Kevin Coyne schreef House On The Hill naar aanleiding van zijn ervaringen als verpleegkundige in Whittingham Hospital, een psychiatrisch ziekenhuis. De ervaringen die hij in Whittingham en in zijn latere werk als sociaal raadsman voor drugsverslaafden opdeed waren bepalend voor zijn muzikale carrière. Veel van Coyne’s songs gaan over outcasts, over mensen die tussen wal en schip vallen of niet in staat zijn zich aan te passen aan de eisen die de maatschappij stelt. Speciaal aanbevolgen: het magnifieke dubbelalbum Marjory Razorblade, waarop ook de originele versie van House On The Hill terug te vinden is.
Well I’m going to the house upon the hill , the place where they give you pills
The rooms are always chilled, they’re never cosy
Where they give three suits a year and at Christmas time a bottle of beer
And at Easter time the mayor comes round, he’s always smiling
Where the old ladies sit by the garden wall and they never hear the bluebird call
Never notice the leaves that fall cause they’re all crazy
Where the red bus stands by the great big gate
The red bus that’s always late, you know why it’s always late
Cause it’s always empty
Funny, funny, funny, funny, oh so funny that’s it’s making me cry
Funny, funny, funny, funny, oh so funny Lord, sometimes I wish I could die.
Now this pagan life is getting me down, my brow is filled with a furl and a frown
My eyelids lower as low as can be but I’m not sleeping
I wander round that Brixton Square with the bottles strewn everywhere
Under tables and under chairs and they’re all broken
Where the big red face of the man on the beat
Says Hey, have you had someting to eat?
Thrusts out his yellow teeth, they’re all for biting
Where I don’t have a cent and I don’t know how I’ll pay the rent
I think I’ll turn bent and make some money
Funny, funny, funny, funny, oh so funny that’s it’s making me cry
Funny, funny, funny, funny, oh so funny Lord, sometimes I wish I could die.
So if you know a way I can go from out of this show you know
You could give me a golden glow but you’re not trying
You’d never lift a regular hand, you call me a lazy man
Who on earth will ever understand I’m really trying
So I’m going to the house upon the hill , the place where they give you pills
And where the doctors they don’t kill cause they’re so friendly
Where the red bus stands by the great big gate
The red bus and it’s always late, you know why it’s always late
Because it’s always empty
Funny, funny, funny, funny, oh so funny that’s it’s making me cry
Funny, funny, funny, funny, oh so funny Lord, sometimes I wish I could die.
Uitgelichte afbeelding: Whittingham Hospital – By User:A. Carty, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=60454188
