1. |
Six Weeks, Nine Wells
03:37
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We spent the early evening
Treading tracks around the wells
‘Til the threshers come and roll us all away
Blushing, chasing kisses, giddiness
Back home in time for tea
Around the table’s wood veneer
Late enough to mildly worry mam and dad
But not so late they call around the doors
Six weeks cutting back and forth
From the train tracks to the castle in the park
Then home
Watch your shirt upon the rails
And the growing, glowing cars
The morbid tunnel thoughts stubbornly stay
Strictly resolute
Unmoved by rolling dice
Nor desensitised by repetitious gaze
Rushing, chasing, nauseous bitterness
The six weeks’ days are long but not
Enough to be continued
No sequel or a second part
The flats have been curtailed
In mock tudor-styled estate
September came and washed it all away
Blushing, chasing, bitter giddiness
Six weeks cutting back and forth
From the train tracks to the castle in the park
No secret door, no second part
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2. |
The Guardian of Sleep
04:39
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Sanctuary, sanctuary! Laughing in your chair
I was late up thumbing through the guide
Praying for a channel to rely on to relieve the worry
But if you feel the panic from the world you see inside
There’s a ringing on the church bells
A cast in black in white
The guardian of sleep is close behind
The faithful drop their kids at school
They waves and run up street to catch the news as we approach the hour
But cut up at the junction, the radio reveals the plea “Sanctuary, sanctuary”
What else can you hear?
When you feel the panic from the world you see outside
They’ll be clapping from the high rise, attracted to the light
The guardian of sleep is close behind
They’ll have her marching to the scaffolding
Swinging for a crime
The guardian will follow close behind
In the place where it’s sure all appears is good…
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3. |
The Limits of Language
04:29
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Gesture to me a beat, clean or out of time
The claims of nature have no predetermined design
Willing to look closer, closer & nearer
It could be revealed to you through absurdity
Take off that coat and feel the benefit of the limits of language
A thought of you ran away with itself
Now the spoken work can run us both to sleep
You don’t need to reply but to hear a voice in your letters
To read into that a smile
To imagine a million, million miles
Take off that coat and feel the benefit of the limits of language
Oh darling, if only you could feel the limits of language
Is it supposed to be carefree?
A certainty, a moment’s more
The limits of my world meet the limits of yours
You survived the precarious time
Picking out you clothes, packing up your bags
Sorting out your shoes & locking up the flat
Take off that coat and feel the benefit of the limits of language
Oh darling, if only you could feel the limits of language
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4. |
Sounds About Right
04:50
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Sounds about right
That we’d find ourselves
Wanting again
I should have known
What was easy then
Had to go
And what was hard
Stays hard
The light left on
And I tiptoe in
Sleepless again
And seemingly
Incapable of less
Seriousness
And what I lost
Stayed lost
I’ll escape to the cold air
Obscured behind
Studied behaviour fabrications
You know I’m not equipped for this
And though I may have pretended to be
I never was
Sounds about right
That I’d find myself
Hopeless again
It’s never right
I was misremembering
It was ever easy then
But what was hard
Stayed hard
Stayed hard
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5. |
Absolutely Negative
03:23
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While idling through a game, a riff on old mistakes
The daybreak coming through the blind
The landing light turns on and guessing I was done I took a dressing down
But man, oh man!
Outside the sphere of influence is over the moon, if absolutely negative
So when recalling nervous talk & grace notes on the board
The teenage front is recognised
Where the telly in your room drowned out the ‘sorry, who?’
You’d remember if you cared to try
But man, oh man!
Outside the world of confidence is over the moon and absolutely negative
Now there’s no cause to complain but unless I’ve read it wrong
The seats are all occupied
And the last sub to be played is feathering on the breaks and the minutes boogie by
Outside the sphere of influence is over the moon
To be outside the temporary I’d be over the moon but absolutely negative
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6. |
Curfew in the Square
02:09
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Shop assistants shrug their shoulders, Marksies all but closed
But desperate civic centre workers demand their nicer sandwiches and children’s clothes
Fluorescents flicker into life, shelves stacked in the hours before the dawn
There’ll be chaos in the frozen aisles and check out queues so pandas, keep your engines warm
And you doormen you can bounce yourselves away
Ever observant early-birds, tripping off kerbs
Curfew in the square
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7. |
Turn the Hours Away
03:47
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Morning service, chance of rain, a mile to brave to the platform
To burger bars, electric cars, roller coasting to turn the hours away
String of pearls from plastic shells, Venus there on the carousel
Dangling shoes, off in twos, together again to turn the hours away
Friday bells, end of days, term of loosened ties
Through the gates never again to play
Prices falling, house is clean
Coffee table, magazine
Danish teak, warehouse chic
Never believed I’d leave the street
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8. |
On the Other Side
04:43
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I remember
Holding you in my arms
As if you would be mine forever
All mine, all mine
Certain
Your disposition was cast
So closely akin to mine
All mine, all mine
And it’s still close enough
To make each step away
Hard to take
So if for now
There’s no eye to eye
We’ll try again
On the other side
And if we have
To drift away
No one else
Could take your place
And I’ll be here waiting
I remember
The passions of your position
But all through a tilted angle
All mine, all mine
And it’s still close enough
To make each step away
Hard to take
So if for now
There’s no eye to eye
We’ll try again
On the other side
And if we have
To drift away
No one else
Could take your place
And I’ll be here waiting
I can learn patience too
I can follow you
Tethered as we are
Equidistant fools
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9. |
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There’d been a good rinsing so I was clearing the air
“Put away all the note books and post cards and photographs
And never look at them again!”
I expect I’ll never look at them again
The scene was lit, the camera followed up the lead
Then the cut to the adverts had me thinking
“Never look at them again”
I believe I’ll never look at them again
From the sofa this still looks like somewhere that I’d know
But the photo of St. Louis’ you shot long ago
I’d had the book thrown at me & I was banged to rights
All the beads on every rosary couldn’t count the prayers
I swore I’d never say again
But the microwaves were firing and I’d got a decent seat
So I ordered every solace they were offering
Just in case I needed them again
Then I’d know where to go again
From the inside all the furniture was rearranged just so
Those ‘Hail Marias’ at St. Louis’ seem so long ago
And the steam machine whistles the last tune of the day
Did I hear you right when you say “that’s where the metaphor ends”?
From the outside this still looks like somewhere that I’d know
But the waitress of St. Louis’ left here long ago
Turn The Hours Away
Morning service, chance of rain, a mile to brave to the platform
To burger bars, electric cars, roller coasting to turn the hours away
String of pearls from plastic shells, Venus there on the carousel
Dangling shoes, off in twos, together again to turn the hours away
Friday bells, end of days, term of loosened ties
Through the gates never again to play
Prices falling, house is clean
Coffee table, magazine
Danish teak, warehouse chic
Never believed I’d leave the street
The Guardian of Sleep (or ‘Sanctuary in Excelsis’)
Sanctuary, sanctuary! Laughing in your chair
I was late up thumbing through the guide
Praying for a channel to rely on to relieve the worry
But if you feel the panic from the world you see inside
There’s a ringing on the church bells
A cast in black in white
The guardian of sleep is close behind
The faithful drop their kids at school
They waves and run up street to catch the news as we approach the hour
But cut up at the junction, the radio reveals the plea “Sanctuary, sanctuary”
What else can you hear?
When you feel the panic from the world you see outside
They’ll be clapping from the high rise, attracted to the light
The guardian of sleep is close behind
They’ll have her marching to the scaffolding
Swinging for a crime
The guardian will follow close behind
In the place where it’s sure all appears is good
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10. |
I Might Have Been Wrong
04:08
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I confess I might have been wrong
But it’s not clear right now what I could have done
Differently
I held my principles close
To spot the distinction with hubris can be tough
It’s easier in retrospect
But either way…
My best was not enough
My limits laid bare
I’ll fix what I can
But I’m acutely aware
I shouldn’t promise too much
I’ll task myself to ignore
The self-defeating predilections drawing close
Inexorably
And idly scrabble among
Lightly-floated praise and pearls of wisdom
Sincerely meant
But they don’t change that…
My best was not enough
My limits laid bare
I’ll fix what I can
But I’m acutely aware
I shouldn’t promise too much
My best is not enough
My premise was flawed
Left with what’s left
And nothing more
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11. |
Between the Bridges
04:07
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In the town between the bridges the markets stalls are closed, the redbrick in the sunset glows
The drivers run the lights, escaping to their caravans for the night
You said it’s really no joke but with a scene so off the map you couldn’t help but laugh
Do you recognise the faces?
Your eyes betray your memory, the needle kicks and points you away
There are sirens overhead, the jumpers on the ledge go inside
I guess it’s really no joke but with a scene so off the map you couldn’t help but laugh
So it’s the same old joke, the picture lost the crack, but with a scene so off the dial who couldn’t help but laugh?
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Field Music Sunderland, UK
The collected works of Peter and David Brewis
Field Music recommends:
David's new School of Language album about Donald Trump. For every copy bought via Bandcamp, they're donating £1 to Planned Parenthood and Alliance for Change.
go to album
Peter's new collaboration with Sarah Hayes
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The inner workings of Ian Black's mind
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