[added Aug. 10, 2013]
I crash, I crash, I crash, I crash, I crash-landed on this red desert planet.
Two thousand scorching, burning days and nights wandering in my hallucination and deliria.
I invented a horde of thirsty companions, who variously staggered and stumbled
under that merciless, changeless, crimson, sun-studded sky and cruel stars scoffed at our meagre efforts.
For moisture we sucked each other's blood, clotted, rotted, corpuscular essence oozed
from superating open wounds at our wrists, where we did graze most hideously.
The most real of my imagineers was a young child of indeterminate sex
who suckled hungrily from my veins, draining my own reality to feed its phantom flesh.
However, after its feeding, the vampire child would become remorseful, apologetic,
and cling to my back, kissing me on my neck with its bloody little lips,
and saying, sweetly, encouragements like, "Only another day, only another day."
[rev. Sept. 2, 2013]
Max Sharp was an aquanaut
With the gills and fin
Especially bred for the ocean bed
Waterproof head and skin
Going down to the submarine town
20 fathoms deep
Whoever thought a man a-breathin' water
I wonder if there's trouble with the bubbles when he sleeps
Mermaids in underwater glades
Playing with electric eels
Deep sea shock of Davy Jones' Locker
Rockin' from his head to his heels
One was quite a dish but she was half a fish
If only, he wished, she had legs
I guess he saw her, hooked on Neptune's daughter
Now they're expecting their first eggs
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na naaa na
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na
Max Sharp was an aquanaut
With the fins and gills
He swims where he pleases in the Seven Seas
Jesus, what a thrill
But the Navy boys with the sonar noise
Sailing in the tubs of tin
Got him with torpedoes in the back of his Speedos
Holy Toledo, that was the end of him
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na naaa na
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na
[Repeated 4 more times]
[rev. Sept. 2, 2013]
Where'd you get the stolen impression
Where'd you get the wrong direction
Where'd you get the answer where there isn't one
Where'd you get the idle nerve from
Where'd you get the angle uncut from
Where'd you get the ending when it's just begun
Everybody searchin' for gratification
No one's got a grip on the situation
I just can't believe the things you say
How'd you ever expect to feel it
How'd you ever expect to steal it
How'd you come to be here when you can't get in
How'd you think it was gonna end up
Why'd you wanna send your friend up
How's it gonna be when the cold sets in
Everybody's down for a New Year's honor
They're all working on a new persona
I just can't believe the things you say
When do you think it's gonna get better
When do you think you'll break these fetters
When do you learn to ask for another one
When do you stop counting your blessings
When do you stop learning your lessons
When do you understand it isn't much fun
Everybody's trying to do their best
And the wicked don't get no rest
I just can't believe the things you say
["I just can't believe the things you say" repeated in the backround in a round to end of song]
Where'd you get the stolen impressions
Where'd you get the wrong direction
Where'd you get the answer where there isn't one
Where'd you get the idle nerve from
Where'd you get the angle uncut from
Where'd you get the ending when it's just begun
Everybody searchin' for gratification
No one's got a grip on the situation
I just can't believe the things you say
How'd you ever expect to feel it
How'd you ever expect to steal it
How'd you come to be here when you can't get in
How'd you think it was gonna end up
Why'd you wanna send your friend up
How's it gonna be when the cold sets in
Everybody's down for a New Year's honor
They're all working on a new persona
I just can't believe the things you say
[rev. Jan. 24, 2002]
The standing invitation to the back of beyond
Beyond which no man dares tread
They do the bossa nova in Wilmington and Dover
In clover, over your head
Saddle your cow
We're leavin' right now
Take off your skin
Or we'll never get in
The drummer's name is Jerry
The singer she is Sherry
The trumpet man is called something Dutch
The vibraphone is shimmer
The room is getting dimmer
A glimmer, a touch too much
The gang is all here
They're drowning in beer
Pull up a chair
Or just lay on the stairs
It's getting faster
It's getting tighter
It's getting easy
Downtown tonight
The bartender is tender
Hey big spender, can't you lend me a dollar or two?
And ain't that Maureen by the cigarette machine?
And ain't that Hortence, too?
