Brendan Perry Complete Lyrics Archive

B i o g r a p h y
(by Official Press)

After 16 years of searching the world for meaning and knowledge through music as one half of Dead Can Dance, Brendan Perry now embarks on a similar journey with his solo debut, 'Eye of the Hunter'.

Begun a few years ago in between Dead Can Dance and various other recording projects, 'Eye of the Hunter' will sound immediately familiar to the many fans of the duo eager to hear more since their dissolution last year. The lush production sensibilities and boundary-defying spirit of Dead Can Dance are intact, and many of the songs on 'Eye of the Hunter' are tinted with flavours of disparate musical styles. But there is also a difference in the manner the music was made and also how it presents itself. Though Dead Can Dance employed vocals they generally didn't speak in a spoken language. The music was their language, and their goal was to make manifest the unspeakable. In recording, the duo often let the music they were making lead them to a destination.

In contrast, 'Eye of the Hunter's vignettes were written from a guitar/singer process. Instead of being the centrepiece, the music, centred usually around Brendan's thoughtful and restrained guitar plucking or strumming, acts more as a backdrop for his deep, gentle vocals. And while much of Dead Can Dance's music eluded categorisation, Brendan has made a folk record in the truest sense: It's songs, each one its own story but contributing to the themes of the record, are expressions of his life experiences.

The album was recorded at Brendan's Quivvy Church studio in County Cavan in Ireland. Its setting in relative isolation allows Brendan the freedom to pursue his interests, from musical soul-searching and astronomy to zen archery and arboriculture.

Dead Can Dance's music often suggested a search for meaning and sense in the world, and Brendan has taken up a similar journey. But instead of looking at the external world, he has decided to explore the inner world of his own private universe. "People have multiple personalities which are always evolving," he says. "This record deals with the different facets of my own personality."

Laden with symbolism, 'Eye of the Hunter's deeply personal songs explore the often sad themes of loss, both of life and love, but an air of hopefulness blows through much of the record, as Brendan places them as pieces to the larger puzzle of life and meaning. "Saturday's Child," which opens the record, poignantly describes the changing relationship between Brendan and his father as each grew older. "Sloth" looks back to all the wasted moments in one's life, time lost to anger, addiction and slothfulness, preventing us from achieving our true potential. "The Captive Heart" deals with the attempt to keep love afloat over a long distance. A cover of Tim Buckley's classic "Must Have Been Blind" shines with one of the record's more extravagant arrangements, with layers of Martin Quinn's pedal steel supporting Brendan's strumming and soaring vocals. But 'Eye of the Hunter's centrepiece is the autobiographical "Voyage of Bran," where Brendan describes the roots of his searching.

Over the course of 16 years, eight albums and a myriad of EPs and side projects, Dead Can Dance established themselves as the pre-eminent group of their kind and also as 4AD's biggest international artists. Freely crossing both musical and geographic boundaries, Perry and Gerrard defied all attempts by critics to categorise their music according to current trends. With 'Eye Of The Hunter' Brendan Perry has followed his musical legacy, creating his own album of timeless beauty.

Farewell my child it's time
To leave this all behind
Exchanging the river for the sea
Farewell to saturday's child
Cut loose before his prime
Set adrift in the city

Speak to me now of isolation
Feel your way home in the dark

Here comes the old grey man
Back bent before his time
Tracing figures in the sand
He has no more crosses to bear
Sat upon his rocking chair
Gazes out toward the sea

Speak to me now of visions
Seen through a looking-glass mind

Speak of your inhibitions
You still have your mountain to climb

Father father
Can you tell me
Where the hours go
Where time flows
It is written in the stars
Upon the milky way
That we must burn bright
Before we fade away

Mother mother
Can you tell me
Where the fire goes
When the flames cease
"From the ashes to the astral plain
Where the setting sun meets the sea, Brendan"

I live by the river
Where the old gods still dream
Of inner communion
With the open sea

Through the eye of a hunter
In search of a prey
Neither beast nor human
In my philosophy

If you don't recognise me
Well it's simply because
I've outgrown these old clothes
Time to move on

For you and I will outlive
The masks life gave us
When this shadowplay comes
To a close

When all you have left are your memories
And diamonds and pearls for company
I'll be sailing to St. Lucia on the ocean breeze
With the moon and my scars for company

In your bedroom you keep an iron cage
Where a blackbird sings her freedom song
For you know the true value of keeping slaves
They sing the saddest of songs

