Paper Lace The Night Chicago Died Lyrics:
[Sound of police sirens over instrumental intro.]
[Whispered:]
Daddy was a cop,
On the east side of Chicago.
Back in the U.S.A.
Back in the bad, old days.
[Sung:]
In the heat of a summer night,
In the land of the dollar bill.
When the town of Chicago died,
And they talk about it still.
[The word, "hey," is chanted over the following verse.]
When a man named Al Capone,
Tried to make that town his own,
And he called his gang to war,
With the forces of the law.
I heard my mama cry.
I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother what a night it really was.
Brother what a fight it really was.
Glory be.
I heard my mama cry.
I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother what a night the people saw.
Brother what a fight the people saw.
Yes, indeed.
And the sound of the battle rang,
Through the streets of the old east side.
Till the last of the hoodlum gang,
Had surrendered up or died.
[The word, "hey," is chanted over the following verse.]
There was shouting in the street,
And the sound of running feet.
And I asked someone who said,
"'Bout a hundred cops are dead."
I heard my mama cry,
I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother what a night it really was.
Brother what a fight it really was.
Glory be.
I heard my mama cry,
[ Find more Lyrics on http://mp3lyrics.org/gTT ]I heard her pray the night Chicago died.
Brother what a night the people saw.
Brother what a fight the people saw.
Yes, indeed.
Then there was no sound at all,
But the clock upon the wall.
[Ticking.]
Then the door burst open wide,
And my daddy stepped inside.
And he kissed my mama's face,
And he brushed her tears away.
The night Chicago died,
[Kazoo.]
The night Chicago died,
Brother what a night the people saw.
Brother what a fight the people saw.
Yes, indeed.
The night Chicago died,
[Kazoo.]
The night Chicago died,
[Fade.]
The night Chicago died,
Brother what a night the people saw.
Brother what a fight the people saw.
Yes indeed,
[THE NIGHT CHICAGO DIED [1] ]
[Written by: Peter Callander & Mitch Murray
Performed by: Paper Lace [2] -1974 [3] ]
Appears on: Paper Lace-1974, Back to the '70s, Vol. III-1989*, Rock'n'Roll
Fever of the '60s & '70s-1994*, AM Gold: Radio Hits of the '70s
(1969-1974)-1999*, One Hit Wonders-2004*, AM Radio: One Hit Wonders-2005*
[4] ,
Remember the Golden '70s-2008*, et al. (*Compilation of various artists.)]
[1] Covered by: The Countdown Singers, No Empanthy, The Recliners & Ricky Lee
Robinson.]
[2] This song is unfairly lumped in with the likes of "Afternoon Delight" and
"Billy Don't Be A Hero" as one of the icons of the '70s "bubblegum" genre.
The song is factually inaccurate — there is no East Side of Chicago, and Al
Capone never engineered a police massacre. The arrangement is wildly
overactive, throwing in some sound effects and ear-grabbing noises like the
very odd and prominent, clipped, overprocessed cymbal sound that shows up
once a verse for about four bars at a time and then disappears again. However
in the '70s this song had been an inescapable AM radio hit.]
[3] Paper Lace was a classic one-hit wonder band. In America, anyway. (In the
U.K. they were a classic two-hit wonder.) Formed in 1969 in Nottingham,
England, by Michael Vaughn, Chris Morris, Carlo Santanna (not to be confused
with Carlos Santana, of Latin music fame), Cliff Fish, and Phillip Wright.
They were one of hundreds of pop bands in England looking for the big time
while slogging their way through small club gigs and brief television
appearances. Their big break came in 1974 when their version of the
tear-jerking, "bubblegum" tune "Billy, Don't Be a Hero," went all the way to
the top of the U.K. charts. Their next single,"The Night Chicago Died," did
manage to hit the number one slot on the U.S. charts (number three in the
U.K.) and then that was it.]
[4] Transcribed from the track on this album.]
Lyrics: The Night Chicago Died, Paper Lace [end]