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3:30 | 
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
Hey, I'm not the type
To say one thing and do another And if it's all right I'd kind Of like to be your lover 'Cos when you're with me I can't help but be So desperately Uncontrollably Happy! And hey, I'm not the kind To fall in love without good reason And if that's a crime Then baby I'm committing high treason 'Cos when you're with me I'm absolutely And totally Quite uncontrollably Happy! And hey, I'm not so blind That I can't see where we're all going And it's no fault of mine If humankind reaps what it is sowing Just as long as we are together Forever I'll never be anything other than Happy! Hey, don't be suprised, if millions die in plague and murder True happiness lies beyond your fries and happy burger |
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3:49 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
I told the stars above about the one I love
I told the morning sun, yeah I'm telling everyone I told my mum and dad, they seemed to understand And I'll get through to you if it's the last thing that I do Everybody knows that I love you Everybody knows that I need you Everybody knows that I do except you I told all of my friends again and again and again I drove them round the bend so now you're my only friend I told the passers by, I made a small boy cry And I'll get through to you if it's the last thing that I do Everybody knows I live for you Everybody knows I adore you Everybody knows that it's true except you |
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5:58 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
Someone I once knew
Told someone like you "Love is just a word" Now I'm not so sure that's true Someone made me see How someone like me Needn't be so closed Just 'cos they once chose to be I need to be someone's somebody Someone heard my call When I was all at sea Someone rescued me When my life was all but through Someone made me feel Like someone really cares I hardly even dare To believe it's real, it's really true I need to be somebody's somebody |
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4:26 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
If you were the road
I'd go all the way If you were the night I'd sleep in the day If you were the day I'd cry in the night 'Cause you are the way The truth and the light If you were a tree I could put my arms around you And you could not complain If you were a tree I could carve my name into your side And you would not cry, 'Cos trees don't cry If you were a man I would still love you If you were a drink I'd drink my fill of you If you were attacked I would kill for you If your name was Jack I'd change mine to Jill for you If you were a horse I'd clean the crap out of your stable And never once complain If you were a horse I could ride you through the fields at dawn Through the day until the day was gone I could sing about you in my songs As we rode away into the setting sun If you were my little girl I would find it hard to let you go If you were my sister I would find it doubly so If you were a dog I'd feed you scraps from off the table Though my wife complains If you were my dog I am sure you'd like it better Then you'd be my loyal four legged friend You'd never have to think again And we could be together till the end |
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4:41 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
If I were you I'd look at me
And fail to see the things I see in you If I were you and if I were you I wouldn't let the shit you get From me get the better of you If I were you Don't you ever wonder why I could never make you cry? Well, if I were you I'd ride away To a pasture new where I could graze On the grass so succulent and sweet If I were you I'd be through with me If I were you I wouldn't need To always read the magazines that I do Huh, they make me blue! So if I were you I'd make the break Before I take my frustrations out on you Just break on through Don't you ever, in your dreams Take a lover and make her scream? Well, if I were you I'd ride away To a pasture new where I could graze On the grass so succulent and sweet If I were you I'd be through with me Well, if I were you I'd ride away To a pasture new where I could graze On the green, green grass Of virgin country I'd live real fast and die real young You see if I were you I'd end my days In a field of stupid sheep just grazing The grass so succulent and sweet If I were you I'd be through with me |
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4:42 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
When I fall asleep it could be forever
So I'll never fall asleep again When I fall apart put me back together And my life will be complete Maybe it's tonight Maybe tomorrow night Next week Next month Next year We've only time to fear When I fall behind in the quest for pleasure I shall treasure this short time with you We shall not be chained We shall not be tethered And we'll never be unkind If I fall in love it could be forever So I'll never fall in love But the moment I can feel that you feel that way too Is when I might fall in love with you Fall in love with you |
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4:48 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
Don't look a horse in the mouth
Don't let a frog get you down Dragging you round like a dog on a lead I'm all you need Baby I'm in love with you And my love could go on and on Maybe you could love me too And our love could go on and on So don't look a horse in the mouth Don't let a frog get you down Dragging you round like a dog on a lead I'm all you need Baby I'm in love with you And my love could go on and on Maybe you could love me too And our love could go on and on But don't look a horse in the mouth Don't let a frog get you down Dragging you round like a dog on a lead I'm all you need Baby I'm in love with you And my love could go on and on Maybe you could love me too And our love could go on and on and on and on... |
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3:21 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
First you look so strong,
Then you fade away. The sun will burn my eyes, I love you anyway. Thirsting for your smile I watched you for a while. You are a vapour trail In a deep blue sky La la la la la La la la la la La la la la la La la la la Tremble with a sigh, Glitter in your eye, You seem to come and go I never seem to know. And all my time Is yours as much as mine. We never have enough Time to share our lives. La la la la la La la la la la La la la la la La la la la |
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4:35 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
They sit and watch the clouds go by
The London Irish The London Irish And they believe it's Irish sky The London Irish The London Irish They love the sun but pray for rain The London Irish Yeah, the London Irish They drink to take away the pain The London Irish The London Irish The London streets are paved with gold For the London Irish Oh, the London Irish You gain the world and you lose your soul Well if you'll picture a scene On every magazine And every TV screen Will there be anything left of the London Irish London Irish They say they will return again The London Irish Mmm, the London Irish But they won't say exactly when The London Irish The London Irish The London Irish The London Irish |
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4:02 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
Little acts of kindness
Make us all feel better Unexpected flowers Unrequested letters, yeah So when somebody calls you Give a friendly answer. And when somebody fails to call Remember that we have all been there before Little acts of kindness Ill-conceived and reckless Stay in bed this morning Let me make you breakfast So when somebody needs you Do your best to help them And when somebody needs your help Remember well, we've all been there before. We have all been there before We have all been there before We have all been there before We have all been there before When somebody needs you Do your best for them Little acts of kindness Little things you can do Helping those with blindness Saying please and thank you Making cups of coffee Give your friends your rolos Going to the offie feeding horses polos Keeping your bedroom neat Giving children Dairylea Putting down the loo seat Doing your work for charity..... |
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2:39 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
Moons in June
I’ve given up on that stuff Alms and charms But I’ve no hope of falling in love The rest of life pales in significance I’m looking for somebody With whom to dance With whom to dance With whom to dance I’m looking for somebody With whom to dance Rings and strings What use have I for these things? Bells and carousels Oh, I’d just be fooling myself The rest of life pales in significance I’m looking for somebody With whom to dance With whom to dance With whom to dance I’m looking for somebody With whom to dance And you, you look like heaven An angel who stepped from a dream Seven hundred and seventy seven times lovelier Than anything I’ve ever seen The rest of life pales in significance I’m looking for somebody with whom to dance With whom to dance With whom to dance I’m looking for somebody With whom to dance |
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3:50 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
My parents knew these people
who for all their faults were very nice They owned a farm whose old world charm earned it the name of Paradise We came to stay one holiyda, we played crocquet and burned our arms But I was charmed and lost for words when I first heard the birds of paradise farm Singing their songs all the day long Making love to the dinner gong Wondering when their human friends Would come to feed them I looked in the trees and in the air I searched the eves of disused barns Till finally, to my despair, I found the caged birds of paradise farm Singing their songs all the day long Making love to the dinner gong Wondering why their tiny lives should be spent behind iron bars Now Leonardo da Vinci, St Francis of Assisi But Neil Hannon of the Seahouse, Fivemiletown It doesn't sound quite right, somehow Singing their songs all the day long Making love to the dinner gong Wondering when their human friend Would come to free them When the last day came I took my time they called my name and read the card "When Nature Calls You Must Reply" They laughed waving goodbye to paradise farm. |
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6:26 |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997)
Radioactivity
Is in the air for you and me Radioactivity Discovered by Madame Curie Radioactivity Tune in to the melody Radioactivity Is in the air for you and me (Morse: Radioactivity is in the air for you and me Radioactivity discovered by madame curie Radioactivity tune in to the ... Kraftwerk) Radio Aktivität Für dich und mich in All entsteht Radio Aktivität Strahlt Wellen zum Empfangsgerät Radio Aktivität Wenn's um unsere Zukunft geht Morse: Radioactivity is in the air for you and me Radioactivity discovered by madame curie Radioactivity tune in to the ... Kraftwerk Radioactivity Is in the air for you and me Radioactivity Discovered by Madame Curie Radioactivity Tune in to the melody Radioactivity Is in the air for you and me |
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3:44 | 
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| from The Divine Comedy - A Short Album About Love (1997) | |||||
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1:56 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
An ordinary day down on Festive Road
The children will play and never will know That when Mr Benn of No.52 Walks in through that door peculiar events will ensue The shopkeeper peers through spectacles round As Benn wanders in and shuts out the town The shopkeeper wears his customary grin 'Cause he knows when they go to try on his clothes Each fantasy chosen begin... |
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3:20 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
My father says there's only one perfect view -and that's the view of the sky over our headsI expect your father has been reading DanteSee my solitude, where once was truth now only doubtTouch my tortured skin, torn from within and f
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4:00 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
Bernice bobs her hair in the barber's in the square
All her new-found friends are there to see it done Bernice bobs her hair she's been driven to despair 'Cause her cousin doesn't care about anyone Her hair was long, her hair was dark Her hair fell down her back And now it lies upon the floor Bernice runs out the door Marjorie had told her what to wear to the parties Marjorie had told her what to say to the boys Now Marjorie was jealous of her social advances And presented her with this choice Bernice, bob your hair You've persistently declared this intention Do you dare to disagree? So Bernice bobs her hair and is instantly ensnared In a trap so well prepared by Marjorie Her hair was long, her hair was dark Her hair fell down her back The mirror tells of her mistake Her heart is fit to break So when it's dark and her cousin sleeps Into the room she creeps Marjorie's curls come down like rain Bernice runs for her train |
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3:31 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
I... I was born yesterday
And I believe all that you say I have no choice I must obey you Is this the first or the second day Of the rest of my life Well hey Why should I care either way If what you say is true? Saturday morning, 18th of December I cannot remember The last time that I saw such a young ballerina In love with the loveless In tune with a tuneless old upright piano Standing en pointe Going through each position with gentle precision She measures each movement Her classical features and elegant waistline Are going to waste while she pleases her parents I... I was born yesterday And I believe all that you say I have no choice I must obey you Is this the first or the second day Of the rest of my life Well hey Why should I care either way If what you say is true? What if they die on the road to Rathmines Where a dog in two minds times his run to perfection An orphan at last, She'd be sick in the loo-bowl Then go to the funeral and cry by the graveside And then sleep with the first man she sees And she'd catch some disease Which she would give to her doctor She'd cook her own breakfast, and she'd cook his as well And both get on swell Even though he was married You are a part of me I am a part of you Why should I let you walk all over me? All over me |
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3:56 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
We took your Daddy's car
And drove it to the sea We fooled around for hours And then when we got tired and it got dark We found a place to park And we watched the sun set fire to the sea Can you feel the sadness in our love? It's the only kind we're worthy of Can you feel the madness in our hearts As the key turns and the engine starts? We took your Daddy's car And drove it into town We steamed into a bar And we bought the biggest bottle of champagne And driving through the rain we sang 'God bless this car, and all who sail in her!' Can you feel the sadness in our love? It's the only kind we're worthy of Can you feel the madness in our hearts As the key turns and the engine starts? We took your Daddy's car And wrapped it round a tree We didn't know what for We didn't feel like driving any more It was so good we got bored And we are driving from the day we are born Can you feel the sadness in our love? It's the only kind we're worthy of Can you feel the madness in our hearts As the key turns and the engine starts? Can you feel lengine starts |
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4:31 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
Hello What would you like to know?
