LEVELLERS MUSIC
Zeitgeist 1995
Hope Street
Busking On Hope Street
There's a young boy in the queue
There's not much else here for him to do
He's had a drink, he's had a few
Down the pub on Hope Street
Dear old lady, you're looking thin
Got a shopping bag with your life in
Your old man's going through the bins
And so it goes on hope street
Rain on me come pouring down
Clean the dirt off this old town
Tell the sun to come around
And show his face on Hope Street
There's a fight right down the street
The betting shop has got him beat
He blew his money for the week
On a horse called Hope Street
No old faces out today
Someone took them all away
Cleaning up or so they say
The dirty face of Hope Street
Rain on me come pouring down
Clean the dirt of this old town
Tell the sun to come around
And show his face on hope street
Rain on me come pouring down
Clean the dirt of this old town
Tell the sun to come around
And show his face on hope street
Everyday I look at you
Dressed up in your ties of blue
Saying there's not much that you can do
To help the kids on Hope Street
You don't seem to even care
That it was you that put them there
You seem to think they like it there
Hanging out on Hope Street
Rain on me come pouring down
Clean the dirt off this old town
Tell the sun to come around
And show his face on hope street
The Fear
Do you wake up every day
In a world that seems crazy
A world you love to hate
Are you scared or do you feel pretty safe
Do you think you have nothing
Or do you think you've got it made
You know it feels like you're going insane
I've done everything you told me
To take away the pain
Then you change my medication again
It's getting harder to tell
Just who or what's insane
Do your nightmares tear you apart
Do you wake up screaming
Shouting in the dark
The deamons keep you awake
Does the clock tick more slowly
With every breath you take
Does each day seem like the rest
You turn on the morning
Coz turning offs the best
Do think that it will never change
Or does mass self delussion
medal with your brain
You see I think I know it all
I think I know the way
You've given me the power
By making me insane
Exodus
It's simple cos it is the people
Fighting for and claiming what remains
Dreaming this is not dreaming
This is the exodus from the game
Dance beneath the stars
We the sound system
We the collective
With an open heart
We the solution
Should be respected
At midnight the pharises plant the poison
False evidence to bring all back in line
It's no method just dealing out by justice
When no-one here's committed any crime
We'll turn the dust to soil
Turn the rust of hate back into passion
It's not water into wine but it's here
And it's happening
Massive but passive
To bring the peace back
Respect here for all the people
Good copper jah lawyer all good minds
Can see there is no evil
The only wrong is fighting changing times
Maid Of The River
She's the maid of the river
So beautiful plain
As fresh as the country
That gave her her name
As crips as the snow
And as swift as the rain
he shone like the sun
Before all of our games
She shone like a jewel
But her price was not gold
She cired more than most
When her story was told
But her people were evil
Left her baron and cold
And her heart went to market
Where her body was sold
I said : 'Hey, hey won't you take me away
Cos I can't see the point In the dawn of the day
So many killers gonna take you away
They'll leave nothing left except hatred'
She's the goddess of love
The goddess in green
The goddess of all
That I've ever seen
The goddess of hope
The goddess in brown
The goddess of all
That you've burned to the ground
There's all kind of hatred
Flows out of man's hands
There's the hatred that strangles
The throat of a man
But the worst of all hatred
Is that which is planned
Against what we have
In this goddess of land
Saturday To Sunday
Saturday to sunday's waste
Then monday's soon around
It's always time to leave
The nightlife first
And catch the last bus out of town
And the sentiment of the last song that I heard
Stays with me as if I'd written every word
I thought I saw an open door
With a bright light shining through
But what it was I don't recall
But I think you've seen it too
And there are the days and the ways I've known
Dreaming that this bird has flown
And if you burnt your fingers in the fire
Remember me and my desire
It might be easier this way
If you're trying to change the world
I saw a film just made for me
Said you've got to walk the line
The day will come when I feed the flames
I'm just biding my time
These are the days and the ways I've known
Dreaming that this bird has flown
4am
Steppin' out from underneath my shadow
Walking home from Fridays nine to five.
Rememberin' the long way way round the meadow
The one we used to take from time to time.
I thought about you
How you must have changed now
baby
far away from me
How I used to savour all your kisses
Where no one else could see.
Exchanging knowing glances across the schoolroom
Dreamin' of a love down by the sea.
Changing plans to cover up for one another
Working on our secret fantasy.
But now as I walk down the road to your house
baby
No one there but me.
How I wish that I could steal your kisses
Just as they used to be.
Tracie
where are you now
girl?
I don't know why this feeling's so strong.
Tracie
where have you been
You know there's no one now to tell us we're wrong.
Countin' by the street lights to the phone box
Where we used to meet before the dawn.
Smokin' on the top floor of the scholl bus
Promising the moon as we rode along.
But now If I saw you across a crowded dance floor
Or somewhere in the town
Would you show me what I have been missing
And spin me round and round?
Tracie
where are you now
girl?...
'Cause deep inside from some other place
I turn to find we're there face to face.
We laugh
we cry
we work and we play
Tracie
where are you now
girl?
Tracie
where are you now
girl?
Forgotten Ground
Come onto me
It's easy for a long life
Don't be denied forever
Under the night
Come along to be this free
Is what you want too
Breaking the line forever
Under the sun
It will be done together
For each to be one
Come along to be is easy
Taking the stars
Across the road
At the end of this place
It's not far and anyone can go there
It's waste ground
There's no name on this place
But it always has and always will be there
There's no fence, no walls, no fools
Just the summer sun
And what you choose
But was it only yesterday
Tomorrow came and handed you the tools
To burn it down
Your forgotten ground
The golden bough with a rope lies there
For you to climb higher and higher
But by this rope you can hang
If you've forgotten why it was you came there
And you burn it down
Your forgotten ground
When you are old and see this
Know this is cold
That when the sun rises
Tall shadows will hold
The ground you loved
To you is broken taken from you
And I carve my name and then you wrote yours
The black smoke will rise up to cover the stars
Nothing said to be forever except for the night
That will come when we burn you down
Fantasy
He thought he was as drunk as can be
New white skinny rebel was he
Because he knew what mattered
It's all in a clatter of the bands he's seen
His words of wisdom would shock
Whether he meant them or not
He'd save the world
All the boys and the girls
But another single's all he'd be
That's sad
That's right
Another night
Of someone else's fantasy
He thought he was cool with his tunes
He practised the knack in his room
And in the evening he'd DJ
With the slider at eight plus
Believing that at his feet we swoom
Now he's always there in the queue
While down on the dance floor it's you
And when he starts playing
He's up there playing
You don't notice that they're not his tunes
He thought he could measure the world
Because he loved the flag when unfurled
First he's a lawyer, excellent debator
You should have heard the mud he hurled
Now you've seen his face on TV
Leading parliamentary
When he makes decisions
That meet your derision
He reminds us all that we're free
PC Keen
There's nothing new
In this sad story
The slaughter of innocence
Without glory
At the foot of your hill
Without warning
The centre of operations
They attack in the morning
Now you can lie
Like a lame before them
You can dance in the dawn
You can even ignore them
But with your skin on file
There's no escape
P.C. Keen's got the snap shots
And he knows your face
And the press will declare
That you're all mad and insane
And you'll be accused
Of not playing the game
You'll stand in the court
And declare your bravery
For fighting all this
That brings us all slavery
But they won't even see you
hey won't even hear you
Because you are the truth
So nothing can save you
And the southern intelligence unit will say:
'Thanks to you P.C. Keen
You've saved the day'
Just The One
Do you fancy a drink
Just the one
To clear your head
We won't be long
It's a beautiful day
To waste away
There's plenty of time
For another one
[Chorus]
You know you shouldn't do it
But can't see no reason why
So blow your mind
Make mine a short
I'm getting there
But where there is
I couldn't care
There must be something
I haven't tried
Perhaps that bottle before my eyes
[Chorus]
Through the haze
The sun goes down
It's getting late
Let's hit the town
Call some friends
To paint it red
Feed the animal
In your head
[Chorus]
They throw you out
You hit the night
Go to a club
You feel alright
You get a pill
Take just half
Then take the rest of it
For a laugh
[Chorus]
Across the floor
You think you see
The one of your dreams
Your fantasy
But that last drink
Has made you blind
You need the bar
But it's hard to find
[Chorus]
It's a brand new game
You want to try,
You line them up
And it's the first to die
You think you've won
but it's time to leave
And it's back to yours
for a cup of tea
[Chorus]
You find your keys
And you all fall in
You spend an hour
And search your skins
When all seems lost
And it's looking grim
You find the bottle
Of christmas gin
[Chorus]
The rest is blank
And that's the worst
An empty head
For an empty purse
You had a laugh
Or so you think
But in the morning
You just stink
So you fancy a drink
It's just the one
To clear your head
We won't be long
Haven't Made It
You know when the sky is blue
And the wind cuts right through
The sun shines on you alone
Every step you take you nearer home
And I love the river
That carries us on
In one direction
Bringing me nearer, nearer home
But you haven' made it yet
No you haven't made it yet
The sky turns grey
And the river runs high
Running faster
Passes you by
Ghosts of life
Are following you
With a bit of luck
You can make it through
I thought I heard you sigh
When you thought that you were there
But the world turns for you alone
Every step takes you nearer home
Leave This Town
Wasting time in nowhere very special
Seems almost a part of it these days
I know every crack along the pavement
And I remember what you said in '88
Chorus
You said
Its time to leave this town
The world keeps turning round
The only thing that keeps me here is you
Drinking in the same bar that I met you
Without you it wouldn't be the same
We'd talk for hours and hours
About different places
You said that you would see them all some day
Chorus
You were always so good with words
The tales you told we heard
The things you said to me that day
Will never fade in memory
The time is unforgiving
You know that I will make it when I can
No matter just what window you look out of
The view just never ever seems to change
And I swear that we ain't getting any younger
But we'll chase all of our dreams all the same
Chorus
Just another lonely winters day
Men-an-tol
So I find myself among
The brave Southsestern hills
Running like a madman on the moor
Let the sweet Atlantic rain
Wash away my youth
The Men-An-Tol shone strangely in the storm
I get the strangest feeling
In the air around
It's more than just a feeling
A different way of seeing
A different kind of life
Something I believe in
But in amongst the city lights
The feeling's not so clean
Faceless signs and neon lights
Hide what I hold dear
It's there to find if you have the mind
And you don't live in fear of it
I rest among what still remains
Of lifes thar passed before
Lighting strikes the top of Zennor Tor
I find myself amazed again
At man's pathetic score
Years of knowledge wasted and ignored