Henry's Dr

Well the night was deep and the night was dark
And i was at the old dance-hall on the edge of town
Some big ceremony was going down
Dancers writhed and squirmed and then,
Came apart and then writhed again
Like squirming flies on a pin
In the heat and in the din
Yes, in the heat and in the din
I fell to thinking about brand new wife of mad john finn


Well, midnite came and clock did strike
And in she came, did john finn's wife
With legs like scissors and butcher's knives
A tattooed breast and flaming eyes
And a crimson carnation in her teeth
Carving her way through the dance floor
And i'm standing over by the bandstand
Every eye gaping on john finn's wife
Yeah, every eye gaping on john finn's wife


Now john finn's wife was something of a mystery
In a town where to share a sworn secret was a solemn duty
I had brass knuckles and a bolo knife
Over near the bandstand with john finn's wife
She got perfumed breasts and raven hair
Sprinkled with wedding confettis
And a gang of garrotters were all giving me stares
Armed, as they were, with machetes
And the night through the window was full of lights
Winking and awatching at john finns' wife
Winking and awatching at john finns' wife


Next came the cops, all out on the town
But it don't look like no trouble there
As they head for the bar in their lumpy suits
And i slip my hand between the thighs of john finn's wife
And they seemed to yawn awake, her things
It was a warm and very ferocious night
The moon full of blood and light
And my eyes grew small and my eyes grew tight
As i plotted in the ear of john finns' wife


Enter john finn in his shrunken suit
With his quick black eyes and black cheroot
With his filled-down teeth and a hobnail boot
And his fists full of pistols in his pockets
Aiming at me and aiming at his wife
The band fall silent fearing for their lives
And with fear in my guts like tangled twine
Cause all i got is brass knuckles and a bolo knife
And mad john finns' wife is all
And the three of us walk out of the hall


Now the night bore down upon us all
You could hear the crickets in the thickets call
And guns did flare and guns did bawl
And i planted my bolo knife in the neck
Of mad john finn. i took his wretched life
Now i'm over near the bandstand
Every hand moving on john finns' wife
Every hand moving on john finns' wife


And john finns' wife
Took all the flowers down
From her hair
And threw them on the ground
And the flies did hum
And the flies did buzz around
Poor john finn
Lying dead upon the ground
Lying dead upon the ground

It was the dirty end of winter
Along the loom of the land
When i walked with sweet sally
Hand upon hand


And the wind it bit bitter
For a boy of no means
With no shoes on his feet
And a knife in his jeans


Along the loom of the land
The mission bells peeled
From the tower at saint mary's
Down to reprobate fields


And i saw that the world
Was all blessed and bright
And sally breathed softly
In the majestic night


O baby please don't cry
And try to keep
Your little hand upon my shoulder
Now go to sleep


The elms and the poplars
Were turning their backs
Past the rumbling station
We followed the tracks


We found an untrodden path
And followed it down
The moon in the sky
Like a dislodged crown


My hands they burned
In the folds of her coat
Breathing milky white air
From deep in her throat


O baby please don't cry
And try to keep
Your little head upon my shoulder
Now go to sleep


I told sally in whispers
I'll never bring you harm
Her breast it was small
And warm in my palm


I told her the moon
Was a magical thing
That it shone gold in winter
And silver in spring


And we walked and walked
Across the endless sands
Just me and my sally
Along the loom of the land


O baby please don't cry
And try to keep
Your little head upon my shoulder
Now go to sleep

I had a dream
I had a dream
I had a dream, joe


I had a dream, joe
You were standing in the middle of an open road
I had a dream, joe
Your hands were raised up to the sky
And your mouth was covered in foam
I had a dream, joe
A shadowy jesus flitted from tree to tree
I had a dream, joe
And a society of whores stuck needles in an image of me
I had a dream, joe
It was autumn time and thickly fell the leaves
And in that dream, joe
A pimp in seersucker suit sucked a toothpick
And pointed his finger at me


I had a dream,
I had a dream,
I had a dream, joe


I opened my eyes, joe
The night had been a giant, dribbling and pacing the boards
I opened my eyes, joe
All your letters and cards stacked up against the door
I opened my eyes, joe
The morning light came slowly tumbling through the crack
In the window, joe
And i thought of you and i felt like i was lugging
A body on my back


I had a dream,
I had a dream,
I had a dream, joe


Where did you go, joe?
On that endless, senseless, demented drift
Where did you go, joe?
Into the woods, into the trees, where you move and shift
Where did you go, joe?
All dressed up in your ridiculous seersucker suit
Where did you go, joe?
With that strew of wreckage
Forever at the heel of your boot


I had a dream
I had a dream
I had a dream, joe
I had a dream
I had a dream
I had a dream, joe

I went out walking the other day
The wind hung wet around my neck
My head it rung with screams and groans
From the night i spent amongst her bones
I passed beside the mission house
Where that mad old buzzard, the reverend,
Shrieked and flapped about life after your dead
Well, i thought about my friend, michel
How they rolled him in linoleum
And shot him in the neck
A bloody halo, like a think-bubble
Circling his head
And i bellowed at the firmament
Looks like the rains are hear to stay
And the rain pissed down upon me
And washed me all away
Saying


Papa won't leave you, henry
Papa won't leave you, boy
Papa won't leave you, henry
Papa won't leave you, boy
Well, the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
But papa won't leave you, henry
So there ain't no need to cry


And i went on down the road
He went on down the road
And i went on down the road
He went on down the road


Well, the moon it looked exhausted
Like something you should pity
Spent an age-spotted
Above the sizzling wires of the city
Well, it reminded me of her face
Her bleached and hungry eyes
Her hair was like a curtain
Falling open with the laughter
And closing with the lies
But the ghost of her still lingers on
Though she's passed through me
And is gone
The slum dogs, they are barking
And the rain children on the streets
And the tears that we will weep today
Will all be washed away
By the tears that we will weep again tomorrow


Papa won't leave you, henry
Papa won't leave you, boy
Papa won't leave you, henry
Papa won't leave you, boy
For the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
But papa won't leave you, henry
So there ain't no need to cry


And i went on down the road
He went on down the road
And i went on down the road
He went on down the road


And i came upon a little house
A little house upon a hill
And i entered through, the curtain hissed
Into the house with its blood-red bowels
Where wet-lipped women with greasy fists
Crawled the ceilings and the walls
They filled me full of drink
And led me round the rooms
Naked and cold and grinning
Until everything went black
And i came down spinning
I awoke so drunk and full of rage
That i could hardly speak
A fag in a whale-bone corset
Draping his dick across my cheek
And its into the shame
And its into a guilt
And its into the fucking fray
And the walls ran red around me
A warm arterial spray
Saying


Papa won't leave you, henry
Papa won't leave you, boy
Papa won't leave you, henry
Papa won't leave you, boy
Well, the night is dark
And the night is deep
And its jaws are open wide
But papa won't leave you, henry
So there ain't no need to cry


And i went on down the road
He went on down the road
And i went on down the road
He went on down the road


It's the rainy season where i'm living
Death comes leaping out of every doorway
Wasting you for money, for your clothes
And for your nothing
Entire towns being washed away
Favelas exploding on inflammable spillways
Lynch-mobs, death squads, babies being born without brains
The mad heat and the relentless rains
And if you stick your arm into that hole
It comes out sheared off to the bone
And with her kisses bubbling on my lips
I swiped the rain and nearly missed
And i went on down the road
He went on down the road
Singing


Papa won't leave you, henry
Papa won't leave you, boy
Papa won't leave you, henry
Papa won't leave you, boy
Well, the road is long
And the road is hard
And many fall by the side
But papa won't leave you, henry
So there ain't no need to cry


And i went on down the road
He went on down the road
And i went on down the road
He went on down the road
Bent beneath my heavy load
Under his heavy load
Yeah, i went on down the road
Yeah, he went on down the road


Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
Woah, woah
And i went on down that road

Christina the astonishing
Lived a long time ago
She was stricken with a seizure
At the age of twenty-two
They took her body in a coffin
To a tiny church in liege
Where she sprang up from the coffin
Just after the agnus dei
She soared up to the rafters
Perched on a beam up there
Cried "the stink of human sin
Is more that i can bear"
Christina the astonishing
Was the most astonishing of all
She prayed balanced on a hurdle
Or curled up into a ball
She fled to remote places
Climbed towers and trees and walls
To escape the stench of human corruption
Into an oven she did crawl
O christina the astonishing
Behaved in a terrifying way
She would run wildly through the streets
Jump in the meusse and swim away
O christina the astonishing
Behaved in terrifying manner
Died at the age of seventy-four
In the convent of st anna

(s. macgowan)

I've been loving you a long time
Down all the years, down all the days
And i've cried for all your troubles
Smiled at your funny little ways


We watched our friends grow up together
And we saw them as they fell
Some of them fell into heaven
And some of them fell into hell


I took shelter from a shower
And i stepped into your arms
On a rainy night in soho
The wind was whistling all its charms


I sang you all my sorrows
And you told me all your joys
Whatever happened to that old song
To all those little girls and boys
Those little girls and boys


Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
But there's a light i hold before me
And you're the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams


These last two verses are not sung by nick, but are part of the original song as written by shane macgowan:

Sometimes i wake up in the morning
The gingerlady by my bed
Covered in a cloak of silence
I hear you in my head


I'm not singing for the future
I'm not dreaming of the past
I'm not talking of the fist time
I never think about the last


Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there's a light i hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams
The measure of my dreams