My Day This Is Not

We met in a bar
she said come to my car
and we can go back to my place
It was all in good fun
‘til she pulled out a gun
and the colour, it drained from my face
This wasn’t as planned
I held up my hands
an’ she took everything that I got
And though I wasn’t dead
I still shook my head
‘cause clearly my day this was not

So I walked on alone
and when I got home
the wife asked me where I had been
Though I did not confess
she still smelled my breath
and soon she had started to scream
“Go on explain,
why I should remain
or else sign here on the dot!”
So now I was divorced
I felt such remorse
clearly my day this was not

My feet were like lead
so to go clear my head
I went off and sailed to the coast
And amongst the sea air
and the mermaids so fair
I felt I had something to boast
But as I came into dock
the keel struck a rock
and soon it’d sunk my yacht
And as I swam ashore
I couldn’t take anymore
clearly my day this was not

But through it all
I’d get up when I fall
say “Tomorrow’s another day”
For if it was not
then myself I’d boycott
‘stead of pushing on through the fray
When it’s getting me down
I try not to frown
though I often feel it’s my lot
I’ll keep moving on
‘til the day I am gone
but the last of my days this is not

Berlin

Are you afraid?
Underneath
Static-coloured sky

Feel the vibrations
Social minefield
Watch your step
Watch your step
Where’s it gonna land?

Hitler’s in the parking lot
In the dirt
Underground

Watch your back
Keep your eyes on
The Blue Gate
The Blue Gate
Guards are on the edge

Keep away from me
Those tombstone teeth
Barbed-wire hair
Ripping up my face
Hurts my eyes
Bomb-scare breath
Leave me gasping
Where’s the mask?
Where’s the mask?
The dark eyes?

Goodbye to Gollierstrasse

Audrey eyed us from above
With cigarette in hand
The snow ticks past at 2 am
when sleep is in demand
Andy’s smiling shyly now
At me in triplicate
The afterimage burning
In a screen inside my head
It’s time to say goodbye to eyes like mine
To eyes like mine

It’s history repeating
Music playing in a loop
It’s a story in the news for weeks
But I don’t know the scoop
The gridded streets surround me
Looking totally the same
I try so hard to lose myself
But end up here again
It’s time to say goodbye to eyes like mine
To eyes like mine

What do you need to hear?
What do you want me to say?
I’ll spin you anything you want
I’ll tell you night is day

The mirage words bounced off me
But they left a subtle mark
I’m struggling to make a move
My body’s stuck in park
I’m hoping the paralysis’s
A temporary thing
But I can’t help but feeling like
A bee that’s used it’s sting
It’s time to say goodbye to eyes like mine
To eyes like mine

Turncoat

When I walk the street
my ear’s to the ground
I don’t want to meet
don’t want you around
Don’t want to see
your silverfish smile
Don’t wanna get caught
in the broken turnstile

Your saccharine words
just came out as hiss
The garden’s bright serpent
and apostle kiss
Why can’t you see
you brought this to an end?
So don’t expect me
to still call you friend

Back then I was blind
you were cruel and unkind
but I just didn’t learn
Now you’ve been confined
to a space in my mind
a place where you don’t return

When you were around
sometimes it seemed
my conscience whispered
when it should’ve screamed
I should’ve seen
the die it was cast
The state of your mind
was a ship with no mast

I was sick of your boasts
and of being the host
to all your parasitic lies
Though we were once close
if I had another dose
of you, I think I’d die

Each Town's Saloon

The golden sky
catches his eye
The setting sun’s
got him on the run

He rides from town to town
then disappears
A man of such renown
a man without fear
He lies, cheats and steals
in each town’s saloon
An ace up each sleeve
a showdown every noon

“This time he’s gone too far!”
Sheriff decreed
“We’re gonna hunt him down”
“We’re gonna make him bleed”
Old Willie’s sold him out
Big Red is dead
The townsfolk’s greedy shout
for the price upon his head

The sheriff’s closing in
he’s handy in a pinch
The posse march on through
they’re crying for the lynch
Under that setting sun
in a foreign land
He once more grabs his gun
for this, his final stand

The Ballad of Des

He works at the local fish market
on weekends as a checkout teller
The look in his eyes says “Fuck it”
but deep down he’s a real nice feller
He looks out from behind his vacant eyes
and tries to find a reason why
he puts up with what everybody says
His name’s Des

What he’s thinking, I can’t tell
what is his secret wish?
To escape the clientele
or the constant smell of fish?
He stares out from behind his cold eyes
and dies a little more inside
for all I know he’s probably on meds
Well that’s Des

Salmon, herring, bass and flounder
Des is anchored to the checkout counter
Freedom seems forever out of reach
when your stuck selling lemons at a dollar twenty each

Des gazes from behind his tired eyes
and tries to find a reason not to cry
Perhaps to cheer him up I’ll buy some PEZ
For poor Des

Two Directions

There’s an icy wind a-whippin’
down the alleyways outside
and an awful silence playin’
over again in my mind
There’s a broken wall between us
and a street without a sign
now you’ll be headin’ your way
and I’ll have to move in mine

As my feet strike the sidewalk
the sky seems just as grey
as the church bells sorrowed singing
closing out another day
Well there’s history behind us
and the pain is in the past
and the sun again is setting
and nothing gold can last

One of us was always tryin’
to rule with an iron fist
but we couldn’t see each other
through the murkiness and mist
But I’m sure I will be seeing
things much clearer the next time
while you head in your direction
I’ll go heading off in mine.