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Maharajah (single)

by Vladimir Chicken

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1.
Maharajah's Skeleton 08:04
lyrics
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Down the Hyde Road, behind the back of Longsight The drive-through city gets lit up by your headlights But the crumbling brick walls are all keeping very silent For what used to be here, you won't find any kind of monument Now you'll never see the fireworks, you'll never ride the Bobs You won't see any animals, unless you go to the dogs, You'll never watch a band play the King's Hall late at night And you'll never see a chimpanzee, riding on a bike But if you want to see the elephant, then I know where you can see him Cus Maharajah's skeleton, lives in the museum (Maharajah's skeleton, he lives in the museum) Now who was Maharajah? This is what you need to know We've got to go back 180 years ago To the teak forests of Asia, where the British army waits And the Bombay Burma Trading Corporation operates A young elephant is kidnapped, somewhere just south of Mandalay And they put him on the first ship that's sailing back to the UK What a crazy voyage! And what a change of scenery When he gets into the docks, he's bought straight up by Wombwell's Royal Menagerie And he goes to all the fairs, and he goes to all the shows He spends his life walking slowly round the country's dusty roads (and there he goes) So 7 years go by, with unbelievable excitements But the menagerie's proprietor has been planning his retirement All the animals, and all the keepers, have all worked until exhaustion And everything's gonna get sold off in this massive Edinburgh auction, Down in Manchester, at Belle Vue Zoo, they've been looking to expand And the put a bid on Maharajah, for nearly £700 (and they win him, obviously) So, the next day they put him on a train to travel south, But he smashes up the train carriage, using his trunk and his arse So it's all eyes on his keeper, he says "Well I think it's going to be OK, I've been to Manchester before, and I'm pretty sure I can remember the way. A young elephant like this can easily cover 200 miles in a matter of days. We'll head down the main road and we'll set off right away" ... A speed way, a car lot, a rubbish dump and a hotel None of this really represents much of the history very well From beautiful birds of paradise, to ocelots and polar bears Life used to be so much more interesting around there But now you'll never see the fireworks, you'll never ride the Bobs You won't see any animals around here, unless you go to the dogs The monkey house is missing, there must be some kind of mistake There's a Diamond Lodge hotel, where the used to be a lake. But if you want to see the elephant, then I know where you can see him. Cus Maharajah's skeleton, yeah it lives in the museum. (Maharajah's skeleton, he lives in the museum)
2.
Baboon on the Moon 04:08
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Brown eyes and suitcase, Dark eyes and furry face, Queuing up to go to space, Brown eyes and suitcase, Dark eyes and furry face, Queuing up to go to space

about

The true story of Manchester's most famous elephant, Maharajah.

Together with the less factual but no less amazing story of the Baboon on the Moon.

credits

released October 18, 2022

Recorded in 2022 at V.C.H.Q., Galicia

Backing vocals by Pau

Mastered by James Key @ Hive Audio, Manchester

Shout out to David Barnaby for the book "The Elephant Who Walked to Manchester"

license

all rights reserved

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