Roger Taylor and The Cross Miscellaneous Songs lyrics

This page includes song details of miscellaneous tracks by Roger and The Cross, which do not fit under the various studio albums.
As well as the tracks on this page, Roger also composed the soundtrack to the 2015 film 'Solitary', but so far neither the film, nor any of the tracks, have been officially released.

Details of some of Roger's tracks recorded and performed with Smile and The Reaction can be found on the Pre-Queen Songs page.

Celebration

Written by Spike Edney. Length 4:37.
Recorded by The Cross at the Jam Studios Sessions in 1988 or 1989, but never completed.
Available on the 'Singles 2' album and 'The Lot' boxed set only.
The released version is an edit of the full demo, which features an additional section at 1:47, extending the length to 5:12.
Lyrics: (the lyrics in red are added to the (unreleased) full length version)
Do you close your mind?
Do you hide your eyes?
Do you turn away 'cos it must be lies?
It ain't your concern, leave it in the hands of fate
You're happy in your world so celebrate

Celebration
Easy on me
For the chosen ones
Celebration

Look around you
See what happens
When the people get no satisfaction
Too many others got more than their need

You can have it
If you want it
Take a share and we can build an army
Hand it to your brother sold and see

Celebration
Easy on me
For the chosen ones
Celebration

Make excuses
Explanations
A million reasons for the situation
Can you stand to watch the hunger and the greed

Celebration
Easy on me
For the chosen ones
Celebration

It's a new day
Feel it calling
Now the time has come
Celebration

Start to live when you start to believe
That your heart has no colour or creed
Don't let it lie
Don't let it die
Let it bleed

You see it everyday when it's on TV
The crying and the dying and the misery
But you shouldn't worry, you should sleep
And live in your life so pure and sweet

It's no good saying 'what can I do'
There's too many people in the world like you
You gotta do it now 'cos it's getting late
Don't you want the world to celebrate

Celebration
Easy on me
For the chosen ones
Celebration
It's a new day
Feel the calling
Now your time has come
Celebration

Don't you want the world to celebrate?
Don't you want the world to celebrate?
Don't you want the world to celebrate?
Don't you want the world to celebrate?
Don't you want the world to celebrate?
Don't you want the world to celebrate?
Don't you want the world to celebrate?
Don't you want the world to celebrate?

Gangsters Are Running This World

Written by Roger Taylor. Length 4:08.
This track was initially released as a video on Youtube on 1 April 2019, and then as a download (with the Purple Version) on 8 April 2019. Both tracks were also released on 7" vinyl, exclusively available as part of the Drum Head Box Set on 2 November 2019.
It is completely different to the Purple Version, rather than it just being an alternative mix.
Alternative Versions:
1. Video Version (3:59) (available on the official lyric video only; this is identical to the normal version, but it ends abruptly, rather than fading out)
Lyrics:
There's blood on the streets
Panic in the air
The markets are trading up
In madness and fear

As I lay on my bed
Mind's trying to rest
There's a whole heap of worry
Pushing down on my chest

Gangsters are running this world
You can shout but never be heard
Gangsters are running this world

We all need a reason
To be alive and wonder
The smell of the coffee and bread
The sound of the rain and the thunder

A mist in the frozen fields
The thrill of the race
The sweet pain of your first love lost
The sun on your face
All the while

Gangsters are running this world
We're all just sheep in the herd
Gangsters are running this world

I wanna fly on the wings of love
I want the clean fresh air in my face
I wanna tear down every border and wall
I wanna take part in the human race

I wanna fly on the wings of love
I wanna run down a path of hope
I wanna fly on the wings of love

Gangsters are running this world
You can shout but never be heard
Gangsters are running this world

All the while
Gangsters are running this world

I Can Take You Higher

Written by Roger Taylor. Length 3:28.
Recorded by The Cross at the Jam Studios Sessions in 1988 or 1989, but never completed.
Available on the 'Singles 2' album and 'The Lot' boxed set only.
Roger also recorded a solo version, again as a demo only, for his 1984 album 'Strange Frontier', titled 'I Wanna Take You Higher'. Full details are available on the Unreleased Songs & Demos page.
Lyrics:
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey, hey

I got this baby in overdrive
My foot's on the floor and I'm feeling alive
I put her in second and I leave him cold
Eat my dust never live to be slow

Sitting alone in your favourite chair
Counting the reasons you shouldn't be there
I wanna take you higher, baby let you know
I wanna take you higher, never live to be slow

