We’ve updated our Terms of Use to reflect our new entity name and address. You can review the changes here.
We’ve updated our Terms of Use. You can review the changes here.

Dreams And Tinsel

by Men With Day Jobs

/
1.
Do circles have sides? Don’t witches havewings? Is the world in our street? Why do castles need kings? Why does the show end, when that ol’ fat lady sings? And how can the moon be so close, when it’s so far away? playing Twenty Questions Why won’t they play by the rules of the game, playing Twenty Questions How dark is the night? How hot is the sun? And where does it hide, when the daytime is done? What does 'caring' mean? How do jellyfish have fun? And why does it keep being today, never tomorrow? There is so much information that a smart kid needs to know / I ask the straightforward questions - why won’t they say Yes or No? I could use some simple answers, From the grown-ups in command / Why do they smile and shrug and say 'One day you’ll understand'? So how should we live? To be or not to be? What do we do with the kids’ room? What is the perfect job for me? Playing Twenty Questions, still playing Twenty Questions / Why don’t we play by the rules of the game, playing Twenty Questions
2.
Man of the hour, talk of the town / High in your tinsel tower, you never come down / Life of the party, host with the most Your nights are all the rage - up and down the coast, every taste on toast / Long as the music’s playing, you’ll never hear them saying… He’s a self-serenading minstrel, lost in a world of dreams and tinsel / King of the mountain, youth in a fountain Forever the boy inside the man, grabbing the limelight when he can / Keep on raving, constantly craving dreams and tinsel Pick of the season, top of the range / Driven Dionysus, smoothly making your pile with a Greek God smile / Women surround you, they wait for your call But they don’t stay too long – they’d have to play your games, you’d have to learn their names / Long as you keep the pace up, you’ll never stop to face up… He’s a self-serenading minstrel… You fall back in your room when the sunlight weighs you down / Hearing those voices in your head, spinning you round and round… Long as your phone keeps ringing, you’ll never hear me singing… He’s a self-serenading minstrel…
3.
Dawn of a new day in strange paradise, we rise with first light as one / We hitch up our chains and we take up our tools, and toil till the long day is done Far from our homes and the land that we knew, the natural laws we once took to be true Still the climate’s not bad and there’s fine lands in view, to work when our sentence has run We follow their orders, we do what we’re told - don’t question the wrong or the right We’re slaves to an empire where sun never sets – ‘cause God wouldn’t trust them at night The ground rules keep shifting, the words don’t ring true: “Do what we say, never mind what we do” Still, the water is cool and the sky is bright blue, and we’ve independence in sight Drowning in sunlight, jumping at shadows / Struggling so hard to understand, this wide brown land Dawn of a new age in fools’ paradise, working for fools and their gold We boot up our screens and we check out the price, where land can be bought, stripped and sold The arrowhead shirts have got logos instead / Sign on the line and we’ll see you’re well fed And there’s no time to ask where our dreams might have led - safer to do what we’re told Working on long leads, drifting in dreamworld / Struggling so long to understand, this wide brown land / Here in this wide brown land…
4.
Here I am lost and lonely, left on my own once more / Standing in the rain with that old familiar pain, and I Know I was foolish - I just hoped this time he would come through / But boys never do It’s just the same old story, when I put my heart on the line / And all my faith and trust, it goes crumbling into dust, and I’m Sick of believing, someday my dreams will all come true ‘Cause boys never do…show when you need them / Boys never do… stay all night Boys never do… tell you their secrets / Boys never do… treat you right / Boys never do… Now it’s a time for new ways, no more of that for me / If I can’t depend on them, I’ll make my own damn dreams come true ‘Cause boys never do… show when you need them / Boys never do… stay all night Boys never do… tell you their secrets / Boys never do… hold on tight Boys never do… love you forever / Boys never do… treat you right / Boys never do…
5.
You were young, uncertain, ego fragile / He was sharp and his technique was so agile Hurt and Rescue was the spin, hook you up and reel you in / Hurt and Rescue was the game - underneath, all bleed the same You were craving image, easy target / He surveyed you as his new niche market Hurt and Rescue was the lie - cut you up and suck you dry / Hurt and Rescue was the line, it will get you every time Perfect face and body, perfect life / You’re the all-consuming purr-purr-perfect wife Hurt and Rescue was the game - underneath, all bleed the same / Hurt and Rescue was the line, it will get you every time
6.
There are fairies on the sand, standing frozen in the red lights / Devils close at hand - more rabbits in our headlights As we roar along the road, faster than the sound of speed There’s a whisper in the caves, many eons in the making / Whiskers in the waves, see the liberties we’re taking As we race across the bay, faster than the sound of speed No misunderhearings, it’s a long way down / All at once we’re on shaky ground - better slow down… There’ll be changes in the yield, deeper than our learning / Destinies unsealed - the tide is slowly turning We’ll go soaring to the south,faster than the sound of speed…
7.
Retromania 03:23
Doctor Doctor, I’m Under Pressure - and you said “Call Me” / Well I’ve been stuck in this New Wave timewarp since 1983 Sit back and Relax, you were AdamAnt - I was shedding Tears For Fears / Don’t want no Band Aid, I gotta make this Madness disappear Retromania… Ain’t no Pretender, I’m Captain Sensible, I know my ABC I’ll be a Nu-man, a part of the Human League, I Want To Break Free from Retromania... Find me a job in a Power Station, let me learn the Art of Noise / Shoppin’ for Specials at the Culture Club, or “Let’s go to the Pet Shop, Boys” Sweet Dreams are made of this, I gotta Go West today / Check on The Reflex, find me The Cure - but Don’t Leave Me This Way…. in Retromania… Give me the Go-go, I’m just a Romantic, Don’t Stand So Close To Me Give me a Squeeze, give me Tainted Love but please set this Fun Boy Free from Retromania... Planet Earth is a Town Called Malice, in a Clash of Simple Minds / I tried Talk Talk… I cried “A-ha”, but Internet Killed the Video Star Give me my Freedom, I’ll start a New Order, from Vienna to Berlin to Japan / You’ll never find a Karma Chameleon - convince U2, I can…Retromania…
8.
A sunny day in the outfield, and he barely hears the call / With his gaze on something distant, he moves too late to catch the ball His head full of daydreams, his hopes on the rise / His hands to the heavens, stands the boy with the sun in his eyes On the dunes by the ocean, waits the warmth of the girl / But her smile escapes his notice - he sails by in his own world His face to the sea-spray, his heart in the skies / His gaze on the horizon, drifts the boy with the sun in his eyes Another day in the Real World, of action plans and power plays / Still he squints beyond the skyline - to wider worlds and better ways His head full of stardust, his heart in disguise / His mind on forever, lives the boy with the sun in his eyes
9.
I've seen the sun rise in your eyes - we fell into each other’s laughter / We both knew what to do… and not to do - there had to be a morning after We rolled into our one night lie, our tale was told before we started / Said all the right things – no strings to hold, I had no cause to feel downhearted But when I saw you yesterday, caught your eye and held the moment / One step too late to cross that line Half a smile, you turned away, and the dream was quickly over - we were just an accident in time I'm an all or nothing kind of guy, I’m not the one for backward glances / Heart on the sleeve, love on the line - now there’s no time for second chances< I would have loved being with you, more than just a single morning / In laughing eyes the sun would shine Though I know the moment’s lost, such a sadness in forever - we were just an accident in time
10.
Hey it’s great the war is over, now the boomtime can begin / We’ll build a brighter world, we’ll show them what it means to win Grand houses and apartments, be the envy of the world ! / And better education, for every boy and girl – we’ll have… Better homes and gardens, spreading to the sea / Bigger farms and cities - life will be much better, wait and see Hey it’s great the Cold War’s over, it’s time to turn another page / We’ve got to get things back to how they were in the Golden Age - we had… Better homes and gardens, stronger rules and laws / Safer streets, high standards - life was so much better how it was, we’ll all have> Better homes and gardens…/Wait and see…
11.
In the deepest lost valley, the trees stand untamed / Mighty giants, unbridled by saw, axe or flame Still unbent and unbroken through years without name / When the world was one forest, they stood here Here the great clock ticks slowly, time under a spell / In a long morning here, Greece and Rome rose and fell In the silence and shadow, the air seems to swell / With the echoes of eons resounding Deep in the stillness, it’s clear where we stand / At the edge of a wisdom beyond our command Feel the once and forever that grows in this land / In the shadows of giants we’re walking Under layers of leaves on the dark forest floor / Lie the footprints of those who have walked here before Giant creatures that tramped with a thunderous roar / And the peoples who held this place holy Deep in the stillness… In a time bound to come, when the last trees are down / Who will follow this path through a land cracked and brown Will they stare at our footprints, and wonder, and frown / And think “Oh, how the mighty are fallen” Deep in the stillness… Feel the once and forever we hold in our hand / In the shadows of giants we’re walking
12.
I was lost, not knowing where I could belong / Till I decided… to write an Oscar-winning song It’s gonna be a great one, you bet / And for that real romantic feel, it’s gotta be a boy and girl duet So here I am, and now you know you’re not alone / As long as I… am simpering in your microphone With lots of tinkly keyboard… and aching harmony / And big lush chords, and crashing drums... and swirling strings when the chorus comes And this will be our moment, our Night of Nights draws near Such mass-produced emotion… can’t fail to raise a tear /This is our song for Oscar - and we’re really gonna win this year And now the words – of standing tall and being me / And reaching out, to find my special destiny / And Lerv will be the answer, there’s Lerv in every line It finds a way, it sets us free / It lifts us up, into…a change of key? (Beautiful!) And this will be our moment…
13.
Make you mad, make you mad, make you mad… the truth will make you mad Down in the bunker, with the maps on the wall, big boys, big toy, makin’ big bad noise / Got the paramount technology, the paranoid psychology, The economic, ergonomic, macho physiology / Their eyes on the oilfields, minds on belligerence, hands on their sexed-up milit’ry intelligence Bomb and crush and kill until it’s all gone bad - then you learn the awful truth, and the truth will….Make you mad… High in the city, in their smoke-free offices, fat suits, in cahoots, makin’ packets… behind a smokescreen of lies… dollars in their eyes… They’re hookin’ kids, people on the skids, never mind who dies / While you’re gettin’ sicker, they got smiles on their faces ‘Cause they shredded all the traces (got friends in high places) / You don’t know they did it, but you know that you been had It’s a filter-tip ripoff, and the truth will….Make you mad…
14.
Let me sit down here beside you, son, you need your Dad to guide you - I can help you be a real man, never fear Though they say you should restrain it, there’s no reason to contain it - don’t believe the anti-men talk you might hear When harassment’s round the corner, one face is always there - though it isn’t always easy to see True, some women get mistreated, son, they’re beaten up and cheated on - but it’s not the fault of you… and… me, no! It’s just Ben behaving madly - he’s gone quite stark raving, sadly / Something’s twisted very badly in his mind You can’t blame the whole male gender, if one boy goes on a bender / It’s just Ben behaving madly all the time, all the time When there’s fighting and destruction, we men all take the rap - though there’s always one man lurking behind They say millions are left lost, alone, because of male testosterone - but it’s just one male tests positive, you’ll find There is just one name that comes to mind…(WHO?) It’s just Ben behaving madly - once again, depraving gladly / ‘Cause he’s really craving badly for some crime One guy’s faulty mental hygiene shouldn’t damn the whole XY gene / It’s all Ben behaving madly every time
15.
Step inside and stroll around, sir - share the treasures of this place / Ebony bookends, Venetian chandeliers, that Russian leather case But please don't touch that lady, fading in her frame, beside the chased-gold clock on the wall / For sentimental reasons, that's all She once graced the crimson cushions of this velvet divan / And here's the inlaid Sterling silver bracelet, I pressed into her hand Oh please, don't lift the lid of that old roll-top desk - those memories rush out with a sigh / The sentimental value, that's why If you could look through my eyes, you'd come to see / Among the moments lying dusty in the bric-a-brac, her struggle to be free Go gently through these relics of a precious time - and tip your hat to love, as you pass / For sentimental reasons, at last…
16.
Once upon whenever, when love was all around / When Being There was Where It’s At, I took my songs to town And every B-grade band shark, and tinpot talent hound / Told me I… was gonna be the Next Big Thing We cashed in our resistance, we set out on the road / With high boots and sailor suits, we were gonna make the sky explode With faith or wilful blindness, we beat our chests and crowed / That we… were gonna be the Next Big Thing… the Next Big Thing We rumbled every highway, we thundered every stage / We beat on every doorway, refused to act our age We railed against their silence, we raged at the machine / We blew till every dream had blown away Record deals and magazines, was every would-be rock star’s dream / Slogging through the night to make it all come true Till back to earth that star-ship comes - clashing visions, different drums / We crashed and burned before we could crash through, Crash through! So here we are together, the love is still the same / The songs flow on, no matter now if nobody knows our name ‘Cause it’s better to have missed the boat than never to have played the game / And we laugh to think that we were once the Next Big Thing… No we won’t give up the Day Jobs, but we won’t get off the stage / We groove on in the basement, still refuse to act our age ‘Cause we may not be young and pretty, and we’ll never be all the rage / But we can still kick it and that’s the Next Best Thing Yeah we can still kick it and that’s… the Best Thing !

