Tom Robinson
Cooking Vinyl: COOK CD 097 Enhanced (CD+) format (1996)

1) Disrespect
2) The One
3) Rum Thunderbird
4) Cold Cold Ground
5) Fool To Myself
6) Hot Dog
7) Sorry
8) Connecticut
9) Congo Blue
10) Castaway
11) (The Last Word)

A classic Al Scott production, recorded 1995-6 at the Levellers' studio in Brighton.
Features Adam Phillips on guitar and Jo Burt (Sector 27) on bass. Audience favourites at live gigs include 'Rum Thunderbird', 'The One' & 'Connecticut'.

1) Disrespect
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt/Scott/Lallaman)

Well the crunch is coming
And it won't be long
You think you know the future
But you're so so wrong
For love and comfort
You can lean on me
But your life's your own -
Your own responsibility

You sit there wasted and you drink all day
You cruise the kennels and go all the way

Please please please - don't disrespect yourself

Well the crunch is coming
You abuse your brain
Your God-given body
And your own good name
Take the risk of winning
Stand up, be strong
To those brutal losers
You gotta prove them wrong

You've been mistreated and you've been abused
But that's all over if you only choose - I said

Please please please - Please please please -
Please please please - don't disrespect yourself

Relax... Everything's alright
Right here, right now
in this room tonight
Take a great leap forward
Walk on, be free
I believe in you
Can you believe in me?

Take my arm, I wanna touch your hand
Wanna hold your shoulder, I can be your man

Please please please - Please please please -
Please please please - don't disrespect yourself

2) The One
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)

Hey there lonely with your life on hold
Uptight and terrified of getting old
Saving your affection for the Special One
The ideal lover who will never come
Bid Mister Fantasy a fond farewell
Your ideal lover boy you know him well
Why keep searching for the eyes of blue
When the eyes of love are looking right at you?

Won't be the lover that you might expect
He's been like a brother since the day you met
He sees your weakness and he knows your faults
But you don't seem to notice him at all
The one you run to when you're all alone
With endless confessions on the telephone
The one who's fun whenever life's a party
The one who hugs you when you're brokenhearted -

The One... he's The Only One
He's The One... he's The Only One

Don't try to tell me it would be a crime
To mess up your friendship after all this time
Have you ever listened to a word he's said -
Forget the friend and see the man instead
He wants your loving, what did you expect
Along with your tenderness and deep respect
His lips are gentle but his hands are firm
Hold tight now, you got a lot to learn, from

The One... from The Only One
He's The One... he's The Only One
And it's you, you, you, you, you...

Couldn't care less about the lies you tell
Bad or angry, you can be yourself
Couldn't care less about the mess you're in
Couldn't care less about your next of kin
Doesn't give a damn about the clothes you wear
Doesn't give a damn about the state of your hair
Doesn't give a damn about the life you've led

Doesn't give a damn whoever shared your bed

You're The One... you're The Only One
You're The One... you're The Only One
And it's you, you, you, you, you...
You're The One

3) Rum Thunderbird
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)

Rum, thunderbird wine and coke
Snakebite and skunk, a snort and a smoke
I wanna get legless and fly like a bird -
That's the most natural thing in the world

I get up each morning at twenty to seven
I work till it's way after five
Yes sir and no sir, I'm Mister Control sir
I do what I need to survive
I go out each evening, get drunk with my buddies
Crawl back in the dead of the night
Lying in bed when I'm out of my head
I can feel what I need deep inside

Rum, thunderbird wine and coke
My mouth is as dry as the back of my throat
I'm wrecked in the bedroom and ready to hurl
That's the most natural thing in the world

Flying with CDs and Es at the flat
On a weekend my best friend and I
Are smoking and drinking and both of us thinking
The things we all think when we're high
The ceiling is reeling, I know how you're feeling
About to crash out for the night
If we became closer well no-one would know
So roll over and switch out the light

Rum, thunderbird wine and coke
To tell you the truth I need to be juiced
I wanna get naked and scream like a girl
That's the most natural thing in the world

Rum, thunderbird wine and coke
I wanna be touched, I wanna be groped
I'm wrecked in the bedroom and ready to hurl

That's the most natural thing in the world

Rum, thunderbird wine and coke
Snakebite and skunk, a toot and a toke
I wanna get legless and high as a bird -
Cos that's the most natural thing in the world...
That's the most natural thing in the world

4) Cold Cold Ground
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)

Call me Digger - I don't have no other name
Don't want no hassle next time I'm making my claim
Long ago and far away
My dad was an animal, but that's OK
Hitched to the city, now I'm here to stay -
Begging on the cold cold ground