What would you like to hear? What if I just disappear inside myself? Hello What would you like to know? Who would you like to see? Who would you like me to be if not myself? And the Europop (pop) makes me dizzy And I just can't stop (stop) 'til it's finished And I don't know what (what) you find funny 'Bout the Europop and the love of money Hello Where is it cool to go? When is it cool to leave? What is it cool to breathe inside myself? Hello Don't tell me what I already know Don't show me what I've already seen Don't take me where I've already been inside myself And the Europop (pop) makes me dizzy And I just can't stop (stop) 'til it's finished And I don't know what (what) you find funny 'Bout the Europop and the love of money Financial gain is a very pleasant thing But the transitory pleasure that it brings Counts for nothing So What is there left to know? What is there left to say? Nothing And the Europop (pop) makes me dizzy And I just can't stop (stop) 'til it's finished And I don't know what (what) you find funny 'Bout the Europop and the love of money And I thank God that you're aware Oh thank God that you're aware Of the earth and of the air And of the girls making like they don't care But they are blessed and you are cursed With the conscience of a universe Of the mind and of the soul And reduction science digging itself a hole And I thank God that you're aware Oh thank your God that you're aware It's taken time but I'll think you'll find That everything is alright |
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3:54 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
When I fall asleep it could be forever
So I'll never fall asleep again When I fall apart put me back together And my life will be complete Maybe it's tonight Maybe tomorrow night Next week, next month, next year We've only time to fear When I fall behind in the quest for pleasure I shall treasure this short time with you We shall not be chained We shall not be tethered And we'll never be unkind Maybe it's tonight Maybe tomorrow night Next week, next month, next year We've only time to fear If I fall in love it could be forever So I'll never fall in love But the moment I can feel that you feel that way too Is when I might fall in love with you, fall in love with you |
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4:20 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
Are you ready?
OK let's do it 1, 2, 3, 4 Woo, ah ha, yeah ba ba da ba da ba da ba da oh yeah Laugh at the tears you're crying Smile while your head explodes Y' don't have to take this lying down So blow your nose baby And just get your fingers clicking To the rhythm and the rhyme Otherwise you'll just be kicking around And that's a crime How can you talk that way on such a lovely day? When sunshine comes your way it's time to make some hay I fall for this season every time When it's hot and everybody smiles I can't help myself I'm in love with the summertime Even when I get hay-fever I find I may sneeze but I don't really mind As long as I'm in love with the summertime Ah, stop your belly-aching We all know what it's like There ain't a pill I haven't taken I guess But that's alright baby 'Cause your Daddy's car is waiting To take us to the sea She feels like celebrating life And so should we How can you talk that way on such a lovely day? When sunshine comes your way it's time to make some hay I fall for this season every time When it's hot and everybody smiles I can't help myself I'm in love with the summertime Even when I get hay-fever I find I may sneeze but I don't really mind As long as I'm in love with the summertime CLAP YOUR HANDS! - 간주중 - I fall for this season every time When it's hot and everybody smiles I can't help myself I'm in love with the summertime Even when I get hay-fever I find I may sneeze but I don't really mind As long as I'm in love with the summertime summertime |
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4:27 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
Please don't look at me that way
You'll only make me want to say Something I will regret You are April you are May What a stupid thing to say Just forgive me and forget That I ever opened my mouth And let it all come out, let it all flood out I am worried for your health Put something warm around yourself Don't let your feet get wet I'm in love and I'm in pain If I say something stupid again Oh just forgive me and forget That I ever opened my mouth And let it all come out Let it all flood out Queen of the South She has opened my mouth And let it all come out, let it all flood out chorus Something is getting in the way What it is I cannot say I wish we had never met chorus |
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4:11 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
Who's that boy you're leaning on
(Victoria ceases to care) You're not the only one (Virginia creeps through her hair) Summer evening, summer sun (Virago will publish her diaries when she's dead) To the world (Unlocking the dreams in her head) And the world is blind (Unstable unhinged and unfed) She'll wed the summertime (Unable to answer the questions of her life) I don't believe you, I don't believe I don't really need to, I don't really need Victoria I won't let Victoria fall When the night has come and gone (His ghostly perfection remains) Melting in the morning sun (His pale saint complexion unchanged) Lovers go and lovers come (And some stay for longer but never long enough) His shadow lingers on (Victoria ceases to care) His shadow fades like a pop song (Virginia creeps through her hair) Death to the supernatural one (Virago will publish the story of her life) Queen of the South I don't believe you, I don't believe I don't really need to, I don't really need Victoria I won't let Victoria fall I don't defend you (I don't defend you) I don't recommend you but (I don't recommend Victoria) I won't let Victoria fall away (Victoria) |
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4:42 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
This Autumn breeze shall strip the trees
And freeze me to the bone Why must these three sisters tease Their lonely brother so? Knowledge is a curse But ignorance is worse I fear Knowledge is a curse But ignorance is worse I fear Would you agree my dear? I have watched you grow From the same seed as my own shall grow And they will never know how How this autumn breeze shall strip the trees And freeze me to the bone Why must these three sisters tease Their lonely brother so? I don't know I don't know Pleasure is a sin And abstinence shall win this day And that's the way it's gonna stay Black Parisian lace Your salvation - my disgrace My God where did you go wrong? This Autumn breeze shall strip the trees And freeze me to the bone Why must these three sisters tease Their lonely brother so? I don't know if I can stop my eyes From drifting slowly over holy terrors of the soul No self control That Autumn chill is with me still |
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4:29 |
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| from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993) | |||||
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4:39 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Liberation (1993)
I travelled among unknown men
In lands beyond the sea; Nor, England did I know till then What love I bore to thee. 'Tis past, that melancholy dream! Nor will I quit thy shore A second time; for I still seem To love thee more and more. Among thy mountains did I feel The joy of my desire; And she I cherished turned her wheel Beside an English fire. By mornings showed, by nights concealed The bowers where Lucy played; And thine too is the last green field That Lucy's eye surveyed. She dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, A Maid whom there were none to praise And very few to love: A violet by a mossy stone Half hidden from the eye Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky. She lived unknown, and few could know When Lucy ceased to be; But she is in her grave and, oh The difference to me A slumber did my spirit seal; I had no human fears. She seemed a thing that could not feel The touch of earthly eyes. No motion has she now, no force; She neither hears nor sees; Rolled round in earth's diurnal course, With rocks, and stones, and trees. |
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3:41 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
Absent Friends
Absent friends, here's to them And happy days, we thought that they would never end. Here's to absent friends. Little Jean Seberg seemed So full of life, but in those eyes such troubled dreams. Poor little Jean. Woodbine Willie couldn't rest until he'd Given every bloke a final smoke before the killing. Old Woodbine Willie. Steve McQueen jumped the first one clean But the great escape he'd tried to make was not to be. Maybe next time Steve. Laika flew through inky blue 'Til Laika neared the atmosphere and Laika knew Laika's life was through. Oscar Wilde was a lonely child. He fought and won acceptance from the world. They smiled, they laughed, they praised, They drove poor Oscar to his grave. Absent friends, here's to them, And happy days, we thought that they would never end, But they always end. Raise your glasses then to absent friends. |
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4:48 |
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| from Absent Friends (2004) | |||||
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4:19 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
So suddenly awake.
No light from yonder window breaks, no crowing cock, Just my old clock, please make it stop. I try to wrestle free, But like the dew she clings to me, "No way Jose, you don't get away that easily". Leaving today, leaving today, leaving today. "Release me let me go. I love you more that you could know. All I can do is promise to come home to you". I tip-toe from the bed And put my head around the nursery door to say good-bye. It breaks my heart every single time. I'm leaving today, I'm leaving today, I'm leaving today. I would stay if you asked me, so for God's sake don't ask me to stay. My taxi has arrived. Good-bye sweet simple life, good-bye. The city's waking up. Dreams fizzle out like raindrops racing down the glass. They blur the street-lamps as we pass. |
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4:07 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
William wakes with his clothes on
The morning call has been and gone And he might not make the flight But he will try, yeah Bit by bit, it comes back to him A bunch of Belgian businessmen And a strange drinking game Oh, God, why? Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird He hails a cab but the driver sucks He drives so slowly, and he talks so much That it hurts Billy Bird's aching brain, yeah He runs from the cab to the check-in desk She says "no way," but William begs On his knees, "please, please, please" "Well, okay" Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird Drenched in sweat he finds his seat And with the luggage squeezed down beneath his feet He begins to think that things can't get no worse (Can't get no worse) But then a voice says, "Bags that can't be stowed In the overhead lockers must go below In the hold, please let go, thank you, sir" Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird Come home, William, come home He runs on past the carousel Screaming, "Damn my luggage all to hell I can buy a new shirt and tie any day" He rides from the airport into town To the high school football ground Where his son has just begun his big football game Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird Come home, Billy Bird (Come home, William) International business traveler (Come home, William) Come home, Billy Bird (Come home) Come home, Billy Bird (Come home, William) International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird (Come home, come home) Come home, Billy Bird (Come home to where you once belonged) International business traveler (Come home) Come home, Billy Bird (Come home) Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler |
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2:44 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
Would you like to meet my little friend?
Don't try to shake his hand, he's just pretend His is Benjamin, that's his name My mama said, "You're insane, Boy, you really are the end You and your imaginary friend" Daddy drives the mobile library He works peripatetically He doesn't get much time to play with us So we just read and make up stuff And it drives him round the bend Me and my imaginary friend One day we're gonna play hide and seek And then he'll be up the creek Never to be seen again He'll disappear the day that childhood ends And reality descends I'll never forget you, my imaginary friend |
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4:58 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
When the Beautiful set sail,
Back in nineteen seventy, She was wtate of the art The flagship of our navy. But the salt sea took its toll And the rust began to show, And with a heavy heart We took her to the breaker's yard. I thought I heard her call, Maybe I heard nothing at all. I thought I heard her call From the wreck of the Beautiful. But like the fattened cow Can smell the butcher's knife, She knew where she was bound: A sad end to a proud life. That's when I heard her cry And the waves rose five miles high, And the men who did not drown Watched as the Beautiful went down. I thought I heard her call, Maybe I heard nothing at all. I thought I heard her call From the wreck of the Beautiful. From the wreck of the Beautiful. |
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5:59 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
No matter how I try,
I just can't get her out of my mind And I when I sleep I visualize her. I saw her in the pub, I met her later at the nightclub. A mutual friend introduced us We talked about the noise And how its hard to hear your own voice Above the beat and the sub-bass. We talked and talked for hours, We talked in the back of our friend's car As we all went back to his place. On our friend's settee, she told me that she really liked me And I said: "Cool, the feeling's mutual." We played old 45s And said it's like the soundtrack to our lives And she said: "True, it's not unusual." Then privately we danced We couldn't seem to keep our balance A drunken haze had come upon us. We sank down to the floor And we sang a song that I can't sing anymore And then we kissed and fell unconscious. I woke up the next day All alone but for a headache. I stumbled out to find the bathroom But all I found was her Wrapped around another lover. No longer then is he our mutual friend. |
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3:37 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
"The lonely road you choose to travel on,
It must seem awfully long. Innocence all gone, It must be wrong to hide your lovely face away. That music you play, I'm not saying it's bad, It just seems terribly sad. Is everything all right? I'd like to think you'd tell me if something was wrong". Well her clothes are blacker than the blackest cloth And her face is whiter than the snows of Hoth. She wears Dr. Martens and a heavy cross, But on the inside she's a happy goth. "Don't worry Mum, don't worry Dad. The hours that I spend alone are the happiest I've ever had". That's what she'd say if she ever spoke to you, But it's something she can never do. 'Cos it's only by herself That she'll find out what makes her different from the rest. Well her clothes are blacker than the blackest cloth And her face is whiter than the snows of Hoth. She wears Dr. Martens and a heavy cross, But on the inside she's a happy goth. |
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3:56 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
It's early morning on I-19.
I ain't got much for company, A pick-up truck, a brown Volvo, And a couple of jokers on the radio. I wish that it could stay like this, But soon I'll have to put up with The whole world and his Uncle Joe Cluttering up my freedom road. When I was a boy I'd fantasize About the freedom road. I'd drive A thousand miles before sundown, Father a child in every town. But a hundred thousand miles have passed Between me and iconoclastic images Of the freedom road. I wanna shed this heavy load. Well I've seen the power of the lightning storm, I've seen the endless ears of corn, I've seen the lakes at the break of day, And that shit takes my breath away. But if I were to even start To tell them how it melts my heart, Never more would my truck-stop friends Look me in the eye again. It's early morning on I-19, A dreamer's waking from his dream, A driver who has lost his way Parks up his rig and walks away. |
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3:08 |
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4:41 |
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from Absent Friends (2004)
When I hold you in my arms
And look back on my charmed life My charmed life I hope, I hope if nothing more That one day you'll call your life A charmed life Well, I never really worried that much About making lots of money and such And I always seemed to land upon my feet And though there's been some difficult times The good times were never far behind I snatched all of my victories from the jaws of defeat When I hold you in my arms And look back on my charmed life My charmed life I hope, dear Baby, I hope if nothing more That one day you'll call your life A charmed life Well, the course of true love never ran smooth They broke my heart, and I broke theirs, too And breaking up was so very hard to do But I knew I'd find the one And sure enough, she came along And not long after that, along came you Well, sometimes this life is like being afloat On a raging sea in a little rowboat Just trying not to be washed overboard But if you take your chances and you ride your luck And you never, never, never, never, never give up Well, those waves will see you safely to a friendly shore When I hold you in my arms I know that this is a charmed life A charmed life |
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3:40 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
Well we've been going together
Since the eighth of November And though it seems like forever I very clearly remember You told me on our first date What you'd do on my birthday Well hooray it's my birthday! And frankly, baby, I can't wait. I don't want to die a virgin The other day I discovered A magazine of my brother's I read it under the covers It got me all hot and bothered. Now every time that I see you Your uniform becomes see-through You don't know how much I need you The "Handy Andys" I've been through I don't want to die a virgin The pines and the cedars rejoice in his fall How are you fallen from heaven? Oh Hellel, star of the morning With all the bombs and the bird-flu We're probably gonna be dead soon And here we are in your bedroom Oh did I tell you I love you I love you I love you I can feel your heart beating And your breathing increasing Your folks are out for the evening I really hope I'm not dreaming I don't want to die a virgin |
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3:44 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
It was not that long ago it first occurred to me
That my mother was a person in her own right Now I realize how very lucky I have been And there, but for the grace of God, go I Mother dear - she can see inside Mother dear - and I've nowhere to hide Mother dear - did I spoil your plans? Mother dear - I do the best I can When I was a teenager I really did believe That my parents had adopted me And the way I carried on they must have thought They'd brought the wrong little baby home from maternity I'd like to say I'm sorry but my... Mother dear - she already knows Mother dear - she'll never let me go Mother dear - kept me warm and safe Mother dear - I'll never lose my faith in mother dear If I ever get arrested by the C.I.A. Because they take me for a foreign spy They wonit need no lie-detector, all they'll have to do Is make me look into my mother's eyes Mother dear - she can see inside Mother dear - and I've nowhere to hide Mother dear - kept me warm and safe Mother dear - I'll never lose my faith in mother dear Mother dear - did I spoil your plans? Mother dear - I do the best I can |
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4:16 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
She's a diva lady.
She's a hopeless case. She needs extra makeup For her extra face. She's a hopeless case. She's a diva lady. She's got special needs. She wants chocolate candies But no blue ones, please She's got special needs. She lives in a vacuum. She has no real home. Where did diva come from? Where shall diva go? She has no real home. She's got thirty people in her entourage. Just in case her ego needs a quick massage. She's got a famous boyfriend They go out in style. She makes him look hetero He helps her profile. She's a diva lady. She looks down her nose at the shoes I'm wearing and my care worn clothes. Such a pretty nose. Such a pretty nose. She's a diva lady. |
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5:47 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
Back in the day you had been part of the smart set
You'd holidayed with kings, dined out with starlets From London to New York, Cap Ferrat to Capri In perfume by Chanel and clothes by Givenchy You sipped camparis with David and Peter At Noel's parties by Lake Geneva Scaling the dizzy heights of high society Armed only with a cheque-book and a family tree You chased the sun around the Cote d'Azur Until the light of youth became obscured And left you on your own and in the shade An English lady of a certain age And if a nice young man would buy you a drink You'd say with a conspiratorial wink "You wouldn't think that I was seventy" And he'd say, "no, you couldn't be!" You had to marry someone very very rich So that you might be kept in the style to which You had all of your life been accustomed to But that the socialists had taxed away from you You gave him children, a girl and a boy To keep your sanity a nanny was employed And when the time came they were sent away Well that was simply what you did in those days You chased the sun around the Cote d'Azur Until the light of youth became obscured And left you on your own and in the shade An English lady of a certain age And if a nice young man would buy you a drink You'd say with a conspiratorial wink "You wouldn't think that I was sixty three" And he'd say, "no, you couldn't be!" Your son's in stocks and bonds and lives back in Surrey Flies down once in a while and leaves in a hurry Your daughter never finished her finishing school Married a strange young man of whom you don't approve Your husband's hollow heart gave out one Christmas Day He left the villa to his mistress in Marseilles And so you come here to escape your little flat Hoping someone will fill your glass and let you chat about how You chased the sun around the Cote d'Azur Until the light of youth became obscured And left you all alone and in the shade An English lady of a certain age And if a nice young man would buy you a drink You'd say with a conspiratorial wink "You wouldn't think that I was fifty three" And he'd say, "no, you couldn't be!" |
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4:23 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
I found a photograph of you and me
Drinking sangria somewhere by the sea There's laughter in our eyes and dreams in our hearts Before life waded in and tore it all apart When there's no more lies to hide behind And no more tears to cry I know we'll be alright 'Cause even though the skies above are cold and grey I'm sure tomorrow we will see the light of day I found some letters from a happier time I smelled the scented pages and re-read the lines Why must the summer always turn into the fall? Why must we lose love to ever know love at all? When there's no more lies to hide behind And no more tears to cry I know we'll be alright 'Cause even though the skies above are cold and grey I'm sure tomorrow we will see the light of day The light of day shining through our window pane |
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1:09 |
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| from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006) | |||||
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4:00 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
I'll have a shower and then phone my brother up
Within the hour I'll smash another cup Please don't start saying that or I'll start believing you If I start believing you I'll know that this party fears two And what if this party fears two? The alcohol loves you while turning you blue View it from here from closer to near Awake me Don't turn around I won't have to look at you And what's not found is all that I see in you My manners are failing me I'm left feeling ugly And you say it's wonderful to live with I never will So what if this party fears two? The alcohol loves you while turning you blue View it from here from closer to near Awake me I'm standing still and you say I dress to well Still standing still I might but it's hard to tell Even a slight remark makes nonsense and turns to shark Have I done something wrong? What wrongs the wrong that's always in wrong I'll have a shower And then phone my brother up Within the hour I'll smash another cup |
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3:56 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
Do you remember that old T.V. show
Arthur C. Clarke's Mysterious World? Well if I.T.V. make a new series They ought to come take a look at my girl I don't understand her She doesn't make any sense to me I don't understand her It's like she's speaking in Swahili. Do you remember that girl in the early eighties Allergic to everything Everywhere that she went in her plastic tent The doctors tried but they couldn't begin To even understand her And it's exactly the same for me I don't understand her She is as deep as the Baltic Sea. Well it's no big deal, I'm not complaining Sometimes things don't need explaining She's my angel, that's the main thing And that is never changing. She's a mass of contradictions A pick'n'mix of strange convictions It can be a source of friction But there are worse afflictions Love doesn't make distinctions. Now to make matters worse she claims the universe Is expanding like a balloon But baby if it's meant to be infinite Then where is it expanding to?! I don't understand you You just don't make any sense to me I don't understand you You are completely logic free I don't understand her, no no She is uncharted territory I don't understand her But she's as lovely as she can be |
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5:12 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
I packed up my suitcase and left the old farm
I promised my papa I'd come to no harm And I went to the city where I was employed In a firm of accountants as an office boy. I fetched and I carried, I watched and I learned And slowly but surely I rose through the firm. But then I discovered my colleagues one day Massaging the figures for personal gain I said "I'll not wallow in this house of shame" I'll plough my own furrow, I'll go my own way. Gravely I listened to Reverend McBride Down at the mission house each Friday night. Heavenis salvation for those who know best, Hell and damnation for all of the rest. Try as I might I could not understand Why The Almighty's all-merciful hand Should cast away those whose only mistake Was never to know the Christian faith The stars that we follow can lead us astray I'll plough my own furrow, I'll go my own way I fled from the capitalis bourgeois malaise And trekked through the wilderness for fourteen days 'Til I found the guerillas camped high in the hills I asked Comrade Diaz whom I should kill. I crept into town with a knife in my teeth And entered the home of the Chief of Police I stood at his bedside and raised up my blade But then I looked to the crib where his little one lay You murder tomorrow by killing today I'll plough my own furrow, I'll go my own way. |
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3:32 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
Below the Po rolls slow from Alps to Adriatic Sea
Blow old bellows, blow Take us where you will Padua, Genoa, Corsica, Catalonia, O Segovia O unfathomable firmament. That we should set a course between the two Clinging only to our orb of blue and red Like Romanovs to a Faberge egg Push Sisyphus, push Heave our sphere into the heavens. If I'm to die then let it be in summertime In a manner of my own choosing To fall from a great height On a warm July afternoon Liverwurst, Battenburg, Emmenthall, Syllabub, Muscadet Throw it all away We need more height O Newton, release this apple from its earthly shackles And live to fight another day. Go back from whence you came the swallows cry You've corrupted and befouled the ground you walk upon And now you come to poison the skies Please friends, forgive this brief intrusion. |
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4:37 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Victory For The Comic Muse (2006)
Smoking my six-hundredth last cigarette
Out of the studio sky-light Watching the ash as it rolls down the roof Leaving a trail of grey-white All through its short life it gives of itself Giving and giving and slowly diminishing Until there isn't a crumb of it left It no longer is, it's a snowball in negative Wandering home along Marlborough Road I realize in amazement That I have been, for how long I don't know, Avoiding the cracks in the pavement All through this short life we give of ourselves Giving and giving and slowly diminishing Leaving a mark that will gradually fade Ash in the breeze, snowballs in negative |
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2:47 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
There's not enough hours in the day
To say all that I want to say There's not enough days in the week And weeks go by quicker than drunks knock back liquor There's not enough weeks in the month To do all that needs to be done There's not enough months in the year And years disappear like the bubbles in my beer Timestretched There's not enough lines on the stave To capture the music I crave There's not enough strings to my bow And even the barmen know extracts from Carmen There's not enough notes in this scale It feels like I'm chasing my tail There's not enough beats in the bar And bars get too busy with folks asking "is he…?" |
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3:45 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
I wanna chill, I wanna sit real still
I wanna sleep like the dead on a bed of roses Me and my lovely wife We're in the prime of life I wanna feel real, I wanna free-wheel I wanna steal the show from under their noses I wanna get you off Ain't that enough? I'm gonna abseil down my ivory tower And buy myself a Jaguar I'm a bad ambassador for that elusive place you're searching for I wanna show you so much more... but maybe some other time I wanna play with the big boys I wanna ride with the tough guys on a Japanese motorbike I wanna hold your hand Hey, what's your favourite band? I wanna look like they looked I wanna shake like they shook, I wanna take what they took I wanna get you high Don't ask me why It's just something I've got to do I'll try to make it up to you I'm a bad ambassador for that elusive place you're searching for I wanna show you so much more... but maybe some other time I'm not the Pope and I don't wanna be the Archbishop of Canterbury I'm a bad ambassador for that elusive place you're searching for I wanna show you so much more Yeah I could show you so much more But I'm a bad ambassador Well, maybe some other time... |
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3:10 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
Give me your love
And I'll give you the perfect lovesong With a divine Beatles bassline And a big old Beach Boys sound I'll match you pound for pound Like heavy-weights in the final round We'll hold on to each other So we don't fall down Give me a wink And I'll give you what I think you're after With just one kiss I will whisk you away To where angels often tread We'll paint this planet red We'll stumble back to our hotel bed And make love to each other 'Til we're half dead Maybe now you can see Just what you mean to me Give me your love And I'll give you the perfect lovesong Give me your word That you'll be true to me always come what may Forever and a day No matter what other people may say We'll hold on to each other 'Til we're old and grey |
