Frank Turner

[fox69]

"The Opening Act Of Spring"

"The Opening Act Of Spring"



Oh the birds are ringing in
The opening act of spring
And I have fallen down and I'm so much worse than I have ever been
Oh the season's acting strange
And I know that something has to change
But there is no path I can choose that will not bring somebody pain

Oh, please forgive me for the things that I must do
Oh, though I have hurt so many people it was never my intention to hurt you

Oh the clouds have gathered thick
And in my stomach I feel sick
And I have all this drive and no idea what I should do with it
But they say there is a calm
After the passing of the storm
So I can dream of going back outside when the rain and thunder's done

But oh, please forgive me for the things that I must do
But oh, though I have hurt so many people it was never my intention to hurt you

I know the old folks say
They can tell which way the river's flowing
Tell which way the wind is blowing
Watching careful for the
Signs among the little things
The barking dogs, the birds on wing
I am deaf and blind
And I can't say if I can change
Patterns that have caused you pain
Well, I was raised in suburbs
Sheltered from the sun and rain
Far away from subtle season's change

Oh baby I will read
About the buzzing of the bees
About the grass and snakes and spawning lakes and the different types of trees
And I will find a way
That leads from cruel April into May
And someday soon it will be June and you'll decide to stay

And oh, please forgive me for the things that I have done
On, I will carry your umbrella in the summer
And I'll shade you from the sun

 

[fox69]

"The Outdoor Type"
(originally by The Lemonheads)

"The Outdoor Type"
(originally by The Lemonheads)



I always had a roof above me, I always paid the rent
And I've never set foot inside a tent
I couldn't build a fire to save my life
I lied about being the outdoor type

Well, I've never slept out underneath the stars
The closest that I came to that was one time in my car
Broke down for an hour in the suburbs at night
I lied about being the outdoor type

Too scared to let you know that you knew what you were looking for
I lied until I fit the bill, God bless the great indoors
I lied about being the outdoor type
Never owned a sleeping bag, let alone a mountain bike

No, I can't go away with you on a rock-climbing weekend
What if something's on TV that's never shown again?
It's just as well I'm not invited, as I'm afraid of heights
I lied about being the outdoor type

Never learned to swim, can't grow a beard, or even fight
I lied about being the outdoor type.

 

[fox69]

"The Quiet One"
(originally by Mark Mulcahy)

"The Quiet One"
(originally by Mark Mulcahy)



What kind of drugs have you done tonight?
'Cause you've got a face like a lava light
Gong bell and the bats in the belfry bangin'
I can't ever tell what you're thinking
She gets upset by the setting sun,
And I like you, my little quiet one

I like you
I like when you're quiet

Chitty chatter chat that's the hardest part
And I never knew a real performance artist
But there's a mean streak in your flower basket
I had a question I could never ask it
And I'm as friendly as they come
But I like you, my little quiet one

I like you
I like when you're quiet

I like you
Well I like when you're quiet

I'm gonna tie you up
Grind you up
To keep you here for me, my dear
I want to make you part of my collection
I Want this sturdy little wonder,
Thunder or touch you
But I hope that it never ends

Join the circle and the conversation
Do you need to know me to know my destination
But I'm leaving out the chairs, and the clothes, and the house
But I need someone who cares if I'm around
You can measure my language by the ton,
But I like you, my little quiet one

I like you
I like when you're quiet
I like you
Well I like when you're quiet
I like you
Well I like when you're quiet

 

[fox69]

"The Real Damage"

"The Real Damage"



I woke up on a sofa in an unfamiliar house,
Surrounded by sleeping folks that I didn’t know.
On failing to find my friends, I decided that it was clearly time to go.
So I made my way out of the door as quietly as I could –
There was no one there I knew to say goodbye –
Squinting in the sadly sobering sunshine of the Sunday morning light.

I started the night with all my friends and I ended up alone,
Oh yes I started out so happy now I’m hung-over and down.
It was about then that I realized I was half-way through
The best years of my life.

So I scanned the local landmarks, trying to find out where I was,
And maybe even find a bus back home.
I was longing for a shower, and for clean sheets, and a charger for my phone.
And suddenly it hit me that I got paid this Friday last
And so I rifled through my pockets for some change.
But all I found was a packet of broken cigarettes and sinking sense of shame.

I had to ask myself, well,
Is it really worth it?
Is any of this worth it?
Well the whole thing’s far from perfect,
But I’ve yet to figure out a better way to spend my time.

Too many suits and dirty looks made me rack my brains,
And the real damage started to sink in.
It’d been quite a heavy weekend, but I could just about remember where I’d been.

