The Fire Has Brought Us Together
Keep the engine running I’ll sing you a song:
it all goes right till it all goes wrong
Everything sugary and fuelled with science.
There was a man and he was me:
all as vivid as it could be
back in the American Century
(with a rigorous programme of defiance)
All quite factually banal
stimulating as a root canal
incurable as some diseases
When we all discovered how weird things are
all the skeletons singing in the Dalloway bar
with the ‘ying-tong ying tong’ ‘oom-pah-pah’
(and the wild wind blows wherever it pleases)
all of this mercy has fallen away
if it was up to me
the fire has brought us together
there would be something special where there used to be
no more than this..
the fire has brought us together
well a the ghost and me
all went out on the terrible sea
and as we gazed at the primitive ocean -
to a muscular rhythm on the barreling oars -
I wondered why my spirit soared
and was I feeling a pure emotion?
for the ocean’s meaningless and immense
and, it was clear that these events
had overwhelmed our usual praxis
I said: ‘shantih shantih - praise the Lord’
but the paralysing rattle on the slippery boards
had neutralised my prophylaxis
all of this mercy has fallen away
if it was up to me
the fire has brought us together
there would be something ringing where the bells should be
no more than this..
the fire has brought us together
brought us together…
Well there it is, I don’t know why
there’s a fearsome clarity I can’t deny -
I’m contemplating what its face is…
In Tracy’s desecrated bed
or in the disused Wexford shed,
down in the Valley of the Dead …
..and many of those kinds of places…
and this cluster of events
as we watch they all condense
into something quietly tragic
gazing up at the fathomless stars:
(that one’s Venus, which one’s Mars?)
Om-Mani-Padmi - Ooh La La!
got no use for that kind of Magic..
all of this mercy has fallen away
if it was up to me
the fire has brought us together
There will be something beautiful and clean and free
No more than this
The fire has brought us together
and if I had my way
I would save this nonsense for another day
no more than this
The fire has brought us together
If it was up to me
There would be something special where there used to be
No more than this
The Fire has brought us together
brought us together
no more than this
no more than this..
So I'm just scrolling though All New when I see the entirely unexpected phrase "Shriekback spam."
Really, I don't expect to see the name Shriekback at all, other than when I post it, but I definitely don't expect to see a reference to spam. So that was just sort of surprising.
Truth be told, I've been mostly unimpressed with their newer stuff, though it's also true that I haven't really given it enough of a chance.
In any event, this is pretty good. So thanks, spam or not.
Also, here the good people seemingly forgot to put the name of the band in the youtube title and their youtube profile seems to be hodah, so even all the people remembering Nemesis was their favorite song of the 80s and ecosiaing Shriekback won't see it. It's under 200 views in four months and for me it's up there with Devo in the deep comedic bangers pantheon.
Here's a thing I don't think I've ever admitted online since the world is divided into the majority that neither know nor care and the minority that would vehemently disagree:
My favorite Shriekback song isn't Underwaterboys or Gunning for the Buddha or Nemesis or Fish Below the Ice or Faded Flowers or Malaria or My Spine is the Bassline or any of those.
It's Go Bang.
So yeah.