Fifty Five Stories Down

by Matt Blick

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Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Fifty Five Stories Down, Refugee With An iPhone (Single Edit), John Lennon Blues (Single Edit), Everything In The World Is Fighting Everything In The Sky, My Ride (An Open Letter To NCT), Let's Build An Airport [EP], and Let's Build An Airport [Single]. , and , .

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1.	John Lennon Blues 03:19	lyrics	buy track
Whoa, if John Lennon had a gun Whoa, if John Lennon had a gun He'd still be livin' singing “all you need is love” Oh if he'd given peace a chance Oh pulled a piece on each crazy fan Shot that coward Caulfield in the back Now the lone gunman is never alone And a man without sin fills his pockets with stones Woe that the world shoulda come to this That we'd pray for a man to put the “fist” in “pacifist” Whoa, if John Lennon had a gun Whoa, if John Lennon had a gun He'd still be livin' singing “all you need is love” Woe if Gandhi pulled a knife Woe if Reverend King took a life If Jesus Christ had enough and just rained down fire If John Lennon had a gun If John Lennon had a gun If John Lennon had a gun Those Dakota steps would be stained with another man's blood If John Lennon had a gun
2.	Bullingdon Boys 02:23	lyrics	buy track
David and Boris and Gideon met At Oxford University Dined with a crew of the chosen few wearing sky blue and ivory It's a fine old tradition for young blue bloods Trash a restaurant and pay in cash Preparation for a host of Government posts It's how we train the ruling class (and they sing...) Rah Rah Rah! We're the Bullingdon Boys Bullingdon Boys born to rule OK! The rich run riot, the lawyers keep it quiet Make way for the Bullingdon Boys Bloods have their colours and so do the Crips Like any self-respecting gang Bullingdon threads don't come off the peg Set your family back three grand (Call it an investment, money well spent) Sing Rah Rah Rah! We're the Bullingdon Boys Bullingdon Boys born to rule OK! The rich run riot, the lawyers keep it quiet Make way for the Bullingdon Boys It's the day of the Bullingdon Boys You wouldn't put a paedophile in charge of a school No matter how much he'd changed Would you trust a Buller boy with the lives of the poor? Then you've only got yourself to blame Rah Rah Rah! We're the Bullingdon Boys Bullingdon Boys born to rule OK! The rich kids break it, the poor just take it And make way for the Bullingdon Boys Crime pays when you're a Bullingdon Boy Buller! Buller! Buller! Rah Rah Rah! It's the Bullingdon Boys Bullingdon Boys born to rule OK! The rich run riot, the lawyers keep it quiet Make way for the Bullingdon Boys Hip hooray for the Buller Boys
3.	Black Sky 03:32	lyrics	buy track
Black sky comin' down, black sky comin' down There will be no more, there will be no more I can see my crime, I can see my crime There will be no more, there will be no more Everything is broken, everything is broken There will be no more, there will be no more Darling hold my hand, darling hold my hand There will be no more, there will be no more No more lies, no more pain No more lines of cheap cocaine No more fools in the aisles No more tears for a bastard child No more foul forgotten footnotes Of a life laid out in sin No more tryin' to recall A time when I was free No more you. No more me. Moonlight cracks the sky, moonlight cracks the sky There will be no more, there will be no more Black sky comin' down, black sky comin' down There will be no more, there will be no more
4.	The Architects Of Our Unhappiness 04:30	lyrics	buy track
Some drink to remember the good times they had We drink to forget so we pay in advance The first shall be last, the last shall be first Here's hoping your blessing is your enemy's curse To absentee fathers, to unfaithful wives To brow-beating pastors who blueprinted our lives... Here's to the architects of our unhappiness Cheers! to the architects of our unhappiness Remember the breakers, the takers, the makers of misery Wish 'em well, burn in hell, at least you can tell them We haven't forgotten their names There's a party in your head but you're not invited The still small voice just wants somebody to fight with When the past comes untethered we nail it back down Sorrow's slippery as fish and much harder to drown Wife-beating husbands and smothering mothers Who drew up their plans with significant others Here's to the architects of our unhappiness Steering clear of the architects of our unhappiness Forgive 'em, forget 'em, but don't even let 'em back in Raise a glass, kiss my ass - and if they ever ask after us Tell 'em we're doing swell You know that the world is an upside down place Gold buried deep, dirt on her face A broken heart's only a pump that gives in If you can't save your soul, at least save your skin Here's to the architects of our unhappiness Cheers! to the architects of our unhappiness Remember the breakers, the takers, the makers of misery 'Till the Grim Reaper reaps 'em, Lord bless 'em and keep 'em As far away from us all as you can
5.	[attempted bravery] 00:52		buy track
6.	Brave 04:17	lyrics	buy track
Built a cage around your heart To keep the parts in check Made from all the wires you found Around her hospital bed She doesn't know your face She doesn't know your name Her skin so thin and white You see right through to each vein And all she says is “can I go home now?” You don't have to be so brave The world is filled with those you love but cannot save It's OK to cry, you don't have to try to be so strong You don't have to be so brave There's a gravestone, good as new Much smaller than the rest Never heard his own name Never nursed at your breast Still there's bills to be paid Still there's mouths to be fed You can weep when you're old You can sleep when you're dead If you stand still, you'll sink like a stone now You don't have to be so brave The world is filled with those you love but cannot save And as it's turning, one by one, day by day, emptying out It's OK to cry, you don't have to try to be so strong You don't have to be so brave You don't have to be so brave You don't have to be so brave You can rage, shake your fist, take a walk, take a drink You can scream, you can curse, you can lay down in the dirt You can pray It's OK to cry, you don't have to try … you don't have to try ... You don't have to be so brave The world is filled with those you love but cannot save And as it's turning, one by one, day by day, emptying out It's OK to cry, you don't have to try to be so strong When all you love is gone You don't have to be so brave
7.	Sweet Baby Hand Grenade 03:32	lyrics	buy track
Heart-broke grin on the face of my lover “30 weeks left if you wanna run for cover” We must have pulled the pin one Saturday night But how can something so small wreck your whole life? Nothing ever stays the same Didn't know how much you'd change me You're the best mistake I ever made My sweet baby hand grenade Sweet baby hand grenade Sweet baby hand grenade Look at all the mess you made My sweet baby hand grenade My best friend said his wife is six months gone Now her biological clock (tick tock!) - tickin' like a time bomb She's calling last orders at the milky bar Now it's time to show the world what kind of man you are 'cos Nothing ever stays the same You've no idea how much they change you But the best mistake I ever made Was my sweet baby hand grenade Sweet baby hand grenade Sweet baby hand grenade Look at all the mess you made My sweet baby hand grenade Pretty little weapon of mass distraction So cute I can't resist this tiny terrorist Though we got no guarantees and no instructions There's nothing I would trade for my sweet baby hand grenade Sweet baby hand grenade Sweet baby hand grenade Look at all the mess you made My sweet baby Sweet baby hand grenade You make me smile like an unexpected key change Look at all the mess we made My sweet baby hand grenade
8.	Can't Hang It On Love 04:40	lyrics	buy track
When a broken heart can’t be fixed Turn it into art, take a glue stick To the remnants and shards A mosaic made from beautiful scars When you’re gonna fall into pieces Reassemble them all, smooth the creases Sometimes love doesn’t work out at all…it stalls You can’t hang it all on love Can’t hang it all on love Sometimes it’s just not enough Cos the other stuff is messy When a broken wing is afraid to beat Write a song and sing Don’t be adverse to anything Love is like a chorus, it comes back again You can’t hang it all on love Can’t hang it all on love Sometimes it’s just not enough When the other stuff gets messy SOLO CHORUS
9.	[attempted beatbox] 00:18		buy track
10.	See You Dance 03:46	lyrics	buy track
Dying is on everyone's 'to do' list Nobody likes to talk about it but it's true Don't wanna be the man to bring the party down before it's started But time is short and there's something we should do I just want to see you dance I just want to see you dance You went to the doctor, got labelled as a hypochondriac You said “Doc, a hypochondriac can get sick and die too And when that other shoe drops ain't nobody getting their deposit back So let the Fat Lady sing, imma do my thing and dance wit you” I just want to see you dance I just want to see you dance Hold up a smidge – time for the bridge! Life is a smorgasbord why wouldn't we try it? Eat and drink for tomorrow we diet The three course meal of true love never did run smooth But I'll do things for love even Meatloaf wouldn't do Heaven and earth are full of your terrible singing But I adore every noise that you make And when your body moves, it moves me so much I could start a movement You shook my shake, broke dancing till the break of day I just want to see you dance I just want to see you dance I just want to see you dance I just want to see you dance
11.	[deliberate cough] 00:23		buy track
12.	The River Of Suffering 04:11	lyrics	buy track
We're only getting older, the sky is getting dark The ones you love they start dying, it takes chips off of your heart The sun is sinking slowly like a red guillotine I need a boat to cross the river of suffering Pain turns into sorrow, sorrow's how you heal The crops'll show tomorrow for it's raining the field If I lie down in the winter, will I wake up in the spring? I need a boat to cross the river of suffering When you get lost in the long run with a heart full of regret You cannot change what's happened or what hasn't happened yet And if it isn't what you leave behind and it isn't what you bring Then I need a boat to cross the river of suffering I need a boat to cross the river of suffering
13.	Refugee With An iPhone 05:32	lyrics	buy track
