1. |
No Signal/Signal Lost
08:06
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They never understood what you were trying to say,
Until they found you on the side of the road.
Lying there until you find yourself unfound/abound/unwound (?)
Dying at the crack of dawn.
At your feet, beneath the window...
T....y...se... Dow... ..storm
All you want to do is have a place to call...
... .... Home
Mile...nd...Miles...
Signal... Signal Lost
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2. |
Insect/Baby
04:48
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Morning you wake up for a job you hate, but you keep drinking bourbon from a half empty cup.
Money. Money. More money, making more monotony. Workplace comatose, frontal lobotomy.
You get inside your car, like an insect in a jar. You jump onto the freeway, but you don't get very far.
Then you wind down the window, whinge about the radio.
Cars like coffins like cattle to the rodeo.
Here's a stick, Here's a leaf.
Here's a stick, Here's a leaf.
Poke some holes in the lid, so I can breathe, I can breathe...
I'm an Insect/Baby
Baby, I'm an insect-baby.
"I'm an Insect, baby"
Staring at a smart phone, drooling like a dumb drone. Same old, getting old, doing everything I'm told.
Hi, yes, Bye, no. I don't know, I don't grow. Brain made of bread dough. Me another John Doe.
Yeah, I'm trying to think but I'm unable to sync, as the link is a wreck and I'm up to my neck, they gotta keep me in check because the baby insect ain't allowed to defect
Where's your heart on your sleeve? Where's your heart on your sleeve? Where's your heart on your sleeve? Where's your heart on your sleeve?
I'm an Insect/Baby.
"I'm an Insect, baby"
Baby, I'm an insect-baby.
I. Am. Going. To. Smash. My. Skull. Against. The. Glass. To. See. Which. One. Breaks. First.
If. The. Glass. Breaks. First. Then. One. Will. Know. That. One. Can. Be. Free.
If. I. Then. It. Is. Proved. This. Is. What. I. Am. To. Be.
I'm an Insect/Baby.
"I'm an Insect, baby"
Baby, I'm an insect-baby.
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3. |
John Butler Train
04:46
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John... John... John...Butler Train...
John Butler Train. Whispered at the back of your brain.
You couldn't cope, he handed you the rope.
Choking 'til no more pain...
Preying on the pieces of a broken heart.
"Cut yourself with the shards..."
It dug too deep, you bled fast asleep.
Waited 'til you left your guard.
The world was colour, you saw grey.
"No need to be around..."
All the liquor in the world couldn't dress the wounds.
All you heard were the sounds of:
John... John... John...Butler Train...
Standing there watching you dangle.
Swaying left to right.
He kicked you on the ground, you thought you were beat...
"Lenny doesn't live here anymore..."
His influence spread like cancer, chewin' away from within.
He told you what to write; said "It'll be alright"
He burned that note in the bin.
John... John... John...Butler Train...
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4. |
Blackhole Burden
04:27
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There's a feeling that you're feeling, that won't go away; and it feels like staying for another day.
And, you want to let it go, but you just don't know... how; where; or when you're gonna tell it "No"
Ah, you wish that things were easier, but fingers keep on teasing you and you can never score a break from all that noise. Just so you can enjoy...
...any kind of pleasure that'll make you smile, but it seems you've waiting here quite a while.
Then you're left to be alone, so you pack another cone. You want to be productive, but you're far too stoned.
There's black beneath your eyes; and the wishing wells are dry; and the tears cannot appear so you can cry... so you can cry.
Yet still you find a way to hide it all away. Yet underneath your cover, the ruin decays.
and the last scene seen before you fall asleep is the Black Hole Burden and its rotten teeth.
Today, you swore to yourself: You're gonna try to have a ball; and shy from the shell, to which you always crawl. Living life like the others let a little loose and do away with all the thoughts of tying up a noose.
For reasons mysterious, you're always looking serious, why can't you be like everyone else, like everyone else?... Like everyone else...
"You're doing nothing anyway so you might as well sink to the level of a common beast, rolling around in your own filth, eating out of a trough, playing with your genitals and sleeping in 'til 'noon like a sack of shit."
But still you find a way to hide it all away. Yet underneath your cover, the ruin decays.
and the last scene seen before you go to sleep is the Black Hole Burden and its rotten teeth.
