 GENESIS -
ABACAB
(1981)
A Tony Banks - Teclados
Phil Collins - Batería, voces
Mike Rutherford - Bajos,
guitarras
Abacab
Look up on the wall, there on the floor,
Under the pillow, behind the door.
There's a crack in the mirror.
Somewhere there's a hole in a window pane.
Do you think I'm to blame?
Tell me, do you think I'm to blame?
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) just stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
( Abacab)
If you're wrappin' up the world
'Cause you've taken someone else's girl,
When they turn on the pillow,
Even when they answer the telephone,
don't you think that by now...
Tell me, don't you think that by now.
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) just stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
(Abacab) doesn't really care.
Do you want it? You got it. Now you know.
Do you want it? You got it. Now you know.
It's an illusion. It's a game,
or reflection of someone else's name.
When you wake in the morning,
Wake and find you're covered in cellophane,
Well, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Yeah, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Baby, there's a hole in there somewhere.
Now there's a hole in there somewhere.
(When we do it) you're never there.
(When you show it) you stop and stare.
(Abacab) he's in anywhere.
(Abacab)
No Reply At All
Talk to me, you never talk to me.
Ooh, it seems that I can speak.
I can hear my voice shoutin' out.
But there's no reply at all.
Look at me, you never look at me.
Ooh, I've been sittin, starin', seems so long.
But you're lookin' through me
Like I wasn't here at all.
No reply. There's no reply at all.
Dance with me, you never dance with me.
Ooh, it seems that I can move.
I'm close to you, close as I can get.
Yet there's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
Be with me. Seems you're never here with me.
Ooh, I've been tryin' to get over there.
Oh, but it's out of my reach.
And there's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
I get the feelin' you're tryin' to tell me;
Is there somethin' that I should know?
What excuse are you tryin' to sell me?
Should I be readin' stop or go?
I don't know.
Be with me. Seems you're never here with me.
Ooh, I've been tryin' to get over there.
Oh, but it's out of my reach.
And there's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
I get the feelin' you're tryin' to tell me;
Is there somethin' that I should know?
What excuse are you tryin' to sell me?
Should I be readin' stop or go?
I don't know.
Maybe deep down inside,
I'm tryin' for no one else but me,
too stubborn to say, " The buck stops here.
It's not the one you're lookin' for."
But maybe deep down inside, I'm lyin'
To no one else but me.
Oh, but my back is up. I'm on my guard
With all the exits sealed.
Listen to me, you never listen to me.
Oooh, and it seems there's no way out.
I've been tryin' but we cannot connect.
And there's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
There's no reply at all.
No reply at all.
Is anybody list'nin? Oh, there's no reply at all...
Me And Sarah Jane
The fires are burning in another land.
Don't start counting, don't start counting.
Colder and colder, the ice is moving closer
And it gets me down.
Going round and round and down the same old track,
Pack on my back.
Going swiftly nowhere, heart in my ear
Beating like a drum.
Where will you go?
All by yourself.
(Hah, hah, hah, hah, hah, hah.)
And now I'm standing on the corner, waiting in the rain,
But then in sunlight without warnin', I invent a name.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had a special thing goin'.
Me and Sarah Jane.
It was a time of love and laughter. It wouldn't come again.
We had our round of joyful laughter. Then began the pain.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had a special thing goin'.
Me and Sarah Jane. (Sarah Jane.)
I'm searching for a clue, traces on the sand.
First, I'm flying, going round, round, round.
Then, I'm sliding, going down, down, down.
Doesn't matter - where I start, I always end up,
Crawling through those same old crowded rooms.
Me and Sarah Jane, we had it coming, all the pain.
Walkin' down the streets and finding nothing is the same.
And now the city lights are dimmin' one by one,
It costs too much money to keep them on.
Me and Sarah Jane, in silence walk along the shore,
Tears of joy and mocking laughter, words lost in the wind.
The tide was risin' but there we stayed,
We had no fear of dying, we weren't afraid.
Keep It Dark
Found that man reported missing,
He wandered in his home.
It don't seem to bad if you consider
Just what he's been through.
It seems he met up with a gang of thieves
Who mistook him for a man of means.
They locked him up, then found he had no money,
And so they let him go again.
Now he's back at home and happy
Just to see the kids.
I wish that I could really tell you
All the things that happen to me
And all that I have seen:
A world full of people, their hearts full of joy,
Cities of light with no fear of war,
And thousands of creatures with happier lives,
And dreams of a future with meaning and no need to hide.
Oh, keep it dark.
It seems strange to have to lie
About a world so bright,
Tell instead a made-up story
From the world of night.
I wish that I could really tell you
All the things that happen to me
And all that I have seen:
A world full of people, their hearts full of joy,
Cities of light with no fear of war,
And thousands of creatures with happier lives,
And dreams of a future with meaning and no need to lie,
No need to hate, no need to hide.
