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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
When I'm locked in my room
I just want to scream And I know what they mean (One more day of eating and sleeping) Speak to me, speak to me I'm not spoken for, I'm ready to talk Look at me, look at me I've been broken up and shaken down Speak to me, speak to me I'm at the edge of myself I'm dying to talk Look at me, won't you look at me Back once more at the point of no return When I'm locked in my room I just want to scream And I know what they mean Only the strong (Hirst/Moginie) |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
Say yes to a real life ambition, say yes to our hopes and our plans
Forget about your indecision, let's get the beast off our land A tree that can grow no longer, a beach that has got no sand I would pay out a king's ransom, if we could just understand Got your last meal, filled up with pesticide Hamburger chain third world infanticide Got robot car your jobs will disappear It's the politics of a brand new year Manhattanization is coming, open your eyes if you dare Carry us on to the crossroads, come to your senses and care 16 million, I can't hear you at all Some say that's progress I say that's cruel You may be safe in your hemisphere But there's so much junk in the stratosphere We got our eyes on the firmament, hands on the armaments Heads full of arguments, and words for our monuments I won't deny it, can we survive? Some say that's progress I say that's cruel. (Moginie/Garrett) |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
I'm an innocent victim, I'm just like you
We end up in home units with a brick wall view I can't believe the perfect families on my colour TV If I don't make it to the top it'll never bother me And I don't wanna be the one And I don't wanna be the one I'm an innocent bystander caught in the path Waiting out the back while the corporate attack Assaults the senses with relentless scenes of passion and delight I cut up all the options and went running for my life |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
The Breakfast Creek Hotel is up for sale
The last square mile of terra firma gavelled in the mail So farewell to the Norfolk Island pines No amount of make believe can help this heart of mine [Chorus] End - your dreamworld is just about to end Fall - your dreamworld is just about to fall Your dreamworld will fall So shut that buckle and turn that key again Take me to a place they say the dreaming never ends Open wide drive that mistery road Walk through Eden's garden and then wander as you go Chorus Sign says honeymoon to rent Cloudland into dreamland turns The sun comes up and we all learn Those wheels must turn |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
My life is a valuable thing
I wan't to keep it that way, I won't cry My life's such a valuable thing Some things don't fade away, I don't mind We give the best we can give We won't forget, we can't forgive Keep us radioactive free Strike a bell in Hiroshima park You know that we can't see in the dark We try and we try and we try... Who waits for the planes to come When everybody's got you on the run South Pacific carry on It seems to me that what we're saying Nobody really wants to talk about it This is no time to be wondering why I do the best I can do The human jungle and the global zoo I'll find my way it's a very special way Why wait for the planes to come When everybody's got us on the run South Pacific carry on Here come the hercules Here come the submarines Sinking south pacific dreams |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
The rich get richer
The poor get the picture The bombs never hit you when you're down so low Some got pollution Some revolution There must be some solution but I just don't know The bosses want decisions The workers need ambitions There won't be no collisions whey they move so slow Nothing ever happens Nothing ever matters No one ever tells me so what am I to know You wouldn't read about it Read about it Just another incredible scene There's no doubt about it The hammer and sickle The news is at a trickle The commisars are fickle but the stockpile grows Bombers keeping coming Engines softly humming The stars and stripes are running for their own big show Another little flare up Storm brewed in a tea cup Imagine any mix up and the lot would go Nothing ever happens Nothing ever matters No one ever tells me so what I am to know You wouldn't read about it Read about it One unjust, ridiculous steal Ain't no doubt about it You wouldn't read about it Read about it Just another particular deal There's no doubt about it |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
Push start that car tomorrow
I'll take it to the tip yard Well I'll leave it as a metal wreck For cats to sleep Then I'll catch the bus to bondi Swim the beach and wonder Who can wear the fashion when The place is oh so hot I'm just part of this play I'm making an inroad on the one and only I'm just part of this play I've finally decided I'm here to stay Then I'll stop the small talk Then I'll stop the games I'll show them that the plans I've made aren't wrong, what's wrong? Then I'll shop at new world Fill it up with real toys Initiate a face-lift for the captains to corrupt (rotsey/hirst/garrett/moginie) |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
Cold cold change, we were so excited
But you came and went so soon Cold cold change, we were not invited We smiled all the while we were taken in Cold cold change, bringing in the winter Freezing up the water, closing up the mind One more danger, gonna have to deal with One last moment fading all the time But no lasting change, well we were turned around We jumped in the air to see over the wall No master plan, it's a bad design Significant time in spite of us all Cold cold change, we were so excited Waiting on the outside, waiting to begin Left us all angry and bewildered Laughing at the way we were taken in You better lock the door, turn it off (the light) We'll leave the nights alone, better keep me hoping That the change is over, the ice is gone And when the weather's warmer you can hear me shouting yeah (Hirst/Moginie) |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
I don't want to run I don't want to stay
Cos everything that's near and dear is old And in the way Emergency has gone, apathy rolling on Time to take a stand Redneck wonderland Got you in my sights, spotlit by the fence If it's love you're faking it's just common sense Brick and tile for miles, rolling in the aisles Rifle in my hand Redneck wonderland Well the streets are clean, nothing gets away I can see the beauty treatment draining from Your face It is vision free, It's poor bugger me Something less than grand Redneck wonderland |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
I believe we're crossing the great ravine
Still yearning half way a stranger I believe in our multiplicty Still part-blind no reason for anger I believe we pull up our roots and retreat A new crop of aerials in Dacca and Canberra Why don't you tell me the truth about you Vaseline, you smeared it across every scene Anchor-man drowns in a sea of sensation Tyranny, crushing the young bird's seed Hallowe'en's mate, short fuse of the banker We're all spores but we're never eunuchs Love's on the loose deflect the short tunic And the cameras ruse There's no judgement in ignorance I say Some people tell me stories, wasting all my time Some trying not receiving someone else's lies It's my time, yes it's my time (Moginie/Garrett) |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
Oh get down, getting down, so much money in the ground
For the people who don't deserve it now It's a circus we're the clowns as the giant ones disown Every bit of something we call home Said it's a pity 'bout the middle class Holden mass We get a bit to play around with doesn't really matter They kid us with their dole, kid us with the dope But generally speaking, nobody's got a hope We're playing the music of the middle-aged queens Getting fatter and fatter and splitting their jeans It's all the same, we're out in the cold The good ones died, the others just got old Everything's set, everything's fine You just got to stand in line Oh everything's set, everything's fine You just got to stand in line Getting down, getting down, we have to make it now Everybody's beaten, everybody's down, oh everybody's down So goodbye to the creeps who are making it Goodbye to the let it happen stand I'm moving out got no doubt they've forgettn twist 'n' shout They never ever listen to the man (Moginie/Hirst/Rotsey/Garrett) |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
I just want to see that clear clear ight
Don't want to be a member of a species that's deceasing Keep on making those promises that they aren't keeping Oh I was a talking to the people next door Said they don't want to die in a nuclear war Now we went walking down the old north road We got a common cause we got a heavy heavy load Watching pictures of the world Watching pictures as they pass me by Don't stop at that light Don't go out at night My artificial heart Expensive spare parts I've been a sailor on the sea I've been a flyer in the air I've seen a whole lot of bleeding hearts out there They don't talk so much I tell you they still care They can't go on living like this they can't go on Don't sit around in silence you don't need a licence It's moving in a hurrythere's no need to worry We're really going to change it the critical mass approaches I can almost hear it |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
The God forsaken rifleman stands rigid at the bar
The kids discover victims in the rubble and the tar They're married to ambition to the slogans of the war Slogans that used to be scrawled on the wall Are written in the heart A woman bows to Mecca and she struggles to her feet It's better since the president took shooting off the street She pictures all the poverty the cursed Holy War The pictures that used to be scrawled on the wall Are written in the heart The elders make a promise and they forge it in the fire The general's car is sabotaged, four bullets in the tire With the burning of the words there goes the scorching of the earth The words that used to be scrawled on the wall Are written in the heart (Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey) |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
when they march
when they march over fields of green when they march when they march over fields of green when they march when they march over fields of green walking in the wilderness no future to the question you might get a simple answer get a simple answer walking in the wilderness you're naked now just skin and sand you'll get a smile answer get a smile answer see the king see the king of happiness see the king see the king of happiness in the light in the light you can see him crawl see the king see the king of happiness walking in the wilderness no future to the question you might get a simple answer get a simple answer walking in the wilderness the endless distance you don't need to get a smile answer get a smile answer past the point of no return your like a dog without a bone so get a simple answer get a simple answer |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
