LYRICS

MEN IN STASIS iii

The Signal (iii)

Ready, set… wait for it…
Ready, set… wait for it…
Ready, set… wait for it…
Ready, set… wait for it…
Ready, set… wait for it…
Ready, set… wait for it…

Do you bite your thumb?
If you do I’m for ya
It isn’t zero sum
Between builder and destroyer
Now that reason’s on the run
There’s a reason to be strong
There are battles to be won
There are battles to be won

Do you stick your thumb
To the heavens or the dirt
When it isn’t just a game
Someone will get hurt
Now that reason’s on the run
There’s a reason to be strong
There are battles to be won
There’s a battle to be won

The signal has been cast
While we all stand alone
If we stand alone
There’s nothing to be done
The signal must be vast
For us all to stand as one
For if we stand as one
Surely we can overcome?

Stick two fingers up
Or stay living in a stupor
Is every minute in the mud
Merely a stay of execution?
Now that reason’s on the run
And there is no smoking gun
There are battles to be won
There’s a battle to be won

The signal has been cast
While we all stand alone
If we stand alone
There’s nothing to be done
The signal must be vast
For us all to stand as one
For if we stand as one
Surely we can overcome?

Stand, will you stand beside me now
Be my equal, be my friend
Will you stand beside me now
Be my equal, be my friend
Will you stand beside me now
Be my equal be my friend
Will you stand beside me now
Be my equal be my friend
Will you stand beside me now
Be my equal be my friend
Will you stand beside me now
Be my equal be my friend
Will you cherish and defend us?
And when they come to end us
Will you be my righteous vengeance?

The Crucible (iii)

Name all your demons and
Marry all your ghosts
When you’re ready come on home
When you’re ready come on home

The witches and the juries are just
Terrors in the mirror
The puppet and the master are
Reflections of the other
All axons
Just shooting signals through this crucible

Devil and divine
Are symbiotic sides
Of the thin dividing line
Between my darkness and my blue skies

My collar turned up
Breaks against the cold
Chilled out but burned up
Must be my demons coming home
All my demons coming home

The big dog rocked up
So the angels pulled their socks up and they
Shot the clowns and f*cked off
Leaving me alone amongst the worms
Just parsing signals through this
Just shooting signals through this
Just screaming signals through this universe

The devil is divine
He wants me by his side
Which I’m sure will be just fine
Oh yeah

Here in my melting pot
Of self inflicted knots
And my own chaotic rituals
To separate myself
I have to make myself say
“You’re still wonderful”

On the horizon
I see Poseidon
He’s got his trident
He’s gonna try to
Put out the fire and drown the world
That’s if the flames don’t get him first
Do you wanna drown or do you wanna burn?

Devils are divine
When there’s not a cloud in sight
And you can always change your mind
Not for the first time
& not for the last time
& not for the first time
&n ot for the last time

The witches and the juries are just
Terrors in the mirror
The puppet and the master are
Reflections of the other
All axons
Just shooting signals through this crucible

The Stand (iii)

It’s hard to make a stand
When you can’t stand what’s inside
Sometimes, sometimes

All of life’s demands
Seem like much too high a price
Sometimes, sometimes

We’re all doing what we can
To stand is to survive
Sometimes, sometimes
You gotta choose to try

Let the demons have their say
Then let the sunlight bathe your face
& let that be enough
Enough for today

It’s hard to make a stand
When you can’t stand what’s inside
Sometimes, sometimes
You gotta choose to try

All the problems in the world
They’re too big, they’re too wide
Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes

But it’s all the little wins
That make this life worthwhile
Be kind.
Just be kind.
Cos you’re better off alive.

Open
Open
Open open (Open)
Open open
Open open open (Yourself)
Open open open
Open open open yourself (Hope and prepare)
Open open open yourself (Hope and prepare)
Open open open yourself to (Hope and hope and and prepare for)
Open open open yourself to (Hope and hope and and prepare for)
Open open open yourself to (Hope and hope and and prepare for)
Open open open yourself towards (Hope and hope and and prepare for)
Open open open yourself towards (Hope and hope and and prepare for)
Open open open yourself towards (Hope and hope and and prepare)
Open open open yourself (Hope and hope and and prepare)
Towards love

MEN IN STASIS ii

The Signal (ii)

Voices Beacons in the shortwave
Wisdom Rebirth in the static
A cure for fevered sleep

Send the signal out this noise just can’t be right
Send the signal out there’s no place to hide
The number we have dialled has not been recognised
Send the signal out
Before we lose the line

Futures Broken and distorted. Like sand between our fingers
Judgement Hammer falls upon us.
Cavalcade of horrors for our sins

Send the signal out this noise just can’t be right
Send the signal out and save us from the course we’re running
The red light turning amber in my fevered mind
Send the signal out
We’re running out of time

This has happened before (We must stand)
We are right here waiting we are
Right here waiting we are right here
(We must stand)
Waiting we are right here we are
Waiting we are unafraid we’re
This will happen again (We must stand)
Waiting we are right here we are
Waiting we are unafraid we’re
(We must stand)
Unafraid we’re right here we are waiting
And there’s glory to the brave

Send the signal out this noise just can’t be right
Send the signal out before we have to die
The revolution it must not be televised
Send the signal out
Before we lose the line

Between impotence and action
Failing to cope
Dancing with oblivion
We’re hostages to all our hope
Search for signs and signals
Seeking looking for the light
Escaping from the shadows now
We dream our dream we make our stand

Searching Finding light in darkness. Choices to be made
Patterns Always all around us. Which ones will we get before they fade?

