The Ritual
Part One. Progress de la Rake
Start getting ready, it’s your
Night on the town and you’ll be
Looking like a million dollars
Wanting to impress the ladies
Casual scruffy or straight man
Button up button down which way
Button up your inhibitions
Wanting to impress the ladies (Overkill)
You’re gonna have yourself a night that you’ll remember (remember)
That you’ll remember with a smile when Monday morning
Comes to wake you with a moan (alone)
Down in the jam you’ll be rollin’,
Faster than you should be going
Looking for an early warning
Wanting to survey the competition
Peacocks strutting their stuff, it’s, all a game it’s
Just to bluff you, everybody talking louder,
Trying to psyche the competition (Overkill)
You want to find yourself a woman you’ll remember (remember)
Then you’ll remember with a sigh when Monday morning
Comes to wake you with a moan
Stop your dreaming, your ship could be sinking
You’d better start moving, you can’t sit there thinking
The ritual, the ritual, the ritual…
Hello baby, (can I buy you a drink)
Haven’t I seen you before (on the cover of a magazine)
Looking so good, (the way you look tonight)
I love to watch you move (oh you’ve got it just right)
Oh do you wanna dance
I must be dreaming, she moves like an angel
A hidden treasure waiting to be found
Don’t go away, we’ve only met and there’s so much
I want to know, and want to say…
Can I take you home, I wanna take you home

Part Two. Euphoria
Your face is soft and sleepy, it’s a funny kind of smile
Drowsy with your dreaming, do you want to stay awhile
Pull the covers close and feel the warmth
Surrounding you (surrounding you)
Your eyes are full of secrets, they mesmerise me so
Won’t you tell me what you’re thinking
Oh I really want to know
Whisper to me softly in the darkness
Surrounding you (surrounding you)
You’re so inviting, close to me
Like a soft warm eiderdown
Close your eyes again, let the morning
Drift away, be with me in your dreams
Won’t you say you want to stay
Pull the covers close and feel the warmth
Surrounding you (surrounding you)
The time is moving slowly, but the day has slipped away
Oh I wish it could be longer
There’s so much I want to say
Whisper to you softly in the darkness
Surrounding you (surrounding you)
You’re so inviting, close to me
Like a soft warm eiderdown
I can’t believe that I’m in love again
I won’t believe that I’m in love again (etc.)

Part Three. The Rakes Progress
A Dog With Four Trees
It’s the ritual, the ritual, the ritual
You start again
Hello baby (can I buy you a drink)
Didn’t I see you before (on the cover of a magazine)
Looking so god (the way you look tonight)
I love to watch you move (oh you get it just right)
Wandering in a state of confusion
Looking for a new illusion
Can’t you see you’re on a loser (trying to eliminate the rumours)
Looking like a poor comedian
Smiling like a politician
Drowning in a sea of silence (desperate to impress the people)
Overkill
You’re gonna find yourself alone
And you’ll remember (remember)
And you’ll remember there’s a face, a
Funny face, a smile that haunts you
Through the night, through the night
You’re in love
You’re in love etc…

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitars, Bass - Eric Stewart
Vocoder, Choirs, Organ, Piano, Percussion, Rhodes
Drums - Paul Burgess

(menu)

Make The Pieces Fit
Trying to get it right, it’s such a mystery
Like strangers in the night
Could be a travesty you’re going through
‘Cause your lines pour out
Like a waterfall of syncopated ad-libs
So carefully rehearsed it flows so smoothly
But you can’t see through it
But when the pieces fit
It’s unexplainable
The harmony in it, it’s unobtainable
No matter who
You can buy you can sell
You can bargain for
One moment of bliss is worth a
Lifetime of regret but you won’t know it
Hey if you don’t show it
So make the pieces fit
Oh make the pieces fit
Let the mystique clear
And take another look
But it’s gotta be inside you
You won’t find it in a book
‘Cause if it’s growing in our heart
Hey then you’ve got yourself a start
Acting like a fool
It’s just a cover-up
So play it by the rules
You’ve no need to cover what
You’re going through
You may get no more
Than a quick goodbye
But don’t you regret it, at least
You had a try and if you see it through
Oh you’re gonna find the truth
So make the pieces fit
So make the pieces fit
So make the pieces fit
So make the pieces fit

Eric Stewart – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Rhythm Guitars,
Moog Bass, Bass Drum, Rhodes, Shaker
Rick Fenn – Lead Guitar
Paul Burgess – Congas
Graham Gouldman – Acoustic Guitar, Autoharp

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Never Say I Told You So
Feet are shuffling and the silence deadly
But there’s talk on the street and you’ll
Be listening closely there’s a new uncle
Down at 24 but all the kids are smiling
And he’ll be coming back for more
Let it go
Let it go
You never listen to the crowd
You never listen to the crowd
You know that friends get the best of
You it’s always understood but when you’re
Feeling like a loser, they’ll leave you
Feeling good
Never say I told you so
Never say I told you so
Now your ears are burning and your
Eyes are shiftin’ there’s a strange feeling
That the walls are paper
Let it go
Let it go
You never try to hide away
You never try to hide away
You know that friends get the best of you
It’s always understood but when you’re feeling
Like a loser they’ll leave you feeling good
Never say I told you so
Never say I told you so
Curtains moving and the tongues are wagging
And the eyes are popping and the heads are
Nodding don’t you feel the pressure with
The rumour started it’s your own business
Don’t you feel downhearted, but when you’re
Feeling like a loser, they’ll leave
Feeling good
Never say I told you so
Never say I told you so etc

Eric Stewart
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Bass, Guitars,
Vocoderstrings, Rhodes, Grand Piano, Percussion
Paul Burgess
Drums

(menu)

Night And Day
Well you’re crying when you phone me
And I’m sorry that you’re lonely
‘Cause I’m far away and I won’t be coming home
But I tell you that I love you
And the way I wanna hold you
Night and day, night and day
Well, it’s only temporary
And you don’t need, don’t you worry
I’ll be coming soon and I’m waiting for that day
Oo baby don’t be blue
I’ll be home soon, gonna be with you
Night and day, night and day
Did I tell you when I wake up in the morning
And there’s no-one I can tell my troubles to
Don’t you think that you’re the only one
Who’s lonely
Hey I’m missing you, but what am I gonna do
Oh baby, baby when I’m dreaming
It’s so easy to remember
How I miss you and it makes me want to say
Hey baby it’s been too long since I held you
In my arms
Night and day
Night and day
Well it’s only temporary
And you don’t need, don’t you worry
I’ll be coming soon and I’m waiting for that day
Ooh baby it’s been too long
I wanna hold you in my arms
Night and day, night and day
Night and day, night and day
What I say, night and day
Night and day

Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Bass, Harmonium - Eric Stewart
Drums - Paul Burgess
Grand Piano - Vic Emerson
Sax Solo - Lenni Crooks

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All My Loving Following You
Oh your lips are tasting dreamy (dreamy, dreamy)
Turn my senses into frenzy (frenzy, frenzy)
I don’t know why but you make me high
Always satisfy my hunger in my body, body, body
Tell me do you see do you see it
All my loving following you
Tell me that you need, that you need it baby
Never, never, never tell me no
Seeing you happy really turns me on and
There’s a magic feeling when you smile at me
All I ever wanted was to hold you tight
Don’t you ever change until you notify me
Tell me do you feel do you feel it
All the loving following you
Tell me that you feel that you feel it baby
Never, never, never tell me no
Tell me it’s alright, it’s alright
I worry ‘bout you baby through the night
Tell me it’s alright, it’s alright baby
Never, never, never tell me no
I’ve got to watch you you’re so motivatin’
No-one ever moved me like you’re movin’ me
Let me hold you closer feel my love grow
Stronger when you whisper to me
That you’re lovin’ me
Tell me do you feel do you feel it
All my loving following you
Tell me that you need that you need me baby
Never, never, never let me go

Eric Stewart
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Bass, Guitars,
Rhodes, Grand Piano, Percussion
Paul Burgess
Drums
Lenni Crooks
Sax Solo

(menu)

Rockin’ My Troubles Away
She’s so distant, she’s so far out
I’ll never make it so I’ll get her coming back
It’s a problem, major problem
It’s hard to figure but I’m gonna work it out
Oh I’m not stopping till I’ve had enough
Oh I’m not stopping till I’m broken up
Down and out, hit the floor, kickin’ my troubles away
She’s a lady, sophisticated
I’ll take it easy then I’m in with a chance
I can’t tease her, I know she’s touchy
I know I’ve got her if she’s wanting to dance
Oh I’ll keep on pushing till I take her away
Oh my feet are tapping and I can’t sit down
Can’t think straight
I loosen up and I’m rockin’ my trouble away
I keep rockin’ all day
You know I’m tryin’ to say
I rock my troubles away
I can break it
We can make it
I’m getting closer, I’m ready to move
She don’t know it
She’s gonna blow it
She’s gonna flip and I can push her in the groove
Oh I’ll keep jumpin’ till she wanders around
Oh we’ll keep boppin’ till we turn this town
Upside down, round and round
Rockin’ our troubles away
You know I’m tryin’ to say
We rock our troubles away

Eric Stewart – Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitars, Rhodes,
Bass, Grand Piano
Paul Burgess – Drums
Lenni Crooks – Brass

(menu)

Doris The Florist (The Bouquet That Nobody Caught)
She sat inside the window
Surrounded by the blooms
Her colour seemed to fade
It drained into the room
She’s lost in her memory
She often wanders in a different place
And when I asked her
Where her feelings lay, she said
I couldn’t say, I never reminisce
She whispers to the flowers
The people never buy
Her sorrow seems to know
The bouquet left behind
Her petals were drooping
Though long ago her beauty made them sigh
And when I asked her
Where the future lay she said
I never know, I can’t prophesy
Did you ever shed a tear for someone
Did you ever want to lend a hand
Did you ever open the door to find no-one there
The sun is going down
Her petals start to drop
She pulls the shutters to
And closes up the shop
She’ll be there tomorrow
Selling blossoms till the end of time
And when I asked her
If she’d go with me, she said
I thank you so but no, I’ll decline

Eric Stewart
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Vocoder
String And Voices, Rhodes
Paul Burgess
Drums, Percussion

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Guitaaaraaaaaaaargh’s (Rooties)
Had to make a pass into modern jazz
So I grew a beard, grew a ‘tache
And I tried not to smile
Got my corduroy suit and my ‘hush puppy’ shoes
Smoked my ‘Disque Blue’
And I never, never, never, never smiled
Had to move away, find some other play
So I shaved my face, found a place
And I joined the country blues
Got my levi shirt and my levi jeans
Smoked my ‘roll your owns’ and
I was never dry
Had me so much fun, I stayed round for some
But I did my time, crossed the line
Into a bottle of mountain dew
Got my osh-be-gosh, never had them washed
Smoked my corn pipe shag and I never shaved
I was feeling stale so I jumped my bail
Moved to Marekesh and joined the people
Who talk to flowers
Got my incense sticks and my sitar licks
Smoked my demon weed and I smiled
All the time
I was moving fast, thought the buzz would
Last so I bought a plane, bought a yacht
Castle on the Spanish main
Got my skin tight jeans and my private
Scenes, do my special stuff
And I smile sometimes
Guitars, guitars, guitars, guitars
Guitars, guitars, guitars
All together now
Lead Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Backing Vocals - Eric Stewart
Drums, Percussion - Paul Burgess

(menu)

Strictly Business
I saw you creeping in the doorways
I saw you peeping at the cards
The French lessons and the photographs
The black leather and the tarts
They all seem to be happy
They all seem to be happy
There’s something missing in their eyes
It’s all slapping on the thighs
No cards no cheques no IOU’s
No promises no way
It’s strictly business, understand
It’s strictly business
I see you fishing for a cigarette
You want a red light mama
She’ll give you good conversation
A special bedside manned
She’ll make you feel like a million
She’ll make you feel like a million
But she’ll be robbing you blind you
No cards no cheques no IOU’s
No promises no way
It’s strictly business, baby
It’s strictly business, red light mama
She knows you’re looking for a lover
But she’ll be looking for your cash
You’ll get a good time Johnny
You won’t remember the crash
And you’ll be singing in the bathroom
With the invisible choir
And she’ll be running through your pockets
And leave you hanging in the mire
No cards no cheques no IOU’s
No promises no way
It’s strictly business, understand
It’s strictly business
Rock-Bop-A-Lu-Ma

Eric Stewart
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals, Bass, Guitars,
Piano, Percussion
Paul Burgess
Drums
Vic Emerson
Grand Piano

(menu)