DUMBING DOWN THE WORLD I'm dumbing down the world Yes, I'm dumbing down the world And my head is held high and the glint in my eye and my arrogance rumbles before me I'm dumbing down the world Dumbing down the world I'm dumbing down the world Dumbing down the world And my thoughts are banal like a stagnant canal and my sycophants shamble behind me I'm dumbing down the world Dumbing down the world I'm dumbing down the world Dumbing down the world And my hour is come around, is come around ! Yes my hour is come around, it's come around... Look around ! I'm dumbing down the world Dumbing down the world And my works are designed to suck blood from your mind for your energy feeds and sustains me I'm dumbing down the world Dumbing down the world I'm dumbing down the world I'm dumbing down the world I'm dumbing down the world and I love it !           London July 1999 HIS WORD IS NOT HIS BOND "Just let me tell you what a liar will do He's always comin' with something new He'll steal your heart with false pretensions makin' out like he's your bosom friend" (Rev Isaiah Shelton 1927 "The Liar") He lives in a waste void of culture and taste his eye on a prize beyond His every word is in the right place but his word is not his bond His face is comely his heart it bleeds yet it's but a mantle he has donned Mark him only by his deeds for his word is not his bond I'd love to take him out of his room and gently break him I'd love to see him dance ! His protege deals in confusion and fog Of power he is fond Wheels within wheels - like master, like dog His word is not his bond I'm trying to swim but I'm caught in the shallows and I sense that I've been conned Deliver him ...to the gallows ! His word is not his bond           On tour, England October 1997 THE CHARLATAN'S LAMENT At long weary last this game is over The sins of the past have fled from my shoulder The sleep that I need is all I ask In thought and in deed I have burned the mask Here I am... Here I am... Enchantment is broken I merge with the crowd Oaths have been spoken inside and out loud Emerging from under notions of god In tears and in wonder I venture abroad Here I am... Here I am... Can you walk a smithereen Can you walk a smithereen closer to me Could you love a thimbleful Could you love a thimbleful harder for me Encountered a loathly hag Blood on the snow She said "I've a burden to drag and leagues to go" I left her down by the seaside in someone's hall By dawn's empty light I cried for no one at all Here I am... Here I am... Can you walk a smithereen Can you walk a smithereen closer to me Could you love a thimbleful Could you love a thimbleful harder for me I swing between tears and wonder I swing between tears and wonder I swing between tears and wonder I swing between tears and wonder tears and wonder ! Can you walk a smithereen Can you walk a smithereen closer to me Could you love a thimbleful Could you love a thimbleful harder for me Harder for me           London February 1998 THE WIND IN THE WIRES Wake lady wake the hills are in flood and the road we must take is a river of blood and the wind in the wires and your heart like a cup and I'm down in the war and you've got to get up for mercy's sake wake lady wake Dress lady dress put on your skullcap and boots for the priest has confessed and the chase is afoot and the hounds are behind gunmen around every tree and if it's all in our minds - well where else would it be ? I suggest you dress lady dress This is the day, this is the day, this is, this is the day, this is, this is the day, the day, this is the day This is the day, this is the day, this is, this is the day, this is, this is the day, the day, this is the day our kingdom will crash like a poor piece of trash Swim lady swim lady don't refuse though our chances are slim and we're totally confused there are clues to be found and I'd ask my peers but they're all dumbing down till this bad weather clears we're out on a limb so swim lady swim This is the day....           London December 1998 CROWN I've had money and I lost it seen an ocean nearly crossed it I have been to another world and I have returned and for every high joy a hard lesson learned but when love comes tumbling down I will wear a Crown I've had power I've used and abused it tasted glory I have wooed and refused it tried to live in a sacred way - I did and I did not and for everything I lost there's been something else I got and when love comes tumbling down I will wear a Crown I've been up and I've been down sometimes almost level with the ground once in every hundred years I can still remember who I am Been in danger tried to face it saw a mirage and for seven years I chased it I'm not through with my changes I've got a long way still to run I'm gonna play this show even if nobody comes and when love comes tumbling down when love comes tumbling down when love comes tumbling down I will wear a Crown           Findhorn January 1998 Lyrics copyright 2000 Sony/ATV Music Ltd.