HOUSE ON HOUSE
She's building a house on my house
With windows and doors and stones
She's building a home
I can't sleep because hammers
They keep hammering nails
Right through her floor
Through my ceiling
No, no more
Here I fly
Little boy fall down
THE CONCRETE BROTHERS
Uncle Rinus, uncle William, Uncle Sas
And my father
Are working much harder
These last years
And the money disappears
And the bookkeeper disappears
In the smoke of his cigar
A hopeless balance
They buy a blue truck
And hire a carpenter
At the age of 50 my father
Is taking driving lessons
Because his back is almost broken
By lifting too many stones
He is doing the talking
And the business
Wearing a raincoat and a hat
The Concrete Brothers go bankrupt
He is standing on
A new concrete floor
He is talking to the workers
In a strange voice
And I am upstairs on a scaffold
Doing my holiday work
And I watch him
RHYTHM OF THE RAIN
Talk about the weather
The weather is fine
And they say tomorrow
It will be better
Talk about a cloud
The cloud is black
And they say tomorrow
It will be back
It's the rhythm of the rain
The weather forecast
Is much more precise
Much more precise
Than it used to be
It's the rhythm of the rain
The weather, the town
The rhythm and the rain
NICKEL & WOOD
They spread a rumour around
That you will be home late tonight
You bought a one way ticket
To the heart of the city
I've been painting the town
In the company of strangers
I'm on a one way street
To the heart of the night
It doesn't matter what they say
I compare you with my old shoe
That doesn't fit anymore
Though it's not the size
It doesn't fit anymore
Now it's just the price I have to pay
It doesn't matter what they say
I've been waiting here all day
And then I finally
Put my arms around you
It's hurting me and I'm so ashamed
You're still the same
Nickel and wood
They spread a rumour around
That you will be home late tonight
You bought a one way ticket
To that heart of mine
It doesn't matter what they say
They compare us with old shoes
That didn't fit anymore
Though it's not the truth
I admit it once more
After all these years
We're still the same
THE MAGIC OF LASSIE II
The highway ended and he got out
His one good ear to the ground
But where is the magic of Lassie
Voice out of heaven said:
'Quarter past seven'
The sand is running quickly
Through an hourglass
And time passes
I've got a feeling
That I've been away too long
Think what it means to be an animal
Crossing a highway
All the channels are weak tonight
Your hand is cupping
The light of a match
The printed roses on your dress
And where is the magic of Lassie
I've got a feeling
That I've been away too long
MARIA AND THE ICEMAN
Thunder in the mountains
Where the rainbows end
I'm waiting for
Maria at the riverbend
Waiting for
Maria and the Iceman dance
Standing in the mountains
At at riverbend
Looking for Maria
Where the rainbows end
Looking for
Maria and the Iceman dance
YELLOW PRESS
The words in every written line
Those words can never be mine
You have no right to write them down
Sometimes a woman on her own
She takes the bottle when she's home
I'll take my car for I won't drink
Don't, don't talk anymore
Please don't talk anymore
In this apartment walls have ears
YÖPÖLLÖ
Me kuljemme tietä joka kiermurtelee
Ylöspäin kuin savu päämme päällä
Kunnes vihdoin nojaamme
Talon seinään
Täällä hän kerran kirjoitti laulun
Suzannelle
Minä ja ystäväni Hollanista
Purjehdimme yollä Ateenasta
Laivan penkillä me
Kaksi pyhiinvaeltajaa
Ja saavuimme saarelle
Missä aasit eivät koskaan
Kohtaa kuolemaa
Kun yöpöllö laulaa
Se sydämen murtaa
Kun yöpöllö laulaa
Se sydämen murtaa
Aah sydämen murtaa
Huoneessa istuu lintu
Vapaana kuin laulussa
Ja kun menemme ulos se
Lähtee ja lentää
Läpi puiden oksien
Granaatti omenoita mukanaan
Ja se putoaa alas kuin kuu mereen
Niin kaikki katoaa
DAS BILD AM SONTAG (AS USUAL)
Houses
Tattoed by warfare
Holes in houses
That once were homes
Silence
Trees stand in silence
As usual
They speak of different times
Time's passing by
They know
Time's passing by
Streets are deserted
As usual
Everyone stays inside
Das Bild Am Sontag is lying
As usual papers lie on the street
Time's passing by
I know
Time's passing by
Holes in houses
That once were homes
TYPIST OF CANDY
One key of her typewriter is 4
And the sign of the percent
She says that it looks like
The face of a former boyfriend
She once typed a whole page
Of those little noughts and fours
And one big X at the bottom
Meant 'over' of course
With a backbone of candy
She's sitting behind her machine
Her eyes are as bright
As the stars in the sky
And they're green
Tap tap tap tap
With one finger
On the same key
I know it's the key of the dollar
She's looking at me
Don't think that it's easy
Don't think that it pleases me
In big hands of people
Who want it all
My typist of candy
You're feeling so sad and so blue
And where is that pretty girl
I once knew
She taps the whole paper black
