I can just about remember starting to feel very hot indeed. I was on a fever ship left to burn and moan with the others. We did fever ships in history. Pocahontas was left to die on one in Gravesend, poor soul. Now me too.
Delirious. She’s got a fever.
That was Joe’s diagnosis. I heard it. He was talking to my friend May who lives next door.
And it’s all my fault. We should have just come home and found the Lemsip. Now she’s got such a high temperature I think we’re going to have to get the GP out.
Oh Joe, Joe, Joe, don’t you know you give me fever. But in a good way.
You give me fever
When you kiss me
Fever when you hold me tight
Fever in the morning
Fever all through the night.
It was in junior school I first remember feeling like that. Sometimes the boys would fan out in the playground and try to catch a girl and kiss her. We screamed, I loved that wild screaming and it was always Francis that caught me. (I bet they’d stamp on that these days). There wasn’t a word we knew for that feeling in final year juniors – but we’ve all caught up since, I guess.
And there was the proposal I wrote to Paul McCartney. He definitely brought the fever on.
Never know how much I love you
Never know how much I care
When you put your arms around me
I get a fever that’s so hard to bear
Except he never did put his arms around me, and didn’t even reply to my offer. So I just had to live with unrequited lust until I decided never to communicate with him again. His loss.
There were some unmemorable outbreaks of fever over the years I suppose. Nothing as hot as Joe though. Never will be.
Sun lights up the daytime
Moon lights up the night
I light up when you call my name
And you know I’m gonna treat you right
Never desired anything (apart from Joe obvs) nor worked so hard as I did before leaving home. I just had to get my A levels, get away from home and start college. It was a need so strong that I got what I wanted by sheer force of will. That was a fever too. Very hard, very urgent, very essential. And I did it.
I’m starting to hear voices:
I think she’s singing. Hope not, she’s got a terrible voice. Still, she might be coming round.
That’s Joe’s voice. Quite an unjust comment, I think. I’ll sing if I like.
Everybody’s got the fever
That is something you all know
Fever isn’t such a new thing
Fever started long ago.
Then May started up
Well as you say, if she’s singing she’s not dying, so I’ll just leave you to it. Maybe some cotton wool for your ears?
Who needs friends when you can have fever?
