This Is What I'm Here For, Ian Hunter, Defiance, Vol. 1

The album closes in glorious style with Ian proclaiming "This is what I'm here for!" and noting "I ain't through - when I'm through I'll notify you". Defiance indeed, and as essential as ever.

Kiss N' Make Up, Ian Hunter, Defiance, Vol. 1

Angel, Ian Hunter, Defiance, Vol. 1

No Hard Feelings, Ian Hunter, Defiance, Vol. 1

Defiance, the CD, Ian Hunter, Defiance, Part 1

It's been seven years since the last one, but Ian's new (2023) album has been worth the wait. What with being struck down with tinnitus and then confined to his basement by lockdowns this could have been a difficult album to make. But the list of musicians who came out of the woodwork and contributed is astonishing. This could have been problematic with egos getting in the way, but executive producer Andy York ensured this never happened. The presence of the likes of Slash, Jeff Beck and Taylor Hawkins shouldn't be a reason to buy anyway with Ian delivering an album that is up there with his very best.

The album opens in glorious style with the (near) title track, as hard-rocking as anything Ian has recorded for many years. Ian doing things his way and not giving in to current trends, noting "Got an 'F' for squanderin' those golden years". Now that's defiance!

I Hate Hate is a great message in our troubled times (Ian says it's one of the best lyrics he's written) and the message "Wouldn't it be great if we ran out of hate" better than anything our leaders can offer. The main version is piano-led, while the bonus track is guitar-led.

Ian always includes a song for Trudi (his wife of 50 years) and Angel is as good as any he's written. He notes "It's hard to kiss an angel... the harps are always getting in the way"

The album closes in glorious style with Ian proclaiming "This is what I'm here for!" and noting "I ain't through - when I'm through I'll notify you". Defiance indeed, and as essential as ever.

Soul Of America, Ian Hunter, Shrunken Heads

In Soul Of America classic American personages and images are introduced, Adams, the second president of the US, Thomas Paine, the American Revolutionary theorist, Geronimo, the Apache leader, the Alamo, the pivotal military engagement during the Texas Revolution, Pearl Harbor, the surprise military strike by Japan upon the United States, and American symbols of the Liberty Bell and the Statue of Liberty. Hunter fills the song with historical allusions to put contemporary events in context. It seems like he has 911 in mind:

And the Manhattan skyline blew my mind the first time
We went down to the scene of the crime
Lookin' for the soul of America

In any event, this is a rant against current political leaders who can not compare to the greats of the past. The specific target is George Bush. The US is led by only a few families and they are selfish but consider everyone else a terrorist. Hunter is bewildered by the state of America while Andy York assisted out of about four proposed verses. 

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The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alamo Mission near San Antonio de Béxar (modern-day San Antonio, Texas, United States), killing most of the occupants. Santa Anna's refusal to take prisoners during the battle inspired many Texians and Tejanos to join the Texian Army. Motivated by a desire for revenge, as well as their written desire to preserve a border open to immigration and the importation and practice of slavery, the Texians defeated the Mexican Army at the Battle of San Jacinto, on April 21, 1836, ending the rebellion in favor of the newly formed Republic of Texas.

The attack on Pearl Harbor^{[nb 3][10]} was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the U.S. naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii, just before 8:00 a.m. (local time) on Sunday, December 7, 1941. The United States was a neutral country at the time; the attack led to its formal entry into World War II on the side of the Allies the next day. The Japanese military leadership referred to the attack as the Hawaii Operation and Operation AI,^{[11][nb 4]} and as Operation Z during its planning.^[13]

Soul Of America

(Ian Hunter)

The Alamo shuddered, Pearl Harbor as well
The Statue of Liberty wept as they fell
And echoes were heard in the Liberty Bell
When they came for the soul of America
And the Manhattan skyline blew my mind the first time
We went down to the scene of the crime
Lookin' for the soul of America
Lookin' for the soul, lookin' for the soul

I don't see no Washington taking the strain
No Jefferson, Adams, Franklin or Paine
And that sure ain't Geronimo running the game
Protecting the soul of America
Just them wild boys: red, white and blue
Wild boys gotta see the mission through
Come hell or high water, my hat's off to you
Let's rock the soul of America
Let's rock the soul, let's rock the soul

