1. |
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If God exists it seems the world is really ending
The sky is red with flame and now there is a plague
I’m still completely stunned, when you said this year would be different
I should have asked you what that meant
Somehow the days dripped into weeks, slipped into seasons
But in here it’s like it’s twilight all the time
Now that the city is oh so quiet
And the sirens fill the air with a bitter cry
It’s a Strange Time
Now I'm locked down in my home
Just scrolling on my phone
I’m trying to fathom the tragedy now and hereafter
Everybody’s been saying how they need to take a break
We got more than we bargained for this time
It’s a Strange Time
It ain't play time
Locked down in my home
Practicing the saxophone
The neighbours ain't happy but then again who’s really happy?
Now’s the time to do all the things that you’ve been putting off
Like pray to your maker that everything will be alright
It is peaceful and uneasy in the evening
I lean out my window sill and sip my glass of wine
Now all of the towns and the cities are oh so quiet
Can you feel us all looking up at that distant sky?
In a Strange Time
It ain't play time
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2. |
Spring
06:46
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Sun you rose up early this morning
Rose so much higher than you usually do
I just stared out my window, looking at you
Spring was here again
And there was nothing I could do
A bird on a feather flew
The world belonged to itself again
It was the happiest feeling I’d known for days
To know that when we are gone the world belongs to itself again
Have you ever been in an empty room? It’s very still
I could not say that of the real world
The lions took back Trafalgar Square
And dolphins leapt free of the Thames just outside the Tate
The tigers of America all played on the planes
The alligators of New York
All crawled out of the drains
Only the pigeons complained
About the lack of canapés
It was the happiest feeling I’d known for days
To know that when we are gone the world belongs to itself again
Have you ever been in an empty room? It’s very still
I could not say that of the real world
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3. |
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At the end of a long day
Begins another day
At the end of a long list
Begins another list
And all the things you said you was gonna do
Just keep on catching up to you
And getting in the way
Of that one thing you really wanna do
I wake with the bakers and go haunting the arches
The ghosts there encounter a struggling artist
Tipping the bums and the pigeons with rye
Cos you can’t take it with you so I wave them goodbye
And I watch them take off
Hope they come down easy
And the angels are already gone
Gone from this place
Driven out of the city
I heard that might be the case
Driven out of the city
Even further than Margate
Driven away
At the end of a long day
It’s just gone lunch
At the edges of a conversation
Your fantasy may be fed
If not the busman could help you beat your escape
Down to Limehouse at a breakneck pace
Slipping through the cracks in the rain
Trying to resist
The unspeakable emptiness
That taps with its bony fingers through its ragged cloak
Tap, tap, tapping on your shoulder
And taunting you to turn around
It’s ready with the net
At the end of a long day
We have each other
At the end of a long winding staircase
There are the covers that cover my body but not my toes
I lie very still
And try not to wriggle
At the end of a long night
I hope everything’s gonna be alright
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4. |
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She goes to Newington Green to fetch rhubarb and clementines
At the table a feast
With all the things your eyes have been
Dreaming of eating
That flicker on your lips and you’re still alone
At this time of the year Them Apples are hard to find
Form a line down the street
And mind your Qs and Ps
And where you cough and you sneeze
Move along, stay away or I’ll get the police!
All the world was in my eyes
I didn’t see you passing by
And so everyday was the same
You know inside the museum infinity’s kept in exile
Did you hear the Venetians didn’t go green
Now the fishes are nipping at their knees
Isn’t that funny oh isn’t it a scream
Ti hee hee hee
Books rattle in their shelves trying to save themselves from the fire
Sticking notes down your sleeve
Written in Bangladeshi
Saying come save us, come help me!
S.O.S can you hear us on the high street?
I saw a statue begging with its body bare
I had to leave it standing there
And so every day was the same
Guru said to free your mind
It'll help you work the overtime
And so everyday was the same
Talk to me world…
Talk to me world, why won’t you talk to me?
Tell me everything
Talk to me world, why won’t you talk to me?
Tell me everything that’s going on
Looking out from deep inside
I began to realise
Flowers blooming in my hand
A window to the universe
Opening up, showing me everything
I stared endlessly at a screen
Like a rock, or a stone, or a slate, or a skull
And so everyday was the same
She goes to Newington Green to fetch brimstone and nightshade now
(Laughter)
We don't talk about monsters cos we know they listen out
Oh aren’t you sweet
All the things that we see
You do not need to speak
We thought you knew we see everything
Even when we’re really here, half of us hangs in the air
Even when we’re fast asleep, somewhere we labour in the deep
Even when we’re all alone, something stares back on us all
And so everyday was the same
Why won't you talk to me?
Tell me everything...
Talk to me world, why won’t you talk to me?
Tell me everything
Talk to me world, why won’t you talk to me?
Tell me everything that’s going on
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5. |
Baby's Been Gone
05:52
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Baby’s been gone, too long
The day’s growing short
The winter’s coming on
And baby’s been gone too long
La la la, la la
When the cat’s away
It all goes to the dogs
The mice come to play
It’s no fun at all
When baby’s been gone too long
When your baby’s been gone and you wish that they wasn’t
Things just tend to go from bad to worst
Not sure what’s coming next but I bet it’s gonna hurt
When your baby’s been gone and you wish that they weren’t
It’s the same old song
I hear you yawning, I know you’re bored
Still it pours out of me, adding nothing to the world
Sticky as oil
Pulling creatures underneath the waves
Burning holes in the sky, starting wars and just generally
Fucking up your day - still I implore
Do not stop me if you’ve heard this one before
My baby’s been gone
When the cat’s away
The wolves come to the door
The mice turn and say "Hey man,
These ain't our friends... they must be yours."
And the angel in palm of your hand says "This time man I’ve done all I can
But I really do understand your baby’s been gone."
La la la, la la
When your baby’s been gone and you wish that they wasn’t
Things just tend to go from bad to bleak
If you didn’t think that love could bring you to your knees
This kind of shit’s gonna make you believe
When baby comes home well I’ll be overjoyed
Hug and hold her never let her leave
Raise a glass to the moon and say a prayer for the lovers
When your baby’s been gone and you wish that they wasn’t
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6. |
Thursday, 8pm
03:47
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Ran into bad luck
Lost count at three
Now I’m running in the park
Instead of on a wheel
Can’t help but hoping
Even when I’m low
Giving me the same old feeling I've had for so long
I don’t go to parties
Or stay out late
But I’m starting early though
So it’s kind of the same
Now my clothes don’t fit right
I’m getting fat and old
Still I got that same old feeling I had for so long
Easter’s coming I know
Takes me by surprise - another year gone
Still I got that same old feeling I had for so long
Winter’s coming I know
It’s coming around, so hold on
Soon you’ll find that same old feeling
And you had it all along
You’ll find me writing
And drinking gin
And reading ghost stories
And sleeping in
And freaking out
And laying low
Leads me to that same old feeling I ain't felt in so long
Sent straight from hell was
A very long year
Lost some special people
They’ll always be near
Gonna make em proud though
I know this for sure
It’s giving me a brave new feeling I ain’t ever felt before
Thursday, 8pm I know
It’ll take me by surprise - out on my run
Listen to the whole world breaking into a round of applause
Winter’s coming I know
It’s coming around, but hold on
Soon you’ll find that same old feeling
And you had it all along
Soon you'll find that same old feeling
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MF Tomlinson London, UK
An eclectic singer/songwriter “who seems to use music as a means to excavate within the soul” - Clash. Primarily a storyteller, MF Tomlinson negotiates styles as varied as acid folk, soul, alt country & chamber pop to create a singular presence. He achieves this genre fluidity with the help of a close-knit group of collaborators he calls “the MFs, because they’re all very talented motherfuckers.” ... more
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