Head high, hand wide, with a different universe inside.
Today’s short story is a tall tale indeed.

Ghosts
Of the voices they left behind
In the tide lines, they will confide everything in time

At night
When the waveforms burn in the air
Like a whisper caught in a prayer
Can you hear me?

So I wait
Lying still with dust in my eyes
All through these years
Dreaming of the day we will fly

But for now
As broken hearts wait to mend
And stories wait for The End
So I will still be here

Introducing Naio. 7,669 days old from the Fire Hills. A sparky little dreamer in search of a future to call his own.

Little does he know what’s coming…

Hello hello, can you hear me?
Are you receiving me clearly?
I write this behind The Eye
Hello hello, how are you doing?
Is there anything out there
That remains of us?

War’s out so we war in other ways
Utopian cages, battery bait

Eye am the sunlight through the cloud
Eye am here and eye am now
Eye am the circle in the square
(And the music in your airs)
Eye am all and everywhere

Hello hello
I can’t hear you
All of your plastic and static right in my ear

Goodbye goodbye, I’ll be leaving
An act disappearing
First train out of here

Time’s up so we wait in other ways
Euphoria’s angels, nature’s mistake

Eye know your face, eye know your voice
Eye know your girls, eye know your boys
Eye am the lover of your life
(And a handy light at night!)
I am the apple of your eye

Step outside
We’re waiting for you
in the light
It’s calling for you
But you’re blind
You’re wired and
All that you want is your life in the wires

You live life in the wires
You love life in the wires
You want life in the wires
You want life
Give me life
Give me life in the wires!
Give me life in the wires!

Today is Naio’s birthday. So to celebrate, he tries to remember what little he can of his family by reading his father’s diaries from before he was born.

“At night I’d sit and watch the lights of the London Array, the sky glowing red from the lamps on the hunter ships that searched the waters for the satellites, and I’d wonder what world are we bringing you into?...”

Happy birthday Naio!

All of us are in a picture
But looking back there’s only me
Remember when we were together?
The perfect absent family

Sometimes it’s right to face the weather
Sometimes it’s better not to know
I thought that you would always be there
But then I had to let you go

I used to think I’d live forever
But time’s a thief you used to say
I’ll make my home this house of winter
Growing colder in your name

(In which we meet Livewire. He prefers “Mr Livewire”, but I’m telling the story, so… )

Having completed yet another day in the big building selling things that nobody needs, our subject returns home for his usual evening listening session with his best friend, the friendly faced old radio that his mother gave him for company the night before she evaporated.

The sun sets and the Ionosphere begins to perform its usual magic tricks. But tonight, something very different happens and Naio may have found his future at last…

When the light is falling
Then the sky starts to come alive
Remains in the waves of noises
The old world out beyond The Eye

Drifting slowly in and out of focus

The secret world that no-one looks to find
Your people pass beyond the door

They never understand at all
Caught up in their superficial lives
I’m searching for the signals of survivors
I’m looking for those fallen satellites

They call this life
They call this life
It’s all a lie
It’s all a lie

Out of the white noise
Caught in the air
But how can I tell you?
I know you’re calling
You’re not alone
But how do I get through?

Through the void
Through all the void I heard you loud and clear
I heard your name
You gave me hope and then you disappeared
Like a dream

I’ve nothing here, I’ve nothing left
I’m just a fading silhouette
Coz I played the game, but failed the test
In paradise we’re paralyzed
We’re blinded by those pretty lights
I see it everywhere I go
But I found myself an antidote
So I will walk right out of here
Can’t take this poison atmosphere
I’m heading out into the light
So I’ll see you on the other side
I’ll wreck the roads and burn the boats
This greatest day I’ve ever known
You can take my place and take my clothes
You can take it all I’m going home
Going home

Might as well jump...

This gentle art of disappearing
By making sense of your confinement
Remember what you’re doing it for

The simple act of interfering
With the constraint of your environment
When you can’t take it anymore

The feeling is around me
I’m heading for the light
You won’t see my face round here no more

You’re a plastic god
With a torn paper crown
I am done with this town, this town

Evaporate

I will leave no note
So you won’t find out
I am gone from this town, this town

Evaporate

I’ve set my sight on this horizon
There’s nothing left for me I’m getting out
Pretend that I was not here at all

So when all around me are still sleeping
And when the town is still and silent
That’s when I will melt into the walls

The feeling is around me
To try another life
There’s nothing here to keep me anymore

You’re a plastic god
With a torn paper crown
I am done with this town, this town

Evaporate

I will leave no note
So you won’t find out
I am gone from this town, this town

Evaporate

Sometimes it feels like it’s too high a price
To pay for the madness we’re sold as a life
Sometimes it falls to a roll of the dice
Then everything’s gone in the blink of an eye

Give me a reason to try
Now this is the season to fly
I’ve found a new way to survive

And now you know that you are leaving
Don’t say a final word or look around
Just step right up and walk out through the door

You’re a plastic god
With a torn paper crown
I am done with this town, this town

Evaporate

I will leave no note
So you won’t find out
I am gone from this town, this town

Evaporate

I’m the mist in the morning
And the space in the talking
I’m the pause in your breathing
As you fall into dreaming
I’m the name that escapes you
I’m the something behind you
I’m the said and the done now
On the tip of your tongue now
I’m the voice of the black light
Footnote in the archive
I’m the change in the season
And the rhyme in the reason

Turn the lights out
Turn the lights out
Turn the lights out
Turn the lights out

(In which nothing goes according to plan.)

Naio’s disappearance is noticed immediately because nothing gets past The Eye these days. So as the ill-tempered search for our sure footed, sore footed soldier begins, he wearily assesses the situation…

The future is closing in
We commit to the willing sin
In this chaos I turn away
I observe, but I will not play

You treat me with no regret
Won’t forgive and you won’t forget
I am trapped in a poisoned space
Think we’re losing this human race

We live in a strange world
We live in a strange world

Well the writing was on the wall
Disconnected we took the fall
We were waiting for kinder times
But the rhythm was lost in rhyme

When you wake from a perfect dream
And things are not what they seem
Then the darkness takes hold of light
And we return to the pointless fight

We live in our strange world
We live in our strange world

We live in a strange world
We live in a strange world

(In which the camera never lies. The CCTV camera that is.)

The Eye has put the word out and as he travels, the boy encounters a “difference of opinion” on the streets...

And in a moment everything has changed around me once again
The smiling eyes no longer smiling and my friends are not my friends
I have a cold resolve to see this out until the bitter end
But staying here right now is not something that I would recommend

Do or die
Fight or fly
Bye bye bye bye bye...

Welcome to the show where no one listens
We’ll spell it out again
We don’t want to know your opinions
So we’ll catch you if we can

You wanna take me down for hearing voices on my radio
But I have seen your way of life and, thank you, I don’t want to know
You feed the people food and fear to keep them all compliant
But I won’t play your game so now you’ll fight to keep me silent

Welcome to the show where no one listens
We’ll spell it out again
We don’t want to know your opinions
So we’ll catch you if we can

You wanna win the war on thought with your indoctrination
Change the game, change my name, my story, make me the enemy of the nation
Make them believe in you so the arguments are very well rehearsed
Then you sit back in innocence while they do all your dirty work

Welcome to the show where no one listens
We’ll spell it out again
We don’t want to know your opinion
So we’ll catch you if we can

Welcome to the show where no one listens
We’ll spell it out again
We don’t want to know your opinions
So run now while you can

(In which Naio continues to home in on Livewire’s signal.)

While delicately evading the baying mob in the town, Naio is shocked to see what looks like his mother in the crowd. She is just as enraged as everybody else so it couldn’t be her. Could it?

