Having It Both Ways - album lyrics
click on speaker icons
for realaudio samples of each
song Disrespect
The
One
Rum
Thunderbird
Cold
Cold Ground
Fool
To Myself
Hot
Dog
Sorry
Connecticut
Congo
blue
Castaway
(The
Last Word)
a certain little something
in the way you smiled...
telegraphed a message that
was weird and wild: you
were beefy and delicious
and I knew you were the
one for me
Hot Dog - so brown and smooth;
Hot Dog - so tender too...
well it seemed as if everyone
else had the right, to bite
any pieces of me that they
liked
I understand angry day after
day, but "sorry"
is beyond me I'm sorry to
say
the fortress that surrounded
you - awards on all the
walls,
the demons in your darkness
- and the friends you never
called
squeezing through the beefcake
steaming in the dark...
knowing and flowing with
amazing grace; shirt hanging
down, flapping over your
waist
can't help laughing, got
a hard attack - cos you're
grinning and singing and
you're looking right back
all my life I've been waiting,
aching... too many nights
of searching, hurting
roaring nights a-plenty
in the salty fellowship
of boys and men
met a salty girl with a
sailor's gait... and she
knew the ropes
like the back of her sunburned
hand
if gay liberation means
freedom for all, a label
is no liberation at all
- I'm here and I'm queer
and I do what I do - and
I'm not gonna wear... a
straitjacket for you
you sit there wasted and
you drink all day, you cruise
the kennels and go all the
way...
his lips are gentle but
his hands are firm - hold
tight now, you got a lot
to learn
doesn't give a damn about
the life you led,
doesn't give a damn whoever
shared your bed
lying in bed when I'm out
of my head I can feel what
I need deep inside
flying with CDs and Es at
the flat, on a weekend my
best friend and I... are
smoking and drinking and
both of us thinking the
things we all think when
we're high
if we became closer
well no-one would know,
so roll over and switch
out the light
I wanna get naked and scream
like a girl - that's the
most natural thing in the
world
I got smooth white skin
so I do much better than
some:
some girls mother me, some
men wanna have fun...
the 21st Century will be
here soon - fucked in a
gutter, howling at the moon
a certain little something
in the way you smiled...
telegraphed a message that
was weird and wild: you
were beefy and delicious
and I knew you were the
one for me
Hot Dog - so brown and smooth;
Hot Dog - so tender too...
well it seemed as if everyone
else had the right, to bite
any pieces of me that they
liked
I understand angry day after
day, but "sorry"
is beyond me I'm sorry to
say
the fortress that surrounded
you - awards on all the
walls,
the demons in your darkness
- and the friends you never
called
squeezing through the beefcake
steaming in the dark...
knowing and flowing with
amazing grace; shirt hanging
down, flapping over your
waist
can't help laughing, got
a hard attack - cos you're
grinning and singing and
you're looking right back
all my life I've been waiting,
aching... too many nights
of searching, hurting
roaring nights a-plenty
in the salty fellowship
of boys and men
met a salty girl with a
sailor's gait... and she
knew the ropes
like the back of her sunburned
hand
if gay liberation means
freedom for all, a label
is no liberation at all
- I'm here and I'm queer
and I do what I do - and
I'm not gonna wear... a
straitjacket for you
you sit there wasted and
you drink all day, you cruise
the kennels and go all the
way...
his lips are gentle but
his hands are firm - hold
tight now, you got a lot
to learn
doesn't give a damn about
the life you led,
doesn't give a damn whoever
shared your bed
lying in bed when I'm out
of my head I can feel what
I need deep inside
flying with CDs and Es at
the flat, on a weekend my
best friend and I... are
smoking and drinking and
both of us thinking the
things we all think when
we're high
if we became closer
well no-one would know,
so roll over and switch
out the light
I wanna get naked and scream
like a girl - that's the
most natural thing in the
world
I got smooth white skin
so I do much better than
some:
some girls mother me, some
men wanna have fun...
the 21st Century will be
here soon - fucked in a
gutter, howling at the moon
a certain little something
in the way you smiled...
telegraphed a message that
was weird and wild: you
were beefy and delicious
and I knew you were the
one for me
Hot Dog - so brown and smooth;
Hot Dog - so tender too...
