The middle of the road is trying to find me
I'm standing in the middle of life with my plans behind me
Well I got a smile for everyone I meet
As long as you don't try dragging my bay
Or dropping the bomb on my street
Now come on baby
Get in the road
Oh come on now
In the middle of the road, yeah
In the middle of the road you see the darnedest things
Like fat guys driving 'round in jeeps through the city
Wearing big diamond rings and silk suits
Past corrugated tin shacks full up with kids
Oh man I don't mean a Hampstead nursery
When you own a big chunk of the bloody third world
The babies just come with the scenery
Oh come on baby
Get in the road
Oh come on now
In the middle of the road, yeah
The middle of the road is no private cul-de-sac
I can't get from the cab to the curb
Without some little jerk on my back
Don't harass me, can't you tell
I'm going home, I'm tired as hell
I'm not the cat I used to be
I got a kid, I'm thirty-three
Baby, get in the road
Come on now
In the middle of the road
Yeah
The Pretenders - Learning to Crawl Album Lyrics
The Pretenders - Learning to Crawl Lyrics
Writer: Chrissie Hynde
Copyright: Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Back On The Chain Gang
I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh
What hijacked my world that night
To a place in the past
We've been cast out of? oh oh oh oh
Now we're back in the fight
We're back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
A circumstance beyond our control, oh oh oh oh
The phone, the tv and the news of the world
Got in the house like a pigeon from hell, oh oh oh oh
Threw sand in our eyes and descended like flies
Put us back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
The powers that be
That force us to live like we do
Bring me to my knees
When I see what they've done to you
But I'll die as I stand here today
Knowing that deep in my heart
They'll fall to ruin one day
For making us part
I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh
Those were the happiest days of my life
Like a break in the battle was your part, oh oh oh oh
In the wretched life of a lonely heart
Now we're back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
What hijacked my world that night
To a place in the past
We've been cast out of? oh oh oh oh
Now we're back in the fight
We're back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
A circumstance beyond our control, oh oh oh oh
The phone, the tv and the news of the world
Got in the house like a pigeon from hell, oh oh oh oh
Threw sand in our eyes and descended like flies
Put us back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
The powers that be
That force us to live like we do
Bring me to my knees
When I see what they've done to you
But I'll die as I stand here today
Knowing that deep in my heart
They'll fall to ruin one day
For making us part
I found a picture of you, oh oh oh oh
Those were the happiest days of my life
Like a break in the battle was your part, oh oh oh oh
In the wretched life of a lonely heart
Now we're back on the train
Oh, back on the chain gang
Writer: CHRISTINE HYNDE
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Time The Avenger
Nobody's perfect
Not even a perfect stranger
But oh what a gal
She was such a perfect stranger
And you're the best in your field
In your office with your girls
And desk and leather chair
Thought that time was on your side
But now it's time the avenger
Nobody's permanent
Everything's on loan here
Even your wife and kids
Could be gone next year
And with what you have left
You'll be forever under pressure
To support her
And a lover who looks strangely
Like time the avenger
Time, time, hear the bells chime
Over the harbor and the city
Time, one more vodka and lime
To help paralyze that tiny little tick, tick, tick, tick
Nobody's perfect
Not even a perfect gent
When your property took the a train
I wonder where your manners went
You were standing at the station
In your briefcase
Was your aftershave and underwear
Can you hear the whistle blow?
Sounds like time the avenger
Time, time, hear the bells chime
Over the harbor and the city
Time to kill another bottle of wine
To help paralyze that tiny little tick, tick, tick, tick
Not even a perfect stranger
But oh what a gal
She was such a perfect stranger
And you're the best in your field
In your office with your girls
And desk and leather chair
Thought that time was on your side
But now it's time the avenger
Nobody's permanent
Everything's on loan here
Even your wife and kids
Could be gone next year
And with what you have left
You'll be forever under pressure
To support her
And a lover who looks strangely
Like time the avenger
Time, time, hear the bells chime
Over the harbor and the city
Time, one more vodka and lime
To help paralyze that tiny little tick, tick, tick, tick
Nobody's perfect
Not even a perfect gent
When your property took the a train
I wonder where your manners went
You were standing at the station
In your briefcase
Was your aftershave and underwear
Can you hear the whistle blow?
