The ‘Fool’

Clouds in the gloom
You’re the elephant in the room
Holding court with your throng
Don’t know right from wrong
Looking down your generous nose
In your emperor’s new clothes
Wanting followers to kneel
When you’re asleep at the wheel
At the wheel…at the wheel

And I’m just a fool
Following your rules
Saluting your ‘grace’
With a smirk on my face
While mouths are agog
I can see through your fog
As the bells of doom peal
‘Cos you’re asleep at the wheel
At the wheel … at the wheel

The ‘King’

Days gone by
I was up on high
Just like a bird
Looking down from the sky

But many’s a slip
Between cup and lip
And I fell down
And the slip was my crown…my crown…

The People

Now, take your stance
Show the way – lead the dance
Join in the fight
‘Cos we know what is right
Come take my hand
Fill the void, join my band
It’s time to heal
When we all take the wheel
Take the wheel…take the wheel…

Woah woah woah woah!

You think you’re cool, you think you rock
But to me you’re really out of luck
Between the lines, you think you’re fine
But to me you’ve totally lost your shine
Tripwire in my head

Down your nose you look at those
Less able, you really don’t give a shit
You know it’s true, it’s about you
Sarcasm – the lowest form of wit
The chasm’s in your head

You’re such a hot shot
You’re such a big man – in your own world
You’re such a grey suit
Back-stabber – I see red!
You flick a tripwire in my head!
In my head; in my head; in my head; in my head!

You are extreme, know what I mean
Spouting bile, you really are obscene
Go take your views, your ‘shiny shoes’
You really make me want to scream – yeah!
Tripwire in my dream

I do not miss your Judas kiss
A double cross to carry on your back
I think it’s time, a light to shine
To show the world everything you lack

You’re such a hot shot
You’re such a big man – in your own world
You’re such a grey suit
Back-stabber – I see red!
You flick a tripwire in my head!
In my head; in my head; in my head!
In my head; in my head; in my head; in my head!

Woah woah woah woah!
Woah woah woah woah!

Oh, when I’m thinking, and slowly sinking
All my colours are grey
And when I regress into my darkness
Your light shines my way…

Buy my curiosity
Sell you cheap my self-pity
Roll up and see my show

All it takes is tea and sympathy
Maybe we can grow
All it takes is a touch of bonhomie
To see the rainbow glow…glow

All it takes is tea and sympathy
Maybe we can grow
All it takes is a touch of bonhomie
To see the rainbow glow…

As the skull dropped to the seabed; circumstance began to bite
Reflections of a childhood lost their glow into the night

And the politicians bicker; playground fights in sombre grey
Effigies burnt to ashes, the ashes of yesterday

And the breadcrumbs fall like footsteps
In ever-shifting sands; the ever-shifting sands
Rogue; rogue
Of a life pulled down the shallows by the tide
The tide of misplaced plans; the tide of misplaced plans
Rogue; rogue

And the calculated theories threw the gauntlet to the floor
And the exit turned to entrance in the ever-revolving door

And the breadcrumbs fall like footsteps
In ever-shifting sands; the ever-shifting sands
Rogue; rogue
Of a life pulled down the shallows by the tide
The tide of misplaced plans; the tide of misplaced plans
Rogue; rogue

Inst.

As the laughter turned to chaos in the ensuing afterglow
Of a lonely, abused misfit no-one ever wants to know
As you feel an arm around you
To help you through your pain
You turn to see a rictus grin
The Reaper looks insane...
Looks insane; looks insane; looks insane…

The Reaper looks insane; the Reaper looks insane; the Reaper looks insane; the Reaper looks insane…

You were the first to leave this world
It was your time as I saw you slipping away - felt more pain than I could say
Fireworks were your joy, turned a man into a boy
Your spirit as a child
Lives in me - makes me wild…

Soon after then you fell asleep
Although I weep you were skyward like a bird
And in it’s song you can be heard
Now the blossom, oh so pink
Heralds springtime, makes me think
Of the wisdom you once shared
Gives me strength to not feel scared…

Inst.

