1. |
Communion
02:49
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Made a deal with the devil at the foot of my bed
She promised me I’d forget
Everything I said I did
Broken promises and broken bread
And there in communion
She shackled my wrists and she forked my tongue
She declared my heart a gun
For the absent father and the lonely son
I felt the poison turn my blood
As the nails in my hands turned to rust
We threw away the filling and we ate the crust
A need, no faith, no love
And it’s all so typical
So typically me
I am oh so typical
So typically weak
I made a deal with the devil, I sold my will
For a broken spirit and a sleeping pill
And she took my name and she made me ill
As I offered up my blood to spill
And there in communion
She took my trinity and made it one
My ego came undone
With the buckle of my belt and the web I’d spun
No will, no faith, no love
I need no faith, no love
And it’s all so typical
So typically me
I am oh so typical
So typically weak
Now here I am in the aftermath
And I’m happy in my sadness
Here I am in aftershock
Happy and weak
But I’m happy
Cosy in the swelling heat
Of the fires the engulf my feet
Cosy in my swelling need
Memories of remedies
L. Switzer
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2. |
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I’ve got bruises on my fingers
From using your old typewriter
There’s so many missing letters
That I can’t say exactly what I…
Think about the winter
I just come off sounding bitter
You know I never had the answers
I could have used some help
In a farmhouse under snow
My breath heats the window
I got out of bed because
I heard an engine starting up
I’ve got a good imagination
But no sense of reality
I’ve got bags under my eyes because
The late nights are stacking up
The stitch is coming undone
And I can’t say exactly why I…
Love the sound of spiders
They creep behind the bedroom mirror
If I could think clearer
I would be afraid
I see the dust from the gravel
Every time I close my eyes
I’m looking down on the garden
Where my sunflowers died
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3. |
Instagram summer
03:32
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I want to be a hashtag
In your Instagram summer
No one will get it
But it will be your favourite picture
You slipped through the rain
Like an Indian summer
Shocking the system
I watched as the trees shrugged their shoulders
So what am I supposed to do with you or myself?
I’ve got so much time on my hands
That every day feels like a rerun
And I’m looking back through notebooks
Reliving sad songs
Trying to find out if you made difference
I want to be a footnote
In your dissertation
I’ll be the research
A study in infatuation
Will this autumn be proud
Of our graduation?
The summer stripped naked
The beauty of alienation
So what am I supposed to do with you or myself?
I’ve got so much time on my hands
Every second glance feels like a rerun
I’m looking back through notebooks
Reliving sad songs
Trying to find out if you made difference
And I’m checking in at Heathrow
Watching the planes go
But my final boarding call
That was an hour ago
L. Switzer
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4. |
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t's easy to take short distances for granted
I've got friends in London I never visit
I saw more of Andy when he moved to America
And now he's back I hope I don't make the same mistakes
I tried to put my college life behind me
I threw out relationships like failed exams
Pally keeps saying I should go and stay in Brighton
But I'm scared that if I do that I may never come back
I was the only one who stayed
So why do I feel so distant?
This town's just the same
But somehow it all looks so different
My friends never came home from university
I lost 3 years in some fucking factory
I only need to spend 5 minutes with Olly
And my inspiration all comes flooding back to me
Now I miss the summers that actually felt warmer
Long before my life divided into financial quarters
Karen and I thought in each other's voices
I've still got that letter from Australia
I'm not afraid of change
Just mindful of new beginnings
With every step you take
You should fear all you might be leaving
So I'm taking Hannah on a drive down to Brighton
And don't you worry London, Alex and I are coming
So Pally can tell me that I (like) talk too American
And Claire can tell us that we haven't changed a bit
I was the only one who stayed
So why do I feel so distant?
This town's just the same
But somehow it all looks so different
L. Switzer
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5. |
Chain smoker
03:13
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Chimney Charlie, chain smoker
Paid tax ‘til his back was broken
Face redder than the Coca-Cola
Can you tell the boys that the factory’s closing
Poor foreman, worse father
Lost his job and found the online poker
When chips are down he’s bitter like vinegar
Bitter like the poison that breeds the anger
Suzie Tuesday works for the government
Once a month he lies, he says he still applies
He says he tries but it’s doctor’s orders
Benefits rise as the tale gets taller
You know your girl Sam? You’d better call her
She knows CPR and he’s fallen
Left the skin from his face on the corner
Run back to the bar and try to find his daughter
Ambulance siren, a diving bell
Open back gown in a sterile hell
Going home tonight’s gonna be a hard sale
To his numb legs let alone anyone else
So last call Charlie, first for last orders
Wishes he’d learned to talk to his son
Wishes this fucking Friday was done
He can’t believe that it’s worse than the last one
Daughter Amy, growing lately
Growing pains in the next room waiting
Visiting hours are no to maybe
… catch a glimpse before his temperature’s taken
Doesn’t wanna speak, not to that prick
Just wants to check that he’s not smoking
Next of kin, you must be joking
Just a meal ticket and a drinking companion
Fluorescent white light, tunnel vision
Trying to remember how to be forgiven
It’s something about paying a penance
But Charlie doesn’t have change for the bus
We change our clothes but our souls still rust
Hide from the cold, but we still freeze up
They might call it an uppercut
But it’s down you go not up
Chimney Charlie, chain smoker
Paid tax ‘til his back was broken
Face redder than the Coca-Cola
Can you tell the boys that the factory’s closing
Poor foreman, worse father
Lost his job and found the online poker
When chips are down he’s bitter like vinegar
Bitter like the poison that breeds the anger
Bitter like the poison
Son Andy, quiet man’s thinker
Safely estranged from the social drinkers
Deadbeat dad and a counterfeit sister
Didn’t even sense the flatline
L. Switzer
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6. |
Between was and is
03:39
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The sun leads the hymn
As the riverside memorial sings
The remembrance Sunday service
And the oars rise and sink
Barely splashing
As the boats go racing
Under the bridge
To the decks of the club
Still heavy from the flood
But drying in the warm summer sun
That’s where I cut my hand
On some carelessly discarded can
Where the underage drinkers hang
And the drops of blood ran
As only they can
And I watched them crash land
On my double-spaced pad
They sign off each verse
Summoning the demons
That live between each of my words
Today is my friend’s birthday
But I’m not at the party
I’m down by the river
Staring at the water
There’s a boy locked inside
With a face just like mine
But his flows and it twists
I’m so jealous of it
Because mine is constant
It just is what it is
A plastic bag floats
A past life’s expressionless ghost
And I wish time was recyclable
Just like my old clothes
Shoes without soles
I could just let them go
To a new home
Maybe buy them back again
As something different
Like a note from an absent parent
There’s this girl I’ve been watching
A little too often
She reminds me of an actress
I can’t think what her name is
She sits and she reads
Under the tree amongst the leaves
I don’t know what she’s reading
Because her book is transparent
Like her delicate skin
She never leaves, she never really is
Life comes in phases
And memorable phrases
That fill up the spaces
Between what was and what is
The ghosts that exist
Are the ones created
From a need to recapture something
L. Switzer
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We are proud of our safety record. It has been 3 days since our last panic attack.
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