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Strange Hands

from Between Light and Dark by Penelope Swales

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lyrics

Strange Hands
© Penelope Swales 1993

Don’t take me on your journey
If you’re not gonna travel
If you’re only taking a day-trip
If you’re not gonna unravel
Oh, the mystery
Of what is you and what is me
Don’t let me feel it
If you’re gonna take it back
Coz I don’t wanna move in circles on
Yet another lover’s well-worn track

You gotta let those strange hands touch you
Ohh, you gotta let them break the concrete away
And they take you from your casing
All soft and pink and new
Oh, you gotta let those strange hands run all over you
You’re not alive if the sensation’s not unbearable
And you say you wanna stay
But a window isn’t good enough
You’d have to break free
Of the prison of your play

You want to visit, but you can’t live there
Has it crossed your mind that you’re being unfair?
You want to pretend that it’s all flowing through you
And then go back to your complacency
And you want me to go back there, too
And you want me to go back there, too
And though you seem to think
That everything is as it should
Somewhere here, one of us
Has been misunderstood

You gotta let those strange hands touch you
Ohh, you gotta let them break the concrete away
As they take you from your casing
All soft and pink and new
Oh, won’t you let these strange hands run all over you?
You’re not alive if the sensation’s not unbearable
And you know I wanna stay
But a window isn’t good enough
You’d have to break free
Of the prison of your play

And y’know, I can’t go through it again
I’m not prepared to pay let’s pretend
And I know it seems like the easy way out
But my dial is on another setting
And we both know how that came about
And maybe I’m the poorer
Maybe you’re right now,
Maybe I’m the poorer
For not taking what I can
But don’t you see, I’m livin’
On the other side of deadpan

Coz I let those strange hands touch me
Ohh, and the concrete’s slowly breaking away
As I stand here in my nakedness
All soft and pink and new
Oh, won’t you let your strange hands run all over me
I know I’m alive coz the sensation’s almost unbearable
And you say you wanna stay
But a window isn’t good enough
You’d have to break free
Of the prison of your play

You gotta let those strange hands touch you
Ohh, You gotta let those strange hands touch you

credits

from Between Light and Dark, released September 11, 1993
Penelope Swales - vocals, guitar
George Papantonio - drums
Graham Whit - fretless bass
Irene Vela - bouzouki
Rowan Brown - backing vocals

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all rights reserved

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about

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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