After Blenheim

by Robert Southey

It was a summer evening,
  Old Kaspar's work was done,
And he before his cottage door
  Was sitting in the sun;
And by him sported on the green
His little grandchild Wilhelmine.

She saw her brother Peterkin
  Roll something large and round,
Which he beside the rivulet
  In playing there had found:
He came to ask what he had found
That was so large and smooth and round.

Old Kaspar took it from the boy,
  Who stood expectant by;
And then the old man shook his head,
  And with a natural sigh—
''Tis some poor fellow's skull,' said he,
'Who fell in the great victory.

'I find them in the garden,
  For there's many here about;
And often when I go to plough
  The ploughshare turns them out.
For many thousand men,' said he,
'Were slain in that great victory.'

'Now tell us what 'twas all about,'
  Young Peterkin he cries;
And little Wilhelmine looks up
  With wonder-waiting eyes;
'Now tell us all about the war,
And what they fought each other for.'

'It was the English,' Kaspar cried,
  'Who put the French to rout;
But what they fought each other
  I could not well make out.
But everybody said,' quoth he,
'That 'twas a famous victory.

'My father lived at Blenheim then,
  Yon little stream hard by;
They burnt his dwelling to the ground,
  And he was forced to fly:
So with his wife and child he fled,
Nor had he where to rest his head.

'With fire and sword the country round
  Was wasted far and wide,
And many a childing mother then
  And newborn baby died:
But things like that, you know, must be
At every famous victory.

'They say it was a shocking sight
  After the field was won,
For many thousand bodies here
  Lay rotting in the sun;
But things like that, you know, must be
After a famous victory.

'Great praise the Duke of Marlbro' won,
  And our good Prince Eugene'—
'Why 'twas a very wicked thing!'
  Said little Welhelmine;
'Nay—nay, my little girl,' quoth he,
'It was a famous victory.

'And everybody praised the Duke
  Who this great fight did win'—
'But what good came of it at last?'
  Quoth little Peterkin.
'Why that I cannot tell,' said he,
'But 'twas a famous victory.'

Supersonic

by Noel Gallagher

I need to be myself
I can't be no one else
I'm feeling supersonic, give me gin and tonic
You can have it all, but how much do you want it?

You make me laugh
Give me your autograph
Can I ride with you in your BMW
You can sail with me in my yellow submarine

You need to find out
'Cause no one's going to tell you what I'm on about
You need to find a way for what you want to say
But before tomorrow

'Cause my friend said he'd take you home
Sits in a corner all alone
He lives under a waterfall
Nobody can see him
Nobody can ever hear him call

You need to be yourself
You can't be no one else
I know a girl called Elsa, she's into Alka Seltzer
She sniffs it through a cane on a supersonic train

And she makes me laugh
I got her autograph
She done it with a doctor on a helicopter
She's sniffing in her tissue, selling the Big Issue

When she finds out
No one's going to tell her what I'm on about
You need to find a way for what you want to say
But before tomorrow

'Cause my friend said he'd take you home
Sits in a corner all alone
He lives under a waterfall
Nobody can see him
Nobody can ever hear him call

A Prayer in Spring

by Robert Frost

Oh, give us pleasure in the flowers to-day;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.

Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.

And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.

For this is love and nothing else is love,
The which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends He will,
But which it only needs that we fulfil.

Primer Coat

by Mike Cooley

The old man's out by the swimming pool
He goes there to think
He talks on the phone sometimes
Hardly mentions a thing
Said he needed it for his knees
He used to swim back in school
Graduated in '84
Quit drinking in '92

He used to call her a basket case
For hanging on like she did
The only girl of a foreman's wife
She'd never let him forget
It comes to women and they survive
But when the same comes to men
Someone comes for their babies
Something dies there and then

Slinging gravel in parking lots
And looking tough on the hood
A girl as plain as a primer coat
Leaves nothing misunderstood
Her mother and I through trembling lips
A steady hand on his own
The future of every rebel cause
When all the fight in him is gone

My sister's marrying in the spring
And everything will be fine
Mama's planning the wedding
Daddy's planning on crying
She's slipping out of her apron strings
You best leave him be
He's staring through his own taillights
And gathering speed

Country

by Paul Weller

I know a place not far from here
Where life's sweet perfume fills the air
And if you want I'll take you there
If you want I'll take you there

Into the light out of the dark
Where only love can heal your heart
And if you want I'll make a start
If you want I'll make a start

This place I say, half-hour away
Is that so far to go, so near?
And further on we'll find the time
And lose the discontent we feel

I feel the time we've yet to reach
Is not within our own belief
But I feel sure that time will come
If it goes on at all

I know a place not far from here
Where fresh cut grass will fill your hair
And if you want we'll lay a while there
If you want we'll lay a while there

Meet James Ensor

by John Flansburgh

Meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Dig him up and shake his hand
Appreciate the man

Before there were junk stores
Before there was junk
He lived with his mother
And the torments of Christ
The world was transformed
A crowd gathered round
Pressed against his window
So they could be the first

To meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Raise a glass and sit and stare
Understand the man

He lost all his friends
He didn't need his friends
He lived with his mother
And repeated himself
The world has forgotten
The world moved along
The crowd at his window
Went back to their homes

Meet James Ensor
Belgium's famous painter
Dig him up and shake his hand
Appreciate the man

Come As You Are

by Kurt Cobain

Come, as you are, as you were
As I want you to be
As a friend, as a friend
As an old enemy
Take your time, hurry up
The choice is yours, don't be late
Take a rest, as a friend
As an old memory

Come, doused in mud, soaked in bleach
As I want you to be
As a trend, as a friend
As an old memory

And I swear that I don't have a gun
No, I don't have a gun