To Change The Mood A Little I’ve Been Posing Down The Pub

I think by now we are all agreed that this tour of various music genres that Jim is taking us on in his Song Lyric Sunday posts is causing us a little confusion at times. I am finding that with some genres there is a wide variety of songs and bands tagged with more than one genre. Some genres seem to have spanned decades and encompass very different music. Some genres seem to be interpreted very differently either side of the Atlantic. Nonetheless it is always fun to look for something different.

My search for “New Wave Music” yielded a long list of bands that I am very familiar with and some fantastic tracks. Eventually I opted for rather a fun song by a band called Squeeze. The track “Cool For Cats” features a rare vocal in full Cockney style from Chris Difford. I am not sure if some of the lyrics raised eyebrows back in the day, but my memory of it is the energy and humour packed into it.

Credits: Christopher Henry Difford and Glenn Martin Tilbrook

The Indians send signals from the rocks above the pass
The cowboys take position in the bushes and the grass
The squaw is with the corporal, she is tied against the tree
She doesn't mind the language, it's the beatin' she don't need
She lets loose all the horses when the corporal is asleep
And he wakes to find the fires dead and arrows in his hats
And Davy Crockett rides around and says it's cool for cats
It's cool for cats (Cool for cats)

The Sweeney's doing ninety 'cause they've got the word to go
To get a gang of villains in a shed up at Heathrow
They're counting out the fivers when the handcuffs lock again
In and out of Wandsworth with the numbers on their names
It's funny how their missus always looks the bleeding same
And meanwhile at the station, there's a couple of likely lads
Who swear like how's your father and they're very cool for cats
They're cool for cats (Cool for cats)

To change the mood a little, I've been posing down the pub
On seeing my reflection, I'm lookin' slightly rough
I fancy this, I fancy that, I wanna be so flash
I give a little muscle, and I spend a little cash
But all I get is bitter and a nasty little rash
And by the time I'm sober, I've forgotten what I've had
And everybody tells me that it's cool to be a cat
Cool for cats (Cool for cats)

Shape up at the disco when I think I've got a pull
I ask her lots of questions and she hangs onto the wall
I kiss her for the first time, and then I take her home
I'm invited in for coffee and I'll give the dog a bone
She likes to go to discos but she's never on her own
I said I'll see you later and I give her some old chat
But it's not like that on the TV when it's cool for cats
It's cool for cats (Cool for cats)

Ooh-ooh-ooh...

Cool for cats

Ooh-ooh-ooh...

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