Amateur Hour
I had a feeling we were going to lose it
I'd a feeling it was slipping away
Time flies, we were staking our lives
Like a bunch of little children at play
In a flash, it all went crashing
Staring at the mess on the ground
Fine words for all this passion
Now we're all humiliation bound
In the amateur hour
This is the amateur hour
A million strong in the market square throng
And the government is going to fall
We organize through your network of lies
Who ever could make sense of it all?
Democracy means you listen to me
Say what you like and do what you're told
To think the blow could have come from below
Is impossible - but still it unfolds
Cold in the amateur hour
This is the amateur hour
This is the moment when we're taking the power
Taking the pain
Taking the feeling
Always the same
Taking the new age
Out of the old
Taking the prisoner
Out of the Cold
Taking the moment
Taking the reins
Taking our chances
No more remains
No more the professionals
Hold us in thrall
If we knew what we were doing
We couldn't do it at all.
I said I'd shoot, but you didn't believe me
Now you only have yourself to blame
You never thought, now your life is cut short
By the creature that you sought to defame
Parasite on the vessels of light
A purveyor of the media lie
I only hope through the rifle's scope
That they won't remember you when you die
Cry in the amateur hour
This is the amateur hour
No more lies in the amateur hour
Now you die, in the amateur hour
One more time
The Ballad of Ghost Point 5
Remember a time
Remember a place
(Remember a girl
Remember her face)
The last time we saw her
She looked so alive
(Climbing the tower
at Ghost Point Five)
She drew the fire at Ghost Point Five
Mounted the spire so the rest could survive
It all came to pass so fast
We never saw her alive
She fell from the tower
She fell with a scream
(At Ghost Point 5, at Ghost Point 5)
Fell out of the world
Fell into the dream
(At Ghost Point 5, at Ghost Point 5)
She fell to the ground
She fell to the black
(At Ghost Point 5, at Ghost Point 5)
We're helping her out
We're helping her back
(At Ghost Point 5, at Ghost Point 5)
All we remember is there on the screen
The old world is gone now and so is the dream
What was dismembered remembered once more be seen
We stand in awe of her opening eyes
A new world inspired by her opening eyes
Our song will chant the tale as the old must die
Coming back to life
It wasn't the first, it isn't the last
(the cycle completes, the cycle completes)
Recycling birth, once more from the past
(we draw a clean sheet, we draw a clean sheet)
The closest we come to bearing a child
(Dismember the old, back into the new)
When nothing is lost, all debt reconciled
(Machines are so cold, our voices are true)
All we remember is there on the screen
The ghost is remoulded into the machine
The new body waits for a second time
To be clean
We stand in awe of her opening eyes
A new world inspired by her opening eyes
Our song will chant the tale as the old must die
Coming back to life
Cut and Run
a man in black with a mein kampf look
a woman enraptured by the history book
they fell in love with a strict machine
full of dead men's bones and all things unclean
as his cancer swelled to enormous size
he became a god in his lover's eyes
there was no remorse for the things he did
when it came to the crunch, he ran and hid
cut and run, run and hide
it's the honest measure of dishonest pride
here on the ground, your enemy stood
but the chance was blown for good
in october rust with their flags unfurled
everything's unjust in the netherworld
there was too much static for the state they're in
so they jumped the tracks saving all their skins
he's the holy goat for the dancing dead
he'll remain their leader till he eats some lead
there was no recourse when it hit the skids
in the dawn of the dark he ran and hid
cut and run, run and hide
do you love the genes or the genocide
here on the ground your enemy shook
but a word was all it took
were you nine days hanging on the holy tree
you were left to dangle, it appears to me
all your thoughts misleading in your steel trap mind
with your one eye bleeding and your third eye blind
all your ogres summoned and your hexes hexed
you will see them coming in this world or the next
like adolf and eva, or bonnie and clyde
at the ends of the earth they run and hide
cut and run, run and hide
would you like to sue for the suicide
here on the ground, your enemy stood
but the chance was blown for good
cut and run, run and hide
did you put my face to the fear inside
here on the ground your enemy shook
but a word was all it took
The Dive
This must be the place
with the marks on the linoleum
where people put out
cigarettes over and over again
where the cobwebs have cobwebs
and the hallways smell like wee
the gilt has rubbed off this disco ball
posters pasted over mildewed posters
from gigs long-ago forgotten
This must be the place
The edges underneath the stools
Are landscapes built from gum
The floor kisses onto your sneaker soles
And is reluctant to let go
Layers of graffiti decorate the lavatory door
Detailing good times and love-hate
And swastikas intersect hearts
This must be the place
and I think it
always has been...
