1. |
All This You Shall Have
02:46
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All this you shall have
Spent an hour picking out what I should wear
Looking for a look that says that I don't care
But it's hard to do
When it isn't true
When there's words ringing in your head
We all piled into Mikey's car
Imagining a tycoon with a fat cigar
A box of demos
And a box of stars
But he was something else instead
I'd settle for a devil saying "All this you shall have"
So you can say - you'd never sell out to The Man
(Tell me what is that sweet sweet scent
He's giving off, he's living off)
I carry round a notebook and a pen
Hoping that the muse will keep on coming back again
10, 20, 30 minutes every day
You'd be amazed at all you've got to say
A famous phrase, a note that bends
You liked it once, I'll make you like it again
I'd settle for a devil saying "All this you shall have"
So you can say – you'd never sell out to The Man
Spinning round in circles going nowhere fast
Reckon with the thought of things that do not last
Well now you're well informed
You got a front row seat
As you waste the day in bed
I'd settle for a devil saying "All this you shall have"
Just a gentle touch - from his tender outstretched hand
[Lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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2. |
Broadway to Jefferson
01:57
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Broadway to Jefferson
I can't see the stars
If you keep shining down that light
Helicopters with boys in blue
Trying to keep the world in line
And sirens always flashing
Down there under the 110
Its a donut break or a shake down
But they'll be back this way again
And all the lawyers and bailiffs
Sitting on the edge of the chair
Lots of business down that way
And who gives a fuck what's fair?
We had a beautiful afternoon
Down on Simon Rodia Drive
Police bots like to pick their spots
But if you ask them they'll lie
Such a beautiful afternoon
Down on Simon Rodia Drive
Police bots like to pick their spots
So that law enforcement thrives
All over the city
and right straight through the night
Another car with the boys in blue
Would you trust them to do what's right?
Lights are always flashing
From Broadway to Jefferson
It's a donut break or a take down
And then they're back this way again
[lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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3. |
You're the DJ
03:45
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You're the DJ
The music died for a Just Cause
The general couldn't win
It was cushy in the Vatican embassy
Till they told the SEALS to spin
Then they wheeled up the biggest boom box
Plugged it in and then pressed 'play'
And made the general's bedroom shake
With a heavy metal mixtape
A banana republic
Hit parade
Yeah, you're the DJ
Let's see you make those bastards sing
Turn it up - stick it on replay
They'll be slaves to the rhythm even if they don't know a thing
Strobe lights, black sites, rock the casbah tonight, till the morning comes
Not sure its legal, but that's why we always have so much fun
So much fun
You're not blasting Beethoven
You're not blasting Bach
In defense of the West you never play requests
And royalties go unpaid
Cos all you wanna
All you wanna do is rock!
So now you're keeping em up all night
In every hemisphere
You're the hip hop special op psycho DJ
On the go with all your gear
You're gonna put me in a blindfold
You're gonna stick me in a cell
You're gonna kick out the jams with the club in your hands
And who knows what else
Yeah, who knows what else
Only time will tell
Yeah, you're the DJ
Let's see you make those bastards dance
Turn it up – stick it on replay
Now that's what I call "enhanced"
Yeah, you're the DJ
You're gonna make those bastards sing
Turn it up - stick it on replay
They'll be slaves to the rhythm even if they don't know a thing
[Lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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4. |
Angry Birds
03:01
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Angry Birds
Go on and tell us all about the prophet
Now operating at a loss
Who had to buy his words back at retail price
After he'd sold them to the world at cost
You better get it down on paper
'For the words cease to obey
Before they organize a union
And start demanding better pay
And everybody wonders why you're never at a loss for words
You stick em in a sling and shoot them off
Like angry birds
Angry birds
On radio and in the shopping malls
You make the opposition look so small
Other angry birds turn up and cluck and swell
The backers knows their place
They say to you Here's your script, now go and paint your face
You got conviction, and you say your lines so well
No one can tell
Yeah, you could talk the rings off of Saturn
You could talk them off of Uranus
Now we're firing on all syllables
But let's not let that detain us
Cos these are children's games
And you're just a minor clown
To the soldiers in the trucks at the checkpoints at the edge of town
And everybody wonders why you're never at a loss for words
You stick em in the sling and shoot them off
Like angry birds
Angry birds
Angry birds
Angry birds
Angry birds
[Lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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5. |
Boredom Aphrodesiac
03:05
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Boredom Aphrodesiac
Will our hero show or will he get a better invitation
The press are here and poised between contempt and celebration
A bookie'd win himself a house in the country taking bets on our fine friend
There's a stir from the room at the back of the club but then it dies back down and then
We fill our glasses
And settle in again
And everybody is feeling the urge to take someone up to their bed
The boredom aphrodisiac plays havoc with
Your alcoholic head
This one says she knew him in another incarnation
That one knew his sister back at university station
The Byron of our era isn't bound by normal ties
The spirit of the artist manifests itself in the eyes
Pecking at your phone
As the battery begins to die
And all the crowd are feeling the urge to take someone up to their bed
The boredom aphrodisiac plays havoc with
Their alcoholic heads
The Byron of our era isn't bound by normal ties
The spirit of the artist manifests itself in the eyes
Refill your glasses
Don't believe the lies
All the crowd are feeling the urge to take someone up to their bed
The boredom aphrodisiac plays havoc with their heads
Then all at once our hero lumbers out onto the boards
We bellow our affection
As he strums a chord, grinning like a lord
[Lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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6. |
Goodbye to Berlin
02:52
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Goodbye to Berlin
Don't cry Karolin
I know I'll never see you again
Just look straight forward, not one more word
It'll happen soon enough my friend
Now would be the time for me to kiss you
And bring up all the crazy things we've done
Take too long to list them, but god I'll miss them
Back tomorrow at square one
And you can write your name on a wall
And defy the painters and the wrecking ball
But the girl on the chair in the corner
Won't be around the next time you call
Die leute kann nicht verstehen
Do you understand what I'm saying?
We've been intimate for so long
And on and on in English I'm still praying
I wanna go back
I wanna go back
I wanna go back, back, back
To the boat on the Spree as the evening fades to black
And you can write your name on a wall
And defy the painters and the wrecking ball
But the girl on the chair in the corner
Won't be around the next time you call
She'll disappear just exactly like she'd never even been there at all
And so its back into the sunshine
Where you clean out your lungs and your mind
Change lanes on the highway
In all the same places
Just exactly like you've always done
Don't deny, sweet baby, you'll miss me
After all the mischief that we made
Could never list it all, feel like I pissed it all
Away, now that it all begins to fade
Goodbye to Berlin
I'll probably never see you again
It could be a long long time, hope that you won't mind
The way it always ends - The way the story ends
[Lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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7. |
Habemus Papadum
02:48
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Habemus Papadum
They say the least one among you
Shall be the greatest one of all
And blessed be the meek, cos in heaven you know
They're gonna have a ball
Yet its always / the rightest / wingest / ones /
Who rise straight to the top
Not the priests who helped the workers
But the ones who helped the cops
Infallible, his holiness
With direct line to the truth
Ironic then that the last one
Was once in the Hitler youth
Can't blame a child of course
He believes dear daddy's lies
But that daddy was a willing helper somehow
Isn't a big surprise
Yeah its no surprise
They've power in their blood and ice in their eyes
A sober prayer goes up from all the
Rings that would be kissed
"May the poor be always among us, Lord
And let's stick it to the socialists"
The cardinals leave the conclave
And the smoke rises up the pipe
The forces of order raise a glass
And to me it's no surprise
Yeah its no surprise
They've power in their blood and ice in their eyes
[Lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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8. |
All The New Bands
02:39
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All the New Bands
Too many new bands haven't got a word to say
And its not cos they're lazy
Its just solipsistic, or else its pointlessly cryptic
Things have not improved since the days
When the man asked the Clash to wear suits
Its tragic – they promise miracles but all they's got is David Copperfield magic
But when Gang of Four do a reunion tour
Its not clear who's gonna shake their hips
Collectivism ain't exactly the word
That's on everybody's lips
When all you've got are your love life's tribulations
I'm at the end of my patience
Just because it rhymes doesn't hide that its been said a million times
Go on and take a walk or at least a stroll on the wild side
Beware the trap that's sprung
Between universal and the cliches on everybody's tongue
But when Gang of Four do a reunion tour
Its not clear who's gonna shake their hips
Collectivism ain't exactly the word
That's on everybody's lips
Hair like a dirty angel - and what onstage athletics
They'll flock to you for exercize and a mental anaesthetic
You're like a kid who wants an A for trying hard
A priest who thinks his cassock makes him God
With no words to eat, at least you'll never have indigestion
But now I have a confession
I wanted miracles but now I find I'm fighting off a depression
[Lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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9. |
Marginalia
01:51
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Marginalia
I get pushed back into my seat
The continent flies past the window
Nine hours of reading ahead of me
Your comment and your underline shadow
A little like when we were just talking
I like most the things that you say
And I have new questions I'd ask you
If I did not have to go away
The sheets smelled of you this morning
Before my car arrived
My case was packed but I looked back
And so far I've survived
And I read deeply in this book
I trace the traces your pen took
A thousand miles and growing
And you and I never knowing
I'm sending out a text to your number
And I feel better for now
Old friends have come to take me home
And not a thing has seemed to change in this old town
And I read deeply in this book
I trace the traces your pen took
A thousand miles and growing
And you and I never knowing
Yeah I read deeply in this book
I trace the traces your pen took
A thousand miles and growing
And you and I never knowing
You and I never knowing
You know we'll never know!
[Lyrics copyright Richard Wittman 2018]
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The Spreewells Los Angeles, California
The Spreewells make angular energetic music about the modern world. Their name evokes the savage beauty of a certain 1990s NBA star and the noble river that flows through a delicious foreign city. We are: Richard Wittman (voice, rhythm guitar), Jeff Gross (lead guitar; sometimes bass), & Mike Ball (bass; sometimes lead guitar). Drums were played by Milo Todesco and, on Marginalia, by Joel Joseph. ... more
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