A L B U M S

FOLLOWING GHOSTS (1998)

GHCD6 (Avalon Records)

Fourth proper studio album includes Myopia and the two epics Bug Eye and Shine.

Credits | Track Listing | Lyrics | MP3s | Reviews | Buy!

Credits

STUART NICHOLSON: lead voice, background vocals & words.

SPENCER LUCKMAN: drums & percussion.

NEIL PEPPER: bass guitar & pedals, programming & samples.

DEAN BAKER: keyboards, programming & samples.

ROY KEYWORTH: guitars & effects.

Featuring special guests:

Sarah Quilter: flute, clarinet & vocals
Titch: violin
Steve Smith: 1st piano on Shine
Kate Jenner: the voice of ARC
Chris & Ann McManus: Bug Eye sound bites

Produced by Galahad. Mastered by Dallas Simpson.

Recorded, engineered and mixed by Steve Smith and Chris Vass at Room with a View, Ringwood, Hampshire, England, during autumn/winter 1997 and spring 1998.

Front cover photograph Hale Bopp over Knowlton Church by Mark Gaston of Celestial Skies. Booklet design and artwork by Becky Batterson.

Track Listing

1. Myopia
2. Imago
3. A Short Reflection on Two Past Lives (part one)
4. Karma for One
5. Perfection Personified
6. Bug Eye
7. A Short Reflection on Two Past Lives (part two)
8. Ocean Blue
9. Rejuvenation
10. Easier Said Than Done
11. Shine
   i. Like a Bolt Out of the Blue
   ii. The Pain She Feels Inside
   iii. Shine On ...

Lyrics

[Select a track title below to view the lyrics for that track, or scroll down from here to see the entire set.]

Myopia / Imago / A Short Reflection on Two Past Lives (part one) / Karma for One / Perfection Personified / Bug Eye / A Short Reflection on Two Past Lives (part two) / Ocean Blue / Rejuvenation / Easier Said Than Done / Shine:- i. Like a Bolt Out of the Blue ii. The Pain She Feels Inside iii. Shine On ... [also en espaÒol]

MYOPIA

You promise so much, but deliver so little
Make out you care, despite the fact that you're so fickle
Our eyes can see clearly and our ears can hear
Still, everything you say is all so unclear

Avoiding the questions with the answers you give
The con goes on and on, how can we believe?
Are you speaking in tongues? or just dodging the issues
Or busy stocking up on extra three ply tissues!

Myopia, myopia ... too blind to see the truth
Myopia, myopia ... as history will prove
Myopia, myopia ... where is the real you?
Myopia, myopia...

True colours, shining through

Bland and benign are the politics you deal
On both sides of the house, such a slow turning wheel
The passion is lacking, the rhetoric is stale
How can you succeed where others always fail?

Can I have a pair of your rose tinted glasses?
So life looks much better for all us lower classes
Why should we suffer this barrage of deceipt?
You only fool yourself when you can't cope with the heat!

Myopia, myopia ... too blind to see the truth
Myopia, myopia ... as history will prove
Redopia, Blueopia ... the onus is on you?
Myopia, myopia....

True colours shining through....

 

IMAGO

Like a jigsaw, our inheritance builds us, moulds us
As individuals, hybrids, mongrels
Never quite perfect, but perfect in our own way
We are different from our kin, though parts of us are the same

There is a part of me that is my ancestry
Therefore am I not free, am I unique?

I am imago
We are imago
We are all imago
Imago

We carry traits of our relatives
Through generations of gradual change
We carry on the order natural chaos that binds us
In to living, breathing human or not so human beings
But our legacy, offspring keeps us searching through tinted eyes

There is a part of me that is my ancestry
Therefore am I not free, am I unique?

I am imago
We are imago
We are all imago
Imago

I am imago
We are imago
We are all imago
Imago

 

A SHORT REFLECTION ON TWO PAST LIVES

Part 1

I can't help my reflections
Can't escape your inflections
Bamboo sticks and bed sheets
Bedouin's alive and well

Castles rise up from the warm grey sand
Before the real buildings rose up high
Watching Cinnabar's dancing
By the bridge at the end of the dusty road

Tickle & Scratch on the old black stool
Mince & potato holiday meal
Sandy & Pipkin on lunch time tele
Memory is alive and well

Both of you irreplaceable
Never thought you'd be apart
From South Shields to Dorset
A long and finite journey

Part 2

We will always remember the good times
You will always have a place in our hearts
We will always cherish our memories
You will always be a part of our lives

We will always remember the good times
You will always be in our thoughts
We will always remember the good times
You will always have a place in our hearts

 

KARMA FOR ONE

Floating in the dead sea salts, staring at the sky above
Watching all the payloads pass, crushing the peace white dove
Turning the pages of a paper, images of hate and war
Tweaking at my conscience, what is it all for?
Drifting ion the dead sea salts, staring at the endless blue
Looking for another opening, trying to get some truth
Should I stay above or should I go below
Would I find a better place to drown in my sorrow?

Karma for one, karma for one
Lost in my World
Silent in my World
Karma for one, karma for one
Safe in my World
Me and my karma for one

Lying in the dead sea salts, staring at the vapour trails
The beauty of the beast above, such irony beguiling me
Aloof and alone in the sky, I wonder if they wonder why?
Pushing the button of fate, another terrorist state
Soaking in the dead sea salts, waiting for the World to turn
I could wait a million years in this pool of salty tears
Maybe I should drift away lighten the weight on my shoulders
Could I find a better way to live all my tomorrows?

