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1. |
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when we got back from the party
I was broken and bloodied
when we got back from the banquet
my hands were bleeding and knees muddy
I had something I wanted to ask you
so I plucked up the courage
I took a deep breath
then I popped you the question
what time is it
is it summertime yet
what time is it
is it summertime yet
when we got back from the party
I was a little worse for wear
when we got back from the banquet
I was walking on air
I had a query to present to you
I filled in the feedback form
put the lid back on the pen
and put it in through the slot
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2. |
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made my way out of the lecture hall
the year was 2005
when a headache overwhelmed me
and I glared up into the welsh sky
I know we're stupid
but please don't throw rocks at us
made my way down penglais hill
towards northgate street
when a vision of two french women
stood before me
made my way to my front door
felt bad for letting them down
wished I had something to offer them
like a throne or like a crown
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3. |
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I stand up
skirt the surface of the building
I work my way round to the window
I look in
and I instantly remember all
with my photographic memory
I duck under
work my way through the air vents
when I notice the guards coming
I sink low
my heart beats 100 miles per hour
but I don't make a sound
your face tomorrow
its all that I can think about
I settle down
down in a secret place
as I wait for the cover of night
I lie low
conserving every ounce of energy
going over every step to take
I break free
working my way quickly and silently
towards the first checkpoint
I look around
awaiting my next orders
eyes dancing like shooting stars
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4. |
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hold the kernel tight in your hand
don't open it until you understand
hold onto the hope of better days coming
let it go when you feel your fingers numbing
drum out a beat on the table
let your fingers take you where you're not able
place your hopes and dreams up on a high shelf
close your eyes and then open your mouth
hold this fragment of time in your hand
hold on tightly to the grains of sand
but as they begin to slip through the gap
with your index finger begin to tap
out a rhythm on the armchair's arm
know that here you're safe from harm
hold on to the hope that you've know for years
wipe your nose and unblock your ears
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5. |
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I drove down the driveway
and I took a photograph
it was a bright clear day
and I hopped over the fence into the outer courtyard
and there were stars up above
and the clouds were lower down
but the trees blowing in the wind
reminded me that the earth was round
I remembered the apple tree
I remembered days of play
I remembered things I couldn't have possibly remembered
I remembered bruno, cassius and clay
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6. |
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freshly painted walls
newly decorated halls
____'s painted the front door blue
and he's painted the garage too
I'm leaving the house
I'm leaving the house
new lick of paint on the ceiling
holding back that feeling
new windows to look out of
broken glasses to look out of
I'm leaving the house
I'm leaving the house
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7. |
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my immune system can't cope with seeing you today
my legs have turned to jelly and my toes to clay
I've been trying to keep the freezing fog at bay
but it just runs past my hands and everything turns grey
my respiratory system felt like it should take leave
it begged me to give it some form of reprieve
but you just waltzed right in through the front door you cleaved
and my lungs are wheezing and feeling peeved
my nervous system said it didn't invite you
it especially didn't expect you to stay all night too
I'm quite fond of you but it wants to fight you
because you send signals flooding right through
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8. |
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alien autopsy video
recorded several ago
several small incisions
again dangerous visions
murmurs in the town hall
new mayor's headed for a fall
made several strange decisions
again dangerous visions
drawing up the plans
the future's in my hands
beginning new missions
again dangerous visions
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9. |
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bright sun in the sky
I looked up and it burnt my eye
and it shone down on my retina
and it shone down on my retina
I was looking for a pardon
and the sun shone on the beautiful garden
but I didn't get what I was looking for
but I didn't get what I was looking for
and you whispered into my ear something
and you whispered into my ear something
when I heard those words of malice
right outside the palace
the sun got right in my eyes
the sun got right in my eyes
all I wanted was a coffee
not a feeling of dread upon me
so I walked down to the lake
so I walked down to the lake
and you whispered into my ear something
and you whispered into my ear something
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10. |
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doused my sweater in petrol
and I set light to it
I'd never been more excited
in my entire life
in my entire life
down at the music room
girls were building a sea of tears
teacher hadn't seen this for years
or in her entire life
her entire life
i'm never going to get out of middle school at this rate
i'm never going to get out of middle school at this rate
squeezed out a few crocodile tears
then felt genuinely bad
instead of secretly glad
for the first time in my life
the first time in my life
looked up and down the walls
had a familiar feeling
said goodbye to the building
for the last time in my life
the last time in my life
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11. |
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stopped at the traffic light
held on to the biting point with all my might
let the engine rev a little too hard
saw the guy to my right going mad
speed little car speed
the guy in the car next to me had a nissan sunny
I found this fact way too funny
I made the universal "do you want a drag race?" sign
I mouthed curses in his direction and sped across the start line
speed little car speed
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12. |
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got back in 18 minutes flat
but I didn't expect to see that
laid out on the sofa there
I didn't look I didn't dare
you
went down to your flat
I came in and you said "that's that"
and "look at that thing over there"
and "let's play truth or dare"
you
looked out the window the horizon was flat
looked across the land and saw that
house and wondered what was over there
I didn't look too hard I didn't dare
you
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13. |
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woke up in a pool of blood
this was just prior to the flood
I somehow found my way back home
along the roads paved with chrome
woah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
woke up in a pool of blood
I'd been chewing too much cud
there was something crystalline in the air
when I reached the bottom stair
woah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
woke up in a pool of blood
although there was a noticeable lack of mud
I foraged around in the hedgerow
came up with nothing but crows
woah-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah
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14. |
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and that was what really struck me
the way you left so abruptly
you elegantly swung the door shut
made a clean break and a nice cut
and that was why I knew it was you
you stuck your signature down with glue
fingerprints were over everything
your gentle laugh that singing ring
and that was when I thought it was time
when you chose lemon over lime
the sourest drink I'd ever seen
sent me off to the land of dreams
and that was where I heard the news
you'd sold all your finest shoes
well I'll be keeping my trainers for a while
until loving you goes out of style
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15. |
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I left the house
out into the bright winter's day
I had a song on my lips
and there was nothing else to say but
Jesus my saviour, my Lord
I hot stepped it up the old road
and my heart started to sing
but the words were wrong and it didn't rhyme
I'm really bad at this thing
when I reached the crossroad
between the slade, windmill and old road
I knelt down on the pavement
with my eyes closed
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16. |
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stood outside the bureau de change
and through my shades that were tinted orange
I looked up at the digital display board
trying to work out my reward
it was a parabolic kick in the teeth x4
stood trying to work out the exchange rate
tried to work out how many times zero went into eight
wanted to know how much to take to heaven
"good evangelicals are in bed by eleven"
it was a parabolic kick in the teeth x4
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17. |
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when the waves spat me out onto the shore
I felt like I had been before
but I cursed the waves that brought me here
back into the land that I once loved so dear
and I thrashed around in the white water
and let the salt sink into the wounds
pondered how I'd never be with the king's daughter
but mostly how I'd never again see saturn's moons
when the waves released me back on to the land
I writhed about in the fresh white sand
back into the ocean's where I wanted to go
and I asked nicely but the ocean said no
I didn't take this rejection too well
and I got tired and dried out on the beach
and I fell asleep dreaming of the ocean's swell
and its safe warm arms just out of reach
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18. |
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held my head up in the light
looked for a cause to fight for
and when they asked me to choose
I hoped I would choose the right door
got all my initial questions wrong
got through to stage two by default
when I was out by stage three
had no one to blame it was my fault
to play you've got to be in it
and you've got to be in it to win it
held my head up in the light
eased my way through the earlier rounds
made my way through the obstacle course
just about escaped from the hounds
felt a burst of pride
as I made my way through to the final
gambled all my winnings
on a holiday got it wrong and I lost all
that was good but it wasn't
the one that I was looking for
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19. |
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when the last of the snow melted away today
I warmed my hands up against the bonfire
photographs, letters, cds and mixtapes
remnants of my heart's one true desire
felt the wind's slight change of direction
felt some warmth in the mid day air
felt like I was sailing down stream to perfection
felt like my little boat was set fair
when I saw the new blossom on the tree
I knew it was over for you and me
when I saw the new frost on the new lawn
I knew our last chance had gone
when I saw the sun's bright face
I recognised it but I'd forgotten its name
and I checked my driving license just in case
I'd forgotten my name too felt the shame
I memorised my date of birth
and let my place of birth sink into my heart
its easy to forget such things for what its worth
but recognising this is a good place to start
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20. |
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trouble trouble everywhere
I can't see here and I can't see there
I can't see to my left or my right
everything goes black as night
trouble trouble all around
I can't make out what's making that sound
all I have is this lava lamp
the stone floor is cold and the walls are damp
trouble trouble coming down the road
down the A40 to my abode
I try to scramble the satellite
but the numbers on the digital display stay lit up bright
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21. |
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I can taste my own blood in my mouth
I can see the pros of extreme wealth
I can see the entire country from here
I can feel the world changing gear
I can hear astronauts in space
I can leave without leaving a trace
I can sense the people in this town
I can feel power coming down
I can see the whole world from my office
I can out argue a sophist
I can grasp difficult ideas
I can outlive my peers
I can tell the difference between guns and butter
I can say saskatewan without starting to stutter
I can make my face up like a clown
I can feel power coming down
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22. |
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when I shut it down
the music keeps on playing
there are no letters on the keys
so I don't know what I'm saying
its filled with bacteria
or viruses or something
from the inside comes a sound
like a constant clunking
I try to sort it out
but it doesn't do what I want it to do
when I hit the keys
they arrive on the screen a minute later
when I want some sense
all I get is sprawling data
but when I look around for others
I feel like a traitor
because I am a lover
not a hater
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23. |
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when you walk past the bars
sunlight shines on your face
like slides in a projector
images flickering across the screen
fog lifting
sky falling
when you walk past the bars
the scent of alcohol drifts through the air
it reminds you of the old days
something you've tried hard to forget
when you walk past the bars
the outside world looks back at you
you remember what freedom was like
how you'll never get back outside
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24. |
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the taste of cinnamon on my tongue
paintings of lions on the wall
an empty space where a lamp once hung
young trees outside standing five feet tall
fresh herbs in a wooden bowl
strange music lilting through the air
insects pouring in through the hole
strange smells drifting in from the fair
la da de
wind chime hanging over the door
lighting catching the crystal beads
bulbs growing under the floor
up through the cracks grow fresh weeds
water boiling on the stove
condensation catching the glass
rich new fabric the colour of mauve
held down with tacks of brass
la da de
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25. |
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your eyes are twin gold mines
and I want to mine them for a while
something in them shines
and I think its the gold stockpile
bullion stacked on bullion
row upon row of gold
worth a billion times a billion
and they make me feel bold
your eyes are twin gold mines
and I guess x marks the spot
and I'm headed down the rabbit hole on tram lines
and the temperature is getting hot
as the cave gets darker
I'll let my torch light shine
and I'll lay down a marker
and the gold will be mine
your eyes are twin gold mines
and I'm a one man gold rush
I got a headrush from the flashing signs
and a headache from the hush
and I looked up into the sky
through a gap in the cave
and I saw the gold piled high
and wondered who I'd come to save
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26. |
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I stayed in the house today
sky was an ultramarine blue
sun blazed in through the windows
and one sad fact rang true
one sad fact rang true
watched too many cartoons
and I hate the guts of scrappy doo
and I ate way too much sugar
and one sad fact rang true
one sad fact rang true
I opened up all the windows
and turned the oven fan on too
closed my eyelids and let the breeze hit them
and one sad fact rang true
one sad fact rang true
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27. |
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martian flu seeped into my head
I lay down in the chamber as if dead
I love you you more than words can say
and I am sick in a good way
martian flu coursed through my body
and I felt messages from mars falling upon me
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28. |
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I started off with wood
then followed this with brick
and it all felt good
and into place it clicked
so I bounded down the road
and sang a song to myself
and down the road I strode
despite the nagging feeling of wealth
they say I should quarry for stone
they say I should mine for coal
but I can't be alone
in wanting gold
they say rome wasn't built in a day
but this ain't rome
I held out for clay
and a settlement I could call my own
and I could see a port
just beyond the horizon there
but I had 99 sheep to sort
and one lost gone I didn't know where
when I crossed the border
I saw fields and fields of wheat
and when I got my roads in order
I started to beat
a path towards the finish line
but I blew all my money on wasted resources
I bought castles down the line
and a herd of horses
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29. |
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electricity all around and static on the floor
I grabbed hold of the switch when you asked for more
opened the valve and let the room fill with steam
here we have no need for a smoke machine
your face that day
your face that day
I'll never forget the expression of your face that day
electricity through the wires and candles on the sill
piercing pains in my head as I scrabbled around for a pill
weird noises coming from the pipes a musty smell
the jump we both made when they rang the bell
electricity on my tongue static at my feet
the valves broken right off and I can feel the heat
test tubes all broken and the chemicals have combined
smoke rising fires blazing and all the things we left behind
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30. |
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the sun shone on the ears of corn
the year was 1972
and it brought me back to where I was born
and reminded me how I was related to you
when I started to unload beside the road
I saw a spot of grey in the distance
the paint on the truck started to corrode
and I knew this was my last chance
dreaming of fires all day long
the wind blew and it was then that I knew
what I had come here for
and the memories were harsh but true
and I kept a safe distance from your front door
I lit a cigarette and then I let
a stream trickle out of the can
and the memories were hard to forget
so I held them tightly in my hand
dreaming of fires all day long
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31. |
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I got itchy feet just living in our big house
I felt a bit like a caged mouse
and what do you give to someone who has it all
a fresh start the colour of cotton wool
let's go
let's leave
let's move to blackbird leys
you're my wife and you can do what you please
but wait until you see the parks and the beautiful trees
let's move to blackbird leys
when we redid our taps in gold
up my spine I felt a chill so cold
and I knew it wouldn't be too much to ask
for bright white skies and bright green grass
our week in barbados was nice
but I felt like it lacked a little spice
and when I got home I looked to the west
and I knew that that estate was the best
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released March 1, 2011
