Man in the middle

VERSE
C
Sleeping by day
Am
Working by night
F
Blocking out everything
G
Shunning the light

Not answering calls
Not ever no more
Blocking the windows
And locking the door

LIFT
Dm
Oh
G
I have to find

CHORUS
C. F
I'm a man in the middle of something
Am F
What it is ain't exactly clear
Am
But I hope and I pray
F
And I work every day
G
And if I know if God's willing I'll make it someday
C     F
I'm a man in the middle of something

BRIDGE
Em                   Am
It's an answer that I have in mind
F                        G
The question is harder to find

VERSE
Reading the star light
Reading the signs
Channeling everything
A man of the times

Going on feeling
Building it up
No explanation
Talking is tough

LIFT

CHORUS
I'm a man in the middle of something
It's not finished, I don't know where it ends
Still I'll follow it through
Now inspite you
And I'll write you with progress if I ever I do
I'm a man in the middle of something

BRIDGE

MIDDLE
Am   C
I've given up everything to get here
F   C
My concentration is complete

Am C
But I'm still on a mission to get there
F   G
What I've done they'll all say was a feat

CHORUS

Out of our hands

VERSE
G
We strive out for glories
C
Our lives are just stories
G                        C
We write as we're rushing along

Caught in the cycle
Conformist and tribal
And so much is out of our hands
(Out of our hands)

VERSE
It's not a descision
It's the way that you're living
That decides how you live out your days

Under this roof
We both live with the proof
That if you want to get on getaway
(Get on get away)

BRIDGE
A            B          C
Don't beat yourself up over something that you can't change

CHORUS
G                          C          D
All the things you can turn into
And all your life is up to you
But don't be like the ones who suffer
Promise me you won't turn into your mother

VERSE

Mr Smith

VERSE
Am. G. C.
There is a legend in the world of advertising
Am. G. C.
Perpetuated by those that have survived him
Am. F
Whenever he is near
Am. F
Troublemakers disappear
Am. G. C.
The ideas always first with Mr Smith

VERSE
From DDB to TBWA
None survived who stood up in his way
He just cut short their careers
He's a synonym for fear
The ideas always first with Mr Smith

VERSE
His own career you think would be quite short
In fact his services are highly sort
He always get the job done
That's why he's No.1
The ideas always first with Mr Smith

CHORUS
C. Am. F. G
Scott Smith, the advertising killer
Scott Smith, from Moscow to Manilla
Scott Smith, he's firm but fair
Scott Smith, he really really cares

VERSE
In London there was a junior account handler
Who he worked with on an ad for procter and gambler
The poor boy changed his copy
They never found the body
The ideas always first with Mr Smith

VERSE
He made an amazing ad for Tate and Lyle
The Art Director caused a fuss about house style
They found that he'd been hung
By his mouse cable he swung
The ideas always first with Mr Smith

VERSE
There was a CD with an ego in Chicago
Who imposed on him a creative embargo
He unfortunately retired
When a printer backfired
The ideas always first with Mr Smith

INSTRUMENTAL

VERSE
If he's ever in your meeting you won't notice
As you focus on account execs that protest
Then in the morning you're surprised
To hear that half of them have died
The idea's always first with Mr Smith

CHORUS
(From Stockholm to Seville)

MIDDLE
Am Em
He's quiet and methodical
Am Em
And will never compromise
Am Em
To him it's purely logical
Am G
He doesn't value lives

He's focused on the show
Work is his endeavour
People come and go
But awards last forever

VERSE
As he freelanced alone from town to town
The myth built up and followed him around
But you don't have to be told
More than the truth that can be sold
The ideas always first with Mr Smith

VERSE
Whenever young account execs are naughty
The CD tells to them a bedtime story
Afterwards they're wise
They know not to criticize
Or they'll meet a famous freelancer Mr Smith

Clean and regular

Capo 2nd - chords are for the shape. Transpose up 2. 

