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Not Drowning But Waving

from THE FULL ENGLISH by JUDGE SMITH

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lyrics

NOT DROWNING BUT WAVING

She says she can’t sleep on her own.
She means that she can’t leave men alone.
So Des and Den and Nige and Bri
All spend her money and make her cry.
Her lovers come and go too fast,
Each more unsuitable than the last.
Her friends think she is all at sea.
They speak of rescue and tragedy.

Don’t they understand
She don’t need saving.
She’s not far from land
Not drowning but waving.

George couldn’t cope with being adult
And so he joined a religious cult.
He knows the guru’s always right
And he only sleeps for four hours a night.
He sells the pamphlets, eats the rice,
A happy certainty in his eyes.
His mother’s hired a special man
And they’ll deprogram him if they can.

Hey, Ma...Though your boy’s jumped ship
He don’t need saving.
Just taking a dip,
Not drowning but waving...

They don’t need saving...
Not drowning but waving...

Scotch whiskey was the thing for Jim.
He said it thoroughly suited him.
He found it kept the world away
So he drank a pint-and-a-half each day.
We all grew worried for his health.
We said “You must not destroy yourself.”
But when he hears that kind of thing
He jumps on the table, raises his glass,
And then he starts to sing.
And he says...

Please don’t man the boat,
I don’t need saving.
I keep well afloat,
Not drowning but waving.

Don’t they understand,
I say we don’t need saving.
We’re not far from land,
We’re not drowning but waving.

credits

from THE FULL ENGLISH, released May 1, 2020

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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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