XTC

As I said in the afterward to the book, these guys are still my favorite band though it seems increasingly unlikely that they’ll put out a new album. I had originally wanted to quote from several of their songs (a few lines to balance the sonnets at the beginning of each section) but though I got permission from the band the company responsible for licensing the reprinting of the lyrics wanted more money than I could afford. It is one of the absurdities of current copyright law, however, that I can post lyrics online without any kind of permission or payment. I’m including here the songs I had wanted to incorporate more fully into the novel, and hope you’ll take a listen on either the band’s myspace page, Youtube or other websites. Better still you could actually buy their CDs… For further news on the band click on the image below which will take you to the Chalkhills site where you can get access to all things XTC:



Here are the lyrics I originally wanted to print in the book in the order they would have appeared:

Page 1 Epigram: from Senses Working Overtime

And I’ve got one, two, three, four, five
Senses working overtime: trying to take this all in, I've got
one, two, three, four, five
senses working overtime: trying to tell the difference
'tween the goods and crimes,
dirt or treasure…
the pain and the pleasure
and the church bells softly chime. . .

Part 1 Epigram: from Rook

Rook, rook
Read from your book
Who murders who and where is the treasure hid?
Crow, crow
Spill all you know
Is that my name on the bell?

Part 2 Epigram: from Dear God

Did you make disease, and the diamond blue? Did you make
mankind after we made you? And the devil too!

Part 3 Epigram: from No Language in Our Lungs

there is no language in our lungs
there is no muscle in our tongues
to tell the world what's in our hearts
no we're leaving nothing
just chiselled stones
no chance to speak before we're bones

Part 4 Epigram: from The man who sailed around his Soul

Now he sits all alone
Knowing flesh blood and bone
Is everything
He found the treasure he'd been seeking
The man who sailed around his soul

Part 5 (Epilogue): from Books are Burning

Books are burning
In the main square, and I saw there
The fire eating the text
Books are burning
In the still air
And you know where they burn books
People are next

I also wanted to include some lines from The Wheel and the Maypole which is wonderful on circularity and mortality. For a sample:

Maypole, maypole, maypole
You've spun me round
And knocked me off my axis mundi
Maypole, maypole, maypole
The ties that bind you will unwind
To free me one day
And everything decays
Pyramids and palaces to dust
Empires crumble in
Wedding cake begins to must and moulder
And what made me think we're any better
And what made me think we'd last forever
Was I so naive?
Failing to perceive