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Etchings and Scratchings

by Rivermouth

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1.
Reminder 03:02
This is a reminder to the city's citizenry of who we are and what we do and why we'll always be that ignorant imperfect neo-boho eccentricity that swims against the current on the cusp of domesticity We are the sometimes-forgotten middle-children of Brisbane We are white and yellow and light and dark brown We dwell in the secret places of this town In the tangled, perplexing spaces between your toolshed and the back fence on the cusp of domesticity We are the in-betweeners the keepers of the lore the last lost remnants of the night before We are the covert catalysts of creativity antidotes to this sick city's soul captivity the absent notes in your poliphonies polinators of ephiphanies We know this town far better than we know ourselves We are the uncredited muses behind a billion bookshelves We don't need clocks We measure time in shadows and smiles Twenty-storey office blocks are our personal sundials and while you're wrestling with land tax and stamp duty we're catching mud crabs 'mongst the mangroves down by QUT We are secret love poems written in the silty sand beneath the Story Bridge at low tide We are the homeless busker on the corner of Brunswick and Wickham We are Four Triple Zed at two-thirty in the morning We are the Mercedez-hating antiauthoritarian pigeon that strikes without warning But you You think us awry You think us unnecessary You think us unbeautiful Because we know streets not by names but by the texture of the bitumen so this is a reminder that we are the logical, necessary by-products of the world you've constructed a reminder that we are not parasites but symbiotes the latent patient revolutionaries who in the end will save you from all manner of rodent marathons, we are ignorant imperfect eccentricity the only natural predator of cliche and we are here to stay and we will always be see you need us, just as much as we need you, maybe more we are the last lost remnants of the night before.
2.
Dig It Up 04:00
There was an island: wide brown and crowded with ancestor spirits some white blokes found it, but couldn't hear it shouting, singing they just bulldozed it flat brought in fox and cat and built a nation on the back of slave labour and genocide morality landslide clinging to the myth of an empty country when even the blindest sentry could see that it was occupied We made a habit of scratching the earth's surface sold sacred soil to fill spoiled purses abyss getting deeper leap into oblivion digging into skin pillaging now we're living sin bitumen bandaid them wounds won't heal bending nerve endings forgot how to feel Coast to coast mining: the land's a slave Australia is a nation that's digging it's own grave Dig it up, dig it up gonna make another hole a dozen dirty minerals, uranium and coal Stole this land, now we've sold its soul lost control of consumption - this is how we roll dig it up. Open-cut culture vultures on the grass throw stones willy nilly but those walls are glass Who am I to pontificate, shouting down the town? even the metal in this microphone came out of the ground We're short sighted hiding our faces in the sand fake-tanned city dwellers turned our backs on the land Take the money now ignore long-term costs fifty years down the line we'll lament what we've lost Boom. they say, it can't last forever Boom. they call it, another flawed endeavour Boom. farmland becomes a dust bowl a stable economy can't be built on coal, scroll down, read the fine print and take control don't believe em when they tell you it's a minimal toll maintain status quo - their ultimate goal why learn to think when you can learn to dig a hole? Somewhere along the line, we stopped making progress started making junk, going through the process of chucking out old stuff and digging up more when we should've been reusing what we dug up before We are swollen ticks the kind that cause paralysis crawling across the skin of the earth Call it hyperbole I call it accurate analysis Gladstone to Perth, sucking blood for all we're worth But it creates jobs! blindfolded they cheer as though nothing that makes jobs could ever be a bad idea Advance Australia fair advance Australia consumption culture agricultural failure We don't need food we can just eat the dust But someday when the mining trucks rust I trust we'll realise the unwise path we've taken when the crops are withered and the earth starts shaking Dig it up, dig it up gonna make another hole a dozen dirty minerals, uranium and coal Stole this land, now we've sold its soul lost control of consumption - this is how we roll dig it up.
3.
Flood City 05:54
Come on down come on down to flood city where the people are clean but the river's brown and shitty pity those in the troughs of the city sine wave when river mother rises it's a watery grave, save tonight trouble gonna bubble tomorrow We could fight gamble it all and reap sorrow but better to bend flat like the riverside reeds when the water recedes we're gonna do it all again Bring fire cos tonight will be cold old fears reappear as the sharks grow bold you've sold the land but been paid in fool's gold rebellion controlled Still these streets they have a firm heartbeat They speak to us through the soles of our feet And these beats are here to stay And they're growing they grow every day Come on down come on down to flood city where hands seem spotless, but souls are gritty No-one shed a tear when we let love loose and traded in tomorrow for a necktie noose We buried creeks and streams under concrete dreams schemes of skyscraper suburbs and construction teams but when it comes apart at the seams you'll hear the cry Sink or swim, no-one's gonna stay dry There was a man, wealthy but wisdom poor inexperienced in life, but well-versed in law who thought that cities should be quiet and clean and saw God in a 3D LCD TV screen but now he's lying in the gutter, begging for bread and butter from the nutters and cutters he once left behind and now he mutters his curses biblical verses stutters and pleads wishing it would all rewind But these streets they have a firm heartbeat They speak to us through the soles of our feet And these beats are here to stay And they're growing they grow every day Come on down, come on down to flood town where the whole damn world wants to put roots down while the dam holds strong we worship the clown sound of thunder and rain now watch the town drown This is a young city with a goldfish memory never be sure we haven't been here before see walking in circles, yesterday's a mystery river wipes clean all remnants of history Big backyards but small hearts and minds finds the sprawling suburbs laden with land mines Blind to future, blind to past, but stuck on rewind sun sets in the east left the west behind still they proceed, greed seed sown wide I tried berating, educating but derided denied they cried violence, and called it national pride but the fools can't see the high tide But these streets they have a firm heartbeat They speak to us through the soles of our feet And these beats are here to stay and they're growing.
4.
World Ignite 04:22
Fools these days talk loud and bold Proud words, about the struggles of old They've been told, that the battle is won But it seems to me, that it's just begun Strutting like there isn't any need to fight Their hearts are light, like it's all alright Blindfolded, out of mind while out of sight Silent night world ignite Prejudice isn't dead it's pervasive, Persuasive false truths make brothers abrasive Spreading lies, denying words of the wise Xenophobia hoping ya open your eyes But I rise up and speak out loud Speak doubts shout about lifting the shroud Remind the mindless that kindness is free Grow seed grow, someday you'll be a tree And meantime, me I'll rhyme words of peace Sing choir sing, fuel for the fire Rope the pope, hope the hate soon cease Burn high burn higher So we fight on and we fight on Revolutions are cyclical by nature I rate ya as a mate but if you speak hate I'll berate ya Negate your negativity, misguided firebrand Speaking bout shit that you don't understand It's a grand world, I don't take it for granted And I pray that the seeds I've planted Shall grow into a tree, the tree will bear fruit We be born to love before we learn to shoot Brute force is a course I can never endorse Us and them mentality guarantee remorse Your world is a bubble; I'm here to pop it Dropping reason, easing trouble like a modern day prophet Wanna tear down fences, let the neighbours see This affliction's still here and it'll always be Unless you free your mind, and change your fuse Walk a mile in another man's shoes And maybe then, you'll be drawn to the flame Sing choir sing, fuel for the fire Prejudice by any other name Burn high, burn higher So we fight on and we fight on It's funny how in the twenty-first century We can have a rising rate of black deaths in custody While telling ourselves that race is not the issue Brother's dying of cancer we offer him a tissue I wish you could see the world as I see it But faced with the truth, you turn and flee it Refugees fleeing violence, we treat them like criminals Silence is sinister, this bigotry's subliminal Australia, you are a racist country I'll say it again, this is a racist country And it's taking us awhile Most of us are still in denial So we fight on Hypocrites spitting paradox So we fight on Logic blocked by the orthodox So we fight on I see them neo-cons with their hate campaigns Spend their days at the kitchen sink washing brains Subtle like a violin, strings are out of tune Silver spoon numbs your senses, keep building them fences Mainstream screaming that it's all in the past While those bastards pitchfork the coloured underclass We are better than this we are better We are better than this We are better than this