about

This is the long-awaited (well, by them) second album of Men With Day Jobs, Sydney ring-ins to the BackPocket stable. A few years have passed since their eponymous first (link) offering since they reunited after a failed 1970s pop career. And they do seem to be growing, don’t they, despite their advancing years. This album kicks on into a wider range of feels – from up-tempo disco/house through to tuneful ballads, folksy and countryish croons, punchy rock, sendups of film songs and New Wave, some sultry blues and savage rap. The lyrics are again very strong, running the gamut from parody to passion and poignancy. Guests this time include Ruth Conley on vocals and BackPocket’s own Ken Stephenson on mandolin.

credits

released January 12, 2008

ROD CRUNDWELL: keyboards, bass, electric guitar, vocals (Day Job: loan shark)
PAUL FENTON: electric guitar, bass, percussion, vocals (Day Job: pool hustler)
STAFFORD SANDERS: acoustic & electric guitars, djembe, vocals (Day Job: spin doctor)

with Ruth Conley (guest vocals on 4 & 12); Ken Stephenson (mandolin on 3); Tony Latimorec(co-lyricist on 3 & 11); Steve Wilson, Reaktor Audio (final mix & mastering)

Great tunes, great words. Funny, poignant, political without being precious, ingenious without being pretentious'

commented John Huxley, Sydney Morning Herald

No we won’t give up the Day Jobs, and we won’t get off the stage We groove on in the basement, still refuse to act our age “Cause we may not be young and pretty, and we’ll never be all the rage But we can stick kick it - and that’s…the best thing!

license

all rights reserved

tags

about

Men With Day Jobs Sydney, Australia

contact / help

Contact Men With Day Jobs

Streaming and
Download help

Report this album or account

If you like Men With Day Jobs, you may also like: