Now you can do the watusi
You can do it if you try
Any puppy Dog or pussy
Can do the jerk or do the fly
Now you can do the wooly bully
But can you pull the wooly wooly
Can you wag, can you wag the dog

You got the shimmy and the hustle
It's all the rage downtown
Yeh, you don't have to have the muscle
To get into the mess around
'cos you can do the wooly bully
But can you pull the wooly wooly
Can you wag, can you wag the dog

So make him sit, make him stay
Come to heel, go to play
Roll him over, lie still
Make him go kill, attaboy
Wag that dog, baby

You have had the duck and mashed potato
Funky chicken on a roll
Move on up a little later
To the monkey and the stroll
Now you can do the wooly bully
But can you pull the wooly wooly
Can you wag, can you wag the dog

Now go bow, bow wow wow
Now go woof, woof woof woof
Yeh, that's right, wag the dog

The locomotion boogaloo
The hully gully and the limbo too
Wag that dog

Yeh, hitchhike for me baby
Now we're barefootin'
The funky funky penguin

That's the bug, and that's the frug
Yeh, but can you wag
Wag the dog, can you wag the dog
Wag the dog, can you wag the dog

Once a jolly swagman¹ camp'd by a billabong²
Under the shade of a coolibah³ tree
And he sang as he watch'd and waited till his billy boiled
″Who'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me?″

″Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″
And he sang as he watch'd and waited till his billy boiled
″You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″

Down came a jumbuck⁴ to drink at that billabong²
Up jump'd the swagman¹ and grabbed him with glee
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck⁴ in his tucker bag⁵
″You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″

″Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″
And he sang as he shoved that jumbuck⁴ in his tucker bag⁵
″You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″

Up came the squatter⁶ mounted on his thoroughbred
Down came the troopers, one, two, three
″Whose that jolly jumbuck⁴ you've got in your tucker bag⁵?
You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″

″Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″
Whose that jolly jumbuck⁴ you've got in your tucker bag⁵?
You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″

Up jump'd the swagman¹, sprang into the billabong²
″You'll never catch me alive,″ said he
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong²
″You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″

″Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″
And his ghost may be heard as you pass by that billabong²
″You'll come a' waltzing Matilda with me″

comments

¹ itinerant
² waterhole
³ type of eucalyptus
⁴ young sheep
⁵ food sack
⁶ property owner

Big black cloud
On a yellow plain
Sure enough it
Looks like rain
Packin' up all our
Faith and trust
Me and the wanderlust

Open window
Empty bed and chair
Who's that callin'
Ain't nobody there
I look behind me
And I see there's just
Me and the wanderlust

Dead of night
I had a dream
Sky was bright yes and the
Fields were green
I was down the road
In a cloud of dust
Me and the wanderlust

And I'm on the edge
Of an endless fall
Sure enough
He's come to call
Got to go now
Get on that bus
Me and the wanderlust

High and dry in the long hot day
Lost and lonely in every way
Got the flats all around me sky up above
I need a little water of love

I've been too long lonely and my heart feels pain
Crying out for some soothing rain
I believe I have taken enough
I need a little water of love

Water of love deep in the ground
No water here to be found
Some day baby when the river runs free
It'll carry that water of love to me

There's a bird up in a tree sitting up high
Waiting for me to die
If I don't get some water soon
I'll be dead and gone in the afternoon

Once I had a woman I could call my own
Once I had a woman now my woman is gone
Once there was a river now there's a stone
You know it's evil when you're living alone

comments

'Water Of Love' is an atmospheric tale of lost love. The lack of water is used as an allegory for the drying up of one's love life. In this song, the thirst for water is the thirst for love. 'Water Of Love' speaks of past love, present loneliness, the unnatural state of being alone, and the desire and hope for the return of love. This song is quite likely derived from, or at least, has elements of, Mark Knopfler's first marriage and divorce.

The spartan music of 'Water Of Love' reflects the aridness of the lyrical setting. The sparseness of the percussion in the beginning of 'Water Of Love' speaks of the emptiness of the desert reinforcing the idea that the singer is completely alone. Throughout the entire song, the percussions continue with no resonance, dry as a bone. In contrast, the guitar is sharp and filled with resonance, intensifying and proclaiming the pain of the singer.

