The Jazz Butcher

Lyrics

D.R.I.N.K.
I'm broken-hearted
With all that this entails
It takes some concentrated drinking
To keep me on the rails
I have to hide my face
I have to hide my shame
I don't wait 'til I'm sober
'Til I get drunk again
I drink at home
I drink out
I drink in cocktail bars
Falling down
Seeing stars
It suits me
It suits me
Going astray
In all the bars from here to Mandalay
They never close
We never pay

Chorus:

My oh my
We can't compete
It's only heavy drinking that keeps us on our feet
My oh my
I can't complain
If it weren't for heavy drinking
We'd never play Sweet Jane (Lou Reed)
My my my, oh my
The days go by
I never quite forget her
But goodness how I try
Believe me
Believe me
Falling apart in bars
I like to suffer for my art
Just one more before we part


Don't want to think
About how much I drink
It's a habit that's out of control
Hope I never get dry before I get old.

Trombone (trombone solo)

Chorus

Don't want to think
About how much I drink
It's a habit that's out of control
Hope I never get dry (before you get)
Hope I never get dry now (before you get)
Hope I never get dry before I get old... mmmmm... mmmm

Found On

Buy These Records
[Roadrunner cover thumbnail]
Glass Records 12er
The Gift Of Music
This record collects together the various singles that have been issued in England to date under the much-abused name of the Jazz Butcher, to wit: me. I rather like having them all in one place like this - it makes for a nice, noisey muck-it-up sort of disc that is ideal for leisure time at home, on the beach, in you local club.... hell, ANYWHERE!!!
[The Gift Of Music cover thumbnail]
Glass Records
Bloody Nonsense
The Jazz Butcher and his group are not in the business of belonging; they are too old and too obstreperous to conform to some attention-seeking image or commercially viable formula. Rather, they bring their not inconsiderable talents to bear on whatever happens to be in the way at the time. The results can only be described as essential.
[Bloody Nonsense cover thumbnail]
BigTime
Draining The Glass
Glass Records era compilation.
Purchase Now
( www.amazon.com )
[Draining The Glass cover thumbnail]
Fire Records
[Glorious And Idiotic cover thumbnail]
ROIR CD
Dr Cholmondley Repents: A​-​sides, B​-​Sides and Seasides
Four CD box set gathering A-sides, the would-be hits along with B-sides, tangential 12-inch tracks (the C-sides), and an excellent session for Los Angeles radio station KCRW from 1989.

Includes over a dozen indie chart hits including ‘Southern Mark Smith’, ‘Girl Go’, ‘The Human Jungle’, ‘16 Years’ plus a host of truly eclectic Butcher tunes from his early Glass recordings through his time at Creation.

Purchase Now
( thejazzbutcher.bandcamp.com )
[Dr Cholmondley Repents: A​-​sides, B​-​Sides and Seasides cover thumbnail]
Fire Records 4xCD

Live Stats

45 documented performances (click to explore)
1985 2 (JBC)
1986 3 (JBC)
1987 1 (JBC)
1995 1 (JBC)
1997 3 (JBC)
1998 1 (JBC)
1999 8 (JBC)
2000 11 (JBC)
2002 3 (JBC)
2012 2 (JBC)
2013 2 (JBC)
2014 6 (JBC)
2015 2 (JBC)

Media

30 second snippet
3 Recorded Live Performances
2014-08-20 NN Cafe - Northampton, England
Credit: Philip Snow
2002-06-16 Au Casino - Kortrijk, Belgium
Credit: Brian Kelly
1999-09-09 Troubador - Los Angeles, USA
Visitor Feedback
Visitors' comments for this page [Add your own]
  • trombone solo
    reset808[at]-remove-gmail.com - Martin phoneix AZ
    2Dec2010 4:49 PM (13 years 5 days ago)
    Does anyone want to give me the notes for that trombone solo?
  • drink chords
    ericj[at]-remove-rcip.com - Sacramento, CA USA
    22Dec2004 7:36 PM (18 years 351 days ago)
    thankee thankee thankee for the chords. Several folks in the local scooter club are butcher fans, and at the next camping rally I'm going to c(h)orral (--groan--) them into a drunken version of DRINK. I was dreading having to spend countless hours figuring out the crazy jazz chords, but it turns out that they aren't all that crazy after all. I guess there's infinte room for complicating things using passing chords, but I reckon I'll be somewhat, er, impaired when it comes down to it. Thanks again. cheers, -eric.
  • DRINK news
    zarathud23[at]-remove-mac.com - Chicago
    3Aug2004 8:37 PM (19 years 127 days ago)
    The Asylum Street Spankers have been convering this live for a while now, and put it on their latest CD as well- they do it well, check it out!
  • yer chords
    12Jun2002 2:44 PM (21 years 180 days ago)
    here are the chords:

    first part: E - Emaj7 - Ab - A - C7
    second part: E - C# - C9 - F#m7 - B9

    *in the first part, the E to the Emaj7 go together quickly - it's that
    little intro part, and the Emaj7 can be omitted when you repeat the line.

    *in the second part, the F#m7 - B9 combo is repeated a few times.