| Sleeping Giants 52 inches suspended from the wall Desperation beamed onto the faces of all the boys & girls You'd think that they'd realise by now that it's all a sham Celebrity's celebration of "who I am" We used to write letters we used to read books We used to start fires we did more than just look Teach us not think for ourselves anymore Waving smoke and mirrors in such a stylish decor Dragging us backwards by kicking a ball Back to back coverage on news 24 As winter falls So spring arrives The beauty and grace Of the summertime If you've lost yourself Get off your knees How many more days Will make up your years |
| Long Division The boy from the north country Grew up much faster than I ever did. In 1945 he was lucky to be alive Got dragged into Napoli Leaving him shell-shocked Battle weary and scarred Dreaming of being back home His Manchester back yard Dear old Raymond he was further north, Freezing in the Baltic sea Was his view of the war Thinking of his girl from Burnley Whilst recouping up in Aberdeen But for him it was not to be, Left him for an American Marine Two skinny kids banging an old leather ball Up against a garage door Didn't know that their time had come and gone Those skinny kids didn't stand a chance When life came crashing down around their ears They put away childish things Became men beyond their years When I was a kid I thought that long division was as hard as it got for me As I just couldn't get it You sat down and showed me, unravelled so much mathematical theory That you made me get it you made me get it But you wouldn't stick around You didn't need us at all You left us but we never left you And we'll be here for your call Two skinny kids banging an old leather ball Up against a garage door Didn't know that their time had come and gone Those skinny kids didn't stand a chance When life came crashing down around their ears They put away childish things Became men beyond their year |
| Parade The wine's disappeared and the vinegar stains A half written note on her back page There's a rage in the air for the killing on the lane But what goes on outside stays outside And we'll drink and we'll smoke And we'll snort and we'll choke For the lives and the loves on the parade Celebrate or mourn A passing unborn For the lives and the loves on the parade Taking her out for their 23rd year A tenner for two plates at the local hero Silence betrays more than just breathing 20 odd years of betrayal, pain and grieving Scrambling home through the fields That's now the estate we she lost her heart To a boy with a car and easy cash Made from vim, talc & flash Drains filling up with un-seasonal decay As a man takes the night with a bottle and a blade Vengeance he seeks is the life he never had Tonight there will be drink and their will be blood |
- Detroit 65
You had something missing
From your day job
So you took a holiday
To a place a little left of centre
Where you could hunker down
Escape reality
And now when I try to call you
Twenty years later
It breaks my heart
What happened
To that young disciple
So enchanted with every day
'cos all you listened to was Detroit 1965
Your heart was as big as your eyes were wide
If I ever get to see you again I won't remind you
that
Our future was beautiful
Burnt & Bruised
And down the metal shutters clatter
As trainee pharmacists stand and chatter
Waiting for the bus to take them home
Tags displaying no obvious wit
The council never gets the measure of it
Wipe them down only to see them the next day
But how bad was it there for her to move round here
Stand outside smoking fags
Watch the transit lives of carrier bags
Blowing up the parade and to god knows where
Mobile phone witter their treble
The daily curse of the compliant rebel
It weren't like that when he was that age
And how bad was it there for her to move round here
Government taxes and we're in debt
Grooming on the Internet
Good kids always stay inside these days
Third generation arrested growth
Desperate for the gluttony of oafs
Displayed on every wide screen TV
And how bad was it there for her to move round here
Sleep tight now my precious girls
Tonight we're safe in our new world
And one day we'll be on our feet again
We might be last but we're not least
Under the bed, no longer a beast
so tonight we say our little prayer
At least we are safe in here, at least we are nowhere
And down the metal shutters clatter
As trainee pharmacists stand and chatter
Waiting for the bus to take them home
Tags displaying no obvious wit
The council never gets the measure of it
Wipe them down only to see them the next day
But how bad was it there for her to move round here
Stand outside smoking fags
Watch the transit lives of carrier bags
Blowing up the parade and to god knows where
Mobile phone witter their treble
The daily curse of the compliant rebel
It weren't like that when he was that age
And how bad was it there for her to move round here
Government taxes and we're in debt
Grooming on the Internet
Good kids always stay inside these days
Third generation arrested growth
Desperate for the gluttony of oafs
Displayed on every wide screen TV
And how bad was it there for her to move round here
Sleep tight now my precious girls
Tonight we're safe in our new world
And one day we'll be on our feet again
We might be last but we're not least
Under the bed, no longer a beast
so tonight we say our little prayer
At least we are safe in here, at least we are nowhere
The Ballad of King Canute and European Bob
Like two battered ships passing in the night
It's been a while since we sailed these waters since you
flashed your a smile
From the cape of good hope to the filthy old dam
We navigated our bones through the shallowest Mediterranean
nights
Times were hard and fast
All of our plans were built upon a belief
That we'd master the sea
The years look like they been good to her
She radiated a beauty her teenage self could not reveal
In a wedding dress and bridal veil
You'd think that we'd have seen that but let's not worry about
the detail
Times were hard and fast
All of our plans were built upon a belief
That we'd master the sea
Our captain's a mess, half cut and undressed
Leading us too empathy and the Sound of Shoom
Those knots that you fashioned in your weathered hands
Made good by the years of experience, laughter, joy
From Ibiza to Shoom, Spectrum to The Trip
Canute's still gurning but Bob's on a different ship
Times were hard and fast
All of our plans were built upon a belief
That we'd master the sea
Like two battered ships passing in the night
It's been a while since we sailed these waters since you
flashed your a smile
From the cape of good hope to the filthy old dam
We navigated our bones through the shallowest Mediterranean
nights
Times were hard and fast
All of our plans were built upon a belief
That we'd master the sea
The years look like they been good to her
She radiated a beauty her teenage self could not reveal
In a wedding dress and bridal veil
You'd think that we'd have seen that but let's not worry about
the detail
Times were hard and fast
All of our plans were built upon a belief
That we'd master the sea
Our captain's a mess, half cut and undressed
Leading us too empathy and the Sound of Shoom
Those knots that you fashioned in your weathered hands
Made good by the years of experience, laughter, joy
From Ibiza to Shoom, Spectrum to The Trip
Canute's still gurning but Bob's on a different ship
Times were hard and fast
All of our plans were built upon a belief
That we'd master the sea
| Here's The New Bob Her sequins shimmer his creases cut The sharpest lines with a knowing look Whistling up some solidarity From the likes of you and the likes of me Were you a mod a punk or a skin Did the clothes really matter more than trouble we were in In hindsight it wasn't just tribes till death It's not what's right but who's left Well I hear what you say But I won't follow your way What seemed right yesterday Is just a lie today Here's John The Baptist striding across Sales territories to tell us of The new messiah who's come to save us From the corrupt, the turgid and the lame pretenders Using language that makes lies sound like truth Where murder's acceptable to hide abuse Perfection is something that means everything Turning the facts into pure wind Well I hear what you say But I won't follow your way What was right yesterday Is just a lie today But you and I have we've seen it all before Did we ever believe what we saw When they threw up their guts for all of mankind To line the pockets of the scum and the slime Beaten and bloodied sent to our beds Where the lack of success plays with our heads The bad guys win, the good guys lose As the man in the tie bends over for the blues |
