1. |
Billionaire
07:25
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Nobody wants to be misjudged,
even the man on the street
Don’t we all need to feel at home,
comfortable safe and complete?
Do you pray you’ll never see what it’s like to be
Picking melodies out of the black and fumy air?
You won’t see much change but someone o ers you a prayer
I got it all so right in life (I had nowhere left to go)
Wound up so high upon my ladder
(I could only oat down slow)
You don’t ask my name, how I am today
But it feels so good this way
Picking melodies out of the black and fumy air
Giving you no cause to think you’ve seen a billionaire
I’ve been a champion all my years
(I’m tough as hell; I paid the price)
Not much unlike these old guys here
(I get their thinking; they get mine)
Hold my can and I could buy this whole town
Just sit back and be astounded
Walking past my patch
you have to act like I’m not there
You would never have believed that I’m a billionaire
Nobody wants to be misjudged
(But the ones with the gorgeous,
they can sometimes be poorest, you know)
We all need to feel at home
(And without interference
does it make that much di erence?)
If this (some things in this life can’t be bought or sold)
Is the place that I’m calling my home
(Trust and love are worth more than all my gold)
‘Cause if you found out just how alone
(If you knew it was lonely having power)
You can be at the top of my tower (You’d be sat here in the hour)
YEAH!
Finding fellowship out in the black and fumy air
Giving you no cause to think you’ve seen
a billionaire
You should come with me,
but I don’t know you’d even dare
Would you have believed this evening I’m a billionaire?
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2. |
The Deplorable Word
07:58
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Ring the bell, break the spell
See the destruction rain around
Witness the destruction of Charn all around
This is what happens to people and things in her way
Look well on that which no eyes will ever see again
The deplorable word,
don’t speak it unless you are sure
The deplorable word,
can’t go back – you’ve opened that door
The secret of secrets, brings unstoppable power
At the secret place she paid a terrible price
To learn the word she paid a terrible price
If spoken aloud it destroys all around
save the one who spoke it
They thought that no one alive would ever dare to speak it
The deplorable word,
don’t speak it unless you are sure
The deplorable word,
can’t go back – you’ve opened that door
The last great battle raged for three days
Many great kings thought they could stand against But they all fell, their names forgotten in time
The roar of the people rose up from the streets, rivers ran red
The last army was right at her door,
she looked into their eyes and she said...
The deplorable word,
she’s finally queen of the world The deplorable word,
last left alive under the sun
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3. |
Into The Blue
06:21
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We’ve travelled far to search the depths
and scale the heights
Our little star has kept us warm against the night
But we all rush forward for the bigger better thing,
which makes us brighter
Bigger, better, brighter Keener, smarter, lighter
Bigger, better, brighter Tougher, thinner, tighter
And yet the feeling comes back, dissatisfaction and a hungry loss
That leaves you craving more and more
It’s got a nasty edge that brings you crashing back to consciousness
And now we’re waking up
It starts with little steps to energy
that’s made to keep us green
and get away from plastic spew
I would do anything to clear the air and take the deepest breath
Into The Blue
When wicked men make pro ts from the salt-ripped earth and punished sea, it’s time to wave our banners true
So let’s do everything to clear the air and take the deepest breath
Into The Blue
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4. |
Celebrity
18:55
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PART 1: IDENTITY CRISIS
Part of the crowd, one in a billion
I’m no bigger or tter or di erent from the rest
How to stand out? Be an individual?
Get my head above the others
so you’ll see me everywhere you look
I’m going to be like that overnight
Just look at the stars on my TV screen
They’re so slim, they can sing, they’ve passed the test
I can’t see how they’ve paid, they’ve just got it made
Now they’re loved and respected
because they’re the best
I’m going to be like them overnight
I need to make this dream a reality
I’ve not analysed the critical path
I don’t need the skill, just the celebrity
Clutching at straws, it can’t be hard
I’m not going to wait, it’s got to be today
Or tonight or tomorrow anyway
I can’t spare the time to practise my craft
I'm just going to deserve the accolade
from giving it everything I’ve got
I’m going to be like them overnight
I’m going to be like that, and there’s no need to put in the hours
Clutching at fame, bring it hard
PART 2:
CULTURAL VAMPIRE (WHO AM I?)
Invest in some intense new clothes intended more to shock than look and feel in any way good.
Shave half of my hair all o then let the other half grow really long and dye it puce.
Because what I look like is more who I am than who I am.
And this is who I am
(What you look like is more who you are than who you are)
Who are you?
Start my own fresh YouTube channel.
You’ve got to subscribe subscribe subscribe to Cultural Vampire.
Get my latest fashion tips, those Nineties jeans with all the rips are dead. They’re so passé.
PART 3: FREAK SHOW
Maybe I’ll go on a television freak show,
get some encouragement for doing something zany
Maybe an audience of millions would laugh at me and enjoy my humiliation
I know this girl, she’s not quite right in the head
She thinks she can sing,
she thinks that she’s thin enough
She thinks that if she gives it everything
(one hundred and ten per cent)
That will make up for training and practice
(Freak show) everyone likes a good laugh
(Freak show) disillusions crashing down
(Freak show) they bring it upon themselves
There’s this young man, wants a piece of the limelight
His specialist skill is eating chocolate quite fast
Maybe he could beat a Guinness World Record
(and maybe he’ll be the best)
on live television, he’s only got to eat eight
(Freak show) sixty seconds tick by
(Freak show) he’s only managed five
(Freak show) missed it by a country mile
Exploitation, but we want to be exploited
and that makes it okay
Does that make it okay?
