iNNits "ON THE FENCE"

FAR TOO WIDE

A hundred and fifty days ago
You went back home to Tokyo
You said you´d soon return
And i said : go!

We promised we would keep in touch
That promise didn´t help us much
We grew apart and soon i nursed a grudge

In fact you did fuck all to keep in touch

But even if i pushed too hard
I´d say you pulled back way too far
An ocean was between us from the start

An ocean far too wide for our love

IT DROWNED
IT DROWNED
IT DROWNED
IT DROWNED

* * *

HEARTS AND MINDS

All the words that you choose
And the terms you abuse
They spell ignorance

Fancy phrases you bake
Those inane laws you make
No one understands

Your faces are unreal
They almost never reveal
What or if you feel

You appease and you please
You delude and mislead
It mocks common sense

With a smile you tell lies
Your own rules don´t apply to you
That´s arrogance!

You´re so wrapped up in yourselves
You need professional help
I feel sorry for your kind
You´ve got power but in time
You´ll lose your hearts and minds

* * *

THE BATHROOM

Right in the middle of a bad dream I just had to piss
I got out of bed and climbed down the stairs
The bathroom was missing
Instead there were people – some friends and some strangers
Hangin´ around

They were listenin´ to music
A strange sort of sound
Feeling groovy and far far out

So I abandoned my mission
I joined them and listened – soon I fell apart
I couldn´t believe that I had been missin´ out on this from the start

My knees they were shakin´
My hands started tremblin
The tears came a runnin´
I wanted it to go on.

When the night finally ended and everybody was leaving
The bathroom reappeared
I took care of my business
And then relieved and happy I went back to sleep

My dreams then were funny
I bet I was smiling
They weren´t about money
I´m sure you too would have liked them…

* * *

ON THE FENCE

I like sitting on the fence ´cause that´s where i belong
It´s where the tension is, my friend - It keeps me going on
I am always free to choose to turn to either side
Just like grey that either fades to black or white

You may call that vague
But that´s an easy point to make
Uh-huh

It´s an urban myth that it helps if you decide
I went to the heart of it to find it is a lie
It doesn´t help the slightest bit as long as you don´t know why

For the love of god
I wanna be where i am not

Like in China
South America
or in Japan

On a mountain
In the desert
At the seaside

All the options that i keep
They tie me up, they set me free
They suck me in and spit me out
Fuel my dreams and nurture doubts

Maybe
What if?
Whatever!

* * *

LEARNING

Learning to say NO
Just those letters N and O
Trying to repress
The reflex to say Yes

Learning to say NO
Give me an N
Give me an O

Trying to resolve
When i´d rather not get involved

There was someone in our house
Who would never talk about
All the things that she really wants
But when she wouldn´t get ´em she would sulk

Learning to say ME
Give her an M
Give her an E

Trying to define
What it takes to say I, Me, Mine

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
L-E-A-R-N-I-N-G-T-O-S-A-Y

MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
L-E-A-R-N-I-N-G-T-O-S-A-Y

* * *

NOTHING TO WRITE HOME ABOUT

I woke up this morn´n
Sun was stroking my neck
Shining soft and warm
Through the curtains – perfect!

Just five minutes on
I started getting pensive
Thoughts came rollin´ in
Like tidal waves on a calm beach

Overwhelming me
Dragging me out to sea
Whirling me around
Left, right, up and down

My head is getting bald
And Jesus doesn´t love me
My friends are getting old
And everybody´s having children

They´re giving them fancy names
Poor kids are not to blame
The city´s selling out
To a loathsome crowd

But it´s nothing to write home about
Not to worry, not worth a mention
Nooooooooo

No it´s nothing to write home about
Not to worry, not worth a mention, no
It´s just how things are and how they´ll always be
It´s just how things are although i disagree

* * *

NEXT TIME

Hey thanks for stoppin´ by
You´re welcome anytime
It´s a shame you have to go
I´ll show you to the door

A coy peck on the cheek
Is not the thing i need
And it´s not the thing i want

I blink and she is gone
She turns, she turns me on
Her scent is sweet and mild
Her hair is growing wild

Those eyes of sheerest blue
Could make icebergs lose their cool
They leave me a timid fool

Next time she comes this way
I´ll ask her to stay

* * *

ANSWERS NOW PLEASE

My heart misses a beat every other day now
My life feels incomplete each and every day
Some nights i cannot sleep ´cause panic´s on the way

What´s goin´on?

Some days i feel so low
My limbs seem weak and brittle
My brain´s all stop and go
I´m perceiving only half of what is goin´ on around me
And my nerves are frayed and thin
I feel like fadin´ out....and in

Something is wrong!

Now, what´s all this supposed to mean - is it a sign?
Or are those the first but grave symptoms of decay?
The doctors say i´m fine and that i shouldn´t worry

Yet something ain´t right

Obviously so !
What can i do to find out?
What should i do to know?
How can i find peace?
And where should i be looking?

Answers now please!

* * *

IT`S RAINING

It´s raining, pouring down
Just one more day we´re all gonna drown
The families are packing up
The dams ´ll burst – will it ever stop?

It won´t
But if it won´t we´re fucked!

The waters they rise and rise
But i´m still dry.....to my surprise
When suddenly i realise

Oh my!
I have been dreaming all the time

Tonight it´s rain
Tomorrow stars

Or maybe trains
Or flying cars
Or creatures from Mars

Wild, weird or mean
Mildly obscene
Dumb or deranged
Or simply strange

I don´t care at all
I love ´em all

* * *

TWENTY SAILORS

Heaven Help! The ship is sinkin´
The night is dark, the lights are blinkin´
The crew´s asleep from all the drinkin´
And sure as hell no one´s thinkin´ at all

I can´t believe it!
No one will capture this!

Twenty sailors will go missin´
They won´t know who their wives are kissin´
Not a soul will know about them
And how their petty death found them

Their trail of bubbles
A sure sign of trouble

On the news another earthquake
Civil wars and sinkin´ birthrates
Pre-emptive striking and starvation
The fall from grace of nations

The sailors are sleepin´
Their mothers are weepin´
And all the others
The sisters and brothers
The sons and the daughters
Of footmen and porters
Of soldiers and firemen
Of evil and good men

* * *

YOU CAN ONLY LOSE

What else should i be?
All apologies
I´m just longing to be free

You have been employed
Something i avoid
I don´t want to be employed

Everytime we talk
Actually we don´t talk
Words get uttered – so let´s not talk

Look me in the eye
Tell me : who am I
Did you ever even try?

Tell me who you are
`Cause I can´t see through you
And i´m not sure if you care
But i can´t see you through

I´ve told you more than twice
You don´t heed my advice
Sort your life out before you die

We´re both caught in a trap
But i know where i´m at
That´s the difference you don´t get

Let me shake you off
Before you drag me down
Unless you want to wake up
You can only lose

* * *

CABIN SONG

Sleep Christian sleep
The night is dark and deep
Dream Christian dream
A warm bed´s all you need

A fire´s crackling, too
The wind is whistling, true
The wind is whistling

Breathe in breathe out
The moon´s behind a cloud
Sound not a sound
Of what might be around

An elk, maybe a bear?
A reason to be scared?
No reason to be scared

Woods peaceful woods
I´d love you if i could
Trees graceful trees
Don´t be my enemy

You´re beautiful and tall
But soon the darkness falls
And arouses my concern
What´s hidden in the ferns
The brambles and the moss?

* * *

WHAT I`M NOT

Sailing out to sea
There are no two ways about it
I would feel free
But i can live without it

I am not a sailor

Everything all white
Orderly and plain and tidy
Does not seem right
That´s not what life is like and

I am not a painter

Driving fancy cars
Minding people´s dirty business

I am not a lawyer

Many things I´m not
Many things i couldn´t be
But If i got to choose

I´d be
A rock
Or a tree

* * *

THE INNITS "EVERYTHING IS TRUE"

ON A MISSION

A grass of beer and a lot of shakalang
Is our plaisir and is why we´re in a band
No way´s too long
No place too far away
No wind too strong
As long as we can play

We don´t miss planes and we´re never ever late
We travel safe but we sometimes test our fate
And late at night
When no one is in charge
We close our eyes…

