LYRIC GUIDE : "PUT OUT THE SUN HOLD UP THE SKY " & EP...
1: Summer sky
...At the time I was reading literature about the nature of traditional aboriginal religious practice. Somehow staring into the burning embers of a fireplace in a friend's mountain house in Wentworth Falls, west of Sydney, led to a hastily sketched lyric. existential metaphors about reconciliation and the healing, freeing, feeling of rain on skin on a hot australian summer evening. For a bit less metaphor and a bit more fact, try reading Henry Reynolds books. Start with "Why weren't we told?"
In some far flung place out back of my mind
A people have lit a fire, it burns in my skull
My thoughts are a fever, kindling for a naked flame
And in its light I lie awake till I am dreaming,
Till I am dreaming......I see rain fall in our summer sky, off steal its echo flies
I see rain fall in our summer sky, to heal our hallowed liesDrought knots my back, peace - the driest well
What is right is shot to space and like a shooting star it falls to hell
A people on fire, red burning black turns white dusty ash
The wind will sweep it away, the wind will sweep it away.......I see rain fall in our summer sky........
Horizons bleeding scar cleaves the sky and land
A witness to my memory that the burden still remains
So I'll sleep tonight to find two dreams not one
And to tear at justice from the shadows till she sheds her healing rain
Till she sheds her healing rainI see rain fall in our summer sky.........
See rain fall......
2: One Long Summer
Childhood as stream of consciousness, consciousness as faith and wonder, all wrapped up in the motif of the ubiquitous Australian summer school holiday. When time and space seems eternal - only to end and come around again next year… It did finally came to an end in moving suburbs at 12 years of age. A friend named Jim, who I didn't get to tell about our imminent leaving, was later found crying in the gutter outside our empty family home.
That train was my innocence
Hurstville station, records in a bin
And cigarettes the sin
With the breath of a girl
And the poster designs
All youth is sunnyness
And life spins for a dollarElectrical stores and their lightning cousins
Humidity hanging on me, hanging on me
Always wishing they were dresses
Motor magazines and that girl that undressed
Just a storey above lamingtons and tears
All youth is sunnyness
Hey summer held us-
In one long summer
One long summerNo winters no chills
Only the night and its' dying birds
Messengers of death
And mummy hugs but the words weren't right
Still morning comes
With crystal rivers
Hey summer held us-
In one long summerBlack hands tender with love
My own hands following blind
Outside of forgiveness
expectations limitless
One long summerThe dirt coughs with every step
A ball is held in orbit by fascinated eyes
Gum mutes the music but never the will
The air was a womb and the womb was Gods
Hey summer held us -
In one long summerMemories metallic blue
A stolen gift stuck with glue
Grass dressed with starlike dew
And I wish she knew, I wish she knew
Fear and sand, hiding on a rock
Till danger passed
Cigarettes and enemies on a trail
And Jim spoke like a man and cried like a boy
Which was all we knew
Till one day I left
To grow into a man
I remember. I remember. One Long Summer...............
3: Boxing Day Holiday
Walking past the shops in Hornsby I noticed a teenage girl at the taxi rank staring between her feet. When I came back later she was still there. Staring at the vomit between her feet got me to thinking. What was she thinking? What were the taxi drivers thinking? What were the shopkeepers thinking about the rises in rent that were forcing a number of businesses to close? What are the thoughts we live and die with? What are the thoughts we should share with each other? What are the thoughts we should be listening for? Our desperation shouldn't always be so quiet.
If you're walking by the station, by the taxi rank
You'll see kids staring into nothing
while the drivers stare right back
Across the street they've put up the rent
The shopkeeper knows he's gotta go
If you ask him where he says he'll follow the wind
He's just waiting for it to blow
He turns and points says "see that girl....
She's been staring between her feet all day...
I don't know what she's thinking,
or how she's gonna make it pay......"
And baby I think of you; how all you wanna do is grow
And I wish I was beside you now
So I could let you know........I'm gonna give you more than you have ever known
I'm gonna give you more than you have ever known
I'm not giving up again, I'm not giving up again.....Some of our best friends have come and gone
Some of the best people too
Sometimes life comes apart
like it's stuck together with cheap glue
I can't believe I'm here again
Sometimes the past just won't let go
But I'm not the only one
I see the faces all in a row.....I'm gonna give you more.......etc.......
