1. |
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Forty channels on my TV, a sort of entertaining hell
Multi-phonic hi-fidelity, sensory video as well
Luxury intoxicates, it gets harder now to rage
There's a lack of guilt that indicates, I'm a product of the age
Little plastic cubes, play music just by touch
And stuff that comes in plastic tubes, to eat when in a rush
All these joys and more, guilt's forgotten, not assuaged
Sometimes I can tell for sure, I'm a victim of the age
I'm certified fulfilled, they say it so it must be true
But nothing in this brave new world will ever take the place of you
Images in 4-D and gadgets for all tasks
A 'droid or two serve only me, do everything I ask
Everything's just perfect, or so I'm always told
But without it's all reject, I'll never totally be sold
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2. |
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The wind's in a rage tonight, turbulence reigns
A vestige of chaos in flight, where no hand refrains
Excessive, ignoble, misdemeanours and crimes
A curse going global, live in interesting times
Stop and wander farther afield, to a short while ago
What was sown now proffers its yield, who wants to know?
The wind begins to hammer down, on available panes
Beyond it all the same disc waxes and wanes
More words, more plans, but they're just good intentions
Any road you choose has well and truly been paved
One world, one pain, demanding attention
It's no longer enough to simply number the brave
Heaven's breath, with a sigh, is someone making amends?
Someone hopes and somebody cries, more than someone depends
On a ray of hope, refracting, touching empathy on darkness and fears
There has to be a way of acting sooner on the pain and the tears
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3. |
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There's a thousand miles between us tonight
How can that be, when we've never been much closer than this?
And I want you tonight
Your touch within need, energies freed and expended in bliss
There's a time and a place, but it's not here or now
It's whenever and where, whenever and where
Solitude's in season tonight
Four AM's gone and the radio on, can't distract me from you
The edge of reason tonight
Is where I stand denied, this continental divide says tonight we'll make do
(There's a time...)
The scent of you teases the night
Though you're not around, you're never too far out of sight
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4. |
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So many words and I'm counting the walls 'til we meet
You're in there somewhere and I seek like something in heat
Textures and colours, beating in time
Next to us two, this is peace, this something sublime
And where are you now? It's a question
Frequently left unattended for days now I fear
It's better this way, that much is clear
I'm diving down deep and seeing there's much to be seen
Arriving from sleep and devouring all I can glean
Adrift now for days, I'm learning to steer
More than a phase, it's a vocation or a career
(And where are you now...)
Nervous smile, shaking hands, striding out for promised lands
Vistas unattended, fences unmended
It's no use hanging on here, that much is clear
There's beauty and truth in these pages of solace and balm
Fractious encounters alleviate boredom and calm
I'm staring down pictures of comfort and pain
And I wonder sometimes if I'm more than a little insane
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5. |
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Time keeps changing, it never seems to last
The future's already here, the present's already the past
You keep holding off, I keep hanging on
You're not saying stay, but you're taking time being gone
And I don't know, I don't know, I can't say anymore
Do I stay or do I go, what am I waiting for?
Time keeps changing, we're changing too
I know I shouldn't hang around, but I'm glad I do
We're together now, but am I wasting my time?
When investing emotion, you walk a fine line
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6. |
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I no longer wear your photo, my jeans can't stand the strain
Pockets frayed and torn, I never should've kept the frame
I don't regret devotion, though I cringe sometimes to think
Of words, though not quite juvenile, that were sometimes on the brink
And it's years since I last felt your touch, days since I last tried
To kill the urge to reminisce on tears we never cried
I can't stand losing you, but losing you seems to be what I do best
I can't stand losing you, but now it's all that's left
You took the best I had to give, but couldn't face the rest
You took the package on approval, but it didn't pass the test
And I wish to God you'd told me, our future numbered days
That however deep your feelings, I was always just a phase
(And it's years...)
