Secrets Of The Beehive (2003 re-issue)

September

The sun shines high above
The sounds of laughter
The birds swoop down upon
The crosses of old grey churches
We say that we're in love
While secretly wishing for rain
Sipping coke and playing games

September's here again
September's here again

The Boy With The Gun

He knows well his wicked ways
A course of bitterness
A grudge held from his childhood days
As if life had loved him less
Reading down his list of names
He ticks them one by one
He points the barrel at the sky
Firing shots off at the sun

"I am the law and I am the King
I am the wisdom, listen to me sing"

He carves out the victim's names
In the wooden butt of the gun
He leans well back against the tree
He knows his Kingdom's come
He'll breath a sigh self satisfied
The work is in good hands
He shoots the coins into the air
And follows where the money lands

"I am the law and I am the King
I am the wisdom, listen to me sing"

He pauses at the city's edge
Of hellfire and of stone
He summons up the devil there
To give him courage of his own
He'll free the sinners of deceit
They'll hear his name and run
His justice is his own reward
Measured out beneath the sun

"I am the law and I am the King
I am the wisdom, listen to me sing"

And my name's on the gun

Maria

"Climb the stairs
And step into my dream house"

These words are yours, Maria

The waters warm (Hold me)
The table bare (Till the worst is past)
Until the summer nights return
Until we close our eyes

Maria, your every thought's my heartbeat
Maria, save a thought for me

Maria

"Maria" is based on the character of Maria "the witch" in Andrei Tarkovsky's last film Offret / Sacrificatio.

Orpheus

Standing firm on this stony ground
The wind blows hard
Pulls these clothes around
I harbour all the same worries as most
The temptations to leave or to give up the ghost
I wrestle with an outlook on life
That shifts between darkness and shadowy light
I struggle with words for fear that they'll hear
But Orpheus sleeps on his back still dead to the world

Sunlight falls, my wings open wide
There's a beauty here I cannot deny
And bottles that tumble and crash on the stairs
Are just so many people I knew never cared
Down below on the wreck of the ship
Are a stronghold of pleasures I couldn't regret
But the baggage is swallowed up by the tide
As Orpheus keeps to his promise and stays by my side

Tell me, I've still a lot to learn
Understand, these fires never stop
Believe me, when this joke is tired of laughing
I will hear the promise of my Orpheus sing

Sleepers sleep as we row the boat
Just you the weather and I gave up hope
But all of the hurdles that fell in our laps
Were fuel for the fire and straw for our backs
Still the voices have stories to tell
Of the power struggles in heaven and hell
But we feel secure against such mighty dreams
As Orpheus sings of the promise tomorrow may bring

Tell me, I've still a lot to learn
Understand, these fires never stop
Please believe, when this joke is tired of laughing
I will hear the promise of my Orpheus sing

The Devil's Own

The night is dark and cold
The strong winds and the rain
Crack the branches upon my window
The devil beats his drum
Casting out his spell
Dragging all his own down into hell

The ticking of the clock
Inexorably goes on
The howling of the stray souls of heaven
The treasures of the cove
Where the traders stored their gold
Echo voices still dead to the world

Underneath the vine
Shaded by the leaves
I still hold you close to me
Beneath the open stars
Beneath the pillows and the sheets
I still hold you dear to me

The ticking of the clock
Surely sunrise won't be long
When darkness hides inside it's own shadow
The devil beats his drum
Casting out his name
Dragging all his own down into shame

When Poets Dreamed Of Angels

She rises early from bed
Runs to the mirror
The bruises inflicted in moments of fury

He kneels beside her once more
Whispers a promise
"Next time I'll break every bone in your body"

And the well-wishers let the devil in
And if the river ran dry they'd deny it happening

As the card players deal their hands
From the bottom of te deck
Row upon row of feudal houses blown away
Medicine for the popular complaint

When the poets dreamed of Angels
What did they see?
History lined up in a flash at their backs

When the poets dreamed of Angels
What did they see?
The bishops and knights well placed to attack

When Poets Dreamed Of Angels

Fabulous track on Secrets of the Beehive.

Mother And Child

Shadows form knights and pawns
Upon the squares
Blood is drawn up from the well
Secret signs brought the crime
Right to your door
An innocent guilty as hell

Oh, the cot is open wide
Damp with milk and honey
Gone the mother and the child
In Jesus name

Should they be waiting there
On my return
I may run into their arms
Walking on a razor's edge
Unconcerned
Game is lost again
I'll never learn

Let The Happiness In

I'm waiting on the empty docks
Watching the ships come in
I'm waiting for the agony to stop
Oh, let the happiness in
I'm watching as the gulls all settle down
Upon the empty vessels
The faded whites of their wedding gowns
The songs of hopeless selflessness

The cold December Sun
A cold that blisters
The hands of a working man
Wasted

I'm waiting on the empty docks
Watching the ships roll in
I'm longing for the agony to stop
Oh, let the happiness in

Oh, let the happiness in

Listen to the waves against the rocks
I don't know where they've been
I'm waiting for the skies to open up
And let the happiness in

Oh, let the happiness in

Let The Happiness In

From Secrets Of the Beehive

Waterfront

On the banks of a sunset beach
Messages scratched in sand
Beneath a roaming home of stars
Young boys try their hand
A spanish harbouring of sorts
In Catalonian bars
They were pulled from a sinking ship
And saved for last

On the waterfront the rain
Is pouring in my heart
Here the memories come in waves
Raking in the lost and found of years
And though I'd like to laugh
At all the things that led me on
Somehow the stigma still remains

Watch the train steam full ahead
As it takes the bend
Empty carriages lose their tracks
And tumble to their end
So the world shrinks drop by drop
As the wine goes to your head
Swollen angels point and laugh
"This time your god is dead"

On the waterfront the rain
Is pouring in my heart
Here the memories come in waves
Raking in the lost and found of years
And though I'd like to laugh
At all the things that led me on
Somehow the stigma still remains

Is our love strong enough?

Waterfront

Beautiful!!!!

Promise (The Cult of Eurydice)

The silence of the park
The moonshine after dark
Came to keep her company
The tiny golden cross lay upon her throat
Hands clutching tight her rosary

The rain upon her lips
Eyes opened with a kiss
Just too late for us to see
She sits upon the ground
Face covered by a shroud of midnight canopy

And when the lightning starts
The secrets in her heart
Merge within the rain patterns
And when the shadows fall
The promise of it all Is lost inside the tears that linger on

All the things we'd hoped
Would always keep us close
Stand between us now, as fences
The letters that we wrote
Have all gone up in smoke
And now you're just too far to listen in

When all but hope is lost
You believe at any cost
In things that make the living lighter
And when the shadows fall
The promise of it all
Is lying in the bed besider her

Promise (The Cult of Eurydice)

Bonus track on the Japanese release of Secrets Of The Beehive. Extremely beautiful ballad.