@ALBUM: Black Snake Diamond Role

BLACK SNAKE DIAMOND ROLE
by
Robyn Hitchcock

@SONG: THE MAN WHO INVENTED HIMSELF

He came bursting out of nowhere like a sphere into the sun And he cast his light on everything, it was like he never died And he landed right on target, but the target rolled away And it left him pointing nowhere you could hear the children say
He's the fellow, the man who invented himself When you need her love so badly but she's trying to relax You can't work it with your fingers so you try it with an axe And he taps you on the shoulder; looking out for number one Is like drilling for a rainbow or an iceberg in the sun He's the fellow, the man who invented himself Nobody knows where he's from
Nobody knows where he's gone and gone and gone But he's not here
When you're waiting for your baby to get back from the moon And throw her arms around you, in a fairly quiet lagoon Well that loneliness is nothing, just imagine how he feels He's the only person in the world who still believes he's real He's the fellow, the man who invented himself

@SONG: BRENDA'S IRON SLEDGE

We head downhill, my hands fly back
Our fingers freeze, our hair falls out, our hair falls out Our fingers freeze, our hair falls out
The iron piston pumps and spouts
The steaming air as hot as sprouts
All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge
No one's on top, they're comfortable
They're sitting on a human chain, a human chain They're sitting on a human chain
Their limbs compressed in icy slush
Of freezing in a raw meat groove
All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge
Please don't call me Reg, it's not my name The body's rear, a bucking sled
Which hits a tree and falls asleep, and falls asleep Which hits a tree and that is that
The grasshoppers curl up and burst
And Brenda shovels on the wurst
All aboard, Brenda's iron sledge
Please don't call me Reg, it's not my name

@SONG: DO POLICEMEN SING?

Oh do policemen sing?                  I heard a person cry
We can do anything                      I heard the force
reply
Oh do policemen sing?                  Yes when they're in the

mood
And when their truncheons swing That's when they're in the mood
It's true because I never argue with a rozzer Never show him insolence, confidence
'Cos who supplies the evidence it's not your mother or your lover or your best friends dog
Oh do policemen dream? Yes when they're fast asleep
And when policemen dream It proves they're fast asleep
Oh do policemen sing? Yes if they've got the time
And when they sing for you? Just tell them they're sublime
Don't get stymied, don't say bloody hell or blimey Don't complain if your beans aren't warm

Oh do policemen sing?                  Oh yes extremely well
Haven't you heard the Welsh?        They really do excel
And are policeman gay?                Depends on what you mean
They are not lewd or queer            But they all dig the

queen
Open ended, 'specially when you're apprehended, taken in and...
Our law and order's never, never, never, never, never gonna break down
Our law and order's never, never, never, never, never gonna break down
Our law and order's never, never, never, never, never, never gonna break down

@SONG: THE LIZARD

You wear the lizard's shoes and afterwards you get confused You wear the lizard's coat and afterwards you fail to float You take the lizard's path but look who's lying in the bath You wear the lizard's skin no man can be a god and win at all You take the lizard's mask but look who's lying in the cask And the clocks have stopped you'll find out what the lizard dropped
You know the lizard's won but you can't work out how it's done The lizard is your friend and will be to the very end of time You lie beneath the stars the lizard knows how high they are The stars are out of reach the lizard lingers on a beach The stars are out of date the lizard had them on a plate You vomit in the shed the lizard got there first he's dead now

@SONG: MEAT

It don't feel much like a home without a dog It don't feel much like a pool without a frog It don't feel much like a world without a girl It don't feel much like a girl without a human being It don't feel much like a fish without a pond It don't feel much like a fence with no beyond It don't feel much like a church without a god inside It don't feel much like a bank without a lot of money Oh come on baby give me your meat
It don't feel much like a foot without a shoe It don't feel much like a me without a you It don't feel much like a train without a buffet car It don't feel much like a bed when there's nobody on it

Ah swallow it
It don't feel much like a bath without a plug It don't feel much like a hole without a drug It don't feel much like a drug without a side effect It don't feel much like an effect if you don't love nobody Come on baby gimme your meat

@SONG: ACID BIRD

Sucking on a tap that never dries
Could you take it right between your eyes Bending blood, bending blood
The father stood, the father's hood
Like shadow on an acid bird that etched her way across a field So long ago, so long
Walking through the fields in summer heat Look at all the creatures 'round your feet Pumping blood, pumping blood
The mother's gaze, the mother gave
White ointment of an acid kiss that burned upon the lips she gave you
So long ago, so long ago
Fun in the sun, luck in the bloodstream Shallow bodies writhing on the grass
Fun in the sun, hair in the slipstream
Tadpoles shooting through a hollow glass Cutting out a silhouette in dreams
Everything is older than it seems
Son of blood, son of blood
The baby shakes, the baby snakes
That crawl across the acid rings that flicker from your corpuscles
One sunny day, one sunny day
Fun in the sun everyone knows it
They could be as mellow as the hay
Fun in the sun everyone blows it
They grow up and instantly turn grey
Like shadow of an acid bird that etched its way across a field So long ago, so long ago

@SONG: I WATCH THE CARS

I watch the cars go back and forth
I watch the cars go back and forth
I watch the cars go back and forth
Sometimes south and sometimes north
I watch the cars
I hear them stopping down the street
I hear them stopping down the street
I hear the sound of stocking feet
I wonder who they're going to meet
I'm getting drunk inside my house
I see the men inside their shells
I see the men inside their shells
They go to prostitutes as well
Who never mind the way the smell
The prostitutes are paid for it
Alright!
I hear you're gonna try that too
I hear you're gonna try that too
I hear you're gonna try that too
I wouldn't pay to go to you
I'm getting drunk inside my house again I watch the cars go back and forth
I watch the cars go back and forth
I watch the cars go back and forth
Sometimes south and sometimes north
I watch the cars

@SONG: OUT OF THE PICTURE

Don't you ever wonder 'bout the nowhere girl Don't you feel sad or feel strange
There is no escaping from the nowhere girl She's never really truly out of range
And I'm walking out of the picture
Leaving everything behind except my mind Don't you feel temptation for the nowhere girl She can burn your hands and sting your heart She knows it's too late for you to save the world And you believe that there's still time to start And I'm walking out of the picture
Leaving everything behind except your mind She's not just a pretty face
She's a big black hole as well
She swallows everything she sees
She's not of the human race
She's a creature out of hell
She's's a disease
You are just in time to see the nowhere girl Settling her fingers 'round your brain
Saw away the taps and you're a brand new world You'll never ever pass this way again
Walking out of the picture
Leaving everything behind except your mind

@SONG: CITY OF SHAME

It was in the city of shame
That I found I wasn't to blame
I was looking for a weird thing or two
I discovered that it had to be you
It was in the city of fear
That I shouted 'Is there nobody here?'
Though the echo had the name on a ring
Still the echo wasn't called anything
La, la, la, la, la, la, la
It was in the city of love
All the flesh I ate was never enough
Though I knew it wasn't good for my soul My body hungered for the ultimate goal
It was in the city of spies
That I spoke with nothing but lies
When they set a trap for all you could feel It's important that your mind is concealed La, la, la, la, la, la, la
It was in the city of shapes
That she made love to several apes
She felt weird for a couple of days
Pretty soon she got used to their ways
It was in the city of fools
That she sold her beautiful jewels
Someone bought them and sold them again Now they've been bought by several men
La, la, la, la, la, la, la

@SONG: LOVE

The sun is shining on the ground
I see that nothing makes a sound
I move invisible as air
And choose the time to disappear
Ah, ah, ah - I'm in love with you
The spirit started long ago
They've found somewhere they couldn't go They spend their time just looking out
For those who never share a doubt
Ah, ah, ah, ah - they're in love with you The seagull on the seeping sand
Can die but never understand
The oil that festers on our shore
Will cast a stain for evermore
Ah, ah, ah, ah - who's in love with that? The gnomes are moving through the night The sing and fiddle with delight
And we eat Weetabix and sing
About the joys that love can bring
Ah, ah, ah, ah - if they ever come
The sun is shining very hard
It melts both margarine and lard
But me I only dream of you
I hope that you are dreaming too
Ah, ah, ah, ah - I'm in love with you