It's in the key of A

VERSE CHORDS: A F#m

BRIDGE CHORDS: 

D E

A G# Fm

D E

CHORUS CHORDS: A F#m D E

VERSE

G            Em

She feels all messed up inside

G               Em

It’s the pressure she can’t hide

BRIDGE

C         D

Wants to go badly

G    D#    Em

But just can’t work it out

C                                               D

I’ll win her heart when I help her out

CHORUS

G Em C D

To be clean and regular, is her ambition in life

If she was clean and regular, it would all be alright

VERSE

Something’s wrong, deep down

She’s not a pleasure to be around

BRIDGE

Not feeling so well

And as far as she can tell

Her backlogs getting big

CHORUS

To be clean and regular, is her ambition in life

If she was clean and regular, it would all be alright

I’ll take her, fresh fruit in the morning, Triphala at night

I’ll make her, clean and regular, she’ll love me alright

MIDDLE

Em

The thoughts she can’t explain

G

Lie inside her second brain

BRIDGE

C         D

Her messy microbiome

G    D#    Em

Needs analysis

C                                   D

We will get to the bottom of this

CHORUS (CHORUS)

BRIDGE

She gets a little pent-up

When things don’t go with the flow

Having troubles, down below

CHORUS

To be clean and regular, is her ambition in life

If she was clean and regular, it would all be alright

I’ll take her, fresh fruit in the morning, Triphala at night

I’ll make her, clean and regular, it will be alright

Trastevere

VERSE

G
There at the heart
C
Of the ancient city of Rome
G
There is a place
C
That I have come to call my home

BRIDGE
Em
A place that lives
C
A place that breathes
D
A place I pray

CHORUS
G
Trastevere
Em
I belong to you always
C
The streets that I walk through
Em
This place that I’ve come to
D
And here I’ll stay

VERSE
If you could talk
Stories more rich than I can dream
The thousands of years
And all the lives that you have seen

BRIDGE
Em
Lives long come and gone
C
While you carry on

VERSE
Across the river
You’re a giant slumbering there
You bask in the heat of the day
Lie there without any care

BRIDGE
Until you open yourself up to the night
Such a spectacular sight
You live to play

CHORUS

MIDDLE
C
You’re like no other place
D
With your age old beauty
C
That chips but never fades
D
I breathe you in

CHORUS (instrumental)

Woe are those with internet

VERSE 1

Em Am
Mat was married and unhappy
44 years old and pining for his youth
Pining ain’t ever no use
C
Blamed his children, blamed his wife
Am Em
Cursed his choices, cursed his life

BRIDGE
Am Em
Spent evenings along surfing pornography
Watching girls on girls younger than his daughter
Thinking he were young

CHORUS
G D C
You’ve got to know when the time isn’t right
You’ve got to know it’s your fate you can’t fight
You’ve got to go with the cycle of life
Am Em
Live what you are, not what you were

VERSE 2
Thelma was divorced at 46
Said she’d never felt so alive
But soon she became lonely
Needed someone new
G Am C
And was hitchhiking back down the road

BRIDGE
Joined an interent dating site
Met a guy, tried again, soon they fight
Am C Em
All she feels is rejected

CHORUS

MIDDLE
C Am
Anything you want you can get
C G
With a couple of clicks upong the net
Dm
But anything you want
Am
Isn’t something that you have
C D
And only what you have can make you happy

CHORUS

Love alone

VERSE

Bm
She’s not a fan of the sun
A
Hides away from everyone
Bm
Though she knows that it’s wrong
A
She thinks nothing can be done

BRIDGE
E
She’s unhappy
Bm
She don’t know why
E
So unhappy
Bm E
Inside she cries, cries, cries, cries, cries

CHORUS
A
Love alone can set her free
Bm
Love alone can make her see
E
Love alone is what she needs
A
Love alone is sanctuary
Bm E
But not the askless devotion of a mother
Bm E
Nor the warm caress of a lover
E A
But the care she shows for another

VERSE
Instead she lives life like a dream
Moving things around her screen
The world is controlled the world is clean
Her only solace is routine

BRIDGE + CHORUS

OUTRO
C#m                        A
Sometimes she feels like
E                             F#
The world is out to get her

Sometimes she feels like
The future's nothing better

Sometimes she feels like
Hope is all but lost

Sometimes she feels like
And was it worth the effort

Sometimes she feels like x4

I cherish you

VERSE 1 (Man solo)

Everywhere I look I see decline
And people are blind to it

Everybody is else is busy broadcasting themselves

They've no time for anyone else

BRIDGE 1 (Man spoken)
I despair
I feel
TV and newspapers
Are perpeting sorrow

I don't know what's sadder
Truth or lies

I get so angry
So angry

VERSE 2 - 1.24 (female)

Cherishing a stranger like they were your best friend

Always putting other people first

Cherishing the joy of seeing other people happy

Seeing how it makes you feel yourself

Cherishing another like you would your own mother

Remembering how she cared for you

BRIDGE 2 - (Conversation between the two)

Man: The pursuit of happiness, will only make you sad
Woman: Open up
Man: The world is closed to me
Woman: Open yourself

VERSE 3 - 2.54
(3 voices overlapped - Female repeats verse 2, Male says following:)
There's so much wrong with the world today
It's too late, nothing can be done

There's so much wrong with the system we live in
It's engorged and rotten to the core

There's so much wrong with the people that rule us
And people are blind to the truth

There's so much wrong with society

No one has love anymore

(Over-the-top, choir sings:)
Cherishing life, cherishing love, cherishing , cherishing living
Cherishing hope, cherishing happiness, cherishing now, cherishing giving
Cherishing time, cherishing joy, cherishing people, cherishing wonder
Cherishing sounds, cherishing kindness, cherishing change, cherishing you

Our temperament determines our fate (Saṃsāra)

A song about the Buddhist concept of Saṃsāra - our continued circle of suffering. Birth life death birth. It's a bitch. Good or bad depending on the karma we accumulate in this innings.

 Capo 6th

(Guitar chord shapes / Actual chords)

CHORUS
G / C#
Wait for me by the waterfall
Em / Bfm
I'll meet you by the lake
C / F#
I'll be on the other side
D / G#
You will have to wait

BRIDGE
C / F#

And it might take years

D / G#
It might take lives

C / F#
It might take all

D / G#
The strength we have

CHORUS

But meet me by the waterfall

I'll meet you by the lake

There's beside the water's edge
We'll seal our fate

VERSE
                               G / C#
We've been circling so long
                         Em / Bfm
In the house of life and death

We all know there's something wrong
Nothing we can put our finger on

Inside this video game
Going insane

Slowly going insane
Slowly going insane

[Stop]

CHORUS

BRIDGE
And it might sound rash
It might seem fanciful
Derived, contrived, insane
Or a little deranged

CHORUS

La da da de da de da (CHORUS instrumental)

MIDDLE
Em / Bfm
Say that next time
C / F#
We'll stay together
Em / Bfm
Remember a bit of this
C / F#
Remember a sign
Em / Bfm
In our next time
C / F#
Say you'll be mine
Em / Bfm
In our next time
G / C#
Say that you'll be mine

BRIDGE
I fear for my loved ones
I fear for my friends
I fear for you
I fear for myself

CHORUS

OUTRO
C / F#
We only realise
                   D / G#
When it's too late
C / F#                                                G / C#
That our temperament determines our fate

Silent conversations

VERSE
G.
You often say that I don't listen to you
D. C. G
Oh, come on baby now you know that's not true

You're like a radio with multiple channels
And I am just the one receiver

Just because I don't answer doesn't mean I'm not listening
It's to another channel I've been tuning-in

BRIDGE
You've got so much going on and it's all sounding so good
But your eyes say more than your mouth ever could

CHORUS
G
You've got that look in your eyes
That says it's going to be fine
C
I don't need chitter chatter
Words don't matter
They all scatter

You've got that look in your eyes
That says it's going to be fine
Even though we may fight
It is all right
You are my love delight

VERSE
Ok I don't recall exactly everything you said
Sometimes you're just too much to take in

It might cause you to doubt what I'm really about
But you should have a little faith in yourself

But I don't need any words, To hear you perfectly clear
Yeah what you are is screaming in my ears

BRIDGE

CHORUS

MIDDLE
Em
And your eyes are the silence
Am. C
That I could listen to all day

And your face is the music
That I hear even when you're not near

CHORUS

Her:
Your mouth is only good for one thing
Shut up and kiss me!

A bit of a Buddha

VERSE
C                                    Em/B
I was in Thailand when I, borrowed a book by a
Am                             G
Venerable Vietnamese monk

I don't recall the title or, much at all
Knowledge doesn't stick to me

BRIDGE
F                                G
But I remember, the gist of it
F                              G
And it helped me to read
A bit about the Buddha

VERSE
I already knew I had to, meditate
To deal with the problem called life

But now I know I have to, radiate
Compassion, and be in the moment

BRIDGE
I was thinking about last night
And making plans for tonight
Daydreaming my way round the world
Nothing like the Buddha

MIDDLE
Em                                       Am
I was walking down the street today
Dm                                    G
It wasn't raining anymore, but people were still under their umbrellas

The same thing happened to me, yesterday
You have to wake up to know you've been sleeping

BRIDGE
I'm waking up now about, 4 times a day
It's slow progress, still I'm
A bit of a Buddha

Panchakarma

VERSE
D                          G
My vata's high, blowing wildly on everything
Bm                                       A
My insides in motion baby, nothing' right I'm feeling messed up

I'm in a rage, my pit of pitta is boiling
While my kapha's all clogged up baby, I can feel my doshas raging

CHORUS
But a panchakarma will bring me back, bring me back to balance
A panchakarma will take my toxins out, and boost me back to brilliance

VERSE
The vanama will clear - clear out all that kapha yeah
I'll be on my knees you'll see me, bringing up all those dead emotions

Then a virichan, will flush me clean right through
My pitta will be purified, I'll have no bile left inside

The basti ain't pretty no, but my colon's giving me a headache
Vata's been hiding out there, causing me so much pain but I know

CHORUS

MIDDLE
Bm                             D
And when I'm better, I'll stay alright
Bm                           D
Be more careful, be more bright
G                                             A
Not let that ama build up like before

VERSE
A nasya is what I need, to put my prana back together
To get my head together, breathe as new again

While the raktamoksha won't be necessary, but if I had some really bad blockage
It would bring out all that vitiated blood now, and I could bleed my way back to full mobility

CHORUS

Gulf of Carpentaria

Capo 7^th

VERSE

Em                                       C

I know you’ve something on your mind

For many reasons now combined

I've become a floating wreck

BRIDGE

Am          C      Em

Across the Gulf of Carpentaria

VERSE

I’ve been selfish to extreme
I didn't mean though to be mean
The sea is doing things to me

CHORUS

G   Em         C               G

Oh my darling, tell me I’m a fool

I won’t lie to you, you know I know it too

Oh my darling, I’ll remember to be

All the many things, you make me want me to be

VERSE
I'll make it up to you on land
When I'm back up on my feet
When all this rocking can't be remembered


BRIDGE


CHORUS

The dancer

VERSE

E

He found in the back of a second hand shop at the bottom of a big brown box

A

She was worn and she was old

B

But with time he knew she’d dance again

VERSE

Took her for a pop, to his workshop, and worked on her around the clock

New clothes new hair, new make-up new stare

Polished all her circuitry and hoped that she would dance again

BRIDGE

A                                                      B

Her model was the best back in the day

A                                      E

When robots were first the rage

A

But they’d been broken up or broken down

B                                  E

And she was the only one left

VERSE

Finally he turned her on, and put a record on, but she wouldn’t move to any song

For months he played her music, but he couldn’t make her dance again

VERSE

She sat there at the back of his restoration shop for years as a talking point

Many came to see and many came to play, but none could make her dance again

BRIDGE

E                      B                                        A                                               E

Then one day, as he was closing the shop, a young man appeared by her side

He wore old fashioned clothes, held an antique instrument and spoke in the strangest voice

He said “old man I’ve heard of her, and I’ll make you a wager,

B

that if I play I'll break her trance”

VERSE

The restorer gave a laugh and said “of course that you can try but it will cost you that very nice guitar

the greatest have all played, but none have made her dance again”

MIDDLE

He picked up his guitar, readied himself, played a long forgotten song 
Suddenly he burst into life, strutted and twirled, breakdanced and whirled

It sure was a sight to behold

Then they walked out the door, and he never saw either one again

But he’s not bitter he’s not sad, turns out she was a god awful dancer

Letting go

Letting go

VERSE

Em     C

Some days you feel happy, some days your head hangs low

Some days you’re sure about life, other days you just don’t know

Well take control of your feelings, be warm and be kind
Em                                            Am                       C

You can’t control the factors, but you can your state of mind

CHORUS

G   Em   Am   C

Do you ever, hold a grudge and make it bigger?

Do you ever, find yourself wishing you’d done something different?
Do you ever? uh huh, I bet you do

VERSE
Lift up your anchor, break the chains from above

Slip off the noose, open yourself to the highest love

Loads shouldn't be cherished, it's stupid to be proud of its weight
Em                                                              Am                                       C

Don’t get caught in the circle of worry, detachment is what you need to learn

CHORUS

Do you ever, crave for things you don’t really need?

Do you ever, lie in your bed in a fit of worry?
Do you ever? oh yeah, I know I do

MIDDLE

Am
Worry is a virus

C
Deal with it and let it go

Forget the people 
who you know have wronged you

Not for their sakes
But for yours

Forget your if onlys
Let go of what you can’t control

Em
Simplicity is the secret
Am                                  C
You're the master of your happiness

CHORUS

Do you ever, hold a grudge and make it bigger?

Do you ever, find yourself wishing you’d done something different?
Do you ever? uh huh, I bet you do

I've been waiting for you

Capo 7th

VERSE
C
I've been waiting for you
Am
For an hour or two
F         G
But my patience has not worn out

Cos there's nothing it's true
That I'd rather do
Than spend my life waiting for you

BRIDGE
F.                                       G
To be the first to see your face
When you walk into the day

CHORUS (chords as verse)
I see you're wearing your favourite shawl
That you bought from the market stall
I got it too I collect them all
It's stalker protocol

And you go to meet your friends
At a place they recommend
A dirty little cafe
You blindly obey

I'm an unappreciated stalker

VERSE
I've been waiting for you
For an hour or two
But you make no move to come outside

You've got so much to say
You could sit there all day
And still not get around to the point

BRIDGE
You're going to make me wait all day
You never notice anyway

CHORUS
I've been going through you rubbish
I know last night you had fish
I know the state of your finances
And the dire balance of your current account

You don't appreciate my effort
I even copied you passport
You buy too much mail order
All I want is a restraining order

I'm committing a major crime
You're taking up too much time
I've no more space on my recorder
All I want is a restraining order

MIDDLE
Em
I want to stalk somebody
C
With more going on

I want to stalk somebody
Who notices I'm there

I want to stalk somebody
Who gets out a lot

I want to stalk somebody
With more on their mind

CHORUS

Queensland rail

CHORUS
C.              Am
Queensland rail, get there in comfort
Queensland rail, get there in style
Queensland rail ohohohoh
Queensland rail

VERSE
Dm.                     Am
Some people drive, arriving hot and sweaty
Some people sail, you’ve got to be more than ready
Some people fly, you don’t see anything
Some people cycle, but that's dangerous

BRIDGE
Dm
It's the best mode in the nation
F                               G
Life's a journey not a destination

CHORUS

VERSE
The staff are friendly, they're all so very nice
The food's amazing, and not a bad price
The routes are straight, you don't go rocking
It's mostly outback, there's little stopping

BRIDGE + CHORUS

MIDDLE
F                              Am
Leave your car, think of the safety of your loved ones
F                                     Am
Why you’re driving so far? They’ll about you out on the road
Dm              F              G
Let the train take the strain

The dancing doll

VERSE

E

He found in the back of a second hand shop at the bottom of a big brown box

A

She was old and she was worn

B

But with time he knew she’d dance again

VERSE

Took her for a pop, to his workshop, and worked on her around the clock

New paint, new hair, new clothes to wear

Polished all her circuitry and hoped that she would dance again

BRIDGE

A                                                      B

Her model was the best back in the day

A                                      E

When robots were first the rage

A

But they’d been broken up or broken down

B                                  E

And she was the only one left

VERSE

Finally he turned her on, and put a record on, but she wouldn’t move to any song

For months he played her music, but he couldn’t make her dance again

VERSE

She sat there at the back of his restoration shop for years as a talking point

Many came to see and many came to play, but none could make her dance again

BRIDGE

E                      B                                        A                                               E

Then one day, as he was closing the shop, a young man appeared by her side

He wore old fashioned clothes, held an antique instrument and spoke in the strangest voice

He said “old man I’ve heard of her, and I’ll make you a wager,

B

that if I play she’ll dance again”

VERSE

The restorer gave a laugh and said “of course that you can try but it will cost you that very nice guitar

the greatest have all played, but none have made her dance again”

MIDDLE

He played a forgotten song from the ancient times, suddenly he burst into life

strutted and twirled, breakdanced and whirled

What a sight to behold

Then they walked out the door, and he never saw either one again

But he’s not bitter he’s not sad, turns out she was a god awful dancer

You can't say no to love

Capo 8^th

G

She’d been courted by barons, who offered her their lands

Pursued by all the richest men, promised a fortune for her hand

She said no to diamonds

She said no to gold

She said no to money and the riches of the world

But you can’t say no to love

Corteggiata da baroni, che le offrivano dobloni

Perseguitata da i prestigiosi, offrivano fortune per la sua mano

Lei disse no a i diamanti

Lei disse no all’oro

Lei disse no al denaro, e a tutte le ricchezze

Ma non puoi dire no all’amore

VERSE

She’d always put her job first, and thought of her career

Sacrificed her friendships, never let them near

She said no to happiness

She said no to joy

She said no to the life outside that others all enjoy

Determinata ne suo lavoro, e ossessionata dalla carrier

Sacrificiava le amicizie ponendo una barriera

Lei disse no alla felicita

Lei disse no ai piaceri

Lei disse no ai confort dei quali molti van fieri

Ma non puoi dire no all’amore

VERSE

I tried to win her heart with kindness in many different ways

I wanted to make her care for me, the way I cared for her

She said no to flowers

She said no to cards

She said no to all my advances, until something clicked inside

Cos you can’t say no to love

Sure you can say maybe

Or put it off for a day

But you can’t say no to love

Provavo a conquistare, il suo cuore

In tanti modi differenti, mostrarle imiei sentimenti

Lei disse no ai fiori

Lei disse no alle carte

Lei disse no alle mie avances finche qualcosa scatto

Non puoi dire no all’amore

Riportarla a casa

Everybody wants her home

Capo 7^th

VERSE

C                 Am

The trade winds blow her back

C                   Am

And the sun warms her head

F                          G

The elements combine

                    C

To bring her back home

Il vento soffia alle sue spalle

E il sole bacia il suo corpo

Gli elementi combaciano

Per riportala a casa

VERSE

The seagulls show the way

The dolphins ride alongside

The sea creatures are working together

To bring her back home

I gabbiani le mostrano la via

I delfini l’accompagnano

Le creature marine collaborano

Per riportarla a casa

MIDDLE

G                        F

But even all combined

C

Won’t persuade her to return

F

She sends them all her love

G                        C

But she’s married to the sea

Anche se tutto combacia

Non persuade lei a ritornare

Lei invia loro tutto il suo amore

Ma e sposata con il mare

VERSE

Her family give her reasons to return

Her friends are calling her back

Everyone’s working together

To bring her back home

Everyone’s working together

To bring her back home

La sua famiglia le da ragioni per ritornare

I suoi amici la reclamano

Tutti collaborano

Per riportarla a casa

Tutti collaborano

Per riportarla a casa