1. |
Love's Young Nightmare
04:44
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Love is a dream to me
Love is a magazine I can’t reach
Love is what love is, but I couldn’t pick it out
In an identity line up, I’d be left in doubt
For love is a dream to me
Love is a train about to leave
Departing the station as I get to the door
Bereft of elation, and I know forever more
I’m Love’s Young Nightmare..
For everyone is beautiful to someone else
When you’re moving at the speed of love
When you can’t have the one you want (and you won’t settle for less)
The life you lead orders a table for one
Because –
Love is a dream to me
And hell is a nightclub I can’t leave
Trapped by the window, much too drunk to stalk
Marooned in the corner, too alone to talk
Oh well, love is a dream to me
Love is a cat flap of opportunity
When a glimpse of a smile in an overcrowded bar
Is all one can hope for
Then I know forever more
I’m Love’s Young Nightmare..
Love is a dream to me
Love is the magazine I’ll never reach
Love is what love is, but I couldn’t pick it out
In an identity line up, I’d be left in doubt
Yes, love is a dream to me
Just a sad legacy of jealousy
Of discarding emotions behind a locked front door
A glance in the mirror
And I know forever more
I’m Love’s Young Nightmare
I’m Love’s Young Nightmare
I’m Love’s Young Nightmare
I’m Love’s Young Nightmare
I’m Love’s Young Nightmare…….
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2. |
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Confidence isn't there all the time with you
(It's just a couple of lines away)
Sadness is a friend who rides next to me
(Not just a matter of pints away)
And is it so passe?
Not to have taken Class A?
(Well that depends on your pointless view)
I've no idea what you mean
By 'great amphetamines'
(And that's just part of who I am!)
But
Do you wish you loved me?
Do you wish you loved me?
Do you wish you loved me?
Do you wish you loved me?
The restless monologue in my mind
Wishes you weren't so unkind
Still - do you wish you loved me?
And do you care?
From a distance I was carrying a torch for you
(Close up - it turned out just to be some wine!)
For self esteem was a lover that ran away
(Taking the pet cat and my final wage)
Well - your true ugliness shows
In the way you behave
(A temptress who's just so terribly tame!)
There's inherent stupidity in your biology
(Still I adored what you are!)
But
Do you wish you loved me?
Do you wish you loved me?
Do you wish you loved me?
Do you wish you loved me?
You've got me quaking in my brogues
As I'll never be your swashbuckling rogue!
Still - do you wish you loved me?
And do you care?
And do you think you're so wonderful?
(Because I''ll do anything you say)
You only abuse me 'cos you know you can
You're a psychic vampire draining me away
Now go!
Some folk are destined just to be alone
(Afflicted with this lonely syndrome)
And your power over me
I wish I had it over you!
(Now I know where I stand - and it's not near you!)
For still a coffee at yours means -
A coffee at yours..
(But you'll share the bed - with regret..)
Still
Do you wish you loved me?
Do you wish you loved me?
Do you wish you loved me?
For you -
I'd drive from East Coast to West Coast!
(From Scarborough to Blackpool..)
But cirrhosis of the mind is all you find
When you idolise a fool!
For I never longed for you as yourself
(I was merely missing someone else..)
Still - do you wish you loved me?
And - do you care?
WHY SHOULD YOU CARE?
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3. |
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Imagine a girl so painfully pretty
Flawless of skin, clever and witty
All a man could want
The face to launch a thousand ships (and a million dinghies)
She turned this serf into a king
That was the girl I got
O you landed in my life – to save me from myself
O I dared to be happy
But it was the hope that broke my heart (and now)
Friends say I should live without you
But damnit – I don’t want to!
