Belle and Sebastian IV

Me And The Major

Me and the Major could become close friends cause we
Get on the same train and he wants to talk to me
Me and the Major could become close friends cause we
Get on the same train and he wants to talk
But there is too much history, too much biography between us

Me and the Major don't see eye to eye on a
Number of things, he'll take a guy like me and then
Me and the Major don't see eye to eye on a
Number of things, he'll take a guy like me
And put him in the army
Cause the Queen's own army makes a man of you

But he doesn't understand and he doesn't try
He knows there's something missing and he knows it's you and I
We're the younger generation, we grew up fast
All the others did drugs
They're taking it out on us
They're taking it out on us

Me and the Major are from different worlds, but if
I get stuck in the lift it's always with a toff
Me and the Major are from different worlds, but if
I get stuck in the lift it's always with a man
Of noble standing who looks down on me like I was never born

I think the Major's going quite insane, he goes
Along the pavement and comes back again, oh yeah
I think the Major's going quite insane, he goes
Along the pavement and comes back again
Like he is on parade, and he is on parade
At least he thinks so

Now he is swapping his tent for a sheltered home
He doesn't have a family, he is living alone
He remembers all the punks and the hippies too
And he remembers Roxy Music in seventy-two
He doesn't understand and he doesn't try
He knows there's something missing and he knows it's you and I
We're the younger generation, we grew up fast
All the others did drugs
They're taking it out on us
They're taking it out on us
They're taking it out on us

I want a dance, I want a drink of whisky so I
Forget the Major and go up the town
Because the snow is falling



***********************

Meat And Potatoes

My baby came to me lately
'Honey, please don't take this bad, but maybe
When you laid me
Could we try to spice it up?'

I looked across the table
First to see if she was joking
No joke
There was no flicker
Just a girl who wanted more

Than meat and potatoes
She may stop at whips and chains
She needs carousal
More arousal
A bit of pain

So we started by using handcuffs
We tried a can of cold whipped cream
I was allergic to so much dairy
She had to finish it all by herself

Then I slapped her
She wasn't expecting
So she hit me back
She friggin' cracked me
I got a nose bleed
She was angry
She wanted more

Than mean and potatoes
She may stop at pumps and drains!
She needs carousal
More arousal
A bit of pain

Invite the neighbours
Or total strangers
Give yourself a leg up, honey
Wear 'The Queen' mask
Put on the French basque
It's full of handy holes
If we're going to use them all
We're going to need more than

Meat and potatoes!
She may draw the line at dolls and freaks
She needs some abusing
Some amusement
To get through the week

'I know you respect me
You won't reject me
And the arrow of our love is straight and true'


************************

Mornington Crescent

Mornington Crescent
I think of you
Rain in the southeast
Men feeling blue
Men with their bowlers
Kids with their spats
Ladies with chauffeurs
Dogs wearing hats and jackets
Rich apartments
Old punk posters
Tartan garments
I love the exquisite array
I love the camp as camp parade
The possibilities suggest themselves to me

Mornington Crescent
The sun in the east
I've got a job on
For a Senegalese rich arbitrator
In African law
To paint his apartment, strip down the walls
Came down between us lately
Lust and want and need just caved in
'Is it wise?'
The answer's no
It never is but since you ask
We pause thoughtfully, for twenty seconds reprieve
Then it's off with the briefs

Mornington Crescent
Sin is my game
We'll all be lined up
Irrelevant fame
Next to the broker, the nurse and the drunk
I was a joker, the wannabe punk that got lucky
Had a good time
Life became fruitless
Egotistic swine to all your friends
All the ladies and the men
The possibilities suggest themselves to me
We're a little too free.

********************

Mr. Richard

Saw a suit in Daddy's wardrobe, I took a swipe
Lapels, size of islands, gangster white line pinstripe
Laughed off the street in the name of my rock'n'roll
Still a caterwauling groove will start off vacation
Eighties plastic Soul don't give palpatation
Richie, he no like, he call out the firing squad

ba ba ba...

Richie look for suede, me I look for leather
Sartorially we groove, occasional disaster
For tight black canvas no make for a straight legged sixties scenester
Then we hit the street with poise of commando
Clothes, guitar but arsenal missing one thing
Exotic Glasgow chick, they call her the 'Carmen Veranda'

ba ba ba...

