1. |
Roll Me Down
01:10
|
|||
|
Roll me down, my friends
To this town's battered hems
And we can stand above the blackstuff
And draw dreams across the hills
Roll me down my friends
To this town's battered hems
And we can stand above the blackstuff
And draw dreams across the hills
From this shaded, silent backwoods street
To where sky and sea and Mersey meet
And the twin cathedrals of Hope Street
Are shining 'gainst the sky
Or behind us with the Frodsham ridge
And the blue-arched bones of Runcorn Bridge
Where the towers of Fiddlers Ferry
Throw their clouds up way on high
Roll me down, my friends
To this town's battered hems
And we can stand above the blackstuff
And draw dreams across the hills.
|
||||
2. |
||||
|
I think I've reached the end of my germ-free adolescence
I think I've stretched its essence past its end
I think I'm learning lessons how recordings lose their presence
When you overstate the message in the trend
I think I've reached the end of my germ free adolescence
I think I've stretched its essence past its end
I think it's academic to try and analyse polemics
About issues that I cannot comprehend
I think I've reached the end of my germ-free adolescence
I think I've stretched its essence past its end
I think I'm learning lessons how recordings lose their presence
When you overstate the message in the trend.
|
||||
3. |
On The Side
03:04
|
|||
|
I've given all I've got
And I can't keep on giving
I'm left to count the cost
Of all this time stuck living
Out here on the side
Where the city and the scenery collide
And nothing works round here
You'll miss your chance if you just blink
I can't sleep for fear
And I try not to think
Of all the souls I'd disappoint
In a life without a purpose or a point
I've tried to keep my spirits high with whiskey and with weed
I've tried to keep it dignified in every case I've had to plead
But all this enervation takes its toll in ways that are only multiplied
By being left out on the side
I've tried to keep my spirits high with whiskey and with weed
I've tried to keep it dignified in every case I've had to plead
But all this enervation takes its toll in ways that are only multiplied
By being left out on the side
Being left out on the side
Being left out on the side.
|
||||
4. |
The Water's Lovely
02:33
|
|||
|
Come on down, the water's lovely
Now you might drown before the toxins get you
But it's at least as clean as our body politic
If you partake of them then both'll get you sick
So come on down, the water's never been better
Come on through, the sight's astounding
'Til we approve another concrete eyesore
Local business is continuing to grow
'Cos there's a Tesco store on every other road
So come on down, the sight has never looked better
We are the pinnacle of political acclaim
We talk of progress whilst remaining just the same
We represent the best that Esmedune can get
In the hues of our rosette
Come on down, the water's lovely
Now you might drown before the toxins get you
And when you've seen what we are doing to this town
You'll be delighted that at least now you can drown
So come on down, the water's never been better.
|
||||
5. |
Pic'n'Mix
03:07
|
|||
|
When we were six, do you remember
Woolies was our Mecca
A wonderland of treats and toys
And nice girls called Rebecca
But you would spend the whole time
From the moment you walked in
Unable to decide
What kind of sweets you were getting
A scoopful of vanilla ice
Some toffee bonbons too
And plenty of your favourite cherry lips
Your eyes were bigger than your brain
Mum had to bail you out again
'Cos you could never get enough
To satisfy your love of pic'n'mix
And now we're grown I think you know
Things should be getting better
But nothing's been the same here
Since you broke up with Rebecca
I'm glad that you're not moping
And you're trying to move on
But surely there are better ways
Than the path that you have gone
A lustful glance at Amy's eyes
A sashay of Sam's legs
And one forbidden taste of Chloe's lips
Your head is bigger than your brain
There's no blood to go round again
I guess that this just goes to show
You can't treat girls you know like pic'n'mix
And nothing ever changes but the colour of their hair
And nothing changes that except the dyes
A scoopful of vanilla ice
Some toffee bonbons too
And plenty of your favourite cherry lips
Your head's still bigger than your brain
But I won't bail you out again
Just 'cos you can't get enough
To satisfy your love of pic'n'mix
You can't satisfy your love of pic'n'mix
And you can't treat girls you know like pic'n'mix.
|
||||
6. |
||||
|
I didn't hear the big society
Go out dancing in the street tonight
'Cos the family next door to me
Kicked and screamed and stamped their feet all night
I didn't care what they were fighting for
They're just someone's son and someone's daughter
Thank goodness somewhere in Belgravia
Another rose will go unwatered
We're just following your lead, Maggie
We won't stoop to tend your flowers now you're gone
We're all worshipping your creed, Maggie
'Cos as far as I can see
This ain't no society worth the name
After all the good you've done, Maggie
In the Square Mile and the Stock Exchange
There's pre-written platitudes to say
But profligacy and heartlessness
And reckless speculation remain the order of the day
And all across the moors and mining towns
They're building bonfires on the brown belt
Whilst teenage Trots get in another round
To raise a glass to how their fathers felt
We're just following your lead, Maggie
We won't stoop to tend your flowers now you're gone
We're all worshipping your creed, Maggie
'Cos as far as I can see
This ain't no society worth the blame
After all the good you've done, Maggie
We're just following your lead, Maggie
We won't stoop to tend your flowers now you're gone
We're all worshipping your creed, Maggie
'Cos as far as I can see
This ain't no society worth the name
After all the good you've done, Maggie.
|
||||
7. |
||||
|
You wouldn't like Andromeda Heights
It's mostly diatonic
And it looks at the world in a positive light
And it's not even ironic
I don't think that you've got it in you
To hear it once all the way through
So I won't even try to convince you
This time…
Where once I would listen in wonder
To electric guitars steal your thunder
How I wish that you thought that meant something
At all…
But I don't think that you've got it in you
To hear it once all the way through
So I won't even try to convince you
This time…
|
||||
8. |
||||
|
Over the hills and far away
In a land far from the sea
All of the love that I have known
Is waiting there for me
Does she stand upon the highest heights
And look towards the west?
Does she wear a sprig of lavender
Or lilac on her breast?
Does she dream of lands of red and gold
A million miles away?
Does she dream that I am dreaming
She'll return some day?
Over the hills and far away
In a land far from the sea
All of the love that I have known
Is waiting there for me
Does she wait for me with open arms
And a smile on her face?
Will she take me back no matter
My despair or my disgrace?
Will she hold me close again
And whisper wishes in my ears?
Will she trust me still to tell me
Of her fantasies and fears?
Over the hills and far away
In a land far from the sea
All of the love that I have known
Is waiting there for me
Will she love me like she used to do
When we were close at hand
Or have her sentiments grown separate
In that far and foreign land?
'Cos it's oh so strange
For a thalassophile like me
That she'd go so far from me
And farther from the sea
Over the hills and far away
In a land far from the sea
All of the love that I have known
Is waiting there for me.
|
||||
9. |
||||
|
She breaks men like she breaks eggs
Cleanly and routinely
As the sun comes up
With the minimum of fuss and the maximum of mess
Sits back and watches as their dreams blow up
She's a heart-acher, heart-breaker
Girl on the go
She reels them in and then she lets them go
The guys she's laid have all been repaid
With broken hearts over the marmalade
She brings them breakfast and bad news
One after the other
While they're half-asleep
She won't let things go on too long in case something else goes wrong
Like they go in too deep
She's an all-natural, thinks lateral
Girl about town
She gets them up and then she brings them down
The guys she's laid have all been repaid
With broken hearts over the marmalade
She's a heart-acher, heart-breaker
Girl on the go
She reels them in and then she lets them go
She's an all-natural, thinks lateral
Girl about town
She gets them up and then she brings them down
The guys she's laid have all been repaid
With broken hearts over the marmalade
With broken hearts over the marmalade.
|
||||
10. |
It Pays A Wage
02:54
|
|||
|
What a way to smash the system!
Serving sub-standard coffee
In a company-branded cup to local library employees,
I'm sure some day I'll bring this multi-national to its knees
But while I'm waiting I guess I'll keep the produce percolating
'Cos it pays a wage
It helps to keep disaster from the door
And keep me sane
So long as I stay aware of who I'm working for
And remember that somewhere on the horizon there's a day
Where I won't have to do this any more
These times are no less testing
And the never-ending struggle
To keep body and soul together here is tearing me apart
I knew that this would never be a job to take to heart
When all that I'm achieving is turning up and leaving
But it pays a wage
It helps to keep disaster from the door
And keep me sane
So long as I stay aware of who I'm working for
And remember that somewhere on the horizon there's a day
When I won't have to do this any more
It pays a wage
It helps to keep disaster from the door
And keep me sane
So long as I stay aware of who I'm working for
And remember that somewhere on the horizon there's a day
When I don't have to do this any more…
|
||||
11. |
Awkward Balloon
01:23
|
|||
|
They've left me holding the awkward balloon again
And surely someone's gonna notice it soon – but then
Consider the company I share
No-one could be more unaware
Of the message in my awkward balloon
They've left the awkward turtle upside down
And I can't tell if it's dying with a smile or a frown
But they think it's all okay
And I don't know what to say
And I can't let my awkward balloon down
It's not fair and it sounds stupid
But these people could embarrass the awkward squid
They've left me holding the awkward balloon again.
