14 Dec 2009
I’ll tell you about the Cuban’s eight-foot stride
Quality Janitor is about old janitors/parkies/grandads who presumably “put Nick Straker on the floor” when the seventies one-hit-wonders went for a walk in the park and had a trip in the dark. Maybe. Anyway, I thought this one was going to be difficult when five correspondents sent in five quite different first lines, but it got easier from there on in. That line may generate some discussion though. Thanks to Grim, Grev, Swanaldo, gNick and Jon F
Stop Press: MP3 of August’s Roadwater gig now available, courtesy of Christos: download here (80Mb, right/ctrl-click)
10 Letters Sent:
John Anderson
I reckon you’ve got the first line right but I’m pretty sure it’s “tame old northerner…” rather than “same old northerner…”.
Dec 14th, 2009
Treadmore
it does sound like tame, rather than same
Dec 14th, 2009
s.g.d. a ShropshireLad
It says “get on my funbus” in the lyric book and “same old northerner” but the book is not always correct.
- s.g.d.
Dec 15th, 2009
Chris The Siteowner
Wow, who’d have guessed, nobody suggested “funbus”. But listening to it again, that’s exactly what it is, I think. And although the lyric book isn’t always right, I doubt it would be wrong when it comes to significant nouns. I’m still leaning to “same old Northerner”, and not just because of the book …it just makes more sense.
Dec 15th, 2009
Mr Larrington
I’d always imagined that the putting on the floor of Nick Straker was because the narrator punched Mr Straker very hard in the face, thereby making him fall over.
Dec 16th, 2009
John Anderson
I think “tame old Northerner” makes perfect sense when put into context with the “always got nothing to say” and “I’m always/never happy” lines.
I agree with Mr L that it refers to punching Nick Straker (presumably for the awful Walk In The Park).
And, by the by, I think “remember the five o’clock tea-time smell of the estate” is one of his most wonderfully evocative images.
Dec 17th, 2009
Charles Exford
This track always puts me in mind of the comic strips we used to read in the late 60s and early 70s, as well as the way these childhood characters were related to figures of fun in supposedly more adult from the likes of Carry On films and yer Benny Hills. There were endless variations in comics like Beezer, Wizzer and Chips and all those on characters like the Parkie:
http://www.toonhound.com/parkertheparky.htm
and the old codger:
http://www.toonhound.com/oldboy.htm
And as for the janitor, google reminds me of Big-Head Branny (The Strong-Arm Janny) from Cracker comic, and much later (after my time I think) B. Ware – Caretaker, from Buster…
So ‘funbus’ is a brilliant revelation and doesn’t surprise me at all – thanks, though precisely which character may have had an actual funbus I can’t recall.
It’s definitely ‘same’ to me . Yer plosives and fricatives are the most easily distorted on mic’s precisely because they frick and they explode, hence all that annoying “Two-two”ing at the sound check I supose.
The stock football song is: “ Same old (insert whoever you’re playing), always (insert whatever you don’t like about them – usually cheating – or else same old Shearer, always scoring, etc).”
And if there’s the husk of a footy song there, you can be pretty sure that’s what he’s adapting.
PS – Sheffield review still imminent Chris. But can we give comments about that Roadwater download too, ie firstly THANK YOU SO MUCH, that’s one of the best quality bootlegs I’ve ever had, what a great early Xmas pressie.
Dec 18th, 2009
Nigel Evans
So, if you didn’t think it was ‘funbus’ what were your alternatives???
I would go along with ’same’ too.
Dec 18th, 2009
Chris The Siteowner
The various suggestions which people had sent in were:
Get on my phone, because I’ll take you out for a ride
Get on my bum, cos I’ll take you all for a ride
Get on my bumpers, I’ll take you all for a ride
Get on my bunk cos I’ll take you all for a ride
Get on my bunk bus, I’ll take you all for a ride
…I’m sure the people who sent those in will recognise their own unique contributions.
Dec 22nd, 2009
Swanaldo
Umm, guilty of the ‘Bunk Bus’ thing I’m afraid. I thought it was in keeping with the imaginative Grandad character who could whip a hankie out of his pocket and immediately it became a pirate’s hat or mouse’s hammock. He’d have no problem making you believe your bunk was a bus, that’s for sure.
I’m never quite sure if this song is supposed to be a pastiche of This Charming Man/TheSmiths in general.
Dec 25th, 2009
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