Running Up The Harbour

Written by: 
J. Martyn
29 Mar 1979

Sometimes I wish that I had never seen your face
Sometimes I wish that you would never show me to the place
Sometimes I wish that I could be better than I am
Sometimes I wish that I was still your loving man

You take me so high
You leave me so low
You take me so high
You leave me so low

A cool cool time
For running up the harbour
It's a cool cool time
For going to see your father
A cool cool time
For running on the sea shore
Such a cool cool time
For a place you never been before

(You never been before)
(You never been before)
(You never been before)

[scat line ] ................. gone
And now you set me up and you leave me on the road
For all the love we had I just don't have a line
You tell me all those years were just a waste of time

You take me so high
You leave me so low
You take me so high
You leave me so low

It's a cool cool time
For running up the sea shore
Such a cool cool time
For a scene you never seen before
A cool cool time
For running up the harbour
Such a cool cool time
For going to see your father

[scat singing, guitar solo]

[scat verse]

You take me so high
You leave me so low
You leave me so high
You take me, take me down so low

It's a a cool cool time
For running up the sea shore
Such a cool cool time
For something you never seen before
It's a cool cool time
For running up the harbour
A cool cool time
For going to see my father

Go and see my father *
Go see my father
Go see my father

Go see, go see, go see, go see, go see
Cosi cosi cosi cosi cosi cosi

Allo blondini!
Sullo percussion
El basso profundo
I grosso con petito
E con avante
Un avanta la guarda

Si el dentisto rorcho
Extramarito el dentisto
Removo el conno
Give it some spico
El porto al niente
Al dente!

You take me
You leave me
You take me
You leave me

[instrumental outroll]

* sitenote:
John's father fell seriously ill in this period and for a while John lived with him in Moscow to take care of him.

Amusing song recorded at Basing Street Studios 29 March 1979 and mixed 9 June 1979.
One can wonder why this track did not make it to the album because the lyric is relevant in a divorce process. My guess it was too uptempo and jolly in comparison with the rest. The nonsense parts suggest John had recently had a toothache of some kind.

It is often referred to as a first version of Cooltide but this is not the case. The only thing that John did in Cooltide was recycling a phrase he liked. Both the subject and the atmosphere are totally different.