She had something approaching divine grace with pupils like small plates 
You said 
I'll take both 

He had all the charisma of a salt shaker but less taste 
So you said 
I'll take off 

There is something that i'd like you to know 
This could have gone somewhere but for your ego 

She had just lost a job in the arts and no love for the rat race 
So you said 
I'll pay half 

He had all the compassion of a money lender but less heart
So you said...

There is something that i think you should know
If I could I'd have left here from the get-go

Come on your food’s getting cold 
And you've barely touched your skin contact pinot 
Oh come don’t act you don’t know 
Just what it took
to get this table

There is something that i’d like you to know 
This could have gone somewhere but for your ego 
There is something that i think you should know
If I could I'd have left here from the get-go

Here's a tip
Forget the dessert
Let's just split 



Shall we drag it out 
Like a neopolitan house extension 

Or wrap it up 



Pupils Like Small Plates

I can't make you feel 
Something you don't,
Won’t die on this hill 
Let’s not sugarcoat

(That)
Heels dug in
This mule won’t budge
Hell bent on doing what it wants to do 
If it won't drink that’s no concern to you  

that, my friend, is just the way it goes 

I can't make you feel 
Something you don't 
Ask a dog to heel
Or just hand it a bone 

Handbrake’s on
These wheels won't turn

Strike a match 
Wet leaves won't burn 

and that, my friend, is just the way it goes

I can't make you feel 
Something you don't 
You can think you know your neighbour
Until you learn the way she votes

Heels dug in
This mule won’t budge
Hell bent on doing what it wants to do 
If it won't drink that’s no concern to you  

Heels dug in
This mule won’t budge
Hell bent on doing what it wants to do 
If it won't drink that’s no concern to you  

let's not sugarcoat

I can't make you feel 
Something you don't
I can’t make you do
Something you won’t 
I can’t make you be
Someone you aren’t 
New leaves won't turn 
New leaves won't turn
New leaves won't turn 

I Can't Make U Feel

Animal


Yesterday I watched a man with murder in his eyes hurl rocks the size of fists 
At a passing bus in Lapa not caring who he hits
Then grapple with a passerby who'd stepped into his shadow 
Ready to brain him for a rucksack, no matter what the outcome 

I crossed the road and joined the shoal of the Sunday market rush
And with a feeling of detachment ordered a plate of prawns and fish 
Tearing limb from limb and bone from skin in relative contentment 
It was hard to ignore the essential brutality within 

Where they wear violet smiles 
And go with trembling lips 
Down from the hills
You were dying 
To meet me 

Then I watched a man with cachaça in his eyes 
And blood upon his lip
Stumble into a police car not knowing who he hit
He crumbled without a helping hand down upon the street
The officers just reversed the vehicle 
And left him in a heap 

I crossed the road and watched a show unfolding on the beach 
And with a feeling of exhaustion took in the bland pastiche 
As limb grasped limb and skin touched skin 
in inebriated abandon 
It was hard to ignore the indifference within 

Where they wear violet smiles 
And go with trembling lips 
Down from the hills
You were dying…

Where they wear violet smiles 
And go with trembling lips 
Down, down, down
Down from the hills
You were dying…



Violet Smiles (Ft. Bassoon Ben)

Yeah there are some things better left unsaid 
and there are some books better left unread
There are races better left unrun 
Just as there are some songs better left unsung 
Like this one! 
(like this one)


There are promises better left unkept 
And there are heroes better left unmet
There are some yarns better left unspun
Just as there are some songs better left unsung 
(Like this one)


So
Put down your pen
Take up your cross
Embrace the end 
With total DROSS

Totaaaaal Droooss!

Oh it's all just total dross 

Yeah there are some things better left unknown (uh-huh?!)
There are some sheep better left uncloned
(I'm sorry dolly) 
And there are some deeds better left undone 
Just as there are some songs better left unsung 
Just as there are some songs better left unsung
Just as there are some songs better left unsung 
(Like this one!)

So
Put down your pen
Take up your cross
Embrace the end 
With total DROSS

There are some rocks better left unturned 
(And?) There is money better left unearned 
(Don't cry ‘cause) There is some milk better left unspilt
(And?) There are some walls better left unbuilt

Just as there are some songs better left unsung
Just as there are some songs better left unsung 
Just as there are some songs better left unsung 
(Like like this one) 

Dross!
Totaaaal Dross


With total dross

There are some rocks better left unturned 
(And) There is money better left unearned 
(Don't cry ‘cause) There is some milk better left unspilt
There are some walls better left unbuilt

Just as there are some songs better left unsung
Just as there are some songs better left unsung 
Just as there are some songs better left unsung 
(Like like this one) 

Dross!
Totaaaal Dross



Total DROSS

If I loved you half as much as I love myself 
You could stay around like the bag of flour on the shelf 
I could keep you like the milk that's slowly turning
Warm to you like the birthday cake that's burning 

But love’s gone off
now we've gone past the date
As all new things must rot
It’s time to clear the plate

If i loved you
If i loved you
If i loved you
If i loved you

But love’s gone off
now we've gone past the date
As all new things must rot
It’s time to clear the plate




If I Loved You (half as much as I loved myself)

There was a Fedex box on the blackened porch of a burnt-out house in Winfield
But you just drove on by —
Heaven knows what's inside 

Leavin’ Tulsa, sat-nav broke
near No Limits Church, ‘where Jesus ain't woke’ 
But you just drove on by —
Heaven knows what's inside 

All these miles,
This long road,
Still haven’t found
Americaaaaaa

An injury lawyer for every man,
A sign for Iowa’s Largest Frying Pan;
[But you just drove on by]
Ketamine clinic, discount Mace,
A fiveway fratboy Dodge Viper race 
[But you just drove on by]

All these miles
This long road
Still haven’t found
Americaaaaaa 

Alcatraz obscured by morning rain
Gun shop, gun show, self-serve propane
Off the highway
We do not dare stray

There was a lifesize Bigfoot cutout votin’ Trump
outside Cruisin’ Chubby's Gentlemen's Club

All these miles
This long road
Still haven’t found
Americaaaaaa

‘Cause you just drove on by 
Best hope the lord turns a blind eye 

All these miles
This long road 
Still haven’t found
Americaaaaaa

All these miles, this long road…

Bought alligator jerky in avalanche country
then schlepped ten hours through interminable prairie;
From the hard white frost on Castle Rock 
to sunset over Baltimore Dock, I just can’t seem to get a good grip of you

Kansas Veterans Cemetery, next left…
The best posthumous hospitality in all the Midwest 
A nice man on the radio tonight 
told me everything's gonna be alt-right …

Don't tread on me!
Shackled by lust, god sets free 

Don't tread on me
Shackled by lust, god sets free 
For Truth, just call 83

Die today, where will YOU spend eternity? 

Somewhere between 
a rock and a hard place,
a patch of verdant green

They said only a monster wouldn’t Tip 
Under a smirking moon bedimmed by the Vegas strip
As oil derricks bow like a herd of horses
The fresh-shorn boy becomes Armed Forces 

Somewhere between 
A rock and a hard place 
A patch of verdant green 
Amid rust-brown fields
A 6k per acre American dream

What's
Behind 
Their
Perfect
Smiles?

Somewhere between 
A rock and a hard place 
A patch of verdant green 

Drive By!

Chez Raymond
Where the night owls drink 
And an old punk
Teeth sanded down to the stumps
Sways like a bride

Bye bye, et à demain 
Same time same place tomorrow 
We’ll carry on
Fly high, until the morn
Same time same place tomorrow 
We’ll get along

Raymond
Wise beyond his 80 years
Unmoved bar a quiver of a smile
Chèr Raymond 
Hands over the beers
As the old punk plants a kiss on the cheek of the latest to stagger through the door 

(And she says)
“I’ve loved men, women and everyone between”
(She slurs)
“I've been loved by men, women and everyone between”

There is always one 
Always one 

Bye bye, et à demain 
Same time same place tomorrow 
We'll carry on
Fly high, until the morn
Same time same fate tomorrow
We’ll carry on

Like moths to bright lights 
This nightly parliament convenes
In 
booths of tawny leather 
Warming worn hands on old magazines 
Clipped-winged birds of a feather 

We’re all just 
Clipped-winged birds of a feather

Bye bye, et à demain 
Same time same place tomorrow 
We’ll carry on
Fly high, until the morn 
Same wine same taste tomorrow
We’ll carry on

(Same again, please)
Bye bye, et à demain 
Same time same place tomorrow 
We’ll carry on
Fly high, into the morn 
Same time same fate tomorrow 
We’ll carry on


Chez Raymond

Climbing this hill just to go back down again 
Waking up tired just to fall asleep again
Drinking the cup just to fill it up 
Everything’s fine just as long as you pretend 
(Everything's fine just as long as you pretend)

Follow me down under the ground 
Everything here's just fine!
Come on down to the compound 
We can pass the time

Heading on down just to come back again
Going to bed tired just to wake up fucked again
Brushing a lot just to slow the rot
Everything’s fine just as long as you pretend 
(Everything's fine just as long as you pretend)

Follow me down under the ground 
Everything here's just fine!
Come on down to the compound 
We can pass the time

Follow me down under the ground 
Everything here's just fine!
Come on down to the compound 
We've got cheese and wine 

It’s a smoother race run with the blinders on
It’s a smoother race run with the blinders on

Everything's fine just as long as you pretend 

It’s a smoother race run with the blinders on
It’s a smoother race run with the blinders on

Everything's fine just as long as you pretend 

Everything's fine just as long as you pretend 
Everything's fun just as long as you can spend 
Just as long as you contend
Just as long as you can fend 
Just as long as you can bend 
Everything's fine just as long as you pretend

Sitting out on the porch as the wildfires scorch
Passing the days in a daze
There's no need to visit Venice as the waters rise
When the last few fish are swimming around dreaming spires 



Activities of Daily Living [Rough]

candy (instrumental)

Welcome to the third alt-country revival 
Brought to you by the last in a long line to do it worse 
Guess in truth we’re all just Swift's disciples 
Whether or not we’ve heard the Tortured Poets 

Welcome to the third alt country revival 
Now the capital’s post-punk supply’s run scarce 
Ending with a yawn that's barely stifled 
And a light smattering of applause 

But my voice is the closest i’ve come to horse
Barely spent a day in nashville
Bought this lap steel guitar from a man in the USSR
Just to sound like an imposter 
In a one-man band

(So what if) Cowboy Carter killed dolly parton
In the end we all receive the presidential pardon 
(So what if) Clint Eastwood drives a Chrysler 
As long as Dirty Harry’s none the wiser   

So what if
my voice is the closest thing i’ve come to horse
Barely spent a day in nashville
Bought this lap steel guitar from a man in the USSR
Just to sound like an imposter 
In a one-man band

So much for the third alt country revival 
Better just wait for the fourth 


Third alt-country revival

Set it off

Give me just a little more (Instrumental)

If I loved you half as much as I love myself 
You could stay around like the bag of flour on the shelf 
I could keep you like the milk that's slowly turning
Warm to you like the birthday cake that's burning 

But love’s gone off
now we've come past the date
As all new things must rot
It’s time to clear the plate


If I loved you, half as much as I loved myself 
I would come home and leave behind the late-night motels 
I would hold you like a blue-chip stock that's rising 
Cling to you like a pedalo capsizing 

But love’s gone off
now we've come past the date
So as all new things must rot
It’s time to clear the plate

If i loved you
If i loved you
If i loved you
If i loved you...

But love’s gone off
now we've come past the date
So as all new things must rot
It’s time to clear the plate

If I loved you (half as much as I love myself)

pure unconditional 10vE

CANDY

activities of daily living

Total Dross!

Set it off
And take us back to era analog 
Give it up 
And walk to work among the animals 

Somewhere a lone saxophone plays on,
A forgettable deep house backing track is on its third rerun
As crisply-dressed diners scramble for their phones 
to get the shot of the missiles streaking across the sky like shooting stars

Take it all
Plant your flag in every capital 
Make the call 
Then sit right back and watch the carnival 
 
Melania checks her horoscope with a groan 
A generic ambient soundscape of "gentle spring rain" lingers on
As she consults the wellness app on her phone
Beginning to wonder what's that out the window lighting up the night sky outside 

Tick, tock, tick, tock
It only takes a second 
To put the clock back 
Tick, tock, tick tick tick tick 
It only takes a finger 
To put the clock back 
It only takes a tyrant 
To put the clock back 
It's a funny word ‘deterrent’ when you're staring down a gun 
It's a funny word ‘deterrent’ when all you've known is gone 

They say Nero played a lyre as Rome burned
What will you hear
When it goes off?
What will you do 
When it goes dark? 


Saw a man forget himself
I saw a mountain from a room with no view 
I saw the light dying in a smiling woman’s eyes
— I saw another side of you 

saw a saint go unnoticed in a capitalist world 
Walked right by a friend that I once knew 
I came to see that if there was no price I was the price
—- I saw another side of you 

I didn't see, then, how much time that I was wastin’
or that none of it was new
I didn’t mind the tide until
– I saw that other side of you 

I didn't feel, then, that i was fading
Or that only half of it was true 
Didn’t mind the ride until   
I saw that other side of you 
Didn’t force the smile until 

Saw an air hostess tell a deaf man sir return to your seat until her veins bulged
Eyeballed an octopus until the chill set deep into my bones
Looked upon a sketch of my face and saw an ugly truth only a friend’s pen could bestow
Saw at last it’s the know-it all-that knows 
nothing at all 

Picked, you up
Turned you ‘round
And held you to the light 
Didn’t know what i was looking for
That night 
But…


Saw a man forgive himself
I saw a mountain from a room with no view 

I didn't see, then, how much time that I was wastin’
or that none of it was new
I didn’t mind the tide until
– I saw that other side of you 

I didn't feel, then, that i was fading
Or that only half of it was true 
Didn’t mind the ride until   
I saw that other side of you 
Didn’t force the smile until 

I saw a centenarian in a baby’s face  
I saw another side of you
Under moonlight, looked back upon a barren forest of masts
Another side of you  
Through the eye of a needle i saw the folly of a pyramid in a field of grass
Another side of you
Two rats on hind legs suspended in either fight or trash heap slow dance

total DROSS

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