1. |
Hope
01:55
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i'd only known from books
and extrapolations from my small experience
that i'd do anything to have you home
colours
heart lifting rumours
and hope
always to the end
such courage
hard-pressed disciples
a small space
till we make the evening news
this kitchen sheer-weight hell
in tupperware and foil
your every well-meant phrase
i'd do anything not to hear them
colours
heart lifting rumours
and hope
always to the end
such courage
hard pressed disciples
a small space
until we make the evening news
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2. |
Time Traveller
02:58
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i'm smuggled out of view on a friday night
inserted en plein air all in plain old sight
dark looks from a flickering time traveller
like Pathe News revealing
a long and pockmarked road
a dry hand's careful hold
a shadow from the headlight
playing on the hedgerow
of another winter
i'm only here to write it all down for you
in a notebook narrow ruled; i'm unbound
how easily the evidence gets found
a mobile phone signal followed down
a long and pockmarked road
a dry hand's careful hold
a shadow from the headlight
playing on the hedgerow
of another winter
and will a future reader
wonder why we never stopped this?
dearest future reader
earnest future listener
understand that i relied on you to follow me down
a long and pockmarked road
a dry hand's careful hold
a shadow from the headlight
playing on the hedgerow
of another winter
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3. |
The Frame
03:02
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you've heard all my problems
so here's a different story
line and heart then over
there never was much more
than she said, he said, i said
lights down, exit stage left
but how do we believe in the way that it needs?
blinded by the light from the projector on the screen
wrong-footed by flickers on a cave wall
getting off my head, getting out of my mind
just to be... just to feel free
just to be rid of the frame
I wish I could turn my songs
into bright square pictures
then they'd work much better
in bullshit Facebook feeds
I like rhyme and reason
and some “enemies of the people”
but how do we believe in the way that it needs?
how do we believe?
blinded by the light from the projector on the screen
wrong-footed by flickers on a cave wall
getting off my head, getting out of my mind
just to be... just to feel free
just to be rid of the frame
just to be outside the world
just to be alone
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4. |
Minor, Major, Nowhere
01:50
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you cut the cord
and immediately find
the core of you refuses to be gone
an easy birth
a life in reverse:
the old have won
the young have lost again
wish i could at least be on the winning side of something
minor league or major
barely matters anymore
time spent as a tourist
masquerading as a purist
saving face
a saving grace
now i'm this far
you want this all
for your one-and-only child
and the poor kid doesn't want outright disgrace
so what he does in the world
will never be enough
distance heals but distance feels a waste
wish i could at least be on the winning side of something
minor league or major
barely matters anymore
time spent as a tourist
masquerading as a purist
saving face
a saving grace
now i'm this far
saving face
a saving grace
i'm nowhere
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5. |
Uniform
02:15
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and there was a bully
some dickhead at your school
now halfway through his life and
not so different to you
set free to a conference
peak return fare paid
glimpsing there another life
if things had gone his way
no sense placing effort here
just perpetuating feelings
but one last time:
how'd you always look so at ease?
must be the knowledge
that you've got options
and answers where i've got fears
it's like i'm the one on the run
reason all but displaced
by a fairytale
doubt cannot be tolerated
nuance equals failure
go on then, i'll mug right through
a hastily staged end-of-year revue
for one last time:
how'd you always look so at ease?
must be the knowledge
that you've got options
and answers where i've got fears
it's like i'm the one in the wrong
i'm the one on the run
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6. |
Waymarks
02:43
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back and forth i go
and each decision's made
by a cast of thousands
at least that's how it played out today
the world will have moved on
within the time it takes me
to get my map aligned with all the waymarks
when i finally get there
will the land just fall away?
what's expected's no longer the same
would i have been happier
if i never tried?
well, i love the warm air
pressing at my side
the world will have moved on
within the time it takes me
to get my map aligned with all the waymarks
when i finally get there
will the land just fall away?
