Get all 3 Ian Beetlestone & the Drowning Rats releases available on Bandcamp and save 20%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of THE AWFUL TRUTH, 6ft Away... LIVE RATS, and Songs for Schizophrenic Lovers.
1. |
||||
When I woke up after the nuclear holocaust I had no memory of course
The trees and the squirrels and the sky and the ground were the same dead grey I found
There was a dreadful stillness in the air, there was a silence everywhere
I smoked a cigarette as out the window I leant, pondering what it all meant
I dropped the bomb
And I'm still breathing
I dropped the bomb
My senses reeling
I dropped the bomb
My heart is jumping, blood is pumping from my fingers down to my toes
I went for a walk after the nuclear holocaust, I put on my Wellingtons of course
I waded through the blood and passed the puddles of tears and put my hands over my ears
The homes of my friends and my relatives had disappeared, the damage was surprisingly severe
I noticed the battles of the warring factions and stayed away from the action
I dropped the bomb
And I'm still breathing
I dropped the bomb
My senses reeling
I dropped the bomb
My heart is jumping, blood is pumping from my fingers down to my toes
A man that I had beaten to a bloody shivering pulp was lying prone on the floor
He opened his eyes and he said "please forgive me" and he said "please let me come back for more"
He said "what d'you think you've done to deserve such clemency?" and I squealed and I put up my hands
He gave me some crumbs that he had found in his pocket and he said "just this once you understand"
I dropped the bomb
And I'm still breathing
I dropped the bomb
My senses reeling
I dropped the bomb
My heart is jumping, blood is pumping from my fingers down to my toes
I dropped the bomb
Just this once you understand
I dropped the bomb
Just this once
|
||||
2. |
Kick Me
03:41
|
|||
Well come on and kick me
And then kick me again
Come on and beat me
Beat me to the end
Come on and bruise me
Colour me black
Put me on the floor now
And leave me on my back
I want you to hurt me
I want you to make me smart
I want you to kill me
And that's just for a start
So go on and love me
And then walk out the door
And then come back and kick me
And then kick me some more
I want it
I need it
I love it
You love it
Birds do it
Bees do it
Let's do it
Let's do it
Come on and do it
Come on and do it yeah
It's what I exist for
I'm here to take your pain
So come here and break me
And then break me again
I need a reminder
I need a souvenir
So come back and kick me
And then leave me here
|
||||
3. |
Henri
04:35
|
|||
Henri, like a dew drop on a flower
Or a room let by the hour
Like a snowflake on a child's tongue
Like a grip lost on the first rung
Like a rainbow, like a daydream
Like a dust fleck in a sunbeam
Like a boy found in the rushes
I see the light's on but nobody's at home
I'm out here all on my own
I knock at the door
I call 'til I'm hoarse
But your world just keeps turning
The sun is low
It's starting to snow
Henri won't you come and let me in
Henri, like a ripple in a fleet stream
Like a sunset disappearing
Like the deepest of the oceans
Like an offering from the Trojans
Like a coat that doesn't fasten
In a storm that quickly passes
Like a jewel found in a sand dune
I see the light's on but nobody's at home
I'm out here all on my own
If you open up to me
You will see
That the world just keeps turning
I'm down on my knees
I'm begging you please
Henri won't you come on back to me
Henri, like a dolphin on a sandbank
Like a baby in the drunk tank
Like a gypsy fortune teller
Like a doped up midnight caller
Like the darkness of the night sky
Like a brief glint caught in your eye
Like a love song tapped in Morse code
I wish you could tell me who you are
|
||||
4. |
Fire, Fire
05:11
|
|||
Emergency service, I set my house on fire
I brought in a wood pile, erected me a pyre
I drew all the curtains, I locked up all the doors
I lit me a match and I threw it on the floor
Fire, fire, burning dazzling beautiful fire
Send over your engines, send over your best men
I set my house on fire again
I can hear the sirens, they're coming to my aid
I lie down and wait here in this bed that I made
My consciousness wavers, I'm dreaming in my smoke
I hear them draw nearer, I can hear them approach
Fire, fire, flames are leaping higher and higher
I'm getting so drowsy, I lie down on the floor
I hear the sirens at my door
They're breaking the windows, they've come to save our lives
They're unreeling their hose, they're in for a surprise
I'll tell you a secret, just between you and me
I put petrol in the hydrant where the water should be
Fire, fire, choking me with fear and desire
Send over your engines, send over your best men
I set my house on fire again
Emergency service, I set my house on fire
|
||||
5. |
Heroes
03:47
|
|||
The light has changed, a chill has come
There is a wall where before there was none
And there won't be any heroes anymore
It's in your eyes, it's in your heart