We knew the danger. We knew what could happen and that makes it okay
Does that make it okay?
(Freak show)
PART 4: HEART AND SOUL
M I went in there, put my heart and soul into it, really gave it all my heart and soul
And at the end of the day, coming from my heart and soul, that’s really all I could have done
J I don’t really think so
I don’t think it’s all you could have done
What about practising?
What about knowing half the words?
What if you’d learned to play in time?
What if you’d tried to have the image this show is looking for? Hmmm?
M Yeah but what I’m saying is I went in there today,
put my heart and soul on the line
Really gave it my heart and soul
And at the end of the day,
coming right from my heart and soul, there’s nothing more I could have done
J We don’t really think so!
Maybe if the hairdo wasn’t puce and you hadn’t sauntered in with the personality of chalk
And how about if you didn’t take the classic songs and make them all... unnnh
I mean, I don’t mean to be rude but you clearly couldn’t hold a tune even if you emptied out the sand from that bucket by the door
Is any of this helping you?
M But I put my heart and soul into that performance!
J But in the real world that’s not really good enough
you’ve not analysed the critical path
Sincerity won’t compensate for ability,
even though it means you’ll have to work hard
The Judges: Time to dismount your winged unicorn of delusion!
J And in the real world that’s not really good enough, you’ve not analysed the critical path
Success isn’t measured out by celebrity,
so if you’ve a dream, chase it hard
PART 5: EPIPHANY
It seems like my dream was too far from reality,
I’ve analysed the critical path
I’ll acquire the skills, forget the celebrity,
even if it means I’ve got to work hard
Ambition is distilled from pure reality and I’ve analysed the critical path
Success isn’t measured out by celebrity
Now I can take pride in playing my part, my life, my love, my heart
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5. |
Smile
04:24
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Hey little guy, it’s been good to start to get to know you
What do I want to say to you?
I love the things that make you you
How you make us all laugh with your infectious smile
I love the way you look at me
Look at you and the things you can do
You smile and the world lights up,
you laugh and the world melts away
Leaving you and me in a perfect moment in time
What are you going to be?
All your potential feels like you could be anything
Will you be faithful? Will you be joyful?
I think these things are more important
than the results you get
And the job you do and how much you earn
Look at you and the things you could do
How long can we make this moment last?
I don’t just love you, I fall in love with you every day
How long can we make it last?
How long til the time fades away?
As I sit here with the universe full of your smile
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6. |
Build It Up Again
07:01
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Built it up, take it apart, build it up again
On a spaceship to moonbase four,
in bright coloured uniforms
Command centre on the line
Cosmic charger’s doing ne
Got his radio, got his ‘scope,
got his miscellaneous tools
Space probe launcher, satellite car,
surface explorer in low gear
Build it up, take it apart, build it up again
Black Falcon’s fortress, scale the walls
Forward siege tower, horses and swords
Armoury, etchery, guarded inn
Drop the drawbridge, let me in
Bow and quiver, shield and lance
Catapult and trebuchet
Got his helmet, got his plumes
We’ll take King’s Castle before noon
Limitless possibilities, bound only by your imagination
Unfettered creativity, building is a verb in this quotation
Take a journey through the town
See the sights and hear the sounds
Police siren, fire house
Bucket loader, dumper truck
Past the station, forklift crane
Loading pallets onto the train
Weekend cottage, white picket gate
Takes me right back to ‘88
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7. |
Halcyon Day
05:28
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As she skips between the owers
along the path from garden to garden
Each gate and door opens into a fresh new world
The red brick walls delineate the alleys of blossom and scent
An air of mystery and discovery
as she moves through a series of outdoor rooms
Her eyes open wide in amazement and surprise as she dances in the summer afternoon light
With flowers on her dress and a ribbon in her hair
Barefoot through the grass,
holding her Daddy’s hand as she smiles,
looks up at him and cries, “it’s all so beautiful!”
Wide eyes, wistful wonderment,
meandering path to a pond, newts frolic through the weed
Water Boatman lazily pulls himself across the surface tension,
bathing himself in the sun
In the cloudless sky warming the still air
of this halcyon afternoon
Seeking shade in a tunnel of ancient wisteria
These days remind you
why you don’t want to die just yet
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8. |
Valenta Scream
07:13
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A young boy standing on Pound Lane bridge,
October 1976
overlooking Sonning Cutting
(gazing eastwards)
He hears the clank of the signal cables,
sees the movement of the point rodding
As he stares towards London expectantly (mainline running)
The signal drops just as a gentle hum
A distant drone fades into his perception, oh...
High speed, Valenta scream
A powerhouse of fathomless strength
High speed, Valenta scream
A passing streak of grey, blue and yellow
In a roaring ash it has been and gone,
its westward journey powering on
Paddington to Bristol in ninety minutes (racing westwards)
Making it look so very easy,
eating up the distance like a cheese sandwich
One hundred and twenty- ve miles an hour (diesel traction)
Old Oak Common’s nest on parade (this is the age)
Representing Britain in the age of the train (Intercity)
(Roll up, we’ll take you for a ride as fast as we are able
We’re slicing through the countryside on Brunel’s billiard table)
The changing face of England, a landmark of design
Outpacing all before
Screaming into the future, for forty years
It’s all we could dream, believe
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I Am The Manic Whale Reading, UK
We are a progressive rock band from Reading & London, UK. 3rd album out now.
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