1. |
Bannerghatta
03:56
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BANNERGHATTA
Looking backwards to go forwards:
poisoned arrows, waiting rooms;
a glimpse of the green, green meadow
there through the sliding doors :
BANNERGHATTA
BANNERGHATTA
Sleeping lions cast in irons,
helicoptered, children's dreams
sails on a pale blue horizon
in an old picture book:
BANNERGHATTA
BANNERGHATTA
Looking inwards to reach outwards:
the feline doctors - the human zoo.
Now we split the atom
and shit in the waterfall:
BANNERGHATTA
BANNERGHATTA
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2. |
Serendipity House
03:52
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SERENDIPITY HOUSE
I know I should go back on the road,
just my back-back and my begging-bowl...
It's a private paradise
for millionaire bohemians
with a touch of Merchant Ivory:
welcome to Serendipity House,
your comfort is all that counts,
is that clear?
The days are so slow, the breeze is so cool,
I'm falling asleep at the side of the pool...
Wear a sheet and grow a beard
like a Greek philosopher
in a glossy magazine:
we all are epicureans now,
we are Serendipity House VIPs !
So I suppose I'll just lie low,
my own one-man missing person's bureau...
From this house upon the hill
we view the world through binoculars
that polarize metastasis
sunsets of Serendipity House
in the darkening hours
seem so near...
Peacocks scream at break of day,
monkeys raid the mango tree;
if I simply slip away
into the clear air and the blue sky
of Serendipity House,
shed no tears!
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3. |
Transition
00:42
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4. |
Indian Ocean
03:56
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INDIAN OCEAN
Indian Ocean flows in my veins,
flooding my brain with summer rain;
it's a tropical sea with tropical sharks
that bark in the dark...
Before I was born I swam in this sea,
and as a child, falling asleep,
it comes back to me, ancient and wild,
hauling me, calling me, hauling me, calling me...
Older than the South China Sea,
older than the streets of Tartary,
blowing though me like a magic potion,
the Indian Ocean...
Indian Ocean, I'm cold,
lend me your coat!
Coz it's a tropical sea with tropical sands
when I take your hand...
And the Great Red Octopus
will never never never let me pass
until I bend my knee in devotion
to the Indian Ocean...
Indian Ocean goes down the drain,
looses my chains and loses my name,
locked in the past like the great conger eel
feels for the light...
I can't believe I'll find you in America,
I can't believe I'll find you here in Amsterdam;
for we are living in another land,
we are living in another land,
we are living in another land
where the Indian Ocean rules...
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5. |
Red Lighthouse
02:30
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RED LIGHTHOUSE
Standing on the shore of an enchanted garden,
there's a rosy beacon calling us home.
I can still recall the regular red lightning
sweep across the black Yakushima bay:
and that lighthouse haunts my dreams today.
The lighthouse cast its beam on Little Treasure Island,
miles across the wild Tokara straight.
In the dead of night it woke the golden flower,
like a little child on Christmas day:
but that flower withered clean away.
Red light emerging in my visions,
save our souls with ancient rhythms,
that vessels bridge the old division:
sea of faith, land of the living...
But I will never reach that lighthouse,
even if I swim all day...
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6. |
Hyoryo no Tegami
02:03
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Kako no Ayamachi Umi e
Omoide goto Umi e
Akogare to Jiremma dake
Kono Tegami ni takushi Umi e
Shi mo Gisei mo mata
Ishiki no Soto ni aru
Torawareta Mirai
Anata no Te ni yudane Umi e
Toki yo tomareyo
Sachi kitareyo Tami ni
Tada Hitotsu dake Kikareyo Inori
Saa Osorezuni Ima
Ikari wo age tooku tadayoe Dokomademo tadayoe
Tookumade yukeyo
English translation:
Mistakes in the past to the sea
Whole memories to the sea
Put only longing and dilemma on this letter to the sea
Death and sacrifice both are out of our consciousness
Leave the captive future
in your hands to the sea
Wish the time stops
Wish folks happiness
Hope only one prayer will be heard by You
Now, donʼt be afraid
Itʼs time to weigh the anchor Drift away further
and further
Reach the furthest
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7. |
21st Century Cats
03:30
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21st CENTURY CATS
The black panther's playing Santa to Samantha Fox!
That bad shepherd's a mad leopard, best lock up your flocks!
The Big Cats gotta get back
to the jungle whence they came.
The Big Cats are gonna claim back pre-latin names.
