Get all 23 As I Recall It releases available on Bandcamp and save 55%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Five Years: Selected Demos And Wishes 2018-2023, The Score/Goodbye, 'Away', The After School Club, Animal Crackers, With You, Songs Of Love And Hats, The Multi-Surface Cleaner Blues (Single), and 15 more.
1. |
||||
We sat around
and talked about old movies
with our ears to the ground
in your parents house
We talked for hours
I made a cup of tea
so two jasmine flowers
opened up for us
And I heard a voice
coming from downstairs
and I had to go
but I was too embarrassed
you said ‘second on the left’
and I stumbled inside
and sat by the heater
that’s where I spent the night
The stars of silent cinema are always there for you
And if you listen close my love, they’re trying to talk to you
The stars of silent cinema are all a girl could need
And if you try your best with her I’m sure that you’ll succeed
The next day I awoke
confused upon your sofa
while your family ate breakfast
with the popping of the toaster
They pretended not to see
me scuttle back to your room
you were just the same as me
lying in your bedsheets
We snuck out round the back
and hitchhiked to a forest
where we camped out for the night
just like lovers in the pictures
and I never went back there
|
||||
2. |
Rudolph Valentino
04:08
|
|||
Rudolph Valentino
Natacha Rambova
The latin lover
Lapsed into coma
and all the headlines scream
famous actor of movieland
lies dormant in a dream
Rudolph Valentino
Natacha Rambova
The latin lover
Lapsed into coma
and all the headlines cried
Valentino dies while throngs
of mourners wait outside
Can’t you feel the ocean breeze
rise gently through the swaying trees
and through a gap of fog with ease
my ship will guide me straight to thee
Can’t you feel our hearts collide?
|
||||
3. |
Oh! Sweet Girl
02:21
|
|||
You and your friends and me and my friends
Are very different people and there's no way to pretend
That all of my friends versus all of your friends
Would win a football match with just a goalpost at each end
Oh! Sweet Girl
Oh! Sweet Girl
My friend you've changed
and you're beautiful and I love you just the same
Yeah we were pals, we're striding down to town
Back then I was a pushover you pushed me around
But enough of all that
That silly childish crap
You don't wanna be an adult, you're not ready for that
Oh! Sweet Girl
Oh! Sweet Girl
My friend you've changed
and you're beautiful and I wish you all the best
|
||||
4. |
Ring The Bells
03:54
|
|||
The bells rang out in the little town
Where he was waking up
(The water's gone and the sun won't stop)
The lakes ran dry and the summer sky
Was slowly burning up
(They were hoping for the rain to fall)
La La La La La La La
Look at the lonely fool
La La La La La La La
Look at the lonely fool
The fool and the carpenter both shook hands
With callouses thick and tough
(They had told them that the rain would fall)
The mother and the father of the great green land
Were hanging from the aqueduct
(Nobody knew just what had happened to them)
La La La La La La La
Look at the lonely fool
La La La La La La La
Look at the lonely fool
So ring the bells
Ring the bells
Ring the bells
Sons and fathers and fathers of sons
Were gathered in the evening light
(Lose yourself in the heat of the night)
They prayed for rain to flow in the lakes
But no answer from the great grey sky
(They feel forsaken and they don't know why)
La La La La La La La
Look at the lonely fools
La La La La La La La
Look at the lonely fools
So ring the bells
Ring the bells
Ring the bells
|
||||
5. |
Blue Moon
03:54
|
|||
What a thing to say
I don't really know the way
So we're stuck between the same things
We were stuck to yesterday
What now should we do
Through the mire and the flood
Through the trees
Cross the rivers to the mountain up above
the
Blue Moon
Blue Moon
Blue Moon
The elders all decreed
T'would be a better plan indeed
Just to rest up for a while
Against a wooden crooked stile
Through a gap in the rain
There lay pleasure and pain
They were dancing in the clearing
They had finally gone insane
Blue Moon
Blue Moon
Blue Moon
There it lay beneath the circle moon
In a final word before the silence came
Ran around for so long untrue
Now I've settled my snow for a life with you
Blue Moon
Blue Moon
Blue Moon
Now she's got wits
But does she have to be so self aware and condescending?
