Words and Music by Gordon Weiss
C 2015 gornpop music
Gordon Weiss: Vocals, guitars, bass, keyboards, balalaika, percussion
Jeff Batter: Piano, keyboards, horn and string arrangements
Greg Trabandt: Drums
Paul Opalach: Bass on “Sticky Thoughts”, “Spinning ‘Round”, “My Love Still Grows” & “Saccharin…”
Andy Abel: Guitars on “Sticky Thoughts”
Emma Weiss: Vocals
Pete Hodson: Vocals
Bill Welch: Vocals
Jeff Cannata: Vocals
Wim Oudijk: String Orchestration on “Spinning ‘Round”
Jacket Art Design by Ioannis
Cover Art and Gornpop Logo by Sofie Weiss
Thanks to: Jeff Batter, Greg Trabandt, & all of the musicians who contributed to this record, David Sasso, Mike Mascagna, the Weirdos, Steve Brady, Deborah Millstein, Alan Haber, Vinnie Zummo, Bilt Guitars, Ioannis, & George Vasilopoulos
Special Thanks to Jeff Cannata, Emma Weiss, Sofie Weiss, & Wim Oudijk for his brilliant orchestration
Very Special Thanks and Much Love to: Emma, Sofie, Ruby, and most especially Erica for their support and understanding throughout the production of this project
Produced by Gordon Weiss & Jeff Cannata
Engineered & Mixed by Jeff Cannata for Oxford Circus Productions
Mastered by Jay Franco at Sterling Sound
LYRICS
THE UGLY INSIDE
To have faith there needs to be a villain
There is no blinding light without the darkest night
Could anyone really be coerced, if the spirit wasn’t willing?
It’s not between us, but within us that lies the desperate fight
Sleeping dogs lying through their teeth
Barking out orders, licking wounds at their feet
Stripping back layers to what lies beneath
We try to hide our eyes from the ugly inside
Angry words cross the chasm, the miles between us
Sometime feeling and thinking are but one and the same
The pages of our history have been crumpled to dust
After all we need somebody else to blame
Let sleeping dogs lie, put on a good face
Simmers come to a boil in the vacuous space
That grows and divides at a frightening pace
Our eyes open wide, to the ugly inside
Words carefully considered, every point you contest
Assumptions will be made, the mules will stand their ground
All meaning misconstrued, taken out of context
The shouts are deafening, though no one makes a sound
Sleeping dogs lying through their teeth
Barking out orders, licking wounds at their feet
Stripping back layers to what lies beneath
We try to hide our eyes from the ugly inside
I’M YOUR FAN
You don’t know me, but I’m your fan
With or without the band
It’s not a casual thing
Every record or B-side and guest appearance you sing
A collector, not a stalker, just need to have everything
I even met you once or twice
Read every bio and interview
Friended you on Facebook
Maybe that’s why I thought I knew you
But when I looked into your face
I knew that wasn’t true
You don’t know me
I’m your fan
With or without the band
It’s not a casual thing
I even shook your hand backstage
You seem to recognize everybody else
And wait for me to introduce myself
Cotton mouthed, I avert my gaze
Didn’t want you to think I was crazy
Maybe you already think that I am
You don’t know me
I’m your fan
With or without the band
All the girls want to go to bed with you
I just want to be in the band
Tell me why is it I
Think to have that connection
It’s got to flow in both directions
It all comes from the same place
The music will always remain the same
Whether or not you remember my name, or my face
I’m your fan
With or without the band
I promise I won’t follow you home
Or call you on your cellular telephone
Please listen to my demo
I’m your fan
SACCHARIN, ASPARTAME, SPLENDA, YOU, & ME
I’m starving for your affection
But I’ve got no pride left to swallow
Did you want my direction,
To become a hard act to follow?
Can’t stomach more rejection
Leaves me empty and hollow
Will you still play the muse
When I no longer amuse you?
I stand accused of failing to abuse you
Spare the excuse, after all that we’ve been through
I’ll drop in some time to sweeten your tea
Saccharine, aspartame, Splenda, you and me
The invitation wasn’t lost, I can intuit
Won’t let me join the party, if I wasn’t born to it
We’ve crushed all the eggshells
I really think we blew it
Artificial you, artificial we
Saccharin, aspartame, Splenda…
I want you to be true via being true
By being you…and me
And me and you
STICKY THOUGHTS
Sticky thoughts float around my head
Wrapping tendrils round the head of my bed
Reading deep between words that you said
To the ancient fears of things that I dread
Things better left dead and forgotten
Resurrected instead, taken out for a spin
With the stench of the spoiled and rotten
Lies that are fed with the intention of sin
Sticky thinking
Rubber and glue bouncing back at you
Stinking thinking
Giving you grief, won’t provide the relief you’re seeking
From sticky thoughts
Cellophane shrink-wrap sticking to my fingers
Yesterday’s song gone, floating out in the ether
Bee venom floating through my veins and I can’t find the stinger
Your calm words quoting psalms that won’t help me either
Things better left dead and forgotten
Resurrected instead, taken out for a spin
With the stench of the spoiled and rotten
Lies that are fed with the intention of sin
Sticky thinking
Rubber and glue bouncing back at you
Stinking thinking
Giving you grief, won’t provide the relief you’re seeking
From sticky thoughts
ABOUT TIME
You climbed to the top of your family tree
Perched on branches so thin and brittle at the tip
Peering down as far as I can see
A reflection of me, stuck by the grip
Of fear that I might slip
And tumble back down, back down to the ground
Where wanting is no worse than worrying about loss
Where it’s safe and sound
Because a pound of flesh is much harder to toss away
Across the midline
Hoping half way there can be less than half way back
Is it about time?
To be moving ahead with the next plan of attack
Is it about time?
Leafing through a tomb
A stranger’s photographs masquerading as memories
The scent of a room
Harbinger of gloom
Images of the past staring back at me
And fragments of words and melodies
Linger after the album’s been put away
Dressed in black leather binding
Oh the fading light’s kept at bay
Come what may
Come what may, in my mind the past is unwinding,
The clocks are unwinding
Across the midline
Hoping half way there can be less than half way back
Is it about time?
To be moving ahead with the next plan of attack
Is it about time?
No longer worry about what I have and what I lack
I got a pill to keep my hair on my head and off my back
So get off my back
The remains of the day are slipping away
As my shadow outgrew me
The loss of time bookends the crime
Oh you never, you never really, you never really knew me
THE GREAT IMITATOR
Oh yes, I’m the great pretender
Wearing my heart on the cuff of my sleeve
That trails from a vintage rock t-shirt
Adorning a fan not out to deceive
Shuffling in shoes that are three times my size
While aping my poor monkey’s uncle
Tripping over peanuts and popcorn
In search of the rarest prize
Under the spotlight, want to shine like a beacon
Behind the mike, I hide like a chameleon
I want to be Brando, this impatient waiter
Will they stand in line for the great imitator?
They said find your own voice, but what if this is it?
Is decent derivative worse than original shit?
If the melody’s catchy, would they say its’ too treacley?
If I wrote Hey Jude, would they say it’s too Beatley?
Under the spotlight, want to shine like a beacon
Behind the mike, I hide like a chameleon
It’s time for my bow now, so long, see you later
It’s the tale of the success of the great imitator
Oh yes, I’m the great imitator
My intent couldn’t be more sincere
To entertain you, even if you see through
The familiar will fill up your ears
And sweeten the salt in your tears
I’ll be playing the same song, for years
THANKS I GET
Whether my strength is my weakness,
Or my weakness is my strength
It seems that when I hold you,
I hold you at arms length
The bastards come out blasting,
But they’re all shooting blanks
A spank and a scolding is all the thanks I get
That’s the thanks I get
For giving away the time of day
It’s not over yet
So come on let’s play, before we’re old and grey
I made you a promise,
You took it all the way to the bank
My interest kept rising,
While my heart just sank
You said you want a team player,
But it’s all file and rank
My potent protests,
Are reduced to just a whine and a crank
But no regrets
That’s the thanks I get
For giving away the time of day
It’s not over yet
So come on let’s play, before we’re old and grey
You can try to fight it, but when push comes to shove
It cuts you down to size
Cause we are bound to become, what we see through the eyes
Of the ones we love
You said there must be a better place, to direct my rage
And give me a shove, and motion toward the stage
But when I get going, a crooked cane cuts me off with a yank
The meter’s on empty, there’s nothing left in the tank, to forget
No regrets
That’s the thanks I get
For giving away the time of day
It’s not over yet
And I want you to stay, until we’re old and grey
SPINNING ‘ROUND
The storm clouds scared me so
I couldn’t keep my eyes on the road
The lightening flashes seemed to follow me home
Girl in the next car taking pictures with her phone
And I know, there’s a twister turning somewhere
Clearing away the old, making way for the new
For everything that dies in reborn in your eyes
Spinning round, spinning round
I walked on and on
While you kept on sleeping
Mesmerized by your dreaming eyes
Wondering what secrets they’re keeping
While my eyes are drawn,
Between the devil and the pale blue sky
And I know, there’s a twister turning somewhere
Clearing away the old, making way for the new
For everything that dies in reborn in your eyes
Spinning round, spinning round
The swirling sky receded in your eyes
The pink swallowed up the grey
The drivers that pass by smile and wave goodbye
Your grey eyes always brighten the day
Time telescopes while I was watching the reruns
While you played cat and mouse with the phone
The dad I’ve become, always wanted to be one
Will follow you down whatever road that you roam
MY LOVE STILL GROWS
Just like the moss between the stepping stones
I’m spreading my arms so slowly
You don’t even know
My love still grows
When bulbs are planted upside down
The flowers grow into the ground
Maybe all the way to China
Will they right themselves,
And find their way around?
Even when it doesn’t show,
My love still grows
We came upon so sprouting leaves
Did they come from seeds
That we planted last season?
Will they become flowers or are they weeds?
Should we pull them from the ground, or just let them be?
It doesn’t really matter, good or bad
You don’t even know
My love still grows