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THE WESTERN LANDS

SAINTS

at seventeen I heard my calling
to suffocate with my embrace
murder ten to save a hundred
drown the whole world in my faith
from a long line I descended
immaculate, an empty womb
and the spur is desperation
maybe God is desperate too
in watermarks and lonely places
a private measurement of time
in made-up names and blacked-out faces
I will trace my blood line


SHE DANCES

then she dances
skirt swaying in the half-light
she dances
white blossom in the black sky
'I need new clothes', she thinks,
'new skin; a mind I can bear to live in'


HOLLOW MEN

locked in a room with the book and a rope
the hollow men close in
justice begins at home
her name is known
her name is known
cut her up
cut her out
crush her will before she finds it


SONG AMONG THE PINE

Song Among the Pine
cones and needles lie
atop the dark soil
they will come for me
with searchlights streaming through the cedar trees
cold ash smother the fire
cold ash smother the fire
the ripple of the stream
is just one way the forest speaks to me
the anger in the streets
is just the way a broken city breathes


TRUST

I had no idea
I was your latest big mistake
I had no idea
we were dancing on someone's remains
given he is marked like me
would I see him in a crowd?
given his lines
resembled mine
would I catch his eye?
we could hammer it out in a neutral space
and he would say
trust is a hard thing to come by these days
and you have no idea just how it will feel until it happens for real
you have no idea how bad it will feel until it happens for real
we could hammer it out in a neutral space
and he would say
she will suck you in
she will fuck you up
she will throw you away
and trust is a hard thing to come by these days
trust is a hard thing to come by these days


FAREWELL, FAREWELL (Words by Richard Thompson)

Farewell, farewell to you who’d hear
You lonely travelers all
The cold north wind will blow again
The winding road does call

And will you never return to see
Your bruised and beaten sons
Oh I would, I would if welcome I were
For they loathe me every one

And will you never cut the cloth
Or drink the light to be
And can you never swear a year
To anyone but we

No I will never cut the cloth
Or drink the light to be
But I’ll swear a year to one who lies
Asleep along side of me

Farewell, farewell to you who would hear
You lonely travelers all
The cold north wind will blow again
The winding road does call


HOURGLASS

when i think of you
i stop and turn the hourglass again
the past is a strange place
but i want it back
and i just won't wait
city girl, what have we done to ourselves?
black spine northern line
feeds on money and time
you cut your soul to fit
battle scars from all night bars
never thought that i would be so drawn to it
city girl, what have we done to ourselves?


GRAND UNION CANAL

i've walked every street in this city
i can't find a way out
beyond these walls
a clarion call
'find a way out'
i have burned every bridge in this city
trying to get to you
while you are waiting for me
by a copper-blue sea
i am fading away in this room


THE COLLECTOR

so here is justice
another someone
disappears last week
you say you saw someone hanging around
did he look like me?
twenty-five missing now
no-one looks to me
the land of the free can longer deal
with the truly free
events conspire to make you famous for a while
two weeks ago you were unknown
now all know your smile
from photographs on file



FIRES IN DISTANT BUILDINGS

DOWN RIVER

the plans we made
we planned in vain
a waste of time
now winter's hand
made me understand
you're no friend of mine
so I play your game
like cornered prey
I play for time
and quietly
you abandon me
true to my design
from the river bed
to the water's edge
high tide
something's stirring
you feel it on your skin
down river it lies


THE VELVET CELL

to understand the killer
I must become the killer
and I don't need this violence anymore
but now I've tasted hatred I want more
the velvet cell within men
gloriously rusted masks
grey death heart crocuses
and I had always thought
the desire to kill was a disease you caught
but it's dormant in the hearts of everyone
waiting for a spark, an emotion


ANIMALS

they descend upon the city like flies
spraying their eggs into a dead dog's eyes
it's England on a Saturday night
I wish I could be like them and I try
but I find it more rewarding to walk along the river
picturing my body discarded in the water
I wonder who will do it and I wonder what they're doing right now
they opened up the sewers tonight
animals caged in their appetites
let loose upon the passer-by
and people like me are just parasites
take me to the river
I want to feel the water
closing in and helpless as you're pushing my head under
I wonder if you'll do it and I wonder what you're doing right now
at four am you're lying right there
with urine and wine dried in your hair
I take you to the river
I want to show you something
I'm making a map from all the flowers I'm collecting
I wonder if I'll do it and I wonder what I'm doing right now


NICOLE

find me the captain
tell him I want to know
just who is steering and who's merely holding on
and when the next wave is the last wave
I'll drag him downwards to the engine room
and never let go
oh Nicole
from the moment we met we let it get out of control
the universal dance
the black romance of running prey
the slowing down
the giving in
the final give away
I cry for mercy
you stare back blankly
I want to jump but if you're pushing me
I'll hold on tightly


CITIES BENEATH THE SEA

I live on both sides of the mirror
feel the pain that destruction brings
I want to help put everything in its place
I want to destroy everything
there are cities underneath cities
cities beneath the sea
in deserted towns and burial mounds
there is beauty that no-one will see
and the magic of stones when taken back home
is left on the beach
the dead see through the eyes of the living
the dead know all of our names
powerless to stop us repeating the same
careless mistakes that they made


SONG FROM UNDER THE ARCHES

I've seen bad things in bad places
what did I learn?
wallow in grime
tonight we'll drink the sewers dry
we can't function outside of these dreams of suicide


HERNE THE HUNTER
(Extra track for Japanese release)

stray light filters through the trees
from the forest to the sea
but in my silent domain the dawn arrives too late for me
in dead gardens of wintertime
no moon no stars to spare their light
and be my guide
I'm the figure in the trees
the world will turn and leave behind