We're old enough for leaving home
the old joanna and the old trombone
It's all going on
I'm growing my sideboard long
And you and we
can be who we want to be
Listen now, right here
It's going to be a beautiful year

They're calling it the teenage scence
and I have a dream
Don't know if I'll be a star
but I'm going to play guitar
I've seen this rocking cat
Oh, I want to be just like that
Listen now, right here
It's going to be a beautiful year

Hey, look at you, baby
Tell your daddy you're no child
Hey, look at you, baby
We can get wild

We'll be on our own
Billy Fury on the grammophone
Take you to be the pictures and a dance
Me in my drainpipe pants
Check the mirror and the old DA
And you can play on a day
Listen mow, right here
It's going to be a beautiful year

Hey, look at you, baby
Tell your daddy you're no child
Hey, look at you, baby
We can get wild

The drinking dens are spilling out
There's staggering in the square
There's lads and lasses falling about
And a crackling in the air
Down around the dungeon doors
The shelters and the queues
Everybody's looking for
Somebody's arms to fall into
And it's what it is
It's what it is now

There's frost on the graves and the monuments
But the taverns are warm in town
People curse the government
And shovel hot food down
The lights are out in city hall
The castle and the keep
The moon shines down upon it all
The legless and asleep

And it's cold on the tollgate
With the wagons creeping through
Cold on the tollgate
God knows what I could do with you
And it's what it is
It’s what it is now

The garrison sleeps in the citadel
With the ghosts and the ancient stones
High up on theparapet
A Scottish piper stands alone
And high on the wind
The highland drums begin to roll
And something from the past just comes
And stares into my soul

And it's cold on the tollgate
With the Caledonian Blues long version in place of the text above ¹
Cold on the tollgate
God knows what I could do with you
And it's what it is
It's what it is now
What it is
It's what it is now

♦ long version; additional lines: ²

There's a chink of light, there's a burning wick
There's a lantern in the tower
Wee Willie Winkie with a candlestick
Still writing songs in the wee wee hours
On Charlotte Street I take
A walking stick from my hotel
The ghost of Dirty Dick
Is still in search of Little Nell
And it's what it is
It's what it is now
Oh it’s what it is
What it is now

comments

This track was planned with two more lines originally (5:35). This version can be found on a Mexican promo (CDP 611-2).

¹ Let the drums beat the tatoo

² And the highwayman stands blowing
  On his fingers by the green
  I've walked inside his shoes before
  So I always buy his magazine
  He's with a local mystery with
  Blood stains on her hands
  But I like the way she winks at me
  I leave her with the highwayman

  And it's cold on the tollgate
  With the Caledonian Blues
  Cold on the tollgate
  God knows what I could do with you
  And it's what it is
  It's what it is now
  What it is
  It's what it is now

When you leave
There’s cordite in the air
A ringing in the stillness
Smoke drifting up the stair
When you leave

When you leave
My heart sounds in my ears
A beating in the darkness
A trace of you still here
When you leave
When you leave

Like it or not
How could I not have fallen for you?
And now that I’m caught
How could I not be blue?

When you leave
I’ll hear the smallest sound
And turn to look behind me
As though you’re still around
When you leave
When you leave

Maybe I’m bound to wander
From one place to the next
Heaven knows why
But in the wild blue yonder
Your star is fixed in my sky

Just another bar at a crossroads
So far from home
But that’s alright
Whenever I’m going down a dark road
I don’t feel alone in the night

There’s a place in my heart
Though we’re far apart
You always know
No matter how long since I saw you
I’ll keep a flame there for you
Wherever I go

They’re looking to close up in here
They’re pulling down the blinds
But they’ll let you stay awhile
They’re not going to mind

Now I’ve got to leave you, brother
So this round’s mine
Here’s looking at you, anyhow
You can go on and have another
They won’t call time
I’m going to say my goodbyes now

There’s a place in my heart
Though we’re far apart
May you always know
No matter how long since I saw you
I’ll keep a flame there for you
Wherever I go

