1. |
All Smiles
03:55
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ALL SMILES
There’s a friend of mine
Sometimes I used to see his handsome face looking so sad
Then he met some one
Who told him there’d be no more suffering and no more bad
So now he’s put away that frown
And he can only make one sound
And he’s all smiles
There’s a friend of mine
Sometimes I used to see her cracking up under the strain
Then she met someone
Who told her there’d be no more misery and no more pain
A happy face is what she’s found
She’s turned that frown up side down
And she’s all smiles
There’s some friends of mine
Sometimes they used to whisper they were tired of being strong.
Then they found something
that told them it was all a dream and there was nothing wrong
they’re looking on the sunny side
and I just want to run and hide
Run and hide
Cause they’re all smiles
And he’s all smiles.
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2. |
Maybe It's Just Me*
03:11
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Maybe it’s just me
It used to be I touched you
You melted and you sighed
But now you wince with muscle pain
I wish I hadn’t tried
It used to be a certainty
Now we’re quite near the edge.
And everything’s a gamble
And all our bets are hedged
And all you tell me is how happy you think I must be.
Perhaps we’re dying on our feet,
Or maybe it’s just me.
Maybe it’s just me.
I used to be I saw you
You twinkled and you smiled.
Now you give me the world weary
While I sail up denial.
We’re riding on the past
Around an old well trodden course.
I’ve nothing left to sell you
So I’m flogging this dead horse
And all you tell me is how happy you think I must be.
Perhaps we’re dying on our feet
Or maybe it’s just me
Maybe it’s just me
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3. |
Calming Me Down*
03:18
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Calming Me Down
Far away, and I don't hear you laugh I don't watch you worry,
I'm OK, but you see me in too much of a hurry.
Stay with me and I'll polish up my finest behaviour,
No wonder she winds up just calming me down.
You can leave any time at all, it's your silent option
And I'll believe that I should have been put up for adoption,
Wait with me, create who I didn't know was inside me
And I can see she's wound up just calming me down
Familiar tales, somebody saved a loved one from danger
Watch me fail, relying upon the kindness of strangers
Break my heart, you know you’re the only one who can do it
Watch us start and I’ll wind up just calming you down
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4. |
Keep Saying It
03:16
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KEEP SAYING IT
I know I find it hard to open,
Keeping silent and things unspoken.
But I've been trying to tell you my way.
Picking carefully things that I say
But when I stumble onto the topic
You're too busy and try to stop it.
It's as if you don't want to know.
You're leaving me with nowhere to go.
I Keep saying it
I Keep saying it
I Keep saying it
But you ain't listening.
Some nights I'm screaming it out but you won't
Take you earplugs out so I don't
Make it plain write it down why should I?
I've been talking so long all the good that it does.
And you don't think that I can see what's going on
You don't think that I know
All the things that don't show.
So if you see me don't act surprised.
Keep that wounded look out of your eyes.
Don't ask me when I'll be home 'cause you know
We closed that place down a long time ago.
copyright Jim Kitson 2001
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5. |
Marie Elizabeth
03:58
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MARIE ELIZABETH.
Look at the birds they've been charmed right out of the trees.
Is that the scent of jasmine on the summer breeze?
Hey all these baby animals they weren't here before.
Oh now I understand look who just walked in the door
Marie Elizabeth, She's the girl, she's the girl
worrying me to death, Marie Elizabeth.
Is that laughter or the babbling of a brook?
Is that Mozart or her voice that I mistook?
Hey look at the fountain all that water's changed to wine.
And isn't that humankind in harmony sublime?
It's celestial there never was a hell,
are you laughing or screaming? I can't tell.
How could anyone come and take these things away?
How could anyone not believe the things you say?
When life is simple lots to eat and one more drink,
and if you shout loud enough you can't hear yourself think.
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6. |
Idiot
02:49
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IDIOT
For a minute there I forgot I was an Idiot,
For a minute there I forgot I was a fool.
For a little precious time
I believed that you were mine.
For a minute I forgot that life is cruel.
For a moment I imagined I was competent,
And that you might need me like I needed you.
For a fabulous few days
I thought I had changed my ways
Until you told me what I think I always knew.
For a minute there I thought I was the luckiest man alive,
My faith in happy endings stood a good chance of survival.
For a minute there I forgot I was ridiculous.
It seemed to slip my mind I was a clown.
Well anyway you stayed
And poured down on my parade.
I should have known you wouldn't let me down.
copyright Jim Kitson 2001
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7. |
Fade it Out*
03:40
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FADE IT OUT
I thought you loved our record,
you were dancing
looking in my eyes.
Singing all the good parts,
biting your lip,
it was undisguised
pure joy, pure love, pure wedding cake.
Until you found that awkward frown.
And said I've got a splitting headache
can we turn the volume down?
Oh don't you fade it out,
no don't you dare.
Left alone to listen
Tap my fingers, hum the melody.
But I can’t find the rhythm,
Ad I’m screwing up the harmony
I can’t say I expected
this karaoke solo spot.
Lost and unprotected.
Keep it playing now, it's all that I've got.
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8. |
I've Said It All Before
03:21
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I'VE SAID IT ALL BEFORE
I could do it all with you
But I've done it all before.
And I could see so much in you
But I've seen it all and more.
Yes I've been around,
All over this town.
Don't believe a single word I say
And I could say so much to you,
But I've said it all before
copyright Jim Kitson 2001
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9. |
Billy
04:49
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BILLY
Billy was a quiet boy with red golden hair
and pale skin and T.Rex and a father never there.
And I don't know if I loved him.
And I don't know if he'd care.
Billy saved all his Sounds and his NMEs.
Billy gave an identity to me.
and he loved his cat and his mother,
and the Kinks and Chelsea and tea.
Oh Billy, Billy come back to me.
And one day when my parents split up like his.
We moved away and lost touch
you know how it is.
And he was kind and cruel.
He made me laugh and he laughed at me.
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10. |
Collapsing
03:36
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COLLAPSING
Treading water's getting harder every day.
Keeping life and soul together.
Rape and slaughter just don't want to go away.
And what about this weather?
The great big suits that be are whistling in the dark.
They don't know what the fuck they're doing.
Stuck behind side impact bars with nowhere left to park.
Gridlocked on the road to ruin.
Life and liberty,
faith, democracy,
watch it all collapsing around you.
Failure and success,
health and happiness,
watch it all collapsing around you.
Itchy trigger fingered children on the streets.
Greed to powerful to mention.
Immune deficiency and nothing left to eat.
Another miracle invention.
Someone's selling you life everywhere you look.
Make a decision make it snappy.
Compact discs can burn almost as well as books.
We were never poor but happy.
Will we make it now?
who cares anyhow?
have you got somewhere else to go?
looks like the future's clear,
what's the odds on twenty years?
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11. |
Basically
03:20
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Basically you
It’s basically you
That’s not what I sell
I say what I think will make me sound well
I’ll take all of that blame
I’ll ruin the day
And basically you can just walk away.
It’s totally you
But no one can know
And I might not pull through but on with the show
You can keep all the stuff
And taking the piss
And basically I wish I was bigger than this.
And I think that we should… well I think you know
And I wish that we could but there’s no where to go.
It’s completely you
The shape of the hole
That’s burning right through my heart and my soul
So I’ll keep on calling you mate
And staying on hold
You’ve got a lot on your plate
It’s basic comedy gold.
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12. |
Beautiful Day
03:09
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. Beautiful Day
It’s a beautiful day
I don’t know why you’re not here to watch the sun come up.
I’ve been meaning to say
To tell you no lie
It’s the truth you couldn’t make this up
Standing stock still and staring
A silent smile.
What a surprise.
