Discography

Ignorance

I Remember/The Ship Song [lyrics]
59 Yds [lyrics]
Sweet Invisible [lyrics]
Swan Silvertone [lyrics]
Touched [lyrics]
Little Bits Of Zero [lyrics]
16 Miles [lyrics]
Gravity [lyrics]
Ignorance [lyrics]
A Slow Divorce [lyrics]
History [lyrics]
Talk Me Down [lyrics]
The Ghost Of Johnny Ray [lyrics]
Liberty Horses [lyrics]
The Ghost Of Summer Walking [lyrics]

Produced by Boo Hewerdine with Rob Peters except Ray Shulman (6, 11, 12)
Engineered by Mark Freegard, Jim Abiss & Gail Lambourne
Recorded at Loco, The Church, Flame, Orinoco
Written by Hewerdine except:
The Ship Song by Nick Cave
Hewerdine / Taylor (5)
Hewerdine / Freelove (13)
Hewerdine / Shepherd / Larcombe / MacColl (14)

Musicians:
Boo Hewerdine & Rob Peters
Clive Gregson: mandolin (1), backing vocals (4), electric guitar (8)
Calum MacColl: electric guitar (2,4), bass (2), backing vocals (2)
Kimberley Rew: electric guitar (11)
Della Roberts: backing vocals (2,5)
Ray Shulman: bass (11), programming (6)

Notes:
The extra tracks on the re-release are from the singles '59 Yds' and 'History'.
The Compass release is remastered for improved sound quality.
Clive Gregson was in the group Any Trouble, one half of Gregson & Collister and is now solo.
Calum MacColl is brother of Neill and was, for a time, bassist in the Bible.
Kimberley Rew is guitarist with Katrina and the Waves.
Della Roberts is Rob Peters' partner in We'll Always Have Paris.
George Taylor is the band No Dakota.
Laurie Freelove was also signed to Ensign at the time. Boo co-wrote 2 songs on her album 'Smells Like Truth'.
Ray Shulman was in Gentle Giant and also produced the Sundays and the Sugarcubes.

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Lyrics

I Remember/The Ship Song

(Hewerdine/Cave)

I remember the yellow room
A face I've never seen since
A picture on the far wall
My hands on the bars
And I remember asking about ugliness
And I remember the sky was broken
And I remember rain
On the other side of the road
And I remember the colour was wrong
And I remember a dream about darkness
And I remember the sound of birds
And I remember careless talk
And I remember blood
And I remember an imagined place
Running laughing
And I remember a white cat with no tail
I remember the letter I gave to her husband
And I remember a terrible secret
And I remember jumping from the 14th step
And I remember pink ribbon in grey hair
And I remember 7:30 1969
And I remember standing in the hall
With strangers
And I remember leaving
[Then Nick Cave's The Ship Song]

59 Yds

(Hewerdine)

59 yards from your house to my house
59 yards away
There's a white car waiting to take me
Waiting to take me, waiting to take me
59 yards from your house to my house
59 yards away

And I can't help thinking about it
I can't help thinking about it
I can't help thinking about it
One day I'm going to die

Telephone lines scratch my name out
Across the sky
There's a white car waiting to take me
Waiting to take me, Waiting to take me
Telephone lines scratch my name out
Across the sky

Keep seeing something flicker
In the corner of my eye
There's a white car waiting to take me
Waiting to take me, Waiting to take me
Keep seeing something flicker
In the corner of my eye

And I can't help thinking about it
I can't help thinking about it
I can't help thinking about it
One day I'm going to die

And I can't help thinking about it...

Sweet Invisible

(Hewerdine)

Everyone a secret life
A secret sorrow, secret wife
Somewhere they think that they can hide
But all the time I knew
And I was watching you

Up the ladder to the roof
Halfway between hell and the stars
We talked about the humdrum truth
And all the time I knew
And I was watching you

Sweet invisible
He can't touch you anymore

You only get one chance
So take it
Or spend your whole life
Learning to fake it

And the traces that we leave
And the loved ones in distress
Their sleep patterns in a mess
And all the time they knew
And they were watching you

Sweet invisible
He can't touch you anymore

So they come to the same place everyday
To watch each other, but they never meet
So they come each day to the same place
To watch each other, but they never meet
They never meet
Sweet invisible

Swan Silvertone

(Hewerdine)

And I can't rip your heart out
Like the Swan Silvertones
But I can be there
When you're lonely
And I can hold you
When you're angry
And I can shake you
When you`re hurting yourself
And I can be the blame
When there's no-one else

And I can't make your soul sing
Like the Mighty Clouds of Joy
But I can hear you
When you're hurting
And I can watch you
When you're sleeping
And I can talk you down
When you don't make sense
And I can be the crack
In your defence
You're not alone

And your hands are warm
And your heart is cold
And your fingers smell of money
You could stick your head
In the grate instead
And pretend you found it funny

Or I could be there
When you're lonely
I could hold you
When you're angry
I could shake you
When you're hurting yourself

I can be the blame
When there's no-one else
I can hear you
When you're hurting
And I can watch you
When you're sleeping
And I can talk you down
When you don't make sense
And I can be the crack
In your defence

You're not alone

Touched

(Hewerdine / Taylor)

Cinema's on fire
The flames reflected in your eyes
The last thing you remember
The dark skies

Touched
Cradled by imaginary angels
The lips that never touched

Adrenaline will guide you
To impossible blue eyes
The winter of all things
Where hope dies

Touched
Cradled by imaginary angels
The dust that settles on you
When you're sleeping
The lips that only kissed
When there was dreaming
The lips that never touched

The lips that never touched

The wings that beat
Against an open window
The lips that only kissed
When there was dreaming
The lips that never touched
The lips that never touched

Little Bits of Zero

(Hewerdine)

I can't stand it without you
I can't stand it now you're not here
And there's little bits of zero
Little bits of zero
All over the house

I can't sleep anymore
I can't sleep for the ghosts round here
And those little bits of zero
Little bits of zero
All over the house

My heart's under the floorboards
I hear your voice in empty rooms
And those little bits of zero
Little bits of zero
All over the house

I can't stand it without you
I can't stand it now you're not here

16 Miles

(Hewerdine)

Did you ever see London at night
And not want to go home?
Did you ever take drugs, stay up late
Just to see what you would see?
Did you ever have love and hate
Scratched across your hand?
Or did you turn round
With 16 miles to go?

Did you ever just walk away
And disappear for days?
Did you ever have a girlfriend
Called Catherine Wheel?
Did you ever come home from work
Saying "I'm never going back again"?
Or did you turn round
With 16 miles to go?

Did you ever want to kiss me
So hard it bled?
Did you ever find yourself laughing
In the middle of the day?
Did you ever think about the first time
That I came in you?
Or did you turn round
With 16 miles to go?

Think about the world
Those who'd see us hang
Say it's the only language
We understand, we understand

And all those lives
We'll never know
If we turn round with
16 miles to go

Gravity

(Hewerdine)

Gravity won't work for me
I'm falling off the world
And you will see
The back of me tomorrow
My eyes were filled with nothing
When you finally cut me down
And you will see
The best of me tomorrow

And I know
What's been going on
And I know
But it's been too long
It's over

Gravity won't work for me
You nailed me upside down
And you will know
The fear in me tomorrow
And you filthy little hypocrite
You finally got it down
I hope the worms
Will feed on you tomorrow

And I know
What's been going on
And I know
But it's been too long
It's over

Gravity won't work for me

Ignorance

(Hewerdine)

Said the butcher to the knife
"Must I take another life?"
Said the bullet to the passing sky
"Must I make another father cry?"
And the young girl you hear laughing
Will one day wear black
And I can't bear the sadness
I want my ignorance back

And the new life that she carries
Will one day be hurt
And the lips you are kissing
Will one day be dirt
And each time we fail
We're closer to our last chance
And I can't bear the sadness
Give me back my ignorance

We are what we know

And every dream you cling to now
Will one day be old
And everything that's pure or good
Can somehow be sold
And like the last couple
In a marathon dance
I can't bear the sadness
Give me back my ignorance

Give me back my ignorance

We are what we know

A Slow Divorce

(Hewerdine)

So you don't want her anymore
You don't want her anymore
And you must have been born
For more than this of course
More than a cold cold bed
And a slow divorce

You let your life become like soap
Now there's nothing as cruel as hope
And hearts don't get broken
By cruelty or force
But by a cold cold bed
And a slow divorce

