This song was originally written by a guy called Peter Gutteridge. He was one of the founders of the "Dunedin Sound" a musical scene in the south of New Zealand in the early 80s. From there it was covered by "The Clean" one of the early bands of that scene (he had originally been a member of in it's early days, writing a couple of their best early songs). The Dunedin sound, and the Clean became popular on american college radio in the mid to late 80s. I guess Yo La Tengo heard that version.
Great version of a great song,
The heat of the night
It's feeding worms in the hay
And soon to surround the sheep's head
See the distant howl of pleasure
And it's sending shivers down the spine
The Rag and Bone man coming
And through the heat of the night
The Rag and Bone man coming
A million cowboys are toe-tapping
See those toes tapping
A million cows are stampeding
Feel his stomach turning
It's turning, it's turning
A million cowboys, they're toe-tapping
Feel those toes tapping
A million cows are stampeding
Feel his stomach turning
It's turning, it's turning
Place to place
The Rag and Bone man coming
And in the heat of the night
You can hear those trumpets screaming "round up"
See the Rag tool stagger off the sheep's head
Hear the distant howl of pleasure
And it's sending shivers down the spine
The Rag and Bone man coming
And through the heat of the night
The Rag and Bone man coming
Place to place
The Rag and Bone man coming
A million cowboys are toe-tapping
Feel those toes tapping
A million cows are stampeding
Feel his stomach turning
It's turning, it's turning
Place to place
The Rag and Bone man coming
It's feeding worms in the hay
And soon to surround the sheep's head
See the distant howl of pleasure
And it's sending shivers down the spine
The Rag and Bone man coming
And through the heat of the night
The Rag and Bone man coming
A million cowboys are toe-tapping
See those toes tapping
A million cows are stampeding
Feel his stomach turning
It's turning, it's turning
A million cowboys, they're toe-tapping
Feel those toes tapping
A million cows are stampeding
Feel his stomach turning
It's turning, it's turning
Place to place
The Rag and Bone man coming
And in the heat of the night
You can hear those trumpets screaming "round up"
See the Rag tool stagger off the sheep's head
Hear the distant howl of pleasure
And it's sending shivers down the spine
The Rag and Bone man coming
And through the heat of the night
The Rag and Bone man coming
Place to place
The Rag and Bone man coming
A million cowboys are toe-tapping
Feel those toes tapping
A million cows are stampeding
Feel his stomach turning
It's turning, it's turning
Place to place
The Rag and Bone man coming
Lyrics submitted by planetearth
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