Black Canal Lyrics - Fish

They'll always find a place for you in the sidewalk cafes 

No one ventures into the streets these days 

Except strangers and those like me, looking for work 

I noticed the smell when I got off the bus 

And traced it down to a canal that ran 

Right through the heart of the city 

Like an open vein full of black rotten blood 

A mirror surface broken only by the bubbles of gas 

Escaping from the stagnating mess that lay on the bottom 

Fuelled by the chemicals and effluent of the city 

Which was fed, in turn, by the barges and the ships 

That followed that line and created the waves across that 

Surface to the dockside where they unloaded their holds, 

The swarms of people clambering over them 

I sat down in a cafe and I was holding my own 

And minding my own business 

And a voice spoke in my ears as if it recognized 

That I was questioning the source of the smell 

Have another beer boy, take it with a pinch of snuff 

And my eyes were bedazzled, by the jewels in his silken cuff 

And a voice rolled out from an ashen cloud from behind a long cigar 

Son, you'll never need to smell the black canal 

It was as if he'd read my mind, as if he expected it 

And, as the afternoon was wasted, I became aware 

I was becoming wrapped up in his world 

I became aware of the smell from the bouquet in his buttonhole 

It was taking me away from the canal 

And away from my questions 

I was aware that the perfumes were all around us 

And he sold me the city, well at least he tried to with all his stories 

All the silks out of china 

And all the satins out of spain 

All the powders for your noses 

Will keep the stench at bay 

Have another beer boy, take it with a pinch of snuff 

Your eyes will be bedazzled, by the jewels in my scented cuff 

And a voice rolled out from an ashen cloud from behind a long cigar 

Son, you'll never need to smell this black canal 

And my world was spinnin', my head was awash 

With this promises and his beer 

And I looked up as he reached down 

And snorted the flower in his buttonhole 

He smiled and his eyes lied 

I was staring at a suit with no soul 

No matter how you wash them 

How you scrub and bleach and boil 

You'll never get rid of the smell of the black canal 

Of the black canal 

Black canal 

The black canal 

The black canal 

The black canal 

(derek dick/foss paterson)