Send the signal out this noise just can’t be mine
Send the signal out before we lose our lives
The revolution it must not be televised this time
Send the signal out
Send the signal out
Send the signal out
Send the signal out

The Crucible (ii)

A moment’s breath before it all began
I wait beneath this fragile sky
A heartbeat skipped, another thought
And you are there, I rise to meet your eyes 
and we return to go

A lifetime looking to the stars
But here we are again
Still caught inside the choices we have made
It’s time to start anew

I light a spark
The night time throws a blanket round this place
We watch the embers grow
The light and heat burn bright against the cold
It’s time to cast it out

I see a beautiful horizon 
Waiting for us over there

Sitting on the start line
Waiting for the last control
Sitting on the start line
Faces pressed against the window

The crucible surrounds us
Taking over all we know

Ready to fly now (ready to fly now)
Ready to ride to now (ready to ride now)
Ready to carry us to where we need to go

I see a beautiful horizon
Waiting for us over there
Can we make this count?

I see a beautiful horizon
Is it out of reach for us?

Don’t get found out now (don’t get found out now)
Fight the doubt now (fight the doubt now)
You fear the things you do not know

The crucible defines us
Taking over all we know

Don’t believe it (don’t believe it)
Don’t believe it (don’t believe it)
Don’t believe it (don’t believe it)
Don’t believe it, no

I see a beautiful horizon
Waiting for me, waiting for me, waiting for me, waiting for 

Time to cast it out

I cast it out
I cast it out
I cast it out
I cast it out
All those festering fears.  Flimsy assumptions
Confidence drowned by floods of bad choices
Imposter syndrome. Chronic dysfunction. Impossible standards
Flawed inner voices
I cast it out (I cast it out)
I cast it out (I cast it out)
I cast it out (I cast it out)
I cast it out (I cast it out)
The crippling sadness and dark hidden passions
My absence of faith
The doubting. The blame. The anger. The sorrow. The lack of compassion
Ignorance, impotence, misplaced shame
I cast it out
I cast it out
I cast it out
I cast it out
I cast it out
I cast it out
I cast it out
I cast it out

The Stand (ii)

It isn’t an argument
When it’s an intrusion
And no matter how far we get
There’s no resolution
What we think is a conversation
Is illusion
We’re all fools on our hills Casting allusions

I don’t need to be expert
I just need an opinion
I’m a warrior looking for the easiest win
So I can look down on you from my confected dominion
My dungheap of shit that I’ve hoarded to fling from

This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on

Truth or lies or alibis
I have to try to navigate the thin white line between
The damaged and the done
My way or the highway
When did things become so binary?
Even heaven and hell have purgatory
Is this what we become?
Dissonance as discourse
Where every man mounts his own horse
And rides it backwards
Like red rum

This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on

It’s not about standing
It’s not about falling
No use in asking
There’s none of us listening
I’ve never met you
Yet here I am all in
It’s not about anything
It’s not about anything

It’s not about standing (We Stan)
It’s not about falling (We fall)
No use in asking (We ask)
There’s none of us listening (“Listen to me roar”)
I’ve never met you (We know your sort)
Yet here I am all in (Furthermore)
I’m not about anything (We’ll nod about anything)
You’re not about anything (We’ll nod about anything)
We’re not about anything

So this is where we stand

This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on
This is not a hill worth dying on

MEN IN STASIS

The Signal

The light dims slowly round this place where we sit
Entwined the silence whispers what’s left unsaid
Around the space between what’s real and what’s not
This time the embers die away in the dusk

Twilight falling
This moment holds us between daylight and dark and now
Your voice haunts me
And speaks a truth that I know in my heart

I wait inertia seeps in time and in place
Your face betrays the thing that both of us fear
To stay the end seems just as far as the start
Tonight tonight this numbness now feels so calm

So calm

The bubble calls to me
It holds me in her arms
The oxygen’s too thin but it sustains me ‘till I’m ready to
Begin again to open up my eyes and wonder how
I lived without this perfect stasis
Waiting for the signal to appear

To appear
To appear

And then she calls to me
I hear her call to me
And then she calls to me
I hear her call to me
Safe and warm but never really ready to commit

The bubble calls to me
It holds me in her arms
The oxygen’s too thin but it sustains me ‘till I’m ready to
Begin again to open up my eyes and wonder how
I lived without this perfect stasis
Waiting for the signal to appear

The bubble calls to me
It holds me in her arms
The oxygen’s too thin but it sustains me ‘till I’m ready to
Begin again to open up my eyes and wonder how
I lived without this perfect stasis
Waiting for the signal to sound

Breathe in breathe out
Waiting for

The Crucible

1985
Late on a Monday night
An impressionable 8 year old
Watching the world come alive
The game is getting old
Time is running slow
But at The Crucible
They’re still trading blows

To come up short
To come up short
At the Crucible
Would be worst of all

1985 Later still on Monday night
8 year old’s folks have decided it’s way beyond his bedtime
“I can’t leave now” old 8 he cries
Folks say “8 please dry your eyes
We’ll sort it. And record it”

Early Tuesday morn
8’s up at the crack of dawn
Eager to learn who has won and who has fallen shortest
The baize has held him in it’s thrall
The final frame, the final ball
But cruel jest! As the VHS has

Come up short
To come up short
At the Crucible
Would be worst of all

To come up short
To come up short
At the Crucible
Would be worst of all

To come up short
To come up short
At the Crucible
Would be worst of all

The Stand

Peering back at what’s behind me
Feeling something like contempt for where I’ve been
With a single shaft of light
The ever-present beam of sunshine that you’ve been
And we know we feel much better than we ever did surrounded by the damp and grey
But it’s not quite enough
And this is where we stand

Looking forward
Every single light is turning green for us
But a single seed of doubt growing in my mind is nurtured by the rain
And you’re sure you’ll feel much better when the windows light upon the life you want
Still I’m getting in the way
And this is where you stand