He decides to rest before crossing the water at Egypt Bay and while he sleeps, his dreams take him on another journey…

Driving, dreaming
Drifting down the road and back in time
So deeply

Laughing, smiling,
Standing in the home that once was mine
Completely

Close your eyes and send a prayer
For just when I think you are there
Like whispers in the summer air
You’re gone
It’s gone

Looking back at my so-called life
It all looked so easy
Broken toys to broken hearts
Fell apart so slowly

Keep on walking
Time can heal, but nothing really lasts forever

Fading gently
One day all we’ll be is photographs and memories

So close your eyes and they’ll be there
This secret world that can’t be shared
In memory of absent friends
They’re gone

And just when you think you can catch them
Just as you reach out to touch them
Try with all your might...
But they’re gone

They’re gone

(In which we learn a little more about the Ocular Element of our tale. After all, even villains deserve an origin story…)

I’m not a teacher, I’m a school
I’m not a teacher, but I can teach you
Do you like school?
Do you like school? Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like school?
Do you like
Who do you believe?
Who do you believe in?
I don’t know why you hurt inside
I don’t know what you did to me
I don’t know why you hurt inside
I don’t know what you did to me
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore
I don’t want to be alone in the darkness anymore
I got beef with mo-moo
So yeah you could see right through me
You could see I’m too hot
And I’ll walk away
And you’re not gonna believe this
And your gonna wanna throw up
I’m too hot
And leave me flat
He’s the one who laughed at the devil
And after all this he’s only a man
And after all this he’s only a man
He’s a monster, he’s a monster
And he’s the only one that can destroy
The monstrosity
He’s a monster, he’s a monster
And he’s the only one that can destroy
The monstrosity
He’s a monster, he’s a monster
And he’s the only one that can destroy
The monstrosity
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
I am so high
Heaven is a place where nothing is what it seems.
No money, no home, no pets,
Heaven is a place where nothing is what it seems.
No money, no home, no pets,
Heaven is a place where nothing is what it seems.
No cars, no clothes, no books,
Heaven is a place where nothing is what it seems.
No money, no clothes, no books,
Heaven is a place where nothing is what it seems.
No cars, no clothes, no jewels,
Heaven is a place where nothing is what it seems.
No cars, no clothes, no jewels,
Heaven is a place where nothing is what it seems.
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry
I’m so sorry, I’m

(In which the nation takes to the wires for a spot of gaslighting…)

The Eye decides escalation is called for and so online war is declared against our pesky solid-state interloper.

The Meso –

Born to a war well it’s all very well
He’s easily led and he wanted to leave
But he’s not very well
Pity the kid, it’s not easy

The boy has been packing the powders and pills
Gone on a mission, opposing position
But find him we will
And we’ll bottle him up like a genie

Naio -

Just say your prayers for you can’t hide
You’ll fall before Ascension Day arrives
You can’t put out these fires

The All Seeing Eye -

You will not find your sanctuary
It’s only in your head
We’ll burn it all out
Burn it all out

Our army will defend The Word
Destroy the things you said
We’ll shoot it all down
Shoot it all down

The Meso -

Sat on the wall, well it’s all very well
But soon he will fall and it’s easy to tell
That he’s shocked by the shell
His head is an egg, over easy.

Born on a number between 1 and nil
The damage was done, he’s a chemical spill
So we’ll send him to hell
With the weight of the world on his shoulders

The All Seeing Eye -

You’ll eat your words, you’ll need the food
We’ll freeze you out and make a fool of you
It’s what we do

Naio -

You will not have your victory
In spite of all you’ve said
I worked it all out
Worked it all out

You made it me against the world
For you I’m better dead
But what goes around
Will always come round

(In which it all goes south in the east.)

With the Delmer transmitters in sight, and the baying mob on his heels, Naio finally reaches the source of the signal - a small military building on the edge of a crumbling cliff, where yet another surprise is in store. Livewire is not what he seems…

My heart is lit by flickers
Of a fire that’s going out
Look what I’ve become
I hide within without

Past the bullet holes of arguments
When the dreamers go to war
Reeling from the shockwaves
Of things not seen before

I was hoping that I’d find a sign of life
I’m hoping that I’ll find a sign of life
But you are just a siren
Nothing but a siren

Everything you said to me
And the dreams I dared to dream
Lie broken in the grass
As your messages repeat

I’m hoping that I’ll find a sign of life
I’m hoping that I’ll find a sign of life
But you were just a siren
Nothing but a siren

The sun is setting lower
Blood red upon the land
But now the journey’s over
It’s the silence I can’t stand

I’m hoping that I’ll find a sign of life
I’m hoping that I’ll find a sign of life
But you are just a siren
No nothing but a siren

Keep hoping

(After all, all in all, all for one and one for all…)

Defeated, alone and without any chance of escape, this is the end for our lo-fi hero. But as the frothing crowd form a circle of intent around the troublemaker, Naio suddenly understands what must be done. He thrusts his hands onto the live wire of the power transformer that sits spitting and sparking on the table next to its erstwhile namesake. The boy is immediately engulfed in a bright white light and suddenly nothing makes sense to anybody anymore.

Part 1 - Moral

You are just one more machine oh
Came up short my circuit hero
Reel to real now back to reel, so
End transmission, time to go now

So break out the war tape my friends
And round and round and round we’ll go again

Should have seen the rain
I should have seen the rain falling falling falling

Out in the lo-fi
Backs to the wall
Cross the line and my world comes alive
Hands on the white spark
Light blinds The Eye open, icon in neon and so on and so on

Forming a lit scene, fire in the sky
Is it fear or does Eye become I?
Memory hazy, fractured and lazy
Soul become whole with the light

Rain, rain
I should have seen the rain
I should have seen the rain falling falling falling

...there’s a big crowd round me so set on my head but
this light from the ground to the walls to the sky from
the life in the wire that is lighting the fire in my eyes but
I don’t feel afraid no!

No more
No more!

Part 2 - Consequence

As the light intensifies, the sound of static rises to a scream. The noise crawls, wet and newborn, out of the air and into the crowd. In the resultant chaos, a new voice is heard : crystal clear, beamed in and out of everyone’s tiny little minds.

The sounds that you can hear
Are someone else’s fears
They keep ‘em down, keep ‘em down
And fight through life

The thoughts inside your head
Try life with those instead
So hear ‘em out, hear ‘em out

Enjoy the ride
Watch me as I change before your eyes...

(In which Naio has his moment.)

Finally with a captive audience, it’s time for a few home truths about the perils of looking before you leap. The story’s nearly over and it’s getting late. Time for the credits…

Thank you for watching
My travelling show
No time for applause
It’s the end of the road
My blood on the punchline
The butt of your joke
But we’ve come here to play and we’ve one song to go

Time to face the music, face the light
Coz you don’t want to die
No you don’t want to die
But you’re fuelling up the fire
And you never wondered why?
You might be surprised...

Hey, you live life through a camera
Your face is a mirror
And I’m holding, holding, and I’m holding out my hand
Hey, this world is a weapon
And they’re pulling the trigger
So just hold on, hold on, just hold on to my hand

So many voices in the air
Can anybody hear them out there?
Coz every word is meant for you
Something coming in the air
Can anybody hear us out there?
Coz now the rest is up to you

Ticking talking
Head down, walking
Burning through your life
The show is over
You’re out of time

So here we go
Is it laughter or slaughter?
Backs against the garden wall
Do you know?
Is he Satan or Santa?
Get his presence off my back
Ho ho ho!

I’m the mist in the morning
And the space in the talking
I’m the pause in your breathing
As you fall into dreaming

Face the fi ve and face your fear
The cracks appear
On the frozen ocean
Self, rage, fear, blame and lies
Cut down to size
And now it’s over

You’ll be fine
Without eyes
Misplaced in time
These fatal days
Hollow heads and hollow hearts
Leave me alone
There’s nothing more to say

(In which the swarm abandons the hive, mind.)

The light finally subsides, leaving everybody awkwardly reeling from the sudden outbreak of independent thought. This wasn’t the result they were expecting, frankly.

