The old queen came in from the battle The man she lost to was sat at the table He was bloodstained and feeling feverish She was limping her eyes were bleeding The servant stood and poured them the water The only servant left was the old queen’s daughter The people of the city had gone to the mountains The hour blood started coming from the fountains Peacemaking is a hollow hard business With ghosts all crowding round to witness How do you give away what you fought for? How do you give away what they died for? She said, I’m keeping this crown upon my head, I’m keeping my tower and my bed, I’m keeping the promises of the dead, You can go outside the city instead He said, I was born in the middle of nothing If I was ever going to get be anything It was with the blood and horror of a fighter’s chance Then I saw you on the battlefield and I was entranced She took him to the books in her library Showed him the maps and the myths and the tapestries This is why they died for this place This is why I’ll die in this place A strand of sun brought in diamonds through the window Scattered space onto the dust of the pillow She stretched out her foot into the sunlight Says she always loves the warm after a long night Their armies sleep thin in the stables Little bread remains for the faithful The stones of the city fell down on the roadways The boats of the city sunk in the fighting days She says, when we met on the battlefield, it all fell into place There was a break in the thunder He says, let us lay here a little while, Warm beneath this spell we’re under

You said you wanna be a star I said, what like James Dean? Lighting up a movie screen? Is that what you think you are? You said you wanna be a star I said, what like Alpha Centauri? Lighting up the night sky? That's pretty damn far out Pretty damn far (You said you wanna be a star)

come take me in: I've been seeking through the dirt moving round the cracked bricks and stones of the many homes that stood here before I ate of the soil, and I spun myself out to the sun look: I am none but light remade, my skin is all the colours of it I grew tall and wandering, well pleased 'gainst these clear walls I have pressed many questions in curly fronds, I ask what is to my west, what to my east all the while the call comes down to grow, to grow sweet air of summer with long days and insects fills with the scent of me, the smell of richness and freshness that old heavy promise of water saved for the drought cup me in your hand I am ready now to leave this place I have known the light and the glass and the dirt and stone I have grown; I am bent and bursting with red and yellow come take me in: skin splitting with fullness, carry me where I can't travel with my own feetless arms for I am a tomato plant

passing by the window I see a services say let's go I could really use the loo and you could stretch your legs out too the road's been long and boring and we've been in the car since morning if you don't wanna hear me snoring, pull off at the junction this county's full of hedgerows and highstreets with boarded windows crumbling town parks that stand empty till dark and the trains don't run on time, there's always something on the line you'll be home just after nine, delayed by social dysfunction people round here say she's trouble trouble trouble but I like having her around I'd do more for double, double, double than the worst trouble in this town I'm keeping by her she's keeping by me your mum and dad are nice but they don't think they'll see me twice giving me the side eye as they serve me shepherd's pie they mention your wild youth like you haven't told the truth they don't know we're tamperproof and I like you as you are your old school friends are meeting at the Old Queen's Head you say that we could skip it I say I wouldn't miss it half of them are gone now into prison, graves or got out like you got out of here somehow but you didn't go too far people round here say she's trouble trouble trouble but I like having her around I'd do more for double, double, double than the worst trouble in this town I'm keeping by her she's keeping by me out on the street light pavement I toast the way the night went and I ask you for a dance between fags and broken glass then we're waiting for the last bus and suddenly it's just us and I don't want to make a fuss so I just say the night was fun in the morning I am heaving turning green as we are leaving saying it was nice to meet you and they absently say you too then we're back on the M4 my head resting on the car door and I think I love you more than I ever loved anyone people round here say she's trouble trouble trouble but I like having her around I'd do more for double, double, double than the worst trouble in this town people round here say you’re trouble trouble trouble but I don't know if that's true I'd do more than double, double, double if it meant I get to stick around with you I'm keeping by her she's keeping by me I'm keeping by her she's keeping by me

Came back from where I’d been away to my home town Someone asked me if I’d come back round to settle down Before I answered you walked in, I lost my mind Said, “I think I’ve just found what I daren’t hope to find” You’re not that easy to impress though I’ve been trying Told you all my youthful tales and got accused of lying Bought you half a dozen gifts and all returned unopened But I’m not the kind who finds it easy to stop hoping So give me your heart Or at least your eyes Tilt your head right back Look up to the sky I’m on the wing I’m on the wire Do you want me now I’m a real high flyer I’m on the wing I’m on the wire Do you want me now I’m a real high, I’m a real high, I’m real high, I’m real high I could write a sonnet to your humour and your beauty If I thought it would inspire you to lend them to me As it stands half the town is laughing at my wooing God only knows what I think I’m doing Look up to the air Look into your heart Can you find in there Some reason to start I’m on the wing I’m on the wire Do you want me now I’m a real high flyer I’m on the wing I’m on the wire Do you want me now I’m a real high, I’m a real high, I’m real high, I’m real high Some people say that this is a dangerous stunt Some people say you should give me the slip Some people say - and these people are blunt - It might be better if I took a little trip Honey - I’m on the wing I’m on the wire Don’t you want me now I’m a real high flyer I’m on the wing I’m on the wire Don’t you want me now I’m a real high, I’m real high, I’m real high, I’m real high I’m on the wing I’m on the wire Someone get me down I’m real high, I’m real high, I’m real high I’m a real high flyer

