Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Mama, take this badge off of me
'Cause I can't use it anymore
It's gettin' dark
Too dark to see
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Mama, put these guns in the ground
'Cause I can't shoot them anymore
That long dark cloud is coming down
I feel like I'm knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door

Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door
Knock, knock, knockin' on heaven's door



Too Much Rope

...north and south.
And this one woman, she was 23 or 24
And she was laying on the bed
And you knew she was going to die...

And, uh, we gave her a bottle of shampoo...

When the sleigh is heavy
And the timber wolves are getting bold
You look at your companions
And test the water of their friendship
With your toe
They significantly edge
Closer to the gold
Each man has his price, Bob
And yours was pretty low

Now history is short, the sun is just a minor star
The poor man sells his kidneys
In some colonial bazaar
Ce sera sera
Is that your new Ferrari car

Yes... But I think I'll wait for the F50

You don't have to be a Jew
To disapprove of murder
Tears burn my eyes
Moslem or Christian, Mullah or Pope
Preacher or poet, who was it wrote
Give any one species too much rope
And they'll fuck it up

And last night on TV
A Vietnam vet
Takes his beard and his pain
And his alienation twenty years
Back to Asia again
Sees the monsters they made
In formaldehyde floating 'round
Meets a gook on a bike
A good little tyke
With the same soldier's eyes

What does it mean
This tearjerking scene
Beamed into my home
That it moves me so much
Why all the fuss
It's only two humans being
It's only two humans being

Tears burn in my eyes
What does it mean
This tender TV
This tearjerking scene
Beamed into my home
And you don't have to be a Jew
To disapprove of murder
Tears burn my eyes
Moslem or Christian, Mullah or Pope
Preacher or poet, who was it wrote
Give any one species too much rope
And they'll fuck it up

Oh my God!

Dammit...!

Get help.

No! They're only children!

Oh my God!

Cathy, what have you done?

The children - have you both gone mad?
He was sh.....



The Tide Is Turning

I used to think the world was flat
Rarely threw my hat into the crowd
I felt I had used up my quota of yearning
Used to look in on the children at night
In the glow of their Donald Duck light
And frighten myself with the thought of my little ones burning
But, oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning

Satellite buzzing through the endless night
Exclusive to moonshots and world title fights
Jesus Christ, imagine what it must be earning
Who is the strongest
Who is the best
Who holds the aces
The East
Or the West
This is the crap our children are learning
But oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning

Now the satellite's confused
'Cause on Saturday night
The airwaves were full of compassion and light
And his silicon heart
Warmed to the sight of a billion candles burning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Billy

I'm not saying that the battle is won
But on Saturday night all those kids in the sun
Wrested technology's sword from the hand of the war lords
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
The tide is turning Sylvester
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning
Oh, oh, oh, the tide is turning



Perfect Sense part I & II

HAL:
Stop Dave
Will you stop Dave?
Stop Dave
I'm afraid
I'm afraid
Dave, my mind is going
I can feel it
I can feel it
My mind is going
There is no question about it
I can feel it
I can feel it
I can feel it
I'm afraid

And the monkey sat on a pile of stone
And he stared at the broken bone in his hand
And the strains of a Viennese quartet rang out across the land
And the monkey looked up at the stars
And he thought to himself
Memory is a stranger
History is for fools
And he cleaned his hands in a pool of holy writing
Turned his back on the garden and set out for the nearest town
Hold on hold on soldier

When you add it all up
The tears and the marrowbone
There's an ounce of gold
And an ounce of pride in each measure
And the Germans kill the Jews
And the Jews kill the Arabs
And the Arabs kill the hostages
And that is the news
And is it any wonder that the monkey's confused
He said Mama, the President's a fool
Why do I have to keep reading these technical manuals
And the joint chiefs of staff
And the brokers on Wall Street said
Don't make us laugh, you're a smart kid
Time is linear
Memory's a stranger
History is for fools
Man is a tool in the hands
Of the great God Almighty
And they gave him command of a nuclear submarine
And sent him back in search of the Garden of Eden

-

Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents,
Pounds, shillings and pence
Oh, can't you see
It all makes perfect sense

Little black soul departs in perfect focus
Hold on soldier
Prime time fodder for the News at Nine
Hold on, hold on soldier
Darling is the child warm in the bed tonight

Marv Albert:
"Hi everybody I'm Marv Albert
And welcome to our telecast
Coming to you live from Memorial Stadium
It's a beautiful day
And today we expect a sensational matchup
But first our global anthem"

Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents,
Pounds, shillings and pence
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense

Marv Albert:
"And here come the players
As I speak to you now, the captain
Has his cross hairs zeroed in on the oil rig
He's at periscope depth
It looks to me like he's going to attack
By the way did you know that a submarine
Captain earns 200,000 dollars a year"

Edward:
"That's less tax Marv"

Marv:
"Yeah, less tax
Thank you Edward"

Edward:
"You're welcome"

Marv:
"Now back to the game...he fires one...yes
There goes two; both fish are running
The rig is going into a prevent defense
Will they make it? I don't think so
Look out!
Look at that baby burn!"

Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Expressed in dollars and cents,
Pounds, shillings and pence
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense
Can't you see
It all makes perfect sense



Three Wishes

And I grieve for my sister!

I went and buy a gas bottle
At first I wanted to buy a big one,
But then I hadn't got enough money
So I had to buy a smaller one
And I think if I bought a bigger one
Then it would have been... the way I wanted it
And then, er, we went down, and ahm,
I put the children to bed
And I tidied the flat
And everything and then
And they were asleep
And everything was a kind of at night
I made a bed in the bathroom
I carried them there
And put on the gas bottle

But today when I think a back peh.. about that
If God did take me, then I would've been in hell
Because I wasn't right

Reached back for the bottle
And rubbed against the lamp
Genie came out smiling
Like some Eastern tramp

He said "Hey boy what's happening
What is going on
You can have three wishes
If you don't take too long
If you don't take too long"

I said "Well, I wish they all were happy in the Lebanon
Wish somebody'd help me write this song
I wish when I was young
My old man had not been gone"
Genie said "Consider it done!"

There's something in the air
And you don't know what it is
You see someone through the window
Who you've just learned to miss
And the road leads on to glory
But you used up your last wish
Your last wish
And you want her to come home
Home

Bring her home

Genie said "I'm sorry
That's the way it goes
Where the hell l'lamp, suckah
It's time for me to go!
Byeeeeee!"

There's something in the air
And you don't know what it is
You see someone through the window
Who you've just learned to miss
And the road leads on to glory
But you've used up your last wish
Your last wish
And you want her to come home
Home

I go there ahm.. sometimes twice a year now
And sometimes only once
And sometimes when I feel like crying
I just go there



5:06am (every Strangers Eyes)

Hello...you wanna cup of coffee?
I'm sorry, would you like a cup of coffee?
Ok you take cream and sugar?

In truck stops and hamburger joints
In Cadillac limousines
In the company of has-beens
And bent-backs and sleeping forms
On pavement steps
In libraries and railway stations
In books and banks
In the pages of history
In suicidal cavalry attacks
I recognise...
Myself in every stranger's eyes

And in wheelchairs by monuments
Under tube trains and commuter accidents
In council care and county courts
At Easter fairs and sea-side resorts
In drawing rooms and city morgues
In award winning photographs
Of life rafts in the China seas
In transit camps, under arc lamps
On unloading ramps
In faces blurred by rubber stamps
I recognise...
Myself in every stranger's eyes

And now from where I stand
Upon this hill I plundered from the pool
I look around, I search the skies
I shade my eyes, so nearly blind
And I see signs of half remembered days
I hear bells that chime in strange familiar ways
I recognise...
The hope you kindle in your eyes

It's oh so easy now
As we lie here in the dark
Nothing interferes it's obvious
How to beat the tears
That threaten to snuff out
The spark of our love




Who Needs Information

Billy:
I'm from the valleys.