Me and Richie dream to be like Mr Richard
Strung-out and?secure yes we make like junkie
Hooked up on that stuff they call it the Rock'n'roll
I need to consecrate, I need consecration
Clipped and soulful guitar riffing out the nation
The nation in my head, the national sixties sensation

ba ba ba....

******************

My Wandering Days Are Over

Y' know my wandering days are over
Does that mean that I'm getting boring?
You tell me
I'm tired of listening to myself, yeah
I'm tired of fixing things for Michael and the rest of them

Y' know my bip-bopping days are over
I hung my boots up and then retired from the disco floor
The centre of my so called being is
The space between your bed and wardrobe with the louvre doors
(With the louvre doors)

Y' know my celibate days are over
You put me straight on the finer points of my speech rehearsed
In the mirror of my steamy bathroom
Where the lino tells a sorry story in a monologue
(In a monologue)

Six months on, the winter's gone
The disenchanted pony
Left the town with the circus boy
The circus boy got lonely
It's summer, and it's sister song's
Been written for the lonely
The circus boy is feeling melancholy


It's got to be fate that's doing it
A spooky witch in a sexy dress has been bugging me
With the story of the way it should be
With the story of Sebastian and Belle the singer, yeah

Y' know my one man band is over
I hit the drum for the final time and I walked away
I saw you in Japanese restaurant
You were doing it for business men on the piano, Belle
You said it was a living Hell
You said you were in Hell

Six months on, the winter's gone
The disenchanted pony
Left the town with the circus boy
The circus boy got lonely
It's summer, and it's sister song's
Been written for the lonely
The circus boy is feeling melancholy

Six months on, the winter's gone
The disenchanted pony
Left the town with the circus boy
The circus boy got lonely
It's summer, and it's sister song's
Been written for the lonely
The circus boy is feeling melancholy

*************************

Nice Day For A Sulk

Nice day for a sulk
The girl smells of milk
Her horsey teeth explode around us
And we run for cover she found us
In the cheapo bar with a bag of chips

Nice day for a mood
The forecast is good
The kids are melting in the doorway
Keep the gang together
There's no way will you ever be misunderstood by me

Nice day for a jam
The Fall, Manfred Mann
Dance party, summer lasts forever
When the band's together and Bobby
Drank too much and fell in the Clyde

********************

Night Walk

******************

Paper Boat

I think it's going to be all right
I think it's going to be just fine
I think it's going to get much better than before

I think we're going to see the sun
I think we're going to have some fun,
I think we're going walk out through the open door

And maybe when we wake up in the morning
Maybe when the darkness starts to fade
Maybe in a paper boat we'll both just float away

Underneath the river trees
Off towards a lazy sea
Underneath the bridge that carries people home

Past the church where Jesus saves
Up and down upon the waves
Sailing off towards adventures of our own

Maybe when we wake up in the morning,
Maybe when the darkness starts to fade
Maybe in a paper boat we'll both just float away

Maybe when we wake up in the morning,
Maybe when the trumpet starts to play
Maybe in a paper boat we'll both just float away

(Trumpety bit)

I think it's going to be good fun

******************

Photo Jenny

I'm in a mess, I'm in a dress
There's nothing from here till tomorrow morning
How will I get there?
How will I get there?
I don't do drugs
All my friends are on their holidays

I go outside, it's not so bad
I see my friend, he couldn't believe that
The girls are holding hands
The girls are holding hands
Don't be a fool
It's 1995, the girls are just friends

They got the drugs I could use but then I don't want any
All that I want is a photograph of Photo Jenny
How will I get one? I don't know
How will I get one? I don't know
How will I get her to strike a pose?

It's getting cold, I'll catch the bus
I see my friend when she's finished working
Get some fish and chips
lalalala what's on the box?
'Man about the house' with Paula Wilcox

You see the boy/girl's at the bar
You know everyone thinks she's really ugly
But I shut my eyes
Oh I shut my eyes, i'll make a film
And the star of it is...
And the star of it is...
And the star of it is Photo Jenny

They got the drugs I could use but then I don't want any
All that I want is a photograph of Photo Jenny
How will I get one? I don't know
How will I get one? I don't know
How will I get her to strike a pose?

*****************

Piazza, New York Catcher

Elope with me Miss Private and we’ll sail around the world
I will be your Ferdinand and you my wayward girl
How many nights of talking in hotel rooms can you take?
How many nights of limping round on pagan holidays?
Oh elope with me in private and we’ll set something ablaze
A trail for the devil to erase
San Francisco’s calling us, the Giants and Mets will play
Piazza, New York catcher, are you straight or are you gay?
We hung about the stadium, we’ve got no place to stay
We hung about the tenderloin and tenderly you tell
About the saddest book you ever read
It always makes you cry
The statue’s crying too and well he may.