You can find souls all over this world
Lay underneath the stones of insanity
You can find souls all over the globe
Except in the places they oughta be

The sins of the fathers revisit the sons
The toil of tradition, the roar of the guns
It's a God awful job, but it's gotta be done
Protecting the soul of America
And them good old boys in their three piece suits
Feathering their nests while they're rallying the troops
They cut off the flowers, don't worry 'bout the roots
Eroding the soul of America
And I'm looking for the soul, I wanna find the soul

There's souls in the city, there's souls in the sand
Putting up with the latest indignities
You can find soul all over this land
Except in the places it oughta be
Except in the places it oughta be

Frankie 'n' Johnny in my neighborhood
They don't read the papers as much as they should
But if they had the time, they know that they would
And you're lookin' at the soul of America

Yeah them wild boys 'n' red, white and blue
Them wild boys gotta get the message through
Come hell or high water, we're all rooting for you
And let's rock the soul of America
Come on, let's rock the soul, let's rock the soul
Let's rock the soul
Rock me out, rock me out
Oh yeah
Let.s rock the soul
Ah huh, come on, yeah
Let's rock the soul of America
Let's rock the soul, let's rock the soul

In Soul Of America he rails against the current crop of leaders who don't compare to Washington, Jefferson, Adams, Franklin... at the same time as noting how corrupt the whole government machine has become ("feathering their nests while they're rallying the troops...").

Soul Of America	4:43	Originally released on Shrunken Heads.
Soul Of America (live 2nd March 2008)	(6:42)	This live version (recorded at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford England) was issued on Acoustic Shadows (box set only).
Soul Of America (live October 2010)	4:34	This live version (recorded at an unknown UK venue) was issued on Live In The UK 2010.

Sons 'n' Lovers, Ian Hunter, YUI Orta, Acoustic Shadows, Stranded In Reality

Sons 'n' Lovers is autobiographical and is a companion piece to Sons and Daughters but more focused on his former wife initially but then the perspective shifts to represent the hurt experienced by the son. It's a sad song about the end of a relationship with his wife and the how his son was hurt as well. Hunter's son was eight years old at the time and it is his thoughts about his son's relationship with his mother. Kids have strong feelings, jealousies, and cling to their mothers but they know the damage experienced when a father leaves. The mother is left behind and it hurts. It is an odd subject but Hunter never seems to shy away from difficult or emotional topics. 

There is a live version from 2008 as well with just Steve Holley on drums and James Mastro on guitar. 

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Sons N' Lovers

(Ian Hunter)

I was your baby-you were my girl
When I asked you to marry me- the tears fell

Sons n' lovers, sons n' lovers, waving
My childhood goodbye-it seems so sad
Well how long have you been my best friend
This won't be the end of Sons n' lovers-sons n' lovers--she won't wanna talk anymore about it

You were my lady- I was your number one
When I said I was leaving- tears run

Sons n' lovers-sons n' lovers, breakin'
Tryin' not to hurt each others hearts
Well how long can we exist- I know
We can't go on like this
Sons n' lovers-son's and lovers--I don't wanna lie anymore

Was that you I saw--walkin' out along the shore
Was that you I saw-talkin' to him
Was that you i saw-puttin' his hands in yours
Thats alright ma- you can still love him
Thats alright ma- you can still love
And through the years-you know- we will remember
Time will never take old times away
How long for you to discover that- there still some strings attached to
Sons n' lovers-sons and lovers
But I don't wanna play anymore
Sons n' lovers

Sons 'n' Lovers	4:55	Originally issued on YUI Orta. It can also be found on the compilation Family Anthology.
Sons 'n' Lovers (live 2nd March 2008)	5:01	This live version (recorded at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford England) can be found on Sampling In Reality and on Acoustic Shadows (box set only).

