REFEREE
Size me up like an enemy
Call the referee
You can give your all
To rattle my mind
And the fists keep flying
Until you’re all satisfied
That you’re the winner boy
Oh I’m so tired
I’ve got no reason why
I’ve got no reason why
Let me do you the courtesy
I’ll leave the room
So you can beat your chest and howl
Will that pacify?
I’ve got no reason why
I’ve got no reason why
Oooh I’ll, oooh I’ll never know
MATADOR
A second before
I see you smiling
It’s only a moment, but i feel so sure
Beginning to run
I’m losing patience
The rise before the fall
It’s a difficult world
Anticipation
Both of us know, it’s your game your rules
I thought I could see, the moves you’re making
But how you proved me wrong
Almost but never more than just a dance my matador
There’s always another turn
A delicate case of misdirection
I follow the steps but when will you show your hand
I’m hesitant now
You’ve got me thinking
Am I the reason why
But nevertheless
I stumble forward
I can’t back out not here not now
I’m not gonna let you off that easy
Before you let me down
Almost but never more than just a dance my matador
Falling for every move
Always another turn
Leaving me to crash and burn
More than I’ve got to lose
You’re pristine, I think you’ve been here before
The routine is getting hard to ignore
You’re pristine, you might’ve been here before
Obscene, you want me down on the floor
Almost but never more than just a dance my matador
Falling for every move
Always more or less
Forever damned to second guess
There’s always another turn
STAIRWELL
Foot on the stairwell, take heed this time
No way to foretell, forgot the outlines
How can we hold our hearts out of harms way
Tempting the shadows, delve in they say
We don’t know for certain
That the boards aren’t gonna break
But we carry on
Hand on the railings, I hear you breathe
Fond of the feeling, that we’re thick as thieves
There’s no way to know how, without just one peek
Slowly losing caution, as it rolls into the wind
And we carry on
Any other way
Wouldn’t feel the same
Be it right or be it wrong
Any other way
Would lead us all the same
Back to here again
Foot on the stairwell, take heed
MONOTONY
I walk alone through all the blurry city lights
Try to lose my way but all I find are roads that wind back to me
Familiar company
Another round no release
You’re all I’ll ever need
Hold onto me, monotony
While nothing is real
Hold onto me, monotony
Every corner wields another avenue
Follow all the signs
They’re all designed to find my way back to me
Familiar atrophy
Is there something I didn’t see
You’re all I’ll ever need
Hold onto me, monotony
While nothing is real
Hold onto me, monotony
Open your eyes to awkward goodbyes
Another disguise
But otherwise I don’t mind
You’re all I’ll ever need
Hold onto me, monotony
All I’ll ever need
Hold onto me, monotony
ODD BELIEFS
Where do you go
Why do you leave
Following all the signs to the shores of odd beliefs
How do you know
Who do you trust
Couldn’t there be a road that leads you back to us
When did we lose
That common ground
When did my truths become your lies
We both are avoiding the eyes of the elephant in the room
Searching for silver linings
Where do you go
Why do you leave
Following all the signs to the shores of odd beliefs
How do you know
Who do you trust
Couldn’t there be a road that leads you back to us
Feel that you’re scared, though you’d never say
Though we didn’t used to need to hide
The further you move the more I’m unable to stay on your side
It hurts how we’re divided
Where do you go
Why do you leave
Following all the signs to the shores of odd beliefs
How do you know
Who do you trust
Couldn’t there be a road that leads you back to us
BAD HABITS WITH GOOD INTENTIONS
So this is goodbye
To our high hopes on parole
The pie in the sky
Is gonna be served dead and cold
We didn’t have the guts to do it
Call the cleaners
Tell them to do the best they can
Cause in-betweeners
Like you and me might fall back into
Bad habits with good intentions
All eyes on you
And a hundred reasons why we shouldn’t leave it there
All eyes on me
And the chaos that we made around us
Don’t remind me
And If I drag my heels behind
Don’t you mind me
I need to say my own goodbyes
To bad habits with good intentions
All eyes on you
And a hundred reasons why we shouldn’t leave it there
All eyes on me
And the chaos that we made
In the gardens that we paved around us
CHEWBACCA
Out for the night with my tried and tested face
Gonna pull the wool and play the fool for you
Linger inside that corduroy or suede or denim
Can’t see what I’m made of
Lonely’s only, along your avenue
Lonely’s only, along your avenue
The evening evolves inside and out
I’ll be right behind that certain smile
You grin and bear it but give me a nod if you see
Something that reminds you of me
Just a little heads up
Lonely’s only, along your avenue
Lonely’s only, along your avenue
YOUTH INK
Slipping back into my skin, lost forever
Dusting off the time machine for worse or better
Trick the truth to realign, worth reviving
Make amends or redesign the inner lining
All that youth ink spilling
All those words meant, so true so innocent
All that youth ink spilling
Now turned into scar tissue
Realise remote control’s been taking over
Reenact the same old role as I’m supposed to
I know I can do better than this
There must be middle ground
Even if I’m gonna have to insist
You tie me up and hold me down
All that youth ink spilling
All those words meant, so true so innocent
All that youth ink spilling
Now turned into scar tissue
Stop bothering me there is no switch to undo
Long gone day I wish I’d never got into you
I have the feeling there is a ghost in my room
Collecting pieces, causing an itch in my soul tattoo
PARTICLES
Picking the pieces up
Is taking time
All of the bits you cut
Most any time
You’d feel inclined
Till there was nothing left to see
Picking the pieces up
Is taking time
As I scoop and gather
Fallen pride I’d rather
Reconstruct some other kind of me
View in humble wonder
All those possibilities
Picking the pieces up
Can wait a while
Savour the time to look
Venture a smile
Maybe denial
But for a minute I’ll delay
Picking the pieces up
Can wait a while
As I scoop and gather
Fallen pride I’d rather
Reconstruct some other kind of me
View in humble wonder
All those possibilities
All of those decisions
Won’t wander, don’t listen
All of those directions
Whispering, I’ll let them
THE RIPS AND THE TEARS OF A SUIT WELL WORN
I need your colours to change
The patterns to mingle
The yellows to grey
Cause if you shine the way you shine inside my mind
I’m gonna stay
I’m gonna soften the sides
And widen the edges
Cover the lines
Until you blur into that certain kind of haze
I’m gonna stay
And it can be just pretend for a little while
The illusion is all I’ll need
A change of perspective the changes accepted in the end
Somewhere to repair the rips and the tears of a suit well worn
The filter of time will be kind to us in the end
And you can dissolve
So I no longer hold on
ARRIVE
Are you gonna arrive for me
Are you gonna arrive for me
Have you set aside a time and place
In case I find out where to be?
Are you gonna arrive for me
Are you gonna know my face
Are you gonna show a trace of that forgiveness I will surely need
Are you’re gonna arrive for me
Illusive you’ve always been
The glimpses I thought I’d seen and fought and screamed until I couldn’t feel
Over and over, over and over …
Are you’re gonna arrive for me
Are you’re gonna arrive for me
BACKSTROKE
Upon the water, eyes up in the air
We’re gonna act like we are unaware
We’ll be doing backstroke till we get there, we’ll be doing backstroke till we get there
Upon the water, eyes up in the air
We’re gonna act like we are unaware
We’ll be doing backstroke till we get there
Not oblivious, but accepting
Waves are bound to break a few stones
Trust is a matter of time
Time around you
Rhythm moving, not moving
All we see is the sky, all we do is rely
On whats to come, so don’t you tell me
Upon the water, eyes up in the air
We’re gonna act like we are unaware
We’ll be doing backstroke till we get there, we’ll be doing backstroke till we get there
Upon the water, eyes up in the air
We’re gonna act like we are unaware
We’ll be doing backstroke till we get there, we’ll be doing backstroke
Surrounded somewhere in the in-between
Lay back my liquid silhouette
Who asks, who asks, who asks why?
Shadows in the shallow end
All we see is the sky, all we do is rely
Who asks, who asks, who asks, who asks why?