I love you I’ve a drowning grip on your adoring face
I love you my responsibility has found a place
Beside you and strong warnings in the guise of gentle words
Come wave upon me from the family why not that's absurd
“You’ll take care of her, I know it, you will do a better job”
Maybe, but not what she deserves
Elope with me Miss Private and we’ll drink ourselves awake
We’ll taste the coffee houses and award certificates
A privy seal to keep the feel of 1960's style
We’ll comment on the decor and we’ll help the passer by
And at dusk when work is over we’ll continue the debate
In a borrowed bedroom virginal and spare
The catcher hits for .318 and catches every day
The pitcher puts religion first and rests on holidays
He goes into cathedrals and lies prostrate on the floor
He knows the drink affects his speed he’s praying for
a doorway
Back into the life he wants and the confession of the bench
Life outside a diamond is a wrench
I wish that you were here with me to pass the dull weekend
I know it wouldn’t come to love, my heroine pretend
A lady stepping from the songs we love until this day
You’d settle for an epitaph like “Walk Away, Renee”
The sun upon the roof in winter will draw you out like
a flower
Meet you at the statue in an hour
Meet you at the statue in an hour

****************

Put The Book Back On The Shelf

Sebastian you're in a mess
You had a dream, they called you king
Of all the hipsters, is it true?
Or are you still the queen?

Like getting blood out of a stone
The city left you lost and gone
You came to dance, but there's no poignancy
When they all leave you standing alone

The wider issues of the day
Just pass you by, you're gonna to pay
For looking at the floor
When people talk to you

You wrote a book about yourself
The people left it on the shelf
You'll write another one
Now you've got a story that's worth talking about

Are you happy with yourself?
Are you talking to yourself?
Are you happy with yourself?
Put the book back on the shelf

I've seen the company you keep
You're on the sofa hidden deep
While on the telly Sid James speaks
To you like God

You're always looking for a sign
But boy you blow it every time
You hear a voice begin to speak
You ignore it and go softly to sleep

Are you happy with yourself? (x4)
Put the book back on the shelf (x4)

[Interlude]

Belle & Sebastian
On the Radio
They insulted children

Belle & Sebastian
On the Radio
Playing songs to learn and sing

Belle & Sebastian
On the Radio
And we're really sorry for all the trouble we caused
And all the trouble we caused

Belle & Sebastian
On the Radio
They insulted children

****************

Read The Blessed Pages

*******************

Rhoda

Young girl, she's a simple person
Not as young as she looks
But whoever is in this day and age
In this day and age, yeah

She gives me goosebumps, fits and malaria
Funny feeling like buying whisky in a whisky bar
The things she says
Yeah the the things she says

And on her arm there's freckles and scars
Do you know what they are?
Do you know where they came from?
Wondering, 'cause she wouldn't tell me
No she wouldn't tell me, no

She likes to sing a lot, she likes to play a lot
But it hurts her so she gave it up for medicinal drugs
Now she's really happy
Now she's really happy, yeah

And she is happy with a fag in her lips
And a faggot friend
And a fag in the morning with her Special K
A ray of sunshine
A ray of sunshine, yeah

Well I'm in love with a certain boy
He's a simple person
Not as young as he looks
But whoever is in this day and age
In this day and age, yeah

He gives me goosebumps, fits and malaria
Funny feeling like buying whisky in a whisky bar
The things he says
Yeah the things he says

And on his arms there's freckles and scars
Do you know what they are?
Do you know where they came from?
Wondering, 'cause he wouldn't tell me
No he wouldn't tell me, no

He likes to play a lot, he likes to sing a lot
But it hurts him so he gave it up for medicinal drugs
Now he's really happy
Now he's really happy, yeah

And he is happy with a fag in his lips
And a faggot friend
And a fag in the morning with his Special K
A ray of sunshine
A ray of sunshine, yeah

Yeah he fell to Earth in a rainstorm
I don't care wherever he came from
'Cause the boy's all right by me

Yeah she fell to Earth in a rainstorm
I don't care wherever she came from
'Cause the girl's all right by me, yeah

