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Magpie Alarm

by The Scene Is Now

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1.
Cities Cities are over you said F Train And we’re off to Houston and Ludlow Tonic Do you follow sounds of jazz today? New York twilight time You got a way with a shadow Taxi Taxi and we’re on our way crosstown Liquid Fills your eyes like a shop window Novel Is it really new, your newest style? New York twilight time You got a way with a shadow Live your life alone Disappear Whistling Whistling the standard tunes Sample Many songs are now fragments rearranged Caution Maybe this was the scene of the crime New York twilight time You got away in the shadows Live your life alone In the shadows Disappear Whistling whistling I do believe that cities are beautiful So many millions of stories they hold And all of this town is mine for the taking now Shadows and monuments, stories as well
2.
No sound Call the powder up Sound That’s half the battle there No sound Put a rhythm down Sound That’s the half battle there No sound Bring the flank around That’s the half battle there Horns filled with water April in the branches She pulled off her boots In the flying clouds Laces dangling down
3.
Fresno 02:55
Shifty, pale and anxious Sundown hungry in a six-badge town You got fare to the fish fry? Big dipper in dungarees Get up on the wagon I will follow you All the way to Fresno Clean to San Berdoo Out from Kalamazoo We’ll dress in linen Straw brim hides your mug so pale All the brass in Cleveland They will bear the sheaves away? Scrambling armadillos Oxen low in fear Funnels tore through Kansas Took anything that crawled Boy’s I’ll tell you something Ain’t worth forty-five Jawbone on the mantle Sure they’ll take him cold I’d rather catch him live We’ll dress in linen Straw brim hides your mug so pale All the brass in Cleveland Round the gallows, praise his name Fresno
4.
Ragamuffin 02:25
5.
Norway Pine 04:06
6.
(by Greg Peterson) There are things I’d love to do But I don’t think I’ll ever get to do them Places I would love to go See them when it snows Growing old is always at the back of my mind Growing old is always at the back of my mind Earlier I said to you All my dreams are coming unglued but That’s not really true They’re just overdue Growing old is always at the back of my mind Growing old is always at the back of my mind
7.
Pedestrian 02:31
Notice how the skyline changes each and every day Landmarks that you once relied on, simply gone away I know I've got a lot to learn, baby But I don't have much time We were both pedestrians on that fateful day You took my arm to guide me, then got lost along the way It might be time to say goodbye Here, on the avenue
8.
Finito 02:02
Then in shock, she threw the contents From the balcony Howling out above the northern wind “From this moment on I will never pray” Hobbling by, the wizened arbiter Nabbed a bouncing coin Never one to doubt in providence He muttered as he fled “Praise the angels kind” Trim the fat and sear the hog flesh We’ll feast tonight Celebrate the maiden’s discomfiture Wanton, she was damned By an impish hand
9.
Skulduggery 02:49
The man who knew too much Died in Cheshire A poisoned apple But no Wicked Queen A hint of dry vermouth Caresses tender He was no machine Enjoyed strawberries and cream Observe the squares each in turn Keine Zusätze zum Vorbericht Where’s a prince to wake you? Looks like he’s been and gone A cipher like Enigma Taste the apple from my hand I’ll be the fairest in the land A lad from Paddington Broke the tender peel Reset the rotor wheels Enjoyed strawberries and cream Observe the squares each in turn Keine Zusätze zum Vorbericht Where’s a prince to wake you? Looks like he’s been and gone A cipher like Enigma Taste the apple from my hand A message from the unseen world
10.
The Cold 04:20
Sometimes this world is a brutal place Dark, cruel and cold And evil thrives on the innocent God rest their souls No map or direction to show the way When death and shadows enfold All you martyrs who aim for paradise May go to hell All the stories as told and the images graven Of blessed lives of sacrifice are craven lies by charlatans And everybody knows We'll go on down to the riverbank And look once more Through the mist, see what's left of the factory On the other shore The wind tastes of salt, of the harbor and the sea which stretches beyond Do you wonder if this is paradise? Sometimes I do All the stories I've told and the lies you've forgiven Are in the salt and mist and sea, the harbor and the factory And everybody knows Sometimes this world is a brutal place Dark, cruel and cold And evil thrives on the innocent God rest their souls The wind tastes of salt, of the harbor and The sea which stretches beyond If you leave me in search of paradise I bid you well
11.
Last Call 02:16
Seventeen dead whites Mud river ivories Flat brown Barbary Street Beautiful long fingers Put me down in a minor key High heel music stole my baby Champagne, play that "Acre o Sod" Where did it go? Let's ask Rarefly, she might know Shut down the cakewalk Perfume and red rouge So long Barbary Street Upright's been swept away Like a cork on the rapids High heel music stole my baby Once more, for that "Acre o Sod" Where did it go? Don't ask Rarefly, she don't know Last call A fluid will save you Alcohol
12.
Natalie 02:36
There’s a girl I think you know Her name is Natalie You’ve seen her down on Brighton’s beach Tossing stones into the sea Lonely, she’d left the North behind Postcard of sunny Brighton in her hand It was grey that afternoon When evening sets the pier alight She disappears from view You’ve searched the lanes and cinemas Along the arches too Laughing we rode the Crazy Mouse Reeling we ended tumbling to the ground It was grey that afternoon High above the dark Atlantic In my reverie, she is here with me But a daydream disappears She’s a mystery, won’t you tell me please If you’ve seen my Natalie She’s never at the Hanbury Or even Queensbury Mews If I don’t find that Natalie I’ll never shake these blues
13.
He swears he’s innocent Maybe it’s true Don’t mean much to me Got a job to do Lock him in that Cell each night He gets no blanket Just the one light He got 15 to life Time enough, I would say Sometimes he shoots off in the yard I toss him in the hole Nah it ain’t hard Sure I see the worst in men But my place ain’t far away I’m home in 10 He got 15 to life Time enough, I would say I like the sound Of steel on steel Hard boots on tile A bird who’ll squeal He got nailed for Murder two Me I just got A job to do Got me a job for life Time enough, I would say
14.
Turnstiles recommend a crossing through On each curtain's rise the stage Is new A single song can hold an ocean's worth of blue Bye bye diddle eye bye Diddle eye diddle eye day There's another mule Tell her I'm asleep Blue right here to keep me At the edge of the deep

about

Released on CD by Tongue Master Records, London, UK
Physical CDs available for purchase at many sites online.

credits

released February 14, 2011

The Scene Is Now: Philip Dray, Steven Levi, Chris Nelson, Greg Peterson
Honky Ass Punks: Robert Dennis (drums), Sue Garner (bass and vocals)

All songs by The Scene is Now, except "Always At the Back" by Greg Peterson; "Last Call" by Lester and The Scene Is Now.
Recorded in Brooklyn, NY at Coyote Recording Studios (engineer - Michael Caiati), and The Mule Yard (engineer - Sue Garner) mixed at The Mule Yard by Sue Garner and The Scene Is Now. Production assistance - Neill C. Furio.
Songs (C) and (P) 2011 The Scene is Now

Photography by Anne Gilbert. Design by Matt Dorman.
CD Package (C) 2011 Tongue Master Records

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