skagitup

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frost controls the street and the pizza parlor's closed
i'm empty like the city, like the scottish piper i stand alone
pull out a cigarette and light it 'neath my shirt
taste it for the warmth and blow the smoke out like dirt.
and all the money i once spent means nothing to me now
all i need is shelter's stand, to pull me up out of this world
the way i shiver in the wind, you'd think i had something to lose
you think i'd care about the time, crime, or disaster on the news
but i'm a cripple on his feet, a poet on the beat, one more man on the street

I rise in the morning and breath in the fresh air
straighten out my tie and straighten out my hair
head over to the cafe, ask a guy there for some change
he hands it over reluctantly and looks at me as if i'm strange
i head up to the counter, and i'm staring at the girl
once upon a time i would have bought her a diamond, a pearl, a light
and asked to take her out at night, show her all the world
but i just can't compete, i order coffee and a sweet, one more man on the street

people speak of presidents and politics and votes
people speak of currency, of bankers cheques and notes
people speak of parties and celebrations and new clothes
people speak of relationships, of love and kiss and exchanging a red rose
i speak of the night, i speak of the past
i speak of the loser, of the bottom, i speak of the last
i speak of the men, who couldn't stand the fight
i'll always pick the left, over the right
i'm the kid on the bus without a seat, a bed with hypnotic sheets, one more man on the street

i'm a cripple upon his feet, a poet on the beat, one more man on the street,
i just can't compete, i order coffee and a sweet, i'm one more man on the street.

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How long will it be before the lives that we lead
crash down like the waves?
And the people that we love float off up above
and there's nobody left to save...
How long will it be before the path that see
turns into the road?
Because the day may be bright but it's turning to night
And I can't stand the cold...

So I'm heading for the irish sea
or some place make believe
where I can guarentee
we'll never disagree
Oh yes, all of the thieves
will be hung up like the leaves
and anybody who decieves
has no chance to achieve...

Can you feel the protection?
'Cos i need the perfection
I'm one more man lookin' for
the direction.

How long will it be before our coffee turns to tea
and the narrow turns to wide?
How long will it be before the door's only key
is locked away inside...
Yes, How long will it be before the clouds open free
and we'll be drowned before the rain?
How long will it be before you turn away from me
and i hang my head in shame...

That's why I'm heading for the irish sea,
or somewhere I feel free,
and I can guarentee
we'll never disagree.
Oh yes, all of the thieves
will be hung up like the leaves
and anybody who decieves
has no chance to achieve...

I need a place where social action
is the only distraction,
and i'm just one more man lookin' for
the direction

close [x]

the room is bare and the floor is hard
the tv's fuzzing black and white
and the tabloids speak of doherty and moss
with midnight eyes trading midnight roses
with midnight skin and cocaine noses
wasting all the chances that they've got

yes, the winter freeze is approaching fast,
and i'm wrapped up like a hidden past,
I've been here before and I'll be here again
'cos you can't always count on the night
to pass without a shivers sight
like freight train raging, howling in the rain

but the man who sang, is blowing all my dreams this way
yes, the man who sang, is blowing all my dreams this way

once upon a time i saw,
a thousand men who couldn't draw
an abstract man who couldn't write a word
and right in that instant i knew,
the reason humans never flew,
and dropped my head, my vision surely blurred

And the man who sang, was blowing all my dreams this way
the man who sang, is blowing all my dreams this way

where vicious vessels rock against the tide
and fishermen retreat inside
and the storm blows up, silhouetted by my call
where the hairs on your neck stand to a point
where nightmare's hang in every joint
where the light's so bright that you can't see at all

the man who sang, is blowing all my dreams this way
the man who sang, is blowing all my dreams this way

when the day has passed and the night has gone,
and the road ceases to wander on,
when the cars have parked and every plane has flown,
when the fall has fallen and the spring has sprung
and every bullet from every gun
has been shot, and i'm a wild cat, standing alone

the man who sang, will be blowing all my dreams this way
the man who sang, will be blowing all my dreams this way

close [x]

frost controls the street and the pizza parlor's closed
i'm empty like the city, like the scottish piper i stand alone
pull out a cigarette and light it 'neath my shirt
taste it for the warmth and blow the smoke out like dirt.
and all the money i once spent means nothing to me now
all i need is shelter's stand, to pull me up out of this world
the way i shiver in the wind, you'd think i had something to lose
you think i'd care about the time, crime, or disaster on the news
but i'm a cripple on his feet, a poet on the beat, one more man on the street