It’s a beautiful day
I don’t know why you won’t get to see them all grown up.
I don’t know what to say
A clear blue sky
Someone’s god or guru sure fucked up
I don’t know what my point is.
Here now you’re gone
I could cry
It’s a beautiful day.
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13. |
Famous*
03:31
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14. |
I Bet
03:54
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I BET
I bet you practise conversations with him on your own,
I bet your heart thumps that bit faster when you hear the phone.
I bet you plan your whole week on the off chance he'll be there,
I bet those stupid sad songs send you off into despair.
I bet deep down you know he doesn't feel it like you do.
I bet you replay all his words 'til you believe they're true.
I'll bet good money you're ignoring all the things he's done.
I bet you're watching all your friendships suffer one by one.
Oh how do you think I know all of this is true?
That's the way I feel about you.
I bet your self respect is just a distant memory,
I bet you've dug down way down deep beneath your dignity.
I bet that you don't listen to things you don't want to hear,
I bet you're sick to death of chest pains and the taste of tears
copyright Jim Kitson 2001
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15. |
Inevitable
02:50
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. Inevitable
It’s blowing colder down the phone,
I look around and I’m alone,
nobody standing where you were.
I used to be the man you missed
Now I’m the last one on the list,
Just like the guy the time before.
But who knows what the day will bring?
They say the fear is the worst thing
And I’m full up with that right now.
It’s inevitable
I just don’t know when or why or how.
It’s cooling down, drifting away
And there’s not a lot to say
Those decisions have been made.
I’m hoping for a better day
I’m hoping happiness will stay
But all I see is this slow fade.
I could tell you that I’m sad
Hollowed out and feeling bad
For all the good that that would do
It’s inevitable
I just didn’t think it would be you.
The party stopped, the bubble burst
And I don’t think that we’re the first
Circumstantial overload.
And when a future textbook case
a handsome smile, a pretty face
Sets us both off down the road
I’ll be wishing you good luck
And hope the next life changing fuck
Treats you better than I could.
It’s inevitable
Just something we never understood.
It’s inevitable
Just something we never understood.
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16. |
Matter Much
03:07
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Matter Much
Where you were last night and what time you’ll be home.
Whether I was right and who answered your phone.
As long as I feel your touch,
It doesn’t matter much to me.
The things you lied about, the money that you spent.
And my nagging doubt and how you pay your rent.
As long as I feel your touch,
It doesn’t matter much to me.
Past acquaintances with knowledge in their eyes.
Time spent waiting in my own.
I don’t have the faintest idea,
Life’s full of surprises.
You’ve got everything I own.
Wasted days and nights, the times you never showed
All those drunken explanations that I’m owed.
As long as I feel your touch,
It doesn’t matter much to me.
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17. |
Never Once
04:00
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NEVER ONCE
Poached fish again for dinner
And she's got so much going on.
And though she's slim she could be thinner,
Aerobics and marathons.
Now and then a drastic fag
To keep her on the straight and true.
And life inside a plastic bag
Is warm until your face turns blue.
Never once in seven years
Seen without her makeup on.
Anyone gives in to fear
Who's only ever been taken from.
Bed at seven up at four
Into the world all by herself.
Gravity is at the door
And pulling at her mental health.
Don't get dizzy try to breathe
She tells herself to stay in touch.
And eating what the children leave
Won't ever build you up too much.
Never once since eleven years old
Eaten without worrying.
It's the only thing she's in control of,
There's no point in hurrying.
Once I saw her smile
Like a happy child.
Then she saw and knew
And disappeared from view.
Poached fish again for dinner
And when there's nothing going on.
She's just thin and getting thinner
And every day's a marathon.
Pulling on her plastic fags
giving up is good for you.
Life lived on elastic
Means the ground's always rushing up to meet you.
copyright Jim Kitson 2001
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Frank Finighan Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
Frank Finighan is from Newport in South Wales now resident in County Durham.
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