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Citizen Fish

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Over The Fence

Can't stop this constant nod
Just met two peas from the nextdoor pod
Seems like making a brand new friend
But all this shaking never ends

Invitations to join in things
I haven't done since seventeen
Photos from places I still haven't been
Postponing & phoning faces unseen

Slightly nervous...
Thinking backwards...
Up & over it!

Someone else's experience
Someone else is over the fence
No more blank comparison sketch
No more false impressions left

Had to go...
Things to do, you know how it is...
It went from this to further over and back again
Always make it back again
Further over and back again
Always make it back again
Further over and back again
Always make it back again

Back again
Didn't you & me met in somewhere before -- Back again
Haven't we met somewhere nextdoor -- Back again
Haven't I seen your face before


Revolution

When 'the people's revolution
Is the stuff of science fiction
Then the sense of evolution is deranged
Into thinking your solution
Is the easy contradiction
To the way you had the problem re-arranged
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

No! No! No! No! No! -- I don't think so!
No! No! No! No! No! -- I don't think so!
No! No! No! No! No!

It's obvious to me
But can't you blinkered visionaries
All comprehend how unrealistic it must be?
To alter all the problems
Til the facts are all forgotten
And solutions blowout on the morning breeze
Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!

No! No! No! No! No! -- I don't think so!
No! No! No! No! No! -- I don't think so!
No! No! No! No! No! -- Where's your revolution now?
No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!

When will you come to realise
The more you tend to theorise
The actuality of life recedes?
And the daily devastation
- Maybe daily revelation -
Is forgotten in the future you conceive

So any people's revolution
Is not down to your conclusions
Concerning how we change to suit your needs
For if everyone is what they are
Change can only go as far
As people want to change their destiny

No! No! No! No! No!
No! No! No! No! No! -- I don't think so!
No! No! No! No! No! -- I don't think so!
No! No! No! No! No! -- Where's your revolution now?
No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!


Out Of Control

I used to smile at the camera
But now it's on every corner
And everyone is staring
Ignorant or tired or caring
Or just completely used to feeling
Watched all the time
Or holding back a sense of freedom
That comes out late at night

It's out of control

Orwell's future science fiction
Ended up a near prediction
Smug the rebel's lonely chorus
'We saw it before it saw us'
Flick the page to a few years later
The novelty is out of date -- a
Problem redefined has gone
Now we're told it's what we wanted

It's out of control
It's out of control
It's out of control

Now everyone's on camera
And everyone's an actor
Here's a random factor
Someone took away the screen
E-motion pictures in 3-D
Beyond control the human being
Is freer than the one projected

Being watched to keep control
Of 'crime' -- A buzzword has its hold
Another such is 'you' -- it makes us
Follow where the message takes us
Either down the path to silence
Where no-one says more than they're told
Or to the realisation
Our containment needs permission

Our acceptance paves the way
That makes it worse when we get old
Grandad had so much to say
But all his anger had gone cold

Tried & tested, failed suppressed
Then new technology invested
Here's the future human being
Silent, nervous, dead or screaming

No! It's out of control!
No! No! It's out of control!
No! No! It's out of control!

No! No! It's out of control!
No! No! It's out of control!
No! No! It's out of control!
No! No! It's out of control!
No! No! It's out of control!

Well you know, you're walking down the street and you know you're being looked at from every corner you can imagine. It's out of control as much as if we have no control over how much control they've got overall. ??? Do something! You can even us your imagination a bit more and stare back at the camera as though you're just being in control every move you make. And we'll open that a bit more; I mean why the hell do they have to watch us anyway? Why they're so busy doing it? What is the bloody point?


In '89 when the eastern European countries opened up to western eyes and the Berlin wall toppled, Romania ousted its leader Ceaucescu who - to the shock of our free press - had installed cameras on the streets to observe his people... outrageous, it would never happen here, etc, etc. Now the U.K. has more cctv cameras than any other country per head of population. Being watched became being protected. The price of protection is the subliminal idea that we cannot control ourselves, and the resulting further deterioration of sense of community that humans are geared to. As big business crime goes on unheeded we walk the streets afraid of the potential criminal amongst us, and even the one inside us... because being watched has always inferred GUILT or NOT BEING TRUSTED. It creates low self-esteem which on a large scale creates a society whose only cohesive point of reference is the government, to love or to hate, but the sole provider of better times just around the corner... pacified via television, yet scrutinised when outdoors, it's watch or be watched. All else will be taken care of.

On a happier note, the cameras are pretty much useless, unattended or empty; any use of cctv film by the cops to secure conviction is - until they amend the law - contrary to article 8 of the European convention on human right (the right to respect for private & family life, and its sanctity against "interference by public authority"); and cctv, errr, create jobs? Screen-staring of yet another kind! "PHONE IN SICK!" signs held up to the cameras.... (quick before they make that illegal too).


Picture This (The Invention Of Television)

Well they said it couldn't be done
But they always had it in mind
A picture machine! Like a radio
But a three-dimensional kind
Seeing what words could only say
Extending the views so far away
So much to see, so much to show
Let's see how far this thing can go

What's on T.V.?
What's on T.V.?
What's on T.V.?
What's on T.V.?

Well they said it shouldn't be done
But they always had it in mind
Charging a fee for the quality
And a bigger one to advertise
Too many viewpoints go unheard
When money talks so undisturbed
Here's the market -- Fill the blanks
For exploitation we say thanks

What's on T.V.? -- Fuck you!
What's on T.V.? -- Fuck you!
What's on T.V.?
What's on T.V.?

Well they said it couldn't be done
But they plugged into our minds
A one-way delivery feeding tube
Of reality simplified
Now our thoughts are in mass production
Our nerves de-densitized
This apex of invention
Has replaced our ears & eyes

Well I'd rather sing songs about nature
Being happy or having fun
But I asked at the desk when I got here
And they said it couldn't be done

Too much T.V.!
Too much T.V.!
Too much T.V.!
Too much T.V.!

More at ease with songs against T.V.
That's something we all know about
And we'd rather get off on the hatred
Than imagine the living without
I been watching too much telly
Almost turned my brain to jelly
Now I'm playing my cassettes
Get back to the music before you forget!
Before you forget!
Before you forget!
Before you forget!

Turn it off!


Internal Release

Sat round a table, "What do you do?"
I put my neuroses on public view
Everyone sat round something to say
But contracting it all into "Have a nice day?"
Oh! -- When I said "Well no not really"
Oh! -- Aiming to let go of a lonely feeling

I sensed a tension unexpected
Normal question got redirected
Didn't it? You know I was taught
That's what friends are really for

This is a cry for communication
This is a sample of alienation

So I looked up from starting what may never ends
To see you looking for another friend
Are all your acquaintances so happy inside
Simplistic answers are the only replies
You get? And so it goes on
If everyone's happy then what could be wrong?

Needing to know that surrounded by plastic
Transient values & rapid-fire thrills
Internal release need not be so drastic
Create perceptions that none of us feel, fell, none of us feel

This is a cry for communication
This is a sample of alienation


Autographs

After the gig and keen to share
The end result of feeling aware
But it's autographs that you want me to sign
I write my name but it's not even mine...

It's yours, hang it up on your wall
I hope you get over it, do a bit more
Cos playing the game is the game itself
Where all you get told is all you can tell

Labels define, and their opposition
Defines as well, puts you in a position
Label it 'alternative', what does it mean?
A token cog in the music machine

It's always easier to follow the leader
Lowest common denominator
All dressed up as a motivator
Fuck the system? Yeah, see you later! See you later!

Fuck the system! Time four
Seems like we heard it all before
Several years back we all got a clue
Resistance fed what we said we'd do

Now several years on it's like it all belongs
To the history books -- well that's how it looks
The regeneration of the blank generation
Forgetfulness, that's all it took

It's always easier to follow the leader
Lowest common denominator
All dressed up as a motivator
Fuck the system? Yeah, see you later! Yeah, see you later!

A regeneration of the blank generation
A regeneration of the blank generation
A regeneration of the blank generation
Regeneration of the blank generation

Rebellion into fashion
And fashion creates names
To be signed on bits of paper
It's all part of the game
A continuance of the process
All you want is autographs
Where has all the meaning gone?
Why do I have to ask?


Back To Zero

Had a friend he would spend all his time going mad
You never heard more absurd, his new versions of 'crazy horses'
Finger to the head, everybody said he was cracked
And he was out there, but somehow he always came back
Back to zero
Then he got put away up to the hospital
Back to zero
They let him out -- Now he's got nothing to say

The lesson learnt was to never return to that place
Creating fear with control of your character on prescription
Now he smiles like his files are being held to his face
If he did resist a bit it wouldn't fit and there he goes again
Back to zero
He plays it safe but feels deranged
Back to zero
Just waiting for the call -- We're taking all you know away

They call you mad, feed you drugs, say you're cured and you're free
To keep in line with the threat they can do as they please
Scapegoats for the rest of us until we sus it's all you & me
In and out of institutions, repetition & exclusion
Lies they sell you
Make you doubt your sanity
But when they tell you
You must come back where you've just been
You'll have no chance to tell them
"No! I'm O.K. now!"
Back to zero
"No! I'm O.K. now!"
Back to zero
Back to zero
Back to zero
"No! I'm O.K. now!"
Back to zero
Back to zero
Back to zero
"No! I'm O.K. now!"


The MAD PRIDE organisation addresses the injustices of the mental health care system in the U.K.: www.madpride.net


Choice Of Viewing

Your poison is my antidote
What keeps you down keeps me afloat
Perceiving, as you believe in it
That media shapes were never meant to fit
The holes you create to fit them in
But you adjust and the fiction wins, again

The pictures from the T.V. screen
Contain a lot more then what it really seems
But to be there seeing it all for real
Is it too much to contemplate? Is it too much to feel?

Cast the image, it is all, until it disappears
To be instantly replaced

What do we do with the information?
Who selects your choice of viewing?
Why don't we lose the hesitation
That keeps us looking instead of doing?

The first thing to do and now not later
Quit the position of mere spectator
Be your own motivator
Look to the inside, be the creator
Now not later!

Not for others to blindly follow
- See how the influence works -
But to give you a space that isn't so hollow
Where no-one but you has the words
And the pictures to fit what you're saying
From what only you have thought out
When the media form your opinion
You forget what real life's about

What do we do with the information?
Who selects your choice of viewing?
Why don't we lose the hesitation
That keeps us looking instead of doing?

It's your life, what are you doing?
It's your life, what are you doing?
It's your life, what are you doing?


Lose The Instructions

Get mad as loud as possible!
Lose the instructions, lose control
Everyone does it when they're on their own
Nobody hears so no image gets blown
Every intention scared of the critic
It's never enough being called 'pathetic'
Sometimes anger starts to invade
The outside image we're given to play

Sometimes thoughts can't replace intuition
Taking too long reaching no decision
Are you creating or folding under?
I heard you scream, it sounded like thunder
But hollowed out amidst the fashion
All the scorn without the passion
Here's the original, here's the reaction
All laid out -- Smug satisfaction

No! It's all pre-arranged
Someone did it once so we do it again
Routine monotony kills us all
So lets get unpredictable!

Yah!


Somewhere To Go

I hear the sound of bells & sirens
Wired alarmed & face to face
Intruded in exclusion zone
Looking for a sleeping place
Locks & clocks & iron bars
Barking dogs, securicars
Electric lights & concrete grass
Getting scared to even ask

Somewhere to go -- Without being arrested
Somewhere to go -- Without being scared
Somewhere to go -- Without being questioned
Somewhere to go -- Where somebody cares

Put on screen to serve the public
Here's the problem now drop the subject
Asked some questions unrequested
Next day quietly arrested
A token trials to stop the rumours
Hordes of desperate non-consumers
In a rush to beat the systematic
Silencing of their existence

Somewhere to go -- Without being arrested
Somewhere to go -- Without being scared
Somewhere to go -- Without being questioned
Somewhere to go -- Where somebody cares

And they bought in all their cameras
And they made a film about us
About my friends and all their problems
And now we're on the television

They made a documentary
Showed it late night on T.V.
Raising audience figures
For the regular advertisers
The public conscience shivered
Then turned the T.V. over
This is homelessness delivered
Too close to home

Somewhere to go -- Without being arrested
Somewhere to go -- Without being scared
Somewhere to go -- Without being questioned
Somewhere to go -- Where somebody cares
Somewhere to go -- Somewhere to go
Somewhere to go -- Somewhere to go
Somewhere to go -- Somewhere to go
Somewhere to go -- Somewhere to go


Shrink The Distance

If we're gonna say O.K.
To submission at the border
Who if anyone will say
"I don't believe in law & order"?
All the thoughts of alienation
Feeling guilt through association
Appearance altered fit the plan
Making it as easy as we can

All you got is regulation
All I got is inspiration
All I get is your resistance
I just wanna shrink the distance

Welcome? Hardly -- Face the flag
Total strangers rape my bag
I had no room to pack the bomb
Where do you think I'm coming from?
Oh! Travel broadens the mind
And here's the threat to human kind
If you go so far you leave behind
All the notions in your mind

All you got is regulation
All I got is inspiration
All I get is your resistance
I just wanna shrink the distance

Freedom comes in losing stability
So-called 'forced' to use your ability
To cope with unknown situations
Soon destroys the notion of nations

But I just want to see the planet before I die
How can it be so hard to cross this borderline
Between what's yours -- between what's yours -- and what is mine?
I just want to see the planet
Before I die

Seperate lands it's all possession
Guarded with some warped obsession
Of control -- You wanna come in?
It all depends on where you've been
I'm sick of doing what I'm told
Stay at home, grow up, feel old
Feeling young is not quite knowing
- Until you've gone -- Just where you're going

All you got is regulation
All I got is inspiration
All I get is your resistance
I just wanna shrink the distance


Will Swap

If I want a bargain, I avoid the high street shops
I check the local papers to see who needs what I've got
And who has what I can't afford when I can't afford a lot
Someone else in this position, O.K. let's do a swap!

Will swap. What have you got?
Ain't got no money -- Don't own it, can't loan it
Ain't got no credit -- Won't get it, yeah, forget it
Will swap this poverty for all the things I need

Things you've never seen before are left outside to rot
There's food & furniture in skips and most are still unlocked
Surplus raw materials are shelves & building blocks
If you don't want it, someone will, why not do a swap?

Will swap. What have you got?
Ain't got no money -- Don't own it, can't loan it
Ain't got no credit -- Won't get it, yeah, forget it
Will swap this property for all I really need

Will swap. Homelessness for squats
Hunger for surplus tons of food
Anger for a reason, so few have got so much
With so many hopelessly demanding
"Will do anything" -- "Anything will do"

So here's the barter syster on the pages at the back
Will swap commercial interest for a rummage in your sack
Will swap your c.c.t.v. for an unrecorded chat
We'll swap a few priorities and watch the wall street crash

Will swap. What have you got?
Ain't got no money -- Don't own it, can't loan it
Ain't got no credit -- Won't get it, yeah, forget it
Will swap this poverty for all I really need


Citizen Fish.
Dick -- voice & words.
Phil -- guitar & voice.
Jasper -- bass & voice.
Trotsky -- drums.

Introducing the Wessex Unorthodox Choral sextet [on Will Swap]
And Frank 'five fingers' clutton on piano [extract from 'Hungarian Food Dance'].

Recorded at Nam Studio, Holt, Wiltshire, Feb 2001.
Engineered by stephenevans@mykindofshit.com.
Mastered by Noel at Transfermation.

No need to go further!! It's just Tripod publicity!!
Pas besoin de descendre plus!! C'est juste de la publicité de Tripod!!