CORPOSURREALSONGS

Neill Cardinal Furio • February 12-16 2020 • Takkelloftet København

IS ANYBODY LISTENING?

From where I lay I hear it all A steep ascent, the deep deep fall So, whisper what you seem to say I hear it all from where I lay

From where I lie I see odd things A blackout dance on blue blue wings So, tiptoe as you live and die I see it all from where I lie

Is anybody listening?

SHE'S NOT HERE

She's not here, she's not there She's not near or anywhere She's not now, she's not then She's not how or anywhen

I CANNOT SAY

One secret is kept One secret is heard One is safe in the hand One spills every word

Go on and ask her In all shades of gray She'll tell you, tell you "I cannot say"

One story is sealed One story is told One is held in the palm One longs to unfold

Go on and ask her But don't pine away She'll tell you, tell you "I cannot say"

If it's good news, see her lose half her joy If it's bad news, how you damn and destroy If it's private, see her give half her soul If it's public, how you steal her control

Go on and ask her To your great dismay She'll tell you, tell you "I cannot say"

I'M NOT HERE

I'm not here, I'm not there I'm not near or anywhere I'm not now, I'm not then I'm not how or anywhen

STILL LIFE

Blue vase of flowers alive As the day it was glazed

Rose-fingered sundress awry On the ironing board

Rain-rusted playground as brown As a bowl of old plums

Breeze-billowed curtains as white As two bottles of milk

I CAN'T BREATHE

What fresh hellscape is this? What unknown world of woe? The red lights are a sign from the author, I know Yes, you might hear me sigh as I simmer and seethe But my pink lungs are crying: I can't breathe, I can't breathe

So is this the inferno that daylight cooked up? Or a bleak purgatorio viewed from close-up? Yes, you might see me sing while I shun and unsheathe But my green eyes are ringing: I can't breathe, I can't breathe

I'm drowning, go-downing, please throw me a line I'm sinking, can't think in this waterless brine

(Sigh)

I'm freaking, slow-leaking, please send down some hope I'm gasping, can't grasp onto miles of no rope

Let's agree I've gone batty before I pass out On my half-a-year underworld sleep-walkabout Yes, you might feel me fret as I writhe and unwreathe But my body's collapsing: I can't breathe, I can't breathe I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't

LET ME OUT

I'm trapped in a cage, or a womb, I can't tell Locked away 'hind the ribs of a bleak prison cell Oh, I may be unsure, though of this I've no doubt: How I need to be free, let me out, let me out!

I never requested to be born, don't you see? And upon my arrival, I'll ask: "Who is me"? Oh, I might be half-here, but I already pout In the voice of my mom: let me out, let me out!

Condemned to a form that I feel is all wrong I may live but I bet I won't last very long

(Gasp)

I'm buried in flesh and the horror of bone Which I knew in a heartbeat should not be my own So, take heed as I summon one last troubled shout Whether dead or alive, let me out, let me out! Whether dead or alive, let me out, let me out!

CHAIN REACTION

Across a crowded room, excited by a light You catch a twinkling eye you see with something more than sight An ever-living ghost appears, it happens right on cue A secret soul, one half your whole, comes floating into view Your cells combine to oscillate in eerie interaction Links one and two, without ado, commence your chain reaction

You take a little step, and then a couple more Before too long the two of you are slipping out the door And drowsy-drifting just above an uneclipsing moon The late late hour 'neath the bower couldn't come too soon Your atoms reel and radiate with luminous attraction Links four and eight anticipate your lovely chain reaction

You sense a source of energy that's brighter than the sun And add the fundamental lucky numbers one plus one You recognize eternity in silent, sonic bloom And as you do, the two of you, your helpless hearts go boom Your molecules explode in exponential satisfaction Links next and last, oh what a blast, complete your chain reaction

KING CUT

Take a peek, do you like who you see In the mirror of someone like me? Pick a look that reflects only you Not the world that you stumbled into

Wonder how, wonder why Secret skin, savage eye Wonder when, where and what Feel the beautiful barbed-wire crown of King Cut

Listen up, do you like that you hear Eerie ringing in some other ear? It's a voice beaming in from without Like a siren's song singing about

Whether cock, whether cat Devil tail, demon bat Whether bear, mouse or mutt Kiss the ring on the surgical claw of King Cut

Slice and dice and carve a new face Chop off and lop off with gore and with grace Slash and gash and fork your pink tongue Wings for the old-timers and horns for the young

(Growl)

Take a sniff at the end of your nose Disappointed with life I suppose? Sew a heart to your lily-white sleeve If it beats you can grin while you grieve

Welcome self, welcome soul Twice your size, 'til you're whole Welcome sin, sacred smut All bow down at the blood-metal throne of King Cut

THE ROWING SONG

I'll wear a dress tonight And row my boat alight A lonely lake of sky I'll multiply the years By satellites and tears And wonder where am I?

When the fool moon is waning in my blood And my failing oars are dripping dying stars When astronomy is buried in the mud I'll make a space to say our au revoirs

Will anybody see us fall? Will anybody hear our call? Will anybody touch a heart? When everyone's a world apart?

I'll play the lonely bride And lay my veil beside A bed of broken dreams I'll marry tense and time And measure rhyme by rhyme The length of my extremes

When the sunrise is empty of all hope And mourning birds have heard my last refrain When anatomy is hanging from a rope I'll find the breath to sing auf wiedersehen

Will anybody see us fall? Will anybody hear our call? Will anybody touch a heart? When everyone's a world apart?

(Float)

Will anybody feel us fail Will anybody tell our tale Will anybody touch a heart? When everyone's a world apart?

THEY'RE NOT HERE

They're not here, they're not there They're not near or anywhere They're not now, they're not then They're not how or anywhen

THE DREAMER

From where I sing I see it all The soul's ascent, an angel's fall How everyone is everything I see it all from where I sing

From where I play I hear a voice Our fate is sealed, but not our choice And deeds speak more than what we say I hear it all from where I play

From where I breathe I know the score A fragile peace, the inner war That blinding gleam when knives unsheathe I know it all from where I breathe

We're trapped in tragedy year after year A face on a screen while our lives disappear It might eternal, it might be a lie Go believe what you will, but you cannot deny

From where I dance I feel the stars The midnight swirl of dark guitars One single step, a second chance I feel it all from where I dance

From where I bloom I sense the sun Sweet lakeside days of summer fun My petals perk, my feathers plume I sense it all from where I bloom

We're caught in a comedy time after time A scene on a stage while we reason and rhyme It might be forever, it might be a sigh Go believe what you will, but you cannot deny

From where I dream I shape the world A grain of sand, an oyster pearled Our hearts divine a love supreme I shape it all from where I dream

Where I dream is where I dream

(Glow)

Where I sing is where I play Is where I breathe another day Is where I dance is where I bloom Is where I dream in my white room