Three Sided Coin Songtext
von Kae Tempest

Retell the old tales
Retail′s complete hell we need some
Detail

That's why I′ve been staring at the stem of this plant
For like the last day and a half
The last day and a half
The last
Now the three sided coin buys the bow legged calf and we've been
Sucking out the milk from its mother's teat incessantly
So come on, pump us full of nothingness and hear us sing the melody
And watch us dance the thin line between
The in thing and integrity

Vacuum-packed
Shrink-wrapped
Wartime
Spam-bots

Following the stories of the day
In a hands-off
Dandruff-in-your-sandwich kind of way


Infinite Distraction

Now the distance between objects can be measured out in fractions
But the distance between people is a scale that we can′t balance

We′re frail
Our hearts haven't had time to try fathom
The scales of old dragons
Are nails in gold coffins
This island of
England
Oh, England

We set out from this place
For murder and murder
And then we squared it away like it did not occur

When people are Lost they need people to Join
But beware of the Three Sided Coin

When people are Hurt they need people to Blame
But beware of the Fear You Can′t Name


I take the bins out, it's raining
The kids are on the pavement with their hoods up
Waiting for buses
And on the radio someone′s complaining
Saying until now, they've never discussed it in public
Same thing as yesterday
Careful with the hot tap
Cold to burning in a second
Clothes on
Stare in the mirror
Aware of the process of life slipping out of the eyes
Deodorise

Mentholated paste on the bristles
Scrub the enamel
Now shoelace
Hands like somebody else′s
Where are the hands from before?
I was ten years old once
Life got quiet last night

Station platform
Coffee from the man in the hut with the stutter
I see a friend from school but we ignore one another
I flick through the papers instead
Aching legs
Pounding head
I can't wait for the weekend
I'm staying in bed

In the mouth of a breaking wave
In the mouth of a breaking storm
Shaken

Thinking something is coming
The sky′s an unusual colour
The weather is doing unusual things
And our leaders aren′t even pretending not to be demons

So where is the good heart to go but inwards?
Why not lock all the doors and
Bolt all the windows?

All I am are my doubts and suspicions
I against You against We against Them

This is how it begins
And this is how it will end