well it seemed as if everyone
else had the right, to bite
any pieces of me that they
liked
I understand angry day after
day, but "sorry"
is beyond me I'm sorry to
say
the fortress that surrounded
you - awards on all the
walls,
the demons in your darkness
- and the friends you never
called
squeezing through the beefcake
steaming in the dark...
knowing and flowing with
amazing grace; shirt hanging
down, flapping over your
waist
can't help laughing, got
a hard attack - cos you're
grinning and singing and
you're looking right back
all my life I've been waiting,
aching... too many nights
of searching, hurting
roaring nights a-plenty
in the salty fellowship
of boys and men
met a salty girl with a
sailor's gait... and she
knew the ropes
like the back of her sunburned
hand
if gay liberation means
freedom for all, a label
is no liberation at all
- I'm here and I'm queer
and I do what I do - and
I'm not gonna wear... a
straitjacket for you
you sit there wasted and
you drink all day, you cruise
the kennels and go all the
way...
his lips are gentle but
his hands are firm - hold
tight now, you got a lot
to learn
doesn't give a damn about
the life you led,
doesn't give a damn whoever
shared your bed
lying in bed when I'm out
of my head I can feel what
I need deep inside
flying with CDs and Es at
the flat, on a weekend my
best friend and I... are
smoking and drinking and
both of us thinking the
things we all think when
we're high
if we became closer
well no-one would know,
so roll over and switch
out the light
I wanna get naked and scream
like a girl - that's the
most natural thing in the
world
I got smooth white skin
so I do much better than
some:
some girls mother me, some
men wanna have fun...
the 21st Century will be
here soon - fucked in a
gutter, howling at the moon
a certain little something
in the way you smiled...
telegraphed a message that
was weird and wild: you
were beefy and delicious
and I knew you were the
one for me
Hot Dog - so brown and smooth;
Hot Dog - so tender too...
well it seemed as if everyone
else had the right, to bite
any pieces of me that they
liked
I understand angry day after
day, but "sorry"
is beyond me I'm sorry to
say
the fortress that surrounded
you - awards on all the
walls,
the demons in your darkness
- and the friends you never
called
squeezing through the beefcake
steaming in the dark...
knowing and flowing with
amazing grace; shirt hanging
down, flapping over your
waist
can't help laughing, got
a hard attack - cos you're
grinning and singing and
you're looking right back
all my life I've been waiting,
aching... too many nights
of searching, hurting
roaring nights a-plenty
in the salty fellowship
of boys and men
met a salty girl with a
sailor's gait... and she
knew the ropes
like the back of her sunburned
hand
if gay liberation means
freedom for all, a label
is no liberation at all
- I'm here and I'm queer
and I do what I do - and
I'm not gonna wear... a
straitjacket for you
you sit there wasted and
you drink all day, you cruise
the kennels and go all the
way...
his lips are gentle but
his hands are firm - hold
tight now, you got a lot
to learn
doesn't give a damn about
the life you led,
doesn't give a damn whoever
shared your bed
lying in bed when I'm out
of my head I can feel what
I need deep inside
flying with CDs and Es at
the flat, on a weekend my
best friend and I... are
smoking and drinking and
both of us thinking the
things we all think when
we're high
if we became closer
well no-one would know,
so roll over and switch
out the light
I wanna get naked and scream
like a girl - that's the
most natural thing in the
world
I got smooth white skin
so I do much better than
some:
some girls mother me, some
men wanna have fun...
the 21st Century will be
here soon - fucked in a
gutter, howling at the moon
Disrespect
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt/Scott/Lallaman)
Well the crunch is coming
and it won't be long
You think you know the future
but you're so so wrong
For love and comfort you
can lean on me
But your life's your own
- your own responsibility
You sit there wasted and
you drink all day
You cruise the kennels and
go all the way
Please please please - don't
disrespect yourself
Well the crunch is coming
- you abuse your brain
Your God-given body and
your own good name
Take the risk of winning
- stand up, be strong
To those brutal losers -
you gotta prove them wrong
You've been mistreated and
you've been abused
But that's all over if you
only choose - I said
Please please please - Please
please please -
Please please please - don't
disrespect yourself
Relax... Everything's alright
Right here, right now in
this room tonight
Take a great leap forward
- walk on, be free
I believe in you - can you
believe in me?