Some people cuss and kick or spit in your face
Some just slip you a quid and quicken their pace
If you were me - the roles reversed
Don't try to tell me you'd escape the curse
Every alternative's so much worse
Than begging on the cold cold ground

Beg, beg, begging
The rain keeps hammering down
Beg, beg, begging
Begging on the cold cold ground

I got smooth white skin so I do much better than some
Some girls mother me, some men wanna have fun...
Late tonight, when you're in bed
Or sat up surfing on the World Wide Web
You'll forget the beggar boy you just met
Begging on the cold cold ground

Beg, beg, begging
The rain keeps hammering down
Beg, beg, begging
Begging on the cold cold ground

Don't kid yourself that you're immune
The 21st Century will be here soon
Fucked in a gutter, howling at the moon
And begging on the cold cold ground

Beg, beg, begging

Why don't you give me a pound
Beg, beg, begging
Begging on the cold cold ground

Am I alright - you might well ask
A sop to your conscience as you walk on past
You sad motherfuckers can kiss my arse
I'm begging on the cold cold ground

 

5) Fool To Myself
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)

There were times in my life
I avoided the voice of my reason
When respect for myself
was the search for a hole in the wall
When I hated my face and
evaded my gaze in the mirror
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more

I believed all the crap that
fanatics were happy to parrot
And their world of uncomfortable
certainties made me secure
I conformed and performed
all their torturous mental contortions
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more

Living each day in a
permanent haze of frustration
Too eager to please and
too scared to say 'boo' to a hen
Lying awake going over
each humiliation
I've been kicking myself
again and again and again

I've tried to be nice-all-the-time
and control my emotions
I've pretended I wanna make love
when I'm ready for war
And I've planned every move
and manoeuvre in human relations
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more

I'm sick to the gills of appeasing
the creeps who abuse me
All the 'sorrys' I've muttered to others
for nothing at all
Of accepting the verdict of vermin
who lie and accuse me
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more

6) Hot Dog
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)

I saw you one morning and I knew you were the one for me
Yes I saw you one morning and I knew you were the one for me
A certain little something in the way you moved
Jumpy as a puppy on a hot tin roof
Well I saw you in the morning and I knew you were the one for me

You were tasty, you were tempting and I knew you were the one for me
I swallowed and I followed cos I knew you were the one for me
A certain little something in the way you smiled
Telegraphed a message that was weird and wild
You were beefy and delicious and I knew you were the one for me

Hot Dog - so brown and smooth
Hot Dog - so tender too
Hot Dog - you know it's true:
I saw you in the morning and I knew you were the one for me

It was dangerous and crazy but I knew you were the one for me
It was seedy and illegal but I knew you were the one for me
I held you harder as you won the race -

Ketchup and mustard all over the place
It was over in a moment but I knew you were the one for me

Hot Dog - so brown and smooth
Hot Dog - I want you too
Hot Dog - you know it's true
I was horny in the morning and I knew you were the one for me

7) Sorry
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)

You ask if I'm sorry, well let me say this
Been here at the bottom since I was a kid
My mother was sorry when I saw the day
She just couldn't help it, I'm sorry to say

Well it seemed as if everyone else had the right
To bite any pieces of me that they liked
They beat me and hurt me till I ran away
And if they were sorry, they just didn't say

Sorry... sorry
My mother was sorry when I saw the day
Sorry... sorry
She just couldn't help it, I'm sorry to say

I gatecrashed a party in downtown LA
With pretty young people, successful and gay
I tied 'em all up - then I blew them away
I just couldn't help it, I'm sorry to say

Sorry... sorry
I tied them all up then I blew them away
Sorry... sorry
I just couldn't help it, I'm sorry to say

You hordes of reporters and video crews
I don't understand all these words that you use
I question myself as you ask me your whys
I don't know how to deal with the sorry thing, guys...

