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Curly on Civvy Street

from CURLY'S AIRSHIPS by JUDGE SMITH

/

lyrics

CURLY:-
They closed us down.
Airships definitely
Now weren't quite the thing,
And, with our lovely General gone,
The Birdmen closed in for the kill.
The whole bally Airship Service scrapped;
Turfed out, neck and crop,
Onto Civvy Street.
Managed to scare up a job
At the Meteorological Office,
And damned glad to get it
With lots of ex-officers waiting at table.
Learnt to 'Charleston'
And got in as much trouble
As I could afford
On a Civil Service pay.
That is 'til I married a girl from home:
Art student at the Slade,
A brainy sort, and still the best I've seen...

So I'm flying a desk,
Both feet on the ground.
Damn boring work,
But there's Suzie and me,
And we're young and in love.

No children, thank God,
And she married again I'm glad to say:
Decent fellow, another flying man...
Well, we bought a wireless set;
We bought a Bull-nose Morris;
She grew roses round the door;
I grew a moustache,
And the 1920's rattled past outside...

And as I drew the spiky lines
On my weather maps,
Theoretical winds in a paper sky,
I remembered with longing the living air;
Flying home inside a sky you could eat:
Sunset smoked salmon and oysters,
Clouds like meringues
And whipped cream
In a raspberry sauce
And the scent of the rough-mown
Landing field
And the sound of the liberty watch
Who are singing their airship shanties
In the sun.

TENOR (& CHORUS):-
Go tighten your shearwires
And tighten them well.
(Blow, boys, blow...)
But don't strike a spark
Or you'll blow us to hell.
(Blow, boys, blow...)
At your back, the wind's a boon;
In your teeth, it's a curse.
(Blow, boys, blow...)
Engines all full-speed ahead;
You're still flying in reverse.
(Blow, boys, blow...)

CHORUS:-
But we'd do it again
'Cos we're all airship men
And that's flying in the face of nature.

TENOR:-
We're raising the wind
On just five bob a day.
(Blow, boys, blow...)
We don't make much breeze
When we're blowing our pay.
(Blow, boys, blow...)
But I'll sew you a dress
From a piece of blue sky
(Blow, boys, blow...)
If you'll blow me a kiss, my love,
As you wave goodbye.
(Blow, boys, blow...)

CHORUS:-
But you'd have us again
Even though we're the men
Who go flying in the face of nature.
Yes, we'll say it again,
We are all airship men
And we're flying in the face of nature!

credits

from CURLY'S AIRSHIPS, released April 10, 2020
Vocal Credits:-
CURLY - JUDGE
THE TENOR - PAUL THOMPSON
THE CHORUS - JUDGE, PAUL ROBERTS, JOHN ELLIS & DAVID SHAW-PARKER

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JUDGE SMITH Glastonbury, UK

Judge Smith co-founded the band Van der Graaf Generator in 1967 with Peter Hammill, & has since been involved in many music projects as writer, composer or performer. He has written stage musicals, classical & rock libretti, songs for television & a book on Life after Death; directed a prize-winning short film, & released fourteen CDs & two DVDs. He was born in 1948 & lives near Glastonbury, UK. ... more

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