Godomir the Wise went down to the far eastern gate With his horse and his cup and his money Says, "I seek a seer to tell me the next tale of my fate For your truth I will pay handsomely "Will I grow wiser still and be widely revered For all my learnings and my mind?" The seers took a look at the wise Godomir "You may not like what we find" Nevertheless he paid them and sat by his mount Patiently awaiting his destiny Passed them a money bag far too heavy to count For the gods well reward generosity "We see many great works have come from your pen We see they have been well received We see you have taught them again and again and again We see that you have been believed" Shaking his head in distaste, Godomir brushed away All these attempts at flattery "All those things that you say were true yesterday What does the future hold for me?" "Sir, you have your pen, your horse and your learning Take your money and leave The future for which we can see you are plainly yearning Is not the future we see" Godomir frowned "Tell me, what use is this vision? Can I change what will come to be?" But seers, though not known for specifics and precision Cannot be beaten by trickery "So tell me," he said, "if my fate is so sealed What is it that you seek to hide? Are there dark secrets about me yet to be revealed Or is it the way that I'll die? "Is war and blood coming round to the to the kingdom Am I to fall to the blade? Or by plague and pustules will I come undone Or in penury will I end my days?" The seers stared long into their bright golden fires (For night had fallen dark and true) It is heavy work to know all people's desires And to know when they won’t come true At last they spoke though their voices were low And Godomir had to strain to hear “No matter what you do now, no matter where you go Your destiny remains clear “All that you wrote that gave you the name of the Wise Will be lost before long And you’ll be replaced by Dyrrigan of the Blue Eyes Who will prove all of your work wrong “Your students who gather daily round by your knees Will pretend that you never met And all of your books will be consigned to dusty libraries Filled with errors and regret “The statue the college is making to recognise you Will be left rough and unmade The stone will be transformed into something new And the memory of your face will fade” Godomir stared long into the darkness of night As the seers’ voices failed It is one thing to be cursed to always be right Another to be quite so detailed “There is nothing to be done - my work is all lost Nothing I wrote is true?” The seers sighed and said, “Godomir, this is the cost Of doing what you do “Have you not disproved many long dead men Who were revered in their time? Will the same not happen again and again and again Is this not the task of the wise? “To give to the future everything you have acquired As you’ve learned and progressed So that they may keep hold of whatever is most desired And forsake all of the rest?” Once more Godomir gazed off beyond the eastern gate The sun was beginning to rise A heavy burden it is indeed to know that your fate Is to be Godomir the Once-Was-Wise Nearby, the birds awoke with all their hymns for the sun And the river sang its passing To be just one part of something that goes on and on Is to be everlasting Godomir rose and gently saddled up his mare Thanked the seers for his fate The sky had turned pink and there was a smell in the air That called him far beyond the gate He turned out to the road and humming a soft little song Rode into the wild He had a cousin with an apple farm three days’ ride along And he could stay there for a while

If I thought I could build this place back Better, if I thought I had the time I would burn the whole thing down Bless the ground, and redesign But these beams had life in once And these walls have been loving And I'm too short of tools and days To make a place from nothing So though my fingers reach for the matches Itching to make a clean start I'll scrub down the floors and fix the panes Clear the drains and sweep the yard Don't bring your torches Bring your brushes and your brooms Your needles and your looms Don't bring your torches Bring your friends and their mothers Bring your brothers and lovers If I thought that a better house stood A day’s walk along the strand I would pack up our bags and go Make a home on bloodless land But this place has the fruits and the flowers And the roof still keeps out the weather There’s no better place over there than the place We could make of this place together I know the work isn’t easily done And you’re tired and the winter’s coming round If I thought I could build this place back Better, I would burn it down I would burn it down I would burn it down But don’t bring your torches Bring your hammers and your nails Bring your eye for the details Don’t bring your torches Bring your wood and your wool Bring half a cup still full Don’t bring your torches Bring your bread and your wine Bring your little bits of time Bring the mud and the lime Bring your sister I’ll bring mine Bring whatever you can find Bring whatever you can find Bring whatever you can find

When the seasons change remember Exponential growth's illusion In the slowing of November Don't be fooled by their collusion Walk into the trees and listen To the dying of the forest Harken to their key omission: You won't get what you were promised When the habitats are threatened Don't forget you are a creature Though it suffers from the lesson Earth remains a stalwart teacher Glean a little wisdom before All the wise are lost to progress If this is a place you adore Be inspired by its process Hold up the economy Until it's covered with frost The shareholders lost Hold up the economy Until it's covered with rust Empty the trusts Hold up the economy Until it's covered with moss The growth targets tossed Don't you want to see what could be If a little living greenery Made it's home on the machinery Of the wheels of this economy?

Sitting alone The spider eyes her prize Head of velvet Oil and ruby eyes Still as death she waits Patient as the sun For the struggling Creature to be done Sitting alone The spider eyes her prize Head of velvet Oil and ruby eyes Finally the fly Ends its fated dance The spider at last Takes her deadly chance Sitting alone The sparrow eyes his prize Beak of cold iron Moon and jaded eyes First the spider runs Over web fine spun The sparrow sets its wing To the rising sun Sitting alone The sparrow eyes his prize Beak of cold iron Moon and jaded eyes The web is torn and thin Its power and beauty gone The spider's fate complete The fly was damage done Sitting alone The sparrow rests his eyes The sweetness of sleep Is the victor's prize

My man's got a lot on his mind He's tired from working all the time Trying to make ends meet but keep things fun I turn to him when the day is done, and say Are we ever gonna get where we want to be? These years just seem to slip away He smiles real slow and says to me, "Don't worry, Rome wasn't built in a day" My man's got a lot on his mind He's tired from working all the time Trying to make ends meet but keep things fun I turn to him when the day is done, and say Is this the way we should be living our lives? We work all day and then just sit at home Is there no other way to survive? He just shrugs and says "All roads lead to Rome" My man's got a lot on his mind He's tired from working all the time Trying to make ends meet but keep things fun I turn to him when the day is done, and say Are our friends changing the way that we act? Sometimes it's like I don't even know you But he just looks at me all matter of fact and says, "When in Rome do as the Romans do" I feel a little passive aggression Every time things come down to the wire And he redirects all my questions By bringing up the Roman Empire Doesn’t he know it means nothing to me? Sometimes he does my head right in I feel stuck and bored like Penelope I might as well be Anne Boleyn Maybe I should be enraged That he’s there thinking about Caesar and Rome When I spend my free time engaged In hoping I won’t get murdered before I get home My man's got a lot on his mind He's tired from working all the time Trying to make ends meet but keep things fun I turn to him when the day is done, and say I don’t know if this is worth the cost I don’t know if you’ll ever learn How to listen when I’m confused and lost He just sits there and fiddles while Rome burns

Sometimes it’s okay To feel a little tired You don’t have to make the most of Every moment of every day No, sometimes to feel a little tired Is okay Sometimes it’s alright To feel a lack of fire You don’t have to dream the world Into a new world every night No, sometimes to feel a lack of fire Is alright You are just a little creature living on a rock You are just a little creature living on a rock You are just a little creature living on a rock Sit around awhile Have a drink Take a breath Take stock Sometimes it’s alright To feel no great desire You don’t have to have a dog In each and every fight No, sometimes to feel no great desire Is alright Sometimes it’s okay To feel a bit uninspired You don’t have to forge a new And bright and burning way No, sometimes to feel uninspired Is okay You are just a little creature living on a rock You are just a little creature living on a rock You are just a little creature living on a rock Sit around awhile Have a drink Take a breath Take stock Sometimes it’s okay To say the song is done La la la la la la la la la la la la la la Come back tomorrow for another one

When you wake up worn thin When your bones are too heavy for skin When your eyes are too hot to see When your breath comes shallowly And you don’t want to take a look at what’s inside your screens You just want to close your eyes and slip back into I had a dream last night that I was married to a different man (You don’t know him) I had a dream last night that I was standing on the bow of a ship and now I’m Worn thin Worn thin When you wake up and the news is on And the peace has already gone And the day is a thousand years And the night has disappeared And you don’t want to have to think about what it all means You just want to close your eyes and slip back into I had a dream last night that we were running for our lives We were flying I had a dream last night that I was bringing the harvest in and now I’m Worn thin Worn thin With all the horror and the war And the oil spilling on the shore These things that slip into my head These screens that slip into my bed If I had a dream last night that I was married to a different man And I held on for an hour or two, upon waking, just because I can Would you blame me?

