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1. |
Media Machine
05:41
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Yesterday’s headlines are blowing ‘round the news stands today
Well, what do they report, on a day with no bad news?
The fact that there is no bad news is
A news story in itself, well don’t you think?
This must be the worst day in the history of journalism
Nothing has occurred to contribute towards
The climate of fear and hatred and suspicion today
Today
Today
Today
And praise be
To the media machine
It’s important to remember
That man bites dog is news
But dog bites man is certainly not news
Don’t believe what you read in the paper use your head
On the day with no bad news
They’ll make their stories up
They’ll make their stories up
They’ll make their stories up
They’ll make their stories up
They’ll make their stories up
And praise be
To the media machine
It’s important to remember
That man bites dog is news
But dog bites man most certainly is not
Don’t believe what you see on your TV use your head
On the day with no bad news
They’ll make their stories up
So it’s a work of fiction in the newspapers today
Don’t believe what you read
There’s plenty of tall stories on your television set
Don’t believe what you see
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2. |
The Cold Parade
03:19
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Bugles call at dawn
I’m lost during daybreak
A long way from home
Is this really the end?
Far from the trenches
Face down in scorched terrain
Trees rise as charcoal shards
I’m stuck in no man’s land
Never before have I seen such atrocities
Never again will I fall into this trap
What I’d give for an escape from this horror
Although then they’d shoot me for desertion
Broken from the inside
Demoralised, exhausted
Shattered into pieces
Separated from my corps
As shells are raining down
I won’t join your army ‘cause I don’t believe this war
I refuse to lay down my life for a worthless cause
The barracks are all empty down beneath a torn white flag
Soldiers fleeing from their trenches symbolises the end of this
Whole charade
Whole charade
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3. |
Ladder
04:16
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You are climbing and
I am standing still
I’d like to follow you but
My limbs aren’t moving
Nibbling at the crumbs that
Are cascading down from
Your glorified platform
Won’t stop me starving
Standing on the bottom
Rung of a long ladder
You’re treading on my head
I can’t climb much higher
The top of the ladder
Is invisible
There are snakes below me
I must climb higher
Standing on the bottom
Rung of a long ladder
You’re treading on my head
I can’t climb much higher
It is a long ladder
I’ve been bitten by a snake
Injecting venom inside me
Slowly paralysing me x3
It’s a long way from the top
Such a long way from the top
Such a long way to the top
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4. |
April
03:28
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April’s like the summertime
Whilst in this field we lie
The sun beats down on our sunburned backs
It took us by surprise
Surprise
A heat wave came unexpectedly
As temperatures have soared
Heat increases unprecedentedly
The hottest April on record
On record
April is the summertime
As temperatures still climb
Ice cream melts almost instantly
But we don’t seem to mind
At all
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5. |
Burning Bungalow
04:52
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Why can’t you see?
For you, he’d do anything
White feathers for the hats of the pacifists
The conscientious objectors
And why did you burn Leverhulme’s bungalow to the ground?
He could have been a powerful voice towards your cause
And why can’t you see?
That violence isn’t the solution here
Undoing all the work of the suffragists
Giving their cause a bad name
And why did you burn Leverhulme’s bungalow to the ground?
He could have been a powerful voice towards your cause
Edith Rigby stands with her flaming torch
Outside Leverhulme’s bungalow
This arson may bring you publicity
But it won’t win hearts for your cause
And why did you burn Leverhulme’s bungalow to the ground?