Last of all, one held so dear
Why you left is still not clear
You were strong and kind and true - a willing smile and eyes so blue
But you gave me your spirit
Left my world and me in it
To care like you did
To share the love that can’t be hid

Lyrics taken from a poem by Deborah Cottingham - for Cyril Jones, Barbara Deakin and Maisie Cottingham

Find new hope to run to
Find a rope to pull you
Away – away

Moving through your broken walls
Running down those empty halls
Poor me…poor me…
Brick dust white and in my hair
I shake it out but it’s still there
Can you see…can you see…

Scaffolds round my weaker points
There’s concrete in my broken joints
Poor me…poor me…
Held back by my own façade
A clown who slips; falls quite hard
Can you see…can you see…
Can’t you see?

Find new hope to run to
Find a rope to pull you
Away – away
Rpt.

Shackles they belong to me
Fired in personality
Poor me…poor me…
I cannot shake off deep unease
The more I fight, the more they squeeze
Can you see – can you see…

Find new hope to run to
Find a rope to pull you
Away – away
Rpt.

Inst.

The mirror tells me don’t look down
A crown that’s broken by my frown
Poor me…poor me…
They say percuss to cast a net
I trip in lines which catch my breath
Can you see…can you see…
Can’t you see? See…

Inst.

A cold chill down your spine

Like a ghost passing by

A shining glimpse blinding you

Only deja vu

A touch and sound grasp your mind
A feeling not hard to find

Hidden doors open wide...

In time...

A thing so sure and yet so vague
Blink of an eye and then it fades
Troubled soul - questions you...
In time...

Only déjà vu; déjà vu...

One small boy in striped pyjamas
Looks out from his room
The starlit night sky fills his eyes with wonder
In the gaze of the moon

Jumping on; jumping on; jumping on the moon
Jumping on; jumping on; he’s jumping in his room
Jumping on; jumping on; jumping on the moon
Jumping on; jumping on; this is no ‘Clair De Lune’

The bright space station in a straight line
Flying through the air
He sees it blinking, and thinks it’s winking
He’d love to fly up there

Jumping on; jumping on; jumping on the moon
Jumping on; jumping on; he’s jumping in his room
Jumping on; jumping on; jumping on the moon
Jumping on; jumping on; this is no ‘Clair De Lune’

Just a boy who’s scared to sleep, he’s seen those seas of red
He tried to hide but underneath he’s not safe in his bed
Blow away those chains – lift him to his dreams
Blow away those chains – lift him to his dreams

Inst.

Apollo crater – there before him
He sees Earth down below
Reflects on his dreams - of being a star man
Little did he know…

Jumping on; jumping on; jumping on the moon
Jumping on; jumping on; he’s jumping in his room
Jumping on; jumping on; jumping on the moon
Jumping on; jumping on; this is no ‘Clair De Lune’

Nature.
It is sometimes like an unbridled stallion - one moment magnificent; controlled; temperate - and we bask in it’s glory and in…
The Beauty.

The next moment - wildness in the eyes; frothing at the mouth; limbs flailing around like tree branches in a storm…and we cower in fear from the totally unpredictable repercussions as we move closer to try to tame…
The Beast.

So, to us…
The Human Race.

We like to think we can control Nature and Mother Earth through ‘smart-thinking’, controls, systems, technology - and yet in our global biodiversity failures, we unleash a Pandora’s Box of uncontrollable consequences leading to unforeseen chaos, devastating carnage - and then the ultimate cost…

When we were born, our mother was our world. She gave us life; security; succour; warmth and unconditional love. Would we treat our own mother like this?

We are, at times, our own Infliction; our own ‘Bete Noire’ - our own…
Nemesis.

There is, however, one chance at redemption.

We have a lodestar glinting in the sky to help us pilot through the self-made gloom; one simple beacon of hope shining brightly like a lighthouse piercing through the dark; guiding battle weary ships to the shore through the thick fog and that… is our capacity … to Love.

