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The Ballad of Grimaldi Lyrics
While there's still a fighting chance
Can't you just get up and go
And get away from this hollow romance
It's slowly binding us both
Because you'll tell me what you want and I'll avoid it
Tell it to the sick and to the damned
Show me what you love, watch me destroy it
For love just crumbles in my hands
But if you stay for a while..
I'll try to think of something nice to say
And maybe if we pray for a while
St. Jude, she might hear my pleas
And see me on my bended knees
She knows how I adore you
Don't wanna be fighting tonight
She knows I adore you
There won't be fighting in the street
I laugh and fall just like Grimaldi
You wear your make-up like Baby Jane
All of those promising lies that you told me
Come on and tell me them again
Oh I walked these streets all of my life..
The fear and hope at every turn
She took him to Stepney and made him a wife
Everyone said they crash and burn
Because she tells him what she wants and he avoids it
Tell it to the sick and to the damned
Show him what you love, watch him destroy it
For love just crumbles in his hands
But if you stay for a while..
I'll try to think of something nice to say
And maybe we could pray for a while
And St. Jude might hear my pleas
And see me on my knees
She knows I adore you
Don't wanna be fighting tonight
She knows I adore you
There won't be fighting in the street
Can't you just get up and go
And get away from this hollow romance
It's slowly binding us both
Because you'll tell me what you want and I'll avoid it
Tell it to the sick and to the damned
Show me what you love, watch me destroy it
For love just crumbles in my hands
I'll try to think of something nice to say
And maybe if we pray for a while
St. Jude, she might hear my pleas
And see me on my bended knees
Don't wanna be fighting tonight
She knows I adore you
There won't be fighting in the street
You wear your make-up like Baby Jane
All of those promising lies that you told me
Come on and tell me them again
The fear and hope at every turn
She took him to Stepney and made him a wife
Everyone said they crash and burn
Tell it to the sick and to the damned
Show him what you love, watch him destroy it
For love just crumbles in his hands
I'll try to think of something nice to say
And maybe we could pray for a while
And St. Jude might hear my pleas
And see me on my knees
Don't wanna be fighting tonight
She knows I adore you
There won't be fighting in the street
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This song, it's brilliant. I haven't heard it, only read the lyrics, yet I adore it beyond any other song Peter has written. It has really touched me.
This is such an amazing song, one of Pete's finest, great lyrics and a catchy riff. Love it.
I love this song, to me its about a doomed romance the man in the song loves a women, but he knows that in the end they will only cause each other pain destroying the love that they have with her lies and his refusal to commit to her.
I also love how in one version pete drops something, but he just picks up where he left, it makes it seem that much more intimate.
The guitar is also beautiful
Joseph Grimaldi (1778-1837) was the world's first 'white-face' clown. He took the character of 'Clown' from a style of play called a Harlequinade, originally a country bumpkin fool character Grimaldi gave him the painted face and brightly coloured colthes we know as clowns today. Grimaldi was, quite simply, a comedy genius.
Joseph's father, Jo Grimaldi, was a strict teacher who used to savagely beat Joseph as a child when he made mistakes in the routines. As a result Joseph grew up a manic depressive, giving rise to the legend of the brilliant entertainer who was a depressive in his private life. A pattern that has repeated itself over the centuries. The love of Grimaldi's life died giving birth. He never recovered from this.
St Jude is the patron saint of hopeless cases.
The song is a lament, a hopeless case of being in love with someone you can never have and hiding your sadness behind a wall of laughter. Clever and very effective.
I think the first verse is written with a provocative undertone, sometimes people that hurt a lot can say things always in the wrong way and it takes a little a time for them to stop being sarcastic, provocative or to stop asking confirmation. In the second verse he's saying, if she gives him a little credit, and stay for a while, he could stop being that way, always fighting, and maybe begin to show his true feelings and begin to feel like things are warming up, instead of crumbling.