1.The Town And The Hills
The road is long and slow
The clouds are hanging low
About the shoulders of the hills
Where the shadow kills the light
Your face and hands are cold
And if I may make so bold
You could be made of marble, dear
That's just what I fear
The stars are out tonight
The stillness of the light
The weight of shadows cast
Like pieces of the past
I've been told
That when our bones are old
The sea will rush this place
And wipe it clean
Listen to me this time
The city sand and lime
And skylarks long have left it's streets
Where the darkness meets
The cold and empty lanes
Carried home in trains
The beery and the sore
The drunken and the poor
When was the last time you sang
Along with the bells as they rang
And people didn't stop to stare？
Even if I could reconcile
The two of us for a quarter mile
I'm not convinced it would be
A good reason for us to depart
The highway, go back to the start
The longest road stretched below
Where the darkness meets
The river as it bends
Through the shadow wends
It's way to unquiet seas
And when you feel the breeze, at last
When was the last time you sang
Along with the bells as they rang？
2.Good Light
I had an inkling this was going to end in tears
All the drinking - it just confirmed my fears
I remember thinking
'God I hope someday you'll see me
Even briefly
In a good light'
So I saw it coming
But a month turned into twelve
Before I thought of running
Crying 'Darling, save yourself!'
But I did nothing
Hoping that you'd see me
Even briefly
In a good light
Oh, I'll admit a moment's doubt
When the candle flickered out
Yeah, but to wait another year
Seemed such a pale idea
And darling, it's dark in here
God I hope someday you'll see me
Even briefly
In a good light
In a good light...
3.A Sobering Thought (Just When One Was Needed)
Sunlight seeps beneath the bedroom door
The new day can no longer be denied
You're puzzled by the puddles on the floor
It's time that I came clean about last night
I got a phone call from a friend I seldom see
Who thought we had some catching up to do
Suffice to say I didn't disagree
And when I left I left the porch light on for you
Oh, it was such a sultry night
Half the city was outside
Just like moths drawn to the lights
And the stars were several
So we found ourselves a mediocre bar
And lost ourselves amongst the demimonde
A beer for every year that we'd let pass
And at time we wondered where the time had gone
Oh, but the breeze was beautiful
As we stumbled past the school
And upon the swimming pool
It was just too perfect
Atop the cyclone fence
I could almost see the sense in heading home
But the laughter of a friend
From the shadows of the shallow end
Oh, when we finally fled the scene
Drunk and giddy with chlorine
God, I almost felt fifteen
Slinking down the street at night
Another minute more
And we both would have been caught
It's a sobering thought
Just when one was needed
4.California In Popular Song
So love, you've had about enough
Of leaning into the winter wind
Eyes down and collar up
While leaves from European trees
Lie shin-deep in the gutters
Down these cold and golden streets
It's time you left this town behind
And though you promised not to cry when you said goodbye
Your eyes are bright with wine
And oh, so are mine
But I think it only fair to warn you
All those songs about California lied
The stars won't shine tonight
It isn't going to be alright
Oh dear you've had it up to here
But if those dark clouds reach to the empty beach
Well at least the coast is clear
And so, before you turn to go
A few hopeful words from some vacuous verse
You remember from the radio
Well, maybe so
5.South-East Coastal Rendezvous
6.The National Mitten Registry
Should you find me forsaken
On some neighbor's fence
Out walking one morning
When winter relents
All sodden and weatherworn
Threadbare and fallen apart
If you notice me next to you
There on the train
Revealed as the evening rush eases again
Don't leave me languishing
Take me in hand, and take heart
Fingers crossed, all is not lost
Should you find me forsaken, forgotten, forlorn
Unclaimed and uncared for, neglected, ignored
Abandoned, asunder, apart and alone
Discarded, disposed of, dispensed with, disowned
Lost and all lonesome, bygone, bereft
Squandered, unwanted, cast off and adrift
Dropped and deserted, mistreated, mislaid
Overlooked, derelict, stranded, astray
Fingers crossed, all is not lost
7.Day Three Of Five
Imagine a prison break
Take the plans we made
Tie them up and keep them hid
Escape by the old canal
Scratch my name in a heart
In the paint underneath the bridge
And it's alright
We're coming by
Run away on day three of five
Drink and laugh and eat until the bellyache
Please don't say, don't say I've got to lie down again
Suppose we took hold of this place
This little Georgian café
It's really just a question of when
Look at the way it bends
The scales tip
The way the days divide
It's three of five
Yesterday we took the river
Tomorrow's Maya Derin's eyes
We're in the middle now
It's three of five
And it's alright
We're coming by
Run away on day three of five
And it's our right while doing time
Run away on day three of five
8.Never And Always
9.Lament Of The Chiming Wedgebill
When the wind's from the north, love
I can hear the railway line
That low, lonesome whistle
Comes floating through the night
And I dream of departure
Of a suitcase by the door
And I wake in the morning
As weary as before I fell asleep
When the wind's from the west, love
I can smell the distant sea
And ten thousand teardrops
Come flooding back to me
I'd almost forgotten
How we spoke of setting sail
That evening gin-sodden
The moon a fingernail scratched in the sky
For we'd seen the sorrow summer brings
Where the chiming wedgebill sings
Oh why did you get drunk？
Why did you get drunk？
But when the wind's from the south, love
You're only half an hour from here
I hardly need pedal
And that hill just disappears
The silos stands silent
Down that endless railway line
The district's deserted
The sunset might be mine
And yours, of course
But I've seen the sorrow summer brings
Where the chiming wedgebill sings
Oh why did you get drunk？
Why did you get drunk？
Why did you get drunk？
Oh why did you get drunk？
10.How We Met
Late the other night
Our friends already leaving
I saw you step outside
It was cold out there
In the autumn air
I'd hate for you to think
I was keeping tracking all evening
But I trawled the laundry sink
For one last beer
And your voice came clear
As you shared the cigarette
I heard you telling Steven
A tale called 'How We Met'
All those years ago
It's one I know by heart
My favorite part
Is the way we had to smile hello
For the static on the stereo
Just then
11.Song Of The Undersea
There's a song that I hear
When I'm under the sea
There's a song that I hear
When I'm half a world away
When it's hot I can stay down here a lot
Think about what I need
Forget what I haven't got
Now there's a song
When it's grey I can stay down here all day
Think about what I mean
But I find so hard to say
Now there's a song
There's a song that I hear
When I'm under the sea
It's the song of the undersea
There's a song that I hear
When I'm half a world away
It's the song of the undersea
Well you found what you wanted
But it wasn't what you'd hoped
Found your pot of gold
But now you're outside
Trying to plant the rainbow
If I find what I desire will I take it into town？
Will the pearl of the world go and burn my village down？
Burn it down
12.Up With The Sun
13.Pines
Since July the 31st
When the winter did it's worst
I've been pining for a place
Where sleep divides the days
And the ocean keeps those silences at bay
Late last night
I was woken by the murmuring
Of the insects and insomniacs outside
While you slept
I went through all my winter clothes
And quiet was the only thing I kept
With every passing day
Seems more difficult to say
And forgive me if I'm wrong
But you'll forget me when I'm gone
Late last night
I was woken by the murmuring
Of the insects and insomniacs outside
But up til then
I was dreaming of the the pines along the promenade
The summer on my skin
It's too long since I saw the sun arising
From the faint curve of an unbroken horizon
I don't mean to suggest I'm getting older
But the city looks it's best over my shoulder
14.Who Turned On The Lights？
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