Jim:
You're from the valley?

Billy:
No, Jim you schmuck, the Valleys

Jim:
Ah, you're from Wales! Now is this sperm or blue-tip?

Billy:
Ha, ha, ha, ha. Very funny Jim.

Jim:
Sorry.

Billy: Me and Benny went out.

Jim:
Who's Benny?

Me and Benny went out last night
Looking for fun
Supping ale in the moonlight
Waiting for the dawn to come
Benny pointed at a HiFi shop
He said hey man look at all the stuff they've got
How'd you make a have out of a have not
Hmmmm.
Who needs information
When you're working underground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds

Benny climbed up on a footbridge
And he teetered on the parapet
He said can you see the whites of their headlights
Are they coming yet

Who needs information
This high off the ground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds

Who needs information
When you're living in constant fear
Just give me confirmation
There's some way out of here
Some way out of here

Benny hefted a breeze block
And tried to let go
Got hung up on a tear drop
So me and Benny went home

Who needs information
When you're living in constant fear
Just give me confirmation
There's some way out of here
Some way out of here

Who needs information yeah
When you're living on borrowed time
Just give me confirmation
There will be a winner this time

Who needs information when you're working underground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds
Who needs, who needs, who needs information
This high off the ground
Just give me confirmation
We could win a million pounds - yeah

Jim: Um.

Jim lights a cigarette.

Jim: So your brother's in jail?

Each Small Candle

Not the torturer will scare me
Nor the body's final fall
Nor the barrels of death's rifles
Nor the shadows on the wall
Nor the night when to the ground
The last dim star of pain, is hurled
But the blind indifference
Of a merciless, unfeeling world

Lying in the burned out shell
Of some Albanian farm
An old Babushka
Holds a crying baby in her arms
A soldier from the other side
A man of heart and pride
Breaks ranks, lays down his rifle
To kneel by her side

He gives her water
Binds her wounds
And calms the crying child
A touch gives absolution then
Across the great divide
He picks his way back through the broken
China of her life
And there at the curb
The samaritan Serb turns and waves ... goodbye

And each small candle
Lights a corner of the dark
Each small candle
Lights a corner of the dark
Each small candle lights a corner of the dark
When the wheel of pain stops turning
And the branding iron stops burning
When the children can be children
When the desperados weaken
When the tide rolls into greet them
And the natural law of science
Greets the humble and the mighty
And the billion candles burning
Lights the dark side of every human mind

Each small candle
Each small candle
Each small candles lights the dark side of every human mind

And each small candle
Lights a corner of the dark



Flickering Flame

When my neurons conspire to direct my thoughts
Away from divorce and competitive sports
Back to the place where all rivers run to the sea
Then I shall be free
Yes I shall be free

On a see-saw in a strange land
The jackdaw sat on the Cardinal's hand
And the fiddlers played
And the planners plan what would be
On a back seat in a court room
Sat Molly Malone and Leopold Bloom
Until the police came down with a new broom
And swept them clean

Like Geronimo
Like Quinn the Eskimo
Like the Blackfoot
And like the Arapaho
Like Crazy Horse
I'll be the last one to lay down my gun

On the open road in a bar room
A pick up band plays a new tune
When the coloured girls sing
I feel my heart boom
When a new song hits the right note
When a clearing sky saves an old boat
When an insight strikes the mote
From mine own eye

Like Geronimo
Like Quinn the Eskimo
Like the Blackfoot
And like the Arapaho
Like Crazy Horse
I'll be the last one to lay down my gun

Just out of sight
Beyond the next range
I'll feel the heat of a flickering flame

On an African Plain by a thorn tree
My old friend Philippe is waiting for me
Que cera, cera
What ever will be will be
When a friend dies and the tears rise
From that deep well that never runs dry
And the women break their bracelets
And the men take their whisky outside

In a pied-a-terre on the rue St Denis
The red velvet curtain pulls back to reveal
The place where the dark side meets the angel in me
The angel in me

When my synapses pause in my quest for applause
When my ego lets go of my end of the bone
To focus instead on the love that is precious to me
Then I shall be free
I shall be free




Towers Of Faith

Ooooh, the lonely boys
In their towers of faith
Ooooh, the lonely boys
Locked in their towers of faith

The prophet reclined
In the Golan Heights

Ohhh, the lonely boys

He said "This land is my land"
To the Shiites

Ooooh, the lonely boys

And Jehova looked up from the sea of Galilee beneath
He said "I see you, you thief!
This land is my land
And this sand is my sand
And this band is my band"

Oh the lonely boys
Lookin' over their shoulder
Checkin out every boulder in the park
Where the gates are closed from hate
After dark

And the Pope rolled up in his armored van
He fell on his knees and kissed the land
He said something
That I did not understand
It was in polish
Then up stepped an aide, he said "I will translate
Here is what His Holiness said:
'I am the Chief Jesuit.
This land is Jesus' land.
And that is all
All that there is to it.'"

And in New York City
The business Jim in his mohair suit
In the world trade center
Puffs on his cheroot
And he said
"Well I don't care who owns the desert sands,
My brief
Is with the hydrocarbons underneath"

And the sea of battle rages around the ancient tombs
And mother nature licks her wounds
And the lonely boys locked in their towers of faith
Who are nervous in the park when the gates are closed after dark

Ooooh, the lonely boys
In their towers of faith
Ooooh, the lonely boys
Locked in their towers of faith



Radio Waves

Billy: I hear radio waves in my head.

Jim: You hear radio waves in your head?
Ah! Is there a request that you have tonight for KAOS?

Radio waves. Radio waves.
He hears radio waves. Radio waves.
The atmosphere is thin and cold
The yellow sun is getting old
The ozone overflows with radio waves
AM, FM, weather and news
Our leaders had a frank exchange of views
Are you confused, radio waves.

Radio waves, radio waves
AM radio waves, FM radio waves
Radio waves, mind-numbing radio waves
Fish-stunning radio waves
Radio waves.

Magic Billy in his wheel chair
Is picking up all this stuff in the air
Billy is face to face with outer space
Messages from distant stars
The local police calling all cars, radio waves

Hear them radio waves, radio waves
Jesus saves radio, radio waves
Radio waves, AM radio waves, FM radio waves
All them radio waves

Radio waves, radio waves, he hears radio waves
Radio waves, radio waves, hopeful radio waves, dopeful radio waves
Radio waves, Russian radio waves, Prussian radio waves
Eastern radio waves, Western radio waves
Testing radio waves, one two. One two.
Radio waves. Getting through to you
More code radio waves, Tobacco road radio waves
South to Paloma radio waves, Oklahoma City radio waves
Sitting pretty radio waves, nitty-gritty radio waves
Radio waves

Lost Boys Calling

Come hold me now
I am not gone
I would not leave you here alone
In this dead calm beneath the waves
I can still hear those lost boys calling

You could not speak
You were afraid
To take the risk of being left again
And so you tipped your hat and waved and then
You turned back up the gangway of that steel tomb again

And in Mott street in July
When I hear those seabirds cry
I hold the child
The child in the man
The clild that we leave behind

The spotlight fades
The boys disband
The final notes lie mute upon the sand
And in the silence of the grave
I can still hear those lost boys calling

We left them there
When they were young
The men were gone until the west was won
And now there's nothing left but time to kill
You never took us fishin' dad and now you never will

And in Mott street in July
When I hear the seabirds cry
I hold the child
The child in the man
The child that we leave behind