The Bastard Landlord - Pogues

Oh Lord, won't you tell me, I'm sure I don't know
Who makes the plans that change our lives so
From a place in the country so peaceful and calm
We moved up to London as the bombs fell around

House by the river where the rent it was cheap
The Landlord he told us, "Its yours to keep"
For regular payment week after week
You'll always have a roof under which you can sleep

The years past by, the war came to an end
We lived out our lives, did nothing to offend
But the Landlord's conditions yearly they grew
With the size of his gut and his housing values

He'd kneel on a Sunday and pray to the Lord
For the deals of love his world cannot afford
When the bastard he came 'round to raise up our rent
We swallowed our pride and we smiled our best

Bricks and mortar, Kingdom of Stone
Where do you go when you're all alone
They'll carve your name where you lie
And I for one, no tears will cry

Greed knows no boundaries, greed does not feel
I'm damned if I'll die for a profiting deal
The woman next door she just passed away
'Cause the rent got so high that she just couldn't pay

And there in the bed she closed up her eyes
The last time she gazed on this world of lies
With nowhere to go and nothing to say
She went to the next world and the bastard he smiled

Bricks and mortar, Kingdom of Stone
Where do you go when you're all alone
They'll carve your name where you lie
And I for one, no tears will cry

Oh Lord, won't you tell me, I'm sure I don't know
What makes some people so callous and cold
I've lived in this house for forty-four years
My children were born here, it's here I'll grow old

A curse on you, bastard landlord be damned
Who needs one more house like a beach needs more sand
I'll stay here till I'm done, only nobody knows
[Incomprehensible] one man treat others so