Sounds like time the avenger
Time, time, hear the bells chime
Over the harbor and the city
Time to kill another bottle of wine
To help paralyze that tiny little tick, tick, tick, tick
Writer: CHRISTINE HYNDE
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Watching The Clothes
Oh, saturday night
Mmm, everyone's having fun
I'm down at the laundromat
Trying to get my washing done
Like I done before
Time and time again
Watching the clothes go 'round
Another week sees it's end
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Oh, I've been working hard
Mmm, trying to make some money
Would you like sour cream
On your potato, honey?
I been kissing ass
Trying to keep it clean
Serving the middle class
Yeah, it's a clean routine
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
There go the whites
Mmm, getting whiter
There go the colors
Getting brighter
There go the delicates
Through the final rinse
There goes my saturday night
I go without a fight
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Mmm, everyone's having fun
I'm down at the laundromat
Trying to get my washing done
Like I done before
Time and time again
Watching the clothes go 'round
Another week sees it's end
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Oh, I've been working hard
Mmm, trying to make some money
Would you like sour cream
On your potato, honey?
I been kissing ass
Trying to keep it clean
Serving the middle class
Yeah, it's a clean routine
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
There go the whites
Mmm, getting whiter
There go the colors
Getting brighter
There go the delicates
Through the final rinse
There goes my saturday night
I go without a fight
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Watching the clothes go 'round
Writer: CHRISTINE HYNDE
Copyright: Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Show Me
Show me the meaning of the word
Show me the meaning of the word
'cause I've heard so much about it
They say you can't live without it
Welcome to the human race
With it's wars, disease and brutality
You with your innocence and grace
Restore some pride and dignity
To a world in decline
Welcome to a special place
In a heart of stone that's cold and grey
You with your angel face
Keep the despair at bay
Send it away, and
Show me the meaning of the word
Show me the meaning of the word
'cause I've heard so much about it
I don't want to live without it
I don't want to live without it
Oh, I want love, I want love, I want love
Welcome here from outer space
The milky way still in your eyes
You found yourself a hopeless case
One seeking perfection on earth
That's some kind of rebirth, so
Show me the meaning of the word
Show me the meaning of the word
'cause I've heard so much about it
Don't make me live without it
Don't make me live without it
Oh, love, I want love, I want love, I want love
Show me the meaning of the word
'cause I've heard so much about it
They say you can't live without it
Welcome to the human race
With it's wars, disease and brutality
You with your innocence and grace
Restore some pride and dignity
To a world in decline
Welcome to a special place
In a heart of stone that's cold and grey
You with your angel face
Keep the despair at bay
Send it away, and
Show me the meaning of the word
Show me the meaning of the word
'cause I've heard so much about it
I don't want to live without it
I don't want to live without it
Oh, I want love, I want love, I want love
Welcome here from outer space
The milky way still in your eyes
You found yourself a hopeless case
One seeking perfection on earth
That's some kind of rebirth, so
Show me the meaning of the word
Show me the meaning of the word
'cause I've heard so much about it
Don't make me live without it
Don't make me live without it
Oh, love, I want love, I want love, I want love
Writer: CHRISTINE HYNDE
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Thumbelina
Hush little baby, don't you cry
When we get to tucson you'll see why
We left the snowstorms and the thunder and rain
For the desert sun, we're gonna be born again
What's important in this world
A little boy, a little girl
Hush little darling, go to sleep
Look out the window and count the sheep
That dot the hillsides and the fields of wheat
Across america as we cross america
What's important here today
The broken line on the highway
All the love in the world for you, girl
Thumbelina in a great big scary world
All the love in the world for you, girl
Take my hand and we'll make it through this world
Hush little baby, my poor little thing
You've been shuffled about like a pawned wedding ring
It must seem strange, love was here then gone
And the oklahoma sunrise becomes the amarillo dawn
What's important in this life
Ask the man who's lost his wife
When we get to tucson you'll see why
We left the snowstorms and the thunder and rain
For the desert sun, we're gonna be born again
What's important in this world
A little boy, a little girl
Hush little darling, go to sleep
Look out the window and count the sheep
That dot the hillsides and the fields of wheat
Across america as we cross america
What's important here today
The broken line on the highway
All the love in the world for you, girl
Thumbelina in a great big scary world
All the love in the world for you, girl
Take my hand and we'll make it through this world
Hush little baby, my poor little thing
You've been shuffled about like a pawned wedding ring
It must seem strange, love was here then gone
And the oklahoma sunrise becomes the amarillo dawn
What's important in this life
Ask the man who's lost his wife
Writer: CHRISSIE HYNDE
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
My City Was Gone
I want you to love me
That's all I want from you
I want you to love me
One day
I know I'm a peasant
Dressed as a princess
But that doesn't mean you have
To take my clothes away
If I could show you
Some happiness
Then I would feel
Like a real princess
That to me would be success
My baby
I seen you dancin'
A natural beauty
You make this dive
Seem sublime
You really get
To the heart of the music
You're the poetry of time
If there's a method
To writing a song
How come I'm getting it wrong
You write the beautiful songs
Baby
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon baby
Take my hand
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon show me
To the love land
Can this really happen
In this day and age
Suddenly
To just turn the page
Like walking on stage
My baby
That's all I want from you
I want you to love me
One day
I know I'm a peasant
Dressed as a princess
But that doesn't mean you have
To take my clothes away
If I could show you
Some happiness
Then I would feel
Like a real princess
That to me would be success
My baby
I seen you dancin'
A natural beauty
You make this dive
Seem sublime
You really get
To the heart of the music
You're the poetry of time
If there's a method
To writing a song
How come I'm getting it wrong
You write the beautiful songs
Baby
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon baby
Take my hand
C'mon, c'mon, c'mon show me
To the love land
Can this really happen
In this day and age
Suddenly
To just turn the page
Like walking on stage
My baby
Writer: CHRISTINE HYNDE, DAVE BROCK, N. TURNER
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Thin Line Between Love And Hate
It's a thin line between love and hate
It's a thin line between love and hate
It's five o'clock in the morning
And you're just getting in
You knock on the front door
And a voice sweet and low says
Who is it?
She opens up the door and lets you in
Never once asks where have you been
She says are you hungry?
Did you eat yet?
Let me hang up your coat
Pass me your hat
All the time she's smiling
Never once raises her voice
It's five o'clock in the morning
You don't give it a second thought
It's a thin line between love and hate [2x]
The sweetest woman in the world
Could be the meanest woman in the world
If you make her that way
You keep hurting her
She'll keep being quiet
She might be holding something inside
That'll really, really hurt you one day
I see her in the hospital
Bandaged from foot to head
In a state of shock
Just that much from being dead
You couldn't believe the girl
Would do something like this, ha
You didn't think the girl had the nerve
But here you are
I guess action speaks louder than words
It's a thin line between love and hate [2x]
It's a thin line between love and hate
It's five o'clock in the morning
And you're just getting in
You knock on the front door
And a voice sweet and low says
Who is it?
She opens up the door and lets you in
Never once asks where have you been
She says are you hungry?
Did you eat yet?
