1. |
Lea Bridge
03:12
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I woke up with a sore throat but a clear head
My chest felt tight but my heart was lighter and my mood had loosened
I’d got used to living in a room with no curtains
I told myself it would connect me to the universe somehow and I wish I could say that was true
But this morning a crack of light branded my elbow
My legs were heavy as Stamford Hill loomed ahead of me
Weaving through traffic, my shoelace dangled dangerously close to the spokes of my crappy red bike
All I wanna do is laze around and lie beside you
When I finally made it back to my curtainless room my mind raced through the last 24 hours
There were parts I couldn’t explain, bits missing
But others were crystal clear and lit up like a flare in what had otherwise been quite frankly a fucking awful year
Feeling giddy, mundane moments took on a new significance
Like the look on your half-asleep face when the doorbell rang at 7am
Thinking I’d found a moment of inspiration, I grabbed my notebook and scrawled what I could remember on to the page
All I wanna do is laze around and lie beside you
Over the next few days that tightness in my chest got worse
My blood ran colder and my skin felt ill-fitting
I threw myself into menial tasks avoiding what was coming
If not staring me in the face then at least poking its head around the corner
The initial giddiness had been replaced but what I guess people refer to as ‘that sinking feeling’
With limited options at my disposal I did what I could to run away day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute
All I wanna do is laze around and lie beside you
Looking back now those notebooks read like bad teenage poetry
I levelled out from all the ups and downs
And when I go through Stamford Hill I don’t get tired anymore
I don’t fret or pace about although I don’t feel connected to the universe either
I’m reading self-help books and not taking anything in, probably no one does
In the end I wouldn’t change much
I don’t miss the sore throats
I just wish it had lasted a bit longer
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2. |
It Won't Do You Harm
02:46
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I don’t rely on much but I’ve come to find your mornings such a dream
I’m sure I’m out of touch but a simple flash of sunlight so serene
It won’t do you harm to fake it
It might not be wrong to make it up
Though nothing is sure in this day
It won’t do you harm
It’s taken 18 months and an awful lot of trouble in between
I’m sure it’s not that much but a wasted day is rarely all it’s been
It won’t do you harm to fake it
It might not be wrong to make it up
Though nothing is sure in this day
It won’t do you harm
We can barely see what’s coming in front if it’s coming at all
But I hope you know my pride had the sense to fall
When you hardly speak then you’re hardly wrong, or so I thought
I left it for another day so it won’t do you harm
I don’t rely on much but I’ve come to find your mornings such a dream
I’m sure I’m out of touch but a simple flash of sunlight so serene
It won’t do you harm to fake it
It might not be wrong to make it up
Though nothing is sure in this day
It won’t do you harm
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3. |
You Kept My Heart Alive
03:19
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The call came on a Saturday night
September turned a corner and I, well it cut me down to size
The year, it simmered by so fast
Barely worth a second chance coz I’m just not built to last
Blame it on a flash of light
Blame it on a second sight
But I can’t turn back, no I can’t turn back tonight
Breathe it till your lungs feel tight
Believe it, don’t put up a fight
Coz you kept my heart, yeah you kept my heart alive
A warning shot urgently fired
Remember back in early July?
Well it hit me between the eyes
Armed with a resilience plan
Sheltered from the pain in advance
I’m awake and a better man
Blame it on a flash of light
Blame it on a second sight
But I can’t turn back, no I can’t turn back tonight
Breathe it till your lungs feel tight
Believe it, don’t put up a fight
Coz you kept my heart, yeah you kept my heart alive
Feel no shame
On my way
I’ll be back
We’ll go south
Clearer now
Sing it loud
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4. |
Getaway
03:41
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Think fast if you want to get away
Choose now if you’ve said your lot
Six thousand lonely miles away
I used to pride, to pride myself
On how much little I give
One million light years away
Think fast if you want to get away
Choose now if you’ve said your lot
Six thousand lonely miles away
You say…
My family said to walk away
From how much trouble I’m in
Not back from travelling anyway
My only plan for nowadays
Run fast if you’ve said your piece
Six thousand lonely miles away
You say…
And so I drift every day
In every way
To get away
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5. |
Guided
02:46
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The world is fraught in an old-fashioned way
Would you stand up and shout what you see?
