Get all 11 Penelope Swales releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Captains of Industry, Legacy: Two Decades of Topical Writing, Skin: Deep, Archive Vol. 2: Songs from the Borderline 1989-1992, Monkey Comfort, 'Archive': Demos, Out-takes and One-offs 1995-2000, Justifying your Longings to the Doctor, Homemade Wine, and 3 more.
1. |
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Nightmares
© Penelope Swales 1989
Windin’ my way through this maze
Some people call today
I’m not altogether sure that I’m not lost
I don’t believe the people that surround me know the way
Any more than I do though they’re telling me who’s boss
I put forward my opinions, people tell me that I’m weird
I find I’m caring less about the values of my peers
I don’t bother telling them what they don’t wanna hear
They won’t believe it
For the first time in four years,
I’m back with people my own age
I’m reminded of how much I don’t belong
Re-hashing the old fashions
That they’re told lead the way
I’d forgotten that the pressure was so strong
I put forward my opinions, people tell me that I’m strange
They seem to think that I should fit the role that’s been arranged
Then they shake their heads at me and tell me that I’ve changed
I don’t believe it
Ahhh..
Everybody’s the new version of the one that’s gone before
What I call nightmares they pursue as dreams
It’s just a mess of bored and scornful faces on the floor
So busy blending in that I can’t see the seams
If I put forward my opinion and he tells me that I’m right
I find I’m getting choosy on who gets to spend the night
It used to be that any speck of interest got me tight
Coz I believed it
Ahhh…
If I put forward my opinion and he tells me that I’m right
I find I’m getting choosy on who gets to spend the night
It used to be that any speck of interest got me tight
Coz I believed it
Ahhh….
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2. |
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Tricklin’ Down
© Penelope Swales 1989
Oh the round-trip was a long one and I find
I’m a stranger in my own town
What you might call my hometown
That’s the way it goes
The streets are all the same
But the faces are strange
There’s no money in my pocket
And things have changed
I somehow thought in the back of my mind
That coming home meant going back
To the same way of living
To my own kind
To the same place
To wake up in the morning to the same sweet face
But my friends have all be scattered
And I’ve only dog-eared dreams to chase
And this fear tricklin’ down, tricklin down
And this fear tricklin’ down
I smile when they tell me I’m too young
They don’t have a clue about the things I’ve done
Oh, but please don’t laugh if I say
I’ve never felt so old before
It’s just tiredness evening up the score
And that deep-worn ache telling me
I’m about to break
And this fear tricklin’ down, tricklin’ down
It seems to me my clock must move twice as fast as yours
These past 5 years have aged me 10
Though you look just the same as you did back then
That first year was filled with fear and sweetness
You took me off the street and bought me pizzas
And my days were as filled with treats as they were with confusion
Filled with fear tricklin’ down, tricklin’ down
And sometimes I catch a glimpse of someone like myself
Who hates to be told they’re just a kid
They don’t have a clue about the things you did
There’s no way of telling them
That you’ve seen things they’ve only dreamt
And it doesn’t matter how old you are
When your time’s all been spent
Livin’ in fear tricklin’ down, tricklin’ down
And you live with that fear tricklin’ down
Smile if they tell you you’re too young
(I try to push it out of my mind)
Remember, they’ve got no way of judgin’ what you have or haven’t done
(Too scared to look in my head for fear of what I might find)
Oh, but you know that I wouldn’t laugh if you said
You’d never felt so old before
It’s just tiredness evening up the score
And that deep-worn ache telling you
You’re finally about to break
And you live with that fear tricklin’ down
You live with that fear tricklin’ down
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3. |
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No Worries
© Penelope Swales 1989
There’s a forest of beer bottles
On the lounge room floor again
The carpet smells of cigarettes
And stale red wine
Trying to open windows
But my attempts are all in vain
Try to keep it in perspective this time
Try to keep it in perspective this time
Try to keep it in perspective
No worries
And my, doesn’t this sort of thing
Just tend to leave you flat
I’ve no great inclination to get up
Out of bed
But I’m awake, now
So the day’s already ruined
Or so the person would have said
That I’m trying to forget
Something else he might have said
No worries
When I rise and look into my eyes
In the mirror
I’m suspicious of exactly who I see
Are these the lines of the face that I look out of?
This stranger’s face, is it really me?
This stranger’s face, now - is it really me?
This stranger’s face, now? is it really?
I’m tryna find a friend in the mirror
(Ohh…)
But I’m not sure that I’ve seen this girl before
(Ohh…)
In an effort, I try to make her look familiar
(I try to make her look familiar)
But I’m not sure, I’m still not sure
(Oh, try to make her look familiar)
But I’m not sure, I’m still not sure
(Oh, try to make her look familiar)
But I’m not sure, I’m still not
No worries
And my, doesn’t this sort of thing
Just tend to leave you flat
I’ve a great inclination to get back
Into bed
But I’m awake, now
So the day’s already ruined
Or so the person would have said
That I’m trying to forget
Something else he might have said
Don’t worry
There’s a forest of confusion in my sleepy mind again
Through the dimness, I’m aware of losing time
It’s hard to gain momentum when you’ve already slipped the chain
I’m busy telling myself I’ll be fine
Busy telling myself I’ll be fine
Busy telling myself
Don’t worry
There’s a forest of beer bottles
On the lounge room floor again
The carpet smells of cigarettes
And stale red wine
Trying to open windows
But my attempts are all in vain
Try to keep it in perspective this time
Try to keep it in perspective this time
Try to keep it in perspective
No worries
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4. |
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Child of the Modern World
© Penelope Swales 1991
If you’re a child of the modern world
Now, do you feel hemmed in?
I wake up on a dead-end street
And I don’t know where I’ve been
I look around at the broken glass
But no memory comes clear
‘Bout where I went or what I did
Or what happened when I got there
If I slumber, then I might dream
And I might waken
Not knowing what it was that made me scream
If you’re a child of the modern world
Do you feel ill at ease?
We all know the facts are there
And the rhetoric is aimed to please
But lookin’ around at the Springtime glow
It’s hard to criticise
The almost eerie presence
Of unbroken, sunny, clear-blue skies
And the weather changed like the turning of a switch
And the fruit will wither on the vine
Sweet frogs die dehydrated in the ditch
Ahh…
Gripped by the fever of industry
I ponder many books
Sweet innocents around me
Toss their hair and give me funny looks
Well, I’ve never been forgiven
For not requiring their permission
But it’s too late now, it’s too late now
And compensation’s best directed
Down, down into the ground
And the answer from the deep, rich soil
Says – surely there must be some other way around?
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5. |
Craving (live, 1991)
03:48
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Craving
© Penelope Swales 1991
At night, I try to push away the black tide
And when I wake, it rolls back in
It takes up all my time
It clouds my heart, it floods my mind
My mind wanders and I
I find myself not knowing what’s been said to me
My loved one looks into my eyes
But they’re glazed and I don’t see
Delusions of grandeur? Or plans practical?
Do you underestimate the danger?
My thoughts unfurl into fantastic schemes
My blood pounds, my brain teems
What sort of haven
Could you build in this, your ruined world?
What sort of craving
Leads you on to, ah –
Disaster, I find I
Must master my emotions and speak evenly
But it does me little good
Coz yes I know, yes I know
You think I’m crazy
Ahh….
Inside I quake and my resolve is shaken
Do I overestimate the danger?
My plans come apart along their seams
My inspiration melts away
I’m left will hollow dreams
What sort of haven
Could you build in this, your ruined world?
What sort of craving
Leads you on to?
On to….
On to….
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6. |
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Follow in your wake
© Penelope Swales 1991
Find me where your echo lays
Where you led me down
Through the mornin’ fog and the evenin’ haze
In the smell of the high, dry grass
I followed in your wake
Lead me down the road to the foreshore
Never seen fields so close to the sea before
Walkin’ down through the cutting,
Felt like the air there held it’s own fire
Silver-white, the fireflies
Winkin’ in and out of the dark, they were
Hangin’ in their own light
And if it hadn’t seemed to me
That I was half-way to faerie
I wouldn’t have believed my eyes
And now I’m travelin’ down the road
My head’s too congested to see the sky and trees
I’m carryin’ my own load
And you see me walkin’ down
My head’s still back in town
Under my own personal black cloud
And you see me feelin’ down
From a distance
And you come amblin’ down
You seek me out
You’ll find me where your echo lays
You knew that I’d come back here one of these days
You’ll find me followin’ your scent
Maybe not even realising that that was my intention
But when you met me down in the high, dry grass
You knew exactly what I meant
And you lay me down in the high, dry grass
I knew exactly what you meant
Ahh….
And you see me feelin’ down
From a distance
And you come amblin’ down
You seek me out
You’ll find me where your echo lays
You’ll find em wanderin’ around in a deep-blue fog,
In a light-blue haze
And in the smell of the high, dry grass
I’ll follow in your wake
And the smell of the high, dry grass
Ever leads me back to that day
In the smell of the high, dry grass
I’ll follow in your wake
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7. |
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No Way In, No Way Out
©Penelope Swales 1989
Ah—la-da da etc..
Waltz with me dance with me, walk with me
Talk to me, talk to me, talk to me, talk to me
Waltz with me dance with me, walk with me
Talk to me, talk to me, talk to me, talk to me
Take me in off the street
A stranger that I chanced to meet
Saw my face and said
Hey, you were in the band!
Take me to the heater’s glow
The student house, they come and go
And I was watchin’
Listenin’ to their talk
And gauging my reaction
Partial irritation, partial attraction
Sort of refreshing, but carrying no satisfaction
Oh..I am what I’ve always been now
I am the stranger now
There’s no way on and no way out
but when I tried to tell her that, she said
“You don’t understand!
You don’t understand my cares
What colourshall I dye my hair
And oh, my birthday’s not the same as
Jim Morrison’s”
Ohh –wey-oh
Do you think he’d like to hear you say so?
No you’re right, I shouldn’t criticise
I’m sorry that I spoke
Plain to see now
Revivial’s in full swing
You can tell byt the songs that cover bands sing
And young people saying
“Things aren’t as exciting
As they were way back when”
Now, mother, tell me is it true?
Was it all just paisley, mini-skirts and pointy shoes or
Was there more than that
wasn’ there something more than that
Oh, makes me think of what I’ve heard
Of students with the courage to try and change the world
Students that make this bunch, yeah,
Look a little bit absurd
Still gong on today, now
no longer a western phenomenon
Marching on the people’s town
Guns and tanks have mowed them down
And can you tell me
This is not your problem?
We’re all in together now
There’s no way in and no way out
And can you say – it’s all too far away
it’s all too far away?
Oh, sittin’ on the uni lawns in the sun
Some of these people have seen the damage that’s been done
Posters flappin’ in the breeze that
Proclaim the bloodshed of the young
And I see other ones
Do those words spell “Blood”?
Does that Chinese lettering spell “Blood”?
Ah—la-da da etc..
Theres danger in the cliché now
there’s no way in and no way out
how hard it is
To say things so that people will understand
Sitting in the comfy chair
seeing what they say and what they wear
And tell me, do you call yourself a radical?
Do you call yourself a student radical?
Ah, makes me think of what I’ve heard
Some students had the courage to try to change the world
And paid the price now, yeah, but
Doesn’t the cost seem a bit absurd?
And if you know so much
Do those words spell “Blood”?
Does that Chinese lettering spell “Blood”?
Ah—la-da da etc..
I was thinkin’ about them
The other side of the world now
This is my contribution
Not that it does much good, yeah
I’m under no delusions
About what effect I have on the world’s convolutions
Do those words spell “Blood”?
Does that Chinese lettering spell “Blood”?
Ah—la-da da etc..
