Shriekback: Lyrics to "Sacred City"

Sacred City

All songs published by WB Music Corp./Elastic Purejoy Music (admin. by WB Music Corp.) / Barry Andrews / Martyn Barker.

All songs written by Shriekback (Dave Allen, Barry Andrews, Martyn Barker).

Lyrics reproduced with permission from members of Shriekback.
Initial transcriptions by Tom Pitsis (thanks!), corrections and formatting by Phil Hetherington. Many thanks to Barry Andrews for further corrections and answering various queries. Top marks to James Dignan for identifying Saigon, to Geoffrey Grabowski for identifying the source of the Egyptian prophecy and to Thomas van Wissen for further details of Peter Jukes' book.

• Signs
  
  Do you know what black means?
  Do you know what ear-rings mean?
  Do you know what bald head means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Do you know what high rise means?
  Do you know what columns mean?
  Do you know what ruins mean?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs?
  
  Do you know what Malboro means?
  Do you know what Guinness means?
  Do you know what acid means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Do you know what lycra means?
  Do you know what rubber means?
  Do you know what leather means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs?
  
  Can you read this grafitti?
  Can you decode this information?
  Can you work out what they're saying to you?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Can you read this grafitti?
  Can you decode this information?
  Can you work out what they're saying to you?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs?
  
  Do you know what brick means?
  Do you know what marble means?
  Do you know what concrete means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Do you know what Spurs means?
  Do you know what Arsenal means?
  Do you know what Millwall means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Do you know what Escort means?
  Do you know what Golf means?
  Do you know what XJS means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs?
  
  Can you feel the real intention?
  Can you discern the subtle meaning?
  Can you see all the implications?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Can you feel the real intention?
  Can you discern the subtle meaning?
  Can you see all the implications?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs?
  
  Do you know what red means?
  Do you know what roses mean?
  Do you know what danger means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Do you know what Peckham means?
  Do you know what Camden means?
  Do you know what Soho means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Do you know what candles mean?
  Do you know what crosses mean?
  Do you know what purple means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Do you know what pizza land means?
  Do you know what Berni Inn means?
  Do you know what Burger King means?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs?
  Can you read this grafitti?
  Can you decode this information?
  Can you work out what they're saying to you?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  
  Can you read this grafitti?
  Can you decode this information?
  Can you work out what they're saying to you?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs yet?
  Can you read the signs?
  
  What are you trying to say now?
  What are you trying to say now?
  What you gonna say?
  
  
• Psycho Drift
  
  I can only move like this
  Or can dream around
  Flesh and bone and concrete talk
  Never make a sound
  
  Very little sense involved
  Very few straight lines
  Never any questions asked
  Got a map inside
  
  Psycho drift
  Psycho drift
  
  Through the parks and alleyways
  Hopelessly amazed
  builder's yards and lavender
  Watch the mind at play
  
  Underneath the railway arch
  Night and day are one
  Found a new world inbetween
  The shadow and the sun
  
  Psycho drift
  Psycho drift
  
  The hook, the horn, the robin and the worm
  The wine, the cheese, the bottle and the barricade
  The bride, the groom, the coffin and the nail
  The dog, the drain, the paper and the cellophane
  The iron, the moon, the railway and the door
  The shit, the shop, the roses and the underpass
  The coin, the cloth, the carpet and the drum
  The rain, the dog, the bonfire and the photograph
  
  Like the swallows in the winter
  Like the swarming of the bees
  Some blind and sure desire is motivating me
  Call it poetry in motion
  Call it energy at play
  Call it spirit into matter
  Makes no difference what they say
  
  Psycho drift
  Psycho drift
  Psycho drift
  Psycho drift
  
  The hook, the horn, the robin and the worm
  The wine, the cheese, the bottle and the barricade
  The bride, the groom, the coffin and the nail
  The dog, the drain, the paper and the cellophane
  The iron, the moon, the railway and the door
  The shit, the shop, the roses and the underpass
  The coin, the cloth, the carpet and the drum
  The rain, the dog, the bonfire and the photograph
  
  The hook, the horn, the robin and the worm
  The wine, the cheese, the bottle and the barricade
  The bride, the groom, the coffin and the nail
  The dog, the drain, the paper and the cellophane
  The iron, the moon, the railway and the door
  The shit, the shop, the roses and the underpass
  The coin, the cloth, the carpet and the drum
  The rain, the dog, the bonfire and the photograph
  
  
• The Bastard Sons Of Enoch
  [Note: There are some seemingly indecipherable bits of this... if you think you can fill in the missing city in the 'begat' part or provide any more information about the prophecy at the end, please let me know. Thanks!
  
