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The Jazz Butcher Lyrics Angels

Lyrics

Angels
International caller on my line;
Tomorrow's just another distance.
Put in a call to a friend of mine
Just to say hello
But
What if there were angels?
Oh, sometimes i swear that I can see them there:

Making jokes and wearing black
And speaking English just like me;
Bright and kind and young and good,
So come on, you,
I know that we could still be that way.
What do you say?

It's two a.m. and I'm feeling fine,
Staying up late with these men of mine.
I've seen the angels and the things they do and every one
Just makes me think of you.
So come on.

Making jokes and wearing black
And wearing black and wearing black
And they're right and good and wearing black
And just like you
And
Always on my mind.
Just the whole time.
Angels

I can see them.
Here they come now.
There's thousands of them.
They're bearing you up.
They're holding you up.
I want to hold you in my arms.

Found On

Buy These Records
Distressed Gentlefolk
We were deeply confused young men when we made this record. Max, Jones and I had all been drinking dangerously for over a year now. Generally, we had it down in concert. In just about every other department, however, we were coming to bits, individually and collectively, and to me this record actually shows the morbid state of things at the time.
Purchase Now
( at www.amazon.com )
[Distressed Gentlefolk cover thumbnail]
Angels
[Angels cover thumbnail]
Unconditional
One of the better Creation-era compilations. Canadian release.
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Western Family
For loonie completists only, for sure, though, if you listen through the muck, you'll see that we did our bit.
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( CD live )
Draining The Glass
Glass Records era compilation.
Purchase Now
( at www.amazon.com )
[Draining The Glass cover thumbnail]
Angels
B/W Still In The Kitchen
[Angels cover thumbnail]
( BigTime 7" single Australia )
The Wasted Years
This item will be released on October 20, 2017.

Featuring ‘Bath Of Bacon’, ‘A Scandal In Bohemia’, ‘Sex And Travel’ and ‘Distressed Gentlefolk’.

Purchase Now
( at thejazzbutcher.bandcamp.com )
[The Wasted Years cover thumbnail]
( Fire Records 4xCD compilation UK )

Insight

The Butcher Says..
Written on the morning that news broke about Reagan's bombing of Tripoli.
This is still one of my favourites. I wrote it in 1986 (the day they bombed Tripoli, in fact) about things that would only come to pass three years later. Or something. Oh God, I never make any sense when I start to talk about this tune. The lyrics just showed up, like automatic writing or something. I love it anyway, and I hope you love it too.
Source: Unconditional liner notes

Live Stats

101 documented performances (click to explore)
1985 1 (JBC)
1986 7 (JBC)
1987 22
1 (Pat Solo)
21 (JBC)
1988 7 (JBC)
1989 14
4 (Pat Solo)
10 (JBC)
1990 5 (JBC)
1991 3 (JBC)
1992 17 (JBC)
1993 7
4 (Pat Solo)
3 (JBC)
1994 3 (JBC)
1995 1 (JBC)
1997 2 (JBC)
1998 1 (JBC)
1999 7
1 (Pat Solo)
6 (JBC)
2005 1 (Pat Solo)
2009 2 (JBC)
2011 1 (Pat Solo)

Media

Official Video
30 Second Teaser
4 Recorded Live Performances
1989-11-06 J.C. Dobbs - Philadelphia, USA
Credit: Brian Kelly
1997-09-19 Bob & Anne's Wedding - Seattle, USA
Credit: David Whittemore
1992-05-09 El Mocambo - Toronto, Canada
Credit: David Whittemore
1989-11-28 Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, Canada (West Coast '89 Cassette)
Visitor Feedback
Visitors' recent comments for this page [Read all 13 comments] [Add your own]
  • Video Version
    Scottlebowski[at]-remove-gmail.com - C.C. 95
    12Dec2016 1:31 PM (250 days 19 hours ago)
    Video Version is a truncated version of the song...
    And in my opinion, the edit removes all the build and punch that the full version has. (For maximum impact)
    A gorgeous tune.
  • angels
    annakin40[at]-remove-tiscali.co.uk - mark smith, braintree
    1Dec2008 7:54 AM (8 years 264 days ago)
    absolutely amazing track, i lost the original in a house fire and would love to get a copy
  • funny?
    jgibbin[at]-remove-adelphia.net - want
    8Feb2007 1:26 PM (10 years 195 days ago)
    funny, I made a somewhat similarly obscure connection with "Wings of Desire"
  • lynch, soul coughing, modest mouse
    clentlocon[at]-remove-gmail.com - clentlocon, tacoma
    1Apr2006 10:02 PM (11 years 143 days ago)
    "workin' on leavin the livin'" off the album "building nothing out of something" by modest mouse also contains the lyric "in heaven, everything is fine," with the addition "in heaven everything's alright.
    some vague connections to lynch and soul coughing: the girl in the furnace who sings "in heaven.." looks somewhat familiar to a girl on the cover of "ruby vroom" an ablum of soul coughing. i've found intuitive connections between this album and "mulholland drive" i.e. references to los angeles and cadillacs "overturning down a cliff on televsision." these connections are more subliminal, or superliminal at that, but interesting none the less.
  • Angels - the video
    Griffon - Michigan
    27Oct2005 8:43 PM (11 years 299 days ago)
    The video for Angels was memorable - black & white if I recall. I wonder if it's viewable on the web these days.