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8. |
Lay It Down (Live, 1991)
06:39
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Lay it Down
© Penelope Swales 1991
Well, I saw you at last
Just walkin’ down
Larger than life, but smaller than memory
In a place – well, I never thought I’d see you here
Escaping your peers
For the New Year weekend
Sneering at people
Who don’t live by the rules
You’ve never shaken since childhood
Lay it down,
Lay it down, down
Lay down your arms
Lift up your arms
And see if you can’t be
Just a little bit kinder
You were very proud of your news
And your pride belies the state you’re in
The level your at, and the feeling it gives you
I’m glad if you’ve found something to do with your skin
But I feel like I’ve left you a long way behind
And refreshing my memory, your smile and your face
Makes me think my old spectre’s a little out of place
And while I still feel for the dreams you erased
You know, I really don’t mind
Lay it down, down
Not after all this time
Lay it down, down, down, down
And see if you can’t be
Just a little bit kinder
Now
Coz lookin’ in behind
Your frightened eyes
You envy the people
You say you despise
And you rail and you rant
At the bars of your cage
But there’s no way you’d leave it
No, not while you think it makes you special
No, not while you think it makes you better
No, not while you think it makes you different
And you’ll find another scene to shine in
New, young and bewildered to laugh at your wit
And you’ll hate them
For not making you laugh, for not making you think
But you’ll cling to them
Coz they’ll take your mind off it
And yet, you long to be good and useful and kind
And a guru, but still guarding your heart and your mind
In case any should dare to love you and lay it down
Dare to want you and lay it down, lay it down, lay it down
Well, I saw you at last
Just walkin’ down
Larger than life, but smaller than memory, ah-ha..
In a place – well, I never thought I’d see you here
Escaping your peers
For the New Year weekend
And although I don’t really
Know what to think
A closer look tells me volumes
A closer look tells me volumes
So tell me now
What was that all about?
Lookin’ back, lookin’ down
What was that all about?
For the love of the pear-shaped princess
What was that all about?
For the love of the sweet, would-be Jesus
What was that all about?
And if irrelevance is the name of the game
Lay it down, down, down,
Lay it down, down, down…..
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9. |
Shannon (live, 1991)
04:25
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Shannon
© Penelope Swales 1991
La da, da….
I can see the dawning of a new sun
My eyes are blinded by this one
I’ve sat the night-watch all the way through to dawn
Wake me when the day is done
Oooh… Cool and bright
Walk in the moonlight
I think that I’ll become
A creature of the night
I can see the dawning of a new sun
And the dawning of a realisation
And when I rise to face the world again
It’ll be in the knowledge of what I have done
Oooh….. But you know it’s true
There’s nothing else that I could do
At least I was honest with you
La da da….
I can feel the new sunrise
I can feel it burn into my eyes
And my eyes ache with the weight of the tears that I’ve cried
My cheeks feel tight where they have dried
As I fall into sleep
I can feel where your hands have been
Your fingerprints on me
Are like a map of you
That anyone could read
La da da…
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10. |
Complacent Nation
06:42
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Complacent Nation
© Penelope Swales 1992
It was in the Summer of ‘91
And the recession was in full swing
But I’d never seen so many new cars on the road
And I sat tight in the suburbs and I watched it all decay
While the residents around me pretended not to notice
As I watched the suburban population
People who have never known dislocation
These are the fruit of a complacent nation
Ahh…
And the truck rolled in to Canberra
And set down their deadly loads
And the jet set settled in, and none were late
And three kinds of policeman
And one kind of journalist
And so many others crowded at the gate
While men who have never known dislocation
Bargained and sold the tools of extermination
Growing fat on the fruit of starvation
Oh, no
Oh, no…
And the Summer, it was hot and dry
Yeah, the Summer, it was long
By December my sister was carting water
From the back creek of her farm
And she said “There’ll be more
Don’t you worry, yeah there’ll be more
Just you wait
And we’ve caused this, yes we’ve caused this
And it soon will be too late
While the fruit of a complacent nation
Lies dreaming beneath the skies of damnation
Pending now is our first taste of starvation
Oh, no
Oh, no…
Ahh….