We've made it now,
Through the snow and bickering, I thought it'd be never ending
Blue Moon
Blue Moon
The streets of Manhattan the writers are laughing about us,
They canvas the headlines
And you know it's all false
Yeah you know it's all false
Taking a walk down to the park
Watching the lights go out in the dark
One
By
One
|
||||
6. |
Like Drowning
03:12
|
|||
A righteous man
Can only do
What's in his heart
And disconnect the brain
and so he walks
Down a crooked street
To a tree
In the slanted rain
By a brook
With it's flowing sound
By the bank
And the underpass
To the house
With the lights still on
3 A.M and he can't feel himself
Like a dream
So it seemed
But I felt no peace
Like drowning
A puzzle-piece
Through the sewer dwell
Mutant offspring of the booze and moon
Quiet towns
And the cold cold winds
That I knew
Oh so very well
With the coat
And the stumbling
Cross the road
Like some feral fox back home
Where I feel secure
In the breast
Of the everlasting night
Like a dream
So it seemed
But I felt no peace
Like drowning
|
||||
7. |
All Ghosts
05:05
|
|||
She said to me
Don’t run
be strong
She needed me
it’s gone
it’s gone
The wind spoke to me
paint on the leaves
I left for the sea
it’s gone
it’s gone
All ghosts
All ghosts
All ghosts
dead pictures
All ghosts
All ghosts
Dead sailors
All ghosts
All ghosts
All ghosts
Where mysteries divide
Windy
Blow me off track
Wintry
Whisp in the rain
Well I wanted it to be so magical
Well I wanted you to be obscene
But I slipped upon the grass
and I fell down on my arse
will I never get the god damn scene?
You stood there with your fixed expression
Staring bleakly at the wall
And when I quit your damn production
you’ll, be the first to call
Well I wanted it to be original
and I wanted to make Keaton green
But the wind was blowing hard
and the extras start to scream
Will I ever get through my routine
You stood there with your fixed expression
Staring bleakly at the wall
And when I quit your damn production
you’ll, be the first to fall
Well I wanted it to be a masterpiece
Like the General or Modern Times
But the actor’s guild all laughed
when I told them of my goal
cos’ it never made the final draft
She said to me
Don’t run
be strong
She needed me
it’s gone
it’s gone
|
||||
8. |
Mr. Rose
02:41
|
|||
Where are you going Mr. Rose?
What are they saying Mr. Rose?
Why are you crying Mr. Rose?
How can you love her when you stay at home?
because
It rains all the time
Since she's been gone
My brain says I'm fine
but
My heart can't go on
All the places we went
And the night that we spent
On the lake near the park
With a kiss after dark
As the lights all went out
Now there's no-one about
and so I hopelessly shout
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here
And if you're so lonely Mr. Rose,
There's no use in dreaming of your lover's ghost.
Now just let me help you Mr. Rose,
I don't want to hurt you but you need to know
because
It weighs on your mind
And you stumble through life
Your heart says you're fine
but
Your body is numb
And you're cold as a stone
And the things that brought joy
Start to leave you alone
And the memory of her
That you keep in a frame
Starts to fade into time
With the rest of the pain
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here, Angeline!
I'm here
|
||||
9. |
Sparks
05:31
|
|||
I will meet you there
With your long dark hair
Trailing down
I will find you there
Though I don't know where
I don't ask
You,
Here We Are
Here We Go
Quite In Love
I will meet you there
With your long dark hair
Flowing down
I will find you there
Though I don't know where
I don't ask
You,
Here We Are
Here We Go
Quite In Love
Give up your shackles
and wait by the window
and I’ll be right with you
in twenty six seconds
The north wind is blowing
The dogs are all barking
The windmills start turning
and everyone’s waking
Reading the paper I chanced on
a headline
and rode on the north line
to get my position
The folks back at home must have thought I went missing
but when I saw London
my eyes started wincing
I will meet you there
With your long dark hair
Trailing down
I will find you there
Though I don't know where
I don't ask
You,
Here We Are
Here We Go
Quite In Love
|
||||
10. |
Old Bones
01:48
|
|||
It's too early, in the morning
To say, I love you
But I do
Though My words are meaningless
I could write a poem, I could sing a song to you
But what good would that do?
We're old bones.
|
||||
11. |
It'll All Come True
02:27
|
|||
Where do we go?
What should we do?
What should we say?
When we walk on the moon?
Yes it’s you
And it’ll all come true
What would you say?
Go far away,
Settle our bones
For the rain and the snow
Yes it’s you
And it’ll all come true
You
It's You
The butchers and the bakers and the wailers and the tailors are all Watching me sink this drink
Trying hard not to think
Trying hard just to be with you my love
Where do we go?
What should we do?
What should we say?
When we walk on the moon?
Yes it’s you
And it’ll all come true
What would you say?
Go far away,
Settle our bones
For the rain and the snow
Yes it’s you
And it’ll all come true
You
It's You
The butchers and the bakers and the wailers and the tailors are all Watching me sink this drink
Trying hard not to think
Trying hard just to be with you my love
Where do we go?
What would we do?
What should we say?
When we walk on the moon?
Yes it’s you
And it’ll all come true
|
||||
12. |
Know Better Now
02:11
|
|||
Knowing you
Knowing me
you’d say that I was wasting your time
Knowing all that
I know now
I’d say that I was strung on your line
Ohh
It’s cold outside
Ohh
won’t you give a guy a break?
I’ve been wasting all of my time
Waiting for a lucky break
Cos you don’t love me
And I know better now
Cos you don’t love me
And I know better now
Cos you don’t love me
And I know better now
Better now
Better now
|
||||
13. |
Allison County
03:18
|
|||
The doors are locked
Submerged in gloom
Romantic nuances flooding the room
Thinking of times
Way back when
The sun would shine till quarter to ten
And midges and moths surrounded the
Sodium bulb
Swear they turned silver to gold
And Allison County was in bloom
When we'd sit there staring till noon
But now the rain is here
And darkness fills the room
I haven't liked the rain
Since the last time I was there
Have you ever seen it rain like this?
Have you ever seen the rain,
Coming down like this?
Have you ever seen the rain,
Pouring down like this?
And now I see
With different eyes
A vision of you in a stormier sky
The love we had
Was doomed to fail
A final word in this downtrodden tale
I wanted it so bad
You wanted it too
I'm losing my grip on these memories of you
When Allison County was in bloom
And we'd sit there singing till two
But now the rain is here
And sadness fills the room
I've made friends with the rain
Since the last time I missed you
Have you ever seen it rain like this?
Have you ever seen the rain,
Coming down like this?
Have you ever seen the rain,
Coming down like this?
|
||||
14. |
Hand In Hand
04:53
|
|||
Come all you sailors and scattershot actors
come join in the line for a kiss on the cheek
from an old beauty queen with her taxi light makeup
They dressed her in flowers she looked like a statue
And studio laughter rings hard just like shell shock
they sit by the fountain and wait for direction
But I’ll go all the way with you
If you go all the way with me
And I’ll go hand in hand with you
If you go hand in hand with me
It rained at the fair, ferris wheel tumble drier
the elephant trainer was killed in a fire
And everyone cued up for pink cotton candy
A good time was had for all, at the cinema
Mary and Tommy were kissing in the back row
While one blind old man kissed a cutout of Monroe
But I’ll go all the way with you
If you go all the way with me
And I’ll go hand in hand with you
If you go hand in hand with me
The brass band played loudly at Fred Astaire’s funeral
The firetrucks stopped sounding to show their respect
for the old little dancer who’d died of Pneumonia
at age 88 leaving all of his fortune and there was an actor who played Nosferatu so well that audience passed out in horror, and still to this day no-one knows just for certain if Max Schreck from Berlin was really a vampire
But I’ll go all the way with you
If you go all the way with me
And I’ll go hand in hand with you
If you go hand in hand with me
|
||||
15. |
Lately
02:39
|
|||
Don’t wait
at the bustop
when the phone dies
when you find your way
Through dark trees