Medusa you robbed me of my youth
Abandoned me on the tropic of solitude
Seducer of the shipwrecked and forlorn
You told me to undress
Then crowned my head with thorns

Medusa you robbed me of my youth
Abandoned me on the tropic of solitude
Seducer of the shipwrecked and forlorn
You told me to get dressed
Then turned my heart to stone

Sometimes when I'm alone
I imagine that the world is a mirror
And in my mind's eye
Behold my dark inner nature

I've been wasting time on this time-honoured whore
'Til I get so confused I can't see anymore
And I have crawled where I should have seen the signs
Dragging my feet when I could have been flying

Sometimes when I'm sad
I drink to the health of my torment
And dance at the altar
To the tune of a drunken black tango

I've been wasting time on this time-honoured whore
'Til I get so confused I can't see anymore
Wastes my mouth trying to settle old scores
Dragging my feet when I could have been flying
Dragging my feet when I could have been flying
Dragging my feet

Here I am believing words again
Here I am trying to find your love again
Here I am down on my knees again
Praying for a love we used to know

Both of us know how hard it is to love and let it go
Both of us know how hard it is to go on living that way
But so few know what it means to fall in love
And so few know how hard it is to live without it

Lord I must have been blind
Lord I must have been blind
Lord I must have been blind
Lord I must have been blind

To hold something real and not believe it
To live in her life and never trusting
To give all you know and never feel it
Hold back each day until it dies away

Both of us know how hard it is to love and let it go
Both of us know how hard it is to go on living that way
But so few know what it means to fall in love
And so few know how hard it is to live without it

Lord I must have been blind
Lord I must have been blind
Lord I must have been blind

The old clock is ticking now
Marks the space between us
Your memory enshrouds my heart
For I am held a captive

Sometimes my soul desires
To take leave of this old world
To spread these golden wings and fly
To the city of angels

But then if I close my eyes
I can see you standing there
Your face in permanence smiles
Your lips a chalice

Seems like I've loved you all my life
Never thought I'd find you
One day the muse may lend these words wings
So I can touch you

But hey!
Don't worry if the feeling's not strong for you
I have lived my life in accordance
To the windfalls of passion
Though I know what it means
To be loved and then forgotten

I have seen too many men
Driven insane by their distractions

Woke up this morning
Set off down the road
Left behind me all those years
Searching for a common soul

I've been looking for a thousand
And one distractions
To empty my mind
Of thoughts of loneliness
I've been looking for someone
To take away my frustrations
But all I find is a sea of emptiness

Death will be my bride
Death will be my bride

Three hours from sundown
I'm still on the road
With those voices in my head
Ringing down the years
For the wind whispers my name
And the leaves they lend a helping hand
If I don't reach you by this time tomorrow
I'll be stone cold dead in the ground

Death will be my bride
Death will be my bride

All love's lost children
Behind us
Forgotten
Youth lies broken
Upon the wheel of the machine
Each time we kill their song

Time feeds our memories
We travel through past lives
We are angels
Part devil in disguise
We sow the seeds of our own demise

All love's lost children
Inside us
Forgotten
You must open
As the flower greets the sun
To sing their praise with your song

If you turn a blind eye
To the needs of a child innner vision
Then you might just find
That the love you denied will desert you

How long will we sing this song
How long must we carry on

You can break their will
But they never ever will respect you
If you abuse their bodies
They will never come to love you

How long will we sing this song
How long must we carry on

Babylon

Spirit rise to greet the sun
Takes my hand and beats the drum
Tries to make me understand
We are as one in a sea of sand.

I' m praying for rain ,
To see desert flowers again

Underground the children sing
In spite of what the storm may bring
In their hearts a dormant seed
Dreams of life beyond the reeds

In our hearts and minds we see
The hope that springs eternally
Whilst underground the hidden stream
Flows into the man machine

The eagle flies up towards the sun
High above the fields of Babylon
In one claw he holds an olive branch for peace
In the other twelve arrows for his enemies, for his enemies

Sons and daughters of America
You lay down your lives
For the warlords of America
Not for your sake, not for mine

The Bogus Man

I can see it in your eyes
The vacant stare, the empty lie
I can see it in your smile
I give you an inch, you take a mile

Politician
Model citizen
Politician
Blind ambition

I can see through your disguise
The rent four piece suit and ties
For mothers' sons will fight your wars
So rich men can reap the rewards

Politician
Model citizen
Politician
Cold ambition

Hail Father Ubu, here comes the Grand Guignol
Opportunist, you change your tune to suite the times
Sycophantic, cold-blooded, reptilian
Careering, profiteering, the party line

