Get all 65 Chris Harris releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Something To Do While I Think Of Something To Do, Jaywalking, An Unexpected Turn, Lost Ideas, Forgotten Stories, A Grand Adventure, From Script To Screen, Continuous Fiction, Happy in the Dark, and 57 more.
1. |
Doldrums
04:00
|
|||
I know right now I should be writing
So tempted just to stay in bed
Pretend the monsters that I'm fighting
Only exist inside my head
Cant find two words to string together
Internal dialogue left dumb
When hours and minutes last forever
Some days the words just will not come
I get this feeling now and then
Stuck in the Doldrums once again
No wind to fill my sails
My life has lost its spark
Just chasing my own tail
and sitting in the dark
It's a temporary feeling
that I've learned I can't ignore
'cause whatever's set me reeling
I know I'll have to answer for
I get this feeling now and then
Stuck in the Doldrums once again
No wind to fill my sails
My life has lost its spark
Just chasing my own tail
and sitting in the dark
I get advice about persisting
and fortune favouring the bold
But my subconscious is resiting
The muse just won't do as it's told
I get this feeling now and then
Stuck in the Doldrums once again
No wind to fill my sails
My life has lost its spark
Just chasing my own tail
and sitting in the dark
I'm going round and round
Just drifting round and round
|
||||
2. |
Write Another Song
01:38
|
|||
I woke up this morning and I wrote another song
Put on pants, went to work, and wrote another song
When tomorrow's dawning I will write another song
There's no need to go berzerk, just write another song
Do this so that you won't go insane
And when you've done it,
turn the page and do it all again
When you doubt your sanity just write another song
Half the work is showing up to write another song
If all else be vanity, go write another song
I'm going to put off growing up to write another song
I do this so that I don't go insane
And when I've done it,
I go back and do it all again
|
||||
3. |
Ironclad
04:02
|
|||
You know that there is trouble brewing
When everything stops being fun
I put off things I should be doing
Thought my anxieties had won
I couldn't see in my reflection
The way I thought I should appear
Completely lacking in direction
Because I'd given in to fear
I couldn't see
Thought I was mad
Thought I was fragile
When I was ironclad
When people set out to control you
they first convince you that you're weak
It makes it easier to roll you
When you accept you should be meek
The truth is simple when you say it
Make sure your narrative is good
and find a brighter way to play it
Be the best person that you could
|
||||
4. |
Contemplation
03:14
|
|||
My next door neighbour's Elvis in disguise
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
When Jimi Hendrix visits, I am not surprised
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
They drink with Janis Joplin at the local pub
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
I think that they're all part of some Illuminati club
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
Just take time to contemplate the meaning of it all
The Men In Black are working at the corner store
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
You won't remember, but I told you this before
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
The local postman's gone a vivid shade of blue
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
I think I may have seen him once on Doctor Who
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
Just take time to contemplate the meaning of it all
Wolves and leopards roaming free around the country park
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
It's best to keep your wits about you after dark
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
The Government say not a single word is true
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
But rest assured that they have got their eye on you
(What does it mean? What does it mean?)
Just take time to contemplate the meaning of it all
|
||||
5. |
Falsification
04:33
|
|||
We know you haven't got a clue
but that shouldn't stop you getting up and going for it
You might not know what to do
but we can fix things so you'll have a fortune showing for it
We know you're terrible now
but iin a year you'll be appearing on television
And there's no secret to how;
you too can do it 'cause it's easier than long division
Fake it 'til you make it!
Falsification is the secret to success
Don't try to be genuine, just work hard to impress
Mastery's a waste of time if you're not playing chess
Simply make a lot of noise and fame will do the rest!
Incoherence a must
that way, nobody ever knows exactly what you're thinking
To be well-spoken's a bust
(but we can fix that with extended bouts of heavy drinking)
Just get obsessed with your muse
and talk about it in a way that's clearly quite demented
We know the best interviews
have stories crazier thab anything the press invented
Fake it 'til you make it!
With fame and fortune in sight,
you have to double down on anything that's self-destructive
And challenge them to a fight
if at any point you sense they're being too constructive
The label won't give a damn
if you don't make it past a year on from your contract signing
The whole affair is a scam
You'll find out afterwards that it's their pockets you've been lining
Fake it 'til you make it!
|
||||
6. |
Consolidation
03:49
|
|||
(Instrumental)
|
||||
7. |
Old Habits
03:54
|
|||
I'm in a rut and I'm getting old
No ifs or buts: this leaves me cold
I've got to make the cut, and make it bold
Good production? Not even close
I need reduction, I'm too verbose
More deconstruction; less grandiose
To become outstanding
You must be standing out
Doing what you've always done
Expecting things to change
Is not just being dumb,
it's being downright strange
Set your old habits free to die!
Free expression is what makes us thrive
Make this concession to keep your sound alive
Find a new progression, ditch the I-IV-V
To become outstanding
You must be standing out
Doing what you've always done
Expecting things to change
Is not just being dumb,
it's being downright strange
Set your old habits free to die!
|
||||
8. |
Confabulation
03:49
|
|||
If you lose a competition,
you might take it with a shrug
Seek solace in religion
or lose it all in drugs
If you have things you do to guarantee success
I have some news for you that might cause you distress
You cannot guarantee an outcome based on chance
The link you think you see is purely circumstance
Our minds have got a tendency
to link what's unconnected
We think we see dependency
when none can be detected
When you are just beginning,
everything is hard
Put simply, perhaps winning
Wasn't on the cards?
Try being maledictory
The result will be the same
'cause what you need for victory
is to play a better game
|
||||
9. |
||||
The life I've had this winter
has left me discontent
And more a stumbler than a sprinter
"Get up and go" got up and went
Fed up of always being stuck in neutral
Had enough of always being ill
Of being told that lethargy don't suit you
So now I'm moving on from standing still
There's something wrong with this transmission
Can't seem to get it into gear
It doesn't say in my condition
How I should get to there from here
My friends all offer up instruction
For most of it, I think I'll pass
I learned the truth from plain deduction:
Just keep my foot down on the gas
|
||||
10. |
Headphonica
03:43
|
|||
(Instrumental)
|
||||
11. |
No Time Like The Present
00:02
|
|||
No time
Like the present, eh?
|
||||
12. |
Less Than Subtle
05:19
|
|||
You ask me why I scream and shout
I know that we're in dire straits
When I see him giving out
Multi-million contracts to his mates
Doesn't care it's not allowed
He gets away with it by playing to the crowd
So now the country runs on sleaze
These days it happens in plain sight
Wasting billions with ease
While claiming things turned out all right
Doesn't care that there's no proof
He's never bothered with such trivia as truth
Shows no restraint, plays to his base
No airs or graces
He's as subtle as a punch in the face
Just focus on the funny hair
Ignore the evidence on show
Of deep corruption everywhere
He's running things by quid pro quo
He'll never be called to account
He'll grease his way out with a suitable amount
His name speaks privilege and wealth
but claims that he's a people's man
Prefers to organise through stealth
One simple rule since time began:
Doesn't care he's none too bright
Knows being white and rich will always make things right
|
||||
13. |
Obsequious
07:34
|
|||
(Instrumental)
|
||||
14. |
Epitaph
06:07
|
|||
"I have a live streaming show. It’s about music, but I often get sidetracked into talking about other subjects, and recently I ended up discussing the work of the late John Alva Keel, who was a journalist who wrote The Mothman Prophecies, and was played in the Richard Gere film by Brian Cox. Not the Infinite Monkey Cage one, the Hannibal Lecter one. After the show aired, a friend of mine revealed that he was the owner of a fully functioning time machine, and asked me if I’d like to visit the future. How could I resist?"
|
||||
15. |
What You Leave Behind
05:23
|
|||
As you race towards the finish
Mortality becomes a thing
Your opportunities diminish
to throw your hat into the ring
There comes a day you must decide
What others think your life has meant
Will history cast you aside,
or are you going to leave a dent?
What do you have in mind
for what you leave behind?
Will you take a final bow
and simply saunter off the stage
Or leave us marvelling at how
Your part kept leaping off the page?
What happens afterwards unknown
but if an afterlife exists
Will you be happy to be shown
Just how your legacy persists?
|
Chris Harris Bristol, UK
I'm still trying to get the music I record to sound like the version I can hear in my head. To do this I've ended up playing every instrument I can get my hands on. These days, I'm closer to "That Sound" than I used to be, but the journey continues.
Streaming and Download help
If you like Chris Harris, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp