|
|
|
|---|---|
Dialogue |
Lyrics |
"English Boy" |
|
|
RUTH: Hello, Ruth Streeting here once again with "Streeting's Street", where you get the word straight from the street. This is the show that dishes the dirt on the dirt. Strictly no rock star bullshit on my show. I don't review pop anymore, I talk about anything I like ... or anything I hate. Talking of which, remember that clapped-out 60's hell-raiser Ray High? Rumor has it the sad old lush can't do it anymore ... I mean "make records". |
|
|
I'm an English boy I was brought up right Hold me down And I will bite I know no fear I serve with joy I'm proud to be here An English boy
I feel like a stray dog
I am an English boy
Use me like a headline
I'm an English boy
And I don't know where I am now |
|
| RUTH: I hear his manager, Rastus Knight, is pulling what's left of his hair out. The only thing Ray's writing these days are large checks to his booze merchants. He's a serious recluse now. Hasn't seen daylight or another woman since his old lady walked out two years ago. Poor little sausage, brooding in that twenty-two room glass mansion. Life's a bitch, and so am I. | |
|
Feel like I'm kicking at a dead man Kicking in the chorus I'm broken by hatred While politicians just ignore us You never gave me any value You didn't give me any reason There's no tools, and no toys For any English boy
I'm an English boy
I'm an English boy, yeah! |
|
|
RAY: Look, I need something more than playing empty halls for you and your fucking Freemason cronies. RASTUS: What you need Ray is a kick up the bloody ass. I'm runnin' out of your money. If you must be introspective, at least do it in public. Millions want to share in your loneliness and your misery. You'll have to put out something new. Soon you'll have no choice. You'll have to try. RAY: The press slaughtered me, Rastus. I need to be back in control of my own existence. Until then, leave off. RASTUS: What are you up to Ray, eh? What keeps you amused? How do you stand this solitude after all that bloody fun? What are you now? You're mature. RAY: Mature?! I'm not mature, I'm ... I'm just derelict! Look, inside I'm the same as I ever was. |
|
| [back to top] | |
"Meher Baba M3" |
|
|
CROWD: We demand a universal Grid! We demand a universal Grid! We demand a universal Grid! We demand a universal Grid!
RAY: ID - Ray High, Gridlife Chronicles. November the tenth, 1992. I'm working on my own in here, going over some old music I did in 1970. It's got something, something special. I could really dream then. It ain't such a bad dream either.
RAY: I've been completely degraded by chasing publicity. Degraded! Yeah, I'll never go back. I know too much. I know how it's done. I can't discover it all over again, make it seem new. RASTUS: You're great, Ray. You know that, man. Here, hold up. This is the place. RAY: What? Can't go in here. That bloody cow Ruth Streeting uses this club. She hates my guts. RASTUS: It's her job to hate your guts. She's a journalist. It's nothing personal. Oh sod it, I forgot, of course she won't be here. She's in the States. Oh c'mon, let's go in anyway. We've got to get back in the mainstream sometime. Come on, you own shares in the place. RAY: That cow wrote that I'm ugly. RASTUS: Well, you are ugly. RAY: I'm not. RASTUS: Yes you are. RAY: No, I'm not! RASTUS: Well, you are, actually. RAY: Oh bollocks. Oh, let's go in. |
|
| [back to top] | |
"Let's Get Pretentious" |
|
|
MAN IN CLUB: Are you Harold Pinter? WOMAN IN CLUB: Noel Coward, I think. [singing in mock-operatic voice] "Let's get pretentious, put on an act. Let's get portentious and embroider the facts." (laughs)
|
|
|
Let's get pretentious Put on an act Let's be portentious And embroider facts Exaggerate it Dress up the bland Let's over-rate it Let the critics be damned
Let's get sensuous
I don't know much
Let's find a market
I don't know much |
|
|
RAY: Oh God, this place is crawling
with journalists. I hate the fucking
lot of 'em. RASTUS: Oh Ray, you've got to play the game, eh? I mean, you've got to believe. RAY: You know what I think? RASTUS: What? RAY: If you've got beauty or talent you're going get caught up in some kind of prostitution. Well, it's inevitable. That's all it was, my life on the road: prostitution. We're all cunts after all. Get me another drink. RASTUS: As you know Ray, I find all this fascinating. Pity Ruth Streeting's missin' it. RAY: Oh, she'll get it, she'll get it, all right. But my way. Don't you worry. My story'll get told.
|
|
|
I don't know much But I know what I like I don't know much Now so-and-so said such-and-such I don't know much But I know what I like I don't know much Let's get pretentious Put on an act Let's be portentious And embroider the facts Exaggerate it Dress up the bland Let's over-rate it Let the critics be damned |
|
|
RASTUS: Ruth, wow. Hey, you look wonderful in black leather. RUTH: It's not leather you twerp, it's rubber. RASTUS: Hey watch it, you call me a "twerp" again and I might have to get me bicycle pump out. RUTH: Talking of flat tires, how's Ray? RASTUS: I can't get anything out of him. He must have some dough stashed away, and he's up to something, but fuck knows what it is. You know, he still reads his fan mail, but he doesn't reply to it anymore. I don't know what'll fire him up. RUTH: Bet I could fire him up. RASTUS: Yeah? RUTH: Yeah, I could do it. You say he still reads his fan mail? RASTUS: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, if you can do something Ruth, we could shift millions, you know that? And I'll cut you in. I would. RUTH: I might have an idea. But it'd be dangerous ... especially for Ray.
|
|
| [back to top] | |
"Meher Baba M4 (Signal Box)" |
|
|
SPINNER: My name is Spinner. Athena, the controller of the Life Experience Grid, is neglecting her job. She makes experience programs. These implement virtual reality systems. The programs are fed to anyone wearing Gridlife suits. They are for refuge from pollution or radiation during Grid-sleep curfews. The programs replace life.
|
|
| [back to top] | |
"Early Morning Dreams" |
|
|
|
|
| ATHENA: You are safe from harm on The Grid. You are safe from harm. |
You are safe from harm on The Grid. You are safe from harm.
This is the dream that I wake up dreaming |
| ATHENA: You will receive life programs that precisely suit your needs and desires. Our planet is challenged. Decent people need to be protected. So, enjoy the present while we hope for the future. Slip on to the Life Experience Grid today. | |
|
This is the tune that you're always hearing What you'll remember when you've broken the ties We're dancing together as the sun is appearing Again and again you awake in surprise |
|
|
MAN IN AD: Phew. That was some life. I
wanted it to go on forever. WOMAN IN AD: Me too. I enjoyed it. MAN IN AD: Yes. And in the next program we'll get the balance we need to continue our evolution ...
|
|
| Early morning dreams | |
|
|
|
| SPINNER: Athena controls newspapers, TV stations and all media, including the Grid. You're all consumers. And I belive you need truth to develop morality and decency. The Grid always provides facts, but facts don't always reveal the truth. | Early morning dreams are the best kind of dreams |
|
You feel so tender - you feel so wet You feel so secure - so deep in love and yet The feeling is fleeting You're a fugitive, safe at last Your heart is beating Will you relive the recent past?
Early morning dreams come true Early morning dreams ... |
|
|
RAY: Dear Rosalind. Thank you for your letter. It seems really odd that you've written to me at this moment. I need someone to talk to now more than ever. Your dream sounds wonderful. You want to be a star? It could happen. I'm working on a dream project myself. It's something I've been involved with for years. When I saw the stunning photo in your letter, I was reminded of the things I had to go through to get noticed when I was your age. We both share complicated problems. If I try to help you, will you swear to keep it secret? Yours sincerely, Ray High. RAY: (to himself) She'll find out what being a star really feels like. |
|
| Early morning dreams come true | |
|
RAY: She sent me a Polaroid of herself. RASTUS: What? That Rosalind? RAY: Yeah. On her mother's grave. RASTUS: (laughs) RAY: It wasn't meant to be funny. It was erotic. RASTUS: What, you though a photo of a girl lying on her mother's grave was erotic? RAY: Well, she was naked. Stark fucking naked. RASTUS: Well ... was she gorgeous or what? RAY: Yeah. But the weird thing was she had witch's teats. RASTUS: Witch's whats? RAY: Witch's teats. They're two little extra nipples below her tits. RASTUS: Only four nipples? Poor underprivileged kid. RAY: She says ... she says she can sing and dance. She's dancing topless now in San Francisco. RASTUS: With four nipples I could get a double fee. |
|
| [back to top] | |
"I Want That Thing" |
|
|
(Rastus laughs)
RUTH: Well, would you believe that after my mention of Ray High last week, he's been seen out and about in the big city. Until now, Ray's been locked away struggling with a follow-up to his last mega-excess. But rumor was he couldn't even open a bottle without a drink inside him. There was talk of a nervous breakdown. He's even got up the nose of his sexy manager. Poor old Rastus Knight now has a challenged coke habit. I've always had a soft spot for Rastus, and I've often seen him looking at it. While I was away in 'Frisco, I hear Ray went into my club and sat at my table. Why thanks Ray, that put an end to happy hour. Why my place anyway, Ray? Nobody there who's anybody cares two filofaxes about peace and love. I heard about you Mr. Stinking - Rich / Has - Been / Rodent / Drinking - Vintage - Krug - As - Though - It - Was - Two - Bob - A - Bottle. I'll be watching out for you. |
|
|
Free ride to the house of life ... Free ride
I work hard at my job
Put aside a little money
Free ride to the house of life
I don't know if it's truth
I can't wait
I want it, I want it
Free ride |
|
|
SPINNER: I've planned an alternative. I will secretly commandeer one of the Gridlife studios and stage a live rock concert for every single person wearing Grid suits. That's fifty percent of the world's population. The result will be amazing. Everyone who experiences the concert will slip out of their suit and come to the show. They will be drawn to it. This will produce the biggest live concert audience in history.
|
|
| [back to top] | |
Dialogue Introduction To "Outlive The Dinosaur" |
|
|
RAY: Dear Rosalind, In answer to all your questions: firstly, I'm afraid it wouldn't help you to feel secure. In fact, it would defeat you. Insecurity is the principal driving force we performers share. Secondly, like you, something awful happened to me as a child, but I learned from it. The only power available to you lies in your submission. Isn't that what the photo was all about? Remember, you don't have to bury the past or the pain. You can use it. |
|
| [back to top] | |
"Outlive The Dinosaur" |
|
|
I breathe My throat clenches Clutching to exclude A dozen different stenches In Falmouth Bay A blue whale rolls Gonna drown from the swill From city sewer holes Summers longer Deltas gashed Ancient trees Uprooted, smashed Time is generous - more, take more Time is generous - more, take more Time is generous - more, take more I must outrun the dinosaur |
|
| RAY: As to your question about how this will affect your career, the great artist is just like a child, and intuitively understands the need to submit to the audience. Do you begin to see the secret? | |
|
A silent temple Marble-hard Decays and softens Battle-scarred A relic deaf To bits and streams In polo-necks In perfect jeans Obsessed with silence Spiked by noise I hold my son I plan his toys Time expansive - more, take more Time expansive - more, take more Time expansive - more, take more I must outlive the dinosaur |
|
| RAY: Lastly, you must be prepared to test yourself. Why not try the song I have enclosed? It's an outtake from a secret project I'm working on called "Gridlife". The tape you sent shows you can sing, so ... sing. | |
|
Rising rivers Drown new shoots Words and breath In death - cahoots The strong survive To wean more brutes Who grow and seed Extend their roots Cowards, bombs And scab recruits Like mokeys trapped In monkey suits Time is plentiful - more, take more Time is plentiful - more, take more Time is plentiful - more, take more I must outfight the dinosaur Time is plentiful - more, take more ...
More, take more |
|
| [back to top] | |
"Flame (Demo)" |
|
|
|
|
| RAY: Dear Rosalind, thanks for the new tape. You did my song very well. But, be careful. Celebrities believe their actions affect the behavior of their fans. It is a conceit the press reinforce. They suggest they entrust their precious readers into the hands of the performer. But it's really the performer who entrusts his audience to the press. You must serve the press as well as the audience. For me, a journalist called Ruth Streeting has become a symbol for the press and the establishment. They can't accept that a shit like me has value. I've always needed to make a crowd look away from the beautiful toward me. The more distasteful Ruth Streeting finds that need, the more driven I am to perform especially for her. Her disgust is the most powerful motivator of the artist in me. And as this is the last time I'm writing to you, I can tell you now something that I hardly belive has happened. I have fallen in love with her. |
You shone a light for me to follow Knowing I would You graced me with a precious gift That no-one else could Touched by your presence I surrender, oh yeah You gave me a lead and I was a follower A quest to succeed, I am a discoverer
Oh flame, you set me on fire |
| [back to top] | |
"Now And Then" |
|
|
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it
In you I saw someone that I recognized
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love
I feel so badly darlin' all the time
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love
For though you knew that I was twice your age
And it was me who had the most to gain
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love |
|
|
RUTH: Rastus? It's Ruth. Uh, I've got something to show you. Look, it's a bit complicated. I've got Ray where I want him now - I'm gonna act. I'm gonna act soon. This is gonna be big, so you better be ready, OK? Um, but before I do anything else, we need to talk about my commission. |
|
| [back to top] | |
"I Am Afraid" |
|
| Um, I'll see you tomorrow. I might be a bit late, but I will be there this time. Uh, so, call me back tonight. Anyway ... OK? | |
|
I stand beside you I face the future I'll admit it to you I am afraid I am afraid As I stand beside you I have denied you I am afraid
I am not drunk now
I swing you high-o |
|
|
RUTH: Well, who'd have thought it? Thanks to my expose, all hell broke loose for Ray High as the "Porno Pen Pal" story burst upon us this week. It started harmlessly enough when pretty American fifteen-year-old Rosalind Nathan wrote to her pop hero, Ray High. |
|
|
I am afraid As I stand beside you I have denied you I am afraid I stand beside you I face the future I'll admit to ya I am afraid
By my religion
I am afraid |
|
|
RUTH: High, one-time psychedelic
flower child, now turned alcoholic
vegetable, frantically encouraged a
sordid series of what can only be
described as letters. This steamy
correspondence climaxed in this
wide-eyed, innocent fourteen
year-old's now infamous photo, with
its suggestion of nakedness, underage
necrophilia, and incest. High issued a
series of what can only be described
as "instructions" by return-of-post
alledgedly inducting this vulnerable
little waif into his so-called secrets
of stardom. She opened her heart to
him. She loved to sing. But he seized
upon her gullibility to test out his
weird theories. Why did he encourage
her? What was he after? Was she
pushed? I think we should be told.
Now there's been a dramatic new
development. Although Ray High's
albums have been re-released this
week, decent normal people will be
more interested in young Rosalind.
She's a brilliant songwriter, a
brilliant singer, and with my help,
has just released a brilliant new
record. I predict a smash hit for this
talented, sexy, nubile young singer so
rudely abused by that slimeball, Ray
High.
RAY: What the fuck are you doing here, Ruth? You've come to gloat, have you? RUTH: I'm with Rastus. RAY: Rastus? ... You? ... Rastus? RUTH: Yeah. I'm staying here as his guest. He's worried about the scandal. Thinks it could be the end of you.
|
|
| [back to top] | |
"Don't Try To Make Me Real" |
|
| RAY: Ruth, what do you really want? What are you doing here? | |
|
Make me of clay, make me of steel But whatever you do don't try to make me real Make me your dream, a secretive deal But don't ever scheme to try to make me real
Stop trying to make me real
Make me of shit in a two-tenner deal
Stop trying to make me real Make me real
Why can't you settle for a fantasy?
Make me from your magazine - a listed ideal
Stop trying to make me real
Stop trying to make me real
Don't try to make me real, oh no
Stop trying to make me real |
|
| [back to top] | |
Dialogue Introduction To "Predictable" |
|
|
RUTH: Oh Rastus you bastard! Why so bloody hard? Ray might hear us - he'd be jealous. RASTUS: Why would he be jealous?! RUTH: Because he loves me! He said so in one of his letters to Rosalind. RASTUS: Turn over. Here, what are these marks? RUTH: Do you like them? One person in a million has these. RASTUS: Yeah, I know. Witch's teats. RUTH: Oh Rastus you fantastic bastard. Harder! Harder!
|
|
| [back to top] | |
"Predictable" |
|
|
Your love is so predictable I can rely on you to blow my brain You always know which trick to pull I can predict you'll drive me wild - insane
Your love is so predictable, oh yes it is
Your body's so delectable
Your love is so predictable, oh yes it is
Your love is always so theatrical Now listen to this!
Most lovers' lovin' is heart-a-beatin', it
Your love is so predictable
Your love is so, so theatrical Your love is so |
|
| [back to top] | |
"Flame" |
|
|
ANNOUNCER ON RADIO: Number one this week, Roz Nathan with "Flame". |
|
|
RUTH: There you go Rastus. It's
Rosalind on the radio. I can't wait to
see Ray's face. RASTUS: Yeah, well I can't wait to see Rosalind's fuckin' face. Of course, I won't, will I? Because it's you, isn't it, eh? You! You were Rosalind, that picture was of you. You dirty cow. You couldn't have been older than, what, fourteen? No wonder Ray started writing to you. RUTH: How did you find out? Oh, of course, the witch's teats. Me and a couple of girls at school took it, we were about twelve. Ray believes Rosalind's uncle Charlie took it ... by force. RASTUS: I knew you were smart Ruth, but not that smart. RUTH: It worked anyway, his old records are selling like mad. RASTUS: So, uh, he write wrote your song, then? RUTH: That would be telling.
|
You shone a light for me to follow Knowing I would You graced me with a precious gift That no-one else could Touched by your presence I surrender, oh yeah You gave me a lead and I was a follower A quest to succeed, I am a discoverer |
|
Flame, you set me on fire Nothing can take me any higher I'm fueled on emotion And full of desire Flame, show me the way
You gave me a lead and I was a follower
Flame, you set me on fire Oh flame, you set me on fire
|
|
|
RUTH: I'm not gonna turn my back on Rosalind now. You manipulated her! Careful what you say, I'll print it. RAY: I don't give a smorgasboard about that load of old bollocks you churn out. RASTUS: Now, now, Ray. Don't get introspective. We've got the headlines, we're back in calculator country! RAY: I helped her deal with her problem! RUTH: She doesn't have a problem. Do you? RAY: She knows I do. If she were here now, we could ask her, couldn't we Rastus? RASTUS: Well, we could, yeah, if she was here. RAY: Are you saying nothing I wrote helped her? RUTH: No, you just helped her become a fucking star.
|
|
| [back to top] | |
"Meher Baba M5 (Vivaldi)" |
|
|
SPINNER: You will each hear your own song, each your own note, your own vibration in the cosmos. All of you will know one another through the other songs. You will blend and get in harmony. As you blend, your song will change. And at the end, your music will turn into a sound so complete, that it will show us that we all are one. Free. We are in tune.
RAY: I know what you've been up to. RUTH: All right, but I know what your game is too. The words of Rosalind's song say it all, really, don't they? What a worry you are, Raymond Highsmith.
|
|
| [back to top] | |
"Fake It" |
|
| RAY: Ruth, you don't get it, do you? I knew all the time. | |
|
You can fake it Hold my hand If you fake it I will understand
I don't care if you fake it
You might laugh at me later
Fake it, fake it
I'm going to ask you to act it
I don't mind what you're thinking
Fake it, fake it
(spoken):
Fabricate the way you feel
Fake it, fake it Why not pretend that your love is real
You can fake it |
|
| [back to top] | |
Dialogue Introduction To "Now And Then (Reprise)" |
|
|
RASTUS: There you go, Ruth. There's your cut. Five percent. That's sixty grand. Back to my place. RUTH: Sixty-thousand pounds. Not much for what I dreamed up. RASTUS: Well, it's fifteen grand a nipple. (laughs) It's not bad. RUTH: Five percent of what he's getting ... he's a rich boy, isn't he? RASTUS: Don't worry, there'll be more. It worked, that's all that matters. He's in his element. This is just the beginning. Tours, TV, toot and tarts. Back where we belong: on top. And no more letters. At least he's finished with all that. |
|
| [back to top] | |
"Now And Then (Reprise)" |
|
|
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it |
|
|
RAY: Dear Lily. Thank you for the pictures. You look really nice. I am back in the studio again. The press seem to have finished with me for now. Because of the Roz Nathan affair, my old albums are back in the charts. I'm getting hundreds of letters and photographs now, and for that I am very thankful. |
|
|
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love You can't do a thing about it
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love |
|
|
RASTUS: Hey hey! This is gonna be great. What a team. RUTH: Shut up, Rastus. Ray, love, are you ready? I know this is difficult for you, but you do have such a wonderful dream to share. We must bring it to the world. RASTUS: Yeah! RUTH: It's a great vision. RASTUS: Yeah! RUTH: We must try and start again, it could save the planet. RASTUS: Yeah! RUTH: Shut up, Rastus. So, when you're ready, sweetheart.
|
|
|
For though you knew that I was twice your age To make you laugh seemed youth enough I thought we'd love and then you'd turn the page I'd have to suffer your rebuff
And it was me who had the most to gain
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love
Now and then you see a soul and you fall in love |
|
| [back to top] | |
"Baba O'Riley (Demo)" |
|
|
SPINNER: Music and vibrations are the basis of everything. They pervade everything. Human consciousness is reflected by them. Atoms are vibrations between positive and negative forces. Some very subtle, some complex, but, it's all music. Soon, we will switch in the whole world. Every person wearing an experience suit will share this adventure with us.
RAY: The crowd rush in. Three circles closing fast to form a perfect cushion as he lands. As Spinner hits the crowd and the long, sustained final chord suddenly ends ... RUTH: Ray, I've cut all this. Go straight to twenty-eight. |
|
| [back to top] | |
"English Boy (Reprise)" |
|
|
I was an English boy I was brought up right You could hold me down And I would bite I knew no fear I served with joy I was proud to be here An English boy
You spray like a tomcat
I was an English boy
Blurred like a movie
I was an English boy
And I don't know where I am now
Stand up when I'm taking to you boy
Slow like a prejudice
I was an English boy
I was an English boy, yes I was |
|
|
RAY: "Gridlife" was a vision, a real vision. Not a fiction, not a fairy tale, a glimpse of the future. Today, twenty years later, the apocalypse it foresaw is nearer. But, whatever you read in the newspapers, we still don't have any alternative reality. It's all games now: all lies and deceit. What happened to the truth? What happened to the dream? What happened to all that lovely hippy shit? |
|
| [back to top] | |