Hold On
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 1)
One thing about all this clock punching
Brings back meaning to the weekend
The heat gets shut off at midnight
Noises seem louder with the lights off
You eat and sleep and dream
And ride your bike through the slipstream
On footpaths that weren't built for bikes
Let alone people
They're full of trucks and cars
And dotted with topless bars
This land that once was promised ours
Treats you like a stranger
Hold on, my love
Hold on
If only for that cloud
That burst its skin and cried out loud
And sent us running with the crowd
The concert ruined
The cute smiles of young boys beckon
If only for 9 seconds
I know you're lonely
So if only for the 'if only'
Hold on, my love
Hold on
Oh please try to rest those peepers
You're jealous of easy sleepers
Try not to think too hard
You might break something
Sometimes my biggest fear is
A dressing room between two mirrors
Watching myself disappear
Forever and ever and ever and ever and ever
Hold on, my love
Hold on
Hold on
The People Who Wave At Trains
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 2)
When the storm will come only the birds can tell
But humans should be allowed to know as well
I've some friends in the ground but the rest are in the sky
But we'll all meet again in the sweet bye and bye
I want to start again
I'm envious of them
How they glide through every moment with nothing on their brains
Like the people who wave at trains
Try to build a dream to call my own
Like playing solitaire in a cyclone
But can i save the world, can I please them all
Yeah, you can rob peter to pay Paul
I want to start again
I'm envious of them
The way they move through every morning and go outside when it rains
The people who wave at trains
A chorus heard throughout the suburbs
Open up your mouth and fake the words
Suddenly they reawaken, snow domes shaken
A kiss on the shoulder
Happiness Is A Chemical
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 3)
On the glass that wraps the telephone box
An impatient bystander knocks
Put the receiver back down in it's place
In the some things should be said to the face
I'm a believer
You're stripped of all your worldly powers
And starring at the opposite apartment block for hours
You say that each window is just a TV channel
And you'd surrender all your so-called friends for flowers
And you'd rather be sleeping in the paddock with the horses
While the stars cross the sky's on their prescribed courses
Can you take me with you when you go?
Because love is just a lazy generalisation that we use for 100 different feelings and as many situations going through each others pockets is not like us and flattery will get you somewhere and your happiness is just a chemical
A constant feeling you're being watched
All your good intentions so clumsily botched
A kiss sent down the telephone line can come out sounding like a bug getting squashed
And grasshoppers fling erratic parabolas
While you're drowning ants with your can of cola
Can you take me with you when you go?
Separate the parts and give them titles
Lungs are for songs and eyes are for feasting
And butter's for a bee sting
Can somebody please check my vitals?
Elbows
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 4)
On a warm night in March on a dark disco floor
I danced up a storm like I'd never before
Every step in the book and then some that weren't listed
For a song or two I felt nothing else existed
Now if a dream curled at your feet
You'd take it home and name it
I'm struggling now to find something to blame it on strobing effects
r perhaps it was that dress
But my eye was captured by a beautiful actress
Now the minutiae is still in my memory writ large
As she danced nearer me with her coy entourage
She tugged at the scarf round her neck it came loose
She flung it and hung it from the disc jockey's booth
But before I continue one moment's reprieve
I grant you dear audience a chance to leave
For my tale never ends in that it never started
When the house lights came on I'd already departed
No not one word was spoken nor a glance exchanged
When the sun rose next morning the world hadn't changed
See we only touched elbows was the plain naked truth
And I can't even backup my story with proof
We only touched elbows
I felt our bones clunk together
Then the moment was over in a falling feather
An accident sure, but it happened I'll wrangle!
Our elbows did touch our arms at right angles
Now there's naught the nosey observer could've guessed
But the rock and roll drummer inside of my chest
Everyone's seen her films and now whisper her name
That we only touched elbows is not such a shame
Because the world's getting crowded and I can't see a lapse
It's not about leaving spaces but filling the gaps
We're all knocking and bumping strangers all the time
Sometimes we don't notice, mostly we don't mind
A foot brushes your ankle on a peak hour bus
Someone's hand on the small of your back as they pass
A shopkeepers fingers while handing your change
Can lightly brush yours without feeling too strange
But why I felt so alive I can't quite determine
There could be a world to explain it in German
Some take others home, waking up to regret it
We only touched elbows and I'll never forget it
Now the innocent DJ still spins his black moons
And keeps us all moving with his faithful tunes
The lights nod in sync they're mechanically powered
We only touched elbows and I still haven't showered
Manilla NSW
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 5)
That I happened to a town once
Is of no consequence to my story
But i burned all of my diaries
The day a town happened to me
I guess I should've called you
But payphones there were just so hungry
I was busy writing headlines
Like 'postbox eats the hand of lady'
Who fixes stamps to cutout competitions
She kisses each letter she mails
This is how i found Manilla, Manilla NSW
Cold beer for welcome stranger
Choose to refuse and so politely
Is to risk the danger
That they'll raise the kind of hell known only by the New South Welsh
To be heard along the Namoi banks
And out across the distant ranges
You've had so many lovers
Your brothers would be so proud of thee
But one way of another they've drifted to be beside a sea
While the information clock has tied a knot
With both it's hands and holds us by our tails
We're all bound by time to Manilla, Manilla NSW
Can you pick a grave for me in the ruins of cordial factories
Where flavoured flowers grow pirouetting in cul-de-sacs
Miss the sound of clickety clacks on tracks that trains won't go
And out through windows....
