This ballad remained our most popular work for nearly a decade. Every time we played a concert, people asked to hear it. The piece appeared on numerous compilations - it became our Wonderwall and after a while I became sick at the sound of it even though I realise it is one of the best pop songs I've ever written. Issued on our 2nd album Sons Of The Dragon, it is one of the few recorded works to feature Akira, our Japanese drummer who remained with us for barely 11 months.
My boy Kim has a history that goes back 25 years.
With Vietcong Vinh and Loatian Li, he reduced his father to tears:
they crossed the border secretly through howling wind and rain
then hid in the tunnels of old Cu Chi – the police they searched in vain.
They came to Britain in ’79 and worked in take-aways.
You’d never see them in a poverty line, not when business pays.
They live in a forest of mobile ‘phones that lead to China Town
and they leave behind a trail of broken bones if the share index is down.
I’ve known Kim since ’86; I wouldn’t have it any other way,
but try no tricks with his kung fu kicks if you want to live another day.
I went with him to the Hippodrome as a night on the town is fun,
but I realised I should have stayed at home when the blood began to run.
Neon lit blades in the Trocadero: another fat white thug falls,
but of course Kim had to be the hero so blood and brains decorate the walls.
Now Kim’s real clean but he fights real dirty, as a ru con must:
fists and feet in Burlington Bertie – the barman bites the dust!
A lesson I was quickly taught when I tried to fight him, too.
I painfully realised I was caught when I challenged his kung fu.
As my fist came up, I really thought he’d met his Waterloo;
but he hit back and as we fought, I met my Dien Bien Phu.
Cambodian Kim and Vietcong Vinh, together with Laotian Li,
took Yuen and Fai and Mekong Minh to China Town for tea.
I saw their choppers rise and fall, the spray of blood so fine;
so now I think upon it all, I’m glad they’re friends of mine.
Andy Martin - Vocals.
Kwan Siu Lung - Guitars.
Dave Fanning - Bass Guitar.
Akira Ishii - Drums.
Recorded in DNA Studio, Brixton, in 1999.
The paypal address for our Band Camp and Lulu sites is [email protected].