Upon the water, eyes up in the air
We’re gonna act like we are unaware
We’ll be doing backstroke till we get there, we’ll be doing backstroke till we get there
Upon the water, eyes up in the air
We’re gonna act like we are unaware
We’ll be doing backstroke till we get there, we’ll be doing backstroke till we get there
NON-BREAKABLE SPACE
This is a non-breakable space
Giving certain peace of mind in the most turbulent of times
This is a non-breakable space
Undeniable you’ll find we’re determined by design
This is no gentleman’s agreement
This law’s been made up to abide
A golden rule you can’t elude because it’s elementary
This is a non-breakable space
So manifest so cut and dry, you can hammer you can ply
This is a non-breakable space
An instinctive guarantee, here so unequivocally
This is no formal requisition
Ain’t no erratic fickle mess
No pious hope, a plain and simple code
Like it or leave it
This is a non-breakable space
This is a non-breakable space
This is a non-breakable space
This is a non-breakable space
ALL THIS NOISE
All this noise is for you
All this noise has to do
With the stray molecules, all the wild syllables are for you
Won’t you listen to it
All this noise
Won’t you listen to it
All this noise
All this noise disarray
All this noise wears away
To subtle frequencies, the static in between is for you
Won’t you listen to it
All this noise
Won’t you listen to it
All this noise
All that it’s ever been is all or nothing
All that it’s ever been is all or nothing
All that it’s ever been is all or nothing
All that it’s ever been is all or nothing
All that it’s ever been is all or nothing
Won’t you listen to it
Won’t you listen to it
Won’t you listen to it
Won’t you listen to it
Won’t you listen to it
CROSSED WIRES
All tied up again
Coincidentally
No logic to the way the circuits intertwine
We cradle everything
The electricity
So we can watch it burn
We’re always gonna be
Crossed Wires, set fires, light sparks, bare liars
And I’ll be next to you
Crossed Wires, set fires, light sparks, bare liars
and I’ll be next to you, if you ask me to
This is what we are
Quintessentially
Circuitry askew, jump starting whats to come
Beating down the flame
The wayward energy
Was never gonna work
We’re always gonna be
Crossed Wires, set fires, light sparks, bare liars
And I’ll be next to you
Crossed Wires, set fires, light sparks, bare liars
And I’ll be next to you, if you ask me to
Crossed Wires, set fires, light sparks, bare liars
And I’ll be next to you
Crossed Wires, set fires, light sparks, bare liars
And I’ll be next to you, if you ask me to
ON THE OTHER SIDE
All mirrors and smoke screens
To pervert reality
Great expectations
Loaded possibilities
Can you feel the pull
It’s tugging at the seams
It’s all that I can see
The colour, colour on the other side
The colour, colour on the other side
The colour, colour on the other side
Running on further
And the tunnel starts to roll
There must be something
All the corridors and holes
Can you feel the pull
It’s tugging at the seams
It’s all that I can see
The colour, colour on the other side
The colour, colour on the other side
The colour, colour on the other side
Don’t you ask me, I’m over it
Don’t you ask me, my memory’s empty
Don’t you ask me, I’m over it
Don’t you ask me, I’m over it
Can you feel the weight
It’s gonna pull down on you, down on you, down on you
STRANGEST DREAM
Out of your bed
And out of your chamber door
Follow the arrows drawn in colours on the wooden floor
The bricked-up window’s down the hall
You never knew what it was for
Just open it, you’ll know you have when you’ve stopped those memories from going to your head
Under your blanket and under your sweater hood
The strangest dream keeps recurring and if you could
You would sneak behind the stage
To find out about that cage
And the tricks they do to make it disappear
Whenever you’re awake
Just leave a light on shining down the hall
And when you leave, leave the door ajar
And please forget something so I know that you’ll come back
Find the instructions in that box of blue
Cut the strings attached and off you go
You will rise until you see
What this all is meant to be
And far away in a distance a flickering light will shine eternally
LAY A CLOUD ON ME
Lay a cloud on me, make me one of many
Lay a cloud on me, envelop me a while
For a while a smile, in anonymity
Lay a cloud on me
Lay a cloud on me, blend the edges
Lay a cloud on me, pause the enemy
Somewhere undefined and always in between
Lay a cloud on
So smile as you move
Surreal’ll surround
Take you in arm
Holding you down
Fading to gold
I feel it arrive
Cover me
Lay a cloud on me, leave a fog to cover
Lay a cloud on me, disguise without a trace
Take the hands of time and slow down subtly
Lay a cloud on
So smile as you move
Surreal’ll surround
Take you in arm
