Cooksferry Queen

Album: Mock Tudor (1999)
Play Video
  • Well, there's a house in an alley
    In the squats and low-rise
    Of a town with no future
    But that's where my future lies

    It's a secret, but no secret
    It's a rule, but no rule
    Where you find the darkest avenue
    There you'll find the brightest jewel

    Now my name, it is Mulvaney
    And I'm known quite famously
    People speak my name in whispers
    What higher praise can there be

    But I'd trade my fine mohair
    For tied-dyes and faded jeans
    If she wanted me some other way
    She's my Cooksferry Queen

    She gave me one pill to get bigger
    She gave me one pill to get small
    I saw snakes dancing all around her feet
    And dead men coming through the wall

    Well, I'm the prince of this parish
    I've been ruthless and I've been mean
    But she blew my mind as she opened my eyes
    She's my Cooksferry Queen, yeah

    Well, she's got every rare perfection
    All her looks beyond compare
    She's got dresses that seem to float in the wind
    Pre-raphaelite curls in her hair

    She could get the lame to walking
    She could get the blind to see
    She could make wine out of Thames river water
    She could make a believer out of me

    Yes, I'd trade it all tomorrow
    All the wicked things I've been
    She's my bright jewel of the alley
    She's my Cooksferry Queen

    Yes, I'd trade it all tomorrow
    All the wicked things I've been
    She's my bright jewel of the alley
    She's my Cooksferry Queen Writer/s: RICHARD JOHN THOMPSON
    Publisher: Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 2

  • Cliveo from LondonThis is a magnificent love song about a local hard man totally in thrall to a young woman, who most likely drank in the Cooks Ferry Inn, Edmonton (at which many bands possibly including Thompson/Fairport) played. The drug references- pills to make him big and small are a reference to Alice in Wonderland and metaphors to the effects on him of her good attention or a harsh word or ignoring him. To the singer the object of his desire wears "dresses that float in the wind" with "Pre-Raphaelite curls in her hair" (she's a hippy, and he would swap his smart clothes for tie-dyed shirts and jeans if she wanted). Even more, he says she can perform New Testament miracles, to the extent "she can make a believer out of me". It is a truly brilliant song.
  • David from Nottingham, United KingdomThe best guitarist in the world today. Watch a dozen of his songs on Youtube and tell me if you disagree!
see more comments

Editor's Picks

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

John Kay of Steppenwolf

John Kay of SteppenwolfSongwriter Interviews

Steppenwolf frontman John Kay talks about "Magic Carpet Ride," "Born To Be Wild," and what he values more than awards and accolades.

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17

Martyn Ware of Heaven 17Songwriter Interviews

Martyn talks about producing Tina Turner, some Heaven 17 hits, and his work with the British Electric Foundation.

Sugarland

SugarlandSongwriter Interviews

Meet the "sassy basket" with the biggest voice in country music.

Song Titles That Inspired Movies

Song Titles That Inspired MoviesSong Writing

Famous songs that lent their titles - and in some cases storylines - to movies.

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," Kiss

Director Paul Rachman on "Hunger Strike," "Man in the Box," KissSong Writing

After cutting his teeth on hardcore punk videos, Paul defined the grunge look with his work on "Hunger Strike" and "Man in the Box."