or maybe not?

"Neil Hannon, The Divine Comedy, has teamed up with Dublin singer Thomas Walsh to record a whole album of cricket songs, called The Duckworth Lewis Method.

Anything by Neil Hannon has to be worth listening to. Some people still don't realise none of his songs are meant to be serious.

I agree. I love the divine comedy.

But its hard to get by when your arse is the size
Of a small country.

One of his best:

Back at the house a bottle is found
And opened in honour of those who have drowned
While we who have not are stricken with guilt
And dutifully see that not one drop is spilt

We're drinking to life, were drinking to death
We're drinking till none of our livers are left
We're winding our way down to the spirit store
We'll drink till we just cant drink any more

Raise your glasses high!
Drink the cellar dry!

Well bloody my nose and blacken my eye
If it aint some young punk in search of a fight
And shaunticles chest is sagging with pride
For honour has yet to be satisfied

Well heaven be thanked we live in an age
Where no man need bother except on the stage
With dulce et decorum est pro patria mori
And definitely not tonight...

I can still remember
When I was just a kid
I was free to do what I wanted to
But never ever did
And now with years of discretion reached may we not forget
Liberte egalite fraternite
For theres life in the old world yet

There'll always be an england
An ireland and our france
A lichtenstein and finland
For we have only one chance

Then this young man with an unhealthy tan
Puts a drink in my hand and says I understand
You're in search of a place to continue the chase
Of the heavenly taste I suggest in that case
That you all come with me to my place by the sea
Where the glasses shall be overflowing with free
Alcoholic delights (and free love if you like)
For what point has this life if you cant realise your dreams?

Raise your glasses high!
Drink the town dry!

We'll drink beyond the boundaries of sense
We'll drink till we start to see lovely pink elephants
Inside our heads, inside our beds, inside ? ? ? ?
So dont shoot till you see the reds of our eyes
And an army of elephants marching behind
From the night I was born till the day I will die
All my lovers will be pink and elephantine!

You know what I like about those lyrics? They actually make sense without requiring a doctorate in guesswork to understand them.
And no repetitions!

My favourite:

Im the darkness in the light
Im the leftness in the right
Im the rightness in the wrong
Im the shortness in the long
Im the goodness in the bad
Im the saneness in the mad
Im the sadness in the joy
Im the gin in the gin-soaked boy

Im the ghost in the machine
Im the genius in the gene
Im the beauty in the beast
Im the sunset in the east
Im the ruby in the dust
Im the trust in the mistrust
Im the trojan horse in troy
Im the gin in the gin-soaked boy

Im the tigers empty cage
Im the mysterys final page
Im the strangers lonely glance
Im the heros only chance
Im the undiscovered land
Im the single grain of sand
Im the christmas morning toy
Im the gin in the gin-soaked boy

Im the world youll never see
Im the slave youll never free
Im the truth youll never know
Im the place youll never go
Im the sound youll never hear
Im the course youll never steer
Im the will youll not destroy
Im the gin in the gin-soaked boy

Im the half-truth in the lie
Im the why not in the why
Im the last roll of the die
Im the old school in the tie
Im the spirit in the sky
Im the catcher in the rye
Im the twinkle in her eye
Im the jeff goldblum in the fly

Who am i?

These songs aren't meant to be serious?

Well, none except perhaps national Express.

What I meant was people are going to look for a meaning in something like Gin Soaked boy when there patently isn't any.

There was a lot of 'comedy' in the earlier records, but Regeneration was perhap the first 'serious' record. Those since, are probably a mix of the two.

Hannon left the Divine Comedy behind for 5 minutes, went over to France, and came back with this absolute gem. Now THIS might make it to my top 20.

I thought it was about Salty