Icky Thump

[Verse 1]

Ah, icky thump, who'da thunk?

Sitting drunk on a wagon to Mexico

Ahh well, what a chump

Well, my head got a bump when I hit it on the radio

Redhead señorita looking dead

Came and said, "Need a bed?" in Español

I said, "Gimme a drink of water

I'm gonna sing around the collar, and I don't need a microphone"

[Verse 2]

Icky thump with a lump in my throat

Grabbed my coat, and I was freaking, I was ready to go

And I swear besides the hair she had one white eye

One blank stare, looking up, lying there

On the stand near her hand was a candy cane

Black rum, sugar cane, dry ice and something strange

La la la la la la la

La la la la la la la

[Verse 3]

White Americans, what? Nothing better to do

Why don't you kick yourself out? You're an immigrant too

Who's using who? What should we do?

Well, you can't be a pimp and a prostitute too

Icky thump, handcuffed to a bunk

Robbed blind, looked around, and there was nobody else

Left alone, I hit myself with a stone

Went home and learned how to clean up after myself

[Verse 1]

In some respects

I suspect you've got a respectable side

When pushed and pulled and pressured

You seldom run and hide

But it's for someone else's benefit

Not for what you wanna do

Until I realize that you've realized

I'm gonna say these words to you

[Chorus]

You don't know what love is

You do as you're told

Just as a child at ten might act

But you're far too old

You're not hopeless or helpless

And I hate to sound cold

But you don't know what love is

You just do as you're told

[Verse 2]

I can see your man

Can't help but win

Any problems that may arise

But in his mind there can be no sin

If you never criticize

You just keep on repeating

All those empty "I love you's"

Until you say you deserve better

I'm gonna lay right into you

[Chorus]

You don't know what love is

You just do as you're told

Just as a child of ten might act

But you're far too old

You're not hopeless or helpless

And I hate to sound cold

But you don't know what love is

No you don't know what love is

No you don't know what love is

You just do as you're told

You do as you're told

Yeah

[Verse 1]

I'm bringing back ghosts

That are no longer there

I'm getting hard on myself

Sitting in my easy chair

Well, there's three people in the mirror

And I'm wondering which one of them I should choose

Well, I can't keep from laughing

Spitting out these 300 mile per hour out-pour blues

[Verse 2]

I'm breaking my teeth off

Trying to bite my lip

There's all kinds of red-headed women

That I ain't supposed to kiss

And it's that color which never fails

To turn me blue

So I just swallow it and hold on to it

And use it to scare the hell out of you

[Verse 3]

I have a woman

Says come and watch me bleed

And I'm wondering just how I can do that

And still give her everything that she needs

Well, there's three people in my head that have the answer

And one of them has got to be you

But you're holding tight to it, the answer

Singing these three hundred mile per hour outpour blues

[Verse 4]

Put on gloves, a tied scarf and wrap up warm

On this winter night

Every time you get defensive

You're just looking for a fight

It's safe to sing somebody out there's got a problem

With almost anything you'll do

Well, next time they stab you don't fight back just play the victim

Instead of playing the fool

[Verse 5]

And the roads are covered with a million

Little molecules

Of cigarette ashes and the school floors are covered

With pieces of pencil eraser too

Well sooner or later the ground's gonna be holding all

Of my ashes too

But I can't help but wonder if after I'm gone will I still have these three hundred mile per hour, finger breaking, no answers making, battered dirty hands, bee stung and busted up, empty cup torrential outpour blues

[Outro]

One thing's for sure: in that graveyard

I'm gonna have the shiniest pair of shoes

[Verse 1]

Conquest

He was out to make a conquest

Didn't care what harm was done

Just as long as he won the prize

Conquest

She was just another conquest

Didn't care whose heart was broke

Love to him was a joke

'Til he looked into her eyes

[Refrain]

And then in the strange way things happen

Their roles were reversed from that day

The hunted became the huntress

The hunter became the prey

[Verse 2]

Conquest

Now you know who made the conquest

She, with all her female guile

Led him helpless down the aisle

She had finally made a conquest

[Refrain]

And then in the strange way things happen

Their roles were reversed from that day

The hunted became the huntress

The hunter became the prey

[Verse 3]

Conquest

Now you know who made the conquest

She, with all her female guile

Led him helpless down the aisle

She had finally made a conquest

[Outro]

Conquest

[Verse 1]

Hey, hey!

Look closer and you can see how I been running it

I got a dollar bill in the cockpit

Surprised being white is a black hole

I got another job at the liquor store, damn

Oh well, I'm bone broke

[Verse 2]

They got a white pony in the stable

And ride him when the doggie isn't able

But he don't really care because they pay him

But still a black suit is going to shake him down

Oh well I'm bone broke

Yeah, broke as I'll ever be

[Chorus]

Look another way girl, I'm telling ya

God gave seven minutes right to ya

And your mother put her money into platinum

And now you never have to pay attention

Do ya? Do ya?

[Verse 3]

Yeah

I'm leaning on a brick with my nails

I'm sending in the money's in the mail

Keep showing that my bones never fake it

But now the brick bank is gonna break it down

Oh well, I'm bone broke

[Chorus]

Look another way girl I'm telling ya

God gave seven minutes right to ya

Your mother put her money into platinum

So that you wouldn't have to pay attention

[Chorus]

Singing, li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

Li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

[Verse 1]

Well, the hills are pretty and rollin'

But the thorn is sharp and swollen

And the man plays a beautiful whistle

But he wears a prickly thistle

[Chorus]

Singing, li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

Li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

[Verse 2]

The silver birches pierce through an icy fog

Which covers the ground most daily

And the angels which carry St. Andrew high

Are singing a tune most gaily

[Chorus]

Singing, li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

Li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

[Verse 3]

One sound can hold back a thousand hands

When the pipe blows a tune forlorn

And the thistle is a prickly flower, aye

But how it is sweetly worn

[Chorus]

Singing, li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

Li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

Li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

Li-de-li-de-li, oh, oh

Well, a-li-de-li-de-li, oh

[Verse]

This battle is in the air

I'm looking upwards

Where are the angels?

I'm not in my home

St. Andrew don't forsake me

St. Andrew

Don't forsake me

Who is here to greet me?

The children are kind

I'm not in my home

I travel backwards in ecstasy

Where are the angels?

Don't forget me

St. Andrew

I've been true

What do I need to say?

What do I need to say?

[Intro]

One, two, three, four!

[Verse 1]

Well, every highway that I go down

Seems to be longer than the last one that I knew about

Oh well

And every girl that I walk around

Seems to be more of an illusion than the last one that I found

Oh well

And this old man in front of me wearing canes and ruby rings

Is like containing an explosion when he sings

With every chance to set himself on fire

He just ends up doing the same thing

[Verse 2]

Well, each beautiful thing I come across

Tells me to stop moving and shake this riddle off

Oh well

And there was a time when all I wanted

Was my ice cream colder and a little cream soda

Oh well, oh well

And a wooden box and an alley full of rocks

Was all I had to care about

Oh well, oh well, oh well

[Bridge]

Now my mind is filled with rubber tires and forest fires

And whether I'm a liar

And lots of other situations where I don't know what to do

At which time God screams to me

"There's nothing left for me to tell you

Nothing left for me to tell you

Nothing left"

[Outro]

Oh well, oh well, oh well, oh well

Oh well, oh well, oh well, oh well

18 ContributorsRag and Bone Lyrics“Rag and Bone” is a single off of 2007’s Icky Thump. On the track, Jack and Meg put on a comedic performance as “Rag and Bone” men, or junk collectors that sell unwanted items to merchants common in Britain.Jack: Mmm...

Meg: Rag and bone!

Jack: Rag and bone!

Meg: Rag and bone!

Jack: Rag-a bone! Meg, look at this place

Meg: What? Ooh...

Jack: Well, this place is like a mansion. It's like a mansion, look at all this stuff

Meg: I don't know...

Jack: Look, I see something over there

Meg: Ooh...

Jack: Man

Well, can't you hear us yelling "rag and bone"?

Bring out your junk and we'll give it a home

A broken trumpet or a telephone

A c'mon, a c'mon, a c'mon

C'mon and give it to me

Yeah

A c'mon, a c'mon, a c'mon

C'mon and give it to me

Rag and bone

Rag and bone

A c'mon, a c'mon, a c'mon

C'mon and give it to me

All of your pretty

Your pretty little rags and bones

Jack: Well, man, look at all this, you don't want it?

Meg: Mmm. Ooh. I can use that

Jack: You sure you don't want it, man? I can use...

Meg: Mmm-hmm

Jack: Take it. It's just things that you don't want, I can use 'em. Meg can use 'em

Meg: Mmm-hmm

Jack: We can do something with 'em. We'll make something out of 'em

Meg: Mmm-hmm

Jack: Make some money out of 'em at least

Meg: Mmm-hmm. This fits me perfect. Give it to me

Jack: Hey, if you ain't gonna use it, just give it to us. We'll give it a home

Well, have you got something shiny for me?

Anybody got a Christmas tree?

Can you part with a toilet seat?

A jump up, a jump up, a jump up

C'mon and give it to me

Rag and bone

We wanna get it, granny, while it's hot

You think it's trash, but it's really not

Ah, we'll be taking whatever you got

A give up, a give up, a give up

Come on and give it to me

Whoo

All of your pretty

Your pretty little rags and bones

Meg: I saw some stuff in your yard, are you going to give it to us...

Jack: Aw, Meg, don't be rude

Meg: ...or not?

Jack: They might need it. If you don't want it, we'll take it. If you don't want to give it to us, we keep walking by. We keep going, we're not tired, but got plenty of places to go. Lots of home we ain't been to yet. On the west side, the southwest side, Middle East, rich house, doghouse, outhouse, old folks house. House for unwed mothers, halfway homes, catacombs, twilight zones. Looking for Technics turntables to gramophones. So take a last lick of your ice cream cone. And lock up what you still want to own. But please be kind...

Meg: Take your time

Jack: ...and don't rewind

Meg: That's fine

All of your pretty

Your pretty little rags and bones

Yeah

Your pretty little rags and bones

A jump up, a jump up, a jump up

C'mon and give it to me

Ah, your pretty little rags and bones

A c'mon, a c'mon, a c'mon

C'mon and give it to us

Yeah, 'eah, 'eah

Ah, yeah

Yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

[Verse 1]

I'm slowly turning into you

But you don't know this

Tell the truth

You say I'm lying and I never really tell you the truth

But your face is getting older

So put your head on my shoulder

Yeah, put your head on my shoulder

[Verse 2]

Yesterday it hit me that I do all the little things

That you do

Except the same little things that you do are annoying

They're annoying as hell in fact

It kinda struck a little bell in fact

I like to keep my little shell intact

[Chorus]

And I'm slowly turning into you

And I'm slowly turning into you

[Verse 3]

Then something else came to mind

That was the mirror

It made everything clearer

That you're more beautiful compelling and stronger

It didn't take much longer

Just for me to realize I love all the little things

And the beauty that they're gonna bring

I dig your little laugh and I'm lovin' your quick wit

I even love it when you're faking it

And it might sound a little strange for me to say to you

But I'm proud to be you

[Chorus]

And I'm slowly turning into you

And I'm slowly turning into you

And I'm slowly turning into you

And I'm slowly turning into you

[Verse 1]

She was sixteen and six feet tall

In a crowd of teenagers coming out of the zoo

She stumbled, started to slip and fall

Teeter-tottered on the top of patent leather shoes

I happened to catch her and said

"Maybe these ruby shoes are a little cumbersome for you"

Maybe for you, now

[Verse 2]

But not as shaky as I must have seemed

Talking junk through her giggle, little teenage dream

And on the phone, I could not compete

My dumb-luck fake competence was getting weak

For a sec' I thought I sounded sweet

But sure enough in a gruff, faint voice

I heard myself speak

[Chorus]

I could stay a while

But sooner or later, I'll break your smile

And I can tell a joke

But one of these days I'm bound to choke

And we could share a kiss

But I feel like I can't go through with this

And I bet we could build a home

But I know the right thing for me to do

Is to leave you alone

Leave you alone, now

[Verse 3]

I'm beginning to like you

So you probably won't get what I'm going to do

I'm walking away from you

It probably don't make much sense to you

But I'm trying to save you

From all of the things that I'll probably say or do

I'll probably do

[Chorus]

I could stay a while

But sooner or later, I'll break your smile

And I can tell a joke

But one of these days I'm bound to choke

And we might share a kiss

But I feel like I can't go through with this

And I bet we could build a home

But I know the right thing for me to do

Is to leave you alone

Leave you alone, now

[Verse 4]

You'll probably call me a fool

And say I'm doing exactly what a coward would do

And I'm beginning to like you

It's a shame, what a lame way to live

But what can I do?

I hope you appreciate what I do

[Outro]

I'm a martyr for my love for you

A martyr for my love for you, now

A martyr for my love for you

A martyr for my love for you

[Intro]

If you go looking for hot water—don't act shocked when you get—burned a little bit

If you really want some hot water—I can help you find it

Ohhhhh, ohh!

Ohhhhh, ohh!

Ahhhhh, ahhhhh-ahh!

[Verse 1]

Well if they catch me around, you're playing 'rock the boat'

I'm gonna catch hell

And if you're throwing your voice

In bed singing a note

I'm gonna catch hell

I know it

Yes, sir

Try and catch me

Wha'!

Ohhhhh—oh!

[Instrumental]

Tricky, tricky

Yeah

Ohhhh! Ohhh, ohhhh!

[Verse 2]

If you're getting tricky, lying to yourself

You're gonna catch hell

And if you're testing God, lying to his face

You're gonna catch hell

Come on

Hey

That's it

They're gonna catch you

Huh-ho, they're gonna catch you

[Outro]

Easy

[Verse 1]

I guess you have to have a problem, if you want to invent a contraption

First you cause a train wreck then they put me in traction, mmm

Well, first came an action and then a reaction

But you can't switch 'em 'round for your own satisfaction

Well you burnt my house down then got mad at my reaction

Well in every complicated situation of a human relation

Makin' sense of it all takes a whole lotta concentration, mmm

Well you can't blame a baby for her pregnant ma

And if there's one of these unavoidable laws

It's that you just can't take the effect and make it the cause, no

[Chorus]

Well you can't take the effect and make it the cause

I didn't rob a bank because you made up the law

Blame me for robbin' Peter but don't you blame Paul

Can't take the effect and make it the cause

[Verse 2]

I ain't the reason that you gave me no reason to return your call

You built a house of cards and got shocked when you saw them fall, yeah

Well I ain't saying I'm innocent, in fact the reverse

But if you're headed to the grave, you don't blame the hearse

You're like a little girl yellin' at her brother 'cause you lost his ball, yes

Well you keep blaming me for what you did, but that ain't all

The way you clean up a wreck is enough to give one pause, yes

Well, you seem to forget just how this all started

I'm reactin' to you because you left me brokenhearted

See you just can't just take the effect and make it the cause

[Chorus]

Well you can't take the effect and make it the cause

I didn't rob a bank because you made up the law

Blame me for robbin' Peter but don't you blame Paul

Can't take the effect and make it the cause

[Verse 1]

My little baby brother used to play down on the floor

But now he's not satisfied to do it anymore

He's got a funny habit and i don't know why

He walks around the ceiling now, stepping on the flies

[Chorus]

Baby brother

Baby brother

Well, he learned to crawl on the kitchen wall

Baby brother

[Verse 2]

Well, just the other day, well-a bless-a my soul

I found him swimming round in the goldfish bowl

Since nobody told him that he hadn't oughta

He swam around for hours with his head underwater

[Chorus]

Baby brother

Baby brother

Well, you may swim unmissed, but don't eat the fish

Baby brother

[Verse 3]

Well, my little baby brother, he's a cute little cuss

But it's plain to see that he's not one of us

Where'd we get him? I know you're gonna ask it

We found him on the porch in a crazy little basket

[Chorus]

Baby brother, yeah

Baby brother

Although your hair is blue, I think the world of you

Baby brother

[Verse 4]

Well, I bought my baby brother a toy balloon

He let it get away and it floated toward the moon

Instead of crying, he climbed up on the fence

Started flapping his arms and we ain't seen him since

[Chorus]

Baby brother, yeah

Baby brother

Although you're out in outer space, I can still see your face

Baby brother

Although you're out in outer space, I can still see your face

Baby brother

[Verse 1]

Her eyes were blue, her hair was auburn

Her smile was like an angel fair

She was her daddy's only daughter on the tennessee border

[Chorus]

One night, i took a ride just across that line

I picked her up in a pickup truck

And she broke this heart of mine

Her mama said: "no, she's my only daughter"

But we got married on the tennessee border

[Verse 2]

The roses were blooming on the border

And the moon was shining over there

And her personality made me want her on the tennessee border

[Chorus]

One night, i took a ride just to pass the time

I picked her up in a pickup truck

She broke this heart of mine

Her mama said: "no, she's on the corner"

We got married on the tennessee border