Well I'm in love with a certain boy
Well I'm in love with a certain girl

*******************

Roy Walker

I wandered all night, I wondered all night about you
I’ve been here for years just wandering around the neighbourhood

Like a fresh manifestation of an old phenomenon
A breeze whips through the trees
The rustling leaves and branches bend together
They’re cued to sway
Forever by the forces of the Lord’s choreography
I wandered all night, I wondered all night about you
I’ve been here for years just wandering around the neighbourhood

Just for a second the combination of sights, sounds around him
Sends him hurtling back to the mirror of all of his teenager thoughts and fears
He passes big houses and family cars
They saddled the horses in cobblestone yards
He catches the moon looking down from the stars
Just like it’s done for years and years

I wondered
I wondered
I wondered all night about you

Perpetual feeling in the grown up world that’s all around him
That there’s secrets that could be revealed with knowledge and philosophy
And “Oh to be dumb, Oh to be smart”
He might be nursing a broken heart
But feeling this way he’s just playing a part
That's been around for centuries

I wandered all night, I wondered all night about you
I’ve been here for years just wandering around the neighbourhood

*********************

Scooby Driver


I'm coming over in the wrong direction
I only want to be the centre of your attention
For long enough to show you I'm worth the trouble that you take

I want to see the way that you portray
A boy who's going to try to change his life today...

I want to see the way that you portray
A boy who maybe doesn't have too much to say
And you can draw your own conclusions
But you'll find I'm not a fake

You can turn away from me
but there's nothing that'll keep me here you know
And you'll never be the city guy
Any more than I'll be hosting The Scooby Show

*******************

Seeing Other People

We lay on the bed there
Kissing just for practice
Could we please be objective?
Cause the other boys are queuing up behind us
A hand over my mouth
A hand over the window
Well, if I remain passive and you just want to cuddle
Then we should be ok, and we won't get in a muddle
Cause we're seeing other people
At least that's what we say we are doing

How are you feeling?
I don't think you can be dealing
With the situation very well
You take a lover for a dirty weekend, that's ok
But when it's over
You are looking at the working week through the eyes of a gigolo

You're kissing your elbow
You're kissing your reflection
And you can't understand why all the other boys are going for the
New, tall, elegant rich kids
You can bet it is a bitch, kid
But if they don't see the quality then it is apparent that
You're going to have to change
Or you're going to have to go with girls
You'd be better off
At least they know where to put it

We lay on the bed there
Kissing just for practice
Could we please be objective?
Cause the other boys are queuing up behind us
A hand over my mouth
A hand over the window
Well, if I remain passive and you just want to cuddle
Then we should be ok, and we won't get in a muddle
Cause we're seeing other people
At least that's what we say we are doing
Seeing other people
At least that's what we say we are doing
Seeing other people
At least that's what we say we are doing

*****************

Seymour Stein

Seymour Stein- I've been lonely
I caught a glimpse of someones face
It was mine and I'd been crying

Half a world away
Ticket for a plane
Record company man
I won't be coming to dinner

My thoughts are far away
I'm working on that day
North Country girl
1 think she's going to stay

Promises of fame, promises of fortune
LA to New York- San Francisco back to Boston
Has he ever seen Dundee?
Won't he hire a limousine?
Seymour send her back to me

Instrumental

I heard dinner went well
You liked Chris's jacket
He reminded you of Johnny
Before he went Electronic

Seymour Stein- sorry I missed you
Have a nice flight home
It's a good day for flying

******************

She's Losing It

Lisa knows a girl who's been abused
It changed her philosophy in '82
She's always looking for a fight
She keeps the neighbours up all night

I go to her when I'm feeling slack
The girl's using me as a punching bag
I think that I could help her out
But the girl's got a lot to be mad about

BUT in the first moment of her waking up
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing it
When the first cup of coffee tastes like washing up
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing
Yeah she's losing it

Lisa met Chelsea at the knocking school
Chelsea didn't feel like following the rules
So they left the place for another school
Where the boys go with boys and the girls with girls

Chelsea was the ONE who's been abused
It changed her philosophy in '82
She says, "Inch for inch and pound for pound"
Who needs boys when there's Lisa round?">

BUT in the first moment of her waking up
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing it
When the first cup of coffee tastes like washing up
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing it
She goes to the mirror to put on her stuff
She knows she's losing it, oh yeah she's losing it
When she doesn't speak to anyone till four 0' clock
She knows she's losing it, yeah she's losing it
Oh yeah she's losing it

