Sleeping Dogs Never Lie CD – Track notes, audio-links, lyrics and guitar tab
Some songs have a link to audio, in red in the title of the song. Some are demo versions, others are mp3s of the finished track as on the album, and all are free to play or download. A few songs also have a link to videos of live versions.
The CD has all-new recordings and is available from me at gigs, or by post. With nineteen tracks and an eight-page full-colour booklet, it's good value at £10 isn't it? Or £12 including P+P, send me an email with your address if you'd like a copy. You can pay via cheque or PayPal.
1 1001 Rag – An authentic ragtime instrumental, this is all one stereo guitar with no overdubbing.
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2 He's Singing It for Me – A
fantasy that now will never come to pass.
Although it says "capo fret 3" on the tab, on the album recording
the capo is at fret 4.
Photo by Chris Gill
Before the show he's listening at my soundcheck.
He grins and says: "You're better than you were."
There's pleasure, but there's pain, to hear his songs again
when I know that he'll be going home to her ...
.
How can she not be spellbound by his music?
She hardly ever comes to hear him play.
I know he looks to see her in the crowd
but now,
tonight,
I hope she stays away.
.
{Instrumental}
.
She'll nestle in his arms beneath the duvet.
I know that is a lovely place to be.
I know she says he wrote that song for her,
but here,
tonight,
He's singing it for me.
.
All the men who see him
somehow want to be him
and all the women want him for their own.
But, snared in soft simplicity
of easy domesticity,
he's her Mr Nobody at home ...
.
I know they're going shopping in the morning.
He'll help her push the trolley to the car.
His credit card will suffer at the till,
but still,
tonight,
he's playing his guitar.
.
{Instrumental}
.
Applauding crowds acknowledge he's a master.
They want another encore, two or three.
He sings that special song to close the show.
I know,
tonight,
he's singing it for me,
I know.
Tonight, he's singing it for me.
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3 On Being a Girl – There's a lot to be said for it.
On Being a Girl
I’ve never been a lady – not quite my cup
of tea;
And I don’t think anyone’s ever called me a dame – that’s
just not me.
You can call me a harridan, a hag or a clucky old hen,
But please don’t call me a woman, ’cos now I’m being
a girl again.
I’m being a girl again.
.
Somebody called me a bimbo – I keep meaning to look up that word.
I once was a chick, but now – I don’t know – is an old
biddy some sort of bird?
I don’t mind being a lass, but alas! I shan’t be a maid again!
Who wants to be a woman? Not now. I’m being a girl again.
I’m being a girl again.
.
INTERLUDE
.
Girls are quite different from women. We don’t have their worries
or cares.
We can play all day long if we want to, and wear sparkly bits in our hair.
We don’t work all day for the mortgage, and we don’t have
to chase after men.
It was no fun being a woman, so now I’m being a girl again.
I’m being a girl again.
.
Girls don’t have husbands to nag us, or to tell us we’re getting
too fat,
Or to greet any pretty new frock with the words: ‘You are not going
out dressed like that!’
We don’t have children to whinge and whine or to scare us to death
now and then.
It was too hard being a woman, so now I’m being a girl again.
I’m being a girl again.
.
INTERLUDE
.
So, here I am, being a girl again – all right – an Old Girl,
if you must.
I’m at ease with the lads – little likelihood now of over-inflaming
their lust.
I have plenty of friends of all genders and no more romance-driven pain.
I was fed up being a woman, but now I’m being a girl again. I’m
being a girl.
Who wants to be a woman? Not now. I’m being a girl again. I’m
being a girl again.
As On Being a Girl isn't too regular in the plucking hand, I've written the chords as gate-shapes, with the sequence. I've indicated on the side of the gates the fret. If there is a double line at the top, that's the nut. Chords further up the neck are shown with strings extending top and bottom.
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4 In the Shower – Very clean song. Though maybe a bit steamy.
In
the Shower
(Click
here for live video)
The human body is designed for the bath – cleansing
by immersion.
The water seeps in every crevice of skin, and you end up a nice clean
person.
Now, the shower may use less water, and I don’t suppose you’ll
drown,
but to get as clean as you could have been you’d need to stand upside
down.
.
CHORUS: What good is the shower when facing down are all our bits that
smell?
Our armpits and our dainty bits and the soles of our feet as well.
.
I don’t know how to put this but – at the risk of being indelicate
–
where you really need a blast, the water rushes past,
and you could end up with a smelly bit.
But when you get in the bath, those most stale parts are first to hit
the water;
need I elaborate which those are? Not sure that I oughta…
CHORUS (as before)
.
I’ve been in showers from home to Rome and never found a good one
yet.
All they do, in my view, is get your hair and your shoulders wet.
And it’s so hard to read the paper and catch up with all the news.
So, follow my path, have a wallow in the bath – and maybe a little
snooze.
CHORUS
.
Shower gel may get you clean and of course it leaves no scum.
But a-lying in the bath with your toe up the tap has gotta be much more
fun.
If you have a good friend and time to spend it’s fun playing Hunt
the Soap,
but try it in a shower, it all goes sour as the soap is on a rope.
CHORUS
.
And another thing I hate about the shower – perhaps, like me, you
find
that the shower curtain tries to chase you about and sticks to your bare
behind.
Now, the water in the shower is not very deep, and I’ll tell you
what this means:
you can play with your ducks if you really, really must ... but not with
your submarines.
CHORUSES with DESCANT: Spare me from the shower with the water from above
–
Give me a soak in a nice hot tub!
This song has no tab, it is so simple and is played in a scratch-picking
style with a capo at fret 3.
There is another song in this style and hints on playing this technique
on my Secret Tabs page, look
for Gipsy Woman.
In the Shower is played as if in G, and the chords throughout are
|| C | G | C | G | C | G | A7 D7 | G ||
So other instruments who want to play along will be in Bb.
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5 Home and Dry – Straightforward
instrumental born of anguish and despair – but now triumphant!
This used to have the title Remortgage Blues, and the tab still
shows that. It's semi-improvised after the first verse, so feel free to
play your own variations. Capo at fret 3.
Home
and Dry
Click here for live
video
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6 Shaping Up – Resolve. Plan. Engage. Succeed... ?
Shaping Up
Although I'm as stout as a tree trunk,
and you all dismiss this as just talk,
tomorrow I'm starting my fitness régime
and I'll soon be as slim as a stalk.
.
Our bathroom will be my gymnasium.
I've got all the equipment I need.
I've got weights and a stepper and a rowing machine,
which will stop me from going to seed.
.
I've written myself a new diet
and put it up on the fridge door,
right next to an unflattering photo of me,
which I shall now call "Me, Before".
.
I'll soon have one titled "Me, After"
to put up beside to compare,
and then I'll go shopping and buy some new clothes
or else I'll have nothing to wear.
.
INSTRUMENTAL
.
Maybe I should put in more effort –
even go out for walks if I must.
Well, you know what I mean, how those fitness machines
have a magic attraction for dust.
.
The diet was tasty and filling,
but took much too long to prepare.
By the time it was ready I'd eaten two pies
and a packet of crisps I'd had spare.
.
I was happy to walk to the office –
though the stairs were a bit of a climb –
but it took so much longer than taking the car,
when really I don't have the time.
.
I even went jogging one morning,
but that's when I got the sore knee
So now I'm content to stay just as I am.
You might not have liked a New Me.
No, ya might not have liked a New Me.
Shaping Up is a sort of jazz-waltz in the
key of F. The chords for the verses go:
|| Dm7 | Dm7 | G7 | G7 | Dm7 | Dm7 | G7 | G7 | Bb | Am | A7 | Dm | Bb
| C | C7 | D7 | Gm7 | C7 | F | F A7 / ||
Verses going into sections starting with C7 or Cm7 end on F for two bars,
without the A7.
The intro and instrumental miss out the four bars starting with the second
Bb.
The third verses in each half are a sort of mock-bridge and replace the
first eight bars with:
|| C7 | C7 | Gm7 | Gm7 | C7 | C7 | Gm7 | Gm7 | ... after which it's
the same as above.
The verse following the instrumental starts with:
|| Cm7 | Cm7 | D7 | D7 | Cm7 | Cm7 | D7 | D7 | ... then the same
as before.
The ending takes a little detour, often called 'the long turnaround',
whereby instead of going straight to the F, it goes Am7b5 | D7 | Gm7 |
C7 | F ||
Am7b5 is exactly the same chord as Cm6, though it will usually have A
in the bass instead of C.