I’m standing still I’m standing still
Undecided and afraid and stood stock still
You’ll keep dreaming on and on
While I nail myself as a martyr to my fear
And I swear I’ll feel much better when tomorrow lights and I’m dust in the farthest grey
But tomorrow doesn’t show
And this is where I stand 

This is where I stand

This is where I stand

This is where I stand

This is where I stand

TOUCHY SUBJECTS

I Knew Your Game

I knew your game but still I played
I wanted to be led astray
F**k the sinner not the saint
Scream your name as I’m betrayed

A lot of what is wrong in you is what I want in me
A snake-eyed Slytherin charm
Curse of a wolverine
I get palpitations bad vibrations
Still I just can’t leave
In my land of make believe
To give is to receive

I knew your game but still I played
I wanted to be led astray
F**k the sinner not the saint
Scream your name as I’m betrayed

I’ve got to get away from you and what you do to me
Damn those wandering eyes
They make me weak at the knees
My needs and fears fall on deaf ears
But I guess that’s my disease
I can’t look the other way
Cos’ every time you stray
I’m still begging you to stay
I knew your game but still I played

I’m a moth you’re the forest fire
I’m affection and you’re desire
I tell myself I’m David you’re Goliath
Even as I cast my sling aside
I’m a wretch dressed in bold attire
I’m bereft whereas you’re inspired
You’re a cheater and you’re a liar
But you’re everything that I require

I knew your game but still I played
I wanted to be led astray
F**k the sinner not the saint
Scream your name as I’m betrayed

I knew your game but still I played (I knew your game but still I played)
I wanted to be led astray (I knew your game but still I played)
F**k the sinner not the saint (I knew your game but still I played)
Scream your name as I’m betrayed 

Godawful Small Affair

Pleased to meet you
I forget your name
All you pretty things are pretty much the same
Just another notch in the chain
Don’t break the chain

So tell me, do you wanna go?
You could teach me something that I don’t know
All roads lead you home
I’ll tell you what we’re gonna do
& If you show the way then I’ll follow through
You use me, I’ll use you

I don’t think you understand
That I don’t need to prove I’m a real man
Sometimes I just need to prove that I can

So call it lust
Without loss
Low stakes, low bar, and no cost
Who’s the bitch now? And who’s the boss? Who’s the boss

Tell me what you wanna do
I’ve got a playbook that I have to work through
Oh my god my god my what I wouldn’t do to you
If you tell me what you want to see
I’ll give you everything that you need
But not me

I don’t think you understand
I don’t need to prove I’m a real man
Sometimes I just need to prove that I can

Yes I can. I can. And I will
Yes I can. Have my cake, Have my way. Have my fill

Distant As The Stars

I raise my eyes
This canvas sky is neon black tonight
And it’s orbiting forever
Scattered timeless treasures
Hover divided in an endless sea
Of deep, deep dark

Alight upon this halo moon
Piercing the night, a light
Another night alone
My gravity collapses
Illuminated crystal bright
In a blanket of black, black light
That is where I find you

Distant as the stars
I burn for you silent in the dark
As distant as the stars
But you remain for me morning, noon and night
As splendid as the sky
As distant as the stars

Standing close to you
I can touch you but I can’t reach you
Not the way I want to
Not the way I dream I do
The clouds are closer now than any chance I have of being able to have you
Just the way I want to

As distant as the stars
I burn for you silent in the dark
As distant as the stars
But you remain for me morning, noon and night
As splendid as the sky
As distant as the stars

(distant as the stars you are distant as the stars and I burn for you burn for you I burn you are
distant as the stars you are distant as the stars and I burn for you burn for you I burn you are

distant as the stars you are distant as the stars and I burn for you burn for you I burn you are)

Distant as the stars
But even stars burn out in time this will fade (I would burn it all)
As distant as the stars
But you still see the embers of the life I’d burn to have you (I’d still burn it all)
As distant as the stars
I yearn to touch just a part of what you are
As distant as the stars
You will always be winter, spring or fall
The brightest of them all

Kenneth

Wickedy wah… sh’mon!

I mean, obviously I love women and they hashtag love me too because I’m a very sensitive guy, for example, I only use that dating app where they get to choose because it’s good for them to feel like they’ve got some control… I don’t understand why I keep striking out though. I mean, I had a date with this banging hottie the other day and I really made a point of looking at her face and nodding at all the appropriate moments… Nothing, no dice. Honestly, she couldn’t even name a single Thundercat. Anyway now I’m here, I’m hot to trot, I’m looking for the lot, er… love marriage two-point-four… I wanna be tied down… maybe literally

I’m feeling lucky tonight
The special feeling inside, deep inside
She’s got that look in her eyes that says she doesn’t know me yet

D’ya know what though, I really think this date’s going well

Just a word to the wise, if you play nice
A little sugar gets lots of spice
Yeah she’s got that look in her eyes that says she doesn’t know me

She doesn’t know me… yet. Funky. Oh yeah I like that… it really gets my juices flowing if you know what I mean… ta na na na na na na uh, ta na na na na na na uh

I mean, one of those things that like people are always talking about these days is white privilege, but I think it just goes to show how little people realise about how difficult it is to be someone like me. For example like, I’ve always wanted to be a rapper but nobody would ever take me seriously and yeah, I do think that is a form of persecution. I mean, you probably get that a lot too don’t you? Persecuted for… being so beautiful. Oh yeah, yeah I said it. Whssh I mean, it’s one of those things isn’t it if you’re gonna take offence at that where does it end I mean I was only trying to tell you that you’re beautiful and you are honestly it’s getting to the stage now where nobody can say anything at all it’s political correctness gone mad I tell you… I guess… I guess that means we’re not going to be getting jiggy with it? Ta na na na na na na, ta na na na na na na… eh.

