"Home For a Rest"

I've not been able to find abc-files for this, so if we want to use it, we would have to transcribe it ourselves - but see the wikipedia references...

According to wikipedia;

"Home For a Rest" (sometimes abbreviated H4AR) is a song by Canadian folk rock band Spirit of the West, from their 1990 album Save This House. (ed. note: This has also been "covered" by Nfld\'s Great Big Sea) Although never officially released as a single, it is the band's most famous song and is considered a classic of Canadian music.

Written by John Mann and Geoffrey Kelly, the song tells of a drinking spree in London. The lyrics and the musical setting clearly revel in the fun of the experience, but also show a longing for the rest and comfort of home: the song's chorus is "You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best/I've been gone for a week, I've been drunk since I left/These so-called vacations will soon be my death/I'm so sick from the drink, I need home for a rest."

British geographical references such as Euston Station, Charing Cross Road and Yorkshire appear in the lyrics. The song's musical arrangement incorporates the traditional reels "Castle Kelly," "Glass of Beer," and "Swallow's Tail."

"Home For a Rest" is always the final song played at the band's concert performances, excepting encores.

Lyrics:

Home For A Rest
(Spirit of the West)

You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best,
I've been gone for a month, I've been drunk since I left.
These so-called vacations will soon be my death -
I'm so sick from the drink, I need home for a rest.

We arrived in December and London was cold,
we stayed in the bars along Charing Cross road,
we never saw nothin' but brass taps and oak,
kept a shine on the bar with the sleeves of our coats.

[Chorus]
You'll have to excuse me, I'm not at my best,
I've been gone for a week, i've been drunk since i left,
and these so-called vacations will soon be my death -
I'm so sick from the drink, I need home for a rest!
Take me home....

Euston station the train journey north,
in the buffet car we lurched back and forth,
past old crooked dykes through Yorkshire's green fields -
we were flung into dance as the train jigged and reeled.

[Chorus]

By the light of the moon, she'd drift through the streets,
a rare old perfume, so seductive and sweet.
She'd tease us and flirt, as the pubs all closed down,
then walk us on home and deny us a round.

[Chorus]

The gas heater's empty, it's damp as a tomb.
The spirits we drank now ghosts in the room.
I'm knackered again, come on sleep take me soon -
and don't lift up my head 'till the twelve bells at noon.

[Chorus]