Marc Almond Album

Well I'm walkin' blind down danger street
The street where eyes don't dare to meet
Dirt-Doorways frame silhouettes
A Teeth-Grind-Grinning smile of threat
Down here you ask for all you get
These East Side Angrys'll getchoo yet
Ignore the cat calls look straight ahead
You could wind up the other side of dead
(If you're lucky)

Well I took a glance sideways
Straight into some Chicano chick's eyes
They were pretty wild
Like she'd been snortin' some of that cocaine
She was mean for trouble
Boilin' for blood
But I had to say she was stacked
From the tip of her toes
To her flaming red hair
She's gonna drag me up to her Carnal Cage of no way out desire

Help, Help
You gotta help yourself
Help me, Help me
You son of a gun
You gotta run muchacho run

Well I was getting to know the neighbourhood
Getting to know how it looked and smelled
Watching the windows
In tenement hell
Love was rape
And love for sale
And death a fact of life
Love was rare
But who cares, who cares
When you're living by the knife
Well I took a slug of bitter coffee
Pulled a face as bitter hit me
End up with a new mouth
Carved where my throat used to be
And then I saw him
Tall and proud
Wearing the entire city garbage dump
Around his neck and wrists

And then I saw him
Dirty red Chicano sweat bandanna
And colours
Held together by filth and fury
Oh wow-ee-ow
The Leader of the Shining Sinners
The Leader of the Shining Sinners

And she was by his side
This Vampira I'd seen earlier
She looked at me the look of scum
Help, Help
You gotta help yourself
Help me, Help me
You son of a gun
You gotta run muchacho run

He walked
Did I say walked?
Well I mean WAAALKED
Right up to me at a slow pace
He looked down at me and said
"Shee-it!"
My knees were bucklin'
My brow was sweatin'
I stared straight ahead at his knee cap
I had to strike soon

The Leader of the Shining Sinners
Sweet 'n' sharp and
Cool 'n' calm
He lives for them
They die for him
Bitten through with nails of hatred
He takes his band of laughing dead
To gather up the wages of skin

Keep my eyes upon the pavement
Nothing else could save me
In this battlefield of blood and bruises
I'll take this brave stiletto
And with all the courage left in my heart
I'll . . . I'll take the life of the Leader of the Shining Sinners

He lay upon the ground
Coughing up blood
He looked up at me
Yes I was the big one now
And said
"I wanted to shake your hand
You little runt
For having the guts to walk into my neighbourhood
I liked you!"
And with that he died

Leaderless and laughless
The Wastrels of the Shining Sinners
Lay me out like some dead cat on the ground
I taste the taste of human filth
My courage caves in on itself
Now no-one's leading anyone anymore
And I wondered what I did it for
And I wondered what I did it for

Why did I do it?
Why?
Why did I do it?
Why - Why did I do it?
Why?
Why?
Why?

Heart in velvet
Heart in velvet

Wrap my heart in velvet
Put it in your pocket
Take it out each evening
Kiss it and love it
Wrap my heart in velvet
Save it for tomorrow
When you're feeling sad
Let it help you through your sorrow
Wrap my heart in velvet
Keep it safe from danger
Let it be your friend
When you feel like a stranger

And if you love me
Wrap my heart in velvet
Wrap my heart in velvet
Hide it safely away
And save it for a rainy day

Wrap my heart in velvet
Seal my soul in silk
Cover my kisses in satin
Put them in a box for a rainy day

Wrap my heart in velvet
Let it be your treasure
Let it give you the warmth
That only love can measure

Wrap my heart in velvet
Let it be a token
For the many times
Your poor heart was broken
Wrap my heart in velvet
Till its fully grown
There may be a moment
That you lose your own

And if you love me
Wrap my heart in velvet
Wrap my heart in velvet
Hide it safely away
And save it for a rainy day

Wrap my heart in velvet
Keep it in the cool and shade
Let it hold the tears
For the mistakes you made
Wrap my heart in velvet
For no more I'll need it
Keep it like a child
Nurture and feed it
Wrap my heart in velvet
Keep it near you when your sleeping
Let it be the vessel
For the love you're keeping

And if you love me
Wrap my heart in velvet
Wrap my heart in velvet
Hide it safely away
And save it for a rainy day

And don't hurt my heart
Please don't hurt my heart
Then you'll never see my cry
You'll never see me die

Wrap my heart in velvet

Oh you have the saddest eyes
That I have ever seen
Secret sorrows of a heart
That breaks so easily
Don't let me catch you crying
Don't let me catch you crying

Watching through the pane of glass
The final silent scenes
You became a fading face
In morning's half forgotten dream
Don't let me catch you crying
Just hear the sad breeze sighing

You have
You have

You have the first ice of winter
I have the first rain of summer
You have the sad signs of sorrow
I have to leave you tomorrow
Words on a torn piece of paper
Escape from the window forever
Memories don't seem to matter
When crushed under heel in the gutter

Oh you have the saddest eyes
That I have ever seen
Secret sorrows of a heart
That breaks so easily
Don't let me catch you crying
Just hear the sad breeze sighing

You have
You have

I wander out along the rain washed streets
Blinded with tears
And kicking cans
Wrecked and wild
With an ever-crushing loneliness
Feverish and tousled
With an ever-crushing love
I know I won't find any answers here
I know my pleading voice bounds back an echo
It ricochets back down the cavernous alley
Hey don't be a stranger
Sad how misguided and confused
We suffer inside
Stumbling from one shaky stepping stone
To another
Reaching out for a blind, blind love
Reaching out for a blind, blind love

Small we fall easy prey to self-pity
Wishing I was with you on the other side
Maybe tomorrow I'll join you in Paradise
Maybe tomorrow I'll join you in Paradise

I'm trying to wash the taste away
I'm trying to wash the taste away
Trying not to cry the night away
Trying not to cry the night away
I'm finding a bitter word to say
And I'm finding it easier every day

Contempt
Every day it fills me
Contempt
Every day it kills me
Contempt
Every tear that blinds me
Contempt
Building up inside me

One kiss and the poison melts away
One smile and the poison melts away
I'm trying not to cry the nights away
I'm trying not to cry the nights away
I'm finding a bitter word to say
And I'm finding it easier every day

Contempt
Every day it fills me
Contempt
Every day it kills me
Contempt
Every tear that blinds me
Contempt
Building up inside me

You came crawling out the woodwork
Like some ghost from my past
With stories 'bout me
That I'd long since forgot
Telling me tales of how big you are now
But I know you as nothing
As nothing you got
You'd split me wide open
And spill all my beans
Because you think
That I still think
Something of you
You'd run away with everything
That I have
Take all my soul, sense and dignity too

Loving is the saddest game to play
Loving is the saddest game to play
I'm trying not to cry the nights away
I'm trying not to cry the nights away
I'm finding a bitter word to say
And I'm finding it easier every day

Contempt
Every day it fills me
Contempt
Every day it kills me
Contempt
Every tear that blinds me
Contempt
Building up inside me

Sitting on the kerb
You wipe the tears away again
The gutter holds your sallow hearts
That wash down with the rain
Barbed and brittle hands that push
The hair out of your eyes
Pavement fires a-flicker
Like a host of fire flies

My song calls from the gutter
And the gutter sings to me
A roundabout of down and outs
In cardboard box city
My song calls from the gutter
And the gutter sings to me
A roundabout of down and outs
A dark cacophony

The wolven of the orphan gangs
Take turns to search and steal
They splash about the puddles
And are trodden under heel
They bathe their pearly faces
In the lights of Chinatown
And they lick their pearly fingers
When the street lamps flicker down

My song calls from the gutter
And the gutter sings to me
A roundabout of down and outs
In cardboard box city
My song calls from the gutter
And the gutter sings to me
A roundabout of down and outs
A dark cacophony

All night I've been up
With the bitterest of thoughts
I can't seem to throw
All my cares to the wind
Makes me sleep feverish
Makes me sleep scared
Pillow of secrets
And blanket of sins

Oh I bet your life
You're sick of the sight
Of those eat in, take out, throw up pizza bars
Love's just got to pass your way in time
You smell of prison, smell of crime
I just didn't want to say I told you so

Someone called "Hey yesterday boy!"
Take your well worn body away from my sight
Friends run like rats from a sinking ship
Leaving you naked to the night
Now you're known as the last resort
By the vultures on the make
They say
'You have to eat the hamburger
To appreciate the steak'

You always feel the sting of words
As children are so cruel
They called you Ugly, Ugly Head
When you were at school
You've tried to make the best of things
But it seems you've given in
They call you Ugly, Ugly Head
Something makes you feel the living sin

Things must feel so insecure
When you're on your last legs
You're swimming in the coffee pot
Drowning in the dregs
But you haven't got the sense to die
(Or get a decent job)
To look into a mirror
Or at the very worst some kind of God
You need something to believe in
I just wish it was yourself
Try to summon up the guts
To rectify your ailing health
For there's something round the corner
Waiting just out of sight
That'll stop you feeling low and limp
And naked to the night

You always feel the sting of words
As children are so cruel
They called you Ugly, Ugly Head
When you were at school
You've tried to make the best of things
But it seems you've given in
They call you Ugly, Ugly Head
Something makes you feel the living sin

Ugly, Ugly, Ugly
Ugly, Ugly, Ugly
Ugly, Ugly, Ugly
Ugly Head!

