The Musical Box

Play me "Old King Cole"
That I may join with you
All your hearts now seem so far from me
It hardly seems to matter now

And the nurse will tell you lies
Of a Kingdom beyond the skies
But I'm lost within this half-world
It hardly seems to matter now

Play me my song
Here it comes again
Play me my song
Here it comes again

Just a little bit
Just a little bit more time
Time left to live out my life

Play me my song
Here it comes again
Play me my song
Here it comes again

Old King Cole
Was a merry old soul
And a merry old soul was he
So he called for his pipe
And he called for his bowl
And he called for his fiddlers three

And the clock
Tick tock
On the mantlepiece
And I want
And I feel
And I know
And I touch
The wall!

She's a lady
She's got time
Brush back you hair
And let me get to know your
Face

She's a lady
She is mine!
Brush back you hair
And let me get to know your
Flesh

I've been waiting here so long
And all this time has passed me by
It doesn't seem to matter now

You stand there
With your fixed expression
Casting doubt
On all I have to say

Why don't you touch me?
Touch me!
Why don't you touch me?
Touch me!
Touch me
Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!
Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!
Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!
Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!
Now! Now! Now! Now! Now!

For Absent Friends

Sunday at six
When they close both the gates
A widowed pair
Still sitting there
Wonder if they're late for church
And it's cold
So they fasten their coats
And cross the grass
They're always last

Passing by the padlocked swings
The roundabout still turning
Ahead they see a small girl
On her way home with a pram

Inside the archway
The priest greets them
With a courteous nod
He's close to God

Looking back at days of four
Instead of two
Years seem so few
Heads bent in prayer
For friends not there

Leaving twopence on the plate
They hurry down the path and through
The gate and wait
To board the bus
That ambles down the street

The Return of the Giant Hogweed

Turn and run
Nothing can stop them
Around every river and canal
Their power is growing

Stamp them out
We must destroy them
They infiltrate each city
With their thick dark warning odour

They are invincible
They seem immune to all our herbicidal battering

Long ago in the Russian hills
A Victorian explorer found
The regal Hogweed by a marsh
He captured it and brought it home

Botanical creature stirs
Seeking revenge
Royal beast did not forget
He came home to London
And made a present of the Hogweed
To the Royal Gardens at Kew

Waste no time
They are approaching
Hurry now
We must protect ourselves
And find some shelter

Strike by night
They are defenseless
They all need the sun to photosensitize their venom

Still they're invincible
Still they're immune to all our herbicidal battering

Fashionable country gentlemen
Had some cultivated wild gardens
In which they innocently planted
The Giant Hogweed throughout the land

Botanical creature stirs
Seeking revenge
Royal beast did not forget
Soon they escaped, spreading their seed
Preparing for an onslaught
Threatening the human race

Mighty Hogweed is avenged
Human bodies soon will know our anger
Kill them with your hogweed hairs
Heracleum Mantegazziani

Giant Hogweed lives!

Seven Stones

I heard the old man tell his tale:

Tinker
Alone within a storm
And losing hope
He clears the leaves beneath a tree

Seven stones
Lay on the ground
Within the seventh house
A friend was found
And the changes of no consequence
Will pick up the reins from nowhere

Sailors
In peril on the sea
Amongst the waves
A rock looms nearer not yet seen

They see a gull
Flying by
The captain turns the boat
And he asks not why
And the changes of no consequence
Will pick up the reins from nowhere
Nowhere...

Despair that tires the world
Brings the old man laughter
The laughter of the world
Only grieves him
Believes him
The old man's guide is chance

I heard the old man tell his tale:

Farmer
Who knows not when to sow
Consults the old man
Clutching money in his hand

With a shrug
The old man smiled
Took the money
Left the farmer wild
And the changes of no consequence
Will pick up the reins from nowhere
Nowhere...

Despair that tires the world
Brings the old man laughter
The laughter of the world
Only grieves him
Believes him
The old man's guide is chance...

Harold the Barell

News:
A well-known Bognor restaurant-owner disappeared
early this morning.
Last seen in a mouse-brown overcoat,
suitably camouflaged,
they saw him catch a train.

Man-in-the-street:
"Father of three its disgusting"
"Such a horrible thing to do"
Harold the Barrel cut off his toes and he served them all for tea
"He can't go far", "He can't go far".
"Hasn't got a leg to stand on"
"He can't go far".

Man-on-the-spot:
I'm standing in a doorway on the main square
tension is mounting
There's a restless crowd of angry people
Man-on-the-council:
"More than we've ever seen
- had to tighten up security"

Over to the scene at the town hall
The Lord Mayor's ready to speak

LORD MAYOR:
"Man of suspicion, you can't last long, the British Public is on our side"

BRITISH PUBLIC:
"You can't last long", "You can't last long".
"Said you couldn't trust him, his brother was just the same"
"You can't last long".

HAROLD:
If I was many miles from here,
I'd be sailing in an open boat on the sea
Instead I'm on this window ledge
With the whole world below
Up at the window
Look at the window

Mr.Plod:
"We can help you"

Plod's Chorus:
"We can help you"

Mr. Plod:
"We're all your friends if you come on down and talk to us son"

HAROLD:
You must be joking
Take a running jump

The crowd was getting stronger and our Harold
getting weaker;
Forwards, backwards, swaying side to side
Fearing the very worst
They called his mother to the sight
Upon the ledge beside him
His mother made a last request.

67-yr-old Mrs Barrel:
"Come off the ledge if your father were alive he'd be very,
very, very upset.
"Just can't jump, you just can't jump"
"Your shirt's all dirty and there's a man here from the B.B.C."
"You just can't jump"

Mr. Plod:
"We can help you"

Plod's Chorus:
"We can help you"

Mr. Plod:
"We're all your friends if you come on down and talk to us Harry"

HAROLD:
You must be joking.
Take a running jump.

Harlequin

Came the night
A mist dissolved the trees
And in the broken light
Colours fly
Fading by

Pale and cold
As figures fill the glade
Grey is the web they spin
On and on
And on and on

Through the flame
Still summer lingers on
Though her pictures soon shatter

All
Always the same
But there appears in
The shades of dawning,
Though your eyes are dim
All of the pieces in the sky

There was once
A harvest in this land
Reap from the turquoise sky
Harlequin
Harlequin

Dancing round
Three children fill the glade
Theirs was the laughter in
The winding stream
And in between

Close your door
The picture fades again
From the flames in the firelight

All
Always the same
But there appears in
The shades of dawning
Though your eyes are dim
All of the pieces in the sky

All
All is not lost
And light appears in
The shades of dawning
When your eyes can see
Order the pieces
Put them back
Put them back

The Fountain of Salmacis

From a dense forest of tall, dark, pinewood,
Mount Ida rises like an island.
Within a hidden cave, nymphs had kept a child;
Hermaphroditus, son of gods, so afraid of their love.

As the dawn creeps up the sky
The hunter caught sight of a doe.
In desire for conquest,
He found himself within a glade he'd not beheld before.

Hermaphroditus:
"Where are you my father
Give wisdom to your son"

(Narrator:
"Then he could go no further
Now lost, The boy was guided by the sun")

And as his strength began to fail
He saw a shimmering lake.
A shadow in the dark green depths
Disturbed the strange tranquility.

Salmacis:
"The waters are disturbed
Some creature has been stirred"

(Narrator:
"The waters are disturbed
The naiad queen Salmacis has been stirred")

As he rushed to quench his thirst,
A fountain spring appeared before him
And as his heated breath brushed through the cool mist,
A liquid voice called, "Son of gods, drink from my spring".

The water tasted strangely sweet.
Behind him the voice called again.
He turned and saw her, in a cloak of mist alone
And as he gazed, her eyes were filled with the darkness of the lake

Salmacis:
"We shall be one
We shall be joined as one"

(Narrator:
"She wanted them as one
Yet he had no desire to be one")

Hermaphroditus: "Away from me cold-blooded woman
Your thirst is not mine"
Salmacis: "Nothing will cause us to part
Hear me O Gods"

Unearthly calm descended from the sky
And then their flesh and bones were strangely merged
Forever to be joined as one.

The creature crawled into the lake.
A fading voice was heard:
"And I beg, that all who touch this spring
May share my fate"


Salmacis:
"We are the one
We are the one"

(Narrator:
"The two are now made one,
Demi-god and nymph are now made one")

Both had given everything they had.
A lover's dream had been fulfilled at last,
Forever still beneath the lake.