And many, many miles away
I watched in on the news
Trying to work out what was happening
Through the media’s views
And while the violence raged
The AIDEX spokesmen took the stage and said
“Let’s face it – these people are the dregs of Australia
These people are the dregs
Yeah, we’re the dregs of a complacent nation
We are the ones that comprehend degradation
We’re just people with enough imagination
To say no
To say no
And my friends drifted back in twos and threes
With arms in slings and puffy cheeks and ugly stories
And don’t you think it was overkill to use tactical response
Against peaceful demonstrators saying
“Yeah, give peace a chance”
We are the fruits of a complacent nation
And we’re aware, we’re part of the machinations
That’s driving half the world to starvation
Exploitation, degradation, dislocation, extermination
We say no
We say no
And don’t you wish
There was some way to tell those suffering people
In those other countries
That there are people here who care
And are trying to do something?
And don’t you wish
There was some way to tell the people in this country
Just half of what went on at AIDEX?
Nothing was said on the news
About a truck that deliberately mounted the pavement
To strike a young female protester
Or that the police “lost” the film that was taken of this event
Nothing was said about the fact that many police were in tears
After witnessing the brutality of the Tactical Response Group
And nothing was said
About one brave you police officer
Who put down his weapons
Crossed the lines
And sat down with the picketers
But I’m not complaining about that
No, I’m not complaining about that
What I’m complaining about
Is the people who I talk to here
Who saw it on their TV set
And said nothing really bad could ever happen here
But they deserve all they get
So say the fruit of a complacent nation
About the ones with enough imagination
To the see the part we play in the starvation
Exploitation, degradation, dislocation, abomination
We say no
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11. |
Seeing Red
02:49
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Seeing Red
© Penelope Swales 1992
I’m seeing red – she said
That she knows nothing about it
I’m seeing red – she said
She dunno where he is tonight
He tried to call me from the station
I wish that I’d been home
I wish I knew his situation
And if he’s in alone
Y’know, they passed a new law
Now they can keep you as long as they want to
I’ve heard before
They use telephone books
As ideal insulation, yeah
You can’t prove your situation
Not that anyone would listen
Seeing red – she said
She knows nothing bout where they took him
Or where he’s gone, or how much of this
Killer weed they “found” on him
And you know that in perspective,
It’s just ridiculous
Y’know, they send people to jail for this
Ah-haa…
I think I know why
She don’t want to meet my eye
And she knows I know she knows I know she knows it
In the name of equal opportunity
You know, I saw it with my own two eyes
And I can vouch she packs a punch
As well as any of the other guys
Sold out, sold out, yeah
Sister don’t believe all they tell you
No, no – coz imitation’s not equality
And if you’re gonna be a trailblazer
Please be careful who you emulate
Coz there’s no worth in all we’ve gained
If we lose what he had in the first place
Ahh…
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12. |
Never to Forever
06:52
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Never to Forever
© Penelope Swales 1992
Ah, sepia, sepia, sepia, sepia…
I’ve been walking too long on the hilltop
The wind has got into my skull
While the trees talked and I listened
I found my way home, but the whisperin’
Carries on
Lost in the shifting veils of the night
I stumble upon an earlier dawn
I was amazed that the colours were so bright
Somehow I would have expected
Everything to be in sepia
Ah, sepia …
Here in my prison of skin and bone
I am a fitful flame
For just this one moment,
This lit link in the chain
From never to forever
(Never to forever)
This is your heritage, yes this is what you are
Racing your chariot, crashing your car
Softer things move underneath you
But you don’t really feel them
Softer things move underneath you
But you don’t really feel them
Softer things move underneath you
But you don’t really feel them
Softer things move underneath you
But you don’t really feel them
Softer things move, ohh..