He woke to the sound of the birds in the morning
Felt charged with a new lease of life
Time to break out of his present surroundings
A mother, a child and a wife
He'd not said good-bye to his last thread of childhood
It lay just beyond his front gate
So he packed just a few things
And he packed in his job
And he prayed he'd not left it too late

He turned and he said
"Well we always have time,
Time on our side
And there's time for this boy to turn back"

Joy held his heart
As he took to the road
Cast all his sorrow
To the breeze
Knew in his heart
It was the right thing to do
For he had to search out
His belief
Spring came and fall went
The year ran away
Love, hate and heartache ran too
Felt himself drift
Into memories of home
And the loneliness he lived on through

He turned and he said
"Well we always have time,
Time on our side
And there's time for this boy to turn back"

And he'd learnt about life
But he'd lost out on love
He was no longer only a boy
There were lines on his face
From the sun and the wind
But no lines there through
Laughter or joy

Shoes full of holes
But with fire in his soul
He walked down the dirt beaten track
Mother was gone
But his wife and child were living on
And they cried
"It's the boy who came back"
Goodbye through the evening
Goodbye through the night
Goodbye through the dreams
Through the sleep
Goodbye to our yesterdays
Hello tomorrow
It seems we were destined to meet

He turned and he said
"Well we always have time,
Time on our side
And there's time for this boy to turn back"

The cops had the boys
Up against the car
Down Santa Monica Boulevard
Baby food for the rich and sick
Thank LA for spawning it

High pile hair
Low slung breasts
The big hung boy
The deep cut dress

Ran a chicken ranch
For a guy named Tex
Didn't know who Tex
Would bring home next
One from a slum
One who was a bum
One on the run
And somebody's son
One whose mother was in on the kick
Baby food for the rich and sick

There's cops at the hatch
But she doesn't even hear
She's too busy practising Santeria
Oh Chango Chango
Oh Chango Chango
Chango Chango won't you bring me luck
Plenty of money
Oh yes! And a little bit of love

Trussed up tight
On a mattress of thorns
Four limbs tied to the corner of the bed
Mummy's goodbyes ringing in my head
Mummy's goodbyes ringing in my head
Goodbye, Goodbye

There's someone at the till
And someone at the tools
Hot brand iron
And a collar of steel
Somebody put my name on a runaway list
I never thought I'd get caught like this

She's down below at a coconut shrine
Cryin' Chango Chango won't you bring me a man
A man who is clean
Who never acts mean
And you know where he's been
Someone from a dream that is
Someone who'll take me away from here
ME! The finest Madame in Mexico City
Being Den Mother in a nursery

I'd like to put them out of their misery
But a gun to the temple don't seem like me
I'd like to put them out of their misery
But a gun to the temple don't seem like me

On heavenly rain
You fell into my life
Unforgettable smile
Unforgettable lies
In the name of the cross
Or a banner of love
With the hand of a friend
Or under a blanket of trust

The angels sighed
A little girl cried
The tears run rings around my eyes

We're going to set fire
To the house in my heart
We're going to set fire
To the whole damn world
I don't understand
The wicked things we do
In the name of the good
In the name of the few

The angels sighed
The little girl cried
The tears run rings around my eyes

Don't look at me
With your innocent smile
When the bed is burning
Around my head
When a war breaks out
It'll be no surprise
Your unforgettable smile
Your unforgettable lies

And I've got to stop running
To make my start
We've got to get together
Before we fall apart

They're pulling down the old slums
To build the new
They're bringing back the old rules
To please the few
In the name of the cross
Or a banner of love
With the hand of a friend
Or under a blanket of trust

The angels sighed
A little girl cried
The tears run rings around my eyes

Pull down the old slums
To build the new
Pull down the love
I built with you
Promise of tomorrow
You never kept
And you try to burn the house down
When I slept
The nation's in disorder
There's chaos in my heart
We've got to get together
Before we fall apart