[Intro: dhol roll and market noise, shouted market cry] Pound a bowl Pound a bowl Mangoes, ladies Have a look [Verse 1] Six a.m., the Bull Ring, Edgbaston Street, the shutters going up Twenty years on my father's stall, a flask of chai, a paper cup Got the loudest mouth in Birmingham, I could sell a melon to a melon And the pigeons on the girders come to listen when I'm yelling Pound a bowl, the mangoes, pound a bowl, bananas for the nippers Don't squeeze my peaches, I don't squeeze yours, they're softer than your slippers Big Tony on the veg is shouting two pound like a car alarm I go three for a fiver and a wink, and I take his queue with charm [Hook: crowd answers, hoi shouts] Pound a bowl (pound a bowl) Fastest mouth in the market, come and have a look Pound a bowl (pound a bowl) I can sell you anything, I can read you like a book Ten thousand words an hour, and I never lose a sale Then I walk up to the flowers, and my whole voice fails [Verse 2] Across the aisle is Jas on flowers, and she never says a word She just tilts her head, and you've bought lilies for your mother, it's absurd Two years I've had a speech prepared, it's written on a paper bag I practice it to all the pears, I know it like a price tag Every Saturday at five I walk across, as far as the carnations Then I spin around and holler, pound a bowl, and run back to my station [Double-Time Switch: the price run, no commas] Strawberries a pound a punnet blueberries a pound a pot and the cherries only a pound a bag my darling Lovely melons two a pound and lovely lemons ten a pound and all the limes are going cheaper than the parking Pineapples a pound apiece the size of your head and all the avocados ripe for tonight are three for a pound Grapes a pound a bunch and I will throw a lemon in for your gin and if you're quick I'll knock another ten pence down [Half Hook: crowd answers] Pound a bowl (pound a bowl) Fastest mouth in the market, come and have a look Pound a bowl (pound a bowl) Then I walk up to the flowers, and my whole voice fails [Breakdown: drums drop to a lone dhol, spoken] Four fifty Last crates Jas is sweeping up Now or never, Sunny [Verse 3] So I promise all the pigeons, sell out by five and I'll walk over there No paper bag, no speech, no turning round at the carnations, I swear Big Tony says, you won't, and Mister Khan on bread puts a tenner down So I climb up on a crate, I fill my lungs, and I sell it to the town [Chopper Burst: closing sell off, triplet bounce, no commas] Everything must go my lovely a pound a bowl a pound a bag a pound a box a pound a crate I'm practically paying you to take it Mangoes for the lady in the purple coat and lemons for the student and the last of the bananas for the baby in the buggy Tony's got his mouth wide open Mister Khan is counting out his tenner and the pigeons on the girders are applauding like it's Wembley Four fifty nine every crate is empty and I'm walking past the carnations and my heart is louder than the dhol and it's trembling [Slow: beat cuts out, one dhol hit per line, spoken slow] Jas Would you like A coffee Sometime [Female voice: fast, double time, no commas] I thought you'd never ask it's two years of watching you come over and spin around at the carnations like a pigeon on a wire Seven o'clock you're buying and I'm having cake as well and bring a mango and sit there and listen while I talk until you're tired [Final Hook: crowd answers, hoi shouts] Pound a bowl (pound a bowl) Fastest mouth in the market, come and have a look Pound a bowl (pound a bowl) I can sell you anything, but she read me like a book Ten thousand words an hour, and I'm second best in town 'Cause the girl on the flowers just talked the fast man down [Outro: dhol fades, spoken] Pound a bowl (Seven o'clock) Pound a bowl (You're buying)
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