LYRICS
I cracked my head on a rock
Yes I lied.
Cosmo isn’t my real name.
I did wrong.
Because my name doesn’t
sound like that at all.
The lie felt mild.
At first, but now it doesn’t, not at all.
It feels harsh and it is hard to deal with.
I could hear it on your voice.
You knew.
It was obvious to me.
Yes I lied, I was weak.
I didn’t dare to tell the truth.
Yes I lied.
It was this information that I had.
I said no.
But I know you knew I knew.
If someone said:
“Your name means toad in Japanese”.
Or even worse,
if they wouldn’t and just laugh.
I tell you this is true.
I had such a good dream
but I have forgotten what it was.
I knew exactly what to do.
I even remember myself
crying out “Eureka!”
loud and clear.
But I cannot recall what it was.
There was this great plan
and it was just for me to get started.
It was all clear to me in detail.
I had been climbing for a while.
The sky was blue and the weather mild.
On my way up I saw some things
that were new to me.
But something went wrong.
I lost my concentration.
So I fell and came down with a thud
and I cracked my head on a rock.
Then I fell over sideways and whined.
I remained like that for a while.
My backpack wasn’t heavy at all.
Well, it didn’t used to be back then.
I remember thinking when I was on the top:
“I wish that I could stop the time right now”.
I could see quite far when I was up there.
The view was just superb and everything looked small.
The trees the river, the fields and the road.
I saw a man and he looked like an ant.
Chorus
At least that’s what I’ve been told.
Introspection isn’t easy at all.
There was a teddy bear called Fuzz
and there was this rooster named Pluck.
Don’t forget they were cartoons
and not people like us.
These two guys always stuck together
just like the Tompson twins
or more like Laurel and Hardy.
They were what we call friends.
Laurel and Hardy is a better comparison,
because they complemented each other.
Fuzz was weak and worried
and Pluck was bold and really tough.
One day the teddy bear said to Pluck:
“I have been thinking for a while.
Hey, if I was dying,
would you stay by my side?”
“I don’t wanna die alone.”
And the teddy bear continued:
“I know you know I’m often scared.
But I feel fear inside
when I’m thinking about this.”
Then the rooster replied:
“I know exactly what you mean.
You might think that I am fearless.
But I often feel the same.”
Suddenly one Monday afternoon
there was an excavator
parked close to our house.
The workers were gone
and they had left
the scoops that they’d used
beside the machine.
And you cracked a joke:
“Now they are digging our grave”.
A few hours later
you went out for a walk.
But outside the house
you stopped at the excavation.
You saw that the workers
had put one small scoop
into a larger one.
And you said:
“It’s the mother scoop
embracing her child.”
I can’t see you and I cannot hear you now.
But I can feel you in some way
and I can see when you move.
I’ve seen a knitted model,
that’s kind of how you stay.
I guess it’s tough some times,
it didn’t look roomy at all.
I haven’t heard you yet.
Or should I say that I have
heard you at a gallop?
That was your heart pounding
like a kitten’s.
They say you’re upside down.
Does that feel strange?
Well, of course not,
there’s no up or down.
I can’t see you, but I know that you are here.
No, I can’t see you but I know that you are here.
I’ve seen a knitted model.
They bought him a plastic toy drum kit in 1979.
He was always playing it, listening to Patsy Cline.
There were times when he almost drove
the neighbours mad as cows.
But we were thinking all the time
that it would lead to something good.
Midnight drummer, in the moonlight in an open field.
Midnight drummer, you make people feel that they’re alive.
Midnight drummer, you will always hit that drum.
Midnight drummer, but can you play a different tune this time?
If one goes out in the neighbourhood when the time has passed
eleven thirty p.m. one might get to hear,
if the temperature is right and if it doesn’t rain,
a sound that cannot be mistaken, it’s the drummer in the open air.
And some people might say:
“You shouldn’t play the drums,
or any other noisy instrument
after nine o’clock.”
But they don’t understand
that music keeps the drummer alive.
Even people in our neighbour town
can hear the drummer now and then.
Silent nights when there’s a west wind
they might come over to take a look at the
Chorus
And the car didn’t break down.
Not that time.
It’s really strange it didn’t collapse.
Not on that occasion.
It took us far away from here.
I drove you away from myself.
In some strange way
it was all clear to me.
And for some inscrutable reason
the car didn’t fall apart.
And there was no engine fault.
The wheels didn’t fall off.
There was some kind of dignity in this.
The hands on the wheel.
A quarter to two.
The eyes on the road.
Five minutes to twelve.
We are alone for the last time.
We are alone for the very last time.
I’ve been told so many,
many, many, many, many
times, that it is hard to start again.
If there’s something that you
don’t fulfil but you have to finish it
you just need to start again.
It could be anything at all.
A book you read, a song or a relationship.
