1. |
Till The Fire Dies
03:44
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Till The Fire Dies
(Cardier)
Y'know honey, I wrote a song once
But I didn't think it'd turn out
To be anything great -
So I burned it in the fireplace
But I kept a copy just in case.
Somethin' don't turn out so good -
Chop it up for firewood -
Somethin' may turn out so sweet -
Stand it on the mantelpiece.
And keep on keepin' on
Though you don't know why
That you don't know why.
You just keep on keepin' on
Till the fire dies.
And when the leaves were fallin'
In the cold, cold air
I worked out a chorus
Just to make you glow -
And with a grin from ear to ear
I sang it through -
You said you heard one the same
On the radio.
Don’t go.
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2. |
Love At First Sight
01:13
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Love At First Sight
(Cardier)
I useta bump into this and bump into that
Till the doctor told me I was as blind as a bat
So he gave me a pair of spectacles.
I said, spectacles.
I said, 'Hey doc, that'll make matters worse!
I been so unlucky in love that it's a curse!'
He said, 'Well, well, well, I'm not surprised
Four eyes!'
Just as I was leavin' I saw this gal
And she saw me alright.
She had a brand new pair of spectacles too
And it was love at first sight.
So in slow motion I ran across that room
As an orchestra played the 'Blue Danube'.
She threw off her glasses and I threw off mine.
We could only see eye to eye.
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3. |
Claudius Come Home
03:57
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Claudius Come Home
(Cardier)
Claudius, your old room is just the same
Even where you scraped your name in the paint.
Yes, you can play your bugle like you always did,
Even though it drives us to drink.
And you can get up to all your old monkeyshines if you wanna.
You can keep the stupid statue of Napoleon in the corner.
I guess we all did so much yellin' out
That we forgot just what it was about.
Claudius come home, we miss you so.
You can even run head-first into the bedroom wall just like you used to.
You can even yell your dumb, avant-garde poems out the window.
Though we get frights when you jump right out at us shoutin'
'The Martians have landed! The Martians have landed!'
I dunno what you see in all that.
Claudie, y'know we stuck for you the day the big policeman came.
We let you keep the stray kitten that came in from the rain.
Y’know, I didn't wanna hurt you
But well, when someone gets drunk they often punch somebody.
Claudius come home, we miss you so.
Doncha see we can put it right?
We know you come by and look up at our light.
We hear the bugle out on the street sometimes at night.
Claudius come home, we miss you so.
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4. |
Cars
02:22
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Cars
(Cardier)
My old jalopy rolled a history ago.
Everyone loved a car.
I was your dizzy, dizzy fool
In racin' goggles and a scarf.
Drunk with power,
Twenty miles an hour.
It's been some years now.
All thrown away.
Grass growin' through the seats.
Obsolete.
It's been some years now
Since the last one went down
And now, I see 'em all rusting in the ground.
Just as far as the eye can see.
Miles and miles of cars.
Miles and miles of cars.
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5. |
Somebody's Under My Bed
01:47
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Somebody's Under My Bed
(Cardier)
Somebody's under my bed
And if I fall asleep I'm dead
'Cos he knows I must close my eyes
Sometime, sometime.
Somebody's under my bed -
It's night-time again and I'm all alone.
Well, maybe I'll get up.
No, I better stay put
'Cos he'll grab my foot.
Every night it's the same -
Drinkin' hot black coffee from a cup.
Oh where, oh where's that teddy bear?
I wish the sun would come back up.
Somebody's under my bed -
I don't wanna fall asleep,
I don't wanna be dead.
Well, maybe I'll get a gun.
Maybe I'll get a lover
Or maybe I'll just pull myself
Down underneath the covers.
Oh, somebody's under my bed.
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6. |
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It's A Small World (Or So They Say)
(Cardier)
Darlin’, though you're goin' far away
It's a small world or so they say -
Maybe I'll meet up with you sometime -
Somewhere wonderful.
Maybe a lamp-lit bridge in Amsterdam
Or a giddy street in Sydney -
Darlin’, I'll meet up with you again -
Yes, of course I will.
So I won't be gettin' lonely
And I won't be gettin' sad -
Lemme hear that old piano roll
And some guy playin' the good old days
All night long -
And even then I won't forget by the mornin’ -
Not for all the yellow-keyed pianos
They got in New Orleans.
Maybe I'll see you in the dark
Of some mardi-gras lane
And well, you won't have changed an awful lot -
No, not for all the lights they got in Paris.
So I won't be gettin' angry,
I won't be gettin' mad -
I'm not the kind who would do that -
I'm only shakin' my fist at the sky 'cos it's rainin’ -
And the asylum of your arms won't be forgotten -
Not for all the madness they got in Manhattan.
It's a small world or so they say -
Darlin’, I'll meet up with you sometime -
Somewhere wonderful.
Yes, of course I will.
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7. |
The Party
03:07
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The Party
(Cardier)
It was a party by invitation only -
It was the social event of the year -
So I thought I'd crash it just to see
Just what was goin' on inside there.
Now, all the gentlemen were in tuxedos
And all the ladies, they were high society -
And me? Well, I was standin' in the corner
Actin' just as anti-social as I could be.
I felt like runnin' about -
Screamin' my lungs out -
Actin' like Lon Chaney at full moon -
I felt like swingin' from the chandelier -
Jump both feet in the caviar
And like Errol Flynn,
I'd grin from a window-sill too
As everyone says, 'Who invited you?'
Now, just as I was thinkin' this in the corner
Some guy really and truly starts
Screamin' and runnin' about -
So a dozen or so of us got together
And a dozen or so of us threw him out.
Then we were bashin', lashin', custard-pie splashin’ -
We smashed him as slapstick actors do -
And now I'm starin' down at this misfit on the ground
And I'm sayin', 'Who invited you?’
I'm sayin', 'Who invited you?'
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8. |
Man On The Roof
02:51
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Man On The Roof
(Cardier)
I dunno just what to do.
There's a man on the roof!
There's a man on the roof
Wavin ' goodbye -
Maybe I'm just seein' things -
Maybe he's not there -
But now he's shoutin' down at me
Various obscenities -
Maybe he's an escapee from an infirmary,
Wavin' goodbye.
Everybody run come see the show.
Oh no, he's hoppin' in a madman's dance -
Oh no, he's droppin' his pants!
The scatterbrain so-and-so's singin' falsetto,
The ratbag's rollin' his eyes -
And the crowd is buzzin' down in the street -
He's tossin' all his money down!
Oh, he's throwin' money like a yeti throwin' confetti
Makin' the people all run around -
Maybe he's a lunatic on a religious kick,
Wavin' goodbye.
Everybody run come see the show.
Bravo and hip-hip hooray!
The ladies are swoonin' all over the place -
And even he-men are screamin'
'Cos it's grand finale time!
He's standin' tip-toe on the chimney top
And he's wavin' goodbye.
Everybody run come see the show.
I dunno just what to do.
There was a man on the roof -
There was a man on the roof,
Wavin' goodbye.
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9. |
Pigeons
00:27
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Pigeons
(Cardier)
There's a statue in the park
Of a general on his horse
But after all is said and done
The pigeons win the war.
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10. |
Ulysses (Revisited)
03:00
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Ulysses (Revisited)
(Cardier)
Would you wait at the gate for me lady
If I was Ulysses and fought
Till the savages ran outa savages in every war?
But I’m a short-sighted kid from the city -
I got a job in the office for life -
And every once in a while
They tell me that I’ll do alright.
When you think of the things
That he has said and did
In a far-off mysterious land -
On Ulysses’ command they all ran and they hid
And I think he wore glasses when he was a kid.
Far away I would go for a decade or so
And you would not even think of a man -
And when I brought lotsa dancing girls home
You would quite understand -
But I’m a short-sighted kid from the city -
And the job in the office ain’t fun but lady,
One day we’ll eat bunches of grapes in the sun.
When you think of the things
That he has said and did
In a far-off mysterious land -
On Ulysses’ command they all ran and they hid
And I think he wore glasses when he was a kid.
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11. |
New Born Babe
01:52
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New-Born Babe
(Cardier)
New-born babe -
Don’t know nothin’ bout the ways of the world
Or astronauts up on the moon
Or witches on brooms.
