The Flashing Lights are:
Gaven Dianda - keyboards
Matt Murphy - guitar & vocal
Steve Pitken - drums
Henri Sangalang - bass
Here they are, to the best of my
ability. Italics indicates a ?, while blanks are more of a what the ?
If your auditory senses are
keener than mine, I'd love to hear (read, yes)
what you think
.
Well there were days, surely days you remember
though I can't think which ones
They're all the same old reflection
and gone with the western sun
There we were by the water
under that sleepy sky
How I wish I could have told her
just what I was feeling inside
But now her words are all loaded, even when she’s shooting the breeze
You know this love, it doesn’t aim to please
I turned around and descended
down to an all-time low
and in my way I defended
memory’s midnight show
I picked it up and got going
took the sun from my door
and who’d I find there a-knocking
but someone who could love me more
It’s got a mind of it’s own, you know it might take you for granted
It’s got a heart of it’s own, you know, a little underhanded
Aunties and uncles are putting their monies together
and saving up for something better
They might take a map and a compass wherever they go,
but they don’t know their tips from _______
Something’s in the ease always thinking about disease out in public
But she said, “Do it for the melon, do it for the mango.
Do it for yourself 'cause no one else will.”
Aunties and uncles are arriving like generals and majors
Be quick with their cell phones and pagers.
Aunties are on the seaside, counting the seashells
while Uncle’s busy changing hotels
Straw hat, sewer rat, beaches down the back alleys
But she said, “Do it for the melon, do it for the mango.
Do it for yourself, ‘cause no one else will.”
Down at the disco Uncle slipped a little disco know
Cause she said, “Do it with the limbo, do it with the tango.
Do it with yourself cause no one else will.”
At a bus stop, feeling lazy,
caught a northbound for a mile
Saw you sitting by the window,
you were flipping through a file
Bet you wonder what I’m doing
Come to think it, so do I
Feeling stretched out, feeling wasted
but I’m loaded, but why?
But I’ve no time for talking, I shouldn’t be here walking
‘cause I’m late for my limousine ride
And if you don’t recall my name, well that’s the price of fame
But we’re known in the valley, and big back in Hali
we’re the Kings of the Canadian Nile,
though it’s hard to assess the power we possess
if you haven’t caught our act in a while
So you go up to the palisade, down by the old arcade
and then you’ll want to hang a right
Then it’s left at Burger King, look for a murder scene
we’ll be appearing all night
Bet it feels good to climbing slow and steady to the sky
Wish I had your inclination, I feel stupid trying to fly
But don’t you ever feel sorry, don’t ever feel sorry for me
for being stuck in the alley, trying to claw my way back till
we are known in the valley, and big back in Hali
We’re the Kings of the Canadian Nile
At seven ring pull, and let it ring full
Well I guess that sounds pretty wild
Just sit like you’re seventeen
and I won’t mind a bit
you’ll find the answers that you seek
Now flip through a magazine, look for a murder scene
We’ll be appearing all week
Day Like That
Monday came and Tuesday followed (I’ll never see another day like that)
Wednesday night was vain and hollow (I’ll never see another day like that)
She took my hand, she made me feel like I could be her man
and everything was turning out alright
Well after all, she kept me up all night
Thursday night was just a shadow
Friday truth was hard to swallow
Armistice or armageddon?
Independence or dominion?
No more will I be led, I’m gonna watch my step
No more will I reach out, I’m gonna bury my head
Saturday was just as shallow
Sunday night was full of sorrow
There’s a murky stream of psychotic dreams
roaming through this muddy little town
There’s a sense of dread tied to an end of thread
running through this patchwork little town
But if you’ve got love, bring it along, put it with ours, we’ll sing you
a song
Well there is a girl, two ____ tall, it's a gingerbread house, but nobody
calls
From the mall to the telephone tower
we’re gonna keep you up to all hours
Eyes against your will up Magnetic Hill
or struggle to go down the road from town
There’s a daylight hour when my friends lose their power
They’ve never seen the flipside of a dream
But if you’ve got love, bring it along, put with ours, we’ll sing you a
song
Well there is a boy in love with the moon, give him the world, he’ll
play you a tune
The one in the manger
one in the mountain
one on the water
but who’s gonna do it for you?
The one in the limo
one on the bicycle
one in the taxi
but who’s gonna do it for you?
