This was mentioned by AndyG on 07-Jan-00. Lyrics found online and checked by me against a recording.


HARRY RAG*
Words and music by Ray Davies
As recorded by The Kinks on “Something Else,” 1967.

Ah, Tom is young and Tom is bold.
Tom is as bold as the knights of old,
But whenever he gets in a bit of a jam,
There's nothing he won't do to get a Harry rag.

CHORUS: Harry rag, Harry rag,
Do anything just to get a Harry rag.
And he curses himself for the life he's led,
And rolls himself a Harry rag and puts himself to bed.

Ah, Tom's old ma is a dying lass.
Soon they all reckon she'll be pushing up the grass,
And her bones might ache and her skin might sag,
But still she's got the strength to have a Harry rag.

CHORUS: Harry rag, Harry rag,
Do anything just to get a Harry rag.
And she curses herself for the life she's led.
And rolls herself a Harry rag and puts herself to bed.

Ah, bless you, tax man; bless you all.
You may take some but you never take it all,
But if I give it all, I won't feel sad
As long as I got enough to buy a Harry rag.

CHORUS: Harry rag, Harry rag,
Do anything just to get a Harry rag,
And I curse myself for the life I've led,
And roll myself a Harry rag and put myself to bed.

Ah, the smart young ladies of the land
Can't relax without a Harry in their hand,
And they light one up and they boast and brag,
So content because they got a Harry rag.

CHORUS: Harry rag, Harry rag,
Do anything just to get a Harry rag,
And they'll light one and they'll boast and brag,
So content because they got a Harry rag.

CHORUS: Harry rag, Harry rag,
I'll do anything just to get a Harry rag,
And I curse myself for the life I've led
And roll myself a Harry rag and put myself to bed.

- - -
* Harry rag or Harry Wragg, British and Irish rhyming slang for “fag” (cigarette), based on famous jockey Harry Wragg (1902-85). – info from The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English.