´Cause when we´re on a mission
We always work things out
It may look like intuition
It is without a doubt – hey hey hey

Our guilded beams they stay where they belong
Tradition means…oh that´s another song
The venture´s tough but most of it is fun
Our gesture´s enough it gets us all we want
Our gesture´s enough it gets us where we want
Our gesture´s enough it gets us all we want
And so we laugh
And so we get along
I hope we´ll last…

´Cause when we´re on a mission
We always work things out
It may look like intuition
It is without a doubt – hey hey hey

***

A WALK IN DIRTY WEATHER

Wake up, bright light
Last night, what was the matter?
Headaches, lips dry
Two pills and i´ll be better

It got late, we got tight
A long kiss, my hands crawled up her thighs

Her skirt was made of leather
It felt good and right
Like walking in hot weather

Her dude will curse
The day that i met her
He´ll ride his bike
To come and teach me better

And i´ll say : yes, alright, mate
She was hot, I was drunk and it was late

And does it really matter?
Yes it does, but why?
Does faithful equal better?

A walk in dirty weather
I took a walk in dirty weather

***

MY SONIC YOUTH

On a sunny afternoon
I was sitting in my room
Curtains drawn
Dark and warm

In lieu of someone else
I was talking to myself
Days went by
On the fly

My peers were dashing through the fields
Some were splashing in the pool
Naturally
Carelessly

So my youth went
Joined a blues band

Yeah, we practiced very much
We were great but had no luck
Soon we split
That was it

While the seasons came and went
I joined many different bands
All in vain
Such a shame

To believe and
Underachieve and
To commit and
Still be shit and...fail

Don´t get jealous
´bout those fellas
Don´t start crying
Just keep tryin´and...fail

***

EVERYTHING IS TRUE

Come gather around me
Sit down and listen
It may sound astounding
But Bill´s been kissin´

His girlfriend´s stepmother
Jill freaked out big time
She´s split up and moved out
To start a new life

John fucked up his exam
He´s pretty bummed out
His sister is a doctor
Big shot in science

The parents are worried
If he´ll ever make it
They called him a disgrace and
They stopped their payments

Alicia is in Asia
She´s more than clueless
She´s trying to find out
What her vocation is

More likely she´ll find out
´bout sex and drugs and
I hope that if she gets back
She´ll still remember us

Nothing better to do – I sit here gossiping
What else should I do –I can´t help
Everything is true

***

TORTURED TURKEYS ON THE TV

Tortured turkeys on the TV
Makin´me feel sorry
Makin´me feel guilty

Causin´ me to throw up
And question my behaviour
This place is gonna blow up
And we don´t have a saviour

Questions that nobody will answer
Cause nobody is listenin´
Cause everybody´s missin´

They´re out on a vacation
At airports or at stations
On planes or on trains to
Exotic destinations

Oh oh oh oh oh…

Skating while the earth is quaking
And life gets more abusive
And hopelessly elusive
There´s more to life than business
Make sure that you don´t miss this:
It´s time to state your case, kids
Cause you´re the ones that count, kids

Oh oh oh oh oh…

***

ROCK´N´ROLL

I´ll reach for fame another day
Important things have come my way
Instead I choose to lose control
I´ll put on my shoes, dress up and rock´n´roll

It´s not as easy as I thought that it would be
Not as easy as they promised it would be

I´m tryin´to do it right – I´m dancing
Stayin´up all night – I´m way too tired
Approaching with a smile – she´s teasing
Too much cause I´m not high – I´m leaving

The following day I feel ashamed
My head is clear the tiger still not tamed
A million useful things I could have done instead

But if you´d ask me I would go for it again
I´d try to freak out right every now and then

And once I do it right – I´m flying
Stayin up all night – a piece of cake
Approaching with a smile – I´m teasing
Too much cause I´m too high – she´s leaving - yeah

***

BIRDS

8 o´clock
The birds are singin´
Time to get up
Time to start swingin´

Brush my teeth and wash my face
Put on my clothes and start the day

Saddle up and ride away
Try my luck in a foreign country
Settle down, intend to stay
Wonderin´if they´re gonna want me

