No Mercy: - Lyrics & Poems -

By: Murphy, Paul

No Mercy

Lyrics & Poems

An anthology of lyrics and prose from Irish singer/songwriter Paul Murphy. Dating from late October 2025, these 27 compositions were his final works, a sweeping range of tales concerning matters such as, the dissolution of order in Trump's America, and elsewhere ('You Know Who I Mean', 'Come Tomorrow'); social and legal injustice {'It's Still Sunday', 'English Justice'); persecution of the individual ('Reclamation', 'Angels Turn Away'); allegorical parables on the rise, and perils, of autocracy ('Wake Up Baby And Smell The Dead Roses]', 'Beauty'); and, against those starker works, a song of self-belief and empowerment ('Me'), and the beautiful ode from a parent to his child, 'To A Sleeping Angel'). And, although the material from these closing writing sessions was amongst the darkest even this no-holds-barred songwriter crafted, there was still a light-hearted double-entendre-laden number icrafted n 'Computer Love'. Meanwhile, as topical as ever, 'High & Mighty - Fallen', a commentary on the then-Prince Andrew, presciently written 2 days before his title removal.

Among the poems presented in this collection are the heartwarming 'Dawn Poem', with an alternate closing section seen here for the first time, and 'To The Two'. Also included, are two prose/song epics - the semi(?)-autobiographical life-reflection, 'And Then... The Last Song Came'; and 'My Tale', an elegiac narrative ballad of love and injustice in small-town 1930's dust-bowl America. Writing the 48 verses all in one day, this song - his final one - is incomplete, as his health finally failed. Realising this, 'signpost' verses were written, along with the final verse, and Paul then left details in the essay telling what the missing parts of the story would have been.

Accompanying the works are an essay - Goddamn, That Hurt - detailing the composition circumstances and back-stories to each song and poem; alternate, unused cover art and Internet cue-cards; and photographs of the original handwritten manuscripts.

Moving, emotive, conscience-provoking and, occasionally, disquieting, this anthology collates the final works, and wordplay, of a master songwriter whose narrative talents burned bright until his last line was scribed.

Angels Turn Away Extract]

Lightning's striking, trees are falling down
Babies wailing and their mother ain't around
Anybody care? No not one
We live in times when murder is fun
Angels turn away and sigh "There's nothin' else to say"

Buildin's burnin', crosses on their lawns
Chantin' crowd, all of 'em gold-plated pawns
Whatcha gonna do? Not a thing
They give you their hymn sheet and you sing
Angels turn away and sigh "There's nothin' else to say"

Flatline's soundin', where are the doctors to?
They've trapped a nurse in her room, an' they're formin' a queue
"Go ahead, scream, no-one will come"
"Except for us " laughs another scum
Angels turn away and sigh "There's nothin' else to say"

....

High & Mighty - Fallen Extract]

You ain't worth the money
You ain't worth the time
You ain't worth a prayer
Or a busted dime
I wish we could've seen
What lay behind the mask
Now the foreman of the jury's got a lot of questions to ask

You ain't worth a whisper
And you know why
You ain't worth a word
Or the blink of an eye
The debit sheet's red
And your assets have gone
Nothin' to see here, folks, please move along

Who's up for a wager?
Come and place your bets
If you're curious to know
How this one pays their debts

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: B0FXG3M2D3
• ISBN13: 9798270970178
• Release Date: October 2025
• Publisher: Independently Published
• Length: 148 Pages
• Weight: 0.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 9.0"