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Cold War Night Life

by Rational Youth

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1.
CLOSE TO NATURE I walked a path through a notion of time Like a particle of dust in a small beam of light Where a shape is not a shape the world is just a dream Close to nature I left a trace where a world lived and died A message out of time like a pure wave of motion And all that moves is still Close to nature The unity of things is the essence of truth Though some would try to rule the universe by force But I prefer to stay Close to nature I feel the pain like a thousand knives A cancer in the soul, I am consumed The more I try to walk Close to nature A flash of light, the sky erupting My eyes are burned I cannot bear to see the awful power Close to nature This is the end of the beginning This is the death of life And all that once did live Close to nature
2.
BEWARE THE FLY Mr. Nietzsche had a mind He used it every day But at night he had an ache That wouldn’t go away It itched so he scratched it He scratched it ‘til it bled First it drove him raving mad And then it killed him dead Poor old Fred You’d think he had more sense But you just can’t be too careful Tony Walker was a man Who lived a life of ease Anything he’d want he’d take The world was at his knees His one fateful weakness Would put him in his grave When one day a jealous lover Blew his brains away What a fool You’d think he had more style But you just can’t be too careful Take a hint, don’t let this be your fate Beware the fly in the ointment Everybody’s got a weakness Great and small alike Everybody’s got their sore point Like Achilles and his heel There’s always something there To trip and make you fall if you’re not careful Leon Trotsky could have been The ruler of the roost The hero of the working class The wellspring of truth A holiday in Mexico A window wasn’t closed A killer walked right in And stuck an icepick up his nose Leon’s dead You’d think he had more class But you just can’t be too careful Take a hint, don’t let this be your fate Beware the fly in the ointment
3.
SATURDAYS IN SILESIA Living in a graveyard Waiting for the axe to fall Working in a big hole Just to pay the rent man When my work is over Call you on the telephone Paint your pretty face Put on your cardboard dance shoes Saturdays in Silesia Holidays are for heroes City lights, not quite Broadway Saturdays in Silesia Bought a quart of vodka Didn’t even stand in line That’s one thing that We are never short of Caught the number 8 bus Took it to the navy docks Girl of my dreams Lives right around the corner Gonna take you where the music is loud Where the rhythm never stops Find the magic if there’s any to be found Saturdays in Silesia Holidays are for heroes City lights, not quite Broadway Saturdays in Silesia And if the soldiers put a padlock on the door We’ll break it open like we’ve always done before We don’t have much but what we’ve got we’re going to keep Won’t you stay close to me? Gonna take you where the music is loud Where the rhythm never stops Find the magic if there’s any to be found Saturdays in Silesia Holidays are for heroes City lights, not quite Broadway Saturdays in Silesia
4.
JUST A SOUND IN THE NIGHT Wave of sound across the universe Thread of light from the depths of space Like a ripple on a glassy pool Spreading out forever endlessly Just a sound in the night Brings me your message, shows me the light Just a note clear and true Bringing me light years closer to you When you talk you reinvent the night Where once was emptiness now is light Every whisper, every murmured phrase Telling me all that I need to know Just a sound in the night Brings me your message, shows me the light Just a note clear and true Bringing me light years closer to you
5.
6.
RING THE BELLS Sirens sound as dusk dissolves the daylight In a twilight masque of grey facades Down the boulevards a million faces Stare out of the windows of the past Woman on a platform at the station Speaking to a Spanish diplomat Talking of the storm they know is coming And the need for courage to the last All is hell Ring the bells A cry is heard, the cards are dealt The process can’t be stopped The order comes, the tanks roll in The voice of power talks Morning comes, the city breathes the daylight People in the streets and in the stores All is gone that once we took for granted Things can never be just like before Everybody’s waiting for the hour When the blood and tears can be replaced But the weak must always feed the stronger That’s the story of the human race All is hell Ring the bells
7.
CITY OF NIGHT City of night, a thousand colours Ocean of light, among the shadows Under the stars, the world seems brighter City of night will shine forever City of night Neon like ice Ocean of light Under the stars Fire in the sky City of Night City of night, a million faces Try to avoid the darkest places Like in a dream the night lights shimmer City of night will shine forever Spectre de nuit, dans mon esprit Spectre de nuit, brule d’envie City of night, while some are sleeping Creatures of night on corners meeting Under the stars the world seems brighter City of night will shine forever
8.
DANCING ON THE BERLIN WALL Checkpoint Charlie’s social climb Mind the tripwires, watch the mines On Alexanderplatz there’s a party going on Harry Palmer glasses are required We’re dancing on the Berlin Wall Dancing on the Berlin Wall Cold war night life, neutron hop Where the action never stops If you’ve got a secret you can sell it at the bar And yes, we’d love to see your microfilm We’re dancing on the Berlin Wall Dancing on the Berlin Wall All you heroes, here’s your chance All you have to do is dance On Alexanderplatz there’s a party going on Harry Palmer glasses are required We’re dancing on the Berlin Wall Dancing on the Berlin Wall
9.
Power Zone 03:39
10.
COBOLOID RACE This living layer Planet mushroom cage We live in cubes in space Coboloid Race Coboloid cities Dissolve downtown Coboloid processed romance Dreams rated X Dreams rated X Coboloid Race New human species Embryos in tubes Nice hygienic showroom You could be you Genetic supper Bleeding dog food plate Special series supper for the Coboloid Race Coboloid Race Coboloid Race Useless cortex Computer maid Sexual breakdown Love interface Growing faster Strangling our cage Your friends from Level 2 the Coboloid Race Love interface Coboloid Race
11.
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14.
I WANT TO SEE THE LIGHT Someone left the lights out on the ground And the people that were there were never found 10:15 flight to Madrapour Soaring off into the night forever more And the dreams they were dreaming Have all flickered and died Before they close that curtain I want to see the light In a dream the truth is overheard That our destination’s only just a word He who so desires is free to go But the gesture would be futile even so All your well-formed opinions Are just holes in the night Before they pull that trigger I want to see the light Someone bring my medicine, I’m ill The machine is ready, waiting for the kill Powers below have analysed my fate Memo Update Final Subject Terminate But I feel only nothing I with silence abide Before the push that button I want to see the light

about

The 2019 deluxe edition of the classic 1982 album. Released by Universal Music Canada.

credits

released December 6, 2019

Produced by Pat Deserio. All songs Third Side Music SOCAN. Remastered by Andres Lara.

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Rational Youth

Canada's synthpop legends, since 1981.

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