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Tunie: French Perfume

A list of 47 words by chained_bear.

About

By Great Big Sea on their CD "Sea of No Cares," 2002.

It's of a bold young smuggler
From Fortune he did sail
He rode the waves from St. Pierre
And he never saw the jail
He filled her up with contraband
Perfume, smokes and rum
He hoped the fog was thick enough
To make another run

Chorus:
You can still see the sight
On a winter's night
Of his wake in the light of the moon
If the wind turns right
If you don't take fright
You can smell that French perfume

But the Mountie boat was waiting
As he crawled near Mortier Bay
And when they hit the spotlight
It was like the light of day
He didn't bring her head round
When they told him to heave to
He opened up the engines
And he ran for Spanish Room

Chorus
They said they heard him laughing
With the Mounties closing in
His engines screaming murder
And his face set in a grin
The seagulls started lifting
Like an angry banshee choir
He hit the rocks at fifty clicks
And the sky lit up with fire

It's of a bold young smuggler
From Fortune he did sail
He rode the waves from St. Pierre
And he never saw the jail
And when it's cold and foggy
On the rocks near Spanish Room
They say you hear him laughing
And you smell that French perfume

Comments

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  • reesetee Okay, Bob does have a way with words. :-) Oct 10, 2007

  • chained_bear Mostly it's Bob Hallett whose lyrics do that to me. He is *such* a gifted man.

    Not that the others' songs aren't terrific... In fact I'm thinking of posting another one later today when I have time...

    Colleen, have you read his blog, "Bob's Soundtrack," at all? For a blog about music, it's rather on the literary side. Well, maybe that's going too far... but it's delightful to read and rather better written than many. Oct 10, 2007

  • reesetee They do have a way with words. Oct 10, 2007

  • colleen It is a gorgeous turn of phrase, yes. I do love GBS. :) Oct 10, 2007

  • chained_bear I love, love, love the phrase "the seagulls started lifting like an angry banshee choir." That's just one of the most beautiful and apt descriptions of anything I've ever heard.

    I'm easily amused... Oct 10, 2007

  • reesetee Uh oh, c_b. Another GBS fan. ;-) Oct 10, 2007

  • colleen Eee, I love this song. Awesome list. :) Oct 10, 2007

  • reesetee Excellent! :-D Oct 9, 2007