1. |
Valentino
03:18
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VALENTINO
Once I was the romantic hero
Young girls used to dream about
For once I looked like Valentino
(Especially with me cutlass out)
They used to flock around me
Like a thousand moths towards a light
I used to sing myself to sleep
With pleasure every single night
But have you seen me lately?
Have you seen my eyes?
No more as bright as jade
It must have been the late nights
And the whiskey
And the girls, oh the girls...
Drunk as sin in silk I’d wander
Endless parties, endless balls
In and out of perfumed chambers
(Well in I’d run and out I’d crawl)
Stolen charms in bracelet arms
On pillows soft and pink and white
While men-folk raised their glasses to me
Their wives would raise their dresses high!
But have you seen me lately?
Have you seen my eyes?
No more as bright as jade
It must have been the late nights
And the whiskey
And the girls, oh the girls...
Now in Spain I sit and ponder
‘Where did all those good times go?’
What became of all those women
Whose names I never got to know?
There’s a girl who comes by once a week
I spend my pension on
But like me she is old and tired
And makes me keep my britches on!
But have you seen me lately?
Have you seen my eyes?
No more as bright as jade
It must have been the late nights
And the whiskey
And the girls, oh the girls...
It must have been the girls.
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas © Copyright 2011
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2. |
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THROUGH THE EYES OF DAVID NIVEN
Its not that I am not the type of man
Who wouldn’t like to undress every girl he meets
On the bus or in the city streets
But nowadays it seems they just don’t have the time for me
Perhaps I’m to refined to be
Living in the modern era
They seem to want a man
With style and class
Tattooed in Hebrew on his arse
But through the eyes of David Niven
I see the world In Technicolor
And I’m given my choice of girls
It’s not that I’m the type of guy
Who thinks that he is far more civilised than other men
(Though of course it’s possible but then…)
Nowadays it seems I’ve drifted out of fashion
And they just don’t feel a passion
For the kind of smile I flash ‘em
But those girls wouldn’t know
Of charm and grace
If it jumped up and smacked them in the face
But through the eyes of David Niven
I see the world in Technicolor
And I’m given my choice of girls
You can live your life through your eyes
If you’re inclined
And through the eyes of David Niven
I will live mine
Through the eyes of David Niven
They all say yes
And it’s like I have x-ray vision
Through every dress
So you can go ahead and live your life through whose eyes
You feel inclined
And through the eyes of Mr David Niven
I will live mine.
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas Copyright 2011
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3. |
Beneath The Tuscan Sun
04:24
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Love Beneath The Tuscan Sun
She lay beside the swimming pool
In her Ray Bans after school
At her father’s villa
He was a simple village boy
Whom her father had employed
For the bougainvillea
But as the lotion fried her skin
A temptation settled in
That could last for hours
While he observed her from above
His attention turned to love
And away from flowers
And though he tried
He simply could not hide
The depth of his desire
Beneath the Tuscan sun
She caught him staring at her chest
God these village boys are pests
So uncultivated
Like father’s garden it would seem
If he touches me I’ll scream
And they’re all related
Now as the lotion fried her skin
The temptation crippled him
That he could not cover up
He began to whine and moan
Like an animal alone
To his would be lover
And though she tried
She just could not abide the type
Of thing implied
Beneath the Tuscan sun
Oh here he comes!
Look out!
He stared and scratched his troubled head
As his swimming pool turned red
And began with pardon me
Who’s the body in the pool?
It’s that adolescant fool
I hired to garden
Damn, but your mother was the same
God preserve her sacred name
But these gorrillas
Come to a good romantic end
Now we need a boy to tend
The bougainvilleas
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas
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4. |
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The Girl With the Sun In Her Hair
In my land of thunder
Of grey skies and rain
I study the postcard
And I’m back again
With the warm sand and seas
And the fragrant island breeze
And the girl with the sun in her hair
Each morning I’d watch her
As carefree she’d rome
From palm tree to sea shore
In the place she calls home
And I’d promise I’d stay
And make love every day
To the girl with the sun in her hair
That sad aching feeling
Within her would be
A feeling of true love
If she had me by her side
So tomorrow
I’ll sail to the sun
Far away from the old life
And until life is done
I will live as I please
In the fragrant island breeze
With the girl with the sun in her hair
That feeling of sadness
That she’s had to wear
Will turn into gladness
The moment I’m there by her side
So tomorrow
I’ll sail to the sun
Far away from the old life
And until life is done
I will live as I please
In the fragrant island breeze
With the girl with the sun in her hair
The girl with the sun in her hair
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5. |
Friends Reunited
05:06
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Friends Reunited
We met again
Two friends reunited
Who couldn’t remember why they’d split
Who were so young
In some other lifetime
And you haven’t changed a single bit
I walked into the bar
The feeling was bizarre
We didn’t know how far this would go…
And so…
We drank a toast
To 'friends reunited'
And talked of the old days happy in love
When we rented
That tiny apartment
The landlady’s callers – the pounding above
How would our youthful dream
Reawakened seem?
Do we dare to dream once again?
Then suddenly,
It all came flooding back to me
In a blinding flash of memory
The perpetual mediocrity
And living in such poverty
The bickering and blame
The stupid lovers’ games
And I’m back there once again
And yet…
We carried on
And got to the nightclub
Where we stood and yelled in each others ear
As the techno
Pumped from the ceiling
So I went and queued for watery beer
You danced me to the floor
Suggesting I be more
Relaxed - the way I once was before
But that was then
The days of recitals
Of poets on soap boxes, marches and stares
Out of windows
Of starving and writing
Believing in change if only we dared
Such philosophical days
In smoke filled cafes
I’d watch you through the haze and I’d smile
But suddenly
The flashing lights are spinning me
Regressing and suppressing me
Reminding me what came to be
When the honeymoon was over
That jealous finger wave
Will haunt me to my grave
I was no more than your slave
And yet…
We kissed again
I know, it was stupid
But there in the taxi my hand slid
And you said ‘So, you wanna come in for coffee?’
And what should have never happened did
Tequila was consumed
Assumptions were assumed
And once upstairs I knew I was doomed
Then suddenly
As tender lips are kissing me
Our bodies joined in ecstasy
I hear a voice that’s telling me
That it’s really just not meant to be
Oh leave the past alone
Take your number out her phone
Get out! Get out now you should have known!
And yet…
We lay in bed
Two friends reunited
Beginning to remember why they’d split
And they say the past
Should not be awakened
And so I got dressed to quietly sit
And watch her gently snore
Tiptoe across her floor
And for the final time close the door.
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas
Copyright 2011
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6. |
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WHILE WE’VE BEEN SLEEPING
While we’ve been sleeping
Snow has been falling
Though it has not yet settled on roofs or on trees
“Come back to bed please”
She says half asleep, so I go.
The two figures are wet
Soaked through and yet
There’s no place on earth they would rather expire
He builds a fire
And bathes in the warm afterglow
Does anybody know
Why happiness is so hard to find my dear?
Can anybody hear?
At dusk we go through the streets
The cobbled retreats of long-skirted women
With fog in their eyes
And lamplight replies
They’re pregnant with sin.
Come now child.
Sing and keep singing for
The wretched, the poor, in mansions
Of soot and of heartbreak and fear
But don’t cry my dear
For we are among the beguiled.
Does anybody know
Why happiness is so hard to find my dear?
Can anybody hear?
Can anybody hear?
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas Copyright 2011
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7. |
A Man Could Get Killed
04:02
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A Man Could Get Killed
Picture a man
Who was promised a world
Full of diamonds and pearls
A life to be had
Then look in his eyes
As he stands here today
Almost wasted away
The picture is sad
For this is the man who took on the world
Who lost all he had for the love of one girl
Didn’t you know a man could get killed?
Now as he walks endless streets in the rain
The spring has now passed
Leaving Autumn and pain
And he’ll talk to himself
Cos there’s no one around
He looks at the ground
She left him that way
For this is the man who took on the world
Who lost all he had for the love of one girl
Didn’t you know a man could get killed?
The fur and the lace is a deadly disguise
For nothing - but theatre performed for your eyes
Bravado and costume the whole masquerade
A perfumed seduction a threepenny charade
And then came the hour for the last curtain call
As they all rushed the stage people cried from the stalls
Didn’t you know a man could get killed?
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas
Copyright 2011
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8. |
The Playboy Prince
04:35
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The Playboy Prince
There is a hole where my old dark heart used to be
And I need it back and that’s that
Give my old heart back to me!
