Everything was funny
don’t laugh
don’t get funny
I mean funny – like
“you’re a funny guy”
funny like , Warren Beatty funny
“I liked it – it was funny”

“there was somethin’ funny about that guy”
“somethin’ not quite right”

Everything was funny
Everything was funny
everything
well

if there was somethin’ funny goin’ on
that’s what I tuned into
and took away
that was my take away

Everything was funny
Everything was funny

except the stuff people laughed at
Everything was funny
right from the start
mostly it all stank
some things just went funny
I’m not funny
you’re funny
don’t get funny
Everything was funny
Everything was funny

Wilco got no Wilcos
I love the blues
Sgt Bilko, Hogans Heroes, F Troop
Wilco got no Bilko
Wilco got no Wilco – no other

those guys were worldly – worldwide
Wilco got no Wilcos

festival favourites – out of shape guys in denim
happy to be home - happy to be there
Romans! legionaires!
we saw the white sails

their kitchens came first – galleys!
clankin’ through the bush
twenty two flavours of milk shake
Wilco got no Wilco

Yankees got no Yankee
no cultural oppressor
West can’t get no East!
They want it, but can’t
Wilco got no Wilcos
No Wilcos on their case – in their mind

out on the town- Hershey bars and silk stockings
Wilco got no Wilco!
Wilco got no Wilco!

The Anita Effect

I call you – you don’t call me
I don’t like to get called
that stuff in your mind, about me
that was so long ago
when I got exposed

I moved out of frame
I call you – I don’t get called
I told Mick “be a little like Brian and a little like Keith”
that’s what he did

I was a soft explosion
I was just passing through
Prince Stash! Eurotrash!
Tara! Tara! Tara!

I call you- I don’t get called
not anymore
I liked the drugs
they were my drug
I call them – they call me
they’re allowed – they’re me

Marianne knows! Only Marianne and I could know
we rode in with the boys
told them where to stand
how to say things
what to wear

It’s the Anita effect
I call it the Anita effect
don’t ask me
people come into my room
things happen
they stick around - too long
what can I do?
people get hurt
people get lost
people get burned

It’s the Anita effect
I call it the Anita effect

I knew the Wild Angels
I was hangin’ around
not part of the gang
Blue and Nancy – wow!

I knew the Wild Angels

the girls boosted the boys
talked them into shape
hoisted them onto their feet
picked the hills to die on
and picked the fights

I knew the Wild Angels

I knew the Wild Angels
when they came into town
long fringes over their faces
ruffled shirts, spurs
helmets with fox tails

I knew the Wild Angels

The girls burnished their breast plates
and whistled and cheered
picked the hills to die on
and picked the fights
“c’mon!”
put their feet down
“c’mon!”

I knew the Wild Angels

I Was No Captain

In my life, I have known captains
not the strongest or the fastest or the best
just captains
I was never captain stuff
follow me! don’t know where you’re goin’- twice!

I was no captain

Reed from the Fantastic Four
Tracy Braidwood – long dropkicks from full back
short back and sides and no teeth
Bob Shearman from Sturt
they were captains

I was no captain

I just liked to drift wide on the wing
float sideways over the pack for a mark and run
I was no captain

Duke Ellington
Count Basie
you’d follow those guys
listen to them - believe them

Chet Baker, Charlie Parker, Keith Richard
Those guys needed a structure
a house already burning
Brian Jones
he was a captain
he left maps and strategies for Mick

I was no captain

Where did you glom your glimmer? where?
Where did you glom your glimmer? where?

pink rocks fizzing under your skin pop (doin’ it right there)
Where did you glom your glimmer? where?
Where did you glom your glimmer? where?

don’t wish on a bummer
you’re a slim slammer not a flim flamer
tell me
Where did you glom your glimmer? where?

an only child, all grown up
good morning big school girl
can you walk me home?
tell me
Where did you glom your glimmer? where?

nothing wrong with stealing
some things money can’t buy
some things you just got to steal
nothings so grim
its actuall like
it glommed onto me! it glommed onto me!
Where did you glom your glimmer? where?
Where did you glom your glimmer? where?

The Ballroom Blitzed
I’ve been in the ballrooms all my life
I’ve seen some things
I need to tell you
the crazy lights
shadows on the wall
when people get bombed and get up to dance
I’ve seen ‘em all

slow dancin’ – moga done
the leaning tower – the static statue
the grim reaper – the junkie at the crossing
the luuude dude
arms in the air – eyes closed
epic?
flamencish? nah – matador much?

the pole – the invisible pole
the polarity
the drama inherent
the one legged Brolga

the eye patch - the violin bow
the power chord – the wang face
whatever you do , don’t catch an eye
you’ll regret it
whatever you do , don’t catch an eye
you’ll regret it

The smoking years
I loved the soft packs
European style – toasted
I was in surplus
I had a life to burn

later came the bulk packets
the bad burning, no name, loosely packed
I was in surplus
I had a life to burn

started on Trent, ended up Embassy
Zippo lighter, engraved, scrimshaw
still got it!

chain smokin’ , blowin’ smoke rings
beyond words
like an actor – any actor! - it was a great act!
a prop – way up high
hidden in a cloud
I was in surplus
I had a life to burn

Every day it’s a scramble for your mind
you wake up and try to get a toe on it
I don’t mean a finger – I don’t wanna play
I mean a toe
so I can get to my feet and go
every day it’s a test of what you believe
what you are  - who you’ve been
every day its a dive to reach
what you were- who you’ve been

every day it’s the blues, period.

every day it’s a subterranean feel
what’s the opposite of a dive?
into the dangerous pool I climb
every day it’s a joke, I have to get it
I have to listen for it- the beat
I have to watch for it
I have to be open and shut
every day it’s a lie I’m bein’ told
I know it from yesterday
I got tricked into believing
I tricked myself

every day it’s the blues, period.

Ronnie loves to hear people talk about her
she says “tell me what you said about me that time!”
“Tell me again what you said about me that time!”
It’s nice to sit with someone who knows what they want
who tells you what they want from you

a star – a mon-star - a wo-man-star
a star – a mon-star - a wo-man-star

out on her own – stoned, immaculate
out of place – out of time
ain’t we all?
a song and dancer
her eyes are closed
her lips are pursed
her pupils are blown
the lights are cursed
she give people what they want
tells people to give her what she wants
shewants to get paid
she wants to get paid

a star – a mon-star - a wo-man-star
a star – a mon-star - a wo-man-star

A Little Water On My Bird

I was young for a long time
I held my game, tight
I was young for a long time
I held my game, tight

There was never tomorrow
there was always tomorrow
there was only tomorrow

parties – todays, parties

I had a light touch
I skipped away, free
I refreshed, again
I refreshed, again

I’d find a new obsession
I’d find an old kink
some old face in a new doorway
same old face in a new doorway

I’ve been a rocker
that’s how I am
that’s how I got here
so late

He Was a Sore Winner
he was a sore winner
it was a thing
a real thing
they gathered in mobs
they gathered together to howl
the sore winners

they were the real people
the forgotten ones
he was their boy
their man I mean
oh yes a man
he was big on that
the sore winner

they had everything that you could want
but they heard whispers
about other people who got stuff
too, too easily
they turned to the sore winner
they heard the sore winner
he spoke for them
he said
“I got this…”

he was a sore winner
he was a sore winner

Hell is You, Babe
c’mon over here
and give me a taste of whatever you feel like givin’ me
throw me a bone
finish me off babe
tell me what I did and what I do
hell is you, babe
I got no reflection
you got to tell me how I am
you got to tell me what I look like
how are my shoes? babe
How is my breath? babe!

hell is you, babe
O beast!
machine!
unfeeling presence!
unseeing eye!
octopi
lets gild the lily
I’m burnin up with your eye
you never look at me no more!

you know all about me
I cant do anything to change
to be new in your eyes
I’m at the mouth, the hellmouth
I don’t care
oh its dark and hot
we don’t know much and we’re cool with that

hell is you, babe
it’s wherever you are
that’s where I wanna be
hell is you, babe
 burnin’ in your reflection
it’s the only one I’ve got

hell is you, babe
hell is you!

Pop Ruins
Oh look at that beautiful song
lyin’ there in the sand
hey, where did that sand come from?
must’ve come in with the song
Pop Ruins

I love this song!
Hey, you know, we built this song
this song in the sand
Pop Ruins

Edith Grove
Powis Square
56 Hope Road
Petrie Terrace

This Brokedown Palace
on Shakedown Street
this Family Dog
we listened from a  window in the Mars Hotel
there’s a Marquee Moon as well
busted
absolutely wrecked
Pop Ruins

The Roxy
The Odeon
Apollo
Palais
Olympia
The Whiskey
Detroit Grande

yeah I felt bad for places and times that were never mine
Brooklyn '79
back in the day, back in the day
the Zen Arcade
arcady
arcadium
with the Jimmy Castor Bunch
Pop Ruins

yeah
I love this song

I’m not just any nobody
I’d have you know
if you could hear me
I’ve got words
I can describe my rooms
I know the limitations of my moment
I’ve got ideas
I’ve got ideas about my station
I’m not just any nobody
I’d have you know
if you could hear me

I’m not every nobody
they’re not in me
nobody knows nobodies like nobody knows no no nobodys know nobodies no
it’s the celebrated ones that fascinate like nobodies business
I wouldn’t say I’m the nobody’s nobody but
if you could find a way to drop that into a conversation
could ya?
I’m not just any nobody
I’d have you know
if you could hear me

Comrade of pop
FKOP
Former King Of Pop
ironic? unnhh
Iggy Pop
Cincinatti pop
peanut butter
Radio Birdman up above
yeah, hup
Gabba Gabba Hey
we accept you
one of us
Comrade Of Pop

no time for talk of kings and queens
got to make the scene
got to kill the Dean
Gabba Gabba Hey
we accept you
one of us
Comrade Of Pop

Miami Jim
Sagittarius – bullshit
got to get your kicks before the whole shithouse goes up in flames
Gabba Gabba Hey
we accept you
one of us
Comrade Of Pop

a spectre walks the earth
comrade of pop
Gabba Gabba Hey
we accept you
one of us
Comrade Of Pop

Where Did All the Freaks Go?
when the going can’t get weird
and the weird can’t get going
when the going is only weird
and the weird can’t get going
where did all the freaks go?
huh?
how straight are weddings?
they must be in a church
though nobody knows a church
it must be right
anything else would be just weird
when the going can’t get weird
and the weird can’t get going
when the going is only weird
and the weird can’t get going
where did all the freaks go?
huh?
where’s our green light?
where’s our Kings Cross?
where’s our Soho?
what’s our sound?
how can we tell what’s happening?

Answering Machine
Once I had an answering machine
though I never asked it a  question
it wasn’t for me
I suppose I could’ve called it myself but those were more serious times
things were simpler
everybody had one
they were filters
extensions
others threw them up as screens
force-fields
that’s how simple things were
you were in
you were out
you were how or away
people knew you
you knew how people knew you
if you weren’t around they could leave a message on your answering machine
don’t you wish you had an answering machine?
it never got smart
it never got any smarter
it didn’t answer back
it just answered
people had no reason not to believe that you weren’t really there
that you were sittin’ there listenin’ in real time
“hello, you have called Blah, Blah and Blah
we ain’t here right now
leave a message after the beep and we might get back to ya
hah!”
Once I had an answering machine though I never asked it a question
don’t you wish
don’t you wish you had an answering machine?

you’ve been in my mind
person
where is my Id?
where is my super-ego?
you’ve got access
Triple AAA
you know my ways
my passwords
you’ve got clearance
you’ve been in my mind
person
you’ve been in my mind
you’ve read it and heard it all
you’ve been to places I never want to know

you’ve been in my mind
person

where is my north?
my south?
east or west?
where is my evening star
where is my donk?
my badonk-a-donk?
you’ve been in my mind

you can’t have your boogie
and boogie too
 you can’t re-pop a cherry
just your cork now
all you curators out there
all you curators nowhere
phony rock’n’roll clubs
guys collectin dogtags
cosplay cos
curators over here
is the world so small that people like you can grab it?
No!
you can’t have your boogie
and boogie too

you’re a bad shopkeeper
a sad barkeep
got your bar in the street with the gunslingers
we got the tales to tell
you can’t have your boogie
and boogie too
dunno thyself
I dunno
dunno thyself
barkeep!
what’s with the make up?
shave off that beard
so many brands in one face!
you can’t be iconical and be iconic too
you can’t have your boogie
and boogie too
woah!
you can’t have your boogie
and boogie too

Finally, I Come Clean
I was at the mic so long
losin’ my head
I sung like a bird
but I never squealed
how would you be?
In the afterlife
in the words in peoples minds
how would you be?
finally I come clean
and I’m dirty
I got drunk in your eyes
and let you crawl all over me
don’t tape me up
when I’m winding down
when I won’t know what I’m sayin’
and I’m ridin’ in my wits
how would you be?
what if I come clean?
and I’m dirty