Sons and Daughters, Ian Hunter, Welcome to the Club, If You Wait Long Enough

Sons and Daughters is a country-style ballad and an autobiographical tale about Hunter's divorce, living near the Archway in London, and losing contact with both his first son and his daughter. The song is reminiscent of Waterlow. Ian worked semi-skilled factory work at the capstans which is a vertical-axle rotating machine developed for use on sailing ships to multiply the pulling force of seamen when hauling ropes, cables, and hawsers (thick cable or rope). Once Hunter was pursuing music seriously he divorced his first wife Diane and made both of his children, Stephen and Tracie, lonely when he left. He recognized  the damage he's caused and he found a band, Mott The Hoople, to go out on tour. Stars are fools he says. He re-marries, Trudi, who may want children as well and as a result the nightmare returns like a ghost if he repeats the mistake of the past. The song is about guilt and pain and all true in Ian's case. He says you can never put it right. 

There is another 1979 released version of the song as well.

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capstan_(nautical)

Sons And Daughters

(Ian Hunter)

There's a place in the city they call the Archway
Where we rented three rooms for a dollar a day
and I worked semi-skilled at the capstans for years
And my wife was a good woman but the love disappeared

Sons and Daughters, Daughters and Sons
When a marriage goes down they're the loneliest ones
Sons and Daughters, Daughters and Sons
How I hope they can cope with the damage I've done

I found me a band, I went out on tour
So the kids wouldn't know I was with them no more
When they said, "Where's me dad?" She'd say, "He's a star!"
Oh if only stars knew what fools they all are.

Sons and Daughters, Daughters and Sons
When a marriage goes down they're the loneliest ones
Sons and Daughters, Daughters and Sons
How I hope they can cope with the damage I've done

I got a new contract, I got a new life
No more capstans for me and I've got a new wife
Sometimes she gets angry, says she wants a family
Then that nightmare returns like a ghost haunting me

Sons and Daughters, Daughters and Sons
When a marriage breaks up you're the loneliest ones
Sons and Daughters, Daughters and Sons
How I hope you all cope with the damage we done

Sons and Daughters (live 5-11th November 1979)	5:04	This live version (recorded at The Roxy, Los Angeles CA) originally issued on Welcome to the Club, and on the compilations From The Knees Of My Heart and The Singles Collection 1975-83.
Sons and Daughters (live 22nd November 1979)	4:57	This live version (recorded Hammermith Odeon, London England) is on the 30th Anniversary issue of You're Never Alone With a Schizophrenic, and on If You Wait Long Enough For Anything, You Can Get It On Sale (box set only). The latter is slightly longer (at 5:23) due to the introduction to the following track being tacked on to the end.

Somethin's Goin' On, Ian Hunter, All of the Good Ones Are Taken

The topic of Somethin's Goin' On is serious. It's as if the world were a subway, the human race is an endangered species, and international leaders are muggers. The song expresses the likelihood of a nuclear confrontation and noted a distrust of the political elites. If you sense that war is coming we notice that something is going on. This song is something like are you noticing what is going on around you? It is a warning against nuclear war while the leaders can watch from the safety of their planes. Leaders can watch while the people are victims of violence. This is Hunter's cynicism as he reads the papers and like the average person they are disgusted by what they see. We are not sure exactly what is going on but we know something is happening.  

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcmgMpvpdBM

Somethin's Goin' On

(Ian Hunter)

The spirit of war is all around us
'N' everybody knows somethin's goin' on

Fasten your seat belts - say goodbye to your mothers
Cos everybody knows somethin's goin' on

Nuclear missiles - cover to cover
Everybody knows somethin's goin' on

The world is a subway - all the leaders are muggers
'N' everybody knows somethin's goin' on

Well I say
Roll up to the party - welcome to the show
We'll make you live in fear - then we'll make you disappear
Somethin's goin' on 'n' everybody knows

What you got - what you got
Everybody knows somethin's goin' on
Most people got nothin' - a few got the lot
'N' everybody knows - it's still goin' on

Well I say
Roll up to the circus - welcome to death row
Just do what we say - then we'll blow you all away
Somethin's goin' on 'n' everybody knows

What about hunger... are they just another number?
We're all an endangered species
'N' everybody knows - it's still goin' on

Well I say
Welcome to Thanksgiving - what we reap is what we sow
We'll watch you die in vain from the safety of our plane
Somethin's goin' on 'n' everybody knows

Somethin's Goin' On	4:33	Originally issued on All of the Good Ones Are Taken.
Somethin's Goin' On (single radio edit)	3:55	This single version is on The Singles Collection 1975-83 and on the box set version of All Of The Good Ones Are Taken

Something To Believe In, Ian Hunter, The Artful Dodger

Something To Believe In is a song that takes on one of the biggest topics of life God and faith; the song is related to another look at the topic, God (Take 1) or even Salvation. In short, Hunter is saying that we all need something to believe in. He takes responsibility for hurting others but he has looked for something to believe in or something more solid. He is not attracted to institutional religion nonetheless we still need something more. Ian broadens his view to international affairs as he refers to Sarajevo and the theme of warfare. The reference to Willy and the Poor Boys could be a reference to archetypical American band Creedence Clearwater Revival since that is the title of their fourth album in 1969 and they are lost in America. They might have expressed the sentiment as stranded in Lodi, one of their well known songs. Hunter quotes part of laying down to sleep as a well-known children's bedtime prayer from the 18th Century married to the title, From Here to Eternity, a 1953 American drama romance war film, as part of finding something that you can believe in. A really strong verse states his case:

For every seed of knowledge found

For every grain of reason

For every shred of decency 

There's something to believe in 

It was often performed live, has many verses, and is difficult to learn, but worth it. There is a live trio version of this song as well. 

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Willy and the Poor Boys is the fourth studio album by American rock band Creedence Clearwater Revival, released by Fantasy Records in November 1969. It was the last of three studio albums the band released that year, arriving just three months after Green River.^[1]

Lodi

After playing in local bars, the narrator finds himself stranded and unable to raise bus or train fare to leave. Fogerty later said he had never actually 

Now I lay me down to sleep is a classic children's bedtime prayer from the 18th century.

From Here to Eternity is a 1953 American drama romance war film directed by Fred Zinnemann, and written by Daniel Taradash, based on the 1951 novel of the same name by James Jones. The picture deals with the tribulations of three U.S. Army soldiers, played by Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, and Frank Sinatra, stationed on Hawaii in the months leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Deborah Kerr and Donna Reedportray the women in their lives, and the supporting cast includes Ernest Borgnine, Philip Ober, Jack Warden, Mickey Shaughnessy, Claude Akins, and George Reeves.

Something To Believe In

(Ian Hunter)

Well I lay underneath an ageless sky
I watched the universe breathing
There's more going on up there than meets the eye
Give me something to believe in

Which way's in and which way's out
Every step is misleading
Well which way is up which way is down
You gotta have something to believe in

Oh, let me dream, let me dream
I spend my whole life dreaming
I've been lucky but I'm still mean
You gotta have something to believe in

I didn't mean to hurt the people I hurt
I was full of fear and loathing
I wasn't up to much, but I was all I had to go on
Couldn't find nothing to believe in

I don't like all them man-made religions
They all need a little spiritual healing
They don't cut across race, they don't cut across culture
But we all need something to believe in

So you believe what you want to believe
Just stay true to your feelings
'Cause one man's god's just as good as another now
Gotta' have something to believe in

Well I lay underneath a royal throne
The gaudy paint was peeling
Half an inch deep and twice as cheap
Oh give me something to believe in

Fat Fred always packing lead
On the corner dealing
Makes more in a night than I can make in forty days
Give me something to believe in

Now people worship what they see
Looks can be deceiving
Violence rages in abandoned hearts
'Cause they ain't got nothing to believe in

The chill chill is a bitter pill
When it comes to leaving
'Cause there ain't no easy way outta here
When you ain't got nothing to believe in

Just woke up in Sarajevo city
I watched all those mothers screaming
Kids getting shot and for what, and for what?
Give me something to believe in

Now there's fire outside, mud that slides
Earthquakes shake the region
Willy and the Poorboys lost in America
They ain't got nothing to believe in

For every seed of knowledge found
For every grain of reason
For every shred of decency
There's something to believe in

Now I lay me down to rest
In the silence of the evening
And the moon road shines from here to eternity
I've got something to believe in

You believe what you want to believe
Just stay true to your feelings
'Cause one man's god's just as good as another
I've got something to believe in.

Something To Believe In	5:46	Originally issued on The Artful Dodger.
Something To Believe In (Trio version)	5:16	This can be found on Tilting The Mirror - Rarities (box set only).

Soap 'n' Water, Ian Hunter, Rant

Soap 'n' Water is a personal song that is direct and right on target against Terence Dale "Buffin" Griffin, drummer for Mott The Hoople who had a big mouth and spreads innuendo. Just as a mother might wash out a child's mouth with soap and water that is what needs to be done to this person. After hearing jibes for years from the former drummer and BBC producer Ian unleashed his thoughts here. The Mott pairing had never been peaceful but Hunter was perplexed by Griffin's slam against Ronson. Despite the personal animosity Ian never doubted Buffs dedication to Mott. 

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Soap and Water

(Ian Hunter)

I can't believe what you did, you know - you just can't let it go
I'm sick 'n' tired of listening to your innuendo
I can't believe what you did, you know - you sawed me in half
When I was at the end of my endurance
All you did was bite the hand that fed you from the start

Oh - oh - oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water, na na na na na na - would not come amiss
Oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water - a little soap 'n' water, a little soap 'n' water
I can't believe what you did, why - why you stoop so low
Why am I the target for your slings and arrows
I can't believe what you did, when - you showed me no class
Every mirror tells a different story
Who gave you the right to be the keeper of my past

Oh - oh - oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water, na na na na na na - would not come amiss
Oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water - a little soap 'n' water, we're gonna have to wash your mouth out if you persist

You know, I was never loyal to you - you were never loyal to me
We were both loyal to the cause
That cause died - there was nothing left inside
It ain't my fault, let it - it ain't your fault - let it ride

I can't believe what you did, you know - you know how to hurt
All you do is drag old memories through the dirt
I can't believe what you did - you show no mercy
Yesterday don't last until tomorrow
My oh my, what a pitiful cry - you're your own worst enemy

Oh - oh - oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water, na na na na na na - would not come amiss
Oh - oh - a little soap 'n' water - a little soap 'n' water, we're gonna have to wash your mouth out if you persist

I got just what you need, I got just what you need
I got just what you need, I got just what you need
I got just what you need, I got just what you need
I got just what you need

Soap 'n' Water is direct and to the point, being directed at someone else entirely: "I can't believe what you did, you know how to hurt/All you do is drag old memories through the dirt".

Soap and Water

5:18

Originally issued on Rant.

Slaughter On Tenth Avenue, Mick Ronson solo track, Welcome to the Club

Slaughter On Tenth Avenue is a Mick Ronson solo track from Slaughter On Tenth Avenue but also released on Welcome to the Club and there is also a live version from the Rockpalast show in 1980. The song was included on Ronson's first LP when David Bowie came in with his crowd and just took over. Bowie ran out of time although he promised to write lyrics for the tune. As they ran out of time Mick asked about the words but responded he didn't feel like writing and wandered off. What we are left with was Ronson's finishing his record in two days and the pure class guitar playing live as on this record. It was often featured during touring as the Hunter Ronson Band. 

Also recorded at the Rockpalast TV Show, Grugahalle, Essen Germany 19th April 1980 and is on Collateral Damage.

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Slaughter On Tenth Avenue (live 5-11th November 1979)	2:25	Originally a Mick Ronson solo track (on Slaughter On Tenth Avenue). This live version (recorded at The Roxy, Los Angeles CA) was originally issued on Welcome to the Club and also on the compilations The Best of Ian Hunterand From The Knees Of My Heart.
Slaughter On Tenth Avenue (live 19th April 1980)	2:51	This live version (recorded Rockpalast TV Show, Grugahalle, Essen Germany) was issued on Collateral Damage. It can also be found on Live At Rockpalast. Not on the box set.

Skeletons (In Your Closet), (Ian Hunter/Darrel Bath/Honest John Plain), The Artful Dodger

The Skeletons (In Your Closet) humorous song would not be out of place on Ian Hunter's Dirty Laundry CD, and not surprisingly they were left overs from that effort, and co-writers include collaborators Darrel Bath and Honest John Plain. The song is a bit out of place on the CD but at the time Hunter favored the song's placement. The incessant interest of the paparazzi is the critique here and all the dirt they can gather on the rich and famous. Once the media gets a hold of juicy tidbits they want to spread the skeletons in your closet to the public. This is the stuff of tabloid journalism or snarky talk shows both in the States and across the pond. It's a fun song with a serious point. The light-hearted vocals conveyed sexual undertones, and scandal, innuendo, lurid tales, and gossip all pursued by the gutter press. 

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Skeletons (In Your Closet)

(Ian Hunter/Darrel Bath/Honest John Plain)

Bimbo, flirts, sluts in skirts - muscles brightly glisten
Conversation's full of filth - let's all have a listen
Oh dear oh dear we live in fear
Media bulbs a poppin'
If you're bent, they're on your scent
There can be no stoppin'

Peroxide blondes, vagabonds, into 'eavy metal
Your hair looks like its been done by a dyke with a score to settle
Mud needs raking, photos taken of your murky past
Haunts you, taunts you, love it don't you

Hey hey the gang's all here
Pimps 'n' pervs, straights 'n' queers
Enquiring minds want to sneer at the skeletons in your closet
Sunday morning in the park,
Down the pub or in the bath
We'll all have a good old laugh
At the skeletons in your closet

Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet

It's bloody marvellous - innit?
It's bloody marvellous - innit?

Juicy bits, saucy snips, there's gold in them there gutters
Blue rinse mob on the job, curtains all a-flutter
It's cheapo culture, bleeding ulcers, burnt out by the score
Lurid tales never fails to shock you to the core
Kinky boots 'n' rubbber suits,
It's all going on next door!
Caught you, taught you, love it don't you

If you've had your face re-done
If you spank your girlfriend's bum
We can all join in the fun
At the skeletons in your closet
What's the world coming to?
Ain't we got nothin' better to do?
To spend all day sifting through
The skeletons in your closet

Hey hey the gang's all here
Pimps 'n' pervs, straights 'n' queers
Enquiring minds want to sneer
At the skeletons in your closet

Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet
Skeletons in your, skeletons in your, skeletons in your closet

Skeletons (In Your Closet)

4:02

Originally issued on The Artful Dodger.

Silver Needles, Ian Hunter, Welcome to the Club

Silver Needles could be about almost any victim of the rock star lifestyle so speculation has centered on who it could be about. Silver needles are the downfall of so many stars in the limelight; Hunter is saying he understands the pressure that public figures experience but he is not dead and is still standing. Ian identifies that the song is loosely based on Deep Purple guitarist Tommy Bolin who did not heed Hunter's advice after he had signed a book for him. Bolin died in 1976 from an overdose of heroin and other substances, including alcohol, cocaine, and barbiturates. Ian adds that it might have Sid Vicious in mind as well since he passed in February 1979 and someone else who died but believed what the music papers said about him. He thinks that the papers would mirror and not lead music. For example, if the New York Dolls had not been pushed out too soon, stayed away from drugs, and allowed to develop, they would have been more long lasting. 

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Silver Needles

(Ian Hunter)

You're just a stranger in the past
Just another mug that could never last
You came up slow but you burned out fast (didn't ya)

Oh growing up was your sole excuse
Your body was tight but your head was so lose
I guess I could have told you but what's the use

It ain't Silver Needles on the run
No it ain't Silver Needles on the run
It ain't Silver Needles on the run
Shh you make me feel so bad

You thought you was the only one that got messed up
Me 'n all the others never had it so rough
Well how come you're dead and I'm still stood up

Well it ain't Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
No it ain't Silver Needles on the run
Oh I remember....

All your plans were made on some PR floor
'N all your bags were packed, they never reached the door.
All over in your thought exchange
All your brains were acting strange
You never lied in dreams before
There must be more to life than getting sore

(What do you think?)

I seen in some music paper that you was gone
And I went right out and wrote you a farewell song
Boy, they had you dead before you was born
And it's a shame - you were such a great mover

But it ain't Silver Needles on the run
No it ain't Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
Silver Needles on the run
(Next)

Silver Needles

5;56

Originally issued on Welcome to the Club, also on the compilations From The Knees Of My Heart and The Collection.

Silent Movie (Corky Laing/Ian Hunter), The Secret Sessions

This is a co-written song by Corky Laing and Hunter and it is a love gone wrong type of song in that the couple has nothing to say to another as in a silent movie. It is about communication that breaks down.  

Silent Movie

(Corky Laing/Ian Hunter)

Well the school bell rings
I carried your things
Getting on the yellow bus
With the whole world watching us

And our love was like a silent movie
Ain't got nothing to say
Our love was like a silent movie
I wish we could have kept it that way

Now the door bell rings
I'm gonna get my things
Take another bright (?)
At the lion's side

Cause our love was like a silent movie
Ain't got nothing to say
Our love was like a silent movie
That's the all-American way

Silent Movie

And our love was like a silent movie
There's nothing to say
Our love was like a silent movie
And that's the all-American way

And our love was like a silent movie
There's nothing to say
Our love was like a silent movie
I wish we could have kept it that way

Our love was like a silent movie
Silent movie
Our love was like a silent movie
I wish we could have kept it that way

Silent Movie

3:20

This collaboration (Laing/Hunter/Ronson/Pappalardi) can be found on The Secret Sessions (not on the box set).

Shrunken Heads, Ian Hunter, Shrunken Heads

We're all at the mercy of Shrunken Heads and in the topsy turvy world we are in everything is inverted. When you are born on the wrong side of the tracks there is not much you can do about it. The song was written about a visit to the beach in Blackpool where nobody smiled. Many British are scruffier than they were formerly and drugs have robbed people of their dignity. With Tony Blair a good number of people are worse off than they were before. With people self-absorbed it has taken a toll on British society. In some ways, this is a Springsteen like observation about the decline of England. The electorate and the elected are not doing their jobs and the Western leaders are just not clever enough. An indicative line is: "The rich get richer and poor get sorer." 

There is a live version from 2008. 

Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me

Shrunken Heads

(Ian Hunter)

Concrete steps, never swept
It used to be fear, now they call it respect
Sad old walls fallin' down
On the shattered skulls in the battleground
Absent fathers, weary mums
The old, the sick, the dying
And the isolated ones
Ancient language turns obscene
Between the goal posts of a circular dream

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
This house is haunted and the streets are dead
We're all the mercy of shrunken heads

Bells are ringing of a cleaner time
There ain't no washing hangin' out on the line anymore
Something died and I don't know when
But it's funkier now that it ever was then

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
The heart of the city is dilapidated
Who's gonna save us from these shrunken heads

On a windy day where no one smiles
On a pleasureless beach on a go-go-golden mile
In a sad café eating day old bread
And I tip the angry actress
With pockets full of shrunken heads

Windows barred, exhausted dull
The smell of decay is miserable
Dangerous streets where the dealers rule
Lie litter strewn around a frozen school

Nothin' matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor get sorer
You took our loyalty and you tore it to shreds
We're all the mercy of shrunken heads
Nothing matters anymore
The rich get richer, and the poor stay sorer
And the heart of the city is red-carpeted
Freaks of nature, shrunken heads
Shrunken heads decide my fate
It used to be 10, now it's 10:08
We ain't got the answers, it's complicated
I wouldn't bet any money on shrunken heads

Where you're born is the luck of the draw

Shrunken Heads is a great track, with a distinct Springsteen-ish touch to it - close your eyes and it's easy to imagine the E-Street Band accompanying Ian on this one.

Shrunken Heads	7:45	Originally released on Shrunken Heads.
Shrunken Heads (live 2nd March 2008)	6:38	This live version (recorded at the Mick Jagger Centre, Dartford England) was issued on Acoustic Shadows (box set only).