but the doors
do not open here
any more
Dead-bolted shut
with extra large yales
eyes peer suspiciously
through half-closed blinds
green algae proliferates
under leaky pipes
where the street-cleaners
no longer remember to come
without danger money
a silent skinny grey alley cat
washes dirt from his paws
and it seems prudent
to cross the street
and keep walking
it is not safe
to linger
here
anymore
Don't Tell The Doctor (That You're Batman)
Don't tell the doctor that you're God
Don't tell the doctor that you're God
Don't tell the doctor that you're Batman
Don't tell the doctor that you're God
He's gonna hook you up to the big machine
He's gonna wash your brain though it's already clean
You can't hear the angels on thorazine
So don't tell the doctor that you're Batman, Batman
Don't tell the doctor that you're God
Batman loves you cause you're crazy
Batman loves you cause you're strange
Batman loves you cause you stole a motorbike
And drove it out of cellphone range
You can tell the doctor that you need a rest
You can tell the doctor that you need to confess
You can tell the doctor that you need to undress
But don't tell the doctor that you're Batman, Batman
Don't tell the doctor that you're God
Batman loves you cause you're... CRAZY!
Batman loves you cause you're... CRAZY!
Batman loves you cause you're... CRAZY! CRAZY!
He's gonna hook you up to the big machine
He's gonna wash your brain though it's already clean
You can't fight the Joker on thorazine
So don't tell the doctor that you're Batman, Batman
Don't tell the doctor that you're God
na na na na na na na na BATMAN!
Dress Me Up, Dress Me Down
It's just an afternoon
In the candy clothing store
I was thinking about the beautiful dresses
And more
The signals of dominance
Flesh on display
The feelings which don't belong
To light of day
Take responsibility
The money changes hands
For I am such a good girl
Where I stand
never say I wanted
never say I need
never own the pleasure
When the scalpel starts to bleed
I could never do this
Never be that girl
I could never open
The door to the other world
Will you do this for me?
Will you turn me round?
You can dress me up
And dress me down
Will you allow me
To be who I want to be
Feel who I want to feel
Flesh on the skeleton
I want to go with you
Please take command
You hold the balance
I'll hold the whip hand
Down on your knees for me
Worship the light in me
Open the door for me
Very methodically
Dress me in velvet
And ribbons of fire
Let me become
The thing you desire
The thing I desire
The thing that is higher
F is for Fake
A Limousine in a Cul-De-Sac
Dark night and slowly moving forward
Cross the wrong side of the tracks
Lights flash on the silver hood ornament
There is no way to relax
Kurtz up the river, the heart of the darkness
Is touching your platinum blonde
Everyone hears when your money is talking
But this is no way to respond
you're like a LIMOUSINE IN A CUL DE SAC
too big to manoeuvre and you can't go back
and the restless natives are on the attack
yes you're a LIMOUSINE IN A CUL DE SAC
you're going down like the Hindenburg a flaming gas-bag
unless you drop your machinery and slip through a crack
it's the only way out
Scraping the fender, the impact reverberates
Somebody fell on the curb
Blood on the bumper and sounds in the alleyway
Things were best not to disturb
You feel the eyes watching from silent apartments
And you see them nowhere at all
But caught on your dashcam, the face in the window
Who lets out an unearthly call
Who? Who? Who? is the cry of the dove
And how can we exit this trap
As bricks and scrap metal rain down from above
Their patience is starting to snap
You crossed into colour out of black-and-white movies
And this is the scene that you dread
The engine roars out like a boat up the Congo,
Hunters are after you out of your head
you're like a LIMOUSINE IN A CUL DE SAC
too big to manoeuvre and you can't go back
and the restless natives are on the attack
yes you're a LIMOUSINE IN A CUL DE SAC
and you had steady momentum on the alpha-track
but you've reached the encounter with the obscene lack
is there no way out?
