Professional Documents
Culture Documents
So (1986) ___________________________________________________________ 46
RED RAIN ___________________________________________________________________ 47
SLEDGEHAMMER _____________________________________________________________ 49
DON'T GIVE UP _______________________________________________________________ 51
THAT VOICE AGAIN ___________________________________________________________ 53
IN YOUR EYES _______________________________________________________________ 55
MERCY STREET ______________________________________________________________ 57
MERCY STREET ______________________________________________________________ 57
BIG TIME ____________________________________________________________________ 59
WE DO WHAT WE'RE TOLD_____________________________________________________ 61
THIS IS THE PICTURE _________________________________________________________ 62
Us (1992) ___________________________________________________________ 63
COME TALK TO ME ___________________________________________________________ 64
LOVE TO BE LOVED ___________________________________________________________ 66
BLOOD OF EDEN _____________________________________________________________ 68
STEAM ______________________________________________________________________ 70
ONLY US ____________________________________________________________________ 72
WASHING OF THE WATER _____________________________________________________ 73
DIGGING IN THE DIRT _________________________________________________________ 74
KISS THAT FROG _____________________________________________________________ 75
SECRET WORLD______________________________________________________________ 77
OVO (2000)_______________________________________________________ 78
6. FATHER, SON ______________________________________________________________ 79
UP (2002) __________________________________________________________ 80
DARKNESS __________________________________________________________________ 81
GROWING UP ________________________________________________________________ 83
SKY BLUE ___________________________________________________________________ 85
NO WAY OUT ________________________________________________________________ 86
I GRIEVE ____________________________________________________________________ 87
THE BARRY WILLIAMS SHOW___________________________________________________ 88
MY HEAD SOUNDS LIKE THAT __________________________________________________ 90
SOLSBURY HILL
Climbing up on Solsbury Hill
I could see the city light
Wind was blowing, time stood still
Eagle flew out of the night
He was something to observe
Came in close, I heard a voice
Standing stretching every nerve
Had to listen had no choice
I did not believe the information
[I] just had to trust imagination
My heart going boom boom boom
"Son," he said "Grab your things,
I've come to take you home."
To keepin' silence I resigned
My friends would think I was a nut
Turning water into wine
Open doors would soon be shut
So I went from day to day
Tho' my life was in a rut
"Till I thought of what I'd say
Which connection I should cut
I was feeling part of the scenery
I walked right out of the machinery
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" he said "Grab your things
I've come to take you home."
<Back home.>
When illusion spin her net
I'm never where I want to be
And liberty she pirouette
When I think that I am free
Watched by empty silhouettes
Who close their eyes but still can see
No on taught them etiquette
I will show another me
Today I don't need a replacement
I'll tell them what the smile on my face meant
My heart going boom boom boom
"Hey" I said "You can keep my things,
they've come to take me home."
MODERN LOVE
Hey, I'm feeling so dirty, you're looking so clean
All you can give is a spin in your washing machine
I fly off to Rome to my prima bella
She leaves me in the rain with telescopic umbrella
Ooh the pain - Modern love can be a strain <repeated>
I trusted my Venus was untouched in her shell
But the pearls in her oyster were tacky as hell
For Lady Godiva I came incognito
But her driver had stolen her red hot magneto
Ooh the pain - Modern love can be a strain <repeated>
I don't know why they leave me in the lurch
To carry on the search
It's driving me up the wall
Pity when I have so much passion
Romance is out of fashion
Can't handle modern love at all
So I worship Diana by the light of the moon
When I pull out my pipe she screams out of tune
In Paris my heart sinks when I see the Mona Lisa
She gives me the wink, then she shows me the freezer
Ooh the pain
Modern love can be a strain
EXCUSE ME
Excuse me
You're wearing out my joie de vie
Grabbing those good years again
I want to be alone
Excuse me
I'm not the man I used to be
Someone else crept in again
I want to be alone
Excuse me please
I'm looking for Lost Angeles
Soaking up the sin again
I want to be alone
I want to be alone
I want to be alone
I want to be alone
You got the money back, that's okay
Who needs a Cadillac anyway
I got the medicine, make you see the light
Call me in Alaska if it all turns out right allright
Excuse me please
You're standing on my memories
Stealing souvenirs again
I want to be alone
Leave me alone
I wanna be alone
I wanna be alone
I wanna be alone
I wanna be alone
You got the money back, that's okay
Who needs a Cadillac anyway
I got the medicine, to make you see the light
Call me in Alaska, if it all turns out right, allright
HUMDRUM
I saw the man at J.F.K.
He took your ticket yesterday
In the humdrum
I ride tandem with a random
Things don't run the way I planned them
In the humdrum
Hey Valentina, do you want me to beg?
