The History of Fishes
October 2005
Bursting forth with a lush sparkle like a fine champagne, The History Of Fishes piles on the melody and texture like solid sedimentary rock. Once again, Alex heads in a new direction, this time resulting in something resembling the musicial Frankenstein of The Albatross Project fused with Wharfless. With a laidback and textured vibe, The History Of Fishes is the soundtrack to your Sunday afternoon gardening marathon. Alex Arrowsmith captures the depth of the 21st century mood on songs like "No Wonder" and "Borrowed Time" while burrowing further into the subterranean tunnels of the soul on "The Ghost Of Swan Island" and "The Oil Fields." Arrowsmith taps into a unique, polished sound while vigorously uncovering the road signs of our times. Even your neighborhood librarian can't deny this original pop masterpiece.
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Track Listing
(click titles for lyrics)
1. These Are The Golden Times
2. Get Lost
3. No Wonder
4. Borrowed Time
5. Indigo
6. In An Empty Room
7. New Rain
8. Break My Back
9. Doggie Paddle
10. Skeleton Key
11. The Oil Fields
12. The Ghost Of Swan Island
13. I Built A Wall
These Are the Golden Times
These are the Golden Times
Still all I want to think of
Is the line of trees on the side of the street
And all I want to think of
Is the magic's gone
Still all I have at my side
Is all I could want from a ship that's taken off without me
And still, I lost the buzzing
And the magic's gone
These are the Golden Times
Get Lost
I felt rain
I felt fire
I saw the last of you in charts and graphs
There was a rhythm
There was a pulse
And there was a country where you saw sticks and bones
La la la la
Get lost
Push and pole
The ship went down
The sky did frown
When you unearthed the magic number
I jumped up
And you fell round
When there wasn't pirate booty for you
No fireworks
No victory sound
No backyard barbecue to celebrate cheating death
No final paperwork
No dotted line
Just one emulsion, a favorite eye
And there might be another one above you
And there might be somebody with you
No one can make it last
You have to climb the mast
And you won't be another victim
No Wonder
I didn't work this hard at coming all unglued
To spend my time in solitude
And when the time has come to bring it back
Follow the sign ahead into the black
It's no wonder that we feel so divided
It's no wonder that you feel misguided
And though you feel as if you're fixed in a trance
It's no wonder that you're given a second chance
Time can't help but close the door
On a cold, never ending culture war
I've seen the cracks and the fault lines show the hurt
Down underground with my head stuck in the dirt
You say to me there's a way of abiding
I say there's no way of surviving
I'm fighting no one
Ain't got no battles
Feel like a rattlesnake with no rattle
Borrowed Time
When you're on borrowed time
And there's no hill to climb
Do you find a place to hide
Or fall back and drink the rising tide?
It's a wonderful world
That I'd like to see fall apart
Yeah, it's a wonderful world
That takes a toll on a lonely heart
I had that dream again
And I'd hate to lose that feeling
You may never dream again
With one foot down
I had that dream again
And all the time I lose that feeling
You will never dream again
With both eyes closed
You may never dream again
Now you're on borrowed time
And it's no surprise
And life's a sour lime
You'll find a place up high
But will you sleep or lie or spy?
It's a wonderful world
That I'd like to see restart
Yeah, it's a wonderful world
That found a way into your empty heart
With all this talk of surplus
I can't find the magic among us
Those who fix the lucky numbers
Find a surplus in slumbers
Indigo
Up my sleeve
Up my sleeve
Make amends
You know you're just the means to my ends
Make your stand
In my hands
Lay low
By now she's up in the tower
I know when my mood turns to indigo
There's someone waiting outside my window
Let you in to the world I've been living in
In my way I'm already free
Star cluster
Colonel Custer
I blame you for my death down by the water
Kill your neighbor
Or be a criminal
I'm in the mood tonight
For being subliminal
Yeah, right
Yeah, right
And though I'm wasted
You set me free
Play my life
It's up to you, miss
You'll break my heart
Playing dice down in the abyss
Into you
It's up to you
It's all ya need to know
Before I dismiss this
We hate every girl in the universe
I didn't mean to wait around so long
Make it up by standing like you did before
And only then we're completely free
In An Empty Room
In an empty room
You couldn't find anything on the walls
In a salty sea
Nothing sinks without a little rope
In an empty room
I felt the breath of a bombardier
On a lonely isle
I feel my mind seep out all the while
Just one murdered friend to go
In an empty room there's a fallen crow
Just one more pigeon flight to throw
In an empty room where did you go?
