Killers, Angels, Refugees ( 18 )

"The End of the Rainbow" ( Richard Thompson )

I feel for you, you little horror,

Safe at your mother's breast,

No lucky break for you around the corner;

'Cos your father is a bully

And he thinks that you're a pest,

And your sister she's no better than a wore.

Life seems so rosy in the cradle, but I'll

Be a friend, I'll tell you what's in store.

There's nothing at the end of the rainbow,

There's nothing to grow up for any more.

Tycoons and barrow boys will rob you,

And throw you on the side,

And all because they love themselves sincerely.

And the man holds a bread-knife

Up to your throat is four feet wide,

And he's anxious just to show you what it's for.

Your mother works so hard to make you happy,

But take a look outside the nursery door.

There's nothing at the end of the rainbow,

There's nothing to grow up any more.

All the sad and empty faces

That pass you on the street,

All running in their sleep, all in a dream

Ev'ry loving handshake

Is just another man to beat.

How your heart aches just to cut him to the core.

Life seems so rosy in the cradle,

But I'll be a friend, I'll tell you what's in store.

There's nothing at the end of the rainbow.

There's nothing to grow up for any more.

Por vezes regressar aos mestres é melhor forma de colocar os factos, sejam eles quais forem, na correcta perspectiva.

E quando, aparentemente, as coisas insistem em querer correr mal, nada melhor do que regressar a "The End of the Rainbow" ( publicada em 1974 no fenomenal "I want to see the bright lights tonight" ), uma das mais desconfortáveis "dark songs" alguma vez escritas.

A frieza da melodia e o minamalismo dos arranjos geminam com o "insuportável" cepticismo do texto. A fé na condição humana nunca foi uma das características de Richard Thompson, mas perante algo como isto até os momentos mais sombrios de Peter Hammill ou Randy Newman poderiam desfilar num corso de carnaval.