Field of Crows

The body lay on fragrant earth under empty skies in an open field,

A shallow grave, unmarked, unnoticed, in crumbling furrows carved by rusted ploughs,



They will bury your empty coffin; they will raise for you a stone,

They will know you fell in glory,

In the corner of some lonely foreign field,



Broken cloud, fleeting shadows, silhouettes are scattered cross the sky,

The hollow laughter fills the heavens,

And echoes round a still and silent field,



Where you have climbed Jacob's ladder; where you saw the light of God,

And from the voices of his angels the Truth was heard, the Truth was heard.



I have slept in the shadows of moonstruck trees,

A mossy pillow my rock of dreams,

The wood smoke lingers among smouldering leaves,

Like my thoughts are carried away on a stiffening breeze

To the domes and spires, the glittering towers

Of palaces of kings and thrones of power,



I will climb Jacob's ladder; I will see the light of God,

I will hear from the tongues of angels his Holy words,



I take the field in honest battle,

My father's sword is sure in hand,

My heart my shield, my dreams my armour,

My banners high my hopes are gathered

Fortunes home I'll surely carry and the bells will ring in honour of my name



Should I falter, should I tarry, should I hesitate, should I fall?

Then bury me in your memories, let our children hear the bugle call,



Let them climb Jacob's ladder; let them see the light of God,

Let them hear from the tongues of angels his Holy words,

Let them take the field.

Oily river, running deep, dirty water racing through the city streets, swollen gutters, summer storms, walking wounded stand to in another dawn,

Marching in silence one eye on the time one eye on the madness around them,

They don't know they're blind,

His mind on the trigger, he picks up a magazine, exits the underground and enters the scene



And checks out the world and all the moving targets

Adjusting his sights to take in the moving targets



Locked and loaded, safety off, checks his bearings on the ground before taking off,

Middle distance, draws a bead, allowing a margin for error he takes a lead,



He's out in the open he's out on his own, so far from his family, so far from his home,

He came out of his hiding came out of the trees, he blew all his cover when he entered the killing fields,



Only to find he'd become a moving target,

He walked out in the world and became a moving target,

Where the hunter is hunted, a moving target.



Holding a breath still in his lungs, he steadies his hand on the barrel of a loaded gun,

 his sights set on the world his heartbeat slows,

His pulse marking the time he senses the pressure of the moment he clears his mind,

 he calmly delivers the bullet and recoils from the dream, of moving targets.



Rolling numbers, rolling bones, lucky ladies he takes them out and takes them down,

Collecting trophies, hunting game, no remorse as they've only got themselves to blame,

Bleeding heart innocents running in herds, the weak and the woeful get what they deserve,

There's no room for pity, no space for guilt, in this murderous city it's kill or be killed,

When you're running the field you become a moving target,

When you start making marks you become a moving target,

You took your first step in the world and became a moving target,

When you walk in the world you're a moving target,



Wandering shopping malls, moving targets,

High school assembly halls, moving targets,

At fuel stops and parking lots, moving targets

In high streets and super marts, moving targets,

There's no place to hide!

It's your decision, it's not up to me, and I've seen it all before got a wardrobe full of T's,

You got the hunger, you got four-wheel drive, you want to reach for the heaven want to touch the sky,



You wanna be the big man, you got big plans, big ambitions you got dreams,

So what's the big idea?

Take my advice keep it simple, keep it real,



So you're the competition, you've made that clear, the new boy on the block and you got no fear,

When you're at the bottom you can only climb, you might just make it to the top given time!



You wanna be the big man, you got big plans, big ambitions you got dreams,

So what's the big idea?



Welcome to my city, welcome to my world, if you really think you can make then hang on to your soul,

It all comes down to favours and who or what you know,

Bending rules so slightly, being right when you're wrong,



In the right place at the right time in the right mind to blow away the field,

What you need most of all is a big idea!



I sense the instinct, I sense desire, your motivation is something we all recognise,

You're something special, something new, you're passion, fire and anger is something we could use,



You wanna be the big man, you got big plans, big ambitions you got dreams,

So what's the big idea?



You wanna be the big man, you got big plans, big ambitions you got dreams,

So what's the big idea?

Take my advice keep it simple, keep it real,



Got to do the numbers, got to do the math, you could feather your nest you might take a bath, maybe too hot blooded, you got to be cold,

Bow down to the power do what your told

Till you're in the right place at the right time in the right mind to blow away the field,

What you need most of all is a big idea!