The shop keepers gape out over the landscape
They're praying for sales
Religion makes more sense in Manilla, Manilla NSW
Here's to the folk behind fences
Furtively readjusting denches
A chorus of corellas
Form clouds over saturday benches
Where old men sit and lick tobacco papers
They look like a harmonica band
As the sun tiptoes down Manilla St
And slowly comes to land
I may make me a home in Manilla, Manilla NSW
Romance Is Deafening
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 6)
Well he agreed wholeheartedly before I finished my sentence
Which led me to believe he wasn't listening in the first place
My distracted beholder looked over my shoulder to his sweet beheld
All the church bells are competing with the birds
Their hearts are bleeding
Their sweet songs they dance round my head
They sounded a warming each night
And each morning from the edge of my bed
And so call on me soon
The city's so fun
If you can't find the sun
Just turn on a lamp and pretend that it's one
We kissed in a cafe, held hands on a escalator
Made out at a bus stop then on the bus
For what time has erased
I still know how it tasted
If a memory is a thing you can trust
Now all the sweethearts in between us can spin around like ballerinas
They can go get a room with a don't disturb door
It's like money or fame if it eludes you again
Makes you hate those who have it even more
A man was astounded on entering heaven
All the money he'd lost in his life equaled exactly what he'd found down the cracks of seats of trains
Even reached into drains just to hold the cold coin in his hand
The Ostracism Of Vinny Lalor
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 7)
All around the room in a whirl
You saw dancers catch fire when you were still a girl
In a town that's built on the whispers of tattlers
But yet to inspire a single a single dot in the Commonwealth atlas
God only knows how these things ever start
An empty plate in the place of a heart
That finds it's way on a trail of crumbs
And stains windowpanes on the prints of thumbs
So go take rest
Pull the blankets up tightly with your knees to your chest
A far off sound
But to such delicate ears it must seem like there's a zoo burning down
A nagging ache there must be some place better
Searched through every library book down to the last letter
Even Thornfield Manor sounds enticing
With echoes down the hall and on the walls the heads of bison
So go take rest
Pull the blankets up tightly with your knees to your chest
A schoolyard song
And no one can blame you for getting it so horribly wrong
The old saddlers breath that always smells of leather
The cafe sign letters been faded forever
Irrelevant facts from the history tester
Snowed under the chalk dust of last semester
Can't you see
What it's done to your mother, what it's done to me?
All their words
Will shatter into pieces when I lock you in my arms again
Fire Engine
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 8)
Ripples round the bar they don't know what to think
For prince of the pen has himself a new favourite drink
To blow on bruised skin takes away the sting
I've half a mind to take him for a fling
The most uncouth of colours that you have ever seen
30mls of vodka lemonade and grenadine
The smoke makes me sick and i don't know where to look
There's a church mouse in the corner with her nose stuck in a book
And he says the flavour's flambouyant
Each sip sweetly poignant with a wave of the hand and a flick of the fringe
It baffles the quibblers, nit-pickers, nut-nibblers and unusual weapon to choose for a binge
Would these words sound the same on high street in broad daylight
But nothing escapes the ears of a playwright
He listens intently from the backseat of a Bentley
Let this feeling of change take hold of me gently
Now there's fog on the Isis and the poets all blush
This scene is straight from the stroke of an impressionists brush
And now his glass is sat there next to mine
30mls of vodka lemonade and grenadine
Fingertips And Mountaintops
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 9)
On the Town hall stairs
They're sunbaking in pairs
You try not to look suspicious
But there's always someone
Happy to remind you
It snuck up behind you
Everything slowed sown
And then you came undone
And first you hands don't work
They're babies waiting to be born
And then your lips don't work
And someone's leaning on your horn>br>
I came as fast as I could
The street spun under my feet
If it doesn't rain then it's a beautiful fountain
And if you place a finger in front of your face
And close one eye you can block out a mountain
And then your mind takes flight
Like it received a glancing blow
And then your legs don't feel right
You're sprouting roots where once were toes
You wish to burn up the whole night
And wake up in the same clothes
All by itself magically the day begins
And all across the world that costs nothing
Past silent cars single filed up the street
Thought they're all gone now they sure really took a beating
It could make you depressed but maybe it's for the best
That all we ever came to know for real was fleeting
Like fire and wood
A hairless chest
Most electrical goods
And pop starlets
I'll tear the house down board by board
So you might believe it yet
Without our help magically the day begins
And all across that costs nothing
Couch Surfing
(Finally and Mountaintops - Track 10)
Well I haven't paid rent for a month or more
I'm couch surfing
And I don't have a key cause I don't have a door
I'm couch surfing
I'm not answering questions
I'm between houses
Of my material possessions I've lost track
I didn't need them
Everything I need fits in my backpack
I call it freedom
A pair of jeans some shirts and a guitar lead
A toothbrush, socks and a paperback reader
All the rest is what's hanging off of me
And I'm not taking calls
I'm between houses
Outside the night is dark and stormy
And you blew up the air mattress for me
We'll talk all night like an open book
And I'll sleep on every breath you took
Before you leave I'll sneak a look up at you
But there's an old saying that could bare retelling
When you're couch surfing:
'the guest should leave before the fish starts smelling'
When your couch surfing
It's romantically existential
To reduce your life to the bare essential
All that which is inconsequential guides me
But this whole theory really depends
On weather or not you've got good friends
And all this weightlessness the philosopher preach
Reduces you to societies leach
But tonight i've landed on my feet
I'm still one friend away from the bum on the street
And i've used up all my good will vouchers
On every single friend with couches
It won't be long before they'll ask me to leave
It's time i cut myself some keys
Give me a pen i'll sign a lease and go get me a home
Don't Bogart My Heart
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 11)
Car wheels, high heels
I like how it feels out at night in the city
The wonder that your face is
could really take you places
you never thought possible
so why lie awake a-listening for my key?
I know you have your friends keep tabs whenever we're apart
You can shower in my money but don't Bogart my heart
Eye spy wandering eye
And you're looking my way
Something starting with the letter 'J'
Some yield, play the field
Invite trouble home but time is something we don't own
When each day we're drifting closer to the sun
I look behind my door to find my photo hacked apart
You can Brando my belongings but don't Bogart my heart
So just up and down and hop round if it makes you feel good
Our love needs to breath
You need to leave it be for it to start
Tattoo your name on my shoulder
But don't Bogart my heart
Old Dream
(Fingertips and Mountaintops - Track 12)
The stray it came followed us home
It brushed around our four legs and looked past them to the door
We just laughed and shook our heads
And secretly hoped it'd come back the next day...
It didn't
You even went back to the place we first saw it just in case
While i was glad to stay at home
Searching for money in old birthday cards
John Milton himself would've felt these things too I read somewhere
Even blindness couldn't keep him down
I can see him now fumbling through the dark
To find a pen and anything for paper
Mark the page
Take the car
Pass the building
And wonder where you are
And which storey?