I’ll tell you who:
we are, we are, we are
cause the Flashing Lights are on
The one in tuxedo
one in the nightgown
one in the nightie
but who’s gonna do it for you?
The one in the paper
one on the radio
Saw you on the TV
But who’s gonna do it for you?
Let me tell you ‘bout a little story about the Flashing Lights: we’re on.
Who’s gonna do it for you?
I’ll tell you who
The Flashing Lights are on
I don’t know where we used to run under this pale moon sound
Why must we must sail through memories only to run aground?
Once it was lemon soda pop, but next it was neon soup
We’re all a little older now, and everyone’s flown the coop
I don’t know where we used to run, I don’t know where we hide
Spent over half our lives together, was that such a waste of time?
I don’t know why I’m bound to you, call it a twist of fate
Stuck between our enemies and the friends we learn to hate
If there was something troubling that lays upon your mind
Let’s find a fix together now, and leave the past behind
She’s stuck in the back seat of a late night cruise through our city
Her cigarette glows, burning as fast as she blows
Now she can't remember where she has hid the bottle
Out the gates to the park, on hands and knees in the dark
But she found an answer
I know change has come
And gone are the good times
that we saved for the hard times
And I know they won’t be back again
She jumps in the front seat, she’s racing home in the last heat
She’s first out the gate, but she knows she’ll be late
Now over the narrows, she looks down on our city
with no souvenirs, nothing can hold her here
I lost my true love back in 1989
She was the greatest friend that you could ever find
Now there are children swinging off her homemade skirt
When I grow up, I might ask her to mend this hurt
because I’m only happy half the time
I lost my true love back in 1994
She did not want to be loaned to me anymore
Now I picture her laughing through a glass of wine
and I cry more tears, but she was never only mine
and she’s only happy half the time
I found my true love back in 1996
I knew I’d find her when I headed for the sticks
But she’s no country girl and she won’t give up on me yet
Each night I tell her I love her, hoping she’ll forget
that we’re only happy half the time
Heart Like Mine
I checked into rooms without you
can’t lose on your own
Windows showed me only that we
can’t lose on our own
I recall my TV said I
can’t lose on my own
No, there’s no way to stop it
and I can take it if I want it
but you can’t wake the lions with a heart like mine
No, you can’t wake the lions with a heart that beats like mine
So here I lie knowing that I
can’t lose on my own
I just climbed through my point of view
You can’t lose on your own
No, there’s no way to stop it
You better take it if you want it
Cause you can’t wake the lions with a heart like mine
You can talk till you’re crying with a heart like mine
And you can walk like a giant with a heart like mine
Who’s gonna make their mark on a heart like mine?
Who’s gonna catch a spark off a heart like mine?
You can’t wake the lions with a heart that beats like,
heart that sleeps like mine
Every night lit up by flashing tv lights
Is that the way that it’s going to be?
Shouldn’t we be out amongst the heart attacks on subway tracks?
That’s the way that it ought to be
I’ve been awake so long awaiting a landslide
Every kiss could run like horses in a dream
Is that the way it’s supposed to be?
When lovers don’t know where love’s at, they save their kisses for their
cat
That’s the way it’s got to be
You’ve got nothing to be sad about
‘cept having nothing to be sad about
This world’s just an onion bound to make you, gonna make you cry
Up and down this silver scale you slide
We’ll never let you live it down
It’s something for many years, tell us what you want us to hear
Too bad your intentions are too clear
This world’s just a mirror bound to make you, gonna make you crack
Between the calls from who knows who
there’s never time for me and you
You do your bit, and then move on
and then pretend like nothing’s wrong
Ask anyone: you’re loads of fun
there’s something there for everyone
And though you’ve run me in the ground
just a kiss from you brings me around
Do I remind you of a patient you forgot to see?
You are a thorn that’s in my side
You’re telling me that it’s my pride
and it’s a long way from the heart
but you never know when we may part
It’s the things you say that make me stay
It’s the deeds you’ve done that make me run
It’s a long way up to the Rotary Hotel
but that’s where all of our dreams fell
and through the torn curtains
I saw that nothing is for certain
as I walked down to that sweet brown lake
I saw that all of our mistakes
lied in the surface, about to break
And all these rows of afternoon shadows
melt with morning’s bright arrows
and I lost the fight with the battle
so won’t you come and help me this time?
