1. |
Stop That For A Start
04:02
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You’re old before your time, you’re one of that happy breed
That everybody knows about, and no-one seems to need
Life’s a stunning cabaret, and theatre has its uses
But if you’re going to play that role, I’m making my excuses
I really used to like you, I used to like your pose
But I’m looking through the shadows now, and it’s riddled full of holes
I used to have a family, but I lost them on the way
Somewhere between Birmingham and the old 148
I’m going somewhere colder, I’m getting back on course
And I won’t burn your brand new clothes if you don’t steal my Crazy Horse
Every word’s a reference point, it’s a bullet from the heart
And honey, you can stop that for a start
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2. |
The Merchant of Venus
03:46
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Was I just holding something back or trying to do my worst?
Good intentions come to mind but you don’t forget your first
Waves upon the water and suitors on the shore
Trying to get it back to what they used to know before
He said “I want to talk to you” but ‘torture’s what she heard
And it seemed that in mishearing she’d expressed what he preferred
She said “Do you have children, and how did you two meet?”
He said “Once I did but now I don’t, my family’s incomplete”
Meanwhile back in Belmont the room’s alive with their transgressions
They’re gathered in the courtyard trying to make a good impression
One by one they all pull back the curtain on the caskets
And pose a question to themselves as if they’re too afraid to ask it
Like a long-forgot celebrity to crops up on the screen
You ask what they’ve appeared in and where they might have been
From the courtroom to the gallery there’s always someone who’s been framed
Where everyone’s a suspect, but no-one’s ever named
And in his mind he quickly says he’s not prepared to budge
It’s the modern online habit to offend and then to judge
It’s a man in a million who never makes mistakes
And blessed is a woman when she gives and when she takes
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3. |
Showtime
05:04
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Why shouldn’t I tell you what you don’t want to hear?
You sit around the tables pouring whisky after beer
Here’s a toast to entertainment and the end of my career
Standing by the stage with nothing very much to say
Get up if you want to I don’t mind but it’s okay
It seems like it’s impossible to move you all today
Showtime for the masses in their individual ranks
Look to me for inspiration don’t expect my thanks
Just lob a glass at passing cars and burn down all the banks
Stringing up my Telecaster, holding down a B
Looking at an album sleeve and wishing it was me
Striking up an anthem and retiring gracefully
Are you really listening, do you really care?
Would you like it if it was a mercenary up there?
You criticize my clothing and immortalize my hair
Punch the sky, another line that kicks off with a “Don’t”
Wait for me to bite the dust, rely on it I won’t
‘Cause I can’t hear your money talk and I am not alone!
Showtime for the indiscreet and standing on the stage
I’m acting out a fantasy and acting out my age
Turn another chapter, rewrite another page
Every wave is nearly new until the time it breaks
Look into the mirror and rewrite another fake
You don’t want to know how my heart and body aches
Well, nor do I…
I want to see the bright lights, I want to feel the rain
I need to know the limits I can take to feel your pain
I want to see your face and hold your body close again
Telling me “It’s fiction!” when we both know it’s true
I smoked myself to death while I was thinking lines for you
I pissed off both the neighbours and my room-mate’s lover too
Gaining inspiration from the pain that I provoked
I killed myself just laughing when you couldn’t see the joke
Now I’m putting ashtrays in my room and vodka in my coke
Do you know my spirit, do you know my kind, or must I explain?
It’s Show Time once again…
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This Much Talent England, UK
I did my first gig in 1980. Between then and now I’ve been in a blues rock power trio, heard The Big Music, played heavy-big
pop, been an acoustic troubadour, stage manager, author, Beatles specialist, and once joined a travelling family of Appalachian musicians named the Guitars. Good times.
Thanks to all of the wonderful musicians who took time to collaborate with me this time around.
Shane.
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