Old Friends
old friends and the way they lay their heavy hands on ya
bony hugs
when they drop down
like birds
of prey
whatever
grey
old friends
they know you for so long
no no no no
you hear a familiar sing and groan
you go back to the hits
you play the standards
the classics
old friends
re-creatin’ the scenes again
they were finished when I me them
that was very attractive
compelling
they’ve been over forever
there’s been no boom
no bust
old friends
there’s a wreck on the lawn
the gate is broke
there’s a wreck on the couch
lookin for coins
old friends
old busted couches and dead lawns
I walked out of the room for a decade and blinked
old friends
they were over early
closed off
gated
it was great
old friends
smilin’ skulls
lampshades covered in human skin
shocking
teeth like
what can you say?
fuckin’
fuckin’ like cadavers
what?
like fuckin’ cadavers
so many ways to say it
old friends
hello
don’t take this bad
just got the horrors
old friends

ZIPPA DEEDOO WHAT IS/WAS THAT/THIS?

baby I wish I’d been a better popstar
wish I’d known when it started/I would’ve gone without more/would’ve stayed inside
I would’ve stayed in shape
I could’ve been even more of a bastard/I could’ve really settled some scores
stayed low/kept my head down/picked my moments/kept my powder dry and then BAM!
baby I wish I’d been a better popstar
cleaner! I was so messy/nothin’ but trouble
I should’ve showed up/had my act together/showed some respect for the room
baby I wish I’d been a better popstar
I could be dead by now/it’d be all over/you could be on your fourth or fifth
I blew it baby! I screwed up!when it was time to shine I wasn’t shiny
I should’ve stayed on message/I shoulda repeat myself/repeat
I shoulda known it was on!
baby I wish I’d been a better popstar

Song Of Life
yeah starin’ out from my cot/back where I started/where it began/where it stops
meet everybody by the age of ten/you search for those cats again
all your life/ faces in the street/you put ‘em to the lens
try everything on in your teens even though so much is down to your jeans
never knew such plenty in your twenties/get real sentimental in your thirties
get awful mean in your forties/get even better in your fifties
then you better find somethin’ else to do
song of life
ZIPPA DEEDOO what is/was that/this?
yeah, chucked all my toys out/here I am then/back where I started
song of life

ULTRAKEEF
Fuck you day /fuck you time of day
fuck you breakfast/fuck you food/
fuck you mealtime/fuck you bedtime
fuck you Dartford/fuck you London
fuck you England/fuck you France
hello D-O-P-E hello dope
hello B-O-O-Z-E hello booze
hello Bentley/hello guns ‘n’ knives ‘n’ kohl
kohl for my eyes
goodbye Brian/hello Anita/sorry Anita/zzzzzzzzz
fuck you old man/fuck you young girl
fuck you Mick/kiss me Charlie
fuck you Canada (Toronto)/fuck you Australia
hello Jamaica/hello Walter Raleigh and Henry Morgan
fuck you life/fuck you death

Gloria Grahame
GloriaGrahame/manifest/manifestly/manifesto/
Nicholas Ray/take off your eye patch/give us a spray/Nicholas Ray
I got this gun in your eye/I got this gun in your eye/fuck or die
hashtag rebel/of course/hashtag me too whatcha gonna do?
you put me In A Lonely Place and made me love the killer/fuck or die
a jug of boiling coffeee freestyle to the face/fuck or die
Gloria Grahame/manifest/manifestly/manifesto
Nicholas Ray/take off your eye patch/give us a spray/Nicholas Ray
I got this gun in your eye/I got this gun in your eye/fuck or die
where’s your son been? where’s your son been?

YOUR MASTERS

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 you’re not one of us
you know they’ll never let you in

Is that what you did?that thing that you’re doin’?
I heard about stuff you did but never seen this thing
is that what you did?is that what you did?is that it?
the man from the museum was passin’ through town/he said “I ain’t comin’ in unless I get it in print
that you’ll be doin’ what you did/is that what you did?Is that what you did?
should I know? I just gotta know
is that what you did?this thing that you’re doin’?is that it?
I just gotta know

Where’s my buzz?where’s my buzz?
I walked in here/like I rolled/my head was tight/my tongue was thick/my eyeballs were warm and full
my voice was burred/where’s my buzz?/where’s all the talk?it’s worse/where’s the window?
the hot window for me/where’s my buzz?
everybody else flew outta the blocks/I need my time to come/soon/where’s my buzz?
I left it around here/I remember now/where’s my buzz?I paid my dues!?nothings happenin’!
I should be feelin’ it by now! where’s my buzz?my signature moment/my viral clip/my theme!
where’s my buzz?

You’re all wrong/just you/not everybody/but all of you/you’re all wrong
I see a spectrum under you/that’s a nice way of sayin’ you’re on it/you’re all wrong/you’re all wrong
you’re all wrong/you’re not right/you don’t feel us feel you/you’re all wrong
you’re all wrong/ok/everybody/that’s the way you’re gonna hear this/you’re all wrong
you’re all wrong/nah/just you/but all of you/you’re all wrong
you’re all wrong/your nose/your smell/your walk/your words/your voice/your vibe/you’re all wrong

TWO BASS DRUMS AND A MELLOTRONE - DIGITAL SINGLE - released June 2017

this jam emanates from the north you know
from the USA and EUROPA
bespoke to my pal Georgio
Georgio “the dove” Valentino
he opened the book at Genesis
he closed the book at Genesis
from Genesis to Genesis ya dig?
two bass drums and a mellotrone

he strolls with his pal Patrizia F.
she knows the score from the streets she left behind
the king of Luxembourg nods out on his throne
two bass drums and a mellotrone

Miami, Detroit, Bruxelles
she sells seashells
vous connaissez Niagara?
OK!
Morrissey and Stipe walk into a bar
whats gonna happen man?
just havin’ a jar!
two bass drums and a mellotrone

put your “pr” in front of an “OG”
prolly get progly
party people know the party line
Clare Moore steps up to her vibraphone
Patrizia checks her herringbone
party up yer parlophone
daisies up yer piano
whoopsie doo!
dozey doze!
two bass drums and a mellotrone

at Charterhouse they got their flow
PA’s had yet to cruel the show
Genesis had the lowest blow
26” Phil
Peter 24”
two bass drums and a mellotrone

from Genesis to Genesis
Mahavishnu too “you know! you know!”

two bass drums and a mellotrone

party people know the party line
party up yer parlophone
daisies up yer piano

whoops!
whoopsie doo!

dozey doe

everybody!
lets get progly!

EVERYBODY!
LETS GET PROGLY!

LETS GET TIGHT - album 2017

I'm a good hater, I've been told
a real alligator
a smiling assassinator
a cold potato
I'm a good hater
revenge is a pie flying towards your face in super slow motion
I wanna do you slowly
you keep hangin' 'round
I hooked you in
I'm a good hater
one of the best I've heard
from someone who said they should know
you can depend on me

a ranked detester
a super loather
a champion raspberry blower
a righteous disliker
I got my wings and bars
I'm a made guy - officer class

got it goin' on
poison workin' while I sleep
I'll take my time
then one day at the bus stop I'll turn and smash ya
I'll stew on you
I'll brood on you
I like a familar groove
I'm a good hater
a great conflater
I'm the best detester
you screwed up Hazel, when you crossed me
you're in the red
I'm counting
you're carried over
I was open
you swung
I got legs
I got reach
I'm a good hater
a real alligator
a smiling assassinator
a cold potato
a ranked detester
a super loather
a champion raspberry blower
a righteous disliker
I got my wings and bars
I'm a made guy - officer class
I'm a good hater
a real alligator
a smiling assassinator
a cold potato

This Is The Deadest Place I've Ever Died In
I played in a freezer in the meatpackin' district
I played in a mortuary-Kinselas-Sydney- true!
This Is The Deadest Place I've Ever Died In
I mean this side of the ground
Is what I'm talkin' about
you try to talk it up
you and your boss mates
You're all a part of the general scam
This Is The Deadest Place I've Ever Died In
I ain't no party pooer
this place is pooped
It's shit itself
It's shit
ITSELF!
you got all these security guards
you got all the right drinks
lined up and waiting
your pop tarts and your pop charts
your number ones are number twos!
tankin'!
stinkin' the joint up!
your smashes are trees fallin' in the forest with nobody there to hear
do they happen? really?

This Is The Deadest Place I've Ever Died In
and I died, many times, sometimes I think I might have-lived to die!
This Is The Deadest Place I've Ever Died In

I Been Trendy
I been trendy
it was nice
a little respite, from runnin' and chasin' and headlocks and divin"
lights, cameras, smiles
like a party in a tanning salon
I'm no good in the sun
Irish skin
I burned, then blistered to a violent crisp
I can't hold the pose
to grip and grin for so long
I been trendy
it was nice
it's not my thing
I'm more suited to the shadows
got more to work with there
I been trendy
it was nice
sweet
cute
like a party in a tanning salon

Are You Out Of Your Mind? (Get Back In)
you talk too much
we can't not know what you're thinkin'
what's on the front of your tongue
you talk too much
once- just once- you spoke up
your down words
they go on
we look at you
we hear ya
some things should stay on your mind
some things should stay in your mind
are you out of your mind?
get back in!
most of you should stay as an idea
you talk too much
where is the surprise?
its a need to know world
you talk too much
we can see what you're thinkin'
your front door is open
people just walk over and look in
some things should stay on your mind
some things should stay in your mind
are you out of your mind?
get back in!
most of you should stay as an idea

You need a Kleek, Klook
You need a Kleek
How can you happen?
How do you happen, anymore?
You need a Kleek, Klook
You need some weight
wait!
some critical maths
you need a host body
from whence you can dive
You need a Kleek, Klook
You need a push
you need a time and a place and a story
you need to click
you need to slot in and look right at home
you can't just pop
you can't just divide
you need to have happening people around
people need to be dealing with you
You need a Kleek, Klook
You need a Kleek
people need to be dealing with you
like you're a problem
their problem
You need a Kleek, Klook
You need a Kleek
you need to be
boo!
you need to be!
boo!

Rupert's Pet's Grave
Who's gonna shine it?
After they sweep away the trash and clean the paint?

Rod Stewart in the 22nd century, tells a story of his days as a grave shiner. He was kept hoppin', cleanin' the screen of whatsisname- Rupert's Pet's Grave

Will there be guards?
Will they be proper, white?
How the man was hated! Stirred the pot so tight.
Who's gonna clean Rupert's Pet's Grave?

He wasn't a "people person", oh how he hated people!
Hate won't keep you alive
It''ll drench your mind - and the lousy words you traded in!

Everybody dies! It's not just a story!
Everybody's got to work - I understand!
Who's gonna clean Rupert's Pet's Grave?

And before that? At the grisly end?
who's gonna wipe?
What poor minimum wage... is gonna clean his privates?
Make him respectable?
Cos when the powers gone to someone else and the crowd drifts off with the force .
And he lays in his cot in a wilderness of unrequited hate...
Everybody dies! It's not just a story!
Everybody's got to work - I understand!
Who's gonna clean Rupert's Pet's Grave?

Let's Kick This Mob Out
the sugar was on the table
Scott promised he would die
strong and bitter
Tony was tied to the mask
winkin' for his siren
Malcolm was in the long boats
talkin' with his cut throats
sayin' he knew the way
he had navigation up the wazoo
let's kick this mob out

the sugar was on the table (that's what they said)
let's kick this mob out

"hey wait! No boat must land! Not on our watch!"
they said
"we must decide who goes there!
and the manner in which they rot!"
let's kick this mob out
let's kick this mob out

officer Dutton plodded the perimeter
DUTTON DRESSED AS MAN!
refugees threw themselves from high buildings
sewed their lips together
let's kick this mob out

I Ain't Hi Vis
kinda FIFO though'old school FIFO
FE FI FO fum

I ain't in plastic yellow
I ain't in danger
not standin' on a stage like this

I'm in the scrollin' teens
rough seas
nothin' changes though
people come and go

I ain't Hi Vis
I don't need it
the attention
I ain't got no tools
just flash clothes

cream buns at eleven
be alright I s'pose
I ain't got no tools
just flash clothes
I ain't Hi Vis
I'm underworld
I ain't got no tools
just flash clothes

I Need To Be Hot
sorry to be so cold
I need to be hot
you know
ttsssssssss!
I'm not talkin' about trendy
I'm not talkin' about cool
I can't afford to be cool
I need to be hot
hot
hot
you know
hot
tttsssss!
I need to be hot
get out of my way
What is my way?
toward the sun
not just the light
the fire!
I need to be hot
I need to be hot

I'm not talkin' about trendy
I'm not talkin' about cool
I can't afford to be cool

Be Sad For Me
I'm outsourcing my tears
cryin' it forward
Here, here's a minor chord
strum it, they will come
tears of a stadium
tears for streaming
here, have some of mine
I'm all choked up but I don't have much time
I'll owe you big time
be sad for me
I'm outsourcing my tears
be sad for me
be sad for me

How Long Does The Raunch?
How long does the raunch stop in one?
askin' for a friend
how long does the raunch stop in one?
your eyes
your eyes
dictator dragged through the dust
fatal blow by the trucks
hungry child with flies in it's eyes
chocolate steaks, corn jacks potato cakes
double cheesey crust flakes
used to have to choose to
not choose not to
your eyes are bigger than your plate
how long does the raunch stop in one?
stray stones in my pathway

tell you about my friend
walkin past a screen
that was open
raunched
and he copped it
how long does the raunch stop in one?
way down in your groundwater
how long does the raunch stop in one?
sediment bed
your eyes
your eyes
used to be hard to grab
had to walk across town
your eyes
your eyes
what does it do while it's there?
your eyes
your eyes
how long does the raunch stop in one?

