Taken from the Mark Northfield album Alterations.
Written and arranged by Mark
Vocal and piano by Mark
Strings by Gillon Cameron (violin), Nick Barr (viola) and Tony Woollard (cello)
Lyrics
Good morning
I said good morning
This is a good morning to do nothing
I should be somewhere else
I should be someone else
But look
The park is exploding with colour
And I am restrained with beauty
With the arbitrary
This bench is comfortable
Though not too comfortable
No one would ever leave, after all
And we can't have that, can we?
Feral to moral
Nature to nurture
Chaos to order
Such potent myths to swallow
Reminders
Reminders
Remind
Two mothers pass, sisters in arms
Their children exclamation marks
Look what I've done, Mum
Look what I've done
Oh, aren't you the clever one
Pigeons coo inane sympathy
Car horns bleat in another country
Devils, dust and asymetry
Beguiling transmissions
Of mundane discussions
That may be recorded
For training purposes
Reminders
Remind
Tell me
Would your hands hide your face?
Would you scream obscenities?
Would you laugh at the timing before it was too late?
Well, would you?
Stage left, another bench
The everyday drama
To Paris on the Eurostar
How long for?
Just the weekend
Came back Sunday night
Oh, that's so sweet
How was it?
French
And?
Oh you know, all the romantic touristy stuff
Sounds like a dream
He proposed
You're kidding me?
Oh my god, oh my god
It's official then
Yes, but...
Reminders
Reminders
Remind
Did I mention that I'm invisible
No one sees me but that child
Blowing bubbles by the dozen
And cats, obviously, if they could be bothered
See, she waved back
Her mother looks puzzled, as well she might
I am out of reach
Out of line
Out of time
Reminders
Remind
Old men play chess with oversize pieces
At war with themselves
In the rapture of logic
How to calculate what a life is worth
You should count yourself lucky
Oh, how the street exploded with colour
So much colour everywhere
Life dissolving in a wail of sirens and foreign tongues
And now I am here observing your rituals
The stolen pleasures
The incidental triumphs
The painted elephants
As I said, I really should be somewhere else
But this is a good morning
A very good morning
To do nothing