The raising of children, the rearing of young
Used to be simple but look what it's become The choice of career, the proper vocation Out of your hands, all for the needs of the nation No inhibitions with the modern child Wasted lessons or pleasure or pain Easy to follow your natural instinct Easy to follow, much too hard to learn Useless expressions and sporting aggression Don't waste my time, I can't wait for the end of the session What opportunity, the modern child? Waste passion and wasted mind Some kids got no time for playtime Some kids got no time for games Some kids got no time for playtime Some kids got no time for games |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
You say times are tough
We've got the best of both worlds here Things are rough We've got the best of both worlds here Times are tough We've got the best of both worlds The real world is not as calm as it appears to be from here The old world is not as safe with the new world closing in The great south land can be as great as the one it could have been The one it could have been The real world is not as calm as it appears to be from here The small world is not as strong and the testing ground is near The old world is not as strong as the one we could have seen The great south land can be as great as the one it could have been The one it could have been We've got the best of both worlds (Hirst/Moginie) |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
Don't want to live in a prison cell
don't want to live in a smoking room, independence just won't come to you in the brief of a diplomat. Say your prayers for the future say your prayers for the past, it might be round the corner it might be all we have. Say your Prayers. Don't want to live with a compromise don't want to live with hypocrisy, bureaucracy doesn't have to win breaks the cage of the beast within. Say your prayers in the boardroom say your prayers on the stairs, it might be catastrophic it might be too damn bad. Say your prayers. I got the cure for compassion fatigue spend a week with the Timorese, running scared from the military you can share you can share your disease. Now we don't live with an absent master we don't live on an island divided, don't want my kids to grow up in shame in a country with a different name had to throw them out, had to break the chains. I got the cure for compassion fatigue spend a week with the Timorese, running scared from the military I come to you with a plaintive plea. |
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from Midnight Oil - Flat Chat (2006)
I'm on the whiskey flying, and I'll run by night
I'm on the whiskey running, and I'll run by night I'm on the winter cycle, shut my eyes to the bite I'm on the winter cycle, shake my fist at the bite I'm on the whiskey flying, and I'll run by night I'm on the phone to summer, so I'll see you on the flight My friends are at a party, playing games with the light I hate to say I'm wrong, I just know I'm right We all run by night I'm on the whiskey flying, and I'll run by night I'm on the glaze a burning, and it burns in the light I'm on a turning circle, turn my face from the bite I'm on a turning circle, hear me screaming at the bite I'm on the edge of danger, and I'll run by night I'm on the phone to summer, so I;ll see you on the flight My friends are at a party, playing games with the light I hate to say I'm wrong, I just know I'm right We all run by night (Moginie/Hirst/Rotsey) |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
(spoken)
An Exxon oil tanker (CSR Company faced tough questioning at the company's annual) From Geelong (payouts to workers affected by asbestos) Hey, hey, hey, hey (There'll be food on the table tonight) Hey, hey, hey (There'll be pay in your pocket tonight) My gut is wrenched out, it is crunched up and broken My life that is lived is no more than a token Who'll strike the flint upon the stone and tell me why? If I yell out at night there's a reply of blue silence The screen is no comfort, I can't speak my sentence They blew the lights at heaven's gate and I don't know why But if I work all day on the blue sky mine (There'll be food on the table tonight) Still I walk up and down on the blue sky mine (There'll be pay in your pocket tonight) The candy store paupers lie to the shareholders They're crossing their fingers, they pay the truth makers The balance sheet is breaking up the sky So I'm caught at the junction, still waiting for medicine The sweat of my brow keeps on feeding the engine Hope the crumbs in my pocket can keep me for another night And if the blue sky mining company won't come to my rescue If the sugar refining company won't save me Who's gonna save me? Who's gonna save me? Who's gonna save me? But if I work all day on the blue sky mine (There'll be food on the table tonight) And if walk up and down on the blue sky mine (There'll be pay in your pocket tonight) And some have sailed from a distant shore (And the company takes what the company wants) And nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground Who's gonna save me? Who's gonna save me? I pray that sense and reason brings us in Who's gonna save me? Who's gonna save me? We got nothing to fear In the end the rain comes down In the end the rain comes down Washes clean the streets of the blue sky town |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
I, I was, I was shaken down in a toy town
He, He's out there You know it's Kennedy's shadow from White Cross to Michigan ATM's, are in the air, oh yeah machines they are spinning out everywhere The speaker is speaking Can you hear the sound The listener is listening as he hits the ground The medium or the message but there's no one around I couldn't believe I couldn't believe the stars of Warburton were waiting for me We were dancing, we were dancing on the plain We're looking through the window didn't see any buffalo there We got our pipe dreams, they went up in smoke dreams Burn it clean in the climate control, of your hypermark malls Don't wanna talk about Elvis Presley Don't wanna see his white shoes walking around And around and around over here The press baron's acting up the mainframes are down Newspapers crawling around on the ground The medium or the message still there's no one around I couldn't believe I couldn't believe the stars of Warburton were waiting for me Over the hills and mountains we go, so far, so far away For the ring of the axe on the ironbark, for the smell of the wallaby stew From the golden reefs to the sandstone cliffs Came the sheep of the Mallee plain The wind blew the soil to the Orient, we'll be shouting to the skies again I couldn't believe I couldn't believe the stars of Warburton were waiting for me I couldn't believe I couldn't believe the stars of Warburton were living in me Raining down on me, were washing down on me (Moginie/Garrett) |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
In this city with no footpath there's a building with no people
There is crime and gun decisions There's a street of heat and hawkers, there's a house of hope drifters There's a gang that shoots then listens There's a place that knows no poverty, a town without pollution There's a soul with good intentions There are canyons full of movie stars, churches made of metal There are mountains made of muscle We have leaders who are anxious, we have captains not courageous Captains tumbling into madness But there's a main who makes no enemies, a body never breathless No ambition ever hopeless Up on bedlam bridge somebody is waiting Up on bedlam bridge I'm shot to heaven Oh, up on bedalm bridge, waiting In these locked and shackled neighbourhoods, bridge and tunnel diplomats See the golden ghetto's creeper Crazy flags from history, songs for the White House gangsters Guns for hellgate railway sleepers But there's a main who makes no enemies, a body never breathless No ambition ever hopeless So how stands the city on this winters night? The city on the hill or so they said The snow is falling down around the armoury The city's closing in around my head Up on bedlam bridge... Drive, won't you drive the engines harder, drive Drive, won't you turn the engines over, drive (Hirst) |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
Few of the sins of the father, are visited upon the son
Hearts have been hard, our hands have been clenched in a fist too long Our sons need never be soldiers, our daughters will never need guns These are the years between These are the years that were hard fought and won Contracts torn at the edges, old signatures stained with tears Seasons of war and peace, these should not be forgotten years Still it aches like tetanus, it reeks of politics How many dreams remain? This is a feeling too strong to contain The hardest years, the darkest years, the roarin' years, the fallen years These should not be forgotten years The hardest years, the wildest years, the desperate and divided years We will remember, these should not be forgotten years Our shoreline was never invaded, our country was never in flames This is the calm we breathe, this is a feeling too strong to contain Still it aches like tetanus, it reeks of politics Signatures stained with tears, who can remember We've got to remember The hardest years, the darkest years, the roarin' years, the fallen years These should not be forgotten years The hardest years, the wildest years, the desperate and divided years We will remember, these should not be forgotten years The hardest years, the darkest years, the roarin' years, the fallen years These should not be forgotten years The hardest years, the wildest years, the desperate and divided years We will remember, these should not be forgotten years The hardest... Forsaking aching breaking years, the time and tested heartbreak years These should not be forgotten years The blinded years, the binded years, the desperate and divided years These should not be forgotten years, remember |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
The tucker box is empty now, the heart of Kelly's country cleared
The gangers on the southern line, like the steam trains have disappeared Pelicans glide, miracles up in the sky We vote for the government, with axes in his eyes Mountains of Burma, the road to Mandalay In the mountains of Burma, light years away, mountains of Burma Will the sons of Solidarity, still march on May Day And will the sisters of the seventies, still fight for equal pay There's no on eon the Reeperbahn, no more blankets handed out for land We feed an economy, that's got blood on it's hands Mountains of Burma... Pack your bags full of guns and ammunition Bills fall due for the industrial revolution Scorch the earth till the earth surrenders Soldiers of armies, storm empty fields In a traveller's trance, on the way to the high frontier Sleepwalkers stumble, cable cars run aground Imaginary enemies, form high above the clouds In the Mountains of Burma... (Hirst) |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
Walking through the high dry grass
Pushing my way through slow Yellow belly black snake Sleeping on a red rock Waiting for the stranger to go Sugar train stops at the crossing Cane cockies cursing below Bad storm coming Better run to the top of the mountain Mountain in the shadow of light Rain in the valley below Mountain in the shadow of light Rain in the valley Well you can say you're Peter, say you're Paul Don't put me up on your bedroom wall Call me king of the mountain Blacksmith fires up the bellows Cane cutters burning the load Workers of the world Run to the top of the mountain Mountain in the shadow of light... I can't take the hands from my face There are some things we can't replace Mountain... Over liquid tarmac wastelands of cactus and heat Down cobblestone alleyways of washing day sheets Up ghost prairie mountains of sunset and space Down the road a familiar face Across the wilderness Out further than the bush I will follow you |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
So you cut all the tall trees down
You poisoned the sky and the sea You've taken what's good from the ground But you left precious little for me You remember the flood and the fall We remember the light on the hill There should be enough for us all But the dollar is driving us still River runs red Black rain falls Dust in my hand River runs red Black rain falls On my bleeding land So we came and conquered and found Richers of commons and kings Who strangled and wrestled the ground But they never put back anything Now I'm trapped like a dog in a cage Wherever the truth is pursued It must be the curse of the age What's taken is never renewed River runs red... |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
Won't you come on down the line, away from barren ground
The harlot and the autocrat, are they driving you further down The season's rhymes, they anchor me, against the raging tide Take you to the last wild place, skin and the stars they embrace A caveman could a saint become, on a hospital ward on the Somme We can dive into distant amoebas, our wings could melt in the sun I can shake, I can move, but I can't live without your love I can break, Over you, but I can't live without your love Our poet Henry Lawson, he named them, the lay'em out brigade Here they come, there they go, oh great god of development Don't really know you yet Coastline hosed down washed away, economics now there's nothing left Tomorrow's child takes concrete footsteps And theyll drink champagne or be damned And the storm is breaking now, yes the storm is crashing down (Moginie/Garrett) |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
Who'd like to change the world?
Who wants to shoot the curl? Who wants to work for bread? Who wants to get ahead? Who hands out equal rights? Who starts and ends that fight? And not rant and rave, or end up a slave. Who can make hard-won gains, fall, like the summer rain? Every man must be, what his life can be, So don't, call, me, the tune, i will walk away. Who wants to please everyone? Who says it all can be done? Still sit up on that fence no one i've heard of yet Don't call me baby, Don't talk in maybe's, Don't talk like has-beens, Sing it like it should be. Who laughs at a naggin-down(?) Lyin' on a neon shroud, runnin around, yeah You've gotta touch someone, yeah, i wanna be....... So don't, call, me, the tune, i will walk away. X4 One......country One,country One, country Who wants to sit around? (country, One) Turn it up, turn it down? (country,One) Only a man can be (country One) what his life can be! (country one) one vision (country one) One people (country one) One landmass (country one) be our defences (country one) we have a lifeline one ocean, one policy, see bad light, one passion, one movement, one instant, one difference, one life time and one understanding. (country one)Yeahhhhhh, one country, (country one)I..... tell you, its one country (country one)heyyyyyyyy (country one) Yeah one, one, one (one country) one, one, one, one country one..........(country one) one.......understanding Transgression, redemption one island blue, our place (magic), one firmament, one element, one moment, one fusion, is so on time. |
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from Midnight Oil - Blue Sky Mining (1997)
I'm a snow plough
I must now plough on I'm a snow plough I'm a settler's son I'm a storm cloud Rain myself all over the place I'm a storm cloud Wipe that smile right off your face There must be one place left in the world Where the mountains meet the sea There must be one place left in the world Where the water's real and clean I'm a landslide I'm a downhill run I'm a landslide Open season's just begun There must be one place left in the world Where the skin says it can breathe There's gotta be one place left in the world It's a solitude of distance and relief There's gotta be one place left in the world I'm a snow plough There has to be one place left in the world I'm a snow plough One place One place left in the world I'm a short fuser I'm a slow bluesr I'm a landslide hummin I'm a downhill runnin There must be one place left in this world Where we can be |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
Well I am as old as the hills And young as the day And nobody sees things In quite the same way Computers and shovels Churches and brothels Maniquins and skeletons Cities and dustbowls Here we go, here we go again Hear the clamour of the feeding pen New day, new way All my friends can say, they say We got cyclone fences In a cybernetic orchard Miracle drugs, yeah We gotta discount bulk purchase Sacred in a forest Fast food in the kiosk Cardboard dinners And the saints and the sinners I don't wanna run and hide I've seen it all from either side Truth and fiction must collide some day God knows God knows God knows It's been fun A sweet sensation The oldest temptation Now throughout the ages We've been all turning all those pages Now each generation Gotta choose a new location Gotta reach out Gotta sync up Gotta buid out Gotta get up To a stronger foundation I say, I say it again I don't wanna run and hide I've seen it all from either side Truth and fiction must collide some day God knows God knows God knows It's been fun God knows it been fun God knows it been fun God knows it been fun God knows, god knows God knows it been fun. |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
was it just a dream, were you so confused wasast ifst juts a giant leap of logic was it the time of year, that makes a state of fear methods, were their motives for the action and did i hear you say my country right or wrong did you save your face did you breach your faith women, there were children at the shelter now who can stop the hail when human senses fail there was never any warning, no escape did i hear you say my country right or wrong my country oh so strong my country going wrong my country right or wrong i hear you say the truth must take a beating the flag a camouflage for your deceiving i know we all make mistakes |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
Well I told you about the forest and trees and the chlorophyll green Yes I told you the birds will endure flutter wings dance on leaves Hold onto dreams, hold onto dreams tonight Well I told you about the high pressure cell coming down on the breeze And I know that the things you can't see they are hard to believe Hold onto dreams, hold onto dreams tonight A new world order has been formed Between the cheque book and the dawn A new renaissance man is born Renaissance man are you ready Renaissance man Renaissance man are you ready See what a world that you can make Well I heard about the spirit of life is it flickering still Yes I heard that the dark bellied angel's come running up the hill Hold onto dreans, hold onto dreams tonight Smash and grab the women and child all the souls are growing Wild stripped so bare well the universe stares it's so close to home That we got to share with you so many genuine things surround You wild weather man well it still confounds you cast away the Greed and death machine and bytes and abacus and lights And hold onto your dreams tonight So you found a hard won friend To hold your hand and hold your head A new renaissance to defend Hold onto dreams, hold onto dreams tonight Where are we going to be in 3033 what's spinning round your brain Are you a renaissance man or are you a renaissance woman If you jump out an angel will give you wings |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
In the morning we will wake up and take to the air Look back at the planet - I'm glued to my chair Southern half is burning as we climb through the sky Sea-birds softly falling, smoke way up high There's the contours of the mountains, the deserts and the plains And a hurricane is blowing, and it turns once again Now there's oil spills in the water where columbus once sailed And there's history and mystery and it's rolling away I wish you could see this great mystery Earth and sun and moon human tribe, thin blue line Eath and sun and moon will survive Sediment is plowing from river to sea Now where are the mighty nations, no lines to be seen An axe upon the broken ground, the sigh of the trees And its floating in the ether, it brings me to my knees Too messed up to care, Anyone got a wing and a prayer, In the blink of an eye Thank you and good night Earth and sun and moon human tribe, one thin blue line Earth and sun and moon will survive, will survive, we will survive |
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5:12 |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
There's a road train goin' nowhere Roads are cut,lines are down We'll be stayin' at the Roman bath 'til that monsoon passes on. The backbone of this country's broken The land is cracked and the land is sore Farmers are hangin' on by their fingertips Cursed and stumbled across that shore What for? (Refrain) I hear much support for the monarchy I hear the Union Jack still remains I see Namijira in custody and I see Truganini's in chains And the world won't stand still And the world won't stand still The blue collar work it don't get you nowhere You just go round and round in debt Sombody's got you on that treadmill,mate And I hope your not beaten yet,not yet Refrain neat solo where Peter Garrett flails around I hear much support for the monarchy I see the Union Jack in flames (Let it buuuurn) I see Namijira with dignity and I see Truganini's in chains (chain) And the world won't stand still And the world won't stand still (chains) And the world won't stand still And the world won't stand still |
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4:37 |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