I'm Never Off
I'm never off, sorry I wish I could not be so
so for a moment I'm never off
I'm always on
Even when I'm sleeping I'm humming a tune from
somewhere in the future

alcohol and dope help to stem the flow
stop and go
isn't it the same for everyone?
the buzz you get when you open your eyes!
when you close you eyes!
when you wake up-anyway

I'm never off, sorry I wish I could not be so
so for a moment I'm never off I'm always on

I could write a book if I could get away
rent a room in a new city and the words would come from somewhere there

alcohol and dope help to stem the flow
stop and go
I'm never off, sorry I wish I could not be so
so for a moment I'm never off

I'm always on

FEARFUL WIGGINGS - album 2014

a woman skinnies up a man
when he sees he’s in her eye
in his eye she looks at him’
he pulls in his gut
straightens his back
combs his hair
tightens up his game
a woman skinnies up a man
before, he was all
“ why would you give someone half your tucker
to get the other half cooked?”
what?
now he’s ramrod straight and combin’ his hair
and shaving
a woman skinnies a man up

everything was legendary with Robert
everything was legendary with Robert
he had reverberation happening
inside, at least
early reflections, oh yeah
this was the beginning of a new age
it was good when he talked to you
he really talked to you
he was always on
in the moment
everything was legendary with Robert
someday people would write about this
or that
his riveting self consciousness drew you in
a crowd gathered to see what he was lookin at
talkin’ about
everything was legendary with Robert
it wasn’t him or the times
it was just the angle he lucked into
the attitude
the window that came between him and the world
framed him in the world
forever
everything was legendary with Robert

country roads, unwinding
down I go
my father came this way - my mother too
Max Harris’ heroic cry “on throwin a copy of the NewStatesman from the window
while driving along the Coorong”
comes to mind
country roads, unwinding
staring out the window
drivin into life - beatin back the miles
into the past again
into the future again
like before
goin’ up - goin’ down
foward - back
kangaroo tails by the side of the road
stickin’ up through the saltbush
father whatsisnames tree
I ain’t no farmer
unwinding country roads - harnessed
seat belted
calendar holding a life tight
dates and times
places to be
lookin out the window
winding
rewinding
shootin’ off into the sky

I’m the stranger in town
silly I know
that was how I looked when I left the hospital
I walk across the room to somewhere I don’t wanna go
with my cloak and dagger look
I don’t belong
I don’t feel right after all these years
I’m hangin’ back and listening
I rarely speak
I’m the stranger in town
stupid - I know
I should’ve grown up
I did - but wrong
I don’t wanna separate
I’d rather disppear into the crowd
is that weird?
I’m the stranger in town
people are used to me now
“ that’s Dave” they say
“ the stranger in town -
still” - smirk
with my hat and tall shoes
I don’t belong

look into my shades, babe
travel over the surface
travel those smooth black desert sands
I am mean, babe
I am mean and I have been hurt
I’ve got a right, babe
I’ve got a tight to be wrong
it’s not you, babe
it’s nothin’ to do with you
someone is gonna pay, babe
someone is gonna pay
I am gonna lay waste to someone’s little world
I am at war, babe
I'm a man on a mission
I am out to destroy something
anything
I've been wandering the earth, babe
darkness everywhere
devastation, baby
devastation,solitude
it feels so funny to be talking to you
I built myself a surface so wide
no one would ever get around

je suis un autre (je est un autre)
remember that when one talks to one
write it on one’s hand
je suis un autre (je est un autre)
how did one get here?
how does one get out?
to where does one drive toward?
to where does one go back?
the steering wheel at one’s knees
pickin’ one’s nose
liftin’ one’s cheek
one is another (je est un autre)
one is being thought
one is another (je est un autre)
one is being
one is being held tightly
one is being thought
one is somebody’s story - somebody elses’ story
one is somebody’s myth - somebody’s reailty
dead on one’s feet - live on one’s mouth
punchy - hear the bell ring and one swings
still on one’s feet
rubber legs - rubber brain
can’t help thinkin’
je suis un autre (je est un autre)
to be and not to be

you were all wrong and I am right
when I said that, when I’m sayin‘ that
you laughed and looked away
you thought it was all over
today I feel like I have been painted by the artist Schiele
every joint is bent
elbows and knees are real raw
skin is loose and ruddy, eyes are cactus
painted out of a corner and
smack in the middle of the canvas
I feel like I have been written out
ground deep into the page and my story has been told
I could not know how I could end from this low position
a tune is not somethin’ I could hold right now
I’m all ears I can only listen
I’m all thumbs
my eyes are sliced into my face
doughy, itchin’ masss
my clothes are bandages
look! it’s the old Docklands wheel!

how can you get out of London?
how can you get London out?once its in you
there’s no escape, I tell ya
imagine if you were born there?
if you didn’t come to it from the outside
if you’d never heard of it
if you were of it
how can you get out of London?
Sir Walter Raleigh
Dr Alimantado
all the monuments and towers
frenzy
blowup
the prisoner
running for a bus
you pass into it too
it swallows you whole - like a giant whale
how can you get out of London?
how can you get London out?
a life interrupted
you could’ve slotted in there
how can you get back on?
the wheel has kept turning

I know you can’t see me
I’m hopin’ you might hear
thought of somethin’ - a song - in the shower
couldn’t hold pen or paper
it flowed from my mind - straight in and out
like a bird through the room
then - later - in the car
I got some of it back then almost lost that
is it happening? the long fade?
I know you can’t see me
you might lose focus - yourself
I know you can’t see me
back when I was drinkin’ etc
wish I could access that pathos
that was when I was drinkin’ ha!
I know you can’t see me
since I quit drinkin’
thats when it happened, yeah?
wish I could bring that drama
that bad feeling - that storm cloud
that hangover
then you could spot me
then you’d know

flower of the earth
I could say the name of what ails me
you'd drop to your knees
you don't see me
you don't figure in my dreams
I'm on my high horse
I'm feelin’ good right now
I'm in a fight, understand?
I'm whippin’ it for now
I know the way I'm gonna go out
I've been there
I hate to lay it on you
why not?
I'm part of an elite
l’homme et la femme est la fleure de la terre
man/woman is the flower of the earth
its like the grim reaper
put his hand on my shoulder
in the woods and got distracted
I was an unfinished kill
40 years later
blood in a parisian bin
what was that?
my life was a gift
I should never have been there….
l’homme et la femme est la fleure de la terre
man/woman is the flower of the earth
think about it - your luck
then get back to me
get over yourself
get serious

fearful wiggings
here’s to the only one I know
the only one who knows me
her name is Clare - with no I
she’s here to chew gum and kick ass
all the shit I’ve written and you counted me in
like that song by Waylon - ain’t it true!
speedin’ our young lives away
you lookin’ at the back side o’ me
ain’t it true!
why such a bittersweet air from the
fresh prince of hilair?
haven’t you lived?
I rode my scooter of the train - the Bluebird
into the city traffic
it was like a situation comedy
I drank wine from your shoe
we kissed in the seaview
hey ain’t we met some dopes
ain’t we been silly too!
if nows not the time for tears
dunno when that is
we watched tv - we knew tv
always lived outside
had the door open wide
as above so below thats how we played it
hey this emotional stuff
people eat it up
its sweet - can’t be good for us
you wrangled me - hey!
not in front of the men - jane!
didn’t one of us think to say
“ hey get the door will ya!”

everything is perfect in it’s beginning
in it’s forming
and foaming
everything is perfect (mostly) in
it’s beginning
epic
complete
including
swallowing the future
eclipsing it with light
everything is right in it’s beginning
absolutely
in it’s forming and foaming
in it’s explosion
it’s burst and gathering plume and rush

I was there
there was nothin’ to see
nobody had pointed
there were no walls there was no ceiling
there were no lighting effects
there was no soundtrack
there was no frame
it was a plain
I was there
I was there it was dark and grim and
hard to hear
I was there
nothing had been compressed
there was no room
there was no crew
there was no crowd
to see something, in a way
you have to be lookin’ for it
to find it - the pattern
what‘s the point of the boundless panorama
you’re in?
I was there, I was in on it
way inside, I knew, didn‘t I?
to see something, you have to be lookin’
you have to have a finger pointing
there was no map, no design
there was no story
there were no names
I was there

You've Been In My Mind - album 2012

blues negative
I didn’t wake up this mornin’
my woman was there
herself, as ever
blues negative
I was on an island
I wasn’t robinson crusoe there, hah
I didn’t wake up this mornin’
blues negative
one thing didn’t lead to another
that sort of flow had stopped a while ago
nothing was suspended
everything was set

flash in the pantz
I’m a man, I reach for a hammer first
and if that fails, that fails
we’ll gather up the pieces and stare at them a while
we could’ve waited but we don’t wait
we don’t wait
if it moves, bash it forward
always seems to be a good idea
flash in the pantz
I’m a man , I do the seein’
you’re lookin’ at me! I see you lookin’ at me
you don’t see me lookin’ at you
I’m a man, I do the seein’
and the lookin’
if it moves, bash it forward
always seems to be a good idea
flash in the pantz
I’m a man
I’m a man
flash in the pantz

field record me
put me in the picture, give me a page
put me in a place and time where you can find me
pin me down and forget me
field record me
make me real
treat me as if I was here
field record me
put on your coat with many pockets and stick that pipe in your mouth
and approach me sensitively in my world
field record me
field record me
treat me like a golden bug
and you’ve had the mad luck to be here
field record me
field record me

we need a champion
we need help, someone from outside
someone who can see us
we’re so close
we can’t see each other
we’re knockin’ each other up
we need help
someone from outside
oh we’re blind and full of badness
bad blood, bad sweat
makin’ some bad scenes for the hell of it
we need a champion
we ain't got no slack
we ain't got no scratch
we ain't got no rope
we ain't got no background
we ain't got no time
we ain't got no depth
we ain't got no height
we ain't got no room
we're so close we can't see each other
you don't know what I'm doin'
what if I could do it to you?
whatever it was that you were wantin me to do?
we need a champion

I dont wanna know myself
say I see myself walking down the street
I dont wanna know myself
say you tell me somethin’ I’m supposed to have done or said
I dont wanna know myself
then I can keep doin’ the things I like anyway
I don’t wanna stop the car and get out and walk
this is a rough neighbourhood
yeah I was blind
yeah I was drunk and stupid to begin with, yeah
why would I wanna spend time with a guy like that?
left to my own devices I break down to an ape-like state
I turn around as you walk through the door and
get my stuff together from somewhere
I look at you and take it from there
I dont wanna know myself
I don’t wanna know myself
no others shall I bear
not even me
I wanna travel light
I don’t wanna know myself

cop this ,sweetly
somebody's gotta be somebody, sorry
somebody's gotta be somebody, sorry
cop this, sweetly
everybody! anzaciacally supposed
don't worry, I feel that we're among strangers here
dandiacally opposed
cop this, sweetly
the leviathon ! hi!
the leviathan! beside us! always!
I’m talkin’ bout the good times!
before they climbed into our brains!
nobodys gotta be nobody no more no
nobodys gotta be nobody
cop this, sweetly

life’s a dream
life’s a dream you wake up in
and every day you try to piece it together
a spotlight on a deep stage
sometimes movement in the darkness all around you
life’s a dream you keep trying to return to
to grasp, just out of reach
something you just can’t remember
life’s a dream you wake up in
and you try to remember where you are
I guess one day all the lights will stay out and you’ll go back to sleep
and there’s all this stuff that’s collected
suddenly in your way
all the furniture keeps being moved (hey what are all these people doin’ in my room?)
there’s all this stuff about you
stuff you’ve done
life’s a dream you wake up in
lifes’ a dream you wake up in
and you try to remember where you are
lifes a dream you wake up in
and every day you try to piece it together

playin’ chicken
gas. yeah. I blew out. myself
over stretched, all around my world
blind to myself
I know you can’t see me except in this song.
“ chicken song” I’ve heard it called
the only one that took with people
within these 4 walls , you know me, outside I ride free again
somethin about this song
the chords sounded like somethin’ huge
playin chicken
in the traffic with sunglasses and a cane. closing my eyes
people say “do it again”, “why can’t you?”
I know I leave the situation hangin’
walk out of the room while you’re talkin’ to me
playin’ chicken
I know. I’m sure you can’t see me. not here
inside this particular song. This certain song.
the chords sounded huge. forever expanding.
I was headin’ in the other direction. hurtling down
into the colours of the room.
eventually I was only here in this certain song.
outside I don’t exist.
playin’ chicken

midnight cats
you wake up, you know something’s in your flux,
behind the background, your essential noise.
under your skin like midnight cats, movin’, pissin’ somewhere in your dreams.
my mind is strangely pleased and full of play and fur and walks up and down
licks its own arse and stares happily into existence itself.
some of these shapes and moves made it here before me, before I existed. they were already here at the end of the road. they don’t care if they never get home.
midnight cats
I was young and carefree, sittin’ on the floor
somet hing bad happened. I would sense it - I knew
I had no words or names but I could feel those midnight cats fuckin’ in the bushes. Or fightin’
all jumpy and nervy , all knowing and dumb
all soft and scratchy , all night.
midnight cats
time was - they were there but I didn’t really know.
submerged, submarine, underworldly things
grey dots, forms and feels brushing up against my brain pan during the long night
midnight cats

mt gambier night
mt gambier night. dark and light
wide open to the stars. bright satanic mills
houses I know the stories inside
different people. I know the stories around
back streets. back town. back roads
back state. back country. back world.
spiralling down and holding still
a holding pattern decades deep. I fall onto my feet so sweetly.
I know this night, mt gambier night
cold and clean . lights spill onto an empty street
I walk down the middle of the road
my footsteps keep me company
somehow, outside of the world.
mt gambier night
mt gambier night. decades later I drive by myself as I walk
I’m in the backseat on the right, stoned.
music shuttin’ the world out
booze keepin’ the lid tight
a sad carload, tryin’ to act natural, how would a car?
mt gambier night. back in it
waitin’ for me
in a holding pattern
I pick up where I left off

mistral
in no particular order…yell any of the following
and this guy said- this wise guy said
“ you bought the ticket you dont take the ride”
oh I wish I could see that ol’ gang of mine
we were uptight snobs but we had a game plan
all offence or defence. On or off
we held to our structures
not like this free for all that I’m stuck in now
where did our brain go?
you brought the ticket you didn’t take the ride
understood?
we thought that was so funny
never thought hat it would turn out to be true
bill, mad al, flea, leon, steve - before he was handsome
its even worse when you know how something works
when you know how something is supposed to go
you got dags
I want destruction on piano
dont change what you’re doing , change towns
give me 30,000 with every out!