Same Old Story

Figure it out
I guess it’s the same old story
Boy meets a girl and
Boy loses girl
So cliche
So cliche

So figure it out
I guess it’s the same old story
Boy becomes man and
Does what he can to move on
Forgotten
Forgone

Now every tryst
In every bed is craven
And every kiss
And every regret helps no-one
Helps no-one

So figure it out
I guess it’s the same old story
Boy meets a girl and
Boy loses girl
So cliche
So cliche
So what

Just You Wait

Young flesh is coveted at every instigation
Young minds easily led are open to suggestion
Your young, young heart
And your young, young head
Your young, young body
Your young, young legs
Invite solicitation
So for your own protection
Don’t you know you gotta hide yourself away
You think you know it all at your age
Just you f**king wait
Don’t go and give your love away
To every Tom, Dick, Harry or Harriet
Listen to experience and
Just you wait

I can’t save you from yourself
I can’t save you from the dreams that all the others sell
I can’t save you from their fists or the barbs or the lies they tell
Unless I save you for myself

I know you want to live and understand your place in the world
You want to make your own mistakes in the world
Mistakes you’ll live to regret
Mistakes you’ll eventually own but mistakes nonetheless
You don’t know regrets
You don’t know best
Your young, young body
Your young, young legs
Your young, young heart
In your young, young breast
Is raising expectations
A breast of exultation
Sing Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I’m inspired
But moral mores give cause to pause and of course I’m preaching to the choir
You beautiful objectionable object of desire
Just you wait

I can’t save you from yourself
I can’t save you from the dreams that all the others sell
I can’t save you from their fists or the barbs or the lies they tell
Unless I save you for myself

Just you wait oh
Just you wait
Just you wait oh
Just you wait
Just you wait oh
Just you wait oh
Just you wait oh
Just you wait

Good Luck Getting Laid

You got no prospects
You got no goals
You got no future
And you got no dough
If you can’t be paid
Good luck getting laid

You got no cheekbones
You got no ass
Unless you got sweet genomes
Then you get no pass
If you don’t make the grade
Good luck getting laid

You got no
You got no
You got no
Good luck getting laid
You got no
You got no
You got no
Good luck getting laid
You got no
You got no
You got no
Good luck getting laid
You got no
You got no
You got no

You got no profile
You got no face
You got nothing especially
So you got no place
Unless you got it made (Good luck getting laid)
You been betrayed (Good luck getting laid)
You can’t be saved (Good luck getting laid)
And you’ve all been played (Good luck getting laid)

Good luck getting laid

Relentless

I can’t let it out I gotta keep it in now give me something to shout about

I can’t let it loose I gotta keep the relentlessness of the rhythm going

Well it’s one am and I’ve still got goals I gotta heat things up if I can bear my soul

This is relentless it never stops it’s on repeat it’s all just

Beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat.

suck, pluck, spank, pound, hot, plump, fat, round
suck, pluck, spank, pound, hot, plump, fat, round

Beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat.

And it’s two am it’s time that something clicked amidst a million hits and that

Beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat.

And it’s three am why can’t I find the switch from the on to the off

Beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat. beat.

FOUR!

Beat. beat. beat. beat.

I’m still watching it. Untouched, unhitched, un-hi-n-g-ed

Beat. beat. beat. beat.

Five am. God I’m regretting this no pixellated bliss could ever make this night make sense

I’m no longer even horny

For The World Is Hollow And I Have Touched The Stars

In a dream
I see you running far, so far from me
While the sun sets slowly behind
I’ve never seen such a chase in all my life
But you were always there

In my dream
I see you crawling lowly back to me
While the sun sets slowly behind
I’ve never seen such a face in all my life

Stay down, stay calm
I won’t punish you for long
Stay down, stay down
You are back where you belong
Stay calm, stay down
I will keep you safe not sound

In a dream
You touch the stars and raze your warmth for me
Now your world is hollow and dry
We have to do this and you know why

Stay down, stay calm
I won’t punish you for long
Stay down, stay down
You are back where you belong
Stay calm, stay down
You wanted stars so watch them burn
Stay down, stay down
Even now the tables turn

In a dream
You wish you were as good as good can be
While the sun sets slowly in my eyes
You’ve never seen such beauty in all your life
And I’m no longer there

Sculptress

(instrumental)

STILL SITTING IN DANNY’S CAR

PART ONE / PART TWO / PART THREE / PART FOUR / PART FIVE

STILL SITTING IN DANNY’S CAR 1: ONCE UPON A LIFETIME
(All music and lyrics by The Mighty Handful)

Once Upon a Lifetime

“You only live once … but if you do it right, once is enough”
Mae West

(Instrumental)

Not A Dry Glass In The House

“I’m not afraid of death … I just don’t want to be there when it happens”
Woody Allen

This is the end.
My story starts, paying respects.
To my best friend
The best of the best of them

Spilling out. Beyond the aisles,
Beyond the doors. Two hundred guests
And the rest.
The sermon ends, so we repair

And there’s not a dry glass in the house
There’s not a dry glass in the house
There’s not a dry glass in the house
Silence boils to stories
Stories rise to laughter
Tears flow of both courses
Voices rise in anger
Then stutter. Then murmer.

And there’s not a dry glass in the house
There’s not a dry glass in the house
There’s not a dry glass in the house
Aunts and friends and lovers
All keen to paint a picture
And a life becomes a jigsaw
The pieces cherished, priceless
The colours now fading

And there’s not a dry glass in the house
There’s not a dry glass in the house
There’s not a dry glass in the house
Each one is raised to honour
Missed chances and rich promise
Of a fire long since extinguished
Still remembered
(though in truth for years just embers)

To our distinguished fallen friend.
To the best of the best of them.
To Glenn.

So You’re Death?

