Walking Out To The Wall
The Curator
Laurie A’Court : Saxes
Ian Burrage : Drums
Alistair Murphy : Vocals, Keyboards, Guitars and Bass
Michael Rooney : Vocals
Jeremy Salmon : Guitars, Bass and Percussion
with
Diana Hare : Vocals
Laurence Elley : Bass
Mark Fletcher : Bass
Craig Hulkes : Drums
Yiasoumis Yiasmi : Bouzouki
Sotiris Yiasmi : Bouzouki
Johnny Adams : Violin
Nigel Digby : Vocals
IT’S ALWAYS GOING TO BE THIS WAY
If I told you what I wanted, wealth could never bring, to me
And if I held it in my hands, it would not weigh a thing, to me
I think I’ve had it all along, I think I looked awa
I wonder how I could have been so wrong before today
I can’t remember what it was that made me so unsure, today
I think it’s always been the same, it’s always been as true
We tie ourselves in knots when there’s nothing else to tie us to
I don’t know why, the light is streaming through the trees
I don’t know why
It does seem strange the leaves are dancing in the breeze
Did you pause a moment in the street, and look away, yesterday
And look round, forgetting every reason to be grey, yesterday
I think it’s always going to be this way
I don’t know why,I should be feeling as I do. I don’t know why
It does seem strange the world is burning something new
I WANT YOU TO
You made a choice for yourself
Many years before today
They said, take, take take his hand
That’s all you heard them say
How, did you sleep at night?
Though the years went rushing by
Please don’t stop me when I say
You don’t have to stay
You can turn and walk away
You don’t have to stay
You can turn and walk away
And I want you to
Nobody’s going to thank you much
For showing them another way, they’ll say
Turn, turn, turn around
Turn, turn, turn around
You cannot run away
Yes ! you can do it if you choose
You’ve got nothing left to lose
Please don’t stop me when I say
I want you to stay, please don’t turn
And walk away
I want you to stay, please don’t turn
And walk away
And I want you to
The time may come, when you’ll smile
And I’ll understand you
I’ll see beneath it all the very heart of you
And you’ll command me
And now, and now that the time has come
For us to take it all
And stand alone before the world
Looking down and I begin to fall
TOWARDS HOME AGAIN
At times I think he'll last forever
Standing firm as he faces all weather
And should he pause for a while
As he stands alone waiting for the smile
He will turn towards all adversity
I know he must surely find another
Someone who seeks as he for a lover
As he holds on again
Holding tight through all
Of the wind and the rain
He will turn at last towards home again
Oh what then of I
As I'm left standing here
Standing forever still
Watching him disappear
Lacking stength to share his dreams
Left to suffer all his fears
Seeking another way
Left to face the coming years
I know I must wait
For the bright days to come
Looking out for the long days of the sun
They're flying in once again
Never knowing the feel
Of the wind and the rain
As they sit in warmth by my window pane
Oh what then of I
As I'm left standing here
Standing forever still
Watching them disappear
Lacking stength to share their dreams
Left to suffer all their fears
Seeking another way
Left to face the coming years
DRAINING THE DRAUGHT
Out of this confusion will come form
We’ll draw across the curtain that was torn
You don’t have to
You don’t have to
Tell me what you’ve seen, but now you’re here
In this darkness
We will drain the draught
Of tenderness
Listen! I will tell you
The things I hold to be true
The things I hold to be true
We’re turning over the garden
In the hope that we might find
Some kind of a pardon
Some check upon the time
We don’t have to
We don’t have to
But still we’re turning
But still we’re turning
And for a while
I’ll close my eyes
And make believe it can
Be true for you
I WILL FIND YOU
I came looking for a face that I had seen some time before
I may not find it, may not find the thing I’ve long been searching for
And if they find me, they’ll turn me round
Send me back the way I’ve come
But I will find you though I walk out endless miles beneath sun
The wind comes colder,the snow blows heavy from the South
The ice flow’s closing, the frost cracks hard about my mouth
I climb the mountain, cross the water
Though my progress will be slow
But I will find you, though I walk out endless miles upon the snow
ENDWAYSWISE
He checks his tie as if it were his heartbeat
He checks the mirror, just before he leaves
Endwayswise - It’s always lies
The changer moves away from the window
The changer’s wondering what it is he should do
Endwayswise - It’s always lies
When it’s clear, he will be, far from here!
Endwayswise - It’s always lies
Sidewayswise - It’s always lies
Backwayswise - He always flies
THE WALL
Thats not the way it happens
That's not the way it happens here
I'm getting tired of waiting
Waiting through another year
And should it happen now
Like the blowing of the horn
The waves are breaking loud
Upon the darkened harbour wall
And captain!
Can you here me call?
As the wind blows up once more
The harbour master
Shrugs his shoulders
The light goes out
We let the darkness fall
As we let the darkness fall
And I thought this time was my time
I thought it had finally come along
And when the ringing stops
And when the telephone goes dead
And all the words
I thought I'd said
Remain unspoken in my head
And caller!
Can I talk to you instead
And we turn towards the harbour
The sound of voices
Breaking in the waves
The sound of my voice
Breaking in the waves
That’s my voice
Breaking in the waves
Sometimes I face the future
Sometimes I can really think that way
But when the course is run
When the ribbon breaks
And we the sleepers turn and wake
What choices are their left to make
Well then!
But now the wind drops down
I must take the path
I hear the horn see the light
Mount the steps and walk out to the wall
And walk out to the wall
Thats not the way it happens
That's not the way it happens here
I'm getting tired of waiting
Waiting through another year
DAVY
The world is full of easy options
Little tricks to find your way
And those who take them, are all around us
Its not hard to hear them say
Why work harder than you have to!
Why do anything at all
No one owes you, you owe no-one
Owe the world nothing at all
The siren voices, the power of Choice is
A razor blade that cuts both ways
And while we’re waiting, contemplating
The heavy pendulum that sways
For every action, and its reaction
And every movement that we make
Will bring some brightness
And some darkness and some lightness in its wake
Take it slowly, hold your breath
Take each chance as it falls
And you may find something
If you take it slowly, hold your breath
Take it one step at a time
And who knows what the future has in mind
PLAYING AT PATIENCE
If I could sing you a song
That you’d not heard before
If I could find the words to sing
That hadn’t been sung before
I would turn
If it was something I’d heard before
Something played on the radio
That someone else had laboured for
Crafted and turned and made to be so
I would turn
Which part is me, every part that I steal?
Each cool turn of phrase, the emotion I feel?
The words that I juggle the thoughts I reveal?
I must turn
And the part that I choose that could only be me
The changing of tempo, the changing of key
The last desperate throw of a man who would be
What he would be
Just imagine, what it would mean
In the heat of the moment, and how it would feel
That between the first line and the last there could be
Something of note that could only be me
I am turning, I have turned
But somehow I only feel safe with a phrase
That I know can be mine till the end of the day
That no other hand would be willing or wanting to play
I have juggled the cards I have taken the chance
Playing at patience at the height of the dance
But I’m missing a sequence that I need to advance
I must turn, I have turned
THE LAST PRETENDER
In the silent houses, faces turned towards the flashing screens
The victors smashing glasses against the wall
The policeman on the corner, stepping out as if to warn you
That it isn’t your concern now at all
For they know the way they’re going
And they know the path they’ve taken
And they know the lives they’ve broken
Their friends across the water, never doubting they would falter
Flash their cheers and say they fought a clean Campaign
The crashing hammer never fails to break our hope
And drive the nails that pin the last pretender to the wall
For they know the way they’re going
And they know the path they’ve taken
They know the lives they’ve broken
But still they stoke the fire
But I feel cold, there’s nothing for me here
I don’t know, don’t know
Take my hand, let me feel you near
I feel deep, deep inside, a moment far away
I know it, know it
Take my hand, let us find a way
SPARKS AND HEARTS
A moment hardly passed but run away
Sparks and hearts, the future’s wringing out our day
The river of the night it's boiling white
Hold on, hold on
Footsteps, down the passageway
And doors, locked and blocked
And ranged behind us on the walls
These portraits of these people and their faces
Stare down, stare down
The butler hold the cup and pours the tea
It’s getting dark and cold, he says to me
And looking round I see the other chair is free
And the door is closing
No, he didn’t see her stand and go
That if she had, he’d be sure to know
Perhaps Sir’s wrong, perhaps it wasn’t so
Maybe Sir was mistaken
Maybe it didn’t happen at all
And as I turn to face the door
The shadows playing around the wall
And I’m watching for the turning of the handle
And the triangle of light coming closer across the floor
Starlight, A figure hunched beneath a tree
Moon and Ice, the snow is tumbling and free
The river of the night keeps crashing on
Roll on, Roll on
A few light taps upon the pane
It had begun to snow again
Snow was general everywhere
Falling on the central plain
Falling on the treeless hills
Falling softly farther west
Falling to the darkened waves
Thickly drifted on the cross
On the spears upon the gate
Lying on the barren thorns
Falling faintly through the world
Faintly falling, falling faint
Upon the living and the dead
The butler held the cup and poured the tea
It’s getting dark and cold he said to me
And looking round I saw the other chair was free
And the door was closing
No, he didn’t see her stand and go
And if she had, he’d be sure to know
Perhaps Sir’s wrong, perhaps it wasn’t so
Maybe Sir was mistaken
Maybe it didn’t happen at all
And as I turned to face the door
The shadows playing about the wall
And I watched for the turning of the handle
And the triangle of light came closer across the floor
ALMOST HERE
Once a year, she’s gripped by the casual hand of fear
There’s no-one near, no sign of the things that she holds dear
There’s nothing here, nothing here
There’s no-one dear, there’s no-one dear
And in the morning she sits by the coal, black open door
The sky is falling, tumbling, tumbling
It’s taken wing, trembling, trembling
Tuesday’s almost here, and near
The coldest hour of dawn
The morning turns you slowly round
And in the evening, she sits by the coal, black open door
She hears the noises, the sounds on the bareback wooden floor
No more, close the door, close the door
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