In my shoes In my shoes There is so much to remind me As the stars come out above me Home Cool wind, clear my head Bright sun grow my food Strong rain clear my heart Fill my land I don't know why it is sold Don't know why it's so cold In this life that we live New day (3) In my shoes In my shoes There is so much to astound me As the whirlpool spins around me Home Busfire, burn and grow Sunset watch and rest low A long night holding child close Feed my dream I don't know why it is sold Don't know why it's so cold In this life that we live New day (4) It's so larger than life It's darker than death We're gonna move those mountains aside Here come the messages |
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5:31 |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
By the time the luminous descent of the bright star unfolds And tablets of strangelove are shattered and bruised By the time the oleander is falling from bloom And tears of the crocodile water the sun By the time you make up your mind I ever you do I hear the drums of heaven too By the time you make up your mind I ever you do I hear the drums of heaven too By the time paradise alley is littered with rust And the arc of dayglo is curtained in gloom, By the time kidney bone cities are bcrumbling to dust And the empires and all of the mirates burn Ice on the mountain Wind and the dust storm Sails in the desert It's old and exploding Seers and the prophets Drums of heaven |
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5:14 |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
The world is crashing down on me tonight The world is crashing down on me tonight The walls are closing in on me tonight The walls are closing in on me tonight 'Cos I know this is the end of the Beginning of the outbreak of love The stars come falling down on me tonight The stars come falling down on me tonight Sharks are coming up to feed I believe it's time to move Divers coming up to breathe But I'm not in the mood |
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4:42 |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
My grandfather went down with the Montevideo The rising sun sent him floating to his rest And his wife fled south to Sydney seeking out safe harbour A north shore matron she became with some paying guests My father went down with the curse of big cities Traffic tolls and deadlines took him to his peace Now Bob Dyer glued us to our seats And lawns were always victa neat Whilst menzies fawned at royal feet do you remember In the valley I walk I took some comfort there In the valley I walk cold comfort I can hear you talk In the valley I walk - who will take me there When my mother went down it was a stiff arm from Hades Life surprises and tears you like the southerly She always welcomed the spring always welcomed the stranger I don't see too many around like this Oh no, that's what I'm looking for, year, what we're looking for In the valley I walk who will take me there In the valley I walk cold comfort I can hear you talk In the valley I walk I took some comfort there In the valley I walk oh rough justice I hear you talk In the valley I walk to meet my water shed I hope virtue brings its own reward And I hope the pen is mightier than any sword I hope the kids will take it slow I hope my country claims its own In the valley I walk I cried yes I cried I was down then I crawled Mercy's arms all around me when I was down there In the valley I walk do you read me they can hear me in the valley |
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4:07 |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
I believe we're crossing the great ravine Still yearning half-way a stranger I believe in our multiplicity still part-blind no reason for anger I believe we pull up our roots and retreat A new crop of aerials in Dacca and Canberra Why won't you tell me the truth about you Vaseline, you smeared it across every scene Anchor-man drowns in a sea of sensation Tyranny crushing the young bird's seed Halloween's mate short fuse of the banker We're all spores but we're never eunuchs love's one the loose Deflect the short tunics and the cameras ruse there's no judgement In ignorance I say Some people tell me stories wasting all my time Some trying not receiving someone else's lies It's my time, yes it's my time |
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5:22 |
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from Midnight Oil - Earth And Sun And Moon (2002)
I grew tall in this lucky land And I thank god for that, but there's needles in the sand Ozone in eucalypt and on the steppes tonight There's pushing and a shoving on the throne tonight It's a rhythm of the sea Lost islands of hope It's a rhythm of the sea Who will discover you But I won't be down at heel cos my senses lead me here Dream a South Pacific dream of now or never land It's now or never land Rises in rivers in power of the sun Rises in sea level look out Mammon's bastard son Infidels are praying at the stock exchange Chrome camels are crashing on the smooth terrain It's the rhythm of the sea Lost islands of hope It's the rhythm of the sea Someon to carry you But I won't be down at heel cos my sense lead me here Dream a South Pacific dream of now or never land Suitcase full of good ideas history that's filled with tears Kill nostalgia, xenophobic fears It's now or never land Chant |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
I don't want to run I don't want to stay
Cos everything that's near and dear is old And in the way Emergency has gone, apathy rolling on Time to take a stand Redneck wonderland Got you in my sights, spotlit by the fence If it's love you're faking it's just common sense Brick and tile for miles, rolling in the aisles Rifle in my hand Redneck wonderland Well the streets are clean, nothing gets away I can see the beauty treatment draining from Your face It is vision free, It's poor bugger me Something less than grand Redneck wonderland |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
In the city the heart still whispers
Flaking metal a silent witness There's chemical fields and cathode clouds The milky way is emasculated as exhaust fans And smart cards shrink wrap the coloured air And send it coughing to eternity We can see the bright light but we can't reach it We are not afraid enough to call Go back wrong way you cannot stay you cannot live here Concrete you don't free my soul In the city the sound is biting Cement fingers they are clutching The emissary of trash decorates the way No wild acres you can see, yearning to breathe Concrete you don't free my soul Blackened hands and heart of steel, No wish to consume, embellish, discard and expire Concrete you don't free my soul Concrete you don't free my soul |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
Locked in the mall in a state of fright
Looking for salvation in a car headlight But you can't have what you can't buy Tomorrow is better than yesterday, Tomorrow is better than today, Tomorrow is better than yesterday they say Cemetery in my mind Cemetery in my mind This must be my time Wake work drink sleep retire Tide comes up way too high You can fall but can you rise Cemetery in my mind, You can fall but can you rise There's no pulse no sign of life, Cemetery in my mind. |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
Comfortable suburban home
Too afraid to go out on your own Comfortable place on the couch Natures a stranger keep it out Haul away So you got coastline for fence It could be your first line of defence You'll never be ready for this Ignorance is bliss haven't you heard Haul away Give me your sermon on the mount Give me your final account Your house is so blissfully calm I'll bury you down at the farm Haul away They say the truth is what you see I know the truth is what you feel |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
Hanging on like hell to the safety chain
Lifebuoy crash lands in a vale of tears All the lovers are in retreat Out on the edge of the nervous street So deaf to the call of the wild Deaf to the first born's whispering plea Expanding frame the city is in heat Burning at the edges of the lonely street But I want to hold your precious head I will not leave you nor pretend I'm going to hold you to the end Hey mama didn't know we'd end up here The snapshot is all tiles and red walls Down at the squatter's camps they cannot compete The shepherd has been bound up by his hands and his feet Make love make peace make haste it's a slow release Great changes gonna carry you Make love make peace make haste it's a slow release Great changes gonna carry you |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
Well I want to return to my sender
Well I want to return There is so much that I can't remember But there's so much to choose We are laying the tracks for the company Across all space and all time Any insinkerator will remind you What can happen to you There's a billboard as high as a mountain Neon lights up the hill Cast no shadow and leave no traces We are grist for the mill Hold me control me into the arms we fall Sugar the future sale of the century Trying to turn the world around Trying to turn the world around I've come to turn your world around. |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
Welcome stranger listen in
The presumption of innocence was buried again Carve up-selloff Triumphalism gotta be a curse or even worse It's inherited it's recurring, oh God I have walked I have swum I've hitchhiked and I've run do you know what I mean I have sat with my beer in the EH drive in do you Know what I've seen The triumphalist and narcissist are joined ear And hip and phone They're worshipping their chrome Carve up-selloff Some people speak with chainsaw tongue, Some just golden arches smile Some relish others suffering, some just run and hide I have dreamed I have schemed I have made Myself clean do you know what I mean I have sat I have strayed got caught up And I prayed do you know what I've seen The story's just the same but the ending it can change He wants to build a monument it's everlasting in cement It's cellular recombinant he is not lite he will not die Carve up-selloff Gonna pick up all the pieces they're available from species With all the goat and all the sheep and all the Human bits and pieces but he'll make you Sign the dna releases ... welcome ... In the year of the reign of the real citizen kane, Wilkommen, the squeeze is on, it's a falling down on thou & I ... |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
I was asleep with both eyes open
Dream freeze sprinklers in the sun Beer soaked mansions block the sky, Dingos howl and white flags fly The future's put on hold and you're still young But I know seeing is believing I can't believe what I'm seeing I was crying with both eyes open But now all is quiet on dripfeed lottery night Curse the dugong, free the jet ski, Suckling babies at the eski Invite the looters back the price is right. |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
Yeah, whatcha gonna do now, now that you started?
Whatcha gonna do now, now that it's done? The words got out there, they float around and are coming right back down. You gonna leave us lying here Dealing with the consequences of a bad sound Of a bad sound. White skin black heart White skin black heart Whatcha gonna do now, that it's spoken? These words of a habit, have not faded away. .................... it clear, conscious gets opened like a wound. If you can't concieve a better line and better times, Then let silence bury you, in the end. When you feel it, when you feel it You're condemned. You see, you've lost your strangle on the freedom road! You think ........................of something a long time ago! You [spewed it out you were so] insecure! It was like ............. on the toilet floor! You're a [nine seat] drunk, ............... and you say you want something, .......... you heard the rednecks roaring for blood and then they wanted more! Life was so small, you couldn't get enough. You made a start. White skin black heart Dripping, White skin black heart White skin black heart White skin black heart White skin black heart Drag your eyes from [aurora] black heart! White skin black heart Drag your leg, get outta here [my sight]! White skin black heart White skin black heart White skin black heart White skin black heart You didn't have to start White skin black heart White skin black heart |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
One thing's for sure
That it's still the same That young folk die For some noble aim And they live so fast But they die so young And we just keep wondering What the hell went wrong Yeah, they live so fast But they die so young And we just keep wondering What goes on It's such a shame Such a useless shame That they have to play Such a hopeless game And it makes me shake Makes me shake with rage For the wasted lives For nothing gained Coz they die so fast And they die so young And we just keep wondering What goes on? What goes on? What goes on? What goes on? You tell me what goes on? What goes on? What goes on? You got a good thing before You got everything to live for Ain't nothing you want to die for No, no, nothing at all Coz you live so fast But you die so young And we just keep wondering wondering, wondering |
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from Midnight Oil - Redneck Wonderland (1999)
Here comes the olive branch man
He'll press it any way he can He tries so hard to understand Here comes the tired statesman Heavy lidded bearded nowhere left to land He makes the jigsaw fit With a hammer in his hand It's just a drop in the ocean Here comes the nightmare man He's got the numbers bottom line and sleight of hand He's smiling everywhere he can with feeling For every fallen soldier every grain of sand It's just a drop in the ocean |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
Scanning at the blue bended headlands
White flurry scudded, a dark silhouette flashes by, in the wet It is glistening flesh In the deep marine, in the deep marine There is room for make believe out in the ocean There is room for make believe out on the land In the wet, in the dream, if its flashing then seen In the deep marine, in the deep marine Looking to the white framed headland Green pockets dropping, a bright cockatoo Circles up in the breeze, in the realm you can't reach In the deep marine, in the deep marine There is room for make believe out in the ocean There is room for make believe out on the land In the west, crashes by, its a green silhouette In the deep marine, in the deep marine No one can make her, no one can break her down Underwater, over land No one can make her, no one can break her Underwater, over land No one can make her, no one can break her She is what she is and no one can bring her down, bring her down Looking to the white framed headland Green pockets dropping a bright cockatoo Circles up in the breeze, in the realm you can't reach In the deep marine, in the deep marine There is room for make believe out in the ocean There is room for make believe out on the land In the wet, flashes by, its a green silhouette In the deep marine, in the deep marine No one can make her, no one can break her Underwater, overland No one can break her, no one can fake her She it what she is and no one can bring her down, bring her down Underwater, overland No one can squeeze her, no one can freeze her now No one can make her, no one can break her down No one can seize her, no one can freeze her She is what she is and you've got to see it |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
Wherever the wind blows
When it blows over the sea The moon's sitting high Waves will rise Water shapes Waves will take you, take you there Surf's up tonight Summers on hold It will go running away You've gotta move now Get inside Take that dive Get inside today Surf's up tonight Now I was lonely And you were too I met you down at the waterline Now there's something we can do Now there's something left to do Oh yeah Surf's up tonight Wherever you are When you're coming over land There's a place where you can throw it away There's a place you can forget You get wet, it's free You get high, you're alive Surf's up tonight Come on up tonight Surf's up tonight |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
COMMON GROUND
THESE ARE NOT DISPASSIONATE WORDS OF THE COOL / THE HEADLINE STILL RULES THE EDITOR'S A FOOL / SHALL WE DOUSE OUT THE FLAMES OR WILL EVERYBODY FUSE / AND LEAVE US STRANDING HERE TOMORROW / I HEARD A CALLING OUT. A CRY FROM THE HEART / FROM THE TOWNS OF CEMENT AND NO BEAUTY / A WHISPER IT TURNED HOWL. MAN HE DIDN'T KNOW / HE WAS STANDING WAITING FOR TOMORROW / NOTHING'S LEFT NOTHING'S FOUND THERE MUST BE SOME COMMON GROUND / NOTHING'S LEFT NOTHING'S FOUND THERE MUST BE SOME COMMON GROUND / I COULD NEVER FIGURE THE CALENDARS FLOW / NOR CAN I WORK OUT HOW THE WILD WIND BLOWS / BUT WE'RE READY FROM WITHIN AND WE'RE STARTING TO GO / AWAY FROM THE PLACE OF NO TOMORROW / NOTHING'S LEFT NOTHING'S FOUND THERE MUST BE SOME COMMON GROUND / NOTHING'S LEFT NOTHING'S FOUND THERE MUST BE SOME COMMON GROUND / OH THE WRECKING FIELDS ARE A TERRIBLE PLACE. WITH A SULPHUROUS SMELL AND A FRIGHTENING PACE AND THE HOOK GOES IN EARLY AND THE CRITIC IS KING AND IT'S HARD TO STAY HUMAN AND STAND IN THE RING / THERE'S NO TIME TO BE ABSENT, A CLOWN OR A FOOL / WHILE SHYLOCK IS SMILING WE'RE LOADED LIKE MULES / IF WE SURRENDER OURSELVES TO INDUSTRIAL RULES / WE'LL WAKE UP IN THE WRECKAGE OF TOMORROW/ NOW / NOTHING'S LEFT NOTHING'S FOUND THERE MUST BE SOME COMMON GROUND / NOTHING'S LEFT / SOMETHING'S FOUND CAN WE SEE SOME COMMON GROUND |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
In the cities and the towns
The word is coming down No more doubt, no more pain There's been a dragging of the chain Now there's a price we gotta pay No way out, no way round Where is the town that we lived in, brother? Where is the sound of the church bells, sister? Now is the time to heal You keep running from the wheel But there? nothing left to feel Empty heart down and out Now the writer? can? explain Why we?e playing up again No way out, no way down Where is the hope of a clean tomorrow? Hope only offers when justice is coming Now is the time to heal Where is the ground, the beloved country? Women and men who have fallen silent Where are the words that can speak forgiveness? Now is the time Now is the time Now is the time to heal |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
On the fringes of torso and lips
Straining to hear the voice of gospel choir Pummelled plains and beaten fields We?e never broken in spirit within But I feel like we?e coming around Yes, I feel like we?e coming around Tell me Cloud burst teeming, insect wave and bite Yes it? true, we are not alone TV silence it? a narrow entrance It? a sometimes leading into future time But I feel like we?e coming around Yes, I feel like we?e coming around I feel like we?e coming around Sins of omission, no love Sins of omission I heard it once before in shepherd? isolation Over the horizon in blue and white now, now Now overcome you can outrun it When the roarings cease and the right stuff weaves and fits into your life And I feel like we?e coming around Yes I feel like I? coming around, tell me Sins of omission, no love Sins |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
She was the golden summer wine
And now she? black and blue resigned He took advantage like the spider, helpless One too many times You had to go ahead and sing You had to steal that diamond ring Upon the headstone so inscribed, they cried One too many times We are so human, we?e so small We?e always coming back for more A second helping third and fourth, it? gone One too many times One too many times |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
Hope you?e a God, your turn to pray
Hope you've a God, it's your turn to pray Light on the hill so far away The light on the hill is so far away Boy, where are you now With skin so brown, get out of town Star of Hope, star of Glory Shine upon this half made man To himself, he begs, steals or borrows But you won't be seeing him again Hope you've a God it's your turn to pray Hope you've a God it's your turn to pray Light on the hill is so far away Sign on the hill says it's the judgment day Howl, where are you now Words fly around, get out of town Star of Hope, star of Glory Shine upon this half made man Blinded by, a new tomorrow You wont be seeing him again Howl, where are you now Where skin's so brown, get out of town Star of Hope, star of Glory Shining on this a frying pan To yourself if there's some tomorrow You wont be needing me again Star of Hope, star of Glory Shine upon me if you can To myself, beg, steal and borrow You wont be seeing me again |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
Sorry I am for the hurt I caused
Grieving I still do over careless words As I move freely to a place The debris I left behind comes back into my day Out of time disconnected Plagued by senses sweet desire, out of time Out of time deluded I plunged my hand into the mother load of love In the rain calling out his name, I call, yes I call In the rain falls on my shame it falls, yes it falls In the rain Life picked me up this morning and thrust me to the world Like a child I? hurtled forward Dreaming things anew, sights I see sound true All the places, open faces gracing everything I view In the rain falls on my shame I call,yes I call In the rain falling on my shame I call yes, I call In the rain calling out his name, I fall, yes I fall In the rain |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
Here comes the angel of death
You may not remember her yet Concrete all over her face Child bride of the human race Until you see life in the forest Until you hear you?e been abolished Forget everything that you think you?e been promised Bring on the change Sunscreen all over your face Chatswood wasn? built in a day Mysteries are in this game, I say Shine on, take me away Heads in the bank, hearts in the closet Soul? out to lunch, will soon be upon us We believe everything that we see, let? be honest And bring on the change Lift up your eyes, look to the heavens Could be a sign, or a seven-eleven Some day we?l see everything they?e been selling Bring on the change c?on, c?on Bring on the change, I say You gotta bring on the change |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
There is a place I was born
It is a place I?e never seen Don? even know where it is Don? even know my name Where is home, where is my home? I? searching far and wide It? a bastard song It is the feeling that everything? wrong We are alive, we that have wings We have devices can do anything, I say Where is home, where is my home? I hear my spirit cry If you?e out of transmission, way out on the road If you?e out of commission I can, give you the code Darkness is coming and it? in your command Time to be moving, time There is a town I was born Now there? a place I?e got to call home Where is home, where is my home? I? searching far and wide, oh yeah Where is home, where is my home? I hear my spirit cry It? in the clear blue sky |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
There is a place we're coming to
It is not green it is not blue I hope that you understand The devil was a dancing on the old foreshore Hitting up on bright lights and the liquor stores Save me, please save me We got to prick that bubble in the shopping arcade Gonna make amends for the things we've said I do hope that you understand Dirty washing on the line, footsteps in the sand Whose gonna lead us on to some promised land Save me The devil was a dancing on the old foreshore Hitting up on bright lights and the liquor stores Yeah tell me, please save me The land lives longer if we listen to the earth beat Lives go forward if we listen to the hearts speak Seasons won't falter, stars won't fade away I know Gonna find myself a place in the country Wake up and reach out and breathe real air Do you know how it feels clean tissue no scars Dirty washing on the line, footsteps in the sand Whose gonna lead us onto some kind of promised land Save me Devil was a dancing on the old foreshore Hitting up on bright lights and the cut price the liquor stores I say The land lives longer if we listen to our hearts speak Lives go forward if we listen to the earth beat Seasons won't falter, stars won't fade away Fade away They won't fade away |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
I am gone, can't waste more time
I said, not quite joking The fire has gone the big trees stand The underground is smoking Remember nothing you've been told Means anything to me And everything you hold is mine In the barest degree I walked up to the park The lion rock was weeping I walked on to the grave The lizard king was sleeping Remember nothing you've been told... The day's draw long, too long to count Cushioned by the wasting Restless age, the rusted temple A place of my own making No matter what else you've been told It's still all up to me And everything you own, is mine In the barest degree, in the barest degree |
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from Midnight Oil - Breathe (1998)
Skating down the street just beware;
people dropping dirt bombs everywhere. when you smell that asphalt grin and you feel it burn your skin Its gravelrash! burning on your ass Gravelrash. stay away from those cheap mopeds dangerous on the road protect your head enjoy the sun the beach and the smiles beware the sand on the corner arhh! Burning my ass its gravelrash yeah! woo hoo hooo! alright! Gravelrash. Goodnight. |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
Come and see the real thing
Come and see the real thing Come and see Come and see the real thing Come and see the real thing Come and see Is there a meaning here Is there a meaning here Does it really mean a thing? Come and see the real thing Come and see the real thing Come and see I am the real thing Ooh mow mow mow mow... Tryin hard to understand it Tryin hard to make things real Tryin hard to understand it But the real things just so sweet But there's a meaning here If there's a meaning here Does it really mean a thing? Come and see the real thing Come and see the real thing Come and see... I am the real thing Ooh mow mow mow mow I am not seeing I am not feeling I... Tryin hard to make things happen Well it's the way it's always been Tryin hard to make things happen When the real thing can be so thin Is there a meaning here Is there a meaning here Does it really mean a thing Come and see the real thing Come and see the real thing Come and see... I am the real thing Ooh mow mow mow mow... I am not seeing I am not feeling I... Ooh mow mow mow mow |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
Don't want to live in a prison cell
don't want to live in a smoking room, independence just won't come to you in the brief of a diplomat. Say your prayers for the future say your prayers for the past, it might be round the corner it might be all we have. Say your Prayers. Don't want to live with a compromise don't want to live with hypocrisy, bureaucracy doesn't have to win breaks the cage of the beast within. Say your prayers in the boardroom say your prayers on the stairs, it might be catastrophic it might be too damn bad. Say your prayers. I got the cure for compassion fatigue spend a week with the Timorese, running scared from the military you can share you can share your disease. Now we don't live with an absent master we don't live on an island divided, don't want my kids to grow up in shame in a country with a different name had to throw them out, had to break the chains. I got the cure for compassion fatigue spend a week with the Timorese, running scared from the military I come to you with a plaintive plea. |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
Spirit of the Age
There is an SOS of real distress, baby tears at the best address Ambulance chasers won't confess, sun comes up and you're stuck The ones and the zeros are flushing your pores, You've been flamed in the dark and you're feeling sore The dripfeed rattle lures the innocent cattle It is the only job in town Yeah I know Spirit of the Age is coming home Here it comes A 747 is landing on your head A hand reaches out and you find you're dead Scared of the tarot and scared of the score But you went in deep cos you needed more But Karma is a boomerang and here it comes again Feels like the country is a going round the bend Yeah I know Spirit of the Age is coming home There were a few blue singlets at the garage sale No-one was cheering at the treasures they were clearing Desperate fictions are in my book Howl of the dashboard culture that shook But Karma is a boomerang it's bound some down again Feels like the country is just a going round the bend Yeah I know spirit of the Age is coming home (J.Moginie/P.Garrett - Midnight Oil) |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
Well I'm as old as the hills
And young as the day Nobody sees things, in quite the same way Computers and shovels, churches and brothels Mannequins and skeletons, cities and dustbowls Here we go here we go again Hear the clamour of the feeding pen New day new way all my friends can say Cyclone fences in the cybernetic orchard Miracle drugs, discount bulk purchase Sacred in the forest, fast food in the kiosk Cardboard dinners and the saints and the sinners I don't want to run and hide I've seen it all from either side Truth and fiction must collide someday God knows, God knows, God knows it's been fun Ah, sweet sensation, the oldest temptation Now throughout the ages, we've been a' turning all those pages Now each generation you've got to choose a new location Got to reach out, got to sync up, build up, get up, to a stronger foundation God knows, God knows, God knows it's been fun (Garrett/Moginie) |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
I believe we're crossing the great ravine
Still yearning half way a stranger I believe in our multiplicty Still part-blind no reason for anger I believe we pull up our roots and retreat A new crop of aerials in Dacca and Canberra Why don't you tell me the truth about you Vaseline, you smeared it across every scene Anchor-man drowns in a sea of sensation Tyranny, crushing the young bird's seed Hallowe'en's mate, short fuse of the banker We're all spores but we're never eunuchs Love's on the loose deflect the short tunic And the cameras ruse There's no judgement in ignorance I say Some people tell me stories, wasting all my time Some trying not receiving someone else's lies It's my time, yes it's my time (Moginie/Garrett) |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
We don't serve your country
Don't serve your king Know your custom don't speak your tongue White man came took everyone We don't serve your country Don't serve your king White man listen to the songs we sing White man came took everything We carry in our hearts the true country And that cannot be stolen We follow in the steps of our ancestry And that cannot be broken We don't serve your country Don't serve your king Know your custom don't speak your tongue White man came took everyone We don't need protection Don't need your hand Keep your promise on where we stand We will listen we'll understand We carry in our hearts the true country And that cannot be stolen We follow in the steps of our ancestry And that cannot be broken We carry in our hearts the true country And that cannot be stolen We follow in the steps of our ancestry And that cannot be broken Mining companies, pastoral companies Uranium companies Collected companies Got more right than people Got more say than people Forty thousand years can make a difference to the state of things The dead heart lives here |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
I'm gonna wait for the moment to come
I'm gonna wait till we all stop from running Boxed in like candles, polar bear pride Turning to terror as the script is read out Unwilling actors, accomplished protractors will shout I'm gonna wait till we reach the sky Tin legs and tin mines, anyone cries Cry in the hope that there'll be tomorrow Waiting around there must be a time Time to start thinking and working it out Come with me now, come with me now, we'll be laughing Who's running the world today? I'm gonna wait till they knock on my door I'm gonna wait till they dig up the floor boards Poland in Disneyland, wet dream control Super computer, the new contraband I'm gonna wait, we must make a stand Come with me now, stand with me now one more time (Rotsey/Moginie/Garrett) |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
Conquistador of Mexico
The Zulu and the Navaho The Belgians in the Congo Plantation in Virginia The Raj in British India The deadline in South Africa The story of El Salvador The silence of Hiroshima Destruction of Cambodia Short memory, must have a short memory The sight of hotels by the Nile The designated Hilton style With running water specially bought A smallish man Afghanistan A watch dog in a nervous land They're only there to lend a hand The friendly five a dusty smile Wake up in a sweat at dead of night And in the tents new rifles, hey, short memory Short memory, must have a short memory |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
My grandfather went down with the MonteVideo
The rising sun sent him floating to his rest And his wife fled south to Sydney seeking out safe harbour A North Shore matron she became with some paying guests My father went down with the curse of big cities Traffic tolls and deadlines took him to his peace Now Bob Dyer glued us to our seats And lawns were always Victa neat Whilst Menzies fawned at royal fleet do you remember? In the valley I walk, I took some comfort there In the valley I walk, cold comfort I can hear you talk In the valley I walk, who will take me there? When my mother went down it was a stiff arm from Hades Life surprises and tears you like the southerly She always welcomed the spring always welcomed the stranger I don't see too many around like this Oh no, that's what I'm looking for, yeah, what we're looking for In the valley I walk - who will take me there In the valley I walk - cold comfort I can hear you talk In the valley I walk - I took some comfort there In the valley I walk - oh rough justice I hear you talk In the valley I walk - to meet my watershed I hpoe virtue brings it's own reward And I hope the pen is mightier than any sword I hpoe the kids will take it slow I hope my country claims it's own In the valley I walk - I cried yes I cried I was down then I crawled Mercy's arms all around me when I was down there In the valley I walk - do you read me they can hear me in the valley (Moginie/Garrett/Hirst) |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
(spoken)
An Exxon oil tanker (CSR Company faced tough questioning at the company's annual) From Geelong (payouts to workers affected by asbestos) Hey, hey, hey, hey (There'll be food on the table tonight) Hey, hey, hey (There'll be pay in your pocket tonight) My gut is wrenched out, it is crunched up and broken My life that is lived is no more than a token Who'll strike the flint upon the stone and tell me why? If I yell out at night there's a reply of blue silence The screen is no comfort, I can't speak my sentence They blew the lights at heaven's gate and I don't know why But if I work all day on the blue sky mine (There'll be food on the table tonight) Still I walk up and down on the blue sky mine (There'll be pay in your pocket tonight) The candy store paupers lie to the shareholders They're crossing their fingers, they pay the truth makers The balance sheet is breaking up the sky So I'm caught at the junction, still waiting for medicine The sweat of my brow keeps on feeding the engine Hope the crumbs in my pocket can keep me for another night And if the blue sky mining company won't come to my rescue If the sugar refining company won't save me Who's gonna save me? Who's gonna save me? Who's gonna save me? But if I work all day on the blue sky mine (There'll be food on the table tonight) And if walk up and down on the blue sky mine (There'll be pay in your pocket tonight) And some have sailed from a distant shore (And the company takes what the company wants) And nothing's as precious as a hole in the ground Who's gonna save me? Who's gonna save me? I pray that sense and reason brings us in Who's gonna save me? Who's gonna save me? We got nothing to fear In the end the rain comes down In the end the rain comes down Washes clean the streets of the blue sky town |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
U.S. forces give the nod
It's a setback for your country Bombs and trenches all in rows Bombs and threats still ask for more Divided world the CIA Who controls the issue You leave us with no time to talk You can write your own assessment Sing me songs of no denying Seems to me too many trying Waiting for the next big thing Will you know it when you see it High risk children dogs of war Now market movements call the shots Business deals in parking lots Waiting for the meat of tomorrow Everyone is too stoned to start emission People too scared to go to prison We're unable to make decisions Political party line don't cross that floor L. Ron Hubbard can't save your life Superboy takes a plutonium wife In the shadows of Ban the Bomb we live Sing me songs of no denying Seems to me too many trying Waiting for the next big thing |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
There is enough for everyone
In Redfern as there is in Alice This is not the Buckingham Palace This is the crown land This is the brown land This is not our land Some folks live in water tanks Some folks live in red brick flats There is enough, the law is carved in granite It's been shaped by wind and rain White law could be wrong Black law must be strong Warakurna, cars will roll Don't drink by the water hole Court fines on the shopfront wall Beat the grog and save your soul Some people laugh, some never learn This land must change or land must burn Some people sleep, some people yearn This land must change or land must burn Diesel and dust is what we breathe This land don't change and we don't leave Some people live, some never die This land don't change this land must lie Some people leave, always return This land must change or land must burn Warakurna, camels roam Fires are warm and dogs are cold Not since Lassiter was here Black man's got a lot to fear Some people laugh some never learn This land must change or land must burn Some people leave, always return This land must change or land must burn |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
