(1) Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes (6:39)

[shangri la 1]

.

Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes

LYRICS
Laughs and jokes
And drinks and smokes
And no lights on the stairs
We were young, so young
And always broke
Not that we ever cared
Not that we ever cared

Well, the holes in the walls
Were such a lot
Welcome to London town
But when you’re new to it all
And you think you’re hot
You’re not planning on hanging around
People would go on their different ways
I left to start a band
A note came through the letter box
In your childlike hand

Oh, laughs and jokes
And drinks and smokes
And no lights on the stairs
We were young, so young
And always broke
Not that we ever cared
Not that we ever cared

One day I rode to where you were
The doorbell jangled a note
They buzzed me in
I climbed the stairs
In my boots and leather coat
There’s an old brass
Standing there at the top
Without her witch’s broom
It almost seemed like a knocking shop
When the girls came out of their rooms

And they all stood around
And stared at me
Two brunettes and a blonde
Then the old brass shrugged and said
We don’t know where she’s gone
Later on I picked up the ball
And I took off down the line
I suppose by then I’d realised
You’d run into hard times

Oh, laughs and jokes
And drinks and smokes
And no lights on the stairs
We were young, so young
And always broke
Not that we ever cared
Not that we ever cared

[border_reiver]

I hear a small part of "Lily of the west".

[LoveExpresso]

Exactly!

LE

[Dutchessy]

I hear a small part of "Lily of the west".

Yes, and Kingdom of Gold / Border Reiver parts

[dmg]

This is a great song.  Maybe my favourite, along with Basil.  Play-out is fantastic.  This will be very nice if done live.

[Ar (aka Enlight)]

It brought me a kind of " secondary waltz" feeling

[Dutchessy]

It brought me a kind of " secondary waltz" feeling

Much better than SW!

[Jules]

Funny, because for me it has some of "Border Reiver" and neither of the songs you mentioned...

I think this would be a great opener if MK wants...

It´s genius, that jazz opening, and then when the folk part comes, the bass and drums keep playing the jazz, so it´s mixed all along the track, wow!!!!

[border_reiver]

Agreed! It should make a nice opener thanks to the intro where MK can come out lastly, as always.

[foma]

Laughs and Jokes and Drinks and Smokes just added in my Tracker Chord Songbook: http://amarkintime.org/forum/index.php?topic=4152.0

[yontwocrows]

Man, you're fast!

[dmg]

It´s genius, that jazz opening, and then when the folk part comes, the bass and drums keep playing the jazz, so it´s mixed all along the track, wow!!!!

Yeah, it fools you into thinking you have a jazz number but then all of a sudden...  Like two for one!

[Nick14]

Really liked this on first listen - a bit different from Mark and blending jazz and folk - really worked. Good stuff.

[Lestroid]

I like the blend of folk music with the jazzy drums and guitar.  The folk melody sounds very melancholy and wistful, in contrast to the drums and guitar which is very upbeat.  To me the folk melody represents Mark's life and friends in Newcastle while the drums represent his new life in London where he is focused on achieving his dreams.  The song starts off very upbeat, but then takes a sad turn when he learns that his friend (old lover?) has hit hard times.  But the jazzy beat keeps moving along, with the wistful folk melody in the background.  Kind of like his life must have been moving on at the time.  As with so many of MK's songs, you have to pay attention to the music to fully understand the lyrics.

[vgonis]

The intro reminded me of a slowed down Water of love. Nice one.