About
Originally written and recorded by Ian Dury in 1977 as a tribute to the 1950s rock and roll pioneer Gene Vincent, Sweet Gene Vincent was reinterpreted by Robbie Williams in 2001 for the charity album Brand New Boots and Panties. The project, created in aid of the cancer support charity Cancer Backup, featured artists such as Paul McCartney, Madness, Sinead O’Connor and Billy Bragg, each covering one of Dury’s songs with his backing band The Blockheads. Williams’ version brought youthful swagger and admiration to a song that traces the life of Vincent through Dury’s witty, bittersweet lyrics.
Williams and Dury had met in 1998 while travelling to Sri Lanka for UNICEF’s polio immunisation campaign, forming a lasting friendship. Deeply moved by Dury’s death from cancer in 2000, Williams agreed to record Sweet Gene Vincent as a tribute. Backed by The Blockheads, he leaned into the song’s pub-rock edge and Cockney phrasing, mixing reverence with raw energy.
Ian was an inspiration — a poet, a fighter and a total original. Singing one of his songs with The Blockheads felt like an honour.Robbie Williams
Faithful to Dury’s structure but delivered with a cleaner production, Williams’ version maintains the track’s swagger and its sudden bursts of rock ’n’ roll power. His gravelly tone mirrors Dury’s own, while the live feel of the band preserves its late-1970s grit. Though released quietly, Sweet Gene Vincent stands as a heartfelt homage — not only to Vincent, but also to Dury himself, whose sharp lyricism and outsider charm clearly influenced Williams’ own songwriting voice.
Lyrics
Skinny white sailor, the chances were slender
The beauties were brief
Shall I mourn your decline with some Thunderbird wine
And a black handkerchief?
I miss your sad Virginia whisper
I miss the voice that called my heart
Sweet Gene Vincent
Young and old and gone
Sweet Gene Vincent
Who, who, who slapped John?
White face, black shirt
White socks, black shoes
Black hair, white strat
Bled white, died black
Sweet Gene Vincent
Let the blue caps roll tonight
At the Sock Hop Ball in the Union Hall
Where the bop is their delight
Here come duck-tail Danny grabbing uncanny Annie
She's the one with the flying feet
You can break the peace, daddy sickle grease
But the beat is reet complete
And the jump-back honey in the dungarees
Tight sweater and a pony-tail
Will you guess her age when she comes back-stage
The hoodlums bite their nails
Black gloves, white frost
Black crêpe, white lead
White sheet, black knight
Jet black, dead white
Sweet Gene Vincent
There's one in every town
And the devil drives till the hearse arrives
And you lay the pistol down
Sweet Gene Vincent
With nowhere left to hide
With lazy skin and ash-tray eyes
And perforated pride
Sing it away, boys
Rrrrrrrrrrrrrrr aw-aw
Take me home country roads
So farewell, mademoiselle knicker-bocker hotel
Goodbye to money owed
When your leg still hurts, but you need more shirts
You got to get back on the road
Sweet Gene Vincent
Sweet Gene Vincent
Sweet Gene Vincent
Sweet Gene Vincent
When your leg still hurts, but you need more shirts
You got to get back on the road
Credits
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Vocalist
Robbie Williams -
Songwriter
Chas Jankel, Ian Dury -
Original Artist
Ian Dury