Sepia, sepia
Saying it’s wrong doesn’t make it untrue
We are a savage race
Behind the veil in the back of your mind
Your feet fall in an older place
Herding the women, the children, the spoils of war
This is what you have been longing for
This is the side of things you never knew before
These are the casualties you never saw
Look at her limping coz she can hardly walk
The red of the blood on her skirt is the only badge
The only medal that she’ll ever get from this war
Sepia
Mm – ahh – sepia, sepia, sepia
Here in my prison of skin and bone
I am a fitful flame
For just this one moment,
This lit link in the chain
From never to forever
Never to forever
Never to forever
Never to forever
sepia, sepia, sepia Racing your chariot, crashing your car
Older things move underneath you
But you don’t really feel them
So take my heart back to these older things
(Older things move underneath you)
The thrill of the hunt, beating the skins
Weathering winter painfully thin
Reading the sky, tasting the wind
Sepia…
Saying it’s gone doesn’t make it untrue
We are a savage race
If I find my birthright in the depths of the night
My feet fall in an older place
This is your heritage, yes this is what you are
Hunting your mammoth down, crashing your car
I can’t help laughing, it seems so bizarre
When I hear them say we’ve come so far
My heart still hungers for the power of ritual
Linked with the Earth and the sky and the waterfall
Linked to the danger that living is living for
To feel my blood run with the tide and her mentor
Sepia, sepia, sepia, sepia…
This is your heritage, yes this is what you are
This is what you have been longing for
I can’t help laughing, coz it seems to bizarre
I can’t help laughing, it seems so bizarre
When I hear them say we’ve come so far
Our goddess still breathes in her coffin of concrete
I hear her calling through the soles of my feet
I start to comprehend why we’re so incomplete
It’s too big for me
I’m stunned out of my grief
Sepia, sepia, sepia….
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13. |
Throw Me (John's Sister)
02:13
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Throw me
© Penelope Swales 1989
Oooh…
Throw me a bone, I’m a hungry dog
Throw me a straw I’m drowning
In love for you, in cheap desire
Throw me a smile while you’re frowning
Throw me a hope, I’m in despair
Throw me a chance perhaps you care
Suddenly I’m everywhere
My plans are all up in the air
Throw me
You can throw me any way you like
Throw me any way you please
I hate the way my love for you
Just brings me to my knees
Just as well my head ain’t flat
Coz you don’t drink no beer
Just as well that you don’t think
I should have handles for my ears
but you’re not that kind of guy
You’re such a nice boy
Well baby, I don’t want to want
No more illegal joy
You throw me so much
You throw me so far
Won’t you throw me on the ground
And roll me – hard!
Throw me
You throw me around when we’re playing games
You threw me away when the complications came
Throw me out of house and home
I know I’ve got to leave
Would you throw me into deadlock
If I dared to believe
I’d throw away my life
I’d even throw away my love
Even throw away my guitar
Just to fit you like a glove
Oh, let’s try again and get it right
Let’s try again and get it right
Let’s try again and get it right
Let’s try again and get it right
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14. |
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House Arrest
© Penelope Swales 1989
Ooh, wo – wo – yeah…
I’m sick of trying
I’m too tired for crying yeah
Wouldn’t be so bad
‘Cept for this money in the red
How I’m gonna get out now is anybody’s guess
It’s just another of those things
That keeps me under house arrest
Just another thing that gets me down
That keeps me in this town
Just another thing that puts me
Under house arrest
And coz I’m never knowin
Which way you’re goin’, yeah
Through all the games you’re playin’
You never hear me sayin, yeah
I’ve got a feelin’ that this dealin’
Simply isn’t for the best
And you’re just another of those things
That keeps me under house arrest
Another thing that’s got a hold on me
That stops me gettin’ free
Chain may ankle to the stove
And put me in a gingham dress
Could it be much
Could it be much worse
Than bein’ under house arrest
Ooh, wo – wo – yeah…
Ooh, wo – wo – yeah…ahh!
My misadventures
Make good storytelling, hey
(Ahh…)
Just because I’m smiling
People think that I’m okay
(Ahh…)
Now, I don’t really want to
Put our friendship to the test
People start to back away
When you start showin’ your distress
I never wanted it to get this way,
I dunno how I came to be in this mess
It all came down around me
Put me under house arrest
And you may take me in the night
And get me cryin’ oh, yes!
Oh, yes!
Put me under house arrest
Oh, put me under house arrest
Ahh….
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15. |
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No Way, Love
© Penelope Swales 1989
No way love,
I said no way, no, no, no
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
Now he’s got every reason
He’s got unanswerable logic
He’s got watertight excuses
He shows typical thinking
He’s showing all the symptoms
He’s showing all the signs
I didn’t see the traces
Coz I blocked them from my mind
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
He says he’d got a hold
Yeah, now he says he’s I control
But there’s nowhere you can go
There’s just no way that you can know
He’s showing all the symptoms
He’s showing all the signs
He’s become so very clever
About how to spend his time
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
He says “Though I’ve betrayed you
You shouldn’t feel betrayed”
He says “Thought I’ve deceived you
You shouldn’t feel dismayed
And he says that I don’t love him
He says that I’m unkind
He says I’ve let him down
And if I really cared, I wouldn’t mind
And I said no way, love
I said no way
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
He tells me it was worth it
He says there’s no regrets
He tells me he feels justified
No way that he’d ever get
Sucked into the whirlpool
Sucked down the metal tube
He tells em he was perfectly safe
He says it’s true
And I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
Now he’s got every reason
He’s got unanswerable logic
He’s got watertight excuses
He shows typical thinking
The man’s a walking cliché
He says he’s in control
He knows that’s what they all say
But he’s sure he’s got a hold
He says no way, love
He says no way, love
No way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
I said no way, love
I said no way, no, no, no
But he’s such a sorry creature
He’d just beggin’ for attention
Flirting with disaster
Waiting for my intervention
And he tells me he can blame me
He says it’s all my fault
And because I won’t accept it
He’s winning by default
And I said no way, love
I said no way
I said no way, love
I said no way
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16. |
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Sooner or Later
© Penelope Swales 1989
It’s hard, now to say – let’s wait and see
When you just want to decide
It’s hard to take a hard line
When you wanna let it ride
Let me sing you a love song
No it won’t take long
It’s the story of someone who believed in right
Falling in love with someone
Who didn’t believe in wrong
He told her that he loved her
Then he told her she was spoken for
And she told him she’d just end up climbing out a window
If he tried to lock the door
And she said
“Sooner or later, temptation rears its ugly head
Sooner or later, the initiated can’t help but turn their head”
Oh, you’re not pretty
But you smell so good
Your touch lingers
Like I knew it would
I feel your fingers
Feelin’ so fine
I can feel my body
Turnin’ water into wine
It’s the classic dilemma
It’s too old to be cliché’d
I’m too young to be tied down
I’m too streetwise to be waylaid
It’s the classic situation
It’s too old to be clichéd
You know, there’s no such thing as seduction
Because always somewhere the decision has been made
She told him that she’d do her best,
But it goes against the grain
Him saying he has no faith in her
Is only adding to the pain
If I take the apple,
It’ll destroy me from inside
Ah, but if I don’t take the apple
I’ll never be satisfied
Does that make me the black lady?
Do you paint me femme fatale?
Does you answer lie in ownership?
The territorial snarl
Let me sing you a love song
No, it won’t take long
It’s the story of someone trying to get it right
With someone who won’t admit
Anything is wrong
He closed his ears to issues
That she needed to address
Left her when she overflowed
With what she could no longer suppress
Sooner or later, temptation reared its lovely head
And she thought – well, at least I’m free now
To heed the call of another bed
So do you think it’s tacky?
Does that make me femme fatale?
How was I supposed to know
That he’d decide to want me after all?
Now he tells me he’ll accept me
As I really am
But I can’t help but be sceptical about if he really can
Ah, but in his eyes, I recognise
The plight of a younger me
I recognise the desperation
I understand the urgency
Ohh….
Sooner or later
Sooner or later
Sooner or later
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Penelope Swales Boolarra, Australia
Penelope Swales has been articulating the human condition with passion and humour for 30+ years. She sings about politics, love, friendship, the unbreakable bond between us and dogs and the impact of the Internet on society. She won the 2019 Alistair Hulett Songs for Social Justice Award with “Cambridge Analytica”. “The Ides of March in Christchurch" was short-listed for the same award in 2020. ... more
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