You got me cooking I'm a hard boiled egg
In the humdrum
Empty my mind - I find it hard to cope
Listen to my heart - don't need no stethoscope
It seem' to me that television
She come to cut me a deep incision
In the humdrum
Empty my mind - I find it hard to cope
Listen to my heart - don't need no stethoscope
Out of woman come the man
Spend the rest of his life gettin back where he can
As a bow, so a dove
As below, so above
From the black hole
Come the tadpole
With the dark soul
In coal she burn, she burn
As I drove into the sun
Didn't dare look where I had begun
Lost among echoes of things not there
Watching the sound forming shapes in the air
From the white star
Came the bright scar
Our amobea
My little liebe schon
SLOWBURN
We're character actors from the Tower of Babel
Bewildered, burnt out hardly able
To sit astride the high wire cable
It's hard to balance, a little unstable.
Through broken eyes and contact lenses
I watched you draw your future tenses
See kisses of flame blow out of your lips
You're back telling me your Apocalypse.
Don't get me wrong, I'll be strong
When the slowburn sunset come along
You've gotta stay the night
I gotta think that you might.
We've tried a handful of bills and a handful of pills
We've tried making movies from a volume of stills
But the words fell like hailstones,
bouncing at our feet,
Covering our feelings with a frozen sheet.
A chance to move, I take a shot
I get cold - you get hot
We look outside, lyin' awake
See birds breaking surface on a silent lake.
But don't get me wrong, I'll be strong
When I'm back on the Isle of Avalon
Don't get me wrong, I'll be strong
When the slow burn sunset come along
You've got to stay the night
I've got to think that you might.
Don't try to make it easy, it'll cut you down to size
Darlin' we've got to trust in something
We're shooting down our skies
shooting down our skies
ON THE AIR
Built in the belly of junk by the river, my cabin stands;
Made from the trash I dug off the heap with my own bare hands.
Every night I'm back at the shack, I'm sure no one is there,
I'm putting the aerial up, so I can go out on the air...
On the air
On the air
On the air
Every morning I'm out at dawn with the dwarfs and tramps
For a silent communion lit from above by the sodium lamps.
Everyone I meet on the street acts as if I wasn't there,
But they're all going to know who I am, 'cos I can go out on the air.
Chorus (On the air...)
Leaving the car down the leafy lane,
Turning out Tarzan for my Jungle Jane.
Anyone at all, from Captain Zero
And his band of superheroes standing by on call.
Oh it's not easy,
No it's not easy making real friends...
Don't give me your steak-reared milkboys, milkboys,
Half alive on empty white noise, white noise,
I've got power, I'm proud to be loud, my signal goes out clear,
I want everybody to know that Bozo is here!
Chorus
D.I.Y.
D.I.Y., D.I.Y., D.I.Y., D.I.Y.
Don't tell me what I will do, 'cos I won't.
Don't tell me to believe in you, 'cos I don't.
Be on your guard, better hostile and hard, don't risk affection;
Like flesh to the bone in the no-go zone,
You're still looking for the Resurrection.
Come up to me with your "What did you say?"
And I'll tell you, straight in the eye:
D.I.Y., D.I.Y., (etc.)
Everyone wants to be what he not, what he not.
Nobody happy with what he got, what he got.
You function like a dummy with a new ventriloquist,
Do you say nothing yourself?
Hanging like a thriller on the final twist,
Is it true you're getting stuck on the shelf?
Come up to me with your "What did you say?"
And I'll tell you, straight in the eye:
D.I.Y., D.I.Y., (etc.)
When things get so big, I don't trust them at all,
You want some control, you've got to keep it small.
D.I.Y., D.I.Y., (etc.)
MOTHER OF VIOLENCE
Walking the street with her naked feet,
So full of rhythm but I can't find the beat.
Snapping her heels, clicking her toes,
Everybody knows just where she goes.
Fear, Fear, she's the mother of Violence,
Making me tense to watch the way she breed.
Fear, she's the mother of Violence,
You know self-defense is all you need.
It's getting hard to breathe,
It's getting so hard to believe,
To believe in anything at all.
Mouth all dry, eyes bloodshot,
Data stored on a microdot.
Kicking the cloud with my moccasin shoes,
TV dinner, TV news.
Fear, Fear, she's the mother of Violence,
Don't make any sense to watch the way she breed.
Fear, she's the mother of Violence,
Making me tense to watch the way she feed.
The only way you know she's there
Is the subtle flavor in the air.
Getting hard to breathe,
Getting hard to believe in anything at all
But Fear.
WHITE SHADOW
Ten coaches roll into the dust, chrome windows turned to rust.
Hang on inside, they know they must, hanging on the green-backed words
"In God We Trust."
No one knows if the spirit died, all wrapped to go like Kentucky Fried,
Trying to read the flight of birds, low on fuel, getting low on words.
And she comes out like a white shadow,
She comes out like a white shadow.
Each one drawn to empty spaces, outsiders, borderline cases.
It's hard to tell black from white when you wake up in the middle of the
night.
Weighted down by the absence of sound, broken now by the cry of a hound,
Looking for movement within the haze, light can be deceptive with her rays.
And she comes out like a white shadow,
And she comes out like a white shadow,
She comes out like a white shadow.
INDIGO
It's too late, this model's out of date.
Got every spare part, but there ain't much heart inside here.
Not like the start, I was good at the art of survival;
I've always tried to keep my feelings deep inside
Where I can hide them, now I'm open wide.
When it ends, again I'll see my friends,
They'll give me a lift, I've been running adrift, so easy...
Shifting the gear, I've got nothing to fear from a showdown,
I'll go down quiet.
And the kids downstairs making a hell of a din,
I'm all alone, getting a quote for the wages of sin.
Beyond the indigo, indigo,
Where the chilly winds, winds will blow,
My time is running low.
Going to cross the dark, dark river,
Going to see my good life-giver,
Better cover my yellow liver.
All right, I'm giving up the fight,
I didn't know when I'd be a stranger again in my own land.
The days are okay, but oh, how I hate these long nights.
You understand?
Darling, please just hold my hand.
You feel so warm, in the eye of the storm,
I'm going away, I'm going away, I'm going away.
See you again someday...
Darling, I'm going away.
Feel like I'm going away, this time I'm going away.
ANIMAL MAGIC
What did you mean when you opened your mouth and let all our secrets out?
You told him what I was about, my cover was completely blown.
I tell you darling, I've been watching the war films
And I've got a few ideas of my own,
'cos after the film had ended, the call for recruits was shown,
And I'll be joining the professionals, I want to be a man.
With all that animal magic I'll do anything you can.
I'm joining the professionals 'cos I want to be a man,
Look! I wave my wand, watch the rabbit disappear...
Join the professionals and learn to fight!
I bet the two of you still laugh at me for being timid as a lamb;
That may be the way I look, but it's no longer what I am.
I've been across to Northern Ireland,
And I came home with a new kind of charge:
I learned how to hunt in the night, I learned about camouflage.
I've been joining the professionals, and now that I'm a man
With all that animal magic I'll match anything you can.
I'm joining the professionals, this time I understand,
Look! I wave my wand, watch the rabbit disappear...
Join the professionals and learn to fight!
EXPOSURE
Exposure
Space is what I need, it's what I feed on.
Exposure
Out in the open...
PERSPECTIVE
I need perspective, 'cos I'm facing the wall.
I need perspective, 'cos I'm not that tall.
I need perspective, heard the trumpet call.
Don't trust my eyes, want to know where things fall.
I need perspective, party time for the newly wed.
I need perspective, colors ran as the images bled.
I need perspective, like confetti on the flower bed.
Don't trust my eyes, priest crying he's got fire in his head.
Chorus:
Oh Gaia, if that's your name,
Treat you like dirt, but I don't want to blame.
Oh Gaia, the wind heals the fire and blows the ash away.
I need perspective, sitting in a long, long hall.
I need perspective, staring at the white, white wall.
I need perspective, waiting for the phone to call.
Don't trust my eyes, there's one thing I've got to tell you all.
I need perspective, to see through red, red skies.
I need perspective, to carry merchandise.
I need perspective, I don't trust my eyes.
Chorus
I used to be an industrial giant,
Sitting in a garden full of chemical plants.
Trying very hard to get you off my mind.
Acting like any man, taking you for all I can,
Just the same, the same as all my kind, so blind.
I need perspective.
INTRUDER
I know something about opening windows and doors
I know how to move quietly to creep across creaky wooden floors
I know where to find precious things in all your cupboards and drawers
Slipping the clippers
Slipping the clippers through the telephone wires
The sense of isolation inspires
Inspires me
I like to feel the suspense when I'm certain you know I am there
I like you lying awake, your baited breath charging the air
I like the touch and the smell of all the pretty dresses you wear
Intruders happy in the dark
Intruder come
Intruder come and leave his mark, leave his mark
No Self-Control
Got to get some food
I'm so hungry all the time
I don't know how to stop
I don't know how to stop
Got to get some sleep
I'm so nervous in the night
I don't know how to stop
No, I don't know how to stop
I don't know how to stop
I don't know how to stop
Got to pick up the phone
I will call any number
I will talk to anyone
I know I'm gone too far
Much too far I gone this time
And I don't want to think what I've done
I don't know how to stop
No, I don't know how to stop
There are always hidden silences
Waiting behind the chair
They come out when the coast is clear
They eat anything that moves
I go shaky at the knees
Lights go out, stars come down
Like a swarm of bees
No self-control
You know I hate to hurt you
I hate to see your pain
But I don't know how to stop
No, I don't know how to stop
Street after street
Night after night
I walk on through the rain
I walk on through the rain
I don't know how to stop
START
(Instrumental)
I DON'T REMEMBER
I got no means to show identification
I got no papers show you what I am
You'll have to take me just the way that you find me
What's gone is gone and I do not give a damn
Empty stomach, empty head
I got empty heart and empty bed
I don't remember
I don't remember
I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memory of anything at all
I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memory of anything
-anything at all
Strange is your language and I have no decoder
Why don't you make your inentions clear
With eyes to the sun and your mouth to the soda
Saying, "Tell me the truth, you got nothing to fear
Stop staring at me like a bird of prey
I'm all mixed up, I got nothing to say
I don't remember
I don't remember
I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memory of anything at all
I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memory of anything
Anything at all
I don't remember, I don't recall
I got no memory of anything at all
I don't remember, I don't recall
i got no memory of anything
absolutely anything at all
I don't remember
FAMILY SNAPSHOT
The streets are lined with camera crews
Everywhere he goes is news
Today is different
Today is not the same
Today I make the action
Take snapshot into the light, snapshot into the light
I'm shooting into the light
Four miles down the cavalcade moves on
Driving into the sun
If I worked it out right
They won't see me or the gun
Two miles to go, they're clearing the road
The cheering has really begun
I've got my radio
I can hear what's going on
I've been waiting for this
I have been waiting for this
All you people in TV land
I will wake up your empty shells
Peak-time viewing blown in a flash
As I burn into your memory cells
'Cos I'm alive
They're coming 'round the corner with the bikers at the front
I'm wiping the sweat from my eyes
-It's a matter of time
-It's a matter of will
And the governor's car is not far behind
He's not the one I've got in mind
'Cos there he is-the man of the hour, standing in the limousine
"I don't really hate you
-I don't care what you do
We were made for each other
-Me and you
I want to be somebody
-You were like that too
If you don't get given you learn to take
And I will take you."