Saddle up and ride away

10 o´clock
The bells are ringin´
Different kinds of birds
Are singin´

Brush my teeth and wash my face
Put on my clothes and start the day

***

LIGHT AND SOUND

Everywhere all around
There is light and there is sound
Raise your hand if you don´t need it

There is red there is green
There is prude and there´s obscene
There is generous and greedy

There´s a choice and another close behind
There are boys, there are girls and there is time

Light a fire, light a match
Give your best and get some back
Raise your voice if you can´t hear me

There are books there are screens
There are peas and there are beans
There is difficult and easy

There´s a day and another close behind
There is beer there is water and there´s wine

Everywhere and all around
There is light and there is sound
There are things you can dismiss
But not bliss

Anywhere anytime
There is sound and there is light
I can´t believe that you don´t want it

***

SO FAR ALRIGHT

Deep down lurks the cancer
High up flies the bird
Swift moves has the dancer
Sweat stains on his shirt

So far alright
Let´s roll – let´s ride
Let´s run – let´s slide
So far --- alright

Good news has the postman
Bad luck has the nun
Bright eyes has the lover
Mortal rays has the sun

So far alright
Let´s roll – let´s ride
Let´s run – let´s slide
So far --- alright
So far...
So far....

***

CONVERSATIONS

Says the sun to the moon:
„Boy you look pale today
What´s wrong with you?“

Says the moon to the sun:
„Why, I´ve been up all night
That´s what is wrong.“

Says the day to the night:
„I´d like to marry you
Please be my bride.“

Says the night to the day:
„You´re much too bright for me
No fuckin´ way!“

Says the earth to the sky:
„You´re hangin´ low today
I wonder : why?“

Says the sky to the earth:
„I feel so sad for you
for what it´s worth.“

***

ALWAYS NEAR

I´ll keep on walking
Until day gives way to night
And as I´m walking
All my troubles they subside

And the sky is getting´clearer
And the wind is letting up

As light´s receding
Slowly fear comes sneaking in
And I´m perceiving
Creepy creatures creeping in

The faintest noise gives me a shiver
And I´m slowly getting cold

And I am scared to go to sleep
And I am scared to stay awake
But I´m too tired to walk on
Can´t walk on

Now the sun is in the sky
And I guess I´ve slept alright
All the ghosts have disappeared
But I´m sure they´re somewhere near
They´re always near

***

TIME I THINK

What you get is what you see
I look around there´s only me
An empty room with windows
A dusty floor and a door that´s locked

Now I will try
To figure out what´s on my mind
I close my eyes and gently
I feel a tickle in my brain

And it feels sane
And it feels..uhhhh
A gentle thought is nesting in my brain

What you see is what you get
Who are you? We´ve never met
Are you the one to thrill me?
Are you the one to change my life?

Or is it true
That when there´s me there´ll be no you?
But if I reconsider
There´s space enough and change is due

So who are you?
So who are…uhhhhh
It´s time, I think I changed my life for you.

***

MEK OBAAM "YOU AND I"

DIFFERENT UNIVERSES

She says stop and he says go
She says I´m tired and you know -
You never listen
He rolls his eyes and says okay
While she curls up and drifts away
To peaceful waters

And in her dreams she grinds her teeth
And faintly whimpers
While he satisfies his needs
In twilight shimmer

In the morning he feels fine
but she´s still grumpy
He´s brought all the stuff she likes
But she´s not hungry
She says please leave me alone
That makes him angry
She gets sad and on the phone
To call her familiy

So they waste another day
With grief and curses
They don´t see there is no way
They´re different persons
In different universes

It goes on like this
And then a year or so later…

She says please but he says no
He says I fell in love with Moe -
that´s so exciting
She holds her breath and then she screams
She can´t believe it
It´s even worse than in her dreams
But now she has to deal with it…

* * *

WHILE YOU´RE SLEEPING

While you´re sleeping I am sneakin
Round the block with my best friends

While you´re talking I am walking
5 times ´cross Lake Michigan

While you´re reading I am speeding
Down to Spain and back again

While you´re crying I am lying
On the beach in snow-white sand

And hey I feel great
How are you?
Hey I do fine
How do you do?

