listen to music: "NOTHING" / "BEARING WITNESS "
Song
Lyrics by Colin Offord
WHITE MARKET
White market, white market, white market
hard sell, soft sell, fast sell, must sell, whole sell...
Black market’s got nothing on the white market
where everything’s for sale
White market, white market, white market
WIND
None of us are here for long
Winds rise, rains fall
We make our mark and soon are gone
Winds rise, rains fall
Follow our path , follow our dreams
Winds rise, rains fall
Things are never what they seem
Winds rise, rains fall
Fault lines open, sea beds shift
Winds rise, rains fall
Like seeds upon the sea we drift
Winds rise, rains fall
Through endless space, through endless time
Winds rise, rains fall
A love supreme , a love sublime
Winds rise, rains fall
You cannot win , you cannot lose
Winds rise, rains fall
With such a choice you cannot choose
Winds rise, rains fall
Pleasure, pain and love and lust
Winds rise, rains fall
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
Winds rise, rains fall
None of us are here for long...
LIFE GOES ON
here’s the good news
life goes on
here’s the bad news
life goes on
no matter what’s happening
life goes on
no matter what you do
life goes on
no matter what you don’t do
life goes on
good times, bad times
life goes on
whatever you believe
life goes on
stay or leave
life goes on
here’s the good news
life goes on
here’s the bad news
life goes on
life goes on
ife goes on
NOTHING
let me be your virgin, your experimental toy
you can be my girl, I can be your boy
enter the pavilion, pass through the fiery doors
for yours is in me and mine is in yours
the moon is weak, the tide is strong
the powers that be tell us nothing gone wrong
but the wheels have come off, we’re on the final run
we play on the beach and we soak up the sun
the knife’s upon the table, the arse upon the chair
the salt’s in the water, the rats in the snare
the lights in the windows though no-one’s in their homes
the dogs are at the fireside, gnawing at their bones
nothing is gained so there’s nothing to win
the only way out keeps rushing in
nothing’s been done to no-one nowhere
hard ride the transport then burn out the spare
nobody’s waiting, row upon row
many are workers, the others in tow
follow me up and I’ll follow you down
for there’s nothing else happening
there’s no-one around
nothing is given so nothing remains
it’s al in the wash and it’s all down the drain
nothing’s so tempting, more or less is more
it’s all morning glory and it’s all out war
let the cockroaches rule and give the rats a go
we’ve lost the plot so let them run the show
the silence is beautiful as our echo fades
we snuggle in bed and we turn in our graves
let me be your virgin, your experimental toy...
BEARING WITNESS
The moon looks down upon us
The stars shine down upon us
The sun smiles upon us
The mountains rise above us
A flower blooms before us
The river flows around us
The rains fall upon us
The winds howl around us
The oceans rise around us
The tide turns around us
The earth moves beneath us
what price freedom ?
The following is a list of countries, that since the end of the
second world war,the U.S.A. has bombed, often assisted by
other countries, notably Australia and Great Britain.
1945-1946 China
1950-1953 China & Korea
1954, 1967-1969 Guatemala
1958 Indonesia
1959-1960 Cuba
1964 Congo
1965 Peru
1961-19373 Vietnam
1964-1973 Laos
1969-1970 Cambodia
1983 Grenada
1986 Libya
1980-1989 El Salvador & Nicaragua
1989 Panama
1991-1999 Iraq
1995 Bosnia
1998 Sudan
1999Yugoslavia
2000-2001 Afghanistan
2002-2005 Iraq
President Bush said: “ this is our calling. This is the calling
of the United States of America. The most free nation in the world.
A nation built on fundamental values that rejects hate, rejects
violence, rejects murderers and rejects evil. We will not tire. “
The moon looks down upon us....
what price freedom ?
ONE WHO’S READY TO GO
Hunger, no hunger, no hunger, no need
hunger, no hunger, no want
feed upon, feed upon, food for thought
hunger, no hunger, no want
Enough is enough, how much is enough
Enough is enough, for our needs
needing and wanting, how much is enough
Enough is enough, for our needs
Hunger, no hunger, no hunger, no need
hunger, no hunger, no want
feed on, feed upon, food for thought
hunger, no hunger, no want
and I awake, in the middle of the night
beneath my lucky stars
limbs around, hands upon, breath upon, holding on
to one who’s ready to go
take heed, take heart, no taking, take note
from one who’s ready to go
take leave, no leaving, no going without
one who’s ready to go
Dwarf star to the right, no blind side, no slight
from one who’s ready to go
loyalty, dignity, surprisingly, knowingly
from one who’s ready to go
Hunger, no hunger, hunger, no hunger, no want...
