Charms and qualms and false alarms go off in my head
Lazy days and songs of praise oh the things that we said
In safer seats there came defeats and now the object is dead
Think I’ll spend another day right here in my bed to
Calm me down
Don’t calm me down
Help me keep my feet on the groundToils and spoils and baby oils the wheel in good time
Manuscripts in starts and fits all fail to combine
The tender hooks the unread books we squeal with the swine
It takes one to know one but all in good time
So calm me down
Don’t calm me down
Help me keep my feet on the ground
Don’t calm me down…Do you prefer to close your eyes
When you’re taken by surprise
When the facts are all laid bare we’re neither her nor thereWe’re neither here nor thereRomeo and Juliet are taking the piss
Happiness was something they were happy to miss
When it’s time to say goodbye she gives you one last kiss
But don’t you expect me to believe all of this will calm me downHelp me keep my feet on the ground
Don’t calm me down
Help me….
What are You Running From, Where are You Going to and How Will You Know When You Get There?
The chalice it was poisoned
Bitter taste left in her mouth
She’s a girl from incognito
And she’s heading way down southIn a B reg Ford Sierra
200 cigarettes
A bottle of tequila
And a head full of regretsWhat are you running from where are you going to and how do you know when you get there?He left work at the usual time and he stopped off for a drink
He stayed there until closing time but it wasn’t long enough time to think
He caught the taxi to the house and as he walked inside
He saw a note upon the mantle piece and something inside him diedWhat are you running from where are you going to
and how do you now when you get there?At the motel service station she let my imagination run away with me
By cutting up the Polaroid’s she reaffirms and so avoids reality
And the writer clicks his heels he knows exactly how she feels when no one else can seeNo the apples here are not all bad and some taste kind of sweet
And then a girl from out of no where comes a walking down your street
And it could be Pamela Anderson and it could be Norma Jean
And it could be Thelma Braithwaite from a likely lads dreamWhat are you running from where are you going to and how do you know when you get there
Sad Eyed Mules of Men
Jeremy is faith healer alternative what’ that?
A couple of shots of his magical drops at the touch of a pixie hatAnd Madeline is a believer direct action express
26 nights up a tree having fights with a law that’s seeking redress
Now the law is seeking redressAnd the sad eyed mules of men say when and they carry no remorse
In a couple of weeks those impossible freaks will be backing a different horse..Now Geraldine was a technician they say she was one of the best
She used to head up transmission on the old grey whistle testAnd Peter is a producer of big name west end plays
He doesn’t know what to do with all the money he makes nowadaysAnd the sad eyed mules of men say when and they carry no remorse
In a couple of weeks those impossible freaks will be backing a different horse..
A Man Can Lose Himself
She’s got one shoe on and the other shoe off
Here come the waves crashing into the
And it’s not for the money and it’s not for the show
But I sure miss those routines we used to know
And from a tiny room fall the tears of a clown
I got two left feet in Beatle townA man can lose himself
In timeWhen I’m with my baby my heart misses beats I hear children playing in meadows and streets
When you hide in the shadows it only gets worse
I take a hold of your hand and I finish the hurt
You knock me down with a feather
I’m out of my head
Forgive all the wicked things I ever saidA man can lose himself
In timeThe gentle movement of breathing plays a trick on the light
Then it’s falling asleep and kissing goodnight
Here we go gathering memories so fast I want these moments forever to last
I tell you one more joke on the telephone line
In exactly a week from now things will be fineA man can lose himself
In time
Lose himself
In time
Someone
Someone waiting on someone else’s corner some way down the road
Someone sneaking into someone else’s bedroom and shooting their load
Some working up a sweat down the garden where the roses grow
Someone working up a pardon before letting goSomeone that I know
Someone that can’t say noSomeone shouting at someone else’s lover you make me sick
Someone talking to some else’s mother that guys a dick
Someone eating at someone else’s table my how it tastes so good
Saying grace and feeling so unworthy like they shouldSomeone that I know
Someone who can’t say noOh no it’s you again
I thought I’d made myself quite clear
Don’t you ever learn won't you ever learn the rules of engagement are clear…Someone that I know
Someone who can’t say no
Blood Honey
It’s in the blood honey
What will be will be
It’s in the blood honey
Take it from meWe come together amen
Holy Ghost sacred cow
Time and time again
We should know better by nowA transition into darkness
See the evil eye that winks
The fatal powers of attraction to the heart
Oh how it sinksThere is no spiritual reason
And I’ve abandoned every prayer
I take one day at a time
I lose myself thereAnd I’ve been cursing Dr Zimmerman
For a cure that that will be final
But my memory is fading and
My hands are all a trembleI could meet you at the Pier head
I’m too scared to leave the house
I’ve been hanging from a thread
I’ve been watching the danger mouseOnce I was walking over mountains
Through some ever open gate
I was drinking at the fountains
Now you bury me in hateIt’s in the blood honey
Shrine Maker
Said he was a shrine maker
Name in lights picture in the paper
Said he had friends worth knowing
And how I had to keep it goingI was in love at the time
Living in clover
I believed every line
Too soon it was overSo if you see him tell him tell him to give me a call
Things are different now I have learned how to fall
I could use something special to get over the wallSaid he was a shrine maker
A living legend a mover and a shaker
Like a fool I kept on believing
It was just myself I was deceivingI was in love at the time
I was living in clover
I believed every line
But soon it was over
So if you see him tell him I’ve not given up
It was a slip of the tongue a run of bad luck
Still I need someone special to get me unstuckIf you see him tell him it’s alright for some
I’m not one to complain what’s done is done
I’m still playing the game that can never be wonNow don’t you hate your shrine maker…
Jesus and the Angel
Stop and think
Bide your time
Put it down
To experience
What was once
A perfect moment
Has lost all its significanceSome get left behind
Some get led astray
Some get out of hand
When it doesn’t go their way
Some profess to care
Some aspire to loveAnd some they just leave everything to
Jesus and the Angel up aboveYou can bite your tongue
Pinch yourself
Who cares any way?
It’s just another unreadable book on the shelf
Kingdom come
Thy will be done
If you really want me
Then here I am
Piggy in the Middle
Like a piggy in the middle
To be slaughtered come what may
Still you cannot solve the riddle
Maybe you’re better off that way
Still you told it to the doctor
There was no one else to tell
And he says he understands
But he cannot make you wellIt’s a family affair
You have to repair
Don’t you
But having taken what for
There isn’t much more you can doShe won’t undo the puzzle
Was it for better or for worse?
Like a fighter in a muzzle
Like a writer out of verse
The pain goes and then the rainbows
But now it’s coming back again
And you’re somewhere in the past
You’ve just no idea when?It’s a family affair…And she told it to your mother
And she wrote the whole thing down
In a letter to your lover
Now they spread the word aroundLike a piggy in the middle
Getting slaughtered come what may
You’ll never solve the riddle
Could be you’re better of that wayHey diddle diddle
The piggy in the middle is you it’s you it’s you….
Shadow Box
I live in a shadow box it’s got little rooms I got little room
I’ll wait till the penny drops I hope it’s soon
Maybe I’ll outgrow it like my mother always said
Maybe I’ll just wait awhile until I knock it on the head
I’m frightened to admit it loathed to accept my fate
Like a million other would bees I cannot bare the waitI live in a shadow box and it isn’t cold why do I feel cold?
I still watch top of the pops where the freaks are sold
Maybe I’ll outgrow it like my lover always said
Maybe all these things only exist inside my head
I couldn’t live without them they’re like daggers to a wife
And if the wounds are self inflicted that’s the story of my lifeThe story of my life…
Gentle Life
The gentle life pours over me like summer rain
The flowers rot across the western borderline
The sweeper brushes past me
Once he was my friend
To sit and wait anticipate
Is this the very end?Defeat defined by common sense
Enduring soul?
Ambition fades like memory
Where is the goal
Where searching stops and boats come
And when your numbers up
To settle down and bare and grin and wish the world good luckThe gentle life falls over me like summer rain
Guitar Star
Angel without wings
It’s only wood and strings
Holier than though
Are you still playing now?
Solo up on high
You made the young men cry
Incredible divine
But from another timeI see you posters hanging there
The room feels bare
Take them down we’d never dareIt was not your fault
The trial comes to a halt
She’s never coming back
Delay sustain attack
You watched over us then
Sad hippy guardian
Until we lost our way
I could never really playI see your posters hanging there
And the room feels bare
Take them down we wouldn’t dareGuitar star
My guitar star…
Time for Bed
A is for the apple
B is for the ball
C is for the crucifix hung upon the wall
D is for the distance
E for the effect
F it lasts forever
G is as good as it will getH is for the heroin
I is for an eye
J is for the jugular and
K is keen to die
L is for the loves
M is for the mind
N is just for nobody
O can only findP is like a parachute
Q is always queer
R is on the radio where the
S’s sneer
T is in temptation
U is underground
V is for the Velvets behind a wall of soundW won't trouble you with exerts one by one
Why don’t you do yourself a favour and be GONE
Cut off your ties
Quit while you’re ahead
Remember what Zeberdee said"Time for Bed"
The Ballad of Vinny Peculiar
I see the angels sleep walking in heaven
I see the demons straight talking out of hell
I see the pathways but they’re far too human
I see the witches’ searching for a spell
But in an instant everything is different
A second splits and falls apart
And the very notion of resistance
Dies in the distance
In the name of artStar sign Jupiter’s mine
Everything will turn out fine
Life’s a little song and dance routine
Star sign Jupiter’s fine
Everything will come in time
Oh what a peculiar dream…Well there are those who make the beds of others
While the others sleep around the clock
There are sisters and little brothers
And they’re currently in a state of shock
But it won’t be long before it’s over
It won’t be long before it’s through
And the verdict is always open ended for the ones that did no longer doBut it won’t be before it’s over
Too many gods aim for the sun
Still we’ll be fighting in our little corner
To busy getting lost
Over what cannot be won…
A guitar pop fans imaginary sound-check at the Silver Spur’s Country & Western café, Bromsgrove, circa 1976
There’s music in the muscle a six pack ribs and cheese
The history of the skateboard the convenience of deep freeze
When play power was the poison nobody could take
That nonsense hippy bullshit anyone can fakeThe guitar pop fan’s older than you think
Still waiting on the brink for something that might change
And he is pissed at the chances that he missed
At the girl he should have kissed back in the good old daysThe early train down memory lane is so hard to get off
He takes a stroll round every stop but he can’t see much
The soft rock documentaries sort out his pigeon holes
They’re just like common colds but more contagiousThe guitar pop fans bolder than you think
In a shirt of mellow pink he really ought to change
He slaps his writs and he makes a little list
Of the bands he once dismissed as they come back to centre stageBut there’s nothing more to peace and love just a poster and a ticket stub
Were they ever really good enough to sound
Like nothing that had gone before or will again for evermore
In time you know these things all come around
So come around…Still the tedium of the medium is not enough for some
And for him it’s never done it keeps on burning
And the children are grown up now and the wife is long since gone
To some place she was always coming fromThe guitar pop fan smoulders at the sink does the dishes takes a drink
Cause some things never change
And he is pissed and he wants to do the twist
With the girl he should have kissed back in the good old daysGoodnight and god bless x x x