A Very Busy Man
Leon does not appear to play on the recording of this song from Intruders. It features "country music" guitar by Martin Carthy, and a distinctive lead vocal by Liz Mansfield, who plays the wife of the album's recurring character, George. It seems her new husband is preoccupied by work, out of reach of his "princess" except through messages relayed by his secretary, Blanche. When at home he is too tired to do anything - but unlike the desperate character in "Invisible Married Breakfast Blues", the woman is not so much defeated as irritated by him, a factor emphasised by the emotion present in Liz Mansfield's voice.
"George could also be the workaholic husband in 'A Very Busy Man' but it's his increasingly desperate wife who's centre stage. I think the song works well as a humorous treatment of a serious problem. With its American country music setting, I enjoy singing it in the shower but, of course, I've never performed it since it has to be sung by a woman, preferably someone who, as on the recording, can act the part." - LR (Turning Silence Into Song (songbook), p25)
“The workaholic life (for those who had work) became the norm in the 1980s and into the ’90s. A friend complained that her partner was always working and she hardly ever saw him. This offered itself to me as a scenario for a play. Song as theatre - the best sort, I think.” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p54)
“The workaholic life (for those who had work) became the norm in the 1980s and into the ’90s. A friend complained that her partner was always working and she hardly ever saw him. This offered itself to me as a scenario for a play. Song as theatre - the best sort, I think.” - LR (sleevenotes to The World Turned Upside Down (CD box set), p54)