me the kiss of my life
I might even live to tell the tale

(chorus)

Daddy's best girl in the world is not supposed to have a boyfriend
But she's never wanted at home
Other girls are allowed to wear their makeup
She sneaks out her lipstick powder and comb
She surrounds his name with hearts and flowers
Talks on the telephone for hours and hours
But with the bird in his hand
And two on a string
The words of love have an imitation ring

You little fool, you little fool
I suppose that your going to stay all night
You little fool
Don't look at me that way you know it isn't right
You little fool

They say no news is good news
The little girl wants information
Mother just gives her some pills to choose
And says go and use your imagination

Daddy's best girl in the world says just look what i have got
As she sits beside him on the high stool
With his arm around her neck snowball in one hand
And the other full of imitation jewels
She fingers a string of pearls
An imitation but he'll never know it
Imitation lashes flutter above
Looking for an imitation of love

You little fool
I suppose that your going to stay all night
You little fool
So don't look at me that way you know it isn't right
You little fool

The stamping ground,
The stamping ground.
All your old gang
Still hang around.
Coming in with the same blokes,
Going home with the same jokes,
If you ever go missing
I know where you'll be found :
The stamping ground.
The big fella on the front door knows your face.
The barman pretends that he's saved you a place,
But when your back is turned
They say she's older than she tells.
I could stand the main attraction,
But not the clientelle.
The stamping ground,
The stamping ground.
All your old gang
Still hang around.
Coming in with the same blokes,
Going home with the same jokes,
If you ever go missing
I know where you'll be found :
The stamping ground.
Everybody knows
Evrybody's trouble,
Who comes in alone,
Who leaves as a couple.
When they seen you coming, babe,
They act like they're pleased to meet you.
Say "it's very nice to know you,
But i wouldn't want to be you."
The stamping ground,
The stamping ground.
All your old gang
Still hang around.
Going home with the same blokes,
Going home with the same jokes,
If you ever go missing
I know where you'll be found :
The stamping ground.
You talk like you don't have a brain in your head.
You act like you don't have a care in your bed.
Th lights are on,
There's no one home,
It scares you to death.
You stamp on anyone who stops to take a breath.
The stamping ground,
The stamping ground.
All your old gang
Still hang around.
Going home with the same blokes,
Going home with the same jokes,
If you ever go missing
I know where you'll be found :
The stamping ground.
The stamping ground.
The stamping ground.
The stamping ground.
The stamping ground.

so this is where he came to hide
When he ran from you
In a private detective's overcoat
And dirty dead man's shoes

The pretty things of knightsbridge
Lying for a minister of state
Is a far cry from the nod and wink
Here at traitor's gate

'cause the high heel he used to be has been ground down
And he listens for the footsteps that would follow him around

To murder my love is a crime
But will you still love
A man out of time

There's a tuppeny hapenny millionaire
Looking for a fourpenny one
With a tight grip on the short hairs
Of the public imagination

But for his private wife and kids somehow
Real life becomes a rumour
Days of dutch courage
Just three french letters and a german sense of humour

He's got a mind like a sewer and a heart like a fridge
He stands to be insulted and he pays for the privilege

(chorus)

The biggest wheels of industry
Retire sharp and short
And the after dinner overtures
Are nothing but an after thought
Somebody's creeping in the kitchen
There's a reputation to be made
Whose nerves are always on a knife's edge
Who's up late polishing the blade

Love is always scarpering or cowering or fawning
You drink yourself insensitive and hate yourself in the morning

(chorus)

Sometimes i try so hard to resist, you say you will and i say you won't.
Sometimes i think that you don't exsist and sometimes you don't.
Pinch me 'cause i don't believe it.
Kiss me 'cause it feels like a hit.
I turn around and you're not there.
Why must it always be the less i see of you, the more i care?
You're determined to make me as miserable as you can.
You're like harry houdini or the invisible man.
Count 10 and then down again.
9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Doing everything they say shouldn't be done,
More fun than you can have with your clothes on.
Pinch me 'cause i don't believe it.
Kiss me 'cause it feels like a hit.
I turn around and you're not there.
Why must it always be the less i see of you, the more i care?
You're determined to make me as miserable as you can.
You're like harry houdini or the invisible man.
I turn around and you're not there.
Why must it always be the less i see of you, the more i care?
The less i see of you, the more i care.
The less i see of you, the more i care.

I've been talking to the wall and it's been answering me
Oh darling how i miss you
I'm just the mere shadow of my former selfishness
I crave the silhouette of your kiss
With only the blue light of the tv on
Lip reading threats and false alarms
There's a boy somewhere holding hands with himself
And a girl in a window on the reeperbarn

Whenever i put my foot in my mouth and you begin to doubt
That it's you that i'm dreaming about
Do i have to draw you a diagram?
All i ever want is just to fall into your human hands

With the kings and queens of the dance hall craze
Checkmate in three moves in your heyday
But the girls don't listen to your line anymore
Now you're part of someone else

On the factory floor and you still say "wheres the action?"
Now you manufacture happiness
And get sold on the cheap for someone's satisfaction

(chorus)

All you toy soldiers and scaremongers
Are you living in this world sometimes i wonder
In between saying you've seen too much and saying you've seen it all before

Tighter and tighter i hold you tightly
You know i love you more than slightly
Although i've never said it like this before

(chorus)

Almost blue
Almost doing things we used to do
There's a girl here and she's almost you
Almost all the things that your eyes once promised
I see in hers too
Now your eyes are red from crying

Almost blue
Flirting with this disaster became me
It named me as the fool who only aimed to be

Almost blue
It's almost touching it will almost do
There's a part of me that's always true...always
Not all good things come to an end now it is only a chosen few
I've seen such an unhappy couple

Almost me
Almost you
Almost blue