1. |
1234 Ever
04:05
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1 2 3 Forever, & Time stands still
When you were young you thought you’d never
Reach the crown of the hill
Now what you gonna do with your money
When you’re fat and full?
Live for next week, live for last year
Try but you won’t hurt them
You just don’t know how
The man behind the curtain
Satisfies the here and now
How you gonna plan for the future
When your latest record flops?
Live for next week, live for last year
They take you to the building
That you paid to build
Throw you out in the dumpster
They might as well have had you killed
Bet you wish you’d never seen these flatlands
This shrinking, sinking space
Live for next week, live for last year
1 2 3 forever, No one’s here to stay
Here, we got you a present
From the present day
You’re never gonna hide from history
But it might hide you away
Live for next week, live for last year…
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2. |
Book of Your Life
03:29
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I was the hero of the story but half way through I died
Another character took over
He had all the answers
& all the good lines, in the book of your life
Yeah, life can be so episodic
& there are episodes you won’t like
You can flick right through it
But there are dangers inherent
You might meet a nasty end, in the book of your life
The final chapter’s coming, gonna hit the last page running
Wish it was me, wish it was me in the book of your life?
I’ll skip ahead to another time & execute the perfect crime
Always alone, never detected, never suspected at all
Lost between the lines in the book of your life
And as she went along the high road,
The weather being hot and dry,
She sat herself down by a river bank,
And her true love came riding by
Another soldier home from the wars
In the book of your life
The final chapter’s coming, gonna hit the last page running
Wish it was me, wish it was me in the book of your life
Laws of metaphysics are bending
To produce a happy ending
Turning a new leaf in the book of your life
You said this is life; and this is what it’s like
That sounds very wise, but if I had a say in it
It wouldn’t be like this, wouldn’t be like this at all
In the book of your life
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3. |
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Never knew the tenderness lost his only friend
Never had much sympathy or kindness in the end
Rags to riches move on up, from hunger into fat
Drank the cup of bitterness, where’s the sin in that?
Getting used to uselessness
Youth is squandered, tossed away
Before it has begun
Heavy traffic claims a soul, a new day on the run
Hey, hey fantastico, hit the top and then you know
Create, destroy, confess, getting used to uselessness
Getting used to uselessness
Always conscious of our power,
Always conscious of our chains
Power slips away but yes
Something else remains
After all that time & the killing that was made
Live and die before a mirror,
Happy to play the victim again
Getting used to uselessness
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4. |
Self Portrait
02:42
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At last I knew the truth
But the truth is I didn't really want to
I was famous for my portraits
For the likenesses I drew
I spent some time in Hollywood
I went to see the Queen
I did true and I did false
I did all points in between
I tried religion
But it wasn’t any good at all
So I nailed an apple to my bedroom wall
I said “2 is less than 3
It’s final and it’s absolute
Can I have a little less?
Can I have less proof?”
I never read the papers
Never watched the evening news
I made a series of paintings
Of Imelda Marcos’ shoes
But it was out of my reach
& at the end of the line
I died in the tide on a faraway beach
With a superstitious mind
I tried to make a self-portrait
But it wasn’t any good at all
They said I was rotten down to the core
Overworked, overwhelmed
Over here and over it all
Struck by some feelings
That weren’t familiar at all
It seems to be correct
That we’re all fallible
& often work in ways
That aren’t entirely practical
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5. |
Luxury
03:18
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Luxury, I don’t have the luxury
Through the white heat and the cooking
I never once stopped looking
I was banking on you
Back in the seventies, I moved my family
The whole world hates a failure
So Capetown and Australia
Looked pretty good to me
Skirting round the rocks and reefs
Out of inclement weather
Can’t you picture us together in the lap of luxury?
We took one night of bliss & turned it into this
I’d do anything to please her
So I bought that brand new freezer
And climbed inside
Skirting round the rocks and reefs
Out of inclement weather
You know the smell of new leather meant everything
To the likes of me
Yeah Baby it's cold outside
I thought progress would be one smooth ride
But right now, I don’t have the luxury
Luxury, I don’t have the luxury
My disposable income
And weakness for drinking
Have disposed of me
So tell all your friends to spend ‘til it ends
Oh luxury
I don’t have the luxury
I can’t afford the luxury
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6. |
Pieces of the Past
05:22
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Remember, remember, the slave island Governor
Sugar and spice and rum
Captain Henry Morgan was a very, very, bad man
The only pirate they didn’t hang
In St. Kitty’s Parish it’s often been said
That human hair grows from the cod-fish head
And the Captain’s still here though he’s long dead
He was a very, very, bad man
When should we awake to our danger and our shame?
Get a stick to beat it, before the story crawls away
You train your death ray on me
Your frozen hands upon me
And pieces of the past are safe to handle at last
Took another tumble
Down below they heard a rumble
You gave yourself up for corruption
Before the next eruption
Slaves and eunuchs singing
Where the Catherine wheels are spinning
And pieces of the past are safe to handle at last
Tease me, tease me, tease me
You pander & you please me
The message on the bottle
Beggars all believing
Well you know that I’m a rummy
I’m Captain Morgan’s ventriloquist’s dummy
And pieces of the past are safe to handle at last
The filthy streets of Bristol
Were paved in blood and gold
The beginning and the end
Of stories never told
You train your death ray on me
Your frozen hands upon me
And pieces of the past are safe to handle at last
So raise your glasses and open your throat
Death runs silent in an open boat
And the creatures of the sea throw themselves upon the land
Back where the old triangle began
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7. |
Haunted
03:46
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Haunted, don’t talk so haunted
There’s things you wanted
And things you fear
Here’s one for all the done for
What have you come for, why are you here?
You gaze into the ruins of your life
Draw what parallels you like
Just don’t look down
You marvel at the wonder of it all
Till you make no sense at all
And we can’t talk you down
Existence, it’s just persistence
I’m the extra guest at your party
Haunted, don’t talk so haunted
There’s things you wanted from me
It’s looking like the world’s about to end
You dropped some money and some friends
While the night goes spinning round
Across your way they built another wall
You took your bat and hit the ball
That has not yet reached the ground
Reached the ground
Morning came without warning
The crack of dawn, the breaking of the day
Shaking, your body’s aching
Crawl inside and scare the light away…
Haunted, don’t talk so haunted
The things you wanted, the things you fear
Here’s one for all the done for
What have they come for?
Why are they here?
They wander through the ruins of your life
Draw what parallels they like
Keep all eyes from looking down
You marvel at the wonder of it all
Till your body snaps and falls
Back to the ground
Back to the ground
Haunted, don’t talk so haunted
There’s things you wanted
And things you fear
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8. |
Flag of Triumph
03:26
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Everyone will benefit from safe behavior and compliance
There are people walking round who look like birds
They have chosen wildly inappropriate clothes
& they always seem to move against the current
I watch them struggling away from the exit signs
It’s closed but they don’t know it
It‘s shut but they don’t even care
They start waving to a man dressed as a dog
Who wishes that he really wasn’t there
Bring me my fantasy with garbage
Give up the fairytale with fries
Raise the universal Flag of Triumph
The rubber duck of death won’t be denied
Feel like I’m going to explode
Feel like I might be about to die
Now I’m falling from great heights
To wait in line for another ride
I am waving to the man dressed as a dog
Who’s still wishing that he wasn’t really here
But he’s still warm inside his furry cartoon suit
It protects him from that chilly evening air
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9. |
Death Valley Day
03:48
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Kids have gone to school, unusual and cruel
Leave a message, go away
The house is full of stuff
Don’t you think we’ve got enough?
You buy like you’ve been bought
You move like you’ve been caught
On this Death Valley day
It’s gonna get darker before it gets brighter
Gonna be bad before it’s alright
Dump it in the trash, throw it all away
Gonna be flying up through the sky
Hand in hand while the sinners all fry
So it is written, get out of our way
Cable’s down again
Build a monument to pain
They started using sex like pills and cigarettes
It’s a Death Valley day
Wonder how things might have been
If we hadn’t been so mean
Saying what you mean & meaning what you say
On a Death Valley day
Fall down on your knees
Before the figure on the screen
His eyes and suit and hair are grey
He’s asking you to pay
On this Death Valley day
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10. |
Old Devils
04:01
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The old devils told me, they’ve got a feeling
That I have the weakest spine
In a short whiskey season
That’s their line not mine
But I choose to believe it
It’s been a restless night of bickering and dealing
I believe without reason
That there’s nothing to believe in any more
It’s all a joke to me, just time to be filled up
Good times and boredom
And urges that build up
Now it’s your time not mine
So be bold and be daring
There’s more than one way to get to heaven
We believe without reason
That there’s nothing to believe in any more
The old devils scold me, they appear in my dreaming
Some believe in the stars
Some believe in sharing
So they’re picking my pockets
‘Cos they know I don’t care
There’s more than one way and we’re almost there
To believe without reason
That there’s nothing to believe in any more
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11. |
River of Ice
03:15
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A river of ice
Something that froze you
The old ways are running through
The darkness inside
On a river of ice
Here's a message from nowhere
Down the river of ice
Your halo is slipping down
It must have been a disguise
Got to make a name for yourself if you're gonna survive
Out in the cold under skies where the enemy rides
On a river of ice, that's running right through your veins
You're gonna need it to kill the pain
Cos we've been sharpening knives
Sharpening knives
You've been singing the old songs
And twisting some necks
But the surface is thinner now, than you'd ever expect
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12. |
Strange Ways to Win Wars
04:34
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Strange ways to win wars
Strange ways to win wars
Another life heading out the door
Strange ways to win wars
The volunteers are out on their rounds
From house to house and town to town
Reading murder magazines
As they reconstruct murder scenes
Cut the cake when it’s time to eat
Break a leg then bathe the feet
See no reason to say what you mean
To say anything at all
Strange ways to win wars
Strange ways to win wars
There’s a rumor & nothing more
Strange ways to win wars
If the trade winds don’t blow you down
Well the storm clouds are seeded
Let the bombers stay home tonight
Don’t think they’ll be needed
How many times do we have to ask?
Why are we so equal to the task?
Were all the corners you cut away
Just to help speed us on our way?
Strange ways to win wars
Strange ways to win wars
Unmanned & unanswered for
Strange ways to win wars
I love your logo, it’s earned our loyalty
You spoiled us for choice and in the end there’s
No expense spared
And no one is spared, no one is spared
No one is spared, no one is spared
Strange ways to win wars
Strange ways to win wars
New streets and new uniforms
Strange ways to win wars
Now there's no one left to keep the score
Strange ways to win wars
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Jon Langford Chicago, Illinois
The L'homme de Renaissance of indie rock. The prolific Welshman-cum-Chicagoan has done it all in his time. Founded the Ground Zero UK art/punk collective The Mekons. He's also the guiding force in the Waco Brothers, the rarely convened collective of the Pine Valley Cosmonauts, the Skull Orchard and Wee Hairy Beasties. As nice as he is prolific--take a dive into his many musical endeavors. ... more
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