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1. |
Song For Absent Friends
03:10
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“Song For Absent Friends”
(Watson/Bingley)
I’m sitting in my room,
Thinking of times I shared with you,
And I wouldn’t be me today if it wasn’t for you.
Hangin’ out by myself
Wasn’t good for my health
So I took a plane far away.
It almost broke my head,
Awful things done and said,
But I just had to make my way.
I have struggled, I have fought,
I have worked and I have sought,
And I’m lookin’ down at a mountain of cash in my hand.
So it’s time that I sat down and finally said ‘thanks!’
Hangin’ out with the band,
We were the best in the land,
We blew everyone off the stage.
At the end of the Earth,
It’s a long way to Perth,
We were not just a pretty face.
We worked our arse off for ten years.
We shared the blood, the sweat and tears,
In a corrupt environment.
Stu Harvey worked for Shock Records, let’s not forget!
But I want to say thank you, dudes, we all did our best.
Now I’m sitting in my room,
Thinking of times I shared with you,
And I wouldn’t be me today if it wasn’t for you.
To all my friends in the UK:
You saved me when I was insane.
You’ll probably never know all you’ve done for me.
Cheers to my friends in Victoria,
The backstage mob in Cumbria,
And to my mates in Florida,
This one’s for you!
Hangin’ out on my bed,
All the things that we shared,
You were the one who believed in me.
If you hadn’t been there,
God knows I could be dead,
You’ll never know what that means to me.
We haven’t spoken for so long.
Was it you or I who done us wrong?
After all these years, I still think of you every day.
And I wish you all the best, and hope you’re OK.
Now I’m sitting in my room,
Thinking of times I shared with you,
And I wouldn’t be me today…
If it wasn’t for you.
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2. |
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Mother Nature Will Have Her Revenge On Old Fatty
[Maj.-Gen. Karl O’Callaghan mix]
(Ben Watson)
Well, if that's what we get for focussing on The Monster
You'll excuse me while I put that Abbott out of my mind
It's not I don't care or I'm not petrified
Re: the country's Great Slide - our moral decline
But Barnett & Howard have proven that people are dumb
Watching TV they get filled with ideas that aren't real
Like the pastors of old laid down fire and brimstone with great zeal
And these Christians believe that their one god is just chock full of love
But he's a vengeful old sod - when it comes to the crunch
They're the ones that'll drown in their flood
And life will go on
Just as it always has before…
And the tides will roll in
Just as they always have before…
So, ga'arn, treat my country the way that she's never deserved
You can rape, you can pillage people and the natural world
In the face of Earth's doom, you can Wittenoom Broome
In the hope that you'll go to some afterlife soon
But you'll get the same hell wealthy Mayans would have faced as they fell…
You'll watch the jungle close in
Just as it always has before…
And the waters will rise
Just as they always have before…
Even if you succeed in replacing the forests with weeds
When the rivers are dead and your ego's been fed
Begging, poisoned, on your knees
When the Earth finally dies with no tears in her eyes
A hollowed-out hide - hey, but at least we tried!
Somewhere far off in space in a temperate place
Comets will rain from the sky…
And life will go on
Just as it always has before…
Oh, and the rains will come down
Just as they always have before…
And you’ll be forgotten, that's for sure.
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3. |
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BULWER STREET WALTZ
[Runcorn Tapes demo]
(Ben Watson)
And I will tell you a tale of a Saturday night
That went on for months ‘cause it just felt so right
And when I look back on the things that were done
Some of it was dumb but was mostly just fun
I was just 21, I was far from my home
All I wanted to do was to be in The Zone
Seventeen years of institutions
Punishments lies and contradictions
‘Cause you’re told when you’re young that you can’t cross the line
But how else can you tell what is wrong and what’s right?
So I do not regret all the friends that I made
The ones I obeyed or the ones I betrayed
I fell in love on those hot summer nights
But it’s hard to be true when your mind’s on the white
Every gold coin has a queen on one side
Just like every cloud has a silver, white line
We were glared at in clubs
But we didn’t care
My only regret is that I didn’t dance.
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4. |
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Suspect Device [Runcorn Tapes demo]
(Burns/Ogilvie)
Inflammable material, planted in my head
It's a suspect device that's left two thousand dead
Their solutions are our problems
They put up the wall
On each side, time and prime us
Make sure we get fuck all
They play their games of power
They mark and cut the pack
They deal us to the bottom
But what do they put back?
Well, don't believe them
Don't believe them
Don't be bitten twice
You’re a suss, suss, suss, suss, suss, suss
Suss, suspect device
They take away our freedom
In the name of ‘liberty’
Why can't they all just clear off
Why can't they let us be?
They make us feel indebted
For saving us from hell
And then they put us through it
It's time the bastards fell
Well, don't believe them
Don't believe them
Don't be bitten twice
You’re a suss, suss, suss, suss, suss, suss
Suss, suspect device
Well, don't believe them
Don't believe them
Question everything you're told!
Just take a look around you
At the bitterness and spite
Why can't we take over and try to get things right?
But don't believe us
Don't believe us
Don't be bitten thrice
You’re a suss, suss, suss, suss, suss, suss
Suss, suspect device
You’re a suspect device if you do as you are told
You’re a suspect device, you can score your own goal
A suspect device that the army can't defuse
You're a suspect device and you know you’ll never lose
We're gonna blow up in their face!
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Benny Mayhem Perth, Australia
One of the most hard working and anthemic folk punk acts to come out of Australia
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