A L B U M S

SLEEPERS (1995)

GHCD4 (Avalon Records)

Featuring 'Exorcising Demons' and the epic title track -- still one of our best-selling albums!

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

Credits

STUART NICHOLSON: Lead Voice, Backing Voices, Vocal Effects, Lyrics, Samples, Prozac.

ROY KEYWORTH: Acoustic and Electric Guitars, Guitar Synthesiser, Effects, Sherman Tank.

KARL GARRETT (Karlos): Grand Piano, Hammond B3, Harpsicord, Harmonium, Assorted Synthesisers and Samplers, Sequencing, Backing Vocals, Effects, Chorus Lyrics for Julie Anne, Electric Drill.

SPENCER LUCKMAN: Drums & Percussion, Octopad, Acoustic Dream Helmet.

NEIL PEPPER: Fretted and Fretless Basses, Hondo Two String Acoustic Bass, Homebase.

Also featuring:

Paul Beavis: Additional Percussion, Octopad
Kathy Smyth: Operatic Vocals on Sleepers

All tracks written, arranged and performed by Galahad, except for Amaranth Sequence, arranged by Galahad and Tony Arnold.

Drums recorded at King Arthur's Court, Bournemouth, Dorset during June 1993 and at Active Music Studios, Poole, Dorset during October 1993. All other instruments and voices recorded at The Courthouse, Cranborne, Dorset at various times during 1993 and 1994.

Produced, Engineered and Mixed by Tony Arnold. Assistant Engineers: Martin Condon and Ted Street. Mastered at The Courthouse, December 1994.

Cover photography and artwork by Bil. Type by Richard.

Track Listing

1. Sleepers
2. Julie Anne
3. Live and Learn
4. Dentist Song
5. Pictures of Bliss
6. Before, After & Beyond
7. Exorcising Demons
8. Middleground
9. Amaranth

Lyrics

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

Sleepers / Julie Anne / Live and Learn / Dentist Song / Pictures of Bliss / Before, After & Beyond / Exorcising Demons / Middleground / Amaranth

SLEEPERS

Liberté Fraternité Egalité

"Stubborn resistance was met in some places"

Hiding in the the Catacombs
Lying low in the labyrinths
Beneath the shattered city streets
The sleepers lie in wait
Taking improbable chances
When opportunities arise
Pitching wits against selected hits
Never toeing olliciallines

Infiltrate. agitate, exacerbate, manipulate
Eradicate, decimate, retaliate, annihilate

We will never surrender !

Men, Women and Children
From every walk of life
Using any means available with which to fight
Proudly preserving the integrity of their nation
'Vichy' France could never be our ultimate identitY
Never....

Invalidate, facilitate, emancipate, consolidate
Identify, rectify, pacify, unify

Our spirit never shall be broken !

Watch out !
Take cover !
Someone's been talking
They're on their way
They're armed to the teeth
Machine guns on motor bikes
A Panzer division
Crawling with soldiers in broad daylight
No subtlety here
Our daily injection of fear

I want you to search
Every nook and cranny high and low
To flush out these rebels and deal with them accordingly
Quick return once again to the secret passages
Candlelight in hand, Safe and Sound, Gone to Ground
Keep the noise down.... Sssh !
Outmanoeuvred once again
Ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! ha ! hee ! hee ! hee ! hee ! hee !
We will yet be free!
Foiled again, foiled again
You've been recalled again

Gabardines and Greatcoats
Mingle in the shadows
Animated figures, of dubious origins
Loiter in the corners
Looking for the fallers
Stench of cigarettes hangs heavy in the air
Stella slips slowly through nervous throats
Who is who ? Nobody knows
Who is who ? Nobody knows

Informers, incognito
Heroes and martyrs to be
Shuffle, avoiding the enemy
Everybody is under cover
Everyone is wary of each other
Who is who ? Nobody knows
Who is who ?

Another pale moon rises
Another blood red sun sets
Another hard day gone
Another nervous night to come
Survival guaranteed
At least until tomorrow
Who knows what a new dawn will bring
A New Era ?

All becomes clearer......
In the end......

JULIE ANNE

I dreamt of you
Skirt billowing in the breeze
Angelic smile on your pretty face
So young, so fresh
Like new leaves in the springtime
It makes me shudder
When I think of what happened !

Julie Anne -Is that you that I can hear ?
Juiie Anne -Are you trying to call my name ?
Juiie Anne -I'll never forget you as long as I live
Julie Anne -There'll always be a place for you in my heart

Laughing and fooling
In the long grass of summer
Chasing in circles around the old tower
Fond recollections
Of the best days of our lives
No-one can take those memories away...

Julie Anne -I can sense that you are near
Julie Anne -Are you trying to call my name ?
Julie Anne -I'll never leave you as long as I live
Julie Anne -There'll always be a place for you
In my heart !

