First album

"the Dave Graney Show

ARISTOCRATIC JIVE

a good old boy in slave to the royal way
a buckskin fur trapper in the court of the mad king
a cattle baron partakin of afternoon tea
holdin his pinky finger in the air
restin his spurs upon the leather chair
what makes a man?
money, blood or nerve?
it's what you don't do that counts the most
high society
the names the airs
the mysterious manners
the proper way of doin things
bespoken
by appointment to his majesty, the Queen
what makes a man?
money, blood or nerve?
it's what you don't do that counts the most
flamboyant negativity
outrageous non involvement
flash bastards
cool rulers
aristocratic jive
the pioneer pitch swallowed whole
bigger and deffer
harder than the rest
you can make it if you're me
colonial child
voodoo man
slight delay
perfectly placed
slighly off
plastic soul
fake jazz
what makes a man?
money, blood or nerve?
it's what you don't do that counts the most

BETWEEN TIMES

play it out, sweetheart
no rush
it's between times
you know what you have to do
move
it's alright
we've both been down this road before
we can't go on, I know
It's alright
it's between times
it's between times
I see you standin at the counter
chewin gums
big red lips
I wanted to mash in for you, you smiled
the air was so tight
what's anything worth in between times
it's between times
your man, he had to disappear
well the world turned (with our help)
and you and me , we walked back in(just like before)
I see you pour a drink and kick off your shoes
they're red
they must be new
we could talk if we felt like it
the air was so tight
what's anythin' worth in between times...."

SMILE AND WAVE

"sittin' here in my silver tower
wearin' my worst overalls
listening to talk back radio
keepin' in touch with the world down below
so many people
helped me along the way
smiled, reached down and gave me a lift
"hey buddy, I knew you when!
Oh man, the good old days!
we had some times, didn't we!"
smile and wave
worst of all is bein ghosted by a version of yourself
somethin you said out loud to somebody who wants to cash out now
you can't argue with yourself
you called it
you made your bunk
smile and wave
you know I'd love to cut your head off
just to throw my hound a bone
smile and wave"

AM I WEARING SOMETHING OF YOURS?

"you don't know what I've been doing
you're too close
you don't know what I've done
I was doin' it to you
you can't know it but I've finished
I've moved on
you don't have enough room
to put me in the picture
am I wearing something of yours?
you're huffin and puffin
pointin and shoutin
tryin not to laugh
you're a worried dog with no place in the world
why don't you take a picture
it'll last a little longer
am I wearing something of yours?
you don't know what I've been doing
someone will have to tell you
someone you would listen to
a tone of voice you would trust
am I wearing something of yours?"

TWIXT THIS WORLD AND THE NEXT

"grey, listless feeling of dread
wide open sea
no drums on the riverbank
no wind on the water
the light comes up
the light goes down
compass needle slippin' stupidly about
what kind of country is this?
the weak are punished for their lack of power
like in that movie, "the incredible shrinking man"
must've driven my powerboat through a lurid , yellow mist
now I look up at the monstrous furniture
how long have we been in this country?
how long has this been happening?
where was the border?
where was the coast?
for every reaction there is a reaction
for every effect there is an effect
for every response there is a response
for every injury there is an insult
have we been lucky?
how long have we been in this country?
how long has this been happening?
when did we become strangers?
when did we cross a border?
what were we thinking all those years ago?"

Lt COLONEL, CAVALRY

"I was a free man
like a highland prince
a fur trapper gazin into the distance
nobody bothered me with trifling details
my mind wandered the earth and the cosmos
rightin wrongs and cuttin fools down where they stood
I was goin up with the ship
I had my finger on the trigger
I could always pull the plug
I was livin to tell the tale
gangtackled by squares and pencil pushin sons o bitches
wanted to tie me down on the farm
I found myself through action and movement
faced with an impenetrable wall of bamboo
I would draw my cutlass and work my way through....
I worked without a net
I moved without a map
I kept my own counsel
the rain would stop
the wind was stupid
I attacked
day or night
now I find myself in a small country
all my powers are useless here
there will be no charge
there will be no grand hurrah
there will be no swift victory
no heroics, no revenge
no townsfolk left gasping in my dust
I must consult, I must hear what you are sayin
I must include you and your friends in my plans
I must welcome you into my tent in the evening
I must eat my food with the men
there will be no charge
there will be no grand hurrah
there will be no swift victory
there will be no heroics, there will be no revenge"

THEY WANTED TO BE PLAYERS

"he plays a Hagstrom
she plays a Mosrite
just like Wah Wah Watson 'n' Sylvia Robinson
they both like to smoke between songs
they both take taxis (except to sound checks)
he pulls faces the higher up the neck he goes
she plays it deadpan
he's always comin off the road while she's headin out
she's goin up while he's comin down
the candle lit dinner with the door open wide
the singer wore a torn t shirt
she never spoke a word
a man sat by the side of the stage, draped in gold chains
he watched the crowd like he was searchin for an old friend
she had a lot of friends there
girls dressed like women in fishing villages
Mediterranean light
that was the idea
at least thats what it looked like to me
the males didn't have such remote ideals
they just tried to manifest a hard surface
they were so intent
they were almost gaseous
elemental
show people
they wanted to be players"

"As far as you go, I'm cold, ice cold
I'm gonna do ya slowly
I've seen the future and you weren't there
history is on my side
I'm gonna do ya slowly
It's like you're hearing canned laughter
like you're playing to the back row
it's like I'm here just to feed you lines
like I'm supposed to take a fall
I'm gonna do ya slow
I'm gonna do ya slowly
what a dump to find myself in after all that lovely flyin'!
my whole life was movin'
fluid forms, shiftin dunes!
now I'm standin' in a tiny room
my clothes are rags upon the floor
they were my dreams last night
I went out into the world like that
they seem so small
so small
I'm gonna do ya slow
I'm gonna do ya slowly"

I'M A COMMANDER

"Lt Colonel Dave Graney, Cavalry
I'm a commander!
gimme your ears
Gimme your heart and minds
your brain has just been commandeered
we are going to find an open field
sit and wait for the enemy to show itself
we shall march, drill and manoeuvre till they arrive
we will be flanking the opposition forces
a feinting pincer movement
there will be no question, no surrender
you will be my players
you will be my foot soldiers
you will die for my song
you will die in my son
I'm a commander

record company, you will drop my bomb
I will hear no talk of civilian casualties or public safety
radio stations, you are now in uniform
enjoy yourselves while you can
this is a war situation
I'll have no shirkers or squealers in my team
know what I mean?
you will be my players
you will be my foot soldiers
you will die for my song
you will die in my song
I'm a commander

here they come, boys!
white as hell and thick as grass!
engage bayonets!
there'll never be a charge seen like this ever again!
all heroes and soloists will be taken to the hospitality room and shot!
at ease!

"I worked in a timber mill for a year
put a bankroll in my wallet and left town
there was no reason for me to stay
nowhere in particular for me to head towards
slept in a car in Collins street
Sunday evening
lots of trees
a spooky hotel in Coleraine
readin a book about a guy readin a friends diary
in the hotel room where that friend went to die
pulled out onto a midnight street in Rockhampton
three guys thought I was gonna break into their pad
said they knew cos they just got outta gaol
we went inside for a beer and a smoke
this was the kind of place I was always comin back to
like my mind never wandered far
meanwhile my body drifted away
(whistlin, drivin, evil country, keep talkin, don't stop, evil country)

I go back nowadays,
I get in my car and drive
I book a date in my diary
I go back nowadays
I go back nowadays
I used to come back
I used to fall down
(whistlin, drivin, evil country, keep talkin, don't stop, evil country)

NO POCKETS IN AJUMPSUIT

"There's nowhere to hide
you've crossed the floor
jumped up on a table and struck a pose
you can't go back
you can't go forward
you've got the spotlight
shoot your shot
"Golly gee!" and "fiddlesticks!"
are not words you can honestly use
"It crawled into my hand, honest!"
is no really valid excuse
no pockets in a jumpsuit
hold on, baby, hold on
no pockets in a jumpsuit
strap yourself in, enjoy the ride
sit on the edge of the stage
nail your balls to a plank
fall backwards laughin and blow hard , brother all the way
no pockets in a jumpsuit

put your legs through first
then put your boots on
put your arms through last
you'll crush your cods otherwise
trust me
you won't be able to bend down so low
leave your wallet in the hotel safe
put your pistol by the side of the stage
walk on, tough and lonely
hold your gut in and your head high
there'll be no goin back brother, to t shirts and second hand suits!
you've crossed the border man
you walked around in public in a glove
no pockets in a jumpsuit"

Villainy

there'll be no warnin
you'll wake up in the mornin
the world will be upside down
south, south will be north
and north, north will be south
I'll be a villain and you'll be a clown
I'll be on the inside and you'll be way, way out
I cased the joint
I laid the stroke
it's a long string I'm pullin slow
(think about it)
how much do ya really wanna know about somebody else
(of course I keep this to myself)
I'll be a villain and you'll be a clown
I'll be on the inside and you'll be way, way out
I'm after the perfect crime
you'll never know I was here at all
what I want, you don't value
I'm just takin it cos I can that's all
I ain't no career criminal
playin up till the power returns
sittin in the dark
drinkin a beer
eatin a frozen dessert
"here's to the losers!"
that's what you used to say
now everythings gone so horribly pear shaped
I'll be a villain and you'll be a clown
I'll be on the inside and you'll be way, way out

SPEAK TO MY MEDIUM

"this is my story
as told to
the man who appears before you
I must approach you
through the proper channels
through the formal process
I must make sure that
I know what it is that I want you to know
I must lock and load
I must make sure that my stuff is strong
it must travel through several time zones and consoles
and be right for the local scene
somethin of the core
somethin recognisable me
must be manifest at the end of the chain
you'll have to speak to my medium"

YOUR MASTERS MUST BE PLEASED WITH YOU

"your masters must be pleased with you
your superiors must be happy
you've explained us to them
takin care not to identify yourself with us
you know they'll never let you in.....
your masters must be pleased with you
your superiors must be happy
they know you're not one of them
they know where you're comin from
they know you're not one of us
you know they'll never let you in....."

Rents in the veil of consciousness

I'm prone to sittin in an empty house
listenin to the wind in the trees outside
lookin at the dust on the bare floorboards
thinkin, "someone else would be walkin through this scene, doin' somethin'"
I'm liable to be writin this down
thinkin', "hey there's a song in all this eventless, timeless space"
I used to live here
you know I can even get time to think
that this is the true stuff of life
the empty set
the theatre in the light of day
away from the world
before and after
in between
a sparrow flyin through an empty room
I used to live here

Lyrics to "kiss tomorrow goodbye"(2000)
Lyrics to Heroic Blues (2002)
Lyrics to the brother who lived (2003)
lyrics to HASHISH AND LIQUOR (2005)
lyrics to WE WUZ CURIOUS (2008)
lyrics to KNOCK YOURSELF OUT (2009)
lyrics to SUPERMODIFIED (2010
Lyrics to YOU"VE BEEN IN MY MIND (2012)
lyrics to FEARFUL WIGGINGS (2014)