When you’re restless and you think that
this just won’t do and you leave it though you know
that you’ll have to get back to it just to start again.
Then you think later will be fine.
I thought that you would meet me down here.
But I was naive again.
I really thought that I would see you.
Let me illustrate.
My left hand is the ideal world,
how we want it to be.
My right hand is the reality.
This is how it is.
But you think: “This is how I want it to be”.
There’s a gap between these two worlds.
Can you see my hands?
I keep them parted, horizontally.
If you see my hands tight together,
don’t believe it.
Look around.
I thought that you would meet me down here.
But I was naive again.
I really thought that I would see you.
But I don’t anymore.
There’s a gap between the ideal world
and the reality.
Time goes, static sound.
You won’t stay on the ground.
Here, on the other side
the grass is thicker
and the trees are greener.
If you stay where you are
you’ll never see the difference.
That’s how it seems.
From another view.
But if you take the step
you’ll think: “Is this it? Was this all?”.
Here, on the other side
the apples are crunchier
and the pears are sweeter.
Take, come on, take the chance.
Because if you don’t
you will regret it soon.
Hey, we have everything.
The new is newer
and nobody’s counting.
If you stay over there
you will get old and bitter and mean.
12. what people say (2.33)
I didn’t know
that you only wanted to
use me to make things more
convenient for you.
We were four.
But I had to deal with you alone
I guess the fourth felt like me.
And you said:
“This will be so good.
Here’s some space for you.
We want you to be here right now.
You can put your things right here
but you cannot use,
well, you cannot use it yet.
Just make sure you pay.”
“You’re the last
so this is the only place
left for you.
And you can put your things
right over here.”
Now I know
that you fooled me.
But I didn’t know it by then.
It’s so easy to believe what people say.
Hi Death, I think about you every day.
Hi Death, I’m thinking of you now.
“I think about you too.”
All right, do you really need me after all?
“Well, I will wait till 89.”
Oh, thanks! That sounds good to me. At least right now.
Time goes fast, a year feels like a month.
I’ve got a clock I cannot trust.
Hey Death, but can I really trust you now?
“After seven comes eleven.”
I hear that you’re not too good at counting, or?
“After ten comes half past nine.”
“Oh, yeah! They kicked me out of school back then.”
So, they didn’t want you there?
That’s not too hard to believe.
OK, that means we can’t be so sure.
“Well...”
That’s all right, because eternal life doesn’t seem too good.
“Good boy!”
Because I’ve read the picture of Dorian Gray and Goethe’s Faust
and I have heard Alphaville too.
In one year the reconstruction began.
And within two years the house was completely rebuilt.
The building looked like before but slightly changed.
It wasn’t visual, it was something I felt.
I can’t put my finger on it right now.
It seemed familiar but at the same time not.
I’m coming home.
Anytime.
I’m coming home.
I’ll just have to.
My back hurts, my feet hurt as well.
You know why.
It doesn’t help to look any further than this.
And life was strange, though you didn’t know.
I’m turning back.
Anytime.
I’m turning back.
Your arms hurt, your legs hurt as well.
I know why.
This has been like a corkscrew in my chest.
What can be done to repair I don’t know.
But I’m coming home.
Anytime.
I’m coming home.
I’ll just have to.
15. forgotten dream (1.28)
keep my eyes but don’t pin and mount them
LYRICS & INSTRUMENTATION
1. To be with you (2.02)
I thought that you
would sit beside
but something made me realize
you couldn’t talk
your throat was dry
and I went out without a sigh
When I came back
you were not there
and I found something
that I wasn’t supposed to read
but I read it anyway
because I went
Down to be with you
Down because I need
Down because I need you
Need you so much more from day to day
Never heard before
Never, ever heard before
She went to dad
said that he
would hit me
if he looked at me
But he didn’t though
he just said “Oh!”
“You’re messing up this TV-show!”
Hopeless now
But not at all
The only thing you have to do
Away from me
Could it be
Because I went
Down to be with you
Down because I need
Down because I need you
Need you so much more from day to day
Never heard before
Never, ever heard before
Because I went
Down because I need you
Down because I need
Down because I need you
Need you so much more from day to day
(2 vocals, 2 electric guitars, bass, tenor banjo, drums, handclaps)
2. The swimmer (3.21)
To see you, see you swim
it wakes me up, it makes it all
You hold your head up high
and you smile
and you close your eyes gently
The water suits you well
It lifts you up, makes you look so
There’s no doubt about
that you’re in your element
You want to reach far beyond
all those grey rocks
that we never could attain
They were always too far away
and we couldn’t get there
As the feeling comes near
I swallow and I wish you were here
Is there anything now?