Welcome to the jungle or at least that's what it seems,

You never see the cages the illusion is you're free,

Every day's a lesson delivered with a smile

To remind you there's no future on this planet for a creature truly wild



Zoo class, zoo class, sitting on your ass trying not to laugh in zoo class



Gorillas in the doorway, lizards in the lounge,

Offering their camels, Moscow mules are going down,

It's a long way to the dance floor,

Even longer getting back as the crow flies, even as the crow flies,



Zoo class, zoo class, sitting on your ass and trying not to laugh in zoo class



Talk with the animals, fuck with the animals, hump and grunt and suck and sweat, loving like an animal, living with the animals,



Tired of the rabbit and pig sick of the cow, dreamed of hunting beaver and the balls to fool around,

Put a birdie on the bunker she took eagles on the green,

And the snake in the long grass ate pussy,

And that cat got the cream.



Zoo class, zoo class sitting on your ass and trying not to laugh,

Staring through the glass at the wildlife going past in zoo class,



Zoo class, zoo class staring through the glass and trying not to laugh in zoo class,



Bears are hunting Wall Street, watching dead cats bounce,

The paper tigers whimper at the clicking of a mouse,

The pigs are grilling suspects; a canary starts to sing,

He'll be swimming with the fishes sure as Pavlov's dog drools when that bell starts to ring,



Zoo class, zoo class sitting on your ass and trying not to laugh,

Staring through the glass at the wildlife going past,

Pray it lasts forever you pray it's going to last,

Learning Life's lessons in situ in Zoo Class,

Zoo class, travelling zoo class!

The plot was lost or so I found, I went in search of higher ground,

But my head was in the clouds, chasing dragons.

I thought I could fly on wings of desire, didn't realise how far I could fall,

How low I could crawl,



Snakes and ladders, a world of snakes and ladders, snakes and ladders,



I was shouting too loud, king of the crowd, a victim of my vanity, too proud,

I never saw it coming.

I was blinded by light but the vision had died, I'd forgotten in time just what I was fighting for,

 I'd forgotten who's side I was on, the difference between right and wrong,

I was out of my depth, going out of my mind, going down in a field where no prisoners are taken, no quarter is given,

The writing was small, it burned on the wall, I'd sold out my soul for what it was worth, I'd lost the plot,

 my number was up, the game was over,



Snakes and ladders, a world of snakes and ladders, snakes and ladders.

Old crow hop hop hopping why do you act so shamelessly,

Old crow hop hop hopping take some time hop over here



Saw you dance in Vincent's wheat fields, watch you dance on Rembrandtsplein,

Dance with the devil on the edge of darkness, you danced them silly you danced them blind,



Saw you dance the Piccadilly shuffle, dance around St Peter's Square,

Did you hear the rhythms of the lonely, old crow do you really care?



Sad old crow, bad old crow, mad old crow hop hop hopping hop over here!



Old Crow caw caw cawing don't you make a fool of me,

Old crow cut with all your laughing, come on down sit over here!



Old crow tell me all your secrets, old crow don't you tell me lies,

Old crow living in the city, how do you manage to survive?



Sad old crow, bad old crow, mad old crow hop hop hopping hop over here!



Old crow hiding in the city, why'd you leave the open fields,

Old crow hop hop hopping time you got some new ideas!



Dance with your devils on the edge of darkness, dance them silly dance them blind,

 when it feels that world of yours is spinning, pick them up take them round again,



Sad old crow, bad old crow, mad old crow hop hop hopping hop over here!

One man, one time, one life, one night he had a vision,

Two lanes of blacktop disappear into the night,

Three calls were made to different numbers in four cities,

Five minutes later the deal saw falling into place,



Numbers, sorting out the numbers,



Six shells slid snugly deep inside the oily chambers,

Seven hours until the pick up in the dawn,

Eight hundred klicks of open road before the border,

Nine lives were up he knew the clock was ticking down,



Numbers, working on the numbers, only numbers, dealing with the numbers,



Ten kilos sweated on hid mind and in the trailer,

Eleven witnesses took him for a ride,

Twelve angry men and true made up a swinging jury,

Thirteen years were handed out he's going down,

Unlucky number, dealing with the numbers,

Do the numbers, counting down the numbers,

All we do is multiply, subtract and divide,

Adding to our problems in our calculating minds, Count me out your future, count me out your plans,

 a single individual, a solitary man, not a number,

Name not a number.



Two pillars turned to dust and left the skyline,

Two towers threw long shadows on our world,

Nine eleven became twenty four seven,

Ground zero, the countdown had begun,

Numbers, only numbers, making up the numbers, making up the numbers,



All we do is multiply, subtract and divide,

Adding to our problems in our calculating minds,

Numbers, only numbers, making up the numbers, making up the numbers.

Count me out your future, count me out your plans, a single individual, a solitary man, not a number,

Name not a number.



Keep your head down don't attract attention,

Don't spout opinions; don't stand out from the crowd,

Keep out the spotlight hang in the shadows,

Out in the open there's no place left to hide,



Do the numbers

There's a hole in my heart the tears in the dark have dried up and gone by the time that it takes to run through to the end of the night,

 through this hole in my heart, a hole in my heart



There's a space in my head a hollow you left by my side in the bed where I sleep in the shadows of broken dreams in a hole in my heart,

 this hole in my heart,



The wounds may have healed but the scars last forever,

On the outside you never could guess, there's barely a sign

But get close and you'll sense that's something's wrong, something's gone, something's lost, something's over,



This hole in my heart.