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5:59 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
Monday
Restate my assumptions Heaven and hell Do not exist Tuesday Restate my assumptions If you die you do so At your own risk Into the heart of darkness Beyond the point of no return Wednesday Restate my assumptions Beauty is not The same thing as youth Thursday Restate my assumptions Only one thing beautiful That's the truth Into the heart of darkness Beyond the point of no return What the fuck is happening? Where has everybody gone? What the hell is going on? There is nothing as frightening as being alone Friday Restate my assumptions The writer writes for himself Not for you Saturday Restate my assumptions A song is not a song Until it's listened to |
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4:39 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
Postcards and letters
T-shirts and sweaters Passports and Parkas Mobiles and chargers Two tennis rackets Blue Rizla packets A new sheep-skin jacket I lost it all All through my life there have been Many rare and precious things I have tried to call mine But I just cannot seem To keep hold of anything For more than a short time Possessions of a sentimental kind They were mine, now they're not Gym-kits and trainers Asthma inhalers Silk-cuts and Bennies Ten-packs and twenties C-class narcotics Antibiotics The holes in my pockets I lost it all All that I'd like is to know Just where do those lost things go? When they slip from my hands Then one night in a dream I passed through a sheepskin screen To a green, pleasant land I found them all piled up into the sky And I cried tears of joy |
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5:33 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
They say that you'll hear him if you're really listening
And pray for that feeling of grace But that's what I'm doing, why doesn't he answer? I've prayed 'til I'm blue in the face The cars in the churchyard are shiny and German Distinctly at odds with the theme of the sermon And during communion I study the people Threading themselves through the eye of the needle I know that it's wrong for the faithful to seek it But sometimes I long for a sign, anything Something to wake up the whole congregation And finally make up my mind The cars in the churchyard are shiny and German Completely at odds with the theme of the sermon And all through communion I stare at the people Squeezing themselves through the eye of the needle |
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3:52 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
Living isn't easy
No need to make it harder Stretch yourself until you snap Ditch your superstitions Lose your inhibitions Tell them you're not coming back If you want it, you can have it If you need it, go and get it Whatever it is you've got to love it Everybody's running Round and round in circles What is it they're trying to prove? Exercise your freedom Exorcise those demons You have got to love what you do If you want it, you can have it If you need it, go and get it Whatever it is you've got to love it |
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3:55 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
You've got a personality
We'll throw you in the sea and watch you drown Dumb it down Your concentration span's too long It's longer than this song, that's not allowed Dumb it down You don't need books to know what's what We'll pile them up and burn them to the ground Dumb it down And if you say that we're corrupt We'll round you up and run you out of town Dumb it down Down and down and down it goes Where it stops nobody knows And not a lot of people seem to care Well it's so crazy, it's so great We can all communicate But no one's saying anything out there Is there anybody out there? Intelligence is dangerous A virus of the brain you pass around Dumb it down We'll vaccinate each boy and girl Lobotomise the world through sight and sound Dumb it down No one can tell you what to think And if you think that's true then you're a clown Dumb it down 'Cause freedom's wasted on the free You just don't see the beauty all around Dumb it down Down and down and down we slide It's too tricky to decide Between channels one and sixty-three 'Cause everything is mindless fluff Like this world's not dumb enough Does anybody feel the same as me? Is there anybody listening? |
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5:21 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
Every pupil in the classroom will answer the same if you ask them
Every mouth shout the message out as one Every girl weeps like the willow, every boy cries into his pillow Every tear disappears in the morning sun You don't need an indie song to figure out what's going on Tell me that I'm normal, tell me that I'm sane Tell me that you feel this too All the dreams that we have had are gonna prove that we're not mad to you Every nose is a vacuum cleaner in the loved-up London arena Every eye flies a dollar sign for me Every tongue will wag if you want it, every lung has a shadow on it Every heart comes apart at the seams You don't need a mastermind to read between the long white lines Tell me that I'm normal, tell me that I'm sane Tell me that you feel this too All the dreams that we have had are gonna prove that we're not mad to you Well we all need reassurance as we play life's game of endurance Like a nice cup of tea or a cigarette But don't lean too long on your crutches or you'll fall straight into the clutches Of those who see free expression as a threat You don't need a law degree to set your mind and spirit free So tell me what the hell is normal and who the hell is sane? And why the hell care anyway? All the dreams that we have had are gonna prove that we're all mad and that's OK |
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5:31 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
Old worlds seen through new eyes
Just you and I and the sheltering sky The battle is over but the war's not yet won It's only just begun We'll walk the razor's edge The highest ledge of the worlds highest window The first lap is finished but the race isn't run It's only just begun Where will we run to? Where will we hide? Where will we rest our heads tonight? Where is the party? And who will be there? Angels or devils, we don't care We don't care New forms - new formulae X plus Y equals new life They'll tell you it's over, just tell them they're wrong 'Cause it's only just... It's only just begun |
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5:11 |
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from The Divine Comedy - Regeneration (2006)
Beat stress and rebalance your life
Make those dreams come true Impress all your colleagues and friends With the brand new you So many lives condemned for no need 'Cause people don't buy the right magazine Take a look in the mirror and see Exactly how worthless you are In a rut? Can't get out? Don't know why? It's time to make that change Cover up all the pain in your life With our new product range So please don't feel blue - let us show you how To talk yourself into a good mood right now Feeling sad is no longer allowed No matter how worthless you are And if your life depresses you Just live it through your favourite movie star Beat stress and rebalance your life All you need to do Is forget all the useless advice And live your life for you Don't let them sell you impossible dreams Don't be a slave to the beauty regime Look again in the mirror and see Exactly how perfect you are |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
She said "There's something in the woodshed
And I can hear it breathing - It's such an eerie feeling, darling." He said "There's nothing in the woodshed - It's your imagination End of the conversation, darling." Something in his heart told him to come clean He was not who he claimed to be Something in his genes told him to pretend 'Twas something for the weekend But she said "There's something in the woodshed I know because I saw it I can't simply ignore it, darling." So he said "Now baby, don't be stupid Get this into your sweet head There ain't nothing in the woodshed (except maybe some wood)." Something in his heart told him to come clean He was not who he claimed to be Something in his jeans told him to pretend 'Twas something for the weekend "I'll go all the way with you, if you'll only do the same for me ? go and see If it's nothing like you say, then you can have your wicked way with me" He went down to the woodshed They came down hard on his head Gagged and bound and left for dead When he woke she was gone with his car and all of his money |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
Are you all settled in? Right, then we can begin. My name is...
ALFIE! Once there was a time When my mind lay on higher things And once there was a time I could find pretty words to sing But now, well now I find It saves time to say what you mean I know it seems so unrefined but it's time to let off some steam Oh come on! Everybody knows that No means Yes Just like glasses come free on the N.H.S. But the more I look through them the more I see I'm becoming more like Alfie Once there was a time When a kind word could be enough And once there was a time I could blindfold myself with love But not now?now I'm resigned To the kind of life I had reserved For other guys less smart than I Y'know?the kind who will always end up with the girls And besides Everybody knows that No means Yes Just like glasses come free on the N.H.S. But the more I look through them the more I see I'm becoming more like Alfie Oh come on! |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
"Hello...
What have we here? A young lady! To what do I owe this pleasant surprise, my pretty one? How may I be of service this dark and wintry night? Ah, I see. You wish me to look into the future... your future. After GCSEs, A-levels, university... After your first badly paid job in advertising... Okay, my pretty, just cross my palm with plastic, And I'll see what I can do... Wait! The fog is lifting!" I see oriental paper globes Hanging like decomposing cocoons While exotic candles overload The dusty air with their stale perfume And I see lentils, beans, seaweed and rice In jars on the windowsill And it ain't hardly enough to feed the mice Running behind the lines of allergy pills All these things will come to pass When heroes of the middle class Face up to their responsibilities I see an Indian fertility God He's got thirty seven limbs to spare And tasteless tie-dyed tablecloths That double up as evening wear And I see naked bodies twist and turn On the futon of dreams fulfilled But their three-year-old kid seems unconcerned He'd rather swallow all those allergy pills I see unspeakable vulgarity Institutionalised mediocrity Infinite tragedy Rise up little souls?join the doomed army Fight the good fight?wage the unwinnable war: Elegance against ignorance! Difference against indifference! Wit against shit! My words fly up to heaven, my thoughts remain below Words said without feeling never to heaven go... All these things will come to pass When heroes of the middle class Face up, repent, and pay the price For accidentally creating life An oversight for which they must atone And sacrifice their own |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
Ladysmith wants you forthwith to come to her relief
