1. |
Now Is The Silence
03:56
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My sparkle having ochred, dried brittle and vanished underfoot
I hide beneath the eiderdown stirring only to fan the embers of the soot
Saying said and doing done
Now is the silence and I hide beneath the snow
The frost snaps the spine of the dreams and loves that took so long to grow
And the trees shed their leaves as I let go of the facts that I thought that I used to know
Now my shadow’s brighter than the sun
Now is the silence and I hide beneath the snow
Now is the silence that follows a fall
And the flames that pride ignited barely flicker at all
And the chill that fills the emptiness has frozen the heart
As I lay down motionless listenning for the crackling of the thaw
The crackling of the thaw
The thaw that brings a trace of jade and emerald will burst from frozen seams
And I shall rise from eiderdown, emerging from a dream
‘Til your kingdom’s come thy will be done
But now is the silence and I hide beneath the snow
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2. |
Devil On Your Back
03:47
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The one who soothes your ego when you’re not feeling yourself
Is tugging on your conscience when you’re feeling someone else
You may say that she’s beneath you when you’re feeling ten feet tall
But the one you treat like dirt is there to catch you when you fall
There’s a road that leads to heaven and a road that leads to hell
And the road that leads between them is a road you know so well
If you can’t walk the straight and narrow, if you stray from side to side
Let temptation be your mistress, salvation be your bride
Is it a blessing or a burden?
Let your conscience be your guide
When there’s a devil on your back but an angel by your side
Boys who seek the worldliness of manhood
Men who seek the innocence of youth
Boys who prefer boys but choose to live a life of lies
Somebody elses blisters in somebody elses shoes
If hunger makes you feast so much that feasting makes you fast
And every cigarette you smoke you swear will be your last
If your blessings are a burden, if you pray for peace of mind
Let your angels walk before you, let the devil drag behind
Is it a blessing or a burden?
Let your conscience decide,
When there’s a devil on your back but an angel by your side
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3. |
Vapour Trails
03:55
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The drizzle that dampens every crevice
The grime that soils each dream
This nation that’s forged its own shackles
The red brick that’s swallowed the green
It’s no place for one of such beauty
The poison will soon reach your heart
They’ll scuffle your shine ’til it’s blackenned
Come take your chances with me
I want to take you down to the river
Follow the source to the mouth
There we’ll steal a boat
And follow the vapour trails south
Sail away to the citrus and saffron
Terracotta and umber and green
Where the sun will greet us as strangers
With our skin as pale as the moon
To somewhere they won’t understand us
And you can talk only to me
To where there are windows that open
And where there’s no shit in the sea
I want to show you you’re better than this
More than a good laugh, a grope and a kiss
I want to steal you away from this hallogen night
And show you there are stars that sparkle just as bright as you
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4. |
Song Without Words
03:26
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A pointed remark that gets under your skin like a splinter
Can work through the veins and permanently lodge in the brain
I wouldn’t want something I said, to hurt you and mess up your head
And so just for you I have written this song without words
You’d misunderstand if I said that it’s time you were leaving
You’d cry and I’d say that I didn’t mean leaving for good
When I say please don’t go away it doesn’t mean that I want you to stay
So you won’t get confused I have written this song without words
Todays words of wisdom will be chewed-up and spat out tomorrow
Just to twinkle from the roadside like ticker-tape after parade
I don’t want a place in the charts of the song as disposeable art
So without risk of failure I’ve written this song without words
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5. |
Slaves
03:35
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From the legions who are marching on the road which never ends
There are some of us who stray off to the side
Down the road which forks and bends
In the name of independence, in the name of other truths
Abandoning the temples and the shrines
In the name of our youth
And we shout the word ‘Freedom’
Clutching banners in our grip
But we’re just slaves crawling westwards on an eastern bound ship
But we’ll keep the fires burning inside
Bringing life up to the boil
You say we’ll get our fingers burned
But we won’t give up the fight
Though the future’s black as night
The stars are shining bright
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6. |
