It's still Richard Thompson Trivia Quiz

Answer: 100 miles

A song about a woman who is unable to settle down. The title alone describes her as such. Other lines such as; "She could never stay any place too long" and "Too many things she wants to see" all carry on with this theme.

The opening verse ends with the lines:
"I search around to find her
I'm a hundred miles behind her
The open road whispered in her ear"

Another Richard Thompson song featuring a similarly flighty lady is "Beeswing".

Answer: Amsterdam

"Beatnik Walking" is a song about leaving your troubles behind and heading to Amsterdam. Although the refrain is clear about location; "Amsterdam, where good things come in threes. Ease your troubled mind and shoot the breeze", there are other references in the song relating to the Dutch city.

"Anne Frank's house" and "Rembrandt's tomb" are plain enough, while "brother Vincent" is presumably Vincent van Gogh.

The other options are cities I've visited in the recent past but have nothing to do with this song.

Answer: Shrunken heads

Back to songs about imperfect relationships. A fertile source for song-writers generally. Richard Thompson's work has featured a good selection of such down the years.
In this one the opening verse sets the scene;
"Patty don't tell me one thing and change your mind
We might be in bed together but the deal's not signed
They say you collect shrunken heads, would you like to have mine?"

Patty's skill with a deck of cards also gets a mention, "You're so used to skimming the ace and palming the jack".

Probably not good prospects for a long-term relationship based on the lyrics.

Answer: Twisted up infinity

The subject of this song is a woman with little knowledge of the world outside.

"They dress you up and keep you clean
Like courtiers around a queen
Show you good from bad, right from wrong"

Further into the song the lines:
"In your face I think I see
Twisted-up infinity"

Which is what the question asked for.

Answer: Rin Tin Tin

The story relayed in this song is that of a girlfriend who is saving her maidenhead. A concept far more common in traditional songs than those from the current century.

About halfway through the song we get to the following:

"She wants diamonds on her finger
She wouldn't let me in
Frothing at the mouth and barking
On all fours like Rin Tin Tin
My girl Kate she wants me to wait
But I got urges, don't I?"

An older song with a similar story is "The Bells of Canterbury", where the singer tries to woo a woman with various worldly gifts and fails. Only to succeed when he gives her his heart.

Answer: Hounds of Hell

The opening of the song is directed at someone or something for their failure.

"Where were you when the walls were crumbling
Where were you when the guns were rumbling
Where were you when the hounds of hell
Took sons and lovers away"

The underlying theme here is the failure of all the organisations that proclaim peace but when it comes to the crunch turn out to be only talk.

Answer: Mephistopheles

The relevant lyrics here include:
"He's smiling at me
The hero who chained up the dogs
Mephistopheles shorn of his tail
Am I supposed to love him?
Am I supposed to shake his hand?"

I interpret this as beware of politicians and others of that ilk who hide their true character to gain popularity. Lines such as "The man with the blood on his hands" and "The man with the snakes in his shoes" are indicative to me of the persona.

Then the ending, from where the song title is drawn:
"But eyes don't lie
It's black in there, and bloody
Dungeons for eyes"

Answer: Les Paul

A song about a dedicate learner of the guitar. More important than a relationship, the singer feels he needs to spend all of his spare time practising. The particular lyric referred to is:

"How do I make my guitar sound like Les Paul?"

But he also mentions other guitarists, with lines such as, "I've got to learn how to do it the Django way" and "But how does Chuck Berry make it bounce right out of the grooves?"

The trials and tribulations of a musician. According to the song he is also kicked out of home by his parents for not contributing. But despite all of the practise, even at the end of the song the singer lacks confidence in his ability.

"Now I stand on stage and I do my stuff, and maybe it's good, but it's never good enough"

All I can say is that if you can play the guitar as well as Richard Thompson, you've got it made.

Answer: Numbers

This pirate doesn't sail the sea, this one is more of a Flash Harry type.

"Long John Silver, he was on me like a rash
Gave him my trust, gave him my cash"

The type to convince you he has a golden opportunity to make money (he has) and that if you want a bit of the action, cough up some money. Of course, you coughing up the money is how he makes his.

"Gives me the brass, and keeps all the best
Better to feather his pretty little nest"

This could be considered a modern interpretation of the far older song "Flash Company".

Answer: Brow of the hill

"Josephine" is a song about a sad woman; the tryst she is looking forward to might not exist at all. "Breathless she'll run to her tryst on the top of the hill, if god will".

Further on in the first verse we get the lines, "he'll come this once, and maybe again". The remainder of the song carries on with this theme, as Josephine talks in her sleep and writes on the walls.

Not the traditional answer of folklore, that version of the tale is where the heroine receives a note, "meet me at the disused well, be sure to tell no-one where you are going and don't forget to tie a 64-pound millstone round your neck". The lady seeing nothing to be suspicious of naturally complies.