Rank

The Smiths Rank Lyrics
1.Ask(Rank)

This is our new single ...
Ask !

Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
That you'd like to

Shyness is nice, and
Shyness can stop you
From doing all the things in life
That you'd like to

So, if there's something you'd like to try
If there's something you'd like to try
Ask me - i won't say 'no' - how could i ?

Coyness is nice, and
Coyness can stop you
From doing all the things in
Life that you want to

So, if there's something you'd like to try
If there's something you'd like to try
Ask me - i won't say 'no' - how could i ?

Spending warm summer days indoors
Writing frightening verse
To a buck-toothed girl in luxembourg

Ask me, ask me, ask me
Ask me, ask me, ask me

Because if it's not love
Then it's the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the
bomb, the bomb
That will bring us together

Nature is a language - can't you read ?
Nature is a language - can anybody read ?

So ... ask me, ask me, ask me
Ask me, ask me, ask me

Because if it's not love
Then it's the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the bomb, the
bomb, the bomb
That will bring us together

If it's not love
Then it's the bomb
Then it's the bomb
That will bring us together

So ... ask me, ask me, ask me
Ask me, ask me, ask me
Oh, la ...


2.Bigmouth Strikes Again(Rank)

Sweetness, sweetness i was only joking
When i said i'd like to smash every tooth
In your head

Oh ... sweetness, sweetness, i was only joking
When i said by rights you should be
Bludgeoned in your bed

And now i know how joan of arc felt
Now i know how joan of arc felt, oh
As the flames rose to her roman nose
And her walkman started to melt
Oh ...

Bigmouth, la ... bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the human race

Oh, bigmouth, ha ha ... bigmouth, la
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the human race

And now i know how joan of arc felt
Now i know how joan of arc felt, oh
As the flames rose to a roman nose
And her hearing aid started to melt
Eek !

Oh, bigmouth, la ... bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
With the human race
Oh ...

Bigmouth, oh ... bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the human race

And now i know how joan of arc felt
Now i know how joan of arc felt, oh
As the flames rose to a roman nose
And her hearing aid started to melt
Oh !

Oh, bigmouth, oh ... bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the human race
Oh ...

Bigmouth, oh ... bigmouth, la ...
Bigmouth strikes again
I've got no right to take my place
In the human race
Oh ...

Bigmouth

Goodbye, and thankyou ! goodbye !


3.Cemetry Gates(Rank)

A dreaded sunny day
I meet you at the cemetry gates
Keats and yeats are on your side
A dreaded sunny day
So i meet you at the cemetry gates
Keats and yeats are on your side
While wilde is on mine

So we go inside and we gravely read the stones
All those people all those lives
Where are they now ?
With loves, with hates
With passions just like mine
They were born
And then they lived
And then they died
It seems so unfair
Oh, i want to cry

You say : ''ere thrice the sun done salutation to the dawn'
And you claim these words as your own
But i've read well, and i've heard them said
A hundred times (maybe less, maybe more)
If you must write prose and poems
The word you use should be your own
Don't plagiarise or take 'on loan'
There's always someone, somewhere
With a big nose, who knows
And trips you up and laughs
When you fall
Who'll trip you up and laugh
When you fall

You say : 'long done do does did'
Words which could only be your own
And then produce the text
From whence was ripped
(some dizzy whore, 1804)

A dreaded sunny day
So let's go where we're happy
And i meet you at the cemetry gates
Oh, keats and yeats are on your side
A dreaded sunny day
So let's go where we're wanted
And i meet you at the cemetry gates
Keats and yeats are on your side
But you lose
'cause weird lover wilde is on mine

Sure !


4.Is It Really So Strange ?(Rank)

This song is called 'is it really so strange ?'
Euh
I left the north
I travelled south
I found a tiny house
And i can't help the way that i feel
Oh yes, you can kick me
And you can punch me
And you can break my face
But you won't change the way i feel
'cause i love you
Oh ...

And is it really so strange ?
Oh, is it really so strange ?
Oh, is it really so, really so strange ?
I say no, you say yes
(but you will change your mind)

I left the south
I travelled north
I got confused - i killed a horse
I can't help the way that i feel
Oh yes, you can kick me
And you can butt me
And you can break my spine
But you won't change the way i feel
'cause i love you
Oh ...

And is it really so strange ?
Oh, is it really so strange ?
Oh, is it really so, really so strange ?
I say no, you say yes
(but you will change your mind)

I left the north again
I travelled south again
And i got confused - i killed a nun
I can't help the way that i feel
I can't help the way i feel
I can't help the way i feel
(i lost my bag in newport pagnell)

Why is the last mile the hardest mile ?
My throat was dry, with the sun in my eyes
And i realised, i realised
I could never
I could never, never, go back home again

Thankyou ! thankyou.


