1. |
The Blood Of Poets
04:42
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THE BLOOD OF POETS
You won’t conquer a man
With a gun in your hand
In his heart you’ll change nothing at all
Let the great and the good
Say they did what they could
When they’ve made no difference at all
When the leaders who cause
All the fighting and wars
Walk away at the end of it all
They leave behind them the graves
Of soldiers and slaves
And the blood of poets on the wall
When the angel that turned
Was cast out and burned
And left from heaven to fall
There he founded a land
For the unholy and damned
Where the tortured souls of men crawl
Let those warm in God’s love
Take their place up above
With the pious and righteous and all
Oh me I’d rather go
To that place down below
With the blood of poets on the wall
In the clear light of day
What more can love say
That’s not better said over all
By a man with a heart
That’s been ripped apart
Who’s seen his world crumble and fall
In love’s bitter quest
It’s the wounded serve best
It’s the wounded who answer the call
So with ink from my vein
I’ll write out your name
In the blood of poets on the wall
Through fire or flood
Words written in blood
From the heart are the strongest of all
It’s not money that counts
In ever larger amounts
Nor to fame nor to power be in thrall
Show your children the way
Teach them all everyday
Without art we are nothing at all
For the poor and the weak
Can find voices to speak
In the blood of poets on the wall
So all you liars beware
Every Bush every Blair
You government pawns one and all
When you are mere dust
The words of the just
Will rise up and sentence you all
When your bodies all rot
With your faces forgot
Much louder than the clarion’s call
Our words will live on
Long after we’re gone
In the blood of poets on the wall
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2. |
Any Way To Fall In Love
03:35
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ANY WAY TO FALL IN LOVE
How does so pure a beauty such odious nature find
To take away my loving and leave only hate behind?
I who never learnt how to pay for her affections
I who never learnt how to dance for her attentions
But life so quickly slips away
I’ll have to learn to dance one day
But really is that any way to fall in love
To fall in love?
No I’d rather soon be dead
Take my time and take a chance
I’d rather be alone
Than have to learn to dance
How does so pure a beauty such odious nature find
To take away my laughter and leave only tears behind?
I who never learnt how to grasp her contradictions
I who never learnt how to lie for her pretensions
But life so quickly slips away
I’ll have to learn to lie one day
But really is that any way to fall in love
To fall in love?
No I’d rather soon be dead
I’d be better off to die
I’d rather be alone
Than have to learn to lie
How does so pure a beauty such odious nature find
To take away my rainbows and leave only grey behind?
I who never learnt how to clown for her bemusement
I who never learnt how to sing for her amusement
But life so quickly slips away
I’ll have to learn to sing one day
But really is that any way to fall in love
To fall in love?
No I’d rather soon be dead
Than even think of such a thing
I’d rather be alone
Than have to learn to sing
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3. |
The Ghost Of You
03:01
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THE GHOST OF YOU
How I long to lose the ghost of you
Like the morning warms and leaves behind the dew
This man so blind
This man so ill
Out of his mind
He loves you still
Is there no place
You’d rather be
Than standing here
Just haunting me?
How I long to lose the ghost of you
Is it not enough what you have put me through?
Are there no graves
Better than this
More worthy of
Your phantom kiss?
Oh better ghosts
Than you we’ve had
Like Christmas past
And Hamlet’s dad
How I long to lose the ghost of you
How you haunt me still in everything I do
You must away
I must forget
Just leave me be
But oh not yet
Just one more smile
For good or ill
Haunt me awhile
I love you still
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4. |
What Would Singers Sing
02:45
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WHAT WOULD SINGERS SING
Not long ago I saw a pretty girl just standing there
I asked her for her number and we started an affair
Everything was wonderful she said I love you so
But when I said I feel the same she said you'll have to go
Everyday
It's hard to see
The nutters and the sane
All look the same to me
Everyday
It's hard to tell
Which way's heaven
Which way's hell
But every night
On my knees
I give thanks for everything
I give thanks
'Cause I know damn well
Without the minds of mental girls
Well what would singers sing?
We'd go la la la..
Without the minds of mental girls
Well what would singers sing?
In the middle of the night I caught a burglar unawares
We had a little struggle and then he fell down the stairs
He broke his neck in two but still he lived to tell
the tale
Of how he got compensation and I got sent to gaol
Everyday
It's hard to see
The nutters and the sane
All look the same to me
Everyday
It's hard to tell
Which way's heaven
Which way's hell
But every night
On my knees
I give thanks for everything
I give thanks
'Cause I know damn well
Without the clowns in wigs and gowns
Well what would singers sing?
