Pills
This highly entertaining story centres on an individual who is prescribed an endless series of medication by his GP, most of which is only to tackle the side-effects of the previous prescription. In the end, he's deluged with them and even forgets what they are all for - to the delight of the drugs companies. Whether Leon is making a serious point is debatable, but certainly there is concern over these issues generally and the free manner in which pills are often prescribed. Ultimately though, the song is funny, the central character just a hapless victim of the "expertise" of others.
It first appeared as sheet music in 1981, but surfaced a couple of years later on Temporary Loss of Vision in a recording enlivened by Sandra Kerr's concertina. Leon has said that the song was originally written for the Red Ladder Theatre Company, as was the contemporary "As Long as You've Got Your Health", but further details are lacking. (Given the thematic link between these two songs, it is likely they were written as part of the same project.)
It first appeared as sheet music in 1981, but surfaced a couple of years later on Temporary Loss of Vision in a recording enlivened by Sandra Kerr's concertina. Leon has said that the song was originally written for the Red Ladder Theatre Company, as was the contemporary "As Long as You've Got Your Health", but further details are lacking. (Given the thematic link between these two songs, it is likely they were written as part of the same project.)
"A jolly song about iatrogenic illnesses, originally written for Red Ladder's show about the NHS." - LR (sleevenotes to Guess What They're Selling at the Happiness Counter, 1992)