You were in my dream again
I would tell you but it don't mean anything
It's just my old dream
There's no yellow fields
Of sunflower farms
If I have to show you I can do it with my arms
No bunches of balloons
Or mariachi bands
If you need to see then I can show you with my hands
Tie the shoe
Take the car
Unfold the road because it goes to where you are
And your story
You were in my dream again
I could tell you but it don't mean anything
It's just my old dream
Wrong Turn
(Little Chills - Track 1)
On the journey that you take from womb to worm
You're silently pushed into each wrong turn
What gives?
I found a bar filled up with ancient Chinese sages
All playing bingo, pinball
Could've stayed for ages
In there
In there
For I belong with them
I wish I'd have met them sooner
Although I'm alien
And over thirty years their junior
But it's not me to make like a chandelier
So I folded up my map and drained my beer
I'm gone
I'm gone
A to Z
(Little Chills - Track 2)
Please read me the phone book
From Abraham to Zuckerman
All addresses and names
Both Christian and sur-
You've my full attention
Yes I am the lucky one
To carry each word
From the place it occurred
In my neighbour's garden
I'll steal all the flowers
In the town you were born
I will do a handstand
'Cause I'm here
I came down in the last shower
With all the subtleties
Of a marching band
Seated in a lounge waiting to depart
You'd say that we're off to a flying start
So let's capture a city bus
We'll jump from burning buildings
While a circle of firemen
Catch us in a net
We'll make paper aeroplanes
Of encyclopaedia
From abacus to zebra
The entire set
For those who have matchmaking down to an art
They'd say that we're off to a broken heart
But there's never an argument
I don't need an apology
It's all half a dozen eggplants
Or six aubergines
Just please sing me the entire
Beatles anthology
From 'All My Loving'
To 'Yellow Submarine'
From 'All My Loving'
To 'Yellow Submarine'
From 'All My Loving'
To a yellow submarine
Ends of the City
(Little Chills - Track 3)
On the very day my travel card expired
I rode the train
All day
And took it to the place each line retired
The fate of every train
Oh (oh)
Oh (oh)
Oh (oh)
If some authority had stopped to ask me why
I'd stare blankly at
My knees
To see the city from that point on every line
Where buildings kiss the trees
Now I believe, I believe, I believe
The move seems impossible
But I will leave, I will leave, I will leave
If you can't live there
I want to quote the city's history books verbatim
And know the names of all
The bars
Be nicer to that guy upstairs although I hate him
And stop littering in other people's cars
Now I believe, I believe, I believe
The move seems impossible
But I will leave, I will leave
If you can't live there
Now tracks they take me backs to you I go
And night descends
On wires
And TV lights reflect off every window
Like blue flickering fires
Now I believe, I believe, I believe
There's a house, a street, to plant your feet
And I will leave, I will leave, I will leave
If you can't live there
If you can't live there
I Wish That I Was Beautiful For You
(Little Chills - Track 4)
I wish that I was beautiful for you
I wish that I inspired tiny fireworks inside the way you do
So delicately made
A prayer left unprayed
Before the morning sky fades
Up to blue
And I wish that I was beautiful for you
I wish that somehow I could find a pill
For a quick fix modern tonic that would change me with one swallow I would kill
Watch folks line up to pay
Stare at me all day
But I'd turn them all away
If that be thy will
One tiny little innocuous pill
But a wish is just a pin
In a swimming pool of needles
If for one night you need the room
I wish to be your tomb
You can lie in me
Is it possible I've other things you need
But to be worthy of a single page out of one of those magazines you read
As glossy as a mirror
But mirrors never lie
They're difficult on the eye
It's true
And I wish that I was beautiful for you
I dreamed that we were travelling on a bus
Speeding along an unnamed plain towards somewhere and nowhere there was us
Our hands lay useless in our laps
Like beetles on their backs
We came to a stretch of road where a fire
Had burned the edges all along it looked as though the highway wore eyeliner
You kissed me by surprise
When I opened my eyes
You'd turned into some old guy
I screamed
But don't forget of all these things I've only dreamed
If for one night you need the room
I will be your tomb
You can lie in me
The Unmade Bed
(Little Chills - Track 5)
I've chosen to remember you exactly as you are
If looks could be pickled and stored in a jar
1997 trapped inside a conversation
That party was so loud I felt like an abbreviation of myself
Finally got around to vacating the nest
But my knowledge of survival was pedestrian at best
Now I'm holding down a job penning poems by the kilo
Our guest is dressed by hand-me-down, hair designed by pillow
Tie shoes in bows
Walk tall in those
Don't start counting your pennies, the night is but a pup
There's things happening above you, you must remember to look up
And you will marvel at how it's so easy to forget
A moon that hung so bright you could've lit your cigarette
The light that it throws
Smash through windows
We're singing words, the meaning's long forgotten
Corroded over time
The air's so thick you'd swear you're breathing cotton
Assuming your own nom de plume
Invite someone back to your room
The light that it throws
Smash through windows
We're singing words, the meaning's long forgotten
Corroded over time
The air's so thick you'd swear you're breathing cotton
You're falling down on mine
We're all singing words, the meaning's long forgotten
So every person and their spouse
Lay entwined throughout the house
While meanwhile on another couch
I've the pleasure of finding out
The difference between north and south
The mechanical moving mouth
He said "These are my principles
If you don't like them I got others
This is my opinion
If you don't agree I've got big brothers"
Winter Takes Fall
(Little Chills - Track 6)
Today I left my house in shorts
But now I'm having second thoughts
Something's not the same
The wind just called my name
So I stop to look around
Maybe it was just sleight of sound
It's just me and my bare knees
Powerlines and trees
But one hint is more than enough
It starts with a sniffle and a cough
When posters have stopped falling off my wall
The winter takes fall
All of these past regrets
Are faded signs of missing pets
It's time for moving on
Everyone else has gone
Eyes a red pattern like the labyrinthine streets of Cairo
Feeling as used as a bank biro
My cylinder inside
Has dried
Warmer months I'm more at home
It's easier to be alone
Why don't I just pick up the phone and call?
