I jumped on a London omnibus to take me into work,
I went up to the top deck for a smoke,
I lit me fag and noticed we were going the wrong way,
Is this driver drunk or playing us a joke?
Now I’m the sort of feller who enjoys a friendly jape,
But I wasn’t in the mood for such malarkey,
When I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed too,
I saw all the passengers were dressed in khaki!
I’m on the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
Fate has played a cruel twist on me,
I’m on the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
I wanted Piccadilly, now I’m off to Picardie,
I’m on the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
Oh when will that conductor’s bell go jingle?
I wish I’d had the money for to buy a day return,
But the ticket in me hand is just a single!
I tried to get to sleep last night as I lay in the mud,
In a crater somewhere deep in No man’s Land,
When suddenly a Jerry soldier fell into me hole,
With a grimace and a rifle in his hand!
He shrugged his muddy shoulders and he sat down by my side,
With a friendly smile that banished fright and fear,
I offered him some bully beef, he offered me a smoke,
I said, “Cor blimey, Fritzy, what are you doing here?”
He said, “I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,”
And he told me such a familiar tale,
He said “ I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
I wanted Passenhausen, now I’m here in Paschendale,
I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
And why I’m here at all I’m none the wiser,
You’re up the Swanee, and I’m up the Rhine,
And we both want to stick it up the Kaiser!”
I went up to the top deck for a smoke,
I lit me fag and noticed we were going the wrong way,
Is this driver drunk or playing us a joke?
Now I’m the sort of feller who enjoys a friendly jape,
But I wasn’t in the mood for such malarkey,
When I looked around to see if anyone else had noticed too,
I saw all the passengers were dressed in khaki!
I’m on the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
Fate has played a cruel twist on me,
I’m on the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
I wanted Piccadilly, now I’m off to Picardie,
I’m on the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
Oh when will that conductor’s bell go jingle?
I wish I’d had the money for to buy a day return,
But the ticket in me hand is just a single!
I tried to get to sleep last night as I lay in the mud,
In a crater somewhere deep in No man’s Land,
When suddenly a Jerry soldier fell into me hole,
With a grimace and a rifle in his hand!
He shrugged his muddy shoulders and he sat down by my side,
With a friendly smile that banished fright and fear,
I offered him some bully beef, he offered me a smoke,
I said, “Cor blimey, Fritzy, what are you doing here?”
He said, “I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,”
And he told me such a familiar tale,
He said “ I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
I wanted Passenhausen, now I’m here in Paschendale,
I took the wrong bus, the wrong bus,
And why I’m here at all I’m none the wiser,
You’re up the Swanee, and I’m up the Rhine,
And we both want to stick it up the Kaiser!”
Contributed by Bernart Bartleby - 2018/5/7 - 14:27
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Parole e musica di Jez Lowe
Nell’album “The Ballad Beyond”
Testo trovato sul sito dell’autore
Nel 1914, all’inizio della Grande Guerra, centinaia di bus urbani inglesi vennero requisiti dall’esercito ed utilizzati per trasportare le truppe nelle aree di conflitto oltre Manica… La canzone di Lowe ironizza sul fatto che all’epoca, quando uno usciva di casa per andare a lavorare, rischiava di prendere il bus sbagliato, non in direzione Piccadilly ma verso la Piccardia… Viaggio di sola andata...