I always thought you were straining away to be stronger and bolder than me
Feel no shame for an energy drained of all purpose and get up and go
We are all in this momentary lack
We are clinging and one of us should know
Guided by the rain infected sky
I hope you try
Protected by the winter still to arrive
It’ll clean you out
Guided by the rain, protect me
No escaping
Lord don’t take me
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6. |
Up To My Neck Again
02:16
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Lay it on the line or push it aside
Up to my neck again
An IOU on a crumpled receipt
Up to my neck again
Stagger, stumble, flat on my feet
Stuck in my head again
Sinner, soldier, bears a repeat
Up to my neck again
I can’t wait till tomorrow
The morning deceit
Broken headlight was quite a defeat
Blame it all, found myself
Up to my neck again
Barely function or making a scene
Guess I might start again
Always warned not to get any closer
Sick of this mess again
I can’t wait till tomorrow
The morning deceit
Broken headlight was quite a defeat
Blame it all, found myself
Up to my neck again
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7. |
Totally Bored
02:03
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Saw a rat the other day
Tried to send him on his way
Got him cornered, got away
False package and he struggled every minute
We the kids are totally bored
Better out, better not ignored
Took a bus went into town
Cover up, don’t let us down
Nothing ventured, nothing gained
Got them cornered don’t let them get away
We the kids are totally bored
Better out, better not ignored
Your generation is a lost cause
Pathetic apathy’s the worst
When the next lot’s coming up behind you
We the kids are totally bored
Better out, better not ignored
When the kids are totally bored
You can see them, when the rats go slinking back now
When I was younger I worked out
What this sinking ship’s about
Turn it any other way
And only we are gonna stay
On that day Trafalgar Square
Light and crackle in the air
All my faith in what’s to come
A simple message to the hecklers at the back
Run
We the kids are totally bored
Better out, better not ignored
When the kids jump overboard
A generation’s pathetic apathy
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8. |
Man In Black
01:33
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We’re coming up for air
A guy I used to see
All dressed in black, a bandit
Leant against the tree trunk, started
I’d spot him sitting back regarding all the sunkissed lovers of the park
It’s been a while since I have seen that man around
I came to understand it threw me back to where I started
I’d spot him sitting back regarding all the sunkissed lovers
And the aftermath of many others
Guess I never saw him after dark
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9. |
Get Our Sense Away
01:52
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It’s how it starts
I’m through with all this art
I’m sure the best will out
Blurred collapsing heart
Get our sense away
It’s how it moves
Sunken attitude
Left without a clue
Coz the best of me was you
And I know, yeah I know
On our own
Not coming home
It’s how it ends
A light deflecting lens can hardly be defence
Glad we made amends
Get our sense away
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10. |
Cruel Trick To Play
03:18
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It was summer but it felt like spring
Reminiscing isn’t really my thing
Threw some names up on my screen
Should’ve known what news that brings
Only checked in now and again
One comes, one passes away
Lord knows it’s a cruel trick to play
Stood up and started pacing the room
Who cares what good that’ll do
Lot of ghosts follow me around
But I can’t claim this one too
Only checked in now and again
One comes, one passes away
Lord knows it’s a cruel trick to play
Call it cyclical, call it blind
When it leaves a life behind
Call it cynical, you opportunist
But I took my pen and I sat and I wrote this down
Only checked in now and again
One comes, one passes away
Lord knows it’s a cruel trick to play
Lord knows it’s a cruel trick to play
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11. |
In The End
03:22
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Raise the flag, toe the party line
Leave it till the evening burns to day
Reel around, feel it every time
Hope was like a ballast thrown away
In the end when it all breaks down
When all hell breaks out
You and I, we’re closer now
How you’re supposed to know
That’s the hardest part
Saying goodbye kills me every time
Proudly unaccustomed to the pain
Fools aside, make it through this tide
Winter turns its back on us again
In the end when it all breaks down
When all hell breaks out
You and I, we’re closer now
How you’re supposed to know
That’s the hardest part
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12. |
Then I Met You
01:41
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Thought that I’d be happy
Gonna be so happy
Living life alone and never sharing anything
Thought that I was finished
Thought that I was complete
Thought that I was whole instead of being half of something
Thought that I was growing
Growing older, wiser
Understanding why this world held nothing for my spirit
Thought that I was destined
Destined to be nothing
Destined to be nothing in this world and then I met you
I met you, I met you
I met you, I met you
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James Sullivan London, UK
New record VITAL SIGNS is released on 19 April 2024 on Stardumb Records.
Frontman/guitarist of garage-pop trio MORE KICKS (Dirtnap Records/Stardumb Records) and apocalypse-pop 'supergroup' SUSPECT PARTS. I also make records on my own.
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