SIDEWAYS TO NEW ITALY
THE SECOND OF THE FIRST
Saw the warning sign
Outside St Anne
And the words were
Falling down
All the days melt in
To oblivion
In the time fold in between
The two years
And the news at 10 don’t change my head
And the fam don’t make much sense
Then you walked in from the be wilderness
With a look right through my windowpane
And I feel outside it
Lost on descent
Like two transplanted palms
You look like me
Swimming in my head
Ringing in my heart
And I feel outside it
Lost on descent
Like two transplanted palms
You look like me
Swimming in my head
Ringing in my heart
You draw a straight line to the branches
You feel the gold light coming through
FALLING THUNDER
Well they don’t know how hard it is
To keep the story straight
when you’ve been running close all night
you’ve been dicing with fate
Is it any wonder
we’re on the outside
Falling like thunder
From the sky
call it by its name when You sing low
Hold it like a knife against you
Is it any wonder it stings
Sun is in our eyes
I keep my vision tight
At all the deep scenes
A stationary boy in a moving daydream
down on the corner watching over
Liquid crystal simulation
Like a ghost At the service station
In some far off fencepost nation
Is it any wonder
That we’re on the outside
Falling like thunder
From the sky
call it by its name now
Hold it like a knife
Is it any wonder it stings
Sun in your eyes
And we’re changing with the season
Is it any wonder
That we’re on the outside
Falling like thunder
From the sky
call it by its name when you sing low
Hold it like a knife against you
Is it any wonder it stings
Sun is in our eyes
Red light is fading
Caught in the moonrise
leaves fall faster
Even your bright eyes
Red light is fading
Caught in the moonrise
leaves fall faster
Even your bright eyes
Are changing with the season
SHE'S THERE
Touch of her skin like summer rain
She’s there, She’s there
One bottle in running through my veins
Her hands are in my hair
I live on the outside of everything
She’s there, She’s rare
Under the sun i speak her name but I can’t hear it.
Stuck on the edge, she said,
Time it’s a river
Only one way, down together
I open the letter but the writing’s wrong
I shoulda done better but the time rolls on
I open the letter but the writing’s wrong
I shoulda done better but the time rolls on
Open a window, in the air
In a mirror, She’s there.
Every time I speak her name
There’s a cold shiver through my veins.
Stuck on the edge, she said,
Time it’s a river
Only one way, down together
All my accidents breathe in time…
BEAUTIFUL STEVEN
Call it what it is
Don’t leave me waiting
Cut your face again
Winter light Fading
Whiskey in the jar
Old man’s at the pawn shop
Walked up in his robe
Hit at the bus stop
I once had it made
Never strayed very far
And its Steven on the breeze
Calling out for the keys
I wanna stand on the edge again
I wanna step off
play it where it lands
Calling for hours
Easy in the sand
Hard in the showers
Scuff my blinding shoes
Smoke up in the alley
You disappear again
With catholic sally
Oh no
I once tried to say
In the grey concrete yard
And they looked the other way
As Steven went in hard
I wanna stand on the edge again
I wanna step off
I wanna go
THE ONLY ONE
I’m back in the state
To find another way back
In to the new world
That looks exactly the same
And when I open the gate
Cold sweat on my face
I can never really be sure
Who’s gonna open the door
New season’s frost
Dead river rot
And I will run to you
Seven years
You let love in
And you will come to me
Never let this cowboy ride
the only one is right before your eyes
The only one
I found a jewel
Deep end of a swimming pool
I knew what I was lacking
So I threw it back in
Now I drive the ring roads
Sing my songs
Suspended in the air
I could be anywhere
CARS IN SPACE
You trace
Your hands
Around
The wheel
Your face
It shines
In the flicker
Of the film
It feels
Like rain
I hear the beating in my heart
You want
It simple
How hard
You make it
Could have been
Stumbling
On the ancient stone
Four feet
Wandering
In the eve
Before we
Turn inside
Turn inside
Turn inside
Buzzing overhead
Banging on and on and on
Come around
Come around
Through the cold
In the warmth
Of the car
I’m the raven
I’m the keeper of your secret
It feels
Like rain
I hear the beating in my heart
You want
It simple
How hard
You make it
Could have been
Stumbling
On the ancient stone
Four feet
Wandering
In the eve
Before we
Turn inside
Turn inside
Turn inside
Buzzing overhead
Banging on and on and on
At the intersection
Waiting on the corner
Bottom of the freeway
Before it opens up
CAMEO
I heard you talking
Your voice had an old melody
Like sweet river water
Back from the bathroom
Moon in your hair
Late revival
It was a short walk home
I take my time
I check my sides
My head revolving
My soul divides
My feet collide
I want to make amends
My sense was off
My knees were raw
My eyes were sweaty
My arms were heavy
A reappearing scent
A faded song
A vision on a riverbank
You take a high wire jump
You feel time dripping away
Falling in the burning blue
You feel time dripping away
And I wait
For the moment to come
And I watch
All the minutes run
I take my time
My head revolving
A second chance
A deviation
You take a high wire jump
You feel time dripping away
Falling in the burning blue
You feel time dripping away
I put myself in a letter
I send myself on the powerlines
A picture of yourself in the future
A nation in the plains, beyond the frame
Two figurines on the mountain
You find yourself again on holiday
I feel it in my brains
Do you feel the same?
A cameo in your home video
You take a high wire jump
You feel time dripping away
Falling in the burning blue
You feel time dripping away
NOT TONIGHT
Every Saturday
I wait
For the footfalls
In the hall
Mother Mary
At the wings
And the ocean
Is upon us
Every night I count the cracks
Up on the backroom wall
Fall into the fault line
When I reach
Across to you
Cause even when you’re here
It’s like there’s no one else around
I’m slipping on my tears
I’m burning all my candles down
Gemstone
I remember
When the spark went flat
Wafer thin and
You were singing
In your midnight black
Every night I count the cracks
Up on the backroom wall
Fall into the fault line
When I reach
Across to you
Cause even when you’re here
It’s like there’s no one else around
I’m slipping on my tears
I’m burning all my candles down
I stand on ceremony while the ship sinks
Put the iceberg in my tall drink
Waiting at the door like a lone pine
Talking about the war at the hotel
I stand on ceremony while the ship sinks
Put the ice berg in my tall drink
Waiting at the door like a lone pine
Talking about the war through the night
Seems like they’re all coming down
Or leaving
There’ll be nothing
For no one
To believe in
Cause even when you’re here
It’s like there’s no one else around
I’m slipping on my tears
I’m burning all my candles down
SUNGLASSES AT THE WEDDING
Sunglasses at the wedding
You stand there
In brand new sun tan
You’re freezing
In the election season
You’re counting up the numbers
Twenty minutes to save the world
You’re caught by the window
The name you can’t remember
You said 4.30
You’re early; you walk slowly
You spend time alone
You can’t find the reason
You work on your breathing out and in and out again
You used to cut up
All the pictures
In the pages
Of the leader
Why are we always the last ones to leave?
And we fade in the marbled morning
And we’re breaking AM promises again
Sunglasses at the wedding
You’re standing
In brand new sun tan
You’re freezing
In the election season
You’re counting up the numbers
Twenty minutes to save the world
Why are we always the last ones to leave?
And we fade in the marbled morning
And we’re breaking AM promises again
THE COOL CHANGE
Hello old friend
Are you back again?
I can hear your rings on the pavement
Nice to see you
keep up appearances
But must you bang so hard on my basement?
All your plants are dead
Balance in the red
But you always paid your way
Better not to say how
After Collingwood
Saw you as you were
Shot for Hollywood
Draped in dirty fur
This town was not big enough for the one of you
Doors were too narrow and the chill wind blew
Felt it in you bones
Rolled away the stone
You rose again in the northern autumn
But when you lay me down sweet and slow
My heart won’t fight it
Stone cold
Flying like a hawk
Skyward
In the city of dreamers
There were so many like you
snowflakes melting in the perma-sun
Bands on the run
It was warm at night
But cold inside you
Though it never rained
Sometimes hurricaned
With you in the eye of them
They’d always spare your hair
But When you lay me down sweet and slow
My heart won’t fight it
Stone cold
Flying like a hawk
Skyward
They called you the cool change
Cause when you darkened the doorway
Someone’s life was about to get clouded
But not me though
I was the one
Who thought the sun shined from your
Eyes
when you smiled
You were the chosen boy
And you chose to ride the wind
But When you lay me down sweet and slow
My heart won’t fight it
Stone cold
Flying like a hawk
Skyward
IN THE CAPITAL / READ MY MIND
IN THE CAPITAL
Came up
Came up from the bottom
Waded
Weightless on the paving
Formed over time
Body of water
Keep coming back
In the capital
On the capital
Step lightly
Levitate here
In the sinking hour
By the corridors
In the capital
Stretched out
Faded from the shadow
Silent
Witness by the scene
Crossing in style
The body electric
Hanging in time
In the capital
On the capital
Step lightly
Levitate here
In the sinking hour
By the corridors
In the capital
On the edge of it
When you’re losing touch
And you guard your eyes
And it opens up
And you trace it through
Til you find the centre
Home on the landing
Over the railing
After the corner.
READ MY MIND
Wanted to believe
When you said
Let’s take it outside
Put your coat on
Into the wind
Out on the ledge
Dancing so sharp
Razors edge
Would you read my mind?
Eyes up
Free
Beat down
Far as I could see
Back on the border
No idea or limit
I sweep my notions
Underneath the carpet
No good direction
Coming in blind
Would you read my mind?
One track now
Another fast boy with a plan
Saw you down low
Leaning sideways
Into the frying pan again
Couldn’t have guessed that the story ended
This way
Keep up
Stay true
Don’t let me down
All you can do
Counting the steps up
To your apartment
I keep a fire
Underneath the summit
No direction
coming in blind
Would you read my mind?
One track now
No way down
And you been here
Forever
You can’t find it
In a letter
Big sky
Together
And you know it’s
Not just another one
HOPE DOWNS
AN AIR CONDITIONED MAN
I heard the sound of the church at six
I fell among the cooling bricks
All the tall trees were still
Lining the avenue
Like old friends do
Bystanding quietly
Had the game lost its spark?
Evening star
Right on cue
Still in a solid state
Still in a solid state for so long
Night train passing over
And the sound kept on ringing round
I went the long way
I would be vindicated
I kept my head down
Two eyes on the paving
Caught in a neck tie
A lifestyle in single file
A river of break lights
To opposite lifts
And opposite lofts
Still in a solid state
Still in a solid state for so long
Night train passing over
And the sound kept on ringing round
World A.D.
You walk past the wall you first kissed her against
How could you forget?
While the sirens howled and the wind caressed
Or was it over there?
Did it ever matter in the first place?
Does she still think about it now and then?
In her air conditioned home
On her air conditioned street
In an air conditioned city
TALKING STRAIGHT
All day I listen out
For Jenny’s old coupe
Midnight blue
It’s faded but she’s always been true
Holiday
Haven’t seen you since
You had to get away
Window pane
Electricity illuminates the rain
Lean your face
Hopeless
No embrace
I wanna know
I wanna know
Where the silence comes from
Where space originates
Lay back, sink in
You’re not talking straight
I’m right, this is sin
You’re not talking straight
Come around, give in
You’re not talking straight
Lay back, sink in
You’re not talking straight
You’re not talking straight
On closer inspection
It’s just a reflection
And I still move
With feeling inside
It’s the tyranny of questioning
Ring the diving bell
I further down, I’m nearly out
I’m deeper down the well
Hopeless no embrace
I wanna know
I wanna know Where the silence comes from
Where space originates
Lay back, sink in
You’re not talking straight
I’m right, this is sin
You’re not talking straightCome around, give in
You’re not talking straight
Lay back, sink in
You’re not talking straight
MAINLAND
I said I’m just a servant
To my base desires
She said I’ll tell you a few things
Free of charge
Steer clear of jagged rock
Tread careful at the higher level
This ain’t no game
But you can play
If that’s what you want
Then she said
We are just paper boats
Bobbing adrift afloat
While winds of fortune shove us
Where they will
Woke up coughing on the shore
Cold outcrop broken, sore
Back on the mainland
The chimps were coming up trumps
And all I saw was burning blue
Fading into blinding white
Wade out past the rotting pier
Out to the open water
Son of a red roof city
And her the full moon’s daughter
And back on the mainland
Back on the mainland
Cool change was rolling over
Black sky was getting lower
On golden sand
We stared into the haze
Ocean merging with sky
And talked about the land of our foremothers
Now that we’ve shut the gate
It would be funny
If it didn’t make you want to cry
This is just the bed
We’ve woken up in
And all I saw was burning blue
Fading into blinding white
Wade out past the rotting pier
Out to the open water
Son of a red roof city
And her the full moon’s daughter
And back on the mainland
Back on the mainland
Cool change was rolling over
Black sky was getting lower
Green dreams were folding over
As we sailed off the mainland
Hooked
Never coming off the line
Wake up feeling fine
Her eyes under pale moonlight
Far corner of the earth
Tripping up on the edge
Big impossible now
TIME IN COMMON
Before the start
Time at separate tables
Time in common
And with your friends
Sitting in the wings
Time in common
Smiling politely
I was standing in the backyard
I didn’t have another place to go
Time in a vacuum
Two hundred waking hours
Oh yeah
Do you ever think about it?
Do you feel it all that much?
Do you really think it matters?
Beside the water
Your legs were next to mine
Time in common
On the couches
At other people’s houses
Time in common
Outside the hall
Words in the right order
I said it back
You said it back
Brand new union
A mutual life assured
Time in common
Oh yeah
Do you ever think about it?
Do you feel it all that much?
Do you really think it matters?