I stood on a street corner, and I felt a little sick.
It was about then that I realized I was half-way through
The first day of the week.

 

[fox69]

"The Road"

"The Road"



To the east, to the east, the road beneath my feet.
To the west, to the west, I haven’t got there yet.
To the north, to the north, never to be caught.
To the south, to the south, my time is running out.
Ever since my childhood I've been scared, I've been afraid,
of being trapped by circumstance, of staying in one place,
and so I always keep a small bag full of clothes carefully stored,
somewhere secret, somewhere safe, somewhere close to the door.
Well I’ve travelled many countries, washed my feet in many seas,
I've drunk with grifters in Vienna and with punks in old DC,
and I've driven across deserts,
driven by the irony that only being shackled to the road could ever I be free.

To the east, to the east, the road beneath my feet.
To the west, to the west, I haven’t got there yet.
To the north, to the north, never to be caught.
To the south, to the south, my time is running out.

I've felt old before my time
but now I keep the age away by burning up the miles and by filling up my days.
And the nights, a thousand nights I've played, a thousand more to go,
before I take a breath, and steel myself for the next one thousand shows.

To the east, to the east, the road beneath my feet.
To the west, to the west, I haven’t got there yet.
To the north, to the north, never to be caught.
To the south, to the south, my time is running out.

So saddle up your horses and keep your powder dry,
because the truth is you won't be here long, soon you're going to die.
To the heart, to the heart, there's no time for you to waste,
and you won't find your precious answers by staying in one place,
by giving up the chase.

To the east, to the east, the road beneath my feet.
To the west, to the west, I haven’t got there yet.
To the north, to the north, never to be caught.
To the south, to the south, my time is running out.
To the south, to the south, my time is running out.
To the south, to the south, my time is running out.

I face the horizon, everywhere I go.
I face the horizon, the horizon is my home.
I face the horizon, everywhere I go.
I face the horizon, the horizon is my home.

 

[fox69]

"The Slow Train"
(originally by Flanders And Swann)

"The Slow Train"
(originally by Flanders And Swann)



Miller's Dale for Tideswell
Kirby Muxloe
Mow Cop and Scholar Green

No more will I go to Blandford Forum and Mortehoe
On the slow train from Midsomer Norton and Mumby Road
No churns, no porter, no cat on a seat
At Chorlton-cum-Hardy or Chester-le-Street
We won't be meeting again
On the Slow Train

I'll travel no more from Littleton Badsey to Openshaw
At Long Stanton I'll stand well clear of the doors no more
No whitewashed pebbles, no Up and no Down
From Formby Four Crosses to Dunstable Town
I won't be going again
On the Slow Train

On the Main Line and the Goods Siding
The grass grows high
At Dog Dyke, Tumby Woodside
And Trouble House Halt

The Sleepers sleep at Audlem and Ambergate
No passenger waits on Chittening platform or Cheslyn Hay
No one departs, no one arrives
From Selby to Goole, from St Erth to St Ives
They've all passed out of our lives
On the Slow Train, on the Slow Train

Cockermouth for Buttermere ... on the Slow Train
Armley Moor Arram
Pye Hill and Somercotes ... on the Slow Train
Windmill End

 

[fox69]

"The Way I Tend To Be"

"The Way I Tend To Be"




Some mornings I pray for evening,
For the day to be done.
Some summer days I hide away
And wait for rain to come.
It turns out hell will not be found
Within the fires below,
But in making do and muddling through
When you've nowhere else to go.

But then I remember you,
And the way you shine like truth in all you do.
And if you remembered me,
You could save me from the way I tend to be.
The way I tend to be

Some days I wake up dazed my dear,
And I don't know where I am.
I've been running now so long I'm scared
I've forgotten how to stand.
And I stand alone in airport bars
And gather thoughts to think:
That if all I had was one long road
It could drive a man to drink.

But then I remember you,
And the way you shine like truth in all you do.
And if you remembered me,
You could save me from the way I tend to be.

'Cause I've said I love you so many times that the words kinda die in my mouth.
And I meant it each time with each beautiful woman but somehow it never works out.
But you stood apart in my calloused heart, and you taught me and here's what I learned:
That love is about all the changes you make and not just three small words.

And then I catch myself
Catching your scent on someone else
In a crowded space
And it takes me somewhere I cannot quite place.

And then I remember you,
And the way you shine like truth in all you do.
And if you remembered me,
You could save me from the way I tend to be, the way I tend to be.
Way I tend to be.
The way I tend to be.

 

[fox69]

"This Town Ain't Big Enough For The One Of Me"

"This Town Ain't Big Enough For The One Of Me"



A free house, a sound-system and a fridge full of beer;
I've known how this story ends for a good few years.
The night lays out before my eyes, there's no new faces, no surprises.
This town is growing old with me, so I'm making a move.
Everybody round here's been out with everybody else,
Which makes talking to girls hazardous to my health.
They've been in this gene pool so long they've got wrinkled toes;
I don't want all her exes to be people I know.
There's millions more fish in the sea, so I'm making a move.

I'm bored of this town, bored of this scene, bored of these people, yeah.
I'm an expert at pretending that everything is OK,
But I'm just a kid and it seems as if I've signed my life away.
I need to get out and see what the rest of the world is about.
This toen ain't big enough for the one of me, I'm making a move.

Every guy with long hair round here is a star,
According to his girlfriend and the way that he holds his guitar.
If anyone gets out they stick in the knife,
I don't want to get stuck here for the rest of my life.
I'm sick of these fuckers, I'm moving on.
I still want to be buried here, just like I said,
but I'd prefer it if you'd wait until I'm actually dead.
It's easy to get caught inside a town that seems to have a hive-mind,
But I'm packing up and moving on,
When I move out from my parents' house I'm gone,
Yeah fuck you guys I'm gone.

This town ain't big enough for the one of me,
So why don't you get from in front of me?
We're all going to move to London anyway, so I'll see you in town.

 

[fox69]

"Thunder Road"
(originally by Bruce Springsteen)

"Thunder Road"
(originally by Bruce Springsteen)



Well, the screen door slams, Mary's dress waves
Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays
Roy Orbison is singing for the lonely
Hey, that's me, I want you only
Don't turn me home again, I just can't face myself alone again

So don't you run back inside, darling, 'cause you know just what I'm here for
And you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we're not that young anymore
Well, show a little faith, 'cause there's magic in the night
You ain't a beauty, hey, alright
Oh, and that's alright with me

Now you can hide underneath the covers and study your pain
Make crosses from your lovers and throw roses in the rain
You can waste your summers praying in vain
For a savior to rise from these streets

Oh, I'm no hero, and that's understood
All the redemption I can offer, girl, is beneath this dirty hood
We got a chance to make it good somehow
Well, what else can we do now?

Except roll down the window and let the wind blow back our hair
This night's busted open, and these two lanes can take us anywhere
We got one last chance to make it real
To trade in these wings on some wheels
Climb in back, darling, now heaven is waiting down on the tracks

So, oh-oh, come take my hand
We're riding out tonight to case the promised land
Oh-oh-oh-oh, Thunder Road, oh, Thunder Road
Oh, Thunder Road

Well it's lying out there like a killer in the sun
And I know that it's late, but we can make it if we run
Oh-oh-oh-oh, Thunder Road
Sit tight, take hold, Thunder Road

Well, I got this guitar and I learned how to make it talk
And my car's out back if you're ready to take that long, long walk
From your front porch to my front seat
The door's open but the ride ain't free
And I know you're lonely for things that I haven't spoken
But tonight we'll be free, all the promises will be broken

There were ghosts in the eyes of all the boys that you sent away
They haunt these dusty beach roads in the skeleton frames of burned out Chevrolets
And they scream your name at night in the street
The graduation gown lies in rags at their feet

And in the lonely cold before dawn
You hear the engines roaring on
But when you get to the porch they're gone
On the wind
So Mary climb in
This is a town full of losers, I'm-a pulling out of here to win

 

[fox69]

"Time Machine"

"Time Machine"



I'm a gonna build myself a time machine
On particle physics and the power steam
It runs on diesel oil and Donnie Darko daydreams
Packed a pair of socks and a hunting rifle
Change of underwear and some snacks to trifle
Scared of going back you know how I'm forgetful

To go back and to see the way things really used to be
Not the way we remember them at all

Packed up, sat in my DeLorean
Like some kind of amateur historian
I'll visit the Renaissance and the Romans, the Victorians
Drinking in Deadwood in the 1880s
Rock and roll and drive thrus in the 1950s
Trying not to change things so the plot lines don't get shifty

To go back and to see the way things really used to be
Not the way we remember them
To go back and to see the way things really used to be
Not the way we remember them at all

Cause I can't recall, you tell it to me false
What if everything were to change completely
If you just saw a replay of the crucial scenes
From the passenger window of a time machine

In truth the real reason that I built this here machine
Was just to travel back a couple of years
To when we first met before the fights and the tears
To the time when you and I first got together
Simple days and simple words like "forever"
Tripped off our tongues, come on you must remember

Let's go back and let's see the way things really used to be
Before life quietly dismembered
All the best things about you and I before the doubts
Drowned out all of the mirth and mercy
Come on baby please you must remember

Please remember
Baby please remember