Big Man Down

(album: Gangs Of New Holland - 2010)

They in their black battalion go
Fit to weep, dressed to kill, to the chapel on the hill
Through the wind and the blistering snow
They in their black battalion go
Fit to weep, dressed to kill, to the chapel on the hill
Through the wind and the blistering snow
Unafraid, undisguised, to put pennies in his eyes
The twist of a grin, the whiskers on his chin
Hide the teeth of a giant, broken, yellow and defiant
His bones lay crossed, he'll no be back
He arrived in screaming pink, now he'll leave in silent black

Cheer up ye lousy cadgers, I'll no be missed
I've given ye all the day off work and leave to hit the piss
So tart me up in finery and put me to the flame
Don't plant me in the ground tho' for fear I'll grow again

I know each and every line on your chiselled ugly faces
Every red and bloated inch from noses down to laces
Your nervous ticks, your treats and tricks, your secrets and your lies
Oh if you could only see yourself through these old hollow eyes
You'd surely die!

Cheer up ye lousy cadgers, I'll no be missed
I've given ye all the day off work and leave to hit the piss
So tart me up in finery and put me to the flame
Don't plant me in the ground tho' for fear I'll grow again

Oh it's farewell for now my lovelies
Goodbye to your taunts and your charms
To stout hearted fellows with tunes for the burning
To waltzing in sweet Lassies arms
I'm off on the blood red rattler
With these villainous slappers and clowns
With the coughing, the wheezing, the farting and sneezing
Malevolent ghosts and their hounds

As a choking cloud he rose
To suffocate the lamp, the air was growing damp
Oily black the river flowed
The plough-beasts went blind, fruit hung rotten on the vine
The holy ones prepare a sacrificial virgin
The need for sinners to repent was ne'er before so urgent
The tired and lame are goners, strong men have soiled their breeks
All the roads are cut and it's been pissing down for weeks

Cheer up ye lousy cadgers, I'll no be missed
I've given ye all the day off work and leave to hit the piss
So tart me up in finery and put me to the flame
Don't plant me in the ground tho' for fear I'll grow again

Cheer up ye lousy cadgers, I'll no be missed
I've given ye all the day off work and leave to hit the piss
So tart me up in finery and put me to the flame
Don't plant me in the ground tho' for fear I'll grow again
I'll grow again
I'll grow again