[In response to Death coming for him]
“Is there no exemption for actors?”
Jonas Skat (The Seventh Seal)

A man walks into the bar and it’s not a joke.
Mine’s a pint. His … a scythe.
My eyes widen as his narrow
He tips his point, tries a smile
And then he says, without the slightest trace of irony
Hullo. I’m the Grim Reaper, but you can call me Death

And lo, the beer spoke through me:
So you’re Death?
Well, okay then. In that case, we have a bit of a problem
Firstly I was hoping you’d be a cute goth girl
Preferably a Bachalo or McKean
Instead – look at you – it’s more like Bill and Ted
(And I take another swig of ale, because now I’m warming to my theme)

Is this some sort of bogus journey?
If you’re Death, then why take Glenn?
He was the best of the very best of them
You could have taken any one of us instead …

On hearing this, Death being Death
Went deathly silent …

Foolish mortal!
Yours is not to ask the question
As for the goth girl thing
I’m getting that a lot these days
I have an offer
And it would serve you well to listen
If you want your friend again
I’m sure we could find a way
I’ve got the power, you’ve got the option
Do you want a taste?

Ah hell. Hell… hell… hell yeah. What the hell
It’s not like I’m making a deal with the devil

Well, in which case
Just step outside
Your chariot awaits!

Cavalier Spirit

It’s no silver ghost
But I still jump at the sight
Danny and his Cavalier
From 1985.

As you were, azure blue
And absolutely frightful.
The greatest car I ever knew

Roll up, roll up, roll up for the mystery tour
This cavalier spirit
My chariot of fire

As you were, azure blue
And absolutely frightful.
Who could ever ask for more?

(Death’s Term and Conditions)

Yeah, yeah, I’ve never been one for the small print,
Let’s just cut to the chase shall we?
As you wish …

Alright, Danny? All right!
What, no dice? Oh yeah that’s right
If it’s not a command then he’ll ignore it
Alright Danny, alright … alright …. alright … alright
FLOOR IT!

A Trip in the Light Fantastic

Trip in the light fantastic
The wind is in my hair
The future’s far behind us
We’re going everywhere

The path I see before us
Morphs future, past and now
Sub-conscious thoughts direct me
Towards my inner self

My present lies within you
In this, our final dance
Death, who rides beside us,
Embraces our last chance

Humankind’s achievements
Laid bare before our eyes
Destruction, sorrow, evil
All there to scrutinise

Fact and fiction flow together
In a tub of cheap champagne
Where we all live forever
‘Til Death calls us again

(Time shudders. And slows. Synapses explode)

BACK TO THE TOP

STILL SITTING IN DANNY’S CAR 2: THE BEACON
(All music and lyrics by The Mighty Handful)

The Beacon

“A moderate use of beer will aid digestion, quicken the powers of life and give elasticity to the body and mind.”
United States Department of Agriculture report, 1866

The car stops
In the parking lot.
And there it is –
Our Camelot.
The frosted windows. The Holsten neon.
The wooden sign above that bears a poor rendition.
The lighthouse. The freehouse.
The Beacon.

Martini logo
Masks the reflection.
And there it is
Our very own round table.
And oh, the gang’s all here!
And it’s all “Where you been” and “Come pull up a chair.
But first … get in the beers”.
Yeah, it figures.

(The gang’s all here!)
There’s Mickey, Bob and Raymond,
Three kings with crumbling kingdoms
They can barely stand
But still they’re studying the form
Cheering on their warriors
And they’re cursing their lost wars
Generous with time and wine
To recruit you to their cause

(The gang’s all here!)
There’s good-old-good-time Brenda
Quick with a laugh and an innuendo
She knows her door is closed …
… or ajar at the very best
She still remembers rolling
Keeps that fire within her breast
Oh the things that she could teach
To unwary weary travellers!

The gang’s all here!

And that means… oh god, she’s here
And there she is … my Guinevere.

She is a beacon. She is a siren.
(I can barely contain my excitement.)
The girl who is forever
And she’s bathed in the light from the Wurlitzer
And it’s Marley, 10cc and Free
Every. Single. Time.
I never could quite fathom it,
But I loved her all the more for it
Those same three same old choices
A part of our folklore.

From the crowd.
A roar!
And there he is
Holding court.
As it ever was.
As it’s ever been.
Pint in hand and spewing forth all manner of grand schemes.
Our Glenn. Our Djinn.
Our king.

King of the Beacon

”What are kings, when regiment is gone,
But perfect shadows in a sunshine day?”
King Edward – Edward II, Christopher Marlowe

King of the Beacon
The architect of something new
King of the Beacon
The King of the Beacon
Calls for you …

He’s Charlemagne in sneakers
He is the life and soul
He proffers pearls of wisdom
He’s a Prince of Rock’n’Roll

He’s Spartacus in tight jeans
He’s the rebel with a cause
He writes, directs, and plays the crowd
While we smile and applaud it all.

The King of the Beacon
Local legend, worldly wise.
The King of the Beacon
The man, the myth
Our friend who died.

He talks of quarks and quasars
And distant burning stars
Quotes easily from Ovid
While Dan props up the bar.

It’s times like this we lived for
When joy and magic flowed
It’s a usual night of drinking
And the possibilities … explode!

King of the Beacon
We pledge allegiance, heed the call
King of the Beacon
To aspire to something more

King of the Beacon
The King of the Beacon
Calls for you
King of the Beacon
The King of the Beacon
Calls to you

Hypothetically Speaking

Do not go where the path may lead, go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.
after Muriel Strode, Wind-wafted Wild Flowers

But what of our hero?
I’ve seen you look better
Has someone stepped on your grave?
I suppose you could say that,
But it’s great just to see you
But we rehearsed yesterday

We wrote ‘We Got the Rock’ & ‘Melody Maker’
As a cynical ploy
‘bout the mag and guitar
And it’s foolproof, yeah,
We’ll get loads of free gear
And a write-up, and then ,,, and then we’ll be big stars

Hypothetically speaking
What if nobody hears them
Tell me where do we go?

