Raggedy Ass (2020-02)

Tracks

01: Elvis In ’56
02: Little Black Dress
03: Another Summer Of Love
04: Blow It All Away
05: The Darwin Shuffle
06: Yankee Girls Do Dixieland
07: If It’s All The Same To You
08: Has Anybody Seen That Girl?
09: Monroe Street
10: East Of Midnight
11: Living The Dream
12: Last Farewell

Credits

Singing and playing by CG
Songs written by CG, published by Gregsongs, administered by BMG Rights Management, UK
Recorded and mixed at Gregsonics, Saddleworth, UK by CG
Mastered by Andy Seward
Produced by Clive Gregson
Design by Amelia Sanders
Photographs by Sara Porter

Thanks

Paul Adshead, All at BMG, Lorraine Carpenter, Missy Feeley, Ged Green, Andy Murray, Stuart Palmer,
All at John Pearse Strings, Sara Porter, Amelia Sanders, Andy Seward, John Stirling

Lyrics

ELVIS IN ?56

Well, I wanna rock like Elvis in ?56,
Well, I wanna rock like Elvis in ?56,
When I hear that slapback sound, I?m gonna shake my hips?

I?m gonna twist and shout like The Beatles in ?62,
I?m gonna twist and shout like The Beatles in ?62,
I?m gonna rip this joint if it?s the last thing that I do?

Well everybody on your feet, kick back all the seats,
Open up the doors, go dancing in the street?

I?m gonna turn it up like Dylan in ?65,
I?m gonna turn it up like Dylan in ?65,
When I hear that backbeat drop, I feel so alive?

Solo:

Well everybody on your feet, kick back all the seats,
Open?up the doors, go dancing in the street?

Well, I wanna rock like Elvis in ?56,
Well, I wanna rock like Elvis in ?56,
When I hear that slapback sound, I?m gonna shake my hips,
Well, I wanna rock like Elvis in ?56,
Well, I wanna rock like Elvis in ?56…

LITTLE BLACK DRESS

Talk about reinventing yourself, you?re a credit to experimentation,
You walked right out of a back street slum into the arms of a grateful nation,
The great unwashed took you straight to heart,
You were never off the big flat screen,
Such a glorious fake, how you looked the part,
The most beautiful thing they?d seen?

But I remember when your nails were chewed,
Your teeth were crooked and chipped,
When your heels weren?t high and your words were crude,
When cigarettes stained your lips,
You always were just one of the gang, your hair was a back seat mess,
You?ve come a long way in such a short time,
You and your little black dress, you and your little black dress?

The paparazzi doorstep you, how they love to hunt in packs,
You never let a good story get bogged down by such a trivial thing as the facts,
There?s always a looker hanging off your arm, some dope done up in black tie,
Your enigma smile always works like a charm,
It?s amazing what money can buy?

But I remember when your nails were chewed,
When your teeth were crooked and chipped,
When your heels weren?t high and your words were crude,
When cigarettes stained your lips,
You always were just one of the gang, your hair was a back seat mess,
You?ve come a long way in such a short time,
You and your little black dress, you and your little black dress?

Solo:

It?s a never ending social whirl, from the jetway to the catwalk,
As long as papers say take a look at that girl, as long as people still talk,
Now you can?t stop moving while time stands still,
And the whole world passes you by,
You?ll never look a second over twenty two until the day you die?

ANOTHER SUMMER OF LOVE

Another summer of love, that?s what we need,
Another summer of living in the land of make believe,
Where all that really matters is the rush of rock and roll, sex and drugs,
Another summer of love?

Nothing but bad news on my radio,
Nothing but grey skies everywhere I go,
The psychedelic season has all but passed away,
Black and white is here to stay?

Another summer of love, that?s what we need,
Another summer of living in the land of make believe,
Where all that really matters is the rush of rock and roll, sex and drugs,
Another summer of love?

If you can remember, you weren?t really there,
Something in the water, something in the air,
It?s teenage revolution, another trip around the sun,
Hold on tight, it?s fun, fun, fun?

Another summer of love, that?s what we need,
Another summer of living in the land of make believe,
Where all that really matters is the rush of rock and roll, sex and drugs,
Another summer of love?
Where all that really matters is the rush of rock and roll, sex and drugs,
Another summer of love?

BLOW IT ALL AWAY

All this time, I?ve been thinking ?bout what went wrong,
Whatever happened to a love so strong,
To blow it all away?

Safe to say, I?m nothing special with a loving touch,
Seems to me that it don?t take much,
To blow it all away?

It feels like only yesterday,
It was endless summer all the way,
Then a cool night breeze turned into a hurricane?

Next thing I know, I was sweeping out with the tide,
Talk about a roller coaster ride,
Blow it all away?

Solo:

Somehow I need to save my soul,
It?s just a matter of self control,
And picking up the pieces while all around the thunder rolls?

But look at me, I?m just sitting here sinking low,
Looking like I don?t have far to go,
To blow it all away?

All this time, I?ve been thinking ?bout what went wrong,
Whatever happened to a love so strong,
To blow it all away, blow it all away, to blow it all away,
Blow it all away?

THE DARWIN SHUFFLE

It?s one step forward, two steps back,
Better watch out, don?t fall through the cracks,
Doing the Darwin Shuffle, the Darwin Shuffle,
You got nothing to fear but life itself?

Sometimes I can?t tell if I?m a monkey or a man,
I scratch my butt as best I can,
Doing the Darwin Shuffle, the Darwin Shuffle,
You got nothing to fear but life itself?

Solo:

I work all day, drink all night,
Who?s to say I?m not living right?
Doing the Darwin Shuffle, the Darwin Shuffle,
You got nothing to fear but life itself?

Monkey see, monkey do,
Next thing you know, you?ll be doing it too,
The Darwin Shuffle, the Darwin Shuffle,
You got nothing to fear but life itself?

Solo:

People stop, people stare,
It?s a zoo in here but it?s a jungle out there,
It?s the Darwin Shuffle, the Darwin Shuffle,
You got nothing to fear but life itself,
You got nothing to fear but life itself,
You got nothing to lose but life itself?

YANKEE GIRLS DO DIXIELAND

Here they come, southward bound,
Daddy?s credit card in hand,
Dreaming of spring break all year round,
Yankee girls do Dixieland?

They?re smart as a whip and they know what they want,
Everything on demand,
With their whole lives stuffed into SUVs,
Yankee girls do Dixieland?

Southern boys use southern charm,
To reassure the northern folks,
There?s no cause for alarm?

They learn how to drink and they learn how to dance,
To the Allman Brothers Band,
Smoke the strongest weed, snort the finest blow,
Yankee girls do Dixieland?

Solo:

Out on the beach, back at the bar ???????,
Under a crescent moon,
They fall head over heels for an education,
That?s over all too soon?

Southern boys use southern charm,
To reassure the northern folks,
There?s no cause for alarm?

They?ll all become lawyers, mothers and wives,
The world will be at their command,
But they?ll never forget the time of their lives,
Yankee girls do Dixieland?

Here they come, southward bound,
Daddy?s credit card in hand,
Dreaming of spring break all year round,
Yankee girls do Dixieland,
Yankee girls do Dixieland,
Yankee girls do Dixieland?

IF IT?S ALL THE SAME TO YOU

California?s calling me, way out on the western sea,
I know where I?d rather be if it?s all the same to you?

Below the Mason-Dixon line, Carolina on my mind,
I?ve never been the drifting kind if it?s all the same to you?

Watercolour washed out sky,
School run traffic crawling by?

I walked across the Rio Grande, fell to earth in no man?s land,
I know where I?ll make my stand if it?s all the same to you?

Solo:

Monochrome millstone town,
When my time comes, lay me down?

Not where Colorado springs, or mockingbirds still sweetly sing,
Here is where I?ll cut my strings if it?s all the same to you?

California?s calling me, way out on the western sea,
I know where I?d rather be if it?s all the same to you,
If it?s all the same to you, if it?s all the same? to you?

HAS ANYBODY SEEN THAT GIRL?

What?s a boy to do when everything goes wrong,
Drink another beer, write another song?

What?s it all about when Venus splits from Mars,
Is everything we know written in the stars?

Has anybody seen that girl?
Has anybody seen that girl?
Oh, has anybody seen that girl?
That girl, that girl?

Blame it on the moon, blame the telephone,
Blame it on a boy who left well enough alone?

Has anybody seen that girl?
Has anybody seen that girl?
Oh, has anybody seen that girl?
That girl, that girl?

Solo:

Some people never learn, some don?t even try,
Some ignore the signs way up in the sky?

Has anybody seen that girl?
Has anybody seen that girl?
Oh, has anybody seen that girl?
That girl, that girl, that girl, that girl,
That girl, that girl, that girl, that girl?

MONROE STREET

Meanwhile back on Monroe Street,
The likely lads begin to lose the plot,
They?re holding back the sands of time,
But a single grain begins to start the rot,
Whatever they want is not what they need,
Whatever they need is not what they get,
Whatever they get is never enough,
And never enough is as good as it gets?

Up and down Monroe Street,
Front doors slam, voices ringing out,
Not so much the pure and sweet,
More like shaking with the scream and shout,
Whatever they want is not what they need,
Whatever they need is not what they get,
Whatever they get is never enough,
And never enough is as good as it gets?

Solo:

Live forever Monroe Street,
On borrowed time and a short term loan at best,
It?s nothing like home sweet home,
Lock the doors and call it house arrest,
Whatever they want is not what they need,
Whatever they need is not what they get,
Whatever they get is never enough,
And never enough is as good as it gets,
Whatever they want is not what they need,
Whatever they need is not what they get,
Whatever they get is never enough,
And never enough is as good as it gets?

Solo:

Meanwhile back on Monroe Street?

EAST OF MIDNIGHT

Ah, you may well wonder how we wound up here,
Washed up in the twilight of another missing year,
Comatose on contact, maybe we?ll wake up when,
We?re somewhere east of midnight again?

Hey, you might remember eternal honeymoons,
We never saw the light of day before the crack of noon,
Come the revolution, we may not be friends,
Till we?re somewhere east of midnight again?

Funny how things go, we may never know,
Why we ever got together and how we let it grow?

But here we hang like stardust, shining way back when,
Somewhere east of midnight again?

Solo:

Take the speed of light, add the speed of sound,
Father Time meets Mother Earth, four feet on the ground?

Carry on regardless, drifting in the wind,
The power of a human touch, seven lively sins,
No matter where we aim for, we always seem to end,
Somewhere east of midnight again,
Somewhere east of midnight again,
Somewhere east of midnight again?

LIVING THE DREAM

I love these mornings, when the rain?s just stopped falling,
The small birds come calling, the cats got the cream,
The sweet flowing river rolls on forever,
And I?m riding shotgun, living the dream?

With time on my hands, an absence of plans,
I?m off to greet the new day,
Tall in the saddle, quick on the draw,
Hi Ho Silver away?

I love these mornings, when the rain?s just stopped falling,
The small birds come calling, the cats got the cream,
The sweet flowing river rolls on forever,
And I?m riding shotgun, living the dream?

Life is a wide open road,
Load up the wagon, let?s go?

There?s gold in these hills, moonshine in the stills,
There?s a mule and forty acres of land,
Will it all fade away the minute you say,
Tell me, who was that masked man??

I love these mornings, when the rain?s just stopped falling,
The small birds come calling, the cats got the cream,
The sweet flowing river rolls on forever,
And I?m riding shotgun, living the dream,
I?m riding shotgun, living the dream?

LAST FAREWELL

When restless calls and the road won?t wait,
When all life?s troubles pile up at your gate,
When bitter words are the only truth to tell,
It?s time to say a last farewell?

When helpless hearts no longer stand up strong,
When left and right can?t tell right from wrong,
When everything you say and do only leaves a nasty smell,
It?s time to say a last farewell?

Solo:

When black and white turn black and blue,
When sadness fits you like a well worn shoe,
When innocence is not enough to save you from yourself,
It?s time to say a last farewell?

When everything is said and done, when every card is played,
When nothing really matters much, when every nerve is frayed,
When all life?s little mysteries, well they shipped out on the swell,
It?s time to say a last farewell,
It?s time to say a last farewell?

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