Holding my breath
Release the catch
And I let the bullet fly
All turned quiet-I have been here before
Lonely boy hiding behind the front door
Friends have all gone home
NOT ONE OF US
It's only water
In a stranger's tear
Looks are deceptive
But distinctions are clear
A foreign body
And a foreign mind
Never welcome
In the land of the blind
You may look like we do
Talk like we do
But you know how it is
You're not one of us
Not one of us
No you're not one of us
Not one of us
Not one of us
No you're not one of us
There's safety in numbers
When you learn to divide
How can we be in
If there is no outside
All shades of opinion
Feed an open mind
But your values are twisted
Let us help you unwind
You may look like we do
Talk like we do
-But you know how it is
You're not one of us
Not one of us
No you're not one of us
Lead A Normal Life
It's nice here with a view of the trees
Eating with a spoon?
They don't give you knives?
'Spect you watch those trees
Blowing in the breeze
We want to see you lead a normal life
BIKO
September '77
Port Elizabeth weather fine
It was business as usual
In police room 619
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
-The man is dead
When I try to sleep at night
I can only dream in red
The outside world is black and white
With only one colour dead
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
-The man is dead
You can blow out a candle
But you can't blow out a fire
Once the flames begin to catch
The wind will blow it higher
Oh Biko, Biko, because Biko
Yihla Moja, Yihla Moja
-The man is dead
And the eyes of the world are
watching now
watching now
SAN JACINTO
Thick cloud - steam rising - hissing stone on sweat lodge fire
Around me - buffalo robe - sage in bundle - run on skin
Outside - cold air - stand, wait for rising sun
Red paint - eagle feathers - coyote calling - it has begun
Something moving in - I taste it in my mouth and in my heart
It feels like dying - slow - letting go of life
Medicine man lead me up though town - Indian ground so far down
Cut up land - each house - a pool - kids wearing water
wings - drink in cool
Follow dry river bed - watch Scout and Guides make
pow-wow signs
Past Geronimo's disco - Sit 'n' Bull steakhouse - white
men dream
A rattle in the old man's sack - look at mountain top keep climbing up
Way above us the desert snow - white wind blow
I hold the line - the line of strength that pulls me through
the fear
San Jacinto - I hold the line
San Jacinto - the poison bite and darkness take my sight I hold the line
And the tears roll down my swollen cheek - think I'm losing
it - getting weaker
I hold the line - I hold the line
San Jacinto - yellow eagle flies down from the sun from the sun
We will walk - on the land
We will breathe - of the air
We will drink - from the stream
We will live - hold the line
WALLFLOWER
6x6 - from wall to wall
Shutters on the windows, no light at all
Damp on the floor you got damp on the bed
They're trying to get you crazy - get you out of your head
They feed you scraps and they feed you lies
To lower your defences, no compromise
Nothing you can do, they day can be long
You mind is working overtime, you body's not too strong
Hold on, hold on
They put you in a box so you can't get heard
Let your spirit stay unbroken, may you not be deterred
Hold on, you have gambled with your own life
And you face the night alone
While the builders of the cages
They sleep with bullets, bars and stone
They do not see your road to freedom
That you build with flesh and bone
They take you out - the light burns your eyes
To the talking room - it's not surprise
Loaded questions from clean white coats
Their eyes are all as hidden as their Hipppcratic Oath
They tell you - how to behave, hehave as their guest
You want to resist them, you do your best
They take you to your limits, they take you beyond
For all that they are doing there's no way to respond
Hold on, hold on
They put you in a box so you can't get heard
Let your spirit stay unbroken, may you not be deterred
Hold on, you have gambled with your own life
And you face the night alone
While the builders of the cages
They sleep with bullets, bars and stone
They do not see your road to freedom
That you build with flesh and bone
Though you may disappear, you're not forgotten here
And I will say to you, I will do what I can do
You may disappear, you're not forgotten here
And I will say you you, I will do what I can do
And I will do what I can do
And I will do what I can do
KISS OF LIFE
See me a big woman, big woman look how you dance
See me a big woman, big woman caught in a trance
Dancing on the tabletop, covered up with the Easter feast
You're dancing for the fishermen, from the very large right
to the least
Dancing for the slow release, first the boy and then the beast
Then the beast
Burning, buring with the kiss of life
Burning, buring with the kiss of life
See me, a big woman, big woman so full of life
See me, a big woman, big woman going to be my wife
Watching for the different eyes - they change your face they come inside
Watch the spirits laugh and cry, watch them find a place
to hide
Watch the spirits talk in tongues, watch them take you for
a ride
Down at the ocean lies a body in the sand
Big woman sits beside, head in hand
With heat from her skin, and fire from her breath
