Lyrics

All songs by Stephen Wilcox, except Love Like A River by SW and John Mobbs

We Saw The Signs

Walking in the country
Spitting in the rain
Kicking through the garbage
Wash it down the drain
No sheep on the hillside
No cows in the fields
They took them all for humans
To put them in their meals

See the factories smoking
Smell the abattoirs
Hear the highway roaring
Feel the hum of cars
Where are all the people?
Where have the birds got to?
Beep beep beep of the semi
Torn carcass of the kangaroo

Block out the mountain, smash out the sun
Piss in the fountain, destroy everyone
Block out the mountain, smash out the sun
Piss in the fountain, destroy everyone

Living in the city
Off to work every day
Swearing in the traffic
Buses always late
Nobody sees the homeless
No-one tosses a coin
They need it for their TV
They need it for their porn

See the buildings shudder
Smell the burning air
Hear the residents screaming
Feel lucky you’re not in there
What happened to our dreaming?
What have our nightmares allowed?
Crack crack crack of the icebergs
The waters rising – what do we do now?

Block out the mountain, smash out the sun
Piss in the fountain, destroy everyone
Block out the mountain, smash out the sun
Piss in the fountain, destroy everyone

Dystopia
We’ve ended up in a
Dystopia

Closing up all our borders
Spying us on our phones
Dodging guns in our shopping malls
Hiding out in our homes
No faith in our churches
No truth in our laws
They made them all into weapons
Then used them to start wars

See the governments falling
Smell the scent of control
Hear the acolytes chanting
Freedom or slavery for us all!
How did we murder our planet?
How did we fuck up our job?
We never learned from our lessons
We saw the signs but the signs were wrong

Sleeve

You’ve walked a lot of pavements where the Eurotrash won’t go
You’ve crossed a dozen countries in a day
You expect attention but in the suburbs we think slow
No intervention’s gonna make us change

You did a lot of drinking, you did a lot of weed, you got your motto tattooed on your sleeve

Never been wrong, never be right

You booked into a hotel and invited all of us round
You said you missed your new friends back in LA
You can’t stop talking about the underground bars you found
But can’t you see we’re stuck and we can’t escape

You did a little WWOOFing, you did Glastonbury
You got the lineup tattooed on your sleeve

Never been wrong, never be right

You can’t fool us, y’know you can’t fool us
You can’t fool us

We drop you off at the airport
We breathe sighs of relief
You got your mantra tattooed on your sleeve

The Curse of You

You said in the morning all this would pass
You lied, and today, it’s like we’ve come back to the start
I won’t go on being your whipping boy
I’m tired, and old and there’s nothing left for you to destroy

I think we’re done
And now for the worse part
There’s always the sun
There’s always the curse of you

This fighting and hurting each other’s wrong
I thought we were friends it turns out you’re just dragging me along
Can’t speak for myself but I’m sending signs
We need a divorce before there’s no-one left to see your crimes

I think we’re done
And now for the worse part
There’s always the sun
There’s always the curse of you

All this time
We’re like a clock winding backwards
There’s no time
There’s no more time

I can see that you’re planning on leaving me
But the damage is yours and you take no responsibility
You spoil, and you burn, and you pollute me
We’re over for good and good luck trying to get over me

I think we’re done
And now for the worse part
There’s always the sun
There’s always the curse of you

Rally Round The Shield, Boys

We sacked the cities by hand
Carried off the wealth of the land but
Our canteens were dry
Our horses too tired and we
Drowned in the mountains of sand

The people cheered for us in the towns
As we led our convoy around but
The children still played and
The mothers turned away and we
Burned til the bonfire went out
Burned til the bonfire went out

So rally round the shields, boys
Tally up the dead
The good have gone to heaven
The evil to their dread
We have no prisoners, Lord
No king’s head for a prize
Our Christian souls we give you
As Crusaders we will die

From over Europe we came
From England and Poland and Spain but
The white of our skin
And our armour too thin we
Fell by the score in the plains

We put the pagans to death
Heretics, a blight on our faith but
They wouldn’t be cleared and they
Fought without fear
And we failed til we ran out of breath

So rally round the shields, boys
Tally up the dead
The good have gone to heaven
The evil to their dread
We have no prisoners, Lord
No king’s head for a prize
Our Christian souls we give you
As Crusaders we will die

Dud Revolution

I know I shouldn’t run from this
Eat my sweet cupcakes in bliss
I’m too scared to be the fool
There’s enough of them to rule

I don’t wanna fret, I’m not gonna bet til it’s a sure thing
I don’t see the point, don’t wanna disappoint til it’s a sure thing

And it’s an accident of time, the best don’t always win the fight
The worst manipulate and plot
And spread their poison from the top

Call it cowardice, sitting on the fence til it’s a sure thing
Such a crying shame, it’s a survival game til it’s a sure thing

Sure thing, it’s only human to be so human, to be so torn
Sure thing, it’s an illusion, this revolution can not be won

So I walk away again, miss my rhythm, miss my friends
To turn to face a new machine so powerful and clean

I don’t wanna fear, have to wait and see if it’s a sure thing

Sure thing, it’s only human to be so human, to be unsure
Of this one thing, is it illusion, this revolution can not be won?