The party line

Hail Father Ubu, here comes the Grand Guignol
Manipulator, corrupt curator, of human lives
Sycophantic, cold-blooded, reptilian
Procrastinator, the fake orator, the bogus man

Wintersun

Can't stop the hurt, can't stop the bleeding
I am invisible
Can't stop the thought, nor the feeling
I don't exist at all

But when you call my name
Do you feel the same way
That we're trapped in time
We're both living a lie

I live in a tower of my own creation
I'm indivisible
From the thoughts that make up all my memories
Transcendental

But when you call my name
Do you feel the same way
That we're trapped in time
We're both living a lie

Many days have come and gone
Since the day I was born
And the autumn of life has finally come
With the promise of winter thorns

Utopia

I feel greater than the sum of all my parts
A domestic beast with a hairy heart
Trapped within a walled suburbia

I've found my tastes are somewhat underground
Between the shadows and the cracks
I'm building my utopia

I need to break free from all that binds
That makes me old before my time
In this world of dystopia
My love is like a bright guiding light
Shining in the darkness of the night
The star of my utopia

In the motion of the sea
In the air that we breathe
Can you feel me
In the stars and in the trees
In the sound of the bees
Can you hear me

Caged golden memories
Time has come to show your true feelings
I know it's the only way to be
When the same old feelings come out of me

I feel greater than the sum of all my parts
A space jockey from a distant star
Marooned upon dystopia
I've found my tastes are somewhat underground
Between the shadows and the cracks
I'm building my utopia

In the motion of the sea
In the air that we breathe
Can you feel me
In the stars and in the trees
In the sound of the bees
Can you hear me

In our utopia
You will be queen
And I will be king
In our utopia
You will be free
To be whoever you want to be

Inferno

I watch the TV, it is my world
Takes my mind beyond these walls
The more I see the less I care
For all the people out there

In my room, I see war
In my room, love
In my room, visions from hell
In my room, joy

I like to watch as the newsreel unfolds
I like to watch from behind glass walls
The more I see the less I care
For all the people down there

In my room, I see war
In my room, love
In my room, visions from hell
In my room, joy

I may be alone inside to see you
Memories are born of fire to see you
I can't make it love and I can't ever sombre
Memories fall out of desires

I may be long so I maybe a reason
Take it away from hurt and make it a hero
I can't make it love and I can't ever sombre
Memories fall out of desires

Sometimes I just don't feel myself at all
Sometimes I don't feel anything at all

Sometimes
Sometimes

This Boy

Never ever wanted to fight in your war
Never wanted to fight your wars for you
This boy only believes in love

Never wanted to sign away my rights
Never wanted to hand over my life
This boy only believes in love

This boy bends backwards
While this boy crawls on his tummy
And this boy prays for forgiveness for all of our sins
For the state we're in

Sometimes I feel like I'm sleepwalking
In a big and haunted house
Just stumbling around in the darkness
Can't seem to get to sleep at night
Because of the lies, the lies, the lies
Is all we've been told

Sometimes it's hard for us to find the truth
In a world we no longer seem to understand
But don't let them break us and don't let them nail us
Into boxes for the old man's plea

This boy is coming home from the war
Coming in from the cold, to settle old scores
End old scorn

The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea

It's all over
You've had your day out in the park
You better come inside
Before it gets too dark

We've all had a great time
Playing with our private world
Event horizon
Here on planet Earth

It's all over
It's the final curtain call
For too many life forms
There's just no time left at all

What you going to do when the rain comes
Are you going to sail on the rising seas like Noah
What you going to feed your little orphans
When there's no more fish in the sea forever

No more Sundays
And no more religion for you
No more pie in the sky
And no man in the moon

What you going to do when the rain comes
Are you going to live on your holy desert island
Caught between the devil and the deep blue sea
As our world slowly stops turning forever

Crescent

The stars you see in the night sky
Have been dead for centuries
Sunlight creates the illusion
Of life for all these years

Now I no longer trust these eyes of mine
The heart must speak to me
In tongues of forgotten voices
In ancient harmonies
So that I can see

Heavens are merely illusions
When you build them high in the sky
And hell is the final solution
For those who have no faith in this life
They are blinded by lies

Here in the garden, fountain of life
Here in the garden of arcane delights
Are born from a womb

Down here the seed will rise
From dark earth to the light
To kiss the sun again

She bring me flowers
To ease the pain
She brings me light
Where only darkness waits

And the more I see
The more life means to me
And the way you love the wild earthly dream
She sings her song for you and me

I don't care what lies beyond this world
All I really care about is you
All Mother Nature's gifts of life have made
Have made this world a paradise for you and I

Bring Me a Cup of Wine

(Apostolos Kaldaras)

Bring to me a cup of wine
And come and keep me company
For me this night
Will be the very last

Hey life, you drip poison,
I'm sick of you
And the golden palaces you promised
Are all just fake.

