Poliakoff

Ecce Homo

The Secret Swinger

Down by the sycamore trees
In the fleet foothills far below
Hand to mouth to hand..
To raise, reap and sow

He stood expressionlessly
Straight-faced and still as stone
Pulling punches aside
As the storms hit home

‘Like Dives and Lazarus’ he cried
‘We’re cast as down and out
Listen.... you can hear him 
Scream and shout: follow me!’

Listen.... you can hear him 
Scream and shout: do as I command!’

Down by degenerate law
As a raw and wretched youth
He held a shell to his ear
And heard a new truth

Though your servant
Lazarus is not my name
Dives you are, but
Lazarus is not my name

Dives & Lazarus

Carousels

My, my, what a wonderful belief to life your life by
Don't tell me; you really think you've got it straight!
You've heard the word , you've heard the hype
They're out to kill...
They'll take our sons and daughters
As we sleep at night!

Give it up, give it up, 
Just kick out the fear
And all who trade in fear..
For this is controlling you.
Give it up, give it up, 
We are immune to much;
But this is something else.

My, my, what a wonderful belief to life your life by
Just tell me one thing: how do you sleep at night?
You’ve seen them on the corner,
You’ve seen them smile…
You’ve seen enough to demonstrate
It’s time to fight!




The Fear

Composed in 1998; finally performed in public and recorded in 2024

A Cortege At Summers End

We heard voices from the trees that night
A disembodied cri de coeur 
Hidden by the might
Of mighty ceders and ash
White trash, some might say...

They carried fireworks
And in the flash we saw
Collapsed in each other’s arms
All the flowers.

We heard the crying of geese in flight
A mesmerising cri de coeur 
As if broken, or burned alive
Were they searching for their young
Would they sleep that night?

Cri Du Coeur

It took a long time 
To get where we were going
Get where we were going 
Although we were strong
And I believed you
Everything you said
Everything you said all along.

‘Get behind the mule’,
‘Get behind the mule’ I’d say
With a smile
And the wine would flow 
When the work was done.

I believed the American dream
I built my house beside a stream
And sailed this uphill river to the sea
But I can’t reach the ocean
Without you.

It took a wild wind
And everything the good lord
Could throw at us
It took the rising rivers of Noah
The seeds and the sowers of dust

Then.... you called my name, so slow
And as if in a dream, you fell, 
Turning on your plough
You fell, back to the soil
Seemed as if unreal
How could this be?
Still the field was green....

It took a long time 
To get where we were going
Get where we were going 
Although we were strong
And I believed you
Everything you said
Everything you said all along....

I bought this American dream
This house of love
From which to reach the river
Flowing uphill to the sea
But I can’t reach the ocean, 
The final scene,
And leave them all behind 
To work another day
If you’re not here with me.

This Uphill River

Will you still be there when I get home? 
Will you still be there when I get home? 
Will you keep the embers,
Keep the coals
Red as raw meat on the bone?
Keep the car running when I'm gone
Keep the caller on the telephone
So afraid am I of all I can't control
That I forever dream of home.

And soon enough 
The world outside 
Will summon us attend
We'll be pulling on, pulling on
Every last layer.

And soon enough
If fears are realised 
The cracks will mend
The snow will cover up, cover up
We will disappear....


I Forever Dream Of Home

Coming Home

After Hours

Mondrian Falls

I come back to life, I flicker, 
And slowly rise;
And you are there my love
Still sleeping…you slowly rise

As crooked fingers and limbs like vine
Like ivy, rise;
Slowly unwinding
We slowly rise

I, I… dreamt of forests in spring
So beautiful I‘d hold my breath
And forget to breathe

So slowly now we turn around
Toward the music
And as our sleep-worn eyes let in the light
We hear music

And you, you.. heard the forest sing
A sound so beautiful we’d hold our breath
And forget to breathe

I Dreamt Of Forests

Rhythm and rhyme, rhythm and rhyme
Pull me up and to my feet,
Be my guide,
That I may dance, that I may, 
As if possessed!

Spirit of joy, spirit of joy
Play me the rhapsodies of old 
I heard as just a young boy,
That I may dance, that I may, 
As if possessed!

Spirit of ire, spirit of ire,
Play me the sound of battle drums,
Of armies and choir,
That I may dance, that I may, 
As if possessed!

‘Esprit de corps!’ 
Though once we were as strangers
We found our voice
And we sang as if our lives
Depended on little more…

Rhythm and rhyme, rhythm and rhyme
Be the marrow in my backbone,
Be my spine,
That I may dance, that I may, 
As if possessed!

And with the spirit of the crowd
Though once we were as strangers
We found our voice
And we sang as if our lives
Depended on little more…


Esprit De Corps

To the beat, to the beat
Of a hundred feet
Fleet and fair
She pirouettes, to the sound, 
To the sound
Of a mystic air…

I, I, I….

To the chant, to the chant
Of a military advance
Keen and clear
She reaches out, he is there, 
He is there
And the people cheer…

I, I, I….

All I, all I could see
Were the twisted trees
Carouse and sprawl 
And as if from out of nowhere
The creepers crawl…

And what am I to say
As the Creepers Crawl
And how are we to look away 
As they carouse and sprawl

I, I, I….

Then from behind the painted mask of a medicine man
Came the voice of a preacher
Full of righteous fire
Casting into the flames 
With one hand
While welcoming the faithful
With the other, saying
‘We the meek will inherit the Earth
If we stand together…
If we stand together…
For we are believers born again
And we will not stand
For those born of wealth!’

We are believers
We are believers born again
And we will not stand, not stand 
For those born of wealth!


The Creepers Crawl

EM performed original material by Dan Ecclestone at venues and festivals around London and the South-East. With Dan were Jamie Harris (Saxes), Gavin Bryars (Trumpet),  

Sudden Death In Chemistry

Delphy was the name of an album recorded by Dan in 2005 and the ten-piece band that gigged around London to promote it.

Junkie Shaped Bruise

Composer / arranger / performer from Cambridge UK.

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