Mary's heading on home now, she’s grown tired of the streets of this town All the bar’s familiar faces blur into the night like ghosts wheeling round On a carousel ride she rode when she was younger Someone calls out and asks if she's going somewhere Her daddy's still got that place out on the water Where the dusty road runs by Lit by fireflies into early July Mary's not taking any of her best dresses with her as she goes And she's not taking any more rides on slick machines to god only knows Where any of these men are gonna wanna take her On some highway that seemed like a starry river when she was younger Now there's a bus that'll take her right down to the water And she can walk the last mile fine Lit by fireflies in early July Mary’s had a haze of low-paying jobs in sticky late-night bars And taking tickets at the bus station and cleaning rusty streetcars She’s got enough schooling to be something else Maybe start a little business working for herself She’ll think on it in that house down on the water Watching the fireflies Fade away in the heat of July Mary watches the streets fade away Through the shade of the dirty bus window How much it woulda cost her to stay Only those other girls know Oh, Rosie and Wendy and Sandy and Janie All blowing skirts and summer-tanned skin Girls whose names sound like opportunity Blowing in on the wind But she’s done with musing Now look where it got her She’s going back to her daddy’s place Out on the water Where the dusty road runs by And all summer feels like early July

met a friend last weekend for a walk on the shore he said he was weak and couldn't take too much more I looked out and said what are you searching for is there something in your head that tries to keep score? the waves come in and go the waves come in the flow met a man out walking with his dog on the bay soon we got to talking about the change of the day he said he feels hazy like his visions gone grey till he comes to the sea and then the fog goes away the waves come in and go the waves come in the flow when you hit rock bottom grind the rocks into sand then at least you'll know you have a soft place to land x2 sometimes a sandcastle just comes out in a blob sometimes it's impossible to do a better job let the water take it let the crabs move on in let the sun bake it tilt your head back and swim the waves come in and go the waves come in the flow when I meet these men who need something blue I say to them what I'll now say to you I am not a medic got no urgent advice and I don't need credit for saying the sea's nice watch the waves as they come in and go touch the waves come in the flow when you hit rock bottom grind the rocks into sand then at least you'll know you have a soft place to land

Good gods, it's been a long time I've been under this rubble Thanks for going to the trouble Of digging me out What are you? Some kind of priest of dirt Gazing at these stones Like you're about to jump their bones Could you lend me a hand? An archaeologist? Too many syllables My world it wouldn't suit ya We're more focused on the future That's what I do Let me just It's been a while Fortune telling requires style A frame of mind Let me just find - Ah, here we go I foresee A great bird Carrying men upon its wings At a range of prices With proportional legroom Been and gone? Okay scrap that one I foresee Great fires Raging over lands of dense pines Filling towns and cities With poisoned air throughout the year You have that too? Wow, lucky you Give me one more try Let me get my prophecies in line... I foresee Invisible creatures Crawling through human blood Making everyone immune To a range of deadly diseases That's history? Well, not to me You see in my day It was more "Will I or will I not win this war?" And the answer wasn't hard But not because I'm a sellout But because any oracle knows There's no winning war So it's easy to just suck it up and provide The answer they're asking for (A bit of pomp and ceremony, It’s an art form, darling, trust me) O, great archaeologist! Rescuer of prophecies! Gaze upon your beloved soil! O, let me offer this! One more free augury! Before I charge for my toil! (All these smokescreens come at a cost And I really need to top up my pension pot) Let me just This takes a while Fortune telling requires a certain style It's coming back to me The power of prophecy Ah, here we go (One of my most popular ones) Victory! Victory! Victory and honour! Honour! Honour! Honour and victory! Whatever archaeologists fight for You shall prevail! Whoever your opponent is They will fail! This you know to be true For the great oracle spake it unto you Now have you got the train fare to Alexandria I could use a little visit to the library I need to consult their encyclopaedias To revise two millennia of history

