1. |
Politics
03:07
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Every young man pins his colours to a mast
Piles the liars high, smiles, and lights a match
But I'm an old man now, settled in my ways
I learned that mixing drinks and politics won't pay
I remember that December when school books would speak the truth to me
Set my hindsights on that dark night of empire and insecurity
I will prosper from the gospel of men and the gods they thought they'd be
Choose my colours and my lovers too quickly and oh so carelessly
But I will wake my soul, or at least the part of it I can't disown
And I will take the roll call of all the fighting truths I can't let go
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2. |
Four Hours
02:33
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Four hours gone and we're not the only ones
Who crave the kick of white hot lead to lay those bastards down
Under a reddening sun
We justify the oldest crimes through orders passed on down the lines
Four years on, the iron of my youth is gone
My limbs shake in imitation of the fear and hate we sowed
Under that reddening sun
The night hours cannot bring relief to those who live in fear of sleep
If I die in a combat zone, box me up and ship me home
Pin my medals to my chest, tell my girl I did my best
But I asked no questions and bought a lie
And when all this is over I will sing my heart out
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3. |
Faith Healer
02:21
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Tell me stories of '46 when a giant fell in a hail of bricks
And the sweat of man was a nation's call
Not to arms, but to wage a war on the state of it all
Men with millions and hearts as dark as the skin they fear and the cars they park
Cannot speak for me or the folks I know, cannot sell what's ours
Taint the soil in which we grow
I won't need to put my faith in prayer
When I fall down I know that you'll be there
From the cradle's rock to the graveyard's farewell
We are all Jock Tamson's bairns
In Bevan's care
Apathy's our only foe
So saddle up and here we go
Let's have the courage of those old convictions and, if so...
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4. |
Ophelia
02:28
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What a dream, to be a widow to such a leading man
A fist fight for a father's love, or for a mother's hand
We overstay the welcome that we gave to all the guests of this floor show
So sit down and sing that song that we all know
Lay me down in the water
Sink my feet to the ground
I'll wash myself in the water
And I'll smile as the oxygen runs out
"Is it over yet?" she said
"Because I'd rather know if I'm dead
If my bones take flight by candlelight then I'll know that I am"
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5. |
No Tunnel Light
01:53
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Sit on a Sunday afternoon with a bottle of wine and a sense of doom, oh no
It's an answer that's much older than me, but there's no tunnel light when you can't see, oh no
The words that I scrawl across this page shouldn't fall from the pen of a man my age, oh no
I should know myself better than this, I'm the ghost of the twenties that I missed, oh no
But I've yet to find the answers to the questions that I have
In any bottle, glass or plastic, thrown away
So I'll be drinking in the daytime like the adult that I am
And everybody says tomorrow's a new day
So they say
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6. |
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I'm never going to be a millionaire, and that's alright
I'd just like to pay my bills now and then, on time
But the house where we live has a roof that's full of holes and it always rains in Scotland, don't you know?
I'm never going to be the man who packs his bags and leaves
Says goodbye to all he's known and all he's seen
And that's ok, because when the sun it shines on Leith there is a spring in both our steps and smiles that dance before our teeth
But the house where we live has a roof that's full of holes and it always rains in Scotland, don't you know?
I have never been the best at getting things off of my chest
Half the time I think that half the roads less travelled are half the reason that I'm in a mess
I'm never going to be a millionaire, and that's alright
I'd just like to pay my bills now and then, on time
But the house where we live is a home that's filled with warmth and it only rains in Scotland when you're gone
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7. |
Pennies For The Dead
02:34
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Lay two pennies on the dead man's eyes
We both know money can't die
Spend all your pennies on the fire in the skies
We both know money can't die
Lay two pennies on the dead child's eyes
We both know money can't die
Bury the bodies in the dirt and the lies
We both know money can't die
We overstay every welcome and we overplay every card
We clap our hands in the Commons when the thinking gets too hard
You say you're sick of sitting on the fence so you burn it down and build a wall instead
You tell me it's not time for all my liberal thoughts as you count out all your pennies for the dead
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8. |
Sharp Tongues
03:54
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Tongues this sharp can't help but cut through all the bars of Edinburgh
Making chambers safe for echoes of the books we bought
Soon the conversation turns to all the lessons no-one learns
Preaching gospel to the choir never changed a lot
We'll all grow up to be so righteous and trigger happy
So put away those awkward questions and walk with me
As we fight shy of shades of grey, and what is truth now anyway?
I'm told we've had it with the experts and what they say
Then she said, "nuance is dead" and I'd have to agree
There's only black and white upon this screen where colour used to be
So I plug in aerials so we can try to see a debate in more than just the name and some speech that's truly free
But fear always burns much brighter when it's all we have to burn
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9. |
Bad Blood
02:49
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Schoolboy fascists sing the songs of marching boots and hate
It seems the most expensive education goes to waste
And so goodness only knows how fast the bad blood flows
We're knee-deep in the shit and it clings to our clothes
Poison posters echo all the horrors of our age
Take the words as bullets and the bodies to the graves
We're weighted down with gold
We're swimming with the rich but we'll drown with the old
We've tasted all the wasted words and tears and hopes and fears and lives
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10. |
Made To Break
03:08
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Fix eyes ahead and hear the roll call through
Six months at sea will bring the worst out in you
Uneven roll of deepest water in the dark
Is siren call to pierce the hardest of our hearts
There's a body stowed inside
With no judge or law in sight
The rules out here are made to break
Save your lover
Save your soul
Our lungs recover all the breaths we stole
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11. |
I Was A Whaler
03:26
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Paper Rifles Edinburgh, UK
Acoustic/indie/punk/rock/singing/hectoring from Edinburgh. Anti-Manifesto and MTAT Records. Get to the chorus.
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