Tom Robinson & Crew
1988 USA re-release (1997) Castaway Northwest: CNWVP 002

1) Stornoway
2) Atmospherics: Listen To The Radio
3) The Night Tide
4) Nut Rocker
5) Surabaya Johnny
6) Looking For A Bonfire
7) Tango An Der Wand
8) Cabin Boy
9) Back In The Old Country
10) Old Friend
11) Never Gonna Fall In Love (Again)
12) Too Good To Be true
13) Glad To Be Gay '87
14) War Baby
15) 2-4-6-8 Motorway

1) Stornoway

The first essential for a trawler, decreasing
She's icing up faster and faster
They was real rough in their ways
I got a shilling for every pound
Recommended, laddie
The crew consisted of six men and a boy
It was 3 or 4 years before you was a man
When you could do a man's work
Personally I'd rather be a convict...

The drifters, like a town, lit up
Times nobody got any sleep
Every herring pulled out of it
If there was a shimmer - a heavy shoal
Halibut, cod, lobster...
Keen frost, blinding snow
Cold and pitiless as the hand of death
Collisions inevitable with sad loss of life
Two hundred and fifteen men and boys
Drowned at sea 1909 within sight of home

Eight out of ten they was really rough
Don't call me bloody boy - I can swear
One dirty night, fifty foot up from the deck
As a boy of thirteen
Saw the trawler William Boyce
Driving before the wind
With a crew of five hands -
The vessel altogether unmanageable
You could see he was a fisherman
Jolly Bob Adams, lost off a smack
The sea was full of ships, full of 'em
You had to see them times to believe 'em
The sea was full of ships, full of 'em
You had to see them times to believe 'em

Tom Robinson/Stevie Blanchard (Notting Hill Music/Copyright Control)

2) Atmospherics: Listen To The Radio

Leave the bureau in the snow
Catch a tram to Onkel Poe
Early evening ring around the moon;
Slip in by the concierge
By the bikes and p the stairs
Snap the latch and creep into the room

Throw off your coat,
Pick up the post,
Put a coffee on
Lie down on the bed
Lay back your head
Smoke a cigarette...
Listen to the radio

In the city late tonight
Double feature, black and white
Bitter Tears and Taxi to the Klo
Find a bar, avoid a fight
Show your papers, be polite
Walking home with nowhere else to go

Throw off your coat
Pick up my note
And put the coffee on
Lie down on the bed
Lay back your head
And smoke a cigarette...
Listen to the radio

Atmospherics after dark
Noise and voices from the past
Across the dial from Moscow to Cologne:
Interference in the night
Thousand miles on either side
Stations fading into the unknown:

Throw off your coat
Butter some toast,
Put the coffee on;
Lie down on the bed
Lay back your head
Smoke a cigarette...

Listen to the radio
Listen to the radio

Peter Gabriel/Tom Robinson (Real World Music/Notting Hill Music)

3) The Night Tide

For christsake Chrissy, won't you open the door -
Don't tell me you're still sleeping
All hell's going on in the street outside
All the roads are closed this evening
Tried to call you but the lines are jammed
Don't say you're not ready after all we planned
Sail on the night...
Sail on the night tide

There's no need packing
You can leave your keys
We're running out of time now
That money's worth nothing when we're all at sea
Leave it all behind now
Only one way out of town tonight
We'll miss the madness if we time it right
Sail on the night...
Sail on the night tide
Goodby London, goodbye Gravesend
Goodbye Tilbury...
The orange sky is lit up like a fountain
Goodbye Medway, goodbye Dover
And sail on, sail on the night...

There's no need packing
You can leave your keys
We're running out of time now
That money's worth nothing when we're all at sea
Leave it all behind now
Down the culvert and across the tracks
Down to the river as we turn our backs
Sail on the night...
Sail on the night tide

Jo Burt/Tom Robinson (Josongs/Leosong/Notting Hill Music)

4) Nut Rocker

Pyotr Tchaikowsky/Arr. Kim Fowley (Ardmore & Beechwood Music)
instrumental, featuring Sean Mayes on piano

5) Surabaya Johnny

I was just 17 when I met you
In a bar on a Harburg quay
I was new to the town and the country
But you said you could go with me
Well I asked what you did for a living
And you swore on your dead mother's grave
You were planning some two-man business
And not a life on the ocean wave

You talk a lot, Johhny
A lot of rot, Johnny
You lied and cheated me right from the start
Don't sit and grin, Johhny
You took me in, Johnny
You might at least take that pipe
Out your mouth when I'm talking to you

Surabaya Johnny
Why'd you treat me so rough
Surabaya Johnny
Oh I loved you so much
Surabaya Johnny
Now I'm down on my luck
You've got no heart, Johnny
And I love you so much...

It began like a month of Sundays
As you showed me all over the town
But the moment we moved in together
Was the moment your fist came down
Every night you were drunk in a punch-up
And you'd come back home in a rage
My face in the bathroom mirror
Is like a man more than twice my age

It wasn't love Johnny
You wanted money Johnny
I begged & borrowed
I stole from my home
You took it all Johnny
I gave you more, Johnny
Surabaya Johnny
All those bruises and cuts
Surabaya Johnny
My God, well I loved you so much
Surabaya Johnny
Now I'm losing my touch
You're just a bastard, Johnny
But I love you so much

Well there's one thing you never did mention
And it's not that you're not one to boast
But you'd exactly the same reputation
In every other town on the coast
Waking up in a bed and breakfast
There's a ship in the harbour outside
And you pick up your bag on your shoulder
And walk out without saying goodbye

You got no heart Johnny
You're just a bastard Johnny
Just give me one reason Johnny
You're going away
I love you still, Johnny
I always will, Johnny...

Surabaya Johnny
Now I'm down on my luck
Surabaya Johnny
Well I loved you so much
Surabaya Johnny
You just don't give a fuck
You're such a bastard, Johnny
But I love you so much

Berthold Brecht/Kurt Weill (Alfred Kalmus Music)

English translation by TR

6) Looking For A Bonfire

I've been collecting pennies
In a hat and a mask
On a cold November evening
Before the fireworks start

Woodsmoke drifting into the trees
Crackle of bracken and burning leaves
At the height of the season
Looking for bonfire...

See the smoke and cinders fly
Feel as if I'm on fire
Just another jealous guy
Looking for a bonfire
Looking for a bonfire

Well we found our matches
And we started to spark
Now we're touching the paper
And standing back in the dark

Hot potato - better for some
But I've burnt my fingers
And bitten my tongue
I can never remember:
I'm looking for a bonfire...

See the smoke and cinders fly
Feel as if I'm on fire
Just another jealous guy
Looking for a bonfire

Oooh I don't want to turn away
We've been on the wheel
Now we're watching it burn away

See the smoke and cinders fly
Feel as if I'm on fire
Just another jealous guy
Looking for a bonfire
Looking for a bonfire

Tom Robinson (Notting Hill Music)

7) Tango An Der Wand

Hier machten Huende ihr Geschaeft
(immer an der Wand lang)
Heute ist der Platz besetzt
(immer an der Wand lang)

Wessen Zukunft ist verschwommen
Heimatlos und mitgenommen
Lasst sie nach Berlin herkommen
Und tango and der Wand entlang

Letzte Tango an der Wand
Liebling, gib' mir deine Hand
Jedes Kind im ganzen Land singt:
"Ich bin ein Berliner"

Kommu-Kapi-Apokal-ismus
(immer an der Wand lang)
Kamikaze Pazifizmus
(immer an der Wand lang)

Wessen Zukunft ist verschwommen
Zaehlen Greise Megatonnen
Lasst sie nach Berlin herkommen
Und tango and der Wand entlang

Letzte Tango an der Wand
Liebling, gib' mir deine Hand
Jedes Kind im Ganzen Land singt:
"Ich bin ein Berliner"

Immer an der Wand lang, immer an der Wand
Immer an der Wand, an der Wand entlang
Immer an der Wand lang, immer an der Wand
Immer an der Wand entlang

Stepp' doch mal auf dem Vulkan
(immer an der Wand lang)
Macht die rote Lichter an
(immer an der Wand lang)
Auf dem Boden um zu sonnen
Ihr habt den Blumentopf gewonnen
Braucht nur nach Berlin zu kommen
Und tango an der Wand entlang

Letzte Tango an der Wand
Liebling, gib' mir deine Hand
Ich weiss gar nix von diesem Land, da
Ich bin kein Berliner

Immer an der Wand lang, immer an der Wand
Immer an der Wand, an der Wand entlang
Immer an der Wand lang, immer an der Wand
Immer an der Wand entlang

Tom Robinson/Horst Koenigstein (Notting Hill Music/Francis, Day & Hunter GmbH)

8) Cabin Boy

I wanna be your cabin boy
Senior Service, sloop McCoy
Sling my hammock and hoist the boat
Knuckle under and learn the ropes
Action stations, all correct
Trim the rigging and swab the deck
Do the hornpipe - jump for joy
I wanna be your cabin boy
All night... all night

Cabin boy work night and day
Cabin boy goes all the way
Copenhagen, Frisco Bay
Cabin boy don't get no say
Man the capstan, work the pump
Cook and carry and fetch and hump
Do the duties I enjoy
I wanna be your cabin boy
All night... all night

I wanna be your cabin boy all night
I wanna be your cabin boy all night...

All night long...
All night long... Action stations!

Cabin boy work night and day
Cabin boy goes all the way
Man the capstan, work the pump
Cook and carry and fetch and hump
Set the sextant, strip the guns
Gonna bite the biscuit, beat the drums
Do the hornpipe - jump for joy
I wanna be your cabin boy
All night... all night

I wanna be your cabin boy all night
I wanna be your cabin boy all night

All night long... wanna work with you
All night long... hard to starboard
All night long... action stations
All night

Tom Robinson (Notting Hill Music)

9) Back In The Old Country

Had dinner with a softcore pornographer
At a mansion in Earls Court
He wore a dressing gown and a short fat beard
He showed me pictures of balding cowboys
And a chicken with false teeth
Those horseflesh hustlers
Stood around looking weird

I met a Sid Vicious lookalike
And he was six foot four
Had spikes on his dog collar made of solder
He wore a dirty old gaberdine mac
And a ring with a rat
The boy was 17 but he looked
About ten years older - that was
Back in the old country
Back in the old country

10.00 am one Sunday
Herman hadn't been near a bed
And he was knocking back rum and tea
Just to keep awake
He had a black string tie and a gleam in his eye
He look so wired and wicked
It made my day - that was
Back in the old country (x6)

Tom Robinson (Notting Hill Music)

10) Old Friend

Think I'd better go
Think I'd better go now
Old friend, I think I'd better go now

These will be the days
That we'll remember in days to come
The years slipped by so quickly
Now we're none of us so young
I'm frightened by emotions
Too wild for my control
Sometimes I've tried to hurt you
And at times I hurt us both
I cry out loud thinking back about
How I've been so blind and dumb
And I'm still shaken by your grace and innocence
After all we've been and done

And if I should dream, it'd be of you
Of you old friend, oh yeah
No one I know has the power to move me
The way you move me
And you do...

Think I'd better go
Think I'd better go now

Loving you has never been easy
Oh but maybe I've been trying too hard
Cos at last I can start to see you
And to know you as you really are
You walk ahead with a spring in your step
And a twinkle in your eye
I'm so weary and I'm aching all over
But I finally feel alive

And if I dream, it'll be of you
Of you old friend, oh yeah
No one I know
Has the power to move me
The way you move me
Old friend I think I'd better go now...

Loving you has never been easy
And I never thought I'd get this far
But at last I can start to see you
And I know you as you really, really are
I'm a bit of a cynic and too long in the tooth
To try and overstate the case
And I don't want to embarass us both tonight
By saying this to your face

But if I should dream, it'd be of you
Of you old friend, oh yeah
You're the one I know
Has the power to move me, move me
The way you move me
And you do...

Think I'd better go
Think I'd better go now
Somehow I think I'd better go now
Think I'd better go

Think I'd better go now
Old friend, I think I'd better go now

Tom Robinson (Notting Hill Music)

11) Never Gonna Fall In Love (Again)

Never meant to be so friendly
Never made the room look nice
Never heed a word of warning
Never take my own advice...
Oo-ooh, I got a brand new problem:
Pretty and he's five foot ten
I've been in love three times this week -
I'm just about to fall again...

I don't wanna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love (again)
I don't wanna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love again

Never meant to be so sexist
But it's so hard to overcome
I'm trying hard to fight the feeling
Lechery can be such fun...
(Sexist! Sexist!)
Cos everywhere there's lots of foxes
Every cat I meet's a Tom
I wish he didn't make me rabid
Wish he wouldn't turn me on...

I don't wanna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love (again)
I don't wanna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love again

Cos everywhere there's lots of foxes
Every cat I meet's a Tom
I wish he didn't make me rabid
Wish he wouldn't turn me on...