She blows hard, she slows deep in the mouth of death
Burning, burning with the kiss of life
Burning, burning with the kiss of life
Burning, burning with the kiss of life
So (1986)
RED RAIN
red rain is coming down
red rain
red rain is pouring down
pouring down all over me
I am standing up at the water's edge in my dream
I cannot make a single sound as you scream
it can't be that cold, the ground is still warm to touch
this place is so quiet, sensing that storm
red rain is coming down
red rain
red rain is pouring down
pouring down all over me
well I've seen them buried in a sheltered place in this town
they tell you that this rain can sting, and look down
there is no blood around see no sign of pain
hay ay ay no pain
seeing no red at all, see no rain
red rain is coming down
red rain
red rain is pouring down
pouring down all over me
red rainputting the pressure on much harder now
to return again and again
just let the red rain splash you
let the rain fall on your skin
I come to you defences down
with the trust of a child
red rain is coming down
red rain
red rain is pouring down
pouring down all over me
and I can't watch any more
no more denial
it's so hard to lay down in all of this
red rain is coming down
red rain is pouring down
red rain is coming down all over me
I see it
red rain is coming down
red rain is pouring down
red rain is coming down all over me
I'm bathing in it
SLEDGEHAMMER
you could have a steam train
if you'd just lay down your tracks
you could have an aeroplane flying
if you bring your blue sky back
all you do is call me
I'll be anything you need
you could have a big dipper
going up and down, all around the bends
you could have a bumper car, bumping
this amusement never ends
I want to be your sledgehammer
why don't you call my name
oh let me be your sledgehammer
this will be my testimony
show me round your fruitcage
'cos I will be your honey bee
open up your fruitcage
where the fruit is as sweet as can be
I want to be your sledgehammer
why don't you call my name
you'd better call the sledgehammer
put your mind at rest
I'm going to be-the sledgehammer
this can be my testimony
I'm your sledgehammer
let there be no doubt about it
sledge sledge sledgehammer
I've kicked the habit
shed my skin
this is the new stuff
I go dancing in, we go dancing in
oh won't you show for me
and I will show for you
show for me, I will show for you
yea, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I do mean you
only you
you've been coming through
going to build that powerr
build, build up that power, hey
I've been feeding the rhythm
I've been feeding the rhythm
going to feel that power, build in you
come on, come on, help me do
DON'T GIVE UP
in this proud land we grew up strong
we were wanted all along
I was taught to fight, taught to win
I never thought I could fail
no fight left or so it seems
I am a man whose dreams have all deserted
I've changed my face, I've changed my name
but no one wants you when you lose
don't give up
'cos you have friends
don't give up
you're not beaten yet
don't give up
I know you can make it good
though I saw it all around
never thought I could be affected
thought that we'd be the last to go
it is so strange the way things turn
drove the night toward my home
the place that I was born, on the lakeside
as daylight broke, I saw the earth
the trees had burned down to the ground
don't give up
you still have us
don't give up
we don't need much of anything
don't give up
'cause somewhere there's a place
where we belong
rest your head
you worry too much
it's going to be alright
when times get rough
you can fall back on us
don't give up
please don't give up
'got to walk out of here
I can't take anymore
going to stand on that bridge
keep my eyes down below
whatever may come
and whatever may go
IN YOUR EYES
love I get so lost, sometimes
days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
when I want to run away
I drive off in my car
but whichever way I go
I come back to the place you are
all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
I want to touch the light
the heat I see in your eyes
love, I don't like to see so much pain
so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive
and all my instincts, they return
and the grand facade, so soon will burn
without a noise, without my pride
I reach out from the inside
in your eyes
the light the heat
in your eyes
I am complete
in your eyes
I see the doorway to a thousand churches
in your eyes
the resolution of all the fruitless searches
in your eyes
I see the light and the heat
in your eyes
oh, I want to be that complete
MERCY STREET
for anne sexton
looking down on empty streets, all she can see
are the dreams all made solid
are the dreams all made real
all of the buildings, all of those cars
were once just a dream
in somebody's head
she pictures the broken glass, she pictures the steam
she pictures a soul
with no leak at the seam
lets take the boat out
wait until darkness
let's take the boat out
wait until darkness comes
nowhere in the corridors of pale green and grey
nowhere in the suburbs
in the cold light of day
there in the midst of it so alive and alone
words support like bone
dreaming of mercy st.
wear your inside out
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy('s arms again
dreaming of mercy st.
