1. |
Give me a shout
03:25
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I've been wondering, the last few nights
Whether I'm really, moving forwards
When I'm boxed in with my virtual toys
I see my friends all growing up and they're all
They're looking happy
It's true I don't have the same stresses
But I don't have the same joys
I can't help but feel left behind
When I'm waiting for nights with the boys
What am I running, from?
Am I even running?
The truth is I've felt static
Like the Christmas decoration you forgot to take down
And waits for any old excuse to celebrate
When you're around
My life had revolved around
Battles fought and lost
And even though I freed myself from the ones that did me wrong
It's the same hole, I appear to have dug
I'm sure my Mum expected me to settle down
I'm sure my Dad had wanted to see me around
But it appears that I've stayed, perhaps a little more grey, and static
What am I running, from?
Am I even running?
The truth is I've felt static
Like the Christmas decoration you forgot to take down
And waits for any old excuse to celebrate
When you're around
I've heard no man is poor who has friends
For that I feel like a king among men
But I can't help but feel, that my life's a little bit still
And I can't keep eating takeaways for each and every meal
I have to get moving
What am I running, from?
Am I even running?
The truth is I've felt static
Like the Christmas decoration you forgot to take down
And waits for any old excuse to celebrate
When you're around
Those few minutes are about the time
That I usually spend trying to sort, this thing out
So I'll grab my phone and wallet
I'm popping out for a pint if you're about
Give me a shout
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2. |
Oath to disorder
02:39
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I called for another drink
Flicked my ash into the sink
I played drunken guitar
And fumbled through my repertoire
I hear the bird's song when I try to sleep
I think a lot, this needs to stop, just starting from next week
I knock the bottle of the drink
Take the pen and start to think
About working out a plan, a plan for working out
Put my body to the test
Fuel it only with the best
Goji beans and some bullshit herbal teas
And get ready for the test
Here's to wanting everything to be the opposite of what is currently
Of being North to the South
Wanting everything you did without
And being either side of the extreme
And nothing in between
Now I'm paid, now I'm rich
Oh there goes the last of it
You won't see me around
I'll be hoarding every pound
'Cause I can't rub two pence
This veneer of affluence
I make my budget for the while
With a few nights on the tiles
But those few nights turn to days
Now I'm wasted all the way
I take my time but I always miss
Balance my charity with avarice
Here's to wanting everything to be the opposite of what is currently
Of being East to the West
Berating all the things you did your best
And being either side of the extreme
And nothing in between
Was I right to think I was more than this
I got a little bit embarrassed that I'm pretty badly balanced
Maybe one day I'll count the cost
'Cause I've got routine but I want chaos
Here's to wanting everything to be the opposite of what is currently
Of being North to the South
Wanting everything you did without
And being either side of the extreme
And nothing in between
Here's to wanting everything to be the opposite of what is currently
Only being off or on, and tell me is it really wrong
If I don't always practice what I preach
It's just a bit of hypocrisy
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3. |
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I am the strong and silent type
I sing my songs under spot light
I'll speak only when the time is right
I'll be your rock and I'm in the stocks
I'll see out the night
I am what you think I should be
I bear responsibility
I'm what I think you need of me
I am bold, I am fierce but still I feel so weak
I am in the firing line
It looks as long as it is wide
And sometimes there's no end in sight
I look cold, but I am boiling
I'm running out of time
I am just what I invent
To keep me in the present tense
And make me still feel relevant
What I can conjure, what I can muster
Reprieve from the torment
When we were young
We would turn our backs on anyone who
Told us one day this would all be gone
If I could count the times
I wished I could realise that
We walk the same with different names
What's the point in opening up?
There's more important things to think of
What happened to those ones we loved?
Gary Cooper, strong and super
A bottle closed up
I see through your wall of ice
I know it well, try as you might
I can see you lose this fight
I could help you, I can see through
I see it in your eyes
When we were young
We would turn our backs on anyone who
Told us one day this would all be gone
If I could count the times
I wished I could realise that
We walk the same with different names
And we'll always say that it's all right
Sure as day brings out the night
So here it is in black and white
Here's your strong and silent type
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4. |
Butterflies
02:32
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I felt weight
I felt the dread
Of burdened shoulders and a
Heavy head
I sought escape
I sought relief
I got impatient and I got ratty
In brave new worlds
Keep my feet upon the floor
And help me to feel rich when I'm poor
The guides to help me, navigate these
Turns and bends, these finest of friends
That a man could dream
I felt fallen like I wouldn't get up again
I was empty yeah I couldn't dream and then
You picked me up, from my knees
You saw the gaps and then filled the space in between
Help me layer and thicken up my skin
Give me a mind for dreaming
And help to me to interrogate the words
To conjugate the verbs, yeah derive some meaning
Widen my eyes, I'm strapped in tight
These little butterflies are ready for first flight
I won't cross that line no I'll dance over in spite
And you'll see more of me, now I'm in the light
It's the words that will never need be told
But they keep me from the biting cold
I feel that roof, above my head
Help me to be happy when the sun has set
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5. |
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I've always loved a photograph
One that's something to the feel
One that truly captures a moment and evokes some real
I remember seeing one of you
Your golden hair down low
Your bluest eyes and longest dress that
Completely stole the show
I was so happy
Genuinely happy
I'd travel many miles to meet you there
And then all our friends began a chorus of 'Skinny Love' by Bon Iver
On our open top bus, the day had meant the world to us
Driving past thatched cottages and houses
On the summer's best showing, the warmest breezes blowing
Warm enough but cool enough for the fussiest of relatives
You were so happy
Genuinely happy
I can still smell the flowers in your hair
And then all our friends began a chorus of 'Skinny Love' by Bon Iver
Those days will be permanently etched in memory
And I know, for every one, I should've taken three or four
Each time I see that special one, I'm left wondering
Why don't I print photographs anymore?
Throughout all the seasons, the picture started fading
It's starts to represent more the nostalgia
'Cause those days are long gone, but perhaps they can live on in song
Now this picture frame has gained a nice patina
We were so happy
Genuinely happy
Fingers running through each other's hair
Softly in the background was the chorus of 'Skinny Love' by Bon Iver
After all the time it's taken
There's just a few pictures in the pack
From when I fell in love, but she couldn't love me back
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6. |
The forbidden beat
03:09
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When I first heard that beat, I was hooked for life
When I heard songs sung with passion I became a fan of DIY
And since then I've journeyed through drum and bass and funk
But I'll always have a place in my heart, for that old skate punk
Through the early nineties and into the thousands
My CD stack consisted of old skate punk compilations
From all around the world, I felt I'd found my niche
Short songs for all people that were loud and fun and angry
I was working for the weekend and that little bit of cash
To hear the clicking of the cases as I'm flipping through the bands
Yeah those Saturdays were so much fun
Caught between two, can only have one
But it gave some purpose to those young and idle hands
To get some beers and friends and come and start a band
It's not a passing scene and it helped shape the man I came to be
Those Saturdays had changed and I changed too as I got older
And now I'd branched out into a vast array of genre
I'd lie and while away the afternoon in bed
Then that forbidden beat comes back, and the hairs stand upon my neck
'Cause if you've never been, then you probably hardly know
That energy when the band starts, come on let's go
Beers and bodies flying through the air
That time spent wasted was time well spent
May it never end
Through that music I made some of my best friends
And if the day ever comes I'll be so sad to see it end
Because this time is precious, let's not see it go to waste
And I'd be proud to call it my job if it's your first taste
'Cause if you've never been, then now's the time to know
That energy when the band starts, come on let's go
Let's let loose and jump and wave our hands
If it all ends tonight this is our last stand
Yeah we understand
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7. |
Best model yet
03:34
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As I tore off the wrapping paper, eyes lit up and saw
My first model plane set back in 1994
I did use all the parts, I cobbled it together with heart
The nose was bent the tailed bowed, but still, a pretty good start
As the years rolled on I learned what more of the parts were for
Took more from the plans, looked more finished that before
I saw where I'd improved, still plenty more to do
But I had that fervour to had even more
Then from time to time, from the corner of my eye
I would seek out that old plane set
And when back on the shelf, I could think to myself
This is my best model yet