I tell you I do
Pale blue dots
Suspended in the sky
Elastic time
Inside a flying can
By the columns
At sunset
The birds were rising
And falling and rising
Then on the platform
Through the window of the train
Time in common
SISTER’S JEANS
Stand on the morning
Head like a weathervane
You stuck to your shirt
Clung to your lemonade
Dirt in the wind
The bugs were singing out of tune
You hear the thump
Beating down
Low
When your heart aches
And your morning breaks
By the TV on your own
And your hollow hand
On a cold can
You’re rising like a stone
I heard the warning
I saw you falling
Down along Sydney Road
Be alright
Put your weight
On the second hand
Back in the headlights
Windows were screening one by one
A moving image
Of your reflection
You hardly look sharp
Your guts are in a knot
And all your new friends
Are frayed at the ends
When your heart aches
And your morning breaks
By the TV on your own
And your hollow hand
On a cold can
You’re rising like a stone
I heard the warning
I saw you falling
Down along Sydney Road
Be alright
Put your weight
On the second hand
BELLARINE
Flat line of yellow lights
Flickering on every street
Cool air off northern water
Two years since I’ve seen my daughter
The fish are biting every line but mine
Feels like rum is taking all my time
My Bellarine
It’s where I shoot my scene
There’s fire in the west
I never did my best
Cold cuts and cheap terrine
Your daddy’s not so mean
Don’t listen to what your mother said
Call me when the money comes in
The fish are biting every line but mine
Seems like rum is taking all my time
My Bellarine
From here I shoot my scene
There’s fire in the west
I never did my best
I’m looking down the pier
Before the ferry comes here
She looks just like me
I’m in trouble on the Bellarine
CAPPUCCINO CITY
Stepping into the town
Ignore the sting
Of burning leather
Cause you’re young and right down
Radio sings
Cool life forever
And depending on the weather
You’ll be there
Your shadow tall
Leaned against the wall
Waiting on the call
Waiting on the call that will set it out
At the top of the hour
Meet me at Cappuccino City
Roaches climbing the wall
Coffee is cold
Service is shitty
In neon light you look so pretty
As you say
Your race is run
No longer having fun
You’re not the only one
Not the only one with short memory
Not the only one with short memory
FM on the stereo
Belgians in the Congo
Short memory
Cappuccino City
EXCLUSIVE GRAVE
Awaken on the satin sheets
Another velvet morning
Gaze down at the stinking streets
Black glass reflects a warning
The losing team are in their place
The fat of the land is your right
You put it all into your face
The only one in sight
Your tongue moves like a shining sword
In your suit of armour powder blue
You’re running with the wild ones
And the boys always get up to no good
It’s different when they’re not around
Long lunches go down slowly
With no one to massage your neck
The black cloud descends
You watch yourself on the news
Don’t let the feeling die
You watch yourself on the news
Phone rings
Take the ticket
Take the ticket
Here’s to you
Looking at you
Looking at you
Looking at you
You watch yourself on the news
Don’t let the feeling die
You watch yourself on the news
Phone rings
Take the ticket
Take the ticket
Past the stone gate
Corridor winds
Velvet carpet draped
Under shining candlelight
Oil portraits hang
Enter the mahogany room
Behind the black rope
Lies the golden box
Now you’re going home
Now you’re going home
HOW LONG?
How long
Have you been on the run?
I can see it in your face
I can hear it in your voice
I know you’re not here for good fun
How long
Have you been on the run?
What are you running
What are you running from?
I’m running into you
I’ve been running into you
What are you running
What are you running from?
How long?
THE HAMMER
And he’s back again
Big decision
Hoping the cards will fall kind
Not impossible
But your parents won’t stop crying
And you got nothing but the dregs again
And you caught someone else’s flowers
From the tower
Big boy bring the hammer down
Big boy bring the hammer down
On me
I had it coming
I had a ten year plan
I had a plot on the corner
I dug a hole
To the turtle shells
I keep the lid on eternal
Did you ever
Did you ever really wanna make something
Out of nothing?
Do you ever
Ever dream about a patch of dirt?
And about the time the Martians attack
And the tidal wave
And the lightning crack
Big boy bring the hammer down
Big boy bring the hammer down
And if you’re clever
You glide like a feather
Take a number
Follow to the letter
Or you can sever
Soar to the heavens
Take a loan out
Pay it back whenever
And if you’re clever
You glide like a feather
Take a number
Follow to the letter
Or you can sever
Light up the heathers
Get your hands on the leather
Big boy bring the hammer down
(I spent a long time just kicking up the dust)
Big boy bring the hammer down
(I spent a long time just waiting on the rust)
Big boy bring the hammer down
(I spent a long time not getting up to much)
Big boy bring the hammer down
(I spent a long time just kicking up the dust)
THE FRENCH PRESS
FRENCH PRESS
I’m alright
If you asked me
But you never do
Is this thing on?