You said I suck at true love
That I never gave a damn
And so you split, then shacked up
With a singer from another band
And though I mourn and weep
And tell the birds how deeply I’m in love with you
They only tweet me and they say
“She’s in love with someone new
Someone not the prince of playboys
A man who will go down on one knee
Not on her friends”
I picked a rose of deepest black from the garden as the toad
Shook his head, croaked and said
“What a silly fool you be
Make her your wife, mate for life
But instead you chase the tail
Of every girl who passes by
What a very very lonely life”
And so I asked the crow
“The garden’s full of roses so how am I to know
Which one is the sweetest until I try?"
She’s in love with someone new
Someone not the prince of playboys
A man who will go down on one knee
Not on her friends!
I sang a sweet serenade beneath her balcony
As bathed in silk moonlight and something tight
She appeared to me and said “shut up
The neighbours will complain
I told you once before so now you really should know
You turned into a toad a long time ago!”
And I’m in love with someone new
Someone not the prince of playboys
Someone who will love me ’til I die
And you and I both know it’s true that that’s not quite you.
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas
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9. |
Lily Of The Lamplight
03:00
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The night is dark and the barrack's asleep
So out of bed and through an open window I creep
I duck beneath the lights
Out of the sentry’s sights
And walk towards the German town
Through snow in black and white
So I can see my Lily of the lamplight
My one and only true love, my Lily Marlene
Sing her sad and lonely lovers' songs
Once again, once again, once again…
We march towards a fate unknown but to a few
A million dead already just like good ol’ me and you
We pass around a smoke
Then someone tells a joke
And then I close my eyes
And try to breathe inside my coat
And I can see my Lily of the lamplight
My one and only true love, my Lily Marlene
And once again she’s in her lovers' arms
Once again, once again, once again…
I’m lying still and I’m picturing home
Mum and dad are smiling and I don’t feel alone
I know the moment’s near
But I don’t feel a fear
The fight is over
And the woman’s voice is soft and clear
And I can see my Lily of the lamplight
My one and only true love, my Lily Marlene
Inviting me to come and sing along
Once again, once again, once again…
Oh I can see my Lily of the lamplight
My one and only true love, my Lily Marlene
And once again I’m in my lover’s arms
Once again once again once again.
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas
Copyright 2011
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10. |
Paradise Walk
04:00
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Paradise Walk
Meg sits on the pavement
As the man paints at an easel
And a train threads ‘neath the houses
Like her mother threads a needle
To make young what was once old
To keep warm what can turn cold
In the freezing English weather
To stitch back what was severed on Paradise Walk
The bombed streets and the debris
Is a playground where her mind’s free
To consider if we treasure
Love and pain in equal measure
Then her sister walks right past her
With her sailor and ignores her
So she goes in to her father
Who is carving a new table on Paradise Walk
The red window boxes match the scarlet coat
Of the pensioner who passes by
While opposite the man with the paintbrush in his hand
Captures for all time
The parked car, the side wall
The shop sign, so you recall
Every laugh and tear, every mother’s sigh
And the oak veneer, and the pungent dye
Though the years have passed and the street remains
The shop is gone and it’s not the same
There’s a painting hanging on your wall
Perfect in its frame and in black ink
On the back the name of Paradise Walk.
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas
Copyright 2011
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11. |
Theme From Radio Moscow
03:11
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12. |
The Butterfly
05:54
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The Butterfly
The butterfly floats from leaf to leaf
The journey long though his life is brief
You try to catch him with my handkerchief
He’s dances circles around your hair
And leaves you laughing and grasping air
O fragile beauty! So hard to ensnare
Life comes and goes in a blink of an eye
I truly think we return to live as butterflies
So when you draw your final dying breath
The ones you leave behind
Never have to say goodbye
That perfect summer seems like yesterday
Though many more have passed since we lay
And dreamed together, I’d kiss you and you’d say
My love if I die before you then
I will become a butterfly and when
We’re reunited we will love again
Then rains came and dark shadows cast
Nothing good ever lasts
Sure as every living thing will die
So when you drew your final dying breath
The one you left behind
Never got to say goodbye
And as the last rites have all been read
And solemnly the nurses bow their heads
A single butterfly lands upon my bed
And we fly away
Words and Music by Frazer Douglas
Copyright 2011
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The Villa Capri England, UK
A few years ago one of my musical heros Neil Hannon wrote me a very complimentary letter in which he advised me against over- producing demos - "record companies like to think they've found a diamond in the rough" he wrote. I probably should have listened! These albums are all very different so take your pick, listen and enjoy! The Villa Capri. ... more
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