When I was a kid, a teacher explained
That the world and its complexion couldn't come from a big bang
She went on to proceed, with a crude analogy
Of smashing two eggs, but at the time it sort of made sense
Shortly after that, I started in earnest
Deceit by that old teacher led me on a stronger purpose
Now religion is bunk, religion is a lie
The root of so much evil yet so many still rely
I started then on the attack, like some teenage Richard Dawkins hack
To all that would humour or take time to heed
Looking back, an embarrassment, pompous fucking arrogance
To all who'd disagree
When the facts that we knew, become proven untrue
And you go as you mind, travelling through the times
We can go or we can stick, but we might just miss the trick
If we keep on treading old lines
When your plane isn't flying right, you don't need to start a new
When your battling your maker, reach for the paint and glue
And with all this endless tinkering, there's solace in remembering
That you won't be perfectly set
But you can be your best model yet
You are your best work yet
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8. |
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You and I have only just met, but I feel like you're
Going to be a big part of my life
We're going out, we're travelling
Not a day apart it seems
When we first met we went off like a rocket and it
Felt like co-dependency
But pretty soon we're living in each other's pockets and they
Start to fray at the seams
You are my crutch, you are my rock
And you help me settle down from all of life's little shocks
And wherever you go, I'll never be too far away
Yeah let's just stay, in bed today
We spent five years seeing each other every day
I was in a tough spot but you weren't too far away
You helped me out, you gave relief
I thought it was a selfless deed
I start to feel like I resent, the grip you had was only manageable at best
Not going out not travelling
And sometimes I could scream
You were my crutch, you were my rock
You helped me settle down from all of life's little shocks
And wherever you go, I'll never be too far away
But not sure I'll stay, in bed today
You brought me down, needled at me
You knocked my confidence and now it seems that
This is neither to nor fro, I think it's time that I should go
You brought me down, to my knees
Sometimes I hate what's left of me
I know this shame I feel it each and every single day
But I'm trying hard to forgive
Just leave me alone let me live
'Cause I don't need no crutch, to help me walk
I've heard my voice, now you'll bear its thoughts
And wherever you go, I'll be an arm's length away
But you can stay
I'm sure we'll meet again soon and I'll be better and so will you
Yeah you, you can stay in bed today
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9. |
No consequence
02:58
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You need not be so hard on yourself
You always said that your happiness wasn't based on your wealth
And I know you're conscious of time on this earth
But what, on earth comes first?
You seldom allow to feel proud
You move on to the next, but we all start to shout
Force you to sit uncomfortably
Tell you to cover your ears and see
You spent ten years knowing this
And until you unclench your eyes and you open your first
We're all waiting here knowingly
Oh what it takes to make you see
I saw you crawl out of your hole
Once where you had stayed since sixteen years old
And your eyes not as vacant to me
Oh what it takes to make you see
You chose to be alone, picked the skin right off your bones
And hardly even paused enough to think
Oh what it takes to make you think
But if I'm always thinking of the time
That I'm taken off the shelf
How could I ever look in front of me?
How could I see anything else?
And if I keep on pointing out
All of my fucking short comings, the shame, the doubt
Well what is left, is of no consequence
All that I have left, is of no consequence
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10. |
Decade
04:14
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For so many years I've suffered and had to hide
I've endured this battle for my whole life
A battered heart a beaten spirit, and a weathered mind
I hope this makes me stronger somewhere along the line
Where are you going?
I'm no finished with you just yet
And until your defeat there will be no rest
I've been locked inside of this empty cell
Surrounded by false prophets who liked to tell
That it's all a loss and a fucking mistake
How could you ever think of winning
When you don't deserve to play?
Where are you going?
Reverberating inside my head
But they won't know what is coming next
I'll cry freedom
This is my moment of clarity
Those chains were so tight
But this is my new high
I'm ready to seize the day
Now I'm walking in my own two shoes and they're
Not those ill-fitting garments that I've had to wear
Because I was too young to work out why
I've not felt like my old self for such a long time
I've got a spritely spring in my step today
'Cause I've decided to throw regrets away
It was liberating but no easy feat
It could be quite cutting
But still I didn't bleed
Where are you going?
Don't you dare lead me astray
I've finally broken you from my shape
I'll cry freedom
This is my moment of clarity
Those chains were so tight
But this is my new high
I'm ready to seize the day
So join me in the driving rain
We'll dance and sing our pains away
Feel the strain release and start to fade
Welcome a new decade
Welcome a new decade
Welcome a new decade
Welcome a new decade
Your decade won't wait as long as mine
'Cause ten years can start from anytime
You can try again, it's always fine
I'll meet you at your start or finish line
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