Brazil . . .

I fled from it all
Left it all behind
A broken heart
A dying dream
I dashed off through the back
And fled to Brazil
Last minute to unknot
The heavy noose that’s wrapped around
My neck and makes me

Cry
My life is so messed up
I wanna fly to Brazil
Then I wake up with a smile
Another act, another set called Brazil

Drinking wine at the beach
A beauty asked me where I’m from
I say it’s strange but all that I recall
I woke up lying in the sand
In a cold blooded town
In a sad and empty flat
Drops are leaking through the tap
The fridge is buzzing never stops
Who cares - I’m in Brazil

Cry
My life was so messed up
So I fled to Brazil
There I woke up with a smile
Another act, another set called Brazil

From the top of my roof . . .

Who’s still awake tonight?
I see a dimmed and nervous light
Through a window on the second floor
Who still awake that late?
With mood food, TV, desperate
To pacify his mind and sink

From the top of my roof
I saw a light
Then another two, three four, five
Every neighbourhood must have its fools
Just like you
The whole night through
I’ve been screening the ceiling for exit signs
Until I climbed on top of my roof
For some cool air and to clear my mind
Just like me
You’ll find good company

There’s a heaven above the ordinaire
And they’re so decadent up there
Always leave me hungry for my share
And a lighthouse
In the middle of council flats
Or big houses to the west
Wherever I turn I feel your
Your desire to surpass the crowd
But you, got no strength to rise above
No stamina to see it through
The pioneer spirit leaving you
You sing yourself a lullaby
You feel so sad you wanna cry
And grind your teeth at your own misery
I wanna share the view with you
With you

From the top of my roof
I saw a light
Then another two, three four, five
Every neighbourhood must have its fools
Just like you
The whole night through
I’ve been screening the ceiling for exit signs
Until I climbed on top of my roof
For some cool air and to clear my mind
Just like me
You’ll find good company

Cuban Winters . . .

Cuban Winters
Cuban Winters

My dear friend
I am standing at a lamppost
Watching snowflakes
Falling by
Within that warm yellow ray of light
My sadness melts with a strange delight
Snow flakes falling
Descending on my forehead
They come to play and die

Cuban Winters
Cuban Winters

I played the drum
With the locals for some time
And was I doing fine
But the locals they wondered why
My beat was heavy and oh, so dry
Cause I came dancing
Descending all the way
From the North Frisian Marsh

Cuban Winters
Cuban Winters

My dreamland
A kind wind led the way
I drifted to its shore
On my arrival fell heavy snow
One the locals never seen before
They started to suspect me, I fled an angry crowd

Cuban Winters
Final call
For those who are cursed to never find
A safe harbour
Who stumble through life
Never flow with the bloodstream of humankind

The Tao of a hungry soul . . .

Brother Moses sticks his toe in the snow
The sun laughing at his big Afro
Beautiful Friday morning his pulse running wild
He looks at his monastery

They get up five in the morning work and pray through the day
Eat bark from the tree, pick berries in the hay
But then a monk from Cleveland came along
And he sang this song

The Tao of a hungry soul
That you treat to a night out and with your friends in tow
Oh it’s good for the people

‘Abandon this thought’ was the first rule in †heir lives
The eldest felt provoked, the discussion running wild
The pillars shaking that have held the spirit high
For a thousand years

The young monk, eloquent, replied with confidence
Some fear a little bit of fun ‘cause their heart it isn’t pure
The eldest were like granite, from the back row came support
As he sang his song

The Tao of a hungry soul
That you treat to a night out and with your friends in tow
Oh it’s good for the people

Brother Moses brought revolution to this horde, devolution was high
Pump up the soul let the dreads grow, give love and food to your thoughts
Friday night - realise a parade in the valley will give you drive
Brother Moses - pour in some dope six days in a row I’ve been asket
Now let the good times roll and the ties be unfold and the energy flow
The Tao of a hungry soul
Yin Yang is King Kong plugging roses at dawn
Ten thousand tons of wild beast going after honey bees
Drinking all the holy wine that was meant for holy men and we shake
Hands with the devil when the world comes to an end

Oh it’s good for the people
Oh it’s good for the people
Oh it’s good for the people
Oh it’s good for the people

She Wolf – He Wolf . . .