I’m not the guy I tried to be
I’m not the guy I tried to be and tryin’ was
what I brought to the scene?
the wanting- to reach for so long
even when everybody knew it was hopeless
I saw my friends turn away, shuffle their feet and cough
I’m still standin’ here where I always have been
I’m not the guy I tried to be
now I have to find a new way to live
to move through the world
once I had so many futures
I was furious - goin’ forward
nothing held-I didn’t grab-nothing took
I’m standing here where I always have been
I’m the only one who knows how short I fell
I’m the only one who knows what I was jumpin’
in society I move where I can
inside I sit corrected
I’m not the guy I tried to be
I’m not the guy I tried to be

A stand alone digital release in 2012 -

KING OF THE DUDES

If there was a town
if there was a city
if there was a world worth lordin’ it over
I would be there ignoring one and all
cool as spreading fern
king of the dudes
deep in imperial splendour
you can call me king of the dudes
I sit under the cool canopy of a perfumed tree
sippin’ licorice tea
I shun the trouble of conversation
the displeasure of memory
the vanity of thought
I would be there ignorin’ one and all
king of the dudes
ah yeah
cool as spreadin’ fern
derangement of the body and mind?
no!
I would know the race!
hypocritical politeness
slavery of civilization
love
drugs
spirituous liquors excite only disgust
I would be there ignorin’ one and all
king of the dudes”

ROCK’N’ROLL IS WHERE I HIDE
CD RELEASED ON COCKAIGNE 2011

In 2011 we released a re-recordings album on Liberation. It was all material that we’d recorded in the mid 90s with the Coral Snakes. There was one new song on the album.

WE DON’T BELONG TO ANYBODY
We don’t belong to anybody
c’mon
it’s a sweet ride
we were in the Moodists
we wuz curious
soft ‘n’ sexy
that’s us
we work out in the open
and when we work we play
we bounce
and when we work, we happen
goofin’ off to the sound of music
we don’t belong to anybody
Coral Snakes- deadly but beautiful
White Buffaloes - demons and omens and signs
Hashish and Liquor
I speak through a lurid yellow mist
I’m the brother who lived!
I’ve got blues! Heroic Blues!
we don’t belong to anybody

Supermodified - remix/re-record/remaster album - AUGUST 2010 (most songs appeared on Heroic Blues and The Brother Who Lived in 2001 and 2003 respectively)

I'm Seein'Demons
an' I ain't the only one
I'm seein demons an' they're lookin back at me
they know
they know
they're movin' all together
wonderin' why I'm hangin' back so

you look out one night
see a bunch o' ham hocks'n'hog jowls
and their trotters are up on the table
upsettin' their glasses
I'm seein demons
an' I ain't the only one
I'm seein’ demons
an' they're lookin' back at me
they know
they know
they're movin' all together
wonderin' why I'm hangin' back so

my chinese doctor says "take this, it'll come out through your bowels"
"not sitting on top" he says for the seventeenth time and howls
he's seein' demons
an' he ain't the only one
he's seein demons an' they're lookin back at him
we know
we know
we're movin' all together
wonderin' why he's hangin' back so

Midnight To Dawn
what are those endless hours called
midnight to dawn
on a workin' day
people are actually listenin'
to their radios
hangin' on as hard as they can
to the song
to the voice
midnight to dawn
I don't wanna be but I am
midnight to dawn
seems to be my time
I love the morning
the fresh morning
I wish I could hold onto that morning feeling
midnight to dawn
stackin' the shelves
drivin' the kid to sleep
nowhere no time
midnight to dawn
people see things so clearly
they try to say it
they try to do it
I love the morning
the fresh morning
I wish I could hold onto that morning feeling

all our friends were stars
a scarf thrown just so
something in the past though we were so young
you'd skip out the front door and someone would be walking by
you'd get caught up in the slipstream so easily
I fell in with the wrong crowd of course , we were alright
there was nothing wrong, we knew we could feel each others moves
eyes
all our friends were stars all our friends were stars
smoking guns
the action had just happened
we were keeping our cool
we had the speed and the one eye
straight men on every corner for our punch lines
and we never missed we had the timing too
we'd ride into the sunset again and again
ride the whirlwind into oblivion
all our friends were stars all our friends were stars
we were on our way out on our way up
heading west of course, the way of the sun
she had her hair just so
he held a bottle like he was about to let go and let it crash to the floor
to be young and wasted was our goal and we kicked it without fail
we had all the questions, no one else had a mouth
we were all ears
we raced to the end before the song had finished
we knew where it would go next better than them
all our friends were stars
all our friends were stars
glamourous and doomed
so sad, so pale, so fast
so on her way back to her own planet
all our friends were stars all our friends were stars
blazing trails, putting out
we saw ourselves in the shop windows and changed course
things happened so fast

the brother who loved
the two of 'em were like brothers
they lucked onto a code
they had their time
they had their moment
they played an old ,established part so well
they were doomed, tubercular and thin
it was all they could do to hang onto their guitars
to stand up was a triumph
to throw their voices like they did
with such abandon at the mic
people came from miles around
I often wonder about the brother who lived
one of the two was tougher
or luckier, or smarter
he was found in the garden shed
the tapes were mixed by his road manager
his image triggers off a world of possibilities
a diver poised
the door always open wide
somebody standin on the other side of the river
I often wonder about the brother who lived
y’know all the stuff we lifted
all the parts we stole from those beautiful American records
y’know the stuff
all the lonesome hobo,devil got my woman, routines
how were we to know that they were for real
they were prophecies that would come true
ah the scenes that we would play
now I go about
no one knows where I am
I play where I can

clinging to the coast
clinging to the coast
holdin to the inner city
who knows what horrors lie in the west
the beach
the sand
the coast
the bay
the coffee
the tables on the footpath
the bars
the faces
the little shops
the markets
the lovely village
the vibe you read about
walkin everywhere
your reflection in the window
the excellent windows
funny chairs
old cars

out west they have factories
out west there is no water
out west it is dry
mornin sun in your eye
afternoon sun in your eye

clinging to the coast
holding to the inner city
who knows what horrors lie in the west
don’t go no further
don’t go inside
there is no water
you might never come back
they got hired guns
they got hangin judges
they got lawless streets
and roaming savage tribes

I ain't natural
I ain't natural
it's just the way I am
I can't be cryin - so don't ask
you'll have to get that stuff from somewhere else
I know you're lookin
I know you're listenin
I know you're there
thats why I'm here
I ain't natural
its just the way I am
you know what people like me do
I got to find my way in there
I got to set up and do my stuff right there
in that space you're lookin at
I ain't natural
it's just the way I am
I ain't natural

I don't know anything

I didn't know much but what I knew I really knew
upside, over, back to front
my mind was like a torch light in a pitch black room
but that light was hard, so hard
I could even see through it
I could see through my world to the other side
if I'd have met you then
you wouldn't be around now
I'd've slayed you where you stood
I knew everything
now, I don't have the juice
I don't have the concentration
I don't have the power
I don't know anythin'!
it's like I'm standin' in a floodlit stadium
I'm at the centre square
I know the names of the streets outside
and where they go
I know the last time I went to the end of those streets
I know I'll never get to the end again in a long while
I know
I don't know anythin'!
I don't know anythin'!

anchors aweigh
in the beginning
it was so hard to breathe
so hard to see
so hard to find some space
like the air was earth
packed tight
so many people
all around and above and below
anchors aweigh
then there was a time of great confusion in the world
I drifted, free from the earths drag
there were no borders
there was no night or day
there was no end in sight
there was only the vast and weightless pull
of the time around and ahead
anchors aweigh

there was that song of yours
somethin' about your eyes watchin' someone
well now it's so hard to hear
now those eyes are closed
the streets of london
the streets of perth
dog eared pages in a library book
collected on the fly
shovin' off from the shoreline
anchors aweigh
all the people there were strangers to me again
anchors aweigh
anchors aweigh

a boy named epic
took his own name
from a big book
its funny how your life
becomes a story
that you thought you were writin'
he lived by himself
but he kept his custard creams
under the sideboard
like a cat
he spent all his money
on records and magazines
he so wanted to be inside
to be inside that other world
and to be in the big room by himself
a boy named epic
he took his own name
from a big book
its funny how your life
becomes a story
that you thought you were writin'

Knock Yourself Out - album released on Cockaigne June 2009

knock yourself out
as a concept
I know ......incredible
but I’m a reality
knock yourself out
go your hardest
you’re only human .......so am I
rock’n’roll is where I hide, how great was that?
you’re just too hip baby
don’t mess with the blood
I’m not afraid to be heavy
wild stuff, lke an oil well blowin'
it never stopped
I never tapped out
all i did was plug in and wail
I went down south
into the underwirld then up I flew!
I was playin with the rooms
I’d make the walls disappear
even when I was an insider I was an outsider
I knew the time all the while
I’m a man
I stuck my head and my hand up
I stood up
knock yoursdelf out
as a concept
I know .........incredible
but the world deserves somethin' great once in a while
I’m gonna release your soul
did you hear about the melbounre mafia?
I told you about that
I’m in the future now
Comrades! I have marched on! ........I address you from above
there he goes with his eye out!
my schtick weighs a ton
gold!
where did this shit come from
where does it go?
newspapers need me radio needs me
I’m a volunteer
nobody asked me to be so great
Kyle and Jackie O .......thin gruel .................sav soup
thats the coloured water when you take the hot dogs out
death by a thousand sucks
that guy would give a dogs arse heartburn
je suis le grand bouffe
un tres grande homme!

shitly!shitly!

I write in the street
I pick up on the word thats dropped in the open for anybody to hear
I like the stuff thats been handled
I talk out loud
I’m in the mix
in the crowd
I ain’t no joke
shocking and awesome
I use the tongues
actually , you do know what I’m talkin’ about!
as a concept
I know .....incredible
but I’m a reality
knock yourself out
go your hardest
you’re only human ...........so am I
I’m a man
I stuck my head and my hand up
I stood up
knock yoursdelf out
go your hardest
you’re only human
so am I
haters! ignorers more like! get in the queue
defend your radio station
defend channel nine
I can’t know what you mean, now what I mean?
night of the wolverine
who could bte my style
suck it and go blind!
theywould die
how much further could they take it?
give up!
I’ve got dimenssions
I’ve got form
I will have always been here before

bodysnatcher blues
you’re just like me
I can tell
you’re not really here
you’re not yourself
the faraway look
your voice trailing off
you’re just like me
I can tell
how many of us are there?
are we all made of sand?
you’re makin the wrong moves
tryin to distract
not really payin attention
not expectin anyone to notice
you’re just like me
I can tell
god help us all
there’s somebody there
but nobody is here
nothin is as it seems
we are all in the most slack disguise
you’re just like me
I can tell
you don’t care much anymore
but you don’t not care enough to give yourself up
to this world
you’re just like me
I can tell
your mind is somewhere else
you’re not really yourself
thank christ we’re not drivin
we’re just along for the ride
we don’t like it
but we don’t know any other way to get by
you’re just like me
I can tell
I’ve smoked you out
you like it and you don’t
you don’t have the energy anymore
to be on
to be singing

dylan the indie fake
the recurring flake
pushed onto the stage
never asked to be here
never volunteered
pure as nothin’ aahhh...heyyyy!
dylan the indie fake
I mean cant you see the mascara and pancake
minstrelsy !
blackface! gee did I do that?
I’m not sayin its bad, the fake the forgery sometimes refines whatever it started from and takes it to another , later world
a different context
out of context
it concentrates the power
just dont gimme none of that mystic, holy bullshit
dylan the indie fake
the recurring flake
dylan the indie fake
hes been tryin to tell you for year snow
hes pointin at somethin and makin faces and you just staer
youre always askin for ashtrays
dylan the indie fake
he was just seein how much liberty he could take
all dressed up liek a regency rake
dylan the indie fake

I need my guitar
I need to play some stoopid licks over and over
and let my mind out to wander
whie I make the shapes and move the box
play some old songs, play omethin’ new
follow a train of string somewhere
I need my guitar
that might sound naff to a civilian
all you platers
you know what I’m talkin’ about
I need my guitar
I need my guitar
I‘ve got two hands
one picks
the other makes the shapes
one dampens
one hammers on
I need my guitar
I need my guitar
to cool my mind and lay a web
a chart ove rmy scattered thoughts
like a navigator crossin’ an unknown sea
I got to step off and sail away
I need my guitar
I need to make somethin’ out of a foolish notion
to string somethin’ out as far as it will hold
and move it down a tone
I’m sittin at a station
I’m feelin antsy
I want to run my fingers across a fretboard
I need my guitar
I need to be idling and connected to something else
a thought that I can play again but slower
I need my guitar

so easy
so easy to find an enemy , so hard to find a friend
so far to go to feel a generous soul
into the past, over the sea
everybodys on the lookout for someone
whos gonna sink the slippers in
better to get in first
its the way of the world,
the real world, pal
so hard to drop my hands from my face to shade my guts for a while
so easy to find an enemy , so hard to find a friend
we're cuttin each others throats
and steppin on the faces of the rest
yeah we won't be comin back this way
(it's so sad we couldn't have had the brains)
fightin over this, fightin over that
property, a place in the queue
so hard to imagine a world outside where it doesn't have to be this way
so easy to fall in hate
the night swamps the day
,see a monster in a good friend
so easy to find an enemy , so hard to find a friend
so far to go to feel a generous soul
into the past, over the sea

Oakleigh Bowie blues
walkin the streets
lookin for a way out
pubs are shut to me
car yards and supermarkets
stroke mag shops
pockets are empty
me and a cop car
down in the bottom
I do the fuckin 'round 'round here
course I'm talkin now
now I'm in a place where I can see myself
back then I'm fallin down
my heads under a trucks tyre
I put it there
I'm blind
I'm underneath the world
I do the fuckin 'round 'round here
walkin the street
runnin out of the world
back livin with my folks
sick of bummin them out too
sleepin in the shed
too drunk to get in again
I do the fuckin 'round 'round here
the wind is moanin through me
I'm breathin hard
my eyes are closed
I learned to control my pulse
somewhere
who am I talkin to?

I don’t wanna go bush
I’ll tell you why
out on the backroads
those narrow roads seem to be elevated
its like you’re on a bridge and the land is the sea
you could fall off any time
the backroads of naracoorte
bulbous,maggotted,flyblown sheep
lonely crows, roaming murderous goats in your way
and then Dominic! Coming along silently, all dressed in heavy cloth
with his horse and buggy
never lookin’ at you
at least while you’re lookin’ at him
and people stare with their hungry eyes
taking you into their dry, halfclosed eyes
and they talk out of the sides of their mouths
and even the flies are goin’ mad
no I don’t wanna go bush
I wanna stay here
just on the edge of the city
so I can see the valley, the coast and the plain
I wanna keep my eye on all of ’em
I don’t wanna go bush
that’s where things catch up with you
like the branches reach down and grab ya
and you have to make do and get on with it and don’t be silly

It was then or never

back in those days when when I was deep in action
way down in the bottom of the street
breaking out - finding my feet
now I look back - from the clear air and see that as my mythic time
I never knew
it was then or never
theres the boy leaving- theres the boy dreaming
theres the boy gasping for air - theres the boy changed - coming home
the leaving and the returning heres the man going over the story
trying to fit it all in
trying to put it all together
was there a pattern down below?
down on earth - the boy races across a giant letter X
up above the man sits and sees a word with a tiny figure scurrying across
and the women when you were struggling - giant and careless
and the women when you were coming and going - tiny and pleading
and the waiting because you knew you had to wait
time was of the essence - and the timing of the time - the flux
you could squirrel away a day and come back later and it all be still up, still alive
it seemed other times
you turned to speak and the scene jumped out of your mind
it was then or never
and who would have believed that one day we would be so weak that we would look back on those days of struggle and torment , those days when we were under the ground in violent struggle,
who would have seen then the sight of us looking back and seeing ourselves in some sort of wonderland?
there we were looking back at ourselves
like lost shoppers in an endless mall - with no money and no credit and no id- no ID
and we've walked into the strangest shop - and there we are
blind to the future - blind to the past - stuck in the present
still blasting off - spending fuel at an incredible rate
flying by - missing stops - not keeping in touch
swimming out way too far - "come back!"…we yell - from the middle of the lake…
when we had nothing - what we had we treasured so
it was terrible to want so much so hard - that you put up with so much
and made the best of so little
I must be getting stupid

Honky tonk rope a dope
I've had to go in closer to people than I would've really wanted to
Ideally we would have never met
I'd have popped you so quick you wouldn't know
I'd have been quick and clean
my hands and mouth and and feet
are trained for artful destruction
I know the moves I have to make so you'll never get up again
you've felt my breath upon your neck
I left a tooth on your glove
to get a game going
I had to let you come in close and hung on so you'd go some kind of distance
I took the fight to you on a plate
I was bored
you had a night out
ideally we would have never met
the game got small while I was training
I've had to go in closer to people than I really wanted to
I was built for a more remote style
more detached
punching your lights out from one inch away
while holding your eyes up on a ridge

Sellout!
we were movin right along
shufflin down the footpath
then a bridge and a cul de sac
everybody turned around and looked
SELL OUT!
while you can
SELL OUT!
youd be mad not to!
time was people cared about what they were
they were composed
they had a story
a beginning and an end
hope was held out
SELL OUT!
while you can!
you dont know what youve got in a bank
a public bank- mob consciousness
you strayed into the circle and were surrounded
you cant get out
SELL OUT!
while you can!
SELL OUT!
before they move onto somebody else
you dont know how much youve got left in your tank
youve been pulled along by the crowd this far
how long would you have lasted by yourself?
and now theyve turned on you for some reason
SELL OUT!
quick!
you got the look
SELL OUT!
while you can!
somethin you did has clicked with this room
do it again!
SELL OUT!
before the tide turns !
and you know it will
SELL OUT!
while you can!
it used to be a perjorative term of abuse
once upon a time people gave a shit
SELL OUT!
while you can!
back when everybody wanted out
when there was a huge mass in the middle
and the wagons circled and wild ones whooped and hollered all through the night
SELL OUT!
while you can!
it was a shame
a public execution of the lame
now of course
we live in simpler times
and to not take the money and run is the biggest crime of all
cos theres nuthin to do and nowhere to go
and the cycloptic gaze goes down and around liek a mad searchlight on opening night
and the crowd hasnt gathered for no show
and no one is here
and they gotta find an it girl or a sweater boy
and that person has gotta take the cake
SELL OUT!
you know you cant win
and neither can you lose any more than you can now
if it gets to be your turn
if you click
if you get into a groove
you must work it all you can while you can
cos the mob can always turn
turn ugly
and you're still the game but you are being played to death

SELL OUT!

throwin one into the world
the madness of my cods
the codness of my being
pulling my love down from wherever it was
pulling me back down to earth
under the earth
a cavern of flesh
dank and vegetable
takin my mind out of it
I was here a moment ago
with things to do and people to see
later
Hotness!
Heat!
I could throw one into a hollow log!
not like when I was young
when I was ridin the rocket
I had some reflexes then
I could make some poise out of nuthin’
now I’m a swamp creature
and the crude is close to the surface
black gold
dark and gurgling
hotness
I cant believe myself
last ride of a mad, blind cowboy
throwin one into the world
hotness
heat
throwin one into the world, well 1/2 of it
throwin one into a hollow log
a dog on a chain
and not just for practice, for real!
I need it!
didja know the brain sits steeped in semen ? and you women think that way too?
primordial cooze
antediluvian spoof
I’m chained to an idiot, I’m caught in a hairy lasso
I am not winged
only in the wounded sense
standin on a street corner
waitin for anyone
I am horned
I understand that unicorny stuff
I am shod and bewigged and foolish
I am not winged , only in the wounded sense
I copped a beauty, a flesh wound
I ain’t just horny, I am horned
it ain’t cute nor funny
I’m takin a solo, and the sheet music keeps happening
and the train aint gonna stop
its an old song, I must know how it goes
but I keep gettin’ surprised , I’m so dumb
I am cleft, I am horned
I am bereft of reason
this girl in the hood
with the enormous shades and the earphones is drivin’ me insane
I will assume the heroic pose
paper in one hand, pencil flyin’ across the page
words tumblin’ from my hand
I look away as I write like a guitar player
I am horned
I am hooved, grey silver back smilin best
I have heard the news, theres some sort of rockin’ tonight
theres a whole lotta shakin’ gin on
I’m ready teddy
I’m cocked and loaded
I’m lookin for some tush
I understand nothin’ but I can explain everything
The lion I shoot, and I never miss...would you lay down while I have one
I’m bad
I’m ripe
I’m rotten
I aint thinkin I am rockin
the train is lookin for a station and I am nothin but shame I am shame full
I am a little red rooster, please drive me home
I have grown so ugly
I looked into the mirror....oooooh!
I’m born to kill
I am become death
I am the stuff of poems, I am the greatest , I am the base matter
its sad....I’m my only hope
love pull us down where we belong
dont worry
I dont exist
this is just a voice from the wind
are you a model?
are there thousands just like you?

2068 babe
"68 babe, 68
lets get it straight babe, 68
don't want any o' those golden tones
laid back summer nights
flowers , sweetness lights
afterglow
68 babe
bring on the broken glass, the petrol fumes the shoutin'
the runnin' the class
the idea, the act
the truncheons, the barricades
68 babe
you keep sayin' you weren't even born then
hey the times are always changin'
your eyes can see, your eyes can see so much more
includin' those before
you know I got a book of perfumed pictures
Richard Burton picked 'em up at the bazaar
you know those eastern potentates really knew how to take their time
68 babe, talk some crap
don't turn your back on your class, yeah, turn your back on your class
I know we'll have to do without the creature comforts
the cushions, the shades
people who know how to behave
68 babe
I had it with the good of the nation
68 babe, molotov cocktails , shaken and thrown
the stooges rehearsin in an ann arbor basement stoned
underground railways, pistol packin weathermen
wheatfields, motels, lost highways
wichita lineman singin in the wire
deserted playgrounds, dune buggies, pianos in the sand
burned out space capsules return each night
grievin' astro widow chartin her lovers flight
68 babe
assassinate our love
watch your bourgeois feelins as the show
lie about your past
the struggle, the soup, the freight trains
68 babe, assassinate my pants
I'll be your candidate
I'll feature in your revolutionary plans
68 babe
my love is a long range missile
you got me in your scope
68 babe
make me a part of your plans
indoctrinate me babe
68 babe
everythin' is camouflaged
everythin' is black and white
68 me babe, set my world to rights
everybody knows, everybody knows everythin'
I know the shop floor is empty
and the factory stacks are closed
the times are a changin'
but the frontier is comin back
only we're on the other side
and we're gonna be made sense of as we choose our soft drinks
68 babe, rise against your oppressor
recognise him, fear and loathe her
68 babe, read the riot act
assassinate some desire
68 babe
Graney
Sir David
Lt Colonel
Australia
Cavalry
Pacific theatre
it was a righteous, good war
almost fun
bohemian, international, 30 year old police action
imported records
imported magazines
cold hard stares
walkin down the street
we believed in the mob, the genius of the crowd
they threw half full bottles from passing cars
stopped and chased us down
we had to lose
we had to lose
thats what it was all about
we had to lose
we were inside enemy territory
they fell asleep across our supply lines...."

