Graham Parker - When I Was King lyrics

pre>capo at 2 intro: ?? G g c em When i was king i was not really the man i am now G am g c I was like anyone sitting on a throne made out of china G g c em When i was king i had already abdicated C am g c Already melted my crown down to sell as scrap C But they'd run the first run of stamps D g People had cashed in their post office savings C d c To buy some and lick the back of my neck (c) d I just let them get on with it arrange the coronation G c I just didn't turn up, i just didn't turn up You became queen to a regime of fixed ideas The subjects just outlines like figures in a shadow cabinet And then we ruled over some green and pleasant land With a frog and a princess not necessarily in that order But if you want it to be what you want it to be You'll have to dethrone me or have me decapitated I didn't want to be king anyway i always preferred to hang out With the servants, the servants When i was king When i was king there was no country left to rule Jesters and fools were leaders all of them a royal pain Now i'm a serf but i'm still trying to be a king But putting the crown on is like putting a silk purse on a sow's ear And if i want it to be like i want it to be I'll have to a**a**inate someone with a guitar as a gun On it's good to be king i know that i've been there G g Many, many, many, many kingdoms ago when i was king Repeat when i when i over g and c /pre>