Get all 17 Mark Automaton releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Ernie Protocols #1, A Child of Five Could Do That, The Kill-Switch Fails, The Automaton Variations, you are not the reason, anymore, IMPOSSIBILISM, Trust Issues, Thin Silhouettes, and 9 more.
1. |
Unreliable Narrator
04:38
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I'm the unreliable narrator
Don’t believe a single word I say
I distort the facts to cover my tracks
I live to fight another day
I’m a Catholic, a Protestant
I’m a Buddhist, I’m a Sikh
An atheist, a scientist
Am I German, or am I Greek?
I’m a man and I’m a woman
I’m an adult, I’m a child
I’ve been clever and I’ve been cunning
I’ve been a fool, I’ve been beguiled
I’ve been a whore with a heart of gold
I’ve been a killer on death row
An evil super villain
A craven coward, a brave hero
I piloted a Spitfire
Sailed a felucca on the Nile
Seduced the Queen of Denmark
And the Duchess of Argyll
A soldier and a sailor
A prisoner and a jailer
A beggar and a surgeon
A chef, a vestal virgin
Advisor to the Russian Czar
The driver of a racing car
An astronaut, a movie star
The president of Zanzibar
At some point I’ve been all these things
Or maybe I’ve been none
The unreliable narrator
Am I still here, or have I gone?
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2. |
Are You Sure?
04:38
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Oh my friend
Oh, my friend
What is it that you're trying to do, my friend?
What is it that you've got to prove, my friend?
Hey hey hey hey
Are you sure you want to be this way?
Are you sure you want to do this now?
Are you really sure that you know how?
Well OK
Oh my friend
Oh, my friend
Did you ever think that life would be a game to play?
(They stacked the deck)
And this is yet another bill you've got to pay
(They brought the check)
You really thought that you had found your soul mate
But it turned out to be just a speed date
(And it's not easy to forget)
Your great romance was just a short fling
And now you're desperate to feel something
(Even if it's just regret)
Hey hey hey hey
Are you sure you want to be this way?
Are you sure you want to do this now?
Are you really sure that you know how?
Well OK
She's yelling that you always
Treat her like a kid
You ask her not to slam the door
But she just did
You're stranded in between
The sacred and profane
Evolving slowly from
Poetic to mundane
Oh my friend
Oh, my friend
Now you'll run the risk of suicide
On your mid-life crisis Electra Glide
Trying to recapture a long-lost youth
Far-off days when you thought you knew the truth
(They're long gone)
Hey hey hey hey
Are you sure you want to be this way?
Are you sure you want to do this now?
Are you really sure that you know how?
Well OK
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3. |
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I picked some flowers
From a witch's garden
I fastened them
With a length of twine
One last bouquet
For a bitter ending
One final taste
Of a bitter wine
Fragile Petunias
They're for resentment
Embers of rage
That smoulder yet
And there's Rosemary
That's for remembrance
Because I don't forgive you
And I won't forget
Poisonous Datura
The devil's apples
To represent
Your deceitful charm
The cruel barbs
Of a common thistle
A plant that seeks
To do you harm
A sprig of Tansy
For my hostility
Anemones
For a forsaken love
Bitter wormwood
And purple foxglove
For your dark secrets
I'm at last free of
I picked some flowers
From a witch's garden
I fastened them
With a length of twine
One last bouquet
For a bitter ending
One final taste
Of a bitter wine
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4. |
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This is what you'd hear
This is what you'd see
If a hundred thousand people
Could be like me
They can make this work
They can make this pay
While a hundred thousand people
Are led astray
So they took your name
And they've got your soul
And a hundred thousand chances
To seize control
A hundred thousand tiny minds
Have had too much to think
And now they want someone to suffer
For pushing them past the brink
A hundred thousand fingers point
Casting judgement on our lives
A hundred thousand idle hands
Are sharpening their knives
And I feel the pain
When I think or act
There's a hundred thousand names
On this suicide pact
But the signal's weak
And the line is dead
And a hundred thousand reasons
Rattle round my head
Now all that's left
Is a pile of bones
And a hundred thousand people
Staring at their phones
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5. |
Bonnie Susie Cleland
04:01
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There was a maid lived in Scotland
Oh my love, oh my love
There was a maid lived in Scotland
Oh my love so dearly
There was a maid lived in Scotland
She fell in love with an Englishman
Bonnie Susie Cleland's
To be married in Dundee
Her father to his daughter came
Saying will you forsake yon Englishman?