When you were born, that very night I won the game, got your name right I had insider information Should have caused disqualification See, your mother, that is Mummy, Is my sister, I’m your aunty Hello, yes, I'm in this phone Soon you can have the video Of the singing cartoon sheep I promise that I will not keep you Years ago when I was a teenager (You don't know many of those) I was walking with your mother (In a place you sometimes go) Where I lived the first twenty years of my life She was talking, newly married The way that people do About babies and the strangeness Of making someone new And giving them the world and your teeth and your blood She picked a name out for a daughter And a nickname that they’d also call her Biblical, goes with the surname I held this inside my brain Because the world I find is made By all the little curves and shapes Of the many things my family say This ribbon spanned a future year That looking back was rather near But at the time felt at such distance As to be nothing but figments Told on afternoons so long As afternoons are when you’re young In the town where you were born So I played it in the sweepstakes (Which was more a guessing game) I didn’t win any money But got glory all the same And then I met you and the syllables were longer than you were And to name you is an odd thing While you are crumpled up and crying With the room around you emptied Of its patterns by your entry All time has gone peculiar And your birth remade my sister Into someone less familiar Just a little, angled mirror So I held you with a small dread And I held your name in my head And both of those seemed brittle Both too big and very little And now you live so close to me That I can see you thrice a week I call to you from room to room And your name means all of you When you call me you say my name (Shortened to a B) While all the others get a label Of relationality So we recognise each other As the separate and the same For we hold the careful knowledge Of someone else’s name And you’re laughing as you’re checking That my nose is on my face

lock up your sons and lock up your daughters flood the moat with holy waters chant the prayers the good priest taught us the beast is out again lock up your fathers and lock up your wives find the box of silver knives swear to live more holy lives the beast is out again over moor it comes and comes through the bog, over carn can you hear it as it comes? through the day, through the dark lock up your lords and lock up your maids turn the mirrors to its gaze recant all your sinful ways the beast is out again lock up your cats and lock up your dogs fill the fire with rowan logs turn to any listening god the beast is out again over moor it comes and comes through the bog, over carn can you hear it as it comes? through the day, through the dark an best, an jowl an blocka, an bleydh what form it takes you cannot say the beast comes down from on Goon Brenn the beast is out, is out again lock up your eyes and lock up your ears pass around the sharpened spears think on all your misspent years the beast is out again lock up your water and lock up your grain spill salt upon the windowframes heed the signs of the final days the beast is out, the beast is out, the beast is out again the beast is out, the beast is out the beast is out again the beast is out, the beast is out, the beast is out again the beast is out, the beast is out the beast is out again

when you are not on this land anymore and the fields are just space again the waves will keep crashing to the shore they will come in silver and white when colours have no spoken names and still through the day, and still the night the water will crash and batter the land when the cities are all forgotten and form brief lines of foam on the sand the moon will tug and turn the tides though no poets will remain to wonder the dance will continue all besides the waves will keep crashing to the shore when the world is spinning quiet and you are not on this land anymore

she's the loneliest girl/this side of the mountain she's twelve foot five/and cries like a river moss grows on her spine/like a boulder she makes strawberry wine in spring beneath her feet/the hilltops flower where she stands/the birds all come around stars shoot above/when she's sleeping and she sits weeping for being so alone how do you know the world loves you when you're so lonely you can't breathe? even so the world loves you when you're so lonely you can't breathe every village/needs some kind of monster the children run/screaming her name she holds a posy/of cabbage flowers as the snow melts to water on her face he's the loneliest boy/in the walls of the castle slips into shadows/gets mistaken for dust his hands are red/from the heat of the kitchen and he shares his bed with mice and rats out of the window/there's the shape of the mountain purple in the morning/green in the summer when the feast days come/he slips outside walking away like he's never going home how do you know the world loves you when you're so lonely you can't breathe? even so the world loves you when you're so lonely you can't breathe he finds a log/by the side of a river watches a kingfisher/dive in the light he loves the sound/and smell of the water nothing between him and the trees and the sky she’s the loneliest girl/this side of the mountain he’s the loneliest boy/till he goes outside somewhere in the dappled green/of the forest they might meet and talk a little while

Passing through a little square In the old heart of the city Two men playing chess Under a buzzing walnut tree There's a statue by a fountain You saw in your travel guide Commemorating a revolution Or a poet who has died And you say Sha la la, sha la la, I don't ever wanna go home Sha la la, sha la la, I don't ever wanna go home Stopping for an espresso Watching the tourists walking Listening to the accordion And all the foreign talking Dipping under the umbrella The sun is another thing here Can you believe back home the rains Have already come for the year And you say Sha la la, sha la la, I don't ever wanna go home Sha la la, sha la la, I don't ever wanna go home Got your coins out for the fountain Gonna dip your wishes right in With your fingers splashing at your face Cause the air is hotter than sin Before you go for extra luck Reach out and cop a quick feel Of the little dog, struck in faded bronze That always stays to heel Little gold shiny nose How many strangers pet ya? When they go, god only knows How many then forget ya x3 When the evening settles in The couples come out shining They've had a shower and dressed up nice Ready for wine and dining The old men pack away their chess And head home to their dinners Patting the little dog on its head As its little gold nose glimmers Sha la la, sha la la He won't ever ever go home Sha la la, sha la la He won't ever ever be lone-ly

Don’t doubt your man, now, ladies Don’t doubt now your man He has been out hunting Long the autumn day Don’t doubt the sun, now, ladies Don’t doubt now the sun Come again it will in all the Bonny warmth of May Don’t doubt your man, now, ladies Don’t doubt now your man Weary are his feet from hunting Long the autumn day Does it cost you silver, now, ladies Does it cost you gold? To stand true to your heart When your eye is called away Does it cost you coin, now, ladies Does it cost you jewels? To wait beside the fire When the kittens go to play Don’t doubt the sun, now, ladies Don’t doubt now the sun Come again it will in all the Bonny warmth of May Don’t doubt your man, now, ladies For has he doubted you? Never was a better choice Made than staying true Don’t doubt your man, now, ladies Don’t doubt your heart Lovers are never so merry As when they’ve been apart Don’t doubt the sun, now, ladies Don’t doubt now the sun Come again it will in all the Bonny warmth of May Don’t doubt your man, now, ladies Don’t doubt him so He is tired from hunting Long the autumn day

At the angle where the west of the roof meets the south There's a gargoyle who when it rains spits from his mouth Gushing out the secrets of everything that he has seen In three hundred years of watching little kings and queens Parade through the garden and wander the shores of the lake While the birds gather round them: swan and goose and drake To claim a little pittance of a crumb or crust And the rainpipe by the gargoyle's side crumbles into rust He's a little bit of demon forgot during reformation Exalted by pagans to such a high location You can forgive reformers' zealous omissions Not tilting their head back to the right position At the angle where the west of the roof meets the north There's a gargoyle who when it showers gushes forth And all the remembrances of the things he once saw With his stony eyes spring from his gaping maw Where the bridge crosses river and the tax can be paid And many a farmer there was sent back or delayed For the want of a coin or a crumb or a crust As the rainpipe by the gargoyle's side crumbles into rust He's a little bit of demon...

“I am not sufficiently well informed” the good people with flawed thoughts said, “To critique this complex situation or suggest what should be done instead” So all the noise went to those with vested interest They talk so loudly and are so repeated the truth bends to their speech With Frankenstein logic like justified genocide or fighting wars for peace They redraw the lines to align with their needs Recognising the harm that is daily done by both sides taking lives All the good people with flawed thoughts sat back from taking sides And furrowed their brows & watched & cried Denouncing horror is easy even if seeing the blood causes desolation It is harder work to unpick the complex mechanics of radicalisation And foreign policy & money & the state of nation The good people with flawed thoughts listen closely until they turn off the TV And then go to bed a little weary but feeling some internal clarity For if both sides have dead innocent civilians then the path is neutrality Ignoring US control of UN resolutions and Western foreign policy And the squalor and the trauma of eighty years of brutal history And that if what you want is for the fighting in both directions to cease And the birds to sing quietly for the dawn amongst the olive trees Then apartheid must be set aside and replaced with sovereignty For there cannot be peace until the people are free

(1) The air is colder than I thought it would be But I’ll be warm in five minutes This first hill always rips the breath from me But I’ll settle in, come on arms, Come on feet (2) Alright which loop are we taking today See how it feels To the left, the right, the big one or along the way Out and back to the cabbage fields? I track the map in my head Pause in a gateway for a car To go by (always going either too slow or too fast) Then I’m alone again, Me and the road again, And the birds, And the hares (3) I am the keeper of these lanes, These junction spiders, These nowhere roads, These ditches of mud These rain-damp hedgerows And the autumnal return of the rooks If anyone wants to know which way to go To that hamlet or farmyard I have it, I can tell you Where the hill rises steeply Opens out to mining country Where the dogs bark all day Where the rain floods the lane And where the river is a torrent in the road (4) Today a way that keeps my feet dry And I’m warm now, like I knew I would be Scaring squirrels as I pass by “I’ll be gone in a second, just ignore me” (5) That sounds like the hum of a tractor coming by And I check around me But he’s beside me in the field hidden from my eyes Behind a row of trees Up and down and up and down And I go feet up and feet down And the buzzard leaves the tree heavily And the gulls track the field Where it’s ploughed scrapping for worms to eat (6) This stretch is always quiet Of all these nowhere roads It is truly back of beyond Half a mile to the next house Nothing after for a while The old ways, replaced by new A roads, Curl up on themselves and go to sleep As they lose their rhyme and reason They twist like tired snakes around the fields, Now in their brown season (7) That man I know who died last year And how his children are I think about around this bend, As I’ve done many times before (8) Now it’s left here, or else right is another mile If I want the extra road I’ve got the time But no, I’ll head on home now, It’s fifteen minutes from here, I can see the road loop out beside The earth and a few potatoes Forgotten by the farmer I’ll see how the next k goes Then maybe go a little faster Startle the rooks again They take to the sky again Cawing and cawing “It’s only me” I’ll say And then I’ll run on by

