There's not enough hours in the day
To say all that I want to say
There's not enough days in the week
And weeks go by quicker than drunks knock back liquor
There's not enough weeks in the month
To do all that needs to be done
There's not enough months in the year
And years disappear like the bubbles in my beer
Timestretched...
There's not enough lines on the stave
To capture the music I crave
There's not enough strings to my bow
And even the barmen know extracts from Carmen
There's not enough notes in this scale
It feels like I'm chasing my tail
There's not enough beats in the bar
And bars get too busy with folks asking "is he…?"
Timestretched...
Regeneration
Release Date
Mar 2001
Regeneration is the seventh studio album and features the singles: Perfect Lovesong, Bad Ambassador and Love What You Do.
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Timestretched
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Bad Ambassador
I wanna chill, I wanna sit real still
I wanna sleep like the dead on a bed of roses
Me and my lovely wife
We're in the prime of life
I wanna feel real, I wanna free-wheel
I wanna steal the show from under their noses
I wanna get you off
Well ain't that enough?
I'm gonna abseil down my ivory tower
And buy myself a Jaguar
I'm a bad ambassador for that elusive place you're searching for
I wanna show you so much more, but maybe some other time
I wanna play with the big boys
I wanna ride with the tough guys on a Japanese motorbike
I wanna hold your hand
Hey, what's your favourite band honey?
I wanna look like they looked, I wanna shake like they shook
I wanna take what they took
I wanna get you high
Don't ask me why
It's just something I've got to do
I'll try to make it up to you
I'm a bad ambassador for that elusive place you're searching for
I wanna show you so much more, but maybe some other time
Yeah, maybe some other time
I'm not the Pope
And I don't wanna be the Archbishop of Canterbury
I'm a bad ambassador for that elusive place you're searching for
I wanna show you so much more
Yeah, I could show you so much more
But I'm a bad ambassador
Well, maybe some other time... -
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Perfect Lovesong
Give me your love
And I'll give you the perfect lovesong
With a divine Beatles bassline
And a big old Beach Boys sound
I'll match you pound for pound
Like heavy-weights in the final round
We'll hold on to each other
So we don't fall down
Give me a wink
And I'll give you what I think you're after
With just one kiss I will whisk you away
To where angels often tread
We'll paint this planet red
We'll stumble back to our hotel bed
And we'll make love to each other
Till we're half dead
Maybe now you can see
Just what you mean to me
Give me your love
And I'll give you the perfect lovesong
Give me your word that you'll be true
To me always come what may
Forever and a day
No matter what other people may say
We'll hold on to each other
Till we're old and grey -
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Note To Self
Monday
Restate my assumptions
Heaven and hell do not exist
Tuesday
Restate my assumptions
If you die you do so at your own risk
Into the heart of darkness
Beyond the point of no return
Wednesday
Restate my assumptions
Beauty is not
The same thing as youth
Thursday
Restate my assumptions
Only one thing beautiful, that's the truth
Into the heart of darkness
Beyond the point of no return
What the fuck is happening?
Where has everybody gone?
What the hell is going on?
There is nothing as frightening as being alone
Friday
Restate my assumptions
The writer writes for himself, not for you
Saturday
Restate my assumptions
A song is not a song until it's listened to -
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Lost Property
Postcards and letters
T-shirts and sweaters
Passports and Parkas
Mobiles and chargers
Two tennis rackets
Blue Rizla packets
A new sheep-skin jacket
I lost it all
All through my life there have been
Many rare and precious things I have tried to call mine
But I just cannot seem to keep hold of anything
For more than a short time
Possessions of a sentimental kind
They were mine, now they're not
Gym-kits and trainers
Asthma inhalers
Silk-cuts and Bennies
Ten-packs and twenties
C-class narcotics
Antibiotics
The holes in my pockets
I lost it all
Lost
Blown like seeds on a wind
Everything lost
Tossed like ships on the ocean
And dashed on the rocks
Hiding just out of reach
Waiting for me
All that I'd like is to know
Just where do those lost things go?
When they slip from my hands
Then one night in a dream
I passed through a sheepskin screen
To a green, pleasant land
I found them all piled up into the sky
And I cried tears of joy -
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Eye Of The Needle
They say that you'll hear him
If you're really listening
And pray for that feeling of grace
But that's what I'm doing
Why doesn't he answer?
I've prayed till I'm blue in the face
But the cars in the churchyard are shiny and German
Distinctly at odds with the theme of the sermon
And during communion I study the people
Threading themselves through the eye of the needle
I know that it's wrong for
The faithful to seek it
But sometimes I long for a sign, anything
Something to wake up
The whole congregation
And finally make up my mind
'Cause the cars in the churchyard are shiny and German
Completely at odds with the theme of the sermon
And all through communion I stare at the people
Squeezing themselves through the eye of the needle -
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Love What You Do
Living isn't easy
No need to make it harder
Stretch yourself until you snap
Ditch your superstitions
Lose your inhibitions
Tell them you're not coming back
If you want it, you can have it
If you need it, go and get it
Whatever it is you've got to love it
Everybody's running
Round and round in circles
What is it they're trying to prove?
Exercise your freedom
Exorcise those demons
You have got to love what you do
If you want it, you can have it
If you need it, go and get it
Whatever it is you've got to love itIf you want it, you can have it
If you need it, go and get it
Whatever it is you've got to love it -
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Dumb It Down
You've got a personality
We'll throw you in the sea and watch you drown
Dumb it down
Your concentration span's too long
It's longer than this song, that's not allowed
Dumb it down
You don't need books to know what's what
We'll pile them up and burn them to the ground
Dumb it down
And if you say that we're corrupt
We'll round you up and run you out of town
Dumb it down
Down and down and down it goes
Where it stops nobody knows
And not a lot of people seem to care
Well it's so crazy, it's so great
We can all communicate
But no one's saying anything out there
Is there anybody out there?
Intelligence is dangerous
A virus of the brain you pass around
Dumb it down
We'll vaccinate each boy and girl
Lobotomise the world through sight and sound
Dumb it down
No one can tell you what to think
And if you think that's true then you're a clown
Dumb it down
'Cause freedom's wasted on the free
You just don't see the beauty all around
Dumb it down
Down and down and down we slide
It's too tricky to decide
Between channels one and sixty-three
'Cause everything is mindless fluff
Like this world's not dumb enough
Does anybody feel the same as me?
Is there anybody listening? -
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Mastermind
Every pupil in the classroom will answer the same if you ask them
Every mouth shout the message out as one
Every girl weeps like the willow, every boy cries into his pillow
Every tear disappears in the morning sun
You don't need an indie song to figure out what's going on
Tell me that I'm normal, tell me that I'm sane
Tell me that you feel this too
All the dreams that we have had are gonna prove that we're not mad to you
Every nose is a vacuum cleaner in the loved-up London arena
Every eye flies a dollar sign for me
Every tongue will wag if you want it, every lung has a shadow on it
Every heart comes apart at the seams
You don't need a mastermind to read between the long white lines
Tell me that I'm normal, tell me that I'm sane
Tell me that you feel this too
All the dreams that we have had are gonna prove that we're not mad to you
Well, we all need reassurance as we play life's game of endurance
Like a nice cup of tea or a cigarette
But don't lean too long on your crutches or you'll fall straight into the clutches
Of those who see free expression as a threat
You don't need a law degree to set your mind and spirit free
So tell me what the hell is normal and who the hell is sane?
And why the hell care anyway?
All the dreams that we have had are gonna prove that we're all mad
And that's OK -
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Regeneration
Old worlds seen through new eyes
Just you and I and the sheltering sky
The battle is over but the war's not yet won
It's only just begun
We'll walk the razor's edge
The highest ledge of the worlds highest window
The first lap is finished but the race isn't run
It's only just begun
Where will we run to?
Where will we hide?
Where will we rest our heads tonight?
Where is the party?
And who will be there?
Angels or devils, we don't care
We don't care
New forms, new formulae
X plus Y equals new life
They'll tell you it's over
Just tell them they're wrong
'Cause it's only just, it's only just begun -
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The Beauty Regime
Beat stress and rebalance your life
Make those dreams come true
Impress all your colleagues and friends
With the brand new you
So many lives condemned for no need
'Cause people don't buy the right magazine
Take a look in the mirror and see
Exactly how worthless you are
In a rut? You can't get out? You don't know why?
It's time to make that change
Cover up all the pain in your life
With our new product range
So please don't feel blue, let us show you how
To talk yourself into a good mood right now
Feeling sad is no longer allowed
No matter how worthless you are
And if your life depresses you
Just live it through your favourite movie star
To beat stress and rebalance your life
All you need to do
Is forget all the useless advice
And live your life for you
Don't let them sell you impossible dreams
Don't be a slave to the beauty regime
Look again in the mirror and see
Exactly how perfect you are -
Albums
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Charmed Life - The Best Of
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Office Politics
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Foreverland
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Bang Goes The Knighthood
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Victory For The Comic Muse
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Absent Friends
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A Secret History (The Best Of...)
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Fin de Siècle
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A Short Album About Love
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Casanova
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Promenade
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Liberation
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Fanfare For The Comic Muse
Singles
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The Best Mistakes
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Infernal Machines/You'll Never Work In This Town Again
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Norman And Norma
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Queuejumper
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To The Rescue
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How Can You leave Me On My Own
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Catherine The Great
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I Like
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At The Indie Disco
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A Lady of A Certain Age
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To Die A Virgin
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Diva Lady
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Absent Friends
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Come Home Billy Bird
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Perfect Lovesong
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Bad Ambassador
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Love What You Do
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Gin Soaked Boy
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The Pop Singer's Fear Of The Pollen Count
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National Express
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The Certainty Of Chance
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Generation Sex
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I've Been To A Marvellous Party
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Everybody Knows (Except You)
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The Frog Princess
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Becoming More Like Alfie
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Something For The Weekend