Blues Café

(c) John Corlett 2010

Let me introduce you to my good friend Lee
Big hit record back in eighty-three
Agent got the money, now he plays for free
Down in the Blues Café

Come on down and take a drink with me
Raise your glass to the company
A little shot of whisky, pass the time away
Drinking in the Blues Café

Madeleine has a heart of gold
Men would come, she'd keep 'em from the cold
Silver in her hair now, she's growing old
Down in the Blues Café

Come on down and take a drink with me
Sit right down and let your mind run free
A little shot of whisky, pass the time away
Drinking in the Blues Café

This is Tanya, she's a PhD
Tell you all about philosophy
Fixing drinks for you and me
She's working in the Blues Café

Come on down and take a drink with me
Tonight that's where I'm going to be
Another shot of whisky, pass the time away
Drinking in the Blues Café

The Blues Café’s not hard to find
There’s no road map, just a troubled mind
I go down to let the pain unwind
Down in the Blues Café

Come on down and take a drink with me
Raise your glass to the company
Another shot of whisky, pass the time away
Drinking in the Blues Café

John Corlett writes:
The starting point here was the idea of the blues as a place, a support centre for the lonely and the disappointed, somewhere between Cesaria Evora's Café Atlantico, Café Aman and a modern-day blues club. Also, I'm always fascinated by the individual atmosphere you can find in bars around the world, the characters and the communities that inhabit them, and the way they interact with music and with alcohol and with the place. There's hopefully a bit of all that in here.

Down

(c) John Corlett 2012

Down on my luck, down on my knees
Down so far that I can't breathe
Can't see my way, can't stop the night
Can't seem to get back to the light

'Cos I'm down, down, can't you see I'm on the ground
Down, down, see me down

One more empty coffee cup
Six more waiting to wash up
Mess in my kitchen, mess in my head
Empty pockets, empty bed

'Cos I'm down, down, can't you see I'm on the ground
Down, down, see me down

Politicians tell me find a job
Neighbours call me dirty slob
But there's no work for me here, no work in town
And no-one wants to see me 'cos I'm down

'Cos I'm down, down, can't you see I'm on the ground
Down, down, see me down
Yes I'm down, down, please pick me up and turn me round
Down, down, yes I'm down

Down, down, see me down
Down, down, yes I'm down

'Cos I'm down, down, can't you see I'm on the ground
Down, down, see me down
Yes I'm down, down, please pick me up and turn me round
Down, down, yes I'm down

John Corlett writes:
This one developed over a couple of months from the first line, 'Down on my luck, down on my knees', heard in my head against the background of a relentless 'jungle drum' rhythm. I was trying to capture a feeling of desperation in the face of today's vicious spiral of unemployment, current politics and mental illness. Ironically I wrote some of it lying down for 13 hours in a tiny plane, being brought back from Africa after breaking my back!

 

Kicking Out Time

(c) John Lanyon 2002

Scrappin' with my baby
She said "I've had enough
Here's a ticket, lover,
Get back on the bus
It's kicking-out time
It's kicking-out time
Don't care if it's raining
It's kicking-out time."

Standing at the dock gates
Leaving with my mates
The boss is standing grinning
"I don't like your face"
It's kicking-out time
It's kicking-out time
My ship's going down the river
It's kicking-out time.

Sittin' at the piano
I think I've found some rest
The blues, you're my baby
The blues, you're my bequest
It's kicking-out time
It's kicking-out time
Play my lazy rhythm
I'm kicking out time.

John Lanyon writes:
Kicking Out Time was not kingB's first attempt at original composition but it was the first original song to become part of the regular kingB repertoire and audience favourite.

At the end of one of our rehearsals Cat explained he had been out for a bike-ride and a particular riff and tempo had suggested themselves to him. He promptly demonstrated it on bass and I said "I think I can write some lyrics to fit".

The next day, in my lunchbreak I wrote the entire lyrics. At the next rehearsal we ran through it and we were so pleased with ourselves we just played it over and over. Currently we use Kicking Out Time as a feature for our harmonica player, Ian Grierson.

Robert Johnson Said

(c) John Corlett 2011

Robert Johnson said
Yes Robert Johnson said
Oh Robert Johnson said
Yes Robert Johnson said
Blues falling down, blues falling down
Blues falling down like hail
Well Robert Johnson said
Yes Robert Johnson said
Blues falling down, blues falling down
Blues falling down like hail
He’s got a hell-hound on his trail

Did I let you down?
Disappoint you babe?
Did I let you down?
Disappoint you babe?
It’s in your eyes, when you look at me
But I don't have control
Did I let you down?
Disappoint you babe?
But I’m not an angel, can't be your angel
I don't have control
That's the devil in my soul

Well Robert Johnson cried
Yes Robert Johnson cried
Oh Robert Johnson cried
Yes Robert Johnson cried
Me and the devil, the devil and me
The devil walking by my side
Well Robert Johnson cried
Yes Robert Johnson cried
Me and the devil, the devil and me
The devil walking by my side
Just can't get satisfied

John Corlett writes:
The 'feel' of this one popped into my brain shortly ahead of the lyrics, though I had for some time been wanting to tap into the wonderful poetry of the lyrics of Robert Johnson, often thought of as 'father of the blues'.
More lyrics to follow!