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Horrors at Hendon

from CURLY'S AIRSHIPS by JUDGE SMITH

/

lyrics

CURLY:-
They said they could fix it.
They said they could fix anything.
But meanwhile
We were due back on stage,
Providing the climax
Of the 1930 Hendon Air Show.
The Tax-payers wanted
To see what they'd got
For their money,
And it was a chance to show off
To the King and Queen.
Our masters couldn't pass this up.

We're away,
Heading due south for Hendon,
And we're stopping the traffic
And making them stare.
She's heavy and pitching,
And we have to fly with her nose up
To get extra lift,
But who cares,
As long as we're not on the ground.
Right on cue,
We make our pass over the airfield.
Over the grandstand at eight hundred feet,
We can hear the cheering.
Irwin dips her bow in salute
To the Royal Box;
That did it...

The dip became a vicious little dive.
Full power! Full up-elevator!
Cox'n and Captain fighting her level,
Forcing her up.
Turn her and get her away PDQ.

It was a close shave,
But nobody down there
Saw anything wrong.
We set course for Bedford
With one engine on the blink as usual.
My spell as Officer of the Watch,
And the way she was flying
Made my hair rise.
After an hour or two,
Suddenly had the feeling
She was about to drop out of the sky.
Looked at the Cox'n, he was sweating;
I made a jump for the ballast controls;
Let go a couple of tons.
I'm sure I was only just in time.

I hadn't been so scared since 1917
When a U-boat
Had used my little blimp
For target practice.
Now we had to drop another ten tons
Of ballast and fuel
Before she was light enough to moor.

I was flying a pig!
But she looked so good,
Like a beautiful fruit
That's all rotten inside.
Oh yes, this airship had a bad heart.

Well we all had the wind up now;
So Colmore asked Thompson
To postpone the big flight.
Came away with a flea in his ear:
If we couldn't get the man there and back
By mid-October,
There'd be no more money
Requested for the programme,
And we all wanted to fly...

THREE AIRSHIPMEN:-
We wanna fly...
We wanna fly...
We wanna fly...
We wanna fly...
We wanna fly...
We wanna fly...

credits

from CURLY'S AIRSHIPS, released April 10, 2020
Vocal Credits:-
CURLY - JUDGE
THE THREE AIRSHIPMEN - PETE BROWN, PAUL ROBERTS & ARTHUR BROWN

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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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