Hums Like A Cat
by Anton Etch 2021 
- a rough demo from the 'Simple & Strange' series -

Time moves - away from you
Falling - endlessly
Hard times
change the way you see the world
      
I know the beginning
and I know the end
I've guessed the meaning
and seen sufferin'
We could worry
about this or that
If something's workin', 
it hums like a cat

Time is - and always was
Passing - patiently
Hard times
change the way we see the world

When someone comes to you
bearing gifts old and new
Don't ask
"Who the hell are you?"

I know the beginning
and I know the end
I've guessed the meaning
and seen sufferin'
We could worry
about this or that
If something's workin', 
it hums like a cat

If you take everything away, 
the sea, the sky - even the day
All you have
in the end
is Time

Feel the silence... and the space
Feel the shadow move across your face
Hear the time tickin'
tickin' in its
place

I know the beginning
and I know the end
I've guessed the meaning
and seen sufferin'
We could worry
about this or that
If something's workin', 
it hums like a cat

---
Anton Etch 2021 All Rights Reserved

Hums Like A Cat

How I Wish You Two Had Met
by Anton Etch 2021 
- a rough tape from the 'Simple & Strange' series -

How I wish you two had met
you in red house coat and cigarette
long gray hair at the top of the stairs
or spread across your arm chair

You with wisdom, she with intellect
you in red housecoat and cigarette
you'd ask her what's going on
what's going on - what's really going on
 
You'd ask her what she really thought
no, really thought, yeah, really thought..
you'd hear in ways that others don't
you'd let her speak like others wont
 
You'd talk of Biko and John and Yoko
the stuck pig, the tin of Joko
women's brains and men's brains
reverse parking and shedding chains
 
You'd snub the boys for their foolishness
you'd dismiss the boys for their cluelessness
you'd get Jono to carry the gingerbread
you'd get Adrian to show us how it's done

You quizzed the girls and made them cry
but she would look you in the eye and 
say you're a girl too - 
what would you do? what should I do?

You'd talk about how strong women
kickasses with their minds
turn heads and break glasses
and know how to deal with passes

How you should study things you don't want to know
and say things that just won't go
and go broad and go deep
and call them out and make them weep

And when she pecked you on the cheek
you'd ask "why so peripheral?"
and when she talked of her plans
you'd ask "why so peripheral?"

Two women across oceans
across time across devotions
no overlap in time or place
but kindreds in a fifth space

How I wish you two had met
in your red house coat and cigarette
long gray hair at the top of the stairs
or spread across your arm chair

You with wisdom, she with intellect
you in red housecoat and cigarette
you'd help her see what's going on
what's going on - what's really going on

---

Anton Etch 2021 All Rights Reserved

How I Wish You Two Had Met

Figure It Out
by Anton Etch 2021 
- a rough demo from the 'Simple & Strange' series -

In the beginning
there were snakes and there were devils
of the human kind
where'er you travell'd

if you're watching a movie
and someone says "I'll be back around seven"
you can be sure that
something else is bound to happen

if you ask for something straight up
that's most likely what you'll be given
you could spend the rest of your life
thinkin' about heaven
                  
if someone tells you
we don't talk like that in prison
best send a message
that nothing will be forgiven

if someone says they don't have the time
it's not about time
but what they'd rather be doing
with that same time

when you feel confusion 
when you feel doubt
ain't it about time?
about time you figured it out?

---
Anton Etch 2021 All Rights Reserved

Figure It Out

Things Are Going Wrong
by Anton Etch 2022
- a rough tape from the 'Simple & Strange' series -

I look around me - I'm feeling low
I see the places but there's - no place to go
I see a figure falling  from the  sky
Mouth is open but I hear no cry

I pick a face - I draw a blank
My mind is trapped in a bolt-down tank
I see my friends and we all agree 
Are we crazy or just care-free?

Save us...  Save us from...  or Save us for...
Things...  are going wrong...  Hear our call ...         

Ups and downs this is modern livin'
For all these goods we are forgiven
The colours writhe then they soar then they fall
I see them scream but I hear no call

Save us...  Save us from...  or Save us for...
Things...  are going wrong...  Hear our call ...         

I look around me - I'm feeling low
I see the places but there's - no place to go
I see a figure falling  from  the   sky
I look around me... but where am I ?

---

Anton Etch 2022 All Rights Reserved

Things Are Going Wrong

Old Soul Away [without drums]
by Anton Etch 2022
another rough demo from the 'Simple & Strange' series

No one wants.. to get old
it breaks your body; it can crush your soul
No one wants... to fade away
it drains your blood, and makes you pay

Old soul away 
Old soul away 

You can't step... in the same river twice
yesterday's gone... it is gone...
Life is long... if you use it well
but it takes time... to figure that out..

Old soul away 
Old soul away 

You may hurry...  to squeeze life dry
or worry 'bout... the reason why
but it's just a ride...   just a ride...
and there ain't no...  other side

Old soul away 
Old soul away 

And for those of you who are still young
if you're lucky you'll be singing this song
years hence when we're all gone


No one wants.. to get old
it breaks your body; it can crush your soul
No one wants... to fade away
it drains your blood, and makes you pay

Old soul away 
Old soul away 
Old soul away 
Old soul away 

————
Anton Etch 2022 All Rights Reserved

Old Soul Away [without drums]

Old Soul Away
by Anton Etch 2022
another rough demo from the 'Simple & Strange' series

No one wants.. to get old
it breaks your body; it can crush your soul
No one wants... to fade away
it drains your blood, and makes you pay

Old soul away 
Old soul away 

You can't step... in the same river twice
yesterday's gone... it is gone...
Life is long... if you use it well
but it takes time... to figure that out..

Old soul away 
Old soul away 

You may hurry...  to squeeze life dry
or worry 'bout... the reason why
but it's just a ride...   just a ride...
and there ain't no...  other side

Old soul away 
Old soul away 

And for those of you who are still young
if you're lucky you'll be singing this song
years hence when we're all gone


No one wants.. to get old
it breaks your body; it can crush your soul
No one wants... to fade away
it drains your blood, and makes you pay

Old soul away 
Old soul away 
Old soul away 
Old soul away 

————
Anton Etch 2022 All Rights Reserved

Old Soul Away [with drums]

Truth…
by Anton Etch 2022
- a rough demo from the 'Simple & Strange' series -

Truth comes in flashes
snapshots and ashes
rises like a phoenix
floats to your ceiling
shimmers and hovers
at four in the morning
truth comes in flashes
from fragments forming

Truth appears
it's not excavated
it can't be figured
or cooked or created

Truth emerges
in surprising places
the howling vagrant
and unsafe spaces

Truth isn't born
fully formed
you have to glean it
from shards ‘n storms

Truth waits
It delivers no warning
reveals itself
to those in mourning

Truth doesn't care
who the hell you are
what you drive
pauper or czar

Truth is earned
it can't be bought
you have to want it
more than what you got

Truth comes in flashes
in rags and in patches
the daughter of time
slow as molasses 
or quick as quicksilver
in sparks and splashes
in fragments and facets
in mixes and mashes

Truth is the last
guest at the weddin'
sits at the back
foldin' a napkin

…less in words 
more in actions
never shouts 
ignores the factions

…tip of a hat
tap of a finger
there's truth in
the voice of the singer

Truth in 
the barkin' dog
the wasp sting
the walk in the dark

Truth lurks 
in the shadows
it stalks
your tomorrows

You can try 
forever to avoid it
deny, defy,
or blindfold it

The enemy 
of fantasy
the surrender 
of hope...

...truth is 
no story.
It doesn't need 
glory

Truth comes in flashes
snapshots and ashes
rises like a phoenix
floats to your ceiling
shimmers and hovers
at four in the morning
truth comes in flashes
from fragments forming

————
Anton Etch 2022 All Rights Reserved

Truth...

Then You Come To Me
by Anton Etch 2022

In this world alone
people that you meet
most will pass you by 
scuffin’ their feet
Others they will look
you in the eye
they live on in your mind
’til the day you die

I saw myself a slave
breaking barren ground
nothing in my heart
to spread around
Then you came on by
on me you smiled
you helped me see the path
is worth the while

Everything you are
comes from what you bring
we’re all in this alone
we all face suffering
If you hear me
and I hear you
oh that’ll go a ways
to get us through

Mournful as I look
sad as I may sound
I endure the pain
when it comes around
Then you come to me
and peace i find
the horrors of the world
I leave behind

----
Anton Etch 2022 All Rights Reserved

Then You Come To Me

Going To See The Man
by Anton Etch 2022

I'm making a pilgrimage
gonna go see the Man
I've chosen my pew
and my tent is at hand
I'm gonna see the man
who gives us hope in Hard Times
gives us Visions and Spirit
on a lonesome road 
….of his own design

He sings about you
and he sings about me
when he falls in love
so do we
he asks you to think 
he asks you how it feels
knowing the answer
has many hues…
	…multitudes. 

I'm gonna see the man
gonna listen, be quiet
stand in the cathedral
and hear the light
then when it's all over
take the pearls and the beads
go back in the night
knowin’….
          ….what it is to be 

He’s got feet in red earth
mind in the heavens
like William Blake
and John Lennon
when it comes to words
he sure can pick’em
calls the moon a spoon
and the sun….
           …a chicken

He defines, he defies -
the voice of many
sang for popes and presidents
and at hootenannies
Come a-long
join the procession
what will he play…?
He’ll keep you
          ….. guessin’

He may be young forever
but he’s always been wise
truthful and noble
before any prize
A man alone
at the edge of the stage
as we gather together
he turns page….
	…after page

In the end
it’s all about the song
he sings it clear
in  Babylon…
he leans up close
and whispers to you
           words that only you...
and your god
... know are true…

I'm gonna see the man
gonna listen, be quiet
stand in the cathedral
and hear the light
then when it's all over
take the pearls and the beads
go back in the night
knowin’….
          ….what it is to be


