Grimsby Poets Forums

For a lost-love song with a strong happy beat (?!) not much can beat the 1965 classic Yesterday Man ;

YESTERDAY MAN, Chris Andrews 1965

I'm her yesterday man.
Well, my friends that's what I am
I'm her yesterday man.
Well, my friends that's what I am
That's what I am, her yesterday man.

Please tell me something, have you met an angel -
Someone too lovely to live on Earth ?
Well yesterday I thought, I met an angel but
She wasn't worth all she seemed to be worth
And, oh, what a fool I have been
I was sure taken in.

Yeah, I'm her yesterday man.
Well, my friends that's what I am
I'm her yesterday man.
Well, my friends that's what I am
That's what I am, her yesterday man.
Gone is the look of love she had last night.

Get some of the good kind, and some of the bad kind
Some of the others are in between
But all that I can say, she is the worst kind
Well, I think you know what I mean
And yet in spite all that, I say
I'll take her back any day

Now, I'm her yesterday man.
Well, my friends that's what I am
I'm her yesterday man.
Well, my friends that's what I am
That's what I am, her yesterday man.
Gone is the look of love she had last night.

Oh, come a little closer, baby
Don't get tell me
You gonna leave me, you leave me
Gone is the look of love she had last night.
I know that, I know that
I know that, I know that
Gone is the look of love she had last night.
I know, I know.

Hear it -

Yes I do like Yesterday Man, but maybe it was not all sung too clearly because I thought it went "To all my friends thats what I am" and not "Well my friends that what I am" !!

If you write poetry or songs, there is a great website where you can type in any word and get its rhymes, synonyms, definitions, and more - try it - http://www.rhymezone.com

And another great song on these lines is,

Queen of Hearts, 1979 Dave Edmunds.

Midnight, I'm a-waiting on the 12.05 
Hoping it'll take me just a little farther down the line.
Moonlight, you're just a heartache in disguise 
Won't you keep my heart from breaking if it's only for a very short time.

Playing with the Queen of Hearts, knowing it ain't really smart 
The joker ain't the only fool, who'll do anything for you.
Laying out another lie, thinking 'bout a life of crime 
That's what I'll have to do, to keep me away from you.

Baby, it makes me feel so bad 
Why is everybody telling everybody what you have done.
And baby, I know it makes you sad 
But when they're handing out the heartaches you know you got to have you some.

Playing with the Queen of Hearts, knowing it ain't really smart 
The joker ain't the only fool, who'll do anything for you.
Laying out another lie, thinking 'bout a life of crime 
That's what I'll have to do, to keep me away from you.

Lovers, I know you've had a few 
You hide your heart beneath the covers and you tell 'em they're the only one.
And lovers, know what I'm going through 
It's so hard to be a lover when you say you only do it for fun.

Playing with the Queen of Hearts, knowing it ain't really smart 
The joker ain't the only fool, who'll do anything for you.
Laying out another lie, thinking 'bout a life of crime 
That's what I'll have to do, to keep me away from you.
To keep me away from you.
To keep me away from you.
To keep me away from you.

Hear it -

The US country-music singer Juice Newton also recorded a popular version of 'Queen of Hearts'.


There was also an earlier unrelated 'The Queen of Hearts' song, said to originate from 1600s England.
Numbers of singers recorded it and one version of its lyrics is ;

Cyril Tawney sings The Queen of Hearts.

To the Queen of Hearts he’s the Ace of Sorrow,
He is here today, he is gone tomorrow.
Young men are plenty but sweethearts few,
If my love leave me what shall I do?

When my love comes in I gaze not around,
When my love goes out, I fall in a swound.
To meet is pleasure, to part is sorrow,
He is here today, he is gone tomorrow.

Had I the store in yonder mountain
Where gold and silver is had for counting,
I could not count for the thought of thee,
My eyes so full that I could not see.

I love my father, I love my mother,
I love my sister, I love my brother.
I love my friends, my relations too,
But I’d leave them all for the love of you.

My father left me both house and land
And servants many, at my command.
At my commandment they never shall be,
I’ll forsake them all for to follow thee.

An Ace of Sorrow to the Queen of Hearts,
O how my bosom bleeds and smarts.
Young men are plenty but sweethearts few,
If my love leave me, what shall I do?

And of course there is also the old English poem 'The Queen of Hearts' based on playing-card characters which became a popular nursey rhyme and was used in Lewis Carroll's 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' ;

The Queen of Hearts
She made some tarts,
All on a summer's day;

The Knave of Hearts
He stole those tarts,
And took them clean away.

The King of Hearts
Called for the tarts,
And beat the knave full sore;

The Knave of Hearts
Brought back the tarts,
And vowed he'd steal no more.

And a bit along the lines of Yesterday Man, is another older song that I do like - Rose Garden ;

Rose Garden by Lynn Anderson, Joe South 1970

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine
there's gotta be a little rain sometime.
When you take you got to give so live and let live
Or let go, oh oh oh oh
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden.

I could promise you things like big diamond rings
But you don't find roses growin' on stalks of clover
so you better think it over
When it's sweet talking you could make it come true
I would give you the world right now on a silver platter
but what would it matter.

So smile for a while and let's be jolly
Love shouldn't be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can.

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine
there's gotta be a little rain sometime.
I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden.

I could sing you a tune and promise you the moon
But if that's what it takes to hold you
I'd just as soon let you go
but there's one thing I want you to know
You better look before you leap, still waters run deep
And there won't always be someone there to pull you out
And you know what I'm talking about.

So smile for a while and let's be jolly
Love shouldn't be so melancholy
Come along and share the good times while we can.

I beg your pardon
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine
there's gotta be a little rain sometime.