A Book I Should Not Read

A Book I Should Not Read

All armies bear their losses, yet still they rally on
The fanfare may be muted, the spirit may be gone
And Troy was devastated by an accident of greed
I knew that you were taken; a book I should not read
But the sun danced in your shadow like the mocking of a bird
And I was dragged down to your depth
And I clung to every word
You’re a statue in my past
You are stone amongst the grass
Byzantine and cold but never growing old

And the clouds pass over Europe as the night, it battens down
I am drinking in the backroom of a bar of some renown
And I’m thinking how I lost you, how I let go of your hand
Your last words wore a sadness
You were drowned out by the band

 

 

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

Dark Ages

Dark Ages

None of us are what we were
I know you’ve heard this all before
I know you’ve heard this all before
but none of us are what we were

But it’s a dark age, a dangerous time
I’m on the last page, the end of the line
But it’s a dark age, a dangerous time
I’m on the last train, the end of the line

Outside the bar on the road to the Madrid
A curious frost settled down on my ribs
These were the badlands, the sad lands
I wanted to leave but I wanted to give

Whispered in song in the tops of the trees
“Tears are the only rain that we see”
Whispered in song in the tops of the trees
“Tears are the only rain that we see”

I get up too late to wave off the night
I get up too late to wave off the night

 

 

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

Dark Horses

Dark Horses

When you’re preoccupied
Like a moth with the light
We are ‘sacking your life
We are bleeding your pipes
When you’re hooked by the line
By the crook of your spine
We are sparking the knives
We are Frankenstein

When you’re preoccupied
By the junk of your life
We are marking your card
We are catching off-guard
When you’re thanking the Lord
For the fat of your land
We are cutting the cord
We are back of the hand

Our love is the love of the loveless
Our tears are the tears of the bird
Our side is the side of the sideshow
And our blood is as good as our word
Dark horses, our handshake is fatal
Our seal is a stamp to the heart
We cut through the din like a rattle
Our violence is closer to art

 

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

Echoes On Ice

Echoes On Ice

I have letters from you that you wrote in your sleep
A map of your heart and a plan of your street
And echoes on ice on a blue Winter night
From the spokes of your bike in sub-farenheit

The fox makes a sound like my heart
On the backs where they’ve laid out the traps
Planes filter back through the night
Making light work of constellations and maps
My opencast heart rewinds back to the start
And plays us again, should we ever part

 

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

I Came To Your Party Dressed As A Shadow

I Came To Your Party Dressed As A Shadow

I came to your party dressed as a shadow
And you never knew, you never knew
I rolled through the halls like a velvet wave
As quiet as an empty stage

I blackened your eyes
And stole the light from your glass
But in the cold calm of the morning
Lay like a death-kite on your lawn

I came to your party dressed as a shadow
Without invitation, without a motive
I parked three streets from the moonlight –
The soft walk to your house on a silver string
You were dancing in the backyard
To a biscuit-tin beat
I slunk between the notes
Posting them off to the night

This is symptomatic of you and me :
I have jars full of your breath
I have shelves of your words
But you have nothing of me
But a space where I would be

 

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

 

I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today

I Didn’t Get Where I Am Today

I didn’t get where I am today
I stayed home, snowed in
I didn’t get where I am today
I cried off, I phoned in
Some days the faith eludes you
Some days the reason why is silent on the riverbed
Hangs deathly in the sky
My dreams are tortured silhouettes
My hands are ribbon sliced
The only light’s a cigarette
The bed feels cold as ice

 

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

I Have Moved Into The Shadow

I Have Moved Into The Shadow

The night is closing in
The clouds are frozen still
The birds are feathered down
The churches ring the hour
Where once there was a cheer
Now stands a sorry crowd

Across the frozen lake
Beneath the tattered flags
A carnival of skates
The scissors scratch their names
Where once I held your hand
I cannot bear to stand

This city is a cauldron of blackened snow and strangers
I moved here from the country
I didn’t know the danger
I’m haunted by the bottle
I’m haunted by the angels

In letters from my sister
She asks me how I’m feeling
I say that I am better
But I lie in every letter
I have moved into the margin
I have moved into the shadow

Move closer to the fire
Or else you’ll meet the ghost
I loved you like a brother
I loved you more than most
But still you left me vacant
Still you left me cold

 

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

Incurable

Incurable 

The doctors shake their heads
They chain around the bed
They’re looking for a reason to why I’m still not dead
The medicine’s not working
I haven’t sleep for days
The light is shone right through me
The skeleton is weighed
Incurable, I’m helpless – the mind and body weak
I have so much to tell you but I can’t seem to speak
Incurable, I’m lonely
The city empties out
I live inside the shadow – the shadow of a doubt
The cannons fire across me
I cannot make the trial
The seasons crash around me
The bones are in denial
My temper is a tower
The church will not provide
You closed the drawer upon me
I am unclassified
The romance of the season is wasted on the weak
I stayed in bed through snowfall
I tried to get some sleep
Invisible and broken
The spirit has moved out
Words that were unspoken, I cannot live without
A strange light beckons me this way
A strange life beckons me this way

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

Lights Come On At 3

Lights Come On At 3

Well, I am a young man and I believe in God
And I button my shirt right up to the top
And I read when I can, in the shade of the trees
And I buckle up good
And I always say please
But the wolf is at the gate and I’m reflected in his eyes
And his teeth are broken glass
His mercy is a lie

And when it snows, all the details disappear
And the days are long and grey
And the lights come on at 3
And the road down to the pharmacy –
Well, it may be beautiful but it’s a trap

 

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

Saint Marie

Saint Marie 

Out of season, out of heart
I cross you off beneath the stars
Autumn leaves a nasty scar
And with the leaves, the heart departs
You’re off the map
You’ve left the book
I’m off my head and treading luck
And it’s too late to call you up
The heart migrates
It comes unstuck
I light a candle for Saint Marie
In the hope she never brings you back to me
I light a candle for Saint Marie
In the hope she never brings you back to me

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)

Speed The Road, Rush The Lights

Speed The Road, Rush The Lights

Geography, be kind to me
For the miles apart are killing me
Tonight I would die to be by her side
So speed the road and rush the lights
Speed the road, rush the lights

Even bad girls sleep tonight
Even bad girls sleep tonight
Their aspirin white legs, scarred by young lust’s overbite
Even bad girls sleep tonight
Even bad girls dream tonight
Their aspirin white legs, scarred by young lust’s overbite

The snapped Ratner’s chain glints cold in the night
The snapped ankle chain glints cold in the night

Caution is thrown to the wind
And it does not blow back
Caution is thrown to the wind
And it does not blow back

Geography, please be kind to me
For the miles apart are killing me
Tonight I would die to be by her side
So speed the road, rush the lights
Speed the road, rush the lights

 

(Lyrics – GA Johnson)