What's The World Coming To?

from Whimsica Sardonica by The Friends Of Norman Havelock

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about

1967 - Being something of an underdog himself, Norman wasn't slow to recognise a fellow traveller and his Jane Seymour experience ultimately morphed into this take on the Profumo Affair. There's a Vaudeville, end of the pier, feel to this one that captures Christine Keeler's tragic rise and fall – only this time as farce. Designed to unsettle, Norman saw it as both a cautionary tale and a gentle skewering of tabloid values and Establishment hypocrisy.

lyrics

Look away, if you know that it’s true.
Provincial girl, she means nothing to you.
Working for people in a kiss ‘n’ tell,
Just tip your dreams down the wishing well.

She could have anything she wants,
Green Shield Stamp’s and fancy restaurants.
Sun-kissed lovers walking hand in glove,
A gilded lily truly from above.

Quick silver flashes in the palm of my hand,
Then slipping through my fingers like the finest sand.
And ringing in my ears like a reprimand,
You’ll forgive me for asking.....

What’s the world coming to?
The old Brigadier would surely never approve.
And the wretched Daily Mail says that would never do.
What’s the world coming to?

Where’s her heart, if not on her sleeve?
She plays her part with indelicate ease.
Could never tell, was she happy, or sad?
Half as good, or merely twice as bad?

Cliveden clinches by the fireside,
I do my best to quell the incoming tide.
Avoiding Ivanov, or Ulysses,
It never pays to be too eager to please.

Quick silver flashes in the palm of my hand,
Then slipping through my fingers like the finest sand.
Then shouting from the rooftops like a firebrand.
I’d be forgiven for thinking.....

So What’s the world coming to?
Like a Vicar’s daughter always in the news,
Am I the rolling drunk howling at the moon.
What’s the world coming to?

I’d be forgiven for asking.....

What’s the world coming to?
You step in something nasty in your brand new shoes.
Trousers round your ankles, there’s too much to lose,
What’s the world coming to?

Look away

credits

from Whimsica Sardonica, released January 14, 2022
Vern Asbury - Lead Vocal
Wendon Davis - Backing Vocals, Percussion
Ralph Salmins - Drums
Dale Davis - Bass
John Wheatcroft - Electric & Acoustic Guitars
Kevin Webster - Piano
Andrew Ross - Saxophones & Flutes
Ralph Lamb - Trumpets & Flugel Horns
Andrew Moorhouse -Vibraphone
Steve Turner - String Arrangements performed by
FILMharmonic Orchestra, Prague®
Adam Klemens - Conductor
Milan Jílek - Sound Engineer
Michal Petrásek - Assitant Sound Engineer
Petr Pýcha - Orchestra Contractor and Recording Sessions Manager

Recorded & Mixed by - Lester Salmins at The Bunker
Additional Recording by - Jake Skinner at Brighton Road Recording Studios
Mastered by Ben Pike at Rare Tone Mastering
Produced by - Andrew Moorhouse

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The Friends Of Norman Havelock image

The Friends Of Norman Havelock England, UK

In 2000, little-known ‘60s songwriter, Norman Havelock shuffled off this mortal coil, a largely forgotten man.

Now, 21 years later, his creative genius burns ever brighter as The Friends of Norman Havelock re-imagine his work for audiences anew!

11 tunes came to light initially, one per year from 1960 to 1970, acting as a veritable almanac through that most culturally thrilling of decades! ... more

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