ONE DAY
one day, one day away
our hearts have no reader, no fear, no doubt
one day. one day away
we are not waiting, not waiting nor hoping
straight on, straight ahead, straight on
straight on, straight ahead, straight on
straight on, straight ahead, straight on
Stone and shoes and dust and wheels and wind and rising water
one day, one day away
on the tip of our tongue, almost within reach
straight on, straight ahead, straight on...
Stone and shoes and dust and wheels and wind and rising water
THE BREEDING GAME
Now revealed the icy view
through and through the time and tide
through the mouth and through the eye
the language of the day
now the hunger, now the greed
now the opening of the wound
now the spreading all around
the making of our mind
now the oil, now the dams
now the arc upon the sea
now the the trade in misery
the lies and bribery
now the soldier of his word
now the lying in the wait
now the fear and now the load
the long and rutted road
over and over and over again
now the repetition of the same
and now, now the breeding game
Now where do we stand
now where do we draw the line
now the sinking in the sand
the poisoning of the rain
now the weight, the stand alone
draw the marrow from the bone
the plunder of the sweetest flesh
the expose, the nakedness
now the wet as we begin
now the belly full of fire
now the flame upon the tongue
the pulsing of the skin
now the sharing of the dreams
now paramour, now concubine
now the rise and fall of spine
the ancient splendid tale
now the rush, the light, the love
now the holding in the dark
now the music in the mouth
the riding of the arc
over and over and over again
now the repetition of the same
and now, now the breeding game
Now the bloody map of stains
blood inside the heart and home
blood inside the true remains
the world worn weariness
now revenge and now the loss
now the greasing of the plot
now the flashing of the steel
the burning of the meat
break the fingers one by one
now the hand and now the gun
now the rolling of the wheel
now the flying shards
moving down and far below
now the never leave, let go
now the milling of the throng
the going on and on and on
over and over and over again
now the repetition of the same
and now, now the breeding game
begins the long farewell
now the long farewell
farewell, fare thee well, farewell
TEMPTING FATE
we lay our plans, we tempt our fate
our journeys underway
we borrow time, we walk the line
the highlife gravy train
we make our chance, we rock the dead
we ride in limousine
walk rough shod, bleed the weak
bite the hand that fed
we trace a path, we make a line
surefire co-ordinates
we take a risk, hang by a thread
flying in the face of fate
so what’s gonna be
now the bell tolls slow ?
what’s gonna be
now the bell rings low ?
the whole world is sinking
everybody row
PAST IN THE PRESENT
I’m selling up, I’m moving out
the path is clear, the work’s been done
I’m riding a wave, working the ropes
I’ve got you surrounded
I’m walking on water, the future looks fine
your head’s upon my pillow and your arse is mine
I know nothing of the ones who brought me here
Were speaking in tongues, fleshing out form
joined at the hip, were the fruit of the mouth
Were beacons of light, were the dog of hope
chaffing at the chain
We’re wishing and weeping and making a show
the more you beat it the faster it goes
the more you beat it the faster it goes
no one gets out of this life alive
SONG FOR A POSSIBLE FUTURE
come to the open window
I’m holding a light up high for you
to see me from the distance
come to the open window
I’m ringing out incantations
runes to make a union
I stand at the open window
the moon as my companion
chattels by my side
you and I and all the rest
are cast upon an endless shore
this is where our road begins
footprints in the sand
going who knows where
working out our time
measuring our bone
the living far and wide
their stories on our tongue
slippery with words
hunger in our eyes
and love upon our minds
come to the open window
I’m holding a light up high for you
to see me from the distance
come to the open window
I’m ringing out incantations
runes to make a union
I stand on an open hillside
the moon as my companion
and wait for your decision
WEST ISLAND
based on the ballad ascribed to the singing girl little Su, Circa AD 500
I ride a coach with lacquered sides
my love she rides a dark horse
Where shall we bind our hearts as one ?
Around the west island,
The wind a wild skirt.
the angels whip the rain.
Where shall we bind our hearts as one ?
and when will we succumb
to love and vertigo ?
HOMELANDS
Where the sea begins forever,
there are spirits in the wind.
The whole of life begins,
and people make their homes.
Where the sky is on fire,
there are spirits in the dry dust.
The earth a hot red crust,
and people make there homes.
Where rivers journey overland,
there are spirits in the water.
Bird and fish their sons and daughters,
and people make their homes.
Where ice winds shave the mountains,
there are spirits in the cloud.
Cold stone and snow white shroud,
and people make there homes.
Where the night glows neon bright ,
spirits fill the streets.
A million different forces meet,
and people make there homes.
Where the sea begins forever...
LEAVING AGAIN
Too much time spent on the road.
Are you leaving again ?
Too much time traveling alone.
Yes, I’m leaving again ?
A passage through an icy sky,
no sadness as I go.
Just a hunger for that other place,
and the promise of the new.
Maybe I’ll find you ?
There’s an old story, or so it goes,
an Emperor lost in war.
The sun went down, evening mist rose ,
the long night settled in,
Which way to turn? Which way to go?
The Emperor cast around.
“Let go the reins “ the farmer said
“let the horses lead you home,”
They always find their way back home.
Shadows of home, they follow me,
move across my skin.
As I walk along these streets of stone,
the resolve in me wears thin.
I remind myself to care...
Is it you and me or I and I,
will cross this bridge ahead ?
Or is this just a wandering,
an illusive image ?
Show me your nature before you were born.
The animal hidden in your heart.
Fate calls the tune and so we dance,
and make another start
Start and start again.
Follow the spiral round.
Your name, your voice, your stance your mood,
eludes me just now.
Yet in that moment, face to face,
I know I’ll know you somehow.
and wonder if you've seen,
the same places I have been.
Too much time spent on the road.
Are you leaving again ?
Too much time traveling alone.
Yes, I’m leaving again ?
THE 7th SIGN
I am the kalidescope of the mind.
I think, I see, I am moved by electric fluidity.
constant only in my inconstancy,
I am unshackled by mundane holds,
unchecked by sturdy, binding goals.
I run unimpeded through virgin paths.
My spirit unconquered
my soul forever free.
THE SPIRAL
Our lives are like a spiral,
inward and outward turning.
Our love is like a tightrope, stretched across
heaven my blanket, earth my pillow
THE LESSON
We paint our teeth, start dancing.
Across the seabed, walk on water.
Set fire to air, illuminate the night.
Riding stars through holes in the sky.
Foul weather again.
We drag our shadows, arm in arm.
Blood on dusty ground.
We make our gods in our own image
Bind our eyes with wire.
This is the work of men.
This isn't a game, we can’t always start over.
This isn't a game or a perfect silence.
An arrogant hand or an innocent smile.
Time doesn't care about human nature.
What have we done?
Will we learn the lessons,written by the past?
What is our message for the future?
Across this vast blue ocean, warnings come in waves.
It’s late,It’s late, but not too late.
Aren't we all one people, under this skin?
A complex chain of DNA stretching back in time.
Born on the air we breath, there’s warnings in the wind.
It’s late, it’s late,but not too late.
Will we learn the lessons, written...
THE POUNDING OF THE BONES
Let’s sort this one out !
Life, straight up and down.
Long evening light.
We lie in the bed we make.
Sweet, sweet fading.
You in me in you.
Butterfly wings, set forth a shuddering.
A shimmer of eyelids over skin.
Teeth sink in.
Mouth on mouth. the silky ooze.
The solace of the kiss.
The issue of our hearts.
The pounding of the bones.
If I were a stone and you the earth...
If I were a star and you a fish...
If I were sand and you a pearl...
If I were the sun and you a fruit...
sharp upon the tongue.
Some genus unseen.
Unknown and unknowing.
Dazzled by the light. restless as water.
Tiger claws rendering flesh.
A rising of blood,ears sing.
Fluid exchange, deep ache inside.
Belly full and holding.
The solace of the touch.
The issue of our star.
The pounding of the bones.
eye to eye
The pounding of the bones.
THE RIVER
Adapted from the writings of
Yang Wan Li (Sung Dynasty 1127-1206)
The wind blows, the boat moves.
When will my travels ever end.
No waves, no movement.
All around the boat light floats in the air
A dog, in the mountains,
howling at the moon.
Pure wind makes me sing.
Moon urges me to drink.
Intoxicated, I fall upon my bed.
Heaven my blanket, earth my pillow
So I lie down, try to fall asleep.
Everything grows hazy
Am I dreaming or awake?
I hear human voices,
and the rivers constant sound.
The wind blows, the boat moves.
A steady rain begins to fall.
The night is long, the wine I drank weak.
Sleep is sweet, yet my thoughts bitter.
I cannot fall asleep.
I wonder if I’ll ever sleep again?
The wind blows, the boat moves.
The chilly night seems to last a year.
I woke again at midnight,
wrote down my dream.
Myriad things rise from the depth
of my mind,
and appear before my eyes.
This lucid impression is unbearable.
A single wild bird crying in the cold sky,
and the rain like thousands of pearls,
spilling onto glass.
Each drop penetrating to the bone.
I get up and listen. Listen !
Listen until the dawn.
All my life I have heard rain,
but now for the first time,
I understand the sound of spring rain
on the river at night.
Dew drops from the whiskers of the stars.
Winds rise from the waves of the
milky way.
As we’ve grown older,
we’ve more and more troubles.
How can we blame,
fate for our sadness?
We see each other,
once every ten years .
What is a lifetime.
measured by tens.
Bitter memories ,
of being together,
So hard to leave
you once more.
The wind blow ,the boat moves.
When will my travels ever end?
SWIMMING
bright moon eats clams
rabbits become with child
show me the place for the marriage of dreams
show me the place for the storage of hope
the schedules and sheets and pieces that don’t fit
food no-one can eat
our lives lived out on our own islands
vivre l’amour et l’eau frais
in the shadows, in a stupor, in the heat and high life
the nature of desire
then night after night after night, inside you
swimming
then lying on the pontoon
burning in the wind
bright moon eats clams
rabbits become with child
STILLNESS IN THE HEART
based on writings by the third century
Buddhist nun Abutsu and the Sufi Philosopher Rumi
You come down from the North ,
for I am the South Pole.
Steady for one thousand years.
Your sun like heart goes,
East in the morning,
and West in the evening.
The light of the soul,
does not set,
and knows no yesterday,
When the sun rises,
and splits the moon apart.
Stillness in the heart.
Great blue waters rise and fall.
Stillness in the heart.
Small green island shines like pearl.
Stillness in the heart.
Great island continent,old and new.
Stillness in the heart.
Vast red sky, blackens to night.
Stillness in the heart.
SONG LYRICS by Phillip Hammial
LAW
In accordance with the Law of Stone:
Behind each tree, the tongue is a child.
In keeping with the Law of Opposites.
under water, it’s wind that writes the book.
As stated by the Law of Spoons:
stir blood, until it thickens into speech.
Conforming to the Law of distance:
skin must stretch,from A to Z.
In compliance with the Law of Numbers:
each body must add it’s spoke to the wheel.
As decreed by the Law of Silence
like paratroopers in trees,
we’re left to ponder what we’ve heard.
GROWING CERTAIN
Bas een bas een ba: any hence welcome!
al ba dah oud: stand up for what you guess.
Yas ba beh: a paramour is entering !
Yas ma ki: privilege or stock-in-trade ?
Haz ma dim la: let’s just say we saw something.
Tum la el mel: entailing which mirror ?
Mal im ka zoud: don’t leave your family so open!
Za ta za ma:a body foreign does it’s worst!
Hunz ma sha sla:your sleeves weren’t sealed!
Sum ha wah sum :happy exit !
Ba bou ba bou ba:a man knows when his queen is up!
Im sha sa :where to from here ?
Why have a life if you don’t mean it ?
Can we hear ourselves raised to the hilt ?
So deep it draws the living dirt from our past.
Im sha sa : where to from here ?
THE FUTURE
Like survivors on a raft.
Sharks in a soup, we sit.
Shoulder to shoulder, knee to knee.
Around the rim of a lost lagoon.
Who is listening to who?
Now ! Become unfashionably awake.
With clumsy steps we begin to move.
Forgive,forget start over.
Acquire the habit of speaking equally.
Who is listening to who?
Light your own lamp
Try a different tack
Abide in your places of conquest
There’s no turning back
To bathe. To bathe.
As a master.
With proficiency.
And a margin of profit
To bathe. Bathe.
Among green.
As one desired.
With no pretense.
With a presence
Third person.
Future tense.
Of one accord
With nothing less than yourself,
as a testimony to a mutual existence
The map is fixed. Major arteries hum. The commerce of rich
powerful nations throbbing with deceit. Articles of faith, more
dead than alive. On TV nations maul each other endlessly.
How restore this ravaged body of the world? ....moon shines.
To bathe. Bathe.
With mouth shut.
Eyes open.
Listening.
Heart full of blood
To bathe. Bathe
Without tampering.
Without violence.
With impunity.
To bathe, Bathe,
With what is at hand .
As high as you can.
In todays weather
To bathe. In clean water.
OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE UNIVERSE
Does the mouth refuse?
Does the head roll forward ?
Is there something saves a life?
Is there an elaborate plot from youth onward?
Who’s is the ultimate cry?
Which string should we pull?
Which face have we just had?
What would happen if all the lamps were
lit at once?
What is this that reeks us over?
How much should we feign?
How soon is our future?
How can we fix the sky so it won’t hurt?
Should something fall from
opposite sides of the universe.
These teeth are not correct.
Sleep now pay later?
Two thousand buy to save a face.
Don’t be surprised if the score evens.
The fades are always quicker than we think.
We’ll be as pretty as pretty as we please.
A lily learned is a star displayed.
It;s love that reeks us over.
Our lips will never synch.
We’re only in it for the voice.
The cherishing hole is the consoling hole.
How we keep to a life is a living in itself.
Every winner turns to fat,now the mouth
takes food from opposite sides of the universe.
I’LL TAKE MY TIME
I’ll take my time,
Stand you up until your touched.
I’ll take my time,
Crank you up and down.
I’ll take my time,
Adjust you seasonally,second by second.
I’ll take my time,
Ride you around and around.
I’ll take my time,
Make you the subject of an
evangelical imperative.
I’ll take my time,
I’ll get you on paper.
I’ll take my time,
I’ll make the symptoms fit.
I’ll take my time,
Render you impeccably inaudible.
I’ll take my time,
Stand you up until your touched.
I’ll take my time,
I’ll call you quits.
IN A HORN
I hear what I am told to say.
In a horn,
there is no fear,I’ve drawn a line.
Cross at your own risk.
In a horn ,
there is a knot, you can’t untie.
I can but I won’t.
In a horn,
I am naked, black stars on white skin.
Ready for anything.
In a horn,
I sleep in my clothes, leafy garments.
Protected by thorns.
In a horn,
I swim with angels.
In a horn,
I gather the evidence against myself.
It’s water tight.
In a horn,
I manipulate the seasons.
It’s always summer.
In a horn.
I condone what I’ve done, am doing now.
Have yet to do.
In a horn,
I usually get my just desserts.
Plenty !
In a horn,
I’m safely home.
BOLD NEW STRATEGIES SUITE by Edie Steiner
part 1: I SEE A JOURNEY
I see a journey.
cool weather season with rain.
Many paths crossing
I see a journey.
Presence of mind there.
Heat and rage subdued.
Riding the slipstream,
Time is compressing,
Only the future is safe.
Love makes me restless,
throw off the covers and run.
Away from yearning.
I see a journey,
Stroke me and hold me down.
Who’s in control here.
Step over the edge.
Into icy depths.
Bold new strategies.
part 2: TOTEM
The steeper the climb,
the better the over view,
Higher ground waiting.
Constellations loom,
darkly over the mountain.
Lunar excitement.
The driver wants more.
Lust is a ticket to chance.
Freedom is cheap here.
Temple throng gathers.
Forces of darkness and light.
Prayers for cleansing.
I dream of touching,
your pale and open design.
Here in this hot bliss.
Body in wetness.
Flower petal rain.
A clear blue ceiling,
lies over our destiny.
You smile believing.
She collected a Banksia cone.
I cut it through the centre,
polished the inside,
and bound it back together.
This beautiful gift.
Two open hearts sealed like fate.
Auspicious totem.
part 4: TRANSITION
Into the dreaming,
Seem to be leaning,
on something sublime.
Mortar and pestle.
Thin as a whistle.
Follow the tide.
Into the calling.
Sensations falling.
Lighter than snow.
Testing the water.
Crossing the shadows.
Easier now.
Into the morning.
Storms without warning.
All remains still.
Brimstone and treacle.
Hammer and sickle.
Promises fulfilled.
I see a journey
Cool weather season with rain.
Many paths crossing.
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