Trigonometry
04:01
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Greewich Meantime is mean to me
I mean time is too fast to see
Many seasons, many loves
As if your love was not enough
From southern breeze to northern snow
there’s a line that I must toe
Other girls fall in between
To tempt me from this path serene
But you turned me 55 degrees
And from that angle I can plainly see
All my crimes of misogyny
It’s trigonometry
Now we all know that the sun must set
Because it’s never faltered yet
But chaos theory says that it might
Defy the law, stay out all night
Even nature can break the law
And I’m only human after all
So if I’m unfaithful and sometimes cruel
That’s the exception that proves the rule
After all the times that I turned from you
I come full circle now you’re back in view
And I can see the harm I’ve done
I never meant to cause you pain or tears
And I know that I cannot make up for all those years
Or put the bullet back in the gun
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7. |
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8. |
Lost To The Light
03:07
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I fell asleep surrounded by words
My pillow bursting with the wings of birds
When I awoke they had all taken flight
Like so many dreams that turn in the night
They were lost to the light
I knew a man with a devilish laugh
Like rolling stock on a railroad track
That hacking cough was the cancers bite
Like so many flames that burn too bright
He was lost to the light
The light takes only the brightest things
Things that only the darkness brings
The darkest star is brighter than the sun
I knew a girl for the longest time
I never thought that she’d be mine
But we made love one perfect night
When I awoke she was nowhere in sight
She was lost to the light
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9. |
The Return
03:08
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Petals for your teardrops
Bandage for your wounds
Medals for your courage
Flowers for your room
Pistols for the liars
Prayers for the true
All these things I’ll carry with me
‘Til I’m home with you
Whisky for my yearning
Brandy for my tears
Drinking takes you so far away
‘Til drinking brings you near
Petrol for the fire
Flames turn to blue
The torch that keeps the embers burning
‘Til I’m home with you
So when will you believe that I cannot deceive you
Even when I’m sleeping I dream of you
I dream of you twice nightly
I dream of you all day
I fall asleep just thinking of you
Dreaming only keeps me awake
There is no treatment
No antidote
There will never ever be
A cure for hope
I watch the horizon
I scour the view
Eternaly returning to that
Fading glimpse of you
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10. |
Taken
02:56
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Taken from the first day
Taken from the last
Taken from the future that navigates my past
Taken from each waking hour
Taken from the dream
Taken from the fire escape of life as it may seem
Taken from the perfume
Taken from the touch
Taken from each salted tear of eyeliner and blush
Taken from the poetry
Taken from each song
Taken from the sepia blur where memories belong
Taken from the bedroom
Taken from the hall
Taken from the time-worn stairs
Taken from the floor
Taken from the violence
Taken from the kind
Taken from each warm embrace
Taken from behind
Taken, my love is taken from me
Taken from the picture
Taken from the wall
Taken from the moments shared each polaroid now torn
Taken with a flashlight
Taken from above
Taken from the ashes bright
A photograph of my love
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11. |
End Of Time
02:37
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Half way home my feet begin to tire
I pause where other journeys ended
I think I’ll lay my head down for a while
And contemplate the end of time
The woman they buried here died giving birth to a son
The son lived happily regardless
It makes no difference if you walk or run
You’ll get to see the end of time
Time is not eternal it falters to an end
Blind-fold and backwards to where it all begins
Be reassured, it all comes to an end
Death is your friend
Scares rise up to punctuate a life
Check for what may be a full-stop
And if that lump turns out to be malign
We’ll celebrate the end of time
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12. |
Emily
05:41
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Don’t try to tell me you’re innocent
And I’ll do my best and I’ll try not to put up a fight
Because the time’s not right
Don’t paint me in shades of vermillion
And don’t give me shadows when you can’t show me your source of light
Just stretch me on the canvas and lay your body down
Save all your tears ’til the morning
And I’ll do my best and I’ll try not to let out a sigh
Because by winds the size of these we die
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Paul Armfield Isle Of Wight, UK
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