Eternal Nightcap - the Whitlams


No Aphrodisiac


A letter to you on a cassette
Cause we don't write any more
Got to make it up quickly
There's people asleep on the second floor
There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Truth, beauty, and a picture of you
You'll be walking your dog in a few hours
I'll be asleep in my brother's house
You're a thousand miles away
With food between your teeth
Come up for summer
I've got a place near the beach
There's room for your dog
There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Truth, beauty, and a picture of you
There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Truth, beauty, and a picture of you
There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Youth, truth, beauty, fame, boredom and a bottle of pills
There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
You shouldn't leave me alone
There's no aphrodisiac like loneliness
Bare feet like a tomboy and a crooked smile
Truth, youth, beauty, fame, boredom
Red hair, no hair, innocence, Saturday
And a picture of you
A letter to you on a cassette
You shouldn't leave me alone
Forty, shaved, sexy, wants to do it all day
With a gun-toting trigger-happy tranny named kinky Renee
Tired teacher, twenty-eight, seeks regular meetings
For masculine, muscular, nappy-clad brutal breeding
While his wife rough wrestles with a puppy all a-quiver
On a wine-soaked strobe-lit Asiatic hall of mirrors
And a dash of loneliness
There's no aphrodisiac quite like it
Truth, youth, beauty, fame, boredom
Red hair, no hair, innocence, impunity
And a picture of you
I got a video setup
Me love you short time
She pay me suck his fingers with some fine wine
And a dash of loneliness
Truth, youth, beauty, fame, boredom
Red hair, no hair, innocence, awkwardness, impunity
And a picture of you

Buy Now Pay Later (Charlie No. 2)


Charlie you're not my Charlie any more
You're screwing it up
You're killing your soul
With an audience looking on
If I hadn't left early last night
I would have made a speech to you
You're not the only one
You're going to hurt
If you don't believe me, I don't believe in you
If you don't believe me, I don't believe in you
Makes it all feel better, does it?
And makes you feel like heaven, does it?
You loved it and you spent accordingly
You can't afford it now
You can't afford it now
You can't afford it now
You'll try and you fail
And love it like a little dog
And feed it on the scraps you find
And kiss it while you're still asleep
Buy now pay later
So where's the problem you can ask
If you keep your head up
But the road is long and you're falling asleep at the wheel
There's a girl going crazy about you
And I'm not far behind
Can you care about your friends any more?
If you don't believe me, I don't believe in you
If you don't believe me, I don't believe in you
Makes it all feel better, does it?
And makes you feel like heaven, does it?
You loved it and you spent accordingly
You can't afford it now
You can't afford it now
You can't afford it now
You'll try and you'll fail
And love it like a little dog
And feed it on the scraps you find
And kiss it while you're still asleep
You buy now and pay later
You buy now and pay later
There's a girl going crazy about you
And I'm not far behind

Love Is Everywhere


Love is everywhere
But I don't want to bend down and pick it up
Love is everywhere
A shocking week but can Sunday bail me out?
Love is everywhere
Well, I want to sit here and hear the sound of that thing
What can an elfin do?
Put on the kettle for you
Leave your mother in the cupboard
The writing's on the wall
And I'm not coming back here
No, anymore
Take it all from me
I don't want it!
Love is everywhere
But I don't want to bend down and pick it up
Love is everywhere
I might just sit here and look around
What can an elfin do?
Put on the kettle for you
Leave your mother in the cupboard
The writing's on the wall
And I'm not coming back here
No, anymore
Watching the day go by
Putting all your eggs in the sky
Catch a bus and read a poem
Look around, there's no one home
I think that I might stay here for quite a while
Love is everywhere
My mum's got a new boyfriend and I like the man
Take it all from me
Je ne veux pas coucher avec toi ce soir
Oh, love is everywhere
I want to sit here and hear the sound of that thing
What can an elfin do?
Put on the kettle for you
Leave your mother in the cupboard
The writing's on the wall
And I'm not coming back here
No, anymore
Watching the day go by
Putting all your eggs in the sky
Catch a bus and read a poem
Look around, there's no one home
I think that I might stay here for quite a while
What can an elfin do
But put on a kettle for you?
Put your mother in the cupboard
Writing's on the wall
I'm not coming back here
No, anymore
Watching the day go by
Putting all your eggs in the sky
Catch a bus and read a poem
Look around, there's no one home
I think that I might stay here for quite a while
Not coming back here, no
Not coming back here, no
Not coming back here, no, anymore
Not coming back here, no, no

You Sound Like Louis Burdett


Had a little bit to drink
Yeah, there's a little thing I want at a do out East, yeah
Oh, nothing too emotional, my good miss
I, I couldn't be serious in a room full of jack knife eyes
Stop talking about the years
You sound like Louis Burdett
And we roll on in my back shed
Play some poker, scratch my head
Look at the sky and spot the planes
Where would I go on holidays?
Roll with the punches, down the aisles
And down the street
The weeks roll by
Roll by
I'm chewing ice and grinning
I'm spewing up and spinning
It's biliousnessnessness as usual in my corner of the kitchen
Hey you! Got to lose that friend before we go anywhere
What? Someone might see you alone?
Stop bagging out the band
You sound like Louis Burdett
And all my friends are fuck-ups
But they're fun to have around
Banana chairs out on the concrete
Telling stories to the stars
How Geminis love wooden dragons, yeah
And how down the street
The weeks roll by
Weeks roll by
The moment the night wears off, the bombsite reappears
They're all asleep but the morning tastes like wine
It tastes like wine in Tempe
I feel so good I just might wake him up
Pat him on the bald head
Tell me about a dream, Louis
Something obscene, Louis
Your life's an open magazine, Louis
I'm stoned in a bookshop, sober in a nightclub
Sex is everywhere but nowhere round me, nowhere
By the time she gets to Marrickville we'll be masturbating
Never rains in Tempe
But the planes remind me of family money and the lack down here
Stop talking frustrated
Cause I sound like Louis Burdett
Yeah, and we roll on in my back shed
Play some poker, scratch my head
Look at the sky and spot the planes
Where would I go on holidays?
Roll with the punches, down the aisles
And down the street
The weeks roll by
Roll by
Yeah, and all my friends are fuck-ups
But they're fun to have around
Banana chairs out on the concrete
Telling stories to the stars
How Geminis love wooden dragons, yeah
And how the weeks roll by
Most of my friends are very fruity indeed
Such fun to have around
Terror, like charity, begins at home
Chris don't like madness, but madness likes him
He's got a finger in his chest
Yeah, for saying how it should have been
And we roll on in my back shed
Play some poker, scratch my head
Look at the sky and spot the planes
Where would I go on holidays?
Roll with the punches, down the aisles
And down the street
The weeks roll by
My friends are completely fucked
But they're such fun to have around
Banana chairs out on the concrete
Telling stories to the stars
How Geminis love wooden dragons
And how down the street
The weeks roll by

Melbourne


She paints pictures on the wall
She eats all of the garden
And has an aversion to conviction
And she calls her dog the bear
In love with this girl
And with her town as well
Walking round the rainy city
What a pity there's things to do at home
Things to do at home
She paints pictures on the wall
I awake to see the feelings from the night before
And she eats all of the garden
It's a jungle out there
And we won't return by dawn
In love with this girl
And with her town as well
Walking round the rainy city
What a pity there's things to do at home
In love with this girl
And with her town as well
Walking round the rainy city
What a pity there's things to do at home
Things to do at home
If I had three lives
I'd marry her in two
I'm dreaming of a time
That we sit when the music stops
She has an aversion to conviction
She's more confused than ever
Won't pay her fines and wonders when the cops will get her
She calls her dog the bear
And walks me with him to the corner
In her pyjamas
In love with this girl
And with her town as well
Walking round the rainy city
What a pity there's things to do at home
In love with this girl
And with her town as well
Walking round the rainy city
What a pity there's things to do at home
Things to do at home
She paints pictures on the wall
I awake to see the feelings
And calls her dog the bear
And walks me with him to the corner
She paints pictures on the wall
I awake to see the feelings
Calls her dog the bear
And walks me with him to the corner
In her pyjamas

Where's The Enemy?


He thinks it's best to criticise his own kind
An animal of greed
Best to sow that social seed
I thought by my thoughts all would come clear to me
Yeah I can shoot a gun
Maybe I should join the army
Is there a quiet place to lie?
Maybe watch this all go by
Wondering how can we survive
Wasting energy, where's the enemy?
I'd soldier on and walk the curvy line so straight
But I would fall behind
Maybe I am not so blinded
You talk of so much pity that is self related
Blaming not yourself
Said the fault lies somewhere else
Repeated when the feeling's high
I wish it all could just rely
On the depth of you and I
Wasting energy, where's the enemy?
Is there a quiet place to lie?
Maybe watch this all go by
And wonder how can we survive
Wasting energy, where's the enemy?
Repeated when the feeling's high
I wish it all could just rely
On the depth of you and I
Wasting energy, where's the enemy?