Karma for one, karma for one
Lost in my World
Silent in my World
Karma for one, karma for one
Safe in my World
Me and my karma for one

Shooting up the shanty towns, blowing holes in the roads to freedom
A sad matter of a sick déjà vu, yes we've seen it all before
Bathing in the blood of the victims of yet another war of attrition
It never had to be but it is, it is now, it is here, it is real
Here in the heart of the Holy Land, surely there's some contradiction
Here's to the end!
Cheers to the end!
Here's to the end!!

 

PERFECTION PERSONIFIED

Mistakes, mistakes ... I know you don't make 'em
Problems, problems ... I know you don't create 'em
I know that you know you are never, ever wrong
Always blaming somebody else
Though we're not sure quite sure who
But you and I know because you told me so that it's not you!

Because you're ... perfection personified, never lost and never lied
Perfection personified, a perfect example to everyone of how not to live your own life!

So sad, so sad, you're not aware of your own failings
Opinions, opinions ... you've got them by the truckload
Even when you don't understand what you're saying
But still you amble along in your own perfect bubble
Leaving behind you a trail of rubble
Whose going to catch you when you finally fall?

Because you're ... perfection personified, never lost and never lied
Perfection personified, a perfect example to everyone of how not to live your own life!

Respectable, infallible, unculpable, unfathomable, not liable
Thoroughly objectionable, sitting on a pedastal that's in danger of collapsing ...

The epitome of smarm, so smug and self satisfied
Safe in your cushy job, plenty of money
Devoted family man and a wife who calls you 'honey'
You're smiling and we're smiling and we're laughing at you
You think you have it made but what you don't realise is that the joke is on you

Because you're ... perfection personified, never lost and never lied
Perfection personified, a perfect example to everyone of how not to live your own life!

 

BUG EYE

Bug eye in the water
In the water in her body
Bug eye in the water
In the water in her body (in my body)
Safe, safe , safe within her womb
(Safe, safe , safe within my womb)

Bug eye in the water
In the water in her body
Bug eye in the water
In the water in her body (in my body)
Safe, safe , safe within her womb
Blissful, blissful, bliss within her womb

Everyone deserves a chance
Even if it's only one
Everyone deserves a shot at life

Beautiful, beautiful bug eye
Such an innocent creature
For such a small part of your part of your existence

Bug Eye
New Life
Bug Eye
New Life

Beautiful, beautiful bug eye
Such an innocent creature
For such a small part of your part of your existence

 

OCEAN BLUE

Follow me in to the ocean blue
Follow me if you want the truth
I cannot, but I can talk to you
I say nothing, but still you understand

I hold my hand out to you
Don't be afraid, I come in peace
It may seem unusual to you
Leave all your cynicism behind you
Behind you, leave it behind you

Swim with me in the ocean deep
Be amazed by all the sights you'll see
Don't you worry, you'll still be able to breathe
It's another World down here, naturally ...

I hold my hand out to you
Don't be afraid, I come in peace
It may seem unusual to you
Leave all your cynicism behind you
Behind you, leave it behind you

I hold my hand out to you
Don't be afraid, I come in peace
It may seem unusual to you
Leave all your cynicism behind you
Leave it behind you
Behind you
Leave it behind you

 

EASIER SAID THAN DONE

Everyone's got an answer
And everyone else knows best
But it's always easier said than done

It doesn't matter what you do
There's also someone else who knows better than you
Even if they've been involved at all
In the kind of things that you do
They can always point you in the right direction
Give you tips and a masterclass on how to get on

Everyone's got an answer
And everyone else knows best
But it's always easier said than done

There are those who have verbal diarrhoea
Some, it seems have just got not no fear
Some are just downright dangerous
We'd all do well to steer clear
It's always easier than you think
Or so the others may say
But they're not the ones who are taking the risks
In the cold light of day

Everyone's got an answer
And everyone else knows best
But it's always easier said than done

Everyone's got an answer
And everyone else knows best
But it's always easier said than done

 

SHINE

Sitting alone silent in thought
Reflecting on how life used to be
It seems such a long time ago now
Since fate dealt such a devastating blow

She was the dream of many a young
A beauty standing out from the crowd
The World was waiting for her to blossom
Now she sits waiting for a miracle

Her courage keep her going
Gives her the will to live
The best she can, the best she can

Her inner strength is holding
She'll prove she can live a life full of promise and not regret
The best she can, the best she can

Like a bolt out of the blue
How could nature be so cruel
I couldn't believe that it happened to you
Her pretty smile belies her pain
The pain she feels so deep inside
But she can hold her head up high

For still she has her pride
She has faith on her side

She's not beaten yet, she'll keep up the fight
There's so much left for her to prove
As each new dawn breaks, she's got what it takes
Though nothing is taken for granted

Determined to win, against all the odds
Laying to rest the beast within the beauty
The World was waiting for her to blossom
Now she sits waiting for a miracle

Her courage keep her going
Gives her the will to live
The best she can, the best she can

Her inner strength is holding
She'll prove she can live a life full of promise and not regret
The best she can, the best she can

Like a bolt out of the blue
How could nature be so cruel
I couldn't believe that it happened to you
Her pretty smile belies her pain
The pain she feels so deep inside
But she can hold her head up high

For still she has her pride
She has faith on her side

Like a bolt out of the blue
How could nature be so cruel
I couldn't believe that it happened to you
Her pretty smile belies her pain
The pain she feels so deep inside
But she can hold her head up high

Like a bolt out of the blue
How could nature be so cruel
I couldn't believe that it happened to you
Her pretty smile belies her pain
The pain she feels so deep inside ...