Skies watching over you, wrapped up in darkest blue
Rain falls from high – the long kiss goodbye
Streets speak where laughter fades, in parks where children played
I take your hand…
And whisper your name
I can’t help myself from falling…
I whisper your name
I can’t help myself from falling…

What kind of lullaby, sweet silent tears we cry
Drifting away – a game that we play
Lost in a world of you – my faith, my only truth
I look in your eyes…
And whisper your name
I can’t help myself from falling…
I whisper your name
I can’t help myself from falling…

We fall like the rain
We fall like the rain
So still like the rain
We fall like the rain…

Gather me up in bright buttons, buttons not ribbons and bows…
A button for every day that we love, from the day when we first say Hello

The first I will give you is purple – my favourite colour, a gift from my coat
The next will be red, for the deep crimson flush of your lips… gently touching my throat
The third will be white, for the crisp linen sheets, on the bed in which we first lay
…and gave of ourselves, our innocence lost, in the promise to each that we made

And so, when alone, in this wide lonely world
Colliding and playing our part…
A coat will be missing a button…and a button, missing a coat

As the years go by more buttons you’ll keep – safe in a pretty glass jar
Bright perfect buttons – a kiss and a wave, a warm tender smile from afar
Each a memory of a day that we love…
A day that we hold in our heart

And when the room darkens and death steals my breath…a gift for her own selfish song
I’LL watch, though you will not see me
I’LL touch you, though you’ll never know
As you gather me up in bright buttons, pressing them hard to your lips
As the tears fall freely, from your eyes…and slowly I fall from your grip
As buttons scatter and dance one last time…like rainfall on well trodden streets
Their melody lost in the rhythm and beat, of the secrets that they’ll always keep

…And out there still waiting, so far but so close – alive beyond time and all hope…
A coat will be missing a button… and a button missing a coat

Time will pass slowly, but I will remain…silently by your side
‘Til you walk far and free from the darkness, ‘til you walk slowly into my light
And you gather me up in bright buttons, buttons not ribbons and bows…
A button for every day that we’ve loved…
From the day when we first said Hello

And when they come to this old house, and find us all but gone…
Bright buttons they’ll sweep, with the dust from the floor
Bright buttons still needing a home…
So if you find one – keep it safe…for in this wide, big world
A coat is missing a button…and a button still missing a coat

So gather me up in bright buttons…buttons not ribbons and bows
A button for every day that we love…
From the day when we first say Hello

Cold December night, as the snow falls down
Hush a bye baby, lie still don’t make a sound
Where you from? Where you going? Can’t stay here
Pretty pass the parcel ringing in her ears
And Carol, are you safe? are you so secure?
Come around slowly, creeping in the door
Hide a little, fight a little don’t talk back
Pennies for the angels hired for what they lack

And she’s always on her own at night
Music fills the streets where she sleeps so light
And the dream that guides the way so bright
Wakes a thousand minds, it’s going to be alright…
In the Blink of a London eye

Lindsay and the guys on the stage tonight
Sweet smell of Flowers and the music gets you high
Speak a little louder, words so wise
Smile on her face as the silence leaves your eyes
So did you really care? Did you let her go?
Sweet elusive kiss and the feelings you won’t show
So tell me now, tell me where you’re going tonight
Another cheap hotel and the fear of a long haul flight

And she’s always on her own at night
Music fills the streets where she sleeps so light
And the dream that guides the way so bright
Wakes a thousand minds, it’s going to be alright…
In the Blink of a London eye

This feeling, this half life
In these rooms where we once lay
No faces or traces…
Of a love or the games that we’d play

Shut out like a symphony – fade away
Cut down like the tallest tree – no sky to reach, air to breathe
Still life, like a photograph…
A far off distant place

This feeling, this anger
All the words that we’d never say
Still reeling, believing…
Wondering, did you feel the same way?

Shut out like a symphony – fade away
Cut down like the tallest tree – no more the rush of the breeze
Still life, like a photograph…
But the secret’s safe with me

This feeling – of leaving
All our past now dust-covered up
And hoping, not knowing…
From our dreams do we ever wake up?

Shut out like a symphony – fade away
Cut down like the tallest tree – no sky to reach, air to breathe
Still life, like a photograph…
A far off distant place

Call me in from the outside
Lead me home from the great escape
Lift me up so these feet don’t drag
Hold me down – make me stay
Call me…
Call me…
Call me home

The day it all came down the Earth wept…
Freeze framed in stultifying silence, she grieved
Unable to breathe, she screamed the silent scream of the drowning…

The day it all came down we watched…
Locked in a harmony of disbelief
We averted our gaze, only to see from every corner of our eyes
Invisible bands of black gripping ever tighter to our arms…

The day it all came down we were afraid again…
Little children, our fear of the darkness returned
Sleep would not come easily
Our eyes, wide open, straining for every shaft of light…

The day it all came down the Earth cast her flowers and whispered their names…
Her gaping wound aching, her arms outstretched for solace
This no-man’s land our common ground?
The Earth, her hands clasped tightly, fell to her knees in prayer…

