Richard Thompson , from Rumour and Sigh .
Just a song, that's all.
Oh says Red Molly to James "That's a fine motorbike.
A girl could feel special on any such like"
Says James to Red Molly "My hat's off to you
It's a Vincent Black Lightning, 1952.
And I've seen you at the corners and cafes it seems
Red hair and black leather, my favourite colour scheme"
And he pulled her on behind and down to Boxhill they did ride
Oh says James to Red Molly "Here's a ring for your right hand
But I'll tell you in earnest I'm a dangerous man.
For I've fought with the law since I was seventeen,
I robbed many a man to get my Vincent machine.
Now I'm 21 years, I might make 22
And I don't mind dying, but for the love of you.
And if fate should break my stride
Then I'll give you my Vincent to ride"
"Come down, come down, Red Molly" called Sergeant McRae
"For they've taken young James Adie for armed robbery.
Shotgun blast hit his chest, left nothing inside.
Oh come down, Red Molly to his dying bedside"
When she came to the hospital, there wasn't much left
He was running out of road, he was running out of breath
But he smiled to see her cry
He said "I'll give you my Vincent to ride"
Says James "In my opinion, there's nothing in this world
Beats a 52 Vincent and a red headed girl.
Now Nortons and Indians and Greeves won't do,
Ah, they don't have a soul like a Vincent 52"
Oh he reached for her hand and he slipped her the keys
Said "I've got no further use for these.
I see angels on Ariels in leather and chrome,
Swooping down from heaven to carry me home"
And he gave her one last kiss and died
And he gave her his Vincent to ride.
For just a song, it definitely is a beautiful one.......and has made it into my permanent playlist......a memory to keep.
ReplyDeleteEver seen one of these up close Souby? How does it compare to ,say, a '49 Indian?
ReplyDeleteGreat song from a great Album...
Steve, check the new link out!
ReplyDeleteThe '49 Indian? a 440cc Scout?
Or the 1200cc extremely overweight Chief?
I confidently say the Vincent would eat them both for breakfast, then ask for more. The Black Lightning was built for performance. Straight out of the box, it was the fastest production bike in the world. And it held that title from 1948 to 1972, despite the fact that Vincent ceased production in 1955.
They were sold in the U.S. through Indian, in fact, and took the motorcycle speed record from Harley in 1948.
Indians however. Last autumn I visited a Steam Rally... Traction engines, a steam driven fairgroung, classic bikes, trucks, cars, tractors.... Tractor pulling... Great fun.. Alas, no pics.
There was a Black Lightning there, also two Black Shadows, which were the Lighning's slightly less powerful sibling. They make a delicious noise.
There were also Indians there, a little flock of red scouts, earning their living, despite being of 1926 vintage. The Hell Riders Wall of Death. http://www.thegalloper.com/backstories/0604wall.html
They love the Indians, say they'll keep going forever.
great batch of info... it always pisses me off when I meet someone that is a parcel of information, and it ticks me off to no end when they are able to prsent things in such bizzaree fashion and I hate it that there is someone that has a musical ear and taste that i cannot compare to,...and who admits to being verbose... I can't stand it when someone is able to pick at themselves even more harshly than I pick at myself... so you don't mind that I add you to my bleedin link list do you?
ReplyDeleteSteve, Thanks for the words. I probably like some absolutely crap music too.
ReplyDeleteI've always been a mine of useless information. And I've had random access memory, -longer than computers have had it.
Alas, random. Not reliable.
Handy for turning up oddities.
But more often unable to locate stuff at the moment when I really need it.
Link freely, and with my thanks... I confess I linked to you and others without asking... Or I think I did? Memory fails me.
To be verbose is to be equally cursed and blessed.