Odd jobs, cheap smokes
And I'm counting the change
I'm hoping it lasts...
but if it didn't it wouldn't be strange
Oh Baby I'm gonna take you where the happiest dreams grow
On Boxing Day Holiday we'll sit in the traffic slow
And drive to where happiness is still within reach
And drop all our worries like towels on the beach
And drop all our worries like towels on the beachI'm gonna give you more.......etc.......
4: Oh that's the life
Sydney harbour, a free afternoon, the spirit over the waters, relax. In 1802 one of my forebears was brought here in chains from Ireland for political rebellion against the crown. I hope he had at least a few days like this down by the quay.
the words she spoke had no meaning
but that didn't matter to her
she was happy with just the sun on her back
she had no reason to infer
no reason to go anywhere
no reason for walking that way
her feet guided by the sway of the ground
her soul by the wind at playoh that's the life
oh that's the lifedown by the docks
down by the quay
aspiration danced on the ways
a glittering trance she fell into there
didn't care what was lost or was savedoh that's the life
oh that's the lifethe edge of glory it is but a step away
her waking dream now tells her
that night now turns to day
to loose the memories, to see them swim again
silence sounds its' birthcry
hope sets all in trainoh that's the life
and she's bringing it all home
she's bringing it all home
on the wings of the wind
on the daybreak colours
on the sandy shore
on the lips of a lover
she's bringing it all home
bringing it all home to me
bringing it all home
5: And As For Me
Bigots of all stripes surround. Love over dogma not lover of dogma - for loves sake. What else remains?
they'll say believe the truth of what they say
and to accept it at any cost
they'll say grab it right now
or the next moment your soul may be lost
but if you hestitate, think twice,
question what they say or do
they will turn the other cheek, walk the other way
they never really gave a damn at all about youbut as for me i'll always love you
as for me i'll see you through
and as for me i'll always love you
i won't turn you aside
i won't turn you asidethey'll pay you money for what you can do
but they'll never pay you baby for just being you
and what you do is what they tell you to
until they say your thruand as for me: the same for you
the same for you.........they'll hold you closely, in you they'll confide
they'll whisper in your ear, in you they'll take great pride
then they'll steal your secrets, strip you naked
and leave you standing with nowhere, no nowhere to hidebut as for me.........
6: Mystery of You
A whispered gospel track where belief and mystery exchange gifts.
I ask the sun
I ask the prophets
If they will witness your name
for with trembling will
and with voices failing
I seek to say the sameFor though I'm alone
I felt the mystery of you
For though I'm alone
I felt the mystery of youI ask the sun
I ask each moment
I beckon with me remain
for they were there
and they have known
the mirror that they becameBeneath all times
beneath all places
reveal the memories you find
for with my hands I've torn
at the world for traces
even though I am blind
7: Wait
Beyond what's possible now, beyond even death; true love waits for its beloved. Meanwhile life struggles to live up to its promises. Post Cave explorations.
comin down off the mountain with the wind in my hair
a cripple winged angel fallen headlong into despair
moses raised the tablets and cursed me with the law
god broke down and wept at all that he saw
guilt chains me to the valley where the rivers rise in flood
not even the mark of cain could stop them shedding my bloodbut i'll wait for you till the grave strikes me dumb
yes i'll wait for you till they put out the sun
put out the sunthe book is closed and faded
and all the words i speak are stolen
the jewels i had are traded
and my tongue is bruised and swollen
i have no freedoms to amuse me
on everyside they accuse me
and the authorities have closed the streets to beggars such as us
but i'll wait......i grasp at the day but is is slippin
and i feel myself a trippen over my thoughts as they run
the days crucifixion beckons
it will only take seconds
and i'm late for my journey thats begun
but i'll wait for you.......by the tremors of my heart i'm shaken
with all of gods' forsaken
the smackheads and the lepers
the ameharets and strippers
and the devils police are roaming
and from their mouths their foaming
and they're piling up the souls one by one
but i'll wait for you......and i'll wait for you
with my brothers whose blood has run
i'll wait for you
with my sisters yet to come
i'll wait for you
with all those death has won
i'll wait.............