New-born babe -
Don’t know nothin’ bout the politics of people
Or chess pieces or old churches -
You just know your mother.
New-born babe -
Don’t know nothin’ bout the way it’s gonna be
Or clown faces or masterpieces
Or love affairs or rockin’ chairs.
I see you sleepin’ away.
Gettin’ older every day.
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12. |
After Luna Park
03:11
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After Luna Park
(Cardier)
Come light my row of lights -
The show’s about to start -
I see an old amusement place
They call it Luna Park -
Come step along, my darlin’,
On love’s crazy ways with me -
To the moon, my friend,
And back again
And all stops in-between.
Come lay down by my side -
I see you in the dark -
I see a kid who went and did
The rounds at Luna Park
Where everyone had their own balloon
Come followin’ behind -
Just like the song I gave to you
Once upon a time.
Come let’s go stumblin’ arm in arm
From all these crazy lanes -
Not knowin’ where we’re goin’ to
Not comin’ back again -
Darlin’, I’ll go dancin’ by
So may you turn your head to me -
Come let that be enough for you
After all you’ve seen.
Come light my row of lights -
The show’s about to end -
I see a kid who did the zany rounds
With Harpo Marx and friends -
Till you found that you could take no more -
You’d emptied out your heart -
And that’s the way you gazed at me
After Luna Park.
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13. |
Orchestra Story
02:51
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Orchestra Story
(Cardier)
We’re an orchestra -
Bored with the way we play our stuff -
We wanna play it mean and we wanna play it rough -
So we decided to surprise all them classical buffs -
And we did sure enough.
We don’t need no forest of microphones
Or no mountain of amplifiers -
We don’t need no incredible sound system
Or decibel multipliers -
We just thrash the living daylights out of our instruments -
The violins are strung with barbed-wires.
Supersonic, symphonic,
Philharmonic orchestra.
That’s what we are.
Well, the concert hall was hushed -
They were all so very quiet -
Fannin’ with their programs
All dolled up for the night -
Then we let go with a mighty roar -
Aw, they just about died of fright!
Man, it was outasight.
They was steeple-chasin’ over the seats
Leavin’ the place in a ruin -
They was lookin’ round to see
Just what each others was doin’ -
It was pandemonium round the podium -
Chaos all round the room.
Supersonic, symphonic,
Philharmonic orchestra.
That’s what we are.
We did Handel’s Messiah like wildfire
Till the eyes of the choir went red -
We did Brahm’s Lullaby in such a frenzy
That the veins stuck out of our head -
We did Beethoven’s Fifth so loud,
In the front row, some bloke’s nose bled.
Knocked ‘em dead.
We wanna be top-ten good-guy sure-shots -
We wanna get on every tv screen -
We wanna have them groupies in their evening gowns
Jump up and down and scream
As we smash up a piccolo,
Set fire to a tambourine.
Supersonic, symphonic,
Philharmonic orchestra.
That’s what we are.
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14. |
Goodtime Days
04:18
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Goodtime Days
(Cardier)
Honey, I just fell for you -
I couldn’t tell you why -
Maybe you were kinda gamblin’ too
And I could see it in your eyes -
Now, somehow we’re in love beneath
The ever-changin’ sky -
The ever-changin’ sky.
So let the wind whistle in to the fire -
Let the sun settle on to the snow -
Ah, these goodtime days,
These goodtime days -
They just go the way they gotta go.
Just how we found each other
Well, I could not say for sure -
It’s just the way the day goes by
That makes me want you more -
The way the numbers run,
The way the dices fall -
The way the dices fall.
And it goes to show not everybody
Gets to know the score -
So let us dance into the night
Till we can dance no more.
And let the wind whistle in to the fire -
Let the sun settle on to the snow -
Ah, these goodtime days,
These goodtime days -
They just go the way they gotta go.
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Glenn Cardier Sydney, Australia
Post 2000, Glenn Cardier’s re-emergence as a songwriter/performer of real distinction has been nothing short of extraordinary. In typical single-minded fashion, he writes, performs and produces his music. Onstage, there are the trademark flashes of dark humour and thumping rockabilly/blues. But underlying it all are the songs. Happy/sad songs. Sweet/crazy songs. Cardier songs. CDs on the website. ... more
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