And she gives it to me
My typist of candy
There's only one questionmark key
FISHES
Too many fishes in the sea
Too many eyes looking at me
Why am I turning
Why are they already gone
Too many rivers in this town
Too many eyes looking down
Why am I turning
Why are they already gone
Too many heartaches in this world
Too many rivers turn into mud
Why can people be so cruel
What might have happened
Between us did not
Too many fishes in the sea
Too many rivers looking at me
Why am I turning
Why am I already gone
Too many heartaches in my town
Too many eyes are looking down
Why can people be so cruel
What might have happened
Between us, did not
TEAR FALLS
She's walking through a field
With a light in her hand
I'm watching her face
Another land
The tear falls, tear falls down
The car is driving from the land
To the sea
I'm looking at her face
She's looking at me
The tear falls, tear falls down
The car is moving through the streets
Of the town
In the heat of the morning
I'm looking around
In Tear Falls Town
The tear falls, tear falls down
Sentimental fool, can't you hear me
I am watching you, can't you see me
In Tear Falls Town
The car is driving through the
Field in my hand
I'm watching a face in another land
The tear falls down
THE SINGING TELEGRAM
Oh when, when will I see you
On a river, on a highway
In a boa or in a car
In a town where no one is sleeping
Doesn't matter where you are
Oh when, when will I see you
On a highway in a car
On a river in a boat
In a town where everyone is sleeping
Doesn't matter where you go
Oh when, oh when will I see you
TABLE TOWN
In the Rainbow Room
The lights are going down
I sit beside her in a corner
Table Town
Where the bottle's falling down
Behind her
I'm here in time
Fortunetelling man
You always look into my eyes
You say the same thing
In a corner
Table Town
The ice is melting
It starts raining
I'm here in time
Tuesday in a Table Town
Why I'm here beside you
Why I feel like I've known you
For a long time
I will never know, I will never see
My fortune's told
I'm here in time
I'm here in time
In Table Town
DE RODE VAAS
Hier in Athene
Het uitzicht nog altijd hetzelfde
De kamer is anders dan toen
Vijftig jaar later
Ik denk aan het licht
Licht door een vaas en het rood
Ik zeg zeg
Hier in de hal van het gele hotel
Aan het plein
Sprak ik een donkere vrouw
Stijf in een stoel
Maar haar mond sprak van
Eiland, geliefde, jeugd
Ik zit hier, maar m'n hart
Ik zeg zeg
Pieter, Pieter kijk eens door het glas
Ik zie een eiland in een rode zee
Pieter, Pieter kijk eens door het glas
Zoals een vogel
Valt een gele maan in de zee
Hier in een boot naar het eiland
Zo vlakbij Athene
Hier in de zee ligt een vrouw
Voet in het water en
Zij heeft nog altijd mijn tenen
Dwars door haar middel, de zon
I zeg zeg
Kijk eens door het glas
SOMETIME IN WINTER
Sometime in winter
I gave my heart to you
Sometime in summer
I gave it back to you
Sometimes October I fly
It's the turn of the season, goodbye
Sometimes October I fly
And I die, I die, I die
KING OF BELGIUM
And now the King of Belgium
is dying
He's lying on the street
And how the Queen of Holland
Is crying
The teardrops on her feet
Because the King of Belgium
Is fighting
The knife in his hand
And how the Queen of Holland
Is trying
To save a piece of land
And her face is a spectacle-rose
That blooms
When it's love at first sight
And now the King of Belgium
Is swimming
He's drowning in the pool
And how the Queen of Holand
Is waving
She will reign as well as rule
And she stands at a corner
And says
'You're the King
The King of my heart'
In the land of milk and honey
It's always sunny
In the land of milk and honey
There's a lot of money
And now the King of Belgium
Is dying
He's lying on the street
And how the Queen of Holland
Is crying
The teardrops on her feet
And she stands at a corner
And says
'We will never, never part'
And she takes his hand
And breaks his heart
COLD GREY MORNING
Once on a cold grey morning
A working man was killed
He was building a bridge
Across the canal
He was standing on iron
Wet because of the rain
He was slipping and
Slowly falling down
And his eyes could see the town
All the houses were upside down
And the sounds of
The horns of the cars
And the bikes went by
Slowly falling
Through the chimney of a boat
And no one ever saw him again
Daidaidadaidaidodauh
On a cold black night
The rain is falling down
A woman on a bike
Is crossing the bridge
All at once a stranger
Is sitting behind her back
His arms around her waist
His hands still on fire
Are cupping her breasts
Dance with me, Lady
I'm falling
Into the water...
STAY
The words of this song are
improvised during the recording
and will make no sense on paper
THE POTATO EATERS
Who puts the food and the light
On the table tonight
Who puts the sole and the shoe
On the table tonight
Who puts the food and the light
On the table tonight
Who puts the sole and the shoe
In the bowls tonight
QUEST