@ALBUM: Black Snake Diamond Role BLACK SNAKE DIAMOND ROLE by Robyn Hitchcock @SONG: THE MAN WHO INVENTED HIMSELF He came bursting out of nowhere like a sphere into the sun And he cast his light on everything, it was like he never died And he landed right on target, but the target rolled away And it left him pointing nowhere you could hear the children say He's the fellow, the man who invented himself When you need her love so badly but she's trying to relax You can't work it with your fingers so you try it with an axe And he taps you on the shoulder; looking out for number one Is like drilling for a rainbow or an iceberg in the sun He's the fellow, the man who invented himself Nobody knows where he's from Nobody knows where he's gone and gone and gone But he's not here When you're waiting for your baby to get back from the moon And throw her arms around you, in a fairly quiet lagoon Well that loneliness is nothing, just imagine how he feels He's the only person in the world who still believes he's real He's the fellow, the man who invented himself @SONG: BRENDA'S IRON SLEDGE We head downhill, my hands fly back Our fingers freeze, our hair falls out, our hair falls out Our fingers freeze, our hair falls out The iron piston pumps and spouts The steaming air as hot as sprouts All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge No one's on top, they're comfortable They're sitting on a human chain, a human chain They're sitting on a human chain Their limbs compressed in icy slush Of freezing in a raw meat groove All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge Please don't call me Reg, it's not my name The body's rear, a bucking sled Which hits a tree and falls asleep, and falls asleep Which hits a tree and that is that The grasshoppers curl up and burst And Brenda shovels on the wurst All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge Please don't call me Reg, it's not my name @SONG: DO POLICEMEN SING? Oh do policemen sing? I heard a person cry We can do anything I heard the force reply Oh do policemen sing? Yes when they're in the mood And when their truncheons swing That's when they're in the mood It's true because I never argue with a rozzer Never show him insolence, confidence 'Cos who supplies the evidence it's not your mother or your lover or your best friends dog Oh do policemen dream? Yes when they're fast asleep And when policemen dream It proves they're fast asleep Oh do policemen sing? Yes if they've got the time And when they sing for you? Just tell them they're sublime Don't get stymied, don't say bloody hell or blimey Don't complain if your beans aren't warm Oh do policemen sing? Oh yes extremely well Haven't you heard the Welsh? They really do excel And are policeman gay? Depends on what you mean They are not lewd or queer But they all dig the queen Open ended, 'specially when you're apprehended, taken in and... Our law and order's never, never, never, never, never gonna break down Our law and order's never, never, never, never, never gonna break down Our law and order's never, never, never, never, never, never gonna break down @SONG: THE LIZARD You wear the lizard's shoes and afterwards you get confused You wear the lizard's coat and afterwards you fail to float You take the lizard's path but look who's lying in the bath You wear the lizard's skin no man can be a god and win at all You take the lizard's mask but look who's lying in the cask And the clocks have stopped you'll find out what the lizard dropped You know the lizard's won but you can't work out how it's done The lizard is your friend and will be to the very end of time You lie beneath the stars the lizard knows how high they are The stars are out of reach the lizard lingers on a beach The stars are out of date the lizard had them on a plate You vomit in the shed the lizard got there first he's dead now @SONG: MEAT It don't feel much like a home without a dog It don't feel much like a pool without a frog It don't feel much like a world without a girl It don't feel much like a girl without a human being It don't feel much like a fish without a pond It don't feel much like a fence with no beyond It don't feel much like a church without a god inside It don't feel much like a bank without a lot of money Oh come on baby give me your meat It don't feel much like a foot without a shoe It don't feel much like a me without a you It don't feel much like a train without a buffet car It don't feel much like a bed when there's nobody on it Ah swallow it It don't feel much like a bath without a plug It don't feel much like a hole without a drug It don't feel much like a drug without a side effect It don't feel much like an effect if you don't love nobody