The Ghost Of Al Capone-John Cooper Clarke

in a marble room I was alone

somewhere in the heart of rome through gardens long since overgrown down old arcades of broken stone I met the ghost of al capone


upon request for some i.d.

he said the guardian angels are working for me I called for a cop - he said stop or I shoot

one or two holes in your three piece suit I say... steady on old fruit. he told me not to be so cute

consider the river and the concrete boots the devil and the deep blue sea what you saw you didn't see

the guardian angels are working for me


the arms... the raving arms

and the hustle and the bustle - muscle in

I get sandwiched between the palms

the waving palms

and the banknotes rustle like an international language even the recession doesn't put him out of pocket

back in the depression - he made a profit a one-man crime wave - who can stop it? the aged william in his pocket


blackmail. blue films. narcotics... served with the style of a real neurotic and the easy smile of a true psychotic a sort of refugee from the heart of the apostolic sea

from one flat fee to another flat fee the hours are short and the money's free and the guardian angels are working for me


the arms... the raving arms

and the hustle and the bustle - muscle in

I get sandwiched between the palms

the waving palms

and the banknotes rustle like an international language I under pressure - suggested it

why not confess and quit you're thirty-nine sir and less than fit he took my false address and split

by the dirt roads, through the fever trees in a lamborghini - if you please

to get from a to b I beat my heart and bend my knee the guardian angels are working for me


paralysed in precious stone canonized - I stand alone in the clouds of paradise - my home

a million orchids deck the throne of the man who numbered al capone the man who numbered all his bones

a personal friend of the burning tree the guardian angels are working for me. what you saw you didn't see the guardian angels are working for me.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• John Cooper Clarke
• The Ghost Of Al Capone
• Punk-Poet
• Poetry
• The Bard Of Salford

[hugosalarm]

This is arguably the great poet's greatest moment. Set to song, it's somewhere beyond brilliant.

[maryshelleysman]

wow thanks for posting.....where was this recorded? I love the music track for this one on the Snap Crackle Bop LP. "from the heart of the apostolic see, from one flat fee to another flat fee, the hours are short and the moneys free and the gaurdian angels are working for ME."

[greider100]

Brings back memories from my youth when I was...young...and poetic!

JCC is soooooooooo good!

Thank´s!

[printer944]

class act is john cooper clarke