'swear they moved that sign
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy's arms
pulling out the papers from the drawers that slide smooth
tugging at the darkness, word upon word
confessing all the secret things in the warm velvet box
to the priest-he's the doctor
he can handle the shocks
dreaming of the tenderness-the tremble in the hips
of kissing Mary's lips
dreaming of mercy st.
wear your insides out
dreaming of mercy
in your daddy's arms again
BIG TIME
suc cess
I'm on my way, I'm making it
I've giot to make it show, yeah
so much larger than life
I'M going to watch it growing
the place where I come from is a small town
they think so small
they use small words
-but not me
I'm smarter than that
I worked it out
I've been stretching my mouth
to let those big words come right out
I've had enough, I'm getting out
to the city, the big big city
I'll be a big noise with all the big boys
there's so much stuff I will own
and I will pray to a big god
as I kneel in the big church
big time
I'm on my way-I'm making it
big time big time
I've got to make it show yeah
big time big time
so much larger than life
big time
I'm going to watch it growing
big time
my parties all have big names
and I greet them with the widest smile
tell them how my life is one big adventure^
and always they're amazed
when I show them round my house, to my bed
I had it made like a mountain range
with a snow-white pillow for my big fat head
and my heaven will be a big heaven
and I will walk through the front door
big time
I'm on my way-I'm making it
big time big time
I've got to make it show-yeah
big time big time
so much larger than life
Us (1992)
COME TALK TO ME
The wretched desert takes its form, the jackal proud and tight
In search of you, I feel my way, through the slowest heaving night
Whatever fear invents, I swear it make no sense
I reach through the border fence
Come down, come talk to me
In the swirling, curling storm of desire unuttered words hold fast
With reptile tongue, the lightning lashes towers built to last
Darkness creeps in like a thief and offers no relief
Why are you shaking like a leaf
Come on, come talk to me
Ah please talk to me
Won't you please talk to me
We can unlock this misery
Come on, come talk to me
{Chorus 1:}
I did not come to steal
This all is so unreal
Can't you show me how you feel now
Come on, come talk to me
Come talk to me [x2]
The earthly power sucks shadowed milk from sleepy tears undone
From nippled skin as smooth as silk the bugles blown as one
You lie there with your eyes half closed like there's no-one there at all
There's a tension pulling on your face
Come on, come talk to me
Won't you please talk to me
If you'd just talk to me
Unblock this misery
If you'd only talk to me
{Chorus 2:}
Don't you ever change your mind
Now your future's so defined
And you act so deaf and blind
[And you act so deaf so blind]
Come on, come talk to me
Come talk to me [x2]
I can imagine the moment
Breaking out through the silence
All the things that we both might say
And the heart it will not be denied
'Til we're both on the same damn side
All the barriers blown away
LOVE TO BE LOVED
[Aaaaahi, byeeee]
So, you know how people are
When it's all gone much too far
The way their minds are made
Still, there's something you should know
That I could not let show
That fear of letting go
And in this moment, I need to be needed
With this darkness all around me, I like to be liked
In this emptiness and fear, I want to be wanted
'Cause I love to be loved
I love to be loved [x2]
Yes, I love to be loved
I cry the way that babies cry
The way they can't deny
The way they feel
Words, they climb all over you
'Til they uncover you
From where you hide
And in this moment, I need to be needed
When my self-esteem is sinking, I like to be liked
In this emptiness and fear,
I want to be wanted
'Cause I love to be loved
I love to be loved [x2]
Oh I love to be loved
This old familiar craving
I've been here before, this way of behaving
Don't know who the hell I'm saving anymore
Let it pass let it go let it leave
From the deepest place I grieve
This time I believe
And I let go [x2]
I can let go of it
Though it takes all the strength in me
And all the world can see
I'm losing such a central part of me
I can let go of it
You know I mean it
You know that I mean it
I recognize how much I've lost
But I cannot face the cost
'Cause I love to be loved
BLOOD OF EDEN
I caught sight of my reflection
I caught it in the window
I saw the darkness in my heart
I saw the signs of my undoing
They had been there from the start
And the darkness still has work to do
The knotted chord's untying
They're heated and they're holy
Oh they're sitting there on high
So secure with everything they're buying
{Chorus:}
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
With the man in the woman
And the woman in the man
In the blood of Eden
Lie the woman and the man
We wanted the union
Oh the union of the woman
The woman and the man
My grip is surely slipping
I think I've lost my hold
Yes, I think I've lost my hold
I cannot get insurance anymore
They don't take credit, only gold
Is that a dagger or a crucifix I see
You hold so tightly in your hand
And all the while the distance grows between you and me
I do not understand
[Chorus]
At my request, you take me in
In that tenderness, I am floating away
No certainty, nothing to rely on
Holding still for a moment
What a moment this is
Oh for a moment of forgetting, a moment of bliss
Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
I can hear the distant thunder
Of a million unheard souls
Of a million unheard souls
Watch each one reach for creature comfort
For the filling of their holes
In the blood of Eden
STEAM
Stand Back!
Stand Back!
What are those dogs doing sniffing at my feet
They're on to something, picking up
Picking up this heat, this heat
{Chorus 1:}
Give me steam
And how you feel to make it real
Real as anything you've seen
Get a life with this dreamer's dream
You know your culture from your trash
You know your plastic from your cash
When I lose sight of the track
You know the way back
But I know you
You know your stripper from your paint
You know your sinner from your saint
Whenever heaven's doors are shut
You kick them open but
I know you
{Chorus 2:}
Give me steam
And how you feel to make it real
Real as any place you've been
Get a life with the dreamer's dream
Stand back!
Stand back!
Can't you see I've lost control I'm getting indiscreet
You're moving in so close 'til I'm picking up
Picking up this heat, this heat
[Chorus 1]
You know your green from your red
You know the quick from the dead
So much better than the rest
You think you've been blessed
But I know you
You know your ladder from your snake
You know the throttle from the brake
You know your straight line from a curve
You've got a lot of nerve
ONLY US
Only Us [x3]
It wasn't in the words that kept sticking in their throats
It wasn't with the angels in their quilted coats
These battered wings still kick up dust
Seduced by the noise and the bright things that glisten
I knew all the time I should shut up and listen
And I'm finding my way home from the great escape
{Chorus:}
The further on I go, oh the less I know
I can find only us breathing
Only us sleeping
Only us dreaming
Only us
I hear you calling me
Yes I hear you calling me
Home from the great escape
Yes I can read you loud and clear
The further on I go, oh the less I know
Friend or foe, there's only us
[Chorus]
I'm coming home again, home again
And I hear you calling me home again
I am coming home again
Only us [x8]
SECRET WORLD
I stood in this unsheltered place
'Til I could see the face behind the face
All that had gone before had left no trace
Down by the railway siding
In our secret world, we were colliding
All the places we were hiding love
What was it we were thinking of?
So I watch you wash your hair
Underwater, unaware
And the plane flies through the air
Did you think you didn't have to choose it
That I alone could win or lose it
In all the places we were hiding love
What was it we were thinking of?
In this house of make believe
Divided in two, like Adam and Eve
You put out and I receive
{Chorus:}
Down by the railway siding
In our secret world, we were colliding
In all the places we were hiding love
What was it we were thinking of?
Oh the wheel is turning spinning round and round
And the house is crumbling but the stairways stand
With no guilt and no shame, no sorrow or blame
Whatever it is, we are all the same
Making it up in our secret world [x3]
Shaking it up
Breaking it up
Making it up in our secret world
Seeing things that were not there
On a wing on a prayer
In this state of disrepair
[Chorus]
Ssh listen...
OVO (2000)
6. FATHER, SON
Father, son.
Locked as one.
In this empty room.
Spine against spine.
Yours against mine, till the warmth comes through.
Remember the breakwaters down by the waves.
I first found my courage, knowing daddy could save.
I could hold back the tide.
With my dad by my side.
Dog plows and bows.
We move through each pose.
Struggling in our separate ways.
Mantras and hymns.
Unfolding limbs.
Looking for release through the pain.
And the yogi's eyes are open.
Looking up above.
He too is dreaming of his daddy's love.
With his dad by his side.
Got his dad by his side.
Can you recall.
How you took me to school.
We couldn't talk much at all.
It's been so many years, and now these tears.
Guess I'm still your child.
Out on the moors.
We take a pause.
See how far we've come.
You're moving quite slow.
How far can we go.
Father and son.
With my dad by my side.
With my dad by my side.
Got my dad by my side.
With me.
UP (2002)
DARKNESS
im scared of swimming in the sea
dark shapes moving under me
every fear i swallow makes me small
inconsequential things occur
alarms are triggered
memories stir
its not the way it has to be
im afraid of what i do not know
i hate being undermined
im afraid i can be devil man
and im scared to be divine
dont mess with me my fuse is short
beneath this skin these fragments caught
when i allow it to be
theres no control over me
i have my fears
but they do not have me
walking through the undergrowth, to the house in the woods
the deeper I go, the darker it gets
i peer through the window
knock at the door
and the monster i was
so afraid of
lies curled up on the floor
is curled up on the floor just like a baby boy
i cry until i laugh
im afraid of being mothered
with my balls shut in the pen
im afraid of loving women
and im scared of loving men
flashbacks coming in every night
dont tell me everythings alright
when I allow it to be
it has no control over me
i own my fear
so it doesnt own me
walking through the undergrowth, to the house in the woods
the deeper i go, the darker it gets
i peer through the window
knock at the door
and the monster i was
so afraid of
lies curled up on the floor
is curled up on the floor just like a baby boy
i cry until i laugh
GROWING UP
folded in your fleshy purse
i am floating once again
while the muted sounds are pumping rhythm
all the walls close in on me
pressures building wave on wave
til the water breaks and outside i go, oh
one dot, thats on or off, defines what is and what is not, one dot
two dot, a pair of eyes, a voice, a touch, complete surprise, two dot
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space
three dot, a trinity, a way to map the universe,
three dot
four dot, is what will make a square, a bed to build on, its all there,
four dot
my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space
all the slow clouds pass us by
make the Empire State look high
as you take me in your sea-stained sweetness
it spills, it tingles and it stings
all the pleasure that it brings
til the door has let the outside inside here
well on the floor theres a long wooden table
on the table theres an open book
on the page theres a detailed drawing
and on the drawing is the name i took
my ghost likes to travel so far in the unknown
my ghost likes to travel so deep into your space
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up
looking for a place to live
growing up, growing up,
looking for a place to live
SKY BLUE
lost my time lost my place in
sky blue
those two blue eyes light your face in
sky blue
i know how to fly, i know how to drown in
sky blue
warm wind blowing over the earth
sky blue
i sing through the land, the land sings through me
sky blue
reaching into the deepest shade of
sky blue
sky blue
so tired of all this travelling
so many miles away from home
i keep moving to be stable
free to wander, free to roam
train pulled out said my goodbyes
sky blue
back on the road alone with the sky
sky blue
theres a presence here no one denies
sky blue
sky blue
sky blue
so tired of all this travelling
so many miles away from home
i keep moving to be stable
free to wander, free to roam
i can hear the same voice calling
crying out, from my heart
and that cry, what a cry
what a cry, its going to be
if i can stop to let it out, oh
NO WAY OUT
saw a group of people forming
round a figure lying down
and someone runs to make a phone call
and the man kneels on the ground
the man kneels on the ground
theres a tightening in my chest
i know that Im drawn in
oh god let it not be you
dont leave us
dont leave like this
dont leave me here again
im not quitting on you
no one else
youre not quitting on us
no running out
the colour in your shirt is darkening,
against the paleness of your skin
i remember how you held the goldfish
swimming around in a plastic bag
swimming around in a plastic bag
you held it up so high
in the bright lights of the fair
it slipped and fell
we looked everywhere
dont leave us (your eyes are bright, your blood is warm)
dont leave like this (your heart is strong, youre holding on)
dont leave me here again (i feel your pulse, i hold your hand)
im not quitting on you
theres no one else
youre not quitting on us
theres no way out
no way out
dont leave us
dont leave like this
dont leave me here again (i feel your pulse, i hold your hand)
im not quitting on you
theres no one else
youre not quitting on us
no running away no way out
I GRIEVE
it was only one hour ago
it was all so different then
theres nothing yet has really sunk in
looks like it always did
this flesh and bone
its just the way that you would tied in
now theres no-one home
i grieve for you
you leave me
so hard to move on
still loving whats gone
they say life carries on
carries on and on and on and on
the news that truly shocks is the empty empty page
while the final rattle rocks its empty empty cage
and i cant handle this
i grieve for you
you leave me
let it out and move on
missing whats gone
they say life carries on
they say life carries on and on and on
life carries on
in the people i meet
in everyone thats out on the street
in all the dogs and cats
in the flies and rats
in the rot and the rust
in the ashes and the dust
life carries on and on and on and on
life carries on and on and on
its just the car that we ride in
a home we reside in
the face that we hide in
the way we are tied in
and life carries on and on and on and on
life carries on and on and on
did I dream this belief?
or did i believe this dream?
now i can find relief
i grieve
SIGNAL TO NOISE
you know the way that things go
when what you fight for starts to fall
and in that fuzzy picture
he writing stands out on the wall
so clearly on the wall
send out the signals deep and loud
and in this place, can you reassure me
with a touch, a smile while the cradles burning
all the while the world is turning to noise
oh the more that its surrounding us
the more that it destroys
turn up the signal
wipe out the noise
send out the signals deep and loud
man im losing sound and sight
of all those who can tell me wrong from right
when all things beautiful and bright
sink in the night
yet theres still something in my heart
that can find a way
to make a start
to turn up the signal
wipe out the noise
wipe out the noise
wipe out the noise
you know thats it
you know thats it
receive and transmit
receive and transmit
receive and transmit
you know thats it
you know thats it
receive and transmit
you know thats it
you know thats it
receive and transmit
THE DROP
moving down the fuselage
toward the open door
catch you looking down outside
to see what lies ahead
one by one
you watch them fall
fall through cloud
one by one
you watch them fall
no idea where theyre going
but down
where theyve gone
where theyve gone
watching as the sun goes down
i sit inside this plane
notice how the city lights
are like the nerves inside the brain
one by one
theyre going out
you watch them dim
one by one
you watch them fall
and wonder where theyre falling to