I’m coming at you
From beside a dirty canal
And I’ve never felt better
Since I let her go
You find out
Who your friends are
When the city’s cold
And you speak like a child
And I’ve been reading the French press
And I’ve been disconnected
And people used to say
Under their breath
That you got the looks
And I got all of the rest
Did it work out for the best?
And brother don’t you know
Brother don’t you know
That jealousy’s a curse
And what’s worse is the silence
It’s strange
Are you moving out of range?
Keeping alright
That’s good to know
The cup runs over
At the overflow
Well nothing happens here
The time ticks slow
Where the money walks
And the hard air blows
In the same shirt
With the same crack
In the same window
Drinking from a French press
Fiona’s changed address
Did you hear about?
(I’m having trouble making you out)
Did you hear about?
(I said I think I’m cutting out)
Did you
(I’m having trouble)
Did you hear about?
JULIE’S PLACE
Ten feet of shade
I’m all in white
I lean down
Through the cyclone wire
Even though I don’t really know ya
I keep my head over my shoulder
Julie’s place
After the corner
I grit my teeth
So they don’t chatter
Calling for days
Can’t find the door
Keeping it down
Foot through the floor
The light played up
The light played up
And I glazed up
The light played up
Moon on my neck
I feel it come
I’m standing here
Like a burning house
Calling for days
Can’t find the door
Keeping it down
Foot though the floor
The light played up
The light played up
And I glazed up
The light played up
SICK BUG
It was a formal kiss
It’s one I’m gonna miss
I’m in the mud
Stumbling around like a sick bug
I close my eyes
To take me back
She touched my leg
I want you I want you
I want you I want you
I wanna see your smile
On a blue afternoon
I’m dreamin’ of your ceiling
And the smell of your room
I want you I want you I want you
And when the afternoon sea breeze
Cuts through
Bringing with it a cool assault
I feel brand new
Every day I’m growing older
Time is all I have to hold her
I bury my seed
In the garden of teeth
I burn the tape
I lay awake
COLOURS RUN
Cool water fall on burning skin
Evaporate to nothing
Hard times on porcelain
Waning with the season
Don’t fight the feeling that comes
The call of the carnival drums
Swaying down the aisle
Falling onto the tiles
Vacation by the sea
Separation by degrees
Three days of easy living
Hoping that the tide wouldn’t come
Alive (in high summer time)
Town is done (but I ain’t leaving)
6am (the supermarket shines)
And the colours run
Somebody cut you down
The blood ran on the ground
Like oil slick in the rain
Technicolor dawn
DIG UP
Down
Your face is down
Your eyes are deep
As the Mariana
I stand by
Under marigold light
Seabirds in flight
Salt on the breeze
Crickets for company
Crickets and you
I don’t know why you cut
Me up this way
Putting a cloud on my Saturday
We’re down in the hole
We can’t just stay
And decorate it tastefully
Fibreglass walls are closing in
All around us
I fear the moment’s passing us by
Digging up blue sky
Here we go again
My best friend
My only one
My Angelina
Hear me Angelina
I’m deep in my prime
Out on the grind for you
Catch of the year
Man for all seasons
Would you agree?
And there it goes
Our only chance
Look at it shimmer
Out in the distance
Say bye bye bye
I don’t know why you cut
Me up this way
Putting a cloud on my Saturday
We’re down in the hole
We can’t just stay
And decorate it tastefully
Fibreglass walls are closing in
All around us
I fear the moment’s passing us by
Digging up blue sky
FOUNTAIN OF GOOD FORTUNE
I see a problem
I’m not willing to address
And I take pleasure
In not wanting to impress
‘Cos I’m drinking
From the fountain of good fortune
And I see beauty in technology
And the simple sentiment of history
And it’s all too easy with the privilege
Of the fountain of good fortune
I’ve been washed
I’ve been anointed
I’ve eaten the body of The Lord
It’s from the fountain of good fortune
Springs dirty cloudy water
That pollutes the mind
Of anyone around
Holding on to my own
Burn it down when I’m gone
Holding on to my own
Holding on
Toes at the weir
Back to them all
Too loud a solitude
TALK TIGHT
WITHER WITH YOU
Yeah we were halfway off the farm
Set back
Bank loan blowing out
Red flag in the yard
All the burnt kerosene
And the time in between
The light chit chat in the dark
You were sitting on a chair
Pretty girl with no hair
And your nine mile stare yeah
And you said, “All the paintings
Are losing all their colour
Darling do you wanna
Take them all down
To the ground?”
And was it Jenny
Or was it Annie
Or was it Lily
That changed your point of view?
Your pretty face is curling up in anger
Just keep in mind, my darling
I did it all for you
And I was sitting in my lair
Working on my stare
Trying to make our dreams come true
And I wonder what’s the use
When you’re pointing at that noose
And you’re looking at me
That way
Okay
Long night
Half right
Get straight
Talk it out
Long night
Half right
Get straight
Help me
Shit shit
Shit shit
Shit shit shit
WIDE EYES
Looking at me wide eyed
Bouncing out of the door
Goosebumps on your skin
While swimming at Clovelly
Looking straight ahead
Sitting by me in the car
Been wondering what you’re thinking
Let’s not go too far
Your hair stands up
When I kiss the back of your neck
Been driving ‘cross the country
Just to see those wide eyes
Wide eyes
When I hit South Dowling St
I know where I am
I have a fortunate life
Gonna see what I can
One in every port
You know that’s not who I am
You’ll never see your kitchen floor
The same way again
With those wide eyes
Wide eyes
HEARD YOU’RE MOVING
Around the corner I wait at the spot
Got a brand new watch
4.30 on the dot
Then you appear with $4.10
Sit in the tree till the chips run out
I’ve got a question
That’s burning me up
Like the mosquitos
That are keeping me up all night
Teacher said you never may return
She said you’re moving
But when were you gonna tell me, girl?
When are the walls coming down
When are walls coming down
Am I ever gonna see you, girl
Just sipping on your Prima, girl?
When are the walls coming down
When are the walls coming down
Am I ever gonna see you
Just sipping on your Prima?
Stay here, sit back, settle down
We’ve got the proudest town
The premiership, the longest chips
Facilities are second to none
But your sunburnt shoulder
Is getting colder
I thought I told ya I’d hold ya
While you’re getting older, girl
When are the walls coming down
When are walls coming down
Am I ever gonna see you, girl
Just sipping on your Prima, girl?
When are the walls coming down
When are the walls coming down
Am I ever gonna see youJust sipping on your Prima?
Am I ever gonna see you?
Seeya
CLEAN SLATE
On a tear across the old country
Reached out for the prize
Tripped over my knees
Fell right back to the Antipodes
Clean slate
I was waiting at the dock of the bay
For another cargo ship
To take me away
Cut all my losses
Start again in Bombay
Clean slate
In the rain
I was waiting in vain
Wipe it clean
I left home, my love, my land
Built a castle made of sand
Felt the handcuffs on my hand
The cool handshake of aluminium
And you don’t know how grave it is
My friend’s eyes are wide with fear
Wipe my clean slate down with tears
Scorched earth for ten thousand years
Clean slate
Got my eyes
(Still) Got my neck
(Still) Got my chain
(Still) Got my chequebook
(Still) Got my fingers
(Still) And a toe
I’ve got nowhere left to go
Clean slate (Clean slate)
Clean slate (Clean slate)
Clean slate (Clean slate)
Clean slate (Clean slate)
Wipe it clean
TENDER IS THE NECK
She started telling him a story
It was in January splendour
They knocked the top off another
The skin on her neck was so tender
Jumping every fence to get to you
Oh, I’m very aroused
At least I know why I’m here
That one chance encounter
I think I’ve found her, Oh yeah
You’ve got a habit
Of making them funny, those things
You’ve got a habit
Of making them funny
She bought a ticket at the station
Leaving in the morning
Seeking elevation
Shooting from the hip
Pink sun was setting over the jetty
Thinking ‘bout Kerouac
Trying to find cool
He started telling her a story
Of jumping fences
And different rentals
And of splashing colours
And how everybody he knew
But nothing compared to you
And she listened
Jumping every fence to get to you
WRITE BACK
I want to be there
When the morning breaks
Light in the dark
I want to be there
When your daughter paints
Her fingers
Write back (Write back)
Write back (Write back)
Come back (Come back)
Come back (Come back)
Given the chance
I’d take it
You walk my way
I’ll be yours
Let your fingers tap
To the rhythm of my heart
We haven’t met but I’ll be right back
Write back (Write back)
Write back (Write back)
Come back (Come back)
Come back (Come back)
Cool wind cut through my heart
Wax the key to my part
Give into the green light flicker
You run the bath
And I’ll warm the pasta, girl
Write back (Write back)
Write back (Write back)
Come back (Come back)
Come back (Come back)
Are you gonna be there
When the love is gone?
