El Dorado
(i. Long-Shadowed Sun)
I remember..
The enchanted English walled garden
Days of summer air and honey-suckled nights
The capricious dance of lavenders and cabbage-whites
Made more than 3D, glowing in the evening long-shadowed sun
Nowhere better. But in England, although nothing really changes, the weather always does..
(ii. The Gold )
The gold stops us
The gold always did
The gold took more lives than Uranium
Than Plutonium
Pandemonium…
The thunder approaches
The heavy sighing of the monster…
Come to break the heavy weather
Come to silence all the singing birds
Tearing up the sky like paper
White-welding through dark steel of clouds
And the release of the sudden rain
The gold stops us
The gold always did
The gold took more lives than Uranium
Than Plutonium. Pandemonium.
The Gold!
Jet engines and demolition
And the summer rain
Like finding a lost child
The roads are travelled by many
Like promises of peace
And some choose not to go
The f e a r looks like bravado
It always did
I see them waiting, smiling
On the borders in dawn's mist
Or lost to the world in their upturned boats
I'll be free or I'll die trying to be
Trying to BE.
(iii. Demolished Lives)
I see myself in them
The people at the borders
Waiting to exist again
Brothers, sisters, sons and daughters
Denied our so-called golden streets
Running from demolished lives
Into walls
The “haves” and the “have nothings”
The accepted and rejected
We can’t keep letting them in
We can’t keep letting them in ?
The gold stops us
The gold always did
The gold took more lives than Uranium
Than Polonium. Pandemonium.
And as I stand here wondering why
A man beheaded on a smartphone
Falls into my pocket from the sky
Modern life
Everything is everywhere ..’know what I mean?
Handy.
And obscene.
(iv. F E A R)
F E A R is everywhere here
Under the patio
Under the hard-earned bought and paid-for home
Cushions, scented candles and the lawn
Mowing to the beat and the rumble of the coming storm
We all know about the wars that are raging
All the millions who just cannot see
There's so much more that binds us than divides us
But our f e a r denies it
While the papers stir it
The colours of the flag we wave
Were and will become blood red again
And the madmen all say they hear voices
God tells them what to do
The wars are all about money
They always were
And the money's dressed up in religion
And when it's not showing off, the money's hiding.
Something is cooking inside me...
It ain’t ready, but already…
I'm becoming harder to live with
Becoming harder to live with
You say I'm becoming harder to live with
I’m becoming harder to live with
But you can't see into my head
You can't see into my head
You can't see into my head
No you can’t see into my head.
And the roads are full of weapons
That slide by in the night
Tanks all covered in yellow mud
Pass you on the motorway
As you drive by with the kids and the buckets and spades
Happy Days.
(v. The Grandchildren of Apes)
Metal in the air
Brimstone in the lungs
Breathe deeply of it
The wind is carrying the pictures
The rain is muttering the names
The wind-chimes in my garden ring like keys
To all the stolen doors.
We are the grandchildren of apes, not angels
But only we are gifted with the eyes to see
On days without f e a r, when our heads are clear
That angels, we could be.
Living in F E A R
Our wide eyes
Aren't naive
They're a product of a conscious decision
The welcoming smile is the new Cool
The key left in the outside of the unlocked door
Isn't forgetfulness
It's a challenge to change your heart
There's always a price to pay
Living in f e a r is so very dear
Can you really afford it?
We've decided to risk melting our guns as a show of strength
We've decided to risk melting our guns as a show of strength
As a show of strength!
Our wide eyes are not so weak
They're a product of a hard-won wisdom
So we will turn the other cheek
The apple pie cooling on the windowsill
Is such a welcome change from
Living in f e a r
Year after year after year
Can we really afford it?
Can you really afford it?
We have decided to start melting our guns as a show of strength
As a show of strength
We decided to leave the doors unlocked, our face unlocked
As a show of strength.
We're not green
We're just pleasant
We're not green
We're just pleasant
We're not green
We&'ve decided to start melting our guns as a show of strength.
Our wide eyes aren't naive
They're a product of a kind of exhaustion
Will there come a time when we believe
The only way ahead is to put down our arms
When we finally know
The bitter consequence of not doing so
There's such a price to pay
For living this way
Living this way
We don't invite crime
We don't invite crime
Will you let one lost soul change what we stand for?
I don't think so.
What a waste of time
The Great Wall of China
What a waste of time
The Maginot line
The Great Wall of China
??? ?? ????? ???????
?????????? ?????
What a waste of time
Die Berliner Mauer
What a waste of time
What a waste of time
The Leavers
(i. Wake Up in Music)
We are the Leavers
And the road rolls beneath us
We sleep as we’re driven
We arrive before dawn
We wait in grey truck-stops
For the night to release us
Then slip in from ring-roads
And our work starts again
Unloading our cargo
The thrills of the night
Our boxes of noises
Our boxes of light
We are parties that travel
Movies that move
Jokes that span fields
Conversations that chatter
From one town to another
Laughter that passes
Thoughts on the wind
We will make a show
And then we'll go.
We are the Leavers
Bottles that empty
From Dover to Calais
From Paris to Hamburg
Strasbourg to Stockholm
On buses that rumble from Newport ..to New York!
We nod-off in London or Lisbon or Lima
We wake up in Munich
Wake up in music
We are the Leavers
We are the Leavers
Be careful. We’ll leave you..
(ii. The Remainers)
The Remainers remain in their homely places
Go home, wash their faces, lay down their heads
As the Leavers take with them their lonely craziness
Our fast-moving laughter
Our fast-moving beds
And our hearts slowly lose focus
Like gypsies at fairs
We will meet someone new somewhere else
(iii. Vapour Trails in the Sky)
We are the Leavers
And the world turns beneath us
We’re somewhere above you
Vapour trails in the sky
Days and nights scrambled
Hurtling to somewhere
From somewhere forgotten
Somewhere forgotten
We’re born out of recklessness
The thirst for the thrill
We’re revelry’s children
Life’s too short for standing still
(iv. The Jumble of Days)
Our lives slowly unravel
Like wool pulled from sweaters
We'll knit something new somewhere else, so forget us.
We are the Leavers
You'll stay and we'll travel
You'll know where you are, always
We'll be vague in our jumble of days
We can never be sure
But be sure of one thing
When the thrills are all done
We'll be gone.
The Remainers can try to persuade us, and tame us
And train us and save us and keep us at home
As we try to fit in with the family life
The mind-numbing comedown
The trouble and strife
All the misunderstandings, defensive attacks
The walls we don’t dare relax
And the hurt in your eyes, I know you know that I pray
For the phone-call that takes me away
We won't be much use to you dead
(v. One Tonight)
The Remainers are leaving their homely places
With excited faces, drawn to the night
Preparing their minds for a break from the sensible life
As the leavers bring with them their noise and light, their wild wonder cure-all of crazy religion
In one sacred ritual
Unmasked and undressed
We all come together
We’re all one tonight
We come together
We come together
There are scars in our eyes
From a thousand goodbyes
That was great
You can write
But I won't reply
I won’t reply.
(vi. Tomorrow’s New Country)
There are scars in our eyes
From a thousand goodbyes
That was great
You can write
But I won't reply
You know we are the Leavers - I’ll tell you a secret…
It's better to leave us alone
It's been terrific to know you
But we really can't stay
Tomorrow's new country
Calls us home
…for the day.
White Paper
The different shades of white
Are in my head tonight
What happened to the colours of fire?
What happened to the colours?
She is painting forty different shades of white
On white paper
On white paper
Glowing happiness arrived the day
Baby came to stay
And all is well in the new world
I, on the other hand,
Can't seem to settle down
My eyes hurry not to see her falling away from me
I’m painting forty different shades of green
For all I'm worth, on yesterday's paper
But innocence is never news
The black keeps bleeding through
Only to reveal our worldly blues
Doesn’t seem so long since we were young
Oh, when we were young
When we were young
I see families walking in the park
Who seem quite happy to live this way
She asks me “What’s the matter darling?
You’re suddenly grey. You don’t look well…”
The arms of another
It’s my idea of hell
So shout if you find a way back to the light and air
Laughing and changing the subject
Ain’t gonna get you there
The different shades of white
Fill my head tonight
What happened to the colours?
What happened to the colours?
The different shades of white
Are everywhere tonight
What happened to the colours of fire?
I used to be centre-stage
Time I should act my age
And watch from the shadowed wings
All these beautiful things
All these beautiful things
Even now
My eyes that hurry to see no more are painting, painting
Faces of my lost girl.
The New Kings
(i. Fuck Everyone and Run)
We are the new Kings
Sailing our seas of diamonds and gold
We are the new Kings
Seldom seen, elsewhere and unknown
We are the new Kings
Buying up London from Monaco
We do as we please
While you do as you're told
Fuck everyone and run
Fuck everyone and run
Tony, not Anthony …suitably masked
Nassau Bahamas, Geneva, Luxembourg …no questions asked
Our world orbits yours and enjoys the view
From this height we don't see the slums and the bums on the street
Or the mums on the game
Fuck everyone and run
Fuck everyone and run
We’re too big to fall
We’re too big to fail
We’re too big to fall
We’re too big to fail
And when we do…
It’s down to you
We’re too big to fall
We’re too big to fail
Too big
(ii. Russia’s Locked Doors)
We are the new Kings
We had the keys to Old Russia's locked doors
We are the new Kings
Here on the corporation’s top floor
If you cross us we’ll buy you and you can retire
Your children set up for life
Think about it..
Greed is good..
We are the new Kings
We sold your council houses, not to you, but the banks
Up in the stratosphere - wielding the knife
While you said thanks
Oceans of money high in the clouds
But if you hang around
More often than not, it’ll trickle down…
While the diggers of the diamonds we wear, labour underground for dear life
On your knees, peasant, and kiss this ring
You’re working for the new king
We are the new kings
I’ll tell you a tale
We’re too big to fall
We’re too big to fail
(iii. A Scary Sky)
We saw the crash on the news today ..oh boy
It changed our lives
But did it really happen?
Flyin’ high in a scary sky
Flyin’ high in a scary sky
What’s going on?
What’s going on?
What’s going on?
I don’t know if I can believe the news
I don’t know if I can believe the news
They can do anything these days
They can do anything with computers these days
(iv. Why is Nothing Ever True?)
Remember a time when you thought that you mattered,
Believed in the school song, die for your country - a country that cared for you
All in it together?
If it ever was more than a lie or some naive romantic notion
Well it's all shattered now
It's all shattered now
Why is nothing ever true?
Why is nothing ever true?
Why is nothing ever true?
Well do you remember a time when you thought you belonged to something more than you?
A country that cared for you
A national anthem you could sing without feeling used or ashamed
You poor sods have only yourselves to blame
On your knees, peasant
You’re living for the New King
You’re living for the New King
You’re living for the New King.
El Dorado
(i. Long-Shadowed Sun)
I remember..
The enchanted English walled garden
Days of summer air and honey-suckled nights
The capricious dance of lavenders and cabbage-whites
Made more than 3D, glowing in the evening long-shadowed sun
Nowhere better. But in England, although nothing really changes, the weather always does..
(ii. The Gold )
The gold stops us
The gold always did
The gold took more lives than Uranium
Than Plutonium
Pandemonium…
The thunder approaches
The heavy sighing of the monster…
Come to break the heavy weather
Come to silence all the singing birds
Tearing up the sky like paper
White-welding through dark steel of clouds
And the release of the sudden rain
The gold stops us
The gold always did
The gold took more lives than Uranium
Than Plutonium. Pandemonium.
The Gold!
Jet engines and demolition
And the summer rain
Like finding a lost child
The roads are travelled by many
Like promises of peace
And some choose not to go
The f e a r looks like bravado
It always did
I see them waiting, smiling
On the borders in dawn's mist
Or lost to the world in their upturned boats
I'll be free or I'll die trying to be
Trying to BE.
(iii. Demolished Lives)
I see myself in them
The people at the borders
Waiting to exist again
Brothers, sisters, sons and daughters
Denied our so-called golden streets
Running from demolished lives
Into walls
The “haves” and the “have nothings”
The accepted and rejected
We can’t keep letting them in
We can’t keep letting them in ?
The gold stops us
The gold always did
The gold took more lives than Uranium
Than Polonium. Pandemonium.
And as I stand here wondering why
A man beheaded on a smartphone
Falls into my pocket from the sky
Modern life
Everything is everywhere ..’know what I mean?
Handy.
And obscene.
(iv. F E A R)
F E A R is everywhere here
Under the patio
Under the hard-earned bought and paid-for home
Cushions, scented candles and the lawn
Mowing to the beat and the rumble of the coming storm
We all know about the wars that are raging
All the millions who just cannot see
There's so much more that binds us than divides us
But our f e a r denies it
While the papers stir it
The colours of the flag we wave
Were and will become blood red again
And the madmen all say they hear voices
God tells them what to do
The wars are all about money
They always were
And the money's dressed up in religion
And when it's not showing off, the money's hiding.
Something is cooking inside me...
It ain’t ready, but already…
I'm becoming harder to live with
Becoming harder to live with
You say I'm becoming harder to live with
I’m becoming harder to live with
But you can't see into my head
You can't see into my head
You can't see into my head
No you can’t see into my head.
And the roads are full of weapons
That slide by in the night
Tanks all covered in yellow mud
Pass you on the motorway
As you drive by with the kids and the buckets and spades
Happy Days.
(v. The Grandchildren of Apes)
Metal in the air
Brimstone in the lungs
Breathe deeply of it
The wind is carrying the pictures
The rain is muttering the names
The wind-chimes in my garden ring like keys
To all the stolen doors.
We are the grandchildren of apes, not angels
But only we are gifted with the eyes to see
On days without f e a r, when our heads are clear
That angels, we could be.
Living in F E A R
Our wide eyes
Aren't naive
They're a product of a conscious decision
The welcoming smile is the new Cool
The key left in the outside of the unlocked door
Isn't forgetfulness
It's a challenge to change your heart
There's always a price to pay
Living in f e a r is so very dear
Can you really afford it?
We've decided to risk melting our guns as a show of strength
We've decided to risk melting our guns as a show of strength
As a show of strength!
Our wide eyes are not so weak
They're a product of a hard-won wisdom
So we will turn the other cheek
The apple pie cooling on the windowsill
Is such a welcome change from
Living in f e a r
Year after year after year
Can we really afford it?
Can you really afford it?
We have decided to start melting our guns as a show of strength
As a show of strength
We decided to leave the doors unlocked, our face unlocked
As a show of strength.
We're not green
We're just pleasant
We're not green
We're just pleasant
We're not green
We&'ve decided to start melting our guns as a show of strength.
Our wide eyes aren't naive
They're a product of a kind of exhaustion
Will there come a time when we believe
The only way ahead is to put down our arms
When we finally know
The bitter consequence of not doing so
There's such a price to pay
For living this way
Living this way
We don't invite crime
We don't invite crime
Will you let one lost soul change what we stand for?
I don't think so.
What a waste of time
The Great Wall of China
What a waste of time
The Maginot line
The Great Wall of China
??? ?? ????? ???????
?????????? ?????
What a waste of time
Die Berliner Mauer
What a waste of time
What a waste of time
The Leavers
(i. Wake Up in Music)
We are the Leavers
And the road rolls beneath us
We sleep as we’re driven
We arrive before dawn
We wait in grey truck-stops
For the night to release us
Then slip in from ring-roads
And our work starts again
Unloading our cargo
The thrills of the night
Our boxes of noises
Our boxes of light
We are parties that travel
Movies that move
Jokes that span fields
Conversations that chatter
From one town to another
Laughter that passes
Thoughts on the wind
We will make a show
And then we'll go.
We are the Leavers
Bottles that empty
From Dover to Calais
From Paris to Hamburg
Strasbourg to Stockholm
On buses that rumble from Newport ..to New York!
We nod-off in London or Lisbon or Lima
We wake up in Munich
Wake up in music
We are the Leavers
We are the Leavers
Be careful. We’ll leave you..
(ii. The Remainers)
The Remainers remain in their homely places
Go home, wash their faces, lay down their heads
As the Leavers take with them their lonely craziness
Our fast-moving laughter
Our fast-moving beds
And our hearts slowly lose focus
Like gypsies at fairs
We will meet someone new somewhere else
(iii. Vapour Trails in the Sky)
We are the Leavers
And the world turns beneath us
We’re somewhere above you
Vapour trails in the sky
Days and nights scrambled
Hurtling to somewhere
From somewhere forgotten
Somewhere forgotten
We’re born out of recklessness
The thirst for the thrill
We’re revelry’s children
Life’s too short for standing still
(iv. The Jumble of Days)
Our lives slowly unravel
Like wool pulled from sweaters
We'll knit something new somewhere else, so forget us.
We are the Leavers
You'll stay and we'll travel
You'll know where you are, always
We'll be vague in our jumble of days
We can never be sure
But be sure of one thing
When the thrills are all done
We'll be gone.
The Remainers can try to persuade us, and tame us
And train us and save us and keep us at home
As we try to fit in with the family life
The mind-numbing comedown
The trouble and strife
All the misunderstandings, defensive attacks
The walls we don’t dare relax
And the hurt in your eyes, I know you know that I pray
For the phone-call that takes me away
We won't be much use to you dead
(v. One Tonight)
The Remainers are leaving their homely places
With excited faces, drawn to the night
Preparing their minds for a break from the sensible life
As the leavers bring with them their noise and light, their wild wonder cure-all of crazy religion
In one sacred ritual
Unmasked and undressed
We all come together
We’re all one tonight
We come together
We come together
There are scars in our eyes
From a thousand goodbyes
That was great
You can write
But I won't reply
I won’t reply.
(vi. Tomorrow’s New Country)
There are scars in our eyes
From a thousand goodbyes
That was great
You can write
But I won't reply
You know we are the Leavers - I’ll tell you a secret…
It's better to leave us alone
It's been terrific to know you
But we really can't stay
Tomorrow's new country
Calls us home
…for the day.
White Paper
The different shades of white
Are in my head tonight
What happened to the colours of fire?
What happened to the colours?
She is painting forty different shades of white
On white paper
On white paper
Glowing happiness arrived the day
Baby came to stay
And all is well in the new world
I, on the other hand,
Can't seem to settle down
My eyes hurry not to see her falling away from me
I’m painting forty different shades of green
For all I'm worth, on yesterday's paper
But innocence is never news
The black keeps bleeding through
Only to reveal our worldly blues
Doesn’t seem so long since we were young
Oh, when we were young
When we were young
I see families walking in the park
Who seem quite happy to live this way
She asks me “What’s the matter darling?
You’re suddenly grey. You don’t look well…”
The arms of another
It’s my idea of hell
So shout if you find a way back to the light and air
Laughing and changing the subject
Ain’t gonna get you there
The different shades of white
Fill my head tonight
What happened to the colours?
What happened to the colours?
The different shades of white
Are everywhere tonight
What happened to the colours of fire?
I used to be centre-stage
Time I should act my age
And watch from the shadowed wings
All these beautiful things
All these beautiful things
Even now
My eyes that hurry to see no more are painting, painting
Faces of my lost girl.
The New Kings
(i. Fuck Everyone and Run)
We are the new Kings
Sailing our seas of diamonds and gold
We are the new Kings
Seldom seen, elsewhere and unknown
We are the new Kings
Buying up London from Monaco
We do as we please
While you do as you're told
Fuck everyone and run
Fuck everyone and run
Tony, not Anthony …suitably masked
Nassau Bahamas, Geneva, Luxembourg …no questions asked
Our world orbits yours and enjoys the view
From this height we don't see the slums and the bums on the street
Or the mums on the game
Fuck everyone and run
Fuck everyone and run
We’re too big to fall
We’re too big to fail
We’re too big to fall
We’re too big to fail
And when we do…
It’s down to you
We’re too big to fall
We’re too big to fail
Too big
(ii. Russia’s Locked Doors)
We are the new Kings
We had the keys to Old Russia's locked doors
We are the new Kings
Here on the corporation’s top floor
If you cross us we’ll buy you and you can retire
Your children set up for life
Think about it..
Greed is good..
We are the new Kings
We sold your council houses, not to you, but the banks
Up in the stratosphere - wielding the knife
While you said thanks
Oceans of money high in the clouds
But if you hang around
More often than not, it’ll trickle down…
While the diggers of the diamonds we wear, labour underground for dear life
On your knees, peasant, and kiss this ring
You’re working for the new king
We are the new kings
I’ll tell you a tale
We’re too big to fall
We’re too big to fail
(iii. A Scary Sky)
We saw the crash on the news today ..oh boy
It changed our lives
But did it really happen?
Flyin’ high in a scary sky
Flyin’ high in a scary sky
What’s going on?
What’s going on?
What’s going on?
I don’t know if I can believe the news
I don’t know if I can believe the news
They can do anything these days
They can do anything with computers these days
(iv. Why is Nothing Ever True?)
Remember a time when you thought that you mattered,
Believed in the school song, die for your country - a country that cared for you
All in it together?
If it ever was more than a lie or some naive romantic notion
Well it's all shattered now
It's all shattered now
Why is nothing ever true?
Why is nothing ever true?
Why is nothing ever true?
Well do you remember a time when you thought you belonged to something more than you?
A country that cared for you
A national anthem you could sing without feeling used or ashamed
You poor sods have only yourselves to blame
On your knees, peasant
You’re living for the New King
You’re living for the New King
You’re living for the New King.