Sing to me sad songs
From the bottom of your heart
There is nothing heavier
Than my very own sufferings

Hey life, you drip poison
I'm sick of you
And the golden palaces you promised
Are all just fake

And if someday, friends, you see
A mother grieving
Just tell her to deal with it
And not to go on waiting for me

Hey life, you drip poison
I'm sick of you
And the golden palaces you promised
Are all just fake

Gypsy Girl

(Giorgos Batis)

Gypsy girl in the hammam
I'm paying for all in cash
So that you enjoy your bath
So I don't drop dead and pass
Tsibi ribi, yallah

When you put on your scarf
Flower behind your ear
Cigarette in your hand
Cruising the street bars

Blessed be your beauty
Your dress hanging long
Your heels rising high
As you walk the earth shakes along

My gypsy girl so sweet
My heart lies underneath your feet
You made me lose my mind
'Cause I love you my light

Blessed be your beauty
Your pinafore of gold
You walk around barefoot
Beloved gypsy girl

I can't quite figure out
If you're Turkish or Greek
If you're English or French
Your beauty's so unique

When you wear your fez
Its bobble made of gold
The whole sky shakes and falls
With the stars falling along

In the Basement

(A. Kostis)

Just behind the Prison of Stratona
They beat up a mangas in the basement
Just behind the Prison of Stratona
They beat up a mangas in the basement

Then this cop comes in with a gun
And puts a bullet through our narghilé
Then this cop comes in with a gun
Puts a bullet through our narghilé

And the fez, the fez rolled off
Our narghilé got snuffed out on the floor
And the fez, the fez rolled off
Our narghilé got snuffed out on the floor

But she lights it up again, Kiriakoula
She has hash in joints stashed away
But she lights it up again, Kiriakoula
She has hash in joints stashed away

Cheers to you our bow-legged Mitso
You got stoned on a roomful of smoke
Cheers to you our bow-legged Mitso
You got stoned on a roomful of smoke

The Hash-den Owner

(Spyros Peristeris)

I'm a fine mangas own a classy hash-den
I'm a fine mangas own a classy hash-den
And I am a crafty roller of the dice
Yes I am a crafty roller of the dice

I smoke the hookah with my dame
I smoke the hookah with my dame
And I have paid off all of my debts
Yes I have paid off all of my debts

Everybody calls me a fine dice roller
Everybody calls me a fine dice roller
When I see suckers I grin and I toss
When I see suckers I grin and I toss

When I win at craps and have a lot of cash
When I win at craps and have a lot of cash
The whole wide world is partying with me
The whole wide world is partying with me

And if I lose, Oh Mother Mary
And if I lose, Oh Mother Mary
My broad always gets it in the neck
Yeah, she always gets it in the neck

O Memetis

Oh My Memeti mou, Memeti mou, aman aman
Oh my heartache is over you
Where are you always disappearing to, aman aman
Where are you always going to… leaving me behind

Where are you going, Memeti mou and Maria, aman aman
The violins are playing and I'm now going to see
I'm Memetis, a lover, aman aman
I'm a lovesick manga and a passionate man

I smoke hashish and the hookah, aman aman
I sing the amane with longing
And as I smoke the hookah, aman aman
And as I smoke, my melancholy breaks the baglama

Aman, aman
We are smoking with Maria
Aman, aman
Smoking and laughing at the universe
Aman, aman

In The City's Hammam

(Anestis 'Artemis' Delias)

In the city's hammam
A harem takes a bath
Arab guards then take them to Ali Pasha

He orders the arab guards
To bring the girls in front of him
Then he makes them dance and play the bouzouki

He smokes a hookah
With Turkish hashish
And all the girls dance
The gypsy tsifteteli
And all the girls dance
The gypsy tsifteteli

That's the way of life
For all the world's pashas
Bouzoukis and hookahs
With hugs and kisses
With hugs and kisses

Bouzoukis and hookahs
With hugs and kisses
With hugs and kisses

Bring to me a cup of wine
And come and keep me company
For me this night
Will be the very last

Hey life, you drip poison
I'm sick of you
And the golden palaces you promised
Are all just fake.

