Flaunted Vice

Story Behind The Song

I wrote this using George Harrison's "gently weeps" method. My starting point was an old book picked at random from a shelf, and someone randomly suggested the 18th line of p72. The book was "Bow Street World" by Arthur Lieck (1938), and the sentence was "The honourable member seems rather to have held that flaunted vice is almost nice". The song pretty much wrote itself from there.

Song Description

A lightly satirical song about a naughty British Member of Parliament.

Song Length 2:40 Genre Unique - Comedy, Unique - General
Tempo Medium Slow (91 - 110) Lead Vocal Male Vocal
Mood Affable, Congenial Subject Politician, Other
Language English Era 1900 - 1920

Lyrics

The honourable member seems almost to have held
That flaunted vice is rather nice
He made an exhibition of feeding his desire
For big fast cars and mini-bars
He helped himself to everything the tax-payer would pay
It sometimes felt quite naughty but he did it anyway
He claimed it on expenses
And nobody used to say that it was wrong in any way

He took a special pleasure, as he had always done,
In silly girls with pretty curls
And in his hours of leisure he'd take young ladies out
And treat them to a drink or two
He'd drive them off for weekend breaks in Scarborough or Fife
He and all his friends would simply call it 'the good life'
But he always stayed respectable and never told his wife
Where he had gone, or for how long

The honourable member would often lose his cash
At roulette wheels and risky deals
He loved to have a flutter by racetracks round the land
And toast his friends with whisky blends
In every town he visited his cash was freely spent
And none of his constituents knew quite where it all went
An honourable member of the British Parliament
He flaunted all his honour without shame
He flaunted all his honour without shame

It is difficult to hear the lyrics at times, which is strange since it is sung slowly and ought to be clear as a bell. But what I did hear was witty and clever. The singing runs away from the music now and then it seems, and that could well be the fault of the recording. I would like to hear more songs from this artist. I wish I did not have so many nits about the song, I like it.

Lyrics Jon Stammers Music Jon Stammers
Producer Jon Stammers Performance Vocals: Jon Stammers; Guitar: Magnus Forrester-Barker

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