When you are not a regular visitor to the town where you grew up ,the past ambushes you when you arrive and constantly jumps out of the dark to bite you on the arse. The longer you stay, the worse it gets.These events are amplified at xmas time due to the fact that there are many other jumpy expats there with bite marks on their asses.Should you be in the unfortunate position of having to catch the train there , you're gonna have a long cold sleepless night to contemplate your fate while being stared at by hundreds of stuffed toys.
Originally this song was called "a bunch of fives" and was a personal dare to write something in 5/4. Not many people do it as it can be an uncomfortable time signature for folks to tap their feet to. Apart from Dave Brubecks "Take Five" and The Birthday Partys,"Nick the Stripper" ,of course.
To make things more interesting ,I placed two bars of 6/8 in one of the middle 8 sections (RDRR) ,which caused Dave to throw the bass down in protest! This meant that I then had to play everything myself.
To add to the downbeat atmosphere I found that I had a vinyl record of different steam trains that travelled through Victoria in the 1960's and that track 8 was the Melbourne to Adelaide train leaving Ballarat at 11pm on 24th December 1960 ..the year I was born !!!
lyrics
The long train of misery
pulled out at 9pm
bound for christmas day...
Presents ,wrecks and friends,
rush to stake their claim ,
as we lurch into the night
Silos block the moon,
their shadows cross my face,
morning won't come too soon...
My carriage awaits ,
devils overtake,
their asses sit with force,
my kingdom ...for a horse!
Smokers file past,
grimly taking to their task,
to speed the inevitable.
Ahead the flashing past,
it signals it's approach,
death where is your sting !
My carriage awaits,
devils overtake,
their asses sit with force,
my kingdom...for a horse !
Silos block the moon,
their shadows cross my face ,
morning won't come too soon...
credits
from liquor,
released August 14, 2014
Clare Moore- keys, bass, drums, vocals. Recording , arranging , editing .
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