Shriekback: Lyrics to "«Big Night Music»"

Big Night Music:
Black Light Trap / Gunning For The Buddha / Running On The Rocks / Pretty Little Things / Underwaterboys / Exquisite / The Reptiles And I / Sticky Jazz / Cradle Song.

All songs published by Point Music Ltd./Island Music Inc.

All songs written by Dave Allen, Barry Andrews and Martyn Barker.

Lyrics reproduced with permission from members of Shriekback.
Transcribed by Phil Hetherington, with thanks to Barry Andrews for answering queries along the way.

• Black Light Trap
  
  An eliptical Movement
  With the attitude of a snake
  Then make our incisions
  Stand on one leg and deviate
  All American action
  All lemonade high
  Old and cold and going gold
  
  A fanatical schism
  As impeccable as a swan
  Psychadelic exactions
  That lay me down or lead me on
  In the ballet of Black-Light
  And the agony of the fly
  We divide and then collide...
  
  IN THE BLACK-LIGHT-TRAP- We make all our mistakes
  IN THE BLACK-LIGHT-TRAP- Go in and out like tiny snakes
  IN THE BLACK-LIGHT-TRAP- We fool around but thats ok
  IN THE BLACK-LIGHT-TRAP... In the black-light-trap...
  
  Pornographic implosion
  Sticky animals on the air
  An implaccable suction
  That pulls us in and keeps us there
  Cryogenic excitement: Dionysian repartee
  Creamed and steamed and quite obscene
  
  All chemical all funny-man all belly-flop all dilly dally
  All muddy moan all billy bolly all wobble-y all shilly shally
  All chemical all funny-man all belly-flop all dilly dally
  All muddy moan all billy bolly all wobble-y all shilly shally
  
  IN THE BLACK-LIGHT-TRAP- We make all our mistakes
  IN THE BLACK-LIGHT-TRAP- Go in and out like tiny snakes
  IN THE BLACK-LIGHT-TRAP- We fool around but thats ok
  IN THE BLACK-LIGHT-TRAP... (Watch him go now)... In the black-light-trap...
  
  All chemical all funny-man all belly-flop all dilly dally
  All muddy moan all billy bolly all wobble-y all shilly shally
  All chemical all funny-man all belly-flop all dilly dally
  All muddy moan all billy bolly all wobble-y all shilly shally
  
  IN THE BLACK LIGHT TRAP
  IN THE BLACK LIGHT TRAP
  IN THE BLACK LIGHT TRAP
  IN THE BLACK LIGHT TRAP
  
  IN THE BLACK LIGHT TRAP
  IN THE BLACK LIGHT TRAP
  IN THE BLACK LIGHT TRAP
  IN THE BLACK LIGHT TRAP
  
  
• Gunning For The Buddha
  
  Mark and Danny in the Greek Hotel
  Bold as badgers on a one-take Mission
  Got their equipment from a dwarf outside
  On the trail of any suspect wisdom
  Pond-Life beneath a Southern sky
  (They make their move then they head off to the border)
  They don't care as long as you can pay -
  Whatever - whatever they say
  
  We're on the road and we're gunning for the Buddha
  We know his name and he mustn't get away
  We're on the road and we're gunning for the Buddha
  It would take one shot - to blow him away...
  
  Now's the time to have some big ideas
  Now's the time to make some firm decisions
  We saw the Buddha in a bar down south
  Talking politics and nuclear fission
  We see him and he's all washed up -
  Moving on into the body of a beetle
  Getting ready for a long long crawl
  He ain't nothing - he ain't nothing at all...
  
  We're on the road and we're gunning for the Buddha
  We know his name and he mustn't get away
  We're on the road and we're gunning for the Buddha
  It would take one shot - to blow him away...
  
  Death and Money make their point once more
  In the shape of Philosophical assassins
  Mark and Danny take the bus uptown
  Deadly angels for reality and passion
  Have the courage of the here and now
  Don't take nothing from these ½-baked buddhas
  When you think you got it paid in full
  You got nothing - you got nothing at all...
  
  We're on the road and we're gunning for the Buddha
  We know his name and he mustn't get away
  We're on the road and we're gunning for the Buddha
  It would take one shot...
  