Burn your briefs you leave for France tonight Carefully cut the straps of the booby-traps and set the captives free But don't shoot 'til you see her big blue eyes Then sound the charge?breath your final breath And charge into the valley of death Cannon to the left and cannon to the right They'll go bang bang bang all night We'll fight them on the beaches Yes, we'll fill 'em full of lead Fighting naked in the open air We'll fight them in the kitchen, in the bathroom in the garden shed Fighting the good fight any-fighting-where So sound the charge?breathe your final breath And charge into the valley of death Cannon to the left and cannon to the right They'll go bang bang bang all night There'll be a cannon to the left and cannon to the right They'll go bang bang bang bang bang bang bang all night... "Baby baby, I love the way you talk sense to me Especially when you say 'Neil, you got love' I hear what you're saying... I have in my hand a piece of paper that says "Let's make lurrve, not this phoney war-thang" We goin' over the top - But you're so sexy when you're angry, honey-chile" "Roamin' around in no man's land, gettin' caught in your barbed wire Baby baby, gonna set your village on fire..." CHARGE?I'm gonna hit you where it hurts CHARGE?So sound the red alert! There'll be a cannon to the left... ...And a cannon to the right... (The hills are alive with the sound of) BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG BANG All night! |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
Pale, pubescent beasts
Roam through the streets And coffee shops Their prey gather in herds Of stiff knee-length skirts And white ankle socks But while they search for a mate My type hibernate In bedrooms above Composing their songs of love Young, uniform minds In uniform lines And uniform ties Run round with trousers on fire And signs of desire They cannot disguise While I try to find words As light as the birds That circle above To put in my songs of love Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choice Fortune depends on the tone of your voice So sing while you have time Let the sun shine down from above And fill you with songs of love Take me Fate doesn't hang on a wrong or right choice Fortune depends on the tone of your voice So let's sing while we still can While the sun hangs high up above Wonderful songs of love Beautiful songs of love |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
I met a girl, she was a frog princess
I guess I ought to make it clear That I saw nothing through her see-through dress Until she whispered in my ear "You don't really love me and I don't really mind 'Cause I don't love anybody, That stuff is just a waste of time Your place or mine?" I met a girl, she was a complete mess I should've left her well alone?but oh no, not me! I had to see if underneath that dress Her heart was really made of stone I met a girl, she was a frog princess And yes I do regret it now But how was I to know that just one kiss Could turn my frog into a cow? And now I'm rid of her I must confess To thinking 'bout what might have been And I can visualise my frog princess Beneath a shining guillotine You don't really love me and I don't really mind 'Cause I don't love anybody, I come and go through people's love lives Your place or mine? |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
When she was just a girl
She became a woman of the world Soon there wasn't room enough for her In between the bosoms of her family She popped the cork, got on the Greyhound to New York Small-talked her way round just the sort Of playboys' playground she'd once dreamed about Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her She's a woman of the world She's a fake!?sure, but she's a real fake On the make!?making up for lost time Just you wait!?hey, give the girl a break And a fifty dollar bill will see to that Heh, that ain't enough to feed the cat Serve up the rats and super rats Well they just get fatter while she fades away Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her She's a woman of the world Maybe I hate her, 'cause I didn't create her It's human nature, girl Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover Just to be part of her world Maybe I need her, because I want to be her baby, can I be your girl? Maybe I'll kill her, just trying to thrill her if she don't kill me first We're making eye-contact Oh those hypnotic eyes attract Such philanthropic flies?that's that. You cannot stop it, so why the devil do you try? |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
Through a long and sleepless night
I thought upon the jury's plight If what is wrong can feel so right Then life's no longer black and white It's four o'clock and all's not well In my private circle of hell I contemplate my navel hair And slowly slide into despair This rut has fast become a trench This smell has turned into the stench Of rotten dreams and stale ideals The past is snapping at my heels Oh Danny Boy the pipes are blocked With bedtime blues and future shock I know the best is yet to come But does it always take this long? I can put on the perfume, even wear the dress sometimes But I'll always be the bridegroom and never the bride You deserve to be horse-whipped But I've no horse, that joke's so shit And whips would only make it worse Don't tempt the lonely and perverse The casualties of casual sex The child of three with X-ray specs The conman low in self esteem The Casanova in your dreams I'll scream and scream and scream until I've made myself critically ill In hospital, in case you're there In uniform, intensive care I know you'll be the death of me But what a cool death that would be I'd rather die than be deprived Of Wonderbras and thunder thighs I can put on the perfume, even wear the dress sometimes But I'll always be the bridegroom and never the bride Bored of normality? why not go daft? It's easy to do if you try Slide right back down that self-confident path You've just so laboriously climbed Pickle your liver and addle your brain Live the Bohemian life Die young and penniless somewhere in Spain Then again you could try just to live your own life In the way that you find most amusing I DON'T REALLY CARE! I can put on the perfume, even wear the dress sometimes But I will always be the bridegroom and I will never be the bride Never be the bride |
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from The Divine Comedy - Casanova (2001)
"The Divine Comedy's Casanova?a collection of songs for bass baritone and ensemble, inspired by the writings of the eighteenth century Venetian gambler, eroticist and spy; and performed for us there by the composer, Neil Hannon. He was accompanied in that 1995 recording by a specially assembled group of young musicians, under the baton of Dr. Joby Talbot. The programme was devised by The Divine Comedy, and was produced in our London studios by Darren Allison.
Now, as we're running a little ahead of schedule, there's just time for one extra item. So I'll leave you with the haunting strains of Theme From Casanova..." |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
Time, like an ever-rolling stream, bears all its sons away;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream dies at the op'ning day. Rub-a-dub-dub It's time for a scrub So through clouds of steam To a cracked and faded cream Bath-tub wanders frail Aphrodite, so pale Pink and white She is naked as sin Wearing nothing but a grin And a pin in her hair Will she be drowned? Found With her hair tied behind Shoulders back And head inclined To the sound of music Playing above Bathing her in love But darkness and fear Will disappear like the soap When she opens her eyes. She throws back her dormer windows Morning light shows Ophelia raised From her watery grave in a brave new world. |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
One butterfly
Spies a glint in his eye, Birds sing as he cycles by. Oh! Why should he feel sad? This world's not so bad, and besides, Woe betide he who would frown When natural beauty abounds. And now with wheels spinning free He's picking up speed. Two butterflies Tie knots in his stomach, They love it when he goes too fast. Wind whistles past, Whilst oceans of air That will mess up his hair, Though he no longer cares any more For overindulgence and vanity, Vacuous vice! Just once or twice, Thrice, Four times in five we forget we're alive And neglect to remind ourselves. Three butterflies Realise when it's time to depart, They have tickled his ribs They have fluttered his heart, But the starting is easy compared to the stop And the bottom is hard when compared to the top. Oh la la la la la etc... |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
"This book deals with epiphenomenalism, which has to do with consciousness as a mere accessory of physiological processes whose presence or absence... makes no difference... whatever are you doing?"
Aphra Benn: Hello Cervantes: Donkey Daniel Defoe: To christen the day! Samuel Richardson: Hello Henry Fielding: Tittle-tattle Tittle-tattle... Lawrence Sterne: Hello Mary Wolstencraft: Vindicated! Jane Austen: Here I am! Sir Walter Scott: We're all doomed! Leo Tolstoy: Yes! Honore de Balzac: Oui... Edgar Allen Poe: Aaaarrrggghhhh! Charlotte Bronte: Hello... Emily Bronte: Hello... Anne Bronte: Hellooo..? Nikolai Gogol: Vas chi Gustav Flaubert: Oui William Makepeace Thackeray: Call me 'William Makepeace Thackeray' Nathaniel Hawthorne: The letter 'A' Herman Melville: Ahoy there! Charles Dickens: London is so beautiful this time of year... Anthony Trollope: good-good-good-good evening! Fyodor Dostoevsky: Here come the sleepers... Mark Twain: I can't even spell 'Mississippi'! George Eliot: George reads German Emile Zola: J'accuse Henry James: Howdy Miss Wharton! Thomas Hardy: Ooo-arrr! Joseph Conrad: I'm a bloody boring writer... Katherine Mansfield: (cough cough) Edith Wharton: Well hello, Mr James! DH Lawrence: Never heard of it EM Forster: Never heard of it! Happy the man, and happy he alone who in all honesty can call today his own; He who has life and strength enough to say 'Yesterday's dead & gone - I want to live today' James Joyce: Hello there! Virginia Woolf: I'm losing my mind! Marcel Proust: Je me'en souviens plus F Scott Fitzgerald: baa bababa baa Ernest Hemingway: I forgot the.... Hermann Hesse: Oh es ist alle so haßlich Evelyn Waugh: Whoooaarr! William Faulkner: Tu connait William Faulkner? Anaïs Nin: The strand of pearls Ford Maddox Ford: Any colour, as long as it's black! Jean-Paul Sartre: Let's go to the dome, Simone! Simone de Beauvoir: C'est exact present Albert Camus: The beach... the beach Franz Kafka: WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?! Thomas Mann: Mam Graham Greene: Call me 'pinky', lovely Jack Kerouac: Me car's broken down... William S Burroughs: Wowwww! Happy the man, and happy he alone who in all honesty can call today his own; He who has life and strength enough to say 'Yesterday's dead & gone - I want to live today' Kingsley Amis: (cough) Doris Lessing: I hate men! Vladimir Nabokov: Hello, little girl... William Golding: Achtung Busby! JG Ballard: Instrument binnacle Richard Brautigan: How are you doing? Milan Kundera: I don't do interviews Ivy Compton Burnett: Hello... Paul Theroux: Have a nice day! Gunter Grass: I've found snails! Gore Vidal: Oh, it makes me mad! John Updike: Run rabbit, run rabbit, run, run, run... Kazuro Ishiguro: Ah so, old chap! Malcolm Bradbury: stroke John Steinbeck, stroke JD Salinger Iain Banks: Too orangey for crows! AS Byatt: Nine tenths of the law, you know... Martin Amis: (burp) Brett Easton Ellis: Aaaaarrrggghhh! Umberto Eco: I don't understand this either... Gabriel Garcia Marquez: Mi casa es su casa Roddy Doyle: ha ha ha! Salman Rushdie: Names will live forever... |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
"Who'll have a fishy
On a little dishy? Who will have a fishy When the boat comes..." And then he says "With our glasses both raised in a toast Let's sing for those in peril on the sea Who cater ceaselessly To thy every wish With every fish As fresh as fish can be You see, I'm into my oysters My king prawns and caviar No matter how far away they are I'll be there!" And then she says, "Now with our glasses both raised in this toast Let's sing for those in peril on the sea Who labour tirelessly In their tiny boats Off John O' Groats Their socks soaked for me You see, I do like my lobster My hake, skate and rainbow trout And if there's a fishy smell about I'll be there! And then And then we'll sing for those in peril on the sea... Don't be frightened Don't be scared Chop off their heads And little legs Then peel away the shell And open up your senses to the smell The sound and colour Touch and taste Of crab, cod, clams and kippers Scampi, squid, sole, shark and scallop Winkles, whelks, whale and whiting Seaweed, swordfish, sardines and sea urchin Haddock, halibut, herrings and eel Cockles, mussels, mackerel and veal Pilchard, plankton, St Peter's fish and plaice Octopussy jellyfishy And dolphin's an aquired taste "Who will have a fishy On a little dishy? I will have a fishy When the boat comes in..." |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
While they have been eating
The rain has started falling, Gradually gathering in strength; What began a drizzle Has now become torrential, And doesn't look like coming to an end. The two bedraggled figures That huddle in the doorway, With nothing vaguely waterproof to wear, Are now secretly wishing They'd listened to their mothers When being told to always be prepared. Screaming 'Geronimo!', They run for it down the road; With an arm around her waist He leads her to a place He knows. Soaked through, but happy, They squelch up to the landing; The room before them Makes a welcome sight. The coal fire is throwing Strange shapes upon the hearthrug, And crying out to be knelt down beside. She pulls off her jumper And flings it in the corner; He picks it up and hangs it on a chair. She puts on a record And sings into her coffee; He puts a blanket round her, Sits her down And dries her beautiful hair. |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
Twilight turns from amethyst
To deep and deeper blue We've got an hour or two Before it's time to go Let's go see a movie show Jeanne can't choose Between the two 'Cos Jules is hip And Jim is cool And so they live together With the trees and birds And little girls Who play upon Poor Jean-Claude's nerves Till finally He strokes Claire's knee And when she asks Of his ambition Jean-Pierre replies "My mission Is to become eternal And to die..." Heaven knows the reason why... When the lights go out All over Europe I forget about old Hollywood, 'Cos Doris Day could never Make me cheer up Quite the way those French girls always could Jean Seberg: Et puisque je suis mechante avec toi c'est la preuve que je ne suis pas amoureuse de toi Jean Paul Belmondo: On dit qu'il n'y a pas d'amour heureux Jean Seberg: Si je t'aimais... oh c'est trop complice Jean Paul Belmondo: Au contraire, il n'y a pas d'amour malheureux Jean Seberg: Je veux que les gens s'occupant pas de moi et puis je suis independente... Peut etre que tu m'aimes? Jean Paul Belmondo: C'est ce que lu crois, mais tu ne l'ai pas Jean Seberg: C'est pour ca que je t'ai denonce Jean Paul Belmondo: Je te suis superieur Jean Seberg: Maintenant tu es force de partir Jean Paul Belmondo: Tu es single, c'est lamentable comme raisonnment... When the lights go out All over Europe I forget about old MGM 'Cos Paramount Was never Universal And Warners went out Way back when Those lights go out All over Europe I forget about old Hollywood, 'Cos Doris Day could never Make me cheer up Quite the way those French girls Always could. |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
Do you remember
The way it used to be? June to September In a cottage by the sea Distant cousins, local kids We climbed every tree together And it never, ever rained Till we climbed back on the train That would take us so far away From the village and the bay And the summer house Where we found new games to play Do you remember Sunday lunch on the lawn? Daring escapes at midnight And costumeless bathes at dawn You were only 9 years old And I was barely 10 It's kind of weird To be back here again Ooh, ooh, ooh Do you remember the summer house? The summer house Do you remember The summer house? Our summer house My summer house Our summer house Summer house, summer house, summer house |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
Back at the house
A bottle is found And opened in honour of those who have drowned, While we who have not are stricken with guilt And dutifully see that not one drop is spilt; We're drinking to life, We're drinking to death - We're drinking 'til none of our livers are left! We're wending our way down to the spirit store, We'll drink 'til we just can't drink anymore! Raise your glasses high, Drink the cellar dry! Well, bloody my nose And blacken my eye! If it ain't some young Turk in search of a fight - And Chanticleer's chest is sagging with pride, For honour has yet to be satisfied. Well, heaven be thanked We live in an age When no man need bother (Except on the stage) With 'Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori' - And definitely not tonight! I can still remember When I was just a kid - I was free to do what I wanted to, But I never, ever did... So now with years of discretion reached, May we not forget Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite For there's life in the old world yet! There'll always be an England (oh yes there will), An Ireland and a France (indubitably), A Liechtenstein and Finland (absolutely right, completely undeniable), And we have only one chance... Earnest young man with an unhealthy tan Puts a drink in my hand and says: "I understand You're in search of the place To continue the chase Of the heavenly taste? I suggest in that case You all come with me To my place by the sea Where the glasses shall be overflowing with free Alcoholic delights - And free love if you like - For what point has this life If you can't realise you're dreams?!" Oh, raise your glasses high, And drink the town dry! We'll drink beyond the boundaries of sense! We'll drink 'til we start to see lovely pink elephants Inside our heads, inside our beds - Inside the threads of our pyjama legs - So don't shoot til you see the reds of our eyes And an army of elephants marching behind! >From the day I was born 'til the night I will die All my lovers will be pink and elephantine! |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
Ten
Apes turn into men and grapes turn into wine How we made it to nine I'll never know Eight Man looks for a mate but fate plays cruel tricks And seven turns to six still he's alone Along comes number five Eureka I'm alive I think therefore I am a lucky man Three From this balcony the two of us can see The place where we first met one wet sunday |
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from The Divine Comedy - Promenade (2001)
Over the houses
The streets and the trees Over the dogs down below They'll bark at our shadows As we float by on the breeze Tonight we fly Over the chimney tops Skylights and slates - Looking into all your lives And wondering why Happiness is so hard to find Over the doctor, over the soldier Over the farmer, over the poacher Over the preacher, over the gambler Over the teacher, over the rambler Over the lawyer, over the dancer Over the voyeur,over the builder and the destroyer, Over the hills and far away Tonight we fly Over the mountains The beach and the sea Over the friends that we've known And those that we now know And those who we've yet to meet And when we die Oh, will we be That disappointed Or sad If heaven doesn't exist What will we have missed This life is the best we've ever had |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Casanova Companion No.3 [ep] (2001)
I met a girl, she was a frog princess
I guess I ought to make it clear That I saw nothing through her see-through dress Until she whispered in my ear "You don't really love me and I don't really mind 'Cause I don't love anybody, That stuff is just a waste of time Your place or mine?" I met a girl, she was a complete mess I should've left her well alone?but oh no, not me! I had to see if underneath that dress Her heart was really made of stone I met a girl, she was a frog princess And yes I do regret it now But how was I to know that just one kiss Could turn my frog into a cow? And now I'm rid of her I must confess To thinking 'bout what might have been And I can visualise my frog princess Beneath a shining guillotine You don't really love me and I don't really mind 'Cause I don't love anybody, I come and go through people's love lives Your place or mine? |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Casanova Companion No.3 [ep] (2001)
Daybreak on the motorway to Damascus
A heavenly angel flagged me down And asked for a ride into town For God's sake, on the motorway to Damascus This heavenly angel, wise and pure, proceeded with a guided tour: "Behold! A shining city of silver grey and white, Of solar-panelled rooftops glinting in the light And wind-power generators turning soundlessly through the night" Mid-day on the motorway to Damascus The heavenly angel flapped its wings And told me more exciting things Like how one day this motorway to Damascus Would disappear without trace, the unsustainable replaced "Behold! The new New Forest in four hundred shades of green Stretching out before us where it always should have been A botanical thesaurus for as far as the eye can see" Nightfall on the motorway to Damascus The heavenly angel looked at me And said "Well, what's it gonna be? The long haul, or the shorter way to Damascus? Choose with care and you will find that one day there will come a time When the silhouetted ruins of the crumbling cooling towers Are but ivy-clad reminders of a long-forgotten power" Must the monkeys leave Gibraltar's rock and ravens flee the Tower Before we look and see ourselves for what we really are? |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Casanova Companion No.3 [ep] (2001)
When she was just a girl
She became a woman of the world Soon there wasn't room enough for her In between the bosoms of her family She popped the cork, got on the Greyhound to New York Small-talked her way round just the sort Of playboys' playground she'd once dreamed about Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her She's a woman of the world She's a fake!?sure, but she's a real fake On the make!?making up for lost time Just you wait!?hey, give the girl a break And a fifty dollar bill will see to that Heh, that ain't enough to feed the cat Serve up the rats and super rats Well they just get fatter while she fades away Maybe I love her, but I'm jealous of her She's a woman of the world Maybe I hate her, 'cause I didn't create her It's human nature, girl Maybe I'll suffer, just to be her lover Just to be part of her world Maybe I need her, because I want to be her baby, can I be your girl? Maybe I'll kill her, just trying to thrill her if she don't kill me first We're making eye-contact Oh those hypnotic eyes attract Such philanthropic flies?that's that. You cannot stop it, so why the devil do you try? |
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from The Divine Comedy - A Casanova Companion No.3 [ep] (2001)
I travelled among unknown men,
In lands beyond the sea; Nor, England did I know till then What love I bore to thee. 'Tis past, that melancholy dream! Nor will I quit thy shore A second time; for still I seem To love thee more and more. Among thy mountains did I feel The joy of my desire; And she I cherished turned her wheel Beside an English fire. Thy mornings showed, thy nights concealed, The bowers where Lucy played; And thine too is the last green field That Lucy's eyes surveyed. She dwelt among the untrodden ways Beside the springs of Dove, A Maid whom there were none to praise And very few to love: A violet by a mossy stone Half hidden from the eye -Fair as a star, when only one Is shining in the sky. She lived unknown, and few could know When Lucy ceased to be; But she is in her grave and, oh, The difference to me A slumber did my spirit seal; I had no human fears; She seemed a thing that could not feel The touch of earthly years. No motion has she now, no force; She neither hears nor sees; Rolled around in earth's diurnal course, With rocks, and stones, and trees. |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
Generation sex respects the rights of girls