Well I understand rules, regulations and force
Procedure is easy, I understand war

I understand angry day after day
But sorry's beyond me I'm sorry to say

Sorry... sorry
I understand angry day after day
Sorry... sorry
Sorry's beyond me
I'm sorry to say

8) Connecticut
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)

The message light was blinking as I walked in from the rain
The thunderclap erupted right outside my window pane
Across the cold Atlantic came a bolt out of the blue
I tried to lie and carry on but only thought of you

And it's raining in Connecticut
It's raining in LA
It's raining every place I go
Since you were blown away

Your laughter in the restaurant, the parties and champagne
The driven urge to prove yourself - to win and win again
The fortress that surrounded you - awards on all the walls
The demons in your darkness and the friends you never called

And it's raining in Connecticut, it's raining in LA
It's raining in the dead of night, it's raining every day
And it's raining in Australia - it's raining in Calais
It's raining every place I go since you were blown away

And I'm lost - tonight as I remember you
Your heart was even wider than your smile
And all you ever dreamed of was the one who'd love and hold you
As you carried on - now you're gone, gone gone

The echoes from the restaurant, of parties and champagne
The driven urge to win and win, your privacy and pain
The page of fading photographs, the bitter-tasting pill
The stranger we all knew so well... the friend we never will

And it's raining in Connecticut, it's raining in LA
It's raining in the dead of night, it's raining every day
It's raining in Australia - it's raining in Calais
It's raining every place I go since you were blown away

Yes it's raining in Connecticut, it's raining in LA
It's raining in the dead of night, been raining every day
Now it's raining in Australia, Bankok and Old Bombay
It's raining in the whole damn world
Since you were blown away

In memory of Dan Hartman d.1994

9) Congo Blue
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)

Smalltown city on a weekday evening
The pubs are shutting and the streets are heaving
Looking for a little bit of late night twisting
Hear the muffled thumping of a big sound system
Bass in the bowels of a crowded bar
Squeeze through the beefcake steaming in the dark
My friends are restless, talking by the door
But I'm dazzled by the flash and razzle on the dancefloor

Blue, blue, Congo Blue...
Blue, blue, Congo Blue...

Sweating and deafened in the strobing light
Transfixed by a vision in the northern night
Your face so radiant, full of animation
Dancing and glancing with a hint of flirtation -
Knowing, and flowing with amazing grace
Shirt hanging down, flapping over your waist
Can't help laughing, got a hard attack - cos you're
Grinning and singing and you're looking right back, I said

Blue, blue, Congo Blue... do you really mean it
Blue, blue, Congo Blue... are you laughing at me

Never imagined I'd run into you here
Here of all places after all these years
All my life I've been waiting, aching
Too many nights of searching, hurting
Summoning the courage up to bridge that gap
Walk right over and begin to chat, just
Wishing I was fitter now, wishing I was younger
Wishing I could hide my raging hunger

Blue, blue, Congo Blue... do you really mean it

Blue, blue, Congo Blue... are you laughing at me

Save the last dance for me...
Save your last dance for me

10) Castaway

As a child I was terrified of the mighty ocean
When I heard the distant urging of the brine
Though I cried at night as I tried to fight the emotion
That bitter cup of tears was truly mine

But when I came to taste the spray on the waterfront
I lost my fear and shrugged away my shame
And I stowed away on a transatlantic freighter
With the tempest raging in my every vein

A man may spend his life afloat, a man may live ashore
I'll cast away and take my chance at sea

There were stormy days and roaring nights a-plenty
In the salty fellowship of boys and men
They were tough and true, they were glassy-eyed and reckless
With a blazing thirst I drank and drank again

We crossed the line, explored the depths of danger
Exceeding every fantasy and dream
No landsman with his stifling horizons
Could ever guess the wonders we had seen

A man may spend his life afloat, a man may live ashore
I'll cast away and take my chance at sea
I've braved the waves in an open boat and I know these waters well
I'll man your lifeboat any time you need

Way, cast away from the restless aching
Way, cast away - gonna leave it all behind
Way, far away where the waves are breaking
Way, far away - where the ocean meets the sky

Well a ship must tack and a man must follow his compass
On an unknown shore I foundered in the sand
Met a salty girl with a sailor's gait and her eyes were a greeny blue
And she knew the ropes like the back of her sunburned hand

We danced a hornpipe on the beach to the sound of the seething swell
We drank and sank exhausted on the strand
Till I slipped my anchor, quit my ship and became a castaway
To savour the embrace of her native land

A man may spend his life afloat, a man may live ashore
A man may marry and still put out to sea

We brave the waves in our open boat and we know these waters well
We'll man your lifeboat any time you need

Way, cast away from the restless aching
Way, cast away - gonna leave it all behind
Way, far away where the waves are breaking
Way, far away - where the ocean meets the sky

11) The Last Word
(Robinson)
For 21 years now I've fought for the right
For people to love just whoever they like
But the right-on and righteous are out for my blood
Now I live with my kid and a woman I love
Well if gay liberation means freedom for all
A label is no liberation at all
I'm here and I'm queer and I do what I do
And I'm not gonna wear... a straitjacket for you

MULTIMEDIA

*The multimedia section of the CD consists of photos, text, video clips, music loops, interviews, biogs, lyrics and background info for the songs, photos, jokes, safe sex info and much more besides. To view it you'll need either a multimedia capable Macintosh with Quicktime™ - or a Windows PC with Quicktime™ for Windows. Viewing the multimedia part of Having It Both Ways with Apple Macintosh is normally straightforward.

However some problems have occurred with Windows-equipped computers - caused when Microsoft altered its CD ROM driver software and killed (knowingly, we might add) support for "Pre-Gap" format Enhanced CDs.

"Having it both ways is Tom Robinson's thirteenth album in his 21 year career as a songwriter, performer, social activist, tax exile, lover, father, and man. the record expands into the musical territories he explored with his 1994 album "Love Over Rage" - demonstrating a songwriter who has lost none of his edge and skill. Broad in its range of styles and emotions, hibw is as finely crafted a recording as your likely to hear this year. The disc also features a multimedia segment produced by Datapanik Media Control, filled with video clips about the songs and their origins, musicians on the record, a full TR discography and loads of extra info ranging from safe sex to *celebrated* lesbian photographers -- all of it expanding on the themes in tom's music and lyrics."

ADAM SMITH

From the CD sleeve:

Music content produced, mixed and engineered by Al Scott at The Levellers' Metway studios, Brighton, UK, featuring:

* Tom Robinson: piano, ac. guitar, programming
* T.V.Smith: acoustic guitar, backing vocals
* Adam Phillips: guitar, ac. guitar, backing vocals
* Jo Burt: bass, acoustic guitar, backing vocals
* Tom Fenner: drums, percussion, backing vocals

photography by Della Grace ([email protected])
sleeve design by Cactus

All titles composed 1995 by Robinson / Phillips / Fenner / Burt (except Disrespect: Robinson / Phillips / Fenner / Burt / Scott / Lallaman) publishing: Duncannon Music

extra musical contributions by:

badsha lallaman rap on disrespect
mark ramsden sax on disrespect and castaway
al scott bass on disrespect, odd bits of guitar
henry twinch organ and some of the piano on disrespect
simon leveller mandolin and backing vocals on rum thunderbird
jeremy leveller backing vocals on rum thunderbird
burt leveller backing vocals on rum thunderbird

Badsha Lallaman appears courtesy of Debt Records/Detrimental
T.V. Smith appears courtesy of Humbug Records
Members of The Levellers appear courtesy of China Records
"Disrespect" is dedicated to Vlod and "Connecticut" to Dan Hartman.

SAFER SEX
Information and counselling available from
Terrence Higgins Trust
52-54 Grays Inn Rd, London, WC1X 8JU
Helpline: 0171-242-1010
Open 12 noon - 10 pm, 7 days a week

Also from
UK National AIDS Helpline: 0800-567-123
(free call from within UK, open 24 hours a day)

AIDS Memorial Ribbons
available free from:
Red Ribbon Project, 23 Barratt St, St Christopher Place, W1M 5HP
Tel: 0171-493-3686. Donations welcome.

Best flat-top barber in London
Bill Salvucci at CHRIS hairdressers
142 Northcote Road, London SW11

From the multimedia project
Multimedia content by datapanik
([email protected])

Datapanik is a design and multimedia company based in Toronto, Canada. Originally a print-based design and production company, they now develop multimedia projects for corporate and arts clients. datapanik specializes in working with the music industry. In 1992 they produced the second ever multimedia promotional kit (the first was by Pere Ubu) for the Vancouver band LUNG. LUNGinfo has been distributed around the world via online services and the internet, and been written up in numerous magazines.

datapanik's principal, SteakFace, is also regularly called on as an authority in the area of new media and music. He has appeared on CITY TV's The New Music, written for music magazines about CD ROMs and technology, and sat on a panel at the MusicWest conference. Joey deVilla, datapanik's programmer extraordinaire, is a trained C programmer, a published cartoonist, a musician, and a damned funny guy.

datapanik can be reached at:
telephone 416 975 1495
facsimile 416 975 9235
email: [email protected] or [email protected]

PRODUCTION NOTES:
Produced at datapanik's studios in Toronto
February - March 1996
Design and Production: SteakFace and Joey deVilla
Camera Operator: Norman Camps (F4 Fastmover Video)
QT Technical Assistance: Thor Henrikson
Thanks: Nancy Miki, Ayako Shimizu, Cindy Dabis, Rick Conroy, Mackerel Interactive Multimedia, CS Consultants, Steve Young, Cooking Vinyl Records, Mark Smith, Metway Studio, Della Grace, Jacki Harvie, and of course Tom Robinson

datapanik wishes to acknowledge the indirect but profound contributions of Lawrence Clarke and Kosta Tsetsekas.