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5. |
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Who's that stranger? Who's that freak?
I don't understand a word it speaks.
It's got dark eyes and a big long beak.
Did it fall from outta space? Did it drink some toxic waste?
Oh, I just don't know.
Well, there lives a mutant named Crowman Hugh: who strapped black rakes to the end of its shoes.
Wore the mask of a bird; and dressed in dark; and danced around the street like it couldn't give a fuck.
It wasn't hurting anyone, just having some fun, by doing something different that never got done
But some folk just didn't get what it did, and believed it belonged in a looney bin.
But the brain weren't decayin', it's merely just playin', yet always and forever, you'll hear people sayin'
Who's that stranger? Who's that freak?
I don't understand a word it speaks.
It's got dark eyes and a big long beak.
Did it fall from outta space? Did it drink some toxic waste?
Oh, I just don't know.
Rolling in laughter and chewing their cud. It's hard to be impartial, so they deem it a dud.
Why don't it do as we do? Is it loose a screw? The cow's gone mad, now it don't know how to moo.
It needs to give a rest, for we detest this jest. We need to find the nest, so we can burn its eggs.
But those folks just won't blur from the herd. For to feel a bird is a to feel a turd.
The mirror's awaiting to give them a rating. Yet always and forever, you'll hear people saying:
Who's that stranger? Who's that freak?
I don't understand a word it speaks.
It's got dark eyes and a big long beak.
Did it fall from outta space? Did it drink some toxic waste?
Oh, I just don't know.
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6. |
The Blackout Boogie
04:26
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Well, the lights cut out. The room turned black.
I's walkin' toward a door and my face went 'WHACK!'
Now outside, check the meter, clickety-click.
The cause I came to was quick to pick
It was a grid-wide, west-side blackout.
Now who knows what, maybe a car hit a pole
Or, maybe Minister Murdoch fell down a hole
Returned to office, said "It's time to set 'em free"
"Let's see how the people live without electricity"
And then pushed the Big Red Button.
But I'm not gonna speak on behalf of the people who may or not disagree.
But I love the fact, when every where’s black, that I got my clarity.
So, light up a candle, crack a beer, I tell you that tonight.
We're Yabba-dabba-doing the blackout boogie.
Bashing some rocks like chimpanzees.
Semi-evolved I learnt my ABCs.
Phones were dying, batteries running low
No how to tell who cares to know
I never got to save my game.
No one was anyone as time stood still.
The silence droned like a dentist drill
Panic and boredom, never wise to mix
Freak-outs followed for an electro fix
Oh, when will the power return?
The TVs down. Computer's down. WI-FIs down. Oh no, Oh no, Oh no!
Then the sky flashed blue
The neighbour's dog barked
Barking the seconds, between the sparks
Forks and sheets, no need to pay
Surround sound, sphere screen on display
A wheel began to turn.
Then I remembered how to human again
I felt like myself with a healthy brain
I grabbed my girl, said "Hey there Spunky"
"D Bedroom now, let get funky"
I hope the power never returns.
But I'm not gonna speak on behalf of the people who may or not disagree.
But I love the fact, when every where’s black, that I got my clarity.
So, light up a candle, crack a beer, I tell you that tonight.
We're Yabba-dabba-doing the blackout boogie.
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7. |
Der Einzelgänger
04:51
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Shark skin lurks upon the Earth tonight, as the Moon slithers through the cracks.
Dead dreams dangle from an old black branch, swaying forth and back.
On the outskirts of town is where I reside, in an old-world beat-up shack.
I used to live amongst a crowd where the freaks aren't allowed and rumour stabs you in the back
People carry on like they know what's going on, but I doubt they have a single clue
Yeah, they'd eat you alive with their pitchfork knives just for being something true.
They all bow down to the kingdom of the town
They all look up to the Big Guy in the sky.
They cut out my tongue back when I was young, when I failed to read from a script.
Brutal I was beaten and chained to a tree, where for hours I was whipped.
The other children would laugh whenever I'd walk past and stalk me 'til I let out a hiss.
Snickering and sneering, the cunts of modern rearing, doused me with a bucket of piss.