5.I Know It's Over(Rank)

I can feel the soil falling over my head
And as i climb into an empty bed
Oh well. enough said.
I know it's over - still i cling
I don't know where else i can go
Over ...
Oh mother, i can feel the soil falling over my head
See, the sea wants to take me
The knife wants to cut me
Do you think you can help me ?
Sad veiled bride, please be happy
Handsome groom, give her room
Loud, loutish lover, treat her kindly
(though she needs you
More than she loves you)
And i know it's over - still i cling
I don't know where else i can go
Over, it's over, it's over, it's over
It's over, la ...
I know it's over
And it never really began
But in my heart it was so real
And you even spoke to me, and said :
'if you're so funny
Then why are you on your own tonight ?
And if you're so clever
Then why are you on your own tonight ?
I know ...
'cause tonight - it's just like any other night
That's why you're on your own tonight
Your triumphs and your charms
While they're in each other's arms...'
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes strength to be gentle and kind
Over, over, over, over
It's so easy to laugh
It's so easy to hate
It takes guts to be gentle and kind
Over, over
Love is natural and real
But not for you, my love
Not tonight, my love
Love is natural and real
But not for such as you and i, my love
Oh mother, i can feel the soil falling over my head
Oh mother, i can feel the soil falling over my head, oh ...
Oh mother, i can feel the soil falling over my head
Oh mother, i can feel the soil falling over my head
Oh mother, i can feel the soil fall over my head
Mother, i can feel the soil fall over my head
Oh mother, i can feel the soil fall over, fall over my head
Oh mother, i can feel the ... fall over my ...
Oh ...


6.London(Rank)

Smoke
Lingers 'round your fingers
Train
Heave on - to euston
Do you think you've made
The right decision this time ?
Oh ...

You left
Your tired family grieving
And you think they're sad because you're leaving
But did you see the jealousy in the eyes
Of the ones who had to stay behind ?
And do you think you've made
The right decision this time ?

You left
Your girlfriend on the platform
With this really ragged notion that you'll return
But she knows
That when he goes
He really goes
And do you think you've made
The right decision this time ?

Thankyou
Oh ...


7.Marie's The Name(His Latest Flame)

Very old friend
Came by today
As he was telling everyone in town
Of all the love that he'd just found

And marie's the name (of his latest flame)

Talked and talked
And i heard him say
That she had the longest blackest hair
Prettiest green eyes anywhere

And marie's the name (of his latest flame)

The last night of the fair
By the big wheel generator
A boy is stabbed
His money is grabbed
And the air hangs heavy like a dulling wine

She is famous
She is funny
An engagement ring
Doesn't mean a thing
To a mind consumed by brass (money), oh

The last night of the fair
From a seat on a whirling waltzer
Her skirt ascends for a watching eye
It's a hideous trait (on her mother's side)
From a seat on a whirling waltzer
Her skirt ascends for a watching eye
A hideous trait (on her mother's side)

Then someone falls in love
Someone's beaten up
Someone's beaten up
And the senses being dulled are mine
And someone falls in love
Someone's beaten up
And the senses being dulled are mine

This is the last night of the fair
And the grease in the hair
Of a speedway operator
Is all a tremulous heart requires
A schoolgirl is denied
She said : 'how quickly would i die
If i jumped from the top of the parachutes ?'

This is the last night of the fair
And the grease in the hair
Of a speedway operator
Is all a tremulous heart requires
A schoolgirl is denied
She said : 'how quickly would i die
Oh, if i jumped from the top of the parachutes ?'

...oh, walk home alone
I might walk home alone
But my faith in love is still devout
I might walk home alone
But my faith in love is still devout
I might walk home alone
But my faith in love is still devout


8.Panic(Rank)

Panic on the streets of london
Panic on the streets of birmingham
I wonder to myself
Could life ever be sane again ?
The leeds side-streets that you slip down
I wonder to myself
Hopes may rise on the grasmere
But honey pie, you're not safe here
So you run down
To the safety of the town
But there's panic on the streets of carlisle
Dublin, dundee, humberside
I wonder to myself

Burn down the disco
Hang the blessed dj
Because the music that they constantly play
It says nothing to me about my life
Hang the blessed dj
Because the music they constantly play

On the leeds side-streets that you slip down
Or provincial towns you jog 'round
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj
Hang the dj, hang the dj

Thankyou ...


9.Rubber Ring / What She Said(Rank)

Yeah !

What she says:
'how come someone hasn't noticed
That i'm dead
And decided to bury me ?
God knows, i'm ready !'
La-la-la ...

What she said was sad
But then, all the rejection she's had
To pretend to be happy
Could only be idiocy
La-la-la ...

What she said was not for the job or
Lover that she never had
No no no ...

What she read
All heady books
She'd sit and prophesise
(it took a tattooed boy from
Birkenhead
To really really open her eyes)

What she read
All heady books
She'd sit and prophesise
(it took a tattooed boy from
Birkenhead
To really really open her eyes)

What she said :
'i smoke because i'm hoping for an
Early death
And i need to cling to something !'

What she said :
'i smoke because i'm hoping for an
Early death
And i need to cling to something !'
No no no no ...


10.Still Ill(Rank)

I decree today that life
Is simply taking and not giving
England is mine and it owes me a living
But ask me why, and i'll spit in your eye, no
Oh, ask me why, and i'll spit in your eye
Look, we cannot cling to the old dreams anymore
No, we cannot cling to those dreams

Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body ?
I dunno...

Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although i ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old days anymore
No, it wasn't like those days
Am i still ill ?
Oh, no ...
Oh, no ...
Oh, am i still ill ?
Oh, no ...
Oh, no ...

Does the body rule the mind
Or does the mind rule the body ?
I dunno...

Ask me why, and i'll smile
Oh, ask me why, and i'll die
And if you must, go to work - tomorrow
Well, if i were you i really wouldn't bother
For there are brighter sides to life
And i should know, because i've seen them
...
Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although i ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old days anymore
No, it wasn't like those days
Am i still ill ?
Oh, no ...
Oh, no ...
Oh, am i still ill ?
Oh, no ...
Oh, no ...
Euh !


11.The Boy With The Thorn In His Side(Rank)

The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A murderous desire for love
How can they look into my eyes
And still they don't believe me ?
How can they hear me say those words
Still they don't believe me ?
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever believe me ?
And if they don't believe me now
Will they ever, they ever, believe me ?
Oh no ...
Oh ...

The boy with the thorn in his side
Behind the hatred there lies
A plundering desire for love
How can they see the love in our eyes
And still they don't believe us ?
And after all this time, ah
They don't want to believe us
And if they don't believe us now
Will they ever believe us ?
And when you want to live
How do you start ?
Where do you go ?
Who do you need to know ?
Oh no no no ...

Oh ...
Oh no ...
Oh ...
La ...


12.The Draize Train(Rank)

Instrumental


13.The Queen Is Dead(Rank)

Hello !
Farewell to these marshes
Hemmed in like a boar between arches
Her very lowness with a head in a sling
I'm truly sorry - it sounds like a wonderful thing

I said charles, don't you ever craze
To appear on the front of the daily mail
Blessed in your mother's bridal veil ?
Oh ...
And so, i checked all the registered historical facts
I was shocked into shame to discover
I am the 18th pale descendant
Of some old queen or other

Oh, has the world changed, or have i changed ?
Oh has the world changed, or have i changed ?

Some 9-year old tough who peddles drugs
I swear to god
I never even knew what drugs were
So, i broke into the palace
With a sponge and a rusty spanner
She said : 'i know you, and you cannot sing'
I said : 'that's nothing - you should hear me play piano'

We can go for a walk where it's quiet and dry
And talk about precious things
But when you're tied to your mother's apron
No-one talk about ...

Past the pub who breaks your body
And the church who'll snatch your money
The queen is dead, boys
And it's so lonely on a limb
Past the pub who wrecks your body
And the church - all they want is your money
The queen is dead, boys
You can trust me, boys

Life is very long, when you're lonely
Life is very long, when you're lonely


14.Vicar In A Tutu(Rank)

I was minding my business
I was lifting some lead off
The roof of the holy name church
It was worthwhile living a laughable life
Just to set my eyes on the blistering sight
Of a vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way

A scanty bit of a thing
With a decorative ring
That wouldn't cover the head of a child
As rose collects the money in the cannister
Who comes sliding down the bannister ?
The vicar in a tutu
He's not strange
He just wants to live his life this way

Oh, the monkish monsignor
With a head full of plaster
Said : 'my man, get your vile soul dry-cleaned'
As rose collects the money from the cannister
As natural as rain
He dances again
My god !
The vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Oh ...
The vicar in a tutu
Oh yeah
Oh ...

The next day in the pulpit
With freedom and ease
Combatting ignorance, dust, and disease
As rose counts the money in the cannister
As natural as rain
He dances again and again and again

In the fabric of a tutu
Any man could get used to
And i am the living sign
I'm a living sign
I am a living sign
I'm a living sign
I am a living sign
I'm a living sign
Sign ...
I am a living sign
Oh ...