5.
Rain 06:17
I miss you such a lazy intro to a letter but there's no better way to say what's on my mind I find you in locked rooms that I'd assumed were empty, every train of thought leads back to you but leaves me behind on the platform of an isolated station and the ghosts of the most exhilarating sensations haunt me taunt me just like you used to do when we'd lie there even now I'd swear I could just reach out and touch you. But this is a single bed and your head's no longer on my shoulder We were so young then now we're older now we're so much older. Warm pressed against my chest undressed so slow, feel your heartbeat under your breast, ease you down kiss you everywhere your hair in my mouth and we're wet like December. Now whenever I taste salt I don't think of the sea I think of your skin. Now whenever I taste salt I think of your skin. But you're on the other side of the horizon, of sunset I wake just as you're falling asleep and I can't get used to it used to the absence of your scent I meant it when I said this city's not the same without you It rains so often in the afternoons But this is a single bed. I'm thirsty all the time now And I'm not gonna ask you to come back home cos I was the first to roam I only hope that you don't forget me that you don't regret me Someday you and I will walk down the same crowded street synchronised feet, one shared umbrella Someday you and I will talk like the river meets the sea speaking easily But it seems we'll live lifetimes before that someday day So for now I'll rewrite rhymes relearning the meaning of yearning It's a sad paradox to be cold but still burning And all I hear is rain And I miss you And all I hear is rain.
6.
Hands Out 05:36
We came to you with our hands out begging for compassion and mercy first we had to flee oppression hunger and thirst see there is nothing in your lives like the knives we knew so don't pretend you understand what we've been through and now we stand out in the desolate redness barbed wire watchtower sour soul deadness they told us this place was paradise and they left us all alone You treat us like aliens. Australians aren't known for hospitality apparently this country has forgotten that humanity is a quality that binds us all as though your walls weren't already too tall but we're here now, and we've earned our place erase the fallacy that you can judge a man by race this is our home too, if you object you can leave cos we're here to stay We planted a seed to see if it would grow we didn't know that it would grow so well And now we proceed to reap what we sow and we show no fear because we planted that seed You came at us with your fists up like it was some kind of invasion blazing hate speech like being Asian is a criminal act minimal facts but you made up your mind Wind up the clockwork soldier see what fun he can find You think you've got some right to feel outraged but you're wrong, son the line's already engaged The people running here are the victims of a system that stripped them of a wishlist, dissed and then dismissed them and it's the same system that helps you stay on top you drank our streams to dust, we break backs for every drop your life of luxury is what keeps us on our knees try to wash your hands but you're the god damn disease Squeeze every cent as hard as you need squeeze a little harder and watch the money bleed there's no point pretending that it's not your problem the third world's contending you're the ones that robbed them you're the ones who benefit from someone else's sweat leeching off the poor, get whatever you can get preaching that the war is in a world far away but when it comes to your door you ignore what we say That seed to see if it would grow we didn't know that it would grow so well And now we proceed to reap what we sow and we show no fear because we planted that seed We came to you with our hands out but you tied them behind our backs tied us down to the tracks and let the train accelerate This country's brimming with a new breed of hate the fatty should be slimming but instead he's gaining weight half of you lot have got your fingers in your ears while the rest are out back, sharpening your spears hit the floor, fell flat, our souls were torn you lay the welcome mat, but it's made of thorns Despite all this, we keep our heads high eyes to that sky, we池e gonna learn to fly again then when we take off, you shoot us down but this is our town too, you clowns don't know what you do who the hell are you to lay down what land we belong to? See we're strong - this song's a declaration immigration built this whole damn nation and we're gonna build it higher
7.
