Lyr Req: I Do Not Want To Lose You

Subject: Request for old Pete Coe song
From: GUEST,Ken Caird
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 07:53 PM

I'm trying to find the lyric for a song on Pete Coe's "Mean Old Scene" LP from the early 1980's.

The song's called "I Do Not Want To Lose You" and was written by Terry Conway.

Pete sold me a tape of the album about two years ago but there's no lyric insert and the production is crap and I can't make out the words properly.

I'd love to learn this song.

Any help appreciated

Ta

Ken

Subject: RE: Request for old Pete Coe song
From: Susanne (skw)
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 08:05 PM

Thread creep: Ken, sorry, I don't have the song, I have a question. Are you from the New Dawn Folk Club, Glasgow? - Susanne

Subject: RE: Request for old Pete Coe song
From: GUEST,bigJ
Date: 21 Apr 00 - 08:30 PM

You could always try contacting Pete at his website - www.backshift.demon.co.uk/petehome.htm

Subject: Lyr Add: I DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOU (Terry Conway)
From: Stewie
Date: 22 Apr 00 - 12:03 AM

Ken, I agree with you that it's a fine song. I can recall reading Billy Bunter books when I was a kid. As you say, the production on the recording is ratshit. If he had stuck with the simple keyboard backing that he began with, it would have been great - the pipes and other assorted cacophony only serve to obscure the lyrics and emasculate the song.

The following is my attempt at a transcription. The bits that hopefully will appear in italics indicate the passages that I had trouble in deciphering - they may be totally wrong. 'I was rented, just a tie' is what I hear and it makes sense - at first, I thought it might be 'I was tempted just to try', but I think the other is right. 'The Christmas day' line is very hard to decipher - I have given it my best shot. What are your thoughts on it? If do come by a verified version, please let me know because I too like this song very much.

I DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOU (Harry Wharton, My Old Chum)
(Terry Conway)

Of the time I was at school, I remember just the rule
That you never spoke till you were spoken to
Times were hard and times were thin, but the world that you lived in
Gave me half a chance to make a friend or two
But the snap cakes (?) and the scorn make me wish I'd not been born
You could make me believe the world was all serene
Oh what liberties were panned, how reality were banned
In a world where you had been so long fifteen

And I do not want to lose you, Harry Wharton , my old chum
You were twice the man that I was, that's for sure
I could lean on you and feel meself secure
In a world that's made of sweat and blood and iron

And I found another world and I thought it would be better
Never thought to look you up to see how life was treating you
But the clouds are looking dark and I need a place to shelter
To escape the cage of time and do what cowards do
So I thought I'd come around, like an Old Boy up from town
And the words I had weighed heavy upon my soul
I was rented, just a tie, to point out to you the lie
And to say, 'Play up, play up, but win the game – and score the goals'

For I do not want to lose you, Harry Wharton , my old chum
You were twice the man that I was, that's for sure
I could lean on you and feel meself secure
In a world that's made of sweat and blood and iron

And I sometimes stand aghast as the pupils and their masters
Try to see who will be last to grab a share or stake a claim
And I wonder is it you, or was it always only me
And, in his way, poor silly Billy Boy - you have [had] to play the game
It's Christmas day in life as you have to take a dine on the cheers,the little signs and sounds of yesterday
And the fat boy they released on that doomsday in the east, he's a spectre and a feast and it is him we have to pay
For the iron hand is closing, Harry Wharton, my old chum, it's shaking all the stuffing from my brain
I will never sit here and talk with you again, for you go to pick up sights [sides] amongst the dying
And I do not want to lose you, Harry Wharton , my old chum
You were twice the man that I was, that's for sure
I could lean on you and feel meself secure
In a world that's made of sweat and blood and iron

Cheers, Stewie.

Subject: RE: Request for old Pete Coe song
From: GUEST,Trinidad
Date: 04 Jan 02 - 06:34 PM

Hey there, I just discovered your post. I'm afraid I can't give you a version of the lyrics, but I thought i should just agree that it's a great song! I was priveleged enough to hear Terry sing it live in his local pub, and I never knew he had recorded it! He usually performs with just his acoustic guitar, and it sounds grand! He's a great performer, and I've never heard a recordinh that did him or his lyrics any justice! Did you know that he actually has a CD out in The Borth East? It's really good! Glad people are starting to listen to Terry, he rreally is a great guy, and fuly deserves al his praise! Trinidad

Subject: Lyr Add: I DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOU (Terry Conway)
From: Stewie
Date: 12 Nov 02 - 02:14 AM

I was playing Pete Coe's recording of this for a friend the other day and he expressed a desire to learn it. We emailed Pete Coe for the words. He very kindly relistened to his recording and gave us what he sang. The 'fat boy' reference is to the atom bomb. Pete indicated also that he thought there was a Harry Wharton who was head of the MI5 in the '60s, but he points out that Conway is elusive about providing any explanations. This is a belter of a song. Here is the text as corrected by Pete Coe:

I DO NOT WANT TO LOSE YOU (Harry Wharton, My Old Chum)
(Terry Conway)

Of the time I was at school, I remember just the rule
That you never spoke till you were spoken to
Times were hard and times were thin, but the world that you lived in
Gave me half a chance to make a friend or two
But the snap kicks and the scorn made me wish I'd not been born
You could make me believe the world was all serene
Oh what liberties were penned, how reality would bend
In a world where you had been so long fifteen

And I do not want to lose you, Harry Wharton, my old chum
You were twice the man that I was, that's for sure
I could lean on you and feel myself secure
In a world that's made of sweat and blood and iron

And I found another world and I thought it would be better
Never thought to look you up to see how life was treating you
But the clouds are looking dark and I need a place to shelter
To escape the cage of time and do what cowards do
So I thought I'd come around, like an Old Boy up from town
And the words I had weighed heavy on my soul
I was tempted just to try to put out to you the lie
And to say, 'Play up, play up, but win the game – and score the goals'

For I do not want to lose you, Harry Wharton , my old chum
You were twice the man that I was, that's for sure
I could lean on you and feel myself secure
In a world that's made of sweat and blood and iron

And I sometimes stand aghast as the pupils and their masters
Try to see who will be last to grab a share or stake a claim
And I wonder is it you, or was it always only me -
And, in his way, poor silly Billy Boy - who had to play the game
It's just to stay alive that you have to take a dive on the cheers, the little signs and sounds of yesterday
And the fat boy they released on that doomsday in the east, he's a spectre at the feast and it is him we have to pay
For the iron hand is closing, Harry Wharton, my old chum, it's shaking all the stuffing from my brain
I will never sit here and talk with you again, for you go to pick up sides amongst the dying

And I do not want to lose you, Harry Wharton , my old chum
You were twice the man that I was, that's for sure
I could lean on you and feel myself secure
In a world that's made of sweat and blood and iron


--Stewie.