While you´re saving I am ravin´
and my head is in a whirl

While you´re longin I am tonguin´
15 boys and 15 girls

And hey I feel great
How are you?
Hey I do fine
How do you do?

Hey I enjoy what I do
And hey, do you mind if I do?

* * *

GOODNIGHT, THANK YOU

I see no reason
For the season to change yet
All pretty colors
When I´m looking out of my flat

Outside – I wanna go
Outside – I wanna go

Got to get moving
The sun is up, the sky is blue now
The city´s buzzing
And I wanna check it out now

Daylight – crystal clear
Warm breeze – it´s nice out here

I´m going nowhere
And there´s no better place to go now
My feet keep walking
And I think I need a drink now

Liquid – crystal clear
Icecold – I like it here

The day is fading
And everybody´s in the streets now
They´re going dancing
But I think I let them be now

Goodnight – and take good care
Thank you – I´m happy here

* * *

JOHNNY AND MARY

In the beginning
Johnny was grinning
And he was jumping about the place
He was ignited
He was delighted
And it was written all over his face
Then came her letter
He should have known better
And he kept thinking „Oh, what a disgrace!“
Now he´s in heaven
24/7
And he´s regretting his stupid mistakes

Mary was nice and
Very polite and
Always kept playing it straight down the line
She did respect him
And she did protect him
And always could tell how he was in his eyes
But one day he hit her
And said that he´d leave her
And when she asked why -
he wouldn´t explain
So she packed her bags and
Drove to the tracks and
Without looking back she got on the next train

Timmy looks rather
Just like his father
And sometimes his mother is wondering why
Then there´s this dude whom
He has to call daddy
Although it´s just Steven
whom he doesn´t like
One day when he´s bigger
He´ll take his friend Mary
Together they´ll go to a faraway land
And they willl be happy
And they will have children
And he´ll be a faithful and honest man

* * *

KNOWLEDGE THAT I´LL KEEP

Oh I´m sorry
I was staring into space again
Couldn´t help it
I was feeling out of place again

Question: are you having fun?
Answer: barely more than none

So let´s face it
What goes up must come back down again
And I take it
I will smile and I will frown again

Question: are you getting bored?
Answer : no, I´m in for more

It is good to know
There is east and there is west to go
To go west you know
You don´t want to take an eastbound road

It makes perfect sense indeed
And it´s knowledge that I´ll keep

* * *

SONG FOR MOTHERS

Just like I said before
I want some more
And when you go away
I´ll stay and wait

Cause everytime you are hiding
I will be everything you´re fighting

And denying and rejecting
and refusing
That you´re scared of
that you´re tired of that you´re sick of
And that bugs you

And when you look away
I´ll stare and gaze
And when you say shut up
I´ll scream and shout

Cause everything that you ask for
Is nothing that I´m goin´ to give you

Cause you´re my mother
and you are stronger
And you´re bigger

And you have power
you can command me
you could destroy me
and you could leave me

And I am helpless
I am dependent
That´s why I hate you
Although I love you

And I dislike you
Because I need you
That´s why I hate you
Although I love you

* * *

SOME SAY YES

Say good bye or leave a note?
What´s the smarter thing to do?
Keep it quiet or rock the boat?
Steal away or feign your mute?

Uhhh…and be careful if you talk
Uhhh…you might break somebody´s heart

Go by car or take the plane
Hours of your precious time
Five hundred miles will stay the same
Whether you will drive or fly

Heyyeah…and be careful where you go
Heyyeah…don´t ask me I wouldn´t know

Uhhh…some say yes and some say no

Open up or draw a line?
Share a thought or close it in?
Speed ahead or fall behind?
Be the first or let them win?

Open up, draw a line
Share a thought and let it spin
Move ahead, look behind
Be the first and let them in

* * *

EVERYONE WEARS JEANS

Everyone wears jeans
Isn´t that extreme?
And they swing so cool
Down the avenue
And they shine so bright
Have they seen the light?
Not the slightest doubt
What they´re all about

Everyone makes art
Comin´straight from the heart
Or they play in bands
Yeah, like they can
So they come and go
But you never know

* * *