Even Less

Written by Steven Wilson

A body is washed up on a Norfolk beach

He was a friend that I could not reach

He thought I was cold but I understand

But for the grace of god goes another man

And I may just waste away from doing nothing

But I'm a martyr to even less

A choirboy is buried on the moors

Where we used to go dreaming when we were bored

So some kids are best left to fend for themselves

And others were born to stack shelves

And I may just waste away from doing nothing

But I'm a martyr to even less

Piano Lessons

Written by Steven Wilson

I remember piano lessons

The hours in freezing rooms

Cruel ears and tiny hands

Destroying timeless tunes

She said there's too much out there

Too much already said

You'd better give up hoping

You're better off in bed

You don't need much to speak of

No class, no wit, no soul

Forget you own agenda

Get ready to be sold

I feel now like Christine Keeler

Sleepwaking in the rain

I didn't mean to lose direction

I didn't want that kind of fame

(Take your hands off my land)

Credit me with some intelligence

(if not just credit me)

I come in value packs of ten

(in five varieties)

And even though I got it all now

My only stupid dream

I see you and me together

And how it should have been

I remember piano lessons

Now everything seems clear

You waiting under streetlights

For dreams to disappear

Pure Narcotic

Written by Steven Wilson

You keep me waiting

You keep me alone in a room full of friends

You keep me hating

You keep me listening to the Bends

No amound of pointless days

Can make this go away

You have me on my knees

You have me listless and deranged

You have me in your pocket

You have me distant and estranged

No narcotics in my brain

Can make this go away

I'm sorry that, I'm sorry that I'm not like you

I worry that I don't act the way you'd like me to

You find me wanting

You find me bloodless but inspired

You find me out

You find me hallucinating fire

No narcotics in my brain

Can make this go away

Have we ever been here before?

Running headlong at the floor

Leave me dreaming on a railway track

Wrap me up and send me back

Slave Called Shiver

Written by Steven Wilson

I need you more than you can know

And if I hurt myself it's just for show

I found a better way to curb the pain

You put a trigger here inside my brain

Mother I need her

I'm falling apart

Mother I need her

And it's only the start

I may be nothing now but I will rise

I'll have more followers than jesus christ

Through all the smashing and crashing cars

I love the ground you walk with all my heart

Don't Hate Me

Written by Steven Wilson

A light snow is falling on London

All sign of the living has gone

The train pulls into the stations

And no-one gets off and no-one gets on

Don't hate me

I'm not special like you

I'm so alone

Don't fight me

I know you'll never care

Can I call you on the telephone, now and then?

One light burns in a window

It guides all the shadows below

Inside the ghost of a parting

And no-one is left, just the cigarette smoke

This Is No Rehearsal

Written by Steven Wilson

How many children did I bring into this world?

How many did I lose in the shopping arcade?

This is no rehearsal - play it back and throw things at the screen

This is no rehearsal - somebody interpret this for me

And still I remember how I dressed him this morning

And then he was gone - stolen, my only one

Baby Dream in Cellophane

Written by Steven Wilson

I am - in my pram

Look you - I'm so new

I am - sleeping there

Underneath the stairs

If you - wanted to

You'd find - inside my mind

Things so surreal

My lips are sealed

In the rain in cellophane

Pale dogs and demigods

They won't bring me down

The clocks go round, they never stop

I've been - in limousines

I've seen - inside your dreams

It's raining there

Try not to stare

Stranger by the Minute

Written by Steven Wilson

Ghosts in the park

Appear just after dark

Killers, children ...

But no-one has a harp

They look like tourists

It makes me want to laugh

Under floorboards

It's hard to fly a kite

Underwater

My cigarette won't light

Standing in the shade

I'm getting frostbite

Stranger as I seem

I'm getting stranger by the minute

Look in my dreams

They're getting stranger by the minute

When I'm drowning

You drag me up to you

Rings in the water

My only residue

But you're just fiction

And I'm a twisted body

A Smart Kid

Written by Steven Wilson

Stranded here on planet earth

It's not much but it could be worse

Everything's free here, there's no crowds

Winter lasted five long years

No sun will come again I fear

Chemical harvest was sown

And I will wait for you

Until the sky is blue

And I will wait for you

What else can I do?

A spaceship from another star

They ask me where all the people are

What can I tell them?

I tell them I'm the only one

There was a war but I must have won

Please take me with you.

Stop Swimming

Written by Steven Wilson

This song leaks out onto the pavement

It could be a joke, it could be a statement

The more that I fake it and pretend I don't care

The more you can read in to what isn't there

Maybe it's time to stop swimming

Maybe it's time to find out where I'm at

What I should do and where I should be

But no-one will give me a map

I'll leave now this can't continue

But I forget which door I came through

And I know what the lift can be painfully slow

So I'm happy to leave by the window