Belle and Sebastian--The Boy with the Arab Strap

IT COULD HAVE BEEN A BRILLIANT CAREER

He had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Painting lines in a school that was too well known
Painting lines with a friend that had gone before
She challenged everyone to a fight
But the prefects all backed down
And they ran her out of town
Cause she drank and swore and spoke
Out of turn, she was the village joke

She had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Getting clients to finance her strategies
Filling time in on Safeways on Saturday
She wears the clothes of an emperor
But her paintings are a sham
And they're going for a grand
When the dealers come to view
Do they ever see the real you?

He had a stroke at the age of 24
It could have been a brilliant career
Selling lies to the boys with the old Dansettes
Pulling the wool, playing the fool, it's no wonder that
He is dribbling spit tonight
And the one he sent away
Was the only one who stayed
With a spoon and a decent book
And you can tell by the way she looks
She is sorry and resigned
As he wets himself for the final time


SLEEP THE CLOCK AROUND

And the moment will come when composure returns
Put a face on the world, turn you back to the wall
And you walk twenty yards with your head in the air
Down the Liberty Hill, where the fashion brigade
Look with curious eyes on your raggedy way
And for once in your life you have nothing to say
And could this be the time when somebody will come
To say, "Look at yourself, you're not much use to anyone"

Take a walk in the park, take a valium pill
Read the letter you got from the memory girl
But it takes more than this to make sense of the day
Yeah it takes more than milk to get rid of the taste
And you trusted to this, and you trusted to that
And when you saw it all come, it was waving the flag
Of the United States of Calamity, hey!
After all that you've done boy, I'm sure you're going to pay

In the morning you come to the ladies salon
To get all fitted out for the Paperback Throne
But the people are living far away from the place
Where you wanted to help, it's a bit of a waste
And the puzzle will last till somebody will say
"There's a lot to be done while your head is still young"
If you put down your pen, leave your worries behind
Then the moment will come, and the memory will shine

Now the trouble is over, everybody got paid
Everybody is happy, they are glad that they came
Then you go to the place where you've finally found
You can look at yourself, sleep the clock around


IS IT WICKED NOT TO CARE?

Is it wicked not to care when they say that you're mistaken
Thinking hopes and lots of dreams that aren't there?
Is it wicked not to care when you've wasted many hours
Talking endlessly to anyone that's there?

I know the truth awaits me
But still I hesitate because of fear

Skipping tickets making rhymes
Is that all that you believe in?
Wearing rags to make you pretty by design
Rusting armour for effect
It's not fun to watch the rust grow
For it will all be over when you're dead

Counting acts and clutching thoughts
By the river where the moss grows
Over rocks the water running all the time
Is it wicked when you smile
Even though you feel like crying
Even though you could be sick at any time?

But if there was a sequel
Would you love me as an equal?
Would you love me till I'm dead?

If there was a sequel
Would you love me like an equal?
Would you love me till I'm dead?
And if there was a sequel
Would you love me as an equal?
Would you love me till I'm dead
Or is there someone else instead?


EASE YOUR FEET IN THE SEA

Ease your feet off in the sea
My darling it's the place to be
Take your shoes off curl your toes
And I will frame this moment in time
Troubles come and troubles go
The trouble that we've come to know
Will stay with us till we get old
Will stay with us till somebody decides to go
Decides to go

Soberly, without regret, I make another sandwich
And I fill my face, I know that things have got to you
But what can I do?
Suddenly, without a warning
On a pale blue morning
You decide your time is wearing thin
A conscious choice to let yourself go dangling
Hovering
It's an emergency
There's no more "wait and see"

Maybe if I shut my eyes
Your trouble will be split between us
People come and people go
You're scouring everybody's face
For some small flicker of the truth
To what it is that you are going through, my boy
I left you dry
The signs were clear that you were not going anywhere
Anywhere
Save for a falling down
Everything's going wrong

Later on, as I walked home
The plough was showing, and orion
I could see the house where you lived
I could see the house where you gave
All your time and sanity to people
Then you waited for the people to acknowledge you
They spoke in turn
But their eyes would pass over you
Over you
Who's seeing you at all?
Who's seeing you at all?


A SUMMER WASTING

Summer in winter
Winter in springtime
You heard the birds sing
Everything will be fine

I spent the summer wasting
The time was passed so easily
But if the summer's wasted
How come that I could feel so free
I spent the summer wasting
The sky was blue beyond compare
A photograph of myself
Is all I have to show for

Seven weeks of river walkways
Seven weeks of staying up all night

I spent the summer wasting
The time was passed so pleasantly
Say cheerio to books now
The only things I'll read are faces
I spent the summer wasting
Under a canopy of ...

Seven weeks of reading papers
Seven weeks of river walkways
Seven weeks of feeling guilty
Seven weeks of staying up all night

Summer in winter
Winter in springtime
You heard the bird say
Everything will be fine


SEYMOUR STEIN

Seymour Stein -- I've been lonely
I caught a glimpse of someone's face
It was mine and I'd been crying

Half a world away
Ticket for a plane
Record company man
I won't be coming to dinner

My thoughts are far away
I'm working on that day
North Country girl
I think she's gone to stay

Promises of fame, promises of fortune
LA to New York -- San Francisco back to Boston
North of Scotland has he seen?
Won't he hire a limousine?
Seymour bring her back to me

I heard dinner went well
You liked Chris's jacket
He reminded you of Johnny
Before he went Electronic

Seymour Stein -- sorry I missed you
Have a nice flight home
It's a good day for flying


A SPACE BOY DREAM

I dreamt I had to go to Mars...


DIRTY DREAM NUMBER TWO

I'm lucky, I can open the door and I can walk down the street
Unlucky, I've got nowhere to go and so I follow my feet

A choice is facing you, a healthy dose of pain
A choice is facing you as you stare through the rain
A choice is facing you but I choose to refrain for today
Tomorrow we'll be back in trouble again

Dream one, you had a whole lot of fun with a comedian
Stop short of going all the way, you'll have to make it someday

Why is this happening to you, you're not a child?
Why is this happening?  You've too much on your mind
Things creep up on you when you are fast asleep
You are dreaming, you are sleepy
You are stuck to the sheets

In a town so small there's no escaping you
In a town so small there's no escape from view
In a town so small there's nothing left to do

Dream two you couldn't see her face, but you saw everything else
Dream two was pretty special, easily beats loving yourself

Could you put a name to someone else's sigh?
Could you put a face to someone else's eyes?
Is it someone that you'd maybe recognize?
But it all fades into morning when you open your eyes


THE BOY WITH THE ARAB STRAP

A mile and a half on a bus takes a long time
The odor of old prison food takes a long time to pass you by
When you've been inside
Day upon day of this wandering gets you down
Nobody gives you a chance or a dollar in this old town

Hovering silence from you is a giveaway
Squalor and smoke's not your style
"I don't like this place"
We better go
Then I compare notes with your older sister
I am a lazy gett, she is as pure as the cold driven snow
She accepts my confession

What did you learn from your time in the solitary
cell of your mind?
There was noises, distractions from anything good
and the old prison food
Colour my life with the chaos of trouble
Cause anything's better than posh isolation
I missed the bus
You were laid on your back
With the boy from the arab strap
With the boy from the arab strap

It's something to speak of the way you are feeling
To crowds there assembled
Do you ever feel you have gone too far?
Everyone suffers in silence a burden
The man who drives minicabs down in Old Compton
The Asian man
With his love hate affair
With his racist clientele

A central location for you is a must as you stagger about making free
with your lewd and lascivious boasts
We know you are soft cause we've all seen you dancing
We know you are hard cause we all saw you drinking from noon
Until noon again
You're the boy with the filthy laugh
You're the boy with the arab strap

Strapped to the table with suits from the shelter shop
Comic celebrity takes a back seat as the cigarette catches
And sets off the smoke alarm
What do you make of the cool set in London?
You're constantly updating your hit parade of your ten biggest wanks
She's a waitress and she's got style
Sunday bathtime could take a while


CHICKFACTOR

What was it I saw in New York?
I'm not the same anymore
HOw will I hide these feelings inside
Call my girl on the phone
Neon lights shine bright
Taxi cabs glide by
Aeroplanes they fly, high up in the sky
Pretty girl says "Hi...
What's the worst job you've had?
What do you read?
What's driving you mad?"

Met the cigarette girl -- took a note of her charms
But no cigar
Met the Indie-Cool Queen
Took me out of the bar
And showed me the scene
My little girl I can't find
She's five hours behind
It's the singer not the song
"Something's gone wrong"
Said the spider to the fly
Do I like this girl?
It's such a big world
I like the tone of her voice
I loved the sound of her voice

When I get back to London from outer space
Will it fall into place?
I'll hold onto my smile
Find my girl in a while
Look myself in the face
Don't know what you see
Am I playing in your movie?
You're in my magazine
Are you talking to me?
CHICKFACTOR


SIMPLE THINGS

If you want me I'll be there
A boy to deal with all your problems
But part of the deal
Is for you to feel something

If you want me look me up
I don't exist in the usual places
Subtle as the wind is grey

If you want me you know where I am
I saw your arms in a dream
And there were blue veins blue
Blue veins

If you want me all you have to do
Is ask a thousand questions
Triplicate and file under
"Simple things you ask to make a young boy sigh"
Young boy sigh
Young boy sigh...


THE ROLLERCOASTER RIDE

Hey people, looking out the window at the city below
Hey people, looking out the window, full of fun and sorrow
Hey people, looking out the window at the city below
Hey people, looking out the window, you'll be gone tomorrow

The rollercoaster ride
The rollercoaster ride
Of all the trouble kept her inside

Take Judy, with her bow and arrow, she's a mastermind
Too frumpy for the teenage population of her time
Car coat, she has a quilted jacket with a hood if it rains
Big pockets for the pharmaceuticals she takes to fix her brain

The rollercoaster ride
The rollercoaster ride
Of all the trouble kept her inside
Of all the trouble kept her inside

A puzzle, for the moment settle down to do it with him
You're happy cause you're cozy and the rain comes rattling in
It tickles, and it's something that is very good for the skin
You're waiting for a baby, Baby, watch the idiot running

CHORUS

You're hanging from the balcony upon the riverboat glass
You're watching with your mouth wide open for the top of the class
She came on with the boys while you were stuck in various poses
If you were to remove your clothes d'you think the singer would notice?

CHORUS