Midnight Oil : Breathe
Lyrics
1. UNDERWATER
Scanning at the blue blended headland
White flurries scudding
A dark silhouette flashes by in the wet
It is glistening flesh in the deep marine
There is room for make believe out in the ocean
There is room for make believe out on the land
In the wet, in the dream it is flashing then seen
In the deep marine, in the deep marine
Looking to the white framed headland
Green pockets dropping
A bright cockatoo circles up in the breeze
In the realm you can't reach in the deep marien
No-one can make her, no-one can break her down
She is what she is, and no-one can bring her down
Underwater . . .
Overland . . .
Underwater . ..
Overland . . .
*****
2. SURF'S UP TONIGHT
Wherever the wind blows, when it blows over the sea
The moon's sitting high, waves will rise water shapes, waves will take you there
Surf's up tonight
Summer's on hold, it will go running away, you've got to move now
Get inside, take that dive, get inside today
Surf's up tonight
Now I was lonely, you were too, I met you down at the waterline
Now there's something we can do, now there's something left to do
Wherever you are when you're coming over land
There's a place where you can throw it all away
There's a place where you can forget, you get wet, it's free
You get high, you're alive . . .
Surf's up tonight
*****
3. COMMON GROUND
These are not dispassionate words of the cool
The headline still rules the editor's a fool
Shall we douse out the flames or will everybody fuse
And leave us standing here tomorrow
I heard a calling out, a cry from the heart
From the towns of cement and no beauty
A whisper it turned howl, man he didn't know
He was standing waiting for you tomorrow.
Nothing's left nothing's found there must be some common ground
I could never figure the calendar's flow
Nor can I work out how the wild wind blows
But I'm ready from within and we're starting to go
Away from the place of no tomorrow
Oh the wrecking fields are a terrible place,
With a sulphurous smell and a frightening pace
And the hooks go in early and the critic is king
And it's hard to stay human and stand in the ring
There's no time to be absent, a clown or a fool
While shylock is smiling we're loaded like mules
If we surrender ourselves to industrial rules
We'll wake up in the wreckage of tomorrow.
*****
4. TIME TO HEAL
In the cities and the towns
The word is coming down
No more hurt, no more pain
There has been a dragging of the chain
Now there is a price we have to pay
No way out, no way down
Where is the town that we lived in brother
Where are the sounds of the church bell sister
Now is the time to heal
You keep running from the wheel
But there's nothing left to feel
Empty heart down and out
Now the writers can't explain
Why we're playing up again
No way out, now way down
Where is the hope of a clean tomorrow
Hope only offers when justice is coming
Now is the time to heal
Where is the ground, the beloved country
Women and children who have fallen silent
Where are the words that can speak forgiveness
Now is the time to heal
*****
5. SINS OF OMISSION
On the fringes of torso and lips
Straining to hear the voice of gospel choir
Pummelled plains, beaten fields
We're never broken in spirit within
And I feel like we're coming around
Cloudburst teeming, insect wave and bite
Yes its true, we are never alone
TV silence it's a narrow entrance
It's a sometimes leading into future time
Sins of omission, no love . . .
I heard it once before in shepherd's isolation
Over the horizon in blue and white
No overcome you can outrun it
When the roarings cease,
The right stuff weaves and fits into your life
And I feel like we're coming around . . .
*****
6. ONE TOO MANY TIMES
She was the golden summer wine
And now she's black and blue resigned
He took advantage like the spider, helpless
One too many times
You had to go ahead and sing
You had to steal that diamond ring
Upon the headstone so inscribed, they cried
One too many times
We are so human, we're so small
We're always coming back for more
A second helping third and fourth, it's gone
One too many times
*****
7. STAR OF HOPE
Hope you're a God it's your turn to pray
Hope you've a God it's your turn to pray
Light on the hill so far away
Light on the hill so far away
Boy where are you now with skin so brown get out of town
Star of hope, star of glory
Shine upon this half-made man
To himself he begs, steals or borrows
But you won't be seeing him again
Howl where you are now words fly around get out of town
Star of hope, star of glory
Shine upon me if you can
To myself there's no tomorrow
You won't be seeing me again . . .
*****
8. IN THE RAIN
Sorry I am for the hurt I caused, I caused
Grieving I still do over careless words
As I move freely to another place
The debris I left behind comes back into my day
Out of time disconnected plagued by senses sweet desire
Out of time deluded I plunged my hand into the motherload of love
In the rain calling on his name, I call, yes, I call
In the rain falling on my shame it falls, yes, it falls
Life picked me up this morning and thrust me to the world
Like a child I'm hurtled forward
Dreaming things anew, sights I see sound true
All the places, open faces gracing everything I view
*****
9. BRING ON THE CHANGE
Here comes the Angel of Death
You may not remember her yet
Concrete all over her face
She's the child bride of the human race
Until you see life in the forest
Until you hear you've been abolished
Forget everything that you think you've been promised
Bring on the change
Sunscreen all over your face
Chatswood wasn't built in a day
Mysteries are in this game, shine on, take me away
Head's in the bank, heart's in the closet,
Soul's out to lunch, will soon be upon us
We believe everything we see, let's be honest
And bring on the change
Lift up your eyes, look to the heavens
Could be a sign or a seven-eleven
Someday we'll see everything they've been selling
Bring on the change.
*****
10. HOME
There is a place I was born
It is a place I've never seen
Don't even know where it is
Don't even know my name
Where is home where is my home I'm searching far and wide
It's a bastard song
It is a feeling that everything's wrong
But we are alive, we that have wings
We have devices can do anything
I say where is home, where is my home I hear my spirit cry
If you're out of transmission, way out on the road
If you're out of commission I can give you the code
Darkness is coming, and it's in your command
Time to be moving time
There is a town that I was born
Now there's a place I've got to call home
Where is home . . .
I hear my spirit cry . . .
It's in the clear blue sky
*****
11. E-BEAT
There is a place we're coming to
It is not green , it is not blue
I hope that you understand
Devil was dancin' on the old foreshore
Hittin' up on bright lights and the liquor stores, save me
We've got to prick that bubble in the shopping arcade
Gonna make amends for the things that we've said
I do hope that you understand
Dirty washing on the line footsteps in the sand
Whose going to lead us on to some promised land
I'm going to find myself a place in the country
Wake up and reach out and breathe real air
Do you know how it feels clean tissue no scars
The land lives longer if we listen to the earthbeat
Our lives go forward if we listen to our heartspeak
The seasons won't falter, the stars won't fade away
*****
12. BAREST DEGREE
I am gone, can't waste more time, I said, not quite joking
The fire has gone, the big trees stand, the underground is smoking
Remember nothing you've been told means anything to me
And everything you hold is mine in the barest degree
I walked to the park the lion rock was weeping
I walked on to the grave the lizard king was sleeping
Remember nothing you've been told means anything to me
And everything you hold is mine in the barest degree
The days draw long, too long to count, cushioned by the wasting
Restless age the rusted temple, a place of my own making
No matter what else you've been told, it's still all up to me
And everything you hold is min in the barest degree
*****
13. GRAVELRASH
Instrumental
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