37

I was running interference
I was coping with demand
And the litany of facts had me weeping on my back
As they all gathered in the yard

It got the better of me
That lyrical disdain
All the roses and the brass
And the discussions of the past
All that confusion in the rain

Thirty Seven Fishes in the snotgreen sea
Thirty Seven sugars in the old man’s tea
All the doves are here
And cooing love’s sweet song
Keep it all on lockdown till the doves have gone

..and god forbid that they should love me
And keep me company at night
God knows we all need a friend
And it’s as easy in the end
Just to erase or overwrite

Then a troubled intervention
By the broken, busted moon
But the smoulder in the wires
And the various small fires
Said it would all be over soon

Thirty Seven shovels gonna bury me
Thirty Seven windows where the doors should be
Everybody and his dog knows what went wrong
Count to Thirty Seven it will not take long

Thirty Seven fishes in the snotgreen sea
Thirty Seven sugars in the old man’s tea
All the doves are here
And cooing love’s sweet song
Keep it all on lockdown till the doves have gone

It’s a clumsy entertainment
All the hawks have got the floor
And the major takeaway
From that hideous display
We’re not eager to explore

One bloody thing after another
It’s numerical and clear
It’s just points upon a line
Which will disappear in time:
Nothing you can engineer

Thirty Seven sherberts and the band played on
Thirty Seven doves are cooing Love’s Sweet Song
Count to Thirty Seven as the wheels scrape round
Count to Thirty Seven and we all fall down

Thirty Seven fishes in the snotgreen sea
Thirty Seven windows where the doors should be
Thirty Seven’s hard enough to contemplate
Don’t know anyone who got to Thirty Eight…