"A Small Cigar"

A small cigar can change the world
I know, I've done it frequently at parties
Where I've won all the guests' attention
With my generosity and suave gentlemanly bearing
A little flat tin case is all you need
Breast-pocket conversation opener
And one of those ciggie lighters that look rather good
You can throw away when empty
Must be declared a great success
My small cigars all vanish within minutes

Excuse me, mine host, that I may visit
A nearby tobacconist
To replenish my supply of small cigar

And make the party swing again

I know my clothes seem shabby
And don't fit this Hampstead soiree
Where unread copies of Rolling Stone
Well-thumbed Playboys
Decorate the hi-fi stereo record shelves
If you ask me they're on their way
To upper-middle-class oblivion
The stupid twits, they roll their only
One cigarette between them
My small cigar's redundant now
In the haze of smoking pleasure
Call it a day
Get the hell away
Go down the cafe
For a cup of real tea

By the tube station, there's a drunk old fool
Who sells papers in the rush hour
I hand to him ten small cigars

He smiles, says, ``Son, God bless you''

A small cigar
Has changed his world, my friend
A small cigar
Has changed the world again

A small cigar . . .

"Man Of Principle"

One day he'll walk from out of this place.
You'll see a quiet determination on his face.
He'll toe no lines. Suffer no fools.
But he'll raise three cheers to the losing team
from the other school.
A little dedication. A little pair of daddy's shoes to fill.
Compleat education. One day he'll be a man of principle.

And the battle's on. And he'll play to win.
Feel the blue blood rushing quick beneath his skin.
And grim they stand. And hard they fall.
Harder still, when their backs are up against the wall.
Gonna get your attention. But he's carrying his cross
to the other hill.

With divine intervention, he can be a man of principle.

In the evening light, with a fair-ground girl--
he stops himself as his head begins to whirl.
And he walks her home. And there's a kiss goodbye.
She feels a chill as she looks him in the eye.
Well, there's a time and a place now
and it's not tonight she'll bend his will.
Slow realization--she's looking at a man of principle.
Hung from the highest station by his old school tie--
undressed to kill
He could be a real sensation. But he's a man of principle.

"Commons Brawl"

All right and honorable gentlemen
And lady, too
Will kindly try to restrain themselves
In derring-do

As verbal hard graffiti flies
And echoes wall to wall
Our precious model of democracy
It's the House of Commons brawl

One member from some dark mill town
Furious did cry
Spittle froth from folded chin

To dim the lie

Let's serve this brief and list the rush
Of who's allowed catcalls
Let's finish this right here and now
At the House of Commons brawl

Kick, punch with the government
As with jackets off they fly heaven-bent
Scratch gouge with the other side
As the party firmly admit a fight

Another day in the lives of those
Who would guide us through
If all is prepped that we should
By their example do
But there again I think for less
For gyving to the wall

The wrong house but the right idea
To end the Commons brawl

To dim the lie

Let's serve this brief and list the rush
Of who's allowed catcalls
Let's finish this right here and now
At the House of Commons brawl

Kick, punch with the government
As with jackets off they fly heaven-bent
Scratch gouge with the other side
As the party firmly admit a fight

Another day in the lives of those
Who would guide us through
If all is prepped that we should
By their example do
But there again I think for less
For gyving to the wall

The wrong house but the right idea
To end the Commons brawl

"Drive On The Young Side Of Life"

Your mother she protected you
And softened every blow
And brought you up to fear the worst
To be careful as you go

And the learned educators
With drip-feed (thrifty?) facts to fill
You up to here with reason
Well-meaning overkill

If you find yourself a-growing
to be old before your time
Get off the endless corridor

Set your soul out on the line

Drive on the young side of life

When the pressure pains are building
And you're forced to join the crush
In the race to mediocrity
So respectable and plush

And while the child within is raging
And threatens to break out
Get off the endless corridor
Make a timely turnabout

Drive on the young side of life.