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7 Missing You, My Darling – From control freaks to unfaithful slobs ... don't we just love'em?
You’ve left me, then, my darling, packed your bags
and gone away.
I’m going to miss the way you’ve run my life up till today
–
your 'wise' advice to tell me what I should and shouldn’t do ...
I’m missing that, my darling – most of all, I’m missing
YOU.
.
You’ve left me then, my darling, and my life that you controlled.
I’ve put your things on eBay, so by Thursday they’ll be sold.
I drive my car in silence, though a 'helpful' comment's due ...
I’m missing that, my darling – most of all, I’m missing
YOU.
.
I
miss
your
lying, and your sighing, and your Getting in a Mood,
my sink full of your dirty pans, congealed greasy food,
and your taking all the bedclothes so I froze the whole night through
...
I miss them all, my darling – most of all, I’m missing YOU.
.
You've left me then, my darling. Now the bathroom's sparkling bright
and the front door now has a handle – and I go out when I like!
I come home when I'm ready, and no-one cares! That's true.
I’m missing that, my darling – most of all, I’m missing
YOU.
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8 In the Woods – Two elves find themselves amid the trees on a warm day in late Spring. An eromantic love song.
My love and I walked in the woods.
Our hands entwined, we strolled at will,
and when I caught his eye, he held my gaze.
The trees stood still.
.
His lips brushed mine, like butterflies
alighting on some flower rare,
then tasting for the nectar, sweet, that lies
in secret there.
.
Then sunlight dappled on our skin,
as in each others' arms we lay.
It could have been a million years ago
or yesterday.
.
With silver notes the woodland rang,
a robin sang somewhere on high.
On last year's leaves we melted into one,
my love and I.
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9 Sunday Morning – A joyous song with a reminder of whose toil for us makes every day a pleasure.
Sunday Morning (click title for live video)
Sunday Morning, have a lie-in – no-one works today!
Waking to the smell of frying – breakfast's on its way.
Sunshine's streaming through the curtain, dazzling on our eyes.
It's Sunday! and, for certain, that's our cue to rise.
.
In the garden, birds are singing as for worms they search.
Over fields the bells are ringing, calling folks to church.
Hymns play on the radio and we all sing along.
It's Sunday! everybody sings a Sunday song.
.
Nodding to the next-door neighbours walking down the lane
to the shop to get the papers. Walking back again.
"Isn't this a lovely morning?" over garden walls.
It's Sunday! sunshine warming everywhere it falls.
.
Dad is dozing in his deckchair, snoozing in the sun.
Gilly's writing up her lecture. Coffee-time for Mum.
Sunday is a day for resting – but Mums don't get much chance ...
It's Sunday! and the best thing: here comes Sunday lunch!
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10 Maybe I – Friendship damaged beyond repair. Off with your head!
Photo by Care2
Maybe I'll give up without a fight.
Maybe I'm not certain what I lost your friendship for.
Maybe what's dividing us can never be put right,
though I'm not sure I can do this any more.
.
You squander gifts far greater than my own
and somehow slip obsession's grip – that makes me such a bore!
I give the wrong impression and I know I'm too full-on,
but I'm not sure I can do this any more.
.
You promised you would always be my friend.
I thought you said the bad times would be coming to an end?
I hesitate to lay this burden on you,
but I'm not sure I can do this any more.
.
The Queen of Hearts will have your head for sure,
so you're all ears and whiskers as you scutter out the door.
And as I'm getting pushed away, it's maybe time for me to say
that I'm not sure I can do this any more
.
You promised you would always be my friend.
I thought you said the bad times would be coming to an end?
.
Since you never tell me what's gone wrong,
and as I seem to rub you up the wrong way till you're raw,
it seems a bit unlikely that you'll listen to a song...
so I'm not sure I can do this any more.
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11The Sleazy Sleazy Blues – Diluted
version – it was sleazier than this ... A
sleazebag appears at the beginning of this track.
In the spirit of this song, since it's all about cheating, you are
being short-changed. It's trying to give the impression that it's a 12-bar
blues. However, The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues is only a 10-bar blues.
In the key of C, if you want to play along.
The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues
"My Honourable Friends!
Now, the election's done and dusted!
The public can't be trusted –
we Members take no notice of their views.
So let them sing their Sleazy, Sleazy Blues!"
.
All the sordid stories, Labour, Lib-Dems, Tories,
it's all we ever hear of on the news.
After all the polling, the gravy-train starts rolling.
They're all aboard – they're going on a cruise!
That's why we sing The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues.
.
Actors, models, singers, captains, golfers, wingers,
celebrities who never paid their dues,
see them in the photos, smashing up their motors
when off their heads on all their drugs and booze.
That's why we sing The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues.
.
Cheating on one's lady, doing something shady,
snouts are in the trough, up to their hooves.
You wouldn't think they need us, from all the rot they feed us –
I'd rather have what comes in on my shoes.
That's why we sing The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues.
.
Send our troops to battle, make machine-guns rattle!
That should give the self-esteem a boost!
When one's grip is feeble, the sons of other people
get sacrificed upon the least excuse.
That's why we sing The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues.
.
It won't need much persuasion to order an invasion,
make war on folks of different faiths and hues.
Wasting our resources, sending out our forces,
to fight for something few of us would choose.
That's why we sing The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues.
.
But! now comes the reckoning, prison is beckoning,
see those chickens coming home to roost!
What a shame our 'betters' have left us the debtors ...
Now we're the ones who have it all to lose.
That's why we sing The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues.
That's why we sing The Sleazy, Sleazy Blues.
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12 Sleeping Dogs Never Lie – Dogs need no words to tell us their needs and their feelings
for us, or to express their quiet defiance of age and infirmity.
The Kipling poem mentioned in the song is called The
Power of the Dog. Click the link to read it. Warning: it's a
three-hankie job.
Tasha, my Corded Standard Poodle - 5th June 1992-15th October 2007. A paragon of canine virtue.
Sleeping Dogs Never Lie (click title for live video)
Here, by my feet, lies my old black bitch.
She softly whimpers and her whiskers twitch.
She's back in the days when her breath was long,
and her blood ran hot, and her limbs were strong,
just a few short summers ago.
.
Her ears alert to the slightest noise,
her jaunty tail expressing her joys
in the simple delights of canine days
and endless acceptance of human ways –
her feelings forever on show.
.
INSTRUMENTAL
.
Now like a bony old heap of wool,
with her snout so grey ... her time is full,
and the gentle swell of her flank betrays
her breathing, ebbing like the waves.
She sleeps a lot these days.
.
As she awakes and strains to rise,
there's a flash of pain in the brave old eyes.
Those eyes, which were once so clear and bright,
and now have the pupils pearled in white,
still have the kindest gaze.
.
Kipling said it, and I shall, too:
They tear our hearts because theirs are true.
Passions shown in the clearest way –
how do the unobservant say:
"If only they could talk ..."?
.
Her once-proud pedigree makes no odds
as her days run forward to join her gods.
But the dear grey chin is on my knee
and those eyes are asking: "What's for tea?
Or maybe a little walk?"
Here you are - I've even written you a bass part!
Enjoy!
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More FREE Tabs on these album pages
Please click on the red links to access each page of track notes,
tabs, lyrics, pictures and links to free-to-listen/download audio.
Different Windows was my first album, recorded originally on minidisc and released in 2000
on cassette and in 2001 on CD. All are now sold out, and there are no
plans for reissue.
My second album, Sleeping Dogs
Never Lie, released in Summer 2013, has all-new recordings
of ten songs and two instrumentals as the main album, and also includes
the whole of the Simplicity Suite,
a collection of short and easy pieces in classical style. These
are useful teaching or practice material, and nice enough to play in public.
Some additional tracks, currently mostly in demo form, can be heard via
this SoundClick
music page; tabs and links for some of them may appear here
on Travelling Records in due course.
All constructive comments on the tab are welcome. I have also put up some tabs for my own arrangements of some well known songs and instrumentals on a Secret Tabs page... yes, that link should take you there... Ssshh!
I am happy for my songs and instrumentals to be performed by anyone, anywhere,
in any style, with two provisos:
1. that an honest attempt is made to represent the spirit of the song
fairly; and
2. that I am credited by name for it, for example, "This is a song
by Heather Enid Wells".
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