Poem
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First Day In Church |
The First Time That I Went To Church |
The First Time |
This is a poem, written by the British poet Gordon Bailey. It was often performed by the British actor Nigel Goodwin, which is most likely how Larry became aware of it.
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Version 1 is a live recording from a concert in Hollywood. It is a poem with no musical accompaniment, and read with a mock English accent
On Street Level version 1 it is titled Poem On Street Level version 2, the Illegal Noise CD and the 2014 CD (SRDX-970) it is titled First Day In Church On Rough Street Love Letter and Street Level 2005 CD release (SRD-970) it is titled The First Time That I Went To Church On the Illegal Noise CD, the applause and preamble at the start are removed, as is the silence at the end |
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Version 2 is a live recording, performed during the UK Tourniquet tour in 2001
It is titled The First Time |
lyrics version 1
The first time that I went to church was on a Sunday morning
An’ from what I’d heard I figured I’d spend me whole time yawning
At eighteen years of age or so I thought I knew it all
Me hair was long, me jeans were tight. I loved a knife or buckle fight
Providing mates stood left and right and those we fought were small
But me mates and me we’d never been, so off to church we filed
We marched inside ‘bout three abreast, straight down the middle aisle
Ah some of us were smoking cigs, Ron was sucking candies
We sat in what they called a pew, then looked around to see just who would come inside
Let me tell you, everyone dressed like dandies
An’ the row behind was full o’ dames, you shoulda seen their looks
And one old dear, she gave me a smile and offered me some books
Ta! We opened them, passed them round, you shoulda seen the words
All set out like poetry is, the words put us in a tizz
And Fred says through his lemon fizz, these books is for the birds
Shhhhhh tchtchtchtchtchtch…..one old lady says, and the whole place buzzed
And Sam turns and says, oh do hush up, you make more noise than us
An’ we looked around the building then, it really was revealing
Sam says, hey mates, I get the score, there ain’t no carpets on the floor
An' see the rafters, they’re so poor they can’t afford a ceiling
Can’t afford electric either, using candles everywhere
Hey, coloured windows like me granny’s, at the bottom of her stairs
Shut your face I says to Sammy, I’m for listening, so is Ron
Then from the left without a noise, came a line of little boys
And Sam says in a puzzled voice, coo they’ve all got nighties on
Ah well then, then came men in robes and banners
Look at that one, must be queer
Then they dare condemn us for the way we choose our gear
Aye, and then there’s the minister, you know whose job’s to preach
The minister what’s his name
Those real long prayers and what he preaches, sounds just about the same
Ah, I came to church to listen, close, but I can’t dig the chat
Ah, he’s like [mumble] shifting sinking sand
And words like, ah judgement and reprimand
Well me and me mates don’t understand a language quite like that
I’m used to talking with me mates in words that have a meaning
But that there church was just about the weirdest place I’ve been in
If people like that kind of stuff, well let them, that’s ok
But let me tell you what I feel
I feel we need someone who’ll deal in words and thoughts
And things that’s real, I’d listen to what he’d say
Me mum once said, son, Jesus came to help young men like you
But Jesus came so long ago mum, an’ I don’t think it’s true
But is there someone here who can explain to me right now
Is Christ a myth, a madman’s whim
Em, some say that Christ can cure our sin
Is there a way to contact him, or will I die not knowing how
Listen, I only came to church to see if they could offer hope
But everything that happened there was way outside my scope
You know like afterwards, outside, there was a beggar on the grass
He held his hand out to the people, they’d smile, then they’d pass
I’m sure he reached for something real, for something more than cash
He begged them for a little cheer, an’ they all pretended not to hear
I get the message loud and clear
Church is middle class
An’ from what I’d heard I figured I’d spend me whole time yawning
At eighteen years of age or so I thought I knew it all
Me hair was long, me jeans were tight. I loved a knife or buckle fight
Providing mates stood left and right and those we fought were small
But me mates and me we’d never been, so off to church we filed
We marched inside ‘bout three abreast, straight down the middle aisle
Ah some of us were smoking cigs, Ron was sucking candies
We sat in what they called a pew, then looked around to see just who would come inside
Let me tell you, everyone dressed like dandies
An’ the row behind was full o’ dames, you shoulda seen their looks
And one old dear, she gave me a smile and offered me some books
Ta! We opened them, passed them round, you shoulda seen the words
All set out like poetry is, the words put us in a tizz
And Fred says through his lemon fizz, these books is for the birds
Shhhhhh tchtchtchtchtchtch…..one old lady says, and the whole place buzzed
And Sam turns and says, oh do hush up, you make more noise than us
An’ we looked around the building then, it really was revealing
Sam says, hey mates, I get the score, there ain’t no carpets on the floor
An' see the rafters, they’re so poor they can’t afford a ceiling
Can’t afford electric either, using candles everywhere
Hey, coloured windows like me granny’s, at the bottom of her stairs
Shut your face I says to Sammy, I’m for listening, so is Ron
Then from the left without a noise, came a line of little boys
And Sam says in a puzzled voice, coo they’ve all got nighties on
Ah well then, then came men in robes and banners
Look at that one, must be queer
Then they dare condemn us for the way we choose our gear
Aye, and then there’s the minister, you know whose job’s to preach
The minister what’s his name
Those real long prayers and what he preaches, sounds just about the same
Ah, I came to church to listen, close, but I can’t dig the chat
Ah, he’s like [mumble] shifting sinking sand
And words like, ah judgement and reprimand
Well me and me mates don’t understand a language quite like that
I’m used to talking with me mates in words that have a meaning
But that there church was just about the weirdest place I’ve been in
If people like that kind of stuff, well let them, that’s ok
But let me tell you what I feel
I feel we need someone who’ll deal in words and thoughts
And things that’s real, I’d listen to what he’d say
Me mum once said, son, Jesus came to help young men like you
But Jesus came so long ago mum, an’ I don’t think it’s true
But is there someone here who can explain to me right now
Is Christ a myth, a madman’s whim
Em, some say that Christ can cure our sin
Is there a way to contact him, or will I die not knowing how
Listen, I only came to church to see if they could offer hope
But everything that happened there was way outside my scope
You know like afterwards, outside, there was a beggar on the grass
He held his hand out to the people, they’d smile, then they’d pass
I’m sure he reached for something real, for something more than cash
He begged them for a little cheer, an’ they all pretended not to hear
I get the message loud and clear
Church is middle class
lyrics version 2
The first time that I went to church was on a Sunday morning
An’ from what I’d heard I figured I’d spend me whole time yawning
At eighteen years of age or so I thought I knew it all
Me hair was long, me jeans were tight, I loved a knife or buckle fight
Providing mates stood left and right and those we fought were small
But me and me mates we’d never been, so off to church we filed
We marched inside ‘bout three abreast, straight down the middle aisle
An' some of us were smoking cigs, Ron was sucking candies
We sat in what they called a pew, and looked around to see just who would come inside
Let me tell you, everyone dressed like dandies
An’ the row behind was full o’ dames, you shoulda seen their looks
And one old dear, she gave me a smile and offered me some books
Ta I said. We opened and passed 'em round, you shoulda seen the words
All set out like poetry is, the words just put us in a tizz
And Fred says through his lemon fizz, these books are for the birds
Shhhhhh tchtchtchtchtch…..one old lady says, and the whole place kind of buzzed
And Sam turns round says, oh do hush up, you make as much noise as us
We looked around the building, it really was quite revealing
Sam says, hey mates, get the score, there ain’t no carpets on the floor
An' see the rafters, they’re so poor they can’t afford a ceiling
Can’t afford electric either, using candles everywhere
Hey, coloured windows like me granny’s, at the bottom of the stairs
You can tell I've seen a lot of British movies and thought this, this was what it was all about, and thought I could even do an accent. Hahahaha
Shut your face I says, Sammy, I’m for listening, so is Ron
Then from the left without a noise, came a line of little boys
And Sam says in a puzzled voice, coo they’ve all got nighties on
Well then came men in robes and banners
Look at that one, must be queer
And they dare condemn us for the way we choose our gear
And then there’s him whose job’s to preach
The minister, you know what’s his name
Those real long prayers and what he preaches, sounded just about the same
I came to church to listen close, but I can’t dig the chat
It’s like eh [mumble] shifting sinking sands
And words like judgement and reprimand
Well me and me mates don’t understand language quite like that
I’m used to talking with me mates with words what have a meaning
But that there church was just about the weirdest place I’ve been in
If people like that kind of stuff, well let them, that’s ok
But let me tell you what I feel
I feel we need someone who’ll deal in words and thoughts
And things what’s real, I’d listen to what he’d say
Me mum once said, son, Jesus came to 'elp young men like you
But Jesus came so long ago mum, I don’t think it’s true
Is there someone here who can explain to me right now
Is Christ a myth, a madman’s whim
Some say that Christ can cure our sin
Is there a way to contact him, or will I die not knowing how
Listen, I only came to church to see if they could offer 'ope
But everything that happened there was just outside my scope
You know like afterwards outside, there was a beggar on the grass
He'd hold his hand out to the people, an' they’d smile and then they’d pass
I’m sure he reached for something real, for something more than cash
He begged them for a little cheer, an’ they all pretended not to hear
But I got the message loud and clear
Church is middle class
An’ from what I’d heard I figured I’d spend me whole time yawning
At eighteen years of age or so I thought I knew it all
Me hair was long, me jeans were tight, I loved a knife or buckle fight
Providing mates stood left and right and those we fought were small
But me and me mates we’d never been, so off to church we filed
We marched inside ‘bout three abreast, straight down the middle aisle
An' some of us were smoking cigs, Ron was sucking candies
We sat in what they called a pew, and looked around to see just who would come inside
Let me tell you, everyone dressed like dandies
An’ the row behind was full o’ dames, you shoulda seen their looks
And one old dear, she gave me a smile and offered me some books
Ta I said. We opened and passed 'em round, you shoulda seen the words
All set out like poetry is, the words just put us in a tizz
And Fred says through his lemon fizz, these books are for the birds
Shhhhhh tchtchtchtchtch…..one old lady says, and the whole place kind of buzzed
And Sam turns round says, oh do hush up, you make as much noise as us
We looked around the building, it really was quite revealing
Sam says, hey mates, get the score, there ain’t no carpets on the floor
An' see the rafters, they’re so poor they can’t afford a ceiling
Can’t afford electric either, using candles everywhere
Hey, coloured windows like me granny’s, at the bottom of the stairs
You can tell I've seen a lot of British movies and thought this, this was what it was all about, and thought I could even do an accent. Hahahaha
Shut your face I says, Sammy, I’m for listening, so is Ron
Then from the left without a noise, came a line of little boys
And Sam says in a puzzled voice, coo they’ve all got nighties on
Well then came men in robes and banners
Look at that one, must be queer
And they dare condemn us for the way we choose our gear
And then there’s him whose job’s to preach
The minister, you know what’s his name
Those real long prayers and what he preaches, sounded just about the same
I came to church to listen close, but I can’t dig the chat
It’s like eh [mumble] shifting sinking sands
And words like judgement and reprimand
Well me and me mates don’t understand language quite like that
I’m used to talking with me mates with words what have a meaning
But that there church was just about the weirdest place I’ve been in
If people like that kind of stuff, well let them, that’s ok
But let me tell you what I feel
I feel we need someone who’ll deal in words and thoughts
And things what’s real, I’d listen to what he’d say
Me mum once said, son, Jesus came to 'elp young men like you
But Jesus came so long ago mum, I don’t think it’s true
Is there someone here who can explain to me right now
Is Christ a myth, a madman’s whim
Some say that Christ can cure our sin
Is there a way to contact him, or will I die not knowing how
Listen, I only came to church to see if they could offer 'ope
But everything that happened there was just outside my scope
You know like afterwards outside, there was a beggar on the grass
He'd hold his hand out to the people, an' they’d smile and then they’d pass
I’m sure he reached for something real, for something more than cash
He begged them for a little cheer, an’ they all pretended not to hear
But I got the message loud and clear
Church is middle class