There Are Bad Times Just Around The Corner Lyrics - Noël Coward

They're out of sorts in Sunderland 

And terribly cross in Kent, 

They're dull in Hull 

And the Isle of Mull 

Is seething with discontent, 

They're nervous in Northumberland 

And Devon is down the drain, 

They're filled with wrath 

On the firth of Forth 

And sullen on Salisbury Plain, 

In Dublin they're depressed, lads, 

Maybe because they're Celts 

For Drake is going West, lads, 

And so is everyone else. 

Hurray, hurray, hurray! 

Misery's here to stay. 

There are bad times just around the corner, 

There are dark clouds hurtling through the sky 

And it's no good whining 

About a silver lining 

For we know from experience that they won't roll by, 

With a scowl and a frown 

We'll keep our peckers down 

And prepare for depression and doom and dread, 

We're going to unpack our troubles from our old kit bag 

And wait until we drop down dead. 

From Portland Bill to Scarborough 

They're querulous and subdued 

And Shropshire lads 

Have behaved like cads 

From Berwick-on-Tweed to Bude, 

They're mad at Market Harborough 

And livid at Leigh-on-Sea, 

In Tunbridge Wells 

You can hear the yells 

Of woe-begone bourgeoisie. 

We all get bitched about, lads, 

Whoever our vote elects, 

We know we're up the spout, lads. 

And that's what England expects. 

Hurray, hurray, hurray! 

Trouble is on the way. 

There are bad times just around the corner, 

The horizon's gloomy as can be, 

There are black birds over 

The grayish cliffs of Dover 

And the rats are preparing to leave the BBC 

We're an unhappy breed 

And very bored indeed 

When reminded of something that Nelson said. 

While the press and the politicians nag nag nag 

We'll wait until we drop down dead. 

From Colwyn Bay to Kettering 

They're sobbing themselves to sleep, 

The shrieks and wails 

In the Yorkshire dales 

Have even depressed the sheep. 

In rather vulgar lettering 

A very disgruntled group 

Have posted bills 

On the Cotswold Hills 

To prove that we're in the soup. 

While begging Kipling's pardon 

There's one thing we know for sure 

If England is a garden 

We ought to have more manure. 

Hurray, hurray, hurray! 

Suffering and dismay. 

There are bad times just around the corner 

And the outlook's absolutely vile, 

There are Home Fires smoking 

From Windermere to Woking 

And we're not going to tighten our belts and smile, smile, smile, 

At the sound of a shot 

We'd just as soon as not 

Take a hot water bottle and go to bed, 

We're going to un-tense our muscles till they sag sag sag 

And wait until we drop down dead. 

There are bad times just around the corner, 

We can all look forward to despair, 

It's as clear as crystal 

From Bridlington to Bristol 

That we can't save democracy and we don't much care 

If the Reds and the Pinks 

Believe that England stinks 

And that world revolution is bound to spread, 

We'd better all learn the lyrics of the old 'Red Flag' 

And wait until we drop down dead. 

A likely story 

Land of Hope and Glory, 

Wait until we drop down dead. 

[When Noel later used this number in his Las Vegas cabaret act, he adapted it to the American milieu, as he did with many of the topical numbers] 

There Are Bad Times Just Around The Corner 

[American Lyric] 

They're nervous in Nigeria 

And terribly cross in Crete, 

In Bucharest 

They are so depressed 

They're frightened to cross the street, 

They're sullen in Siberia 

And timid in Turkestan, 

They're sick with fright 

In the Isle of Wight 

And jittery in Japan, 

The Irish groan and shout, lads, 

Maybe because they're Celts, 

They know they're up the spout, lads, 

And so is everyone else. 

Hurray, hurray, hurray! 

Trouble is on the way. 

There are bad times just around the corner, 

There are dark clouds hurtling through the sky 

And it's no use whining 

About a silver lining 

For we know from experience that they won't roll by, 

With a scowl and a frown 

We'll keep our spirits down 

And prepare for depression and doom and dread, 

We're going to unpack our troubles from our old kit bag 

And wait until we drop down dead. 

There are bad times just around the corner, 

The horizon's gloomy as can be, 

There are black birds over 

They grayish cliffs of Dover 

And the vultures are hovering round the Christmas tree 

We're an unhappy breed 

And ready to stampede 

When we're asked to remember what Lincoln said, 

We're going to un-tense our muscles till they sag sag sag 

And wait until we drop down dead. 

They're morbid in Mongolia 

And querulous in Quebec, 

There's not a man 

In Baluchistan 

Who isn't a nervous wreck, 

In Maine the melancholia 

Is deeper than tongue can tell, 

In Monaco 

All the croupiers know 

They haven't a hope in Hell. 

In far away Australia 

Each wallaby's well aware 

The world's a total failure 

Without any time to spare. 

Hurray, hurray, hurray! 

Suffering and dismay. 

There are bad times just around the corner, 

We can all look forward to despair, 

It's as clear as crystal 

From Brooklyn Bridge to Bristol 

That we can't save Democracy 

And we don't much care. 

At the sound of a shot 

We'd just as soon as not 

Take a hot-water bad and retire to bed 

And while the press and the politicians nag nag nag 

We'll wait until we drop down dead. 

There are bad times just around the corner 

And the outlook's absolutely vile, 

You can take this from us 

That when they Atom-bomb us 

We are not going to tighten our belts and smile smile smile, 

We are in such a mess 

It couldn't matter less 

If a world revolution is just ahead, 

We'd better all learn the lyrics of the old 'Red Flag' 

And wait until we drop down dead. 

A likely story 

Land of Hope and Glory, 

Wait until we drop down dead.