I wake up every day
With this Boxing Day sense of disappointment
I wish you’d stayed – I should
Never never never have let you down
Never never never should have let you down
I ever never never should have let you down
(I’ll sing it again so you know)
I never never never should have let you down
Never never never should have let you down
Never never never should have let you down*
How could I dare to believe that
I’d hoped you would settle for me
Although I can’t really blame you
For running away
You deserve so much better than this
But I wish you’d stayed with me
Now picture a girl forlorn, neglected
All alone, feeling rejected
Needing somebody there
Well, here’s my sincerest apologies for my misplaced priorities
And seeming not to care
How I yearned to set us free from the drudgeries of life
But my insecurities – well, they tore us both apart
(And you left)
And now I sign every letter ‘Your Despondent Correspondent’
For I should have made it clear
There is no other could be my angel
I need you here – I should
Never never never have let you down
Never never never should have let you down
I ever never never should have let you down
(I’ll sing it again so you know)
I never never never should have let you down
Never never never should have let you down
Never never never should have let you down*
How could I dare to believe that
I’d hoped you would settle for me
Although I can’t really blame you
For running away
You deserve so much better than this
But I wish you’d stayed with me
So I found the model that looked the most like you
And I put her picture on my desktop
But it didn’t work – it didn’t make the pain stop
And now I slump in a cold dark room with a bottle in my veins and an empty heart
And I wish you were here with me
Just so I could say to you
Just say these words to you..
O hug me ‘til you drug me honey
Never let me go – oh for
I am I – and I wish I wasn’t
So alone
And I’m sorry if I let you down Lenina
But I can’t say no to a drink!
Now all that’s left for this lonely loser
Is to sit and think
Sit and drink
Drink and think – I should
Never have let you down..(adlib)
I NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET YOU DOWN
Never never never should have let you down
Never never never should have let you down
I never never never should have let you down
(I’ll sing it again so you know)
I never should have let you down
How could I dare to believe that
I’d hoped you would settle for me
Although I can’t really blame you
For running away
You deserve so much better than this
How I wish you’d stayed with me
HOW I WISH YOU’D STAYED WITH ME...
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4. |
Manchester Skyline
04:17
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Manchester skyline, looming above me
But for the trams well – this could be Leeds!
Lost for a landmark – yet certain we’re “here”
But where “here” is
Remains a mystery
Modernised, sanitised
Saved from demolition
By being changed into recognition..
But all I wanted to do was go there with you
And find something new to view
All we wanted to seek was something unique
And not the same bland boutiques..
Abominations of 60s town planners
Knocked down in droves yet replaced with the same
Making modern day nightmares
For battery existence
From bright satanic offices
To identikit bars -
See the sterling signs
In their sightless eyes
Admire, aspire
Acquire – and then build higher, higher, HIGHER..
But all I wanted to do was go there with you
And find something new to view
All we wanted to seek was something unique
And not the same bland boutiques..
Watch them rebuilding Rome out of steel & chrome
See a future so empty for towns that can’t sleep
A dystopic vision of a caffeine fuelled future
All bloated by burgers you’d barely call meat
Must Anglicised mean sterilised?
Leeched of individuality
You see, that really really matters to me..
But all I wanted to do was go there with you
And find something new to view
All we wanted to seek was something unique
And not the same bland boutiques..
LET'S TEAR THEM ALL DOWN..
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5. |
The Empathy Strikes Back
03:19
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Feeling lonely? And like nobody could give a damn?
(YES!)
Well - you're wrong, you know
It may seem hopeless
But - well, yes, all right, it sometimes is!
When you're facing life's uncertainties
You can ALWAYS come and talk to me
And I swear I'll never turn you away..
(I'll never turn you away..)
Did they hurt you?
Leave you feeling like chewed up gum?
(Spat out, trampled on)
Just forget them!
And then get yourself straight down the pub!
(Where you know there'll be)
Friends, food & flowing wine
Tell me yours - I'll tell you mine
And we can both feel lonely (but not so alone..)
(I'll never turn you away..)
So we say "Goodbye", "so long" and
"Thanks for the chat"
Well, a friend in pain is a friend in need
And I'll do all that I can!
