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The Short Answer (John Peel session, 30th August 1988)
Billy Bragg
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Between Marks and Marzipan in the dictionary
There was Mary
Between the deep blue sea and the devil
That was me
If ever anyone could help me with my obsession with
Young Susannah York
It was Mary
ย
In my pink pyjamas
She asked me for something
I gave her the short answer
She read our stars out loud
I knew then that we should have gone sailing
But we stayed home instead
Fighting on the water bed
Like a honeymoon couple on drugs
Me and Mary
ย
What happened in the past
Remained a mystery of natural history
She should have been the last
But she was just the latest
If she wanted to be a farmer's wife
I would endure that muddy life
I would dig for victory
And the sound of happy couples
Coupling happily in the dark
While you and I sat down to tea
I remember you said to me
That no amount of poetry
Would mend this broken heart
But you can put the hoover round
If you want to make a start
All my friends from school
Introduce me to their spouses
I'm left standing here
With my hands down the front of my trousers
I just don't know what's to be done
I wonder sometimes
How did Dad meet Mum
And how did they conceive of me?
Tell me, Mary
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The boys who came to the shop
Always made her laugh much more than I did
When I told her this must stop
She didn't bat an eyelid
She said, "You know, honey, it's such a shame
You'll never be any good at this game
You bruise too easily"
So said Mary
ย
Her two brothers took me out of circulation
For the duration
So we went our separate ways
But does she still love me?
She still has my door key
Like a bully boy in a Benetton shop
You're never happy with what you've got
Till what you've got has gone
Sorry, Mary
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