1. |
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Oh, I can't take another heartache
Though you say you're my friend
I'm at my wits' end
You say your love is bonafide
But that don't coincide
With the things that you do
And when I ask you to be nice, you say
You've gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure
Cruel to be kind, it's a very good sign
Cruel to be kind means that I love you, baby
(You've gotta be cruel)
You've gotta be cruel to be kind
Well, I do my best to understand, dear
But you still mystify
And I want to know why
I pick myself up off the ground
To have you knock me back down
Again and again
And when I ask you to explain, you say
You've gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure
Cruel to be kind, it's a very good sign
Cruel to be kind means that I love you, baby
(You've gotta be cruel)
You've gotta be cruel to be kind
(Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh)
Well, I do my best to understand, dear
But you still mystify
And I want to know why
I pick myself up off the ground
To have you knock me back down
Again and again
And when I ask you to explain, you say
You've gotta be cruel to be kind in the right measure
Cruel to be kind, it's a very good sign
Cruel to be kind means that I love you, baby
(You've gotta be cruel)
You've gotta be cruel to be kind
(Cruel to be kind) Oh, in the right measure
(Cruel to be kind) Yeah, it's a very, very, very good sign
(Cruel to be kind) It means that I love you, baby
(You've gotta be cruel)
You've gotta be cruel to be kind
(Cruel to be kind) Oh, in the right measure
(Cruel to be kind) Yes, it's a very, very, very good sign
(Cruel to be kind) It means that I love you, baby
(You've gotta be cruel)
You've gotta be cruel to be kind
(Cruel to be kind) Oh, in the right measure
(Cruel to be kind) Yes, it's a very, very, very good sign
|
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2. |
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Cracking up, I'm getting ready to go
Had enough, I can't take any more
No pills that I can take
This is too real and there ain't no escape
It scare the daylights
It make a nightmare
I'm tense and I'm nervous
Everybody all around me
Shakin' hands and sayin' howdy
I don't think it's funny no more
Cracking up, like a worn out shoe
Ain't wet, but the world leakin' through
I'd run, but I find no pace
I laugh, but it's wrecking me
Wrecking me
It make a shiver, it make a shake
It make a monster, just like an earthquake
Everybody havin' fun
I don't know how they can carry on
'Cause I don't think it's funny no more
At dead of night time, at crack of dawn
It comes upon me without warning
If I were a gunman I would shoot
I'd tear the hair out by the root
I'd make a knife out of a notion
All at sea in an ocean of a emotion
I don't think it's funny no more
I don't think it's funny no more
Cracking up
I don't think it's funny no more
Cracking up
I don't think it's funny no more
Cracking up
I don't think it's funny no more
Cracking up
I don't think it's funny no more
Cracking up
|
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3. |
Big Kick, Plain Scrap
02:26
|
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Big kick, plain scrap
You better shut that trap
Or come and get it
You kick like a mule
You eat like a pig
You drink like a fish
Oh you're a queer one, baby
Oh, when you hold me, in the night
On drugs
You're so nice on drugs
Big kick, plain scrap
You better cut this crap
Or come and get it
You monkey around
You playin' with a horse
You fish, of course
You're a cheap one, baby
Oh when you kiss me, in the night
On drugs
You're so big on drugs
When you clip me, in the night
Yeah, at the Crest Motel
On drugs
On drugs
Drugs, drugs
So nice on drugs
Big kick, plain scrap
You better cut this crap
Or come and get it
You monkey around
You playin' with a horse
You fish, of course
You're a deep one, baby
Big kick
Big kick, plain scrap
Big kick, big kick, big kick, plain scrap
When you kiss me
In the night
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4. |
American Squirm
02:30
|
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I made an American squirm
And it feel so right
On the screen was the musical war
Deep deep into the night
Yes i was spreading
In the wonderful world
Everything was fine
Tried to mate in hot of the state
Deep deep into the night
It goes on and on and on
It goes on and on and on
But I thank you for the time
Yes, I thank you for the time
I killed the time
It goes on and on and on
It goes on and on and on
It goes on and on and on
But the funky for the time
Yes, I thank you for the time
I killed the time
I made an American squirm
And it feel so right
On the screen was the comical time
Deep deep into the night
Deep deep into the night
Deep deep into the night
It goes on and on and on
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5. |
Born Fighter
03:08
|
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Well here she comes again
Blowing everybody's circuits
Girls like that bring a lump to my pocket
Everybody says I can never get her
I've been a lot of things
But I never was a quitter
I'm a born fighter
I've gotta wriggle for my will now
I'm a born fighter
How I hate it on a plate
Shoe shopping
Lapping up the grooms and uppers
I don't want to have to get
Another pair of hush puppies
I keep on lookin at 47-each
