AFTER THE TONE
THERE'S NO TIME © Tony King 1989
Don't let your mind linger in the darkness Of not knowing what to do.. Don't wait for your astrology To decide what life has got for you ...Only you can know what you must do,just say ..There's no time to live in the future ,There's no time to worry where I've been Just enough time to do what I'm doing ,Come and enjoy it with me... Don't let your mind drift off from the present In search of things to make you blue ...To hang around you like a ball and chain When all around you is all you need to see Only you can see it when you choose, just say ..There's no time to live in the future There's no time to worry where I've been ...Just enough time to do what I'm doing ...Come and enjoy it with me... Don't feel guilty for things that you have done ...Don''t feel fear for what you might do wrong ...When will you ever learn ...Life's too short to give these things a thought ...Don't let your heart falter to another beat By hearing too much of what others think ...Only you know what you need to do ...Do it now this time belongs to you ...Only you can do it when you choose.. just say ..There's no time to live in the future ..There's no time to worry where I've been... Just enough time to do what I'm doing ....Come and enjoy it with me
Sometime my legs won't carry All the things I worry about ...Instead of leaving them behind They keep going 'round inside my mind And I know I can't rely On those who once stood by my side So I'll go to somewhere where I know I'll feel okay...Sittin' on a rock in Watson's Bay Feeling my troubles blowin' away..... Opportunity avoids me When I'm feeling misery With eyes that only find the footpath... far too misty-eyed to see... And I know I've said goodbye To those who held me when I cried So I go to somewhere where I know I'll feel okay..Sittin' on a rock in Watson's Bay Feeling my troubles blowin' away.... Fortified with wine Will only work for half the time... And I know I shouldn't drink away What's left to save me on a better day ...And I know I've loved and lost Those who helped me jump across ...So I go to somewhere where I know I'll feel okay... Sittin' on a rock in Watson's Bay Feeling my troubles blowin' away
BLUEBELLS TAKEAWAY © Tony King 1989 Click To Hear
There's a place on rainy nights Where you can see the neon fish swim 'cross the road And the sign upon the door that shakes your hand... It's a place called Bluebells Takeaway but you can also choose to stay...It doesn't cost much to sit down.... Eat it slow , just to hang around ....There's a Ruskie with a hundred years of hair ..Thinks he is the Tzar, you know he's always there... And the man you couldn't understand at first Now talks about the time before his alcoholic thirst...At Bluebells Takeaway You can take anything you want But the people stay ....Charlie hasn't talked since he was born He knows he's understood here and it's always warm ...You can hear them sing and holler 'round the room Squeezing in a laugh The place is closing soon.. At Bluebells Takeaway You can take anything you want But the people stay .....Stewie puts the chairs up and he knows... It's the only place where they can go... He watches them move out of sight ....His face long as the winter's night..At Bluebells Takeaway You can take anything you want But the people stay ....I wonder where they go when it's closing time?
IN THE CLOUDS © Tony King 1989
The rain comes down on the old tin shed... A morse code message to stay in bed.. And my mind wears a path where it rarely treads.. A tune you can't get out of your head.. Haven't heard a word you've said ...And the cat has no chance getting fed While there's a woman at large with my heart.....Lights are on but no-one's home... The list of things to do has grown Leave your message after the tone.... The neighbour should stop knocking soon ...The milk's outside in a curdled queue Oh and no-one knows me like St Jude ..While there's a woman at large with my heart ....Thoughts are in the lost and found.. Letters scattered on the ground ...Don't bother coming 'round Unless...You're the woman at large with my heart
I'LL BE THERE © Tony King 1989 Click To Hear
If you dream late at night I'll be there, I'll be there Although I'm away I'll be there, I'll be there If you stare at the sky I'll be there.. If your shadow seems sad I'll be there ...If your soul reaches out I'll be there, I'll be there If your words make no sound I'll be there, I'll be there If there's no-one around I'll be there If the silence seems loud I'll be there..Although we're apart You know that my heart... You know that my heart will be there.. If you're losing your mind I'll be there, I'll be there If your body's on fire I'll be there, I'll be there If you're counting the days till I'm there And it's too long to wait till I'm there.. Although we're apart You know that my heart You know that my heart will be there
LOVE ON A SHOESTRING © Tony King 1983
Sun sets and it's towels away .We all look the same on the beach today But you can't help notice who drives away And who walks to the bus hand in hand.. So you're out for a night on the town Dressed in your very best gear. But the man at the door says I'm sorry no way You're not dressed for coming in here.. 'Cause it's love on a shoestring for you, you and I ...Shelter from the winter storm.. Body heat to keep you warm ..It's candles till your cheques are drawn ..You're thankful you've someone to hold.. It's a lonely walk on a crowded night.. Double Bay lights seem so bright ...It's fish for tea if the tide is right And I'm thankful your kisses are free.. 'Cause it's love on a shoestring for you, you and I ..Can you imagine, what this world would be like on your own ...Longing looks when shops are closed... You know you won't be wearing those But if you squint a weed's a rose Imagination is free.. The moon is screening late tonight Free seats under the sky... Coffee in a champaign glass We'll toast to you, you and I We'll toast to you, you and I We'll toast to you, you and I.. 'Cause it's love on a shoestring for you, you and I ..'Cause it's love on a shoestring for you, you and I
BLACK BOX HEART © Tony King 1989
I never should have listened But the whiskey had it's way With my pocket full of fiction I was a gambler born again ....Your eyes as big as roulette wheels Accustomed to the dark You'd beckon me to enter Where you'd have me like shark... I knew your lover's flights of fancy Crashed upon the ground While your black box heart just watched Their busted luck without a sound.. But the losers lost their memory And were seen back later on With a bandage on their fortune And a smile pulled halfway on ...A barmaid changed the record And my luck changed for the worse.. And my private desperation became public with my thirst..... And the dizzy record needle Watched a saxophone go by ..and only Charlie Parker Saw you spin your tangled lie... Busy as a Beebop in a hive of suckers dreams And the losers wore their prize out on their sleeves ....Then the croupier says she'll deal her body in for fifty bucks... But I'm not in love with you babe.... I'm not in love with you babe No I'm not in love with you babe I'm in love with Lady Luck
DREAMING ON THIN ICE © Tony King 1989
As I lie on my back With the stars staring down I realize they're staring at me... And they just want to know Why you had to go ..And the wind shakes it's head in the trees ...Your absence doesn't bother me I know that you won't be long... Your magic lingers on in me 'Cause I know that you haven't gone.....But the sea cold and wise Gently murmurs to me That I'm dreaming on thin ice ...That I'm dreaming on thin ice.. As I walk through the park My feet measure time And my thoughts rustle on through the leaves .....In my mind you are there, laughing mist in the air 'Cause you can't make a heart not believe.. Your absence doesn't bother me I know that you won't be long Your magic lingers on in me 'Cause I know that you haven't gone.. But the sea cold and wise Gently murmurs to me That I'm dreaming on thin ice.. That I'm dreaming on thin ice.
Just because I don't make a lot of noise When you walk into the room doesn't mean I'm not upside down Trying hard not to act the fool ..It's not easy to be thinking about you quietly.... It's not easy to be making a fuss of you silently......... But it's the only way that I know.. I'd send you flowers with every hour Underlining my love for you But all my thoughts are captured inside Afraid of what you will do.. It's not easy to be thinking about you quietly It's not easy to be making a fuss of you silently But it's the only way that I know.. But the sound of your voice in my head "Can we just be friends " Keeps all of my words locked away.. A longing look into your eyes Is sadly misunderstood..... Loving you with all of my heart Isn't enough for you ..It's not easy to be thinking about you quietly It's not easy to be making a fuss of you silently But it's the only way that I know...
MOONLIGHT CACTUS
WHEN WE'RE OLD © Tony King 1993 Click To Hear
How many miles can an eagle fly ...Measure the joy in a child's eye.... How many prayers in a rosary bead... How many roses in a seed... Can you feel the power of an angry sea... How many questions on your knees... How many years till the sun goes cold? The more you learn the less you know...I wish that you could imagine how much I will love you when we're old.. How many wishes in the sky .....How many skeptics wondering why... Are there any horseshoes in your dreams Anything random in a mountain stream? How many golden leaves will fall... what is the greatest gift of all? I remember the day your name was told.. I begged the future to unfold...I wish that you could imagine how much I will love you when we're old.. How many poets watched a bird And never spoke a single word ....Who was given the eyes to see The meaning of the mystery? How many paintings come to life In the vision of a wife How many signs on a rocky road... How many teardrops turn to gold?... I wish that you could imagine how much I will love you when we're old
It isn't always easy when you're through with love.. And the angels aren't watching you from above ..And nothing else is filling in the empty hours And you have to say mine where it used to be ours ....It isn't always easy when you're through with trust ...You don't want to keep going but you know that you must ...And you fear that it's always going to be the same... And you won't feel better till someone's blamed...Mister Music won't you take me away ...It's too late to sleep and I'm too tired to pray ...Mister Music won't you take me away .Nobody else seems to be going my way Yeh Yeah Yeh Yeah Yeh Yeah...It isn't always easy when the truth comes home ...That he might have found happiness on his own... And the hour glass takes what you cannot steal.... When the sand is gone we will both be healed When the sand is gone we will both be healed
LITTLE BIG BOY © Tony King 1993
Little boy why do you cry ...I can see behind those eyes... That you're growing up too fast ...Do you feel it rushing past... So you want to be a man ...Well you can't rush natures plan ...Let the future come to you.. And you'll be flying You'll be flying Like a bird again And you'll be flying You'll be flying Like a bird again... Hey little Big Boy Run wild run wild... Don't ever grow up not knowing what it's like to be a child ...Hey little Big Boy Run wild run wild Don't ever grow up not knowing what it's like to be a child.. Is there too much in your head... Do you toss and turn in bed.. Does the future worry you... Do you let it hurry you... Run away with one of your dreams ...Chase a paper boat down a stream ...Let the wind take over you... And you'll be flying You'll be flying Like a bird again And you'll be flying You'll be flying Like a bird again... Hey little Big Boy Run wild run wild Don't ever grow up not knowing what it's like to be a child... Hey little Big Boy Run wild run wild... Don't ever grow up not knowing what it's like to be a child Solo.. Hey little Big Boy Run wild run wild.. Don't ever grow up not knowing what it's like to be a child Hey little Big Boy Run wild run wild... Don't ever grow up not knowing what it's like to be a child......Let your innocence grow
MAN IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND © Tony King 1993
Love comes up to get you Like a creeper up a vine... With nothin but a candle and a bottle of wine ...There's a tempest at the window Neither of us hears Where have you been hiding all these years...I can't promise we'll have any money I can't promise you anything grand What you do have and will have forever Is a man in the palm of your hand...Love is resurrected By the power of the spell... You haven't been to Heaven Until you've been to Hell.... Maybe there's some answers Up there in the skies But all I need to know is in you eyes... I can't promise we'll have any money I can't promise you anything grand ...What you do have and will have forever Is a man in the palm of your hand...Well I didn't know where I was going And it feels like I've been there before But you reached down inside and found something I'd swear wasn't there anymore....I can't promise we'll have any money ..I can't promise you anything grand ...What you do have and will have forever Is a man in the palm of your hand
LET THEM FALL © Kris Ralph / Tony King 1993 Click To Hear
There's a storm intside... it thunders in your eyes.. your heart feels cold As waves of emotion rise And break onto distant shores Like the ocean shapes the land You moulded her like a sand dune Then she crumbled in your hands..Let them fall....She wasn't meant to stay..It's so quiet outside ..Silence pierces through your eyes ...Your heart-beats pound Too loud to hear your cries ..Her unspoken words echo... Like a ripple on a pond... Your soul becomes a whirlpool As your tears flow on and on .. Let Them Fall.. She wasn't meant to stay... The gift of life is all we have ..The most precious gift in all the world .....Nothing can replace that beautiful face..Your little girl..Let them Fall..She wasn't meant to stay
UNTIL I'VE SHOWN YOU PARIS © Tony King 1993
Well we can't live in this place forever I can see that it's making you blue... It's not 'cause your poor That you want something more And your spirit is telling you too... We can't put it off any longer 'Cause the right time might never be here ...I'll take you somewhere you'll never forget This is as close as a dream ever gets And you'll feel like you're part of a painting still wet...Is there anybody there..Who can answer my prayer?... Don't blow up the world Until I've shown you Paris ..Don't blow up the world Until I've taken you there...There's a life that we live in frustration And a life that we live in our minds.. And you know if we stay We will both dearly pay... 'Cause the blind are leading the blind ...If you're not killed It must make you stronger...But before you get too strong to feel... I'll show you something you've known from afar The sleeper will wake and you'll be who you are Where greed is the peasant and love is the Tzar.... Is there anybody there..Who can answer my prayer?... Don't blow up the world Until I've shown you Paris.... Don't blow up the world Until I've taken you there... We'll roast in the chestnuts of winter ..
Beautifully
Mad
© Tony King 2003
I’ve read the Bible
& the label on a bottle
I’ve tried getting angry and I’ve tried getting sad.
I found a good woman who deserved a lot better
She tried to repair me
Now she’s beautifully mad…
(Chorus)
‘Cause the world is no place for the sane.
But when you’re insane…it isn’t so bad.
It takes away the worst of your pain when you’re beautifully mad…
I tried to be rich
I tried being poor
I tried being peaceful..but it ended in War.
But my mind let me down..it was all that I had.
It’s a fine line between crazy and beautifully mad…
(Bridge)
Like a ship fit’s into a bottle…..How did we fit all that crazy love
inside our hearts?
I followed the grass to see if it’s greener
It’s like following cows to see what they eat…
When you won’t be told..until Hades is cold
From the Jaws of victory you will snatch your defeat
(Chorus)
‘Cause the world is no place for the sane.
But when you’re insane…it isn’t so bad.
It takes away the worst of your pain when you’re beautifully mad…
The life that I tore along the perforated line
That was the life I regretted I had…
& the friends I will miss come the tunnel of light
are the ones who were beautifully mad
(Chorus)
‘Cause the world is no place for the sane.
But when you’re insane…it isn’t so bad.
It takes away the worst of your pain when you’re beautifully mad…
HURRICANE LOUISE © T King
2003
Chorus
Hurricane Louise
Don’t get caught in her eye
Hurricane Louise
You better learn to fly
That Voodoo Queen will have you back in New Orleans
And you won’t know why And you don’t know why
She’ll have you singing in the Bayou
To the Mississipi moon
And the whistle from the Natchez
Will have you coming back soon
You say you won’t stay
But you’lll wake up one day
With a tattoo of her name
Chorus
You may get to Baton Rouge
Or the bridge at Ponchartrain
But she’ll pick you up and spin you
Back to New Orleans again
Like a moth to a flame
Her neon name keeps burning bright burning bright…
Chorus
Hurricane Louise does an alligator bite?
You can’t swim against the river
You can’t sleep against the night
Like a moth to a flame
Her neon name keeps burning bright burning bright
Gypsy’s Kiss
© Tony King / Andrew Strong 2001
I thought I knew her forever
She made me feel so real
More than I’ve ever been
Sometimes you can be blind
when you’re in a moment of time
Sometimes words are hard to find
All she ever gave me was a gypsy’s kiss
The kind of love that won’t stand stand still
All she ever gave me was a gypsy’s kiss
It’ll crush your heart
Tear your memories apart
Things what you like are hard to find
When you find that you can’t let go
Gives you something to live for
They say time will heal all wounds
hope it happens happens real soon
Cause my head’s stuck up in the clouds
even though it’s a sunny day
All she ever gave me was a gypsy’s kiss
The kind of love that won’t stand stand still
All she ever gave me was a gypsy’s kiss
It’ll crush your heart
Tear your memories apart
The truth is deeper inside
and it’s the hardest pain you can hide
When I try
I just can’t get you out of my heart
All she ever gave me was a gypsy’s kiss
The kind of love that won’t stand stand still
All she ever gave me was a gypsy’s kiss
It’ll crush your heart it ‘ll
Tear your memories apart
JUST FOR TWO
K RALPH /T. King© SEPT 2003
We all like to watch in mesmerised trance
Two lovers entwined in a serpentine dance
A sensual display of infidelity and intent
Where passions run hotter They coil much tighter
Coquettish Their lack of consent
Chorus
It’s a lover’s dance of death
It’s pure flirtation with each breath
It’s a power pirouette
On the switch-blade of a Knife
I watch you dance your Tango
It’s so sexy It drives me crazy
Fully charged with electricity
Sparks are flying around the room
I want to have what she is having
My eyes tell me that is’t you
There’s only one thing I’m forgetting
The Tango’s just for two
Solo over verse
Chorus
Oh I’m so jealous of your jealousy
Real seduction not just fantasy
Veiled in a shadow of complicity
My lips are moistened in the gloom
I’ll discover all your body
Kiss you on your bleeding wounds
There’s only one thing I’m forgetting
The Tango’s just for two
Bridge/solos
Sway sway
We’ll dance her memory away
Steaming tears on burning cheeks
There’ll be no need to speak
And when we both come up for air
Forever Love we will declare
Yet we haven’t even met
The Tango’s just for Two ----el tango es para dos
IT'S A CRIME
© Tony king 2002
There's just the sound of the rain
down the hazy old window pane
On a slow boat down the Seine in the moonlight.
And there's a candle burning down
To the tender smoky sound
Of our voices going 'round until dawn.
Now I know it's a crime
To cry for lost time
But how was I to know someday I'd need it.
I’m glad we didn’t meet before
Back then we didn’t know what time was for
Oh but nothing cries out for more
Quite like a beating heart
Every thought of mine you heard
Every single silent word
I was shaken but not stirred until now...
Oh there's a deep wounded blue
That Picasso made for you
For your eyes to look through to my soul…
Reason To Shine © Tony King 2003
When the sun comes up with a rosy glow
It burns with a love that it’s dying to show
Someone to kiss ‘til the end of the day
the kind of kiss that won’t fade away
From when it touches you face in the morning
Until it has to go home at night
I know what it’s trying to say
I know ‘cause I feel the same way
It’s saying
You give me a reason to shine
You give me a reason to shine
When your eyes look back so full of love
You give me a reason to shine
When the moon comes out and the land is still
There’s the loneliness of the night to fill
The moon goes searching through a silver hole
To soothe the aching of the soul
From when it touches your face in the evening
‘til it leaves you dreaming at dawn
I know what it’s trying to say
I know ‘cause I feel the same way
It’s saying
You give me a reason to shine
You give me a reason to shine
When your eyes look back so full of love
You give me a reason to shine
When the stars come out one by one
And all the dreaming has begun
The stars make wishes of their own
Like us ..they dream they’re not alone
And they shoot to get your attention
And they fall for you …just like I did
I know what it’s trying to say
I know ‘cause I feel the same way
They’re saying
You give me a reason to shine
You give me a reason to shine
When your eyes look back so full of love
You give me a reason to shine
Kings
and Queens
© 2001 words and Lyrics Andrew Strong and Tony King
If I asked you to stay a while
You don’t have to embrace me.
If I could brush those tears away
Could you turn and face me
I won’t feed you any Golden Lines
Or fish for memories at the bottom of the Wine
When I talk of love you put your fingers to my lips
Did it scare you when I spoke of it?
When I hear your broken heart
It hurts me ‘cause I broke it
I hope in time it won’t hurt you anymore
I wish I could put it back the way it was before
Forget what’s been or what you wanted from me
Kings and Queens …We were never gonna be
Now I’ve had a taste I don’t want to waste
The rest of my life
What I’ve got , we can have it all tonight
I can’t wait forever
Look inside my eyes and you will see
They will tell you
Words have failed me
‘till the last star goes out tonight
My heart won’t ..I know it won’t.. give up this fight
Teardrops falling
I’ll catch all of them
If you let them fall
Let them fall
I hope in time it won’t hurt you anymore
I wish I could put it back the way it was before
Forget what’s been or what you wanted from me
Kings and Queens …We were never gonna be
Now I’ve had a taste I don’t want to waste
The rest of my life
What I’ve got we can have it all tonight
I can’t wait forever
If I asked you to stay a while
You don’t have to embrace me.
If I could brush those tears away
Would you turn and face me…
RUBBER BONES
© Kris Ralph & Tony King 2003
I’ve been through this before
So I made myself a map
A pathway for my life
Sidestepping every trap
Music is my only food
The sax is safe, the bass, the flute
It feeds me where money can’t
That’s my truth ...music heals my blues
I try not to attach
To all the worldly things
My caloused fingers catch
on invisible heartstrings
Fragile if they’re strung too tightly
Changing tempo miss a beat
a hard rhythm to keep
That’s my truth ...music heals my blues
I’ve got rubber bones
I can bend where I stand
I’ve got rubber bones
let me bounce where I land
solo
One day I believe
I will wake up blessed
With an angel spinning
On the flip side of my quest
And I’ll know them by their song
A melody to soothe my pain and
nothing to explain
That’s my truth ...music heals my blues
I’ve got rubber bones
I can bend where I stand
I’ve got rubber bones
let me bounce where I land
I’ve got rubber bones
I’ll be safe in any Storm
No Lightning strike
will ever do me harm
music heals my blues
music heals my blues
music heals my blues
music heals my blues
To Do
Nothing ©Tony King & Kris Ralph 2003
Are we chained to the wheel ...rolling down to the sea
Do we have any say... over what we will be
And fly in the face ... of our primitive drive
Is there anything left ...after staying alive?
ahooo oooooooo ahooo oooooooo
Are we scared of people ...who wear funny clothes
Do faces have names ... dying in droves?
Are your prayers any different... at midnight or dawn?
Does your goodness depend ...on where you were born?
ahooo oooooooo ahooo oooooooo
chorus
If a flag can have any colours
Why do they all end up red?
How can we sleep in this mess we have made for a bed?
All it takes... is for people who care... to do nothing ...
ahooo oooooooo ahooo oooooooo
Are we wax... in the seal of approval?
On a letter .... that we’ve never read?
Is our courage our own if convicted
Would our blood ... be our own if we bled?
ahooo oooooooo ahooo oooooooo
solos
What is the point of free will?
If we don’t use it now and again?
You can sharpen the point of a sword... or a point with a pen
It’s the point of being alive....
ahooo oooooooo ahooo oooooooo
ahooo oooooooo ahooo oooooooo
THE TIDE WILL COME
IN © Tony King 2003
It was low tide
All the ships on their side
No chance of my boat coming in
I knew how they felt as the seagulls cried
And I did my best not to join in.
When the coal mine closed
And the town was laid off
The ships all layed down and gave up
The shouting went late
With the smashing of plates
No way for a kid to grow up
Chorus
But the tide will come in
That’s what the old man told me
And the ship will sail again
Sometimes it feels like you’re stuck forever
‘til the tide comes in
Taking his lunch box in the morning
Past the foundered ships he would go
Bringing back handouts that came from the Union
We pretended that we didn’t know
Looking for sympathy wasn’t his way
It was more than a cough in his lung
He borrowed some money to send me away
Said this is no place for the young
Chorus
The whole town turned up on his funeral day
As the brass band marched up to their place
The tide came in Took his ashes away
And he went with Amazing Grace
And his tide did come in
And his tide did come in
And his tide did come in
And his tide did come in…