1. COFFEE JINNY
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s CH:
Coffee Jinny’s brewing coffee
Ten o’ clock tonight
We’ll go and get our fortunes told
Coffee Jinny’s always right
Coffee Jinny’s always right. She lives above the Highrow
In a dingy little room
Lit only by a candle and the moon
Some say that she’s a gypsy
A proper Romany
A queen of little Egypt so they say. CH Cross her palm with silver
She’ll put the coffee on
To tell your future if you have a one
And when you’ve had your coffee
She’ll look into the grounds
And tell you if you’re going up or down. CH And all the whores in Bondgate
They come to Jinny’s place
To see if they are falling out of Grace
And even the Merchants’ ladies
From the high part of the town
All want to know what fortunes’ coming round CH Jinny she’s a strange one
We don’t know where she comes from
She’s a friend to no one
She’s a mystery. 2. HIGH FLEW THE RAVEN
Written and Composed by
Bernie Parry. Free Reed Publishing In the silence of the evening in the sadness of the gloom,
The night mist rising to hide the horned moon.
In forest deep ye willows weep, all your sorrows gathered here.
To seek thee, to seek thee
Dark Lady of the weir CH
High flew the raven at the dying of the day
High flew the raven when the maiden passed away
Dark Lady will you come
To me. By the silent river sleeping her path did surely go
She moved and she wandered where the airs of night would flow
By forest light, unholy night, by the seasons and the years
Ne'er have I seen thee dark lady of the weir CH Now the midnight's past and gone and the morn is coming nigh
And the fingers of the dawning they stretch across the sky
By morning light at the end of night I was leaving with a tear
For ne'er have I seen thee dark lady of the weir. CH 3. FAIR WEATHER FRIENDS
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s Dead leaves are blown down cobblestone lanes
Dark clouds are racing heavy with rain
And the cold wind
Sings cold songs
Through the wires
To the windswept crows
Among the spires CH:
Janey walks briskly along
Quietly humming a song
Her face may be cold but her heart is so warm
‘Cause she’s thinking
She’s thinking
Of his love. Janey goes down through old narrow streets
Over the bridge and under the trees
And the river
Is running higher
Past the mill
Must be raining somewhere
In the hills CH Janey walks briskly along
Quietly humming a song
Her face may be cold but her heart is so warm
‘Cause she’s thinking
She’s thinking
Of his love. She walks past my window and gives me a wave
Back in the Summer she used to stay
But now it’s over
Goodbye Summer
Goodbye
Were we fair weather friends
You and I? Only fair weather friends you and I? 4. JIMMY DUFFY’S WALTZ
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s This is Jimmy Duffy’s beat, all the city centre streets
He wanders around with his hands held out
Begging for something to eat
But when he gets enough to buy some bread
A voice inside his head says ‘Buy a bottle of cider instead’. CH:
Then Jimmy Duffy’s gone, he’s really well gone
See him staggering around.
He’s coming this way, watch him sway
He’s waltzing
And reeling around. Jimmy’s face is red and blue, it’s got more craters than the moon
He’s skinny as a rake and his hands they shake
From too many years on the booze.
But he’s got to have a drink every day
To try and keep the world at bay
And sleepless nights away. CH His body is covered all in scars, from fighting in pubs and bars
Now there’s not a pub in town will have him around
So he’s been drinking on the street for years.
And a bottle of cider’s not enough
He knocks it back and still feels rough
Another one would do its stuff. CH Jimmy is always falling down, but first he pirouettes around
Then he falls with grace upon his face
Hello again friendly ground
And nobody wants to help him up
Leave the pig there in his muck
Nobody cares enough. CH Oh help him, someone help him. 5. THE SEASON IS CHANGING
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s The season is changing, the year has grown old
The Autumn is slipping away
The season is changing, the days have grown cold
The sky is unfriendly and grey.
November's cold wind pulls the leaves from the trees
Blowing away, blowing away
The Winter is coming the rivers will freeze
There's snow on the hills today CH:
Oh the season is changing
The season is changing
So quickly the year goes around. We don't realize how quickly time flies
Summer seemed just yesterday
The months have rolled by in the wink of an eye
And my time has been stolen away.
A darkness crept slowly across the green land
I didn't see, I didn't see
No I never noticed till Winters cold hand
Pointed at me, at me CH The wild geese have fled, Summer is dead
Dead as these leaves on the ground
The wild geese have gone to their home in the sun
And I'm longing to be southward bound.
All through the bare branches the wind seems to moan
Traveller go home, traveller go home
The season is saying it's time to be gone
You've been too long alone CH 6. SAME OLD SONGS AGAIN
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s When I was a young man I thought I’d go far
I thought I’d be a famous music star
But I’m still here in this dirty old bar
Singin’ the same old songs again CH:
Yes I had dreams and all that stuff
But it seems that I just wasn’t good enough
‘Cos I’m still here in this dirty old bar
Singin’ the same old songs again. First time that I ever graced the stage
I thought I’d be the new sensation of the age
See my face on the old front page
And be a millionaire. CH Yes I had dreams and all that stuff
But it seems that I just wasn’t good enough
‘Cos I’m still here in this dirty old bar
Singin’ the same old songs again. I know my playing wasn’t beautiful
Perhaps my voice wasn’t suitable
Perhaps my songs were too miserable
Guess I’ll never know CH Yes I had dreams and all that stuff
But it seems that I just wasn’t good enough
‘Cos I’m still here in this dirty old bar
Singin’ the same old songs again
The same old songs again
Singin’ the same old songs again
The same old songs again
The same old songs again
Singin’ the same old songs again
Oh yeah…. 7. MACHINES
Written and composed by Bernie Parry 1970s Look at me
Once I was a great machine
I worked for Man my master faithfully.
Look at us
Underneath this rust
Here lies your past, we were the wheels of industry. CH:
Man he made us
Man he used us
Man cast us aside.
We are rusted
We are wasted
Derelict we lie
Derelict we lie. Proud we were
But glad to work and serve the little Man
We built his cities, built his world.
Great we were
Our works still stand, our bridges span
The rivers as our towers span the years. CH And one day
Man will come again and he'll reclaim
The precious metal of our bones.
We will go
And in the fiery furnace we will flow
And we will glow and be reborn. Here we lie
See our sightless eyes, our broken arms
Our useless thighs, our silence cries
Here we lie
Underneath the sky we only wait
We are not dead, we do not die. CH 8. THE DARK SHORES
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1970s I've walked along these shores
When the northern sea did roar
The wind blew in me hair
And the rain did drench me there.
I walked the coaly sand,
The black and coaly strand CH:
On the dark shores of Durham every day
Oh the dark shores of Durham will they always be this way? And in every other bay
There's a tower tall and grey
Where the stones come down the flight
From the pithead day and night
And it's very strange to me
Why they dump them in the sea CH I've seen many's the lad on the dole
By the water picking coal
And the pensioners that could
In the rocks collecting wood
And the fishermen they stand
Just like statues on the sand CH There I often make me way
On a wild and windy day
On the Beacon Point I stand
And I gaze across the strand
And for all the black and grey
Well still the seagulls play CH 9. THE SOLDIERS' PEACHES
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s A troop of soldiers came this way and stopped beside our farmyard gate
To take some rest before the battle coming.
The soldiers slung their packs and they lay down in the grass
Underneath the peach trees growing in our garden
And the captain asked my dad for some peaches for his lads
My dad said they can take all they can handle.
The soldiers filled their packs and slung them on their backs
And off they went to yet another battle. CH:
War never teaches, war only kills
Come see the soldiers' peaches growing on the hill. We heard the sounds of battle a mile or two away
We heard the cannon pounding all through the day.
And then toward the evening a ragged soldier came
His flesh was torn and bleeding and he cried 'We've lost the day,
Come and help us with the wounded, there are hundreds' he said
Then he fell down on the ground and he was dead. CH Well, when we reached the battle scene we saw the bodies, heard the screams
And moans of all the wounded and the dying
My mother held my hand, I didn't understand
But it seemed to me that all the world was crying.
And there among the bodies strewn across the mud
Little yellow peaches lying in the blood..
For the sick we did our best, then we buried all the rest
And we left those peaches just where they were lying. CH But that was many years ago and me I have grown old
But I sometimes take a stroll along the meadow
And still I am amazed when I come to that place
The battleground of blood and death and sorrow.
For there among the graves of those soldiers so brave
A lovely grove of peach trees grows.
But it's all such a waste, for the fruit is sour to taste
And growing red as blood instead of yellow. CH. 10. YOU BELONG
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s I’ve had enough of running round
And going my own way
Think it’s time I settled down
So I’m coming home to stay
If you really want me to
Oh we know it’s up to you CH:
You belong
You belong with me
And I belong
I belong with you. I’ve been like the stranger
I didn’t mean to be
Seemed that I was never there
Never there when you needed me
I know I caused you pain
But I swear I’ve really changed CH I’ve had enough of phoning
From places far away
There never seems to be the time
To say the things I need to say
But now your rolling stone
At last is rolling home CH We could grow much closer
The future could be bright
We’d see each other every day
And we can make love every night
If you take me back again
Please take me back again CH 11. GREEN PEACEFUL OCEAN
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s Way out in the meadows of the green peaceful waves
Live people so gentle and free
They swim and they play in the foam and the spray
And sing their sweet songs in the sea
But the ocean is small, too small to hide
And these beautiful people are slow
Though there’s nowhere to run from the harpooner’s gun
‘Cause he knows all the places they go CH:
And the harpoons fly and the whales they die
And the green peaceful ocean runs red
And the hunters will hunt and the killers will kill
Till all these sweet children are dead. You brave and courageous whaling men
You’ve been glorified all along
And brave are the tales of your killing of whales
And you’re heroes in many a song
But killing you come with your ships and your guns
To the grounds where the families play
And murder them all, the great and the small
The mothers, the fathers and the babes CH Butchers, killers, you murderers
Turn around now and go home
There’s nothing they’ve got that we really need
So why don’t you leave them alone
Come on come away, leave them to play
They never harmed you or me
So leave them to roam their green peaceful home
And sing their sweet songs in the sea CH But the harpoons fly and the whales still die
And the green peaceful ocean runs red
And the hunters will hunt and the killers will kill
Till all these sweet children are dead 12. A TO Z OF LONDON
Written and Composed by Bernie Parry 1980s She telephoned the other day
To let me know that she’s ok
And that sometimes she thinks of me she said. She said she lives in London now
She’s got herself together now
And I mustn’t try and track her down she said. Then the phone went completely dead
I lay down upon my bed
Started leafing through the ‘ A to Z of London’ CH:
I must be mad, oh I must be crazed
Checking each and every page
As if I’ll find her in the maze of London.
I must be mad, out of my head
That woman’s just as good as dead
She’s somewhere in the A to Z of London. And I don’t know what street she’s on
Don’t even know what page she’s on
She really is as good as gone to me. But still I look, yes and still I read
Through the avenues and streets
As if one name is gonna leap at me
Hmmmm Might just as well get down on the floor
Try and count the grains of dust
Or try and knock on every door in London CH I must be mad, oh I must be crazed
Checking each and every page
As if I’ll find her in the maze of London.
I must be mad, out of my head
That woman’s just as good as dead
And buried in the A to Z of London. | 
sj