That this is tearing us apart
And there won't be any heroes anymore
We build it up, they tear it down
They tie your feet down onto the ground
I saw you swim, they'll say you drowned
And then they'll spread their lies all over the town
They bring their tools, they bring their hate
They lock our dreams behind their gates
And there won't be any heroes anymore
There were schools and hospitals and playgrounds and libraries
There was spaceflight and starlight and courage and society
We beat the fascists and the racists and the bigots and the cheats
And then we stopped giving a fuck and put our hands under our feet
Our gaze has dropped, the sky is dark
And now I don't know where to start
And there won't be any heroes anymore
And there was Venice and New York and Berlin and Brixton
There were galaxies and heartbeats and twenty-twenty vision
We were dreamers, believers, adventurers and lovers
And then we pulled down the blinds and hid our heads under the covers
Night has come and day has gone
But there's a light burns in our song
And there won't be any heroes anymore
|
||||
6. |
If I Could Have You
03:34
|
|||
I would give away my house if you would live in it with me
I would sink this ship we're on just to get you in the sea
I would swim with you up the mountains and walk with you in the sky
I would beat myself black and blue to see affection in your eyes
And I would give you up
I would give you up
If I could have you
I would come so close to you if only you would let me near
You would push me far away except you want to keep me here
I would roam the fields and lanes if I could just untie this rope
You would keep me fed and clothed enough to light a little hope
But I would give you up
If I could have you
I would touch your lukewarm skin and put my lips upon your face
Yet I would hope and pray one day you'd disappear without a trace
I would paint a dream in gold if I thought you might see it too
And I would give up the most important thing in the world to me if it meant that I could have you
Yes I would give you up
I would give you up
If I could have you
|
||||
7. |
Burst the Bubble
02:57
|
|||
Sky real cloudy, tastes like whisky
Drink it down me, stare deep blue sea
Bring an answer to this chancer
Make me dancer on the fresh air
Hour has come now no more trouble it is time to burst the bubble
What’s outside it? Will I feel it?
Will I breathe in toxic gasses?
Will my skin come up all bumpy?
Will my feet dissolve in acid?
Do the sinful flay each other?
Sodom sleeping with Gomorrah?
Will my kidneys be on fire?
Do the locusts come to die there?
Hour has come now no more trouble it is time to burst the bubble
|
||||
8. |
Over the Westway
07:22
|
|||
Sunset in April on the Westway
Up in a sky of pink and blue and grey
With you so small and far below me
Flight from our gridlocked declarations
Blinded by light cast by the dying sun
So bright, so holy
Take my hand, the angel called to me
Come along and walk with me
Up, up and away, over the Westway
Rent by a thousand complications
Fire-lit window panes winking clues from
Bayswater through to Savoy Circus
Glittering worlds of tribulation
Spinning through their tiny constellations
To ground our earths
Take my hand, the angel called to me
Let me take your pain with me
Up, up and away, over the Westway
Not living
Nor dying
Not falling
Bathed in a sparkling mountain river
Wrapped in a blanket woven from pure air
With you so true and right beside me
Woken so gently by a boy whose
Eyes are the lights that shine on all we do
So bright, so holy
Take my hand, the angel called to me
Let me take your dreams with me
Up, up and away, over the Westway
Not living
Nor dying
Not falling
But flying
|
||||
9. |
The Bleak Midwinter
08:43
|
|||
We’re primitive people
Something fell from the sky
We take shelter by the walls of the keep
We hardly dare open our eyes
It’s wider than mountains
It’s colder than ice
It towers above us
Obscuring the light
We pray for deliverance from this dark and lonely night
We pray for the sense and hope that come with the returning light
Let the bells ring, let them ring forlorn
Let our hearts sing, this is how the saviour was born
This is the bleak midwinter
We turn toward the east
We see the light rising
Joy flushes our cheeks
Cold rays revealing
An endless barren earth
On which we’ll delineate our fields
And then work them for all that we’re worth
‘Cause we prayed for deliverance from this dark and lonely night
We prayed for the sense and hope that come with the returning light
Let the bells ring, let them ring forlorn
Let our hearts sing, this is how the saviour was born
Yes we prayed for deliverance from this dark and lonely night
We prayed for the sense and hope that come with the returning light
And let your love come down on us
Let it breach these battlements
Let it fall like gentle snow
A silent blanket for our souls
Petals from a heav’nly rose
Drop among us, let it come down
Let the bells ring! Let them ring forlorn!
Let our hearts sing! The saviour is born!