General He Wolf, General She Wolf
After millennia of waging war
An ancient forest has been shaken to the core
Soldiers deserted - they won’t fight no more
For what cause?
Legend has it of that the two had been lovers long before

General He Wolf, General She Wolf
Endangered species sent assassins to reclaim their land
Poisonous spiders, snakes and mushrooms at the end
In a final desperate attempt
They pleaded with mother earth
Threw their last seeds on no man’s land
‘Cause we’re still owed one more fairytale
Lo and behold there grew a flowerbed

For General He Wolf, and General She Wolf
Both looking through their periscopes
Spot the gun turret across the clearing
Hidden in the undergrowth

The general watches fog settling over the meadow
And the peace and quiet inspires her to write
Across, the general carefully drafting his first line
How he remembers her before the war
Roots shaped like two luscious thighs, she pictures him

In his ivory linen suit
And the suede leather blucher shoes
Under an elm he gently placed her head
On a cushion made of moss
And tenderness
Is moving through her lips and fingertips

He wrote of their paradise
She reviewed her most telling line
Benign replaced with insensitive
At last he settled for one request
A stone wrapped up in paper
Hits the tank and soon after
A retaliatory note wrapped round another stone
An acceptance of the truce written in a cautious tone

Two wounded duelists enraged
By how they have been harmed, betrayed
Now stand unarmed across the clearing, except
She’s wearing Ninja stars for earrings
He has a pistol hidden in his crotch
Gazing at each other there’s confusion, warmth and lust
Both have a Desdemona to the left
And Iago to the right
Pushing and pulling, towards and away from each other
Perfectly synchronised

A sudden disturbance in the shrubs
They rush and stumble back hide in their tanks
Over tea and biscuits draw up new battle plans
They try to silence these haunting thoughts of love and peace
Warmth, happiness, eternal bliss
In each other’s arms

Bonum cursum, bon voyage . . .

Bonum cursum, bon voyage
Güle güle, gueti reis
For the last time
I am leaving
One foreign country for another
Had to downsize

There’s no place for my analogue tapes
In this cold digital age
All my clothes have fallen out of date
My beloved belongings - farewell
You all end up in a car boot sale

I keep my grey comfy shoes with extra cushion
And my brown flannel shirt with velcro buttons
And pack my good linen suit
In the hope that we stop for a church
Somewhere along the railway route

Bonum cursum, bon voyage
Güle güle, gueti reis
For the last time
I cross myself and
Say goodbye into the mirror
Trembling at the sight

Dry skin, wrinkled face
Carved, chiseled into shape
By the sculptor of my father’s face
I’m revealed to myself yet I’m lost to the world
She moves in such mysterious ways

Bonum cursum, bon voyage,
Güle güle, gueti reis
For the last time
I dive into
A busy crowd
People quietly step aside.
Cousins, aunties, friends
All gathered at the platform to attend
For hugs and kisses till the bitter end
Claire quietly cheers, tries to hold back her tears
It’s a freight train I’ll be traveling in

We say goodbye
To our springy joints and silky skin
We say goodbye
To virgin eyes
Devouring everything

We say goodbye
To time leisurely spent
To taking side streets we believe will end
In romance

I wave to turning heads
It’s only Claire who’s waving back
Until I’m lost in the forest
Of the Siberian tundra
My carriage 10 by 8 by 8 feet tall
I curl into a tiny ball
The coupling rods rocking back and forth
Steady, patient I close my eyes
We ride along the cliffs
I hear the crushing waves
The rails extend to the sea
Bonum cursum bon voyage
Güle, güle gute reis

As we dance . . .

I pray for just a little
A little inspiration
To guide you far
Far away from home
And for a little while
Demand all your attention
Is there nothing at all?
See how gracefully I fall

Will it bring
Tenderness or bitterness?
We never know unless we try
Unless we try

All doubts they will fade away
As we dance
As we dance
Along a path millions have walked
We are following their steps
And take our chance

I travelled free
Through many shadows empty faces
Don’t even know how you stopped me in my flow
You guard your peace
Away from my confusion
Has life been unfair?
I wanna make it up to you

Will it bring
Tenderness or bitterness?
We never know unless we try
Unless we try

All doubts they will fade away
As we dance
As we dance
Along a path millions have walked
We are following their steps
And take our chance.

Tenderness or bitterness ?
Are you afraid ? I am
But let’s be brave
I invite you to dance
Baby, give us chance