8: Easy Rider
A long car trip at night from Sydney to Nimbin (north coast of NSW) for Mardi Grass festival with Fringe. Nashville Skyline steers us out of sydney. Sandy and I shooting the breeze. A cassette stuck in the player. Friendship makes the ride easy.
red light vista traffic stopped
screaming match in mirror/vault
we load the necessary thing and drive
true north to a better time
the medicine is the music calling beauty
singing as we leave behind
wireless drops menthol like
2 hours on through talk of anger
irony, without a doubt cassette at fault
till diner stop for - country music stands
and beautiful travellers heading north.....easy rider, easy rider, easy rider
you don't need no reason to ride with me
so ride with mevans that stop with desperate wait
a child sleeps while her history baits
we talk of whether to breathe the grass or not
in ghettoes of protection/detection
the future rolls out its carpet: desire
the soaring of an addicts choir
while front wheel drive grips road in weather
wet across an emotional range........Talk of how that this is what i am
caught beneath the shuffling hand
a thousand versions of the same delight
that wages battle with our pride
tonight it could have been another day
the chance to discover whether what we had
was the best or the equal of the rest
held by forgiveness beneath cold dew
neon pulsing with laser thrust
in window as the music beats a road of submission
until the pasts just a distant strange omission.........easy rider, easy rider, easy rider
you don't need no reason to ride with me
ride with me
becauseI WANNA BE FREE, WANNA BE FREE
I WANNA BE FREE, WANNA BE FREE
9: She Puts It right
Acoustic Pop. Muse lyrics. Fun Falsettoes. Liz takes it further as Vic once did.
10: Girl You Played The Part
The women who mattered. Life with the other sex makes the world a richer place - If a little dicy at times. Which is why it should be played out in the plain sight of the one who created them both from dust. And for this to be something more than wistful wishing, it needs to be done in the sight of the community he calls us to create together. Pins in the area of pain maybe, but it's the only way to certified joy. And Joy is what the chorus is about…
Napoleon's Bar Friday night
I dreamed that I was a star
I looked to the heaven's above
And it didn't seem far
I dreamed that I was a king and
You were my queen
That we travelled everywhere and
Together we were seenAnd Girl You Played the Part!
And Girl You Played the Part!British Lion Saturday night
I can still see the scars
As we wheeled our innocence in
each week to the bar
A regular says, "love me tender"
I ask you if we should try.....
You simply nod twice and say
"Brother, sing it with style"Harbourside about midday
I felt that nothing was real
You could have the world for a song
'Cause my heart was a steal
We were as happy as the devil may care
The final flutter on a hand that was lost
The final spin, the last turn of the wheel
Till time only knows that our paths ever crossed.....After hours, after dark
I was looking for love
You took my listing ship and gave it a shove
Out, out to the dark, dark sea where no light shines - not even stars
To a place where there's no need for guidance
And Baby, no need to take charts..........
11: Closing Time
Australian longings. Stuck in a suburb. People looking for a lucky break. But what is luck? A guy who discovers that luck is to find yourself in a web of relationships that is known as community. Careers, dollars, mortgages, life and death all become a story to share among friends. Lotto won't give you anything but another story. And not necessarily a better one.
Three cheers for nothing for there's nothing else here
Three in a car, more in a bar, less in a prison but you can be sure
There'll be more.........Drive by shooting transaction on a shady street
I was woken by the breaking of the glass
I was dreaming of happiness, I knew it wouldn't last...I want to live a life less ordinary, so I'll raise my sights
Yeah I know I'm picking a fight with destiny
And that it's closing time at the end of the centuryBut if I'm lucky they will laugh with me
And if I'm not they will cry
Oh and If I'm lucky they will laugh with me
And if I'm not they will cry
They will cry
It's closing timeStop by heavens' gate but as usual I'm late
I'm lucky if they leave a key under the mat
And if not I'll sit where the others have sat and read the note that says
"Notoday - wait for the dawn
Not today - just join the queue to be born...."Oh but if I' lucky they will laugh with me
And if I' not they will cry
Oh and If I' lucky they will laugh with me
And if I' not they will cry
They will cry
It' closing time
Move along.........When all is said and done barrier town holds back its'sons and daughters
And life grows long it' not getting any shorter
Well hate is learnt easily, but very little else
And I' struggling to teach hope to myself
that' why we need each other or we might as well not botherThen a friend says goodbye and I look across the bar
and she says with a smile.......
"it's closing time......
But stay awhile.....
Yeah it's closing time.....
But stay awhile......
Stay awhile........"
Hey maybe this is my lucky day!
Maybe.....
if I='m lucky they will laugh with me
And if I'm not they will cry
Oh and If I'm lucky they will laugh with me
And if I'm not they will cryif I'm lucky they will laugh with me
And if I'm not they will cry
Oh and If I'm lucky they will laugh with me
And if I'm not they will cry
they will cry
It's closing time....
move along...
Let's go home now.
ATM
A hidden track. Simply because it was a bit stylistically estranged from the rest of the album. And because a version already appeared on the Bright Side EP.
I wish you were as easy to find as an ATM
I wish God was as easy to access as an ATM
I wish sex was as easy as slipping my card into and ATM
I wish there was one of you on every street corner just like
an ATM.....ATM's have got me out of strife tonight
ATM's have changed my life
ATM's have got me out of strife tonight
ATM's have changed my life
Changed my lifeI wish you were as easy to understand as an ATM
I wish your buttons were as easy to press as those on an ATM
I wish you were as quick to reply as the receipt from the teller of an ATM
I wish I could lean up against you and steal your secrets just like I do to an ATMATM's....
Thank God for automatic teller machines
Instrumental
Because music is.
1b: Sleepless Sun
Holding on in the midst of……
Faith in the context of actions that can't but make you doubt.
Charity while looking in face of the latest sales pitch.
Even at night the sun doesn't sleep.
I feel like I'm losing my balance
I feel like I'm going blind
I feel like the darkness will still advance
That you can't keep at bay the grind
Enemies of the piece are closing in
On sheltered fragile lives
While the day has not yet arrived
To hammer ploughshares from knivesBut be that as it may
The price I have to pay
Keep my eyes awake! Awake!
Sleepless Sun. Sleepless Sun.
Keep us awake.Oh and what has drawn us here?
Into any absence we seem to expand
And dreams of infinite capacity appear
As the sum of resemblances you can understand
But in the pain of difference
Lies a hidden, future glow
Where the darklands of human pride
Looks like a failed old sideshow
To which we paid our money
Oh so long ago.But be that as it may........
Well there are a billion graves with open mouths
Waiting for the children of the two-thirds south
To fall headlong from brutish lives
They won't last long - tell me who could survive?
While a man on the TV screen
Tells that life is lollipop green,
Red, orange, yellow and blue
And that you could be as famous too
If you'll only suck
On what he's got
To sell to you.But be that as it may.......
Well the day will come that mortals fear
The hour draws close, the time draws near
Two groups will form by his hands and side
Those that did - and those that denied
That the law of love
Stood the whole earth wide.But be that as it may..........
2b: Some Strike It Lucky
A girl making her way through life on her back.
One day decides to struggle to feet.
And walk.
One story among many others of the scraps-under-the-table-world-order.
I ask you Jesus how much shit does it take
To spend another night here awake
Dreaming of candy and sand
Mother's touch, Father's hand
While you give yourself to the nights violent caressAnd let me tell you, Ruth - the fields are bare
And Boas is not as he seems
So drink the wine, cheap and sour
And try hard not to feelYou know
Some strike it lucky tonight
Some have their fill
Some strike it lucky tonight
Have a feeling that we never will
Have a feeling that we never will
We never willGroceries out, trash is spilt, There's piss on the tenement walls
You get to thinking 'bout shooting thru
Greyhound connection, someplace new
When you've got nothing left in this world, not even your dreams......
Go past the pimps, past the stands
Past the diners and their eager hands
Steal a victory, steal a life
Steal some innocence too.......who knows.....Some strike it lucky tonight.......