Come on baby gimme your meat @SONG: ACID BIRD Sucking on a tap that never dries Could you take it right between your eyes Bending blood, bending blood The father stood, the father's hood Like shadow on an acid bird that etched her way across a field So long ago, so long Walking through the fields in summer heat Look at all the creatures 'round your feet Pumping blood, pumping blood The mother's gaze, the mother gave White ointment of an acid kiss that burned upon the lips she gave you So long ago, so long ago Fun in the sun, luck in the bloodstream Shallow bodies writhing on the grass Fun in the sun, hair in the slipstream Tadpoles shooting through a hollow glass Cutting out a silhouette in dreams Everything is older than it seems Son of blood, son of blood The baby shakes, the baby snakes That crawl across the acid rings that flicker from your corpuscles One sunny day, one sunny day Fun in the sun everyone knows it They could be as mellow as the hay Fun in the sun everyone blows it They grow up and instantly turn grey Like shadow of an acid bird that etched its way across a field So long ago, so long ago @SONG: I WATCH THE CARS I watch the cars go back and forth I watch the cars go back and forth I watch the cars go back and forth Sometimes south and sometimes north I watch the cars I hear them stopping down the street I hear them stopping down the street I hear the sound of stocking feet I wonder who they're going to meet I'm getting drunk inside my house I see the men inside their shells I see the men inside their shells They go to prostitutes as well Who never mind the way the smell The prostitutes are paid for it Alright! I hear you're gonna try that too I hear you're gonna try that too I hear you're gonna try that too I wouldn't pay to go to you I'm getting drunk inside my house again I watch the cars go back and forth I watch the cars go back and forth I watch the cars go back and forth Sometimes south and sometimes north I watch the cars @SONG: OUT OF THE PICTURE Don't you ever wonder 'bout the nowhere girl Don't you feel sad or feel strange There is no escaping from the nowhere girl She's never really truly out of range And I'm walking out of the picture Leaving everything behind except my mind Don't you feel temptation for the nowhere girl She can burn your hands and sting your heart She knows it's too late for you to save the world And you believe that there's still time to start And I'm walking out of the picture Leaving everything behind except your mind She's not just a pretty face She's a big black hole as well She swallows everything she sees She's not of the human race She's a creature out of hell She's's a disease You are just in time to see the nowhere girl Settling her fingers 'round your brain Saw away the taps and you're a brand new world You'll never ever pass this way again Walking out of the picture Leaving everything behind except your mind @SONG: CITY OF SHAME It was in the city of shame That I found I wasn't to blame I was looking for a weird thing or two I discovered that it had to be you It was in the city of fear That I shouted 'Is there nobody here?' Though the echo had the name on a ring Still the echo wasn't called anything La, la, la, la, la, la, la It was in the city of love All the flesh I ate was never enough Though I knew it wasn't good for my soul My body hungered for the ultimate goal It was in the city of spies That I spoke with nothing but lies When they set a trap for all you could feel It's important that your mind is concealed La, la, la, la, la, la, la It was in the city of shapes That she made love to several apes She felt weird for a couple of days Pretty soon she got used to their ways It was in the city of fools That she sold her beautiful jewels Someone bought them and sold them again Now they've been bought by several men La, la, la, la, la, la, la @SONG: LOVE The sun is shining on the ground I see that nothing makes a sound I move invisible as air And choose the time to disappear Ah, ah, ah - I'm in love with you The spirit started long ago They've found somewhere they couldn't go They spend their time just looking out For those who never share a doubt Ah, ah, ah, ah - they're in love with you The seagull on the seeping sand Can die but never understand The oil that festers on our shore Will cast a stain for evermore Ah, ah, ah, ah - who's in love with that? The gnomes are moving through the night The sing and fiddle with delight And we eat Weetabix and sing About the joys that love can bring Ah, ah, ah, ah - if they ever come The sun is shining very hard It melts both margarine and lard But me I only dream of you I hope that you are dreaming too Ah, ah, ah, ah - I'm in love with you