Lyrics
You can find Lyrics for many of Shanghai Treason most popular songs here
The Lighthouse Waves crash, create a path, for our dim boat to drift through blindly Ships wreck, get ripped to death, by brooding storms that rage around me Rescue me, from the jaws of this leviathan Deliver me, to the shores of Avalon And me the ragdoll in the ripcurl, the reef it bares it's teeth
Could you be the spotlight, guide me safely to the shore Could you be the lighthouse, or i'll be lost at sea forevermore
It's getting late now, minefield of jellyfish, all Man O'War Feel myself sinking here amongst thinly veiled metaphors And me the ragdoll in the ripcurl, the reef it bares it's teeth
Could you be the spotlight, guide me safely to the shore Could you be the lighthouse, or i'll be lost at sea forevermore
Forevermore, forever forevermore
The S.O.S goes out, I can only pray it will reach your ears Hit me back up and tell me i've nothing to fear Nothing to fear, Nothing, Nothing to fear
Could you be the spotlight, guide me safely to the shore Could you be the lighthouse, or i'll be lost at sea forevermore Could you be the spotlight, guide me safely to the shore Could you be the lighthouse, or i'll be lost at sea, I'll be lost at sea, i'll be lost at sea forevermore
Pallbearer As the herse it weaves it's way down the desolate bay, I try to see the poetry in this But the tears of my loved ones and the sounds of the guns, they further fog the mist And I, recall being here, some eight years ago, laying your dear wife to rest but today is your turn, I try to stay strong but i'm a wreck, i'm a shell, i'm a mess They call for Pallbearers, They call for the brave, willing and strong But i can barely stand, I've been winded man, I've been cast adrift so long, cast adrift so long Cancer it will steal, indiscriminately, from rich man and poor man alike, although it stubbed out your light, won't let it tarnish your memory, we drink to your legend tonight They call for Pallbearers, They call for the brave, willing and strong But i can barely stand, I've been winded man, I've been cast adrift so long, cast adrift so long I'm a wreck, I'm a shell, i'm a mess but i'm doing my best Gunna buckle up my belt, gunna button up my vest and i'll carry you to your final rest They call for Pallbearers, They call for the brave, willing and strong But i can barely stand, I've been winded man, I've been cast adrift so long, cast adrift so long
Hammer Meets The Nail Balancing the books is like catching lightning, spinning plates just to get by The set of crooks has got us bottling thunder, don’t see no better times in sight Should they say our ship has sailed, let’s see to it, their gravy trains derailed Should they feed us all tall tails, let’s see to it the hammer meets, the hammer meets the nail Stress of it all has got us grasping at straws, feel ourselves falling by the wayside Tip of the iceberg, talking last resorts, it’s a waterboarding of kinds Before we struggle to provide, weiling in the ripcurl, drowning in the tide Before they close on us the door, Let’s blow the wheels from, the floor If they want their cash cow back, they’ll have to pick the pieces from the track Should they say our ship has sailed, let’s see to it, their gravy trains derailed Should they feed us all tall tails, let’s see to it the hammer meets, the hammer meets the nail, The hammer meets the nail
Gatekeeper Gatekeeper it’s me at the door, what you kick me down to the gutter for Must have a reason, a hell of a reason, to keep me, to keep me in exile, left for dead , here on the scrap pile I swear, I swear it’s true, i’ve paid my dues, all you gatekeepers, you gotta left me through The future is blowing up your phone, keep you on your toes out your comfort zone, we could have a weekend, a hell of a weekend, but you keep me, keep me in exile, left for dead here on the scrap pile I swear, I swear it’s true, i’ve paid my dues, all you gatekeepers, you gotta left me through And once we’ve scaled, this impossibile fence, we’ll kick in the door, and let in all of our friends I swear, I swear it’s true, i’ve paid my dues, all you gatekeepers, you gotta left me through we could have a weekend, a hell of a weekend, but first you gotta let me through, gatekeeper
Tenterhooks Two fists and a lifetime on the fringe, decided to throw caution and all 3 sheets to the wind, never short of a tail or of a yarn to spin, everyone’s a critic these days, what ‘em try to cut your wings Monday is blue, there’s no stage today, i’ve been cut loose Tuesday has got me shook, living on tenterhooks, on tenterhooks You know it will probably end in tears, but have you not dreams, tell me what have you got left to fear, we’ve come a million miles I can see it all so clear, deaths coming for us, creeping ever closer near Monday is blue, there’s no stage today, i’ve been cut loose Tuesday has got me shook, living on tenterhooks, on tenterhooks So before it all goes pear shaped and we’re crushed under our own weight, lend me your shoulders, prop me up Before we all enter the frey and have our voices stripped away, help me bare foot accross the embers, pull me from these tenterhooks, tell me it will be all good, how you’d have made it if you could, excuse me while I knock on wood, living on tenterhooks on tenterhooks, living on tenterhooks on tenterhooks.
Drowning Heart Had to dredge the river, that clogged my heart, head was full of fear, needed a clean start, I was a fool to sleep on this, living in the shade floating in the abyss Can’t float forever, in these southern seas, Can’t float forever, in these southern seas, No I can’t float forever, in these southern seas, if it means floating without aide from you. You were the lifeboat, the light in the dark, you were the only thing preserving this drowning heart, You were the lifeboat, the light in the dark, you were the only thing preserving this drowning heart Feels like a seizure, comes on like the rain, can you beleive it, we’re on our two feet again, I was a fool, to sleep on that, living in a shack on some dead end cul-de-sac Can’t float forever, in these southern seas, Can’t float forever, in these southern seas, No I can’t float forever, in these southern seas, if it means floating without aide from you. You were the lifeboat, the light in the dark, you were the only thing preserving this drowning heart, You were the lifeboat, the light in the dark, you were the only thing preserving this drowning heart And in comes the storm, blows out the sailors, sweeping sea breeze, blowing my blues away, I was born alone, I’ll go out that way too, Bathe in the monsoon, it’s been like this for days now, I long for trees, for the grass the violet bay, you we’re born to roam, there’s wanderlust in you. Dormant wanderlust in you, You were the lifeboat, the light in the dark, you were the only thing preserving this drowning heart, You were the lifeboat, the light in the dark, yeah you were the only thing preserving this drowning heart
In For A Penny Got to be in it to win it, that's what they say We couldn't feed our kids, I still made 'em pay We rattled our cans, I was nowhere to be found In for a penny, in for a pound Teamwork makes the dream work, got my mates in on it Raised the price of everything, Taxed the lot of it They tried to complain I gave them the run around In for a penny, in for a pound
Distractions satisfaction, dumb the workforce down Dissident voices, rumbling underground I did 'em in made sure they'd never be found In for a penny, in for a pound But now we're wising up, where they sought to divide It sees the jig is up, they're turning the tide Hard to be truthful guess i'll double down In for a penny, in for a pound
With The slight of the hand, the supply, the demand In for a penny, In for a pound With the lay of the land, keep our heads in the sand In for a penny, in for a pound The consequence as you know, might just follow them home I keep my head down passing each grassy knoll If calamity it seems to follow you around It's cus i'm in for a penny, It's cus i'm in for a penny, in for a pound
With The slight of the hand, the supply, the demand In for a penny, In for a pound With the lay of the land, keep our heads in the sand In for a penny, in for a pound
Textile Town Bloodletting, wild skin shedding, blind now to where we’re heading Loose footing, the whole towns shutting and it’s our community their gutting Gentrification, pricing out the riff-raff, better change the station or penn the epitaph In this textile town, the river runs read and blue, green and brown In this textile town, you know they board them up then they knock em down Wooden spools, old abandon tools, wrecking crews and chatty mouth piece fools In this textile town, the river runs read and blue, green and brown In this textile town, you know they board them up then they knock em down In this textile town, you know they bled us dry, it’s all abandoned now In this textile town, where the lost nay found Where the lost nay found In this textile town, the river runs read and blue, green and brown In this textile town, you know they board them up then they knock em down In this textile town, you know they bled us dry, it’s all abandoned now In this textile town, where the lost nay found
AN OLD DECK OF CARDS
Dog eared Larger soaked How many men have called folded of choked A vintage feel A wooden case You’d be mad not to have a dog in the race How’s ya poker face?
I’m dreaming of An old deck of cards x 2 Clubs and spades, diamonds and hearts An old deck of cards
Four still in; a loaded pot Each man believes that he’s in with a shot But one among Bides his time Plays it cool Looks for a sign Will the river provide
I’m dreaming of An old deck of cards x 2 Clubs and spades, diamonds and hearts An old deck of cards
See i’ve studied that deck now since my youth I know every rip, blemish, corner and mark So when that lawman went all in, with a, pair of aces I knew my trip sevens would tear his, whole world apart, an old deck of cards
An old deck of cards An old deck of cards An old deck of cards
A BULLET WITH MY NAME ON
How you doin? Ain’t seen you for an age, we could talk of all that nonsense but i’ve long since turned a page How ya bin love What’s it been like five years since the boat, I don’t blame you for leaving they were calling for your throat How’s you doin? I guess i’m still alive, with all the booze we used to drink you’d bet i’d have surely died How you bin love? Well one things still unclear, I dream of finer things but life keeps pulling me back here
I’m still Quick on the draw, slow on the work, mad about my women yeah she’s my entire world Always gaspin’ for a pint, dead up for it and that Me and my girl we’re goin’ boozin’ and we’re never coming back
How you doin? I’m hoping for a second shot of youth, promised a pardon but it’s hard to find the truth How you bin? Like a dry fern set ablaze, lost inside the labyrinth, moving mad inside this maze
You know me I’m still Quick on the draw, slow on the work, mad about my women yeah she’s my entire world Always gaspin’ for a pint, dead up for it and that Me and my girl we’re goin’ boozin’ and we’re never coming back
Me and my girl are heading to tivoli station, cus there’s a bullet with my name on I’d love to tell you more about my situation, but there’s a bullet with my name on
Quick on the draw, slow on the work, mad about my women yeah she’s my entire world Always gaspin’ for a pint, dead up for it and that Me and my girl we’re goin’ boozin’ and we’re never coming back
What you doin here anyway, I really ought to go Sorry to tell ya , they thought the hitman should be someone you know
*TRADING TYRANTS *
Training one tyrant for another x 2 5am don’t it make you shudder You’ve traded one tyrant for another
Packed in my old job, the governors an oppressor Got a fresh gig now and let me tell ya Aint seen a pay check yet so, i fear the worst no, the new boss on mine might also have to go Packed my bags went off to war, what we’re fighting for remains unsure Sargent says we’re here to liberate, seems like we’re here to subjugate, further planeting the seeds of hate, ooo
Training one tyrant for another x 2 5am don’t it make you shudder You’ve traded one tyrant for another Hey, swapping sweat for pay Regime change don’t it make you shudder You’ve traded one tyrant for another
It’s finally happening, the PM’s done, but before we rejoice it becomes clear That from their ranks they’ll choose a predecessor, don’t that just fill you with fear Seems there aint no democracy here, oooo
Training one tyrant for another x 2 5am don’t it make you shudder You’ve traded one tyrant for another Hey, rigging polls for pay PM change don’t it make you shudder You’ve traded one tyrant for another
You’re just trading tyrants We’re just trading tyrants You’re just trading tyrants We’re just trading tyrantssssssaaaaantttsssss
BONES
Keep on pursuing, keep on doing, doing you and you can’t go wrong Keep on learning, forever yearning, for life cus we don’t have long
Bones, bones, we’ll soon be bones
Keep on forging, bravely forward, this life’s what you make it my son Keep on scheming, forever dreaming, big, until the war is won
Bones, Bones, yeah we’ll soon be Bones, Bones, So take the party Home, Home And make this story your own Because we’ll soon be bones
The hour glass, is-moving way to fast Each day passing quicker than the last The pendulum swings, the die is cast Each moment will suddenly pass
Bones, Bones, yeah we’ll soon be Bones, Bones, So take the party Home, Home And make this story your own Because we’ll soon be bones
TAME THE MOORLAND
You can give it talk of ownership, is it not our hands that turn the soil Once more around the sun, another trip, and i think we’ll have you foiled
Until i hear that freedom drum throughout the valley of the damned You may shackle , you may martyr me, you’ll never tame the moorland, the moorland
You can give it talk of sovereignty , but half my kin are buried here So we claim our principality, are we making ourselves quite clear
Until i hear that freedom drum throughout the valley of the damn You may shackle , you may martyr me, you’ll never tame the moorland, the moorland
What can I say, we made this barron land our home We’ll come crashing down on you like waves upon a stone
Until i hear that freedom drum throughout the valley of the damn You may shackle , you may martyr me, you’ll never tame the moorlands, the moorlands
DIRTY WORK Who killed the spark in your eye? Know you aint worthless, life aint passing you by Who took the spring from your step? Know me and mine we aint give up on you yet
Don’t have to force a smile, or grit your teeth through the pain Some get the silver spoon others get the cain If they push to hard , we’ll just go berserk No longer will we do your dirty work x 2 You’ve bodies buried in the dirt No longer will we do your dirty work
Who stomped out ya fire, we don’t mind wading with ya through the murk and the mire Who took the wind from your sails, know that to impress, you never fall
Don’t have to force a smile, or grit your teeth through the pain Some get the silver spoon others get the cain If they push to hard , we’ll just go berserk No longer will we do your dirty work x 2 You’ve bodies buried in the dirt No longer will we do your dirty work
Playing fast and loose with the truth Passing the buck to the youth Walking the company line Loosing their rag half the time Don’t it just make you shiver How they sold us down the river We’re our struggles not the same Yet they’ve slung all this mud at your name They dirtied us up To make themselves look clean
Don’t have to force a smile, or grit your teeth through the pain Some get the silver spoon others get the cain If they push to hard , we’ll just go berserk No longer will we do your dirty work x 2 You’ve bodies buried in the dirt No longer will we do your dirty work
OURS FOR THE TAKING
You’d have never for it possible for boys like us, left up on the shelf just gathering dust Some got the silver, others got the belt and rust Feeling damn right unstoppable I’d of never thought it possible for boys like us
I’ve been Mistaken, still shaking Now it’s all ours for the taking Your stranglehold it’s slipping away I’ve been forsaken, now i’m breaking It’s history in the making This mountains looking more like a molehill each day
You’d have never for it possible for boys like us, comin’ from where we’re from there aint no leg ups From pubs to clubs to big tops to right on the cusp Feeling damn right unstoppable I’d of never thought it possible for boys like us
I’ve been Mistaken, still shaking Now it’s all ours for the taking Your stranglehold it’s slipping away I’ve been forsaken, now i’m breaking It’s history in the making This mountains looking more like a molehill each day
Might catch flies, wondering how does the world taste Once looking mighty pint sized, we crawled up from the waste-wasteland , it’s all in our hands
NO FLAK
Maybe its easier Living in ignorance Cus It aint half taxing Doin- All this due diligence Perhaps its wiser Living from the war crys But i have a hard time Turning a blind eye
It’s better not to wait Won’t just fall into place
After All the stones you thrown Left me Picking up the slack We aint taking no, we ain't taking no We aint Taking no flak
Been all round the houses That’s a low blow
Maybe its harder Taking the long route But it aint half demanding Always- planning an escape route Perhaps its simpler Believing in mystery Keeping your head down Wrong side of history
After All the stones you thrown Left me Picking up the slack We aint taking no, we ain't taking no We aint Taking no flak Left here to atone Feel the whip on my back We aint taking no, we ain't taking no We aint Taking no flak
Been all round the houses Low blow after low blow Lies, we must of heard 1000 Living round here that’s just how it goes
Been all round the houses Low blow after low blow Lies, we must heard a thousand Living up north, that's just how it goes
Emerald Causeway
Many have tried, many have fallen Some men lie, some men steal, I know many who went all in Many have died, before they found their calling Some saved lives, some men feel that they’re above the weighing
What will the scales weigh? When they measure up your good deeds Will you be castaway? On the emerald causeway
Many have fought, many have pillaged Some have killed, some have hoarded way more then their fair share Many hit the jackpot, still wound up distraught Some have given their whole lives to an ideal that proved irrelevant in the end
What will the scales weigh? When they measure up your good deeds Will you be castaway? On the emerald causeway
Between this world and the next
Castaway On the emerald causeway Between this world and the next
What will the scales weigh? When they measure up your good deeds Will you be castaway? On the emerald causeway Castaway Between this world and the next
Gatling Gun
Once again it seems, i’m coming apart at the seams Flailing around by the strings, of some unknown puppet master Scenes of ordinary dreams, taken to new extremes Scheming of redemption heading for disaster.
Once i dreamt of youth upon the lake had about as much as a man can take I feel like i’m burning at the stake Drinking for the sake of drinking
Call me a taxi i’m done, sick of being the lairy one Hits like a Gatling Gun Call me a liar my son, a crooked charlatan It’s like a Gatling Gun
Regret hits like a Gatling Gun, like a punch in the gut from a cannon Yes i’m the eldest song, trying hard to keep it together How, the days became the nights, the nights became the days You would not believe the price i’ve paid Years of overthinking
Call me a taxi i’m done, sick of being the lairy one Hits like a Gatling Gun Call me a liar my son, a crooked charlatan It’s like a Gatling Gun
Once I dreamt of life lived by the coast The city sucked me in and moved the goal posts Now i feel like i’m a shaking ghost Trying to keep control, forever sinking
Call me a taxi i’m done, sick of being the lairy one Hits like a Gatling Gun Call me a liar my son, a crooked charlatan It’s like a Gatling Gun
Freeman On The Land
Land is land and sea is sea, don’t belong to you, don’t belong to me Air is air and fair is fair, freedom to roam wherever. All that flag is good for is burning All these walls are keeping us apart
Oh to be, a free man on the land As far as the eye can see, looks like home to me, from where I stand Oh to be, a free man on the land I’ll plant my tree and lay down roots, wherever I want
Night is night and day is day, we’ll clash at night, be free by day break War is war, peace comes at a cost, a kingdom’s built on like a million lives lost All that flag is good for is burning All these walls are keeping us apart
Oh to be, a free man on the land As far as the eye can see, looks like home to me, from where I stand Oh to be, a free man on the land I’ll plant my tree and lay down roots, wherever I want
We could live like driftwood drifting Like birds on the wind
Ladies and gentlemen we could live like Free Men On The Land
Wildfire
Everything I try and everything I do ends up washed up on the rocks Tell me how about you? Everything I stand for has faced vicious days, It’s been routed out, kicked about Debased along the way
Rekindle the fires in your heart This tide will turn I pray it spreads like wildfire in the dark This tide will turn I came to plant arson in your heart And I pray it spreads like wildfire in the dark, wildfire in the dark
Everything I love fell to the wind Everyone I knew, left Where do I begin, where do I begin
Rekindle the fires in your heart This tide will turn I pray it spreads like wildfire in the dark This tide will turn I came to plant arson in your heart And I pray it spreads like wildfire in the dark, wildfire in the dark
We’ll watch it burn Maybe then somehow we’ll learn Burn We’ll watch it burn
Rekindle the fires in your heart This tide will turn I pray it spreads like wildfire in the dark This tide will turn I came to plant arson in your heart And I pray it spreads like wildfire in the dark, wildfire in the dark
*Hero’s Welcome *
Grandfather swam the English channel, escaped the P.O.W camp His return weren’t quite the hero’s welcome, they broke the fingers on his hands
Gave him a crack round the head said you’re a spy, you’re a spy Put a gun to his head, said, stop telling lies, stop telling lies Had a bleed on the brain for the rest of his life Weren’t quite the hero’s welcome, not quite the hero’s welcome
Grandma had to go identify him, after all that he’d been through They we’re convinced that both of them were lying Put her through the same hell too
Gave him a crack round the head said you’re a spy, you’re a spy Put a gun to his head, said, stop telling lies, stop telling lies Had a bleed on the brain for the rest of his life Weren’t quite the hero’s welcome, not quite the hero’s welcome
And he died several short years later Succumbed to the crack round the head Another lost life on the wire Another case of friendly fire Weren’t quite the hero’s welcome, not quite the hero’s welcome
Not quite the hero’s welcome Had a bleed on the brain for the rest of his life Not quite the hero’s welcome