No Saints

Working hard each day can be a chore
By the end of the week can’t take no more
But I can hear the singing, and the sound
of cymbals ringing
By Thursday night I’m knocking on your
door

And I’ll be safe
Playing with the band
And I’m no saint
When I’m in a different land with you

Sometimes the rhythm just won’t come
And the words I wrote are sounding dumb
But you turn up the mics, and if we can, we harmonise
I’ll be tired when Friday comes around

But I won’t complain
I was playing with the band
And I feel no pain
When I’m in a different land with you

Its a hard experience to describe
Somewhere between football and a fight club
Everything seems better, and we’re all in this together
I’m still a slave to Thursday nights

And I’ll be safe
Playing with the band
And I’m no saint
When I’m in a different land

And I’m not great
When I’m playing with the band
And I can’t wait
To be in a different land with you

Love Like A River

Runaway fiancee
Try to understand why you’re leavin me
Lookin back when the mirror’s crack’d is like not looking at all
Runaway fiancee

I’ve been jilted
Left to stand
On the acres that we planned
On the seeds that we’ve sown
I’ve been taken
For a ride
One too many times
Now I stand alone
Got the river to bring me home

Runaway fiancee
Hasn’t rained all year and the feed is gone
Went downhill when we lost the will -replaced by nothing at all
Runaway fiancee

Love is like a river but it’s flowing out of me
Love is like a river but it’s flowing out of me

I’ve been jilted
Left to stand
On the acres that we planned
On the seeds that we’ve sown
I’ve been taken
For a ride
One too many times
Now I stand alone
Got the river to bring me home

The Trees, The Seas, The Bees

Take a saw to the tree of life its
Fire keeps us warm at night its
Ashes float into the air its
Gone for good, the valley’s bare

It no longer gives us shade there’s
Nothing in the space we made there’s
People crying in the past for
Present plans to make the future last

They were counting on you
Counting on you

Take a ride out to the reef the
Sharks are hunting underneath the
Sun is hot, their blood is cold our
World is young but theirs is old

Throw a line out from the shore it
Catches on the floating ball of
Plastic bottles, hooks and things it
Pulls you under as it drags you in

We were counting on you
Counting on you

Here’s a sharp reproach for you this
Paradise is rotten through this
Heaven is no haven now this
Sanctuary with gates all down

But someone else can storm the streets &
Cower as the police beat them
We don’t want them in our way
We’re just people going about our day

So we’re counting on you
We’re counting on you
Yes, we’re counting on you
We’re counting on you

Have a thought for the simple bees
Or the birds that pollinate our trees
They can’t breathe where buildings go
They can’t live where no flowers grow

Take a saw to the tree of life its
Fire keeps us warm at night its
Ashes float into the air its
Gone for good, and leaves the forests bare

And they’re counting on you
Counting on you to see us through
And we’re counting on you
We’re counting on you
We’re all counting on you

A Solitary Sentinel

With a little kindness
We can make the world go round
But we’re on an axis set to go
And with a dose of comfort
We can make it all seem right
But you don’t try to interrupt my flow

I owe you

In a lonely garden
On a street without a name
Stands a solitary sentinel
Its a stone reminder
Of a time now cast away
I thank you for all of this as well

I owe you, I owe you, I owe you
I owe

When

When evil is idolised
Murder democratised
Voices that fill the air
Sirens cry

When garbage is our bequest
Drought our inheritance
Islanders disappear
What are we doing here
What are we doing our worldview is skewing but

When
When will we realise?
What does it take to teach?
We’re fed on corporate lies
We pass from each to each

When one life is worth as much
As all the lives we can touch
Birthplace discriminates
When did we start to hate

Close your doors, close your mind
Keep all your care inside
Voices that fill the air
Say that our nation’s fair
Think that we’re thriving but
We’re just surviving til
When

When will we realise?
What does it take to teach?
We’re fed on corporate lies
We pass from each to each
When will we realise?
What does it take to teach?
We’re fed by mobile phones
Raised up by TV shows
Told where the weather blows
Til we’re comatose

What are we doing here?
Think that we’re thriving but
We’re just surviving til

When
When will we realise?
What does it take to teach?
We’re fed on corporate lies
We pass from each to each
When will we realise?
What does it take to teach?
We’re fed on corporate lies
We pass from each to each
We pass from each to each
When, when, when, when, when