Take my arm, I wanna touch
your hand
Wanna hold your shoulder,
I can be your man
Please please please - Please
please please -
Please please please - don't
disrespect yourself
The One
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
Hey there lonely with your
life on hold
Uptight and terrified of
getting old
Saving your affection for
the Special One
The ideal lover who will
never come
Bid Mister Fantasy a fond
farewell
Your ideal lover boy you
know him well
Why keep searching for the
eyes of blue
When the eyes of love are
looking right at you?
Won't be the lover that
you might expect
He's been like a brother
since the day you met
He sees your weakness and
he knows your faults
But you don't seem to notice
him at all
The one you run to when
you're all alone
With endless confessions
on the telephone
The one who's fun whenever
life's a party
The one who hugs you when
you're brokenhearted -
The One... he's The Only
One
He's The One... he's The
Only One
Don't try to tell me it
would be a crime
To mess up your friendship
after all this time
Have you ever listened to
a word he's said -
Forget the friend and see
the man instead
He wants your loving, what
did you expect
Along with your tenderness
and deep respect
His lips are gentle but
his hands are firm
Hold tight now, you got
a lot to learn, from
The One... from The Only
One
He's The One... he's The
Only One
And it's you, you, you,
you, you...
Couldn't care less about
the lies you tell
Bad or angry, you can be
yourself
Couldn't care less about
the mess you're in
Couldn't care less about
your next of kin
Doesn't give a damn about
the clothes you wear
Doesn't give a damn about
the state of your hair
Doesn't give a damn about
the life you've led
Doesn't give a damn whoever
shared your bed
You're The One... you're
The Only One
You're The One... you're
The Only One
And it's you, you, you,
you, you...
You're The One
Rum Thunderbird
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
Rum, thunderbird wine and
coke
Snakebite and skunk, a snort
and a smoke
I wanna get legless and
fly like a bird -
That's the most natural
thing in the world
I get up each morning at
twenty to seven
I work till it's way after
five
Yes sir and no sir, I'm
Mister Control sir
I do what I need to survive
I go out each evening, get
drunk with my buddies
Crawl back in the dead of
the night
Lying in bed when I'm out
of my head
I can feel what I need deep
inside
Rum, thunderbird wine and
coke
My mouth is as dry as the
back of my throat
I'm wrecked in the bedroom
and ready to hurl
That's the most natural
thing in the world
Flying with CDs and Es at
the flat
On a weekend my best friend
and I
Are smoking and drinking
and both of us thinking
The things we all think
when we're high
The ceiling is reeling,
I know how you're feeling
About to crash out for the
night
If we became closer well
no-one would know
So roll over and switch
out the light
Rum, thunderbird wine and
coke
To tell you the truth I
need to be juiced
I wanna get naked and scream
like a girl
That's the most natural
thing in the world
Rum, thunderbird wine and
coke
I wanna be touched, I wanna
be groped
I'm wrecked in the bedroom
and ready to hurl
That's the most natural
thing in the world
Rum, thunderbird wine and
coke
Snakebite and skunk, a toot
and a toke
I wanna get legless and
high as a bird -
Cos that's the most natural
thing in the world...
That's the most natural
thing in the world
Cold Cold Ground
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
Call me Digger - I don't
have no other name
Don't want no hassle next
time I'm making my claim
Long ago and far away
My dad was an animal, but
that's OK
Hitched to the city, now
I'm here to stay -
Begging on the cold cold
ground
Some people cuss and kick
or spit in your face
Some just slip you a quid
and quicken their pace
If you were me - the roles
reversed
Don't try to tell me you'd
escape the curse
Every alternative's so much
worse
Than begging on the cold
cold ground
Beg, beg, begging
The rain keeps hammering
down
Beg, beg, begging
Begging on the cold cold
ground
I got smooth white skin
so I do much better than
some
Some girls mother me, some
men wanna have fun...