Baby I can take you higher
Lift your two feet off the ground
What you got to lose when love's a score of nothing
And we ain't never coming down

Screams like a kid when I'm making the turns
She holds in the skids, smell the rubber burn
I watch for the cops and I watch for the signs
Life in the fast lane you look into the lines

Mooching along on some everyday street
These are the moments you really don't need
So if you feel like a buzz, you feel like a ride
Eat my dust, or step inside

Baby I can take you higher
Lift your two feet off the ground
What you got to lose 'cos love's a score of nothing
And we ain't never coming down

So turn on your power
And turn on your heat
When you turn on your power
All the world is at your feet

Baby I can take you higher, yeah
Lift your two feet off the ground
What you got to lose 'cos love's a score of nothing
And we ain't never coming down

Baby I can take you higher
Lift your two feet off the ground
What you got to lose 'cos love's a score of nothing
And we ain't never coming down

I Wanna Testify

Written by Roger Taylor and George Clinton. Length 3:46.
This is actually a reworked cover version, the original version was by The Parliaments and reached no 20 in the USA in 1967. However, the music is completely different, and the title is the only retained lyric. It was recorded in April 1977.
Available on the 7" single, the 'Solo Singles 1' album, 'The Lot' boxed set, the North American 'Best' compilation, and the 2015 US CD reissue of the 'Fun In Space' album.
Lyrics:
(Do wop, do wop, yeah)
(Do wop, do wop)
(Do wop, do wop, yeah)
(Do wop, do wop)

(Do wop, do wop, yeah) we met each other introduced by her brother
(Do wop, do wop) a cat I'd known all my life
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) partying and dancing, moonlight and romancing
(Do wop, do wop) soon to be husband and wife
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) my friends call me crazy, her folks call her lazy
(Do wop, do wop) but our love counts for life
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) if we stick together the pressures we would weather
(Do wop, do wop) not knowing we were in for a fall

Women and drinking, I'm in love (loving and thinking)
Will do it to you everytime
Na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na-na
Women and drinking, I'm in love (loving and thinking)
Will do it to you everytime

Find yourself going down, down, down, down
I'm going down, ah, ah, ah
I'm going down, down, down, down, down, down, ah, ah, ah
Ow, I just wanna testify
What the women don't owe to me
I just wanna testify
What the women don't owe to me

(Do wop, do wop, yeah)

(Do wop, do wop, yeah) we had a boy, my pride and joy
(Do wop, do wop) I took a job day and night
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) tired and wired, one day I got fired
(Do wop, do wop) that's when we started to fight
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) with time on his hands, a man ain't a man
(Do wop, do wop) and all he loves he starts to neglect
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) I didn't go far, went straight to the bar
(Do wop, do wop) and drank away my self respect

Women and drinking, loving and thinking
Will do it to you everytime
Women and drinking, I'm in love (loving and thinking)
Will do it to you everytime

Find yourself going down, down, down, down
I'm going down, ah, ah, ah
I'm going down, down, down, down, down, down, ah, ah, ah
Ow, I just wanna testify
What the women don't owe to me
I just wanna testify
What the women don't owe to me

(Do wop, do wop, yeah)
(Do wop, do wop) let me get on back to my story now

(Do wop, do wop, yeah) care about no-one but my wife and my son
(Do wop, do wop) that's when I started to roam
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) bar room to them, it happened so soon
(Do wop, do wop) I found myself out of home
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) she went back to her mother, I fought with her brother
(Do wop, do wop) and in my heart I know I was wrong
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) please pay attention to the words that I mention
(Do wop, do wop) and listen to the moral of the song

Ow
(Do wop, do wop, yeah) I just, I just
(Do wop, do wop) I just wanna testify
Ow
Yeah

Journey's End

Written by Roger Taylor. Length 6:56.
This track was released as a video download on 5 May 2017, as an audio download on 2 June 2017, as a 10" sunset gold vinyl EP for USA Record Store Day Black Friday on 24 November 2017, and as a 10" black vinyl for UK Record Store Day on 21 April 2018.
The video was a cinematic short, and topped the iTunes video chart in numerous countries worldwide, including the UK and the Netherlands.
Recording Notes:
Recorded in 2016
Vocals, piano, keyboards, guitar and upright bass by Roger Taylor
Additional keyboards by Joshua J. Macrae
Additional guitar by Jason Falloon
Produced by Roger Taylor and Joshua J. Macrae
Available Versions:
1. Single Version (6:56) (available on the download and the UK and USA 10" singles)
2. Instrumental Version (6:48) (available on the UK and USA 10" singles only; this is a full instrumental version, with no lyrics at all; the track seems to fade out earlier, but that could just be because it's vinyl, rather than a digital download)
Lyrics:
In my life
I've always dreamed
In my dreams
I live to fly

