Sacred EP lyrics

sacred

Well I’ve been trying to imagine
The way things’ll go in my life
Will I get my way
And end up doing what I want
I’ve got to make a move
I’ve got to make a move out of this corner
I want to learn something good ‘bout
Beauty & truth & power

I spent fifteen years trying to get an education
And all I got was fifteen years of total frustration
Now I ain’t sayin’
I want to be a saint or a sinner
And I don’t want to be sacred
I just want to be trusted
And I don’t Want to be sacred

I want to open up myself to the times
Well I’ve been trying to imagine
The way things’ll go in my life
Will I get on top
Get Ahead of the rat race
I’ve got to make a move
I’ve got to make a move out of this corner
I want to learn something good ‘bout
Beauty & truth & power

I spend all my time trying to get
A little salvation
And all I get is wasted time
And bitter frustration
Now I ain’t saying
I want to be a saint or a sinner
How much longer can I wait?
How much longer can I wait?

This song was written in one of those kind of story book ways that nobody ever believes. I was in Paris on holiday and heard some buskers in an underground station just doing the kind of rhythm you hear at the start of "Sacred" and the sound in the station was just really amazing. I'd had the little riff in my head for a while and it just fell into place with the feel I was hearing....at the same time I was having a kind of "What the fuck is happening with my work" conversation with Julie - I think I was about to get dropped by CBS and the opening phrase of the song just came out quite naturally along with the rhythm and the riff I was hearing in my head. So the song was pretty much written there and then. One of those songs that you've only got something to say in verse one and you then repeat yourself in a slightly different way in verse 2. The demo of this is my favourite version although I like the single a lot too... strictly 8 track.

twisting & turning

I've been waiting for far too long
Trying to make a mark in the world
Making moves that make no difference at all
What I want & what I get
Ain't the same thing anymore
One of these days I'm going to break away

Until then I'll be twisting & turning
In my sleep
Twisting & turning
I can't get no relief
Little Jimmy's got no more time
He's got a job he don't really want
Working all day for a boss he can't even see
But Jimmy's got a plan to get us out of here
Out of these chains that drag us down
Over these walls
That keep us safely in

Until then I'll be....
Twisting & turning, it's a life of dreams
Chewing me up
Spitting me out like a spitting machine

This, like "Throwing It Away For Love" on "Za Za's Garden" was written after hearing Brian Wilson's 1988 solo album. This is one of my favourites but I don't think many other people like it. There's one terribly lazy lyric : "Little Jimmy's ...." it's kind of the last refuge of the uninspired lyricist to introduce some spurious, imagined character to get a bit more mileage out of a song and it sucks, really. This was pointed out to me by Mil a few times and later I changed the line to "Missing chances and wasting time, working in a job I don't really want"...still filler but less crap, really. I think the melody is really nice and the kind of chimy, sleigh belly type thing is a real precursor to some of our later things. We used to do this with everyone stage front, Jim singing and playing percussion.

working & wasting time

I stepped into a strange situation
Out of place & time
I was living there
Working & wasting time

I fell back in your burning room
Like a man in fire & lime
I was living there
Working & wasting time

This is one of my real favourites, and one that could be pretty special live. There's a weird, unintentional crib from "Dulce Et Decorum Est" in the lyric. It's a straight forward enough thing but a pretty intense feeling on the track. "In The Darkest Hour" from Tall Poppies is pretty much in the same vein.

destiny

All my life
I could never find a way
There's no time, I can never say
come on baby, all I want is you now
Give me joy, give me hope, give me everything
Speak the language of love
Come to Me softly
Working & wasting time

Get out of the city
Come on now, shake yourself up
And don't look back & don't you worry
'cause nothing matters any more
You're singing for the good things
Forgetting 'bout the bad things
Your only hope is waiting for tomorrow
And all the future's gonna bring
Say it's all written down
Written down for me
Well it's destiny and it's all that I possess

Now listen up, girl
They try to tell us that we're wrong
They fill your pretty head with worry
They keep us waiting here so long
So let's hit out for the good things
Forget about the bad things
Our only hope is waiting for tomorrow
And all the future's bound to bring
Say it's all written down
Written down for me
Well it's my destiny and it's all that I possess

This was a very quirky demo of a nonsensical song which we kind of arranged with the band into a very competent track...I mean it's a nothing song but kind of fun. I wish we'd used the demo though...then it would have been undiluted quirk instead of slightly odd competent rock.