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Of the 18 songs originally slated for Penelope's 1998 album "Justifying your Longings to the Doctor" this was one of three that were dropped because the album was too long. This demo was recorded in September 1998 at the office of Black Market Music. Engineered by Robert Dillon.

lyrics

Intimate Detachment
© Penelope Swales

Sit down with your books
And search for wisdom, boy
Dissect the human heart
Pronounce its weaknesses
Arm yourself for combat
Take position, yeah
Must admit I’m puzzled
By your defensiveness

To hasty then too humble,
Too tense and then you fumble
But honeychild, I tell you
There’s no need
Seems to me you can’t enjoy
The things we might explore
Coz you’re too busy worrying
‘Bout what it’s supposed to be

Daffodils in their bright simplicity
Have a wisdom you can’t see
But you can sense it, yeah
So you’ve thrust a handful at me
I believe you’re hoping they’ll tell me something
Something that you can’t
About intimate detachment

When I’m not wrong,
You hasten to correct me, yeah
It’s just that you’re not listening
To what I’ve said
When I’m not insecure
You rush to comfort, hmm
When I’m not asking, you advise
On what I haven’t shared

Why all this need to feel superior?
It seems to me you see
Everything in terms so linear
Well it doesn’t need to be
It’s all so depressingly familiar
I’ve heard it all before
Intimate detachment

Everywhere around you,
Life is right in front of you
Relax, take its hand
It’s not trying to make fun of you

And now it seems to me you’re scared
You’ve set some kind of precedent
In all your ruminations
You neglect to ask me how I’ve felt
We could so easily
Dispel all of this mystery
But maybe you don’t like that either
Maybe this way you have more power

Than if I just said
Hey – it doesn’t matter
I’m easy either way
I would willingly embrace you
Or save it for some other Jay
Why the rush to create distance
When you asked me to stay?
Intimate detachment


Daffodils in their bright simplicity
Have a wisdom you can’t see
But you can sense it, yeah
So you thrust this handful at me
I believe you’re hoping they’ll tell me something
What – something I don’t know?
About intimate detachment

Everywhere around you,
Life is right in front of you
Relax, take its hand
It’s not trying to make fun of you

Everywhere around you,
And I am right in front of you
Relax, take my hand
I’m only trying to be friends with you

credits

from 'Archive': Demos, Out​-​takes and One​-​offs 1995​-​2000, released January 7, 2001
Vocals, guitar, stomp box - Penelope Swales

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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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