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the end of the pier

by The Distractions

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1.
I Don’t Have Time (Perrin) We're running out of time If you had any idea what was on my mind It would scare you half to death It would take away you your breath You have no idea what it’s like to live every day like a wounded animal To have to punch through every wall just to show the world you’re not programmable And I can’t control my mind; I don’t have time Your dreams were never mine And I don’t believe our thoughts aligned I don’t care if it sounds unkind But you made me feel confined I have no idea what I need but I know that I don’t need your assistance All the therapy made it worse it just made me put up more resistance And I can’t control my mind; I don’t have time Too long in anonymity Means I can't go quietly And I hope you finally see That the man you know's not me I told myself I could stay away but I knew inside I never could I've been lying to myself for years but it's never done me any good And I can’t control my mind; I don’t have time
2.
Wise 04:26
Wise (N.J. Halliwell) I swore I’d never share a room with you again Yet here we are with twin beds pushed apart I know full well that I will only get to sleep If I give myself at least an hour’s start Time has been gentle with me, You have not fared so well And as a lone car passes The glint of your glasses By your bedside casts a spell The girls all used to fall for the twinkle in those eyes When you came undone, I would be the one to be Wise Though you stood centre stage with the spotlight all your own I would take the words and put them in your mouth Even then I knew full well, that there always comes a time When the crow’s feet come and swallows must fly south Time has come calling for you Whereas I can’t complain Though we may not have long I’ll write just one last song And we’ll try our luck again The girls all used to fall for the twinkle in your eyes When you were in despair, I was always there to be Wise I could tell you that I’m sorry that I left you in the lurch But the pair of us were living half our lives As I hear a once familiar noise, See the stripes that once we shared I think we’d best get home now to our wives The girls all used to fall for the twinkle in those eyes And as I look at you, there’s still work to do to be Wise And when all’s said and done, I will be the one to be Wise
3.
Girl Of The Year (Perrin) Her endless summer came and went and now it’s cold She feels like jumping off the pier She spent it looking for the place no-one grows old She clearly didn’t find it here And though she’s smiling her eyes are filled with tears She’s the girl of the year She tried to pay a man to take her out of town He took her money and he left He never told her that his car had broken down She’s trying not to look bereft She’s tried closing her eyes but she can’t disappear She’s the girl of the year The boys are running round this way and that She’d like to join them but she’s scared of looking fat The shops are boarded up the fairground has closed down She never felt she fitted in The beach was not the perfect place to hang around When you’re lonely and can’t swim She’d like to go home but it’s even worse than here She’s the girl of the year
4.
Boots 03:04
Boots (Perrin/Halliwell) At night the world just leaves us To drugs I've never heard of In twice-used hypodermics And multicoloured pills Though I don’t yet speak the language Of the local population, They say that I was born here The smell makes me feel ill. So with an extra pound in every stone, more feet in every yard Who’d’ve thought that coming back would be so hard? Though going forward isn’t easier, I’m best at standing still And I’ve yet to find a pair of boots to fill I think we must’ve met here, Her face looks so familiar She married for convenience To keep the pack at bay; While a floating population Of disappointed locals Merge into stark blank faces As the outro starts to play. I don't close my eyes much lately There’ll be time enough for that I take readings of my heartbeat Every day. Although some acts can’t be forgiven And some can’t be forgotten I really don't remember Why it mattered anyway.
5.
When It Was Mine (Perrin) Now only winter seems to bring good weather And if I still was making plans I might decide to stay round here for ever And if I did, I guess there’d be a chance To recover some sort of meaning And to move on to another phase But I barely glance out of the window And I tend to sleepwalk through most days Everything has its place and every man has his time I just didn’t notice, when it was mine Even the least convenient form of travel Will get you where you have to go When your life is starting to unravel It doesn’t matter if it’s fast or slow And if the mirror at the station Makes you look just like somebody else You can try out lots of different faces But in the end you’ll have to face yourself Everything has its place and every man has his time I just didn’t notice, when it was mine And if you’re finally coming to your senses And you know that your last chance is blown Maybe it’s time to let down your defences Maybe it’s time to finally go home And to confront what’s always been there waiting If you think that you can be that strong And get past the years of hesitating And admit you know you got it wrong Everything has its place and every man has his time I just didn’t notice, when it was mine
6.
Too Late To Change (Perrin) Your name on my arm isn’t where it once was As the skin starts to age it starts moving because Of a process that’s slowing the blood in my veins But I’d go through the whole thing again and again And although the tattoo may fade It still shows the decisions I’ve made I’d make them all again I remember how long it took for the healing This artist’s impression of my abstract feeling I do not profess to be brave or be strong I just know you’re the one thing I didn’t get wrong When I look in the mirror it’s deeply confusing The marks and the scars the dead skin and the bruising Despite this I don’t find it hard to confess You’re the one thing in my life that isn’t a mess I’d do everything the same And I’ll take all the blame It’s too late to change
7.
The Summer I Met You (Perrin) There was this film I saw by chance In black and white and set in France They showed it on late night TV The actors looked like you and me I couldn’t stand to watch the end I found it easier to pretend That things would work out like they should Which didn’t do me any good The summer I met you, you looked so beautiful That trying to forget you didn’t seem logical But you saw right through me when you looked in my eyes And saw I had nothing to offer but lies I’d have to say that all it took Was your strange neurotic look You know I really didn’t care You didn’t need some quick affair I didn’t care that you were haunted It only mattered what I wanted That’s how it was when I was younger I only felt my body’s hunger You know there isn’t any point in me pretending You know I never was much good with endings The summer I met you, you looked so beautiful That trying to forget you didn’t seem logical But you saw right through me when you looked in my eyes And saw I had nothing to offer but lies But you saw right through me when you looked in my eyes And saw I had nothing to offer but lies
8.
Man Of The Moment (N.J. Halliwell) I can’t help thinking of what might’ve been If the car had started that day Perhaps the commercial transaction agreed Would’ve taken us further away But you pay as you earn And you pay as you go Though the man of the moment was well on his way The girl of the year was never to know. Well I got out of town that same afternoon There was nothing else keeping me there As October melts out of September I smell The salt and the spray in her hair But you pay as you earn And you pay as you go Though the man of the moment was well on his way The girl of the year was never to know. I thought I caught a glimpse of her once At a run-down travelling fair She looked into my face Then she stared into space... Then the very next moment; She was no longer there
9.
100 Times 04:40
100 Times (Perrin) I can’t recall exactly when we hit this wall But when I don’t know what to say I tend to look the other way And you don’t talk much anyway and so we go from day to day Both staring straight ahead until it’s time for bed And even though we’ve been through this A hundred times before Because you don’t know how to love yourself I have to love you more Until you tell me what to do I won’t know how to talk to you As I can’t make things right I just try to be polite And as for you it seems there’s nothing I can do to compensate for what you think I took You can freeze me with a look Letting go’s the hardest thing but holding on to anything Gets harder everyday as I feel you slip away So take your time in leaving me my only crime was wanting what was never mine to hold and maybe getting old And even though we’ve been through this A hundred times before Until you find a way to love yourself I’ll have to love you more
10.
The Last Song (Perrin/Halliwell) When the initial shock wore off And most things were back in place again It became quite plain That you won't be coming back this way And it doesn't matter what I say I'll miss you every day This is the last song I'll ever sing This is the last song I'll ever sing This is the last song I'll ever sing To you I quite like living on my own I am selfish in so many ways You knew that anyway There's space but no room for light and shade Too much silence is the price I've paid Still the bed gets made This is the last song I'll ever sing This is the last song I'll ever sing To you And although tied my tongue still has the taste I wear the miles like lines upon my face – too many and too late... This is the last song I'll ever sing This is the last song I'll ever sing To you

about

Released on Occultation Recordings in 2012, this is the first new Distractions album since "Nobody's Perfect" in 1980.

“32 years between albums... but worth the wait: if great pop is made of sad songs set to happy tunes, The Distractions are still a perfect pop group.”
David Quantick, Uncut Magazine 9/10
“The most emotionally affecting album I’ve heard in years.”
Mick Middles, The Quietus
“Finney is one of the great lost voices of English rock....” Mark Brend, Record Collector

credits

released August 27, 2012

MIKE FINNEY: vocals
STEVE PERRIN: guitar, vocals
NICK HALLIWELL: guitar, vocals
NICK GARSIDE: keyboards
ARASH TORABI: bass
MIKE KELLIE: drum s
Produced by Nick Halliwell.
Engineered by Duncan Chave at Sound Gallery, Exeter, 16th-19th June 2011. Mastered by John Dent, Loud Mastering, Taunton.

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The Distractions Manchester, UK

One of the great Manchester bands. 2020 sees a 40th anniversary reissue (finally!) of their classic debut album, "Nobody's Perfect" with a plethora of bonus tracks.

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