The parents were proud and showered them with praise. Their little darlings never did no wrong.
It's forever a wheel, a wheel, a wheel, a wheel to which I'll never belong.
They all bow down to the kingdom of the town
They all look up to the Big Guy in the sky.
OH, it's time, it's time for the little guy to shine. I'm gonna watch the mother fuckers burn.
From the Churches to the steeples, the bridges to the people, I vowed myself to never return.
I took a swig of bourbon, doused the place in gasoline, the smell of death made me feel so alive.
As the timbers left my fingers, I knew I was on my last chance power drive.
They'll burn down with the kingdom of the town
They all look up to the Little Guy in the sky.
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8. |
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In a room of human loud. Rubbing shoulders with a crowd. Trigger silence seize the reign and engulf my skin in flames.
Time to shy, say goodbye. You're a fly. You never try. Back inside again, retreat, through the exit to the streets.
Shadows stalk my every step to ensure I don't forget, every moment of regret, I can't afford to pay this debt.
Kill the lights and lock the door, I can bare awake no more, nasty noises nag and gnaw, nag, and gnaw, nag and gnaw, nag, and gnaw...
There's no place where I belong
Well, I'm gone.
Tear a droplet from the grey. Swallowed whole beneath the waves. Fold along the beacon poor. Roar you've never seen the shore.
Sinking blue to blue to black. Jagged teeth devise attack. It's the nature of the beast, the circle 'round the squirming feast.
They're quick to tear apart, they're hungry for a happy heart, as they search the gory mist, they find that one does not exist.
Just an empty flesh and bone, made of balsa wood and stone. Is there anybody home? You're alone, you're alone, you're alone...
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9. |
Like Samuel Beckett
04:14
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The road goes on, the sun goes down in some season.
And one foot follows the other one, like there's a reason
The trees whisper love, that stuff with which I had it now.
Oh, and the leaves rustle up and blow before I rabbit.
But it's shame on me,
And all the words,
When I fail to see...
That I'm feeling like Samuel Beckett
Now I'm running with Sam and like the day we vanish.
This distance is our home but we're too far out to be banished.
Holy cow, look at the brow, looks like it's been ploughed by Queen Mab or something...
Though yeah, we started at the end, but even this beginning has finished.
But it's shame on me,
And all the words,
When I fail to see...
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10. |
Death of a Folk Singer
06:31
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Drifting through a reel of time that’s neither real nor mine
Somewhere just it is I go when I am Blue
Paralyzed by distant cries of pain north of the eyes
Hold me for I’m falling free and boredom breaks a neck
There was a year or two ago that never struck a chord
Sometimes I wish I could return and change my name
My name.
My name.
Once I thought I lived a life that was quite grand
Where I believed I could be anything I dreamt myself to be
But no. That all changed, while wishing, down a dried up well
I fell and landed on a rock and split my head right open,
Where, I could see my brains amongst the dirt it really hurt
And I was bleeding badly, but at least I was still breathing
So, I picked up all the pieces and shoved them back inside
Then clawed the walls of this abyss back to the outside
Where I…
Where I…
Where I…
Where I...
Went to a “doctor” who prescribed a bottle of vodka
That would heal my hole with a bit of self-control
But did I listen? No, I didn’t, I just knocked the bottle back
And drank away my hollow sorrow ‘til a later time tomorrow.
Yes, I was in a state where I was feeling great and free of hate
Where I could be so jolly and forgive myself for folly
And for all my wrong to others, my sisters, and my brothers
I’m sorry, yes, I’m sorry, but now is no time to worry
It’s time…
It’s time…
It’s time…
It’s time…
To kick this ugly habit but I’m very much a rabbit
In a trap of repetition and a routine slow and stagnant
It was too good to be true, like an ocean brochure blue
Where the sun is always shining, yet I know now that it’s lying.
As I rust, I feel I’m just an aimless flake of floating dust
That passes by the windowsill until I’m still and off the charts
Where I am no longer of relevance or use to any being
I will not lie, my time is nigh, for me to say to you
Goodbye…
Goodbye…
Goodbye…
Goodbye…
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Nils Cusack Melbourne, Australia
Melbourne songwriter who creates introspective dirges , dreamlike reflections and voodoo junkyard clankers.
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