Ghosts

by visiting aliens

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1.
Ghosts 04:03
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Ghosts I look out the window I see my life running again I don’t where I’m going but I know where I’ve been Down by the old canal watching the sun burn down Where you stole my soul, and it shone like the gold on the river It’s over now and it won’t flow this way no more All the ages reflected in a mirror that sees all Oh and what you have seen and what you must know Of the lovers and grifters and battles on the shore Where you stole my soul, and it shone like the gold on the river It’s over now and it won’t flow this way no more But time is a river and the river must flow on I’ll go where that river goes until the ocean comes Now I float like a leaf and I follow the stream As all this laughter and tears tomorrow will be a dream Oh and now only now like these white swans will I be free. Where you stole my soul, and it shone like the gold on the river It’s over now and it won’t flow this way no more. Berlin July 2015.
2.
Big Mouth 04:41
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Big Mouth Way after midnight behind the Y Just trying to get home alive, No buses where I come from no.. uh. uh.. I’m coming home from a jam Trying to walk a straight line down Acacia, Just me and my big mouth. Keep on walking try to smile I try to show disinterest as wheels slow to a grind.. ‘Up! Up against the wall!’ Why do I feel so guilty when I’ve done nothing at all? Uh. . uh, but me and my big mouth uh. .uh I always get in trouble all the time O yeah uh. . oh I always get in trouble.. I know they think I am an alien freak When they see me on the street and call me to the side And ask me where I’m going? I say ‘I’m keeping to the left, I’m trying to keep away from the right’ Uh. . uh.. Oh me and my big mouth uh.. uh.. I always get in trouble all the time o yeah uh. . uh Me and my big mouth.. Oh yeah I got nuttin to hide cos I got nuttin’ but my big mouth O yea I got nuttin’ to hide cos I ain’t got nuttin' Meanwhile in the back of the van.. They always pull me over and ask me what’s in the bag? Uh. . uh me and my big mouth.. I said I’d light a fuse but I didn’t have a match to do it! Uh. . Uh oh me and my big mouth uh uh. Me and my big mouth.. I swear I wasn’t there, I said I didn’t do it, I said I’d light a fuse but I didn’t have a match to do it Uh. . uh, oh and my big mouth uh. . uh I always get in trouble all the time.. Oh yea uh. . uh Me and my big mouth Uh.. uh.. Me and my big mouth Me and my big mouth Big mouth big mouth big mouth ... me and my big mouth Big mouth big mouth big mouth ... me and my big mouth Big mouth.. oh yeah.. big mouth.. all the time big mouth ... Me and my big mouth.. Big mouth.. oh yeah.. big mouth.. uh uh.. big mouth .. © 12/2011 Lyrics Michael Bates Music Michael Bates/Gary Roberts
3.
Broken Things 05:53
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Broken Things ‘I don’t think of all the misery, but the beauty that still remains.’ Anne Frank When midnight calls I’ll leave your form, I’ll make my run down to the sea. Under the wire, into the fire, onto the rocks that bite like teeth; Round palisades, south of the quays, east from the shadows to the beach; Phosphorescence trace the breakers wake the tiny boat out in the sea. If we can find the undefined, the beauty left in broken things.. Run to the light Float like a dream, I fall between, from the breakers to the bay. No anodyne can heal this time, and the night, the night is dying. The night is dying. One bullet trace is all it takes before the sun is rising, The sun is rising.. Run to the light When midnight calls I’ll leave your form, I’ll make my run down to the sea. Under the wire, into the fire, onto the rocks that bite like teeth. Horizon line, a crimson veil, the beauty left in broken things, in broken things, Oh in broken things, oh.. Run to the light.. Oh into the light
4.
Surfacing 04:31
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Surfacing. Always the last to know It seems our friends know before we know ourselves: What our body language shows the world.... Always the last to know The truths inside our tongue-tied mouths Blind and smitten Coming up to taste the air Surfacing Breathing Silence Still Expecting Emptiness Might Ocean fill These Lungs again Before the Words come out right Can come out right Lo-o-ove my oxygen O-o-oh my oxygen Lo-o-ove my oxygen, my oxygen… Mmm hhhmm you’re my oxygen, oxygen .. Always the last to know The dreams upon our blood-stained hands Soft the light, staunch the flow I wonder when these wounds will show A tell-tale heart all tinged with blue (all with blue) Surfacing This love between us Fragile pearl Close to bursting Oxygen Breathing Silence Still Expecting Emptiness Might Ocean fill these Lungs again Before the Words come out right Can come out right Lo-o-ove my oxygen O-o-oh my oxygen Lo-o-ove my oxygen, my oxygen… Mmm hhhmm you’re my oxygen, oxygen .. Surfacing This love between us Fragile pearl Close to bursting Oxygen Breathing Silence Still Expecting Emptiness Might Ocean fill these Lungs again Before the Words come out right Can come out right Lo-o-ove my oxygen O-o-oh my oxygen Lo-o-ove my oxygen, my oxygen… Mmm hhhmm you’re my oxygen, oxygen Mmm hhhmm You’re my oxygen... Mmm hhhmm You’re my oxygen. © September 1995
