1. |
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A lying Long Island gangland fence
he got a direct line to the President
he’s talking cocks and blocks and impediments
to the criminal intent of the government
This is not a television show
Imaginary make-up and suits and ties
and carefully tailored professional lies
and everybody groans ’cause everybody knows
the dry-cleaning bill of the emperor shows
This is not a television show
The tower burned down in record time
we don’t know how many died from red-tape crime
and the crowds in the street paint another sign
saying HEAR US NOW AND THEN RESIGN
This is not a television show
England’s dreaming all got lost
on a white background with a big red cross
it looked in the mirror and it looked back alone
there’s a pint pot balanced upon the throne
This is not a television show
Comedy dictators come and go
their families die and their armaments grow
take a deep breath as the missiles blow
into the plastic ocean down below
This is not a television show
Board game graphics of refugees
shift numbers from countries of human beings
look into their eyes and tell me they’re not you and me
This is not a television show
So look here son I’m saying to you
you’ve got to do the very best that you can do
I never told you things would be this tough
I never told you these things
while you were growing up
I showed you some things
I hope I showed you enough to know
This is not a television show
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2. |
Age-Old Story
03:03
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Women exploding
kids on the phone
people want answers
they can’t wait that long
System is breaking
the cracks are too wide
to PR a bridge
to reach to the other side
It’s an age-old story
move up
move out
move on
An age-old story
you come
you’re going
you’re gone
Nuclear weapon
a truck on a bridge
one hundred die from a fire in a fridge
He stubs out a cigarette
into the ashtray of the rich
and blows someone to kingdom come
to pay for the privilege
It’s an age-old story
move up
move out
move on
An age-old story
you come
you’re going
you’re gone
Anger explodes
they break down the door
anger in peace
is revolution in war
If you see pain do you know what it’s for
your sympathy
your empathy
is not enough
no more
It’s an age-old story
move up
move out
move on
An age-old story
you come
you’re going
you’re gone
An age-old story
moving up
moving out
moving on
An age-old story
can’t you see where it’s coming from
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3. |
Very Fine People
04:24
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You gotta go very fine people
You gotta know very fine people
There are a lot
of very fine people
You’re gonna get caught
by very fine people
They got a gun
those very fine people
They wanna kill your son
those very fine people
There’s no peace and love
for those very fine people
Only hate and war
for those very fine people
And if you hear any one of them talking about the wall
one day soon it’s gonna be you who they’re coming for
Very fine people
You gotta go
very fine people
You simply got to go
those very fine people
We don’t wanna know
those very fine people
With their flags
those very fine people
Always flags
those very fine people
You gotta go
all you very fine people …
All you blame on someone else
why can’t you accept yourself …
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4. |
Promises Broken
02:56
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Hey Prime Minister we’re knocking at your gate
we might have put you in there but it’s never too late
you cheat and lie you’re a rich man’s whore
well you can’t stop us now
’cause we’re knocking on your door
Truth is a victim dying and choking
promises broken
I never trusted you the day I saw your twisted face
you’re a privileged man from a privileged place
with your idiot suit and your idiot stare
and your idiot heart
there’s nothing in there
Truth is a victim dying and choking
promises broken
Truth is a victim dying and choking
promises broken
Exterminate the old the poor and the sick
your message is evil I’ve had enough of it
you can axe the pension and crucify the boats
but you can’t stop the power of a million votes
Truth is a victim dying and choking
promises broken
Truth is a victim dying and choking
promises broken
Truth is a victim I’m not joking
promises broken
Hey Prime Minister
we’re knocking at your gate
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5. |
Mean Mofo
05:49
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You fought a war for oil
you filled the mothers’ graves
they burn your effigy
while there’s whales to save
you’re a mean mofo
what are you gonna do
You can’t take the world
you can’t screw it round
just like you do
you’re a mean mofo
we’re gonna make an example out of you
You’re a mean mofo
such a mean mofo
you’re a mean mofo
what are we gonna do
you’re a mean mofo
we’re gonna take it out on you
You’ve got a male Russian bride
he knows you’ve something to hide
you peddle lies as facts
during a missile attack
you’re a mean mofo
what are you gonna do
There’s floods and rain
there’s desert and drought
don’t tell me there’s no climate change
you’re a mean mofo
what are you gonna do
There’s cars to drive
ain’t no place to arrive
you’ve got money to burn
you’ve got God on your side
you’re a mean mofo
what are we gonna do
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6. |
Dignity
02:57
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Dignity
Jesus was a refugee
give them dignity
in the name of you and me
Don’t give up
don’t let go
which one of us
can really know
Come on now
let them on our shore
bring the boats
I want more and more
Dignity
Jesus was a refugee
dignity
they’re the same as you and me
Dignity
to fill this land
with happiness
on the golden sand
Dignity
Jesus was a refugee
give them dignity
have you forgotten how it should be
Dignity
forget your racist lies
dignity
forget your foolish pride
Dignity
Jesus was a refugee
dignity
gimme dignity
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7. |
Unheard
04:29
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In the valley of frozen opportunity
disappointment behind every door
there’s a kid in the apartment lives above me
I heard him crying for a week or more
he got a gun
never mind he knows the penalty
made a plan to even the score
took the gun
thought that was opportunity
they give you nothing and he wanted more
Unheard
look out everybody
unheard
don’t get in the way
unheard
everybody
is gonna have a voice some day
On the corner of endless infidelity
entertainment on every phone
there’s a girl leaning on a traffic light
you never saw anyone look so alone
she got a role
starring on CCTV
face down on a concrete floor
paid the price for one kid’s opportunity
they give you nothing and she wanted more
Unheard
look out everybody
unheard
don’t get in the way
unheard
everybody
is gonna have a voice some day
In the shadow of ancient identity
they’re breeding fear like it’s coming back in style
building bonfires right beside the library
it’s the culture of the Murder Mile
they caught the kid
strung him up for what he did
posted pictures on their Facebook walls
I watched the news tonight
faces blurred but it was him alright
they give you nothing and they wanted more
Unheard
everybody
unheard
don’t get in the way unheard
everybody
is gonna have a voice some day
In the valley of creeping fragility
modernity outside every door
there’s a lady in the old folks’ home right next to me
I see her walking to the grocery store
I helped her out
not ’cause I’m a saint you know
she walks slow along this looking-glass road
she said to me
“Life is like a stolen kiss
They give you nothing and I wanted more”
Unheard
look out everybody
unheard
don’t get in the way
unheard
everybody
is gonna have a voice some day
Unheard
look out everybody
unheard
don’t get in the way
unheard
everybody
is gonna have a voice some day
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8. |
Jeremy
02:29
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Jeremy
he is who I wanna be
Jeremy
he’s so old and so free
Early in the morning
talking on the stump
20 minutes later
he got Trump
Jeremy
he is who I wanna be
Jeremy
he’s so old and so free
He went to Tranmere
they’re singing his name
the very next day
the polls went up again
Jeremy
so reckless and free
Jeremy
he is who I wanna be
We care where you’re going
we don’t care where you’ve been
come on down
come what May
We’ve left our belongings
by the side of the road
the rich getting richer today …
Jeremy …
He got a tie
he got a pen
if he don’t win
he’ll be back again
Jeremy
he’s so old and so free
Jeremy
he is who I wanna be
Jeremy
he’s so reckless and free
Jeremy
he is who I wanna be
Jeremy
he’s so old and so free
Jeremy
Jeremy
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9. |
The Peace They Need
03:06
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The time they need has gone
you took the time they would grow old
the time to heal has gone
you do not understand at all
With your faith
and your bombs
and your gold
Misplaced faith
home-made bombs
and foreign gold
You cannot read a holy book
you cannot build a border wall
you can’t give back the time you took
you do not understand at all
With your faith
and your bombs
and your gold
Misplaced faith
home-made bombs
and foreign gold
Photos of smiling kids
taken down from Facebook walls
frozen for evermore
we cannot understand at all
Your faith
your bombs
and your gold
Your misplaced faith
home-made bombs
and foreign gold
Your misplaced faith
home-made bombs
and foreign gold
Give them the peace they need
may they have the peace they need
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10. |
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The guilty and the innocent
will soon be on the same side
they went out walking
down to the great divide
to meet all of us who are restless
and don’t know which way to turn
after all this philosophy
still got a lot to learn
The guilty and the innocent
been on a religious ride
how’s that working out for you
I heard too many people have died
it’s a mediaeval painting
faces contorted in pain
either that or a demonstration
to give equality another name
The guilty and the innocent
will soon be on the same side
when the stars come crashing from the sky
into that great divide
and the undertaker’s laughing
he got a message on his phone
there’s a dog playing piano
and a cat chewing on a bone
The guilty and the innocent
have found a new place to hide
right beside the temple
dedicated to Frankenstein’s bride
you can worship who you want to
the auction ends at ten
Michelangelo retired early
to study his motorcycle Zen
The guilty and the innocent
with their eyes open wide
tried to work out in the dark
who it was who lied
and a fully-furnished garbage truck
collects evidence for the trial
while the anxiety surgeons
express the secrets of the Nile
The guilty and the innocent
standing in Canute’s tide
the President and all his men
have got a number on the inside
and Marilyn walks by
in a swimsuit of Virgin Mary blue
we’ve seen this movie before
everything except the ending is new
The guilty and the innocent
and the LGBTQI
at 45rpm the revolution is open wide
you asked me for a road map
and I offered you a link
where you can download salvation
and buy us all a better drink
The guilty and the innocent
it cannot be denied
they look a lot like you and me
when we’re standing at the graveside
and the justice slams his gavel
wherever roses bloom
Jesus himself is breaking bread
on the dark side of this room
The guilty and the innocent
got the Book of Revelation by their side
they’re looking through a one-way mirror
but they’re standing on the same side
the astronaut cannot be bought
he’s seen things from afar
the world is hanging fragile
like a floating glass bell jar
The guilty and the innocent
are the same as you and me
with Nelson’s eye on the horizon
experience comes too easily
nothing comes from nothing
and everything comes to an end
no direction home
home is where the hurt can mend …
Nothing comes from nothing
and everything comes to an end
the only direction is home
home is where the hurt can mend…
Home is where the hurt can mend
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Andy White Belfast, UK
Belfast songwriter, has guitar wants to travel. Latest album - Good Luck I Hope You Make It
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