Fodder For Showtime, by The Bookshop Band

Fodder For Showtime

by The Bookshop Band

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Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
Artwork by Harry Simmonds.

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1.	The shadow of the season 01:38	lyrics	buy track
With a child’s face He turns, with sword The front to face. And observes the work Of Darwin’s conclusion As evolution falls Into its winter season A harsh frost is cast upon The minds of men who might Take us forward into light The shadow of the season Is yet to reach him Though a sodden baptism does await To determine his place As he turns to face With a mans hand And a child’s grace
2.	Voice of violent dreams 03:08	lyrics	buy track
Voice of violent dreams Numb to what they see It still goes on Through the burning snow Wanting them to know So they won’t forget They won’t forget Write back from the front line This soldier fought well Like an angel And with his pen Watching them And then he fell
3.	The undertow 04:41	lyrics	buy track
Unnerved by, the immensities of life And the pull of, the empty hollow A stadium of space, creates a strong, undertow As he stands, beneath, the soulless sky Stay sharp, stay sharp and stay alive He stands watching the crowds pass by A heard of faceless, bodies that he has served It’s like he’s watching a TV nature show And the crowd becomes a shuffling herd of buffalo Stay sharp, stay sharp and stay alive So he stands, a strong American hero But with a famished feeling deep inside A void where his best parts should lie Stay sharp, stay sharp, stay alive And it’s the randomness that wears you down Sometimes as slight as bending to tie your boot Or turning your head left instead of right Random how that shit does twist your mind So it stays inside Stay sharp, stay sharp, and stay alive A strong brave American hero He’ll take your praise but you will never know And he is what you want him to be A face for your hopes and all your dreams And the mantra he echoes and repeats Fits in, but he’s thinking of home Oh but he’s thinking of home Oh but he’s thinking of home And Stay sharp and stay alive
4.	Fodder for showtime 02:26	lyrics	buy track
Come here you motherf%$?er You sold us out for A measly few dollar You know the stories gold-dust And you’re playing for us So are your words hollow? Fall in, this show makes you a man If you offer more, we’ll come back if we can So call me, when you know At least you’ve got my number on your phone I hear we’re beating terRor, what’s it like to pull a trigger We’d love to come and shoot ‘em (with you) I hear that we are winning, we appreciate what you’re doing We’ll have a beer when you get home Fall in, this war made me a man Falling, I’ll come home if I can Lady luck has played her hand I’m a hero, and lucky that I am And if falling, is all I’ll know Well, at least I’ve got your number on my phone I know I’m fodder for the show But the sergeants calling and if I’m honest I’d rather go. But the sergeants calling and if I’m honest I’d rather go. Come here you motherf%£@ers, You signed up to protecting all the others.
5.	Fire and forget 04:01	lyrics	buy track
Fire and forget, turn and walk away But now it’s just regret & longing for that day For the sun to rise and greet the skies Erase it from your mind Rewrite all the lives Fire and forget, watching through a screen Destructive, distant, dead. Decision done for real Real enough to feel it now, to know a loss of life Twisted wreckage from the power See the screen turn white Rewrite all the lives Fire and forget, what is left behind? A butterfly effect moving through our lives Wings beat distantly Stinging like a bee Live and re-live Find it hard to forgive Live and re-live Find it hard to forgive Find it hard to forgive Fire and Forget, turn and walk away But now it’s just regret & longing for that day For the sun to rise and greet the skies Erase it from your mind For the sun to rise and greet the skies Erase it from your mind Rewrite all the lives Rewrite all our lives
6.	Yashim, the investigator 01:36	lyrics	buy track
Yashim, always in the right place Yashim, he investigates Yashim, he knows how to find Yashim, has eyes all around Yashim Yashim, always in the right place Yashim, he investigates Yashim, he knows how to find Yashim, has eyes all around Yashim, he’s invisible Yashim, almost invincible Yashim, he’ll go anywhere His foes must all beware Yashim, Yashim
7.	An innocent pride 03:55	lyrics	buy track
A nuclear kiss, sealed my lips A nuclear hit, changed all this An innocent pride and a dedicated tide of belief, had hold of me A nuclear love A nuclear time She had me from the moment, she climbed in He held me on a tight rope walking fast toward him And his dedicated pride, would wash through his smile That had hold of me A nuclear love A nuclear time And did you know me, well enough, to know What I’d do, on that day, When that day comes Now that day has come And they were unprecedented times And I was swept along in their tide A nuclear love A nuclear time And my mother well she’ll never know, the way I have started to grow And my father well he’ll never see the things I achieved And my son well he’ll never understand, why I played this hand A nuclear love A nuclear time An innocent pride
8.	In these walls 03:14	lyrics	buy track
Shrieks and cries, demon’s eyes We live to get his eyes, be his wives Secrets in these walls, broken rules All know, death could come, chosen one. We entice, he decides. Secrets in these walls, broken rules All know, death could come, chosen one. Bear a girl, cares are gone They want boys, stop the noise We live to get his eyes, be his wives Secrets in these walls, broken rules All know, death could come, chosen one All know, death could come, chosen one
9.	Out loose like a dream 02:52	lyrics	buy track
The Nature of things A Painting that rings Of a the dark dream That I walk through each day This Place Where the air is heavy Thick with delay All that I see Silently And this Painting laid, Out loose like a dream, In my kitchen A window in to another life A window to frame the way we might See things differently tonight In this dissonant light All that I see Silently Am I only Watching
10.	Something fresh to hold 02:48	lyrics	buy track
Like the stories of the ancients Fairy tales and urban myths I convince myself Something fresh to hold deep inside I know but they keep saying so that this case is, col-old A deep need too seek The truth In front of you Something fresh to hold deep inside I know but they keep saying so this case is Something fresh to hold deep inside I know but they keep saying so this case is, col-old Small shreds Fallen Fingers tread Through old news Stitched together with a thread of hope Deep inside I know something’s close I must trust the way the dust lies Something fresh to hold deep inside I know but they keep saying so this case is Something fresh to hold deep inside I know but they keep saying so this case is, col-old And like the stories of the ancients fairy tales and urban myths We see the signs, and we convince ourselves I convince myself.
11.	Thank God I'm not a rich man 02:21	lyrics	buy track
I’m living under the radar, My life is grounded I’ve nothing to desire Or be manipulated Thank God I’m not a rich man And I’ll never have money I haven’t got connections Or a great body So I’m told It’s a dark world out there I never want to be kidnapped, It’d be hardest my friends They’d have to find a ransom, And then it get’s complicated Thank God I’m not a rich man, I’m a manual labourer No holidays to Rio But I’m safe in Super Mare So I’m told It’s a dark world out there So lets drop these bodies in to the water I wonder if they’ll float for ever So lets drop these bodies in to the water I wonder if they’ll float for ever
12.	Ben Fountain reads from Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk 02:02	info	buy track
13.	Jason Goodwin reads from An Evil Eye 01:26	info	buy track
14.	Ben Fountain reads from Brief Encounters With Che Guevara 02:18	info	buy track

