Taking Tiger Mountain (By Strategy) [Album cover] ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BURNING AIRLINES GIVE YOU SO MUCH MORE When I got back home I found a message on the door Sweet Regina's gone to China crosslegged on the floor Of a burning jet that's smoothly flying: Burning airlines give you so much more. How does she intend to live when she's in far Cathay? I somehow can't imagine her just planting rice all day. Maybe she will do a bit of spying With microcameras hidden in her hair. I guess Regina's on the plane, a Newsweek on her knees While miles below the curlews call from strangely stunted trees. The painted sage sits just as though he's flying; Regina's jet disturbs his wispy beard. When you reach Kyoto send a postcard if you can, And please convey my fond regards to Chih-Hao's girl Yu-Lan. I heard a rumour they were getting married But someone left the papers in Japan. Left them in Japan, left them in Japan... ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternative hearings: Left them in Japan == Let there be a Japan References: According to Russell Mills, the original title of this song was Turkish Airlines, derived from a 1974 disaster when a Turkish Airlines DC-10 exploded at Orly Airport killing all passengers. The song of curlews at night is supposedly an omen of disaster. -- Craig Clark (quoting More Dark Than Shark) The reference to curlews in trees is nonsensical: curlews prefer to huddle on the ground. More Dark Than Shark reproduced a page from one of Brian's notebooks which showed an earlier version of the lyrics for verse two of this song -- deletions are shown in square brackets: So I took stock, undid the lock And sat down in a chair I saw how she'd got the cash The room was nearly bare Maybe she will do a bit of spying With microcameras hidden in her hair I'll light a lonely candle in [your room] the hall Watch the/her shadows dancing on the wall But even though she stripped my room And stole [the stereo] my favourite [books] things [I hope she won't forget me] [I'll think of that nice tea she made Each time the ketle sings] I'll jump to see if she's returned Each time the doorbell rings ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- BACK IN JUDY'S JUNGLE These are your orders - Seems like it's do it or die So please read them closely When you've read them be sure that you eat them up - They're specially flavoured With Burgundy, Tizer and Rye Twelve sheets of foolscap: don't ask me why. We hit the jungle Just as it starts to monsoon: Our maps showed no rainfall All the boys were depressed by this circumstance "Trust in the weather" said less agricultural men Who gives birth to more farmhands, don't ask me why. Fifteen was chosen because he was dumb, Seven because he was blind: I got the job because I was so mean, While somehow appearing so kind. Drifting about through the cauliflower trees With a cauliflower ear for the birds, The squadron assembled what senses they had And this is the sound that they heard... Back at headquarters, Khaki decisions are made File under "Futile": That should give you its main point of reference It's all so confusing, what with pythons and then deadly flies But to them, it's a picnic Don't ask me why. Thirteen was chosen because of his luck, Eleven because of his feet: One got signed up for exceptional pluck, Another because he was mute. Roaming about through the gelatine swamps With a gelatine eye on the stripes, The squadron assembled what senses they had And this is the sound that they heard... Back in Blighty, there was you There were milkmen every morning But these endless shiny trees, never used to be that way. Back in Blighty, there was you, There were milkmen every morning But these endless shiny trees, Never used to be that way. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternative hearings: Twelve sheets of foolscap == Twelve sheets the fools kept (-- Tony Lewis) "Trust in the weather" said less agricultural men == Trust in the weather to bless agricultural men khaki decisions are made == cocky decisions are made There were milkmen every morning == There were new men every morning References: "One of the recurrent themes of rock music is a preoccupation with new dances. And it's taken by intellectuals as the lowest form of rock music, the most basic and crude. So I was interested in combining that very naive and crude form of expression with an extremely complex concept like Taking Tiger Mountain, which would be a sort of double joke. First of all the joke of me doing a dance number and secondly the fact that it also has a complex symbology that discusses another question. The idea is paraphrasing the dance as a dance between two technologies. One of McLuhan's contentions is that conflict, international