And when I fly
I'm flying blind
So many questions
Spring to mind

And see the snakes
Around the bend
On my way
To journey's end

Around the bend
Just out of sight
Around the corner
Shines a light

Just out of touch
And out of reach
Beyond all sound
Beyond all speech

That curtain falls
But who knows when
Hmm, my journey ends
My journey's end

Fly
Like the swallows
That dance
Through the sky

Fly
Into tomorrow
Through the wind
Through the fire

Fly
Like an eagle
Fly straight
With no fear

Fly
From all sorrows
From all sadness
From all care

Fly

Turn On The TV

Written by Roger Taylor. Length 3:27.
Available on the 'I Wanna Testify' 7" single, the 'Solo Singles 1' album, 'The Lot' boxed set, and the 2015 US CD reissue of the 'Fun In Space' album.
This track was recorded in April 1977.
Lyrics:
Ahhh
Oh

Collect your senses and your wits
And what you've left on your mind
All the so called modern caring virtues
Are likely to change, you'll find
So let's turn on the TV, wake up
You know what - that sounds better it's all for free
Turn on the TV as it takes a horizontal hold
On your energy

Just gotta get, gotta get, gotta go, gotta get up out of here
Gotta get, gotta get, gotta go, gotta get up out of here

Go to the place over the hill
Where the grass is greener
Where the life is sweeter
And all the time we know
That it never is, that it never is
That it never is, that it never is
And it's very likely that we never will

Turn on the TV - find myself a-talking to
One of those quadraphonic pioneers
Turn on the TV - he said give up that stereo
Boy I said I've only got two ears
Turn on the TV - things ain't so black and white
When grey is the colour of my best friend's sweater
Turn on the TV - and relay some greatest circulated idea, yeah

Just gotta get, gotta get, gotta go, gotta get up out of here
Gotta get, gotta get, gotta go, gotta get up out of here

Go to the place over the hill
Where the grass is greener
Where the life is sweeter
And all the time we know
That it never is, that it never is
That it never is, that it never is
And it's very likely that we never will

Woman You're So Beautiful

(But Still A Pain In The Ass)

Written by Roger Taylor and Felix Taylor.
This track has a reggae style, and was recorded by Roger with his son Felix on vocals. It was released as a download in August 2006, under the name 'Felix & Arty'.
The track was later re-worked by Roger, with similar music, different lyrics, and him on vocals, as 'Sunny Day' for his 2013 album 'Fun On Earth'.
Recording Notes:
Recorded in April and May 2006 with Joshua J. Macrae who 'helped produce the track'
Roger Taylor plays drums, keyboards and guitars, and wrote the original song
Felix Taylor made lyrical additions and changes, and sings lead vocals
Available Versions:
1. Main Mix (3:56) (available on the download, the 'Solo Singles 2' album, and 'The Lot' boxed set; this is the main single version of the track)
2. Dance Hall Mix (5:35) (available on the download, the 'Solo Singles 2' album, and 'The Lot' boxed set; this is an extended version of the main mix, with some vocals added, while some are lost or echoed. It also adds some instrumental sections and additional effects)
3. Mad Mix (6:03) (available on the download, the 'Solo Singles 2' album, and 'The Lot' boxed set; this is a much heavier mix, which has additional drums throughout the song, and a fast outro. Many of the original vocals are replaced by Roger's 'pain in the ass' vocals, and those that are retained have numerous effects applied to them)
Main Mix Lyrics: (the lyrics in white are sung by Felix, and the lyrics in red are sung by Roger. Click here for the lyrics to the Dance Hall mix, or here for the Mad Mix)
Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day

In a heartbeat baby I realise
When I look in your eyes through your disguise
How could anybody be so beautiful?

Stopped in my tracks with a big time shock
My hijacked heart just would not stop
How could anybody be so wonderful?

(Ooooh, ooooh) What we need is to communicate
(Ooooh, ooooh) Why don't we join our hands and banish hate?
(Ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh) Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day
Say yeah, eh

Wanna shout from the rooftops, tell the town
The sun is up, let's fool around
How could anybody be so beautiful?