about

An album to transport you from the bleak poetry of war to the dark underbellies of criminal fiction - best of luck getting back. Parental Advisory lyrics contained occasionally within. Book-fodder provided by Billy Lynn’s Long Halftime Walk (Ben Fountain - reads), Brief Encounters With Che Guevara (Ben Fountain - reads), Standing In Another Man’s Grave (Ian Rankin), Capital Punishment (Robert Wilson), Red Joan (Jennie Rooney), An Evil Eye (Jason Goodwin - reads), the poems and letters of Wilfred Owen, and I Saw A Man (Owen Sheers). ARTWORK BY HARRY SIMMONDS.

credits

released December 21, 2016

All tracks written by Ben Please, Beth Porter and Poppy Pitt, except track 5 by Beth Porter and Ben Please. Phrases borrowed from Ben Fountain on track 3, and the readings on the bonus tracks appear courtesy of the authors. Recorded and mixed by Ben Please, with exceptions that Marco Migliairi mixed track 4 and assisted in the recording of tracks 3, 4, 6 & 7. James King was recording engineer on track 10. Tracks 1, 2 & 5 were recorded at Ben & Beth’s house, Tracks 3, 4, 6 & 7 were recorded at Realworld Studios, track 8 at Ashley Manor (Wiltshire), and track 11 upstairs at Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights, Bath. Thanks to Sam Brookes for help recording Beth on track 2. Ben Fountain was recorded by Stuart Sullivan, and Jason Goodwin recorded himself. Extra recording done on the road and at Wire Studios (Austin, USA), Christchurch (Rode, UK), The Open Book (Wigtown), Jools’ house, Pete’s house, Emma’s house and Caroline’s bathroom. String arrangements by Beth Porter and Ben Please.
Produced by The Bookshop Band
Mastered by Marco Migliari
Artwork by Harry Simmonds (www.hspaintings.com)
Case design & layout: Ben Please
Cases printed and cut by Opal Print, inserts by Richard Lawrence, disks by Key Production.
Those who added huge value to our recording and mixing process were Marco Migliari, Jason Goodwin, Ben Fountain, all the musicians, Brauner microphones and Louis Austin, Microtech Gefell GmbH microphones and Sound Link Pro Audio, Leigh Haggerwood, James King, Will Cookson, Steve Belgrave, Mike Hillier, Stuart Bruce, and Chris Hughes (Ashley Manor), Universal Audio, UA Digital and Source Distribution, Grace Designs, Nigel and Jackie at Rave Box Studios, Keith Lunt and co at Opal and Richard Lawrence. Big thank you also to Caroline Waterlow and Ashley Harrow, Realworld Studios, Owen Benson, Anna Botterell and Andrew Hooker Violins (& Binky and Bigfella), Rich Magee and Lucy the studio cat. Thank you to all our Patreon supporters, past and present, including James Patterson and Alan Squire Publishing, and our song sponsors (see tracks for details). Special thank you to artist Harry Simmonds for allowing us to use his beautiful “Head of Mike 6” for the cover (and peripheral splashes for the rest).
Thank you to Nic and Juliette Bottomley and ALL the staff at Mr B’s Emporium of Reading Delights for curating the best reading list in the world, and especially to all the authors that have inspired us to write these songs.
THE BOOKSHOP BAND www.thebookshopband.co.uk

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about

The Bookshop Band Bath, UK

The Bookshop Band write songs inspired by books and play them in bookshops. They started as a collaboration between a group of musicians in Bath and their local independent bookshop, Mr B's Emporium. Now they are about to go on tour, sponsored by Vintage Books and Independent Booksellers Week, around other bookshops and lit fests. Catch them if you can. Details at www.thebookshopband.co.uk ... more

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