Breathe in the smoke
Laugh at this joke
You'll have to shout
If you want to get out
It's getting faster
It's getting tight
It's getting easy
Downtown tonight
[added Sept. 2, 2013]
Max Sharp was an aquanaut
With the gills and fin
Especially bred for the ocean bed
Waterproof head and skin
Going down to the submarine town
20 fathoms deep
Whoever thought of man a-breathin' water
I wonder if there's trouble with the bubbles when he sleeps
Mermaids in underwater glades
Playing with electric eels
Deep sea shock of Davy Jones' Locker
Rockin' from his head to his heels
One was quite a dish but she was half a fish
If only, he wished, she had legs
I guess he saw her, hooked on Neptune's daughter
Now they're expecting their first eggs
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na naaa na
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na na
Max Sharp was an aquanaut
With the fins and gills
He swims where he pleases in the Seven Seas
Jesus, what a thrill
But the Navy boys with the sonar noise
Sailing in the tubs of tin
Got him with torpedoes in the back of his Speedos
Holy Toledo, that was the end of him
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na naaa na
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na na
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na naaa na
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na na
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na naaa na
Na na na-na na na na
Na na-na na na
[Originally on the Reckless Kelly Soundtrack.]
[rev. Sept. 3, 2003]
As love rides up, so a Lone Ranger
It changed you into something richer and stranger
Stranger than fiction, truth or the dare
I say "When you come down?", you say "Come down from where?"
Ride into the future would be easy for you
To fall into your heart would be easy to do
Love doesn't come as you like it
Rob you of your dreams, repossess your soul
Give me nothing back for the time they stole
Love doesn't come as you like it
Aim low on the cupids, arrow can't go through
No woman is an island, and not even you
Standing here together in the new land
I won't bear arms if I can hold your hand
Ride into the future would be easy for you
To fall into your heart would be easy to do
Love doesn't come as you like it
Rob you of your dreams, repossess your soul
Give me nothing back for the time they stole
Love doesn't come as you like it
I could ever say what I really wanna say
Would you understand, would you walk away
I don't know how this is gonna end
Will we be lovers or just good friends
Ride into the future would be easy for you
To fall into your heart would be easy to do
Love doesn't come as you like it
Rob you of your dreams, repossess your soul
Give me nothing back for the time they stole
Love doesn't come as you like it
Love doesn't come
Love doesn't come
Love doesn't come
Love doesn't come as you like it
Love doesn't come
Love doesn't come
Love doesn't come, doesn't come as you like it
Love doesn't come
Love doesn't come
Love doesn't come
[rev. Jan. 1, 2019]
Around this time in Vegas, Christine's on the corner
Shopping for a goldfish that swims in silver water
She's wasted lives aplenty in the space of umpteen seconds
He's falling for her gently, doing what she reckons
On mornings of the future, the moon remains unconquered
And you talk about the lyrics to your favourite maudlin ballad
You talk about the warning on a pack of menthol Marlboros
Dreaming with your fingers in the light of gone tomorrows
Lying with your baby, upstairs yonder bedroom
Waiting for the contact, really makes my head doom
Waiting for the moment when a thousand channels flame on
Like forums and cathedrals that only have the games on
Day breaks down on people and has to be remodelled
She catches your reflection in all the city puddles
She dazzles all your clients and they wander out half blinded
In alleyways and dark cafes, leave it as they find it
So I'm talking to your mother about when you were a teenager
How you stole one of her boyfriends, only to upstage her
How you stole one of her dresses, only to outrage her
How you stole one of her masks because you couldn't face her
And Christine on the corner, flirting with a trick
How she really needs the money 'cos she's getting mighty sick now
How almost thirteen hours since she last replenished
Her good will and her phoney smiles, they all seem to have vanished
Savoir faire, ç'est la vie, au dessus de la mêlée
The universe just doesn't care, just keeps on revolving
Just keeps on revolving, just keeps on evolving
Just keeps on evolving, just keeps on evolving
[added Dec. 9, 2005]
Hey Krishna
Hey Rama
Oh Vishnu
Narayana
[repeated 4 times]
Oh Krishna
Oh Rama
Oh Vishnu
Narayana
[repeated 7 times]
Oh Krishna
Oh Rama
Hey Vishnu
Narayana
Hey Krishna
Hey Rama
Hey Vishnu
Narayana
[repeated 4 times]
[Originally on the Hi Fi Mike album "Swim: In The Deep".]