********************

Simple Things

If you want me I'll be there
A boy to deal with all your problems
But part of the deal
Is for you to feel something

If you want me look me up
I don't exist in usual places
Subtle as the wind is grey

If you want me you know where I am
I saw your arms in a dream
And there were blue veins blue
Blue veins

If you want me all you have to do
Is ask a thousand questions
Triplicate and file under
"Simple things you ask to make a young boy sigh"
Young boy sigh
Young boy sigh

***************

Sleep The Clock Around

And the moment will come when composure returns
Put a face on the world, turn your back to the wall
And you walk twenty yards with your head in the air
Down the Liberty Hill, where the fashion brigade
Look with curious eyes on your raggedy way
And for once in your life you've got nothing to say
And could this be the time when somebody will come
To say, "Look at yourself, you're not much use to anyone"

Take a walk in the park, take a valium pill
Read the letter you got from the memory girl
But it takes more than this to make sense of the day
Yeah it takes more than milk to get rid of the taste
And you trusted to this, and you trusted to that
And when you saw it all come, it was waving the flag
Of the United States of Calamity, hey!
After all that you've done, boy, I know you're going to pay

In the morning you come to the ladies' salon
To get all fitted out for The Paperback Throne
But the people are living far away from the place
Where you wanted to help, you're a bit of a waste
And the puzzle will last till somebody will say
"There's a lot to be done while your head is still young"
If you put down your pen, leave your worries behind
Then the moment will come, and the memory will shine

Now the trouble is over, everybody got paid
Everybody is happy, they are glad that they came
Then you go to the place where you've finally found
You can look at yourself sleep the clock around

********************

Slow Graffiti

There's a portrait
In a back room,
Which I keep for days upon, which I relent
And gaze for hours on the muscle skin and bone of some
Imaginary friend.

So how about it?
Show me please how I will look in twenty years
And let me please,
Interpret history in every line and scar that's painted
There in front of me.

It doesn't matter what I'm thinking
What I tell myself to do
I'll end up calling.

I stay in to defrost the fridge
Now the kid has gone to bed
A feeling of dread.
At least when she's around the troubles there,
It's worse to wake up with her falling round the room.

Listen Johnny; you're like a mother
To the girl you've fallen for,
And you're still falling.

Listen Johnny;
You're like a mother to the girl you've fallen for,
And you're still falling,
And if they come tonight
You'll roll up tight and take whatever's coming to you boy.

***********************

Song For Sunshine

Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away
Millions of people never start in the race
There's stuff on out plates that has not been alive
Someone pays full price for my cheap flight life

“Sunshine, we all see the same sky”

I am a man filled with longing desire
The gifts of creation are ready for hire
A look at a label is all I require
Enough's not enough, I never ask why

“Sunshine, we all see the same sky
Looking, learning, asking the same 'why?'”

Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away
Millions of people never start in the race
There's stuff on out plates that has not been alive
Someone else pays the real price of my cheap flight life

Wheel of fortune spins,
But the wheels on fire come crashing on you
Honey'd sweet apples, they're rotting away

“Sunshine, we all see the same sky
Looking, learning, asking the same 'why?'

********************

Stay Loose

I was choking on a cornflake
You said “Have some toast instead”
I was sleeping maybe three hours
You said “You should get to bed”
I was waiting at the church door
For the minister to show
I was looking at the new year
You said “Walk before you crawl”
I was feeling like a loser
You said “Hey, you’ve still got me”
I was feeling pretty lonely
You said “You wanted to be free”
I was looking for a good time
You said “Let the good times start”
With a quiver of your eyelid
You took on someone else’s part
Maybe I’m a little greedy
You said “Think before you speak”
Sometimes I’m a little seedy
You said “Everyone is weak”
Now I feel a little better
Is there something I can do?
But I never heard the answer
I never had a clue
But what about me
I don’t really see
How things will improve
If all you want is to stay loose
There’s a little echo calling
Like a miner trapped inside
If I tell her of this moment
She will in me doubts confide
And she’s on me like a blanket
Like a stalk of wilting grass
I’m not sure about her motives
I’m not sure about her past
But my faith is like a bullet
My belief is like a bolt
The only thing that lets me sleep at night
A little carriage of the soul
If it starts a little bleaker
Then the year may yet be gold
Happiness is not for keeping
Happiness is not my goal
But what about me
I don’t really see
How things will improve
If all you want is to stay loose
But what about them
You play mother hen
To a gaggle of gangling youth
All you want is to stay loose
I was living through the seconds
My composure was a mess
I was miles from tenderness
It was dark outside, the day it was broken in pieces
Everything is flat and dreary
I couldn’t care what’s in the news
Television is the blues
Television is hysterical laughter of people
And I know it could be me
I’m always asking for more
I keep running round in circles
I keep looking for a doorway
I’m going to need two lives
To follow the paths I’ve been taking