conflict, is always conflict between two technologies, not two moralities. Moralities are dictated by those technologies. I've taken the conflict between the regular-type soldiers and guerilla-type technologies. I've called the regular soldier-type ones, since they're mechanically oriented, clockwork ones. The guerilla tactic ones are electronic... I'm not subscribing to any political point of view. It's to do with this technological rift. Technological rifts have always produced hybrid art forms... For the soldiers, it's a set of emergencies. For the guerillas, it's a set of opportunities." - Brian Eno (More Dark Than Shark) Tizer: a fizzy drink, which had rather a dated image in the 1970's and was marketed with the slogan "Tizer -- The Appetiser". It seemed to belong to a byegone era, like "Blighty". In the mid-1990's an attempt was made to update Tizer's image with exciting "rave"-style graphics to attract Young People. Foolscap: a size of paper used in offices at the time, around 13.5 x 17 inches. At one time it had a watermark of a dunce's cap on it, apparently. cauliflower trees: A pun on "cauliflower cheese". a cauliflower ear for the birds: A cauliflower ear is an ear that's become swollen, often through boxing. "Ear for the birds" is a play on "eye for the birds". Blighty: Britain, home, a word used by British troops in the earlier part of the 20th century. The whistled tune is a slowed-down version of the popular World War II army song, Colonel Bogey, as featured in Bridge On The River Kwai. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE FAT LADY OF LIMBOURG Well, I rang up Pantucci, Spoke to Lu-chi, I gave them all They needed to know. If affairs are proceeding As we're expecting, Soon enough the weak spots will show. I assume you understand that we have options on your time, And will ditch you in the harbour if we must: But if it all works out nicely, You'll get the bonus you deserve From doctors we trust. The Fat Lady of Limbourg Looked at the samples that we sent And furrowed her brow. You would never believe that She'd tasted royalty and fame If you saw her now. But her sense of taste is such that she'll distinguish with her tongue The subtleties a spectrograph would miss, And announce her decision, While demanding her reward: The jellyfish kiss. Now we checked out this duck quack Who laid a big egg, oh so black It shone just like gold. And the kids from the city, Finding it pretty, took it home, And there it was sold. It was changing hands for weeks till someone left it by their fire And it melted to a puddle on the floor: For it was only a candle, a Roman scandal oh oh oh, Now it's a pool. That's what we're paid for That's what we're paid for That's what we're paid for here. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternative hearings: spoke to Lu-chi == spoke to Lucia References: quack: possibly linked to the "doctors we trust" line "...A fantasy about low life. The speaker represents an unidentified organisation hiring someone for a job, the Fat Lady of Limbourg is an expert on something - some unspecified substance. Limbourg is a town in Belgium famed for its very large asylum. The inmates outnumber the townsfolk. The Fat Lady is one of the inmates, and her past may or may not be real. 'That's what we're paid for' - we're just doing a job - we have no feelings about it! A Burroughs-type song." - Brian Eno. (More Dark Than Shark) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOTHER WHALE EYELESS I can think of nowhere I would rather be Reading morning papers, drinking morning tea: She clutches the tray And then we talk just like a kitchen sink play Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Living so close to danger, Even your friends are strangers Don't count upon their company. This is for the fingers, This is for the nails: Hidden in the kitchen, Right behind the scales. What do I care? I'm wasting fingers like I had them to spare, Plugging holes in the Zuider Zee. Punishing Paul for Peter, Don't ever trust those meters What you believe is what you see. In my town, there is a raincoat under a tree. In the sky, there is a cloud containing the sea. In the sea, there is a whale without any eyes. In the whale, there is a man without his raincoat. In another country, with another name Maybe things are different, maybe they're the same. Back on the trail, The seven soldiers read the papers and mail But the news, it doesn't change. Swinging about through creepers, Parachutes caught on steeples Heroes are born, but heroes die. Just a few days, a little practice and some holiday pay, We're all sure you'll make the grade. Mother of God, if you care, We're on a train to nowhere Please put a cross upon our eyes. Take me - I'm nearly ready, you can take me To the raincoat in the sky. Take me - my little pastry mother take me There's a pie shop in the sky. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternative hearings: She clutches the tray / And then we talk just like a kitchen sink play == She brushes the tray / And if you talk it's like a kitchen soufflé (-- Jim Sullivan) She clutches the tray == She crashes the tray And then we talk just like a kitchen sink play == And then we talk just like the kitchen's in flame (-- Enowannabe) This is for the fingers, This is for the nails == Places for the fingers, places for the nails Punishing Paul for Peter == Time I should call for Peter -- mdh Don't ever trust those meters == Don't ever trust those bleeders (on the grounds that Peter and Paul both died as martyrs) (-- Jim Sullivan) Back on the trail, The seven soldiers read the papers and mail == Back on the train, the seven soldiers read the papers again But the news, it doesn't change == No good news... It doesn't change (-- Frippless) References: Punishing Paul for Peter: compare the expression "Robbing Peter to pay Paul". ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE GREAT PRETENDER Monica sighed, rolled onto her side She was so impressed that she just surrendered. She was moved by his wheels, she was just up from Wales He was fuelled by her coals and he was coming to catch her. Lose the sense of time, nail down the blinds And in the succulent dark, there's a sense of ending. Joking aside, the mechanical bride Has fallen prey to the Great Pretender. Let me just point out discreetly, Though you never learn All those tawdry late-night Weepies I could make you weep more cheaply. As the empty moon enamels Monica with spoons and candles Bangs around without the light on Furniture to get it right on. Subtlely a lonely fishpool hums with little eels Often things that travel widely Stay at home; the Trout obliges. Monica sighed, rolled onto her side. She was so impressed that she just surrendered. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternative hearings: I could make you weep more cheaply == Designed to make you weep more cheaply Subtlely a lonely fishpool hums with little eels == Settled in a homely fishpool, hung with little eels Subtlely a lonely fishpool hums with little eels == Settled in a homely fishpool hungry/hundred little eels (-- Enowannabe) Often things that travel widely == Often thinks that travel widens References: "This is like the rape of a suburban housewife by a crazed machine... I like the vision of confusion in it. On the other hand it could be this way round: Monica is machine-like, accurate and proper, and the Great Pretender (also the Trout) disturbs her balance." - Brian Eno (More Dark Than Shark) Weepies: Sad, tear-jerking films ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- THIRD UNCLE There are tins, There was pork There are legs, There are sharks There was John, There are cliffs, There was Mother, There's a poker There was you, Then there was you There are scenes, There are blues There are boots, There are shoes There are Turks, There are fools There are Rockers, They're in schools There was you, Then there was you Burn my fingers, Burn my toes Burn my uncle, Burn his books Burn his shoes, Cook the leather, Put it on me. Does it fit me Or you? It looks tight on you. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternative hearings: There are Rockers == They're in lockers ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- PUT A STRAW UNDER BABY Put a straw under baby, Your good deed for the day Put a straw under baby, Keep the splinters away. Let the corridors echo, As the dark places grow Hear Superior's footsteps On the landing below. There's a place in the orchard Where no-one dare go The last one who went there Turned into a crow. Turned into a crow, crow, Turned into a crow The last one who went there Turned into a crow. There's a brain in the table, There's a heart in the chair And they all live in Jesus, It's a family affair. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alternative hearings: The last one who went there == The last nun who went there References: "According to Russell Mills, this song refers to the old Catholic practice of placing a straw under an altarpiece image of Jesus as a sign of reverence or homage. The song is about the omnipresent omnipotence of God." -- Craig Clark(More Dark Than Shark) Superior's footsteps: Could refer to Mother Superior if you want to keep the Catholic theme throughout your interpretation of the song. Could also refer to the game "Grandmother's Footsteps" (no, we can't remember the rules). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE TRUE WHEEL ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Transfer interrupted!