Philby Lyrics
There's a stranger in my soul,
I'm lost in transit in a lonesome city,
I can't come in from the cold,
I'm deep in action on a secret mission,
Contact's broken down,
Time drags by, I'm above suspicion,
There's a voice on the telephone
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Contact's never gonna show,
I've got a code which can't be broken,
My eyes never seem to close,
Well, I'm standing here in the silent city,
Shadows falling down,
I'm disconnected but I don't need pity,
The night's gonna burn on slow.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
A stranger on a foreign shore,
I've got my plans and I must move quickly,
There's a knock upon the door,
Still in transit and I'm close to danger,
My cover can't be blown,
It's getting strange and it's getting crazy,
Tell me, what is going on?
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Six o'clock and the daylight's stirring,
A Morning comes, must be moving on.
All night long my mind's been burning,
Makes me feel such a long, long way from home,
There's a stranger in my soul
I'm lost in transit in a lonesome city
I can't come in from the cold






No that is not right. It is a comparison of life on the road touring with that of Kim Philby, a British secret agent who was a double agent for the Russians. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Philby

Yes, DB Cooper's right. The Philby referred to is the spy as evidenced by many espionage terms used such as "come in from the cold", "secret mission","cover can't be blown".

Well, DB Cooper is surely right. H.A.R Philby's nickname was "Kim" and came from Kipling's novel whose action takes place in India. "Kim" Philby himself was born in India. There is a part of the song that sounds as if Rory played a sitar, and the version in which he actualy used the instrument (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNVeyEuOA6g). I think that this definitely speaks in favor of the Kim Philby interpretation, not the Jack Philby one.
It's a Coral Sitar-Guitar. It plays like a normal guitar but has the buzzing bridge and sympathetically resonating strings of a sitar. Rory played it quite often but it is most prominent on Philby.
It's a Coral Sitar-Guitar. It plays like a normal guitar but has the buzzing bridge and sympathetically resonating strings of a sitar. Rory played it quite often but it is most prominent on Philby.
I don't think it's use is to reflect India - that seems too tenuous to me. I'd guess the sound just worked for the song.
I don't think it's use is to reflect India - that seems too tenuous to me. I'd guess the sound just worked for the song.
I do believe though that the Philby mentioned is Kim Philby. I struggle to understand why Rory would feel like him though.
I do believe though that the Philby mentioned is Kim Philby. I struggle to understand why Rory would feel like him though.