******************

Step Into My Office, Baby

She called me up today
Meet me down at the old café
I jumped into the shower
I was getting my marching orders

We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I want to give you the job
A chance of overtime
Say, my place at nine?

She’d never stand for any lies
She’s got an Out Tray full of guys
I could sense a breath, a whole new feeling
Now she says she wants to call a meeting

We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I want to give you the job
A chance of overtime
Say, my place at nine?


I’m a slave to work
I’m only living when I walk amongst the office staff
And catch up with the office wag
I’ll be in bed by nine
My curtains drawn
My thoughts composed
I get to work on time


She gave me some dictation
But my strength is in administration
I took down all she said
I even took down her little red dress

We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I’m going to give you the job
I’m pushing for a raise
I’ve been pushing now for days

My output is in decline
I was burned out after Thatcher
My banner I laid down with a sigh
Now I doubt if I’ll ever catch her

I’ve got to change my ways
Dress for business every day
A sharp suit and a kipper tie
A big arrow pointing to my fly

Have you shaved for work yet, baby?
Don't go where the boss is, baby

We need to talk
Step into my office, baby
I want to give you the job
A chance of over time
Say my place at nine?

******************

Stop, Look And Listen

I finally gave myself the time to see you
I finally gave myself the time to see you
I finally gave myself the time to see you for a while
If only we could see past the veneer we'd see another side of you

Simone said she would think about not seeing me
Simone said she would think about not seeing me
Simone said she would think about not seeing me for a while
I hung around with her for forty days and forty nights, it was a wilderness

If only you would stop, look and listen
If only you would stop, look and listen
If only you would stop, look and listen you'd be fine
But being deaf and being blind just seems to be the way you spend your time

Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Your words are true and all I do is dream

Spent summer in the city of my childhood
Spent summer in the city of my childhood
Spent summer in the city of my childhood for old times
But there's no going back for me, the faces had all changed I was a stranger

He made the same mistake 'til he got wiser
He made the same mistake 'til he got wiser
By then it was too late and he despised her, what a crime
If he was cruel to be kind, he would've saved the trouble and the time

Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Your words are true and all I do
Think of you, your words are true and all I do
Think of you, your words are true and all I do is dream

I live alone the silence it can make you
I live alone the silence it can take you
I live alone the silence it can break you after a while
Not long ago I made a deal, the ghosts around the house all seem to like me

My life is falling down I am surrounded
My life is falling down I am confounded
My life is falling down I am dumbfounded, what a mess
I lay back silent as a cat and let you work your mysteries of healing

Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Being alone, it's not a problem when I think of you
Your words are true and all I do
Think of you, your words are true and all I do
Think of you, your words are true and all I do is dream

**************

Storytelling

Picture a scene in your mind
Looks at all the people and take note of the setting behind
Listen, watch, and wait
A plot begins to take shape
There's a story
And then characters will come to you
Relating events as they choose to
But all their words and actions come entirely from you

If you're a storyteller you might think you're without responsibility
And you can lead your characters anywhere you want
You have immunity

Have you considered the way
People might react to all the things that your characters say?
And are their actions hand in hand with what you want to portray?
Are you sick?
Are you crippled? Insane?
Expressing the desires that daren't speak their name?
Are you the one to be blamed?

Now you're a storyteller you might think you are without responsibility
But in directions, actions and words
Cause and effect
You need consistency

How can you finish the tale?
Lives which have played a part
Are summarized from the very start
And episodes left out to make it all go our way
"It's a might big world
Some of it I've seen
But mostly I've only heard
And stories are all fiction from their moment of birth"

You're just a storyteller
You're not trying to escape responsibility
If we believe you then you're successful
But you don't make claims of verity

************

String Bean Jean

I got my fingers dirty at the school of rock
Yeah I got my fingers dirty so I took a walk
I went up to the country park and hung around till
after dark
Till the girls got home
Till the girls got home