Oh, keep it dark.
Dodo
Too big to fly,
Dodo ugly so dodo must die.
Doggo, with fear on its side;
Can't change, can't change the tide.
Dog
baiter, agitator,
Asking questions, says he wants to know why.
Ain't no reason that money can't buy.
Mink, he pretty, so mink he must die,
Must die, must die.
Sun, he giving life in his light,
Part of the system.
Friend to man and friend to the trees,
No friend to the snowman.
Where does he go? What does he do?
Does he meet with the mole, the stream, the cloud,
And end up at the bottom of the sea?
Fish, he got a hook in his throat,
Fish, he got problems.
Where does he go? What does he do?
Does he hope he's too small, to poor a haul,
Who'll end up bein' thrown back in the sea?
I'm back in the sea.
Caretaker, horror movie,
Only one eye, only needs one boot.
Sweet lady, she know she looks good.
Vacuum coming for the bright and the brute.
Big noise, black smoke,
So pig-headed, couldn't see the joke.
But it ain't funny, ask the fly on the wall.
It's only living, it don't matter at all,
At all, at all.
Pimp, he make you drool and grunt,
He got an answer.
One, he got a dream of love
Deep as the ocean.
Where does he go? What does he do?
Will the siren team with Davy Jones
And trap him at the bottom of the sea?
I'm back in the sea.
I'm back in the sea.
I'm back in the sea.
Lurker
Who Dunnit?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Was it A or was it B?
Or was it X or Z?
Was it you or was it me?
Or was it he or she?
Who done it?
I didn't, I, I didn't do it.
I, I, I didn't, I didn't, I didn't do it,
I, I, I didn't, I, I didn't do it,
I, I didn't, I didn't,
I, I didn't do it, I didn't do it, I didn't do it.
(Oh!)
We know, we know, we know, we know,
we know, we know, we know, we know,
we know, we know,
we don't know, yeah, we don't know, yeah,
we don't know, yeah, we know,
we know, we know, we know, we know,
we know, we know, we know, we know,
we know, we know, we know who did it.
(So!)
Was it you or was it me?...
Man On The Corner
See the lonely man there on the corner,
What he's waiting for, I don't know.
But he waits every day now.
He's just waiting for something to show.
And nobody knows him, and nobody cares,
'Cause there's no hidin' place,
There's no hidin' place
for you.
Lookin' everywhere at no one,
He sees everything and nothing at all, oh.
When he shouts, nobody listens,
Where he leads, no one will go, oh.
He's a lonely man there on the corner.
What he's waiting for, I don't know.
But he waits every day now.
He's just waiting for something to show.
And nobody knows him, and nobody cares,
'Cause there's no hidin' place,
There's no hidin' place
For you and me.
Are we just like all the rest?
We're lookin' too hard for somethin' he's got
or movin' too fast to rest.
But like a monkey on your back, you need it.
But do you love it enough to leave it all?
Just like the lonely man there on the corner,
What he's waiting for, I don't know.
But he waits every day now,
He's just waiting for that somethin' to show.
Like It Or Not
Oh, don't you know I've been on my own?
But I'm coming home,
And I'd like you to be there.
I feel a little cold in the air,
and you're not anywhere.
You're just another face I used to know.
But there is still a chance
To hold on to our love,
'Cause I gave you everything,
Everything I had.
Oooh, like it or not, you have done it this time.
And like it or not, I've had enough.
Oooh, like it or not, there's a lot I could say,
'Cause I've got a lot on my mind.
It won't be very long,
You're just another face
That I once used to know.
And I gave you everything,
But what have I got to show? Oh! Oh!
Oh, like it or not, you are out on the street.
And like it or not, that's where you will stay.
Oh, like it or not, there's another thing, darling,
Well, I just could not stand another day.
'Cause if you want to know,
There is still a chance
To hold on to our love.
'Cause I gave you everything,
Everything I had.
Everything I had!
It's been a long, been a long, long time
Since I held anybody, since I loved anyone.
Oh, it's been a long, been a long, long, long time.
But if I'm right or if I'm wrong, does it matter anyway?
Another Record
It's funny, you know,
'Cause there's an old rock 'n' roller.
He's got nowhere to go.
Did you ever think of takin' him in?
Somebody help him, somebody please.
Put another record on,
'Cause he likes that song.
It's funny, you know,
He never done nothin', done nobody wrong.
Didn't think about changin' his name,
But I'm gonna tell him it's the same old game.
Put another record on.
Round, round, round and around, oh.
Oh, see him smile.
Well, lately I've seen him
Walkin' down the street, kinda movin' his feet.
Everyone I know looks the other way.
Somebody help him, somebody say:
Put another record on.
Round, round, round and around, oh.
Oh, see him smile.
Just put another record on.
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