Late tonight, when you're
in bed
Or sat up surfing on the
World Wide Web
You'll forget the beggar
boy you just met
Begging on the cold cold
ground
Beg, beg, begging
The rain keeps hammering
down
Beg, beg, begging
Begging on the cold cold
ground
Don't kid yourself that
you're immune
The 21st Century will be
here soon
Fucked in a gutter, howling
at the moon
And begging on the cold
cold ground
Beg, beg, begging
Why don't you give me a
pound
Beg, beg, begging
Begging on the cold cold
ground
Am I alright - you might
well ask
A sop to your conscience
as you walk on past
You sad motherfuckers can
kiss my arse
I'm begging on the cold
cold ground
Fool To Myself
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
There were times in
my life I avoided the voice
of my reason
When respect for myself
was the search for a hole
in the wall
When I hated my face and
evaded my gaze in the mirror
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more
I believed all the crap
that fanatics were happy
to parrot
And their world of uncomfortable
certainties made me secure
I conformed and performed
all their torturous mental
contortions
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more
Living each day in a permanent
haze of frustration
Too eager to please and
too scared to say 'boo'
to a hen
Lying awake going over each
humiliation
I've been kicking myself
again and again and again
I've tried to be nice-all-the-time
and control my emotions
I've pretended I wanna make
love when I'm ready for
war
And I've planned every move
and manoeuvre in human relations
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more
I'm sick to the gills of
appeasing the creeps who
abuse me
All the 'sorrys' I've muttered
to others for nothing at
all
Of accepting the verdict
of vermin who lie and accuse
me
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more
Been a fool to myself but
I ain't gonna do it no more
Hot Dog
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
I saw you one morning
and I knew you were the
one for me
Yes I saw you one morning
and I knew you were the
one for me
A certain little something
in the way you moved
Jumpy as a puppy on a hot
tin roof
Well I saw you in the morning
and I knew you were the
one for me
You were tasty, you were
tempting and I knew you
were the one for me
I swallowed and I followed
cos I knew you were the
one for me
A certain little something
in the way you smiled
Telegraphed a message that
was weird and wild
You were beefy and delicious
and I knew you were the
one for me
Hot Dog - so brown and smooth
Hot Dog - so tender too
Hot Dog - you know it's
true:
I saw you in the morning
and I knew you were the
one for me
It was dangerous and crazy
but I knew you were the
one for me
It was seedy and illegal
but I knew you were the
one for me
I held you harder as you
won the race -
Ketchup and mustard all
over the place
It was over in a moment
but I knew you were the
one for me
Hot Dog - so brown and smooth
Hot Dog - I want you too
Hot Dog - you know it's
true
I was horny in the morning
and I knew you were the
one for me
Sorry
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
You ask if I'm sorry,
well let me say this
Been here at the bottom
since I was a kid
My mother was sorry when
I saw the day
She just couldn't help it,
I'm sorry to say
Well it seemed as if everyone
else had the right
To bite any pieces of me
that they liked
They beat me and hurt me
till I ran away
And if they were sorry,
they just didn't say
Sorry... sorry
My mother was sorry when
I saw the day
Sorry... sorry
She just couldn't help it,
I'm sorry to say
I gatecrashed a party in
downtown LA
With pretty young people,
successful and gay
I tied 'em all up - then
I blew them away
I just couldn't help it,
I'm sorry to say
Sorry... sorry
I tied them all up then
I blew them away
Sorry... sorry
I just couldn't help it,
I'm sorry to say
You hordes of reporters
and video crews
I don't understand all these
words that you use
I question myself as you
ask me your whys
I don't know how to deal
with the sorry thing, guys...
Well I understand rules,
regulations and force
Procedure is easy, I understand
war
I understand angry day after
day
But sorry's beyond me I'm
sorry to say
Sorry... sorry
I understand angry day after
day
Sorry... sorry
Sorry's beyond me
I'm sorry to say
Connecticut
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
The message light was
blinking as I walked in
from the rain
The thunderclap erupted
right outside my window
pane
Across the cold Atlantic
came a bolt out of the blue
I tried to lie and carry
on but only thought of you
And it's raining in Connecticut
It's raining in LA
It's raining every place
I go
Since you were blown away
Your laughter in the restaurant,
the parties and champagne
The driven urge to prove
yourself - to win and win
again
The fortress that surrounded
you - awards on all the
walls
The demons in your darkness
and the friends you never
called
And it's raining in Connecticut,
it's raining in LA
It's raining in the dead
of night, it's raining every
day
And it's raining in Australia
- it's raining in Calais
It's raining every place
I go since you were blown
away
And I'm lost - tonight as
I remember you
Your heart was even wider
than your smile
And all you ever dreamed
of was the one who'd love
and hold you
As you carried on - now
you're gone, gone gone
The echoes from the restaurant,
of parties and champagne
The driven urge to win and
win, your privacy and pain
The page of fading photographs,
the bitter-tasting pill
The stranger we all knew
so well... the friend we
never will
And it's raining in Connecticut,
it's raining in LA
It's raining in the dead
of night, it's raining every
day
It's raining in Australia
- it's raining in Calais
It's raining every place
I go since you were blown
away
Yes it's raining in Connecticut,
it's raining in LA
It's raining in the dead
of night, been raining every
day
Now it's raining in Australia,
Bankok and Old Bombay
It's raining in the whole
damn world
Since you were blown away
In memory of Dan Hartman
d.1994
Congo Blue
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
Smalltown city on a
weekday evening
The pubs are shutting and
the streets are heaving
Looking for a little bit
of late night twisting
Hear the muffled thumping
of a big sound system
Bass in the bowels of a
crowded bar
Squeeze through the beefcake
steaming in the dark
My friends are restless,
talking by the door
But I'm dazzled by the flash
and razzle on the dancefloor
Blue, blue, Congo Blue...
Blue, blue, Congo Blue...
Sweating and deafened in
the strobing light
Transfixed by a vision in
the northern night
Your face so radiant, full
of animation
Dancing and glancing with
a hint of flirtation -
Knowing, and flowing with
amazing grace
Shirt hanging down, flapping
over your waist
Can't help laughing, got
a hard attack - cos you're
Grinning and singing and
you're looking right back,
I said
Blue, blue, Congo Blue...
do you really mean it
Blue, blue, Congo Blue...
are you laughing at me
Never imagined I'd run into
you here
Here of all places after
all these years
All my life I've been waiting,
aching
Too many nights of searching,
hurting
Summoning the courage up
to bridge that gap
Walk right over and begin
to chat, just
Wishing I was fitter now,
wishing I was younger
Wishing I could hide my
raging hunger
Blue, blue, Congo Blue...
do you really mean it
Blue, blue, Congo Blue...
are you laughing at me
Save the last dance for
me...
Save your last dance for
me
Castaway
(Robinson/Phillips/Fenner/Burt)
As a child I was terrified
of the mighty ocean
When I heard the distant
urging of the brine
Though I cried at night
as I tried to fight the
emotion
That bitter cup of tears
was truly mine
But when I came to taste
the spray on the waterfront
I lost my fear and shrugged
away my shame
And I stowed away on a transatlantic
freighter
With the tempest raging
in my every vein
A man may spend his life
afloat, a man may live ashore
I'll cast away and take
my chance at sea
There were stormy days and
roaring nights a-plenty
In the salty fellowship
of boys and men
They were tough and true,
they were glassy-eyed and
reckless
With a blazing thirst I
drank and drank again
We crossed the line, explored
the depths of danger
Exceeding every fantasy
and dream
No landsman with his stifling
horizons
Could ever guess the wonders
we had seen
A man may spend his life
afloat, a man may live ashore
I'll cast away and take
my chance at sea
I've braved the waves in
an open boat and I know
these waters well
I'll man your lifeboat any
time you need
Way, cast away from the
restless aching
Way, cast away - gonna leave
it all behind
Way, far away where the
waves are breaking
Way, far away - where the
ocean meets the sky
Well a ship must tack and
a man must follow his compass
On an unknown shore I foundered
in the sand
Met a salty girl with a
sailor's gait and her eyes
were a greeny blue
And she knew the ropes like
the back of her sunburned
hand
We danced a hornpipe on
the beach to the sound of
the seething swell
We drank and sank exhausted
on the strand
Till I slipped my anchor,
quit my ship and became
a castaway
To savour the embrace of
her native land
A man may spend his life
afloat, a man may live ashore
A man may marry and still
put out to sea
We brave the waves in our
open boat and we know these
waters well
We'll man your lifeboat
any time you need
Way, cast away from the
restless aching
Way, cast away - gonna leave
it all behind
Way, far away where the
waves are breaking
Way, far away - where the
ocean meets the sky
The Last Word
(Robinson)
For 21 years now I've fought
for the right
For people to love just
whoever they like
But the right-on and righteous
are out for my blood
Now I live with my kid and
a woman I love
Well if gay liberation means
freedom for all
A label is no liberation
at all
I'm here and I'm queer and
I do what I do
And I'm not gonna wear...
a straitjacket for you