The Big Cats are gonna hijack your little game!
We're 21st Century Cats!
21st Century Cats!
The rough diamond from south Thailand: Bill Wyman on sax!
That dirty cheetah's gonna eat ya little bobby sox!
Big Cats take top hats and stake a brand new claim:
a school meat contract that goes against the grain!
Tack that on the love shack: No Pain No Gain!
The nitty gritty Hello Kitty, Shilpa Shetty's twat!
The twin seater tantric teacher, hold on to your hat!
We're 21st Century Cats!
21st Century Cats!
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8. |
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9. |
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What do you do with a Manioc?
What do you do with a manioc?
Could it be stewed to make a hotpot?
But I haven't even got a half stock cube...
I'm feeling blue,
what do you do with a manioc?
Whoever designed the manioc
didn't have in mind a quick snack.
I tried to eat raw, I got hiccups;
now my belly's sore,
what is this manioc for?
Could you identify a manioc?
It looks rather like a big brown cock.
Sometimes I used to spy it in the night shop,
but I never stopped to ask myself
'what's that big tuber for?'
Now I'd adore
to know what a manioc's for.
In the dark interior night winds shiver.
Beneath the wisteria the python slithers,
hunting the native beasts that haunt the river,
bearing bilharzia to devour your liver...
How do you do? I'm a manioc.
Let me help you to get unblocked!
Just pound me into pulp with a big rock,
then pass it though a sieve or an old sock!
Then you can make wine
if you ferment brine of the manioc.
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10. |
A Little Island Far Away
01:56
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A Little Island Far Away
On a little island far away
a little man is playing on his cave guitar.
The world is beautiful today:
once more the sky is blue and every stone is grey!
We'd all be better of this way,
far from the land of motor cars and telephones!
Look thought the telescope, what do you see?
A little island far away
a little man is playing on his cave guitar...
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11. |
Maybe I'll build a Boat
02:18
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Maybe I'll Build a Boat
Maybe I'll build a boat,
or maybe I won't...
carve out a hollow tree
with my machete...
paddle my trunk of coconut
over the coral reef to open sea...
I'll navigate by the stars,
use my guitar
if my little home-made oar
falls over-board...
lucky I brought my string orchestra,
to put the wind in my sails with augmented scales...
riding the ocean dream in full-screen stereo !
a Robinson Crusoe one-man show...
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12. |
North Pacific
05:14
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NORTH PACIFIC
North Pacific, now I'm on my way!
This sea is warm, you'll come to no harm,
the storm is far away.
Now I feel terrific, I know it's here to stay.
Never a storm cloud crosses my brow,
America's far away...
You're on your way...
out of the bay...
across the waves...
North Pacific:
where sky meets the sea
I'll wake in the daybreak,
grey in the debris
of my brave attempt at carpentry.
North Pacific
whispers in my ear
a sweet sweet lullaby
that brings me close to tears...
But have no fear
Your way is clear...
On the North Pacific's
golden wave
bye bye to land !
On the North Pacific
I'm in your hands !
You'll be ok !
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13. |
A Thousand Sunsets
04:31
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1000 SUNSETS
1000 Sunsets burn my eyes;
I'm not drowning but waving...
1000 Sunsets, hypnotized
by cracks in the paving...
1000 lazy porcupines'
bristles in the gravy...
1000 Sunsets
back-lit in scarlet
my little matchstick lifeboat
floats into the darkening twilight...
1000 Sunsets
in shades of lipstick;
I feel a little sea-sick...
My skin is baking, my tongue's on fire
and the captain's raving:
“this world's a graveyard, and God's a lie,
and Jesus was an alien!...
1000 postcards
of vintage sunsets;
old colour Kodak snapshots;
long-exposure views of Malibu
1000 Sunsets
lilac and roses
1000 little heartbreaks:
just one more reason to close our eyes
until the daybreak
paints the world purple,
and little turtles float by
my boat riding on the morning tide
1000 suns rise
this very morning
the world is turning yellow;
I will hang my washing out to dry...
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Mr Diagonal Brussel, Belgium
mr Diagonal (aka Dan Barbenel) is a multi-faceted musician/ songwriter at the frontiers of
pop, cabaret and
theatre music.
In true diagonal fashion, he always cuts a dash and declines to cut corners.
PLEASE NOTE
I have closed my evil Paypal account.
Without which no man may buy or sell on bandcamp.
To buy stuff please email me at daniel.barbenel@gmail.com
... more
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