Though it won't change a single thing
I say
"Thank you for listening" : )
(I'll never turn you away..)
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6. |
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I don't know what I see in you
The antithesis of all I do
For nothing's sacred to a heart
That wouldn't care - man blown apart!
I've turned myself black & white
Pandering to you
Though Occam's Razor says "you're just a bitch"..
(And all my friends do too..)
Still -
I'm a fool for fancying you
I'm a fool but not an idiot
And I see that you are
Volatile - but with such style
And that's how I've been caught!
And what can I do?
And all your qualities I abhor
Merely make me crave you more and more!
(Though I can see your many flaws)
You hold my heart - but you don't deserve it!
For all you are is so self serving!
You put your put downs, cheap jokes
On your "at my expense account"
Still - your twinkling eyes of cruelty
Knock my senses out..
Still -
I'm a fool for fancying you
I'm a fool but not an idiot
And I see that you are
Volatile - but with such style
And that's how I've been caught!
Behind the barricades of your bitchiness
Is there affection in your eyes?
Still - I fan the flames of your ego
To such a supercilious size!
He sighs
He sighs
He sighs -
And I don't know why!
But -
I'm a fool for fancying you
I'm a fool for fancying you
When you surrender your heart
To a vulgar little tart
Then all you will feel
Is how she wants you to feel..
How she'll make you reel!
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7. |
If I Walk Away
04:14
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Sunday night - you're nearly here again
And the hours have been too few
We spent apart - inside this heart
There's a cascading torrent of sorrow
At the prospect of another day
Tomorrow
Though I'm grateful for all you afford me
My soul? It writhes with boredom!
The means to quit - I just can't find it..
And so you sneak up once again
Tomorrow
But if I walk away from you
What will I do?
If I walk away from you?
Am I through?
Monday morning drags me back to you
And tiredness takes its toll
Through you I live life to the dullest
And though I yearn through the jaws of your portcullis
I simply cannot flee
This ennui
And any hope of living life fulfilled
Diminishes more each week
When every day you breath the same air
Motivation melts away..
But if I walk away from you
What will I do?
If I walk away from you?
Am I through?
And if I'm still here
This time
Next year
You know I never found the strength to walk away
To walk away..
But if I walk away from you
What will I do?
If I walk away from you?
Am I through?
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8. |
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Shot down by double barrelled disappointment
I stand forlorn and gaze at you
Utterly unable to fathom this effect you’ve had on me
I just can’t vanquish this anguish!
In this shallow world self worth obscenely
Depends on our physiology
Well – if you hate your body so much – why not let me love it?
O let’s be awful together..
Come on – lose your inhibitions
Oh - lose your inhibitions
To the human condition
The Human Condition..
I know such sentiments may seem callow
(Well, we’ve all got our inner teenager)
Please stop saving yourself for some superficial superman
And try an exercise in compromise!
For if no one desired you – I still would
O – you’ve such heavenly ‘features’..
But there’s a pandemic frustration sweeping across the nation
Of less desirable creatures – please listen to me now and
Come on – lose your inhibitions
Oh - lose your inhibitions
To the human condition
The Human Condition..
And when he’s done – and your clothes go back on
You just know he’ll lose interest
But what would it take just to drag you down to me?
You name it – I’m paying..
Come on – lose your inhibitions
Oh - lose your inhibitions
To the human condition
The Human Condition..
We're only human!
Human
We're only human
Human
It's The Human Condition..
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9. |
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She followed every single Government guideline
“5 a day”, “to bed on time”
But sadly – she died
From “something inside”
Whilst full time half wits they reported
Lies as fact – the truth distorted
To sell more
Of their tawdry rags
With sadistic statistics
To demonise all unemployed and the obese
For a war of nutrition feeds an appetite
To thwart your inner peace
For the world will give you cancer
(Well, if you believe all they say!)
A paedophile lurks on every street corner
Just itching to take your kids away..
He followed every published recommendation
“Everything in moderation”
And sadly – he died
From “something inside”
Whilst heartless hacks hacked and hacked
Hacked and never once looked back
Or even paused
At the misery they caused
The mourning papers – how they bleat
And shed their crocodile tears
Whilst amoral hypocrisy on every sheet
Shows us what to fear
For the world will give you cancer
(Well, if you believe all they say)
Teenagers trash your local Tesco
(Every hour, every day..)
Asylum seekers? "The New Grim Reapers!"
Proclaim these glorified TV guides
"They'll take your job - then dig up Princess Diana..
And jeopardise your way of life!"
They hounded her to suicide
Just for what she was inside
And what a surprise..
No one was fired.
The eyes of young children
They do not see
This intolerance that you breed
But it’s hard to ignore such scaremongering
When it’s so much of what you read
For the world will give you cancer
(Should you gladly pay for all they say..)
Well then you’ll never find real answers..
So here’s the news – once again..
O - burnt toast will give you cancer
(Should you swallow all the lies they sell)
Immigrants will marry your flowerbeds
Or worse still – make them gay as well!
Single mums will steal your iPhone
Then microwave your cat
And why do we always
Blindly accept these things as “fact”?!
(THESE THINGS AREN'T FACTS!!)
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10. |
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When it’s been so long since you’ve kissed someone
And your best lines fall on deaf ears
When all your days drift into one
How life looks rosier perched in the pub!
When you heard the Carling calling
(But you didn’t heed the warning)
And a “roll up” just delays your woes.
When you thought that you knew better
(But then received a letter)
And now all you can see is –
Bills, bills, bills, bills, bills..
But I won’t give up on life ‘til my last breath leaves me
I’m going to watch the news with Peter Levy!
Look around – life’s plainly absurd
(Though I’ve had a few ales – and my words may be slurred..)
There’s so much more to life than the 9 to 5
That terminal struggle to stay alive
O – look around, life’s plainly absurd!
So let’s open the wine..
When your rent’s gone up (but your job went East)
For a tenth of what they paid you
When you’re always broke
How can you afford fun? (love)
Don’t you wish you’d been born someone else?
And whilst you skulk in the shadows of the valley of debt –
Well, everyday life goes on
The revolution’s on telly (but you’re there at the bus stop)
Thought three just went by
And now it starts to rain..
But I won’t give up on life ‘til my last breath leaves me
I’m going to watch the news with Peter Levy!
Look around – life’s plainly absurd
(Though I’ve had a few ales – and my words may be slurred..)
So we vary the routine going 8 ‘til 4 but
That still leaves you tired and bored
O – look around, life’s plainly absurd!
So let’s have some more wine..
When your name’s synonymous
With Alcoholics Anonymous
(And for some reason you just can’t remember why..)
When you heard the Carling calling
(But you didn’t heed the warning)
And now nothing will dispel your woes
They say “What doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger”
But you can’t take this heartbreak very much longer!
Still I won’t give up on life ‘til my last breath leaves me
I’m going to watch the news with Peter Levy!
Look around – life’s plainly absurd
(Though I’ve had a few ales..)
So when you’re lying in the gutter just looking at the clouds
And your toast always lands butter side down
O look around – life’s just absurd!
Though you know in your heart things could be so much worse!
So I won’t give up on life ‘til my last breath leaves me
I’m off to watch the news with Peter Levy!
O – look around – life’s so absurd!
So let’s finish the wine!
(There’s no more wine…)
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A Short Dark Stranger Leeds, UK
A Leeds based purveyor of pumping power pop!
80s / 90s style throbbing, crashingly
catchy synth-pop epics with cathartic, heartfelt, emotionally honest, cynical yet wittily pithy, observational and self deprecatingly amusing lyrics.
Whew! That was a lot of adjectives!
Have a listen & if you like what you hear, why not support me by buying some tracks? You know it makes sense! ; )
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