Lyrics: Every Scene Needs a Center
1. The Punks are Writing Love Songs
Blast beats, arena seats
And a ring tone by The Saints
Don’t know much about those weekend punks
But I’ve heard they’re prone to faint
Street fights and open mics
Where the bar cords meet the beats
Anthems written for the discontent
But the eye liner… it’s key
The punks are writing love songs x3
They’re mixing up the bed
HOODS UP – Poetry from the cul-de-sacs
BATS OUT – Anarchy with a note attached
BLAST BEATS – Window seats in the photographs
Tattoo the lyrics for the Teddy Boys, they’re singing
Bah, ba-da, ba-da
The punks are writing love songs x3
They’re mixing up the bed
Has beens and safety pins
Avoid The Voidoids and their curse
You want your record on the radio
You’d better sweetin’ up that verse
Abbreviate the longest names
You can bet that hearts will bleed
Distorted clever and nostalgic once
While singing poems at break neck speed
2. Fangs on Bats
Illustrate the fangs ignore the final cost
Sketchbooks they’re filled with all the friends you lost
Cheap seats
Disappointment it sits across
Blood stained potential with the new brunette
Upstairs you practice smoking cigarettes
A quick flame
Still a day that you won’t forget
Fangs on Bats
Fangs on Bats
Fangs on Bats
Heavy Metal Heartbreak…. taken over the world
Brittle bones and banquettes that you might attend
A single note you wrote, but still you wrote again
A torn seam
A simple stitch you can never mend
Peggy Bears they told you from the very start
The bitter taste of bitten when you read the part
Make amends
Or build a bomb with a better heart
Fangs on Bats
Fangs on Bats
Fangs on Bats
Heavy Metal Heartbreak…. taken over the world
3. Georgette Plays a Goth
Not quite accustomed to her changing moods
Her customers would stare
A mix of Tempest Storm meets Halloween
A baby bat with flare
The lunch crowd set goes soft… when Georgette plays a goth
She’s at the news-stand reading stock reports
And fetish magazines
A waitress uniform (in black) embroidered “Dear Catastrophe”
The lunch crowd set goes soft… when Georgette plays a goth
She’d be the first to defend all those 80’s trends oh oh
Shows her fangs at the bar singing Johnny Marr oh oh
Her ‘Revolution Ballroom’ Nina Hagen outfits found their way
Out past the remnants of a germ free adolescence speckled phase
The lunch crowd set goes soft… when Georgette plays a goth
When asked about the Sputnik era fishnets
Or the table wine
She quotes the Holly Johnson song about the dreams you couldn’t buy
4. Bored to Hear Your Heart Still Breaks
Those songs you listen to and the ones you write
A bit too precious for us a bit too vain a bit too much tonight
We understand that day was cloudy when you picked up your guitar
And now we know that when she broke your heart you blamed it on the stars… but could you?
Please keep your… Red Sleeping Beauty
Cause we’re bored to hear your heart still breaks
And we know – we know – we know………
So sick of those Blue Boy tapes
And we’re bored to hear your heart still breaks
And we know – we know – we know………
Look past the raincoat days
And we’re bored to hear your heart still breaks
And we know – we know – we know………
Smashed-up the crash-pop bass
And we’re bored to hear your heart still breaks
And we know – we know – we know………
Those chords we played
(we’re stackin’ up dominos) x4
We danced to ‘Stoned Love’ in a Northern Soul Club
Where the road would split and finally break
We could never go back or know the true path
The mist that filled our lungs would take
The phonograph plays the sounds of Hit Parade
“On the eve of greatness” we would shout
you told those stories bout The Springfields
…. too many times to count
5. Clique at Night Vandals
Better things to say
About the band that you’ve been in recently
Those songs about the last punk rock (hold-out in Brooklyn)
never gelled
Never one to blink
A mini skirt meets a cymbal crash at once
Surprised to hear your boyfriend minds when your record’s
…. doing well
We knew we’d never make good…. And we won’t
We learned the Buddy Rich songs note for note
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
We’re Safe Cause We’re The CLIQUE AT NIGHT VANDALS
I played you Mates of State
You didn’t like them much…. in fact you said:
So many songs that sound alike we should kill them in their sleep
(That’s) pretty sound advice
Either join the patrons
or the siege
Too many times we blame the votes for the patterns that we keep
We knew we’d never make good…. And we won’t
We learned the Buddy Rich songs note for note
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh
We’re Safe Cause We’re The CLIQUE AT NIGHT VANDALS
6. Dracula Screams of Tiger Style (Parts 1 & 2)
He wasn’t much for public life. He hadn’t seen the strip in years
On some forgotten slot machines his name and image still appears
People’s interest never seemed to wane
Tabloids fueled the fire that was his fame
He couldn’t leave his home at night without the headlines chasing him
They gave him credit for the trends. He couldn’t be less interested
Imprisoned by the legacy he’d built
His love of life that bloomed would finally wilt
A venom pace spun away the race
(For the) next season’s blackest capes
His name inspired a slew of fashion praise
A fresh demand for the filthy bland
(And the) wings with impressive span
Took the reigns and set the bar
Where it would stay…..
We think he was wrong about the moonbeams
He counted the leagues but not the farm teams
True to his word he made us older
(and) brought the hem lines up in Dover
You may not believe me, but I think you’re in denial
DRACULA SCREAMS OF TIGER STYLE
He promised to fight to free the undead
And gave the Raider’s cap its street cred
A practiced ear still may surrender
He wrote a song you might remember
You may not believe me, but I think you’re in denial
DRACULA SCREAMS OF TIGER STYLE
I’m tired of rumors starting
I’m sick of being followed
I’m tired of people lying… saying what they want about me
Why can’t they back up off me
Why can’t they let me live
I’m gonna do things my way…. Take this for what it is…. Yeah
His cinema looks are long forgotten
And 40’s films with Joseph Cotton
Disappointed his fans and painted targets
(He) Found miracles in supermarkets
You may not believe me, but I think you’re in denial
DRACULA SCREAMS OF TIGER STYLE
Sit – sit Sit right back in your seat
(We’re takin’ advice from the count)
You may not believe me, but I think you’re in denial
DRACULA SCREAMS OF TIGER STYLE
Daft Punk-ish beats explain half empty seats
Butterscotch on the sheets… sugar stained ohhhh
The comfort it’s crept through the cracks in cleft
Till the fall’s all that’s left… sugar stained ohhhh
Street lights may shine
(The steepest stairs he could climb)
Street lights may shine
(The steepest stairs he could climb)
Now the capes may retire to the flames we admire
For the love King’s inspire… sugar stained ohhhh
Despite flames that burst through the bridge and the verse
We don’t count ourselves cursed… sugar stained ohhhh
Street lights may shine
(The steepest stairs he could climb)
Street lights may shine
(The steepest stairs he could climb)
‘Rock of Ages’ played the band
He never turned we understand
A silent crowd at Randolph’s Gates
Mary Celeste with Beachwood waits
A haunted castle’s pay phone rings
The distant voice of Bela sings
We always thought you’d live FOREVER
But every scene it needs its center
7. The Lonely Life of a UFO Researcher
Antenna towers and distant hopes
I’ve measured happiness with telescopes
Well I’ve been face to face with what my future brings
The reels they turn recording blips and pings
Through the white noise and distortion
There’s a message I can feel
Just give me one sign that you’re real
An orange glow some blinking lights
Don’t know how most folks spend their Friday nights
Well I’ve seen evidence no one would dare dispute
Witness accounts make up my life’s pursuit
And in those photos there’s a sadness
And a message I can feel
Just give me one sign that you’re real
Please give me one sign that you’re real
8. A Cursed Miss Maybellene
Let’s start a band we’ll call ourselves A Cursed Miss Maybellene
I’ve got a practice amp and drum set we can use
We’ll build a bomb made up of slogans painted A to Z
And let the post-punk modern history light the fuse
Miss Maybellene (Jenny)
A Cursed Miss Maybellene
Miss Maybellene (Jenny)
A Cursed Miss Maybellene
We won’t defend the bangs or badly drawn boy Plasticine
We count them cursed among the richest of the thieves
Another Tuesday night at Max’s Kansas City looms
Cardboard guitars cut-out for riffs play metal leads
Miss Maybellene (Jenny)
A Cursed Miss Maybellene
Miss Maybellene (Jenny)
A Cursed Miss Maybellene
Claimed witness to the fall and saw the death of rock-n-roll
Picked up the pieces at Gomorrah’s jubilee
Just barley noticed by the art-punks and the Velvet’s fans
Still never managed to escape obscurity
By ’81 we’d ushered in the brave casino sound
A fatal list of fashion points and played ‘em dead
We called on Shelly, also known as Shirley Shirley pops
To help us change it all to something new instead
9. If You Take Away the Make-Up (Then the Vampires Will Die)
We sent cassette tapes to the oil rigs and the artic outpost camps
Applied the basic rules of disco, attached harmonics to our amps
Upstaged the werewolves of Wisconsin with applause we couldn’t buy
Cause if you take away the make-up
Then the vampires they will die
We heard them sing in their fake accents where the storefront placard hangs
They kept alive the Brave Casino Sound
For Leslie Conway Bangs
But when the lights came up – the truth set in and record sales declined
Cause if you take away the make-up
Then the vampires they will die
With any luck we’d see Chicago by the morning but we were late
We missed The Cocktails at the Lounge Ax
We’d been playin’ clubs from town to town
And chasin’ bats from state to state
We took the first bus out of Memphis, stood in line like we were dead
And with a boarding pass in one hand you looked up at me and said:
“Without the Revlon girls at Macys Peter Murphy won’t survive”
Cause if you take away the make-up
Then the vampires they will die
10. Misgiving
I can see that you’re walking away from me
You can walk away from your home
You can leave even run if you need to
But when you go you know you’re going it alone
You can live any place that you want to
You can call any place your home
You can leave anytime that you need to
But when you leave me won’t you leave me alone
When the light hits your eyes it eclipses the moon dear
I love the red when the sun hits your hair
In front of me now and I’ll be gone later
You can leave if you need give me a call once you get there
You can live any place that you want to
You can call any place your home
You can leave anytime that you need to
But when you leave me won’t you leave me alone
I think that you thought that I thought that I loved you
And I’m not quite that that isn’t true
Having you around got to be such a habit
And when you’re gone I don’t know what I’ll do
You can live any place that you want to
You can call any place your home
You can leave anytime that you need to
But when you leave me won’t you leave me alone
Well I looked so hard but I just can’t see
What pulled you from the tree of god and handed you to me
Step into the present cause now
I want tp suck your richness up, but I don’t know how
You can live any place that you want to
You can call any place your home
You can leave anytime that you need to
But when you leave me won’t you leave me alone
You can live any place that you want to
You can call any place your home
You can leave anytime that you need to
But when you leave me won’t you leave me alone
When you leave me won’t you leave me alone
11. The Neutron
The myth of Pearl
Built to twirl
The bitter saint or the test card girl
We were hexed, jinxed
White lights from above
Princess reign
The winter train
The borough bridge and the quick refrain
We were hoods, punks
And our best friends called it love
We spent our nights and the coffee shops where we’d stay up late for weeks.
Hitched a ride from Sunnyside to the downtown city streets,
thinkin’ bout weekends when and how we were then when our hiccups were the same,
Peechees songs and sing-a-longs with the hand claps in the rain…. I wish we were back
You drew your gun
On the vacant one
When you set your sights on the soches son
He was pomp, dumb
Plush Algonquin loud
Abandon sings
For the wayward kings
(with a) ba ba bav and he’d buy you things
you were sweet, (&) stuck
with the jam the jukebox crowd
12. One Essex Girl
Her friends clack along on the pavement
In white plastic skyscraper heals
They descend on the raves in the Southend
As she looks from the train and reveals:
“I’m left unashamed by my family
or the message my ankle chains send,
but the jokes from the East-enders cut deep
and the ridicule wears very thin”
No place in the world
For one Essex girl
Who waits to be found
In a loaded down white Ford Fiesta
On the A13 north of the pier
Kylie keeps time with the markers
And the Friday night stockings are shear
These weekends have grown to be reckless
And the Chavs they could never relate
The discos are fine for the moment
But she dreams of the day she’ll escape
No place in the world
For one Essex girl
Who waits to be found
The house music bleeds from the ceiling
While the bits and the skirts line the wall
Jokes told about the bristols on crumpets
There’s a zepplin race too close to call
White Diamonds from Chavs for the first round
Who negotiate ways to get home
But despite who she might leave the club with
In the morning she wakes up alone
No place in the world
For one Essex girl
Who waits to be found
High Street’s exploding with track suits
On Sunday the sling-backs are off
Pink Kappa handbags at Lakeside
Where nightclubbing girls become moms
The eye-liner pencils meet garters
To keep warm on those Colchester nights
She’s not yet prepared for the side streets
Or a life spent with pushchairs and pints
13. The Secret History of Devil’s Paw
Too bad you don’t know just how the Romans built the ramparts
Too bad you don’t know the battle of the Coral Sea
(and) Plato’s ideal forms… linguistically a bit confusing
Too bad you don’t know how much you almost meant to me
Tracked down the letters from their post mark
And found them ringing out of tune
We brought the Count Five to the locals
Who still believed we’d hung the moon
A teapot dome of noble failures
Our dearest friends might disagree
Too bad you don’t know how much you almost meant to me
Too bad you don’t know the Templar Knights of Juneau’s Ice-field
Too bad you don’t know Denali’s secret bourgeoisie
A modest snowbound Inn… with just a pinch of Dorothy Draper
Too bad you don’t know how much you almost meant to me
Quietly diseased in person
Drawing poison from the air
Shooting down the small suggestions
With aim we never knew was there
I half assumed that you were joking
I held-up signs I hoped you’d see
Too bad you don’t know how much you almost meant to me
14. We Know You’re Cute, You Told Us
From a mic stand on a milk crate
to a rhinestone Butterfield 8
Audition tapes play on
The house band plays behind her
a pinned-down “Teach Me Tiger”
The stage lights flicker on
The barkeep whispers treason / and lights a flame for April Stevens
and the Nino Tempo fanbase / as he defends and counts the reasons
The pavement shows on her skin / like the distant sounds of Berlin
He’s convinced to death that she’ll fail / still she paints her toenails red for him
We know you’re cute you told us
But we won’t pretend to notice
She’s the patron saint of porridge
where the redline meets the orange
and the fireflies fill the floor
When our punkette leaves the opera
like a blood-soaked Frank Sinatra
Still she knows what love is for
She marvels from the pay phone / how they always chase the same goal
They define themselves with fashion / and the empty things that they own
In this “look-at-me-now” nation / it’s a one way conversation
A two-bit Porter Wagoner / selling fame in combinations
We know you’re cute you told us
But we won’t pretend to notice (x2)
From her apartment complex courtyard
the lifeless drumbeats hit hard
as the basement tapes play on
Just eight years from the lamppost
the daily bumps they hurt most
and the call-back days go on
From the pocket of her best coat / she’s surprised to find a small note
A scrap of long forgotten vows / she wipes her tears and reads aloud:
“Were you brave enough to find it? All those years you never minded.
If you searched your whole life for it, would you even recognize it?”
We know you’re cute you told us
But we won’t pretend to notice
Tullycraft 