ed is at the ritz
Written: 1992
Released: 1999 on 'October'
Many years ago I went busking in Paris with a friend called Harry Powell and
a girl I was seeing at the time, whom we shall call
Marie-Antoinette. Marie-Antoinette had a friend called Ed, a man who
was rich beyond your wildest imaginings, and Ed was madly in love with
Marie-Antoinette, so much so that when he heard we were going to France, even
though he knew we were only going for a week, and even though he knew
I was going out with her, he said 'oh, I'll fly out and join you'.
And he did...
And he did...
Here we are in gay Paris
Harry Marie-Antoinette and me
And for the moment I'm her king
Just while she waits for the real thing
And in the rain Place Pompidou
Harry and me we sing our songs
To a rampant crowd of one or two
When who but who should chance along
It's Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
With his perfect smile and his chiselled lips
Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
With his perfect shoulders and their golden chips
But we, ah we, we are much too poor
We spend our nights Hotel Belfort
We spend our days with one guitar
Between ourselves, between each bar
While in the Cafe des Artistes
Ed and Marie-Antoinette
Are talking Klimt and Toulouse Lautrec
And Monet's Lilies and Rodin's Kiss
But we are much too thick for that
We just sing ourselves as hoarse as hell
Harry sings Roy Orbison
And me, well I sing Jacky Brel
But Ed is singing songs of love
Strumming on his credit card
I'd like to sing those songs as well
But Dad's fucked off and times are hard
But not for Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
Drinking champagne and eating caviar
Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
Drinking beaujolais and eating steak tartare
But we, ah we, we are much too poor
We spend our nights Hotel Belfort
We spend our days with one guitar
Between ourselves, between each bar
While in the Cafe des Poetes
Ed and Marie-Antoinette
Are talking Keats and Baudelaire
And such elan and quelle finesse
But we are much too proud for that
We just sing ourselves as hoarse as hell
Harry sings his Unconscious Mind
And me, well I sing Jacky Brel
But Ed is singing songs of love
Strumming on his credit card
I'd like to sing those songs as well
But Dad's fucked off and times are hard
Ed and Marie-Antoinette
Are talking Klimt and Toulouse Lautrec
And Monet's Lilies and Rodin's Kiss
But we are much too thick for that
We just sing ourselves as hoarse as hell
Harry sings Roy Orbison
And me, well I sing Jacky Brel
But Ed is singing songs of love
Strumming on his credit card
I'd like to sing those songs as well
But Dad's fucked off and times are hard
But not for Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
Drinking champagne and eating caviar
Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
Drinking beaujolais and eating steak tartare
But we, ah we, we are much too poor
We spend our nights Hotel Belfort
We spend our days with one guitar
Between ourselves, between each bar
While in the Cafe des Poetes
Ed and Marie-Antoinette
Are talking Keats and Baudelaire
And such elan and quelle finesse
But we are much too proud for that
We just sing ourselves as hoarse as hell
Harry sings his Unconscious Mind
And me, well I sing Jacky Brel
But Ed is singing songs of love
Strumming on his credit card
I'd like to sing those songs as well
But Dad's fucked off and times are hard
But not for Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
With it's golden taps and it's marble stairs
Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
With his mobile phone and his stocks and shares
But we, ah we, we are much too poor
We spend our nights Hotel Belfort
We spend our days with one guitar
Between ourselves, between each bar
While in the Cafe des Amoureux
Ed and Marie-Antoinette
Are talking love and holding hands
And dreaming nights of untold bliss
But we are much too shy for that
We just sing ourselves as hoarse as hell
Harry sings Cosi Fan Tutti
And me, I'm still singing Jacky Brel
But Ed is singing songs of love
About how much he's getting hard
Now Marie-Antoinette has got
Her lips stuck round his credit card
For we, ah we, we are much too poor
We spend our nights Hotel Belfort
And times are hard and life's a bitch
Now Ed and Marie-Antoinette
Are staying at the Ritz
© Philip Jeays 1992
With it's golden taps and it's marble stairs
Ed, Ed is at the Ritz
With his mobile phone and his stocks and shares
But we, ah we, we are much too poor
We spend our nights Hotel Belfort
We spend our days with one guitar
Between ourselves, between each bar
While in the Cafe des Amoureux
Ed and Marie-Antoinette
Are talking love and holding hands
And dreaming nights of untold bliss
But we are much too shy for that
We just sing ourselves as hoarse as hell
Harry sings Cosi Fan Tutti
And me, I'm still singing Jacky Brel
But Ed is singing songs of love
About how much he's getting hard
Now Marie-Antoinette has got
Her lips stuck round his credit card
For we, ah we, we are much too poor
We spend our nights Hotel Belfort
And times are hard and life's a bitch
Now Ed and Marie-Antoinette
Are staying at the Ritz
© Philip Jeays 1992
A-Z list of songs
Already There
Antelope, The
Any Way To Fall In Love
Arles
Ballad Of A Northamptonshire Girl, The
Beachy Head
Blood Of Poets, The
Catherine
Cupid Is A Drunkard
Death Bed
Don't Wait For Me
Don't Walk Away
Down At Harry's
Eastbourne
Ed Is At The Ritz
Entertaining Miss Steinway
Eyes Of The Thief, The
Falling In Love Again
Fame
Faust's A Singer
Fragile Soldiers
Freshly Fallen Snow
Geoff
Ghost Of You, The
Good Old Days, The
Great War, The
Here I Am
Idiots In Uniforms
I'll Never Be A Patriot
In My Long Grey Coat
Knife, The
Last Dance, The
Last Song, The
Laughing Song, The
Little Philip
London
London (original)
Looking For A Horse To Ride
Love and Marriage
Love You Madly
Madame
Man From Del Monte, The
Mas De Bagne Loup, The
Midnight In Trieste
Mr Jeays
My Own Way
Not The Man I Was
October
Oh To Be A God
Old Granny Waltz, The
Olivier
Only This High
Perry County
Racing Days
Raj, The
Razorblades & Cigarettes
Remember Me To The Roses
Richenda
Ruben Garcia
Sarajevo
Say You Love Me
Seven Signs Of Ageing
Soldier, The
Song For Hillsborough
Summer Night (Dreaming Of New York), A
Tea Dance, The
Terry's Dog
Thank You British Airways
Trains, The
Turning Of The Leaves, The
Vampire's Song, The
We Can Fly
What Would Singers Sing
When The Sun Goes In
Where Will We Go From Here