The winter kills fall
And all of these fledglings that you've found
And given homes
Will hunger for the new
And colourful
A signal from your eyes could save me
They shone like car keys to a baby
Should I settle for romance?
Or practice disco dance
These gatherings are fraught with dangers
The conversation chops and changes
I wish us away in our mangers
A crowded room but total strangers all
The winter takes fall
(There's Not Enough Songs About) Squash
(Little Chills - Track 7)
Why do I bother I don't know
I'll turn off my radio
Day after day
The airways are awash
With songs of ones in love
And those who are out of
There's just not enough songs about squash
Maybe to you it's just a game
Somewhere you heard the name
Not for the claustrophobic
A pastime for the posh
Without sounding too peculiar
If it's a cardiovascular
You're after then you can't go past squash
Netball, t-ball, orienteering
Are all worth a second hearing
Football, handball, four-in-a-square
Are all good but they just don't compare
I hope I'm speaking clearly
Because there's no not nearly
Enough songs about squash
Oh no it's raining
We'll have to cancel tennis training
But look here, never fear
Throw down that mackintosh
I know a game under a roof
It's just four walls and the truth
It's fun, rain, hail or sun
It's squash
Red dot, green dot, yellow dot ball
Try and bounce it off the wall
Headband, wristband, fuzzy handled racket
Can't some DJ play a squash song in their bracket?
Though I'm not trying to fool ya
It'll either kill or cure ya
It's squash
You see there's not enough songs
There's not enough songs
There's not enough songs about squash
There's not enough songs
There's not enough songs
There's not enough songs about squash
Service Station
(Little Chills - Track 8)
Service station
I hope you're open tonight
It's getting late and
My eyes they search for your light
Please send a sign for me to know
It's not far to go
Radio
Pull songs out of the night air
The slightest sound
Might keep the UFOs from landing here
But I don't care
For St Christopher's
Medal keeps me safe
The neighbours can't collect the mail
Forever
You should be chasing your dreams
Not chasing your tail
Chasing your dreams
Not chasing your tail
Chasing your dreams
Service station
Bathe me in neon, arms and face
With hands that check for rain
A glowing Mother Mary full of grace
When the needle dropped from F to E
Shall remain a dashboard mystery
Brooklyn Bridge
(Little Chills - Track 9)
You barely said a word
You didn't have to
You always liked my collection of heavy metal t-shirts
You can have those too
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge
It's two for the show
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge
For the boats that pass below
For all the bridges joining Manhattan
Why in the world did you go and choose that'n.
Imagine our surprise
Then disappointment
When we found butterflies
In the ointment
A glass against the wall
Hear the neighbours dancing
But put it all down to bad timing
Or don't put it down at all
Just go out walking
To Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge
It's two for the show
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge
For the endless traffic flow
Dance to the beat of thought bubbles busting
No amount of paint will stop the damn thing from rusting
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge
Cables cut the skies
Brooklyn Bridge, Brooklyn Bridge
Into pieces of pie
A shoebox full of our paraphernalia
Old photographs and postcards from Australia
Judas Priest, Funeral Feast, Iron Maiden
The sleeves are ripped and the print is fading
Headhunter, Hellhammer and Pantera
Last rites for the t-shirt wearer
Record Store
(Little Chills - Track 10)
Step into the great outdoors
After all it would be wrong to stay inside
I know
When the first chimney takes its chances
And despite their branches all the leaves decide
It's time to go
And cover up the crimes
Of the seasons passed before
Every footpath leads into another footpath
I can't find the place to stop
The endless chore
But it's time that I went visiting
These guys I know who've bought themselves a shop
A record store
A humble hole in the wall
Could you ever want for more?
I'll be hanging in the record store
Store
Store
Oh
Do they find me annoying?
My constant questions cloying?
Oh
I have seen you when your skies get overclouded
And your eyes are breeding grounds
For tears
You could do worse than come on down
To a place that's built to specialise in sounds
For sore ears
For years they'll search for other cures
Your life's a film, who writes the score?
I'll be hanging in the record store
Store
Store
Oh
What treasures in the shelves
For he who searches, she who delves
Astral physicists explain
The mysteries that surround it
But the record stays still
While the world spins around it
All the rest are vicious lies
Callous and unfounded
The record stays still
While the world spins around it
Yeah the record stays still
While the world spins around it
The record stays still
While the world revolves around it
Hiccups
(Hello Stranger - Track 1)
Some day without trying you'll find something that's rare
Like an eight letter word on a triple word square
And I knew a girl who thrived on second-hand news
She wore clips in her hair and she judged boys by their shoes
Call it coincidence but whenever we're together
You're on top of the world while I'm under the weather
(The weather)
A thousand ideas I try to tell crossword girl
How do I get one across when you're always too down?
And if things get hard will you throw in the pen?
But if you are unsure you can pencil it in
Call it coincidence but whenever we're together
You're on top of the world while I'm under the weather
(The weather)
Hold your breath for up to ten seconds
Ask a friend, a good friend, to scare you when you least expect it
And if that doesn't work stand on your head and drink a glass of water
Call it coincidence but whenever we're together
You're over the moon while I'm under the weather
(The weather)
The Kickstand Song
(Hello Stranger - Track 2)
Up until now my ideas have been latent
The cycling world will never be the same
But come first light I'll be taking out a patent
And from that day
If a bike be found lying on the ground again
I'm not to blame
What joy it'll bring, piece of metal and a spring
Bolted down by the back wheel, activated by the heel
What joy it'll bring, piece of metal and a spring
What chicken laid the egg from whence inside an idea hatches?