Did I tell you 'bout the one I know, she's on the rag
She spent the summer day inside her sleeping bag
Yeah she spent the summer day inside until it's time
to go to work
And she works all night
Yeah, the girl's alright

The girls have got a house that's like a caravan
And it's like your holidays whenever you go round
And we always have a laugh and then we all get in
the bath
To save on the leccy bill
Me & Jo & Phil'

I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys around the way
I had to go to work
I had to leave them in the morning
I left the keys down in the caf'
I had to catch a bus

And when Jo was short of cash I had to give her some
But I didn't really mind cause I was fit for once
So we paid the lacky bill and got the shopping and
we still had
Some for the cinema
So we all went out

She asked me "Do I need to lose a bit of weight?"
And I said "Oh, don't be stupid 'cause you're
looking great"
And I call her String Bean Jean because the label on
her jeans says
Seven to eight years old - well that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old - that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old - that's pretty small
Seven to eight years old

*********************

Suicide Girl

My friend,
She wants,
To be a suicide girl.
I'll take her picture,
For the whole wide world.
I've known her for a long time,
You could say that I'm a fan,
But I always thought that I would be her man.

My friend,
She wants,
To be the girl of suicide.
She wants a number,
For her radical side.
I know that she is special,
I can see what she has got,
But without her gloves and garnered clothes (?)
She will take them to the world,
Exposed, she gives it all away.

My friend,
She sometimes gets anxiety and stress.
She got a man,
From the NHS.
She proclaims a week of sadness!
She's abstained from telling jokes!
The world will see her poor image, (?)
A butterfly to empathy.
I know that I can do it,
I'm in to light, I'm in to shade.
But let's face the facts,
We ain't goin' back,
When she takes off her clothes we'll never be the same again!

******************

Sukie In The Graveyard

Sukie was a kid, she liked to hangout in the graveyard
She did brass rubbings, she learned you never had to press hard
When she was finished hanging out she was all alone
She decided that she better check in at home
There was an awful row between her mum and dad
They said she hadn't done this, she hadn't done that
If she wanted to remain inside the family home
She'd have to toe the line, she'd have to give it a go
It didn't suit Sukie
So she took her things and left

Sukie was a kid, she liked to hang out at the art school
She didn't enrol, but she wiped the floor with all the arseholes
She took a bijou flat with the fraternity cat
She hid inside the attic of the sculpture building
She had a slut slave and his name was Dave
She said ‘Be my photo bitch and I'll make you rich'
He didn't believe her but the boy revered her
He got her meals and he got her a bed
He watched behind the screen and she started to undress
He never got far
Just lookin' and playing guitar

Autumn hanging down all the trees are draped like chandeliers
Sukie saw the beauty but she wasn't wet behind the ears
She had an A1 body and a face to match
She didn't have money, she didn't have cash
With the winter coming on, and the attic cold
She had to press her nose on the refectory wall
They served steamed puddings she went without
She had to pose for life for all the scholars of art
She didn't feel funny, she didn't feel bad
Peeling away everything she had
She had the grace of an eel, sleek and stark
As the shadows played tricks on the girl in the dark

**********************

Sunday's Pretty Icons

There is no hole in which to hide
There is no plane to catch
No hope, tell them that's warm enough
No rent to a room that's quiet

A friend I've known through six degrees
Cools down to where I hide
A friend I've known through dreams and prayers
She comes back to my side

You're so far from wanting to talk
You're so far from wanting to say something good
Feel something good

The sea cries of loves of girls
The sea cries of boys
The storm, we are the both of us
Too close to ever love

Whiskey from the island of Sun
Whiskey from the year you were born
Tastes like kidnap and ransom and exile

Somebody asked me what hell was like
Somebody asked me for help
Somebody asked me what hell was like
Lunging and happening, parting of souls

Every girl you ever admired
Every boy you ever desired
Every love you ever forgot
Every person that you despised is forgiven

***************************

Take Your Carriage Clock And Shove It

In the board room the quiet man takes a
Second to think what to do
He's out of his seat and he's starting to speak
And he hears his own voice

For years and years he's done nothin’ but bow down and put up with all their
demands
She sits like a viper and offers the clock
Without giving a damn
He takes it

Honour forbids me but honour be damned
You have whined till you got what you want
I did the work and when things would go badly
You left us to rot

He locked the door of the boardroom
And turned like the scene from the old country song
Towering over the table he's lost
He is drunk with it all

