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Vanity

[ Roud - ; Cyril Tawney]

Cyril Tawney sang Vanity in 1997 on his cassette of non-maritime songs, Man of Honour. He noted:

Begun in 1962 but added to in 1965 and 1966, this was a deliberate attempt to manufacture homespun philosophy. A ponder-ball is the weight just above the hook of a crane, keeping the cable taut.

Lyrics

Cyril Tawney sings Vanity

Oh love is a damn fine splendid thing
It grows on every tree
Don’t be so grand come take my hand
And walk through the grove with me
And walk through the grove with me.

Chorus (repeated after each verse):
And its vanity, vanity all the world around
And it’s vanity will get you in the end, I’ll be bound.

I’ve met your kind of girl before
And money’s all you crave
But you won’t have silks and satins love
When they take you to your grave
When they take you to your grave.

You clutch your perm at every breeze
You’re scared it might unroll
You’re so took up with how you look
Have you thought about your soul?
Have you thought about your soul?

lt never does to walk through life
With your nose up in the air
For sure enough you’ll tread in stuff
That you won’t see lying there
That you won’t see lying there.

One day you’ll know just what it’s like
When love brings on the pain
And your heart feels like a ponder-ball
Upon an idle crane
Upon an idle crane.

If I was a bolder kind of chap
I’d take you on my knee
I’d grab you round and shake the fruit
Down off your loving-tree
Down off your loving-tree.

So fare you well, me lofty maid
Forever fare you well
I never knew a snail to rate
When it stayed inside its shell
When it stayed inside its shell.