Hypothetically speaking
What if no one believes then
Would that be a terrible blow

While we’re here
Hypothetically speaking
If Danny’s car was a time machine
Tell me where would you go?

Mate! I’m a doctor of hypotheory
I took the hypothetic oath
Hypothetically speaking
Where wouldn’t I go?

I’d go see the Great Wall as a building site
And see Jimi as he’s tearing up the Isle of Wight
I’d call in on Cromwell and Leonardo
So many choices
Where wouldn’t I go?

I’d visit Old London to say hi to Pepys
Rub shoulders with Homer, watch Rommel’s defeat
I would trade arcane stories with Lovecraft and Poe
So many choices
Where wouldn’t I go?

I’d sail with the Norsemen, kiss Helen of Troy
Watch TV with mother when I was a boy
See Nixon and many more big politicians
Get caught in all manner
of imbroglio

So many great choices
Where wouldn’t I go?

Mate! I’m a doctor of hypotheory
I took the hypothetic oath
Hypothetically speaking
Where wouldn’t I go?

I’d tell Siegel and Shuster to sign away nothing
Give Hitchcock the idea to insert Maguffins
I’d tell Nostradamus the things that I know

So many choices
Where wouldn’t I go?

Danny! Boys! Gather the band
It’s time for one more diabolical plan
So go kiss your goodbyes and let’s go with the flow
Hypothetically speaking
We’re hitting the road

Trip Reprise

“Never be afraid to sit awhile and think …”
Lorraine Hansberry, A Raisin in the Sun

(Instrumental)

Time Crash

“So … all of time and space. Everything that ever happened or ever will. Where do you want to start?”
The Doctor, The Eleventh Hour

(Instrumental)

BACK TO THE TOP

STILL SITTING IN DANNY’S CAR 3: RUBICON
(All music and lyrics by The Mighty Handful except ‘We Had The Rock’ written by Freeland/Mackenzie/Mackenzie/Sims)

Rubicon

Centurion
Will you take us forward?
We must carry on
To death.  Or glory

Rubicon
Your flowing border
Marks the end
Or a new beginning

Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina

Orating pride the great dictator stirs his lions

Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina

Ahead or bust
That laurels rest upon
Not to rest on his
Soldier on, soldier on

Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina

By the banks of the river
The thirteenth legion
Let the die be cast
By a would be Caesar

Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina
Legio Tertia Decima Gemina

Centurion
Will you take us foward?
We must carry on

Rubicon
Your flowing border
Marks the end

Timeo Danaos Et Dona Ferentes
(beware of Greeks bearing gifts)

Behind every great man
An even greater army
From Alexander cutting Gordian ties
To Sparta and the battle of Thermopolia

For every one remains
A trillion more get washed away
The history written by the winners of the fight
Who reads it anyway?

Inside the greatest minds
Cause and effect collide
Myriad worlds combine
Enola Gay burns children of thalidomide

Oppenheimer take a bow
Only faith can save us now
But when they sound a fanfare for the common man
No one gives a Van Damme

Time will tell
If all is well
And if true heroes are forged
Only in the fires of war

Or…?

Whatever Happened To Mary Jane?

Behind every great man there’s a whole string of women
All through our lives going back to Eden
Every one like every one before
Could have been the greatest love of all

Wherefore art thou my Juliet?
If we already met
How could I ever forget?

I’ve known a Cleopatra or two in my time
But they never ever turn out to be mine
Was it a brief encounter where I found her but I lost her cos the cost of love was just too much
Whatever happened to my Mary Jane?

Behind every great man there s a whole string of women
All through our lives going back to Eden
Every one like every one before
Could have been the greatest love of all

Goodbye heart, hello Norma Jean
Perfect celluloid queen
Flawed except on the big screen

Is she a Scarlett or an Heloise?
A not tonight or ever Josephine?
Who’ll have me down upon my knees trying to please but then she’ll turn into a tease I didn’t need
Whatever happened to my Mary Jane?

Behind every great man there s a whole string of women
All through our lives going back to Eden
Every one like every one before
Could have been the greatest love of all

Where to find my Helen of Troy?
Beauty that can destroy
The dreams of many a boy
There have been girls whose luscious lips
Could sink way more than a thousand ships
But do I stick or do I twist when every girl I might have missed instead of kissed could have been it

Whatever happened to my Mary Jane?
Whatever happened to my Mary Jane?
Whatever happened to my Mary Jane?

Gwen In Stasis

Then Glenn says “Alright then all you esteemed Beaconites,
What’s the greatest comic book scene of all time?”
Oh, this is PERFECT!  here we go
It’s one of the those things that made this feel like home

(And… they’re… off!)

It’s Simonson’s Thor, or Phoenix reborn
Constantine going to hell
Howard The Duck?  Are you having a laugh?
Cerebus?  Really, what for?
Watchmen? No really you’re not thinking, clearly
The Killing Joke’s more of a draw.

No. No. No. No.
Anyone else?  Alright then I’ll tell you
The moment that’s second to none.

It’s Amazing.  Spider. Man.  One hundred and twenty one.

It’s Gwen Stacy falling.  She’s falling
You think you can save her
You’ll kill her instead
The world stops. Gwen in stasis.

That one awful moment. You love her
You love more than ever,
You love more than life.
The world stops. Gwen in stasis.

It’s not Krypton exploding
Or young Bruce Wayne moaning his privileged parents are dead
Not the trial of Reed Richards
Or Kitty Pryde saving what’s left of the future X-Men
It’s not Swamp Thing or Sandman
Or Frogspawn McFarlane
And It’s certainly not Uncle Ben.