She came in here her hair was black and her nose was long and her eyes were bright She said, "My dear, it’s lovely to meet you I wondered if I could spend the night "I don’t know if you’ve been thinking about me but I’ve been thinking about you "It’s time we sat down eye to eye and found out if the stories are true" He was standing his hand to his blade thinking maybe he should call in a guard She said, "Honey, you and me, we’re the brightest around here it isn’t that hard "To see that we should just take a minute, an hour or so, share a glass of wine "And put our heads together and remake the world and all the stars in the sky" "What about the carpet, won’t it crease if we leave it?" She said, "My love, we never stand still long enough "All the marks of time will come out if we beat it "Everything here bows to our love" He said, "I’m old enough to be your father and besides I’ve a wife at home" She said, "My dear, if those kinds of details bothered me I’d lose my throne "We could be a dynasty with just a little late-night conversation and wine "We could make the stars spell out our names all through the dark of time" He was sitting his hand to his brow thinking to himself he was getting old She said, "Honey, if you don’t mind, can I borrow your coat, I’m a little cold "And could we have something brought in to eat then you tell me what you think "But first call in a slave, you look like you could use something much stronger to drink" "What about the carpet, won’t it crease if we leave it?" She said, "My love, we never stand still long enough "All the marks of time will come out if we beat it "Everything here bows to our love" And this time it sounded truer than the first After all, what could be the worst that could happen? A little home-from home romance? Just give the girl a chance to make it happen She came in here her hair was snakes and her face was beauty her eyes were cold She said, "My dear, I’ve come to ruin Rome and you and take all your gold" She came in here a little lost thing all bundled up against the night He said, "My dear, sit right here I’ll make sure you get home all right" She came in a thousand different ways when all the tales were told And never could they find the creases in any carpet that they unrolled "What about the armies, won’t they beat us at the pass?" She said, "My love, we never stand still long enough "We’ll be gone before they even see us, we’re that fast "Everything here bows to our love "Even the stars - did you see them? "Over the Colosseum? "Did they tell you where to find me?"

Cuando me levanto, estoy sola Aquí el viento es más fuerte Por la mañana Me han abandonado todos los sueños No han encontrado, aquí conmigo, Su mejor dueño (El viento fue Demasiado fuerte para ellos) A los fantasmas digo hola Mientras me lavo Por la mañana Sólo los viejos se quedan aquí Todos los otros ven por la brisa Dejando a mí (El viento fue Demasiado fuerte para ellos) Veo el mundo por la ventana Pero me quedo adentro Por la mañana Todos los otros apartamentos Son vacíos, sólo hay yo Y mis pensamientos (Nada viento es Bastante fuerte para ellos) Yo canto una tonada Mientras bailo por mis cuartos Por la mañana Un pajarito muy lindo Con un pico cubierto de mugre Canta conmigo (Nada viento es Bastante fuerte para él) A mis secretos digo ¿cómo está? A mis remordimientos lo mismo Por la mañana Mis esperanzas partieron Con mi infancia y yo no sé Donde se fueron (El viento fue Demasiado fuerte para ellas) Entonces Cuando me levanto, estoy sola (Los fantasmas olvido, y el pájaro) Por la mañana Por la mañana - y todo el día - Siento como nada, como una bolsa Por la vía vacía (El viento siempre es Demasiado fuerte para ellas) Y yo no tengo otra palabra Y yo no quiero otro oyente Por la mañana La la la la la la la …

We are gathered here today To celebrate advances made In the development of conflict solutions Building things that go bang in the night We are gathered here today To celebrate advances made In the acquisition of other people’s money In quantities that steal away your soul We are gathered here today To celebrate advances made In the privatisation of necessary treatment Leaving you dead or undead We are gathered here today To celebrate advances made In the extraction of oil from the very rocks Guaranteed to provide a few shocks You are gathered here tonight For a little Hallowe’en fright Raise your glasses to your monster profits Raise your glasses to your monstrous bosses Don’t look in any mirrors, Don’t say the good Lord’s name We’re gathered for a little game You see: When you gather here you trust That you are you and not us Your bombs will never hit you, Your money will be safe, Your nurses will be plentiful And you’ll die before the day The oil makes you pay You are gathered here tonight For a little Hallowe’en fright Raise your glasses to your monster profits Raise your glasses to your monstrous bosses Don’t look in any mirrors, Don’t say the good Lord’s name We’re gathered for a little game Can you run, John? How fast can you run? It’s only fun, John, a little bit of fun Like you said, John, remember how you said That if we spoke, John, we’d be better off dead Can you run, John? How fast can you run? It’s only fun, John, a little bit of fun Like you said, John, remember how you said That the only good ones were those already dead Can you run, John? How fast can you run? It’s only fun, John, a little bit of fun Don’t cry, John, come on now don’t cry Don’t ask why, John, I already told you why Someone better drown out that sound Get to it, now, release the hounds

Just to light a little fire; to love the way it burns To smell the old wood and the damp; the oak and hedge and ferns To listen to the crack and hiss; the slow and rising roar To burn the pattern of the flames behind your eyes once more Is to be human Is to be human Just to light a little fire; to lay beside its glow To watch your skin turn gold and red; to watch the darkness slow To make of shapes of dark and bright long stories for the night To let the heat unknot your bones; to slumber in the light Is to be human Is to be human Just to light a little fire; to hold to it your life To boil and char and bake things on; to forge your jewels and knife To let the conversation fade; before the rustling wood To sleep without the fear of wolves; to know that things are good Is to be human Is to be human And if you have a little fire; and logs to keep it fed And if you have a little food; and blankets for your bed And if you have a little tale and someone to tell it to Then you are a lucky one, to see the winter through And if you have the room to spare then share a little turn Come and sit beside the flames; watch them as they burn

Hildegard was a little mouse who lived on the banks of a river Hildegard had a little house with walls all lined with paper Hildegard had a little task to do down at the library Hildegard packed a little flask filled with dandelion tea The river flows fast and strong in the winter The river gets lazy and low in the heat The trees drop their leaves all of a quiver Then grow back blossom for the bees Hildegard got a little book all filled with diagrams and instructions Hildegard had a little look and then got to work constructing Hildegard made a little boat of acorn shells and honey Hildegard had a little float on the river when it was sunny The river flows blue and white in the sun The river flows brown and grey after rain The insects come out when the rain is done To sit on the leaves of the trees again Hildegard packed a little bag with clothes and books and biscuits Hildegard felt a little sad when she looked round her home and missed it Hildegard sailed for a day and a night and a day and night and then moored Hildegard went a long long way and oh so many things she saw The river is home to mice and birds The river is home to fish and beetles The river is home to squirrels and worms And all different kinds of people Hildegard made a little note of all her new friends’ addresses Hildegard filled her little boat with all of her new friends’ presents Hildegard took her little map and set the course for home Hildegard took a little nap and then set out alone The river flows fast and strong in the winter The river gets lazy and low in the heat The trees drop their leaves all of a quiver Then grow back blossom for the bees Hildegard is a little mouse who lives on the banks of a river Hildegard has a little house with walls all lined with paper Hildegard writes little letters to all of her friends and family Hildegard knits little sweaters and drinks dandelion tea

I’ve been looking for love In all the wrong faces, Or so it seems to me I’ve been trying to find Someone who makes everything Feel easy and free I was raised by wolves Women with their eyes On the fight and glory So I hunted for the prize But every man I met just seemed To drag the life from me And I find myself in this same old repeat In frustration and defeat As sick of my voice as I am of yours Give it a rest, Gus We’ve been on this bus for hours Even the best of us get tired Give it a rest, Phil Take a chill and smell some flowers You got me walking on a wire You’ve been out again And when you walk in I don’t care where you’ve been I’ve been watching TV Didn’t realise for three hours I was stuck on repeats And I find myself in this same old return It’s like I never learn This cannot be what I’ve been looking for Give it a rest, Mark I need to find the spark again Have you got a fire I can borrow? Give it a rest, Jack Cut me some slack it’s half past ten Maybe we’ll be back in sync tomorrow There must be 50 men in this town I’ve tried out to settle down But I can’t seem to stick around I need something to drown them out All the time they’re talking - saying nothing And I’m thinking about walking Till one cold and sunny morning The road is calling And I know I’ll go by the end of the day I always leave the same way Give it a rest, Stan I need a man not another job to do Even your best is way sub par Give it a rest, Jake I need a break from looking at you I wish we’d never got this far Maybe I should take some time to get my head in line Maybe it’s not these 50 guys but something in my mind Maybe I need to change my ways before I try to settle down Or maybe there’s someone right for me, just in the next town…