|
||||
12. |
Sixties Dust
02:22
|
|||
|
He was a hero
Now it turns out he's a guy
And he lives under the bridge that I pass every day
And he'll probably never know
Of all the times he made me smile
And I doubt that it would matter to him anyway
He's devoted to Sixties Dust
You'll find it's always on his mind
He's decided to dedicate his life
To searching for a sound he'll never find
She was a goddess
Now it turns out she's a girl
And she works behind a bar somewhere in London Town
Wearing another dress
Not the one she used to wear
Festooned with polka-dots that always caught me looking down
She's lost interest in Sixties Dust
She says she's left all that behind
While being careful to show no disrespect
To others who may be that way inclined
That's the problem with Sixties Dust
You find that it gets everywhere
It takes a moment to sprinkle on your strings
And a lifetime to wash it out your hair.
|
||||
13. |
Bricks & Mortar
03:08
|
|||
|
They may sell our bricks and mortar
But they can't buy out our spirit or our soul
The culture we wound up with
Covers all its costs
Because a balance in the black's the only benefit that matters
And it seems
There's ever less of us
Who know just what's been lost
Whilst this triple-dipping downturn leaves us ever further scattered
They may take the ground we fought for
Tempt us back into the rat race or the dole
They may sell our bricks and mortar
But they can't buy out our city or our soul
Raise a lantern against the deepening dark
For a community connected by a myriad creative sparks
Our old haunts may get redeveloped
Our secret sanctuaries knocked down
There's empty shells aplenty all across this rotten town
Yes, these are spaces we adore
But those who fill them matter more
We can still surpass all that we've done before
They may take the ground we fought for
Tempt us back into the rat race or the dole
They may sell our bricks and mortar
But they can't buy out our spirit or our soul
|
||||
14. |
See You Soon
03:53
|
|||
|
Lord, am I glad to know
I will see you when you go
'Cos I still hope you'll realise
That your choice can be revised
As we're saying our goodbyes
But what kind of revelation
Comes to you on Platform 2 at Lime Street Station?
This is not the end
Your next great adventure is waiting round the bend
And I can't wait to see
What becomes of you when you're set free
And I believe you when you say
That you'll be back again some day
And I will see you soon
God, am I happy for
All the times we had and more
And though I know I look a mess
Believe me dear, these are tears of happiness
So go on, and God bless
And believe me, I'm delighted
Even though you leave me broken and benighted
This is not the end
Your next great adventure is waiting round the bend
And I can't wait to see
What becomes of you now you're set free
And I believe you when you say
That you'll be back again some day
And I will see you soon
This is not the end
Your next great adventure is waiting round the bend
And I can't wait to see
What becomes of you now you're set free
And I believe you when you say
That you'll be back again some day
And I will see you soon.
|
||||
Spoony Bard Liverpool, UK
Huyton's half-fi finest, Spoony Bard dispenses occasional bursts of observational bedroom pop from a box-room on the A5080. Wrapping his tales of everyday awkwardness in jauntily individual arrangements and addictively alliterative wit, he has a tendency to get embarrassed when talking about himself at length. Like now. ... more
Spoony Bard recommends:
Irony Curtain
by The Ragamuffins
A janglepop manifesto on Broken Britain from my 7L label stablemates.
go to album
Dawn Breaks, The Monster Wakes...
by Felix Hagan & The Family
The world's poshest one-man-band.
go to albumIf you like Spoony Bard, you may also like:
Crafting powerful songs about commitment and love, the Nashville singer-songwriter channels and subverts ’70s country and folk tropes.
go to album
Sweet and honest bedroom pop made with the sparest of instrumentation and topped with poetically melancholy lyrics.
go to album
Virtual Heaven
by Infinity Crush
Despite its themes of isolation and loneliness, Caroline White's latest batch of folk-pop confessionals is an LP brimming with confidence.
go to album
Dope indie leaning, folk inflicted, pop record, pieced together in 5 bedrooms spanning Brooklyn to Chicago.
go to album