It’s Gwen.
Gwen Gwen Gwen Gwen
(And the death of Green Goblin)

And I look across.  And there she is.
She’s biting her bottom lip
Embarrassed that he’s passionate
But only for stupid comics

When here she is, this flesh and blood
Destined to go unnoticed, unheeded & unloved.

In that one awful moment
She sees it as it is.
The world stops. Gwen in stasis.

And for one awful moment
I see how she will be
Beaten. Embittered. And ginny.

Madame Geneva

Madame Geneva
My Lady’s eye water
Is calling from yonder
Calling me on

Her and her brother
King Theodore
Of Corsica
Course through my blood

I heard a man ate a cat though it scratched and bit back as he swallowed it down
I heard a man drank a pint of a cock o my cap and he drowned

But Madame Geneva
My Lady’s eye water
Is calling from yonder
Calling me on

Madame Geneva
My Lady’s eye water
Is calling from yonder
Calling me on

Her and her brother
King Theodore
Of Corsica
Course through my blood

It’s not the drink makes you poor it’s that all of the poverty drives you to drink
And for the amorous soul there is only one road to kill grief

Madame Geneva
My Lady’s eye water
Is calling from yonder
Calling me on

Calling me on

It’s not the drink makes you poor it’s that all of the poverty drives you to drink
And you try not to think
Of depression and lethargy lying in wait
So you smile and reflect and continue to slake
The unquenchable thirst for that fog in your mind
As you try to forget you’re still trying to find
That last clink in your pocket that steals you away
To the blessed release at the end of the day

Madame Geneva
Madame Geneva
Madame Geneva
Calling me on

Calling me on

We Had The Rock / Lost Boys

We had the Rock
We had the Rock
We had the music in our souls.

Young dudes – legends in the making
We tuned in and we turned up to 10.
Played it loud
And planned our fame
It was just a matter of when

We had the gear, the girls, the perms
And roadies who would do it for love.
Tight spandex and hightop pumps
But for Glenn the small time wasn’t enough.

The dream of wealth and grandeur
Flowed through our veins.
Maybe the music,
The music kept us sane?

We had the Rock.
We had the music in our souls
We had the Rock
How did we ever let it go?
We had the Rock

Meanwhile Dan recorded everything
We’d listen in the back of his car
Posterity on cheap cassettes.
We’d marvel at just how good we were.

The sights and sounds and smells
Of merry youthful pride and conceit
We sat back and waited for
The record deal to land at our feet.

We knew we talked a good fight
But in the end
We didn’t make the sacrifices
Needed to contend.

We had the Rock.
We had the music in our souls
We had the Rock
How did we ever let it go?
Ever let it go?
We had it!

The world moved on around us
Left us behind
Ghosts of what could have been
Burning in our minds.

We had the Rock.
We had the music in our souls
We had the Rock
Why did we ever let it go?

Ever let it go, ever let it go
We had the Rock!

Music was supposed to be our focus
The life and light we could always see
The Beacon became at once our fortress
And comfortable prison of complacency

Albion

We invent and surmise
Hostelries awash with
Improbable dreams and careless talk
We resist and survive
Beneath a chequered flag
Proud we stand upon
Ramparts of chalk

Edward the Confessor
Becket and Boudicca
Churchill, Purcell, Cromwell
Everyone from Florence Nightingale to
Septimus Severus and the Venerable Bede is a tether for us
A multitudinous chorus that echoes through the fabric of life

Drake, Wren, Turing, Darwin
Blake, Lennon/McCartney
Pankhurst, Shakespeare, Guy Fawkes
We might not like to hear the things they taught us
But it’s deeds that stand time

We walk beneath a canopy of stars
This immigrant nation
We are Albion the Fair

Peter Pan, The Green Man
Faerie Queens and Aslan
Unicorns and dragons
Legends take on many different guises

Trillian and Dan Dare
The Beast of Bodmin to Milk Wood
It’s elementary my dear Watson
You don’t have to have lived in order to live on

We ride in the company of cabbages and kings
Poets and the dreamers
We are Albion the Fair

The Great Fires of the ages cannot consume us
Because we’re seekers, explorers, protesters and innovators
We’re Skara Brae and MS Windrush –
Adversity, victory, challenge and opportunity
We’re Diggers, Jarrow Marchers
Wat Tyler and Mary Secole
We’re The Rocket, Concorde and TSR-2
A lineage of mothers to daughters
Like tragic Campbells from father to son.
Oates may yet be some time, 
and Jimmy still grieves,
While we shed a tear
And crack a smile
At our diminished Empire and heroic misfortunes.

We fly chasing down the shadows of our past
Soaring with the bluebirds
We are Albion the Fair

We glide in the slipstream of the light
Far beyond horizons
We are Albion the Fair

As legacies collide a truth appears at last
We are moulded by the sights and sounds of the lands through which we pass
Oh Albion the Fair, legends linger, heart remains
When his people need him most
The King shall come again

BACK TO THE TOP

STILL SITTING IN DANNY’S CAR 4: SLOW REVEAL
(All music and lyrics by The Mighty Handful)

Four Hoarse Men

Dance to the tune
Of a hundred thousand radio sets.
Howl at the moon.

If I ever knew
That this would be as good as it gets
I’d fret for less.

A cloudy mind
A headless effort Heaven it’s not
The settling kind

The one you crave
You know you have to fight for it
It makes you sick but you traded your life for it

Four – four – four – four
Hoarse – hoarse – hoarse – hoarse
Men – men – men – men

(This could be your apocalypse)

See it away
They rang the bell already my friend
Call it a day

Clean all your lines
Write off tomorrow cos tonight could be the night
Extinguish the light.

