1. |
Plains Of Elsewhere
02:40
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The sweeping plains of elsewhere
Is where we do our dreaming
Walking through the fields
With a basket full of fleeting
Feelings picked from all these different places
Out of season
Take them to the plains of elsewhere
The naughty boys and girls come
To find a place of resting
Far from smiling faces
That belie something depressing
They climb the trees
To slip away from each and every moment
Take them to the plains of elsewhere
Far far away
To another place
Okay
They climb the trees
To slip away from each and every moment
Take them to the plains of elsewhere
I swear
Elsewhere
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2. |
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I want to be lost in a desert
Surrounded by nothing at all
It can’t be much worse than this island
In place of the old music hall
I work in an abandoned building
Where the weeds reach the window ledge
And the sun bailed for a brighter future
And the colour of the brick has left
And inside is a busted piano
With pedals that stick to the floor
But you can still hear the decaying keynotes
From a hundred years before
Listen (to be a ghost)
Meet me
At the old music hall
Listen (to be a ghost)
There is
Something other than you (to be a ghost)
It’s not up in the sky
Or in an afterlife (it’s me the ghost)
It’s here alive
Right in front of you (to be a ghost)
Listen listen listen
To your excuse
And that’s how she goes
It takes some living
To be a ghost
The rain begged
Like yesterday's patience
For the flowers in the dew to grow
I wish that my soul was contagious
Like a kitten or a TV show (nope)
Now I’ve made friends
With the creaky floorboards
And I sit around painting their nails
Or visit the snakes in the garden
To compare all our favourite scales
Listen (to be a ghost)
Meet me
At the old music hall
Listen (to be a ghost)
There is
Something other than you (to be a ghost)
It’s not up in the sky
Or in an afterlife (it’s me the ghost)
It’s here alive
Right in front of you (to be a ghost)
Listen listen listen
To your excuse
And that’s how she goes
It takes some living
To be a ghost
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3. |
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Dopamine smile
Add another to the pile
‘Cause we burn
Like the third degree
But I only fell in love with you
‘Cause you fell in love with me
Tell me it’s time for a nap
Or bring me some plastic wrap
‘Cause my legs are like satisfied children
They won’t let me get through to them
Or stand still
Yer classic fat kid's
At an intersection
Near a strip mall
With a dairy drag queen
And he only fell in love with you
‘Cause you fell in love with me
Show me some more magic tricks
Pick a card do a flip
‘Cause my eyeballs
Are cartwheelin’ bastards
That just long to gaze in your pastures
Or roll away
Show me your privatest parts
Open up from the start
‘Cause my heart is a tree in a forest
That falls every time you ignore it
Do you hear?
Afternoon trains
Passing uniform graves
Off the coast of some picturesque sea
I only fell in love with you
‘Cause you fell in love with
I only fell in love with you
‘Cause you fell in love with me
But I swear that we burn to the third degree
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4. |
Someone
04:48
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Every little street contains a tune
To define you for a time then forget soon
The rodeo in Brantford takes me back
I never should have left for the race track
Now all my personal records are in their sleeves
I deactivated who I thought was me
And with my special heavy memory bags
I walked a ways away with heavy legs
Have a heart but don’t fall apart
It’s cool that Jesus nailed his art
But now everybody wants to be a someone
That ain’t you and that ain’t me
We’re more than what we could have been
Move Along
Cuz there’s nothing left to see here
The son was shining at the stars
With a light that shone all thoughtful brash bizarre
I looked both ways then walked backwards again
And bumped into my least popular friend
He told me what she told us from the start
The loneliest of hunters is the heart
And in your endless quest to keep it real
The only real thing is how you feel
Have a heart but don’t fall apart
You'll land inside a shopping cart
Everybody wants to be a someone
That ain’t you and that ain’t me
We’re more than what we could have been
Move along
Cuz there’s nothing left to see here
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5. |
Don't Talk, Alarm Clock
02:22
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One day I’ll leave the country
And move deep into the country
I need no towering tree
Just the ground beneath my feet
I found my missing lotus
She was growing wild beside the road
It was a road that had no patrol
Those have a way of winding down
We planted a little garden
And it grew forevermore
Ain’t it strange how unlike before
We can finally tend away
And if you
Would just stop
And leave us to be
What we dream us to be
Don’t talk alarm clock
And if you
Would knock it off
And leave us to be
What we dream us to be
Don’t talk alarm clock
You’re all talk
Alarm clock
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6. |
Never Found a Princess
03:18
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He said he used the map and traveled across
The whole main area
Saw once flat valleys turn to open worlds
Hit all invisible walls
Spend midnight at the mall
Never needed guidance
Nothing seemed too tough
But he’s never found a princess
And his time is almost up
Every year a record’s broke
And the team goes all the way
Man creates himself then he picks a side
And glory follows through
He’ll tell you all about it too
With a burst of speed
And the vigor of a flashing star
But he’s never found a princess
Though he’s a hero at guitar
He’s never found a princess
Though he can nail ‘em from afar
Up down left right
Right right down
Why oh why oh why
Down down down down
Down down down down
Why be down
Right
Now when expectations run too high
Things sometimes get delayed
It doesn’t matter if you’re a stalker or a duke
Your development stands still
You can’t increase your strength nor will
Your character is hurt
You don’t feel content
And you’ll never find a princess
Though you may find a hundred percent
Yes the final stage of stunted growth
Is the man that can’t connect
Too sensitive to settle on his aims
You can see it all around
His solution’s not be found
He’s a slave to a system of his own control
And he’ll never find a princess
With good calibre of soul
If he’s to find a princess
And his hearts are always full
He’ll never find a princess
If he doesn’t pause with doubt
He’ll never find a princess
And his time is running out
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7. |
Maker a Laker
05:14
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Some folks are married to an idea
Some folks are tied to a cause
Some folks just like to get cockeyed
Under the blinding moonlight
Maybe get some fries?
Laker lager
Got anything else?
Maker a Laker
The beer store's open
On a Monday night for Jim
And he wants to get his buzz on
Then twenty paces down the road
Is where he’ll go
To see Doogy
Who’s gaming with no pants on
Maker a Laker
Go on and take her
Lonely nights can be alright
Maker a Laker
No need to hate her
Nothing’s ever quite as right as wrong
Has been right before
Stay a little more
I’ve been a keener
When it comes to living large
And when it comes to wasting time
But in my travels with the wind
I’ve never stopped moving
And I’ve met some lovely chimes
Maker a Laker
Go on and take her
Lonely nights can be alright
Maker a Laker
No need to hate her
Nothing’s ever quite as right as wrong
Has been right before
Stay a little more
Bottom’s up
I’ve been a miner
For some sacred heart of gold
And I’m unemployed again
But for better or for worse
I’ll stay this course
And hope my returns
Equal a small fortune
Maker a Laker
Go on a take her
Lonely nights can be alright
Maker a Laker
No need to hate her
Because nothing
Is ever
As right
As wrong’s been before
Stay a little more
Passed out on the floor
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8. |
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Cotton spun horses out of old Napoli
Streets of sangria and cheap pino gris
Then bro yo bro
Rosaries hangin’ from a sinner again
Gucci sunglasses with a satanic tan
She says bro yo bro
Chain-smoking babies
Baby-faced wannabes
Comparing themselves
To the powers that be
Maybe tonight we’ll see Drake eat for free
On the College strip
Flies in the basement
With the thawing squid
Upstairs the sharks are all
Circling the kids
They say bro so cute bro
Vietnamese gamblers flipping
Bland pizza pies
I’m drinking the bar
Trying to turn a blurred eye
But oh bro oh bro
Corona buckets of Catholic guilt
Tribal tattoos on the fancifully built
Maybe tonight we’ll see Drake rep the six
On the College strip
These standards of beauty
Just aren’t adding up
Who got the shiniest stuff?
Where is my baby?
Am I losing touch?
Should I just loosen up?
Downtown Kingston
Is where she must be
That’s what I’ve always believed
Where is my baby
Am I losing touch
Should I just make her up?
There’s a vacancy
Every time of year round here
Rosecourt motel
And on a letter left
Inside a bag of rez cigarettes
Hope you’re swell
I’m living in hell
Somewhere strange beyond well
And rested
It’s a predilection
For having no desire or place
Rosecourt motel
You can dial a bottle
Or order up some Sasha Grey
But you can’t fool the past
And you won’t get it back
Miles away from last
Chances
OMG bro it’s a daydream again
And nobody knows where my baby has been
Maybe tonight her and Drake took a spin
On the College strip
But all that I want is tomorrow
To bring me some other trip
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9. |
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The sun is looking our way
The breeze is picking up steam
Your head is stapled to mine
And right now things are pretty alright
There’s nothing that I want
There’s nothing that I need
Nothing fits perfectly
And right now things are pretty alright
Right now things are pretty alright
Fires die
And the fire died
Now we’re middle-aged in a mall babe
And it’s not even a half-decent mall oh no
In fact it’s only redeemable quality is that the attached LCBO has affordable sized bottles of Knob Creek special select bourbon whiskey
When I met you I was up on stage
Oh yeah how I held your gaze
Yeah yeah guess you held mine
And right then things were pretty alright
Or how about that afternoon
I was practicing my porno tune
You gave a smile as you left
That made me feel like Myra Hess
Dirty dirty Myra Hess
Fires die
And the fire has now died
So this is a campfire song babe
And we are the marshmallows now hey hey
In the sense that it takes repeated penetrations of a various nature into our soft gooey centres before we’re willing to submerge ourselves into the flames of submissive obedience and personal sacrifice behind mutual veils of strained compatibility
Jack and Jill are throwing a do
Guess we’re going because we have to
You’ll talk to Jill
And I’ll talk to Jack
And then we’ll talk behind their backs
And then things will be pretty alright
Fires die
But we could set the neighborhood alight babe
A potluck past the cemetery gates hey hey
Btw I’ve now lost any semblance of ordered intellectual terrain with which to align a set of loose mental wheels with oh baby baby dig the premise of a life with little to no effective free will and touch me touch me if your internal faculties order you to tonight and let’s expedite procreation make a childish demonstration or we could just go buy some of those squares you like and eat them on the couch
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10. |
Caught
03:46
