Bryan Ferry & Roxy Music:
More Than This - The Best Of (lyrics)
(1995)

Make me a deal and make it straight
All signed and sealed, Iīll take it
To Robert E. Lee Iīll show it
I hope and pray he donīt blow it īcause
Weīve been around a long time just try try try tryinī to
Make make the big time... 

Take me on a roller coaster
Take me for an airplane ride
Take me for a six days wonder but donīt you
Donīt you throw my pride aside besides
Whatīs real and make believe
Baby Janeīs in Acapulco weīre all flyinī down to Rio

Throw me a line Iīm sinking fast
Clutching at straws canīt make it
Havana sound weīre trying hard egde the hipster jiving
Last picture shows down the drive-in
Youīre so sheer youīre so chic
Teenage rebel of the week

Flavors of the mountain steamline
Midnight blue casino floors
Dance the cha-cha through till sunrise
Open up exclusive doors oh wow!
Just like flamingos look the same
So me and you, just we two got to reach for something new

Far beyond the pale horizon
Some place near the desert strand
Where my Studebaker takes me
Thatīs where Iīll make my stand but wait
Canīt you see that Holzer mane
Whatīs her name Virginia Plain

Oh where have you been, my blue eyed son?
Where have you been, my darling young one?
Iīve stumbled on the side twelve misty mountains
Walked and Iīve crawled on six crooked highways
Stepped in the middle of seven sad forests
Been out in front of a dozen dead oceans
Iīve been ten thousand miles in mouth of a graveyard

And itīs a hard rainīs a-gonna fall

And what did you see, my blue eyed son?
What did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippinī
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a bleedinī
A white ladder all covered with water
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children

And itīs a hard rainīs a-gonna fall

And what did you hear, my blue eyed son?
What did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of thunder that roared out a warning
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a blazinī
Heard ten thousand whisperinī and nobody listeninī
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughinī
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley

And itīs a hard rainīs a-gonna fall

Oh who you did meet, my blue eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony
I met a white man who walked a black dog
I met a young woman whose body was burning
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow
I met one man who was wounded in love
I met another man who was wounded with hatred

And itīs a hard rainīs a-gonna fall

Oh whatīll you do now, my blue eyed son?
Whatīll you do now, my darling young one?
Iīm goinī back out īfore the rain starts fallinī
Walk to depths of the deepest black forest
Where people are many and their hands are all empty
Where the pellets of poison are flooding waters
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison
Where the executionerīs face is always well hidden
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten
Where black is the colour, where none is the number
And Iīll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it
And reflect it from the mountains so all souls can see it
Then Iīll stand in the ocean until I start sinking
But Iīll know my song well before I start singing

And itīs a hard rainīs a-gonna fall

Wish everybody would leave me alone
Theyīre always calling on my telephone
When I pick it up thereīs no-one there
So I walk outside just to take air

Come on with me cruising down the street
Who knows what youīll see, who you might meet
This brave new worldīs not like yesterday -
I can take you higher than the milky way

How Iīm blinded I can really see - yeah
No more bright lights confusing me - no
Donīt ask me why Iīm feeling blue
Because loving you is all I can do - ooo

Hey good-looking boys - gather around
The sidewalk papers gutter-press you down
All those lies can be so unkind,
They can make you feel like youīre losing your mind

Back to nature boys - Vasser girls too
Watch what you say, or think, or do
Continental-style strasse girls might
But you know exactly if itīs wrong or right

Education is an important keys - yes
But the good lifeīs never won by degrees - no
Pointless passing through Harvard or Yale
Only window shopping - and strictly no sale

Weekend starts Friday soon after eight
Your jet black magic helps you celebrate
You may be stranded if you stick around
- And thatīs really something

Oh will you never let me be?
Oh will you never set me free?
The ties that bound us are still around us
Thereīs no escape that I can see
And still those little things remain
That bring me happiness or pain

A cigarette that bears a lipstickīs traces
An airline ticket to romantic places
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things
Remind me of you

You came, you saw, you conquered me
When you did that to me, I somehow knew that this had to be

The winds of march that make my heart a dancer
A telephone that rings - but whoīs to answer?
Oh, how the ghost of your clings
These foolish things
Remind me of you

Gardenia perfume lingīring on a pillow
Wild strawbīries only seven francs a kilo
And still my heart has wings
These foolish things
Remind me of you
I know that this was bound to me
These things have haunted me
For youīve entirely enchanted me

The sigh of midnight trains in empty stations
Silk stockings thrown aside, dance invitations
Oh, how the ghost of you clings
These foolish things
Remind me of you

The smile of Garbo and the scent of roses
The waiters whistling as the last bar closes
The song that Crosby sings
These foolish things
Remind me of you

How strange, how sweet to find you still
These things are dear to me
That seem to bring you so near to me

The scent of smouldīring leaves, the wail of steamers
Two lovers on the street who walk like dreamers
Oh, how the ghost of you clings
These foolish things
Remind me of you, just you

Tīainīt no big thing
To wait for the bell to ring
Tīainīt no big thing
The toll of the bell

Aggravated - spare for days
I troll downtown the red light place

Jump up bubble up - whatīs in store
Love is the drug and I need to score

Showing out, showing out, hit and run
Boy meets girl where beat goes on

Stitched up tight, canīt shake free
Love is the drug, got a hook on me

Oh oh catch that buzz
Love is the drug Iīm thinking of

Oh oh canīt you see
Love is the drug for me

Late that night I park my car
Stake my place in the singles bar

Face to face, toe to toe
Heart to heart as we hit the floor

Lumber up, limbo down
The locked embrace, the stumble round

I say go, she say yes
Dim the lights, you can guess the rest

Oh oh catch that buzz
Love is the drug Iīm thinking of

Oh oh canīt you see
Love is the drug, got a hook in me

Oh oh catch that buzz
Love is the drug Iīm thinking of

Oh oh canīt you see
Love is the drug for me

They ask me how I knew
My true love was true
I of course replied
"Something here inside
Cannot be denied"

They said someday youīll find
All who love are blind
When your heartīs on fire
You must realize
Smoke gets in your eyes

So I chaffed them and I gaily laughed
To think they could doubt my love
Yet today my love has flown away
I am without my love

Now laughing friends deride
Tears I cannot hide
So I smile and say
"When a lovely flame dies
Smoke gets in your eyes"

Yesterday - well it seemed so cool
When I walked you home, kissed goodnight
I said "itīs love" you said "all right"
Itīs funny how I could never cry
Until tonight and you pass by
Hand in hand with another guy
Youīre dressed to kill and guess whoīs dying?

Dance away the heartache
Dance away the tears
- Dance away

Loneliness is a crowded room
Full of open hearts turned to stone
All together all alone
All at once my whole world had changed
Now Iīm in the dark, off the wall
Let the strobe light up them all
I close my eyes and dance till dawn
- Dance away

Now I know I must walk the line
Until I find an open door
There was I - many times a fool
I hope and pray, but not too much
Out of reach is out of touch
All the way is far enough
- Dance away

And now the marriage vow is very sacred
The man has put us together now
You ought to make it stick together
Come on, come on and stick together
You know we made a vow to leave one another never

But now you never miss your water till your well runs dry
Come on now baby give our love a try
Letīs stick together, cīmon cīmon letīs stick together
You know we made a vow to leave one another never

Then if youīre stuck for a while consider our child
How can it be happy without its ma and pa
Letīs stick together, cīmon cīmon letīs stick together
You know we made a vow to leave one another never

Angel eyes - am I deceived or did you sigh?
For all I know you let you love light
Shine on me

Angel eyes - you never close, whoīs got the time?
I can wait until your love light
Shine on me

Angel eyes - seems to me you fill the skies
Iīm far below so let your love light
Shine on me

Angel eyes - on the wing and open wide
No matter how high the moon
Shine down on me

Tell her Iīll be waiting
In the usual place
With the tired and weary
And thereīs no escape

To need a woman
Youīve got to know
How the strong get weak
And the rich get poor

Youīre running with me
Donīt touch the ground
Weīre restless hearted
Not the chained and bound

The sky is burning
A sea of flame
Though your world is changing
I will be the same

The storm is breaking
Or so it seems
Weīre too young to reason
Too grown up to dream

Now spring is turning
Your face to mine
I can hear your laughter
I can see your smile

No-I canīt escape
Iīm a slave to love

Some expression in your eyes
Overtook me by surprise
Where was I how was I to know?
How can we drive to a movie show
When the music is here in my car
Thereīs a band playing on the radio
With a rhythm of rhyming guitars
They playing Oh Yeah on the radio

And so came to be our song
And so on through all summer long
Day and night drifting into love
Driving you home from a movie show
So in tune to the sounds in my car
Thereīs a band playing on the radio
With a rhythm of rhyming guitars
They playing Oh Yeah on the radio

Itīs some time since we said goodbye
And now we lead our separate lives
But where am I where can I go?
Driving alone to a movie show
So I turn to the sounds in my car
Thereīs a band playing on the radio
With a rhythm of rhyming guitars
Thereīs a band playing on the radio

And itīs drowning the sound of my tears
Theyīre playing Oh Yeah on the radio

Mama says truth is all that matters
Lying īnī deceiving is a sin
Drifting through a world thatīs torn and tattered
Every thought I have donīt mean a thing

Mama says love is all that matters
Beauty should be deeper than your skin
Living for the moment - lips and lashes
Will I ever find my way again

Mama says only stormy weather
Donīt know why thereīs no sun in the sky
Footsteps in the dark come together
Got to keep on moving or Iīll die

Nothing lasts forever
Of that Iīm sure
Now youīve made an offer
Iīll take some more

Young loving may be
Oh so mean
Will I still survive
The same old scene?

In our lighter moments
precious few
Itīs all that heavy weather
Weīre going through
When I turn the corner
I canīt believe
Itīs still the same old movie
Thatīs haunting me

Young loving may be
Oh so mean
Trying to revive
The same old scene
Young loving may be
So extreme
Maybe we should try
The same old scene

Just one step at a time
And closer to destiny
I knew at a glance
Thereīd always be a chance for me
With someone I could live for
Thereīs nowhere I would rather be

Is your love strong enough?
Like a rock in the sea
Am I asking too much
Is your love strong enough?

Just one beat of your heart
And stranger than fantasy
I knew from the start
It had to be the place for me
Someone that I would die for
Thereīs no way I could ever leave

Is your love strong enough?
Like a rock in the sea
Am I asking too much
Is your love strong enough?

I was dreaming of the past
And my heart was beating fast
I began to lose control
I began to lose control

I didnīt mean to hurt you
Iīm sorry that I made you cry
I didnīt mean to hurt you
Iīm just a jealous guy

I was feeling insecure
You might not love me anymore
I was shivering inside
I was shivering inside

I didnīt mean to hurt you
Iīm sorry that I made yoy to cry
I didnīt want to hurt you
Iīm just a jealous guy

I was trying to cach your eyes
Thought that you were trying to hide
I was swallowing my pain
I was swallowing my pain

I didnīt mean to hurt you
Iīm sorry that I made you cry
I didnīt mean to hurt you
Iīm just a jealous guy

Ten cents a dance
Itīs the only price to pay
Why give īem more
When itīs only love for sale?
Adam and Eve
Itīs the oldest game in town
Just a one way street
To a faded magazine

Kiss and tell
Money talks - it never lies
Kiss and tell
Give and take - eye for an eye

Fever - the heat of the night
Dreamer - stealer of sighs

One public face
In a private limousine
Flash photograph
Itīs the only light you see
No secret life
Thereīs no secret you can steel
Your lips are moving
But I will never know
What they mean

Kiss and tell
Money talks - and love...it burns
Kiss and tell
Give and take - we live and learn
Kiss and tell
We never lie
Eye foe an eye
Blood on a nail
Kiss me again

I could feel at the time
There was no way of knowing
Fallen leaves in the night
Who can say where theyīre blowing
As free as the wind
And hopefully learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning

More than this - there is nothing
More than this - tell me one thing
More than this - there is nothing

It was fun for a while
There was no way of knowing
Like dream in the night
Who can say where weīre going
No care in the world
Maybe Iīm learning
Why the sea on the tide
Has no way of turning

More than this - there is nothing
More than this - tell me one thing
More than this - there is nothing

I put a spell on you
Because youīre mine
I put a spell on you
Because youīre mine 
Because youīre mine

I put a spell on you
Because youīre mine
Because youīre mine

You gotta stop the things you do
I ainīt lying
You better stop the things you do
I ainīt lying

I just canīt stand it babe
I just canīt stand it babe
I just canīt stand it babe
I just canīt stand it

I put a spell on you
Because youīre mine
Because youīre mine

I put a spell on you
I put a spell on you

Youīve gotta stop the things you do
Youīve gotta stop the things you do
Youīve gotta stop the things
Stop the things
Stop the things

Now the partyīs over
Iīm so tired
Then I see you coming
Out of nowhere
Much communication in a motion
Without conversation or a notion

Avalon

When the samba takes you
Out of nowhere
And the backgroundīs fading
Out of focus
Yes the picture changing
Every moment
And your destination
You donīt know it

Avalon

When you bossanova
Thereīs no holding
Would you have me dancing
Out of nowhere

Avalon

Too fast to live
Too young to die
One stolen babe
A certain smile

We never close babe
We dance all night
Iīm lost inside babe
Your painted smile

The name of the place
The name of the place

Youīll never know babe
The state Iīm in
Itīs a plastic world babe
No tiger skin

Donīt talk to me
Your perfume sighs
Iīm lost inside babe
Your painted smile