But - is that enough?

What.

Have.

We.

Done.

In hushed conversations
And quiet contemplations
You hear my distant call
When the mirror tells it all

A soul so incomplete
Imperfection at my feet
A crack to rock this Earth
Since we were given birth
Given birth

Float your dreams away
You’re with me night and day
You catch me when I fall
You help me see it … all …

China in your hand
Turns to dust and in turn sand
It was bound to lead to this
I am my nemesis
Nemesis…

Float your dreams away
You’re with me night and day
You catch me when I fall
You help me see it all
Float your dreams away
Hear me when I say
You catch me when I fall
You help me see it … all …

Go gently while you weep
Your child is fast asleep
Oblivious to your tears
And all your hopes and fears
And fears…

"It wasn't so much that the thread had finished - more that it had never really yet begun...
All that had happened in the past - led to now...

In the split second she heard the crack of the branch outside beneath someone's feet - time decelerated and crept to an almost drowning slowness...like she was trying to wade through a treacle-like quagmire slowing her leaden limbs to an inexorable stop.

On that fateful day, she instinctively knew that she had not avenged her father's death - more that she had compounded her own guilt and stupidity, as the true dark ghostly killer moved in, mercilessly...

Her heart was pounding in her tight chest like a jack hammer; every sense was on edge - as a bead of salty sweat rolled down her temple, passing over the pounding vein in an unforgiving, relentless way.

It had taken twenty years to find the man she had witnessed, when a child. Twenty years to get it so, so wrong - and she feared that in twenty seconds - none of this would matter any more.

With her left hand - hoping to catch a glimpse - she quietly, gently pulled the curtain to one side, resting her right hand on 'that' knife.

No matter how hard she cleaned 'that' knife she could never quite get rid of the blood stains, which served as a constant reminder of her own folly...or maybe those dry, rusty stains were just in her mind...

It wasn't the shadows of the past that scared her - it was more the fact that all her training; her preparation - even her father's DNA - had not prepared her for what she had never expected...

A shadow's return..."

Yeah, she’s scared of shadows – calling her
Scared of shadows – finding her
She’s scared of shadows – calling her
Scared of shadows – finding her
It took one shot to wipe them out

Scraping me up from the guttersnipes
Pushing me round any way they like
Draining my soul with crocodile tears
Hopes and dreams replaced by fears

Can’t see your face
But I feel your trace
Wiped out, wiped out
In the trail of the moon
I thought too soon
Wiped out, wiped out, wiped out

Senses on edge - a cold false start
Checking the pulse of your quick'ning heart
Look inside - think 'conscience clear'
Breathe in deep - it's nowhere near...

Can’t see your face
But I feel your trace
Wiped out, wiped out
In the trail of the moon
I thought too soon
Wiped out, wiped out, wiped out

And you feel no pain
Driving you insane
Their remorseless lies
Don’t cut the ice
And the flowers grow
From the seeds you sow
And the sun shines through
Shines on you

Getting you back from the other side
Stopping you dead in your confident stride
Tripping you up when you’re feeling high
Telling the truth – push away your lies
Your lies

Won’t see my face
Won’t feel my trace
Wiped out, wiped out
In the trail of the moon
I guess you thought too soon
Wiped out, wiped out
Wiped out

Sometimes you think you’ve had enough – the media storm
Since you were born
Sometimes you wish you hadn’t tried - to conform
Feeling torn
Sometimes you wish you spoke up more – revealed the lies
Those concrete lies
Sometimes you find the strength you need in your child’s eyes
Your child’s eyes

Never mind what the papers say
It’s what the people say - people say Never mind what the papers say
It’s what the people say - people say

Inst.

Every woman and girl
Every man and boy
Every woman and girl
Every man and boy

Never mind what the papers say
Ask me questions tell me no lies
It’s what the people say - people say
Never mind what the papers say
Every woman and girl - every man and boy
It’s what the people say - people say

Ask me questions - tell me no lies

Drip drip away – water on stone
Cutting through flesh – down to the bone
Under the skin – pernicious growth
Weedling away while nobody knows

A creep and a crawl – back of the neck
Losing your mind – a nervous wreck
Paranoia – knocks at your door
Nails scraping under your floor

Nothing to prove
Nothing to prove
Nothing to prove
Nothing to prove – yeah

I made up my mind – stop losing my sight
Of the reason I stood – stood up to fight
To fight

Nothing to prove
Nothing to prove
Nothing to prove
Nothing to prove – yeah

I stand in the face of hypocrisy
I let it wash - right over me
Turning away – nothing to lose
From where I stand – nothing to prove
Nothing to prove

Nothing to prove...

The richest power in the land
Can’t give the poor a helping hand
Predicted many years ago
Still an ‘unsuspected blow’

Big Easy ain’t so cool no more
Lying on the ocean floor
Drifting into Heaven’s care
I hope they hear our global prayer

Katrina...
Katrina...

When oh when will they see how...

Such a fetching pretty name
Putting governments to shame
One state here; one state there
In a state of disrepair

You’d think they’d had a plan in place
A plan at least to save their face
To think of all those people gone
A senseless waste – it must be wrong...

Katrina...
Katrina...

Let’s put the jazz back into town
A sound that simply will not drown
Give them the power over the land
The strength to give a helping hand

Lifted on our shoulders tall
To help rebuild the ocean walls
Give them the time, give them the space
To help rebuild a brand new place

Katrina...
Katrina...

Such a fetching pretty name
Putting governments to shame
To think of all those people gone
A senseless waste – it must be wrong...

Tears – so many tears
On my knees full of fear
Clawing at the earth
Why do I keep on searching

Time - so little time
Think I’ve seen you – then you’ve gone
Phantom ghosts of a bygone day
That’s why I keep on searching

Cosmos is large – I feel so small
Can you hear my signal
Or on deaf ears
Do we all fall...?
Fall...

Chance, a little chance
Penetrate your darkness
A wish or even a prayer
That’s why I keep on searching

Fly like a bird so high
Free to search the reason ‘why?’
Sail to the sun and beyond...
Maybe one day – you’ll respond...

Until then...

See the blind man jumping - jumping from the plane
While others find a reason – a reason to complain

Random Acts Of Kindness

See the sister protect – the baby from the thug
Taking blows and smiling - giving her a hug

Random Acts Of Kindness

Ohhh...

See the man pull the victim – pull him from the flame
A selfless act by someone - didn’t leave a name
A name...

Random Acts Of Kindness

Casting yourself out
To what seems a better place
The hands of those you love – waving to your face

Pushing the boundaries
Of your time and space
Trying so hard to do the right thing
But caught in a race - in a race

Back from the wilderness - back from the sea
Back from a place I really never should have been
Back from the wilderness - back from the sea
Back from a place I lost the ones who meant so much
Meant so much to me

It seemed so right and then so wrong
Took me to a place I did not belong
It seemed so right and then so wrong
Took me to a place I did not belong

‘Surreal’ was the word
Caged in – a wingless bird
Full of fear and doubt
No way out - no way out...

Back from the wilderness - back from the sea
Back from a place I really never should have been
Back from the wilderness - back from the sea
Back from a place I lost the ones who meant so much
Meant so much
Meant so much to me

Back from the wilderness – back from the sea
Back from a place I lost the ones who meant so much
Meant so much to me...

Another night, another day
You shone so bright in the grey
Looking out from your bed
Dancing the gossamer thread

To smile as you did
When our tears fell on your head
Like rain which you loved
As you danced
Dancing the gossamer thread

Taught us so much
To cherish all we have around
See you soon
As we dance
Dancing the gossamer thread

Sometimes I feel your trace guiding me...
Sometimes I see your face smiling at me...
Sometimes I feel your warmth wash over me...
Sometimes I feel your arms dancing with me...

I feel your arms round me
Dancing the gossamer thread I feel your arms round me
Dancing the gossamer thread