Richard Thompson - Pearly Jim lyrics

My screenplay's on the block My Tuscan villa's in hock To Mister Pearly Jim My wife and kids have scrammed They say my phone is jammed By Mister Pearly Jim He dresses up in rags He's mister money bags They call him Pearly Jim He'll show you Paradise At least some place quite nice They call him Pearly Jim Why did you wait so long? Can you help him sing his song? 'Alms for the poor, Alms for the poor' We need ketchup on our bangers and mash This self-denial brings us out in a rash I'm rolling dice for gin I'm getting sliced too thin By Mister Pearly Jim I mortgaged my des. res He needs a boost, he says Does Mister Pearly Jim He's got a compound down The balmy side of town The guards'll give you sh**s He's got a pearly suit For every new recruit You'll feel so thrilled to bits When he grits that pearly smile Will you go that extra mile? 'Alms for the poor Alms for the poor' Chairman Mao's got a whole lot of thoughts And R.D.Laing's got me tied up in knots Does your conscience ever scream Between the chaos and the dream 'Alms for the poor Alms for the poor' To save time just pay us here on the street The whole universe will be our receipt