5.
Mercy 05:02
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Mercy (after Stammheim) As even the most guilty in innocence cries out We were begging for mercy from the judge Show some mercy.. judge... As one fool plays the conscience and while the papers sling the mud We were begging for mercy from the judge Show some mercy.. As even the most guilty is made from flesh and blood We were begging for mercy from the judge Hung by preconception just like the six foot letters on the walls of the prison Said don't you believe their alibis, no Not if you find us dead inside Begging for mercy... Singing : Oh brother you got no right to make me feel so wrong No brother you can take my life but will it change a thing I've done? Show us some.. show us some.. mercy.. As even the most guilty needs a measure of a doubt We were begging for mercy from the judge As truth is measured in one sentence And the papers wrap the flesh and blood Show us some mercy.. oh… Before they lock the keys a-way.. away away Oh mercy.. oh mercy.. Before they lock the keys a-way.. © 1990
6.
The Wait (Is Killing Me) 04:52
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The Wait Is Killing Me My face and my eyes see only shades and worries Stay away from salt dreams My hands are full of you and my old heart is lifted Lies with the break of eyes You are the ground beneath my feet I taste of water when I’m here I live inside the love I feed And my heart is a kiss With the chemistry of you, you and me Save thee down to the ground and it’s already there My dear, you’re young, you’ll shoulder My dear, I’m so cold my dear I taste like all the things you say to me my dear All the waiting stars and the stories of the years.. oh-ohh All this fear of Fall, now you are broken up.. ahh I lay down beside I’ll stay in my hands Afraid of the one that you say you are My dear, you’ll stay oh for a while My dear oh.. The wait is killing me
7.
The Target 07:22
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The Target Stickmen cast the barest shadows But Jimmy Black can track the barest line A good fellah on your side Run run .. no place to hide Fat men, blots on the horizon Gathering just like a swarm of flies Can catch a fellah like a bushfire Run run.. no place to hide I say I'm sorry, I have no choice I can do nothing, just lend my voice To both sides of the coin Sitting on the fence… am I the target? Run run Young men dark and full of anger Want to hit it back Want to fight the fire with fire Old fellah say you can't win But you've burnt your fingers on the system Now your fists must become The drum to beat on the system Run run.. no place to hide Whipping boy in Redfern, curiously white I know I did no wrong, I don't know if you were right But I know I did no wrong Sitting on the fence… am I the target? When should I stand up? I know it must be the time To sleep or sacrifice or fall back into line Or will I turn my back and turn as cold as atropine Or will I leave your dreams behind? On the wrong side of the right With no place to hide Am I the target? Run run Music & Lyrics Michael Bates
8.
Waterline 05:14
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The Waterline A-ah we’re livin’ on the waterli-ine! A-a-and the water’s getting in.. Think I’ll go down to the river Go take a look at the waterline Where the earth was brown the tide has risen Up through a hole where the sky’s burned down A-ah we’re livin’ on the waterline! A-a-and the water’s getting in! We’ve lived our lives on this river Yes, you and I on this cutting edge Now we’re praying for our God to deliver Our homes from the water getting in.. We’ve lived here all our lives on the waterline Here all our lives on the borderline Here on the cutting edge of the times Now the water.. the water’s getting in A-ah we’re livin’ on the waterline A-a-and the water’s getting in Think I’ll go down to the river Go take a look at this cutting edge As the waves turn around, the tide is getting bigger From the seawalls of Holland to the shores of Bangladesh. All the Waterlines ..... All the Borderlines Here on the cutting edge of the times We’ve lived here all our lives on the waterline Here all our lives on the borderline Here on the cutting edge of the times Now the water.. the water’s getting’ in..... The water! A-ah we’re livin’ on the waterline A-a-and the water’s getting in I said a-ah we’re livin’ on the waterline As all the sand bag men work their hearts out working on overtime On the waterline. On the waterline From the seawalls of Holland to the shores of Bangladesh... Too much water Too much water gettin in Too much water Too much water gettin in © 1988-89.
9.
My Heart Is Like A Broken Wheel 05:47