I take a deep breath and I think about
To see you, see you swim
it can’t be beat by anything
To hear you splash about
in the August sun
The water suits you well
It lifts you up, makes you look so
There’s no doubt about
that you’re in your element
You want to reach far beyond
all those grey rocks
that we never could attain
They were always too far away
and we couldn’t get there
As the feeling comes near
I swallow and I wish you were here
Is there anything now?
I take a deep breath and I think about
To see you, see you swim
It wakes me up, it makes it all
You hold your head up high
and you smile
and you close your eyes gently
The water suits you well
it lifts you up, makes you look so
There’s no doubt about
that you’re in your element
(3 vocals, 2 acoustic guitars, electric guitar, electric Yamaha organ)
3. Dodonka, Ranko, Little Banter (3.14)
Rolfie’s having dinner with Cornelia
in a paper bag and it’s okay
you can feel confused
and you can say
that you don’t really get a thing at all
Lenny is just sitting in the sofa
eating popcorn saying: “Oh, my dear!”
I know that you’ve got friends
who you are talking to
but that’s alright with me
if you’ve got friends
that I can’t see
Cassandra’s also listening
she is always with you
I should know that, anywhere
nobody ever asks you anything
about those little friends
no one at all
perhaps the others do not know
a thing about it
I haven’t told them anything
I know that you’ve got friends
who you are talking to
but that’s alright with me
If you’ve got friends
that I can’t see
I know you need them now
you keep them deep down there
you give them funny names
but it’s alright, anyhow
I might have said just something
about the names
you give them
some are really cool, you know
my favourites they are
Dodonka, Ranko, Little Banter and of course Feel Free
I know that you’ve got friends
Who you are talking to
But that’s alright with me
If you’ve got friends
that I can’t see
I know you need them now
you keep them deep down there
you give them funny names
but it’s alright, anyhow
Lenny is just sitting in the sofa
saying “Rock’n roll!”
(3 vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drums,
Philichorda organ)
4. Silverback (1.49)
Clive has lost his girl
just the other day
He lost her in a fight
Clive fought really hard
Now he’s black and blue
and of course he seems
a bit irritated now
No wonder about that
S-S-S-Silverback!
He’s sitting in the grass
Chewing on a plant
Scratching his left arm
looking for a flea
Finds the flea, alright
and he kills it with a bite
S-S-S-Silverback!
Clive is eating shoots
He’s frowning and he looks
a bit like he is mad
I wouldn’t tease him now
if I were you
But you don’t
Well – Do you?
S-S-S-Silverback!
Staring at the woods
Nothing in particular over there
Staring at the grass
Nothing in particular over there
Looking at the sky
Just some fluffy clouds
All is pretty calm
Time is right for Clive
Go ape!
S-S-S-Silverback!
(2 vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, body percussion)
5. The fear and the fury (3.02)
I saw the fear
in the footballer’s eyes
as the crowd entered the field
What before was with him
now was against
and he couldn’t escape
I will hear that voice again some day
The fear is always waiting to be free
Can you feel the pain
in the wrestler’s neck?
You know it hurts
but he doesn’t show
He’s down and out
as he lies on the mat
He closes his eyes
and swallows his pride
I said that I haven't heard that voice
since I was twelve
with hair straight as nails
I stood beside and I was scared
I saw the fight
but could not intervene
I will hear that voice again some day
The fear is always waiting to be free
I saw the fear
in my father’s eyes
as the crowd entered the field
What before was with him
now was against
So, talk to me
as you plan the flight
Talk to me
And I saw the fear
in the footballer’s eyes
as the crowd entered the field
(3 vocals, acoustic guitar, 2 mandolas, baglamas, mandolin, bass, tambourine,
ride cymbal)
6. Trapper (2.34)
When you asked me
about my music
I answered and then I
returned the question
But I should have known better
It was a trap
because your answer
to that was
“It is non of your concern!”
“You shouldn’t bother, no!”
Stay sorrow, sorrow stay
Hiding from the things you don’t want
Stay sorrow, sorrow stay
Easy closed eye
Will you meet
I don’t see the point
And then I met you
at the station
You seemed repentant of
what you had done
You couldn't hide it, no
I regret it and I’m sorry
but that was the only way
for me to respond
to what you had said
Stay sorrow, sorrow stay
Hiding from the things you don’t want
Stay sorrow, sorrow stay
Easy closed eye
Will you meet
(vocal, 2 electric guitars, acoustic guitar, bass, drums, 2 cornets, body
percussion)
7. Her dog started barking at me (3.22)
I was down at the corner shop
the other day
I had to buy some rice
and some tins as well
It’s a pretty good shop you should know
They’ve got loads of stuff and it is cheap
I walked around
to see if I would find something else
Then, suddenly,
I saw a face from times that I had left
My ex-girlfriend was in the shop
So I had to leave the building right on
I ran out to get myself some air
Her dog started barking at me
After a while I noticed that I had
left my things in the shop
My food, my wallet and I guess my bag
So I waited for 15 minutes
to be safe
I went in, but just to find her there still
(Oh! Damned!)