CAREER
Career
He went and got a career
He sold all of his paints and
Bought a phone plan
He wanted someone
To show everyone
He wasn’t slow though
Got it for low low
Ditched his friends
Went with the flow
Said hard work is its own reward
Bought a silk tie and an ‘09 Ford
Career
He put all his ambitions
Inside a basket
From the cradle
To the casket
Put away such childish things
Father Ray said, “Son,
You’ll go far if you know the score”
Bought a silk tie and an ‘09 Ford
Career
He went and got a career, C-C-C-C
Once used to be
The enemy of the bourgeoisie
Now he’s actioning transactions ASAP
He went and got a career, C-C-C-C
ENDLESS ROOMS
TIDAL RIVER
We cling onto the water’s edge
The soil is thin
The breeze blows off the bay
A nation blue in running shoes
Don’t look too close
You might not like the view
Ceiling’s on fire
Train’s leaving the station
It’s January
We’re on vacation
Take your complaint to the United Nations
I feel my wave coming on
Sea of blue
Sea of white
Eternal purple morning light
We cling onto the water’s edge
Manicure the border hedge
Stack up the brick and mortar ledge
While calling out a sister sledge
Tidal River
Through our fingers
Passes on
Jetski over the pale reef
Chase the pill for some relief
As long as you don’t point out
What’s underneath
Your feet
Stand and compete
It’s the only retreat
The turf is pure
Keep the peace on the green leaf streets
Fire up the grill ignition
And cook it beyond recognition
Tidal River
Through our fingers
Passes on
Ceiling’s on fire
Train’s leaving the station
It’s January
We’re on vacation
Take your complaint to the United Nations
I feel my wave coming on
And on
THE WAY IT SHATTERS
Like ice on the window of an aeroplane
The form of which doesn’t matter
I tap it just to find out
The way it shatters
Caught between two lies
Why won’t He reply?
When it all comes apart
One true heart
It’s desolation by rote
All around your home
If you were in the boat
Would you turn the other way?
Lost in a magazine town
It’s all falling up again
And in my head
I tell myself
It’s all just a necessary evil
The way we come together
The way we come apart
The way is going backwards
To get to the start
Elevator sweat cooling on my neck
When is this gonna happen?
When is it gonna shatter?
Caught between two lies
Why won’t He reply?
When it all comes apart
One true heart
It’s desolation by rote
All around your home
If you were in the boat
Would you turn the other way?
Lost in a magazine town
It’s all falling up again
And in my head
I tell myself
It’s all just a necessary evil
I tell myself I’m not evil
CAUGHT LOW
I’ve been caught low
High drama by the radio tower
Sun sinking slow
And you were the precious flower
All the lawns are razor cut
Greener than the Amazon
Though the planet’s failing
Pink horizon stretches on
Movie’s gotten boring
All the actors no longer try
Hit parade of glory
Finally passed you by
So long
You had the fire
17 years
Now it’s not enough, baby
They said that time
Would bridge the great divide
Now you’re stranded on the other side
When word came back around
He shot through
And you never saw him again
Been caught low
Been caught low
Movie’s gotten boring
All the actors no longer try
Hit parade of glory
Finally passed you by
So long
MY ECHO
Count all the pangs
That ache
While you lay there
Keep on the screen
But in between
You wait there
I keep hearing the sound of my echo
From deep in the ravine
I’m tripping on the sound of my echo
In the reverie
I keep my hearing
As I pass through
Community of silence
Community of sorrow
I keep my hearing
As I pass through
Tomorrow from another state
Try paint yourself in colour
Come on and be a winner
Ah take another shot
I keep hearing the sound of my echo
From deep in the ravine
I’m tripping on the sound of my echo
In the reverie
Broken morning sheen
Cracking in the sun
I could never see that far away
DIVE DEEP
On mountaintops
Of indecision
Keep up your story
Tell it to the morning
That you’re hard enough
To weather the collision
Animals
With blood in our vision
Blind in the disorder
Lambs to the slaughter
Still upon the surface
Treading heavy water
The point
Is play it natural
On point
I better start kicking
Before I disappear
Seen the pearl shining
Bright upon the seabed
Stopped coming up for air
I dive deep for your love
‘Cause you’re mine
Waterfall eyes drown out the weekend
You want to swim in the deep end?
Better stop fucking up
I call you off the cuff
Don’t worry about nothing
I’m the constant
The one who’s always down
You’re mine
I better start kicking
Before I disappear
Seen the pearl shining
Bright upon the seabed
Stopped coming up for air
I dive deep for your love
Brace for the storm front
Pray heavens open up
Rain on the red dirt
Makes up the medicine
Back up on the mountain
Begging for a fountain
Tearing up my knees again
Line up
Bang the cup
Hungry ones know
It’s never enough
Bang the cup
Drowning ones know
When the tide is up
OPEN UP YOUR WINDOW
Open up your window
Let the wind march in
Don’t you know the fire’s gotta breathe
Realise the world outside your home
Open up your window
Let the wind march in
BLUE EYE LAKE
Moonlight holiday
Jump right off the page
Seven seeds will come
Cover only one
Below blue eye lake
I get carried away
Come all, come one
Sink into the valley of the sun
You can ride the back of a star
And go anywhere
Open up your eyes and I will dive in
Blue eye lake
Under falling rain
You’re the ripple in my vein
Don’t fade away
In cold decay
A picture of you in the desert
And every word you said
Is flashing in my head
Remember the hot nights
Remember the way to
Carry all my love down in
Carry all my love down
Moonlight holiday
Swimming in a milky way
Seven sisters succumb
To the early morning sun
I stand and read the sign
For the bus departure time
I catch your eye right through the glass
As the lights are rushing all around me
And go anywhere
Open up your eyes and I will dive in
Blue eye lake
Under falling rain
You’re the ripple in my vein
Don’t fade away
In cold decay
A picture of you in the desert
And every word you said
Is flashing in my head
Remember the hot nights
Remember the way to
Carry all my love down in
Carry all my love down
SAW YOU AT THE EASTERN BEACH
Strolling through the motions
Toes grazing the safety rails
Songs of devotion
From down at the Sails Hotel
Oldboys chasing their grails
Just as dogs chase their tails
And the stars are just out of reach
But the petrochemical factory
Glitters like so many precious stones
Even through the bay windows
Of the quarter acre homes
Bathed in the golden glow
Everyone is on their own
Crumbling boardwalk
Cruise ships are beached
Tempers are short
Pockets are long
Where did it all go so so so
Well, you know
Talk turns to youth
In a two team town
When the child’s crying
Old friends keep lying to your face
Mugs are no longer buying
Once touched by heavenly grace
Eyes on the horizon
Cold feet in the sand
Party is dragging on
A lonely guest on borrowed land
But one thing a betting man knows
But one thing a betting man knows
Things can always look up
Things can always look up
Things always can look up
Every once in a while
When the signs align
When you’re charging
Feels like birds flying in V
Gliding over glassy black peaks
Smooth as backstroke
Or are you drowning freestyle
Every once in a while
Saw you at the eastern beach
In the middle of the night
You don’t know how to act
No, you don’t know how to act
Saw you at the eastern beach
In the middle of the night
You don’t know how to act
When the chips are stacked
VANISHING DOTS
Paint your name
Into the sand
Black cellophane
Dead ocean dance along
Colour in
Your moon tan eyes
The moments with you
Arrange into a straight line
A torchlight constellation
Gathering in a ring around us
I weigh
Nothing
As I’m
Falling
Closer
Green ray
Refrain
We beat
The same
Slowly
Hovering
In heavy silence
In concrete acres
Glitter in the bluestone
Follow down
The narrow street
A premonition
A life inside a room
Wait on the words to follow
Giving form to the river below
I weigh
Nothing
As I’m
Falling
Closer
Green ray
Refrain
We beat
The same
Slowly
And I’m holding on to nothing
And I’m holding on to nothing
I weigh
Nothing
As I’m
Falling
Closer
Green ray
Refrain
We beat
The same
Slowly
ENDLESS ROOMS
All I could do stand and stare
As cold eternity hung in the country air
My words softly fading out
Sometime strange things can happen
Through endless rooms we walk
Masters of smallest talk
Just trying to find
Somewhere to lay down
Battered and thin on the street
The road of glory sure is hard upon the feet
Punch the code on the door
See your name on the floor
Meet your problems tomorrow
Through endless rooms we walk
Masters of smallest talk
Just trying to find
Somewhere to lay down
Each residence in decay
And it’s dark through the shades
You could take them off
Inside
Through endless rooms we walk
Through endless rooms we walk
Through endless rooms we walk
Just trying to find
Somewhere to lay down
BOUNCE OFF THE BOTTOM
Bounce off the bottom
Window in the water
Bounce off the bottom
Window in the water
Keeping the back light low
Keeping the one eye closed
Running for shelter
Back through the hedges
Tipping the balance one by one
You
With the glimmer
In the grass
You
By the river
It was a long way down
Bounce off the bottom
Window in the water
Out in the front yard
Guarding the roses
Smoke cloud
Rolling through the old city
Down all the lanes and the arcades
Fogging the vision
Same destination
New decade
Tracing an endless loop
Looking for the filter
Laughing at the video
One nation under the blanket
Storing it under the ground
Keeping the last ones out
Running for shelter
Back through the hedges
Tipping the balance one by one
You
With the glimmer
In the grass
You
By the river
It was a long way down
Yellowing at the edges
Indigo blurring in the distance
Silhouette drawn to the middle
And then you
Golden one.