Still

Still.  Sitting in Danny’s Car.
Still. Jumping at our own shadows.
Still. Up the creek without a paddle.

Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory
And declaring it an honourable draw

Still. Making the same bad decisions.
Still. Desperate to shed inhibitions.
Still. Falling for the wrong girl.
Still falling for the wrong guy.

Still. Falling.  Still falling.  stillfalling.

Be the pivot.  Be the fulcrum.
Around which all else moves.
The Beacon is gone.  Be the new sun.
There are no more roads.  Just Death and dark.

And we’re still sitting in Danny’s Car.

Drowning In The Light

Always, sing up
Always, sing up,
Always …

Fulcrum, reflection
Your light comes through the darkness
Banishing the night

Leaving, the station
Only now I feel receptive
Receiving your names

Sing up: always getting better
Sing up: always feeling better
Sing up: always dreaming better
Into your arms I dive

Antenna, upwards
Beneath the parapet I rise
Drowning in the light

Slipping, stealthily
Your hand clasps mine, I wonder
Do you still need me?

Sing up: always getting better
Sing up: always feeling better
Sing up: always dreaming better
Into your arms I dive

Slow Reveal

The picture is almost complete now
Choices seem painfully clear
I must undo the work of the Reaper
To replay so many lost years

The time that he squandered
On failures and losses
The life that he should have enjoyed
A chance to fulfil
His potential and skills
The time of his life by the force of my will

As Death’s power tempts me
To reverse this legacy
Voices sound soft in my head
It could be a jukebox or the car stereo
Or the King of the Beacon instead

Who is the man
That you think I am
Is this cartoon supposed to be me?

Remember both sides
Not just sweetness and light
I was double the man that you’ve seen.

There’s always been sunshine, to balance the darkness
Victories balance defeats

No, he’s your king and your beacon!

I’ve struggled and strived
But that’s part of the process
My tragedy isn’t so great

And yes there’s regrets
But just like Ol’ Blue Eyes
I’m not one to dwell on mistakes

Failures and loss are just part of deal
Death’s picture is incomplete

Go! Call on Lazarus
Return life to the dust
Bring back the best of us

You should never go back or walk round in circles
Even if you can’t find the best way forward

Soul Trader

Sell your stake in humanity
It’s toxic stock
There’s no future in it
There is only Death.  There is only me.

Buy into the past
And you’re onto a winner baby
The market share will always rise
(and your dreams will never die)

Become Death.  Empires will tremble at your name.
Yours is the power.  There’s is the pain.
I can give you the past.  That is my gift.
To do with as you please.

Become Death.  Life’s only certainty.
Become Death.  Life’s only certainty.

The past has a value
If someone remembers it
And how.
(The King of the Beacon taught me how)

The future has value
If someone believes in it
And vows
(The King of the Beacon taught me how)

The past has a value
If someone remembers it
And how.
(The King of the Beacon taught me how)

The future has value
If someone believes in it
And vows

(The King of the Beacon taught me how)

To live in the NOW

Live in the now.

BACK TO THE TOP

STILL SITTING IN DANNY’S CAR 5: DEVILS IN THE DETAILS
(All music and lyrics by The Mighty Handful)

Devils In The Details

Sunrise
Over the river
Big sky
City skyline

Waking me up from this stasis
Waking me up this time

Eyes Open

Open your eyes
Nature surrounds you
Look all around now

A new morning

Dew drops and petals
Life is creating
Wonders in miniature
Moments to treasure

People are chanting your name

They want you
They love you
They need you
Come back to the light
They will save you this time

Do you still wonder (do you?)

Where did you come from

A perfect alignment
of atoms in motion
molecules and proteins
Given a consciousness

Did you use it wisely?

Look in the mirror

Who do you see there
Can they believe you
They want to believe you

Where do you go now
Walk into your future

Nothing is written
All gets forgotten
Follow me into the light

I want to believe
Please let me believe one more time

Vital Signs

We play among the ruins
To search for something vital in the dirt
Forsaking all our futures
For dusty yesterdays filled with hurt

And in the end
All we see
Is a little part of nothing
That comes from you
When least expected
And grows, evolves and awkwardly it sets you free

In Time

When you feel the night approaching
Let it come, let it come
There’s no need to fear the setting of the sun
The vampires and the ghouls are just vexations of your mind

We all get older
In time
In time

All this will fade away
All this will fade away
All this will fade away

The more that things are changing
The more they stay the same
Same old scenarios with different names
The players will get played then someone else will take the stage

We all get older
In time
In time

All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time

All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time

No need to rage against the dying of the light
It never dies.
It just gets passed on down the line
In time
In time

All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away in time
All this will fade away

In time

So Who’s Death?

Picking daisies
Malaria, rabies
It all means the same to me

Combine harvest
A time comes to starve and
I’ll get you eventually

Broken enzymes
A sign of the times
But I move fast and I learn quick

Making ends meet
The fighting in the street
I’ll seal it all with a kiss

What do you think of me?
What’s on Death’s CV?
And what could be?
Now if you ever go indigo
That will always be my way

I/you envy choices
Your/our songs and your/our voices
The chance to aspire for more

My/your dreams stay silent
A main job requirement
Of working the killing floor

No blood no thunder
Could draw a line under
My/your game of lies and deceit

Made your/my decision
You’ll/I’ll stick with the living
No matter how long or brief

That’s what you
Think of me
It’s not hard to see
It’s fine by me
And if you never go indigo
That will always be my way

I’m just a tool
An endlessly sweeping broom you see
My will’s not free
And if you ever could read the leaves
you’d see the lunacy in me

See the lunacy in me

I know we’ll meet again
I know we’ll meet in the end.

BACK TO THE TOP