————
Anton Etch 2022 All Rights Reserved

Going To See The Man

Rain and Snow
by Anton Etch 2022
- a rough demo from the Simple & Strange series -

I had plans here in the past
I knew that nothin’ ever lasts
but I still feel a pang
when I realize that’s the truth

I thought I could leave it all behind
I hoped that time would heal and bind
but it just breaks open
the same old scars

at that moment
I’m back behind bars

Tell me where you wanna go
in the rain and in the snow
you know this ain’t the place..
to be
you’re still searching for that Holy Grail
in the wind and in the hail
you want it all but          
you need to get away….
you’ll kill someone 
if you have to stay

You made the break you take a walk
while all the others talk talk talk
a lonesome road
of your own design

Out the city ridin’ free
no more beggin’ on bended knee
hold yer head up
and breathe the sky

at that moment
I’ll probably sigh

Tell me where you wanna go
in the rain and in the snow
you know this ain’t the place..
to be
you’re still searching for that Holy Grail
in the wind and in the hail
you want it all but          
you need to get away….
you’ll kill someone 
if you have to stay


On the road we come across
no pound of flesh, no sacred cross
no need to make a bed 
amongst the thorns

Moss is growing and that’s fine
time ain’t pressin’… we don’t mind
let me know where we’re goin’
when we arrive

at that moment
I’ll probably cry

Tell me where you wanna go
in the rain and in the snow
you know this ain’t the place..
to be
you’re still searching for that Holy Grail
in the wind and in the hail
you want it all but          
you need to get away….
you’ll kill someone 
if you have to stay

-----

Anton Etch 2022 - All Rights Reserved

Rain And Snow

Another Song
by Anton Etch 2022

- a rough demo: iphone recorded guitar & vocal track, with overdubs
- first track from a new series: 'Simple & Strange: Two' 

This won’t take long
it’s a new song
It’s a song about songs
c’mon… tagalong…

where does it come from?
this thing we call a song?
has it been here 
all along?
older than money
old, perhaps, as love
where does it belong?
this thing we call a song

a song is never here
it’s neither here nor there
it floats and moves
shapin’ the air

try to write it down
it's gone before the dawn
it'll change its form
try but you can’t hold on

Bridge: 
sing songs that are bigger than life
visit places on the edge of a knife
sing songs about things…
that we don’t expect...
take us to places dark and strange
things’ll seem rearranged 
ask yourself
why has everybody changed?...

try to trap a song
try to save a song
it grows it changes
you can't hold it long

if you try to copy a song
and you get it wrong
that's somethin' new
it's another song

a song is never sure
never perfect nor pure
a song is never wrong
a song is never a song

Outro:
i’m not skilled enough
to sound like anyone else
i’m not skilled enough
to sound like anyone else
if you try to copy a song
and you get it wrong
that's somethin' new
it's another song

-----

Anton Etch 2022 - All Rights Reserved

Another Song

rough demo, single track, no overdubs, covers encouraged...
-----
Fall Not Fall
by Anton Etch 2022

Tree sheds its leaves
like the snake its skin
reveals its shape
and the being within

Fall is the time
when the tight covers loose
fuel is released
and put to use

Fall falls away
clearing a path
road that was thick 
is free at last

I don't care that much any more  
    tide goes out
Now I see the shore
i'm free to do things that i couldn't before
I stand firm, on my feet
it's Fall... not fall...

Lose the need to conceal
and the urge to deceive
i don't care 
what they think anymore

You can play the game 
of seriousness
it's not me who's the clown
but the fools who do this

i'm not afraid of you anymore
what you think; how I seem        
or keepin' the score       
i'm free to say things that i couldn't before
i don't give a damn
it's Fall... not fall...

Tree sheds its leaves
like the snake its skin
reveals its shape
and the being within
i care less what we think                
and more what we do
train is leavin' and we are too

-----

Anton Etch 2022 - All Rights Reserved

Fall Not Fall

Known But Unspoken
by Anton Etch 2022

Was she right when she said...
"Some things you don't wanna know..." ?                   
they're known but unspoken                                                  
by those who are broken
and further along down the road

No need to follow the news    
there's no truth in any of it all...
When a new book is written
and everyone's smitten
best go read somethin' old

You can plug up your ears with these words                              
as the spring turns to fall
the past reaches over
and points to the future
the present isn't here at all

---  

When the centre can't hold 
and the honest are forced to  fold 
when fools are rewarded
 and the wise ignored
carrying on seems absurd  

It's harder to hear this aloud
from someone you know, who is close
It's easier said
by those who are dead
than someone alive in your world

Was she right when she said...
"Some things you don't wanna know..." ?                       
they're known but unspoken                                                   
by those who are broken
and further along down the road

-----

Anton Etch 2022 - All Rights Reserved

Known But Unspoken

Rough-tapes/pre-demos from the 'Simple & Strange' series...
anton.etch(a)gmail.com

Anton Etch

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