Jackie
Scott Walker Lyrics

And if one day I should become A singer with a Spanish bum Who sings for women of great virtue I'd sing to them with a guitar I borrowed from a coffee bar Well, what you don't know doesn't hurt you
If I were to become a singer who serenades virtuous women with a guitar I stole, it wouldn't matter that they don't know it's stolen.

My name would be Antonio And all my bridges I would burn And when I gave them some they'd know I'd expect something in return
If I went by the name Antonio, I would make sure I burned all my bridges and only give women what they want if I got something in return.

I'd have to get drunk every night And talk about virility With some old grandmama That might be decked out like a Christmas tree And though pink elephants I'd see Though I'd be drunk as I could be Still I would sing my song to me About the time they called me "Jackie"
I would drink every night and talk to old women about sex, even if I see imaginary pink elephants. But I'd still sing my song about the time when they used to call me Jackie.

If I could be for only an hour If I could be for an hour every day If I could be for just one little hour A cute cute, in a stupid-ass way
If I could have a brief moment of becoming cute and adorable every day, even in a silly way, that would be great.

And if I joined the social whirl Became procurer of young girls Then I would have my own bordellos My record would be number one And I'd sell records by the ton All sung by many other fellows
If I became a pimp and owned brothels, I'd make so much money that I'd have others singing for me and still be the top record seller.

My name would then be handsome Jack And I'd sell boats of opium Whiskey that came from Twickenham Authentic queers and phony virgins
If I went by the name handsome Jack, I'd sell opium, whiskey, and prostitutes, including authentic homosexuals and fake virgins.

If I had banks on every finger A finger in every country And all the countries ruled by me I'd still know where I'd want to be Locked up inside my opium den Surrounded by some china men I'd sing the song that I sang then About the time they called me "Jackie"
Even if I had wealth in every country and was their ruler, I would still rather be in my opium den with Chinese men and sing about the time when they used to call me Jackie.

Now, tell me, wouldn't it be nice That if one day in paradise I'd sing for all the ladies up there And they would sing along with me And we be so happy there to be 'Cause down below is really nowhere
Wouldn't it be great if one day in paradise, I could sing to all the women there and we would all sing together and be happy. Because being down below has no meaning.

And if my name were Juniper Then I would know where I was going And then I would become all knowing My beard so very long and flowing
If my name were Juniper, I would know my true path and become all-knowing, and my beard would be long and flowing.

If I became deaf, dumb and blind Because I pitied all mankind And broke my heart to make things right I'd know that every single night When my angelic work was through The angels and the Devil too Would sing my childhood song to me About the time they called me "Jackie"
If I became deaf, dumb, and blind for the sake of others and to fix things, then every night, angels and even the devil would sing my childhood song about the time when I was called Jackie.

If I could be for only an hour If I could be for an hour every day If I could be for just one little hour A cute cute, in a stupid-ass way
If I could be cute, even in a silly way for just one hour every day, that would be enough.