[added Dec. 1, 2009]
I've got a million lives baby
I lead 'em around like hounds
Walk upon these gilded streets
With gloria all around
Just got in from three BC
Now I'm feeling underwhelmed
Black and blue by the red sea
Nice to know you're at the helm
Tuesday vanished like a bird
I can't face you anymore
Trample following a herd
I said come let us adore
I thought love was eternal
But it's just an unsatisfied external
I thought love was enduring
But it's a sickness, it needs curing
(And then I pull it back)
I'm a cog in this machine
My approval rating's down
I'm looping in a subroutine
Nice to know you're all around
There's a message in the stars
There's a prophet in the dust
There's a door I can't walk past
It's a lust that's just a must
I thought love was eternal
But it's just an unsatisfied external
I thought love was enduring
But it's a sickness, it needs curing
I thought love was eternal
But it's just an unsatisfied external
I thought love was enduring
But it's a sickness, it needs curing
[The Go-Betweens cover]
[rev. Aug. 9, 2013]
A trader in furs living in exile
Boy what a kook, look at that passport
Stale bread and paper without privilege
If you live here learn the language
When the rain hit the roof
With the sound of a finished kiss
Like a lip lifted from a lip
And I took the wrong road round
A room in the lighthouse near the park
The ghosts in the next room hear you cough
Time drags on Sunday spent in Mayfair
With all your riches, why aren't you there?
And the wind acts like a magnet
And pulls the leaves from the tree
And the town's lost its breath
I took the wrong road round
And handsome is good, pretty is better
What was that phrase, Grant, 'grace under pressure?'
Blind by the light bulb, blood to the bank
I lost all yours letters when my ship sank
In the disjointed breaking light
The soft blue approach of the water
Makes a sound you'll never forget
And I took the wrong road round
Stranded at low-tide where the river bends
Wouldn't you know it, that's how life ends
Lucky at cards, aw, that's an old lie
Lucky in love, that's how life ends
Well the turncoats turned around
When they heard the sound of the bell
Dropped their coins into the well
I took the wrong road round
Started out Oliver, ended up Fagin
Now don't you worry, it's my problem
What's my name, what's my number?
I'm the lonely one
And it's just at the end of the day
When the light makes its slow move away
That I know all I can say is
I took the wrong road round
Gambled with risk, paid you back with risk
So now you know who your friends are
They'll steal your shadow when your back's turned
Bouquets of flowers, lesson's over
When the rain hit the roof
With the sound of a finished kiss
Like a lip lifted from a lip
And I took the wrong road round
[added Aug. 10, 2013]
Yesterday is a horror to me
In the afternoon that you sold to me
Winter in the mirror feeling cold to me
And I wanna dig deeper but I just gotta give you away
I only just flew in and I'm walking in the ruins today
Today
Today
Today
Falling for you
Falling apart
Falling for you
Falling apart
Yesterday is a blank for me
Down to the people that you thank for me
I wander in the index that you rank for me
And I know what I'm having but I just slip farther away
Only just got here, already so hot here today (got the chromium beard [1:55])
Today (keeps them to your ear)
Today (ah, just give me your bird)
Today ('cos we're never gonna hurt)
Falling for you
Falling apart
Falling for you
Falling apart
(Today)(got their chromium beards [3:11])
Today (keeps them to your ear)
Today (ah, just give me your bird)
Today ('cos we're never gonna hurt)
Falling for you
Falling apart
Falling for you
Falling apart
[added. Oct. 15, 2012]
You're like my little crocodile
You nearly took me under
I wonder at your style
You're like my little lioness
But you should forget your pride
And hide in your nakedness
Echo magnet
Shadow monger
You had to leave unexpectedly
Neuro thinker
Vacuum dreamer
Had to leave unexpectedly
You're like my little lazy sloth
Hangin' in a tree now
See now how you cut your cloth
You're like my little hungry fish
Jump outta your pond
And your wand grants me a wish
(Oh how I try, at the end of control
Oh how I try, at the end of control
Oh how I try, at the end of control
Oh how I try)
Zoo 4 2, what to do (I try to get over you)
Zoo 4 3, you and me (I try to get over you)
Zoo 4 4, close that door (I try to get over you)
Zoo for fun, it's for one (I try to get over you)
Zoo, zoo, zoo, zoo... (I try to get over you)
i am the glazier
i love my transparent work
i eat water and sand
break into sharp pieces
