Nol Coward — There Are Bad Times Just Around The Corner

Verse 1 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 Refrain 1 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 Verse 2 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 Refrain 2 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 B.B.C 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 Verse 3 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 Refrain 3 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 untense our muscles till they sag sag sag And wait until we drop down dead Refrain 4 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] Verse 1 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 Refrain 1 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 sprits 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 Refrain 2 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 untense our muscles till they sag sag sag And wait until we drop down dead Verse 2 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 Refrain 3 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 Refrain 3 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