There's a road train going nowhere
Roads are cut, lines are down We'll be staying at the Roma bar Till that monsoon passes on The backbone of this country's broken The land is cracked and the land is sore Farmers are hanging on by their fingertips We cursed and stumbled across that shore I hear much support for the monarchy I hear the Union Jack's to remain, I see Namatjira in custody I see Truganini's in chains And the world won't stand still Blue collar work it don't get you nowhere You just go round and round in debt Somebody's got you on that treadmill, mate And I hope you're not beaten yet I hear much support for the monarchy I see the Union Jack in flames, let it burn I see Namatjira with dignity I see Truganini's in chains And the world won't stand still And the world won't stand still Chains... And the world won't stand still And the world won't stand still |
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from Midnight Oil - The Real Thing (2000)
The Last Of The Diggers
Who will march for peace Now that the last of the diggers has gone All those who were released From Sulva Bay and from the Somme The Mallee is whipped by sand A great new silence blankets the land We sure need the Stone Age In the coming century Who will feed the poor Now that the Saint of the gutters is gone Who will hear the call You lately come or native born For the touch of the Master's hand The eye of the Master still watches the lamb We sure need the Stone Age In the coming century The last of the diggers The last of the diggers The last of the diggers The last of the diggers has won Who gets sent to war Who'll lose a child to a foreign coast Who will leave our shore And come home rattling like a ghost This country can be cruel It'll leave you with scars that never heal We sure need the Stone Age in the coming century Still gonna need some Stone Age in the coming century The last of the diggers The last of the diggers The last of the diggers The last of the diggers has won (Rob Hirst - Midnight Oil) |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
Out where the river broke
the bloodwood and the desert oak Holden wrecks and boiling diesels steam in forty five degrees The time has come to say fair's fair to pay the rent to pay our share The time has come a fact's a fact it belongs to them let's give it back How can we dance when our earth is turning how do we sleep while our beds are burning Four wheels scare the cockatoos from Kintore East to Yuendemu the western desert lives and breathes in forty five degrees |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
Under the waterline
No place to retire To another time The eyes of the world now turn And if we think about it And if we talk about it And if the skies go dark with rain Can you tell me does our freedom remain Put down that weapon or we'll all be gone You can't hide nowhere with the torchlight on And it happens to be an emergency Some things aren't meant to be Some things don't come for free Above the waterline Point the finger yeah point the bone It's the harbour towns That the grey metal ships call home And if we think about it And if we talk about it And if the sea goes boiling black Can you tell me what you'll do about that Put down that weapon or we'll all be gone I must know something to know it's so wrong And it happens to be an emergency Some things aren't meant to be Some things don't come for free They keep talking about it They keep talking... Put down that weapon or we'll all be gone You must be crazy if you think you're strong |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
The Breakfast Creek Hotel is up for sale
The last square mile of terra firma gavelled in the mail So farewell to the Norfolk Island pines No amount of make believe can help this heart of mine [Chorus] End - your dreamworld is just about to end Fall - your dreamworld is just about to fall Your dreamworld will fall So shut that buckle and turn that key again Take me to a place they say the dreaming never ends Open wide drive that mistery road Walk through Eden's garden and then wander as you go Chorus Sign says honeymoon to rent Cloudland into dreamland turns The sun comes up and we all learn Those wheels must turn |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
I don't wanna grow anything in my heart
I don't want to write all these things in the sand I don't want to listen and not understand I don't want to tramp up the footpath of stars Don't want to be an advocate Don't want to be a monument There is nothing that grows in your arctic world I don't want to breathe that Smithsonian air I don't want to listen when they toll the bell 'Cos I can't take another industrial feast On the ground, on my back, out there I want to meet the president Of a country without sense There is nothing that grows in his arctic world There is nothing that grows in your arctic world There is nothing that grows in this arctic world |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
There is enough for everyone
In Redfern as there is in Alice This is not the Buckingham Palace This is the crown land This is the brown land This is not our land Some folks live in water tanks Some folks live in red brick flats There is enough, the law is carved in granite It's been shaped by wind and rain White law could be wrong Black law must be strong Warakurna, cars will roll Don't drink by the water hole Court fines on the shopfront wall Beat the grog and save your soul Some people laugh, some never learn This land must change or land must burn Some people sleep, some people yearn This land must change or land must burn Diesel and dust is what we breathe This land don't change and we don't leave Some people live, some never die This land don't change this land must lie Some people leave, always return This land must change or land must burn Warakurna, camels roam Fires are warm and dogs are cold Not since Lassiter was here Black man's got a lot to fear Some people laugh some never learn This land must change or land must burn Some people leave, always return This land must change or land must burn |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
The lord is my temple
God is by my side You pay rates on that temple Build materials at the side He gives reasons To get through the day He doesn't have rinse action He just says Whoah - oh Don't wanna see you back here again Girls are not smiling The stars have gone out The man with the landslide Got his head in the ground Like an unopened letter Left under the door He says I am the answer you're looking for Whoah - oh Don't wanna see you back here again Above we dream in the Androporosphere Who maintains the drunken machinery Before we dream of a time When those men come from West Point |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
In the desert in the dry
Before the breaking of the rain The temperature in the shade Had reached a hundred and ten again In the desert in the dry On the overland telegraph line Don't take the law into your own hands Don't go looking for a fight I've heard the bullroarers In the desert in the dry Sun sits so high Long day's mile and the Radio crackles and the bones bleached white It's a knock-em-down storm See the tin roof shake Wild dog howls and the long grass Whistles and the tall trees break I've seen the wild horses I've heard the bullroarers I've seen the wild horses Shifting sands and broken plans Lead me on to my homeland |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
Let's begin, I am ready, let's begin
Sell my soul to him Shed my skin, I just wanna shed my skin I don't wanna sell my soul to him Mechanize, city bursts and farmers die They cry Sleep face down in a goods train heading south in the rain In this world I often think you'd understand me In these words I often think you'd recognise me 'cos I just wanna swim with the fish in the sea and I want faith to heal so that I can be clean America's great now If you don't talk back You hide your face Crawl and rubble, And smile and small That snails-paced creature Going up and down walls Celebrate, I just want to celebrate I'm not going to sell my soul to him When you look right in |
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from Midnight Oil - Diesel And Dust (1997)
I know that the sunset empire shudders and shakes
I know there's a floodgate and a raging river I say the silence of the ribbons of iron and steel I say hear the punch drunk huddle drive hammer and steel Sometimes you're beaten to the call Sometimes you're taken to the wall But you don't give in I know that the cannibals wear smart suits and ties I know they arm wrestle on the altar I say don't leave your heart in a hard place Sometimes you're shaken to the core Sometimes the face is gonna fall But you don't give in |
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| from Deadicated: A Tribute To The Grateful Dead [omnibus] (1991) | |||||
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