you're like an oil tanker in a waterspout
or a party bus stuck on the roundabout
and the passengers are puking, they can't get out
you're like a LIMOUSINE IN A CUL DE SAC
too big to manoeuvre and you can't go back
and the restless natives are on the attack
yes you're a LIMOUSINE IN A CUL DE SAC
you'll go down like the Hindenburg a flaming gas-bag
unless you drop your machinery and slip through a crack
it's the only way out
Office Work
office work is fucking boring
office work is never done
office work is sweatshop labour
for the new millennium
i did everything that they told me
i studied foucault and lacan
a master's degree in art history
i'm doing the best that I can
but now I just work in an office
doing the things I do well
filing and typing and bitching and griping
and making other's lives hell
office work is fucking boring
office work is never done
office work is sweatshop labour
for the new millennium
the boss is a suit-wearing dipshit
who thinks he's god's gift to the race
so easily annoyed, so hard to avoid
so hard not to laugh in his face
I carefully fake the statistics
to prove that my work's a success
and every day i can find a new way
to abuse my internet access
office work is fucking boring
office work is never done
office work is sweatshop labour
for the new millennium
office workers run in circles
like a hamster in a cage
day is coming when some jerk will
choke upon my righteous rage
the managers make conversation
a passive-aggressive attack
with musical sound, the gossip goes round
about who's screwing who out the back
i make up some fictitious rumours
about who pissed me off most that day
i smile and just wait for a while
i got three supervisors fired that way
office work is fucking boring
office work is never done
office work is sweatshop labour
for the new millennium
office workers run in circles
like a hamster in a cage
day is coming when some jerk will
choke upon my righteous rage
office work is fucking boring
Silicon(e)
Sleep, go to sleep
And pray the backup drive my soul to keep
The flesh is weak and frail
But silicon and silicone don't fail
Time to go online
A different way, a softer place to shine
A new interface
No interaction cannot be replaced
I have replaced you every way that I could
Turned the bad into good
And your replacement locks the doors to my home
turns the meat into chrome
I built my world around you
You weren't there
My silicone friend will not pretend to care.
Go deep within
The plastic is fantastic second skin
Here, warm and dry
It's safe to be when silicone sees me cry.
I have replaced you every way that I can
Changed a toy to a man
I will perform this electronic embrace
I am dishwasher safe
There is no danger in here, no surprise
My silicon friend will not offend with lies.
(You have been replaced...
You have been replaced...)
My silicone friend will never leave
My silicon friend keeps his heart on his sleeve
My silicone friend is better than the real thing in every way (any day)
My silicon friend is ever-ready
My silicone friend keeps her motion steady
My silicon friend will never let me down
I am automated
Organic components outdated
And I become aware
The problem lies between the screen and chair
Peel back my face
The last component homing into place
At last, I've found the bug
Returning, yearning, burning like a drug
I will embrace this every way that I must
As the chrome turns to dust
And I will face this as the sweet turns to sour
Motor chokes on the power
Now I have been replaced too.
Can't you see?
My silicon friend, this is the end of me.
Under the Mountain
I moved under the mountain
With the people of the mud
Cause I move with the ocean
I can feel it in my blood
I didn't think life would be easy
I didn't know what to do
I've slept through the pain, do it all again
I'm ready for something new
Oh friends and lovers, don't you fret
The dreams are wilder, bolder yet
And though I sang of sweet regret
It makes no nevermind
And though I'm far away from you
The light you gave me shines on through
And everything you said was true
Except for "Stay behind"
Meanwhile, in a womb of stone
Deeper than you've ever known
Underneath the rocks and dirt
Insulated from the hurt
Embryo dreams -
Dreaming 'bout the things to come
They told me it would end in fire
But it's later than they think
Instead, fear death by water
when the tower starts to sink
If we don't drown, I'll see you down
In New Commercial Bay
Or is it you and me on Lambton Quay?
There are no words to say.
Oh friends and lovers, don't you cry
The light once born can never die
And though I sang a sweet goodbye
I'm always coming home
And though it's wise to break with you
I couldn't if I wanted to
I set my course and sail the blue
It's all I've ever known
Meanwhile, in a womb of stone
Deeper than you've ever known
Underneath the rocks and dirt
Insulated from the hurt
Embryo dreams -
Dreaming 'bout the things to come
Your Next Show
Hey there kid, you look kind of funny
Is it your next show
The man in the wings is screaming like a monkey
And he won't let go
The sounds in your head on the stage in the darkness
No reason for regret, it all looks fine
Time to forget what the promoter promised
The audience is just killing time
Bathed in sweat, you're counting the money
It's your next show
And everyone wants to get a piece of something
It's rock and roll
The TV is dead in your one-room apartment
The VCR's on the blink
You cannot remember how this all got started
The end is not as close as you think
Time for sleep, you've got a big day tomorrow
It's your next show
Whatever you have you steal, beg or borrow
It's beyond control
You rip off your clothes, you stand in the spotlight
You scream at the top of your lungs
And everybody's vying to be your replacement
'Cause everybody's learned what you've sung
But it won't be for long
It's the end of the song