Mother Fist And Her Five Daughters

Way back then i was a champion
A fighter in the ring
And all the crowds would cheer
My praises they would sing
Now i am a forgotten man
A hobo out alone
No champ to push me on
Nothing, no-one to call my own

I was a dark eyed boy
Stars in his eyes
Promises made flesh and blood
Grip of arm
And granite charm
Oh, times were golden
Times were good
Sinew young
And skin of ore
Molten and streaming with dreams
Now i nod away the days
Barely remembering names it seems

Oh, i would smile
To hear the bell
Ringing out my glory
Like a bull i paced the ring
My bloody territory

I held on high
The fist in glove
The symbol of my power
Now i wait
A punch drunk fool
To fade away forever

Broken noses
Broken jaws
And many broken hearts
An idol
And a hero
Till my courage fell apart
And now my brain a-ringing
With the final bell and count
They hold my hand up limply
Told the world
That i was out!
I didn't mind the scars
The blood
The crushing of the hand
But to lose a nation's
Love, respect
Is something i'll never understand

I'm gonna bury my head
And cry

Over there
In the cold
Stands the hustler
His eyes are old
He has seen a million ugly scenes
Places where men droop with mould
The backrooms
Where soiled goods are sold
Seen with opened eyes since frail fifteen
He has found it hard at first
But on his brow there sits a curse
For when the young must suffer
At the hands of men

Memories of christmas past
Were never there to ever last
Things as were can never
Be again

Over there
By the wall
Stands the hustler
He's not very tall
He's trampled by the jaded by the sly

He's seen the darker side of men
First fascinated and then
He found his urge to laugh
An urge to cry

He'll find close friends
No friend at all
He feels so lonely, tired and small
How few are chosen from
The golden call

There's something in us all it seems
To crave adventure
Hunt for dreams
But corruption the seducer spoils our schemes
And surely as the snow will melt
The hustler
Grabs his soul and heads for home
With lessons learnt under his belt

Over there
By the wall
Stands the hustler
With the men of law
On either side to flank the sallow youth
But some of us will never learn
It takes the blow of fists to burn
How painfully we suffer for the truth

Well it seems you have a heart
I saw it once so i know it's true
You let it out on sundays when
You let it beat me black and blue
When you went and stole my heart
I saw it go so i know it's true
It was a ruby, ruby, ruby red
It was the most precious gift i could give to you

It was as red as the sun in the evening sky
It was as red as the fire in a panther's eye
It was as red as the rose under the summer sun
Like a fire from a killer's gun

Ruby, ruby red
Shine a light onto this boy's bed
There's a street lamp glowing in my head
Oh, ruby, ruby, ruby red

Well it seems you have a soul
You let it go so i know it's true
It was a ruby, ruby, ruby red
It keeps me warm when i'm feeling sad and blue
Well you went and stole my heart
I saw it go so i know it's true
I wrapped it up in a bouquet of barbed wire
It was the wickedest gift i could give to you

It was as red as the sun in the evening sky
It was as red as the fire in a panther's eye
It was as red as the rose under the summer sun
Like a fire from a killer's gun

Ruby, ruby red
Shine a light onto this boy's bed
There's a street lamp glowing in my head
Oh, ruby, ruby, ruby red

Oh just like johnny rio baby
I need to be desired
I give up looking for my past
For the ones i left behind
Ruby red, ruby red, hey, hey, hey

Ruby, ruby red
Shine a light onto this boy's bed
There's a street lamp glowing in my head
Oh, ruby, ruby, ruby red

It was the most precious jewel
I could give to you
Colour me red when i'm feeling blue
The colour of a kiss
In a young girl's dream
The mark of a guillotine
A drop of blood from a single thorn
Red wet sheets in the afternoon
A red light leading to my tomb
Ruby red all around my room

Ruby, ruby red
Oh shine a light onto this boy's bed
Oh, ruby, ruby, ruby red

Well now i've been on my own for many a year
Seems like i'll never get loved
Got me a hand on this brother of mine
And i'm gonna get me the rub
Turn me the lights down to a purple glow
Put bessie smith on the wail
Bring me the five young daughters
And help my ship to set sail

Mother fist never gets angry
Mother fist she never gets bored
I don't have to feed her
I just have to need her
She cries give me the word

When i'm downtown in barcelona
When i'm pissed or when i'm pissed off
Mother fist just gives me her tender kiss
And some of her sexy stuff
And i lock my door from the inside
Turn my mind to sweet sweet pain
And i wail just like yma sumac
Mother fist she never complains

Mother fist never gets angry
Mother fist she never gets bored
I don't have to feed her
I just have to need her
She cries give me the word

Now i don't care if i'm in a prison
In confinement solitary
A soldier lost in the legion
Or a sailor out on the sea
A beggar, thief or a rich man
A gunman mercenary
A one legged crook
An armenian cook
As long as my mother's with me

Mother fist never gets angry
Mother fist she never gets bored
I don't have to feed her
I just have to need her
She cries give me the word

There is a bed where i can end my days
To think about the road i've run the miles i've come
There is a bed where troubles melt away
My lonely hours or hours with you
The times that we've come through

There is a bed where we shared times of love
And out of love those nights are memories best forgot
We argued about trivial things
And slept apart a wall we built among the sheets

There is a bed where sickness left its touch
And fever damp the sheets where i would shake all night
Cold burning on my brow
Hallucinations here and now
A fight to live or die

There is a bed where first we both made love
And left the marks, reminders of how good it felt
The hard, the soft, the sweat in midnight's hour
We built the fort, we climbed the tower

There is a bed where years will make us wise
Truth and lies defeat, despise and forgiving
The sheets our cradle birth to death
The twists and turns of love, the life we're living

There is bed where nights i lay awake
To think about my future to forget my past
My bed a boat to sail the seas
To land where safety finds me gripping to the mast

And though i feel the years slip through my fingers
Sorrow lingers and won't go away
There is a bed that is my sanctuary
A bed where i can end my days

There is a bed

And he dances every night
Framed in candles
And white white light
All is revealed
When all is too bright
You're such a pleasure
A wonderful pain
Makes me never want
To love again
But sorrow always comes
To those with fickle fame

And the tears are gonna come
The tears are gonna come

We are consumed by corruption
Old before our time
Hurt by others' hunger
Scarred by love as greed (how i need)
How cruel the birthday of 17
Youth behind you
The long years ahead
Showing you what you might have been
Instead of drifting, drifting, drifting

And the tears are gonna come
The tears are gonna come

Foundations crumble
Walls subside
We all break apart
When there's heartache inside
Hold back those years
Those tears
With a futile pride (we're gonna come clean)
Beware of love
And of dark-eyed men
They're sweet and they're tender
But they have no hearts
Just long smashed
Cruel shards of broken glass

And the tears are gonna come
The tears are gonna come

And all those songs
That made me cry
Keep flooding back
And years of new discovery and you
Disturbing my dreams
Now we're flowing down that river
Heading for the delta
I don't know which way to flow
But my heart's a forest fire
And yours a field of snow

I don't know which way to flow
Don't know which way
Don't know which way
To flow