Intro: Ahmad (Dari): “I don't know why they don't like us. What crime have we committed that they don't want us to come here?” Anita (Persian): “Are you ready? Let's start” Anita and Laila (Persian): “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6” Refugee with an iPhone, where are you all coming from? I've a sneaking suspicion you're pulling some kind of con Refugee with an iPhone, iPhone that's newer than mine Would you jump the queue while I'm stuck here standing in line? I had a house and a car and a job Before the secret police, the riots and bombs But it's safer to be where the bombs all come from Than the city on which they are falling So I gave a man all the money I had In exchange for a space in the back of a van And all that I had in a bag on my back Was my phone and a few bits of clothing Refugee with an iPhone, where are you all coming from? I've a sneaking suspicion something's gone horribly wrong Refugee with an iPhone, you may not have terrorist links but there's no room on the lifeboat, if we take anymore we might sink Is it a sign that I'm radicalised If I don't want my wife and my daughter to die? I've seen the fear in a little one's eyes That her daddy soon will be taken So I call her now at the end of most days Tell her I love her, tell her I'm safe And we both send pictures of our scariest face And she holds the phone while she's sleeping Refugee with an iPhone, exposing uncomfortable truth We can't bail out the bankers and afford to look after you too Cos bankers have friends so high they own the Sun and the Sky And refugees just like iPhones never take too long to die In January '48 Steffie arrived From the wreckage of Austria to build a new life Practiced her English late into the night Reading out loud from the papers Married a soldier, a practical man He built a home for them with his own hands Raised children and chickens and took any job And one of her children is singing this song Refugee with an iPhone, how can I deny you the chance? Deny you the same opportunity my mother had? Deny you the basic compassion I hope I would find If the fire that fell on your country was falling on mine Refugee with an iPhone, a symbol, as two worlds collide Let's take a selfie, you can 'friend' me if you like... Outro: Sanah (Syrian): “Maybe with our stories people can get to know us and realise that we are not all extremists”
14.	Kiss Me Beneath The Mistletoe 04:14	lyrics	buy track
Kiss me beneath the mistletoe Come press your lips to mine You've been a good girl all year long Let's risk a kiss under the mistletoe The end of a year Drinkin' and singin' with people from work She's standing so near Her perfume is drawing me in Breath so warm on my skin She presses close to me whispering... “Kiss me beneath the mistletoe Come press your lips to mine I've been a good girl all year long Let's both be bad tonight Don't you want to go down this road? See where a kiss may lead? Head over heels? Perhaps. Who knows? Let's start with a kiss under the mistletoe” I leave her unkissed Make some excuse, go home to my wife My true christmas gift I find her unwrapping herself Mistletoe on her belt She presses close to me whispering... “Kiss me beneath the mistletoe Come press your lips to mine You've been a good boy Let's both be bad tonight Don't you want to go down this road? See where a kiss may lead? Head over heels? Perhaps. Who knows? Start with a kiss under the mistletoe”
15.	Tonight 04:20	lyrics	buy track
Staring at the girl at the other end of the bar Grinning like an idiot, still don't know where to start Need something to do, something to say When it comes to love I get my own way Love is a needlessly contrary competition Often complicated, no proper definition Taking aim at nothing, complaining when I hit it Love is not a lottery unless you buy a ticket Tonight she's got the whole world at her fingertips She might unlock my life with just one kiss Tonight, don't let me down tonight, the sirens and blue lights Are violins and choirs sent to serenade tonight There are sonnets I could write, revolutions to ignite If I just put down my pint and talk to you to... ...Set the scene more thoroughly; a dreary Wednesday night crowd It's mental in the gentlemen’s - the ultraviolet light's out A dog is licking lager up under someone's table Sat amongst the gargoyles is a solitary angel They're no brighter than their bling, bitter as Bacardi All I hear is whistling, the pounding of my heartbeat Everyone smells of smoke, sweat and desperation They're tryin' to be stars, she's shining like a constellation tonight She's got the whole world at her fingertips So why not unlock my life with just one kiss? Tonight, don't let me down tonight, don't let me drown tonight Be swept out with the tide while there's land in sight And sonnets left to write, revolutions to ignite If I just put down my pint and talk to you tonight Suddenly she's by my side, 'penny-for-your-thoughts' me I just shake my head, say “being back in here transports me, The first time that I saw you was the last time I felt lonely” She says, “let's go home love, the babysitter's phoned me”

credits

released February 1, 2019

All songs written and arranged for Danelectro baritone guitar by Matt Blick © 2018 except Tonight (Matt Blick/Harry Verity © 2018), Black Sky (Daniel Wright © 2018), Can't Hang It On Love (Karyn Ellis © 2018 SOCAN) and The River Of Suffering (K.S. Rhoads © 2013 Downtown Music Publishing).

Produced, Engineered & Mixed by Daniel Wright.
Mastered by J.P. Braddock at Formation Audio, Nottingham.
Photography by Ralph Barklam.
Graphics by Michael Wong.

Recorded at Electrical Daudio, Nottingham (aka The Old Police Station), Dan's Pickin' Parlour, Hucknall and The Running Horse, Canning Circus, Nottingham.

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Matt Blick Nottingham, UK

Songwriter/singer from Nottingham, UK. Like early inspiration Billy Bragg, Matt sings in his real accent and plays electric guitar (there’s more tuba than acoustic guitar on his songs). He plays like someone who spent more time in mosh pits than coffee shops and sings about faith and doubt, love and loss, airports and abattoirs. ... more

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