I ran out to get myself some air
Her dog started barking at me
(2 vocals, electric guitar, 2 bouzoukis, bass, drums)
8. Money (0.45)
(2 drum kits, vocals, old tape with male & female voice)
9. Hold my head (2.12)
Hold my head
as high as possible
It’s hard to see
when everything is black
Stay around
because everybody won’t die
Keep your face
as freckled as possible
Stay away
the rest of the day
is something
you could never say
Keep my eyes
to see
what I can see
Keep my eyes
don’t pin and mount them, though
Hold your head to be down to be
Hold your face to be cold and
Hold your head
as cool as possible
That’s the way
it must be held right now
Keep your head to be down to be
Hold your head
Hold my head
as high as you do want
Stay away
the rest of the day
is something
you could never say
Keep your feet
beneath your face and hands
It looks just like
if you’re a bit unreal
(4 vocals, electric Yamaha organ, 2 cornets, 2 baritone horns, handclaps)
10. Hit you (2.53)
Well, you know, some things hit you
when you’re really not prepared
Do you know the place I went to
I won’t go there anymore
Hold me
Squeeze me
Hold me
Don’t go away
Please, please
say that you won’t
Say that you need me
and that you’ll stay around
Do you feel half or whole now?
Do you feel complete or not?
Could you say that you don’t care about
things like this at all right now?
Hold me
Squeeze me
Give me a place and give me time
Hold me
Tell me that you
need me to be around again
Did you know: I just met her
I said “Hi!” she said “No!”
Hold me
Squeeze me
Because I feel like shit
Hold me
Don’t go away
Hold me tight and stay right here
Do you feel
I would never
Never, ever tell you so
But just wait
it might happen
to you as well
Anytime
Hold me
Squeeze me
Hold me
Say that you’ll never go
Hold me
Stay with me now
Hold me
(3 vocals, electric guitar, bouzouki, baglamas, acoustic guitar, bass, drums)
11. Close to you (3.27)
Stay down there’s no idea to rise
before morning comes
You’ll have to accept
that there is no easy way out
It’s gone and you will never
find it though you will try
There’s too many ways
There’s too many ways to lose
Search where you never go
Search behind walls
The basement is empty
the attic is void
And when I realized
you were not here at all
I felt like if I
just had to leave
at once
With closed eyes in the rain
Will never become
and will never get
close to you
Search where you never go
Search behind walls
The basement is empty
the attic is void
Behind this room there is another
exactly like this
and behind that
The red walls feel soft when you
Search where you never go
Search behind walls
The basement is empty
the attic is void
It’s gone and you’ll never find it
though you will try
There’s too many ways
There’s too many ways to lose
(2 vocals, acoustic guitar, 2 baritone horns, square piano)
12. Disco (3.03)
I think about it often
And when we came home
you were happy
You couldn’t tell me why
if I asked you
but you were shining
Now it’s not like that
I meet you in the park
and you say:
“All roads lead to nothing
and the roads they need repairing”
It looks darker than we want but
home is still pretty safe
Think about it now
You’ll have to try
You’ll have to get to the core
You’ll have to try
You’ll have to get to the core
Otherwise it is in vain
When you said that you’ve been looking forward
to be sitting on a bus to somewhere else
where you don’t have to think about it
well, this is pretty close
I didn’t want to hear anymore about it
I just couldn’t
but I knew I had to do it
And when all these things came up
I saw that it really made you good
You’ll have to try
Don’t just leave it
You’ll have to get to the core
Otherwise it is in vain
Have to try
Just don’t leave it
You’ll have to get to the core
Otherwise it is in vain
(2 vocals, 3 electric guitars, bass, drums, Philichorda
organ)
13. Burned furniture (3.47)
He met her in the street some days ago now
She looked like before but slightly changed
He couldn’t put his finger on it though there
was something that he’d never seen before
I went down to see you but there wasn’t
anything left, just some cups and some rugs
and some burned furniture
It was quite a shock to me
but I pulled myself together
and left without saying a word
It was like if she tried to examine him
Was she scared of something he could do?
She kept looking at him with her searching eyes
Did she wonder about what he knew?
Tell me now:
Did you ever feel that you had lost it?
Did you ever feel that it was gone?
I went down to see you but there wasn’t
anything left, just some cups and some rugs
and some burned furniture
It was quite a shock to me
but I pulled myself together
and left without saying a word
He guessed that she could see that he was
bothered by somebody
It could have been a few
She didn’t know
So tell me now:
Did you ever feel that you had lost it?
Did you ever feel that it was gone?
(3 vocals, 2 electric guitars, mandolin)
14. Sycophant in love (2.44)
(2 vocals, drums, bass, 3 cornets, square piano)