He could have been a powerful voice towards your cause
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6. |
Fairy Tale
01:47
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There is no princess in the tower
There’s no knight in shining armour
If you kiss the frog he won’t become a prince
There are no dragons guarding castles
There’s no princess to be rescued
There’s no evil queen waiting to thwart your plans
And you see love is just a fairy tale that never comes true
I’m afraid reality is rather grim
There will be no happy ending
When the book comes to an end
Just disappointment, emptiness and sore regret
There are no wicked witches casting spells to transform you into something else
There is no ogre underneath the bridge
There are no wizards brewing potions inside oversized black cauldrons
There are no goblins, pixies, elves or trolls
And you see love is just a fairy tale that never comes true
I’m afraid reality is rather grim
There will be no happy ending
When the book comes to an end
Just disappointment, sore regret and loneliness
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7. |
Come and Dance
04:38
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“Dance”, she said, as she took my hands
“Come and dance”, she said
Her eyes are staring into mine
Gazing intently into mine
Just for a moment she held my hands
For a fleeting moment she held my hands
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
She releases her gentle grip from my hands
And then she beckons me to stand
Her hands then slowly slip away from mine
And then she takes several steps backwards
Away from me
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
She then caresses the shoulders of another
And kisses him upon his head
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
Eyes still staring into mine
She had engineered a situation
Whereby she could watch my heart break
Just to satisfy her vanity
Satisfy her vanity
Satisfy her vanity
Some time away from now she’ll tell her new friends
That she’s a victim
And I’m a bad man who runs away
But she and I both know her twisted mind will cause much sorrow
Undue pain and agony
And broken hearts
And broken hearts
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8. |
Farewell Rainy City
02:52
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Leaning my head against the window
Of a railway carriage
I watch as the skyline of this city where I was born
Becomes a toy town on the horizon
And farewell my rainy city
You never accepted me
For you prefer fakers and dilettantes
Celebrating mediocrity
Leaning my head against the window
Of a battered old bus
I witness the destruction of the building where I was born
Thinking “Home isn’t home anymore”
And farewell my rainy city
You never accepted me
For you prefer fakers and dilettantes
Celebrating mediocrity
Celebrating mediocrity
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9. |
I'd Say I'm Sorry
03:32
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I’d say I’m sorry but you’ve gone away
I’d say I’m sorry but you didn’t stay
I’d say I’m sorry but you left today
I’d say I’m sorry but now it’s too late
I’d apologise but you didn’t stay
I’d reconcile with you but it’s too late
I’d apologise but you wouldn’t wait
I’d reconcile with you but it’s too late
I regret everything I did and said
And now it is to late to make amends
I’d say I’m sorry but the
I’d apologise but the
The chance to do so’s gone away
Gone away
Gone away
I’d say I’m sorry but the
The chance to do so’s gone away
Gone away
Gone away
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10. |
Rorschach
05:35
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Feed me poison berries from your tree
In the garden of Gethsemane
You want me to believe, but I ain’t so sure
How can I believe you when I
I don’t trust you anymore?
I don’t trust you anymore
I don’t trust you anymore
I don’t trust you anymore
I don’t trust you anymore
As I lay sleeping on your couch
I have a recurring dream
You enter the room
And your body fills with poison
Manifested by a dark tattoo
That spreads over your whole body
Like blotted ink
And, like a Rorschach test
I must guess what you are
You want me to believe
You want me to believe
You want me to believe
You want me to believe
Silver coins are scattered on the ground
Down beneath the poison berried tree
Oh you have betrayed me, my old friend
Tell me, does your poison
Still taste so sweet?
You want me to believe
You want me to believe
You want me to believe
You want me to believe
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11. |
Orion's Belt
02:24
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See me flying
Over the horizon
To Orion’s Belt
No one’s watching
Blink and you’ll miss it
You won’t see me fly away
It doesn’t look much like a belt to me
It’s more like a shovel
Or an arrowhead
We are standing side by side in your garden by the hedge
And the gate
I suggest that it doesn’t look much like a belt
I collapse to my knees
And I’m laughing
And what I’d give to be seventeen again
Standing in your garden
And laughing
But time’s moved on since then
And maybe, if you look out your bedroom window,
You will see me fly
To Orion’s Belt
To Orion’s Belt
To Orion’s Belt
To Orion’s Belt
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12. |
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I feel like an anvil today
My body’s so heavy I can’t move
Too many late nights, too much drink
And sometimes it’s hard to be a man
(Yes it is)
Sometimes it’s hard to be a man
The burden of expectation
Weighs heavy upon my shoulders
My family feel like I’ve let them down
And sometimes it’s hard to be a man
(Yes it is)
Sometimes it’s hard to be a man
(When you’re young)
Sometimes it’s hard to be a man
(Yes it is)
Sometimes it’s hard to be a man
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T.E. Yates Bristol, UK
"Nick Drake's 'Hazy Jane' with a touch of Roy Orbison"
- BBC Radio Manchester -
www.teyates.com
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