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These are the days I am a smoker
So I live life on trial
Or am I just in denial
In a freezing cold October
You whisked me blissfully astray
And could you pass the ashtray
All smokey sensations I felt
Were discarded in your fountain of change
You found me a freshwater well
Where the scenery's never the same
All ashes left over
Were put into your course
They became lessons not remorse
All filtered emotion
Left me seeking release
You are breathtaking peace
In ways I can’t articulate
I was struggling
Just gasping for air
You found me an epic escape
And I don’t have to go anywhere
One two three four five smokes
Bumping shoulders trading smirks
They make it better
They make it worse
Prince Edward County has called
She’s made a movement for our return
When we’re there
We are free of a care
Never sick with fatigue or concern
And nicotine briskly swam through my veins
You showed me my guilt’s
All for naught
You can’t go without ever
Getting caught
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11. |
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Old misfortune
Adorned in dirty sweats
Sits statuesque
Eats a meal at the appeal
Of a shelter’s steps
Rises slowly knowing wholly
That a plate of cold chow mein
Isn’t quite the sugar cane
A girl expected
In the market
We’re a thousand aisles away
To find the deal
Sorely stuck in line
For the fine print to reveal
Just exactly what we owe
Before we’re free to take
What we need
No we don’t need a receipt
Greetings from Little Saigon
Where we’ve never seen the dawn
Where Saigons will be Saigons
Greetings from Little Saigon
Where nightmares come
And nightmares go
But dreams may last forever
So put your empty hand in mine
Let’s deaf drunk stumble
Down the storyline
Take the stage and play it proud
It’s only church if it’s fuckin loud
Aye
If you get lost on your way home
Greetings from little saigon
Busted English
Broken English from the gullets of the drunks
By the gutters where the ships they sailed have now sunk
It’s a deathly sort of living
For these lights that hang too low
Where’s the hope
If you hide what you know
Now settle up
It’s last call at the Blue Moon
Bleed to the park
And in the dark with all the marks
That inform your heart
You’ll come crashing through a sadness
That’s been here since long before you
Now is time for your new debut
Greetings from Little Saigon
Where we’ve never seen the dawn
Where Saigons will be Saigons
Greetings from Little Saigon
Where nightmares come
And nightmares go
But dreams may last forever
So put your stupid hand in mine
Let’s deaf drunk stumble
Through the chorus line
Take the stage and play it proud
It’s only church if it’s fuckin loud
Aye
If you get lost on your way home
Here’s your home
Greetings from Little Saigon
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12. |
Stay Weird
03:21
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Make love to a garden spade
Then strip search the sky
‘Cause Larry loves Larissa
They see eye to glass eye
Found peace in an arrangement
Of derangement at last
But if you have to ask
You have been miscast
The lovebirds fled the park bench
And the empties prevailed
Until Asia came collecting
Put their trash up for sale
Found peace in an arrangement
Of derangement at last
But if you have to ask
You have been miscast
So if you’re sinkin’ in a technicolour livin’
Let this lesson of confessin’ ring through
There ain’t no power to empower all the cowards
Like the power of a coward in you
They may stare and they may glare
But your despair is just a ripple
In an ocean of true
Come on Lar’ don’t hang your head
You’ll be messin’ up the point of view
Stay weird
Larry met Wesley
Under dungeon dim lights
And after cleaning the contraption
They bled by candlelight
Found peace in an arrangement
Of derangement at last
But if you have to ask
You have been miscast
Now the world is big and scary
For the flies caught in the web
Who say Kubrick shot the moon land
And those planes were flown by feds
And all recorded history
Was born inside a mind
At least that’s what Wesley told me
When they were getting high
And still the hustle and the bustle
Has been bustin’ the balls of the queerest at heart
While droppin’ roses and promotions at the feet
Of all those dull enough to act their parts
The joke is thin it’s always been but it’s on them
Laughed Larissa gettin’ drunk at the bar
Come on boys don’t hang your heads
Or you’ll miss another shooting star
Stay weird
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Al Grantham Toronto, Ontario
Drawing equally on the lyrical density of 60s folk, the irreverence of punk-rock and the experimental leanings of the alternative and anti movements, Al Grantham weaves a unique tapestry of music and words.
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