From prototype to production lines to the first one hundred batches
I will do for parking bikes what anchors did for sailing
What joy it'll bring, piece of metal and a spring
There's handle bars for steering and there's tyre tread for traction
A tiny bell for friends you pass and greet
But when they add my ingenious contraption
Mouths will fall
And eyebrows will rise and staring eyes will meet
The bike complete
What joy it'll bring, piece of metal and a spring
Bolted down by the back wheel, activated by the heel
What joy it'll bring, piece of metal and a spring
There'll be articles in newspapers and dinners at the town hall
My first cheque's for a thousand bucks, now that's one spicy meatball
But all the fame and fortune in the world will not compare
To the joy it'll bring, piece of metal and a spring
Spring
Now bikes around the world can stand alone without their owners
And I can get some cash on the side but that's just a bonus
When underneath their helmets I will see their smiling faces
What joy it'll bring, piece of metal and a spring
Piece of metal and a spring
That's How I Know
(Hello Stranger - Track 3)
An old lost book has reappeared
With the pages all dog-eared
That's how I know you've been here
The garden's gone to rack and ruin
But I'll be up and the crack of noon
In time to seize the evening
They say that waking up is hard to do
It doesn't take a Sherlock Holmes
To decipher all your poems
As abstract as you make them
Put painted hand-prints on T-shirts
Laugh until the stomach hurts
Days like these don't have price tags
Talk of the love and the like
She let him borrow her bike
With tyres gasping for air
Brought it back with wheel rim buckled
He hopes that with any luck she'll
Decide to ride the bus to work come morning
They say that waking up is hard to do
But when she did
Breaking up has never been easier
Now there's a hint of that perfume
On blankets in the lounge room
That's how I know you slept there
He Misses You Too, You Know
(Hello Stranger - Track 4)
Hello stranger, it's been a while
Since I last heard your voice
It seems like only yesterday
When we both shared a house
Now there's a thousand miles of phone cable between us
But I can tell that you're not smiling
Now I'm going nowhere and you're gonna tell me
The real reason for your dialling
So your love has gone away
By now he'll be sitting somewhere up on a plane
In an aisle seat with no view
But I can promise you right now that he'll be thinking of you
Because from what I can tell
Well he seems a nice fellow
And I can see you're good together
You both look like your straight out of an insurance commercial
As I drove away
You both wave from your driveway
And I know it's hard to become whole
When you're usually referred to as his better half
But you're still the girl who chops onions wearing swimming goggles
You're still the same girl you were before
So your love has gone away
By now the hostess will be clearing up what's left on his tray
But who likes airplane food
I can promise you right now that he'll be thinking of you
Thinking of you
So your love has gone away
He's not expecting you to wait for him
But there'll come a day
When he'll hang up his travelling shoes
And if you're still around I'm sure that he'll come looking for you
Looking for you
Operator... Get Me Sweden
(Hello Stranger - Track 5)
If at all remotely possible well don't you think I'd try?
If not for fear of falling don't you think I'd fly
Thirteen thousand miles across perilous land and sea?
But instead I'll sit right here and miss her terribly
But I know that you can help from what your career choice is
That you are in the business of connecting people's voices
Should I tell you where all this is leading
Operator... get me Sweden
I could express these feelings succinctly in a letter
But to do them justice to speak them would be better
Oh-oh
While the moon pushes me down to sleep the sun comes up and starts her
I hope this feeling stays preserved in me just like the <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Wasa">Vasa</a>
Who planted this Garden of Eden?
Operator... get me Sweden
Use any methods you require to get her on the wire
I know you understand me you've heard it all before
Because you are this earth's long distance love ambassador
To speak to her tonight I'd take anything
By means of fibre-optics or two tin cans on a string
Oh-oh
I really must apologise for my compulsive behaviour
One left his heart in San Francisco, mine's in Scandinavia
By one who's communicationally keyed in
Operator... get me Sweden
Get me Sweden
Get me Sweden
Security Leak
(Hello Stranger - Track 6)
I have to find out what you know
I have to find out what you know
Before I let you go
I have to find out what you know
I've got a lie detector
I know methods of Chinese torture
So make a list of all the things I bought you
And I'll write you out a cheque
For three hundred thousand dollars
You'll catch the perfect kiss on film
Because the kiss sold the movie
At least it did back in forties
But to me that seems like such ridiculous money
Why do they need a crew of fifty
When I don't need support from any unions
Just your pair of lips?
(Here we go)
They're bugging the phones
Trying to expose the liars
In obsequious tones
There's pincers and pliers
They're not trying to embrace you
They're frisking for wires
So if you give your side of the story
Will I let you go? Negatory
You know I love to hear you speaking
But security is leaking
So I simply must find out what you know
I have to find out what you know
Before I let you go
I have to find out what you know
Yeah I've got a lie detector
I know methods of Chinese torture
Why do Chinese know so much about torture?
I don't know
Cast of Thousands
(Hello Stranger - Track 7)
We broke up about a year ago
We split amicably of course
But I heard about your accident
You fell off a horse
Mm-mm-mm
I took flowers to the hospital
When in turn the intern said
That he'd help me find the room which held
You and your broken leg
Hidden by your friends and relatives
Gathered round your bed
Ah-ah-ah
You had a cast of thousands of signatures
And charts filled with your fluctuating temperatures
You handed me a pen and pointed just below the knee
I'm glad there's still a part of you reserved for me
Do you remember how we met like laughing children
Or just how clean it ended?
In the darkened ward at night
When blinds are all descended
Now I get a pang of pleasure
Seeing your leg suspended
Shame they can't cover us in plaster
And in six weeks all is mended
Ah-ah-ah
But I love the smell of hospitals more than just a bit
When I was young I couldn't keep my nose out of the first-aid kit
But when the very thing that brings you here also makes you go
The top floor elevator's just got one arrow
Why so many bloody looks?
I'm in the kitchen with too many cooks
Punk's Not Dead
(Hello Stranger - Track 8)
She answered our ad wanted, we had a vacancy
We didn't know what was in store but we were soon to see
She plays records of The Foreskins at any given hour
She turns on the hot water tap while I'm in the shower
And at night the house is quiet, you might wonder why
But punk's not dead, she's just gone to bed
Punk's not dead, she's just gone to bed
Couldn't give a damn about the friends of mine she'll scare
Some people just can't see past studs and bleached blond spiky hair
I say 'A' for Abba, she says 'A' for Anarchy
In the morning she says "Never mind the bollocks, here's your cup of tea"
And at night the house is quiet, you might wonder why
But punk's not dead, she's just gone to bed
Punk's not dead, she's just gone to bed
I pass her in the kitchen, she's got a longneck in her hand
She's playing me a dictaphone recording of her band
Her drummer has been playing for nearly seven hours
But he hits them with such passion it makes other drummers cower
When the night has come, all safety pins must come undone
If the house is quiet, well that's because punk's retired for the night
If the house is quiet, well punk's retired for the night
Yeah she's retired for the night
If the house is quiet, well that's because tonight
There's one little punk rock girl who's dead to the world
Cheat the Future
(Hello Stranger - Track 9)
Over three hundred thousand stars make up our solar system
He'll hang around all night and talk to anyone who'd listen
And lecture you on which ways you're bound to go
The only thing he thinks about, the only thing he needs to know
Is not his time and date and place of birth
But only that he's born in the same galaxy as her
So go over to your girlfriend's and ask her for yourself
'Cause after all you know her better than anyone else
This town's so small it could be built of cardboard boxes
When the walk from you to her
Is the same length that fourteen blocks is
Always chewing on finger nail
Surrender or set sail
It's given with a spoon of sugar but take it with a grain of salt
You can't blame him for dreaming, that cannot be a fault
Always judging books by what's written on the sleeve
Make sure you don't read everything that you believe
He locks his door and turns his head towards the street
Don't try to cheat the future 'cause you're just cheating yourself
Don't try to cheat the future 'cause you're just cheating your...
A jackpot in the lottery, you'll chance meet a handsome stranger
Relying on some prophecy to be your life's rearranger
She's leaving soon so oh you gotta fly
He walks past the church, they're singing El Anamur Ardini
A hymn written in Hebrew, to him it sounds all Greek
Don't try to cheat the future 'cause you're just cheating yourself
Don't try to cheat the future 'cause you're just cheating yourself
Don't try to treat the future like inherited debt or wealth
Don't try to cheat the future 'cause you're just cheating yourself
The Last Night of Not Knowing You
(Hello Stranger - Track 10)
I've been through it all, sorted shade from light
Recounted each step that I made on that night
Along stone-cobbled streets scribbled throughout the town
To a candle-lit bar, university ground
A friend in a band was what brought you there too
On the last night of not knowing you
The last night of not knowing you
An arrangement of strangers, tables and chairs
Tobacco and wine left me fuzzy upstairs
But what weak minds prevent well hard proof may allow
Did my eyes have a spark that they seem to have now?
A blurred photo taken that eve holds not a clue
On the last night of not knowing you
The last night of not knowing you
I've counted each hour, I've been through it all
Each coin spent at the bar and each game of pinball
Days from last week I cannot tell fiction from fact
But that night upon request I could re-enact
In a town far from home I was just passing through
On the last night of not knowing you
The last night of not knowing you
It's easy to say with hindsight in your hand
Some divine puppeteer had the whole meeting planned
But what if the promoter had of pulled out as some promoters do
The band wouldn't have played, the gig would have fell through
An earthquake could have split this planet in two
On the last night of not knowing you
The last night of not knowing you
Title Fight: Heart v Mind
(Early Days - Track 1)
There's a good chance that before we met there were days I'd walked right past her
But now I'm seeing her tomorrow or maybe the day after
I have to tell myself to slow down, it's early days still
Anything can happen and it probably will
It's early days
My mind's just put on boxing gloves, my heart's refused to fight it
I watched the station pass me by where I should have alighted
Could this turn into something I'll be writing home about?
The inspector shakes his head and says "So you just forgot to get out?"
It's early days
She's got a face just like an angel, what does she see in me?
Why does my stomach feel like it's just eaten food that don't agree?
It's early days
It's early days
It's still early days
(You better slow down)
It's early days
Beta Losers
(Early Days - Track 2)
The warranty expiry date has been and gone and no-one even noticed
But all our friends were there when you broke down
Since when did our relationship become obsolete?
I'm sorry if I thought that the equation would always be you plus me
Now I feel like I've been dumped but I've been superseded
You were the pride of every lounge room once
But now you've found out that you're worth nothing
That you're worth nothing
Now each of my arguments you laugh at but it's still a superior format
I might only have five videos to choose from but I can still tape off TV
Now I feel like I've been dumped
I feel like I've been dumped
What's the difference between dumped and superseded?
Don't Want To Pay
(Early Days - Track 3)
The doors to the cinema are open for the taking
Like a cat on a mouse, I'm ready to pounce
Before my nerve starts breaking
And if I'm caught by the ticket collector
I promise I will always respect her
She might be feeling like her job
Is like that out-of-date ticket stub
And I get a thrill
I just take one seat that Hollywood couldn't fill
Because I don't want to pay
No, I don't want to pay
When there's no-one on the door
You won't see me anymore
Because I don't want to pay
It's not an exercise in saving money
I don't do it to impress my friends
I do it to start that thing in my heart
That fills me with adrenalin
'Cause I'm a rebel without a ticket
Yeah, I'm a matinee mutineer
How can you know what I'm searching for
Until you feel that post-sneak euphoria?
And I get a thrill
If only for the want of time to kill
Because I don't want to pay
Yeah, I don't want to pay
When there's no-one on the door
You won't see me anymore
Because I don't want to pay
No I don't want to pay
It's not the size of your budget
But what you do with it that counts
She Cuts Hair
(Early Days - Track 4)
She works 'cross the river from my house
I work at getting to know her
Over the bridge to the lonely town, to walk it's not that far
Some days I make it my mission
To drive right passed her salon
I prefer to worship her from a car
I am going to the Jeans West acid-wash sale
'Cause I know that she'll be there
She cuts hair
She cuts hair
And acid-wash is what she likes to wear
When she cuts hair
Dreaming 'bout the places we would go
It'd be like I won the lotto
I would have tickets on myself
If I offered my love and kisses
Would she come at me with her scissors?
Love's declaration could be bad for my health
A mutual friend tells me, "Aww, she won't go for you Daz!"
