Shutting the Doors

Written by Kirsty MacColl and Alan Lee Shaw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6DBhAY-Xb4

Lyrics

He has such good parties
I go there all the time
It’s all so fascinating
Cheap thrills and lousy wine
His records – Joe Passe
So classy
I don’t know
I’ve seen his collection
And now I’ve got to go

My fine friends wave to me
They’re dancing high in their tree

It’s all so fascinating
I’m stuck for words, but then
His girls are X-rated
He’s making films again
The boys are all in leather
It’s real hot weather but they don’t mind
You’re taking a chance
If you don’t know what to find

My fine friends wave to me
They’re dancing high in their tree

{instrumental break}

I don’t know why I bother
To get dressed up for this
I’d rather be writing just one hit for this mess
I think I’ll start dancing
And throw some glass around
Then first thing tomorrow
I’m going to quit this town

My fine friends wave to me
They’re dancing high in their tree

{instrumental break}

(spoken)
Oh boy the movie’s on
I just know it must be blue
They’re falling over
Throwing up
‘Cos there’s nothing else to do
Everyone’s crawling around
On all fours
And I wouldn’t leave now if I were you
‘Cos they’re shutting all the doors

Originally on Jack o the Green by Jools Holland, from a remastered 1983 demo tape:

Chords

Chords by Paul Chinniah

Cover Versions

Darlene B!  and Boney Moroney uploaded in 2009

Sun on the Water

Written by Kirsty MacColl and Pete Glenister
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDzYqJs5HMM

Lyrics

Sun on the water
Making it hard to see
Sun on the water
Lapping around my feet

Sun on the water
Making it hard to see
Sun on the water
Lapping around my feet

A farmer’s daughter
Living a long time ago
She had a notion
To go where the rivers flow

Farmer’s daughter
Walked for a year and a day
When she reached the ocean
Grew a tail and swam away

It was the place where she felt free
And Heaven lies under the sea
Hell is just dry land to me
When I’m dreaming

Sun on the water
Lapping around my feet
Sun on the water
Making it hard to see

Sun on the water
Lapping around my feet
Sun on the water
Making it hard to see

I want to be the one to say
I’m happy here and here I’ll stay
I won’t remember yesterday
When I’m dreaming

It was the place where she felt free
And Heaven lies under the sea
Hell is just dry land to me
When I’m dreaming

Chords

Chords for Sun on the Water transcribed by Paul Chinnaih.

Cover versions

Chloe with accompaniment from Terry Hurley at Soho Square Kirstyfest, October 2016

 

Camel Crossing

Written by Kirsty MacColl

Lyrics

In a dream of a desolate land
Finding my feet on the wide white sand alone now
Shot down in apathy during the war
Never been north of the wise old Thames before

Muslims and Christians, lions and tigers,
Bombers and fighters
Harder than they’ve seen before

Any god that we’ve needed in time
Stormed out the door and he slammed it shut behind

When I leave is not important
And when I die I’ll die alone
And when I see my camel crossing
I’ll know I’ve found myself back home

My Legionnaire of today took all the food
and he ran away just laughing
‘It’s never too late’, he said

Out of his head as he walked towards the sun
Found him when it had gone down
Slumped into the ground, a cross upon his back
Then we decided, heaven’s a stranger away in a manger
Never too big for the sack (?)

When I leave is not important
And when I die I’ll die alone
And when I see my camel crossing
I’ll know I’ve found myself back home

Cultured by con men
Fathered by fools
Commerce is good business these days
Compulsory waste in our schools

He died to convince us all
Nothing could make us fall but that’s not true
So I know myself, I know myself
It’s now or never

When I leave is not important
And when I die I’ll die alone
And when I see my camel crossing
I’ll know I’ve found myself back home

Dear John

Written by Kirsty MacColl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hV0z-Anw1c0

Chords

Chords for Dear John, transcribed by Paul Chinniah

Lyrics

Oh dear John
I hate to be the one to break the news
But it’s concerning me and you
This is the letter no-one ever wants to write
You may not believe me but it’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done
My eyes see other glories
Other dreams and other stories
And I want to live before I die