But we might as well try......The last coin doesn't make that call
So it's operator connect, back standing tall
Say - "Hey Jen, can I come by your door
Maybe stay awhile, maybe crash on your floor
I've got something I need to right to even the score
I ain't bringing troubled waters
I'm just bringing one of God's daughters
I ain't bringing the dust on my feet
I'm leaving it behind, back on the street
I'm coming home, I'm coming home
Hey Jen, who knows.............?"Some strike it lucky...........
but let's give it one more try.
3b: Who's gonna Hold Up The Sky?
A family member of mine lived next door to a family in Sydney's West. There was a 5 year old boy with a stutter. His father had committed suicide. His mother was a junky who tried to commit suicide. One day the police turned up. She threw her gear over the fence. Another day in this "Working Nation" that some politicians are so proud of….
Families sleeping on trains
A Policeman never explains
To the youth that he detains
Life's like a ball that just rolls down the drain.......
Young mothers on welfare
Junk filled eyes
Old men belching judgement
Stale beer and lies
The children follow alone
Like dogs to a bone.
I don't know whether to laugh
I don't know whether to cry
So I'll just sit here and watch while you lie
Asleep beneath the falling sky
The falling Sky
Whose gonna hold up the sky?
Who'll hold up the sky?Not You or I.
Thousand dollar mortgage belt
Where the pinch is always felt
On government schemes for the working nation
That never keep out the wind of traders inflation
Which rips the floor out beneath your feet
And lands you back on the street
Yeah, where you can dance to the Missionbeat
There's a chair at the table - "please take your seat"
I don't know whether to laugh..........
Stuttering child, suicide blonde
Will you follow where your father has gone?
Your mother holding onto your face
Swallows the pills and drinks from disgrace
Hitting out when she survives
Glucose for cutting thrown over the fence like knives
The officer, the neighbours, the guilt that is prized
For its' confirmation, in this working nation.
I don't know whether to laugh..........
4b: 100 Walls
Another suburb. Middle class now. Economic security, emotional security, physical security, spiritual security. Building walls to protect the ones you love makes it harder to love your enemies. "Free markets", heavy advertising, subsidies. All walls. High Walls.
what they want is what they love
what they love is what they took from you
yeah you know its true
crossing over coming out
raise it up with a shout
you know
fear built the 100 walls of love
fear built the 100 walls of lovea paranoid world
keeps their wealth flowing
a paranoid world
keeps their wealth growing
it's what they wanta drive-by world
keeps the mind stranded
a drive-by world
and baby you can brand it
it's what they wantfear built the 100 walls of love
everywhere i see
5b: Strip Us Bare
Get to the essentials and quickly. Loose or lose my grip? Burning lips/leaves? Either way the truth will set us free. Oh, and one more bout of insomnia...
everyday burning lips kiss the sky
i turn away and shade my eyes
what i see it makes me hunger
for more than i've foundso i'll loose my grip
let it go
it's not meant to be
loose my grip
let it go
it's not meant to be
the truth will strip us bareso much drowning deep inside
i fear that it won't see the light of day
is that why i'm up now
staring down the darkness, staring it downwe're always hanging on to what we least need
gotta open up and find, find....
the truth....to......
strip us bare
strip us
please
strip us
6b: Seventh Seal
Genetic engineering. Apocalyptic family planning. Is the cup about to run over?
Sound Bite
Look Right
Loveless
And Emptiness
Lab Light
Wave Bride
Tube Child
And I'll Confide.....I know, you know, I've seen changes.
I know, you know, You see dangers, well...See blood in a spoon
I see a silver sun
See it coming soon
I see it's starting to run
Over me and over you
Starting to run
Over me and over you
The seventh seal tonight
We're lifting up
The seventh seal tonight
We're lifting up
The Seventh Seal.Chemical child a well-fleshed-machine
You're everything that they chose on the screen
You're everything your parents want you to be
You're everything, You're everything, well...I know.......etc.........
Seventh Seal!
Seventh Seal!
Seventh Seal!A bum at the bar of the hippest club in town
A coin in the cup of sorrows
Some desperate lunge at the windows of success
Only leaves them shattered tomorrow......Guitar.
I know.......etc.........
7b: Book of the Dead
Tibetan Chinese relations aren't exactly at their high point. Buddhist precepts and transcendental meditation brought down from the metaphysical to the physical.
The only state that's transcendental
Frees the will for its' potential.You can write it down in The Book of the Dead.
Tianamen/Tibetan/Tianamen/Tibetan
8b: Nations On Parade
The gulf war antagonisms are back. Hussain and Bush fighting for Dynastic pre-eminence. The children of Iraq still suffer. Oil men tussling over prices and distribution. To protest the boycott click here…
"I consign your cities to the imagery of fire". A unsung poet by way of Rob Graves led to the lyrics here. Plenty of cheap grace for yourself but none for your enemy. How Biblical. I don't think I'd send my kids to one of George grandpa Bushes Sunday School Classes…
have you seen the waters infected with the blood of the innocent?
have you heard the sighing cry of the discontent?
have you felt the sullen grasp of some sickly poverty ridden hand?
have you seen a screaming mother dispossessed of her land?well i've seen your cities burning
i've seen the heavens turn
i've seen that you're so far from grace
so far from grace
nations on paraderhythms cut, struck from their place, all now desecrated
peace is a driven from those who already stand naked
defiled is their day, strafed is their night
ravaged by motive, see their faces in flightwell they'll see your cities burning.........
as the mother of all battles dreams whilst rings of burning hash
engulf the child of innocence as you buried him with trash
be sure the wheels you oiled will jam and all your dreams will crash
no place now to hide and too bad you sold your rocket fuel for cash
too bad you sold your rocket fuel for cash - this place is gonna blowThey'll see your cities burning..........
9b: It Takes A Little Time
Less rush to achieve means less to grieve. Change and liberation comes slow. The long slow road to apotheosis.
oh so deep within
like a river rolling free
you raise me up, you bury me
beneath a raging tide of destiny
you scour me by jordans' side
and leave me no place to hide
could you make it any harder?
could you make it any harder?it takes a little time to open up and greet the world
it takes a little time to size it up up and read the world
it takes a little time to pack it up and leave the world behind
leave it behind.........i try to speak up - but my voice doesn't make a sound
i try to stand up - but with your little finger you keep me on the ground
i go this way - you go that
i turn and see that that's exactly where it's atit takes.......
10b: Gone
Road movie. Junky girl exits life or girl seeks freedom to live her own life? A little morality play where the listener gets to fill in the morality.
Jane split her past in two
fired life's gun into the blue
they never called to say hello
marched into the room, they would stare
ignored the rules, let down her hair
no words for her, none to spare
they wouldn't say, she didn't care
she didn't care.....and now she's gone to the world she wanted
she's gone to the world she never had
she's gone.....She won't be strapped to the load
left the car beside the road
it never ran much anyway
why should she stay?
she never owned the life she breathed
couldn't fit it on her record sleeves
she never got to own her fate
all that she owned was her hate
her hate.....and now she's gone to the world she wanted
she's gone to the world she never had
she's gone......She wrapped it and sealed it with a kiss
she new that they could not resist
if she only gave them half a chance
never gave them half a chance
but they couldn't lease her body
and they couldn't leash her mind
no she would own herself
and she would feel no guilt
no guiltAnd now she's gone to the world she wanted
she's gone to the world she never had
she's gone....And there's no time to say goodbye
She's gone.
11b: Outside That Wall
A conversation with a grey suited powerbroker in an un-named institution led to this little rant. Bitchy but fair enough. Life has moments like these.
12b: Into The Light
Peter speaking to Mary at Golgotha circa 33 AD. A broken and contrite spirit I will not despise… Peter lived it before any of us - he deserves the key to the kingdom. Hopefully he doesn't mind leaving a key under the mat for the rest of us who stumble behind into the light…
Mary, never failed as one like me
pray for me, please put it rightMary, mother of the life I lead
Pray for me through the nightMary, raised a son just to watch him die
Pray for me, I put him thereMary, veiled so all the world might see
guide me, into the light, into the lightMary, eyes that saw the world denied
Pray for me please give me sightMary, followed closely at the feet
Lead me, into the light, into the lightInto the light.........guide me one more time
Carry Me
One more time ma. Steve Francis's Hippy mix from the remix sessions for a single version that was never released. That's rock'n'roll down under boys and girls.