I've been spending time in mourning a love that never died
Because it never really started and we never really tried
I could've set my hopes directly, on a scale from one to ten
To somewhere near zero and never bothered you again
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7. |
Players (slow version)
05:02
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You hear voices and they're getting loud
Don't want to hear a word they say
Do you really want to do the things you're doing today?
You've got eyes, but they're playing blind
Don't want to see the things they must
Can't you see it's too late when it's ashes and dust?
Don't give up on what is, believe in a change
You're the captain, but we want to survive
Play God, but are we not men?
Keep getting it wrong, the chance won't come again
(Don't give up...)
The stages of changes, you're just hanging on as you are
The past is the last place to be when we've got to go far
There are voices that cry, there's a silence that bleeds
Where's the need to deny not just hope, also needs?
The past is the last place to be when we're going so far
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8. |
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I've got sleep that's killing me while footsteps retreat
This pain you inflict on me's so hard to delete
Sleep broken, sheets twisted and wrapped 'round my knees
A draught as you open the door now to leave
Where does that leave me? Exactly, alone
Work the day with evenings just spent by the phone
But there's no chance you'll dial or even lift the receiver
That's not your style, though I'm still a believer
It's a bad situation and it's getting worse
Desperation and it's getting worse
But I'll get over the time I was spending my time with you
The question I never court, are you alone tonight?
Lies among these poison thoughts creeping back into sight
Catch a late film, kill some time and turn in at two
Try to toe a harder line in getting over you
(It's a bad situation...)
There's nothing more to do, when spending time is killing it too
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9. |
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I don't understand what you're saying to me anymore
But I'm told, with faith you'll provide
I don't know how, but lately I've been feeling less than sure
I used to think you were on my side
Don't just stand back, don't wash your hands to walk away
It's been looking black, but how can you win if you don't play?
You've made your stand, but not my day, there's protection if I pay
If I don't, I'm out the game
Maybe I'm wrong, but time ago you offered everybody hope
Look around, it's just the same
(Don't just stand back...)
The words you say and to me you send
Come across without end, talk more talk
The face you wear changes several times a day, looks this way
Asks for trust with a plastic smile
I'm not too keen on what you do, but what you do is done with style
Even not so straight denials
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10. |
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There's a week's worth of post by the door
The Sundays unread lie all over the living-room floor
Just when I think I'm not thinking of you
You steal right up to me and stay for a lifetime or two
I can't believe it's happening again
Pictures of you as you were once before
Could be they'll stop only when, yesterday comes once more
Records unplayed keep the peace
A week's worth of washing-up stands in the kitchen at ease
It's hard to find time for those everyday chores
When I can't turn my mind from your sexual mores
(I can't believe...)
Saturday's bad, but Sunday is worse
You're a tricky fixation to try and reverse
It's once in a while if it happens at all
But when it does, I'm reduced form a walk to a crawl
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11. |
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Every night, the scenery is changed
But the story's the same
A thousand eyes filled with tears and rage
Let's talk about it, discuss who's to blame
Another night, another month, another year, the picture's still there
Another face, another land, another world we still share
Another child, too tired to care
Two or three, maybe four times tonight
And on the hour all through the day
Soon it's just a flickering light
What can you do anyway?
(Another night...)
On the screen, more talk, we just stare
Another stream of words going nowhere
The credits roll, that's all for tonight
The studio dims leaving two silhouettes
You start to care, but supper's in sight
Sit back, relax, there's a movie on next
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12. |
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Darkness falls, lights go on along the street
People head where people tend to meet
Another Friday night, the neon spells end of working week
Some seek to dance, some just seek
And I'll be with you tonight
Through streets of light, 'til darkness bright
The tribal dance, stand apart, but seek to touch
Make the most of what may not be too much
Taking sides and liberties, it always seems this way
Looking sharp may be all you have to say
(And I'll be...)
There must be other ways to sate the drive to find romance
Than putting all faith in the power of dance
But it's not hard to find your options narrowed down to nil
With a working week that seems to want to kill
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Semblants Oxford, UK
Hailing from Liverpool, living in Oxford - Barry Horrocks is the Semblants and The Proxy Server
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