Archie Noble - What Did You Do That For? Lyrics

As the night comes creeping in
And already the world's asleep
You pine for your lost lover
Oh the scars of love cut deep
And the little tin soldier
Standing on his shelf
Is starting to look pretty tired
And talking to himself
He tries hard to remember
Where he's seen this all before
He wracks his brain yet can't explain
What did you do that for

And Romulus falls down laughing
As he helps to cut the wood
"Oh just because you can" he says
"Doesn't mean you should"
And Remus nods his head
As up comes the wolf
Who takes them both away
Where shadows won't engulf
You think you hear a memory
Come scratching at your door
You leave it there, you do not dare
What did you do that for

The detective madly searching
For one more glimpse of truth
He's sure he's seen it and lost it
Sometime in his youth
While the duchess speaks in rhyme
With all she can possess
Oh she won't be undermined
No she won't be second-guessed
Her poems and her paintings
Lie scattered around the floor
With no one left to save the rest
What did you do that for

And the Jack of hearts he whispers
To the Ace of spades
Of comrades shaking hands
Soon having to cross blades
And as the dawn starts breaking
The piper must bid his adieu
As the memories of warfare
Stick to him like glue
As there he is still standing
In clothes that you once wore
Though he tries it won't disguise
What did you do that for

My lady sits alone
And reads all afternoon
Then sets fire to the flowers
Under a full harvest moon
As all the ageing bandits
Come out in protest
Of hardships in their conditions
It's an issue that must be addressed
At the bottom of your garden
Is whatever is left in store
And the partisans won't understand
What did you do that for

The carpenter makes his bed
On circles in the sand
And as the sea comes in
It takes him from the land
While the artist scratches his head
And wonders what went wrong
He followed every instruction
Yet struggles to belong
You think you recognise him
But you really can't be sure
As each in turn magicians learn
What did you do that for

And the days they turn to weeks
And the weeks they turn to months
And no one moves a muscle
For fearing to confront
Till the partisan singing shanties
Bleeding in the barn
Pours gasoline on the floor
And puts a match to the farm
Let's give a little extra
On top of all that's due and more
But it seems as though I'll never know
What did you do that for