You only
Came back to us when we'd turned it around
When we'd rescued your ass from fire
Your contribution to all that we did was to say
it was dire

Night after day after night I've been working
Despite of you fuckin’ us all
Now I'm gonna die I don't care if you cry
Just please leave me alone
And spare those tears for yourself
We've had those till we're sick
You should leave while you still have the chance
The others were shocked at this shameful disgrace
At the end of an honoured career
He paused in the silence to pull down his tie
And observe the melee

********************

The Blues Are Still Blue

Well look at the kid from school
He's teaching mamas and papas how to be a little cool
He's changing fashion, the way he dress
The tracksuits are old, and the hoody's way too moody
For the kid with the will to funk
He dances in secret; he's a part-time punk

She's getting off the plane
She wants to write a thesis on the population underprivileged
The kids fighting up the lane
Shop lifting, just drifting
Like The Switchblade And The Cross
But if there's trouble she's got the moves
She's taking an elementary class in Kung Fu

I left my washing in the launderette
You can put some money on it, you can place a little bet
That when I see my washing
The black will be grey and the white will be grey
But the blues are still blue

I'm crying out for my mum
If the malady don't go away we're in a little trouble
With the boss of the company
I'm a singer, a swinger I'm a layabout but laying on
The dock in the lazy sun
Will never quite relegate me to a bum

I left my lady in the launderette
You can put some money on it, you can place a little bet
That when I see my lady
The black will be white and the white will be black
But the blues are still blue

Baby, I love your face (baby I love your face)
I've been creeping round this town because
Well, creeping's just my way (oh oh)
But with a little wink I'll be there (little wink I'll be there)
I'll be excited for a week, but then excitement starts to fade
I know your young, but you're out of touch
You're French, your vocabulary's not quite formed

I left my homework in the launderette
I got a letter from my mamma which my stupid dog has ate
I hid behind the fence
Here comes the deputy head with the bark of a bulldog
He's not making much sense

I left my lady in the launderette
You can put some money on it, you can place a little bet
That when I see my lady
The black will be white and the white will be black
But the blues are still blue

I left my lady in the launderette
You can put some money on it, you can place a little bet
That when I see my lady
The black will be white and the white will be black
But the blues are still blue


*******************

The Boy Done Wrong Again

The boy done wrong again
Hang your head in shame and cry your life away
The boy done wrong again
Hang your head in shame and cry your life away
Are you ok now?

On Saturday I was an angel shining fair
You shone louder, longer
You put my shine to shame
Put me to shame now

What is it I must do to pay for all my crimes?
What is it I must do?
I would do it all the time
Do it all the time now

All I wanted was to sing the saddest song
And if you would sing along I will be happy now

The woodland spring has put the darkness from your thinking
If this town's your sinking ship
Then you know where to jump

Talking dirty, for a hobby that's alright
Pour another glass of wine
I'll think of England this time

All I wanted was to sing the saddest song
And if you would sing along
Oh if you would sing along
if you only sing along I will be happier

*****************

The Boy With The Arab Strap

A mile and a half on a bus takes a long time
The odour of old prison food takes a long time to pass you by

Day upon day of this wandering gets you down
Nobody gives you a chance or a dollar in this old town

Hovering silence from you is a giveaway
Squalor and smoke's not your style
"I don't like this place"
We better go
Then I compare notes with your older sister
I am a lazy gett, she is as pure as the cold driven snow


What did you learn from your time in the solitary
Cell of your mind?
There was noises, distractions from anything good
And the old prison food
Colour my life with the chaos of trouble
Cause anything's better than posh isolation
I missed the bus
You were laid on your back
With the boy with the arab strap
With the boy from the arab strap

It's something to speak of the way you are feeling
To crowds there assembled
Do you ever feel you have gone too far?
Everyone suffers in silence a burden
The man who drives minicabs down in Old Compton
The Asian man
With his love hate affair
With his racist clientele

A central location for you is a must
As you stagger about making free with your lewd and lascivious boasts
We all know you are soft cause we've all seen you dancing
We all know you are hard cause we all saw you drinking from noon
Until noon again
You're the boy with the filthy laugh
You're the boy with the arab strap

Strapped to the table with suits from the shelter shop
Comic celebrity takes a back seat as the cigarette catches
And sets off the smoke alarm
What do you make of the cool set in London?
You're constantly updating your hit parade of your ten biggest wanks
She's a waitress and she's got style
Sunday bathtime could take a while