Official website for the band Piano Magic
Jacknifed
I am jacknifed in your diary
I may be home alone, I’m not lonely
And I’ll be stronger when I’m stronger
I’m at my bleakest, at my weakest
I am worn out and I’m frustrated
I tried to work you out but you’re a stranger
I’ve got the rulebook – it’s missing pages
And I could guess but that’s so dangerous
Turn around when you get to the coast –
There’s nothing there to see but sea
Leave those mountains left unclimbed
And put a line right through me
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Jar Of Echoes
In the last gasp of your heart
A song you couldn’t sing
The words were far too old
The tune was paper thin
But when you were a girl
This song was fresh and loud
You chased it round the school yard
You rode it like a cloud
The birds amongst the rafters
They knew the song by heart
They loved to hear your laughter
They sang the house apart
I heard of you from others
But others loved you less
I climbed inside your records
I climbed inside your dress
I’m seven steps behind you
I’m gathering your breath
I am the jar of echoes
I am the silent death
(Lyrics – Glen Johnson)
Judas
Your name is assured in the history books
The ink it has settled, no fear
But do not for once grow attached to your throne
The price of betrayal is dear
The weight of the power, corruption and lies
Has broken the strongest of spines
The crown that you wear, it may seem a good fit
But thorns, they will spite you with time
Judas, did you sell your soul?
Judas, were you blinded by the gold?
How do you sleep when the cupboards are bare;
Your pillow is woven with gold?
Tonight, there’s the shimmer of desperate knives
Tonight, it will silence the old
Your pawns and your bishops will stand by your side
And take not a word of the blame
But as they are wiping your kiss from their lips
They’re secretly cursing your name
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Landline
You used to call me on my landline
You used to leave your voice behind
As I lay upstairs, fast asleep
In the midst of the night
In the midst of a dream
You used to call me on my landline
You used to leave your words behind
But now you’re consigned to a turbulent past
Your ghost, on a tape
In a drawer, at the back
You used to call me on my landline
You used to leave your voice behind
As I lay upstairs, fast asleep
In the midst of the night
In the midst of a dream
You used to call me on my landline
You used to leave your voice behind
In the ungodly hours
In obsession and lust
You were carnal, obscene
And now you are dust
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Let Me Introduce You
Let me introduce you to all my friends
Then I’ll get out the way
Yeah I’ll step out the way
Let me introduce you to all my friends
Then I’ll get out the way
So you can go and play
Well, I’ve never been one to hold on to anyone
I don’t have the will to keep the glass half-filled
And I don’t have the might to stay up half the night
So you go out and dance ‘cos I don’t stand a chance
Let me introduce you to all my friends
Then I’ll get out the way
Yeah I’ll step out the way
Let me introduce you to all my friends
Then I’ll get out the way
So you can go and play
There’s a guy over here that I’ve known for twenty years
There’s a girl over there who’s collecting my tears
And this guy here plays in a band you need to hear
You’ll probably fall in love with him and then you’ll disappear
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Life Has Not Finished With Me Yet
Life has not finished with me yet
Life has not finished with me yet
I’ve stood on the ledge, peered over the edge
Life has not finished with me yet
Life has not finished with me yet (no)
Life has not finished with me yet
I’ve put blade to vein but I can’t bear the pain
Life has not finished with me yet
Life has not finished with me yet
Life has not finished with me yet
A gun in my hand but the trigger, it jammed
Life has not finished with me yet
Life has not finished with me yet (no)
Life has not finished with me yet
The pills won’t go down and the body won’t drown
Life has not finished with me yet
I called all my friends
And I made all amends
Left letters all over my desk
But God picks the slot
‘X’ marks the spot
And time it takes care of the rest
I cursed Him in church
And I did the research
Found ways that were painless and quick
But fate has a hand, however well planned
To tempt it, well, that is the trick
Life has not finished with me yet (no)
Life has not finished with me yet
Life has not finished with me yet (no)
Life has not finished with me yet
Life has not finished with me yet (no)
Life has not finished with me yet
Life has not finished with me yet (no)
Life has not finished with me yet
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
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)
Living For Other People
Don’t you ever wonder, don’t you ever care
That you’re living for other people?
Maybe it’s time that we ask the question here? :
Are you living for other people?
When the ‘I’ gets lost in the ‘us’
When the ‘me’ gets swept out to sea
Are you doing this for yourself?
Or are you doing it for somebody else?
Don’t you ever wonder, don’t you ever care
That you’re living for other people?
Maybe it’s time that we ask the question here? :
Are you living for other people?
I’m not attached to my attachments
I’m not obliged to tow the line
And all those bachelors, unfettered
They look to me they’re doing fine
When the ‘I’ gets lost in the ‘us’
When the ‘me’ gets swept out to sea
Are you doing this for yourself?
Or are you doing it for somebody else?
North East, t’ward Rotherhithe, nimbus, expectant
Grey as a bad tooth, rolls o’er the Thames
The dregs of the morning, sacked and bound
Here and there, a glint of sun
Like scissors through canvas
I am pacing these streets, ashen of beard,
Blown around like a leaf
Void and devoid, unpossessing
I need no map, no companion
Just the soft, gentle light, the stir of the breeze
I am most happy, alone beneath these Victorian railway arches,
With a smoke from a tin
And a tea in a styrofoam cup
Phone in airplane mode
In the bliss of the monotony of days,
Passive, watching :
These women, never ever having suffered charm
These knotted men with upturned hearts,
Brooding over losses,
Tangled like tape from a broken cassette
These days, fading, weathered Polaroids
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Love & Music
Well, I left home when I was 16
I had no reason, had no rhyme
I did not know where I was going
It did not matter at that time
And there were people on the street, people on the street –
The strangest people that you’d ever meet
There were people on the street, people on the street –
The strangest people that you’d ever meet
I got a job down in the factory
I broke my back, I swept the floor
I met a girl who said she loved me
I hadn’t heard those words before
And all I knew was love and music
Love and music got me by
And all I need is love and music –
Love and music ‘til I die
All I need is love and music
Love and music gets me by
All I need is love and music –
Love and music ‘til I die
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Luxembourg Gardens
Tonight, I can’t sleep, the heart’s all wires
The moon is widowed, the stars, retired
I’ll never travel and I’m always tired
But I still love you and I can’t lie
Don’t you ever go home?
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
March Of The Atheists
Well, I can accept that you have your faith
So you must accept that I have none
You chase your god into your grave
I’ll die alone when my days are done
And all these fabulous beasts that you strike down
And all this beautiful land that you claim to command
And all these wars in the name of a book
There’s god in your heart but there’s blood on your hands
So where are you fires of hell?
So where now your golden gates?
I see no angels, no heaven on high
I hear no marching of your saints
Go placidly amidst the noise and haste
I know your churches are a sight to behold
I know your stories as good as any man
I know we all have our crosses to bear
But I’ll waste none of my time in desperate prayer
I’ve rung the bells of the Mont St-Michel
But me and the Saviour were never that close
I’ve called into the night with no hope of reply
But I’ve seen the holes in the holy ghost
So where now, your peace to all men?
So where now, your undeniable proof?
Where is it written, in paper or stone,
“An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?”
(Lyrics – GA Johnson)
Modern Jupiter
He lived a boy’s life
He loved his ‘Camp Mohawk’
On Viele`s Creek
And he loved to work on problems
Drifting in his canoe
Lightning days
He hated formalities in dressing
He would welcome also god himself,
In his red bathing suit
Lightning days
The doors of his house were usually electrified
(Words – Ronald Lippok)