You used to want her touch so hard
Never take the time to sleep
But now you roll off and count sheep
Don't you think that she should know
What you see with your eyes closed
And what did she get
For backing the wrong horse
She got a cold cold bed
And a slow divorce

You used to want her touch so hard
Never take the time to sleep
But now you roll off and count sheep
So you don't want her anymore
But you don't sound as if you're too sure
She'll keep on speaking English
While you reply in Morse
And you'll have your cold cold bed
And a slow divorce

A slow divorce

History

(Hewerdine)

Am I spinning round the sun?
Or is it spinning round me?
Answer answer
Give me an answer

If I don't believe in God
Will he still believe in me?
Answer answer
Give me an answer

You can't mess with history

Was that real or did you fake it?
Was that real or did you fake it?
Answer answer
Give me an answer

Do I love you more than you love me?
Do you love me more than I love you?
Answer answer
I know the answer

You can't mess with history

All those things I never thought
Would happen to me
Every careless word you use
Like acid through me

Am I spinning round you?
Or are you spinning round me?
Answer answer
Give me an answer

You can't mess with history

Talk Me Down

(Hewerdine / Shepherd / Larcombe / MacColl)

What am I doing here
I should be miles away
There's someone who loves me at home
How many times
Do I have to learn
You can't unsee what you've been shown

I never want to feel this lonely again

Talk me down, bring me round
Slap my face, put me in my place
Say my name, remind me who I am again
Talk me down

What am I saying
I should keep my mouth shut
There's nobody here I know
A face I saw
Under the Westway once
I just wanted somewhere to go

I never want to feel this lonely again

Talk me down, bring me round
Slap my face, put me in my place
Say my name, remind me who I am again
Talk me down
And down
Talk me down
And down

I never want to feel this lonely again

The Ghost of Johnny Ray

(Hewerdine)

You like the way she holds her cigarette
Something flickers before your eyes
Suddenly you're all chemicals and skin
She spins the world, tomorrow dies

I'm not going to be your conscience anymore
I'll put the past away
I'm the ghost of Johnny Ray

Colour me gone

You imagine a first time
Cold sweat mirror moves
Black lies prickle on your skin
Your mouth is dry, your voice a bruise

I'm not going to be your conscience anymore
I'll put the past away
I'm the ghost of Johnny Ray

Colour me home

He steps back from the sea
Red light shadow long
And if you wait or if you hesitate
For just one heartbeat
It all goes wrong

You can colour me gone

I'm the ghost of Johnny Ray

Liberty Horses

(Hewerdine / Freelove)

An awkward boy
Who comes home late
To find the world has changed forever
Who says her name
In double time
As though this might keep things together

It's in your hands if you want it
Right in your hands if you want it
Fine and feathered
Liberty horses
Oh we are tied and tethered
Liberty horses

And now I know where I went wrong
And this will change the way I see things
Before I go, you slap me down
And bring me round again completely

It's in your heart if you want it
Fine and feathered
Liberty horses
Oh we are tied and tethered
Liberty horses

This sad old day is ended now
It may get better one time
I will find heaven in my mind
My way, my way

An awkward boy
Who comes home late
To find the world has changed forever
Who says her name
In double time
As though this might keep things together

It's in your arms if you want it
Right in your arms if you want it
Fine and feathered
Liberty horses
Oh we are tied and tethered
Liberty horses

The Ghost of Summer Walking

(Hewerdine)

So today I have become
The ghost of summer walking
Flesh and gristle, blood and bone
The ghost of summer walking
I think she left when I got bored
And could offer nothing
I'm not the one you used to know
I'm the ghost of summer walking

Time will write its name on you
And all of those that love you
Another sad sack gone to seed
With vulture up above you
I think I fail 'cause I get tired
Of all the endless hoping
Here I am in faded glory
Walking

Do I have to explain?
Do I have to explain?

Hallelujah, here he comes
The ghost of summer walking
All of us one day become
The ghost of summer walking

Do I have to explain?
Do I have to explain?

So today I have become
The ghost of summer walking
Flesh and gristle, blood and bone
The ghost of summer walking
I know she left when she got bored
And could offer nothing
I'm not the one I used to be
I'm the ghost of summer walking