In the clearing smoke, on the floor where Naio had previously been standing, lies the radio his mother gave him. His best friend that he treasured so much. And beside that, a small handwritten note which reads -

“I’m sad to notice that this form is feeling a bit dizzy before The Thing comes out of it.
Maybe nothing comes.
Maybe this is it.
This is the end kids.
Let’s go home.”

We know ourselves
We won’t think twice
We’re letting go
We’re in demise

We’re making waves
We’re starting fires
We can’t go back
To paradise

I’m done building walls
And setting up fences
I’m breaking defences for you
As time passes by
I’m coming around to the deafening sound of the truth

I’m lost on a wave
No lacking in purpose
But feeling inertia the same

As time passes by
I’m coming alive with a better disguise just for you

We know ourselves
We won’t think twice
We’re letting go
We’re in demise
We’re making waves
We’re starting fi res
We can’t go back
To paradise

We’re starting fires
We’re starting fires
We’re starting fires
We’re starting fires

He’s counting down the days in tedious grey charades 
The truth still hangs on the wall when pride comes before a fall 
Who am I? 
In answer to your question, you won’t know now 
Turning the lights out and closing the windows, just wasting your way off this world 
We’re living in a dying age 
When the writing’s on the wall 
And we’re burning with a quiet rage 
This is the day and age 
He tries to fight his pride, but something sticks deep inside 
And as this fire builds, he stands here perfectly still 
Who am I? 
I’m gonna be somebody, I’ve nothing left to lose 
Stand in the spotlight assume your positions, you’re gonna remember me now 
We’re living in a dying age 
When the writing’s on the wall 
And we’re burning with a quiet rage 
This is the day and age 
And if I told you sooner, 
My statement of intent, 
I’m living in the dark light, 
There’s nothing left to say now, 
This world has lost all sense

Tactical compliments
Time honoured systems of touch
Methods of self preservation
To escape when it all gets too much
These are the games that we play
While we’re waiting for the lie

Literal armament
I’ll stick to my stones
We imagine the shape of the danger
And decide that we’re better off alone
These are the things that we say
While we’re waiting for the lie

When you find that you’ve nowhere to hide
We’re all waiting for the lie
The truth is so undignified
We’re all waiting for the lie
We all carry the guilt
We’re all waiting for the lie

When you know you’ll be breaking their heart
We’re all waiting for the lie
The deception is part of the art
We’re all waiting for the lie

When it’s time to apportion the blame
We’re all waiting for the lie
The excuses will all be the same
We’re all waiting for the lie

Whenever the government speaks
We’re all waiting for the lie
Instead of the truth we should seek
We’re all waiting for the lie

Whenever you open your mouth
We’re all waiting for the lie
Without any shadow of doubt
We’re all waiting for the lie

These are the things that we say
These are the things that we say

It happened quite by accident,
One day at home, the boy discovered hat he had an ability.

An ability to remain perfectly still.

For just a few minutes at first.
But then with refinement and perseverance,
He found he could after a time, freeze himself indefinitely.

Then one evening, at home with his mother after a few hours of complete stillness, he realised that she had lost all perception of him. He became part of the room, part of the furniture, part of the space of the room.

He became invisible. Even to the one who had given birth to him.

As the boy grew older, he would experiment with his ability in the wider world. He would disappear at his place of work. At his home and at parties.

Standing in the shadows, he would simply cease to exist.

The boy became estranged from the people and the world he had grown up knowing. He devoted his time to observation and deeper thinking. In the long shadows of the day, he would stand. Year after year. Watching.

But that was then.

I stood and watched you build them
With faces just like ours
Five figures standing without eyes
Their mouths aimed at the stars

The figures turned towards us
And soon obscured the sun
Their voices started rising
Screaming one by one

Hail Self
Hail Rage
Hail Fear
Hail Blame
Hail Lies
All rise, for The Five.

Over the course of time, he noticed his physiognomy begin to change. He grew taller. 2 dimensional, thin to the point of absurdity. He took food, and water in plain sight, under the noses of people blinded by the inability to conceive such an evolution.

He watched as his previous friends grew old, succumbed to disease, or self-inflicted damage and died.

Eventually he was alone.

Now? Who knows. But I think he’s out there somewhere still. Watching.

Hail Self
Hail Rage
Hail Fear
Hail Blame
Hail Lies
All rise, for The Five.

Hail Self
Hail Rage
Hail Fear
Hail Blame
Hail Lies
All rise, for The Five.

Holidays in the sun
Sending out your postcards from the gamma coast
The place you love the most, with all the other ghosts

And if you feel betrayed
Your country loves you nonetheless, just don’t get in the way
Enjoy your stay
Soak up all the rays

And if you ever dare to wonder why
Just shut your mouth
Enjoy the sights
And when the sunlight burns you, close your eyes
This fatal dose of island life

Burning in the sun
You could be anywhere right now with anyone
Forget your bleeding gums
It’s all part of the fun

Government 101 – keeping people happy in apocalyptic ways
Enjoy your holidays, we’re all fucked anyway

And if you ever dare to wonder why
Just shut your mouth
Enjoy the sights
And when the sunlight burns you, close your eyes
This fatal dose of island life

Living in this island life…

Across the open field and out towards the lake
A lifetime to consider a moment of escape
Selling him had currency, the waiting everyday
But your regret won’t bring him back
And silence ends the day

The cracks in your story will leave you numb
When running in circles we come undone

You’re out in the wild again
So stop staring upwards and face your pain
What’s skywards is not to blame
Just keep facing forwards and walk in the light again

Across the iron ocean
There’s comfort in despair
This boy consigned to black and white and memory can’t repair
In everything you see in him, the faces on the wall
Your weeds are growing faster now, suffocating all

The cracks in your story will leave you numb
When running in circles we come undone

You’re out in the wild again
So stop staring upwards and face your pain
What’s skywards is not to blame
Just keep facing forwards and walk in the light again

The angels won’t hear you unanswered prayers
And upwardly wishing won’t lead you there

You’re out in the wild again
So stop staring upwards and face your pain
What’s skywards is not to blame
Just keep facing forwards and walk in the light again
Walk in the light again, walk in the light again
What’s skywards is not to blame
So keep facing forwards away from the skywards
Just keep facing forwards and walk in the light again

Those violins playing inside your head
Please shut them up
I’m sleeping
The doorway’s over there

The boy I was has gone, they blew his happy brains out
They ground him down
I never thought that I would end up here

Let’s take the songs to the town
So they can shoot ‘ em all down
Kill the orchestra
We’re dying anyway

You’d start a war with all the words in the world
But they’re not enough
You’re beaten
And no one really cares

Let’s take our dreams to the town
So they can shoot ‘em all down
Kill the orchestra
We’re dying anyway

Inside the car
Sits the never was rock star
Stuck in the past
With your woe is me story

I used to care
Now you’ll get little sympathy
So get your guitar
It’s the death of a salesman

And I’ll be singing when they string you up
Yes, I’ll be singing when they string you up

Who’s laughing now?
Now you find your house empty
Desdemona, what did you do to yourself?

And I’ll be singing when they string you up
Yes, I’ll be singing as they string you up

Look what you’ve become
You’re the neighbourhood parody
The player of games
Your own worst enemy

So play it again
Please play it again for me
Your secret is out
Laid out for all to see

Those violins playing inside your head
Please shut them up
I’m sleeping
The doorway’s over there

Let’s take the songs to the town
So they can shoot ‘em all down
Kill the orchestra
We’re dying anyway

And I’ll be singing when they string you up
Yes, I ’ll be singing when they string you up

What have we done?

There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Start clawing out your heart, repeat to fade
Repeat to fade

Trapped in metal coffins, endless days
Do as you are told and fear allays
Sacrifice your soul to this machine
This is not a place for living dreams

There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Start clawing out your heart, repeat to fade
Repeat to fade

Exercise your right at any time
There’s no dignity in slow decline
Treadmill institution bleeds you dry
Open up the window, take a dive

There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Start clawing out your heart, repeat to fade
Repeat to fade

We’re shutting down your comms, you have been warned
There’s glory in this world to be adorned
A perfect model life in loyalty
Subservient in essence, never free

There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Remember where you are, repeat to fade
Coz we know who you are, repeat to fade
There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Remember where you are, repeat to fade
Coz we know who you are, repeat to fade

He’s counting down the days in tedious grey charades 
The truth still hangs on the wall when pride comes before a fall 
Who am I? 
In answer to your question, you won’t know now 
Turning the lights out and closing the windows, just wasting your way off this world 
We’re living in a dying age 
When the writing’s on the wall 
And we’re burning with a quiet rage 
This is the day and age 
He tries to fight his pride, but something sticks deep inside 
And as this fire builds, he stands here perfectly still 
Who am I? 
I’m gonna be somebody, I’ve nothing left to lose 
Stand in the spotlight assume your positions, you’re gonna remember me now 
We’re living in a dying age 
When the writing’s on the wall 
And we’re burning with a quiet rage 
This is the day and age 
And if I told you sooner, 
My statement of intent, 
I’m living in the dark light, 
There’s nothing left to say now, 
This world has lost all sense

Tactical compliments
Time honoured systems of touch
Methods of self preservation
To escape when it all gets too much
These are the games that we play
While we’re waiting for the lie

Literal armament
I’ll stick to my stones
We imagine the shape of the danger
And decide that we’re better off alone
These are the things that we say
While we’re waiting for the lie

When you find that you’ve nowhere to hide
We’re all waiting for the lie
The truth is so undignified
We’re all waiting for the lie
We all carry the guilt
We’re all waiting for the lie

When you know you’ll be breaking their heart
We’re all waiting for the lie
The deception is part of the art
We’re all waiting for the lie

When it’s time to apportion the blame
We’re all waiting for the lie
The excuses will all be the same
We’re all waiting for the lie

Whenever the government speaks
We’re all waiting for the lie
Instead of the truth we should seek
We’re all waiting for the lie

Whenever you open your mouth
We’re all waiting for the lie
Without any shadow of doubt
We’re all waiting for the lie

These are the things that we say
These are the things that we say

It happened quite by accident,
One day at home, the boy discovered hat he had an ability.

An ability to remain perfectly still.

For just a few minutes at first.
But then with refinement and perseverance,
He found he could after a time, freeze himself indefinitely.

Then one evening, at home with his mother after a few hours of complete stillness, he realised that she had lost all perception of him. He became part of the room, part of the furniture, part of the space of the room.

He became invisible. Even to the one who had given birth to him.

As the boy grew older, he would experiment with his ability in the wider world. He would disappear at his place of work. At his home and at parties.

Standing in the shadows, he would simply cease to exist.

The boy became estranged from the people and the world he had grown up knowing. He devoted his time to observation and deeper thinking. In the long shadows of the day, he would stand. Year after year. Watching.

But that was then.

I stood and watched you build them
With faces just like ours
Five figures standing without eyes
Their mouths aimed at the stars

The figures turned towards us
And soon obscured the sun
Their voices started rising
Screaming one by one

Hail Self
Hail Rage
Hail Fear
Hail Blame
Hail Lies
All rise, for The Five.

Over the course of time, he noticed his physiognomy begin to change. He grew taller. 2 dimensional, thin to the point of absurdity. He took food, and water in plain sight, under the noses of people blinded by the inability to conceive such an evolution.

He watched as his previous friends grew old, succumbed to disease, or self-inflicted damage and died.

Eventually he was alone.

Now? Who knows. But I think he’s out there somewhere still. Watching.

Hail Self
Hail Rage
Hail Fear
Hail Blame
Hail Lies
All rise, for The Five.

Hail Self
Hail Rage
Hail Fear
Hail Blame
Hail Lies
All rise, for The Five.

Holidays in the sun
Sending out your postcards from the gamma coast
The place you love the most, with all the other ghosts

And if you feel betrayed
Your country loves you nonetheless, just don’t get in the way
Enjoy your stay
Soak up all the rays

And if you ever dare to wonder why
Just shut your mouth
Enjoy the sights
And when the sunlight burns you, close your eyes
This fatal dose of island life

Burning in the sun
You could be anywhere right now with anyone
Forget your bleeding gums
It’s all part of the fun

Government 101 – keeping people happy in apocalyptic ways
Enjoy your holidays, we’re all fucked anyway

And if you ever dare to wonder why
Just shut your mouth
Enjoy the sights
And when the sunlight burns you, close your eyes
This fatal dose of island life

Living in this island life…

Across the open field and out towards the lake
A lifetime to consider a moment of escape
Selling him had currency, the waiting everyday
But your regret won’t bring him back
And silence ends the day

The cracks in your story will leave you numb
When running in circles we come undone

You’re out in the wild again
So stop staring upwards and face your pain
What’s skywards is not to blame
Just keep facing forwards and walk in the light again

Across the iron ocean
There’s comfort in despair
This boy consigned to black and white and memory can’t repair
In everything you see in him, the faces on the wall
Your weeds are growing faster now, suffocating all

The cracks in your story will leave you numb
When running in circles we come undone

You’re out in the wild again
So stop staring upwards and face your pain
What’s skywards is not to blame
Just keep facing forwards and walk in the light again

The angels won’t hear you unanswered prayers
And upwardly wishing won’t lead you there

You’re out in the wild again
So stop staring upwards and face your pain
What’s skywards is not to blame
Just keep facing forwards and walk in the light again
Walk in the light again, walk in the light again
What’s skywards is not to blame
So keep facing forwards away from the skywards
Just keep facing forwards and walk in the light again

Those violins playing inside your head
Please shut them up
I’m sleeping
The doorway’s over there

The boy I was has gone, they blew his happy brains out
They ground him down
I never thought that I would end up here

Let’s take the songs to the town
So they can shoot ‘ em all down
Kill the orchestra
We’re dying anyway

You’d start a war with all the words in the world
But they’re not enough
You’re beaten
And no one really cares

Let’s take our dreams to the town
So they can shoot ‘em all down
Kill the orchestra
We’re dying anyway

Inside the car
Sits the never was rock star
Stuck in the past
With your woe is me story

I used to care
Now you’ll get little sympathy
So get your guitar
It’s the death of a salesman

And I’ll be singing when they string you up
Yes, I’ll be singing when they string you up

Who’s laughing now?
Now you find your house empty
Desdemona, what did you do to yourself?

And I’ll be singing when they string you up
Yes, I’ll be singing as they string you up

Look what you’ve become
You’re the neighbourhood parody
The player of games
Your own worst enemy

So play it again
Please play it again for me
Your secret is out
Laid out for all to see

Those violins playing inside your head
Please shut them up
I’m sleeping
The doorway’s over there

Let’s take the songs to the town
So they can shoot ‘em all down
Kill the orchestra
We’re dying anyway

And I’ll be singing when they string you up
Yes, I ’ll be singing when they string you up

What have we done?

There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Start clawing out your heart, repeat to fade
Repeat to fade

Trapped in metal coffins, endless days
Do as you are told and fear allays
Sacrifice your soul to this machine
This is not a place for living dreams

There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Start clawing out your heart, repeat to fade
Repeat to fade

Exercise your right at any time
There’s no dignity in slow decline
Treadmill institution bleeds you dry
Open up the window, take a dive

There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Start clawing out your heart, repeat to fade
Repeat to fade

We’re shutting down your comms, you have been warned
There’s glory in this world to be adorned
A perfect model life in loyalty
Subservient in essence, never free

There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Remember where you are, repeat to fade
Coz we know who you are, repeat to fade
There’s only one way out, repeat to fade
There’s no rewinding life, repeat to fade
Remember where you are, repeat to fade
Coz we know who you are, repeat to fade