I don't wanna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love (again)
No I don't wanna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love
Never gonna fall in love again

Elton John/Tom Robinson (Rocket Music)

12) Too Good To Be True

Dreamed last night I was dreaming
Somebody answered my prayer
Cried out over my shoulder
Only the devil was there
Hold no hope for the future
Or good times seeing me through
Too good to be true
Too good to be true

Can't find the floor or the wardrobe
Can't find my way to the park
Life in a bedsitter bedlam
Afraid to go home in the dark
All day today just excuse for tomorrow
Tomorrow just something to do
Too good to be true
Too good to be true

I've given up reading the papers
I've given up watching TV
Hope in hell I'm able to tell
Whatever happened to me
Facing a phase in the future
Hope I've got something to lose

Too good to be true
Too good to be true

Tom Robinson/Dolphin Taylor (Notting Hill Music/Emi Music)

13) Glad To Be Gay '87

The British Police are the best in the world
I don't believe one of these stories I've heard
About pretty policemen in leather and jeans
Showing their leg through a split in the seams
Leering at people and leading them on
Then running them in when they start to respond
The press all ignore it, they don't want to see
Except when the case is... a Tory MP

Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way

Pictures of naked young women are best
In the News of the Screws and the popular press
They plaster their pages with bingo and tits
Then add all the scandal and slander that fits
The women at Greenham they smeared and despised
They crucify Elton with sneering and lies
If it's paedophile teachers or lesbian nuns
If it's filth and it's fiction it's... all there in the Sun

Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way

And now there's a cancer to blame on the gays
It's brutal and fatal and slowly invades
The "Moral Majority" like it a lot -
Cos it's "The Wages Of Sin"
and "The Judgement Of God"
The medics are baffled and caught on the run
They say it's a nightmare that's barely begune
And government spending is worse than a joke
Cos saving gay lives doesn't win any votes

Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way

And sit back and watch as they seize all our books
And treat us like lepers and sinners and crooks
Just hope you don't get caught up in the raids
Or pick up a pig or a partner with AIDS
Lie to your workmates & lie to your folks
Put down the clones and tell lesbian jokes
Forget the aggression from everywhere else
While we still do a wonderful job
Oppressing ourselves... so try and

Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy that way

Sing if you're glad to be gay
Sing if you're happy this way

Tom Robinson (Konkwest Music)

14) War Baby

Only the very young and the very beautiful
Can be so aloof
Hanging out with the boys
All swagger and poise
I don't even care what other people are there
I just stare and stare and stare

I see your shadow in the swimming pool
I see your face in the shaving mirror
Time and time and time again
I follow your footsteps
So quietly up the backstairs
And I hope and I pray
You're never going to find me there

Smooth skin and tenderness
Long ago on a dark night
Wish I could see you once again
Just to remember it was true
I want to be still beside you
Quiet and still beside you
Listening to your breathing
And feeling your warmth again

War baby - you were a
War baby - this means
War baby - I'm scared, so scared
Whatever it is you keep putting me through

I don't think I could stand
Another ten years of this fighting
All this stabbing and wounding
Only getting my own back
I don't want to batter you
To your feet and knees and elbows
When I'm kneeling like a candle
At the foot of my own bed

Corresponding disasters
Every night on the TV
Sickening reality
Keeps gripping me in its guts
All my friends talk and joke
And laugh about Armageddon
But like a nightmare it's still waiting there
At the end of each and every day
You were a

War baby... etc.

I don't think I could stand
Another ten years of this fighting
All this stabbing and wounding
Only getting my own back
But if it's really true
Then we're all in this together
Something's gotta give soon
And it sure as hell isn't gonna be me

Cos you were the first one I ever wanted
And it's you I come home to
At the end of every day
Like a mother-sucking baby
Oh demanding and so helpless
A little old balding man
All wrinkles and bulging eyes

War baby... etc.

Tom Robinson/Mark Ramsden (Notting Hill Music)

15) 2-4-6-8 Motorway

Drive my truck midway to the motorway station
Fairlane cruiser coming up on the left hand side
Headlight shining, driving rain on the window frame
Little young Lady Stardust hitching a ride... and it's

2-4-6-8 ain't never too late
Me and my radio
Truckin' on thru the night
3-5-7-9 on a double white line
Motorway sun coming up
with the morning light

Whizzkid sitting pretty on your two-wheel stallion
This ol' ten-ton lorry got a bead on you
Ain't no use setting up with a bad companion
Ain't nobody get the better of you-know-who

2-4-6-8 ain't never too late
Me and my radio truckin' on thru the night
3-5-7-9 on a double white line
Motorway sun coming up
with the morning light

Well there ain't no route you could choose
to lose the two of us
Ain't nobody know when you're acting
right or wrong
No-one knows if a roadway's leading nowhere
Gonna keep on driving home on the road I'm on

2-4-6-8 ain't never too late, just
Me and my radio truckin' on thru the night
3-5-7-9 on a double white line
Motorway sun coming up
with the morning light

Tom Robinson (Konkwest Music)