Get all 7 Lawrence Arabia releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Developed World, Lawrence Arabia's Singles Club, Absolute Truth, The Sparrow, Lick Your Wounds (Single), Chant Darling, and Lawrence Arabia.
1. |
A Lake
03:28
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A lake,
a still and ageless lake,
a dark and depthless lake
you made a splash
it was concentric as you'd expect it.
A field,
a yellow painted field,
depicted in a dusty book
the mind was weak, the body willing
that fact was chilling.
I never knew me, my dear
till I met you I thought I was cool.
It only took seven years
and then we were truly in love.
You led me dumb and blind
through the obstacle course that I call my mind
and when I reached the end,
the certificate – it was you.
A fire,
a red and raging fire,
a sick satanic pyre,
we danced around, victorious Vikings,
invoking lightning.
A force,
an invisible force,
the terrifying hordes
they don't believe that it is sinning when you are winning.
I never knew me, my dear
till I met you I thought I was cool.
It only took seven years
and then we were truly in love.
You led me dumb and blind
through the obstacle course that I call my mind
and when I reached the end,
the certificate – it was you.
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2. |
Sweet Dissatisfaction
03:02
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All those little nobodies in your heart
damning all your yesterdays.
Cursing a time when you acted like such a tart
– you really were an arsehole that day.
Discos, microbes, these things come between us,
come between us,
Hot pills, dear thrills, I've put in my order,
they are just across the border.
Realisations in your soothing WC,
a westerly blows through the window.
Contemplating your own mortality,
considering becoming Christian.
We talk with friends about plans of action,
drastic action.
Trade blows, talk shows, looking for distraction,
For some sweet dissatisfaction.
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3. |
The Old Dancefloor
02:15
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Things were amiss with you all night,
you wanted a kiss, she wanted a fight,
closing at five, she's been changing her dressin',
a fashion obsession.
Both of your names were on the door,
you were electric on the old dancefloor,
diamond eyes, I can still hear you singing,
my ears are still ringing.
You better not start putting her down.
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4. |
I Waste My Time
03:33
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I waste my time without you,
shake it from the vine about you,
spill it on the ground, feel sad and then you come home, baby.
I can't do any thinking,
I'm itching in the kitchen,
and I know I'll let you down because I always do that.
Soon you will be inside,
soon I'll be scrambling just to hide that I haven't done anything.
I want you to respect me darling.
Soon you'll be at the door,
keys in your hand and my eyes on the floor.
I wanted to impress you darling.
I lose my cool about you,
a pool of drool without you,
Cro-Magnon man's got nothing on me girl, lately.
I can't see any purpose,
my head's a filthy surface,
my arms are long but the only things they reach are useless.
Soon you will be inside,
soon I'll be scrambling just to hide that I haven't done anything.
I want you to respect me darling.
Soon you'll be at the door,
keys in your hand and my eyes on the floor.
I wanted to impress you darling.
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5. |
Brain Gym
02:46
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When I was young and arrogant you told me to shut my mouth and get on with it.
I was so young and foolish, bold and bullish, kinda toolish.
Endless nights of posing, frozen, underdressed,
Obnoxious proclamations, our conversations an ignorant mess.
When I was poor and envious you told me to eat my toast and contend with this.
I was an eggy soldier, now I'm older I've got shoulders.
Hiring and perspiring that must be tiring – I wouldn't know.
Those kind of situations don't have the patience I suppose.
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6. |
O Heathcote
04:19
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I can understand, I can understand why people talk with reverence
'bout the changing of the seasons, 'bout the bluing of the light that brings such melancholy.
I can understand, I can understand why poets do mythologise
'bout the browning of the land and the hardening on the back of your hand.
We were conceived in the back of a car,
Brought up in a bar, educated by TV,
I've got my PhD,
Dee dee dee dee, dee dee dee dee dee dee dee.
And now we crave all the comforts and accessories available,
and complain about our backs and how it is impossible to relax.
We walk the dog and sadly we consider how everything's been ruined,
and moan about the youth while our arbitrary opinions become absolute truth.
We were controlled by an invisible hand,
The fat of the land made us softer than the sea,
I shall kiss you on your knee,
Hee hee hee hee, hee hee hee hee hee hee hee.
And in September I contemplate surrender,
just dwell upon my odour and pour another soda,
in spite of Palestine.
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7. |
Another Century
03:06
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It's impolite to say this is the best summer ever,
Especially not in the presence of farmers,
Who're living through disaster,
But oh-oh-oh
You see the harbour glistening...
This weather is a splendid thing,
We walk into the water singing.
In urban parks the burnt pink limbs of lovers entangled
Acting like mayflies these sunkissed loves
So doomed and so fragile
But oh-oh-oh
The city lights are twinkling...
This love is just astonishing,
We gaze at all the buildings singing
Why should we now – why should we now end this?
Just cos the sun's going down
Just cos the air's getting cooler
I think we're going to be another century.
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8. |
The Palest Of Them All
04:39
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All of us hiding in the night,
pale refugees of awful light,
we cower in alleyways and clubs,
breaking hearts and making love.
And blending in with the wall is the palest of them all.
We pick our roses by the railway,
we have our picnics in the mall,
our parents say “look what the cat dragged in,”
it doesn't bother us to be dead birds laid at the door.
And blending in with the wall is the palest of them all.
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9. |
Mask Of Maturity
04:01
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You know I'm a giant adolescent,
but you see this night is iridescent,
you look through my mask of maturity but you don't care
– well mainly you don't care.
In the garden, come close, we'll do the foxtrot,
beg your pardon, my face is full of buckshot,
I cram my bad ideas inside in your head
but you don't care
– well mainly you don't care
You know that time is going to tell that we're all going to hell
and when we get there we will find it's just an awesome state of mind and we'll love it.
Girl you know I'm at your every whim but I can't buy a grin,
I couldn't buy a grin if I was naked, tarred and feathered or entirely dressed in embroidered leather.
You know my grandiose delusions
don't have a point or a conclusion,
you take my endless ramblings in your ears but you don't care
–well mainly you don't care.
In the garden, you screamed from the hydrangeas,
you came on slow and kind of dangerous,
I lay perspiring on the grass with flowers in my hair
and drank the summer air.
You know that time is going to tell that we're all going to hell
and when we get there we will find it's just an awesome state of mind and we'll love it.
Girl you know I'm at your every whim but I can't buy a grin,
I couldn't buy a grin if I was naked, tarred and feathered or entirely dressed in embroidered leather.
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10. |
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Used to be commitment-free, prowling round the streets like a drunken tiger.
Cigarette arabesques, dancing on the K Road curb in front of taxis
and they want to hurt you,
but you don't care, you're daring them to hit you.
What became of that angry young man?
Thoughtless nights, pointless fights, holding court like some doomed romantic poet.
Parts the throng, knives are on, sleeping on the rear deck by the recycling,
you'd leave a beautiful corpse
and you don't care, you want the night to take you.
What became of that angry young man?
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Lawrence Arabia Auckland, New Zealand
"A master pop classicist" – Uncut Magazine
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