grim tales by fairy lights
we sat mesmerised, mesmerised
dancing iridescence
in your eyes like fireflies

partners in devilment
we grabbed each day, unafraid
but the cold hands of consequence
broke the spell and wrecked the game

oh, the sun went out today
for reasons you won’t say
and i just can’t look away
from those fireflies

naked rage or self-defense
will we ever know, who’ll let go
no remorse or penitence
can save the raft from the undertow

oh, the sun went out today
and the colours burned into gray
but i just can’t look away
from those hurting eyes

we hurt, we grieve
(how could we imagine this would be)
we don’t concede
we hide, we blame
(we believed that the world would stay the same)
our illusions won’t efface the pain
it remains

the sun went out today
for reasons i can’t say
and the colours died in the pale
oh, the sun went out today
and i just can’t look away from those fireflies

tall tales and satellites
all that remain
turn back the day

can you make it on your own
or do you lack the courage
are you prepared to be exposed
or do you fear the knowledge
did you enjoy the masquerade
or was it too revealing
we’re walking upon a blade
can you feel it

you say you’ve been living half a life
isn’t this the life you wanted
never even had to try
just said the word, you got it
was it meant to feel so bare
that’s the way you wrote it
i caught a whisper in the air
can you hear it

hey, can you feel it
hey, did we dream it

no more to run, i am one
with my destination
i surrender, my throne i disown
this is my abdication
i walk with the ghosts, raise a toast
no more need of worry
the ocean is calling
i dissolve into the blue

i’ve been walking unaware
thoughts collect around despair
affirmations won’t erase
centuries of my remains
still i rise

no more to run, i am one
with my destination
i surrender, my throne i disown
this is my abdication
i walk with the ghosts, make the most
no more need of worry
the ocean is calling
i dissolve into the blue

come with me, we’ll dive into the sky
all your dreams will soon be realised
i shed it all, are you prepared to break your ties

no more to run, i am one
with my destination
i give up my soul to be whole
this is a celebration

no more to run, i am one
with my destination
i surrender, my throne i disown
this is my abdication
i walk with the ghosts, raise a toast
no more need of worry
i consign to the pyre all desire
’cause this is a celebration now

was it the heady feeling
the thrill of opportunity
do you know your misdemeanour
has shamed the whole community

why did you take the money
why did you have to steal it
i know you took the money
your mother couldn’t believe it

big cheese, you got the power
must make you irresistible, huh?
these days an honest feller
seems like a flaming radical

why did you take the money
why did you have to steal it
i know you took the money
your lover couldn’t believe it

all alone in the cold, the fear and the snow
bear down in your head, the things that they said
you float in the dark, battered and scarred
by the clouds you invented, the stones that you bled

a moment of truth washes over you
this melancholy doesn’t have to be
all it takes is a step to be over the edge
and you’re falling, you’re falling, you fall

can you take it harder

the man on the screen looked so serene
as he handed the news that more than a few
had died in the blast, there were kids in the car
hundreds were hurt, all in a day’s work

everyday it’s the same, another street up in flames
a world gone to dark, falling apart
relentless they come, images set to stun
you’re crawling, you’re crawling

can you take it harder

a moment of truth washes over you
this misery doesn’t have to be
all it takes is a step and you’re over the dread
you’re flying, you’re flying

can you take it harder

don’t you worry, you’re not alone, don’t take it hard now
never fear ’cause you’re not alone, don’t take it hard now

can you take it harder
can you take it harder
can you take it harder
can you take it hard, take it hard
can you take it

whoa, whoa, hey
whoa, whoa, hey
there’s no disgrace
in losing the race

greyhounds at the starting blocks
run along, run along
you’ll get your bonus at the finish line
they’re champing at the bit
pressure’s on, the pressure’s on
speed up if you don’t want to be left behind

did they trample on your dreams
smash them all to smithereens
past the point of no return
maybe someday we will learn

that there’s no disgrace
in losing the race
there’s no disgrace

do you ever get the urge to
get away, get away
lay your weary body down to rest
move it on, no time for respite
daddy says, daddy says
there’s no room at the top for second best

did they take away your dreams
douse them all in kerosene
from the crowd you watched them burn
maybe someday this world will learn

that there’s no disgrace
in losing the race
there’s no disgrace
in losing the race

come in from out of the shadows
another world awaits you
where every hand’s a winner
and every hope reveals the day

whoa, whoa, hey
there’s no disgrace
there’s no disgrace
in losing the race

this is no disgrace
this is no disgrace
this is no disgrace
this is no disgrace
it’s no disgrace
this is no disgrace

did you fall again
off the edge of the world
were you wrestling lions
or diving for pearls

i’ve always pictured you
as the fearless kind
laying waste to armies
with a sword and a smile

if you come around this way
if you come around this way
say hello

twenty years ago
a girl fell to your charms
then watched you sail away
a babe in her arms

i’ve waited all this time to make
my acquaintance with you
all hope of your return
long faded from view

but if you come around this way
if you come around this way
say hello

every time you kiss your child goodnight
are you reminded of the lullaby
you used to sing to soothe the heart you’d chosen to deny

if you come around this way
if you come then please don’t stay

now the sun won’t show
and the rain comes slow
but the trees they know

and the sky hits the ground
like a storm without a sound
but the blood cries aloud

why did you go away
why couldn’t you stay
did the miles help you to erase
the hurt, the guilt, the shame you couldn’t bear to face
why did you go away

riddle my body with bullets of guilt
d’you feel better now, better now
i’m shot through with holes that can never be filled
does it matter how, matter how i feel
the pain is real
will i heal

i reside like a thorn in your pride

shatter my world with a round of deceit
are you satisfied, satisfied
hit me again till i kiss my feet
do you see that i, see that i am torn
flesh down to bone
right through my soul

there’s no disguising my fall in your eyes

scattershot of lies
i’m broken and paralysed
now my body’s lying in state, don’t miss the wake
i’m stranded by the wayside
another victim of a drive-by
into the earth i dissipate

bulletproof, bulletproof
if i drink from the cup of truth it’ll save me
bulletproof, bulletproof
i know the thing that you do that you do’s to erase me
bulletproof, bulletproof
i drink from the cup of truth to save me
bulletproof, bulletproof
from the thing that you do that you do to erase me

a chance of eyes, adrenalin set in motion
a blaze of hearts, paradise close at hand
when stars align nothing more need be spoken
the future is here, it’s all in the masterplan

take a bow, the ceremony went beautifully
picture perfect, everyone had a ball
what went wrong, the dream was struck by reality
and the bigger the dreams, the harder the tears will fall
you know the bigger the dreams, the harder the tears

separative lives
doesn’t need to mean goodbye
living separate lives
doesn’t have to be goodbye

don’t let it slip away
let it slip away
or let it slip away
let it slip away

as moves the earth, so goes the turn of the river
finding its way, your destiny’s yours to resolve
one thing remains, nothing stays forever
and the bigger the dreams, the harder the tears will fall
you know the bigger the dreams, the harder the tears

separative lives
doesn’t need to mean goodbye
living separate lives
doesn’t have to be goodbye

don’t let it slip away
let it slip away
or let it slip away
let it slip away

let it slip away, slip away

separative lives
doesn’t need to mean goodbye
living separate lives
doesn’t have to be goodbye
living separate lives
doesn’t have to be goodbye

goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye, goodbye