The project was produced entirely with Apple Macintosh computers. (What do you think we are, stupid?)

MISC:
Video transfers by: Stancon Video, Toronto
All video was shot in one day, with no script, on site at Metway Studios, Brighton
Test cutting equipment: Mackerel Interactive Multimedia
Most unexpected production expense: the myriad AtoZ Guides(TM) necessary to get anywhere in Britain
Biggest pain in the ass: working around Macromedia's flaws (the poor scrolling text boxes are not our fault)
SteakFace's favourite part: the cross-fading soundtracks
Joey's favorite part: Della Grace screens
Most valuable production tool: Faema cappuccino machine
datapanik's cat's name: Brian

Having It Both Ways - the Interactive

datapanik's principal, SteakFace, approached Tom Robinson in the autumn of 1995 about adding a multimedia portion to his new release...

"datapanik is commited to making the most of multimedia technologies. We won't work on a project unless we know that we can use the tools at our disposal to enhance and extend what's being said. There are far too many people who are sucked in by the technical wow-factor of what can be done these days, and lose sight of what's really important -- the message in the middle of it all.

Tom was a natural choice for us. We've always know him to be erudite, provocative, and a well-spring of interesting ideas and observations. The strength of what we've achieved with Having It Both Ways is firmly rooted in Tom's remarkable musical career and fascinating personal perspective. It's too bad that lines like 'we feel very fortunate to have been allowed to do this' have become so cliche, because in this case it really is true."

datapanik has been producing professional multimedia since 1993, when SteakFace created the interactive press kit / promotional piece "LUNGinfo" for the Vancouver agro-rock outfit LUNG. LUNGinfo was distributed via floppy disk, online service, and internet FTP sites, and received attention from press and fans all over North America. While interactive press kits are becoming a standard method for promotion, LUNGinfo arrived well ahead of the pack, and is believed to be the second project of its kind (with Pere Ubu's "The Story of Ubu" being the first.)

Originally a print-based design and production company established in 1989, datapanik worked both sides of the fence for a couple of years after its discovering multimedia tools, producing prototypes and sample multimedia work while the industry as a whole continued to crawl out of its infancy. In 1995 SteakFace moved himself and the company from Vancouver to Toronto, and combined this with a full-time switch into the world of multimedia development. Having It Both Ways is the first major project to be released under the datapanik name.

SteakFace also works as a project director for the award-winning Mackerel Interactive Multimedia, writes a column about new media for a national music magazine, has appeared on CITY TV as a commentator on new media and music, and can be regularly found in select cafes feeding his caffeine addiction and arguing loudly about whatever is pissing him off on that particular day. It was at Mackerel that he met Joey deVilla, chief programmer on the Tom Robinson project.

Joey is a graduate of Queens University and has a similar background in music. His dedication and clear understanding of computer programming principals make him a potent force amongst the legions of desktop-publishers-turned-computer-programmers who make up a large percentage of multimedia coders.

"datapanik works as efficiently and thoroughly as it does because we are all multi-disciplined. We all watch out for each other, and are capable of making informed suggestions and critiques of each other's work. No one is good at only one thing -- we all contribute all over the place. There is absolutely no room for prima donnas here. A great idea is a great idea, regardless of its source.

We're a small company and we intend to stay that way. We enjoy a level of unspoken communications that can't be found in large companies. We can make decisions without delay, work at breakneck speeds, and spend more of our time being creative and less time filing reports and managing the politics."

The company prides itself on its innovative and refreshing approach to interface design.

"Instead of trying to see how much 'stuff' we can load onto the screen, and then forcing the user to try to sort through the mess, we prefer to make the interface as transparent and seemless as possible. Using the philosophy of typographers, who consider the most effective work to be that which communicates a message to the reader unconciously, we try to strike the delicate balance between aesthetic appeal and simple ease of use.

Creating beautiful lush screens of artwork is only half the story -- engaging the user and providing them with the power to navigate through that art is the thing that can separate a piece that communicates effectively from one which frustrates the user.

I find it ironic that, given the almost limitless possibilities and broad range of approaches which multimedia affords a designer, so much of it these days looks so alike, and that so many of those similarities are based on self-indulgent design."
Datapanik's plans for the future include more work within the music industry, where they have strong ties and a long history.