But I say I couldn't care
'Cause she cuts hair
She cuts hair
You could almost taste the peroxide in the air
When she cut hair
And all I've got to show
Is a five dollar photo from the night club window
The sun is shining as I open my door
The neighbours wave as they water their lawns
I had to tell her
I knew it was time
I'd go to the salon
And there I would wait for her lunch hour
She wouldn't be late
My mouth went dry as I practiced my lines
As the town-hall clock struck three
I delivered my soliloquy
She wouldn't give the time of day to me
But she gave my pride
A short back and sides
Short back and sides
She gave my pride
A short back and sides
Short back and sides
Short back and sides
Now when I pass her way
I'll always try and hide
Magazine Theory
(Early Days - Track 5)
I hate all my clothes
They're all falling apart
Does the colour of my shirt
Match the colour of my heart?
When was the last time
You checked your machine?
And I'm wondering, will you
Ever get the message?
Our stars say that we were never meant to be
Maybe we shouldn't rely on magazine theory
Try as you may
Try as I might
We squint our eyes under blue-red disco light
I'm gonna buy some new clothes
My room I'll rearrange
But I'd have to be blind
To see things haven't changed
Like the boy and his bags
By the side of the road
All the time in the world
But nowhere to go
Video Store
(Early Days - Track 6)
Well they met at business college
She made a ledger of his heart
He never knew how good it felt
Until they pushed their desks together
He added up the minutes
They spent walking to her car
To know how much time wasted
He didn't need his calculator
And at the graduation party
On the final day of class
He probably drank a lot more cheap champagne
Than he intended
But the cake was almost taken
The hors-d'oevres were fading fast
And they were handing out certificates
To all those who attended
And as they leaned out on the window sill
He said, "You got fantastic people skills
And I've a flair for accounting
We've got the rest of our lives
At our disposal
So I hope you'll please consider
My following proposal"
"Let's move out to the country
And we'll open up a video store"
So she chose a wedding ring and then
Together they chose a town
The diamond in the desert
His fortune round her finger
Business names and colour schemes
Became points contended
And in quiet times his ideas
For a jingle he would sing her
Crowd for which they were hoping
Arrived at the grand opening
And in their hands
They waved their vouchers
They locked both the doors
At the end of the day's trading
And they held hands behind the counter
As on the town the sun was fading
Yeah they moved out to the country
And they opened up a video store
Wo-oo-oh
And he would always look to the quiet times
When the tapes were all returned
And they could sit back together
Relax and just rewind
And it seems that now the profits paid
A hair salon on Saturday
And the race track meeting on a Sunday
All perms must fall
She was starting to get lazy
And he shopped at the local Mensland
Because the prices were always crazy
Yeah they moved out to the country
And they opened up a video store
Falling Aeroplanes
(Early Days - Track 7)
The boy threw his guitar down and started beating his brow
No matter how hard he tried he couldn't justify
All the wasted time spent inventing words and rhyme
As the stars and the planets and the clock did laps
You see making up songs is for losers
I should build something she uses
Like a box or a bed or cupboards or shelves
'Cause songs are made of air
They can't be any use to her
Better off trying to catch falling aeroplanes
Yeah
Then girl said "Boy don't be so stupid
Boy don't be so daft
You're not even right by half
And although you say your songs are fundamentally air
There's also thousands of vibrations that stimulate the ear
In such a way that whenever I hear them
They always make me smile
They're just as tactile
As a box or a bed or cupboards or shelves
So boy now stop your moping
Your cursing and no-hoping
And get back in the saddle"
While she was still speaking
Towards his feet he's reaching
Where lay his guitar
His head was swimming in an alphabet soup
Letters swirled and words formed in his heart
He said "I'm gonna build a song for us
With four verses and a chorus
On real estate your words inspired
And there we'll live rent free
Sleep on beds of melody
And leave the key change with the seasons"
And so that song he built was hers
With a chorus and four verse
And she woke to find him finally asleep
And the Days Were Just Packed
(Hiccups - Track 2)
You try not to believe what you already know
You walk through neighbourhoods they said you shouldn't go
Just so you can feel
Something that's real
If you though college was hard then wait till twenty-seven
But don't take it too hard, do as when you were eleven
Recreate the scenes
With action figurines
You send armies of dumb questions to invade my thoughts
Like is it possible for rebel astronauts
To smoke cigars on the moon?
Do the deaf lip-read cartoons?
The ghosts have all left town and the neighbours are at war
And we're deafened by the sound of the shops shutting at four
We're filling days
With feeling dazed
There's a place
Secret to this whole hostile race
You can go
But only for those in the know
Take the track in
But it's hidden by brambles and bracken
There'll be square
Signs to direct the way there
You'll find reams
Of planet-print wallpaper dreams
You'll find rhymes
That explain what we did with the times
There's a place
There's a place
There's a place
There's a place
Eli Wallach
(Hiccups - Track 3)
I've only known you for ten minutes
But I'd prefer you didn't die just yet
You're on a horse
Your hands are tied
And there's a rope around your neck
One of them's good
The other one's bad
And you're no oil painting
But you play the part of the holy rogue
Dance along like the desert's your stage
Your soul possess'd by the ghost of Stanislavski
Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
Through his silver tooth
Before he shoots he speaks their epitaph
Loose scripts and unsynched lips
And he still makes us laugh
Like when he wears his gun
While he's in the bath
(But for all of your laughter
You're going crazy about this guy like he's your Zen master)
I know!
But inspiration's rare as gold
Hidden in an unmarked grave
You find a hero where you least expect it
Mine's been in over fifty films
And I'd have thought by now
Somebody would have written a book about him
Eli Wallach
Eli Wallach
I want adventure in my pocket
Like Eli Wallach
Lights
(Hiccups - Track 4)
Your things do not belong here
They now look out of place
Just like a crooked painting
Your face would not stay straight
We've got to get out while we can
Our peace we will forever hold
One more night without a blanket
Someone's bound to catch a cold
Ah-ah
Just like the devil's disguise
So are the days of our lives
But before you leave I have
Confession to make
It was only to impress your parents
All those nights I washed the plates
Scratched on an actor's textbook:
"There are some things you just can't fake"
Ah-ah
Now I've got dishpan hands
Now the show is finally over
There's something I must stress
There'll be no more revivals
My love I repossess
Ah-ah
We missed our curtain call
There's nothing left to say at all
Except lights, camera, action
2 Days in a Foreign City
A telegram requesting rendezvous
Ones here on business, others passing through
A reply sent to sender 'neath the weight of a postage stamp
Let's not forget how we doled out our blames like blessings from a pope
We took each other's names in vain and washed our mouths with soap
So find the rusty razors hidden in the birthday cake
For old times' sake
But it sounds as good a place as any
Though I'd meet you on the moon
It might be two days in a foreign city
But to me it's just two days with you
Elope from mexican resaurant booth, they cleared the plate
And on past ancient buildings majest and ornate, don't even break
Another place and time a humble room we shared
For less we could have cared
But it sounds as good a place as any
Though I'd meet you on the moon
It might be two days in a foreign city
But to me it's still two days with you
A palace with 500 rooms, how do they keep them clean?
All empty as the catacombs, it's not easy being Queen
How she does miss her mother since she went to meet her maker
Call the royal undertaker
And it sounds as good a place as any
Though I'd meet you on the moon
It might be two days in a foreign city
But to me it's just two days with you
Days with you
Days with you
Days with you
Video Party Sleepover
Well it's a video party sleepover
Yeah we're gonna stay up all night
It's a video party sleepover
Yeah we're gonna stay up all night
Welcome to the hour
The prophecy of pixel power
Hits you harder than a doctor's bill
If the bag is ripped then the beans will spill
But on the air to the lounge chair
Our skin is pale and our eyes are square
Well it's a video party sleepover
Yeah we're gonna stay up all night
It's a video party sleepover
Yeah we're gonna stay up all night
There'll be many nights in between
Before these kids find Dexedrine
And this kingdom you're creating
Will be ruled under a PG rating
It's somewhere in between even and equal
Don't need a plot to make a sequel
But are we gonna find out now
When will we ever find out
Don't matter(?) place us on the basis of need to know
It's a video party sleepover
Yeah we're gonna stay up all night
It's a video party sleepover
Yeah we're gonna stay up all night
Could you see how I blushed
When our hands brushed?
Danielle
I remember seeing you for the first time
In grade one
You had your hair in pigtails
Mine was cut with a basin
It was Saint Patrick's on the hill
Our parents did enlist
When you first spoke to me
I nearly choked on my jam sandwich
You were the dux and I was the dunce
I thought all my little-lunches
Had come at once
Danielle, Danielle
Our conversations were dictated by the bell
Danielle
We did the progressive barn dance
At the primary school ball
Armed with two clammy hands and a pair of left feet
I circled the science hall
The chance for me to ask you to be
My friend would soon be gone
By the time I plucked up my courage
I heard a voice say "Pass your partners on"
I'm now inclined to say
That like my asthma, you took my breath away
Danielle, Danielle
My palms were as sweaty as hell
Danielle
But I guess in those days
You had to be careful of getting girl germs
If a girl tried to hold my hand I'd probably panic
And give her a Chinese burn
And so the years rolled by and didn't seem to stop
Our milk containers were exchanged for bottles of Passion Pop
Our friends would help us drink them down the park in the trees
Our nights at the Railway Hotel are still so clear in my memory
Memory, memory
And I remember your birthday, 21 years
I didn't turn up just because I heard your dad
Was putting on free beer
We gathered there your friends and me to sing
To sing
Danielle, Danielle
We wish you well
Danielle
21 years, 21 years
Fun Park Fugitives
Does she remember the 4th of December?
She wants to sacrifice her summer with me
Let's start the car and head for the fun parks
We don't pay admission, we're sneaking in
Match made on a security camera
There's fake stamps on our wrists
When we're on the inside there's a - a gravitron and a waterslide
Like the sign says, too much fun for just one day
To you it might seem trivial
But if I must be a criminal
In comfort I'll find
That she's my partner in crime
Look like a ghost on the rollercoaster
Your fingernail marks are fading on my arm
Yeah we had our ups and downs but when we were upside down
The coins fell from my pockets like silver rain
To you it might seem trivial
But if I must be a criminal
In comfort I'll find
That she's my partner in crime
There's no other place we should be
So from our heads down to our sneakers we're natural born thrill seekers
Her mind is willing but my stomach is weak
Once we got caught and I got angry
I promised myself I'd never be that way again
There's no other place we should be
So where your hand ends my hand starts
We're fugitives in the fun park
Where your hand ends my hand starts
We're fugitives in the fun park
Where your hand starts my hand ends
You promised that we'd always be the best of friends
You said we'd never be the worst of friends
Yes There Is a Slight Chance He Might Actually Fail
I gave you a flower
He gave you a whole bunch
He cut you a diamond
I cut you your lunch
I read you a pamphlet
He wrote her a whole book
He paid them both to the movies
I stole you a look
I cannot win
Since the day we watched them move in
Another sick joke
At my expense
But you can't live your life
With one eye over the fence
So I wrote you this song
She got an operatic medley
He bought her a car
I doubled you on my treadly
I can't compete
Since they moved to our street
I candidly took your photo
But it came out a blur
In their hall hangs a portrait
He had commissioned for her
And on Valentine's Day
What was I to do
She got a ninety verse sonnet
I struggled with a haiku
Makes me see red
But I still couldn't wish them both dead
I'm gonna fail
What if I fail
He's gonna fail
He could possibly fail
He could possibly fail
He's gonna fail
When the Chorus Hits the Verse
(Colin Clary cover)
I want to sing with you tonight
Oh baby on the other side
When the chorus hits the verse
I got a sinking feeling
The sweetest thing you ever had
Wrapped in a song could make you sad
She curled up and rolled away
I got a sinking feeling
Why does it have to be
Something on my machine?
I couldn't tell you 'cause I could not tell you
Why does it have to be
Something on my machine?
I wanna sing with you tonight
Somebody scratched the other side
When it skips we'll start again
I got a sinking feeling
The sweetest thing you ever said
Wrapped in a song could make you dead
Broken heart don't use the phone
I got a sinking feeling
Why does it have to be
Something on my machine?
I couldn't tell you 'cause I could not tell you
Why does it have to be
Something on my machine?
Why does it have to be
Something on my machine?
I couldn't tell you 'cause I could not tell you
Why does it have to be
Something on my machine?
I want to sing with you tonight
Oh baby on the other side
When the chorus hits the verse
I got a sinking feeling
