The Sharpest Thorn Lyrics
I wore my finest suit of clothes
The sharpest thorn defending the rose
Hot as a pistol
Keen as a blade
The sharpest thorn upon parade
And it's the same most every year
Ghosts of the dear departed are near
We raise our glasses and we cheer
Should old acquaintance disappear
Just as we wipe away a tear
Archangel Michael will lead the way
Archangel Gabriel is ready to play
Although we know we must repent
We hit the scene and look for sins
That haven't even been invented
The strongest cage that guards the prize
The longest lash that covers your eyes
A sight no eyes are meant to know
Then on the third day he arose
Archangel Michael will lead the way
Archangel Gabriel is ready to play
Although we know we must repent
We hit the scene and look for sins
That haven't even been invented
So Good and Evil were having a fight
It lasts much longer than any one night
It may last longer than a life
And turn a mistress into a wife
And so confetti fills the air
My head is aching
My pockets are bare
I didn't recognise their warning
Then I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
I wasn't born the sharpest thorn
Tramp The Dirt Down lyrics
I saw a newspaper picture from the political campaign
A woman was kissing a child, who was obviously in pain
She spills with compassion, as that young child's face in her hands she grips
Can you imagine all that greed and avarice coming down on that child's lips?
Well I hope I don't die too soon, I pray the Lord my soul to save
Yes, I'll be a good boy, I'm trying so hard to behave
Because there's one thing I know, I'd like to live long enough to savour
That's when they finally put you in the ground
I'll stand on your grave and tramp the dirt down
When England was the whore of the world, Margaret was her madam
And the future looked as bright and as clear as the black tarmacadam
Well I hope that she sleeps well at night, isn't haunted by every tiny detail
When she held that lovely face in her hands all she thought of was betrayal
And now the cynical ones say that it all ends the same in the long run
Try telling that to the desperate father who just squeezed the life from his only son
And how it's only voices in your head and dreams you never dreamt
Try telling him the subtle difference between justice and contempt
Try telling me she isn't angry with this pitiful discontent
When they flaunt it in your face as you line up for punishment
And then expect you to say "Thank you", straighten up, look proud and pleased
Because you've only got the symptoms, you haven't got the whole disease
Just like a schoolboy, whose head's like a tin-can
Filled up with dreams then poured down the drain
Try telling that to the boys on both sides, being blown to bits or beaten and maimed
Who takes all the glory but none of the shame?
Well I hope you live long now, I pray the Lord your soul to keep
I think I'll be going before we fold our arms and start to weep
I never thought for a moment that human life could be so cheap
But when they finally put you in the ground
They'll stand there laughing and tramp the dirt down
Alternate lyrics
Alternate lyrics performed 1991-08-03, Thurles, Ireland:
When England was the whore of the world, Margaret was her madam
And the future looked as bright and as clear as the black tarmacadam
And if she seemed bulletproof I put it down to black magic
Every day now we're invited to pity the tragic
Forlorn faded figure whose story's on sale
As she finally swallows the fine bitter flavour that she likes to think is betrayal
While I pity those who forgot and forgave
I believe she should be hounded down into her grave
Along with the glove puppet that they put in her place
The simpering chump with the whimpering face
And whose classless society we all might applaud
On the day he gets round to shutting down the House of Lords
And kicking the royal cuckoos out of the nest
And placing the Queen Mother under arrest