Who want to take their clothes off As long as we can all watch that's o.k. And generation sex elects the type of guys You wouldn't leave your kids with And shouts”off with their heads” if they get laid Lovers watch their backs as hacks in macs Take snaps through telephoto lenses Chase Mercedes Benz' through the night A mourning nation weeps and wails But keeps the the sales of evil tabloids healthy The poor protect the wealthy in this world Generation sex injects the sperm of worms Into the eggs of field-mice So you can look real nice for the boys And generation sex is me and you And we should really all know better It doesn't really matter what you say |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
When you hang by a thread
Strange things go through your head What was in that woodshed? Will death be gentle? "Better to live one day like a lion Than a thousand sheepishly" Say dead oriental I'm a thrillseeker honey - I can't help it I would kill for that feeling now I've felt it I'm a thrillseeker If you live by the sword You will reap your reward Death by faulty rip-cord or loose karabiner But it's my absolute right To kill myself if I like And now it looks like I might have finally succeeded And I don't care When they finally come I'll be stuck there like gum Frying under the sun "eggs over easy" But it's my triumph of will Just to stay alive 'til They've spent several million trying to save me Albeit vainly I don't want your money I'm a thrillseeker honey - I can't help it I'd kill for that feeling now I've felt it It's the cruelest of hands but I've been dealt it I can see it, I can feel it, I hear it Here it comes…… |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
Freezing Monday morning
She is waiting for her train to come I brush past her, smell her perfume Watch her hair move as she turns to go She doesn't know I exist I'm gonna keep it like this I'm not gonna take any risks this time She's not like the others With their papers and their headphones on She reads novels by French authors with loose morals She can do no wrong I wouldn't say I'm obsessed I don't wanna see her undressed We can be prince and princess in my dream And we're dancing Through the evening ‘Til the morning She doesn't know I exist I'm gonna keep it like this I'm not gonna take any risks this time |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
I would like to live in Sweden
When my work is done Where the snow lies crisp and even ‘Neath the midnight sun Safe and clean and green and modern Bright and breezy, free and easy Sweden, Sweden, Sweden, in Sweden I am gonna live in Sweden Please don't ask me why For if I were to give a reason It would be a lie Tall and strong and blonde and blue eyed Pure and healthy, very wealthy Sweden, Sweden, Sweden, in Sweden I'll grow wings and fly to Sweden When my time is come Then at last my eyes shall see them Heroes everyone Ingmar Bergman Henrik Ibsen Karin Larsson Nina Persson Sweden, Sweden, Sweden In Sweden |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
Julius Caesar came, saw, conquered, went away
‘Cause it rained here all the time Too many sniffs and colds Got up his Roman nose So he left it all behind for Eric the gardener to find Eric the gardener Eric the gardener will find Eric the gardener Julius Caesar knew that when his life was through Something of him would stay behind Not in a Roman tomb or an Italian womb But buried deep in English slime For Eric the gardener to find Eric the gardener Eric the gardener will find Eric the gardener Julius Caesar sleeps soundly beneath your feet With the rest of humankind Dig deep and dig some more Dig to the planet's core Dig 'til you've gone out of your mind But all you will ever find is Eric the gardener All you can ever hope to find is Eric the gardener |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
Take the National Express when your life's in a mess
It'll make you smile All human life is here From the feeble old dear to the screaming child From the student who knows that to have one of those Would be suicide To the family man Manhandling the pram with paternal pride And everybody sings ‘ba ba ba da……….' We're going where the air is free On the National Express there's a jolly hostess Selling crisps and tea She'l provide you with drinks and theatrical winks For a sky-high fee Mini-skirts were in style when she danced down the aisle Back in ‘63 (yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah) But it's hard to get by when your arse is the size Of a small country And everybody sings ‘ba ba ba da…..' We're going where the air is free Tomorrow belongs to me When you're sad and feeling blue With nothing better to do Don't just sit ther feeling stressed Take a trip on the National Express |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
Build your coffin of balsa wood
Spend all that you earn When you go you are gone for good Never to return Always to thine own self be true Not to fools like me Who'll change their minds For the sake of rhyming schemes Au revoir joi, bonjour tristesse Good times come and go Life owes nobody hapiness Only pain and sorrow So don't rely on the starry skies Screw the universe You'd ought to try to live your life on Earth So au revoir joi, bonjour tristesse Good times come and they go This life owes nobody happiness Only pain and sorrow So don't rely on the starry skies Screw the universe You'd ought to try to live your life on earth I'm gonna try to live my life on earth |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
A butterfly flies through the forest rain
And turns the wind to the hurricane I know that it will happen ‘Cause I believe in the certainty of chance A schoolboy yawns, sits back and hits return While round the world computers crash and burn I know that it will happen ‘Cause I believe in the certainty of chance And I believe I can see it all so clearly now You must go and I must set you free ‘Cause only that will bring you back to me I know that it will happen I'm sure that it must happen Oh I know that it's gonna happen Because I believe in the certainty of chance |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
Here comes the flood
Rivers of mud, baby Here comes the quake Evacuate while you still can Here comes the fire Our funeral pyre, baby Here comes the flood Here comes the blood bath Here comes the fly Fifty foot high, baby Here comes the war More blood and gore Than you can stand Here comes the race From outer space, baby It's all over We're all gonna die If the good Lord had intended me to live in L.A. he'd given me a machine gun. Still, here I am, just another worried little citizen of this modern-day Pompeii waiting for the melt-down, the show-down, the great American close-down. When that fault-line that runs right through society's fabric finally snaps and the whole damn thing starts unravelling. Why watch the sports channel when you can watch C.N.N.? Ladies and Gentlemen, the greatest race in history, the race to end all races, in fact the race to end history. In lane one - the San Andreas Fault, in lane two - Global Recession, in three - El Nino, in four -Chemical War, lane five - Inter-Racial Conflict, lane six - Auto Immune Deficiency Syndrome. On your marks. Get Set. Wait for it………. Go! Here comes the flood Rivers of blood, baby Here comes the bomb It won't be long ‘Til we're all gone Here comes the sun Run baby run, baby If you believe all that you read You'll know the end is nigh We're gonna die!! |
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from The Divine Comedy - Fin De Siecle (1999)
I was born in Londonderry
I was born in Derry City too Oh what a special child To see such things and still to smile I knew that there was something wrong But I kept my head down and carried on I grew up in Enniskillen I grew up in Inis Ceathlain too Oh what a clever boy To watch your hometown be destroyed I knew that I would not stay long So I kept my head down and carried on Who cares where national borders lie? Who cares whose laws you're governed by? Who cares what name you call a town? Who'll care when you're six feet beneath the ground? From the corner of my eye A hint of blue in the black sky A ray of hope, a beam of light An end to thirty years of night The church-bells ring, the children sing “What is this strange and beautiful thing?” It's the sunrise Can you see the sunrise? I can see the sunrise It's the sun rising |
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from The Divine Comedy - Come Home Billy Bird [single] (2004)
William wakes with his clothes on
The morning call has been and gone And he might not make the flight But he will try, yeah Bit by bit, it comes back to him A bunch of Belgian businessmen And a strange drinking game Oh, God, why? Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird He hails a cab but the driver sucks He drives so slowly, and he talks so much That it hurts Billy Bird's aching brain, yeah He runs from the cab to the check-in desk She says "no way," but William begs On his knees, "please, please, please" "Well, okay" Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird Drenched in sweat he finds his seat And with the luggage squeezed down beneath his feet He begins to think that things can't get no worse (Can't get no worse) But then a voice says, "Bags that can't be stowed In the overhead lockers must go below In the hold, please let go, thank you, sir" Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird Come home, William, come home He runs on past the carousel Screaming, "Damn my luggage all to hell I can buy a new shirt and tie any day" He rides from the airport into town To the high school football ground Where his son has just begun his big football game Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird Come home, Billy Bird (Come home, William) International business traveler (Come home, William) Come home, Billy Bird (Come home) Come home, Billy Bird (Come home, William) International business traveler Come home, Billy Bird (Come home, come home) Come home, Billy Bird (Come home to where you once belonged) International business traveler (Come home) Come home, Billy Bird (Come home) Come home, Billy Bird International business traveler |
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from The Divine Comedy - Come Home Billy Bird [single] (2004)
Idaho, let me go.
I feel so very far from home Your folks are kind, If a little crazy - Not unlike my own sweet lady. Well the hotel's clean, not too noisy; The trouble is, it's in Boise, Idaho. Idaho, I suppose You look quite pretty all suede in snow. But just right now, I'd rather be Sitting on my sofa with a cup of tea, Watching premiership football, the proper kind- Something that y'all just can't find in Idaho.... Idaho. Idaho, I'm down so low. I wanna pack my things and go. Find a flight, make a connection It terrifies me but I'll make an exception Just to hold my child and say, "Shh, what's that noise?" She wants her daddy but he's in Boise, Idaho. Idaho. Idaho, this I know It's time ten times warmer in New Mexico But, may I say, It's plain that you are ten times cooler Than the state of Utah Well I miss my girl, hey, That's my choice, see? Without her, this whole world is Boise, Idaho. Idaho. |
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from The Divine Comedy - Absent Friends [single] (2004)
Absent Friends
Absent friends, here's to them And happy days, we thought that they would never end. Here's to absent friends. Little Jean Seberg seemed So full of life, but in those eyes such troubled dreams. Poor little Jean. Woodbine Willie couldn't rest until he'd Given every bloke a final smoke before the killing. Old Woodbine Willie. Steve McQueen jumped the first one clean But the great escape he'd tried to make was not to be. Maybe next time Steve. Laika flew through inky blue 'Til Laika neared the atmosphere and Laika knew Laika's life was through. Oscar Wilde was a lonely child. He fought and won acceptance from the world. They smiled, they laughed, they praised, They drove poor Oscar to his grave. Absent friends, here's to them, And happy days, we thought that they would never end, But they always end. Raise your glasses then to absent friends. |
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