I rise in the morning and breath in the fresh air
straighten out my tie and straighten out my hair
head over to the cafe, ask a guy there for some change
he hands it over reluctantly and looks at me as if i'm strange
i head up to the counter, and i'm staring at the girl
once upon a time i would have bought her a diamond, a pearl, a light
and asked to take her out at night, show her all the world
but i just can't compete, i order coffee and a sweet, one more man on the street

people speak of presidents and politics and votes
people speak of currency, of bankers cheques and notes
people speak of parties and celebrations and new clothes
people speak of relationships, of love and kiss and exchanging a red rose
i speak of the night, i speak of the past
i speak of the loser, of the bottom, i speak of the last
i speak of the men, who couldn't stand the fight
i'll always pick the left, over the right
i'm the kid on the bus without a seat, a bed with hypnotic sheets, one more man on the street

i'm a cripple upon his feet, a poet on the beat, one more man on the street,
i just can't compete, i order coffee and a sweet, i'm one more man on the street.

close [x]

I dreamt everyday for a decade.
I slept everyday for a year.
I ran around screaming "You just won't believe it,
The baby lord jesus is here".

But, hey, where did that land me?
I fell flat into drink and decay,
I ran around screaming "You just won't believe it,
We're swept up on that street again"

Well the debts, they ate my hands,
The wine turned into empty cans,
I tried to find one more, on the floor
And the rent kicked me up.

And the night, it swallowed me down,
There was no room for me to run around,
If i screamed i would of felt the ground
vibrate beneath my feet.

And I know, that we weren't made
for any kind of success.
We were born, it seems, to lose it all.

I wish I could engage her in conversation,
But I struggle to find words I can say
I call out towards her "fetch me a glass of water and
I'll tell you all about my day"

I watch rainbows and fireworks through my windows,
I watch men get to work in disdain.
I open the door, shout "I've been there before
And I'll never go back there again".

They're Wearing hats and wearing ties,
They're dressed for storms of business disguise,
Where coffee tastes of slow demise,
brewed by the wives.
They can't create, or improvise
But to their surprise, are idolized
By the institutions that just can't hear
the cries of the prisoners

Well hey, well we may be in desperation,
But there's really nowhere else, for us to be.

You can't silence the words of a man
A man with something to say,
But my time to be silent has come, so bring me a gun
and I'll make sure it never comes 'round again.

You can forget everything you remember,
I'll go down and sign up right now,
I watch you scream out "I can't do without.
What must I forget, tell me again"

Our sheets are dirty, our window's small
But we sit all night and watch the short and tall
In fights and falls, and desperate crawls
before we realise:
We're a league apart in an urban sprawl,
Of freezing streets and crumbling walls,
Where those who never made it laugh
At those who lost it all.

And you turn to me, and through gritted teeth you say:
"I guess they'll laugh at us someday".

close [x]

The compass cried and I got lost and soon froze half to death
I walked for miles 'cross open plains and thought I had nothing left
'Till I found Shelter in a Bar that sat in just the perfect spot
'Neath the forests where thirsty tourists sat with men who wanted to see alot
And it didn't seem
That men like me
Came in often
Sat beneath these trees
And some guy asked me my name
He was Paul
I was the man who lost it all

When his car broke down I got out and walked into a small cafe
Sat down on one of those old stools by the window and felt okay
The waitress came said I like your hair I said thanks she said where you headed for
I said I might hitch a ride out west tonight she said "Ah, I've been up that way before"
And as she spoke
I forgot
Why I was there
Who I was
She reminded me of a brick
of a wall
of the man who lost it all

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There's a hundred men all gathered 'round the snow,
telling eachother everything they know.
In touch with what they are, they're sleeping under stars,
with no intention of going home.

Other men, well they're still at work,
supporting all the things that they're worth,
spending hour after hour, stood beneath the shower,
washing off the rights they're given at birth.

Yes, The night gets cold, and the air gets dark,
but we stay high.
Nobody can touch these men,
'cos they're not afraid to die.

Yes the night is changing and you can choose what morning to see.
The night is changing and you can choose what morning to see.

Yesterday I broke all of my legs,
crawled fifteen miles with an aching head,
when I got back home I realised i was alone -
everybody else in town was dead.

Normally this news would be a shock,
but a man like me is solid as a rock.
I sat down for a while before I began to smile
and heard the door was shaking with a knock.

I opened it up and was pleased to see,
society on its knees.
'Said, "Common man, give us a chance,
we're not as bad as you can see"

The night is changing but you can choose what morning to see.
The night is changing, but society means nothing to me.

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I gathered 'round the city street
to see the entertainer
And I saw a thousand politicians there
and they were all trying to contain her.
So i tried to find a spokesman,
to keep her on the street
I tried to find a shoemaker,
so I could keep her on her feet.
But all I found was this old man
with blisters on his toes.
He had a beard down to his ankles,
and tattered rags for clothes.
I asked if he could help me,
he looked up at me like scum.
"No matter what you try", he said
"You won't get nuthin' done".

And then it started raining, I saw the street-light fading
and the weather was following me.
I find it quite frustrating how it keeps on raining and I hope
that you agree.
Do you agree?

I walked up a couple of miles
to find myself a place to stay.
'Saw a group of young kids,
they were making on their way.
I couldn't see their expressions
they were shadowed by their hoods.
I couldn't see their faces
and I wouldn't try to if I could.
But they looked at me and their blood ran cold
they said "get a haircut man".
"And look like you?" I replied
they chased me and I ran.
They caught me up about a mile later
but I put up a pretty good fight.
They beat me down to the underclass
left me bleeding in the night.

And then it started raining, I saw the street-light fading
and the weather was following me.
I find it quite frustrating how they're so degrading
and I hope that you agree.
Do you agree?

I woke up the next morning
with the sun shining on my face.
Sighed relief for just one second
in a state of grace.
I looked about to try and find out
where abouts I was.
Looked like someone had picked me
up and saved me from deaths door.
And sure enough, a man walked in
sat down beside the bed.
Told me I was in his ward,
and rubbed a flannel across my head.
I thanked him for his generosity
he told me "sleep on through the day"
i told him "thanks,
but no, i'd really best be on my way".

And then it started raining, I saw the street-light fading,
and the weather was following me,
I find it quite frustrating that they're so constraining
and I hope that you agree.
Do you agree?

I walked on through the city
trying to find these kids,
I called down a couple of my friends,
told them what the vandals did,
And we eventually caught up with
one of them,
pushed him down onto the street...
I kicked his head back onto the floor
and I stood there at his feet.
"I'm sorry" he shouted out.
"what do you want?" he said.
"Listen man", I told him "I've really
got nothing else to say".
I was about to kill him there and then,
but my morals got their way.

And then it started raining, I saw the street-light fading
and the weather was following me.
I find it quite frustrating that it keeps on raining,
And I hope that you agree,
Do you agree?

close [x]

The children in the park look at their mothers for a path,
broken by this sound
While the vender on the street see's the darkness at his feet,
curls up on the ground.
That old politician will cease to grant you wishes,
and wander into town,
To get one last peek at the writers on the street,
putting people down.

Shine on me.
I want to be free.
Shine on me.

The teachers in the schools will disregard the rules,
climb onto the desks.
They'll ruffle up their hair and throw pencils in the air,
they couldn't care less.
The presidents on TV while his staff begin to flee
underground.
He just sits there on the screen to make sure that he's seen,
doesn't make a sound.

Shine on me.
I want to be free.
Shine on me.

You tried to ignore me.
Well now you can't flaw me.
The sky lies before me.
The sky lies before me...

The guy who lives next door is wandering down to the store,
with fourteen pounds...
to buy a gift for his wife and kids,
before they drown.