
‘The Troubled Sleep Of Piano Magic’ French tour flyer, circa 2003

Official website for the band Piano Magic
Photo by John Barrett.
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)
A Fond Farewell
Oh lord
I lost the one I loved
I gave her all I had
But that was not enough
Oh lord
I cannot bear to breathe
Her voice is but a memory
Her kiss is but a dream
So long
I haven’t left my bed
I see no point in getting up
I wish that I were dead
So long
I bid a fond farewell
I cannot live this hollow life
I cannot break her spell
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Already Ghosts
In travel, there are traps
When I’m writing in the back
Beneath the rain, between the maps
My diary bears this out but memory has it wrong –
I loved you when you loved me and then we were done
There’s a silence on the railway
There’s a bad curse on the land
And this season writes a rainstorm like a poem in the sand
You told me I depressed you, that I withered in your hand
And that sentence cut my loveline
When you left me as you planned
In travel, there are traps
When I’m writing in the back
Beneath the rain, between the maps
My diary bears this out but memory has it wrong –
I loved you when you loved me and then we were gone
In travel, there are traps
When I’m writing in the back
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Amongst The Books, An Angel
Amongst the books, an angel I’ve not met
And time hasn’t touched her yet
From A to M to Z she swans, as if avoiding bed
Pigtails instead of wings
I strung her harp with my heart strings
And I would ask this Spring for her
If I knew what the right words were
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Angel Pie
There’s angel pie in the oven
And everything is ok, it’s alright
The point at which the seasons pass each other on the way out, way in
‘A Confederate General From Big Sur’ sat in my lap like a happy cat
I can sleep and read at the same time
And day and night are just words
I can live in the hills with my simple thrills
Racing clouds into town, if I like
(Words – GA Johnson)
A Return To The Sea
We sail on the bad tide
We sail on the bad sea
From your heart to my heart
With sails cut from mercy
From your heart to my heart
From Summer to Spring
We row through the Dead Sea
To the deader within
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)