The rock your stood upon
Is broken up and gone
Hey baby, who's your baby now
On the slipway of your dream
Stands someone else's scheme
Hey baby, who's your baby now

Your baby now, baby now
Your baby now, your baby now

The ancient trade you ply
Ain't enough to get you by
Hey baby, who's your baby now
The yard is locked and closed
The old guard has been deposed
Hey baby, who's your baby now

Your baby now, baby now
Your baby now, your baby now

You always had to be the kind
To have to say what's on your mind
And hey, you really showed 'em how
You used to laugh about
How you used to dish it out
But hey, who's laughing now

'Cos the rock you stood upon
Is broken up and gone
Hey baby, who's your baby now
Yeh the rock you stood upon
Is broken up and gone
Hey baby, who's your baby now

If I’m over the moon
It’s because I’m over you
A day at a time
And I’m tickety-boo
I don’t carry on
The way I used to
Whoop to doo
Whoop to doo

If I'm doing great
It’s because when I get home
I don’t go straight
To my answerphone
And the tears don't come
The way they used to
Whoop de do
Whoop de do

So many little things
are so much better now
they were only the little things
anyhow

if I’m over the moon
It’s because that’s what I am
Funny that once
I used to Give a damn
And I’d do anything
In the whole wide world for you
Whoop de doo
Whoop de doo

Anything
Anything you’d want me to
Whoop de doo
Whoop de doo

Stepping out to Angellucci's for my coffee beans
Checking out the movies and the magazines
Waitress she watches me crossing from the Barocco Bar
I'm getting a pickup for my steel guitar
I saw you walking out Shaftesbury Avenue
Excuse me for talking I wanna marry you
This is the seventh heaven street to me
Don't be so proud
You're just another angel in the crowd
And I'm walking in he wild west end
Walking with your wild best friend

And my conductress on the number nineteen
She was a honey
Pink toenails and hands all dirty with money
Greasy hair easy smile
Made me feel nineteen for a while
And I went down to Chinatown
In the backroom it's a man's world
All the money go down
Duck inside the doorway gotta duck to eat
Right now feels alright now
You and me we can't beat

And a gogo dancing girl yes I saw her
The deejay he say ″Here's Mandy for ya″
I feel alright to see her
But she's paid to do that stuff
She's dancing high I move on by
The close ups can get rough
When you're walking in the wild west end

comments

'Wild West End' is about reminiscences of walking through one's hometown. In this case, the West End of London. The town is filled with familiar sights, sounds, and other people, from the coffee shop to the bus, from Chinatown to the go-go dancers in a night club. The descriptive lyrics and the laid back rhythm guitar give the impression of a warm and friendly atmosphere. In the lyrics, there are two plays on words, 'My conductress on the number nineteen... made me feel nineteen for a while' and 'duck inside the doorway gotta duck to eat.' This song might, also, be seen from another perspective. The walk through the different scenes may be symbolic of a 'walk' through the man's life. At the start of the song, he is confident, joking with a girl, asking her to marry him. At the end of the song, his confidence seems to have gone, and he has to pay dancers at a club.
Musically, the persistent rhythm guitar gives the impression of strolling along the streets without any urgency. It creates the feeling of no timetable for the man in the song to keep.

We had no way of staying afloat
We had to leave on the ferry boat
Economic refugees
On the run to Germany
We had the back of Maggie's hand
Times were tough in Geordieland
We got wor tools and working gear
And humped it all from Newcastle to here

Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man

We're the nomad tribes, travelling boys
In the dust and dirt and the racket and the noise
Drills and hammers, diggers and picks
Mixing concrete, laying bricks
There's English, Irish, Scots, the lot
United Nation's what we've got
Brickies, chippies, every trade
German building, british-made

Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man

Nae more work on Maggie's farm
Hadaway down the autobahn
Mine's a portacabin bed
Or a bunk in a nissen hut instead

There's plenty deutschmarks here to earn
And German tarts are wunderschön
German beer is chemical-free
Germany's alreet with me
Sometimes I miss my river Tyne
But you're my pretty fraulein
Tonight we'll drink the old town dry
Keep wor spirit levels high

Why aye man, why aye, why aye man
Why aye man, why aye, why aye man