Dear John
Ten years on
I still dream and we still hesitate
The passion’s all but gone

Oh dear John
Seems we have a bad day every day
I want to sleep my life away
This is the letter no-one ever wants to read
And though it hurts like hell
It may be what you need to tell you
I never wanted to be cruel
But I’m so tired of being the strong one
And I don’t always have the energy
And you always leave it up to me
Dear John

My eyes have seen the glory
There’s more to life than my life story
And I’ll probably never find him
But I have to keep on looking
And I’m very very sorry dear John

Cover Versions

Written by Kirsty at the end of her 10 year marriage to Steve Lillywhite, but never released by Kirsty herself at the time. Kirsty’s demo version was eventually released on ‘From Croydon to Cuba ’ in 2005. Eddi Reader performed the song on the BBC2 tribute program in March 2001, on ‘Later with Jools’ and released her studio version as a single in 1994.

England 2 Colombia 0

Written by Kirsty MacColl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5tnQSGRnJc
Chords for England 2 Colombia 0, transcribed by John Meranda.

Lyrics

Oh you shouldn’t have kissed me and got me so excited
And when you asked me out I really was delighted
So we went to a pub in Belsize Park
And we cheered on England as the sky grew dark

Oh you shouldn’t have kissed me cause you started a fire
But then I found out that you’re a serial liar

You lied about your status
You lied about your life
You never mentioned your three children
And the fact you have a wife
Now it’s England 2 Colombia 0
And I know just how those Colombians feel

If you hadn’t passed out while I was talking to your friend
It could have really ended badly cause you very nearly had me
If he hadn’t taken pity on my heart full of desire
I might never have found out you’re a serial liar

You lied about your status
You lied about your life
You forgot you have three children
You forgot you have a wife
Now it’s England 2 Colombia 0
And I know just how those Colombians feel

It is not in my nature to ever pick the winning team
Sometimes I think I’m happy then I remember it’s a dream
Now it isn’t in my nature to ever pick a winner
I always pick a bastard who would have me for his dinner

I can never possess the object of my desire
Cause he’s bound to turn out to be a serial liar
OK I didn’t mention my kids, I thought I’d wait a bit
But I am free and single and he’s a lying git

Cause he lied about his status
He lied about his life
He forgot he had three children
He forgot he had a wife
And it’s England 2 Colombia 0
I know just how those Colombians feel

So I got into a taxi and sobbed all the way home
Called my friend up in Sao Paulo and cried down the phone
I played some tragic music and I lay down to die
But later I woke and I hadn’t stopped crying

You should never have kissed me, you tasted of deceit
Your perfume was Adultery but I’m not a piece of meat
So I’ll be the one that you couldn’t acquire
I found out in time you’re a serial liar

You lied about your status
You lied about your life
And I pity your three children
And I pity your poor wife
Now you can go to Hell
I’m going to Brazil
Still it’s England 2 Colombia 0

Covers

Kate Dimbleby (2014)

Samuellificationable (2018)

Norwegian band Halvsøstra with ‘Norge 1 Mexico 0’ on their 2019 release ‘Helhjerta fra Halvsøstra’.

 

Autumngirlsoup

Written by Kirsty MacColl
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebX2WCwzWKQ
Chords for Autumngirlsoup, transcribed by John Meranda.

Lyrics

I’m an autumn girl, flying over London
With the trees on fire it looks like home
I’m an autumn girl on the endless search for summer
Cause I need some love to cook my frozen bones

You needed something to get
your teeth into
And in my voodoo kitchen you said
“I’ve got something to show you,
It’s a recipe handed down from father to son
For a thousand years, and it goes with those hot salt tears.”

I’m an autumn girl, crying over London
With a heart on fire but no-one home
I’m an autumn girl on the endless search for summer
Cause I need some love to heat my frozen bones

Get me on the boil and reduce me
To a simmering wreck with a slow kiss
To the back of my neck
Carve up my heart on a very low flame
Separate my feelings then pour them down the drain
Close my eyes and sweeten me with lies
Pierce my skin with a few well chosen words
Now you can stuff me with whatever you’ve got handy
And on a cold grey day a cold grey man will do

I’m an autumn girl, flying over London
With the trees on fire it looks like home
I’m an autumn girl on the endless search for summer
Cause I need some love to heat my frozen bones

So give me something to whet my appetite
And chill my soul with a sudden lack of interest
Oh, but the winter freezes on and the candle’s burned low
Fill me with the hot stuff then say you’ve got to go
Take my mind, marinade it in red wine
Grate my thighs with your chinny chin chin
And I will let you in
Oh on a long dark night a long dark man might …

Cover Versions

Paisley and Charlie:

Also, Kendall Meade is a former member of Helium and Sparklehorse. Blogger Jim Hanas wrote about her ‘smoking cover of this smokey ode to loneliness and resignation from MacColl’s final record’.

As Long as you Hold Me

Written by Billy Bragg

Chords

Chords for As Long As You Hold Me, transcribed by akoustic.

Lyrics

As long as you hold me I’ll get by
As long as you need me I will try not to die
I don’t want the shame
I don’t want the blame
I don’t want the fame anymore

If only they’d tell me, tell me why
If I could believe them and their lies
But I don’t want their name
I don’t want their pain
I won’t play their games anymore

I always look at the last page of the book
How will it end?
The suspense robs me of lovers and friends

I don’t want the shame
I don’t want the blame
I don’t want the fame anymore

Perfect Day

Written by Lou Reed

Chords

Chords for Perfect Day, transcribed by akoustic.

Lyrics

Just a perfect day
Drink sangria in the park
Then later, when it gets dark, we go home
Just a perfect day
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later a movie too, and then home

Oh it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spent it with you
Oh such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on

Just a perfect day
Problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own
It’s such fun

Just a perfect day
You made me forget myself
I thought I was someone else
Someone good

Oh it’s such a perfect day
I’m glad I spent it with you
Such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on

You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow
You’re going to reap just what you sow

The Butcher Boy

Tradtitional

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1g5uZ_OraXs
Chords for The Butcher Boy, transcribed by John Meranda.

Lyrics

In More Street where I did dwell
A butcher boy I loved right well
He courted me my life away
And now with me he will not stay

I wish, I wish, I wish in vain
I wish I was a maid again
But a maid again I’ll never be
Till cherries grow on an apple tree

I wish my baby it was born
And smiling on its daddy’s knee
And me poor girl to be dead and gone
With the long green grass growing over me

He went upstairs and the door he broke
He found her hanging from a rope
He took his knife and he cut her down
And in her pocket these words he found

”Oh make my grave large, wide and deep
Put a marble stone at my head and feet
And in the middle a turtle dove
So the world may know I died of love”

Caroline

Written by Kirsty MacColl

Chords

Two options courtesy of John Meranda:

Lyrics

She called me up the other day
And left a message on my machine
She called to say you broke her heart
And she wondered if I’d seen you
I didn’t know what to do
I never called her back
Oh how could I break the news like that?

No I don’t want to see Caroline
Don’t want to see her face when she finds out you’re mine
Can’t look in her eyes and tell her love is blind
No I don’t want to see Caroline
I don’t want to see Caroline

How can I want you so bad
She has to lose again
How could you walk out on her
And turn to her best friend?
It was wrong from the start
I wish I’d turned you away
And my head said go
And my heart, my heart said stay

And now I don’t want to see Caroline
Don’t want to see her cry when she knows you’re mine
Can’t look in those eyes and tell her she’ll be fine
No I don’t want to see Caroline
I don’t want to see Caroline

I’m so ashamed of myself but I still want you
What a terrible thing for a friend to do
I think I’ve gone too far this time
I leapt across that thin blue line
God help this selfish heart of mine
No I don’t want to see Caroline
I can never face Caroline

Though I lie here with you
Can’t get her out of my head
Do you think she knows that you share my bed?
Well I don’t want to see Caroline
Don’t want to see her face when she finds out you’re mine
How can a friend be so unkind?
No I don’t want to see Caroline
I don’t want to see Caroline
I don’t want to see Caroline
I don’t want to see Caroline