Come on down come on down to flood city where the people are clean but the river's brown and shitty pity those in the troughs of the city sine wave when river mother rises it's a watery grave, save tonight trouble gonna bubble tomorrow We could fight gamble it all and reap sorrow but better to bend flat like the riverside reeds when the water recedes we're gonna do it all again Bring fire cos tonight will be cold old fears reappear as the sharks grow bold you've sold the land but been paid in fool's gold rebellion controlled Still these streets they have a firm heartbeat They speak to us through the soles of our feet And these beats are here to stay And they're growing they grow every day Come on down come on down to flood city where hands seem spotless, but souls are gritty No-one shed a tear when we let love loose and traded in tomorrow for a necktie noose We buried creeks and streams under concrete dreams schemes of skyscraper suburbs and construction teams but when it comes apart at the seams you'll hear the cry Sink or swim, no-one's gonna stay dry There was a man, wealthy but wisdom poor inexperienced in life, but well-versed in law who thought that cities should be quiet and clean and saw God in a 3D LCD TV screen but now he's lying in the gutter, begging for bread and butter from the nutters and cutters he once left behind and now he mutters his curses biblical verses stutters and pleads wishing it would all rewind But these streets they have a firm heartbeat They speak to us through the soles of our feet And these beats are here to stay And they're growing they grow every day Come on down, come on down to flood town where the whole damn world wants to put roots down while the dam holds strong we worship the clown sound of thunder and rain now watch the town drown This is a young city with a goldfish memory never be sure we haven't been here before see walking in circles, yesterday's a mystery river wipes clean all remnants of history Big backyards but small hearts and minds finds the sprawling suburbs laden with land mines Blind to future, blind to past, but stuck on rewind sun sets in the east left the west behind still they proceed, greed seed sown wide I tried berating, educating but derided denied they cried violence, and called it national pride but the fools can't see the high tide But these streets they have a firm heartbeat They speak to us through the soles of our feet And these beats are here to stay and they're growing.
8.
Money Come 03:50
9.
Zucchini 03:35
Lately, it's like the world's been sneaking off its orbit drought, flood, drought, flood getting harder to ignore it anxious days, shops are out of bread and everyone's getting ready for a balmy armageddon mirrors are shattering daily networks fail, mistaking goosebumps for braile t v news readers have forgotten how to smile but i don't swallow that pill, i keep my eye on my own pile see this is my house, and this is my yard and this is my veggie patch where i work real hard i've got a lock on my gate, a diesel generator i can't save the planet, but i'll leave a pretty crater Everything's crumbling but there's gardens to tend I'll just water my zucchini and wait for the world to end what else is there to do? waiting for the world to end I think it's gonna happen soon all the birds have left town crinkle in the moon and the river's running brown my friends are building bunkers, the power keeps dying creeks are drying up and the stop signs aren't lying i've been watching all the trees fall down horizon smoke rising darker by the day i've been watching trees fall like puppets with cut strings dedicated atheists are learning to pray yesterday the neighbours bolted, i didn't bother waving i'm craving foods that no longer exist phone lines are down but there's no-one left to call anyway, pessimistic? i'd say that i'm a realist Everything's crumbling but there's gardens to tend I'll just water my zucchini and wait for the world to end this is how i do waiting for the world to end It's been at least a week since i saw another person even the rats are dispersing my supplies are running out and i'm not sure if i care the air itself is dying multiplying flies rise like steam dreams pollinate reality red dust clouds make the whole world sepia throw your watches in the river they are worthless now they are worthless now it's all worthless now throw your watches in the river Everything's crumbling it's all worthless now waiting for the world to end

credits

released April 29, 2013

***
Recorded, mixed and mastered by Nick Warren of the Seclusion Room.

Artwork by Anna Carlson.

'Money Come' recorded by Luke Woollett at Gasworks Studios (Nov '13)
***

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Rivermouth Brisbane, Australia

Hi, we're Rivermouth
Our vocalist is a cross between a typewriter and a megaphone. Our keyboardist is a classically trained virtuoso mad scientist. Our bassist plays in the Richter scale. Our drummer's great-grandfather was a metronome.

Our music is a blend of spoken word, hip hop, jazz, reggae and excellent chai. Lyrics are critical. We want to tickle cerebra and tug heartstrings simultaneously.
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