Oh my love, let it snow
|
||||
10. |
||||
No more hunting shall we go
In the places that we used to know
Where the deer run tame with pretty doe eyes
And the maidens disrobe with affected sighs
Where you grabbed my arse and looked at me so surprised
Let your love drink on, let it sing this song: there’s no hell below and there is no Soho
No more hunting shall we go
Since they paved the streets o’er the meadow
All the prospecting spivs have got in here
With their Sky TV and their German beer
With their charts and blinds and dollars and dull ideas
Let your love drink on, let it sing this song: there’s no hell below and there is no Soho
Though the stocks were still booming
There was quarry there to fall
The quickest outran the meanest measures of man
‘til their backs were against the wall
No more hunting shall we go
Since they moved the posts and stole the show
There’ll be no more highs and no more lows
There’ll be nothing not turned into gold
There’ll be no more weeds growing through the King’s manicured toes
Let your love drink on, let it sing this song: there’s no hell below and there is no Soho
|
||||
11. |
Skeleton
05:29
|
|||
You buried me deep, deep down in the ground
I see you each night sleeping, sleeping safe and sound
You think you escaped me, you don't know who I am
You think it's wine and roses, I don't give a damn
I am the forest, strange and dark and deep
I'm old frail grandmama with great big pearly teeth
And I am starving when you're filthy rich
My patience always halving, awkwardly you itch
I'm yours
And I wear a dark cloak over all my bones
I've got a stick to poke you when you're all alone
And I've got a sickle for cutting down your size
It could be instrumental, open u[p your eyes
I'm all around you, everywhere you turn
My presence will astound you, no-one ever learns
You should start praying or at least using your mind
I tell you I'm not playing you're almost out of time
I'm yours
Forgive me brother for what I done
I never knew it 'til it was gone
Forgive me mother for what I done
I never knew it 'til it was gone
I'm yours
|
||||
12. |
Killing Me Softly
03:56
|
|||
I've flown too close to the sun
I've seen what the fire has done
I got my fingers burned
I spent all the money I earned
Now I teeter at a precipice
And anyway what kind of wine is this?
Come on baby give me a shove
Too much is not enough
Killing me softly I am my friend my own worst enemy
I want to go to war
And it's you that I'll be fighting for
I trained my weapons on
All the places I have gone
I wore the plastic crown
And I burned the bridges down
I brought the prisoner back
It was me that put him on the rack
Killing me softly I am my friend my own worst enemy
Well it's an exquisite suicide
To be right by your side
And what kind of torment's this
That plays out just as I wish?
And there's no drug I know
To take me where you go
You're too close, come closer still
Light the fire, do my will
Killing me softly I am my friend my own worst enemy
|
||||
13. |
Fine Line
04:28
|
|||
There’s a fine line, fine line
Between the mountains and the green valley
Between the desert and the deep blue sea
Between the starlight and the ocean bed
Between the diametric things we’ve said
Between the ousted and the gone too soon
Between a tender touch and the courtroom
Between a falsehood and the awful truth
High office and a gunman on the roof
But don’t fear it baby, it’s not real, no border guards patrolling here
Between a crisis and a government
Between a lover and a fury sent
You can walk it baby, step by step, observe the ground ain’t crumbled yet
Between the hymnal and the harlot’s curse
Between a vacuum and a universe
You can cross it baby, forth and back, you can feel the heat as the atoms crack
There’s a fine, fine line between you and me
There's a fine line, fine line
Between the living and the grateful dead
Between surrender and a field of red
Between the White House and the poplar tree
Between a raised fist and a bended knee
Between the homeless and the overfed
Between the coffin and the wedding bed
Between the rapids and the stepping stones
Between asylum and the killing zones
But don’t fear it baby, it’s not real, no border guards patrolling here
Between the twilight and the break of day
The ones who idolise and those that pray
You can walk it baby, step by step, observe the ground ain’t crumbled yet
Between the saviour and the parasite, the superstitious and the bathed in light
You can cross it baby, forth and back, you can feel the heat as the atoms crack
There’s a fine, fine line between you and me
|
||||
14. |
Henri's Happy Now
05:52
|
|||
Henri’s happy though it’s strange to see
Henri’s happy now
It looks like he’s more settled and he says so anyhow
The clouds have parted and the storm has passed
He’s found a place to rest
Yet I can’t shake this feeling that he’s not quite at his best
Henri’s happy though it’s strange to see
Henri’s happy it’s true
No more flailing on the open sea
No-one to rescue
Henri’s flying on a jumbo jet
He might not know his destination yet
But if Henri’s happy, then I’m happy
We’re all happy, everybody’s happy now
Should you fall, when you fall, land on me
Like the light of the sun, like a holy blessing, won’t you land on me
Henri doesn’t really care for me
But he likes to know I’m near
He understands I’m willing, when he talks to me, to hear
I haven’t seen him for a little while
But I hope that he’ll return
Bringing gifts of melodies and garlands of his pearls
The sun is dappled and the breeze is light
The air is balmy and still
I think I will sleep well tonight
The wolves have had their fill
I asked Henri how quiet it might get
But Henri hasn’t answered yet
And if Henri’s happy then I’m happy
We’re all happy, everybody’s happy now
Should you fall, when you fall, land on me
Like the light of the sun, like a holy blessing, won’t you land on me
|
If you like Ian Beetlestone & the Drowning Rats, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp