Timeline

Shambling By The Sea

What's The Fact

Because

Bill And Lulu

Small Plastic Animals

There’s only so much time 
In your life 
It’s just a little time 
With a beginning and end 
It’s going faster than you think 
Beginning and end 
Before you know it
You’ve spent what you don’t have
All time is borrowed time 
I think that 
All time is borrowed time 
In a way 
You’re around 
One day 
And the next 
Who knows
All time is borrowed time 
I think that 
All time is borrowed time 
In a way 
Doing yourself a favor 
Living your life like you mean it
Doing the things that you wanna do 
And you’re doing those things 
As you’re living that life
There’s only so much time 
In your life

All Time Is Borrowed Time

What do you want me to do
What do you want me to say
What do you want all this digging for you don't say
But I’m bent to the chore
With my back getting sore
And I dig by the yellow moon
Come what may 

Cold hard
Cold hard dirt

I can't make out your face
But that black guitar case
Makes me think that I’ve heard you in some dark place

Cold hard
Cold hard dirt

Now I’m flat on my back
On a night that’s so black
But the stars gonna guide me to the milky way
What do you want me to do
What do you want me to say
What do you want all this digging for you don't say 
 
Cold hard
Cold hard dirt

Cold Hard Dirt

To say I suppose
The right thing the wrong thing 
The right thing the wrong  thing 
To say I suppose 
And I don’t know which one's 
gonna come out 

Walking on tiptoes 
On an eggshell minefield 

﻿To say I suppose
The right thing the wrong thing 
The right thing the wrong  thing 
To say I suppose
And I don’t know which one's 
gonna come out

On a rollercoaster
That I didn’t wanna go on

I like to take it easy 
But I’m getting kind of queasy 

To say I suppose
The right thing the wrong thing 
The right thing the wrong  thing

But then the phrase comes out the wrong ways 
On an eggshell minefield 

﻿To say I suppose
And I don’t know which one's 
gonna come out

Eggshell Minefield

Our differences are the same 
And nobody is to blame 
Shame it’s such a shame 
Our differences are the same 

You went I came 
In a childish way 
I was half convinced 
We were destined for fame

In an instant though 
Your eye 
was the eye of the storm 
I felt like I should be gone 
We were molded 
From different forms 

We may always 
Remain anonymous 
Do we go 
I don’t know 
There’s a thing about 
Opposite poles

Opposite Poles

The mind
Sometimes works
In mysterious ways 
Often more obscure 
Than time itself 

The destination 
Hangs exposed 
It’s evident 
But the road 
Is undefined 
It’s unclear 

In a jumble 
Of thoughts 
You can sometimes 
Catch a glimpse 
(It’s unclear)
Of something 

That could work 
In a physical way 
Then you turn around 

It doesn’t add up 
It doesn’t add up
But you were so sure about it 

Won’t be able to tell you 

Could the road
Have taken a turn 

The destination 
It’s unclear

The Destination

Like a fire engine 
I just can’t slow down 
Like a fire engine 
I just can’t slow down 

﻿If you’re sitting still 
You’re going backwards 
And if you’re gonna go backwards 
What’s the point 

If you kinda chill your way forward 
Walkin around like you own the joint 
And there’s nothing in the way 

Like a fire engine 
I just can’t slow down 
Like a fire engine 
I just can’t slow down 

If you say that I’ll do it 
Tomorrow 
You probably don’t want to 
handle it that way 

Cause you’ll say it again 
Tomorrow 
And then you can’t 
Get out of your own way 

Pardon me 

And there’s nothing 
No nothing in the way 
No nothing in the way 
No nothing in the way
No nothing in the way 
No nothing in the way 
No nothing in the way

Like a fire engine 
I just can’t slow down 
Like a fire engine 
I just can’t slow down

Like a Fire Engine

Eustace hides behind the trees 
He doesn’t like 
What he sees 
He doesn’t like it

Come out cause you have to
Sooner or later 
Come out of the woods 
Right now!

Everybody’s waiting for you

Come out!
Now!

You’re looking at that - Eustace! 
You’re looking at the forest 
But you’re seeing weird trees 
You hafta come out 
And see the world 
That’s waiting for you 
What are you gonna do…
What are you gonna do?

The world isn’t what 
You’re thinking it is 
Anyway 
That’s my take on this 
It’s all I have to say

I been callin' you

Eustace

Now hear this 
And now this 
The truth is a 
Double edged sword 

And when it comes back to you 
you’ll see 
It’s not what you expected 

And when it comes back to you 
you’ll see 
You don’t even know if it’s 
What you wanted in the first place 

But a belief
Is a flexible thing at times 
Depends on the situation 
Depends on the information 
Depends on the motivation 
What’s coming through 
all the senses 

The truth is 
A double edged sword 

And when it comes back to you 
you’ll see 
It’s not what you expected  

And when it comes back to you 
you’ll see 
You don’t even know if it’s 
What you wanted in the first place

Truthsenser

When there’s nothing 
When there’s nothing 
You can do about a situation 
And you flash on a thing 
That hasn’t happened yet 
(It’s a natural thing)

Part of human nature 
Part of human nature (Worry worry worry worry worry 
Worry worry)

Maybe you can change it 
Maybe you can change it 
Maybe you can 
Be prepared 

And maybe it won’t make a difference 
Maybe you should not care 

You flash on a thing 
That hasn’t happened yet
Don’t be surprised 
It’s a natural thing 
Part of human nature 
Worry worry worry 

