Uglifruit: Please. Take #1.

 

Lyrics and album notes.  
 
01 – Kubler-Ross.
 
02 – Mansong.

03 – Chanson.

The Trial Of Johnny Temperate
04 – Part 1 - Hotel & Backstory.
05 – Part 2 - Courtroom & Sentencing.
06 – Part 3 - Appeal & Backstory reprise.

07 – Happy Families Fade
 
08 – Cold Hands (Warm Heart).

09 – Watch Song.

10 – Changing For The Better

11 – Note Values


12 – ...(dot dot dot).
 

Gohere to download the full album.


 

01.  Kubler Ross

 

You've been managing expectations

Consultations end in tears

Even if you're optimistic

Gotta fear it's near

 

You play those cards that you've been dealt

Close to your chest

And it's hard cos you felt

Why didn't they go to somebody else

 

Elizabeth

Kubler Ross

Is in denial

Angy at what you've lost

Kubler Ross

Would swap

1,2,3,4

Now cry

1,2,3,4,5

Now go ahead and lie down here

Keep sleeping dear

 

You've been skirting around the subject

Truth for you takes far too long

You blame the shame of going public

That's where you went wrong

You mind your business and keep your self

Very much to yourself

 

But it helps

Taking it out on somebody else

 

Elizabeth

Kubler Ross

Is in denial

Angy at what you've lost

Kubler Ross

Would swap

1,2,3,4

Now cry

1,2,3,4,5

Now go ahead and lie down hear

And die my dear

 

You don't deserve this

But neither do I

I know we're worth it

 

 

02. Mansong

 

If you think you've found an answer

Inside a 45

You need another needle and indeed you needed Beatles to realise

Speaking on the record

Backwards just to you

First the curses then perverted verses

You heard the words you wanted to

 

Charlie

Don't you know you got it wrong

Charlie

This is your only song

 

You never learned not to love

Locked away for years

Ordered others, murdered mothers, using lovers and abusing ears

 

Charlie

Don't you know you got it wrong

Charlie

This is your only song

 

White does not mean fight

That isn't right

 

 

03.  Chanson

 

I don't know why there is not another girl for me here

Or near here, 

But over there are plenty of girls for him

What a shame - what a shame

Every day I watch the men and boys with girls on the beach

But it's not the sea on my face

 

I don't know why not

What will be will be

What a shame

 

Every day I watch the men and boys who kiss their girls on the beach in the evening

My face isn't white

It's only the salt

From the water

From my eyes

 

 

 

04.  The Trial Of Johnny Temperate Part 1 (Hotel & Backstory)

 

Hotel - In which Johnny tries to betray Angela, whose suspicions are raised when Jenny calls.

 

Backstory - In which we learn about Julia's involvement in the affair.

 

 

 

So Jennifer sits in her room

Her birthdays money spent on French perfume

Not knowing that the number on her suite door had slipped

Where it read nine it should've read six

So Johnny goes marching home alone

Wages blown on cologne

 

And Angela answers 

No John is working late, my husband isn't home

Knowing that this wasn't a cold call like it claimed

A nervous girl's voice more pitied than blamed

Will Johnny be good tonight?

He could and he should

 

And Jonathan sees he's on trial

Evidence presented but in denial

Not knowing that his sentence would  be Angela's wrath

And Jenny's necklace bought with holiday cash

So Johnny just sits and smiles for a while

 

And she remembers the aisle

 

Jennifer told Julia that John was handsome

Made her cross her heart to keep a secret

Julia was never gonna keep it

Notes were passed behind her back and someone one soon told John

Jennifer was blushing like the bride she wasn't

John had engineered a random meeting

Thought that he could hear how hard her heart was beating

Heaving breathing caught her eye

 

No-one needs to know

Hotel, Motel anywhere they're gonna go

Has to be discrete if they're gonna meet

 

But what of Angela

Is she the girl that he loves?

 

 

05.  The Trial Of Johnny Temperate (Part 2 - Courtroom & Sentencing)

 

Courtroom - In which Angela cross examines the accused and his accomplice.

 

Sentencing - In which Judgement is passed.

 

 

Call the first witness

Make you take the stand

Raise up your right hand

Swear to tell the...

Truthlessness

In love as much as war

What is justice for?

You make the laws you break

Promises

 

Call the next witness

Bring her to the stand

Indicate the man and can point the finger

Statement

Mistress kiss and tell

And tell the rest as well

And take your take to break

 

 

Do you feel guilty

Standing there accused

What sentence is there save to execute

But before we do

Is there anything to say in your defence?

 

The prosecution rests it's case.

 

 

06 - The Trial Of Johnny Temperate - Part 3 (Appeal & Backstory (reprise))

 

Appeal - In which Johnny puts his side of the story.

 

Backstory (reprise) - In which Julia re-appears and more evidence is revealed.

 

Yours is

The body in the bath

That keeps me overflowing

 

Yours is

The face I want to break

Into a laugh

So I keep on going

And I keep on growing

And I'm only showing...

Angels who look down on this town should realise

 

You've earned your wings Angela - you made me fly

Seen better things, but Angela why would I want to sacrifice

All we have

 

Yours is

The name I want to steal

To write these songs about you

 

Yours is

The warmth I want to feel

And to never doubt you

Cos I don't know how to

Want to shout about you

 

Angels who look down on this town must realise

You've earned your wings Angela - you made me fly

Seen better things, but Angela why would I want to sacrifice

All we have

Or all we had

 

 

Jennifer told Julia that John was handsome

Made her cross her heart to keep a secret

Julia was never gonna keep it

Angela saw Julia and John discussing

Jennifer told Julia that John would meet in secret

In her suite tomorrow evening

Johnny never made the secret meeting

Jennifer believes that John's gone shy

 

Exhibit A, Exhibit B, Exhibit scene of the crime.  Room 9.

 

 

 

 

07.  Happy Families Fade

 

Daddy's away

Posted abroad

Sending home pay

All he can afford

Mummy pretends

But I notice that something has changed

The letters home slow and then disappear

And mummy's new friend is starting to spend every night here.

 

Daddy's flown home

Looking his age

Doesn't go out

Except on a race day

Mummy looks young I suppose

And wears all her prettiest clothes

With her night-schools and works-dos she's never here

And Daddy will not play until one day he's heard to say

"I'll hide and you seek me, my dear"

And kisses my cheek.

 

Mummy's gone out

She's left breakfast made

I doubt that today

I'll go to the playground

Where hopscotch is laid

The chalk marks are starting to fade

The outline is starting to fade

Soon we will not be able to tell where daddy was found.

 

Was it here?

 

 

08.  Cold Hands Warm Heart

 

When I took your tiny hand it struck me cold

And I though cool hands warm hands warm heart is what I've been

But I know that wasn't

When It came to one like you

So I signed that dotted line

To identify your body

 

Well I signed that dotted line

I signed that dotted line

I signed that dotted line and said goodbye

 

 

 

 

09.  Watch Song

 

If you could talk to me what would you say?

Could you explain to me the Oxford rain that's drowning me again

 

Standing in the shadows staring at my watch

Waiting for the hands to wave goodbye

Knowing nothing but this face upon a clock

Winks and says it's time

 

A poisoned kiss you served upon a plate

Fortune favours the brave

And fate forgives mistakes

 

Slipping into shadows Staring at the dial

Waiting for the hands to shake hello

Knowing nothing but this face upon a clock

Winks and say he knows

 

Are you winding me up

Are you winding me down

Are you winding me up

Or winding me down

 

Sulking in the shadows staring at my watch

Waiting for the hands to meet and pray

Knowing nothing but hoping it'll stop

 

 

 

10.  Changing for the better

 

Why don't we walk away while we still have the chance

Why do we dance

With blood upon our hands

Messy hearts through failed romance

Start back at square one again

 

Why do we drive each wild then up the wall

A thousand miles doesn't seem that high at all

Sticky hearts will break our fall

So open the door, pull the cord - here I come tumbling and spinning

 

Although I know that you're no good for me

And we never really proved that rough was worth the smooth

You always show that you've in love with me

So maybe we are changing

 

We won't let go

Of hot things that we've got

We burn our hands

Afraid to let them drop

Squeezed hearts tend to bleed a lot

Slippy puddles of blood again

 

We don't believe our eyes when full of tears

We try to forget, forgive, let live and live

And leave behind our fears

Broken hearts beaten up again

So open the door, pull the cord - here I come tumbling and spinning

 

Although I know that you're no good for me

And we never really proved that rough was worth the smooth

You always show that you've in love with me

So maybe we are changing for the better

Maybe we are changing

 

 

11.  Note Values

 

New lies

Written like you cared for me

A few lines

With apathy but flair

Words losing meaning when sung in harmony

 

New verse

Peppered now with honest

And I do hurt

Too lonely to repair

Words losing power now

To paper over hate

Too late

 

Note choices hurt me

Recalling the tunes we played together

Note choices hurt me

Can you hear

Note how my voice is cracking

Under the pressure

And pain

 

New tongues

And lashings of verbosity

But a few songs

Simple and sincere

Words losing value

So I spend them all at once

 

Note choices hurt me

Recalling the tunes we played together

Note choices hurt me

Can you hear

Note how my voice is cracking

Under the pressure

And pain

 

 

12.  ... (Dot Dot Dot)

 

Is this our 23rd hour

Sixty minutes to go

Are we counting the seconds

Do you reckon

We could slow our falling

 

Is this our final engagement

The closing night of our show

Are they pulling the curtain

Are you certain

We can't slow our falling

 

Hold that thought

We ought to stop

What's happening from happening

...