Out by the Shipwrecked Academy
I had the sense kicked out of me
and I lost all of my feelings
Maybe that’s where all of our dealings went sour
right on the hour, the traffic slowed
and magically golden,
horns hit the window as you walked out
And all these rows of afternoon shadows
melt with morning’s bright arrows
and I lost the fight with the battle
and everything was unraveled
so won’t you come and help me this time?
It’s a long way up
It’s a long way
I was checking out of this lonely room
when I got started watching something on the tube
Now I’m still lying here
Tonight, tonight . . . .
Okay, anchors away
and no sign for many a day
So pick up the cat and throw off your coat
and let’s put our hopes in a runaway boat
It’s alright
Tonight, tonight
Well okay, Noah’s away
and now all the mice will play
Let’s cut down the chat and kick off the cat
‘cause here comes that mouse and he’s smelling like a rat
Oh now who’s gonna tell you baby, do it all night?
You do the same thing twice
Well I know a little bit of something 'bout that
Do you? Do you?
Oceans always will sway
Emotions are having their day
So kick off the lights and shut up your doors
'cause here comes my heart and he’s looking for more
Okay, have it your way
and I’ll do whatever you say
But kick out the cat and cut up that trap
'cause here comes a mouse and he’s smelling like a rat
Oh now who’s gonna tell you baby, do it all night?
You do the same thing twice
Well I know a little bit of something 'bout that
Do you? You do the same thing twice
It’s alright
Tonight, tonight
You do the same thing twice
So long this love has been bottled up inside, at times
it seems to me that miracles have all but died tonight
Now king and queen whisper behind their silver screen all night
and life’s so hard since they were crowned
We pass on jokes and laugh about this new regime en scene
and when we laugh, we cover our mouths to hold in all our screams
Now king and queen rise up above on angel wings alight
and life’s so hard since they were crowned
Carpets of red were spread and walked on
Those rented jewels are just a put on
and we’re laughing all our lives . . . .
But when we laugh, we cover our mouths before we split our sides
Now king and queen rise up above on angel wings alight
A rumour now could bring them down
Summertime Climb
I put my headphones on and sang the blues
though winter ended and the weeds all grew
Where does the fun begin? Here at my nightmare’s end
Summertime is such a climb
I took my headphones off and heard the news
Summer imploded and new flowers bloomed
You say you know me and you speak so convincingly
You want to hear more, but you don’t know what you’re in for
I traded headphones for a pair of shoes
and I walked through tragedy and made the news
You are afraid to try, so you’ve got no right to cry
and chances come too late to be of use
You are at an awkward stage 'cause you are from a different age
All your bright ideas sound so passé
Although I know you know if something’s not right
you change it forever
or not at all
The same old problems hang around
Another comes up when you knock one down:
it’s the same old life in a different town
I don’t have it in for you, ‘cause I think I’m stuck here too
and one more slip and we are here to stay
Although I know you know
(although I hear you say you’re not thinking about tomorrow)
you change it forever
or not at all
Talk to the hand, I don’t wanna know
I wish I’d never came on this show
But I’m looking better than you’ve ever seen,
now I’m working night stints at the palace of dreams
Taking you off for the first time
Taking you on for the very last time
Putting you on for the first time
Putting you off for the very last time
Talk to the hand till your face is blue
cause now you’re talking to a dream come true
Heard you say I was a waste of time
Now you’ll spend it at the back of the line
Telling you once for the first time
Telling you off for the very last time
I don’t need anyone
Talk to the hand if you’re gonna speak
I wanna know who’s coming on next week
So in days to come, when you wanna shout,
if you see five fingers, you should let it all out
Taking your shots for the first time
Taking your licks for the very last time
Telling you lies for the first time
Telling you truth for now
Too Delightful
If you’re coming over, bring back that heart
Without my engine it’s hard to start again
If it’s for an hour, that’s no big deal
I’d love to have you for my next meal
But please don’t think me spiteful, it’s not that way at all
It’s just too delightful every time you call
If you want to light up, sounds cool to me
Stand by the window and let me breathe again
If you have to go now, don’t pity me
Don’t lose an earring, just leave your key with me
Oh Josephine, set me free
This town’s made of tar, so no one gets far
They're stuck in their ways, and there are no better days
yet to come. At least not for some.
To watch them some nights, between parties and fights
To try and belong; it feels so very wrong
So in case I don’t follow, in case I can't follow this through
In case I don’t follow, I think it is best if you knew
They're the unattached
:
all their plans remain unhatched
They are just like you, but with nothing to do
They think I’m one of them,
but they don’t know I’ll send
accounts of what goes on
I’ve files on everyone
And mid-town’s the same, it’s all a big game
You want me inside to prove that we have tried
to regain this nation’s glory
The amusement arcade’s closed for the day
Thirty or so were gathered on the road, nowhere to go
Talk to them, talk with them, learn from them
____________________
_________ and write to us
Explain to us, but don’t break apart
My last words to you before I am through:
you can't talk of trust, expecting us, without a fuss,
to always protect you, to always report back to you
We’re the unattached
All our plans remain unhatched
We are just like you, but with nothing to do
I am one of them,
no longer will I send
accounts of what goes on
I know where I belong
I stood with my hands in my pockets
I grinned like the Cheshire Cat
I blew like a runaway rocket
I spun like a lost acrobat
I was running in every direction
chasing my shadow through time
trying to catch a reflection
of someone who used to be mine
Up all night
yeah, we were there
Up all night
yeah, we were doing it
I burned like a red roman candle
I melted like hot wax on ice
I blushed like a lady of scandal
I rolled like a new pair of dice
Where Do the Days Go?
Where do the days go? Silent fractions
Spending all our time out of action
I’ve got some dreams stalled on the dashboard
Gonna let them loose when we hit town
Heart full of soul and a head full of numbers
Thought by now I’d have awoke from my slumber
This is a good-bye to the free ride
and a hollow kiss to all I’ll miss
Where do the days go in the summer?
Time is a selfish thing to keep
still I want it when I’m drifting off to sleep
Can’t go back now
Drive me back home right now
They’re already gone
Index
Okay, that’s where you started, and where you’re coming from
How do you know where you’re going when you run inside every time it’s
blowing?
Okay, that’s where you started, and where you’re coming from
You killed the day with your talking, how little gets done, now that
I find shocking
I heard about what you intended
You know me, if I had defended
That’s only me trying to pretend, I guess
'cause I’m just like you, only less
Okay, that’s where you started, and where you’re coming from
That might explain your condition, the dirty old sleeve, every bootleg
addition
I’m a river changing slowly over time
You won’t ever catch me turning on a dime
Two in the morning, here tonight
You don’t sleep in the light
Since you’ve been gone, I’ve been untrue,
hoping that you have been untrue too
No one wants to feel guilty
If I was the star and you were the fan
how could you join this one man band?
You don’t know where it’s going
So much to learn, so little to teach
and you’re out of touch with someone so hard to reach
(everyone)
Now you don’t know where to go
and you don’t know where the change is
and all the pleasure it brings
I thought you were gonna clip my wings
Love is a powerful dream
and I woke up with a scream
and I was up on a plane
with your cheap seat memory pumping the pressure in every vein
All I say blows away
How about the love that you held for me?
No one wants to feel guilty
Since you’ve been gone, I’ve been untrue
hoping that you have been untrue too
(everything)
Now you don’t know where to go
and you don’t know where the change is
and all the pleasure it brings
I thought you were gonna clip my wings
Love is a powerful dream
and we broke up with a scream
and I was up on a plane
with your cheap seat memory pumping the pressure in every vein
You don’t know where the change is
Through the windows of a bus, the sun shines through
as you slip and slide on your roller blades
Down the centre of the street, you carve your name
but what’s that all about anyway?
And as you cut between the cars, you kind of fade away
and disappear into camouflage
But what else have you to express beyond the way you dress?
Is there no dark cloud hanging over you?
Your image precedes you, I know where that leads to
You should have learned that long ago
You think that everyone’s a fool
It’s not your fault that you’re so cool
cause the shadow machine of the cityscape
But on the bus, they must relax
because they’re free from all attacks
with the torn up stubs from yesterday
But you’re just like one of those girls modeling their curls,
display case reflections, and silver spoons
You’re so well trained, so left-brained, that you can't even smile
when an unleashed dog starts to follow you
You said that everyone’s a fool
It’s not your fault that you’re so cool
cause the shadow machine of the cityscape
But on the bus, we must relax
because we’re free from all attacks
of torn out stubs from yesterday
|
|
Where do the days go?