There's a place where I go where time is so slow, memories circle my mind,

Burning on entry just like falling stars

Through this hole in my heart,



The wounds may have healed but the scars last forever,

On the Outside you never could guess, there's barely a sign

But get close and you'll sense that's something's wrong, something's gone, something's lost, something's over,



This hole in my heart,

There's a hole in my heart.

Don't talk to me about justice, freedom, truth and democracy,

When all you left me were false hopes, lies, empty promises,

Now you're crying betrayal, demanding attention and sympathy,

You forget your own treason, your actions and the consequences

of your selfish behaviour, don't make out that you're the innocent party!



You played the cards you were dealt with unwisely; you didn't listen to me,

You tried to bluff once too often, you were called out, cheating in the first degree

Just a sheep in wolf's clothing, a cowboy, a charlatan a chevalier,

A naive knave among princes you weren't quite what you appeared to be!



Now all you see is all you get; it's in your face, nowhere else left to hide,

Just face the truth and face the facts you're on your own, no one left on your side



You blame it all on the system you worked in you helped to perpetuate

You sold out all of your secrets; you sold short all your big ideas



You were flying too high not a care in the world you thought that you'd never come down;

You forgot all the rules, lost sight of the ground

Didn't think that you ever could fall,

A fool on the wing flew too close to the sun; you burned out and dropped out the sky,

And everyone stared but did anyone care

no-one remembers your name,



Now you can't trust your own instincts, you don't know who or what to believe,

You were blind in the spotlight you reached out for conspiracies.



There's times you feel you lost your mind, you've lost control the very will to survive,

Just pick yourself up of the ground, get dusted down, and get back in the fight



You were flying too high not a care in the world you thought that you'd never come down;

You forgot all the rules, lost sight of the ground

Didn't think that you ever could fall,

A fool on the wing flew too close to the sun; you burned out and dropped out the sky,

And everyone stared but did anyone care

No one remembers your name,



Now that you're down to your last hope, the long shot, now you're down on your knees,

Begging me for one last chance, one more golden opportunity



And all you see is all you get; it's in your face, nowhere else left to hide,

Just face the truth and face the facts you're on your own, no one left on your side



You once had the World at your feet but your conscience wandered in clouds,

You lost sight of your goals; your vision was blurred when the towers one day disappeared.

Everyone stared, no one believed as the images burned on our screens,

That a world had just changed, the dream evaporates, no more innocent parties!

Out the picture out the frame I took myself out of the game,

So afraid I ran away, I shot the craw,



I played the fool; I played the field I was seduced by other dreams,

I sowed my seed I flew the scene I shot the craw,



I dance without you, I dance without you, I dance without you, dance without you.



Among the voices in my soul I should have listened to my soul,

Realised the flight was wrong I shot the craw,



On another cloudy day so far apart so far away I have wished that I had stayed, not shot the craw.



I dance without you, dance without you, I learned to dance without you, I danced without you.



Sometimes I find myself lost in my thoughts in a crowded room,

Alone in a world I once shared with you, a world full of hope where our hearts were pure,

 where we dreamed that our lives were forever, together always entwined.



I thought that I could dance without you, dance without you, learn to dance without you, dance without you.



So I face another day and in my heart I take the blame,

The regrets always the same, I shot the craw.



I can't dance without you, dance without you, dance without you, I can't dance without you,



Sometimes I find myself lost in my thoughts in a crowded room,

Alone in a world I once shared with you, a world full of hope where our hearts were pure,

 where we dreamed that our lives were forever, together always entwined.



Now I find that I can't dance without you, dance without you,

 I can't dance without you, I can't dance without you,



Baby's coming back, baby's coming back, your baby's coming back.

Baby's coming back.

Still as a breath held as a sigh, still as a heart that denies the final truth,

The breaking news, on the edge of a moment where we hope and we pray that there's still time,

There's always time, time to look back, time to regret, time to remember just how we met,

Time slips slowly by as I stare at forever,

And I wonder if we still have time?



Still after all is said and done, still you're the only one to touch my soul

To fill my world, your magic still lingers as it did once upon a time,

Would you give me time, could you change your mind?

Let me get on my knees, I'm begging you please all I want for you to do is forgive me, give me one more chance,

 let me prove to you that I can still be true let me show you that the love we have isn't over, that we still have time,

Let me run to you through an open field and you'll see me coming,

I'll be scattering crows.



Everything keeps changing; nothing ever stays the same,



Let me run to you through an open field,

You'll see me coming,

I'll be scattering crows.