 

Is this our story's last chapter

Nothing else left to tell

We had a novel beginning

We were winning

Then we fell

(still falling)

 

Is this our unhappy ending

Our fairy tale fell unwell

Your kisses no longer prince-me

Or convince me

Not under your spell

 

Hold that thought

We ought to stop

What's happening from happening

...

 

 


 

Album Notes

 


Uglifruit is: songs, playing, singing, programming, recording &c. by Andy Jenkinson.
‘Please. Take #1’ is creative commons licensed.  Feel free to copy and distribute it. 
You could, if so inclined, visit www.butterflypolite.com/uglifruit for details of how to donate, or buy the album on CD.
 


Written and recorded in February 2010, as part of the RPM challenge (www.rpmchallenge.com)
Uglifruit plays Sarah’s guitar, Stylophone™ and Mr Do!
Peter Fedofsky plays piano on ‘Watch Song’


www.butterflypolite.com/uglifruit
www.myspace.com/andyuglifruit
contact:  uglifruit@butterflypolite.com

 


 

Director’s commentary.


01 – Kubler-Ross.  Written and recorded 15th/17th Feb.
A song for the late Elizabeth Kubler-Ross - the lady who devised the ideas of five stages of grieving. The song was mainly inspired by hearing the phrase ‘managing expectations’ twice within 24hrs – once in a meeting at work, and once in the TV series ‘Breaking Bad’, and considering my dealings with the terminally ill.  Cheery business for an album opener, I’m sure you’ll agree.  (Offset somewhat by the deliberately upbeat presentation).


02 – Mansong.  Written and recorded 13th Feb.
Who can tell that I am consciously doing a Nilsson impression here?  A song for/about Charles Manson – good taste prevailed and I removed the reference to Sharon Tate.  I leave it up to the listener to ‘discover’ what the backmasking is.


03 – Chanson.  Written and recorded on 3rd Feb.
When one finds a new free accordion sound, one must write a song in schoolboy French.  C’est la vie.


04 – The Trial Of Johnny Temperate (Part 1)Hotel: Written/recorded 6th Feb.  Backstory: Written/Recorded 7th Feb.
I wanted to try something a bit adventurous (a.k.a. pretentious) with a suite of songs.  This required a suitably prog-rock title, and subtitles for each ‘movement’.  Some would argue that my Genesis box set should be taken off me.


05 – The Trial Of Johnny Temperate (Part 2)Courtroom & Sentencing Written and recorded 16th/17th/21st Feb.
The trial takes the form of an awkward 5/4 romp, a Russian dance, and an Ivy-covered-walls-choir ending. Makes perfect sense.


06 – The Trial Of Johnny Temperate (Part 3)Appeal:  Written and recorded 14th Feb.  Backstory reprise:  Written and recorded 20th Feb.
The patient listener who has made it through the first two sections is rewarded with something a little easier on the ear.  And a Stylophone solo. 


07 – Happy Families Fade.  Written 5th/20th Feb.  Recorded 20th Feb.
Ross Horsley’s MyFirstDictionary meets the Very Us Artists in an album of sing-a-long songs to delight and disturb.  I am obviously proud to be part of this twisted project.


08 – Cold Hands (Warm Heart).  Written and recorded 8th Feb.
Another song with a rather dark subject matter.  Let’s ignore the words and just enjoy the low notes in the vocal.


09 – Watch Song.  Written 1st Feb.  Recorded on 1st and 20th Feb, with Peter sending me his piano part on 11th Feb.
Rain soaked and standing under a streetlight like a Raymond Chandler hero, I wait to have my heart broken. I nervously keep an eye on the time. In January I accidentally bought three watches, which must have played a part in the creation of this song.


10 – Changing For The Better.  Written 12th Feb.  Recorded 12th/20th Feb. 
Gilbert O’Sullivan innocence, and vulnerability.  With a PetSounds guitar, and a vocal ending.  Perhaps not quite as effective as I’d hoped.


11 – Note Values.  Written and recorded 21st Feb.
Rock.  Sort of.  In which I question the validity of using song as a medium of apology or explanation. I’d much prefer if you’d send me a postcard, drop me a line, stating point of view – they are much more effective. Incidentally the note choices really did hurt me.


12 – ...(dot dot dot).  Written and recorded 26th Feb.
Written at and about the 23rd hour.  Be it at the end of a relationship or an album we should shed our tears, then move on.
 

Uglifruit is the alter-ego of Andy Jenkinson

Contact Andy at uglifruit@butterflypolite.com 


 

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