Holding you down
Fading to gold
I feel it arrive
Cover me
SHUFFLE THE DECK
Little by little you whittle away the bone
Taking what you get till there’s nothing to call your own
A ripple in the tide can be more than we’re aware
A fork in the road that you never knew was there
And all the lines you towed were tied to nothing
And all the cards remain unseen
But if you get what you get
‚cause everybody says so
Are we never gonna let go
Place the bet, shuffle the deck
And if you get what you get
‚cause everybody says so
Are we never gonna let go
And place the bet, shuffle the deck, go
An inch to left and the rest’ll rearrange
Shattering the light into a million different rays
Ruining the lines in a blinding wild affair
Covering each other in the colours that we wear
And all the lines you towed were tied to nothing
But if you get what you get
‚cause everybody says so
Are we never gonna let go
Place the bet, shuffle the deck
And if you get what you get
‚cause everybody says so
Are we never gonna let go
And place the bet, shuffle the deck, go
When every turn we’re taking
Is breaking into three
That’s where I wanna be
And if you get what you get
‚cause everybody says so
Are we never gonna let go
Place the bet, shuffle the deck
And if you get what you get
‚cause everybody says so
Are we never gonna let go
And place the bet, shuffle the deck, go
Shuffle the deck
Shuffle the deck, go
Shuffle the deck
Shuffle the deck, go
DARESAY
I dare say we got along
If it was only for a moment, only for one song
I dare say we got along
If it was only for a moment, only for one song
I kinda knew
That you like it
I kinda knew
We won’t quit until we fall apart
Deny it
I can’t hold on while letting go
So what’s it gonna be
I dare say we got along
If it was only for a moment, only for one song
I dare say we got along
If it was only for a moment, only for one song
I’ll go let you know when I’m good and ready
I’ll go let you know when I’m good and ready
I dare say we got along
If it was only for a moment, only for one song
I dare say we got along
If it was only for a moment, only for one song
WAVING FLAGS
Come out the other side
Waving flags for you
No intentions left to hide
There’s beauty in the broken
Torn up and left to breathe
As it was gonna be
No inclination to deceive
There’s beauty in the broken
New vines begin to grow, but I don’t need to know
New vines, are we the same old enemies?
New vines begin to grow, but I don’t need to know
I don’t need to know
Colour outside of the lines
Drawn in disarray
Out of focus misaligned
There’s beauty in the broken
New vines begin to grow, but I don’t need to know
New vines, are we the same old enemies?
New vines begin to grow, but I don’t need to know
I don’t need to know
Are we the same old enemies?
I don’t need to know
‚cause I don’t need to know
Are we the same old enemies?
New vines begin to grow, but I don’t need to know
THE CHOICES PLENTY
Another lifeline
Could have put yours on mine
Could have held together the lines that tethered
The path declined
But that’s a lifeline we left behind
Another lifeline
A futile pastime
The wondering why, the tireless hindsight
The proof supplied
I wonder now how did we decide
Who are we gonna be
Who are we gonna be
Who are we gonna be, the choices plenty
Another lifeline
Could have put yours on mine
Our destination still up for question
Still undefined
Lovers long lost and left behind
Who are we gonna be
Who are we gonna be
Who are we gonna be, the choices plenty
DANCE WITH ME CATHERINE
Dear Miss, I formally apply
For this union of the right kind
I’m quite aware of what this entails
And happy to go into detail
I’ll be your drink, I’ll get you dancing
I’ll make your mum join in when your aunt sings
Don’t think I’ll break, I know what the stakes are
So dance with me
Please find enclosed a small array
Of kind words and my curriculum vitae
I look forward to hearing more
With kind regards from the dance floor
I’ll be a drag, I’ll be your Mondays
I’ll steal your fags, let’s see what your lungs say
I’ll need a hand, but I’ll be a shoulder
So dance with me
I’ll be your team, we’ll make the finals
I’ll be your Steely Dan but on vinyl
Tell me I’m old but smile while you do so
And dance with me
Dance with me
Dance with me
Dance with me Catherine
HOW FAR WILL I GO
You come sneaking in as blurred outlines and vague beginnings
Just fragments and frequencies a hazy notion is stirring deep inside of me
From time to time you come around like a regular visitor of town
You never stay, I won’t be long, is what you say, you’ve got to be moving on
And when you’ve left it’s not the same here
A certain shimmer still remains
You come and go whenever you feel like it
This much I know
And every time you’re starting something new
For me to follow through
What are you headed for today, is there a concept, anyway?
You’re telling me, just wait and see and don’t you try to understand
‚cause when you’ve left it’s not the same here
A certain shimmer still remains
You come and go whenever you feel like it
This much I know
And every time you’re starting something new
for me to follow through
I ask myself, how far will I go?
SET TO GLOW
The tired hands of time
Join to throw their shadow
And the borderline shimmers gold
This is yours and mine
We let nobody know
Let the light recline to regrow
We set to glow
There’s no history
Here to haunt the divide
That we dig to reap what we sow
A rhythm on repeat
That no one can describe
But we crave to be to let go
We set to glow
Words woven well
Can remind, can free minds
Words woven well
Can steal time, render blind
We lean in to be
Caught in charcoal and vines
Become scenery, begin to grow
Spreading secretly
Smudging all of the lines
Where we need to be to regrow
We set to glow
TAKE IT ON THE CHIN
Don’t you act like it’s gone away
I breathed it in
Words worked in and found a way
Under my skin
Hard times are ahead of me
But still you say
Take it on the chin my son
To win the hill upon which you run is a long one
And you’re gonna need strength and pride
Don’t provide them with a peek inside
Hide what you got away
There’s not a better way for a man to be a man
So take it on the chin
Words worm in while you’re unaware
Just how deep they’ve gone
Course set off to anywhere
But the pull is strong
Steer slowly and steadily
Still you’re at the helm
Take it on the chin my son
To win the hill upon which you run is a long one
And you’re gonna need strength and pride
Don’t provide them with a peek inside
Hide what you got away
There’s not a better way for a man to be a man
So take it on the chin
PLASTICINE
If you look for long enough its gonna look wrong
If you look for long enough its gonna look wrong
Momentary indecisiveness
Hesitation require inquest
Microscopically we analyze
Adjust the focus inspect the lines
If you look for long enough its gonna look wrong
If you look for long enough its gonna look wrong
We are made of plasticine
So dirty clean
Imperfectly in the know
We are made of plasticine
So dirty clean
Imperfectly goes to show
Left eye closed head tilted to one side
Push and poke dissect and magnify
Calculate the in-discrepancy
Crunch the numbers, make them bleed
We are made of plasticine
So dirty clean
Imperfectly in the know
We are made of plasticine
So dirty clean
Imperfectly goes to show
If you look for long enough its gonna look wrong If you look for long enough its gonna look wrong
We are made of plasticine
ONE BEAUTIFUL MESS
This is one beautiful mess that you left me with
This is one beautiful mess that i cannot resist
Emphatically able to fully disable me
This is one beautiful mess that we’re sitting inside
This is one beautiful mess that i should not abide
Disaster cascading but i’m not evading you
Chaos can be charming with your arms around me
If you let go the sound of the alarms’ll drown me
Won’t you surround me
This is one beautiful mess that you left me with
This is one beautiful mess that i cannot resist
You surround me
You surround me
You surround me
You surround me
WISER
Words are wise but eyes are wiser
All the while they tantalise her
I’ll be waiting in the aisles and
We’ll be wiser, this time
We’ll be wiser, this time
Played the fool and payed the prices
All the rules and all the vices
Disregard all their devices
We’ll be wiser, this time
We’ll be wiser, this time
We’ll be wiser, this time
We’ll be wiser, this time
Lies’ll hide inside the covers
Multiply and try to color
Worlds that once were more than lovers
We’ll be wiser, this time
We’ll be wiser, this time
We’ll be wiser, this time (as if we never knew, or never wanted to)
We’ll be wiser, this time (as if we never knew, or never wanted to)