keep outside out
to keep inside in
i'm driving past your house
i've fallen into shards
i've punctured the rubber
i will cut it to measure
i emit my glossy stare
i prepare my knife
avoid contact with the surface
identified many cracks
carbonized, rigid
i will not tolerate these smears
i'm shattered when you touch me
i get smashed every morning
i see you dressing under the skylight
i have opaque motives
i cause the rain to run in rivulets
i'm answering your call
i'm here to look at your windows
i'm here to look through your windows
i'm here to look over your windows
i'm here to look into your windows
i'm never seen completely
i have never been bulletproof
i am never lonely
i am always here
i am always waiting
call me mr. glass
[added Dec. 9, 2005]
Been away so long
Long ago when I met you
And it felt so wrong
But I couldn't forget you
I was lonely
And I missed your light
I was lonely
In the Australian night
In the Australian night
In the Australian night
And I traveled so far
But there was something about you
Then they made me a star
But I was nothing without you
I was lonely
And I missed your light
I was lonely
In the Australian night
In the Australian night
In the Australian night
Aeroplanes and photographs
Summer days we played for laughs
Dressing up and dressing down
Driving 'round and 'round this town
Aimed for the moon (and you)
You might hit the stars
Now I'm back to stay (I'm back to stay)
And I would never desert you
With you every day (in every way)
And I could never hurt you
'Cause I was lonely
And I missed your light
I was lonely
In the Australian night
In the Australian night
In the Australian night
[The Stooges cover]
[added Aug. 10, 2013]
Tonight
I'll hold myself tight
I won't fight
I won't fight
And I whisper to she
And whisper to me
And lay right down
I lay right down
On my back
On my bed
In my hotel
Then I'll be in love
With you all night
All night
All night
And in the morning
I'll be ready
To see you
To see you
Aw don't forget to come
To room 121
Don't forget to come
I'll be shakin'
I'll be tremblin'
And I'll be happy
And I'll be
And we all fall
Fall asleep
And we will fall
Fall asleep
Six o'clock
We will fall
At the new
At the dew
[The Triffids cover - Live]
[added Sept. 2, 2013]
I took a wrong turn off an unmarked track
I did seven miles, I couldn't find my way back
I hit a lonely stretch, must be losing my touch
I was out of my depth
The land was so flat, well could have been ocean
No distinguishing features in any direction
I took her down inch-by-inch to the floor
Pointed her nose through a nick in the door
Fingering my silver St. Christopher
Saving my empty shells for her
When night closed in up around my neck
The high beam dug deep into the black
And a shiver rose up up and down my back
Yes a shiver rose up up and down my back
And I could have been mistaken
But I could swear that I saw something in the headlight
On that cold night
Not with another living thing in sight
And not another living thing in sight
I said another living thing in sight
I said sha la, la la la la la
Sha la, la la la la la
Sha la la la
I hit a lonely stretch
Baby I was wrong, I was wrong from the start
You could die out here from a broken heart
We were two wrongs, we were married at birth
And together we made up a flaming ugly bird
And I pumped it and I moved on up into third
I could have sworn I saw you there on the verge
Never should have let you out of my sight
I never should have let your precious spirit escape
When I sing to myself
Yes I sing to myself
I was wrong, I was wrong from the start
You could die out here from a broken heart
We were two wrongs, we were married at birth
And together we made up a flaming ugly bird
Now my memory's shot, I've got a bad technique
Could be driving in circles till the end of the week
My vision is strong, my vision is true
Look out now, I'll be so good for you
Now there's a spot on the map, it's just a tiny dot
That's where my sweetie live, you know it means a lot
I think of her sitting in the afternoon sun
Sitting, drinking, having fun
I took a wrong turn
I took a wrong turn
I took a wrong turn
I hit a lonely stretch, whoo!
I took a wrong turn off an unmarked track
I couldn't find my (wrong turn), couldn't find my way back
I took a wrong turn
I hit a lonely lo... lonely stretch, whoo!
Rock my soul (wrong turn), the bosom of Abraham
Rock my soul (wrong turn), the bosom of Abraham
Rock my soul (wrong turn), the bosom of Abraham
Wo, Jericho, wo-ho
Wrong turn off an unmarked track
I didn't find my (wrong turn), find my way back
I took a wrong turn
I hit a lonely stretch, lonely, lonely s....