LISTEN
So you never did anything out of the blue
Take a seat while we check on you
Who packed your bags? Nothing to declare?
You look a little nervous -- but don’t despair
Now a word from our captain -- "Is there a doctor here?
We have a passenger sick with fear
Please identify yourself -- can you come to our aid?"
But even the captain is sounding afraid…
Floating in mid-air,
so lean back in your chair
There’s nobody here at all
So no one to be aware and nothing to declare
Clouds drift by outside the window,
fading into blue
How sweet to be a cloud -- a gentle shroud
So easy to misconstrue
Floating in mid-air,
so lean back in your chair
There’s nobody here at all
So no one to to be aware and nothing to declare
You’ve seen clouds from both sides now
Has it changed your view?
Can you be sure of anything?
Will you leave the queue?
Nothing to look forward to
No special prize
No future nor no past behind the eyes
Floating in mid-air,
so lean back in your chair
There’s nobody here at all
So no one to to be aware and nothing to declare
When you’re down on your luck and you don’t give a duck
You’ve got nothing to lose so don’t worry
You’ve played your last card and fallen down hard
You wait for twilight to end this story
Don’t look away -- or look for reasons,
Don’t look away -- there’s no one to blame or ignore
Don’t look away -- it’s not treason
It’s life’s brilliant display, don’t look away
You’re exhausted and weak but still you can’t sleep
You’ve counted the whole flock of sheep, but don’t worry
It doesn’t feel right to waste the whole of the night
Waiting for daylight to end this story
Don’t look away -- or look for reasons,
Don’t look away -- there’s no one to blame or ignore
Don’t look away -- it’s not treason
It’s life’s brilliant display, don’t look away
You’re hurting inside, there’s nowhere to hide
Your tears have finally dried and you feel empty
Is this the end of days, its awful displays?
There are so many ways to end this story
Don’t look away -- or look for reasons,
Don’t look away -- there’s no one to blame or ignore
Don’t look away -- it’s not treason
It’s life’s brilliant display, don’t look away
In violent times zealots rise up hoping for their chance
Creating chaos spreading lies resistance can’t renounce
Every dog must have its day, such men are these
Prompting tribal hatred, brings virtue to its knees
Where were you? I didn’t hear the call
Where were you? Are you on the run?
Where were you? Have you lost the will to carry on?
Where were you?
They say all things must change as night follows day
In the darkness, weakness hides waiting to have its say
Have we been here before, confederacy of hate?
No angel at our table, the tyrant at our gate
Where were you? When you needed some help, but you had none
Where were you? When you’d lost the hope to carry on
Where were you?
I saw the smoke rise in the air and felt the heat
I saw them fall one by one and smelt defeat
What did we think was going on, did we think at all?
The signs were everywhere, the writing on the wall
Where were you? No excuse, I let you down when you were on the run
Where were you? If we could only turn back time we would come
Where were you?
I’m walking right behind but never seem to catch up
Gravity takes control, and I am stuck
I want to get close to you but I can’t fly
Galileo left a clue but I can only try …
All the promises I’ve been sold, this base metal can turn to gold
The secret garden, the perfect view
But what use are these feathers and glue?
Step by step, time after time, playing in this pantomime
I play Pierrot you Columbine, we’re searching for the truth divine
The moon hovers -- a mind unsure? A quiet light not quite mature?
Lovers hiding from themselves, cast their fate to wishing wells
All the promises I’ve been sold, this base metal can turn to gold
The secret garden, the perfect view
But what use are these feathers and glue?
I’m flying backwards in slow motion trying to take in air
But you’re flying past me heading forwards -- what a strange affair …
If Galileo had tried again, a new sketch, a better plan
The same gravity but something new, what could we do …
Am I starting to see the light -- a simple way to take flight
The same feathers, the same glue -- Is that the clue?
All the promises I’ve been sold, this base metal can turn to gold
The secret garden, the perfect view
I’ve found the use for these feathers and glue
Some dream to remember, some dream to forget
Her dreams took her far away, far away from regret
She seemed so innocent, the voice of a child
When dreams turn to nightmares she turns wild
Don’t take things so seriously, her fate is not your own
Up high in her concrete tower this bird has flown -- innocent
Reciting the poet's words by the poet’s gate
Neither waving nor drowning -- this was not her fate
Writing for Mslexia -- her life in words
Though often ignored she was shaken but unstirred
Don’t take things so seriously, her fate is not your own
Up high in her concrete tower this bird has flown -- innocent
I met her back in ’71 with flowing long black hair
We lived in the same damp slum, there was music everywhere
I seemed like a gypsy boy, always on the go
When I spotted her in Upper Street, how was I to know?
In black and white she’s on the beach in a crochet white swimsuit
She's gazing at the breaking waves -- expression resolute
Quality of mercy isn’t strained as waves break on the sand
But if I was drowning not waving -- she would understand
Laughing Eyes, you are a diamond
Laughing eyes but you don’t see –- with those laughing eyes
My black curls long since gone
I stand naked in the rain
Her laughing eyes light up the night
And take away the pain
There’s a bench up by the tarn
It’s there to warn us all
She needs to hear you tell her you love her ten times a day
Now Baz has warned us all
That diamond geezer knew his stuff
He’d been around the block
He loved her well in his time
We all fear the ticking clock …
Laughing Eyes, you are a diamond
Laughing eyes but you don’t see -– with those laughing eyes
Laughing Eyes -- we all love you!
Laughing Eyes -- won’t you stay with me with your laughing eyes?
Now I know the meaning of Big L -- a warm and tender heart
It was always leaning to the left -- from the very start
You don’t need to ask her
What she wants ten times a day
Is this love, is this love, is this love that I’m feeling -- it won't go away
Laughing Eyes, you are a diamond
Laughing eyes but you don’t see -– with those laughing eyes
Laughing Eyes -- we all love you!
Laughing Eyes -- won’t you stay with me ...
Is this love, is this love, is this love!
Whispers of family homes now become bomb sites
Broken-hearted folk denied human rights
The world turned upside down, the future in the past
Everything is changing, just how long can this last?
Here’s to the workers, to the dreamers in the bars
Some are in the gutters, they’ve sunk so far
But still looking at the stars
In such violent times -- leaders sowing fear
Hard news is closing down -- the brave will persevere
Truth is retreating but they call it paranoid
Doctors and nurses rush in to heal the void
Here’s to the doctors and the nurses near or far
May they help the hurt and heal the scars
Of those looking at the stars
Let no darkness delude us, though dawn seems very far
This tempest will confuse us, keep looking for the stars
We are emerging from the darkness into light
We can lend a hand to hearts broken in the fight
The sun is rising on a world free of fear
Truth is returning to welcome this new year
Here's to the healers and the dreamers with guitars
They were in the gutter now they’re looking at the stars
Here’s to the workers, to the dreamers in the bars
Here’s to all the heroes who helped us come so far
We’re looking at the stars!
The wind starts blowing like a demon
Leaves are in retreat
Their golden crowns start to darken
To signal their defeat
These winter nights go on forever
The days barely get out of bed
Sun lies quiet on the pillow
not even trying to lift it’s head
I was born in the winter
When the snow lay deep and white
It’s no surprise that I’m still sleeping
Just waiting for the call of nightfall
Though I was named after my father
You’d never know it by the names they used
Short sweet and simple, I guess it defined me
Three simple letters were all I knew
In dreams you could be someone
A hero who could fly
Into the arms of a lover
Who’d never say goodbye
I was born in the winter
The snow lay deep and white
It’s no surprise that I’m still sleeping
Just waiting for the call of Nightfall
River of night flow through me
Washing thoughts of the day
On your waters away -- nightfall
In that strange eclipse,
When daytime quickly slips
I feel the soft lips of nightfall
I was born in the winter
The snow lay deep and white
It’s no surprise that I’m still sleeping
Just waiting for the call of nightfall
She said there were time locks on the stars
But no one could protect her from herself
The horizon blurs from water to sky
From major to minor when we said goodbye
I feel I’m being pulled back in the water
She’s calling me back from the sand, back to the motherland
Is she trying to guide my hand?
I’m feeling contracted but trying to expand
I could be starting to lose my mind
There is so much I want to leave behind
I feel I’m being pulled back in the water
She’s calling me back from the sand, back to the motherland
If only I could see things as they really are
Not just a movie playing on a screen
Would I feel a part of everything?
Not just debris from some distant star
I feel I’m being pulled back in the water
She’s calling me back from the sand, back to the motherland
I turned my head and there she stood
Huddled in the hallway with Robin Hood
He stole from the rich and gave to the poor
Can't say I ever felt rich before
Where we go and what we learn
Who we trust -- how we discern
We struggle through quicksand
Try to understand this wasteland
The room froze as time stood still
As I swallowed her bitter pill
How he joined her in her willing game
I left trying to hide my shame
Where we go and what we learn
Who we trust -- how we discern
We struggle through quicksand
Try to understand this wasteland
Learn to roll with the blows
Learn how to flow like the river flows
How to swim against the tide,
Protect something deep inside
Pleasure and pain, loss and gain
Where we go and what we learn
Who we trust -- how we discern
We struggle through quicksand
Try to understand this wasteland
Was it hope and ambition that bred such suspicion
No acts of contrition put an end to the pain
It starts so naive -- so you like to believe
That Adam blames Eve in this tireless campaign
It still hurts just as much as that first time
Betrayed by my closest of friends
I was struck dumb, emotionally numb
As shining beginnings become ends
So how can this pattern continue
Why haven’t I learnt who to trust?
Each shining new start rings a bell in the heart
Is it blood that turns chrome into rust?
Chrome into rust ...
It’s not about blame, we all share the shame
When we hold out the hand of trust
How could we know that under the snow
Purity’s turning to rust
So how can this pattern continue
Why haven’t I learnt who to trust?
Each shining new start rings a bell in the heart
Is it blood that turns chrome into rust?
Was it hope and ambition that bred such suspicion
My acts of contrition won't put an end to the pain
I start so naive -- so I like to believe
But as Adam blames Eve in this tireless campaign
So how can this pattern continue
Why haven’t I learnt who to trust?
Each shining new start rings a bell in the heart
Is it blood that turns chrome into rust?
Chrome into rust ...