  Cain decked the angel said "fuck you screw"
  Shook the garden's dust from off his shoe
  Then he walked in the desert a mile or two
  He came to the plain where the medlars grew
  And he sat down on the burning sand
  Looked at the red on his brown right hand
  And he spoke to the devil about his plans
  Out to the east of Eden
  
  Oh, the devil said "Cain, I think this will fly
  I want this bastard deep and high
  From the guts of the earth to the clean blue sky
  Time to rape, scald, scar up and petrify"
  So with shovel and pick they worked side by side
  Till they ripped out a hole in the grandmother's side
  And the city rose out of it bad and wide
  Out to the east of Eden
  
  ENOCH BEGAT URUK BEGAT NINEVEH BEGAT BABYLON BEGAT SODOM
  BEGAT JERICHO BEGAT CAIRO BEGAT PORT SAID BEGAT [_________?]
  BEGAT BANGKOK BEGAT SAIGON BEGAT VEGAS BEGAT HAMBURG
  BEGAT NEW YORK CITY BEGAT MEGA CITY ONE BEGAT NEO TOKYO
  
  That was all now so long ago
  And down these mean streets now we all must go
  All our fears have come true and no help to know
  That only our thoughts have made them so
  All the people are scared as they can be
  Crying "don't try and come to close to me"
  Now we all prefer and don't you agree
  A mechanical kind of ecstacy
  
  And the masters preen and their wives impress
  And the witches burn and the slaves undress
  And they all get fucked and paid and blessed
  On the altars of their own success
  And the numb and stupid and dumb and vain
  Have their fatuous theories to explain
  Why nobody any longer feels the pain
  Down to the east of Eden
  
  Wanna see the infernal city
  Wanna see the ruined city
  Wanna see the poisoned city
  Wanna see the big bad city
  Wanna see the lost city
  Wanna see the dead city
  Wanna see the ghost city
  Wanna see the forbidden city
  
  Wanna see the infernal city
  Wanna see the ruined city
  Wanna see the poisoned city
  Wanna see the big bad city
  Wanna see the lost city
  Wanna see the dead city
  Wanna see the ghost city
  Wanna see the forbidden city
  
  [extract from prophecy of Neferrhou from the time of King Tithmosis the Third, in which he described the situation in the time of King Senefru of the Fourth Dynasty in the southeastern Delta, Egypt. Transcription of quoted passage unavailable at the moment... more info.]
  
  Barry obtained the quote from a book on urban mythology called 'A Shout In The Street' by Peter Jukes. This was first published in 1990 and is believed to be still available.
  
  
• (Open Up) Your Filthy Heart (To Me)
  
  High above through veils of cloud I look on you again
  You're beautiful as always in this light
  About you shame and ignorance are clinging like a shroud
  But I can't wait to be with you tonight
  
  No angels walk beside you now
  No heroes hold your hands
  Your heart was broken but your mind's still free
  And down below me you are waiting smiling like a ghost
  Come open up your filthy heart to me
  
  Into your arms so long ago in innocence and fear
  I asked you for your dreams to make me wise
  Like a priestess like a whore you took me by the hand
  And showed me all your mysteries and lies
  
  But everywhere I go there still are echoes of you now
  Your golden streets that no one ever sees
  And all I ask is one last time
  Before my time has passed
  Come open up your filthy heart to me
  
  Mad dogs and millionaires have breathed upon your eyes
  Their rituals are sordid and so bland
  They whisper their banalaties
  They fawn and patronise
  How little all your suitors understand
  
  They try to dress you up like someone younger and more free
  Ridiculous they try to make you seem
  When what you are is perfect and I need no more than this
  Come open up your filthy heart to me
  
  Come open up your filthy heart to me
  
  
• Exquisite Corpse
  
  Up the stairs, go through the cupboards, secrets are to me
  The droppings of the animal I stalk relentlessly
  Nothing titillating or deliciously decayed
  I guess the truth is nothing special but elusive anyway
  
  Down on the river bank the watchman shines his torch
  But he sees no sign of the exquisite corpse
  He sees no sign of the exquisite corpse
  
  All the clues are added up to make a wider scheme
  The patterns are so intricate like opiated dreams
  The characters I see are only actors in a play
  A seedy tv drama to be screened around midday
  
  I follow her to price-check
  And get the girl to talk about
  Her father and his lawyer and the exquisite corpse
  Her father and his lawyer and the exquisite corpse
  
  The city murmurs in its sleep incriminating sounds
  Its poisons and its weaponry are scattered all around
  I know there's more to all of this than I can touch or see
  It's dead and cold and dangerous, but elegant to me
  
  With burning eyes and coffee breath and then a day in court
  Still I lay fifty pences on the eyes of this exquisite corpse
  I lay fifty pences on the eyes of this exqusite corpse
  
  
• Below
  
  (Instrumental)
  
  
• Beatles Zebra Crossing?
  
  This was the holy land when they were more popular than God
  Upon this bridge of black and white their sacred naked feet have trod
  Seers and angels, they saw what no one saw before
  And now with closed eyes they walk from shore to shining shore
  
  But is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  
  And now the faithful come here as pilgrims to a shrine
  They walk the stations of the crossing
  Their feet are bare their eyes are blind
  Friends with cameras click to record the ritual
  And back home all around the world the same picture hangs upon their walls
  
  But is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  
  But history moves mysteriously and nothing stays here for too long
  They scorch the zebra from the road and paint a new one further on
  But it still means what it meant then and it still looks much like it did
  The pilgrims take their pictures still, its guilty secrets they stay hid
  
  But is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  
  That used to be a warehouse then
  And this was all bombed in the war
  And here the last wild boar was slain
  And there my father met my ma
  This was the place where I was born
  And in the sixties this was hip
  And right through here the Romans came
  And this was where it all began
  
  But is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  Is it still the Beatles' zebra crossing?
  
  Beatles zebra crossing
  Beatles zebra crossing
  The Beatles zebra crossing
  Beatles zebra crossing
  Beatles zebra crossing
  Beatles zebra crossing
  Beatles zebra crossing
  Beatles zebra crossing
  
  
• Hymn To The Local Gods
  
  Where are the bones and the flowers?
  Where are the shrines to the local gods?
  They never write now or ring us
  Whatever happened to the local gods?
  What are their names? Where do they live now?
  Where do we go to light a candle to them now?
  
  They held the soul of the city
  The streets were bright with the local gods
  The days were sweet with their meanings
  The nights were vivid with the local gods
  The day they left we never saw their going
  We woke one morning and the world was less than it had been
  
  In the canals and the wastelands
  Up in the spires, under the flyovers
  Still you can see, with the right eyes,
  The shining presence of the local gods
  Stand in the silence you can hear them whisper
  Hearing their laughter echo in the steel and stone
  
  So leave a fire in the window
  Pour the wine under the underpass
  Let's all go down to the river
  We'll go swimming with the local gods
  They never died we only lost their number
  All you can find here worship and more will appear
  
  
• Every Force Evolves A Form
  
  Every thought burns into substance
  Every dream turns into something on a T-shirt
  Every glance becomes a romance
  (One little word and you can't keep it in your pants)
  
  Every shout becomes a ziggurat
  And every prayer becomes a citadel or car-park
  Every curse becomes a human sacrifice
  Every good idea becomes a lifetime's work for someone
  
  Watch that time those holy words
  They all make tracks that your feet just have to follow
  
  EVERY FORCE EVOLVES A FORM
  Every urge leads to something you can sit on
  EVERY FORCE EVOLVES A FORM
  Every impulse ends up as something you can hang your hat on
  
  Every put-down becomes a dungeon
  And every prejudice turns into broken glass and bludgeons
  Every mystery turns into something you can see
  And every small desire turns into something you can buy or hire
  
  Watch those seeds those gentle words
  They all make traps you can lose your fucking leg in
  
  EVERY FORCE EVOLVES A FORM
  Every urge leads to something you can sit on
  EVERY FORCE EVOLVES A FORM
  Every impulse ends up as something you can hang your hat on
  
  Every thought burns into substance
  Every dream turns into something on a T-shirt
  Every glance becomes a romance
  (One little word and you can't keep it in your pants)
  
  They float above us like a cloud
  And no-one knows where the rain will end up falling
  
  EVERY FORCE EVOLVES A FORM
  Every urge leads to something you can sit on
  EVERY FORCE EVOLVES A FORM
  Every impulse ends up as something you can hang your hat on
  
  Every force evolves a form
  Every force evolves a force evolves a form...
  
  [repeats & fades]
  
  
• 3 am
  
  (Instrumental)
  
  

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