And another one falls on the tile floor
Just when you think they're gone, there's a dozen more
And the first crow to cry it's an all out war
Leaves the last friend dead in a room of gore
In an empty room
I made a place for you on the floor
Making arts and crafts displays
For the visitors who come round
In an empty room
I found I have flies in my eyes
And I can't see
That I have flies in my eyes
Think of the little bird crawling
Think of the little bird crawling
Think of the little bird crawling on her hands and knees
So come back to me
New Rain
They all say that it's never been like this
They all say that it's never been like this
But it was and it just had to wash away
But it was and it just had to wash away
So I flow into a river
So I flow into a river
So I flow into a river
And I just want to run it down
They all say that we come from the mountain
They all say that we come from the mountain
What I'd give for a poncho, a poncho
What I'd give for a poncho, a poncho
So I flow into an ocean
So I flow into an ocean
So I flow into an ocean
And I just want to run it down
I don't want to hide from the sun
Just took a look at the land of no ones
I don't want to soak to the bone
But I don't want this monsoon alone
As I run for cover
I jump at the thunder
Break My Back
There's something in the way he breathes in her
And something's not right in the way she makes the tea
Honey slow down, let me make the coffee now
You're upside down
Let me put on the crown again
You're breaking my back
You're chapping my hide
You're breaking my back
You're twisting my side
There's an animal in my trunk again
He rattles around even though he lost his mind
Wrapped in strings from the neck to the body
This mummy's still warm
And it knows karate
Everyone say, "I'm the victim"
I don't know anyone who'd wanna be a gift
Everyone say, "I'm the martyr"
I don't know anyone
There's something in the way she peels a lemon
Leaving the curls in her hair like candy
Honey slow down, let the ghoul make the coffee now
You're upside down
Let me put on the crown again
Doggie Paddle
Swimming in water, I think I'll drown
Because I've gone ahead with preliminary plans
Doggie paddle from one ocean to the next
I felt a little bit tired
I can't go forward
I can't go forward alone
I can't go forward
I can't go forward alone
So I lose a step
Sucking on fish and they suck on me
Because I've just found the whale that ate me whole
I have the island in solitude
I can't find anymore shadows
Someone took the shadows
They took the shadows
If I lose a step, I'll stay submerged forever
If I lose my legs, I'll not come up, not ever
That's how I know the blowfish
That's how I know the flounder
Swimming in water, I think I'll drown
Because I've gone around in a spiral form before
Doggie paddle from one ocean to the next
I felt a little bit tired
Skeleton Key
Things seem alright
But sometimes I'm not sure
I would be sad to see you go
So I hope you're happy with tomorrow
I've seen you win
I've seen you lose
There's nothing you can't prove to me
So let me know you made the coffee
I want to open up your heart
I want to open up your mind
I want to let you know you're free
That you hold the lock and key
I want to know you're here for me
I want to fall down on my knees
I want to let you know, my sweet
You hold the skeleton key
This life is dark
This life is bad and worse
I want a reason for the plight
An invite to ignite
I've seen you weep
I've seen you cry
But I can see you're full of good
More than I ever could
Grasp the rasp
Hold the skeleton key
The Oil Fields
Took a walk to the oil fields
Had to see if it's all as real as they say
I had to see lines and lines of trees
And at the dawn some circles and rings
I can appreciate modern wonder
But what to do if there's nothing under?
That's not a real field
That's not a barley field
That's not a real field
That there's an oil field
Well here's to you and your mighty spike
Which can fall whichever way you like
If I fell for your ruse again
I would never ever walk again
You have no right to the namesake
A pump in a desert does not a field make
Wheat field
Cabbage field
Grassy knoll
Potato roll
The Ghost of Swan Island
Lights in the city
There's one too many
Smoke from the rooftop climbing
Up from the water line to the county line
The Ghost of Swan Island
Meet the Ghost of Manhattan
There's one too many
Oh there's one too many
Far away
Hands feel like the jungle
Hands that feel so small
Why think of the holidays
When there's a Christmas on 23rd
The Ghost of Swan Island
Like the Ghost of Old Vanport
There's one too many
Oh there's one too many
Far away
The arches go by over the borderline
As the water gives way to the skyline
And the Ghost of Swan Island
Moves east toward the mountains
So far away, so far away
So far away
I Built a Wall
A step ahead
And two steps back
And I'm spending time until I'm spent
A step ahead
While you step back
And eaten from the inside out
I spent my nights staring at the sun
Until what's spinning isn't spun
A smaller view
Eclipse the new
I built a wall around you
My footsteps stop
And wait for you
There's no other place I'm walking to
My footsteps sound
When you come round
But until then I'm inside out
I spent four nights in the forest alone
To find an impassable stone
A smaller view
Eclipse the new
I built a wall around you