Slow motion miracles
So vivid, so real

Julie Anne -Is that you that I can hear ?
Julie Anne -Are you trying to call me ?
Are you trying to call my name ?
Julie Anne -I'll never forget you as long as I live
Julie Anne -There'll always be a place for you in my heart

Julie Anne -Is that you, is that you that I can hear ?
Are you trying to call me ?
There'll always be a place for you in my heart
Julie Anne -Are you trying to call me ?
Are you trying to call my name ?

LIVE AND LEARN

Part 1 - Even the brightest burn
We had it good in the eighties
Everything coming up roses
We were drowning in success
Only dealing with the best
Really couldn't care about the rest
They meant nothing to us

MONEY POWER GREED

Porsche 911, penthouse over the Thames
We had everything we desired
But the bubble had to burst
Unless we gave out first
We never thought it was an option

SELF-DECEIT SELF-CORRUPT

We live and learn
Even the brightest burn
We live and learn
Each of us has our turn
We rage and scorn
Don't even know we are born
We live and learn
Even the brightest burn

Sure enough the big bang came
We were finally out of the game
Dizzy heights that we had scaled
Proved too much - we'd finally failed
Nothing left but rubble and dust

But now it all seems like
A perfect blessing in disguise
A learning experience
To which we are now wise

SELF-REALISATION
REGAINING SELF-ESTEEM

We live and learn
Even the brightest burn
We live and learn
Each of us has our turn
We rage and scorn
Don't even know we are born
We live and learn
Even the brightest burn

But now I've got all in a better perspective
Now I'm back, Jiving in the real world
I've got the love of a famIly and friends
Self-respect and happiness
Nothing more, nothing less
It's all that matters to me.....

Part 2 - Learning curve
Learning curve
Learning curve
Rising, falling, arcing
Learning curve

DENTIST SONG

Sit tight, under the strip light
You've got to keep calm
You'll be alright
Hold your head up, open up wide
So that I can see, what lies inside

5 4 3 2
And now we're gunning for you
Extractions required
This may make you feel a little tired.....

Now I'm drowning in the daylight
I'm staring at the ceiling
And I look into my nurses eyes
The kindest eyes I'll see today
I'll see today

Needle sharp, Don't carp
We've got to make a start
You know I've got a heart I
Now just sit still
Don't move
I'm closing In now
It's coming through

Now you're feeling numb
Your senses, they all disappear
I'll just turn on the power
With a flick of the switch
And we're ready to begin.....

I'm drowning in the daylight
I'm staring at the ceiling
I look into my nurses eyes
The kindest eyes I'll see today
I'll see today

I hear the sound of a drill edging closer
Making contact with my inner self
Though I feel no pain

I'm aching from the stillness of being laid up here all this time
But I'm sure he knows what he is doing...
Doesn't he ?
I hope so !

Now I'm drowning in the daylight
Staring at the ceiling
I look into my nurses eyes
The kindest eyes I'll see today
I'll see today

The Kindest Eyes
The Kindest Eyes
The Kindest Eyes that I'll see today
The Kindest Eyes
The Kindest Eyes
The Kindest Eyes that I'll see today

PICTURES OF BLISS

Sleeping beauty, rest thine eyes
What lies beneath, your fragrant disguise
A natural blossom, of nature's colours
Born to woo, attracting a fervour
In a fading half-light, leading the way
Adorned with the robes of a Queen's display
Moving in silence, a memory that was sold
Along with my heart a long time ago

Sleeping beauty, rest thine eyes
Pictures of bliss, foreboding sighs
Reei with delight, in a satin mirage
Raising a smile, I lie at your charge
No need to awaken, no sounds of the dawn
A silent approach, a new love is born ?
But it dies as it reaches, and soon turns so cold
As did my desire, a long time ago
A long time ago

BEFORE, AFTER AND BEYOND

Part 1. Transcendence
As we transcend the realms of mere mortality
Our souls released as we salute infinity
Visions like these exist in our minds
Chasing our dreams, forever, all time

Part 2. Heaven was and will be..
Past lIfe fascinations
MeddlIng with the spirits
Seance and science
Simiiar or separate ?

Strange ways, in the old days
Looking back with affection
(and a wry smile !)

We've seen it all before
And I guess we'll see it again
Trying to be so clever
Beating the natural at its own game
We'll never build a perfect world
We'll never build a perfect world
Before, after and beyond

Looking to the future
Planning, speculating
Peculiar priorities
Not always in order

Utopian ideals
Dreams of Nirvana
(heaven was and will be !)

We've seen it all before
And I guess we'll see it again
Trying to be so clever
Beating the natural at its own game
We'll never build a perfect world
We'll never build a perfect world
Before, after and beyond

Dereliction of our duties
In current situations
Half-hearted lip service
Of limited duration
By those who
Have the power to
Help us to
Overcome our
Worldly problems
And solve them
Once and for all !

We've seen it all before
And I guess we'll see it again
We're trying to be so clever
Beating the natural at it's own game
We'll never build a perfect world
We'll never build a perfect worid
Before, after and beyond
We'll never build a perfect world
Whatever happened to that perfect world ?
Before, alter and beyond

Past Imperfect
Present Imperfect
Future Imperfect
Forever Imperfect

EXORCISING DEMONS

Hush now baby, please don't cry
Everything is going to be alright
I'll make sure our secret never gets out
Ot that I know there is no doubt !

One whisper from you
And I know I'll go down
Four times life
And I'll be out for the count
So hush now baby, don't say a word
For if you do they'll think it quite absurd

It's ridiculous, preposterous
It just couldn't happen here, no way !
Couid it ?

For I am a man of standing
And you are but a disturbed child
So who do you think they are going to believe...
Who ?

Sad boy sits a'weeping on hls bed
Thinking about what the principal did
Thinking of his friends and Mum and Dad
And the loving life that he once had
But now it's been replaced by the seediest show
And no-one it seems even wanted to know

I'd like to ciimb inside
Your warped and evil mind
Taking a sharp knife
To the Devil's cancer festering within you

The pain that I provide
Will make you reaiise
That your conscience
Will be racked with guilt forever

EXORCISING DEMONS.....

I'd like to climb inside
Your Godforsaken soul
And tear out your jaded heart

EXORCISING DEMONS.....

Such a shame you have to live
Paid for the state
I'd rather see you dead*
Though I know it's much too late

EXORCISING DEMONS.....

Young man sits a'pondering alone
Coming to terms with the ghost of his past
Psychological scars
Are never going to heal
The pain subsides as the years go by
Now that he is older
And has grown much stronger
Maybe he's got the will to live again....

Exorcise those demons once and for all....

*Frank Beck died in prison whilst this song was being mixed

MIDDLEGROUND

It's getting late in the evening
And the party is almost over
A quarter to three, we are alcohol free
And the music's faded away

It's just you and me sinking further into the sofa
Everybody's gone to say hello to the moon

Drifting together into the realms
Of another dimension
Where nothing is ever
Quite as it appears to be

Always, the unexpected
Lurking, around every corner

Now it seems we are standing on the middleground
A no-mansland, hearing unfamiliar sounds
My vulnerability, it's scaring me
I'm not so sure about this middleground

Everything is calm
The sounds have all disappeared
Get back on the tracks you know
There really is nothing to fear

As long as we stay on the path that ieads to ecstasy
Comforting each other, and our minds will be free

And now it seems we're caught up in the middleground
A no-mansland hearing unfamiliar sounds
My sensibility, it's deserting me
Not so sure about this middleground
Now I feel trapped in the middleground
It's plain to see, it's not easy
When you're caught in the middleground

Julius Caesar beware of the Ides
They are coming to get you
And the house on the hill, is feeling quite ill
Too many spirits you know!

Poor old Canute cannot hold back the sea
Keeps getting contused between reality and fantasy...

And now it seems we're leaving the middleground
Rising above the chaos on which we're staring down
Moving further into the distance
Now we're flying away from the middleground
Towards the morning and more familiar sounds
Not so keen on this great divide
Got to keep well clear of the middleground....

It's quarter to nine and time to rise, again.....

AMARANTH

We're never in, we're never out
We're always roundabout
We're never far, we're never near
We're always not quite here
We're never up, we're never down
We're ever changing sound......chaser....

Here today, here tomorrow
Gone today, gone tomorrow

Amaranth, you're the overseer of all
Never gonna fall
Amaranth, eternally lie, never gonna die
You're timeless
You're never gonna fade
You've got no need to pray
Timeless
Wish I could be like you
Forever blessed with life

We never win, we never lose
We always battle through
We climb up high, we lay down low
But we never follow the flow
We never arrive and we never depart
We're not seen as modern
But we're state of the art....

Here today, here tomorrow
Gone today, gone tomorrow

Amaranth, sitting pretty in the mud
Took your chance and survived the flood
Amaranth, mocking flesh and blood
Though I don't disagree
You're timeless
Well, you've seen it all before
What lies behind that door
Timeless
Watching us fade
We're gonna tear it all apart....

I lie awake at night
Empty, for fear of another worldly nightmare

We journeyed through green valleys
And along the rivers of life
In search of a holy chalice
To provide us all with the wisdom
That we may need to conquer
Our darkest thoughts and emotions
Never once looking behind us
For fear of loss in our faith
But we never lost our faith....

What, what ?
You don't believe in us ?
You fools !

For if you perish
Then I will wither
You are my spirit
We will fade together
I will guide you
Never fail you
Keep you breathing
Spare your lives
Through whatever may come your way
Through wars and famine
Disease and flooding
I will always be at your side....

And your love lies bleeding
Swamped by fear and misunderstanding
But our resolve and constant searching
Will nourish our dreams and keep us thriving....