From
The Long Goodbye (1995) by
Procol Harum
Conquistador (Brooker, Reid) - 3:36
Conquistador your stallion stands
In need of company
And like some angel's haloed brow
You reek of purity
I see your armour-plated breast
Has long since lost its sheen
And in your death mask face
There are no signs which can be seen
And though I hoped for something
To find
I could see no maze to unwind
Conquistador a vulture sits
Upon your silver shield
And in your rusty scabbard now
The sand has taken seed
And though your jewel-encrusted blade
Has not been plundered still
The sea has washed across your face
And taken of its fill
And though I hoped for something
To find
I could see no maze to unwind
Conquistador there is no time
I must pay my respect
And though I came to jeer at you
I leave now with regret
And as the gloom begins to fall
I see there is no, only all
And though you came with sword held high
You did not conquer, only die
And though I hoped for something
To find
I could see no maze to unwind
Homburg (Brooker, Reid) - 4:46
Your multilingual business friend
Has packed her bags and fled
Leaving only ash-filled ashtrays
And the lipsticked unmade bed
The mirror on reflection
Has climbed back upon the wall
For the floor she found descended
And the ceiling was too tall
Your trouser cuffs are dirty
And your shoes are laced up wrong
You'd better take off your homburg
'cos your overcoat is too long
The town clock in the market square
Stands waiting for the hour
When its hands they both turn backwards
And on meeting will devour
Both themselves and also any fool
Who dares to tell the time
And the sun and moon will shatter
And the signposts cease to sign
Grand Hotel (Brooker, Reid) - 6:45
Tonight we sleep on silken sheets
We drink fine wine and eat rare meats
On Carousel and gambling stake
Our fortunes speed, and dissipate.
It's candlelight and chandelier,
It's silver plate and crystal clear.
The nights we stay at Hotel Grand
Tonight we dine at Hotel Ritz.
(A golden dish with every wish ).
It's mirrored walls, and velvet drapes,
Dry champagne, and bursting grapes.
Dover sole, and Oeufs Mornay,
Profiteroles and Peach Flambe,
The waiters dance on fingertips
The nights we dine at Hotel Ritz
One more toast to greet the morn
The wine and dine have danced till dawn
Where's my Continental Bride?
We'll Continental slip and slide
Early morning pinch and bite -
(These French girls always like to fight)
It's serenade and Sarabande,
The nights we stay at Hotel Grand
Les nuits qu'on passe a l'Hotel Grande.
Simple Sister (Brooker, Reid) - 5:51
Simple sister
Got whooping cough
Have to burn her toys
Take her treats
Eat her sweets
Scare off all the boys
Simple sister
Got whooping cough
Have to put her out
Wear her clothes
Steal her bows
Tell her that she's stout
Simple sister
Got whooping cough
Lock her in a cell
Throw the key
Into the sea
Hope she never gets well
A Salty Dog (Brooker, Reid) - 5:53
'All hands on deck, we've run afloat!' I heard the captain cry
'Explore the ship, replace the cook: let no one leave alive!'
Across the straits, around the Horn: how far can sailors fly?
A twisted path, our tortured course, and no one left alive
We sailed for parts unknown to man, where ships come home to die
No lofty peak, nor fortress bold, could match our captain's eye
Upon the seventh seasick day we made our port of call
A sand so white, and sea so blue, no mortal place at all
We fired the gun, and burnt the mast, and rowed from ship to shore
The captain cried, we sailors wept: our tears were tears of joy
Now many moons and many Junes have passed since we made land
A salty dog, this seaman's log: your witness my own hand
Pandora's Box (Brooker, Reid) - 3:00
While horsemen ride across the green
And Snow White still remains unseen.
Pegasus, the winged horse,
Relays his messages by Morse.
And like some pirate sailor
We crossed the Spanish Main
And brought our magic carpet
To a marble staircased plain.
While Handel plays his melody
Doctors cause uncertainty
And though I know the lifeguard's brave
There is no one for him to save.
And like some pirate sailor
We crossed the Spanish Main
And brought our magic carpet
To a marble staircased plain.
Cock Robin views his frozen feet
And wraps them in a winding sheet
And calls out for his favourite drink
The Persian that's as warm as mink.
And like some pirate sailor
We crossed the Spanish Main
And brought our magic carpet
To a marble staircased plain.
A Whiter Shade of Pale (Brooker, Reid) - 5:21
We skipped the light fandango
Turned cartwheels 'cross the floor
I was feeling kinda seasick
But the crowd called out for more
The room was humming harder
As the ceiling flew away
When we called out for another drink
The waiter brought a tray
And so it was that later
As the miller told his tale
That her face, at first just ghostly,
Turned a whiter shade of pale
She said, 'There is no reason
And the truth is plain to see.'
But I wandered through my playing cards
And would not let her be
One of sixteen vestal virgins
Who were leaving for the coast
And although my eyes were open
They might have just as well've been closed
She said, 'I'm home on shore leave,'
Though in truth we were at sea
So I took her by the looking glass
And forced her to agree
Saying, 'You must be the mermaid
Who took Neptune for a ride.'
But she smiled at me so sadly
That my anger straightway died
If music be the food of love
Then laughter is its queen
And likewise if behind is in front
Then dirt in truth is clean
My mouth by then like cardboard
Seemed to slip straight through my head
So we crash-dived straightway quickly
And attacked the ocean bed
Repent Walpurgis (Fisher) - 5:40
Instrumental
(You Can't) Turn Back the Page (Brooker, Noble, Reid) - 4:11
The night surrounds me
I can't turn back the hands of time
When I look around me
My thoughts are of the lonely kind
Such a game of high stakes
We gambled and then we lost
We were fools to believe
That we could beat the odds
But the story always ends the same
(You can't turn back the page)
Trying to relive ev'ry moment as it came
(You can't turn back the page)
But it always ends the same
You can't turn back the page
The night surrounds me
I try and get you off my mind
But still... still it hounds me
If I could see you one more time
In a moment of madness
We gambled and the we lost
Now we live in the shadows
And pay the cost
And the story always ends the same
(You can't turn back the page)
Trying to relive ev'ry moment as it came
(You can't turn back the page)
But it always ends the same
You can't turn back the page
The judgement's been set
The jury retired
The court's now in recess
The plea's been denied
And the story always ends the same
(You can't turn back the page)
Trying to relive ev'ry moment as it came
(You can't turn back the page)
But it always ends the same
You can't turn back the page
Strangers in Space (Brooker, Reid) - 6:50
Strangers in space
Passing through time
Travellers in haste
Partners in crime
Trace of a feeling
Trace of regret
Hard to remember
Hard to forget
Something uncovered
Something unsaid
Strangely repeated
Long ago dead
Hard to remember
Hard to forget
Strangers in space
Travellers in time
Passing in haste
Partners in crime
Trace of a feeling
Trace of regret
Hard to remember
Hard to forget
Fruits of discovery
Some distant form
Something repeated
Something reborn
Trace of a feeling
Trace of regret
Hard to remember
Hard to forget
Butterfly Boys (Brooker, Reid) - 3:46
They tell us that we're savages
Who haven't got a hope
We're burning in the furnaces,
We're choking at the smoke
They say we haven't got a choice,
Refuse to recognize our voice
Yet they enjoy comissions
From the proceeds of the joke
Those Butterfly Boys
At play with their toys
Stinging like bees
Itching like fleas
Butterfly Boys
You got the toys
You got the breeze
We cought the freeze
Butterfly Boys give us a break
We got the groceries you got the cake
They tell us that we're savages
Who cannot understand
We're sailing on a sinking ship,
We're swimming in the sand
They put their fingers in their ears,
Refuse to recognize our fears
And fly off to Jamaica
When we call them underhand
The Long Goodbye (Brooker, Fisher, Reid) - 6:02
I know I've done my best
But that's no consolation
I s'pose I should have guessed
When I saw the invitation
You told me love was blind
But you were only joking
I know you've changed your mind
But I still keep on hoping.
Head held high
Eyes on the sky
I know I've got to be strong
If I see you again
It will be as a friend
With time for a long goodbye
You know I felt so bad
When I left you at the station
It was the first time I
Had felt such desolation
It's been a long, log time
And I still can't forget you
But my friends all say
That maybe I don't want to.
Head held high
Eyes on the sky
I know I've got to be strong
If I see you again
It will be as a friend
With time for a long goodbye