Head Injuries Lyrics


Cold Cold Change / Section 5 (Bus to Bondi) / Naked Flame / Back on the Borderline / Koala Sprint / No Reaction / Stand In Line / Profiteers / Is It Now?
Lyrics Index Media The Dead Heart

Cold Cold Change

Cold cold change, we were so excited
But you came and went so soon
Cold cold change, we were not invited
We smiled all the while we were taken in

Cold cold change, bringing in the winter
Freezing up the water, closing up the mind
One more danger, gonna have to deal with
One last moment fading all the time

But no lasting change, well we were turned around
We jumped in the air to see over the wall
No master plan, it's a bad design
Significant time in spite of us all

Cold cold change, we were so excited
Waiting on the outside, waiting to begin
Left us all angry and bewildered
Laughing at the way we were taken in

You better lock the door, turn it off (the light)
We'll leave the nights alone, better keep me hoping
That the change is over, the ice is gone
And when the weather's warmer you can hear me shouting yeah

(Hirst/Moginie)

Section 5 (Bus to Bondi)

Push start that car tomorrow I'll take it to the tip yard Well I'll leave it as a metal wreck For cats to sleep Then I'll catch the bus to Bondi Swim the beach and wonder Who can wear the fashion when The place is oh so hot I'm just part of this play I'm making an inroad on the one and only I'm just part of this play I've finally decided I'm here to stay Then I'll stop the small talk Then I'll stop the games I'll show them that the plans I've made aren't wrong, what's wrong? Then I'll shop at New World Fill it up with real toys Initiate a face-lift for the captains to corrupt (Rotsey/Hirst/Garrett/Moginie)

Naked Flame

"This is a mad house," she goes straight for the palm "You'll be luck to make it till Tuesday" I say "You must be joking, the idea's absurd" But the picture's hanging on her every word But she comes right back, her black velvet cat Has gone smiled all over the carpet He says "I know my rights, I've got nothing to say" But he cried all night on the night 'n' day I've seen the naked flame And I'm turning my eyes away "Yes it's a mad house," the minister shouts But his words drown out in the crowd He says "I open my mouth and some idiot speaks" So he strikes the service for another two weeks Then the party's over, it's a free-for-all I'm under the table, I got my foot in the door Well she's a natural leader, and she's bound to win She's just waiting for the burning to begin I've seen the naked flame It's gonna burn me again I'm dying down in the rain And I'm turning my eyes away (Rotsey/Hirst/Moginie)

Back on the Borderline

From the bar to the bedroom I'm swimming in the neon Lighted pictures of a redhead, plasticoated hot on And sometimes when that mirror shows The smile of disbelief Stained signature of nightmares They're stolen by the thief I'm back on the borderline Yes I'm back on the borderline By the end make a bet and only place is laminex Laugh a lot cry a lot salt and pepper supper sex And sometimes when that magic of the moment Fails the test In retrospect that diamond day Did not make second best And sometimes when a thousand voices Tell you that you're wrong A saint in any form Becomes a sinner all along (James/Garrett/Hirst)

Koala Sprint

And out from the echoes of the night Concrete caverns catch the sky and hold the stars to ransom A thousand dreams it's getting late Thousand runners standing still I can smell the sand and sea again I've had enough away City times down down I've got to go Lord don't let me wait Stay low 'Cause I'm going up north again It's a long way from Chatswood to the top of the gulf I'll be hitching pacific when the morning sun's up It's mile after mile on the long coast road Smell of frangipani ocean sky blue But I'm sick of seeing those beer can caravans I'm getting even sicker of the thong drive-in I'm feeling worse and worse at the chiko locallo And the pubs all close at ten Summer sun's got me stopping Summer sun's got me trying I'm waiting round for those waves and days I hope it never ends Well there's a new world bricking in the Old World charm Suburbs highway pass cicada-coloured farms Buy a car, sell a car, lead a car away 20 hours to Brisbane on night prowl play 20 hours to Brisbane...where's Brisbane... (Garrett/Moginie/Rotsey)

No Reaction

What do we want, we are going to be the winners or the losers? And who do we hear, do we listen to the beggars or the choosers? We're getting no reaction We haven't heard a word You're almost (but not quite) More than we deserve So what do we want, are we going to be the does or the talkers? And where do we go, can we separate the runners from the walkers? So what do we do, do we want to be the givers or the takers? And who do we hear, do we listen to the movers or the makers? So so what do we want, who do we hear? Where do we go and what can we do? And what would you say if it was all up to you? (Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey)

Stand In Line

Oh get down, getting down, so much money in the ground For the people who don't deserve it now It's a circus we're the clowns as the giant ones disown Every bit of something we call home Said it's a pity 'bout the middle class Holden mass We get a bit to play around with doesn't really matter They kid us with their dole, kid us with the dope But generally speaking, nobody's got a hope We're playing the music of the middle-aged queens Getting fatter and fatter and splitting their jeans It's all the same, we're out in the cold The good ones died, the others just got old Everything's set, everything's fine You just got to stand in line Oh everything's set, everything's fine You just got to stand in line Getting down, getting down, we have to make it now Everybody's beaten, everybody's down, oh everybody's down So goodbye to the creeps who are making it Goodbye to the let it happen stand I'm moving out got no doubt they've forgettn twist 'n' shout They never ever listen to the man (Moginie/Hirst/Rotsey/Garrett)

Profiteers

Look up on the ledge, there's a bomber diving on the golden street Down below the crowd is falling, bullets under feet Don't tell me, don't tell me, hey don't tell me We're under the beat of a brand-new marching order Ears to be ground there's a party planned for the new recruits Hurricane lamps are burning, teargas fills the route, yeah (Hirst/Moginie/Rotsey)

Is It Now?

There's a man who walks the lonely field at midnight He wears a matching suit, steel tipped shoes and the diamonds And he holds the dying flame, the loaded dice and the answer He stalks the open road that leads form here to there You'd better look out, watch out, beware There's no safety here Crouched by the fence, sweat dries cold on your every breath Where's the saviour that the critics dream about now He's telling jokes to all the saviours in the ward Be warned when it comes to that, to the point of indecision When you hesitate, he'll make his choice for you You better look out, beware There's no safety here (no, no, no safety) Crouched by the fence, sweat dried cold on your every breath His eyes, they turn red You think and recall what he said He puts a name to every face Table talk and wall to wall Winners win the game, and the losers win the war Resurrection, intersection, comic books and mass defection Vinyl floor and sliding doors, nothing more Lost the thread of conversation Sentence fails and engine roars No recall, blindfold to the stairs Is it now? Is it now? (Moginie/Garrett)