1. |
Marcus
04:34
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You walked across
the platinum floor
to meet the Eastern plane
I was huddled in a shelter
with you family
At the customs gate
you turned to wave me
and in the morning rain
You became a candle
A naked flame
Melting the cold wind
that was blowing you away
Oh Marcus
I'd heard you sing
of India
You'd called is wise and free
You'd said that man is destined
to be searching
And I know
that freedom called you
I hope you live to be
The naked candle
I still see
Melting the cold wind
that blew you away
Oh Marcus
You know sometimes
with my music
when I need to feel strong
I think about the distance
of our friendship
And I feel
for what you're into
It grieves me now you're gone
So I let the words hang
from this song
They melt the cold wind
that blew you away
Oh Marcus
Now if you ever
hear the forest
when she calls to those who roam
In between her perfect stillness
she might beckon you
And if you ever
give your body to
the road that leads you home
Come feed the candle
It burns alone
Melting the cold wind
that blew you away
Oh Marcus stay
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2. |
Perfect Condition
04:17
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I once believed in idyllic condition
and breaking promises was afternoon fun
Now I've grown up, my head's been sewn up
Do unto others as I would have myself done
The game's a natural, no matter how you see it
You learn the rules, you join a side
It's all so comfy, enough to make you jumpy
to know some muther's gonna take you for a ride
Don't despair
There's a lot of us out there
We're the army of winners and losers
Don't be sad, oh it's not so bad
You see life, life's a jungle
And we're the animals running around
Oh, kicking up the dusty ground
I once believed in the perfect condition
and people catching was my afternoon sport
And now I've gown up, I better own up
Look in my basket, see how many I've caught
The games a cinch, no matter how you see it
You place your bets, you join the race
Oh, it's all so goofy, it's all so spooky
Knowing some mother's going to push you in the face
I once believed in the dream condition
and breaking promises was afternoon fun
Now I've grown up, my head's been sewn up
Who cares at all about the damage done?
Oh, the game's a natural, no matter how you see it
You either join in or you let it pass
It's all so relative, enough to make you negative
To know so muther's gonna kick you in the ass
And I once believed, like you once believed
Like he once believed, like she once believed
Like we all once believed, even the dog once believed
Just look at all the dreams we've grown
And I once grew up, like you once grew up
And he once grew up, like she once grew up
Even the dog grew up, see he's no more a pup
We all want a little more meat on the bone
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3. |
Silky
05:07
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It seems to me in retrospect
that the things we said out of self-respect
are the things that we now most regret
And the things we did to compensate
were done when it was far too late
And it seems to me though I don't know why
that forces stronger than you and I
have changed us into strangers now
Driven us into different corners now
Given us different borders now
And it comes to me as it came to you
that none of us is guardian over what we do
We move through life with our points of view
Change direction without remorse
Move away on a different course
And when it comes to you as it came to me
I hope it's enough of a legacy
Enough to get you where you want to be
Enough to keep you sheltered from
All those changing winds that blow you on
And it seems to me above all else
that the games we played to find ourselves
eventually made us lose ourselves
And the things we said in confidence
We shout them out at every chance
And it comes to me as it came to you
at a time when I really need nothing new
It's the price you pay for passing through
It's the measure that makes it forever real
It's the way I am, the way I feel
So it seems to me and here I have to say
that none of this might have happened anyway
If you and I had been just lovers say
For with lovers, it's easy to fall apart
But with friends it's not, with friends it's not
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4. |
Wastelands
05:28
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So where's the option?
You ask me with hope in your voice
I hate to tell you
but neither of us has got much choice
Somehow we've ended up
drifting on a stormy sea
Me clutching onto you
You clutching onto me
And it wouldn't even matter
if ours was liberal chatter
Nobody's listening out
for anguished cries
Nobody's paying much
for devious patter
Dished up
in the same old quaint disguise
Out here where it's real
We need a better deal
Every man should feel
life has purpose
No, never worthless
It's not funny any more
They've nailed up the door
with ridicule and scorn
We're guilty of being born
in a wasteland
What about my daddy
who fought in someone else's war?
He's got no friends left
waiting outside his door
How do you suppose he feels
now that his sacrifice made
doesn't pay enough for the children
to join the parade?
And it wouldn't even matter
if his was honourable chatter
Nobody's listening for
the truth these days
Nobody's paying much
for patriotic patter
Dished up
in the same old quaint rephrase
Yes, there's an option
and both of use know it's true
If we can break down these barriers
between me and you
Somehow keep looking out
for one another's needs
Put trust back on the table
and get up off our knees
Then maybe it could matter
Our collective chatter
Maybe we could take ourselves
home again
'Cause nobody's paying much
for second-hand patter
Dished up
as the same old quaint refrain
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5. |
Straightjacket Stomp
01:29
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6. |
Railway Room
04:34
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In a railway room, it's suffice to say
that lunatics breed like ants
In a circus situation, they noisily station
in their state-issued shirts and pants
They come from a dead part of Eden
Such clowns, such serious fools
To be here in this ritualised bulletin
To sit here and sharpen their tools
They hang tea-bags from the ceilings
Chinese ornaments on the walls
Paint "Whites Only" signs, as a sign of the times
If you're black, you get kicked in the elbow
They sit midget-like, shivering in the corner
Their arms punctured with the past
But the dragon turns slowly to dust
For the future has already been cast
In a Railway Room
In a railway room, it's enough that there's purpose
in the colours that bounce off the walls
If you're careful sometimes, when the cuckoo-clock chimes
You can hear the waters that call
All the bottled-up junkies
The children of the passing moon
There's a song that they sing for the derelicts
Who find solace in a railway room
In a Railway Room
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7. |
Crossroads
03:11
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What does it matter?