But one day, l'll be laughing
With the lizards on my feet
I'm a born fighter
I've gotta wriggle for my will now
I'm a born fighter
Now I hate it on a plate
I'm a born fighter
I've gotta wriggle for my will now
I'm a born fighter
How I hate it on a plate
Well in between the pages
Of the glossy magazines
There's a coffee table world
I could never ever fit in
I shout about how I could never buy it
But I stand up and fight
For the right to go and try it
I'm a born fighter
I've gotta wriggle for my will now
Said I'm a born fighter
How I hate it on a plate
I'm a born fighter
I've gotta wriggle for my will now
I'm a born fighter
How I hate it on a plate
|
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6. |
You Make Me
01:53
|
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You make me
It's out of my hands
You see
I don't wanna do wrong to you
You make me
You make me
I strive to be strong
But I'm weak
You say what useless excuse is this
You make me
I try with my might
To have and to hold
But there's something to it
That I can't control
See I haven't loosed my love
I'm just confused by love
You make me
You make me
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7. |
Skin Deep
03:15
|
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Promises promised
In a moment of passion
Melt in the morning
And soon forgotten
Forever and ever
Is just a fun idea
Love and affection
Of the coveted kind
It's just belly to belly
But never eye to eye
A moment to treasure
It's just a matter of time
Skin deep
The way you shake my hand and breathe so fine..
Skin deep skin deep
Yes this is a night of skin deep
Love and affection
Of the coveted kind
It's just belly to belly
But never eye to eye
A moment to treasure
It's just a matter of time
Skin deep
The way you shake my hand and breathe so fine..
Skin deep skin deep
Yes this is a night of skin deep
Heaven is her only for skin deep
|
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8. |
Switchboard Susan
03:49
|
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Switchboard Susan, won't you give me a line?
I need a doctor, give me 999
First time I picked up the telephone
I fell in love with your ringing tone
I'm a long distance romancer
I keep on trying till I get an answer
Gimme gimme one more chance
She's a greater little operator
Switchboard Susan, let me off the hook
I've been this way since you give me your look
Switchboard Susan, you're all the rage
Come on sugar, let's get engaged
I'm a long distance romancer
I keep on trying till I get an answer
Gimme gimme one more chance
She's a greater little operator
Said I'm a long distance romancer
I keep on trying till I get an answer
Gimme gimme one more chance
She's a greater little operator
When I'm near you girl, I get an extension
And I don't mean Alexander Graham Bell's invention
Switchboard Susan, can we be friends?
After six, at weekends
I'm a long distance romancer
I keep on trying till I get an answer
Gimme gimme one more chance
She's a greater little operator
She's a greater little operator
Hey babe, you're number's great
38-27-38
Oh you bring a smile to my dial
Oh you're great, operator's great
|
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9. |
Endless Grey Ribbon
03:16
|
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The cold, dark night
Is split by the stab of twin headlights
Like fingers of guides that know of it
But have never been there
And eyes red-rimmed
Are pealed for the n'th time
And strain for the roadsigns
That flash past the windshield
In the hard drivin' rain
His mind is not dwelling on beds of white linen
But the endless gray ribbon that winds on ahead
A moon comes up, cheesy and golden
Reminding of older times, gunning moter times
Restless and young
A cut glass bowl, free with four gallons
Is now the companion
Of what once was the champion of heartbreakers' row
His thoughts may be thinking of sweet smelling women
But the endless gray ribbon is his for tonight
From Coastacola to Richfolk, Virginia
It's amazing how samey they are
Twenty five buys some time with a waitress
Passion's Peterbuilt out in the car lot
His thoughts may be thinking of sweet smelling women
But the endless gray ribbon is his for tonight
Endless gray ribbon
Endless gray ribbon
Endless gray ribbon
|
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10. |
Without Love
02:29
|
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Without love, I am half human
Without love, I'm a machine
Without love, there's nothing doin'
I will die without love
Without love I am an island
All by myself in a heartbreak sea
Without love there's no denying
I am dying without iove
Oh there is nowhere I can run
And there is no hiding place
Sticking out iike a sore thumb
By the gloomy look
Upon my face
Without love l'm incomplete
Without love, I am not whole
Without love, l'm barely on my feet
I'm a dying without love
Oh there is nowhere I can run
And there is no hiding place
Sticking out like a sore thumb
By the gloomy look
Upon my face
Without love l'm incomplete
Without love, I am no whole
Without love, l'm barely on my feet
I am dying without love
I am dying without love
Oh yes i'm dying without love
|
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11. |
Dose of You
03:21
|
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Who in the world ever would have thought it?
Where in the world is the grip on myself?
Why in the world did I ever comment?
What in the world was I thinking of?
Spreading from the hard part first
Is a bad infection getting worse and worse
I caught a dose of you tonight
I need a stiff shot, badly!
I took a lethal dose of you tonight
Oh yeah!
Who in the world are you, pretty baby?
Where in the world did you spring up from?
Why in the world are you so contagious?
How do I get what I've got to get gone?
Specialists among them to themselves
They say there ain't no cure, private or National Health on this one
I caught a dose of you tonight
I need a stiff shot badly
I took a lethal dose of you tonight
Oh yeah!
Spreading from the hard part first
Is a bad infection getting worse and worse
I caught a dose of you tonight
I need a stiff shot, badly!
I took a lethal dose of you tonight
Oh yeah!
I get a sound of thunder...
It's like a heavy gong...
I hear a storm warning...
On every tongue made of silver
Every heel made of high
Every dress made of tight
Ever look, every sigh!
I caught a dose of you tonight
I need a stiff shot, badly!
I took a lethal dose of you tonight
Don't want to spread it all around
I caught a dose of you tonight
I need a stiff shot, badly!
I took a lethal dose of you tonight
So give me pills and powder
I caught a dose of you tonight
I need a stiff shot, badly!
I took a lethal dose of you tonight
|
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12. |
Love So Fine
03:55
|
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Well I met a girl and she made me lose my lines
I don’t do nothing but want her all the time
She makes the Mona Lisa look rough
She's a true fine lover
Don't want no other
So fine
A love so fine
Each time I see her I can't wait until I see her again
Although she looks like a fire
I only want to stay close friends
She's got me flapping like a flag on a pole
She's a gas on her back and as a matter of fact she’s so fine
A love so fine
She can’t be after my money
Cause she knows I ain’t got none
She only wanna feel her pretty little body and make out on the floor for fun
Each time I see her I can't wait until I see her again
Tonight I am gonna tell her that I don’t wanna be just friends
She’s got a pair of tits that just won't quit
Everything that she's got you know I like it a lot
She’s so fine
A love so fine
Each time I see her I am getting ready to see her again
Tonight I am gonna tell her hey baby no more folks friends
She starts the love bone shake when the hour is late
And make the backbone quiver when the egg man delivers
She's so fine
A love so fine
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13. |
Basing Street
02:32
|
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It's an ugly sight
By the police light
But lonely now
As the innocents leave
In twos and threes
Cop straightens up
Wiping blood off his hand
Says, "Christ above
That's the worst I've seen
In more than seventeen"
Somebody says
"I think I remember him
Used to see him hanging 'round
But it's hard to be sure
Looking at him now"
Whose hand made the boy
Suffer and bleed?
Who did the deed
On Basing Street?
It's 4:29
And out on the airwaves
Late night DJ plays
For the lost and lonely
And their late night ways
Popping pills
Washed with coffee
With a little coffee blows
Cigarette ash
Off the late news flash
The world is waiting for him now
In the palm of his hand
He leans toward the microphone and says
"We interrupt this program"
But out there in radio land
They're all asleep
As the firemen hose down
Basing Street
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Nick Lowe London, UK
Nick Lowe has made his mark as a producer (Elvis Costello-Graham Parker-Pretenders-The Damned), songwriter of at least three songs you know by heart, short-lived career as a pop star, and a lengthy term as a musicians’ musician. But in his current ‘second act’ as a silver-haired, tender-hearted but sharp-tongued singer-songwriter, he has no equal. ... more
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