Lyrics
Tommy Blake
Well, I went to see my banker just to raise a little money
But when he told me their requirements, well, I started feeling funny
He said, "you gotta have a house, you gotta have a lot"
I ain't got a window and I ain't got a pot
It takes a lot of long green to satisfy my honey 1
If I could get my hands on some f'olding money
Well, I went to see the welfare man to try to get a pension
Oh, now I was so depressed and I was needing some attention
He said, "you don't qualify, you don't get a dime"
That's when I broke his jaw, and that's why I'm doing time
I'd do it all again, though it may sound funny
Trying to get my hands on some f'olding money
Well, in gaol I got a letter from a lawyer in the city
He said, "I'm glad that I found you, but it surely is a pity"
"Well, I hate to tell you now about your rich aunt Fonny"
She passed and left a sack full of f'olding money
Well, I read her last will, and brother what a crime
"My nephew go to jail, well he don't get a dime"
I'd do it all again, though it may sound funny
If I could get my hands on some f'olding money
Shuffle the cards now man
Thirty more days to go
Lay the f'olding on the table
Five, ten, fifteen...
The Fall
I went to the bank just to get a little money
When he told me their requirements I started feeling funny
He said, "You ain't got a house, you ain't got a plot"
I ain't got a window and I ain't got a job
But it takes a lotta bluebacks to satisfy my honey 2
If I could get my hands on some f'oldin' money
Well, went to the social just to get a little pension
I was sorely in distress, I was needing some attention
They said you don't get a copper, you don't get a dime
That's why I broke his jaw, that's why I'm doin' time
But it takes a lotta bluebacks to satisfy my honey
If I could get my hands on some f'oldin' money
And then I got a letter off a lawyer in the city
It said, "You gotta come and see me, boy, it really is a pity"
"Those savings you got in the casino disappeared"
And he went out the window real quick, honey
And I'll do it all again but it may sound funny
If I could get my hands on some f'oldin' money
If I could get my hands on some f'oldin' money
Well I went to my banker just to raise a little money
He said, "I'm glad to see ya", but I started feeling funny
He said "You ain't got a house, you ain't got a job"
I ain't got a window and I ain't got a plot
It takes a lotta bluebacks to satisfy my honey
If I could get my hands on some f'oldin' money
F'oldin' money
F'oldin' money
F'oldin' money
F'oldin' money
Commentary
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Footnotes
- “Long green” is US slang for paper cash – dollar bills are printed with green ink. ↩︎
- “Bluebacks” is US slang for $100 bills, but historically referring to the paper cash issued by the Confederacy, which used blue ink, in contrast to the Union’s greenbacks, which used green ink. ↩︎
Sources / Links
- Smith, Mark E. with Austin Collings (2009). Renegade: The Lives and Tales of Mark E. Smith. London: Penguin. (Originally published by Viking, 2008). [Available online in the Internet Archive]
- The Track Record: “F-‘oldin’ Money”
- Wolstencroft, Simon (2014). You Can Drum But You Can’t Hide. London: Strata Books.
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