Charlie No. 3


He'll need some time to get over this
But a moment is all he can spare
His buddies out there in the city lights
And he is trying to care
See him
Offering himself to the world
Staring down from the fifty-sixth floor
Yeah and I'd be happy just to catch him again
We go out
We don't always come back
The night pressing in on his weary mind
There's a half eaten moon in the sky
Nothing is calling him back to bed
And no one is saying goodbye
See him
Offering himself to the world
Staring down from the fifty-sixth floor
Yeah and I'd be happy just to catch him again
We go out
Because we go back
And back and back
And back and back
(back and back and back)
See him
Offering himself to the world
Staring down from the fifty-sixth floor
Yeah and he's not happy it's the weekend again
We go out
We don't always come back
See him
Offering himself to the world
Staring down from the fifty-sixth floor
Yeah and I'd be happy just to catch him again
We go out
Because we go back
We go back and back and back
And back and back
And back and back
And back and back
See him
Offering himself to the world
Staring down

Life's A Beach


Burning all the photos
Sorting through the clothes
You bought this new for me and now it's full of holes
Remember baby talk in the morning?
What's the hurry my girl?
You don't need any coffee if you take the day off school
We're all over
And I'm all over town
We've got work here
Tearing it down
You know it's quicker packing for a holiday
Cause I'd see these things again
I loved you in this t-shirt of mine
You can have it - it says "life's a beach"
There's a beach umbrella
Couple lying in the sun
And for once in my life it's not the people from the suburbs
It's me's got it wrong
On through the evening and into the dawn
Journey me
Journey me
Journey me
When love keeps on
Burning all the photos
They have a habit of mocking a single man
I'm keeping the first one
We're not even holding hands
We're all over
And I'm all over town
We've got work here
Tearing it down
There's a beach umbrella
Couple lying in the sun
And for once in my life it's not the people from the suburbs
It's me's got it wrong
Me's got it wrong
Me's got it wrong
Me's got it wrong

Tangled Up In Blue


Early one morning, the sun was shining
I was lying in bed
Wondering if she had changed at all
If her hair was still red
And her folks they said our life together
It sure was going to be rough
They never did like Mama's home made dress
Papa's bankbook wasn't big enough
And she was standing on the side of the road
As rain's falling on my shoes
I'm heading out for the old East Coast
Lord knows I've paid some dues
Getting through
Tangled up in blue
And she was married when we first met
Soon to be divorced
I helped her out of a jam I guess
But I used a little too much force
So we drove that car as far as we could
Abandoned it out west
Split up on a [...dockside?] night
Both agreeing it was best
And she turned around and looked at me
As I was walking away
I heard her say over my shoulder
"We're going to meet again some day
On an avenue"
We got tangled up in blue
So I had a job in the [...]
Working as a cook for a spell
But I never did like it all that much
And one day the axe just fell
So I drifted down to New Orleans
Where I was looking out to be employed
Working for a while on a fishing boat
Right outside of [...Delacloy?]
But all the while, I was alone
The past was close behind me
I've seen a lot of women
But she never escaped my mind
Yeah, I just grew
Tangled up in blue
Uh huh, yeah
Well, she was working in a topless place
And I'd stopped in for a beer
I just kept looking at the sight of her face
In the spotlight so clear
Then later on, as the crowd thinned out
I was just about to do the same
And she was standing there at the back of my chair
Saying "tell me, don't I know your name?"
[...?] underneath her breath
She studied the lights on my face
I must admit I felt a little uneasy
When she leant to tie the lace
On my shoe
We got tangled up in blue
So she laid the burner on the stove
Offered me a pipe
"I thought that you would never say hello" she said
"You look like the silent type"
Then she opened up a book of poems
Handed it to me
Written by an Italian poet in the thirteenth century
And every one of those words rang true
[...?] like burning [...?]
[...?] off the page [...?]
From me to you
Tangled up in blue
So now now now I live with them on Montague Street
In a basement down the stairs
There was music in the cafes at night
A revolution in the air
[...?]
Something inside of me died
[...?]
Froze up inside
And finally as the bottom fell out
I became withdrawn
The only thing I knew how to do
Was to keep on keeping on
Like a bird that flew
We got tangled up in blue
Well now I'm going back again
Got to get to her somehow
All the people that we used to know
They're an illusion to me now
Some are mathemeticians
Some are carpenters' wives
We don't know how this got started
Don't know what we'd do with our lives
Me, I'm still on the road
Heading for another joint
We didn't always see the same
And we started from a different point
Of view
Tangled up in blue

