The opening track Words (Big Mouth) is an arresting start to the CD. Hunter apologizes, to Trudi, for mouthing off the night before. He has a big one, mouth that is, and he's sorry. What a combination, Winston Churchill's disease of manic-depression, the "Black Dog: coupled with alcohol and out it comes:
Black Dog lurking in the alleyway
Alcohol arriving with the key
Open up the floodgates and out it comes
Like a river full of graffitiThey spill out:
Words... Nasty little lizards...
Grammatical bacteriaThese "cruel little clusters" are powerful images and a graphic description unleashed by saying the wrong things. The Hunters go to Rick and Steffie Tedesco's house in Connecticut once a week and when inebriated the mood can get ugly.
There are two live versions from 2007 and 2010.
Ian Hunter On Track for Sonicbond Publishing, TheDoctorOfDigital@pm.me
disease of manic-depression
Words (Big Mouth)
(Lyrics by Ian Hunter, Music by Ian Hunter and Andy York)
[Spoken] I got a big one
It's me, I didn't mean to wake you
I owe you an apology about last night
Well I was just letting off steam
Black Dog lurking in the alleyway
Alcohol arriving with the key
Open up the floodgates and out it comes
Like a river full of graffiti
Words... little beads of poison
Letting out the venom
One thing for certain baby
I got a big mouth
I'll change... I promise you, I'm gonna change
I gotta turn a new leaf
And this will be the very last time
I put my foot in it
Black Dog putting these words in my mouth
Well don't take any notice of them
I don't mean to vent my spleen
I hate it when that happens
Just words... cruel little clusters
Maiming the vernacular
One thing for certain baby
I got a big mouth, I got a big mouth
Don't leave... I'm beggin' you please don't leave
These words are only make believe
You can take 'em with a grain of salt
Words can eat a man alive
Black Dog rotting in some broken bar
Handclaps rattling my bones
Hound dogs fading into wilderness
And I just wanna come home
Words... Nasty little lizards...
Grammatical bacteria
One thing's for certain baby
I got a big mouth, I got a big mouth
I got a big mouth, yeah
Just words
I'm getting on your nerves
Little shops of horrors
I got a big mouth
Yakity Yakity Yakity Yak...
There are some astonishingly good tracks on here. Words (Big Mouth) opens things up nicely where Ian apologises to a loved one for mouthing off the night before
| Words (Big Mouth) | 5:03 | Originally released on Shrunken Heads; also on the compilation Old Records Never Die. |
| Words (Big Mouth) (live 2007) | 5:15 | This live version (recorded at an unknown venue) was on the 7" single version of When The World Was Round. |
| Words (Big Mouth) (live October 2010) | 5:39 | This live version (recorded at an unknown UK venue) was issued on Live In The UK 2010. |