We'd go la la la..
Without the clowns in wigs and gowns
Well what would singers sing?
So I asked a holy man if heaven was within my means
He said it was if I would blow myself to smithereens
So I did the deed but then awoke to find no sainted choir
Instead a man with horns said come and join me by the fire
Everyday
It's hard to see
The nutters and the sane
All look the same to me
Everyday
It's hard to tell
Which way's heaven
Which way's hell
But every night
On my knees
I give thanks for everything
I give thanks
'Cause I know damn well
Without the lies of hypocrites
Well what would singers sing?
We'd go la la la..
Without the lies of hypocrites
Well what would singers sing?
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5. |
Already There
04:21
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ALREADY THERE
When Jean Pierre sent his ambulance crashing
Through midnight traffic with his blue light flashing
Just to meet some friends 'Au Bar de la Guerre'
When the old men sat where Angie would play
Before they cut half her stomach away
Just to sit and talk and smoke, spit and swear
When a gang of young Arabs crossed over below me
In front of the traffic walking too slowly
And you knew there'd be trouble for somebody there
You were already there
When a girl sat there loud in her corner
And shouted 'who wants me' at the men sat before her
Then hiccoughed up and laughed and fell back in her chair
When a man with a plan and a voice ripe and slurred
Whispered her name or some name he preferred
Then carried her off when she was too pissed to care
When I lay there alone at night in my bed
With the dreams in my heart and those thoughts in my head
When I whispered 'I love you' and no-one was there
You were already there
When I stood there alone in the wind on the deck
Burning my youth in a French cigarette
When adventure called and I answered then and there
When words once vowed in sweetest caress
Rose carnal and bitter in loneliness
When a love that was was taken too soon to bear
When I smiled as a child at those innocent games
The sycamore seeds and the paper planes
I threw like wishes into the air
You were already there
When the candle once that burned in me
Burned so low I couldn't see
When all my world was lost in darkest despair
When time itself seemed standing still
And I waited there for you until
I lost the will to love or even care
You came one day and stood there beside me
And the darkness was light and the dam broke inside me
And when you smiled it was like somehow I swear
You'd always been there
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6. |
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LONDON (original version)
Ripping the hours from the mean of Greenwich
Running the ripples from shore to shore
Stealing the dreams from the eyes of the rich
Picking the love from the teeth of the poor
Breaking the clouds with cold fingers of stone
Cutting the wind to the quick of the bone
London my very own
Forging the ranks of the cankered noblesse
Scratching the hands from the face of Big Ben
Kissing the walls with a tattooed caress
Touching St Pauls with a fractured amen
Reaping the summers the autumns have sown
Pruning the love that becomes overgrown
London my very own
Pushing the bridges through bridges of rain
Bridging the bridges with bridges of grey
Sewing the new to the strings of champagne
Weaving the old to the threads of decay
Leading the days into weekends alone
Waiting for months that the years postpone
London my very own
Holding the boats in the clutch of the Thames
Holding the clouds on the brink of their death
Holding the palace the hands of St James
Holding the Old Vic the heart of Macbeth
Holding the leaves that the winters dethrone
Holding the lives that the gutters disown
London my very own
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7. |
Not The Man I Was
03:40
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NOT THE MAN I WAS
When I was young
And hard to hold
Then for my age
More than my bones
Through window panes
I dressed in dreams
All broken nails
And beauty queens
Oh, but I am not the man I was When I was made of glass
Brittle with certainty
My dreams would come to pass
Looking through my eyes
Then everything seemed near
But I am not the man I was when life was clear
The glass became more cloudy year on year
I am not the man I was 'fore I was here
No no no
I am not the man I was
When I was made of glass
My dreams and convictions
Shattered all too fast
Then I thought that love
Was all too simple but
I learned to make love crystal
First you must be cut
When I was young
And hard to hold
Then for my eyes
More than my reach
A spit of skin
I dressed in rage
My slip of faith
A flashing blade
Oh, but I am not the man I was
When I was made of steel
Sharpening my tongue
On the whetstone of my zeal
Marching off to fight
With my heart for only law
I am not the man I was before that war
When I thought I knew what I was fighting for
I am not the man I was when I was sure
No no no
I am not the man I was
When I was made of steel
Time took my time
And turned me on its wheel
Then stubborn as the tide
I never would give in
I thought my will was iron
It was only ever tin
When I was young
And hard to hold
Then for my bones
More than my age
Skin limestone white
I dressed in black
A stare from hell
And staring back