Laugh in their Faces


We fall into old habits
Talk about giving it up after getting right on
Letter to your mother says you're doing everything you can
And I'm glad that she won't get the joke
You're as free as a ten year old
With a room of your very own
It doesn't matter at all what all those people say at home
With your good humour, you're a hero
Yeah, you're a hero
And you can stop them dragging you down
They've got nothing better to do
Sometimes you've got to laugh
In their faces, laugh in their faces
Laugh in their faces
Come on, laugh in their faces
It doesn't matter if your guitar is in hock
It doesn't matter if you always owe a lot
Cause you're getting happier by the minute
And they wouldn't have a clue
About what it's like to be lazy when you've got too much to do
Got too much to do
And you can stop them dragging you down
They've got nothing better to do
Sometimes you've got to laugh
In their faces, laugh in their faces
Laugh in their faces
Come on, laugh in their faces
And you can stop them dragging you down
They got nothing better to do
Sometimes you've got to laugh
In their faces, laugh in their faces
Laugh in their faces
Come on, laugh in their faces
You can stop them dragging you down
They got nothing better to do
Laugh in their faces
Laugh in their faces
Laugh in their faces
Come on, laugh in their faces
Laugh in their faces
You got to laugh in their faces
Laugh in their faces

Charlie No. 1


We've seen her type before
Sandals and the hair
They fall in love with big dumb boys while we sit and stare
So we take the long road home
Glasses in our hands
When the last of the ice is eaten
Throw them as far as we can
There's a problem
There's no sleepy girl
To wrap you in her loving arms
There's a lizard on the doorstep
But there is music in my head
We put the world on hold
Two young men growing old
We talk of years like lost weekends and the harbour shrugs
Cause friends are getting fewer
And with our life will be fuller
But if the last of our dreams are broken
We walk the same way home
There's a problem
There's no sleepy girl
To wrap you in her loving arms
There's no sleepy girl
To wrap you in her loving arms
There's a lizard on the doorstep
But there is music in my head
There's a gold star on your forehead
But there is trouble up ahead
Charlie, what'll become of us?
I had my dreams for both of us
For both of us
You might be unworthy
But you remember what I remember
And that's enough to care you don't fall off the rails

Up Against the Wall


To think it was going so well
We'd go out at night
Come home and fight like hell
Good fights about big things
You know just pushing around in the dark
To think I was scared to open the box
New love on the doorstep
Isn't it funny? There's nothing on how it works
Go on, have a look inside
You won't know what you did without it
Well you slept
You met interesting people
And you slept with them
And I'm up against the wall now
Yeah I'm up against the wall
Hotel room, a silent phone
A packet of fags, a bottle of wine
A suitcase you call your own
When the darkness comes from the inside out
And even the barmen are pricks
Vitriol, the cigarettes
A long night of thinking and a search for the best vignettes
Yeah, well it was good, wasn't it?
Then it got bad
Some say love it only comes once in a lifetime
Well once is enough for me
She was one in a million, yeah
So there's five more just in New South Wales
There's a show on the television now
A man in the jungle with monkeys
He's saying we've come so far
Yeah, well it's news to me
I'd better go and evolve now
Yeah, to think it was going so well
We'd go out at night
Come home and fight like hell
Good fights about big things
Like, who wrote the book on men?
Well, it was me
And I'm up against the wall now
Yeah I'm up against the wall now
Yeah I'm up against the wall now
Some say love it only comes once in a lifetime
Well once is enough for me
She was one in a million, yeah
So there's five more just in New South Wales
Well you slept
You met interesting people
And you slept with them
And I'm up against the wall now
Yeah I'm up against the wall now
I'm afraid to say I must fail her
I must fail her
I must fail her
I must fail her
Met interesting people
And you slept with them
Up against the wall now
I'm up against the wall now
I'm afraid to say
I'm afraid to say
I'm afraid to say
I must fail her
I'd better go and evolve now
Better go and evolve now

Band on Every Corner


Well there's a band on every corner
But I'm not in one
I hate three out of every four of them
But I haven't got a gun
I was ten hours asleep
But I stayed in my room
I forgot to remember
What I wanted to do
Well as the glare turns to twilight
My thoughts turn to food
Yeah, and of what the hell happened
To the girl in the nude?
Ah, she gave me a pill
She said it helped her in bed
When I lay down beside her
Couldn't even raise my head
What a fool am I
As my dream was so bright
And I'm drowning in the city
With no saviour in sight
Well this night I'll go walking
Like the truth it's so near
I'll be back, I imagine
To the boys and to the beer
There's a hole in my belly
I try and fill it with food
So I order a pizza
And the pizza maker is rude
Lady in the jacket
Is looking just how I feel
So I sigh in my corner
And I ask for the bill
Li li li li li li li li
Li li li li li li
Li li li li li li li li
Li li li li li li
Well there's a band on every corner
But I'm not in one
I hate three out of every four of them
But I haven't got a gun
There's a band on every corner
I only play in my room
Where the filth is familiar
And the piano's in tune
What a fool am I
Cause my dream was so bright
But I'm drowning in the city
With no saviour in sight