what's expected's no longer the same
i think i've got an idea i can use
and then i hear the news and think:
maybe not, maybe not
at least that's how it played out today
the world will have moved on
within the time it takes me
to get my map aligned with all the waymarks
when i finally get there
will the land just fall away?
what's expected's no longer the same
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7. |
Inland
01:24
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quickening pulse
the sweat of your hand
riverbank burst
seagulls inland
a crack in the sky
unspecified howl
give it up then
or give it up now
sweet, your dogged old way
this delirious day
you'll be
and i'll be
what everybody wants
if only this one time
pressure untold
summer's day moon
weather on hold
subsonic boom
shortcuts plead
desire lines
happily tired
my trademark sighs
sweet, your trousers half-mast
ditch the agonies passed
you'll be
and i'll be
what everybody wants
if only this one time
if only this one time
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8. |
Winning Speech
02:19
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brine flows
the time goes
and still no real detractors to be seen
skin peels
do you feel quite as you intended in victory?
oh, you're slowly drifting back
the tether rope's gone slack
the lapping of the waves grows louder
oh, you're sad but you're relieved
back down from your beliefs
we want to know
we want to hear
your winning speech
i don't
believe your
projected sense of certainty
you're thirsty
and angry
the landmarks aren't where they were
supposed to be
oh, you're slowly drifting back
the tether rope's gone slack
the jeering of the crowd grows louder
oh, so sad but so relieved
back down from your beliefs
and sober up
we want to hear
your winning speech
wipe your face
we'd like to hear
your winning words
you've got to get out of this now
how you gonna get out of this now, or ever?
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9. |
Enormous Clouds
01:46
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the sun comes out
and warms my brow
then slips behind
enormous clouds
given that i'm going
it's the last time i'll be lonely
even though i'm leaving
take a final look around me
i just can't breathe
this NO2
i need my life back
and so do you
even though we're tied down
it's the last time we'll be tired
haven't got the guts to quit
but one day we'll get fired
hey, i see enormous clouds
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10. |
Volte Face
01:37
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flicking through channels
telling myself
i'm not really watching QVC
a fascinating demo of a heated shelf
i wonder how they get to be
so confident of all they say
"be cautious," says the bedtime play
take it with a pinch of salt
say it's no one's fault
volte face and leave it, baby
swim across the Channel
wish good health
on those who glimpse your goose-fat thighs
a carburettor here
and a clutchbox there
i'm not sure how we'll synchronise
when what was one becomes undone
and all because you won that once
take it with a pinch of salt
say it's no one's fault
volte face and leave it, baby
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11. |
||||
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yes, i heard you the first time
there's no real need to ask me again
if sometimes you speak too loudly
or if you just slightly misexplained
the end of the bulletin
that thing on your mind
the unthinking kindness
shown by a stranger
on the underground
your phone, purse and keys
swept out to sea
a well-known phrase or saying
can never quite be found
maybe it's for the best though
it's safer to be unaware
so i'm suddenly fascinated
by brushing away a long stray imaginary hair
that thing on your mind
the unthinking kindness
shown by a stranger
on the underground
your phone, purse and keys
swept out to sea
a well-known phrase or saying
can never quite be found
and yet again i didn't notice
when you missed a beat
i read it might be nothing
might be chaos incomplete
i'll say again i didn't notice
but i did, i did
well, someone somewhere is working on fixing you
that thing on your mind
the unthinking kindness
shown by a stranger
on the underground
is gonna be a breakthrough soon...
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12. |
Merry-Go-Round
01:39
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i'll never ride the Brighton merry-go-round
with a Swedish dancer as the sun goes down
but i wouldn't really want to anyway
hey, Mr quiet heart
you know i'll never be in love but with you
i'll never skydive in a leotard
from the peak of the Eiger
though it's not so hard
i just wouldn't really want to without you
hey, Mr vertigo
you know i'll never be in love but with you
i'll never drive the Monte Carlo Way
what with sterling falling
and the debtors barely held at bay
for one more day
hey, Mr stoney broke
you know i'd sooner choke than leave you
I love you
I do
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