  Oh... we're gunning for the Buddha
  We know his name and he mustn't get away
  We're on the road and we're gunning for the Buddha
  Saying something, saying something unsafe
  We're on the road
  Oh... we're gunning for the Buddha
  (Yeah, Yeah)
  We're on the road
  You know we're gunning for the Buddha
  You see him blow right there
  We're on the road
  We're gunning, we're gunning,
  We're gunning on the road
  We're gunning, we're gunning
  We're gunning for the Buddha
  Gunning for the Buddha
  Gunning for the Buddha
  Gunning for the Buddha
  
  
• Running On The Rocks
  
  Searching the wide oceans with hooks and spears
  We shake the tall trees till the leaves drop round our ears
  Swimming the cold water where the sun will never shine
  Making preparations for the whip-crack time
  Hauling the Kraken up with blocks and chains -
  We're sailing into the eyes of hurricanes
  You know that no-one here gets out alive
  Only one thing makes it when the Devil drives:
  
  WE'RE GONNA STEEL UP THE FLESH TO THE FIRE
  YOU GONNA FIND OUT WHAT THE RULES ARE THEN
  WELL SISTER, SISTER, WON'T YOU PRAY FOR ME -
  WE'RE GOING RUNNING ON THE ROCKS AGAIN...
  
  Flaming amazement - madder than the gale
  Wreathed in shadows; crackling in the sails
  This is our mission now as then -
  We can do no other here we stand: Amen
  The winds are crying - remember me
  Through the holy silence of the desert and the sea
  The next Armada waiting for the tide
  Wind and rain are nothing to the storm inside
  
  WE'RE GONNA STEEL UP THE FLESH TO THE FIRE
  YOU GONNA FIND OUT WHAT THE RULES ARE THEN
  WELL SISTER, SISTER, WON'T YOU PRAY FOR ME -
  WE'RE GOING RUNNING ON THE ROCKS AGAIN...
  
  WE'RE GONNA STEEL UP THE FLESH TO THE FIRE
  YOU GONNA FIND OUT WHAT THE RULES ARE THEN
  WELL SISTER, SISTER, WON'T YOU PRAY FOR ME -
  WE'RE GOING RUNNING ON THE ROCKS AGAIN...
  
  DA DAYADHVAM DAMYATTA DA DAYADHVAM DAMYATTA
  OM A RA PA CHANA DHIH OM A RA PA CHANA DHIH
  OM ANA HASHI VIER OM ANA HASHI VIER OM ANA HASHI VIER
  (We're holding on, we're holding on...)
  
  DA DAYADHVAM DAMYATTA DA DAYADHVAM DAMYATTA
  OM A RA PA CHANA DHIH OM A RA PA CHANA DHIH
  OM ANA HASHI VIER OM ANA HASHI VIER OM ANA HASHI VIER
  (We're holding on, we're holding on...)
  
  WE'RE GONNA STEEL UP THE FLESH TO THE FIRE
  YOU GONNA FIND OUT WHAT THE RULES ARE THEN
  WELL SISTER, SISTER, WON'T YOU PRAY FOR ME -
  WE'RE GOING RUNNING ON THE ROCKS AGAIN...
  
  WE'RE GONNA STEEL UP THE FLESH TO THE FIRE
  YOU GONNA FIND OUT WHAT THE RULES ARE THEN
  WELL SISTER, SISTER, WON'T YOU PRAY FOR ME -
  WE'RE GOING RUNNING ON THE ROCKS AGAIN...
  
  RUNNING ON THE ROCKS
  RUNNING ON THE ROCKS
  RUNNING ON THE ROCKS
  RUNNING ON THE ROCKS
  
  
• The Shining Path
  
  We had lived a blessed time but we knew nothing
  Now we know even less on the Shining Path
  The moon so full, we run to catch it - this kindly light
  Bathes us all as we walk on the Shining Path
  We are blind - we hear nothing - we know nothing
  So we can live without blame
  We don't know where we're going, but we know
  That all things will be ours on the Shining Path
  
  A living secret, in silent darkness: abominations
  As soft and discreet as Uranium
  Your silver voice called us to action, the parts we play
  Are illusions that seem like we really are.
  If we were different some other time we don't remember
  But there is one thing we know -
  There is nothing in explanation, and we can see
  You and I hand in hand on the Shining Path
  
  From now, when you hear us we're a whisper on the wind
  And when you look there's nothing
  Only the flicker of a dying fire...
  
  Nous entendons ta voix d'argent, tu nous appele
  Une fois pour toute sur l'chemin éclaire
  La lune si pleine - nous la poursuivons - cette belle lumiere
  Nous baigne doucement sur l'chemin éclaire
  Nous sommes aveugles - ne pas comprendre - ne pas entendre
  C'est pour vivre sans honte;
  Nos destinations - nois les ignorons - mais nous esperons
  Que nous aurons tous sur le chemin éclaire
  
  ...On the shining path
  ...On the shining path
  ...On the shining path
  ...On the shining path
  
  
• Pretty Little Things
  
  How they glisten. How they shine. I wish that they were mine
  Half-good but not evil - make me feel so very fine.
  Oh my, my my... so pretty I could cry
  When I saw them for the first time, I thought that I would die
  
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  
  I can't stand the temptation, wanna touch but I don't know
  Shiny bright and squeaky clean - pretty little things I love them so
  Pretty things are kind of wicked - make my sick heart feel so glad
  I'm sure that nothing so pretty could be bad...
  
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  
  Complicated as a flower glamorous as anything
  Dangerous and evanescent - yes oh yes those pretty things
  Boiling up and bubbling over warm and soft and simmering
  Make me holler and sing - pretty pretty little things
  
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  So pretty so pretty those pretty little things
  
  
• Underwaterboys
  
  We all know fata morgana
  She keeps herself to herself
  She likes the sound of explosions
  You know - some people need nothing else
  She has a volatile nature -
  Moves in a dangerous way
  All the creatures around her:
  They keep quiet, or she blows them away
  
  They sing:
  WHA DIDDLE IDDLE I DOH
  DOWN HERE - THE UNDERWATERBOYS...
  Singing
  WHA DIDDLE IDDLE I DOH
  DOWN HERE - THE UNDERWATERBOYS...
  
  Theres always fast talking Jonny
  He used to get so ill
  He spent a while in the country
  Now he's clean and serene but he can't stand still
  Little Nick wasn't happy -
  He felt sick inside
  One day he jumped from the window
  Into the arms of a Wagnerian bride
  
  Singing
  WHA DIDDLE IDDLE I DOH
  DOWN HERE - THE UNDERWATERBOYS...
  Singing
  WHA DIDDLE IDDLE I DOH
  DOWN HERE - THE UNDERWATERBOYS...
  
  And then there's old Uncle Charlie -
  He don't speak any more
  He lives one side of a mirror,
  A refugee from the chemical wars
  A critical disposition -
  He likes to eat his own hands
  His principle motivation
  Is a special secretion from a secret gland
  
  He sings:
  WHA DIDDLE IDDLE I DOH
  DOWN HERE - THE UNDERWATERBOYS...
  Singing
  WHA DIDDLE IDDLE I DOH
  DOWN HERE - THE UNDERWATERBOYS...
  Singing
  WHA DIDDLE IDDLE I DOH
  DOWN HERE - THE UNDERWATERBOYS...
  Singing
  WHA DIDDLE IDDLE I DOH
  DOWN HERE - THE UNDERWATERBOYS...
  
  
• Exquisite
  
  Wicked moon - framing us against the light
  Bodies in deceitful silence
  Shining - when the night has turned to gold
  Aching - as our illusions fade into the mist:
  What other sweetness could we find?
  What other fragrance on the wind could be as Exquisite as this?
  
  Languid sun coming up across the bay
  Leopard yawns with breath like flowers
  Amour - the love that kisses and recoils
  Nothing - could steal this dream of bliss
  And now we rest upon the sand
  Waiting for the blessed dark and something Exquisite as this...
  
  Yes... it was a desperate indulgence
  All the more poignant for its emptiness
  But you know... beauty can be terrifying
  And there is nothing straightforward about pleasure
  
  Wicked moon - framing us against the light
  Bodies in deceitful silence
  Shining - when the night has turned to gold
  Aching - as our illusions fade into the mist:
  What other sweetness could we find?
  What other fragrance on the wind could be as Exquisite as this?
  What other sweetness could we find?
  That was as exquisite as this?
  
  It was a strange, luxurious encounter
  And... all flesh is grass
  And decay can be glorious
  
  
• The Reptiles And I
  
  (1 2 3, 1 2 3)
  
  Here we come in a line we have no axe to grind
  Strong and most capable quite unmistakable
  Doing everything all of the time
  Big healthy appetites
  The reptiles and I...
  
  Speaking Hindi and Sinhalese, Spanish and Japanese
  Afrikaans, Nepali, Faroese, Romany
  Yiddish and English, Kurdish and Thai
  All things to everyone
  The reptiles and I...
  
  THE REPTILES AND I THE REPTILES AND I
  ALL THINGS TO EVERYONE THE REPTILES AND I
  THE REPTILES AND I THE REPTILES AND I
  ALL THINGS TO EVERYONE THE REPTILES AND I
  
  The parson, the inventor, the television presenter
  The robber, the writer, the cop, the calligrapher
  Studio tape-ops industrial spies
  We know lots of people
  The reptiles and I...
  
  Chromium, radium, nickel, iridium,
  Gold and actinium, arsenic, plutonium,
  Neon, molybdenum, zinc, iodine
  Braving the elements
  The reptiles and I...
  
  THE REPTILES AND I THE REPTILES AND I
  BRAVING THE ELEMENTS THE REPTILES AND I
  THE REPTILES AND I THE REPTILES AND I
  BRAVING THE ELEMENTS THE REPTILES AND I
  
  The best kind of friend is like iron sharpening iron
  From only its claw we may judge of the lion
  Thruth hurts but it stands I cannot tell a lie
  That was our wisdom
  The reptiles and I...
  
  THE REPTILES AND I THE REPTILES AND I
  THAT WAS OUR WISDOM THE REPTILES AND I
  THE REPTILES AND I THE REPTILES AND I
  THAT WAS OUR WISDOM THE REPTILES AND I
  
  
• Sticky Jazz
  
  Wider than the sea - bigger than my big canoe and me
  Blacker than a bullet - shiny as the stars we cannot find
  And the blue, blue music - nothing ever was so sweet
  Everything is fine: Higher Mathematics of the mind...
  
  Surianamaska - like a little lizard in the sun
  Take as much as you need; there's enough for everyone
  Living for the night-time - taking the bandage from the eyes
  Hanging with the moth-men: everybody's favourite disguise...
  
  All the little background noises
  All the little children sing
  Fiddle with the wooden Jesus - it's a special kind of thing...
  All the little background noises
  All the little children sing
  All the little Greek-boys know there is a time for everything
  
  (And they sing:)
  DO-DO THE CRUEL IMMERSION: DO-DO THE FLAMING TONGUE
  DO-DO THE HOLY MASH-UP: (SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE)
  DO-DO THE FIERY FURNACE: DO-DO THE STICKY JAZZ
  DO-DO THE HOLY MOTION: (WE WANT WHAT EVERYBODY HAS)
  
  Everybody scatter pretty little flowers on the floor
  Higher education - never seen a world like this before
  Say arrivaderci - see you when the orchestra arrives:
  Play the Big Night Music; sweeter than the honey in your hive...
  
  All the little background noises
  All the little children sing
  Fiddle with the wooden Jesus - it's a special kind of thing...
  All the little background noises
  All the little children sing
  All the little Greek-boys know there is a time for everything
  
  (And they sing:)
  DO-DO THE CRUEL IMMERSION: DO-DO THE FLAMING TONGUE
  DO-DO THE HOLY MASH-UP: (SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE)
  DO-DO THE FIERY FURNACE: DO-DO THE STICKY JAZZ
  DO-DO THE HOLY MOTION: (WE WANT WHAT EVERYBODY HAS)
  
  DO-DO THE CRUEL IMMERSION: DO-DO THE FLAMING TONGUE
  DO-DO THE HOLY MASH-UP: (SOMETHING FOR EVERYONE)
  DO-DO THE FIERY FURNACE: DO-DO THE STICKY JAZZ
  DO-DO THE HOLY MOTION: (WE WANT WHAT EVERYBODY HAS)
  
  ...Do-do the cruel immersion: do-do the flaming tongue
  ...Do-do the holy mash-up: (something for everyone)
  ...Do-do the cruel immersion: do-do the flaming tongue
  ...Do-do the holy mash-up: (something for everyone)
  
  ...Do-do the cruel immersion: do-do the flaming tongue
  ...Do-do the holy mash-up: (something for everyone)
  ...Do-do the cruel immersion: do-do the flaming tongue
  ...Do-do the holy mash-up: (something for everyone)
  
  ...Do-do the cruel immersion: do-do the flaming tongue
  ...Do-do the holy mash-up: (something for everyone)
  ...Do-do the cruel immersion: do-do the flaming tongue
  ...Do-do the holy mash-up: (something for everyone)
  
  ...Do-do the cruel immersion: do-do the flaming tongue
  ...Do-do the holy mash-up: (something for everyone)
  ...Do-do the cruel immersion: do-do the flaming tongue
  ...Do-do the holy mash-up...
  
  
• Cradle Song
  
  Sing a cradle-song now, as the light fades around us
  And you breathe like the ocean, lying small in my arms
  See it all in a moment - you so young and unclouded
  Shining bright as a lion - feel the motion of time
  As the world rolls away from the sun.
  I can feel your life burning - unlived moments within you
  Further than I can see...
  
  May the fire be your friend and the sea rock you gently,
  May the moon light your way - till the wind sets you free
  
  I remember your face as you cried for the first time
  The cold air of the world and the fierce light of day
  And the cruel separation in a world washed with tears;
  Numbed with pain to unfeeling - May you hold to your truth
  As you walk the dark night of unreason
  The stone walls which surround us - may your spirit fly round them
  Like the wind from the sea...
  
  May the fire be your friend and the sea rock you gently,
  May the moon light your way - till the wind sets you free
  
  May you never know hunger: may you love with a full heart -
  The light stay in your eyes...
  
  May the fire be your friend and the sea rock you gently,
  May the moon light your way - till the wind sets you free
  May the fire be your friend and the sea rock you gently,
  May the moon light your way - till the wind sets you free
  
  

Return to index