Who even cares?
Some people got bullets
growing out of their fears
Oh, Crossroads, Crossroads
Another place for tears
Dreams full of nothing
Palaces of tin
Some people got answers
for the state that we're in
Oh, Crossroads, Crossroads
Another day begins
What does it matter?
Who even cares?
Some people got visions
Not everybody shares
Oh, Crossroads, Crossroads
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8. |
Habit Game
03:09
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Funny how lovers turn into sisters and brothers
Hang onto one another through the thick of it all
Cement their living with taking and giving
What the hell else are they supposed to do?
Caught up in a game without a point of view
The habit game, habit game, habit game
Funny how lovers compromise with each other
Put up with one another for the sake of the children
For the sake of the family, it's so crazy but really
What the hell else are they supposed to do?
Trapped like captives in a human zoo
Playing the habit game, habit game, habit game
But some declare themselves to know
that what exists between the status quo
Be nothing more than just a bore
A social chore that goes on and on and on
But let's suppose in passing thought
that we could ignore what we've been taught
That when it reaches that stage when love comes of age
We can turn that page and read on and on
That life without a wife may be better than love without life
(At least it's something)
But it's funny how lovers turn into middle-aged monsters
Put up with one another though the magic is dead
Kill the suspicion about each other's condition
They've been doing it for so long it become a way of life
It's enough that they're together as a husband and wife
Playing that habit game, habit game, habit game
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9. |
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Come Instance bring
Your wild-eyed brothers
of different skins
To find each other's
Points of touch
Linked arm in arm
Feeding one another, bringing
Dancing to the streets of the world
Come ancient Joy
You that lifts the heart
The one you're with
Become your part in the jigsaw game
Linked arm in arm
Oh, feeding one another, bringing
Dancing to the streets of the world
Come Gods of choice
Dismiss your kings
The new found voice
of your people sings
In this place called life
Linked arm in arm
Oh, feeding one another, bringing
Dancing to the streets of the world
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10. |
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I once believed in idyllic condition
and breaking promises was afternoon fun
Now I've grown up, my head's been sewn up
Do unto others as I would have myself done
The game's a natural, no matter how you see it
You learn the rules, you join a side
It's all so comfy, enough to make you jumpy
to know some muther's gonna take you for a ride
Don't despair
There's a lot of us out there
We're the army of winners and losers
Don't be sad, oh it's not so bad
You see life, life's a jungle
And we're the animals running around
Oh, kicking up the dusty ground
I once believed in the perfect condition
and people catching was my afternoon sport
And now I've gown up, I better own up
Look in my basket, see how many I've caught
The games a cinch, no matter how you see it
You place your bets, you join the race
Oh, it's all so goofy, it's all so spooky
Knowing some mother's going to push you in the face
I once believed in the dream condition
and breaking promises was afternoon fun
Now I've grown up, my head's been sewn up
Who cares at all about the damage done?
Oh, the game's a natural, no matter how you see it
You either join in or you let it pass
It's all so relative, enough to make you negative
To know so muther's gonna kick you in the ass
And I once believed, like you once believed
Like he once believed, like she once believed
Like we all once believed, even the dog once believed
Just look at all the dreams we've grown
And I once grew up, like you once grew up
And he once grew up, like she once grew up
Even the dog grew up, see he's no more a pup
We all want a little more meat on the bone
|
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11. |
|
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|
So where's the option?
You ask me with hope in your voice
I hate to tell you
but neither of us has got much choice
Somehow we've ended up
drifting on a stormy sea
Me clutching onto you
You clutching onto me
And it wouldn't even matter
if ours was liberal chatter
Nobody's listening out
for anguished cries
Nobody's paying much
for devious patter
Dished up
in the same old quaint disguise
Out here where it's real
We need a better deal
Every man should feel
life has purpose
No, never worthless
It's not funny any more
They've nailed up the door
with ridicule and scorn
We're guilty of being born
in a wasteland
What about my daddy
who fought in someone else's war?
He's got no friends left
waiting outside his door
How do you suppose he feels
now that his sacrifice made
doesn't pay enough for the children
to join the parade?
And it wouldn't even matter
if his was honourable chatter
Nobody's listening for
the truth these days
Nobody's paying much
for patriotic patter
Dished up
in the same old quaint rephrase
Yes, there's an option
and both of use know it's true
If we can break down these barriers
between me and you
Somehow keep looking out
for one another's needs
Put trust back on the table
and get up off our knees
Then maybe it could matter
Our collective chatter
Maybe we could take ourselves
home again
'Cause nobody's paying much
for second-hand patter
Dished up
as the same old quaint refrain
|
||||
Syd Kitchen Durban, South Africa
Digital works from the archive of South African singer-songwriter and guitarist Syd Kitchen (1951-2011). Curated by Sharp-Flat Records.
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