She looked off of the telly
Off ready steady go
There with my one cool uncle
In the parlour with the folks
As the songs began to flow
I was watching from the landing
Too young to join the party
Down below

But she looked up
And she smiled at me
And I didn

You can feel the city breathe down
Among the weeds that swallow up the
Buckle the shoe, the set of keys
The weeds that push and pull me
And loosen memories of when I was a
Soldier or a beast beneath a tree
A beast beneath a tree

Can you see me? Can you see me?
C

It’s the flicker of the street lamp that’s running out of time
It’s the clicking of the rails on the forgotten railway line
It’s the echo of the sirens around the tenements and lots
It’s the prayer of the mother whispering at her cot

It's the wind that rises from the river

Hands that can't stop shaking
Place the mirror on the shelf
She looks for signs of beauty
Never sees herself

Smoothes her dress of Oxfam tat
Then runs to find her boys
Running ragged in the town
Not a thing can bring them down
Watch them calling, calling
To

In every face I see a lover
Who once inhaled the sweetness of another
And hand in hand
They took the path or stopped

And let it wither, or fate
Stepped in with its thorns and
Gales and left its trails
In every face
In every face

In every face I see a child

I saw you singing on that TV show
Songs so bitter sweet
Broken hearts and broken dreams
You lit up my dead end street

You touched something inside of me
With your look of love
So I know that you won't mind at all
About me getting in touch

In person - I know yo

I'm looking for the corner
Of a street whose name has gone
I thought it was in America
Before America got blown

I move like Charlie Endell
See me strut my stuff
Life keeps giving me the finger
But I just can't get enough

So why don't you come and dance with me

Never seen you so far gone
Hiding in the corner on your own
Come on baby, take my arm
It's just a little walk to the door
Don’t try to talk
Don't say a word
We can't talk no more
Not like when we got it together

We talked and talked about your fancy coat that yo

Can't put this together
Can't make the pieces fit
There's a child in my arms
But I don't recognise it
Railway men are standing
By the tunnel mouth
They look at her and then they say
We've got you now

Take what you need
Take what you need
What happened to

I saw her first upon the road that turns upon itself
And there among the olive groves our true love we did pledge
But did she hear the music? The rising of the swarm?
And now I cannot see her, though down the road I stare

My pale young English girl with knots among her hair