Sing to me sad songs
From the bottom of your heart
There is nothing heavier
Than my very own sufferings

Hey life, you drip poison,
I'm sick of you
And the golden palaces you promised
Are all just fake.

And if someday, friends, you see
A mother grieving
Just tell her to deal with it
And not to go on waiting for me

Hey life, you drip poison,
I'm sick of you
And the golden palaces you promised
Are all just fake

Tonight In Your Neighbourhood

(Spyros Peristeris & Minos Matsas)

Tonight I had a lot to drink
In your very own neighborhood
To find the courage to tell you
That you really blew my mind

Op tria la la la la
Op tria la la la la la
Oh how you blew my mind

Op tria la la la la
Op tria la la la la la
Oh how you blew my mind

Come on now my golden love
Come and let us drink some wine
Later on we can go to mama
To find a best man and a holy papa*

Op tria la la la la
Op tria la la la la la
Oh how you blew my mind

Op tria la la la la
Op tria la la la la la
Oh how you blew my mind

Would you like me to build you a nest
So the neighborhood will envy you
Oh and you will be my feast
feast of dance, song and wine

Op tria la la la la
Op tria la la la la la
Oh how you blew my mind

Op tria la la la la
Op tria la la la la la
Oh how you blew my mind

You Were Barefoot

(A. Kostis)

You were barefoot roaming the streets
Now I've got you, you need a chauffeur

You were barefoot picking up pennies
Now I've got you, you ask for dollar bills

You were dirt poor gathering wild herbs
Now I've got you, you need golden rings

I sentenced Death to a thousand years in jail
So you'd be free to spend time with me
I rolled my dice and I got six and five
The cops in the corner rolled me five by five

The Pickpockets

(Stelios 'Stellakis' Perpiniadis & Vangelis Papazoglu)

Down in Le….
Hey down in Le….
Down in Lemonadika

Down in Lemonadika
There's a commotion going on
They just caught two pickpockets
Who are now both playing dumb

The handcuffs….
Hey the handcuffs
They put them both in handcuffs

They put them in handcuffs
And led them off to jail
And if the wallets are not found
They'll beat them both into the ground

Mister police
Hey Mister police
Mister policeman don't beat us

Mister policeman do not beat us
Since you well know it is true
That this is our only work
And so no kick-back is due

Oh yes we steal
Hey we steal
It's us that steal the wallets

It's us that steal the wallets
And us that will be beaten up
So they will often put us
Behind those big prison doors

Down in Le….
Hey down in Le….
Down in Lemonadika

It's us that steal the wallets
And us that will be beaten up
It's not death that really scares us
But the fear of hunger does

Christos, Play the Bouzouki

(Vasilis Tsitsanis)

Play Christos the bouzouki
Drop a sweet penia
As I am getting high play the Zembiko
As I am getting high play the Zembika

To dance through the mind haze
With grace and modesty
My heart is black from all of the hardships
My heart is black from all of the heartaches

Play Christos another one
Dark thoughts are passing by
One day, layed out on my bed, they will find me
One day, layed out on my bed, they will find me

Dream Letter

( Sing a song for you LP / Tribute to Tim Buckley )

Please listen darling to my empty prayers
Sleep inside my dreams tonight
All I need to know tonight are you and my child

Oh, is he a soldier or is he a dreamer
Is he mama's little man?
Does he help you when he can
Or does he ask about me

Just like a soldier without fighting wars
That the world never knows about
But I never win them loud
There's no crowds around me

But when I get to thinking
About the old days
When love was here to stay
I wonder if we'd ever tried
Oh, what I'd give to hold him

Happy Time

( Tim Buckley cover sung by Brendan Perry on the 4AD "13 year itch" Compilation )

Ah, it's a happy time inside my mind
When a melody does find a rhyme
Says to me I'm comin' home to stay
Oh, lord, home to stay
I'm comin' home to stay
Home to stay

Ah, lord, it's just the same old story
Something about love for glory
A nickel and a dime a dozen
Fame
Ah, it's such a shame
Ah, the way they use your name
Ah, you know it's such a shame
When it's only mine to sing a song
Hoping that you'd cross along my way
Before I have to move along
Ah, now move along
Ah, but I'll be back again
Ooh back again

Ah, it's a happy time inside my mind
When a melody does find a rhyme
Says to me I'm comin' home to stay
Oh, lord, home to stay
I'm comin' home to stay
Home to stay

Sleep late now mama
Let the mornin' sun warm your bed
While I'm away
While I'm away