MR SOLOMONS SAID
One day Mr Solomons said
There was a little black cloud over your head
Anyway you’ve received a threat
Or so he understands
I’m a country lad but I see it too
How much it’s got to you
And now you’re slipping down
Into the shadowlands
My life’s the fighting game
I keep my cool, I stay the same
We never mind how bad it is
In fact we like all your
Showbiz shenanigans
And Jack wants to help you out
Is what it’s all about
With Mr Solomons
We like the flashbulbs, pop, pop, pop
All the razzamatazz
We like the big nights, the West End lights
And all of that jazz
And you can bet
Jack is never going back
To Frying Pan Alley
You can bet Jack is never going back
To Frying Pan Alley
He signed me as a prospect, see
Then something let go in my knee
But I’m no clapped out punchateer
Like some of the other ones
Promoting’s all about the gate
Information’s worth its weight
I’m the eyes and ears and it’s great
With Mr Solomons
Daytimes I’ll make the rounds
In every caff and every pub In this part of town
There’s a mug or a pug
And always someone blathering
It’s gossip calypso all day long
Who’s the money going on
Who’s been training wrong
Got hurt or struggling
Well I might have a couple with a cornerman
The one with the sponge and bucket
I’ve maybe got a bottle for a club doorman
Tickets for a waitress in my pocket
She said ‘It’s me or the ring, Jack’ years ago
So he swapped his gloves for Savile Row
Jack’s no pushover though
He likes that story told
Behind the pinstripe buttonhole
Behind the yellow rose
Beats a heart of gold
Now he’s got me something new
Which is to look out for you
I said, ‘I’d be happy to, Mr Solomons’
One day Mr Solomons said
‘London, son, we have got some hard pavements’
There’s more to the man than the motto read
On the wall above his head
‘Winners win, losers make their own arrangements’
You can bet Jack is never going back
To Frying Pan Alley
Yeah, you can bet Jack is never going back
To Frying Pan Alley
You can bet Jack is never going back
To Frying Pan Alley
Yeah, you can bet Jack is never going back
To Frying Pan Alley
Guitars, Vocals: Mark Knopfler
Acoustic Guitar: Richard Bennett
Pedal Steel: Greg Leisz
Synths: Guy Fletcher
Piano: Jim Cox
Upright Bass: Glenn Worf
Drums: Ian ‘Ianto’ Thomas
Percussion: Danny Cummings
Backing Vocals: Emma Topolski, Tamsin Topolski
