Shirt's on fire, church on fire
Billy's dream boat stills as the house alights
Sailors come from miles for a drink and a fight
But the harbour thrills pull back from the light
To the belly of a boat in a hammer try tight

Holler
Pleasures of the night
Seaman's delight

Holler
(refrain)
Pleasures of the night
What a sight
Oh no, the organ plays by itself
It doesn't need the grinder's help and the monkey
And the monkey stow away to sea
Back to his wife and a nest in the trees

Billy's brother plays bass in a band called man
He fancies himself as a travelling ham
Strutting and fretting them into fame
In a torn t-shirt he'll carve his name

Holler
(refrain)
Looking for adventure and some mystery
He doesn't need the grinder and he doesn't want me

Stripped off his suit
So let the poor beast be
Oh, let the poor beast be

The man said, "ho ho wee, this is too hot for me!"
Billy's shirt's on fire in the night
He said, "ho wee this is too hot to see."
Billy's shirt's on fire in the night



Lyrics submitted by MaskOfSanity

Billy's Shirts Lyrics as written by James Glennie Gavin Whelan

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Billy's Shirts song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

1 Comment

sort form View by:
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song is brilliant and very under-rated. The band have been pretty dismissive of this track and dropped it from their live sets early on, but in my opinion it's one of the best tracks on Stutter. It sounds like a good sea shanty, and the backing music has more of a 'Rock' feel than later James songs.

    The lyrics don't seem to make much sense, it could possibly be a metaphor for someone's craving for Rock stardom... but Tim Booth has been quoted as saying that on several tracks on Stutter he has no idea now what he was singing about, so this may well be one of them.

    Interestingly enough, another of my favorite bands, The Bolshoi, did a song a few years before this called "Billy's New Boots"... whoever Billy is, the contents of his wardrobe sure must have fascinated the Rock bands of the era. ;)

    MaskOfSanityon February 06, 2007   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Standing On The Edge Of Summer
Thursday
In regards to the meaning of this song: Before a live performance on the EP Five Stories Falling, Geoff states “It’s about the last time I went to visit my grandmother in Columbus, and I saw that she was dying and it was the last time I was going to see her. It is about realizing how young you are, but how quickly you can go.” That’s the thing about Geoff and his sublime poetry, you think it’s about one thing, but really it’s about something entirely different. But the lyrics are still universal and omnipresent, ubiquitous, even. So relatable. That’s one thing I love about this band. I also love their live performances, raw energy and Geoff’s beautiful, imperfectly perfect vocals. His voice soothes my aching soul.
Album art
The Night We Met
Lord Huron
This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines: "Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet" So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other: "I had all and then most of you" Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart "Some and now none of you" Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship. This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.
Album art
American Town
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran shares a short story of reconnecting with an old flame on “American Town.” The track is about a holiday Ed Sheeran spends with his countrywoman who resides in America. The two are back together after a long period apart, and get around to enjoying a bunch of fun activities while rekindling the flames of their romance.