Oh, but I am not the man I was
When I was made of stone
Strong and tall and proud
Standing on my own
Then I looked upon
My gorgon fate with glee
But slowly time has chipped away at me
I am not that solid man I used to be
I am not the man I was when I was me
No no no
I am not the man I was
When I was made of stone
My words are weathered now
All mossed and overgrown
But then with my guitar
Standing up to preach
I thought I was a statue
I was just a pebble on the beach
And now I am this man
Who stands here all alone
A man, but a man no more
Of glass or steel or stone
And if I stand at all
Before you it's because
Sometimes I like to think
I'm still the man I was
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8. |
The Vampire's Song
05:50
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THE VAMPIRE'S SONG
I will come to you tonight
Silent as a breath of air
Standing in your dreams
Unheard and unseen
I will cast no shadow there
I will watch you as you sleep
Steal the perfume from your hair
I will mime your every breath
I will breathe your life till death
Comes back to hack my jackdaw bones
I'll love you till there's nothing left
And oh my love
Like a raging storm you sing in me
Let me fly in you
The way you fly through me
Oh my beautiful, my broken love
You seep like sunlight in my veins
But who has walked this earthly slope
And never felt the pain of love
Nor ever lent an idle flame
To the oil of some dark dream
Nor dressed in gold a useless hope
Here, in this dry blood, moon-boned black
In all my seasons set in wax
What hell below could near contend
With this, what plague could heaven send
Much worse to curse my thirsting soul
Than for your kiss, but in the end
You know my love
Like a raging storm you sing in me
Let me fly in you
The way you fly through me
Oh my beautiful, my broken love
You spread like bruises in my blood
Let the darkness reign
Let the silence fall
And through this winding wickless night
I will come to you once more
And there in your eyes
I will run again
Through all the summers of another world
A joy so pure it feels like pain
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9. |
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A SUMMER NIGHT (Dreaming of New York)
Still, this summer night, still and long
Too hot to sleep, to breathe, tonight
This summer night, gazing out
Across the sea of city lights,
As one by one they come on
And me, just dreaming of New York
This summer night
New York and you and me in love
In Central Park, holding hands, making plans,
Sitting in Times Square
Maybe where you are tonight
And me just waiting
Here, this summer night, as far away
Above the hum of passing cars
A siren sounds and makes its way
Like a rumour in a bar
Turning heads towards the night
And me, just dreaming of New York
This summer night
New York and you and me in love
In Central Park, holding hands, making plans,
Sitting in Times Square
Maybe where you are tonight
And me just waiting
Here, this summer night, gazing out
Just dreaming of New York
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10. |
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ENTERTAINING MISS STEINWAY
If anyone should call by or phone
Say Mr Jeays is not at home
Tonight I'm entertaining Miss Steinway
She's rustled up some double bass
To put a smile upon my face
Tonight I'm entertaining Miss Steinway
She's brought along her entourage
Some rhythm and some jazz guitars
I'll sing the songs you bang your drums
We'll light the light till morning comes
She can jazz it
Razzmatazz it
Any old way
Miss Steinway has it
So just sit back
Satisfaction's guaranteed
She can use it
She can blues it
Just you let
Miss Steinway choose it
Any old how
She just knows what you need
Let her tickle
Some classical
Just lie back
And laugh a little
Tonight I'm entertaining Miss Steinway
She's brought along her entourage
Some rhythm and some jazz guitars
She'll string you up
Leave you hanging from the beams
I'll sing the songs you bang your drums
We'll light the light till morning comes
Oh you can beg
But she don't know what mercy means
Let her tickle
Some classical
Just lie back
And laugh a little
Tonight I'm entertaining Miss Steinway
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11. |
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WHERE WILL WE GO FROM HERE
Where will we go from here
Now all of this is over
How can we live again
When life itself tears us apart
Will we love again
Our faces etched with hunger
As the years go by
Will we sit and wonder
Where will we go from here
Now all of this is over
Where will our days begin and end
Now we’ve reached this journey’s end
Will we laugh again
Or is life a joke that we forgot
As we wave goodbye
Our faces smile though we do not
Where will we go from here
And as we walk away
Backing slowly down this station
Turning like the tide
As each wave takes us further out
Waiting to disappear
Over some lost horizon
Swallowed by the crowd
Not waving now but drowning
Where will we go from here
Now all of this is over
Where will our days begin and end
Now we’ve reached this journey’s end
Will we laugh again
Or is life a joke that we forgot
As we wave goodbye
Our faces smile though we do not
Where will we go from here
Now all of this is over
Where, where will we go from here?
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