The night the sky turned purple – the bruised clouds, black and blue
You said you could watch it forever
I knew then maybe I could watch too…
It came all in the crash of the thunder
It was all in the look in your eyes
It took hold of me, leaving me wanting to cry….just to cry

And so we drove forever…
Through the streets in the pouring rain
In the dark, taking strength from the silence
You said no one else could ever feel the same way…
It came all in the crash of the thunder
It was all in the look in your eyes
It took hold of me, leaving me wanting to cry….just to cry

Hold up the candle to your eyes
Let its light guide your way through the darkness
I’m alone and I’m lost and I’m falling apart
Can’t you see….you have all of me

She never really knew…
Just a game misunderstood
Reeling in the fear, she’d cry
Fighting dreams: to live or die

Here come the bears, here comes the cold wet ice
Splitting the snow, blazing a trail…
On the husky ride

Now she seems to understand…
Only game – life’s trial at hand
Breathing in the fear she sighs
Memory – a place to hide

Here come the bears, here comes the cold wet ice
Splitting the snow, blazing a trail…
On the husky ride

My sister and I
Blazing a trail…
On the husky ride

Just a Glasgow boy, through and through
Sent with all others, their duty to do
To the heat and the dust, where the pyramids rise
As a blood red sun sets in the sky…
So far from home – will it be long?
Saving your soul and singing your song
But you won’t be home for Christmas, you won’t be home again
You’ll sleep where you fall in this strange land…
You’ll sleep and the story will end

So dance John, dance, with the sun in your eyes
Sand underfoot and a gun by your side
Tilly’s at home with the boys at her knees, no shoes upon their feet…

Battle-weary, fatigued, but with heart you must fight
For the freedom to live your life just as you might
As in dreams, do you see them and keep them all safe…
So one day you will walk far away from this place…
So far from home – will it be long?
Saving your soul and singing your song
But you won’t be home for Christmas, you won’t be home again
You’ll sleep where you fall in this strange land…
You’ll sleep, but the story won’t end

So dance john, dance, with the sun in your eyes
Sand underfoot and a gun by your side
Tilly’s at home with the boys at her knees, no shoes upon their feet…

John Lang
Seaforth Highlanders
Killed in action 1918, Egypt

She lies in a room, half a world away from me
It’s all she’ll ever see
It’s all she’ll ever know
She’s letting go…
Oh woman, the price of life
A dream you can’t afford

She looks into his eyes, the child she won’t see grow
The man she’ll never know
The words they’ll never speak
She’s letting go…
Oh woman, the price of life
A dream you can’t afford

Make it me…
Cast the stone across a thousand dreams
And shatter the candied glass of endless sunsets
To the darkest depths beyond the farthest seas: sail
Where the stars lie fallen from the heavenly skies
And the broken penitent Angel awaits reprieve
There upon the yellowed vellum parchment my seal I’ll deliver…
I’ll make it you for me…

You came to me again today
All ghosts that went before – now slipped away…
Into the fog that is the dream
They steal the soul that is my scream…
Where are the demons, the buried dead?
Under the floorboards?…
Under the bed?…
Laughing and screaming, they’re alive in your head

Laced with anger, the words fall short
Into the chasm of pain and remorse
Velvet fist in a metal glove
Strength we seek to rise above…
Where are the demons, the buried dead?
Under the floorboards?…
Under the bed?…
Kicking and screaming, they’re alive in your head

You’re the keeper of the light, where the tunnels run long
I’m the bird in your gilded cage…
Your prison keeps me strong
Through the day and the night
The right and the wrong
Your prison keeps me strong…

Here on the high wire do we hope to fall?
Crashing to earth for the thrill of it all
Aware of the strength in the power of love
Embracing us whole in all that it does…
Where are the demons, the buried dead?
Under the floorboards?…
Under the bed?…
Laughing and screaming, they’re alive in your head

You’re the keeper of the light where the tunnels run long
I’m the bird in your gilded cage…
Your prison keeps me strong
Through the day and the night
The right and the wrong
Your prison keeps me strong…

Blow by blow, the mighty weaken
Left unheard the meek believe in…
The prison that keeps them strong

Touch me
Cleanse me
Heal me
Know me

Let it all…
Let it all…
Let the rain come down

Soothe me
Teach me
Love me
Free me

Let it all…
Let it all…
Let the rain come down

Watch as the river flows
Pretty pale patterns as it goes
It is calling…
Fields gold with daffodils
Blades of grass and highest hills
It is calling…

And in the air she’s flying high
Sweet as song: a lullaby
Rainbow butterfly… high
Rainbow butterfly…high

Watch as the trees release
Leaves of new in shades of green
It is calling…
Flowers turn their heads today
To find the sun who’s slipped away
It is calling…

And in the air still flying high
Sweet as song: a lullaby
Rainbow butterfly high…
Rainbow butterfly high…

“Bury me in red shoes” she said
An oddly appropriate request
Aren’t we all going home one day?
Like Dorothy before her, with a click of the heels…
‘There’s no place like home’…
‘There’s no place like home’…