Let me hang up your coat
Pass me your hat
All the time she's smiling
Never once raises her voice
It's five o'clock in the morning
You don't give it a second thought
It's a thin line between love and hate [2x]
The sweetest woman in the world
Could be the meanest woman in the world
If you make her that way
You keep hurting her
She'll keep being quiet
She might be holding something inside
That'll really, really hurt you one day
I see her in the hospital
Bandaged from foot to head
In a state of shock
Just that much from being dead
You couldn't believe the girl
Would do something like this, ha
You didn't think the girl had the nerve
But here you are
I guess action speaks louder than words
It's a thin line between love and hate [2x]
Writer: EUGENE POINDEXTER ROBERT, JACKIE MEMBERS, RICHARD POINDEXTER, ROBERT POINDEXTER, ROBERT EUGENE POINDEXTER
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Copyright: Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
I Hurt You
I been crying like a woman
Because I'm mad, mad, mad like a man
If you'd been in the S.S. in '43
You'd have been kicked out for cruelty
I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
So I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
I been wondering about your dependency
Your idea of defiance is a modern day mystery
Arms and chest are cold
When your back is on fire
And the only time you come clean
Is when you're talking to your buyer
I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
So I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
Forget our philosophies
That we admired when we were young
And our popular points of view
They can't mean much or nothing
Or something or anything
'Cause we can't say "I love you"
I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
So I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
Happy birthday, darling and thank you for the schooling
Your correction mistress warned me and she wasn't fooling
Never trust a user with your television overnight
When the show he wants to video is "Dallas" on a Tuesday night
Don't try to paint your masterpiece under artificial light
Because I'm mad, mad, mad like a man
If you'd been in the S.S. in '43
You'd have been kicked out for cruelty
I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
So I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
I been wondering about your dependency
Your idea of defiance is a modern day mystery
Arms and chest are cold
When your back is on fire
And the only time you come clean
Is when you're talking to your buyer
I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
So I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
Forget our philosophies
That we admired when we were young
And our popular points of view
They can't mean much or nothing
Or something or anything
'Cause we can't say "I love you"
I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
So I hurt you
'Cause you hurt me
Happy birthday, darling and thank you for the schooling
Your correction mistress warned me and she wasn't fooling
Never trust a user with your television overnight
When the show he wants to video is "Dallas" on a Tuesday night
Don't try to paint your masterpiece under artificial light
Writer: CHRISTINE HYNDE
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Copyright: Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
2000 Miles
He's gone two thousand miles
Is very far
The snow is falling down
Gets colder day by day
I miss you
The children were singing
He'll be back at Christmas time
In these frozen and silent nights
Sometimes in a dream, you appear
Outside under the purple sky
Diamonds in the snow sparkle
Our hearts were singing
It felt like Christmastime
Two thousand miles
Is very far through the snow
I'll think of you
Wherever you go
He's gone two thousand miles
Is very far
The snow is falling down
Gets colder day by day
I miss you
I can hear people singing
It must be Christmastime
I hear people singing
It must be Christmastime
Is very far
The snow is falling down
Gets colder day by day
I miss you
The children were singing
He'll be back at Christmas time
In these frozen and silent nights
Sometimes in a dream, you appear
Outside under the purple sky
Diamonds in the snow sparkle
Our hearts were singing
It felt like Christmastime
Two thousand miles
Is very far through the snow
I'll think of you
Wherever you go
He's gone two thousand miles
Is very far
The snow is falling down
Gets colder day by day
I miss you
I can hear people singing
It must be Christmastime
I hear people singing
It must be Christmastime
Writer: Chrissie Hynde
Copyright: Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Copyright: Lyrics © EMI Music Publishing, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, BMG Rights Management
Learning to Crawl is the third studio album by British-American rock band the Pretenders. It was released on 13 January 1984 by Sire Records after a hiatus during which band members James Honeyman-Scott and Pete Farndon died of drug overdoses. The album's title of "Learning to Crawl" was given in honour of Chrissie Hynde's then-infant daughter, Natalie Rae Hynde. She was learning to crawl at the time that Hynde was trying to determine a title for the album.
Learning to Crawl was a critical and commercial success, reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. In the United States, it peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US.
Performed By:
The PretendersLearning to Crawl was a critical and commercial success, reaching number 11 on the UK Albums Chart. In the United States, it peaked at number five on the Billboard 200, making it the band's highest-charting album in the US.
Genre(s): New wave, alternative rock
Producer(s): Chris Thomas
Length: 39:21
Released: January 13th, 1984
Year: 1984