Sky's the limit, you by my side
Together we could learn to fly
How could anybody feel so wonderful?

(Ooooh, ooooh) What we need is to communicate
(Ooooh, ooooh) Why don't we join our hands and banish hate?
(Ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh) Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day
Say yeah, eh, yeah, heh

In a heartbeat baby I realise
When I look in your eyes through your disguise
How could anybody be so beautiful?
(You're still a pain in the ass)
Stopped in my tracks with a big time shock
My hijacked heart just would not stop
How could anybody feel so wonderful?

(You're a pain in the ass) so wonderful
(You're still a pain in the ass) say yeah, eh, yeah, heh

Hijack my heart
Woman you're so wonderful
In a heartbeat
We could learn to fly
Woman you're so beautiful
In a heartbeat
Knew I needed you
Woman you're so beautiful
In a heartbeat
When I saw you baby
Woman you're so wonderful
Hijack my heart

Woman you're so wonderful
Yeah

Dance Hall Mix Lyrics: (the lyrics in white are sung by Felix, and the lyrics in red are sung by Roger)
Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day

Ee-eh
(You're a pain in the ass)
Sky's the limit

(Ooooh, ooooh) Just need you by my side
(Ooooh, ooooh)
(Ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh)

In a heartbeat
How could anybody be so beautiful?

How could anybody be so wonderful?
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(Ooooh, ooooh) What we need is to communicate
(Ooooh, ooooh)
(Ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh) Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day
Say yeah, eh

Wanna shout from the rooftops, tell the town
The sun is up, let's fool around
How could anybody be so beautiful?

Beat
(You're still a pain in the ass)
Sky's the limit
How could anybody feel so wonderful?

(Ooooh, ooooh) What we need is to communicate
(Ooooh, ooooh) Why don't we join our hands and banish hate?
(Ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh) Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day
Say yeah, yeah, yeah, heh

In a heartbeat baby I realise
When I look in your eyes through your disguise
How can anybody be so beautiful?
(You're still a pain in the ass)

Stopped in my tracks
How could anybody feel so wonderful?
So wonderful
Yeah, yeah, yeah

Hijack my heart
Woman you're so wonderful
In a heartbeat
We could learn to fly
Woman you're so beautiful
In a heartbeat
Knew I needed you
Woman you're so beautiful
In a heartbeat
When I saw you baby
Woman you're so wonderful
Hijack my heart

Woman you're so wonderful
Yeah

Mad Mix Lyrics: (the lyrics in white are sung by Felix, and the lyrics in red are sung by Roger)
(Distorted: Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day)

(Distorted: Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day)

(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)

(Distorted: You're a pain in the ass)
(Distorted: You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)

(Ooooh, ooooh) What we need is to communicate
(Ooooh, ooooh)
(Ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh) Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day

In a heartbeat baby I realise
When I look in your eyes through your disguise
How could anybody be so beautiful?

Stopped in my tracks with a big time shock
My hijacked heart just would not stop
How could anybody be so wonderful?

(Ooooh, ooooh)
(Ooooh, ooooh) Why don't we join our hands and banish hate?
(Ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh) Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day
Say yeah, eh

Wanna shout from the rooftops, tell the town
The sun is up, let's fool around
How could anybody be so beautiful?

Sky's the limit, you by my side
Together we could learn to fly
How could anybody feel so wonderful?

(Ooooh, ooooh)
(Ooooh, ooooh)
(Ahhhh, ahhh, ahhh) Somewhere in the world it's a sunny day
Say yeah, eh, (you're a pain in the ass) yeah, heh
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)

In a heartbeat baby I realise
When I look in your eyes through your disguise
How could anybody be so beautiful?
(You're still a pain in the ass)

Stopped in my tracks with a big time shock
My hijacked heart just would not stop
How could anybody feel so wonderful?

(You're a pain in the ass) so wonderful
(You're still a pain in the ass)
Say yeah, eh (you're a pain in the ass) yeah, heh
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
Say yeah, eh (you're a pain in the ass) yeah, heh
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
Say yeah, eh (you're a pain in the ass) yeah, heh
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
Say yeah, eh (you're a pain in the ass) yeah, heh
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
Say yeah, eh (you're a pain in the ass) yeah, heh
(You're still a pain in the ass)
(You're a pain in the ass)
(You're still a pain in the ass)
Say yeah, eh (you're a pain in the ass) yeah, heh
(You're still a pain in the ass)

Roger Taylor and The Cross Miscellaneous Songs

Absolutely Anything

Celebration

Drum Extravaganza