I sit on the pavement and wait
Same time, same place
I sit on the pavement and wait…
My little square, my garden so green
My sanctuary…

Soon the music will play…
The strings will soar high into the night sky and dance among the stars
And I will go with them
Free from the chaos and discordant cacophony of this life…

I sit on the pavement and wait
Same time, same place
I sit on the pavement and wait…
My little square, my garden so green
Holy Trinity… my sanctuary

Sing me to you and I will come
Across oceans deep and wide I’ll sail, and skies of blue, fly
With storms do battle in your name
Against thunder: Rage

Sing me to you and I will follow
The pure plaintive lament that is your song
Echoing for a thousand years…
And screaming for every lost soul still searching for belief

Sing me to you until my journey end…
There I will hold your gaze and walk into the arms that have waited for me
The breath of your voice, a soothing salvation upon my skin
The gentle weight of your words – the delicate rainfall that drenches my lips

Sing me to you and in your arms I’ll sleep
The light of your love burning incandescent…
Inside me, through me, around me
And your song, no longer of pain
Shall be my sweet, silent lullaby
And I will never be far from you

I look into these eyes…
Freeze framed a dying light
Within once burned a life
Now pools of steel blue ice
On a day like today… and dream

In a barren land, from a distant gaze
Where nightmares reign, there lurks in a place
Underneath a threatening sky
A man with a mission, his only belief
In the gun he holds by his side…
His soul for the thrill
His heart for a price
Betraying the betrayers
Hero’s charm – the myth suffice

In a land where the blood red sun sinks deep
Into skulls of the dead as the lie asleep
Little soldier keeps count, as he stealthily creeps
Alone in the darkness
Afraid in the dreams he sleeps…
His soul for the thrill
His heart for a price
Betraying the betrayers
Hero’s charm – the myth suffice

Soldier of fortune what price your salute?
Soldier of fortune what way do you look?
When these lands are soiled and the dead lay cold
Soldier of misfortune
Hero’s charm – a story of old

Soldier of fortune re-tracing your steps
A long winding footpath that weaves though your head
Returned now from streets paved with blood, sweat and bone
With no banner to carry
No battle cry to head
Alien in your homeland
No cause left to plead…
Soldier of fortune, for you, who will weep?…
Soldier of misfortune, lay blood red the sons of the fallen ones…

Fragments…
Shattered tiny fragments colliding awkwardly
Seeking one truth and stumbling precariously on the staircase
Searching ever deeper for the gateway to their whole

Alone in this dark house, no light, not a sound
She sits, while she’s waiting, praying out loud
Her mind once alive, like her beauty, so free
From the shackles of doubt, paranoia and need
High on a hill stands this rickety place…
A world far away from the good and the grace
From within these old walls, where she died as she fought
She’s telling her Tales of chameleon thoughts

Up the old staircase and round a dark bend
She’ll beckon you onward – a hand she will lend
As she leads through passageways, cobwebs and dust
A land far away from all others you trust…
A door she will open – paint chipped and blue
She’ll shuffle on quickly and usher you through
And within, now you’ve gone where you shouldn’t have ‘ought
She’ll tell you her Tales of chameleon thoughts

Coughing and choking, you struggle to breathe
Dank is the air, for your freedom you grieve
While she sits and she tells of her stories of fear
You listen, your heartbeat, the blood in your ears
All at once she lets out a terrible scream
Awoken at last from her slumbering dream
And down the old staircase at once she descends
Following blindly, you stumble and wend
Down the dark staircase, head over feet
Tumbling wildly, the floorboards you meet
As she stands at the door, the key in her hand
She smiles for the first time – you now understand
As the door clicks behind her, the house bound and locked
She’s selling her Tales of chameleon thoughts

Alone in this dark house, no light, not a sound
You sit, while you’re waiting, praying out loud
Your mind once alive, like your beauty, so free
From the shackles of doubt, paranoia and need
High on a hill stands this rickety place…
A world far away from the good and the grace
From within these old walls, where you died as you fought
Alone with your Tales of chameleon thoughts

You stand before it
Wondering what lies beyond…your final unconscious thought
Only the purity of absolute conscious presence will allow safe passage now

It slows…
The rhythmic source of being, breath and heartbeat unite
As the air of life leaves and enters your body steadily

You step closer now…
Your fingers find the solid arched frame of this mighty Praetorian Guard
The metal of the Iron cast handle cold and smooth in your hand
A book to be opened…?
A story to be told…?
With the weight of your body hard against it, you push forward
…and surrender fully to the moment

The music plays…
As the gentle musk of incense fills the room
Alive in her dreams, unconscious in thought
The wallpaper girl surrenders to the sound…

The needle spins from the turntable
The angel sings no more
The wallpaper girl, deep in thought now, decays…
Into the background
Into the furniture
Into the ethereal world
And is numb… yet is there.

Twelve years, three weeks, two days…
And the tears still come
My eyes still search for your face
My ears, straining for the sound of your voice and laughter
…fall silent
The sands of time, still drifting, weave their golden veil before me…