want to be the moon dear
want to guide you through dear
Want to be a hymn
The city lights
shine on your face dear
it’s like the sun dear
is on the rise
but we know
we gotta make our own light
because the city’s bright but
it can’t hold you tight dear
Lately
I’ve been singing strange songs
I’ve been singing love songs
and I don’t know why
Lately
I’ve been showing my bad spots
I’ve been hitting some bad thoughts
But i’ll break through some day
Don’t wait
for the next train
I can’t stand this waiting
out in the rain
Love me
don’t have to say you love me
just that you’re thinking
of me
That’s enough most days
|
||||
16. |
Anything In The End
03:37
|
|||
So I tried to move away from you
it didn’t work
I just felt blue
So I threw out the pictures of you
and the drawings
and the silent smiles
Drifting round my room
Weird, just to be
Anything in the end
Weird, just to be
Anything in the end
And I know it's hard
I know it's hard
I know it's hard
I know it's hard
and let me in
Let me in
Weird, just to be
Anything in the end
Weird, just to be
Anything in the end
And I know it's hard
I know it's hard
Time goes by and leaves you still
C'mon let me in
Just let me in
So I found a home in the fog and snow
you could meet me there
Oh! But I don’t care
Which way the wind will blow your hair
You said, Go! Run! Be free of this.
but what’s the use
Please step inside my shoes
Weird, just to be
Anything in the end
Weird, just to be
Anything in the end
And I know it's hard
I know it's hard
I know it's hard
I know it's hard
and let me in
Let me in
Weird, just to be
Anything in the end
Weird, just to be
Anything in the end
And I know it's hard
I know it's hard
Time goes by and leaves you still
C'mon let me in
Just let me in
|
||||
17. |
The Blackout
03:43
|
|||
(instrumental)
|
||||
18. |
Friend Song
08:00
|
|||
I lost a friend
and gained a lover
today
And she smokes too much
and she laughs the loudest
in whatever room she’s in
I lost a friend
a way back friend who didn’t seem
to know my face
cos people change
I lost your spark
twirling signals in the dark
and I love theri lights
I’ll hold you tight
Wanna tell my friends
I love them
wanna tell my folks
I love them
Wanna tell the dead
I miss them
Wanna find a girl
who listens
Now Susie’s getting worse
she’s so confused
her gaze is clear
her words are code
And my head is tired
my throat is dry
my shoes untied
and my hair’s a mess
always a mess
So I try my best
and finally they all come round
and see my dawn
my autumn sunset
My silent clouds
my hugs are warm
my body’s thin
But I could keep you
happy for a while
April, you’re lying to yourself
|
||||
19. |
August 13th
02:15
|
|||
Writing just to write,
The glow of an orange desk light urged me on
Amidst the quiet slow burning
Of the candle of my life,
Where the dark came creeping in
Right through the window and I saw shadows
Cast upon the curtains,
and I thought that it was you for a brief moment
I feel just like a movie star
When I start to write these songs,
In a pretty little sketchbook that I Used to use for art
and so the story starts,
the graphite etched upon a judging page
As electrical appliances rattle
Disengaged I cast it out for a hermit
In a love-lorn fit of rage
Remove this doubt,
and slowly turn the page
Across the street from me
A light shone bright against the canvas night,
Where I dreamt of you appearing through the window
In full flight my eyes opened
and I sat there and I felt just like a tree,
Growing up into a sky that doesn't seem to want me
and I thought of August 13th
Some assignment on a beach
I took a photo of a seagull
In a town quite out of reach,
I had seen you in a corridor.
While teachers try to pry and preach
This clumsy space-boy poetry,
that we thought was so absurd
and we poured it through a letterbox,
and soft rain held our words.
I dreamt of this.
|
As I Recall It Barnstaple, UK
Welcome to the bedroom of Alex Pester, in which many songs float about.
Also found at
alexpester.bandcamp.com/releases
Streaming and Download help
If you like As I Recall It, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp