Shark Naked ...and other urban myths - Lyrics
Throw Me a Line
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
Wind sweeps over ocean wave
I see the body, water grave
Its bloated face down in muddy shore
Don't want to be here anymore
Anymore.
Homecoming time for fifty men
Welcome their small time saints again
Go through the motions, please the crowd
Good thing they can't hear me think out loud
I could snap them in two, they don't know me
Can't predict what I'd do, they don't know me.
CHORUS:
Please throw me a line
Time to take what is mine
I've been up for so long
Waiting for the chance
to tumble down
All the lights out
Not a sound
Alive today.
Trains keep pushing right on time, but
something's wrong with the midnight line
Cars collide like dominoes
Broken face wears a fiery glow.
Shock the weak, feed the curious
They've never seen loss of life like this
Young mother thanks her lucky stars
Her family walks her to the car
With just one foot inside, she looks back now
Her tears have finally dried, must move on now.
If Shakespeare Had a Sister
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
If Shakespeare had a sister
She'd have lived a life of pain
Where women had to look their best
and sit quietly on a chain
Creativity was silenced
Like a flower torn apart
If Shakespeare had a sister
She'd hide a broken heart.
You remind me of a story
How you choose each crafted word
You're clever and you're twisted
It's a shame you're seldom heard
Your poetry shines like diamonds
Every observation's true
If Shakespeare had a sister
I know she'd be like you
You tackle life's big questions
A philosopher set free
You wonder if it's worth it all
To be or not to be
You fear the green-eyed monster
that invades your private dreams
You wake to see the mystery
that things are never as they seem.
A comedy of errors
has left you in this world
The men you've loved have closed your doors
You've remained a little girl
But you still see through the darkness
And you dance in solitude
If Shakespeare had a sister
I know she'd be like you.
Your dreams, they shine like diamonds
And your genius is overdue
If Shakespeare had a sister
I know she'd be like you
If Shakespeare had a sister
I know she'd be like you.
Infidelity
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
CHORUS:
And she says,
"Why don't you pick yourself off the floor?"
As she throws the remote through the open door
But I don't hear a thing she says
Her words go right through my head
As I dream of infidelity.
I was reading all about
how America killed the Kennedys
And how inside each twisted lie
a glimpse of truth survived
As I turn each congested page
I think of those worn out days
When love came unexpected
with passion and drive.
I switch on the T.V.
Two romantics set to drown
in rules and conventions
that crawl in without a sound
Yeah, soon they'll end up cut in two
With nothing better to do
than imagine starting over
With no one else around.
CHORUS
Three years ago this morning
I asked you to be mine
I screamed up to the bathroom window
With Romeo in mind
Yeah, sometimes I can't figure out
what this commitment and love's all about
And if those guys are ever happy
who leave it all behind.
Alone In a Crowd (Thirteen Days)
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
I saw the smoke from two miles away
It raised its head to take a look around
Never thought it could happen to me
Never thought it could make that sound.
Two men lashed out, the rest just pushed through
Without a clue of what was going on
Insipid dog clawed its way through the earth
Expecting bones before the crack of dawn.
CHORUS:
Oh, we're alone in a crowd
Feeling like the only ones
when the crash comes to town
We'll be ready
As ready as two can be
Two, alone in a crowd.
Real Hollywood, without all the glamour
All lights, all cameras and action
Real horror, with Burgess and Butthead
Broken families, extremists and factions
A microcosm of life in the 90s
Not knowing how to react to real drama
We've only seen it on T.V.s and movies
We may have seen it, but we've never felt it
CHORUS
BRIDGE:
Unprepared for a real situation
When people get hurt, when heroes feel strong
From a distance it looked so easy
Never thought it could be so wrong.
Yellow sirens and men in strange costumes
Bring out the floodlights or drink till you fall
Thirteen days and the smoke just keeps rising
Thirteen days and the smoke keeps on rising.
Cry No More
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
City taxi makes its rounds
Faceless numbers hit the town
again
Another twilight symphony.
See the green light, then turn around
Swerve to miss this angry crowd
that thinks
they've earned a permanent right of way.
Six months seems like forever
since I'd realized my dreams were no different than the rest
But soon I'm gonna have to change this dance
'Cause things seem frozen and I look a mess.
CHORUS:
I don't wanna cry no more
I don't wanna stand on this side of the door
Just wish you were here like you were before
I feel like a song without a chorus.
Sirens shock the pigeons away
Jackson Browne sang about this day
You said
you liked the earrings with the crooked smile.
Round the block we met accordion man
You threw a quarter but you missed his can
Too bad
but perfect aim gave way to style.
Your jokes went on forever
And half way through we gave up
and watched you laugh till the end
Wish I remembered even one punch line
Maybe this twisted world would make some sense.
CHORUS
BRIDGE
We used to think that we had it made
That there was no one like us
and that the world could be saved
I still believe that our ideals were true
But I can't believe I have to go alone
Without any help from you.
Cycles
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
We're always caught in these cycles
Moving faster and faster
Always locked in these cycles
With no place to get off, no
Whirlwind speed, can't see nothing
Moving faster and faster
Try to focus on something
Just goes by without recognizing.
The cameras are shut off this one time
And the courtroom's emptied
With a shoeshine grin
And a pack of Marleys.
It made the final issue
But it ain't no centrefold
Just an angry blemish
Exploding in a broken cup
CHORUS:
Squeeze your head till it won't grow no more
Lock the rabbit inside its cage
Stay away from these cycles
'Cause the plane is coming in
It don't take no prisoners
It don't pull no punches
Stay away from these cycles.
Never thought you could be like your father
But you're proving me wrong, yeah
You never wanted to be like your father
But he's there to haunt you.
We're always caught in these cycles
Moving faster and faster
Always locked in these cycles
With no place to get off, no
Falling
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
CHORUS:
I don't know why but I think I'm
Falling For You
I'm not the kind who's used to
losing control
Been a month away and still I'm
Falling For You
I don't know why but I think I'm falling,
Falling For you.
Burned out
on this dusty road
I'd like to turn around
I'd like to shut it down
Cold nights
as the towns pass by
I see the lost and found
I see them reaching out for something new.
CHORUS
Can't breathe
in this one horse town
Pale bouncer turns around
Belts out 'another round'
Red lights
Got me thinking back
to what I left behind
And I keep on coming back to you
Must be reaching out for something new.
BRIDGE:
I never thought that we had too much in common
I'd hate the way that you'd just stay out all night
You used to drive me with your trivia and questions
But now I guess I miss your laugh
and how we used to fight
Yeah, I guess I miss smile
Wanna hold you all night.
Tonic and Gin
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
I never thought that I could leave her
I never thought I'd go this far
I never thought she'd take me seriously
And now I'm left alone
Looking at the stars
It hit me hard, it drove me mad
An uppercut that hit me bad
But now I'm back on my feet
Gonna have the best time I ever had.
CHORUS
I'm gonna trade her up
I'm gonna trade her in
I'm gonna get on out
Ain't gonna let her win
I'll be smilin' tonight
Gonna trade her in for tonic and gin.
SOLO
CHORUS
Done alright in this new lifestyle
Done alright out on my own
Done alright without a friend in the world
But I never feel I'm totally alone
I raise a glass, I raise it high
To fighting dogs who never die
To broken wings and borrowed grins
And empty hearts that never ask why.
CHORUS (2X)
I'll be smilin' tonight
Gonna trade her in for tonic and gin.
She Hears Lullabies
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
Her mother always said she was
destined for a ride
She loved roller coasters
Eyes open wide, and the
neighbours watched their darling
They all watched their darling grow
They watched her grow.
School came easy for her
She couldn't wait to learn
As teenagers pushed and pulled she'd
always wait her turn, and some
sensed an easy target
She trusted they were so sincere
She'd never fear, and now
CHORUS:
She hears lullabies from long ago
She plays solitaire and sleeps alone
Pulls her clothes off, looks in the mirror
Darkness grips her like a fever, oh
It won't let go.
Weekends are the worst time
for cold rainy nights
She flips through faded photos
then turns out the light, but she
can't erase the picture
The memory crawls back every time
It crawls inside, and now
CHORUS
BRIDGE:
It won't let go, it won't let go
Her whole life's been cut in two now
No one tells her what to do now
No one tells her anything at all.
She hears lullabies from long ago
She plays solitaire and sleeps alone.
Three Bags Full
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
In a hotel off the beaten track
Duncan hides out till the coast is clear
He just lost his shirt, and shoes and pants
betting ponies at The Velvedeer
Two more hours and he'll head for home
where addiction is a nasty word
And he'll convince his bride, he'll win big soon
In spite of what she may have heard.
CHORUS:
Three Bags Full
Three Bags Full
Grand illusions
Fill Three Bags Full.
Molly takes her clothes off for a modest fee
And she dances "When The Levee Breaks"
As she worms her way inside the hearts
of the glassy-eyed business snakes
She always said "just one more year"
then she'd have enough to go to school
But it's been ten hard years, her daughter
understands the symptoms of a fool.
CHORUS
BRIDGE:
Balloons don't leave the ground when they're pumped with lies
The black sheep pulls the wool over hopeful eyes
And candy coated stories
are just like putting out fire
with gasoline.
In a hotel off the beaten track
Duncan still believes he'll win the race
And Molly steps onto the smoky stage
Pretending tears will hide a broken face.
Treating Her That Way
Words and Music by Kevin Coates
You've been walking a high wire
You've been playing with soul fire
And you think you've gained some control
when she's down and claws at the floor
You can hear the waves crash
You can see your life pass
Midnight approaches, you storm into her room
Whisky enhances the wrongs she's done
to you.
CHORUS:
It ain't none of my business
I've heard what you say
And you may be right
You may be right
But why don't you stop treating her that way?
Now she's finally silent
She knows where she stands now
And I know she's made some mistakes
And I know that kid ain't your own
But that kid's just fourteen
And she needs attention
All she receives, the memory of your rage
Your eyes lit on fire
The pacing in
your cage.