Bonnie Susie Cleland's
To be married in Dundee
I will not that man forsake
Though you may burn me at the stake
Bonnie Susie Cleland's
To be married in Dundee
She has found a fine young boy
To carry the tidings to her joy
Bonnie Susie Cleland's
To be married in Dundee
Give to him this pocket knife
Tell him to find another wife
Bonnie Susie Cleland's
To be buried in Dundee
Give to him this fine gold ring
Tell him I'm going to my burning
Bonnie Susie Cleland's
To be buried in Dundee
Her father dragged her to the stake
Her mother there the fire did make
Now bonnie Susie Cleland's
To be buried in Dundee
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6. |
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7. |
Martyrs
04:55
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The meat is tender and the blade is keen
You feel the hungry eyes are watching you
The martyrs line up at the guillotine
And stepping from a long black limousine
The guests are welcomed to the barbeque
The meat is tender and the blade is keen
Barbed wire and briars crown the new May queen
The tumbrels roll on down the avenue
The martyrs line up at the guillotine
Now every day you crave that rich protein
And all your recipes are tried and true
The meat is tender and the blade is keen
The thrill is better than amphetamine
It strikes just like a bolt out of the blue
The martyrs line up at the guillotine
Your crimes of passion are vaguely obscene
You relish breaking every last taboo
The meat is tender and the blade is keen
The martyrs line up at the guillotine
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8. |
Car 33
05:15
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The town's lit up
Like a Christmas tree
But where is the glamour
I saw on TV?
Now there's only static
On this frequency
And there's no response
From Car 33
I came from the East
From the Chapel and the Ditch
With a cemetery cough
And a seven year itch
It took me years and years
To refine my pitch
But the radio’s silent
When I throw the switch
And the wind blows cold
And the wind blows strong
Across the German Ocean
And life is hard
But life goes on
Even when hearts are broken
Even when hearts are broken
They turned off the lights
In the old dancehall
They don't have the money
Or the wherewithal
So when the tallyman
Comes to call
Who's gonna stand up
And pay for all?
The caretaker died
Unexpectedly
They said he never took drugs
Just vitamin C
No need for an inquest
Or an autopsy
Still no response
From Car 33
And the wind blows cold
And the wind blows strong
Across the German Ocean
And life is hard
But life goes on
Even when hearts are broken
Even when hearts are broken
There's a deafening silence
When I'm all alone
Rising in my brain
Like a Shepard tone
Away in the distance
There's a saxophone
And the click of high heels
On the cobblestone
This is the ending
That I didn't foresee
Rubbing shoulders
With the bourgeoise
Now this life has its pleasures
I can't disagree
But there's still no response
From Car 33
And the wind blows cold
And the wind blows strong
Across the German Ocean
And life is hard
But life goes on
Even when hearts are broken
Even when hearts are broken
Especially when hearts are broken
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9. |
The Traitor
05:50
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Now the Swan it floated on the English river
Ah the Rose of High Romance it opened wide
A suntanned woman yawned me through the summer
And the judges watched us from the other side
I told my mother "Mother I must leave you
Preserve my room but do not shed a tear
Should rumours of a shabby ending reach you
It was half my fault and half the atmosphere"
But the Rose I sickened with a scarlet fever
And the Swan I tempted with a sense of shame
She said at last I was her finest lover
And if she withered I would be to blame
The judges said you missed it by a fraction
Rise up and brace your troops for the attack
Ah the dreamers ride against the men of action
Oh see the men of action falling back
But I lingered on her thighs a fatal moment
I kissed her lips as though I thirsted still
My falsity had stung me like a hornet
The poison sank and it paralyzed my will
I could not move to warn all the younger soldiers
That they had been deserted from above
So on battlefields from here to Barcelona
I'm listed with the enemies of love
And long ago she said "I must be leaving,
Ah but keep my body here to lie upon
You can move it up and down and when I'm sleeping
Run some wire through that Rose and wind the Swan"
So daily I renew my idle duty
I touch her here and there, I know my place
I kiss her open mouth and praise her beauty
And people call me traitor to my face
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10. |
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Harriet's dreaming
As the drugs drift through her veins
Harriet's screaming
In a silent world of pain
No one can hear
No one's aware
No one except
Harriet's nurse
She closes the curtains
That shroud the hospital bed
She knows for certain
What's going on in Harriet's head
The needle slides in
Just under the skin
The relief tastes so sweet
To Harriet's nurse
She writes in the drug book
With a smile fixed on her face
Decimal points are so small
They're easy to erase
Just the stroke of a pen
And one becomes ten
And her fate is sealed
By Harriet's nurse
Now the ward is in silence
Except for the monitor's bleep
There's no need to use violence
To harm a child while she sleeps
And the doctors she charms
Will raise no alarms
No one will suspect
Harriet's nurse
She thinks she's the hero
The goddess of her own little world
Now she'll have the attention
That she was denied as a girl
Another patient will die
Another family will cry
That's of no concern
To Harriet's nurse
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11. |
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The night is young, but sadly we are not
It's many years since we were in our prime
It's hard to face the fact this is our lot
We navigate the labyrinth of time
And people rarely age like fine red wine
They fade away just like an old snapshot
We feel life slipping by with each clock chime
The night is young, but sadly we are not
It almost feels like winning the jackpot
Whenever we can fight this slow decline
Our triumphs of the past they soon forgot
It's many years since we were in our prime
It's tempting to surrender and resign
This losing battle isn't worth a jot
But still we waver at the borderline
It's hard to face the fact this is our lot
And so begins the thickening of the plot
We map it out in rhythm and in rhyme
And weaving all our thoughts into a knot
We navigate the labyrinth of time
When artistry and impetus combine
We'll give it everything that we have got
It does no harm to aim for the sublime
While we have breath then we still have a shot -
The night is young.
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12. |
Wicked World
03:50
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Gaze into this well of despair
As the cities burn
Ah dear me, it's a wicked world
And you will never learn
The streets here are not paved with gold
They're barely paved at all
And yet you're still full of the pride
That comes before a fall
Endless days and sleepless nights
Gluttony and lust
The brightest colours fade to grey
Diamonds turn to dust
You saw her dancing in the dark
You watched her move and sway
She wrote her number on your arm
But the ink has washed away
You take a knife out from the drawer
You set your cunning trap
Trying hard to prove the rule
That anyone can snap
Something has gone very wrong
You're longing for release
And you're envious, it's true
Of those who found some peace
You need to mend the things you broke
And clean up your mess
But you're lazy and you don't have time
Another sin you won't confess
So you pray to the billionaires
The demigods of greed
Ah dear me, it's a wicked world
A wicked world indeed
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Mark Automaton UK
Mark Automaton came to prominence as a founding member of the seminal “cassette culture” band the Instant Automatons, who
were instrumental in spearheading the UK DIY music scene of the late 70s and early 80s.
Since then, Mark has been active as a producer, musical collaborator and solo artist, releasing music under his own name and also as 391 and randomk/automata.
... more
Mark Automaton recommends:
Sincerely Making A Noise
by Instant Automatons
Instant Automatons retrospective released by BFE Records
go to album
12 errors of judgement
by richard randomk
Music and passion
go to album
Music/Poetry/Video project by Will Vigar and Mark Automaton
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Do You Have My Money?
by flanafi
This riveting new LP from Philly artist flanafi gorgeously blends post-rock with soul music, with striking results.
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