Maybe you should not care 
(Maybe it won’t make a difference)
Maybe you should 
Not care 

It’s a natural thing
To worry worry

WORRY

Rub me the wrong way 
And you’ll see 
Rub me the wrong way 
And you’ll see 

The bad side 
I didn’t know I had it but 
It’s a bad side 
Better watch out 

I thought I was mellowing out 
But I don’t know 

The bad side 
I didn’t know I had it but 
It’s a bad side 
Better watch out

The Bad Side

Your iris opens wider 
When you use 
the dimmer switch 

But why would that 
make it any simpler 
to know which is which 

(Your eye sees
The middle of 
Off and on)

What you perceive 
when the lights are low
in the realm of the dimmer switch
Can be mistaken for the way it is
in the realm of the dimmer switch

Only see 
What your mind wants you to see 
Cause that’s all you have

You gotta be able to see 
Where you dropped a stitch 
It’s blinking real fast 
It’s a son of a bitch

And so just about 
A half of that image is made up 
In your cranium

What you perceive 
when the lights are low
in the realm of the dimmer switch
Can be mistaken for the way it is
in the realm of the dimmer switch

Dimmer Switch

I’ll be so alright 
I’ll be so alright 
In a darkness past jet black 
I can tell you there’s no trail back 
And I know that you’re still here 

You can fear me if you want 
Do you want to hear a joke?
You can fear me if you want
You know 
I can’t tell if you’re the laughing kind 

In an alabaster fog
Trying to regain my bearings 
Think I know where you are 
I can feel your presence 
I can feel your presence 
I like it here 
I don’t wanna leave yet 

I’ll be so alright

I know you’re still here 

Do you want to hear a joke?
I don’t know…

I can’t tell if you’re the laughing kind
I can’t tell if you’re the laughing kind

The Laughing Kind

Heard cries
Come running 
Nothing
Nothing there 
No trouble 
Hear laughing too
What did somebody do 

A Wolfcrier 
A Wolfcrier 
A Wolfcrier
Does things that don’t work out 
In the end
In the end 

You can’t fool around like that 

Next time 
Next time 
Heard cries 
Come running again 
Nothing there 
No trouble again 

A Wolfcrier does 
One of those things that just 
Doesn’t end up working out 

All of a sudden 
All of a sudden you hear 
Hear more cries 

This time 
This time 
Nobody comes running 
This time 

But there’s trouble 

A Wolfcrier 
A Wolfcrier 
A Wolfcrier
Doesn’t work out in the end 
In the end 

When a person cries wolf…

When the wolf comes 
When the wolf comes 
There ain’t gonna be nobody

Wolfcrier

If you need
A hand
I can be
Part of that plan
If you need
A hand then

I’m your man
You know that
I’m your man
I want you to remember that
Cause you
Sometimes forget

I will be
Listening
You tell me
When to come in
Can’t you see
I’m all in
You see because

I’m your man
You know that
I’m your man
I want you to remember that
Cause you
Sometimes forget

I'm Your Man

Glopp

Almost 3

You Know

This Thing

WHAT DO YOU GET when you take two thirds of Boston 80’s post-punk band Native Tongue, separate, age for 30+ years, combine, throw in some new technology, mix thoroughly and serve? Well, if it’s the guitarist and the drummer we’re talking about, then what you get is Dream of a Man in a Top Hat.

Lee Leffler (guitars, vocals, everything else but drums) and Michael Frackleton (drums, vocals, everything else but guitar) comprise the duo Dream of a Man in a Top Hat. The rehearsal space may now be two separate houses, lyrics aren’t jotted down on scrap paper but typed into a phone, the drums aren’t acoustic but electronic, and you can’t go and see them at the Rat or the Channel. But over the years one thing hasn’t changed: the same uncompromising sensibility can be found in the sounds that come out of these two. As music blogger mp3 hugger so aptly put it: “they have conspired to go about things in the only way they see possible and that means the rest of us have to shape up or ship out.”

In writing about their debut record, the 6 song EP Blunt Instrumentals (released summer of 2020), bloggers and curators described their music as: “cool”, “grooving”, “swaggering”, “psychedelic”, “experimental”, “wild”, “infectious”, “seductive”, “chaotic” and “unique”.

In the summer of 2021 Dream of a Man in a Top Hat expanded beyond instrumentals and added their own unique vocals to a new full-length album, Sudden Return Of DOAMIATH, getting attention from critics, bloggers and playlisters alike. Divide and Conquer music magazine concluded their review with: “Fans of psychedelic music will have a leg up, but this stuff goes far beyond anything I’ve heard in that genre. This is a wild and unique album…”

Dream of a Man in a Top Hat began releasing a series of singles from 2022 through 2023, including Unfamiliar Streets, All Time Is Borrowed Time, Cold Hard Dirt, Eggshell Minefield, Opposite Poles, and Eustace, many of which appeared on their 3-song EP Truthsenser and their compilation album Buzzy Beans.

In a review of the EP’s first single, Like a Fire Engine, Rock Era Magazine said: “In a vintage/futuristic execution, ‘Like a Fire Engine’ combines thrilling elements of Alt-Rock, Post-Punk, Psychedelia, and Rock ‘N’ Roll. All of the ingredients contribute to the theme’s vibe, including the title. These two musicians are pros who know how to transport the listener to their own musical realm…”

The new single, I'm Your Man, will be released everywhere on February 21st, 2025.

Dream of a Man in a Top Hat

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