We Wuz Curious - Released on Illustrious Artists, June 2008.

you had to be drunk
You had to be drunk
To put it all together in any kind of way
I dunno how you could’ve walked that world other wise
You had to be drunk
To take the blows
And take some pills to take the edge off
Playing the guitar
I took some weed
I could see the holes yawning between the beats
I was flyin’ high above the land
The nights were still long and dark and well lit
The air was still close and warm
And somethin had just happened
Or was gonna happen
And there was nothin you could do
you had to be drunk
so you could roll
somehow we had to survive the fall
we were blind
we fell and rolled and woke up again
like nothin had happened
We read some books and listened to some music
Sat in a circle with some old guys
They’d been there before
They took us through the scene and what plays we could try
We saw the future
"we’ll have to be drunk", we said
that was our plan - that’s what we did
we couldn’t change out clothes
we were so drunk
we had to be out of it to survive
you had to be drunk
otherwise you’d feel something
surrounded by the undead - "that might’ve been us"
you had to be drunk
to make it funny - otherwise you’d cry
you had to lie to stay true - That’s the way it seemed
if you wanted to stay out of trouble - you had to lie through your teeth
and smile all the while and pull the wool over your own eyes
you had to steal
if you wanted to eat
there was food everywhere
they rubbed it under your mouth and dared you not to bite
but you didn’t have the cash and you wanted to live
you had to take it walk slowly, smile, and plan it well

I come from the clouds
I come from the clouds
I’m comin’ from the air
My feet seem to have never touched the ground
I come from the clouds
I talk of operational matters
I spill the beans
I come from the clouds
my footprint is airborne
light on my feet
my trail is in the sky-
the wind blows me
I come from the clouds
out of the sun
it’s a scam
It was important for me to cut through
I come from the clouds
I was a chance then
All the doors and windows were open and the car was moving
I come from the clouds
I’m the man from nowhere
I’m a tail dragger
I’ve been around- not around you
I’m here now
I come from the clouds
I speak through a fog
a lurid yellow mist
accumulated myth
I come from the clouds
nothing is relative

I kicked a goal
I ran from the players and towards the crowd
I never stopped
I found myself in a strange and quiet place
Its what I wanted I guess
a foreign land
the future
I come from the clouds
always, even to myself
I can’t help it now
old photographs ,old songs
Insects trapped in amber, loaded with the future
I wanted to escape into the open-
I come from the clouds

lets kill god again
lets kill god again
come on
you know you wanna
wasn't it nice when we were by ourselves ?
we were doing what we wanted
and we liked what we did
and it felt good
lets kill god again come on
since hes been back him and his black shirt pals
lookin' through the window all the time
wearin' him like a glove wearing us like a glove
shaking their fingers and shaking
their heads
come on
all we have to do is walk out of the room
lets kill god again come on
lets kill god again come on
those were the days
and if things turn out bad
things turn out bad
and if things turn out good
well ya know what thats like don’cha ? , yeah?
lets kill god again come on
you know you wanna
wasn't it nice when we were by ourselves ?
lets kill god again come on
lets kill god again come on
your days are not numbered
neither are mine
cast off your heaven and walk
lets kill god again lets kill god again....

junk time
we're livin in junk time
the jig is up the joke is over
we're livin in junk time
the game is over
the clock is winding down
its just a possession game now
junk time
you got too much time on your hands
or none
junk time
you're spendin it like theres so many todays
junk time
what does it mean to be first?
junk time
what does it mean to be best?
in junk time?
whos gonna be around to try any better?
whos gonna step up to the plate?
whos gonna know the score?
time is running out
we’re livin in junk time
its after the end of the world
we're still here
we’re livin in junk time
I'm crawling across the street
with my balls in my mouth
come on! get your stuff
junk time
you got too much time on your hands
or none
junk time
you're spendin it like theres so many todays
junk time
the game is over
the clock is winding down
junk time
what does it mean to be first?
junk time
what does it mean to be best?
in junk time?
its after the end of the world

I like to be haunted
I like to be haunted - I like to be alone
I know I don't give much - I don't give much away
I don't put out no signs or directions
I like to be haunted
I like the vibe –
I like to be haunted -
shadowed and hidden - moving away
some people like to be upfront – outdoors - talkin to everybody-hey!
some people like to be away and never settling down
I like my place but I like to be so far far away inside it
I like to be next door - watching you knock yourself out at my door
some people like to keep smilin some people like to get happy
put on a brave face despite it all - some people like to make show, above all, to cope
I like to be haunted
some like to be loved -some like to be chased -some like a crowd –
some like to do all the lovin' - some like to do all the chasin'
I like to be haunted
some like to be jolly - some like to be gay - some e like to be heavy
some like to be stoned - some like to be unconscious - some like to be old
some like to be new - some like to be sick
I like to be haunted
some can't do anything they like - they gave up long ago
some people are wasted…jaded….damaged…over it…past it……through caring
I like to be haunted
some want the soft sell - they like a nice toon
they want a happy ending - they want to know whats going on
they want to know the score - they want closure
I like to be haunted
some people need to be striong armed - led to the water hole –
some people need direction - they need to be dressed - they need to be drunk
they like to be seduced - they like to be schmoozed - they like to be crowded
some like a winter in the big western scrub lookin after the wheat bins alone
I like to be haunted
some like to be ordered - some like to be considered - there ain't enough glory
I like to be haunted
a world of possibilities - so many doors, escalators, elevators,destinations, arrivals
then this quiet cul de sac - the blue sky and the solitary fly
I like to be haunted
it’s a scam I know
I like to be haunted
today I came from out of the sky
I do not give a flying fuck - for keepin my hands dirty
I grew up in the mud - my mind is still under the ground
it’s the way I hear them
I like to be haunted

only passin’ through
he thought
one day he'd be in a hotel room and he’d start to read a book
and his life would turn around
he could see himself straighenin out
one day ,just like that
doing some martial arts,purifying his mind
he thought he would be here a while
in the dark
working his seam
then one day he would cut through
and powerful people would see him
for real
totally
he could put up with this life for a time
it wouldn't last forever
he could put up with these people and this mess
he knew he was only passing through
he never took the time to get to know anybody or anything too well
what was thepoint?
he was shootin through as soon as he could
he knew he was only passin through
he didn't waste his time lookin for signs
somethin would turn up
some world that would suit him so well
he would be a king
he wouldn't even know
he smiled at people as they reached down to pull him up
tryin to pull him back
back to life
the straight life he was quittin for good

I’m in the future now
I'm in the future now
comrades I adress you from above
I have marched on
yesterday is forever
there is only today
maybe tomoroow
hurrah!
I’m free of all those tomorrows
I'm in the future now
I'm in the future now
yesterday is forever
there is only today
maybe tomoroow
I'm over the scene
through the long grass
and lost in the woods
yay
rollin in it babe
riding the moment
like a jockey!
I'm in the future now
I'm in the future now
that rainy day has happened
hurrah!
I'm free of all those tomorrows
I'm going far,far away
I will be in touch
in time
through someone else
you will see a door closed
that’ll mean I’ll be behind it
through the mist of your eye
I will drift into view
hanging in the air....... stopping at will
I’m in the future now!
People killed for minutes like this!
I’m in the future now!
People died for days like that!
What?
I'm in the future now
I'm in the future now
that rainy day has happened
hurrah
I'm free of all those tomorrows

bring me my liar
one day i was out walkin and I said to myself
"dave...its time that I knew you! You who know the others!"
sorry to intrude
yeah, comin to you from the real world
so many real worlds
worlds within worlds
worlds within those worlds
closed worlds
open worlds
secret worlds
there are known knowns and unknown knowns
and known unknowns and unknown unknowns
yeah I heard that from a guy
I heard had been told just how much people like me needed to know
I spoke to someone
they stopped and grabbed my arm and hissed
forget everything!
I come from the real world!
and bill had the gun in his hand
his wife lay dead on the lawn
he turned to anybody and said...
bring me my liar
douglas was in bed with a young girl
mary walked into the room
he said "who are you goin to believe? me or your eyes?"
he lit a cigarette and stared
the girl got dressed and left
comforted his wife made his bed and waked out himself
are you fuckin with me?
are you fuckin with me?
you don’t know what I’m not talkin about
you don’t know what I’m not sayin’

I was a country boy
I was a country boy ...... boy was I country
I was outside lookin on
everything was happening somewhere else
I could see the whole thing..............everybody
I believed everything
I believed everybody else first
I couldn’t believe myself
I thought they must know what they are doin’
who was I to enter the scene
I was a country boy ...................boy was I country
I was open to the world
I was flat
I believed everybody
I couldn’t believe myself
I was last in line
I smiled and let people into my house
I was polite
I had a background in backgrounds
all the players came out to play
I took people as they came
I let them walk all over me
then i had enough
I shrugged and threw them off
I moved and they had nothin to stand on
I let em all talk
then i smiled and walked I waited till they forgot then I made my move
I was a country boy ...................boy was I country
I hear what youre sayin ..its so compressed... you know the room
I heard my voice disappear into the air
I had to listen for so long
I was a country boy .................I liked to make it look easy
whatever i was doin
I slouched around it and looked away as I made my pass

I needed someone to find me
sometimes I think I could've almost been wrong
perhaps I could've gone in harder ……perhaps I could've been a little smarter
paid more attention to my major mask ….kept my mouth shut more often
I could have let people find me in their own way but I was in a hurry
I wanted someone to find me but only in a way that I wanted (to be found)
I set the scene and fluffed the lights…and waited
then I had to rush out and press the button to stop the traffic so they could cross
otherwise….I know now ….I would have stayed in that scene forever
but I wanted someone to find me ……I had the greatest story to tell
I was holding my breath
down here…baby….down here I have something wild for you
you know it wouldn't work if I had to travel and play it out in the regular fields
my scenes were all in place down here, baby….down here
I have something precious for you
I needed someone to find me ……to get off the ground and fly
it wouldn't play otherwise
I know I would be sittin here forever
I could have been smart and played dumb and left the room the way I found it
….its my room I have to play in
and I needed people to find me in my pain and anguish
none of it seemed particularly painful or anguished anywhere else
I wanted someone to find me and then they would raise the alarm
and a crowd would gather around and I would be taken away
I could have gotten out of your way guv and respected the room a bit more
but I was in such a hurry
I knew there was only the tiniest of windows
I needed someone to find me

punk dies
you ain’t no punk
punk
real punks never get anywhere
they die in the bus garage with the engine on
real punks lose and lose again
punk dies
real punks get beaten up
real punks go down fast
real punks limp
get pissed real quick
punk dies
real punks live on cough medicine
they weren’t built to last
you’ve had too many square meals , man
we can’t see your bones
real punks can’t see themselves anywhere
real punks don’t wanna
real punks don’t leave a trace
real punks get in first and beat themselves up
punk dies

crime and underwear
I can’t speak my mind
I can’t see the day
People might hear the wrong thing
Somethin’ you don’t know you’re saying
Not everybodys here- that’s the problem- ever
Somebody died just before I started to sing this song
Then a whole bunch of people came into the room
Its like the room is moving
Like it’s a carriage on a train
It was already movin’
Some of the people – I never saw them get on
Must’ve come from above - perhaps below
Its not the same world I started with – in my mind and all around
I was walking through it
it was inside me too
Things I said were things I could say
I was throwin’ thunderbolts at will
Yeah, I used to sit down at the table and grab handfulls of the shit
I could grab handfulls of the shit
Now, I dunno
My reach is longer
My hands are soft
Now I know what I’m touchin’ and it spooks me
All I knew was the beginning now I’m fixed on the end
I was hurling thunderbolts at will
Crime and underwear
That’s what people understood
Thats what they heard best
That’s what I stick to
Crime and underwear
Its best to use a net
Make some sort of trap
Crime and underwear
Thats the key that this song is in

Hashish (part of a double set with Clare moore's LIQUOR) Released on Reverberation, July 2005.

there he goes with his eye out
Who’s that over in the corner with the tiny drink on his table?
Who’s that man with the pretty girls in his eye?
Such dark eyes Such a dark room
Who’s that over by the door?
Walkin’ in or walkin’ out with an ancient tune in his brain?
Such dark eyes Such a dark room
He’s thinkin’ about somethin'
Like a dog with a bone
He's ready to pounce
He never speaks
Such dark eyes Such a dark room
He sees things
He sees lotsa things
But he can’t see me over by the bar
He’s been so bad
He knows the tough life
He got his nose for free outside a pub in ’79
People believe him..people believe him
Such dark eyes Such a dark room
People can’t see him here
He can’t see me
He’s known luck
He’s seen it come and go
You gotta give it a shove every now and again
Such dark eyes
People believe him
But they hear what they want
He’s got a touch of the killer inside him about him
No one believes he could be so bad
He’s the sheriff
No one believes he could be so bad
Such dark eyes Such a dark room he carries around

my schtick weighs a ton
cos I ain't got one
that stuffs for jewish comics just after world war two
comin' on after the strippers
burlesque house style like you do
flippin' gags to guys with their strides around their feet
and hard ons jumpin in their hands
thats why my schtick weighs a ton
you have to have somethin' to protect yourself
some sort of mask
somethin' to hide behind
oh my schtick weighs a ton
I've been flyin' for so long
25 years I can't come down now
I got nowhere to come down to
whats down?
oh my schtick weighs a ton
I've been up for so long
hidin'
I don't anybody around
wherever I am
oh my schtick weighs a ton
Its people
people got their schtick eyes on me
My Schtick Weighs A Ton

everybody's gone (from somewhere)
they are more there
than here
they are hardly here at all
only as a shape
halfway through the door
there's a place half way down the freeway
yesterday
a place where they left
and in that place they sit and wait
everybody's gone
everybody's gone (from somewhere)

sometimes you can see yourself
you know
its winter morning and you’re getting your boots on
theres so much to do
you don’t have the time to stop and see your self
you're deep into life
way inside
you’re heavily connected to the future
sometimes you can see yourself
mostly you’re just flyin blind
you know this when you catch yourself
when you see yourself through a window
you’ don’t know you’re there
you’re carryin on like nothins happening
like you’re by yourself
its funny
you feel you could leave yourself a message
sometimes you can see yourself
you can’t help it
you slip out of time
you don’t want to
but you do
sometimes you can see yourself see yourself
thats when it gets tricky
you rush back to what you were doin before

Songs from Heroic Blues (2001) and The Brother Who Lived(2003) that were not remixed for SUPERMODIFIED.It wasn't that they were below par - more that they couldn't be improved. I liked them the way they were.

son of maggie mae
she threw my old man out the front door one cold , windswept night
she threw his clothes down from the first floor window
he said he was too young to stay
he was gonna move off to LA or somewhere
she said,
"you'll always be haunted by these windswept,cobblestone streets
you'll never get over me
no matter how far you go
what kind of brandy you drink"

I don't remember all my fathers faces
I lost track of all the city rooms we rented
there was a pool cue in the corner in a grand old case
a tartan scarf and a macintosh by the front door for a while
she left my pram outside the front door to soak up the sun for a while
two hoboes took me for a while
left me in a supermarket aisle

she brought me into her world
in her wild way
she was never a girl
people whispered a famous name

an old folk song goes all over the place
every foot step was illuminated
they say she had her wild times
long before and long after I arrived
the way I knew her she was so quiet
we were like balls of mercury
forever breaking
forever the same
he ran away
she ran away
I ran away

money comes from somewhere every now and again
an old folk song goes all over the place
a poor boy sits in a palace hung with portraits
of Jack the Ripper
and the Prince of Wales

Three songs I co-wrote with Matt Walker. I later re recorded YOU PUT A SPELL ON ME for Keepin it Unreal in 2006.

YOU PUT A SPELL ON ME

you put a spell on me
there's a ringin’ in my ear
my mouth is so dry
I await your call
sittin’ by the road side
drivin’ by your home
I sit in an empty room
everything is ready for you
I am free, I am free
I sit and wait for you

I am in your eye
you are runnin’ through my brain
I go over my lines
my story is being told

I am free, I am free
I sit and wait for you

you are a faraway land
you live once upon a time
you are a rumour I strain to prove

I live in your presence
I’ve been falling for so long
you put a spell on me
how could I be wrong?

I am free, I am free
I sit and wait for you

DON’T BOOK ME INTO A PARTY TOWN

don’t book me into a party town
you know I’m not gonna make ‘em happy
you know I’m sure to bring ‘em down
I’ll tell ‘em what they look like

I’m more of a bus depot
deserted train station kind of guy
way inside my clothes
lookin’ off into the distance

Jindabyne, or anywhere in the snow
Port Douglas, or any casinos
you know those people wanna boogie all night long
you know sometimes I feel the same way too

don’t book me into a party town
I don’t wanna be a messenger
they’re too smashed to shoot straight
I must be on my way

I don’t wanna bring the christmas lights down
leave ‘em alone to their shots
their sweet liqueurs ’n’ chasers
happy hours ‘n’bourbon specials
the bad news is comin’
all hell is gonna break loose anyway

JUST ADD WINE

y’know people sometimes so very far away
I see them talking to me like they recognise me
I see them waiting for me to respond
I’m unsure what it is that they saw me do
and whether I should try and do it again
just add wine
and all the pieces come together
like a flood plain
a salt pan after a good rain
all the flowers bloom and the bird life is something to see
I’m left wondering how it was that I lost my way
and why I’ve been laying so low of late
just add wine
just add wine
like a fine powder that just won’t knit together
like quicksilver,a substance that just won’t hold together
I feel a little disassociated and altogether partly somewhere else
just add wine
just add wine

A song I wrote with Kim Salmon which appeared on his album THE BUSINESS.

I’LL BE AROUND

I am going out to get shot down
I am going to get my head tore up
you might find me beside my tree
you might find me beside a box with my name on it

I’ll be around

I am goin’ to get slaughtered
I am goin’ to get shot down
I am goin’ to really tie one on

shoot the piano players
drown the programmers
the money boys know who they own
I am cactus
I am leaving the building
I am not leaving alone
judgment day has come early for some of you bastards

I’ll be around

I am naming the names
I know where the bodies are buried
I am wasted
I am tired of this game

I’ll be around

Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye Released on Cockaigne Records in Australia, 2000 and Cooking Vinyl in the UK, 2001

drugs are wasted on the young
drugs are wasted on the young
high or low you got it all goin on at once
whos on top whos down below?
whos gonna finish the race? is it a race?
endless vitality
boundless stamina
fountains of adrenaline
overnight tissue regeneration
drugs are wasted on the young
whats the use when you can turn a corner every time you turn a corner?
and keep on goin and jump on a ship?
drugs are wasted on the young

you got fireworks goin off in your mind and body unexpectedly
you can outrun yourself anytime
you've got your whole life around you
and all over the top of you
drugs are wasted on the young
so many dimensions are open anyway
so much sub text in the conversation
so much meaning in the world
so many signs
what happens when your bladder is bladdered?
and your dick sits in a glass by the side of the bed?
what happens when your brain can't be trusted?
and your arse plays up in the cold?
drugs are wasted on the young
drugs are wasted on theyoung
you are experiencing severe turbulence
a sudden loss of cabin pressure
an unexplained drop in altitude anyway

death by a thousand sucks
death by a thousand sucks
you know what I'm talkin about
you know mate, that guy would give a dogs arse heartburn
they're fine takin their cut
then, at the first sign of difficulty
they're nowhere to be seen
death by a thousand sucks
death by a thousand sucks

they're all over you like a rash
they won't be around to take down the tent
and kick out the trash
death by a thousand sucks
death by a thousand sucks

yeah, we sat down at a big fuck off table
and we ate a big fuck off meal
and we talked about a big fuck off world
which we would fuck off rule
they put the fuck off bill onto my fuck off account
and we all fuck off fucked off into the big fuck off night
death by a thousand sucks

kiss tomorrow goodbye
what is good?
what is bad?
where do you come from?
where am I going?
whats right, whats wrong?
what does anything matter?
kiss tomorrow goodbye
kiss tomorrow goodbye

leavin' the room
gettin' out of the car
diving deep into the still water
walking on to the stage
now
you know, here and now
movin',
just then
pay, pack and follow
someone else will move in and clear up this mess
kiss tomorrow goodbye
kiss tomorrow goodbye
ridin' the moment
goin' through with it
layin' back and laughin'
followin' my nose
listenin' to my heart
goin' down the road
feelin" the earth under my toe
kiss tomorrow goodbye
kiss tomorrow goodbye

out of the loop
out of the loop ,baby
lord out of the loop!
but what kind of loop is it that I am barred from?
what if the said loop is a straight line
from hell to a fresh hell?
what kind of a trip is that?
out of the loop, baby

it's so easy to be lookin on
to be shouldered out of the room
everybodys charging for the cake and the cheese
lookout pal, if you're in the way
I know what I'm talkin about!
I'm out of the loop!
out of the loop,baby

out of the loop, baby!
lookin on
feelin the hard shoulders as I move into thin air
a mountainous straight road
you can't help but shy off and break through the barrier
it's built that way
out of the loop,baby
wide open where are my friends in the picture now?
it's a fair cop, guv
yes, I am askin for trouble
fair and square
a straight hip and shoulder
such tight corners
such a straight line
out of the loop, baby

the stuff that night is made of
that fellow is dark matter
I can't mention his name
I must respect the living
you know who I mean
you know the fellow
a dark cloud over the proceedings
the stuff that night is made of
an event horizon that bodes no good, baby
a straight line in time and space
suckin all energy in
lettin no light escape
that fellow is dark matter
the stuff that night is made of
that man is all shadow
he can't get out of his own bleak tower
his eyes are set way back
lookin out across a scene of enormous devastation
he is old testament, baby
an eye for an eye and all that stuff
we are doomed, loveless and weak
nothin personal, understand
its nothin you did
and theres nothin you can do
the stuff that night is made of

I need some scratch
my trip is all queered now
my scene is so weird
I dunno how its happened
how I came to be so confused
my reputation precedes me
my name has a life of its own
I can't do a thing about it
I need some scratch
my road is a mad split level junction
my sound is all distorted
ponderous and full of portent
the more I struggle the tighter the rope gets
the deeper I sink into the black sand
I'm dreamin'
I've been a fool

my music is heavy
it's all bent out of shape and lies in the middle of the floor I'm out of the picture
there's nothin I can do to bring it to its senses
I open my mouth
my sound is dense
I'm movin so slow people come up and trip me over
cos they can
I need some scratch
the more I struggle the tighter the rope gets
the deeper I sink into the black sand
I'm dreamin'
I've been a fool
it wasn't always the case
I loved to bullshit and let the sounds fly
crazy and rootless like a cloud above my head
I'd get dizzy keepin track of myself
I used to be the one that cried wolf and ran

I need some scratch
I need some scratch
some old time weirdness
some money
I need some scratch

street dreams
you are not my customer
I am not your retailer
I am not your customer either mate
I am a singer
we are sharing this space in our minds
we are both equal here
I have been here before
I set up camp many years ago
But it is an impossible land to map
and each time I enter and leave
it is just as strange as when I left
I mean it is just as strange as when I came
you have heard my voice before
I probably picked it up somewhere around here
I have nothing to sell that could not be found by you

don't be true
anything can happen,good or bad
anything can happen,better or worse
don't leave yourself wide open
don't lead with your face
you can't not live
you can't stay in
you can hope
you can always hope
don't be true to a heart that's cruel

I'm not sayin I know everythin about you
or about the world
I don't know you
I don't know your country
I've been to places you might find yourself in
I've looked into faces you couldn't see anything in
I made some bad mistakes
I should've cut my losses and ran

you can hope you can always hope
don't be true to a heart that's cruel

Vengeance is on its way(don't worry)
I'm not gonna waste my time
lookin for you right now
I have to be back in my life some time
I'm gonna pick myself up and learn how to live again
I'm gonna get back into my life
and when I pick up to top speed
movin and hummin like a sweet machine
(vengeance is on its way)
revenge is a plate best dropped nonchalantly
from a great height
don't get dragged down don't keep in touch

I don't have the time to waste on wasting you right now
I can't be foolin' around lookin for you now
I got to forget
I got to rise above
and move on from this scene
maybe things'll turn out that I'll find my way back here (vengeance is on its way)
revenge is a plate best dropped nonchalantly
from a great height
don't take the time to serve it up ,hot or cold
drop it like you couldn't care any less if you were straight
vengeance is on its way(don't worry)

I'll be towering over you you won't be able to see me you'll think night has come awful early
as my foot comes down
vengeance

mind full of leather
there was this metal head flaked out on the lilydale line
mouth open wide
catchin' flies
leather jacket
moto cross, quilted shoulder style
fly away hair parted off centre
pulled behind the ears
electrified
mind full of leather
socks full of mud
stomach full of beer
eyes full of blood

too late to be still livin' at home
posters on the wall
headphones by the pillow
a prize bottle of bourbon
a waterbed and a bong
gettin off at the station
and crawlin' across the tracks
born to bee wild?
a long way from any open road
mind full of leather
socks full of mud
stomach full of beer
eyes full of blood is on its way(don't worry)

have you heard about the melbourne mafia?
have you heard about the Melbourne mafia?
they don't talk to little people they don't wash
they drink all the time and stay up late
and they don't help little bands across the road!
have you heard about the Melbourne mafia
they don't make sense they talk another lingo
when straights are within earshot

they don't vote
they claim the dole whenever they want to
they don't stand up
when a young struggling slacker wants a seat
they don't care about nothin
they don't care that you care
they say, "boo!" to you when you say, "boo hoo!"

they're takin up all of the room
they wanna be heroes and villains too
they're bogartin the joint and hoggin the ball
ooh they're still wearin cuban heels
have you heard about the Melbourne mafia?
they drink beer like they know somethin we don't
I hear one plays slide with a prize rooster beak

they chain smoke like steam trains
they choke, fall over and fart
walkin around with their arms around each others shoulders
they don't care about nothin
they don't care that you care
they say, "boo!" to you when you say, "boo hoo!"

You're on your own now
you know I've been where you're goin
you'll be where I am
you're headin for trouble
great drama , highs and lows
you know I can't help you
you have to see me
you have to see me for yourself
you have to see me and see you , yeah
you're on your own , now

you won't be in my shoes
you'll wish you were
you'll try them on for size
just for kicks
you'll be where I am you'll be where I am
I'll be nowhere to be seen
you'll be where I've been

you'll try to get your bearings
you'll feel drunk
reeling down the aisle
havin a good time
you'll think,"is this what he meant? is this why he wore that smelly stuff?"
you'll be where I am you'll be where I am
I'll be nowhere to be seen
you'll be where I've been
you'll wonder , "how did he get out of here? all the doors are locked from the outside? how did he know which direction? there are no stars! there are no windows!

you'll be where I am you'll be where I am
I'll be nowhere to be seen
you'll be where I've been
you're on your own , now

outing the suits
you know I hear a lot of talk about the scene
a lot of people they go on
they talk about the suits
like we are together in a struggle against the man
like the suits are blind and square
like they care
well I'm here to read the news,baby
I'm here to tell you what's goin down
I'm here to out the suits

the suits don't wear suits
they haven't for ages
the suits sidle up to you like narcs
when you're vulnerable
cool and feelin high
in a forgiving state of mind
the suits wear civilian clothes
the suits wear shorts and have long , greasy hair
they are square, through and through
kinky on the outside
square to their bones

they don't want to be near anybody who's seen as a loser they don't want to attach themselves to too much of a happening wave
they might get thrown
they might get dumped
they might get exposed
so they just stay close to the shore
close to the bottom
and feed on the passing traffic

the Dave Graney Show - Released on Festival Records in Australia only, 1999.

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

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?

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....

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

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!

NO POCKETS IN A JUMPSUIT
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

SPEAK TO MY MEDIUM
this is my story
as told tothe 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

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

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?

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

THESE TWO SONGS WERE NOT ON THE ALBUM BUT CAME FROM THE SESSIONS AND CAME OUT AS EXTRA TRACKS ON THE SINGLE of Your Masters Must Be Pleased With You.

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

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

All the lyrics for the Dave Graney and the Coral Snakes albums as well as the White Buffaloes period are collected in the book, IT IS WRITTEN BABY, which is available at shows or via this web site. Click below.

"it is written, baby" - 1997 book of all Coral Snakes era lyrics with amazing imagery by Tony Mahony. Available ONLY from this site.(or at shows)

For Overseas (ex Australia) postage - please click here

THE MOODISTS- these are pretty incomplete. Some of the songs were never released until the live versions on TWO FISTED ART came out.

thats frankies negative
frankie without frankies trouble
took his bottle, took his limp, took his angle,
cigarette words from his mouth
thats frankies negative
frankie without frankies trouble
people she's passed struggle in her wake
well thats the spring in her step
she's still got what she wasted
thats frankies negative
frankie without frankies trouble
he's got a cut on his sleeve and his tongue in your pocket
between you and him
between two towns

double life
did I say that?
did I do do that?
or did I just say that?
some people say "one life is enough"
some people say "oh hey wow that's too much!"
if they've got anyone to say such things to
I went to the city
how long have I been gone?
whats the time?
the real time
double life
yeah I met an old friend
yeah we went for a ride
what about Greg?
he's dead
well he's alive
double life
came up to the city party gates wiped you feet walked on in took your place so the story goes but you were down on your stomach one grateful satisfied little snake
your sister came to visit you you with your new friends how could you explain? tell her where you'd been? how could she begin to understand?
you saw her again in the street you ran into a shop blind
hey didn't that guy have that little lambs hind legs down his boots oh you know it wasn't even five!
so the story went
double life
how can I lay in your arms?
just like tis!
I'm blind !baby I'm blind!
but so are you!
whats the time ? the real time?

SWINGY GEORGE
george was real enough
it didn't take much to make him swing
he was a black coat that we all coloured
yeah something from sleep caught in our light
a bad shape caught in our back yard
we wanted to see him swing
he was hangin around this jungle jim
just a black coat drifting
swingy george
he was a black coat that we all coloured
yeah something from sleep caught in our light
a bad shape caught in our back yard
he was still there when he had gone
we wanted to see him swing
he was hangin around this jungle jim
just a black coat drifting
swingy george

GONE DEAD
its a dry reachin tide
reachin away back and back again
touchin no flesh touchin no blood
stayin down keepin up
you are takin away all those things I never knew I'd given to you
you are leavin all those things I never knew I'd picked up after you
we are treadin on things we could have aimed better
with no fever in the words
in a day that reaches away back and back again
we are treadin on things we could have aimed better

CHADS CAR
there's lightning
there's chads car
there was blood
a neighbourhood lit
a promise then nothin
there's chads car
parked outside
burning
theres no trouble
theres a song called the chad you can sing
with the little fights at home and the little fights away from home
there's chads car
parked outside
burning
yeah the kids are alright
they're with the neighbours
the little fights at home
the little fights away from home
there's chads car
parked outside

MACHINE MACHINE
there was a key
there was a chain
there was a machine
there was a catch
theres a machine I need for this machine I want
but I got no machine so I get no machine
I get a key
so it starts and finishes
machine machine
it never stops
machine machine
I don't want this machine machine
I'm stuck with this machine machine machine
I should forget this machine machine
I got a key for this machine
but I need a machine for this machine
I got no machine so I get no machine
I get a key
so it starts and finishes
machine machine
it never stops
machine machine
I don't want this machine machine
I'm stuck with this machine machine machine
I should back up from this lock up but its barren back up there
back before I was side-tracked
back before I was sideswiped
but there was every muscle never flexed
every detail ever missed
every tongue every buried everything one man could carry home
II could hear smell all of these
I would get none please
I got this machine machine....

SOME KINDA JONES
you're trouble, you're dead
you're 13
you're some kinda jones
you got the horn 24 hours
you want a drink and lots more and now
you hate the face
you got faces everywhere
you walk like a damn jones
some kinda jones
I didn't want trouble I gave everybody jones
drew the blinds and sent him out
sometimes we'd meet
he wouldn't shut his mouth
everybody said he could've been a nice
I was 13 times dead times trouble some kinda jones
everybody liked him
he didn't blink
he coulda made it
I made a stink
some kinda jones
there was a party with a falling jones
there were some late comers playin
break somethin' outside
jones fell
I let him kick over their bikes
nobody moved
I counted the boots
it made jones laugh
I made him get up again and again
everybody liked him
he didn't blink
he coulda made it
I made a stink
I gave them their jones
some kinda jones

YOU CAN'T LOSE HER
you used to play out in space
you got your rope cut
you just wanna get from A to B
you don't wanna see anybody in between
you put your foot down
you put your head through the window
you could smell trouble
you got a liquor petrol smoke lipstick soaked sedan
you got 100 MPH perfume you can't lose her
comin from one of those old side roads out there you know they tried to seal most you have to know your way around
you should pull over wait till light thats no way to go out
through the windscreen back there
a wild card blunt weapon weapon liquor petrol lipstick soaked sedan
100 MPH perfume you can't lose her
everybody was sick laughin everybody wanted to drive thats when they gave me the wheel thats when you appeared
high heels pokin all the pedals long red hair fallin to the dash corkscrewin down through those city lights
you forgot everythin you were supposed to do talkin too fast laughin too loud turning wide

BAD CABIN
we were there before we've been here since the cabin was last open you know everybody hit
someone left the gas on and we went out of time
the place had been changed ...surprise...
I was being singing
there's someone in the house
whats that table doin there and whats it doin here?
the cabin was open the cabin was stripped
it had to happen ooooooh shit..
theres somethin in the timber no one wants to blame no one wants to touch no one can bring up no one wants to die
so come on come on come on come on inside

THE DISCIPLES KNOW
while you work your eyebrows
while you work your background
while you open and shut your mouth the disciples know
that note that wasn't there before
that somebody passed out
that's your driver

the pines people green houses under black tops in the south
where the trees walk downhill
and hitch rides in the city
theres a tap on your shoulder
theres some beer there's some food there's some blankets
the country's actin natural
where the trees walk downhill
and hitch rides in the city

thirstys calling you
thirstys calling you
been callin for a long time
town is too tight
needs to stretch it right
he wants whatever you've got
you hear the dominoes drop
you watch the lights go on
thirstys calling you
you know these gates
you when they swing and how long to wait
you hear the dominoes drop
you watch the lights go on
swingin doors bangin shut
you're gonna have some fun

BOSSSHITKICKER
who'd be in your shoes, all the shoes you got?
who'd be a shitkicker? who'd be a boss?
you ain't no shitkicker now
you're the boss
you don't like that funny talk you can't stop
boss shitkicker
people come from the kitchen just to hear that funny talk
tell me what do you do up in that big house of yours?
you know down home they don't raise crops anymore
they died, you put em to work building that big house of yours
no one knows exactly when you became boss
no one knows exactly why you went to the top
you were good and you never washed your hands
you got about a 100 fuckin tents on your lawn
you got ten cars that ran out of road
you walk backwards you might miss somethin' you know
someone that got away when you blew up your home
who'd be in your shoes all the shoes you got?
theres another busload comin through this afternoon
you ain't no shitkicker now

pure gold flesh slide
escalator goin up
with dirty nails and heavy lids the only tings I get away with
pure gold flesh slide right down the corridor to my new place
I busted right
I busted right
flesh, fur and lips part
I get everything I go past
I busted right

RUNAWAY
don't give me back that
it was a corner way back
I saw it
you took it
it turned runaway
that spell took years to snap
I missed the slow march crack
the trap was a trap
the trap was a trap
turned runaway
all you got is a place you lost in a place turned runaway
a place you can't let runaway
gimme back my runaway

DO THE DOOR,FRIEND
watchin you do your friends
watchin you do you doin you with no sleep for a week for the last three days
we love you we think
only do the door, friend
no no no not the carpet
no no no not your drunk
we've seen that before
we love you we do
only do the door friend
you're a problem the clock stopped
when you walk the carpet gives no laughin falls
we love you we do
only do the door friend

TAKE THE RED CARPET OUT OF TOWN
here's another roadblock
another little dance you're at
all of a sudden all this world lay down hjust like that
standin around wonderin why that old guy and all his kind didn't stop and stare like this this time last year
girl everybodys scared , runnin scared about you
all this world lay down just like that
you could pick it all up and watch them run
take the red carpet out of town
its so slow its all wrong the way you have been caught out
look around
look at all those boys gripped tight grinning hard on the far side of the hall
lift you little finger
watch them dance raise your eyes
watch then run all their veils for you
girl everybodys scared , runnin scared about you
all this world lay down just like that
you could pick it all up and watch them run
take the red carpet out of town
girl everybodys scared , runnin scared about you
sayin I love you ..love me.. but if you don't thats alright...who could....
take the red carpet out of town

CHEVROLET RISE
up here on the second floor
one city on two tongues
buried here in these blankets
all shoulders hips and ankles
chevrolet rise under our faces
carry them to shiny places
washed in television fumes sayin "how did we get here so soon?"
sayin' "ooeee I feel good I feel good I feel good"
and this platform is alive with you crawlin with me
crawlin with you crawlin with what we got crawlin with what we had
one city on two tongues
buried here in these blankets
all shoulders hips and ankles
washed in television fumes sayin "how did we get here so soon?"
sayin' "ooeee I feel good I feel good I feel good"

SEE JOHN
maybe you've got some problems so bad you cant move from your couch
you should go see this guy John hes in town for two nights
maybe you got a girl who thinks youre wonderful but you cant see why
she says she cant live without you but you suspect that she could everybody loves her why can't you?
see john, he's fat with some black hair
he's guilty he's singing he's yours all yours see John
slip him some of your hard earned frog pelts and let him feel bad for you
see john he's cryin for 2 nights
he's yours, all yours, see John
maybe you've got some problems so bad you can't comb your hair
you've got halitosis you're overweight and nobody cares
you read so much you can't talk but somebody must be aware
lay it all at his feet all your troubles all the lousy rotten deeds your poor ignorant grandaddy did
see john, see john he's cryin for 2 nights
he's guilty he's singing he's yours all yours see John
slip him some of your hard earned frog pelts and let him feel bad for you
see john he's cryin for 2 nights
he's yours, all yours, see John

BULLET TRAIN
where do I start? way back? when? first thing...
coffee cigarette things being done
buildings goin up building comin down tunnels to run times to be met guages to be checked
is it so long?is that us there? and me?
is it just the way I go or the way I see it?
blue skies thats the other way, we don't go there..
its a bullet train, low belly , no light of day
you know I watched those women turn and wave
I pass a schoolyard all the children stop play
I was takin their mothers way
fun thats somethin people have
blue skies thats the other way, we don't go there..
its a bullet train, low belly , no light of day
we go through towns or we don't
we bring some news or we don't
they sit around the house all day or they don't
they have people around sometimes I don't
they've watched their apple trees grow I won't
I see all their fences all their piles of stones
I see the birds fly over their clothes lines
they get on and they get off with all their sandwiches and stuff
they get all excited and they pull on the cord
I give them some brakes man we all make some noise
they fall back in their seats and sleep it off
fun thats somethin people have
blue skies thats the other way, we don't go there..
its a bullet train, low belly , no light of day

See The Moodists and Coral Snakes sections for discography and archival information pre 1998.

the dave graney show- an outstanding album recorded for Festival in 1998

Kiss tomorrow goodbye (2000)

heroic blues(2001)

the third woman (2002)

the brother who lived ? (2003)

Liquor?
Hashish ? (2005)

Keepin' it Unreal (2006)

We wuz curious (2008)

Knock yourself out (2009)

SUPERMODIFIED (2010)

rock'n'roll is where I hide (2011

YOU'VE BEEN IN MY MIND (2012)

2013 digital singles

THE DAMES (2013)

POINT BLANK and LIVE IN HELL (digital narrative show albums 2013)

Fearful Wiggings (dave graney solo album 2014)

play mistLY for me(digital only live recordings collection march 2015)

Once I Loved The Torn Ocean's Roar - 80s/90s Demos Vol 2 - dave graney - COCKAIGNE - digital only album at itunes and Bandcamp.

night of the wolverine demos/early 90s songwriter demos - dave graney (cockaigne) digital album

LETS GET TIGHT - 2017 album from DAVE GRANEY AND CLARE MOORE.

ZIPPA DEEDOO WHAT IS/WAS THAT/THIS? 2019 album #1

ONE MILLION YEARS DC 2019 album #2

DAVE GRANEY AND CLARE MOORE IN CONCERT WITH ROBIN CASINADER - May 2020.

DAVE GRANEY AND CLARE MOORE WITH GEORGIO "the dove" VALENTINO AND MALCOLM ROSS . 17 track album recorded in London and Hull out September 2020.

art Tony Mahony
digital only album LYVE AT BYRDS
February 2021
At Apple Music and everywhere else.

Dave Graney music via Bandcamp.

A PAGE ABOUT Dave Graneys memoir WORKSHY here.

a short bio of Clare and David