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My Heart is Like a Broken Wheel Oh I was running the streets, oh I was hypnotised Oh I was looking for a face that I could recognise Oh like words in a dream, oh I can see the page: A kitchen knife. Blood in the sink. So numb that I can’t feel all the pain that I can’t heal With hurt in her eyes of steel, why can’t I turn? My heart is Like a broken wheel... Oh I was frozen in my tracks oh I was paralysed Oh there was no turning back No there was nowhere I could hide Oh I was frozen in time, Oh I was cauterised So numb that I can’t feel all the pain that I can’t heal With hurt in her eyes of steel, why can’t I turn? My heart is Like a broken wheel My heart.. My heart is Like a broken wheel My heart.. Oh I was crawling the floor, oh I was falling through the cracks Oh I was trying to find a door, oh I was trying to lift a latch Oh won’t the devil make a deal? Oh I would sell my soul. I don’t know what is real. I don’t know anymore So numb that I can’t feel all the pain that I can’t heal With hurt in her eyes of steel, why can’t I turn? My heart is Like a broken wheel My heart is Like a broken wheel My he-art.. So numb that I can’t feel all the pain that I can’t heal So numb that I can’t feel all the pain.. My heart is Like a broken wheel… my heart.. My heart is Like a broken wheel… my heart.. Oh won’t the devil make a deal?… my heart.. Oh won’t the devil make a deal?… Oh won't you? Oh won’t the devil make a deal?…
10.
New Orleans 05:00
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New Orleans Now all the way from China thinkin’ ‘Mississippi sin’ You made a stranger welcome, I fell right in Into your absinthe and perfumes and your riverboat queens In rosemary dresses with shiny beads in trees Oh New Orleans, I only met you once But they say it takes a moment, just a moment, to fall in love Mmmmmmn.. they say it takes a moment.. Now some come from Texas and some from Sydney like me And some from Carolina where nothing could be finer than to lose your heart Now some lose their pockets and some lose their shoes And some find resurrection and some find the blues Oh New Orleans, you broke my heart I said I had to leave you, you made me fall in love Mmmmmmn.. I said I had to leave you Now all the way from China thinkin’ ‘Mississippi sin’ o yeah Oh I caught the voodoo, I bought the alligator grin On a Saturday night in the heat of the summer Standin’ in line and listenin’ to the brasses shine On a Saturday night listenin’ to the poets As their bright eyes shine singing to the chorus: Oh New Orleans, oh New Orleans, Down by the Mississipi .....I fell in love Oh New Orleans, oh New Orleans, Down by the Mississipi .....I fell in love Down by the Mississipi... And I let that muddy flow into my heart now Flow until your saints go marchin’ in.. Oh New Orleans, oh New Orleans, Down by the Mississipi I fell in love.
11.
Chasing Rainbows 03:37
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Chasing Rainbows Oh I’ve been chasin’ a dream For so long now I don’t know what it means But the dream won’t love me Oh I’ve been chasin’ rainbows But the road it never bends And it’s a cruel, cruel wind It blows beneath these doors And while the coal still burns There’s not a penny more Oh I’ve been chasin’ a dream For so long now I don't know if it’s real But the dream won’t love me Oh I’ve been chasin’ rainbows But the road it never ends The road it never ends…….. And in the cold of night Though we know the sun will shine (once more) Oh we’re a long time gone before the dawn Oh I’ve been chasin’ a dream For so long now I don’t know what it means But the dream won’t love me. June 2019.
12.
Surfacing (Radio Edit) 03:26
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Surfacing. Always the last to know It seems our friends know before we know ourselves: What our body language shows the world.... Always the last to know The truths inside our tongue-tied mouths Blind and smitten Coming up to taste the air Surfacing Breathing Silence Still Expecting Emptiness Might Ocean fill These Lungs again Before the Words come out right Can come out right Lo-o-ove my oxygen O-o-oh my oxygen Lo-o-ove my oxygen, my oxygen… Mmm hhhmm you’re my oxygen, oxygen .. Always the last to know The dreams upon our blood-stained hands Soft the light, staunch the flow I wonder when these wounds will show A tell-tale heart all tinged with blue (all with blue) Surfacing This love between us Fragile pearl Close to bursting Oxygen Breathing Silence Still Expecting Emptiness Might Ocean fill these Lungs again Before the Words come out right Can come out right Lo-o-ove my oxygen O-o-oh my oxygen Lo-o-ove my oxygen, my oxygen… Mmm hhhmm you’re my oxygen, oxygen .. Surfacing This love between us Fragile pearl Close to bursting Oxygen Breathing Silence Still Expecting Emptiness Might Ocean fill these Lungs again Before the Words come out right Can come out right Lo-o-ove my oxygen O-o-oh my oxygen Lo-o-ove my oxygen, my oxygen… Mmm hhhmm you’re my oxygen, oxygen Mmm hhhmm You’re my oxygen... Mmm hhhmm You’re my oxygen. © September 1995

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A visiting alien retrospective remixed for Earth!
This is the first anthology of songs from the alien jukebox at visitingaliens.com

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released October 15, 2019

Produced by Michael Bates and Greg Ryan

Artwork by Michael Bates

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visiting aliens Sydney, Australia

visiting aliens is now Michael Bates with Peter Rule and
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