"Steel Monkey"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); The Best of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection (1993); The Very Best of Jethro Tull (2001);
Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005); 50 For 50 (2018); 50th Anniversary Collection (2018)
Bootlegs: One Flute Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1990); Songs From The Tower (2023)

As the moon slips up, and the sun sets down, I'm a highrise jockey, and I'm heaven-bound
Do the workboot shuffle, loose brains from brawn, I'm a monkey puzzle and the lid is on
Can you guess my name? Can you guess my trade? I'm going to catch you anyway
You might be right, I'll give you guesses three, feel me climbing up your knee, guess what I am, I'm a steel monkey
Now some men hustle and some just think and some go running before you blink
Some look up and some look down from three hundred feet above the ground
Can you guess my name? And can you guess my trade? Well, I won't rest before the world is made
Arm in arm the angels fly, keep me from falling out the sky, steel monkey
I work in the thunder and I work in the rain, I work at my drinking, and I feel no pain
I work on women, if they want me to, you can have me climb all over you
Now, have you guessed my name? And have you guessed my trade? I'm cheap at the money I get paid
In the sulphur city, where men are men, we bolt those beams then climb again, steel monkey



"Farm On The Freeway"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); 20 Years of Jethro Tull: The Essential Tull (1988); The Best of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection (1993);
Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005); The String Quartets (2017); 50 For 50 (2018); 50th Anniversary Collection (2018)
Bootlegs: Songs From The Tower (2023); Live In Switzerland 2005 (2023)

Nine miles of two-strand topped with barbed wire, laid by the father for the son
Good shelter down there on the valley floor, down by where the sweet stream run
Now they might give me compensation, that's not what I'm chasing, I was a rich man before yesterday
Now all I have got is a cheque and a pickup truck, I left my farm on the freeway
They're busy building airports on the south side, silicon chip factory on the east
And the big road's pushing through along the valley floor, hot machine pouring six lanes at the very least
Now, they say they gave me compensation, that's not what I'm chasing, I was a rich man before yesterday
Now all I have left is a broken-down pickup truck, looks like my farm is a freeway
They forgot they told us what this old land was for, grow two tons the acre, boy between the stones
This was no Southfork, it was no Ponderosa, but it was the place that I called home
They say they gave me compensation, that's not what I'm chasing, I was a rich man before yesterday
And what do I want with a million dollars and a pickup truck? When I left my farm under the freeway



"Jump Start"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); The Best of Jethro Tull: The Anniversary Collection (1993); Live At The BBC (1996);
Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005); Catfish Rising Remastered (2006); All The Best (2012)
Bootlegs: Songs From The Tower (2023)

In the dark of the city backwoods something stirs then slips away
Law and order in darkest Knightsbridge, crime and punishment at play
Hey, Mr. Policeman won't you come on over, hook me up to the power lines of your love
Jump start, or tow me away
And through the bruised machinery, the smoking haze of industry
Another day with ball and chain, I do my time, then home again
Hey, Mrs. Maggie won't you come on over, hook me up to the power lines of your love
Jump start, or tow me away
Well, should I blame the officers? Or maybe, I should blame the priest?
Or should I blame the poor foot soldier who's left to make the most from least?
Hey, Jack Ripper won't you come on over, hook me up to the power lines of your love
Jump start, or tow me away
You can blame the newsman talking at you on the satellite T.V.
And if you're fighting for your shipyards, you might as well just blame the sea
Hey, Mr. Weatherman come on over, hook me up to the power lines of your love
Jump start, or tow me away



"Said She Was A Dancer"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005); All The Best (2012)

She said she was a dancer, if I believed it, it was my business, she surely knew a thing or two about control
Next to the bar we hit the samovar, she almost slipped right through my fingers, it was snowing outside and in her soul
Well, maybe you're a dancer and maybe I'm the King of Old Siam, I thought it through, best to let the illusion roll
I wouldn't say I've never heard that tale before my frozen little señorita, but if your dream is good, why not share it when the nights are cold?
Hey Moscow, what's your story? Lady, take your time, don't hurry, maybe a student of the agricultural plan
Hey Moscow, what's your name? If you don't want to say, don't worry, it would probably be hard for me to make it scan
With her phrase book in her silk soft hand, she spoke in riddles while the vodka listened, I said, 'Let me look up love if I might be so bold'
She was the nearest thing to Rock and Roll, that side of the velvet curtain, that separates eastern steel from western gold
Hey Miss Moscow, what's your story? You needn't speak aloud, just whisper, am I just the closest thing to an Englishman?
You've seen me in your magazines or maybe on state television, I'm your Pepsi-Cola, but you won't take me out the can
She said she was a dancer, so she did, she said she was a dancer
If I believed it, it was my business, it felt like a merry dance that I was being led
So I stole one kiss, it was a near miss, she looked at me like I was Jack the Ripper
She leaned in close, 'Goodnight,' was all she said, so I took myself off to bed



"Dogs In The Midwinter"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005)

You ever had a day like I had today when things are stacked up bad?
You look around and every face you see, seems guaranteed to send you mad
And you peer into those hallowed institutions, and they bark at you from every side, but the bite goes wide
I see them running with their tails hanging low like dogs in the midwinter
The prophets and the wise men and the hard politicos are all dogs in the midwinter
Let the breath from the mountain still the pain, clear water from the fountain run sweeter than the rain, dogs in the midwinter
The boss man and the tax man and the moneylenders growl like dogs in the midwinter
The weaker of the herd can feel their eyes and hear them howl like dogs in the midwinter
Though the fox and the rabbit are at peace, cold doggies in the manger turn last suppers into feasts. dogs in the midwinter
You ever had a day like i had today, dogs in the midwinter, you look around and every face you see dogs in the midwinter
And you peer into those hallowed institutions and they bark at you from every side, but the bite goes wide
We're all running on a tightrope wearing slippers in the snow, we're all dogs in the midwinter
The ice is ever thinner, be careful how you go, like dogs in the midwinter
And it's hard to find true equilibrium when you're looking at each other down the muzzle of a gun, dogs in the midwinter



"Budapest"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); 25 Years of Jethro Tull: Live Across The World and Through The Years (1993); Through The Years (1997); Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005);
Ian Anderson Plays The Orchestral Jethro Tull (2005); Live At Montreux 2003 (2007); 50 For 50 (2018)
Bootlegs: National Concert Hall Dublin (2011); Live In Switzerland 2005 (2023)

I think she was a middle-distance runner (the translation wasn't clear)
Could be a budding stately hero, international competition in a year
She was a good enough reason for a party (well, you couldn't keep up on a hard track mile)
While she ran a perfect circle and she wore a perfect smile in Budapest, hot night in Budapest
We had to cozzy up in the old gymnasium, dusting off the mandolins and checking on the gear
She was helping out at the back-stage, stopping hearts and chilling beer
Yes, and her legs went on forever, like staring up at infinity
Through a wisp of cotton panty, along a skin of satin sea, hot night in Budapest
You could cut the heat, peel it back with the wrong side of a knife
Feel it blowing from the sidefills, feel like you were playing for your life (if not the money), hot night in Budapest
She bent down to fill the ice box and stuffed some more warm white wine in
Like some weird unearthly vision wearing only T-shirt, pants and skin
You know, it rippled, just a hint of muscle, but the boys and me were heading west
So we left her to the late crew and a hot night in Budapest, it was a hot night in Budapest
She didn't speak much English language (she didn't speak much anyway)
She wouldn't make love, but she could make good sandwich and she poured sweet wine before we played
Hey, Budapest, cha, cha, cha, let's watch her now
I thought I saw her at the late night restaurant, she would have sent blue shivers down the wall
But she didn't grace our table, in fact, she wasn't there at all
Yes, and her legs went on forever, like staring up at infinity
Her heart was spinning to the west-lands and she didn't care to be
That night in Budapest, hot night in Budapest



"Mountain Men"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005)

The poacher and his daughter, throw soft shadows on the water in the night
A thin moon slips behind them as they pull the net with no betraying light
And later on the coast road, I meet them and the old man winks a smile
And who am I to fast deny the right to take a fish once in a while?
I walk with them, they wish me luck, when I ship out on the Sunday from the kyle
And from the church I hear them singing as the ship moves sadly from the pier
Oh, poacher's daughter, Sunday best, two hundred brave souls share the farewell tear
There's a house on the hillside where the drifting sands are born
Lay down and let the slow tide wash me back to the land where I came from
Where the mountain men are kings and the sound of the piper counts for everything
Did my tour, did my duty, I did all they asked of me
Died in the trenches and at Alamein, died in the Falklands on T.V.
Going back to the mountain kings where the sound of the piper counts for everything
Long generations from the Isles sent to tread the foreign miles
Where the spiral ages meet, felt naked dust beneath their feet
Future sun called winds to blow and the past and present hard-eyed crow
Flew hunting high and circling low, over blackened plains of Eden
There's a child and a woman praying for an end to the mystery
Hoping for a word in a letter, fair wind-blown from across the sea
To where the mountain men are kings and the sound of the piper counts for eveything
There's a house on the hillside where the drifting sands are born
Lay down and let the slow tide wash me back to the land where I came from
Where the mountain men are kings and the sound of the piper counts for everything
Where the real mountain men are kings and the sound of the piper counts for everything
Feel the naked dust beneath my toes, while the future sun calls winds to blow
And the past and present black-eyed crow, flies hunting high and circling low
Between dream mountains of our Eden

"The Waking Edge"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005)

As I wake up in a room somewhere, dawn light not yet showing
There's just a thin horizon between me and her, the edge of a half-dream glowing
Well, you know I felt her in my dream last night, strange how the sheets are warm beside me
Now, how do I catch the waking edge? As it slips to the far and wide of me
Didn't I try to hold it down? Freeze on the picture, hang sharp on the sound
Catch the waking edge, another time
Familiar shadows in my hotel room are still here for the taking
They seem to linger on as the street lights fade and the empty dawn is breaking
Private movie showing in my head, which button do I press for re-run?
And how do I catch the waking edge? The edge of a dream about someone, well, you know
I felt her in my dream last night, now the sheets are cold beside me



"Raising Steam"
music and lyrics by Ian Anderson

Crest of A Knave (1987); Crest of A Knave Remastered (2005)

Over high plains through the snow, roll those tracks out, don't you know I'm raising steam
Thin vein creeping, hot blood flow, spill a little where the new towns grow
I got my whole life hanging in a sack, heading out into that wide world wide
You got your locomotive sitting on your track and I don't care which way I ride, I may not be coming back
Left a lady with a heart all in pieces come apart, raising steam
That engine up front must have a heart big enough for the both of us
Riding shotgun on the sunset, stare it in the eye, rocking on my heels out to the west
Funny how the whole world, historically, feels the urge to chase the sun to rest, we may not be coming back
Let me be your engineer, have you smiling ear to ear, raising steam
And will you tell me how it feels when you're up and rolling on your driving wheels?
I got my whole life hanging in a sack, heading out into that wide world wide
I'll be your locomotive blowing off its stack and I don't care which way I ride
I may not be coming back, raising steam