Lyrics Big Man Down - The Rumjacks

Big Man Down

They in their black battalion go
Fit to weep, dressed to kill, to the chapel on the hill
Through the wind and the blistering snow
They in their black battalion go
Fit to weep, dressed to kill, to the chapel on the hill
Through the wind and the blistering snow
Unafraid, undisguised, to put pennies in his eyes
The twist of a grin, the whiskers on his chin
Hide the teeth of a giant, broken, yellow and defiant
His bones lay crossed, he’ll no be back
He arrived in screaming pink, now he’ll leave in silent black
Cheer up ye lousy cadgers, I’ll no be missed
I’ve given ye all the day off work & leave to hit the piss
So tart me up in finery & put me to the flame
Don’t plant me in the ground tho' for fear I’ll grow again!
I know each & every line on your chiselled ugly faces
Every red & bloated inch from noses down to laces
Your nervous ticks, your treats & tricks, your secrets & your lies
Oh if you could only see yourself through these old hollow eyes
You’d surely die!
Oh its farewell for now my lovelies
Goodbye to your taunts & your charms
To stout hearted fellows with tunes for the burning
To waltzing in sweet Lassies arms
I’m off on the blood red rattler
With these villainous slappers & clowns
With the coughing, the wheezing, the farting & sneezing
Malevolent ghosts & their hounds
As a choking cloud he rose
To suffocate the lamp, the air was growing damp
Oily black the river flowed
The plough-beasts went blind, fruit hung rotten on the vine
The holy ones prepare a sacrificial virgin
The need for sinners to repent was ne’er before so urgent
The tired & lame are goners, strong men have soiled their breeks
All the roads are cut & its been pissing down for weeks!