Nursery Crimes

Peregrine spied on a council estate
reciting nursery crimes.
Little Jack Horner's an Essex man
he wrote in the Sunday Times.

Mary had a little lamb
but now it's growing old.
She'd like to live in a council flat,
sadly, it's already been sold.

All things bright and beautiful
Johnny won't work any faster,
he cut his hand on the lathe
and there's blood seeping through the plaster.

Jack and Jill went up the hill
'cos they wouldn't let them in,
a policeman stopped them at the top
and asked them where they'd been.

Fashions come and labels go,
still; wealth remains in style.
The sign said; 'Do Not Trespass'.
Where are the rank and file?

The rich man is still in his castle
but there's trouble at the gate,
folk have had enough of this
and why should they have to wait?

Today I met an old man
who would not say his prayers,
struggling on his pension
he reckons nobody cares.

Bankers in their counting house
drooling over their money,
heard about redundancies
and thought it was so funny.

Humpty Dumpty had a pay cut
Little Bo Peep has lost her job,
Little Miss Muffet stood up and said:
"why don't we join that marching mob?"

Margaret Hilda quite contrary
how does your conscience rot?
Those unemployed were null and void
the folk that you forgot.

But we march along singing
as the red flag is unfurled.
My enemies might be dead
but I still want to change the world!


Capability Red             November 2015

Lay me to rest in your memories

Lay me to rest in your memories,
on a day without tomorrow.
Hotel 'Only Yesterday'
has no vacancies for sorrow.

These lines that you now read.
You can still hear flowing from my tongue.
In those days when you were younger.
And I was simply young.

The two of us wore No Entry signs,
back when we first met.
And you recall every moment:
Ha! Even what you wore, I bet.

I'll always be a part of you.
Don't imagine I have gone.
And don't waste money on flowers.
Or a grave to rest them on.

If there's life beyond, I'll let you know.
If not; c'est la vie. So:
Lay me to rest in your memories.
That's where I want to be.


Capability Red       September 2015

Flee From Ganymede

Let the sentinel lie buried.
Perishing not in the frozen depths.
So deep beneath icy terrains.
One day to warrant man's respect.
Oh. Flee, flee from Ganymede.
Before it's too late.
We will never return.
Flee, flee from Ganymede.
The rampant ice will surely burn.
One day in the future man will arrive.
To conquer the desolate barren waste.
That day, we too shall be alive.
To pass judgement on the human race.
Oh. Flee, flee from Ganymede.
Jupiter's child.
Metaphysical moon.
Flee, flee from Ganymede.
Lest man should discover a day too soon.


Capability Red     1979

When The Moon Explodes

When the moon explodes.
What are our children going to do?
When the moon explodes.
Their options will be precious few.
Wastefully wandering carelessly casually crawling around.
Melodramatically playing the parts that are dragging them down!
Day after night. After all: They are only an experiment.
And sooner or later to their creator they shall be sent.
When the moon explodes.
Are the mutants going to run amok?
When the moon explodes.
Will they recognize the tangent plot?
When the moon explodes!


Capability Red            1979

From My Lonely Hotel Room Window

There are no leaves on the trees, nests left abandoned.
No sound from that upright, solitary telegraph pole.
A pitiful view, as temporary as a lonely hotel room.
And I wish I could see a lovely red phonebox.
Where people once queued to dial a call.
All those busy people.
All those rustling leaves.
All those greenstick warblers.
Where have they all gone?


Capability Red           Dec 2014

Colin's Gone Camping

O'er hills, down the valleys,
day's breaking all around.
Can't see no shops or factories,
can't even feel a sound.
Got away from vans and lorries .
Left behind next week's worries.
Colin's gone campnig.

Soon we'll go walking,
heading out of the night.
It'll be morning.
No need to be right.
Shouldn't be any complications.
Can't see no tube stations.
Colin's gone camping.


Capability Red                1979

Commit No Nuisance

I was blinded by the shine of her cold metalic stare.
The place was swarming with uniforms, but nobody seemed aware.
She wasn't wearing those leather boots just to keep her legs warm.
I sensed an eerie atmosphere, just like the calm before the storm

We were all born naked and open mouthed.
But I find it easier to lie than to let my feelings out.
Sometimes I wonder where I'm going.
And I wonder where I've been.
I think that I've been here before.
Or, was it just a dream?

Jim was counting down the second hand on his second hand watch.
We'd been sleeping rough that night, I could have done with a wash.
There were so many people listening, I felt an itching in my brain.
And I was blinded by the shine. Oh no! Here I go again.

We were all born human, a little while ago.
Do you love your girlfriend? Do you let her know?
Sometimes I wonder where I'm going.
And I wonder where I've been.
I think I've met you before.
Or, was it in a dream?


Capability Red                 aprox  1975