Tales of Domestic Disquiet

You took me to Anglesey, in the rain.
The grey clouds hung, low like a chain.
Your car broke down, miles from the town.
We’re just stranded, in a soaking gown.

Being with you... is a heavy price I pay.
Stuck on the side, of the motorway.

A hut on wheels, I must abide by.
(Oh, what a life)
A steamy caravan, with no wifi.
The windows fog, in the misty gloom.
Just us two, in this tiny room.
Yeah, we’re trapped, in the Anglesey rain.

The radiator hiss, sounds like a ghost.
You’re burning tea, like a burnt piece of toast.
No signal bars, to call for a ride.
Just the sound of the storm, crashing outside.

Being with you—is a wild, strange price I pay.
Lost in the damp, of an endless day.

A hut on wheels, I must abide by.
(No signal here)
A steamy caravan, with no wifi.
The windows fog, in the misty gloom.
Just us two, in this tiny room.
Yeah, we’re trapped, in the Anglesey rain.

(Building)
I could be anywhere, I could be home.
Instead I'm here, under a sky of chrome.
But when you laugh, at the mess we made.
I’m sooooooo glad, that the engine stayed...
Broken.

(Loud)
A hut on wheels, I must abide by!
(It's a beautiful mess)
A steamy caravan, with no wifi.
The windows fog, in the misty gloom.
Just us two, in this tiny room.
Yeah, we’re trapped—in the Anglesey rain.

No wifi here (whisper: just you and me).
In the rain, in the rain.
Just the Anglesey rain.
(Fade out)

The Sunday papers never made it to the shop.
The kettle leaked and ruined the kitchen mop.
The toaster only burns one single side.
There is nowhere left for a broken soul to hide.

The world spins round, but I am standing still.
Staring out the window at the rain on the hill.

I am distraught, dismayed, and disillusioned today.
The milk has turned a funny shade of grey.
The biscuits went soggy in the tin.
Oh, what a tragic state I'm in.
Yeah, I’m thoroughly defeated... by the everyday.

I tried to binge that new detective show.
But the router light is flashing red and slow.
The delivery driver left my parcel in the bin.
And the local pub has run completely out of gin.

A heavy price for a quiet life I pay.
Just watching the afternoon slip away.

I am distraught, dismayed, and disillusioned today.
The milk has turned a funny shade of grey.
The biscuits went soggy in the tin.
Oh, what a tragic state I'm in.
Yeah, I’m thoroughly defeated... by the everyday.

(Building slightly, adding a subtle electronic synth pad hum in the background)
It’s a minor crisis, it’s a modern plight.
Nothing is working, nothing is right.
But then you walk in with a brand new pack.
Of chocolate digestives... and my world comes back.

(Loud, dramatic folk vocal)
I was distraught, dismayed, and disillusioned today!
(But the tea is hot now)
The milk was a funny shade of grey.
The biscuits went soggy in the tin.
But look at the beautiful mess we're in.
Yeah, we’re surviving... the everyday.

No wifi again (whisper: but we've got biscuits).
In the damp, in the damp.
Just distraught and dismayed.
(Fade out on a single banjo strum)

(breathy) Ooooh, ooh...

We're like frogs in boiling water,
Not even feeling the rise of the heat.
Just sitting in the kitchen,
Watching all the patterns repeat.
It's not just live TV and iPlayer anymore,
It's a digital cage on the living room floor.

They want to put a tax on the streaming,
Netflix, Disney, Prime, and Now TV.
Chasing every shadow,
While they siphon off the fee.

Why don't they just tax my eyes?
(Tax my eyes)
Maybe a discount if you only have one?
A little deduction for the half-blind,
Since the looking is never quite done.

I don't wanna sound like a victim, no,
I'm just counting the coins in the drain.
The subscription is a slow-motion siren,
Humming through the glass,
Feeding on the brain.

Why don't they just tax my eyes?
(Tax my eyes)
Maybe a discount if you only have one?
A little deduction for the half-blind,
Since the looking is never quite done.

(Soft, building tempo)
One for the screen,
One for the wire.
One for the truth,
And one for the liars.
Keep staring, keep staring...
Until the water boils dry.

Just tax my eyes...
(Whisper: Just the one)
Maybe a discount for the view.
(Crying slightly)
Everything's paid for,
But nothing is true.

I hear the neighbours, voices through the wall
Shadows at sunset, drifting down the hall
I keep my secrets folded deep inside
Learning to quiet the ache I hide

Sometimes the silence is easy to choose
Sometimes it cuts like yesterday's news

Maybe you’ve seen me standing outside
Maybe you glance and then pass me by
Stories are hidden behind my quiet eyes
Maybe you wonder but never ask why

Oh oh oh, you never ask why
Oh oh oh, you never ask why

The hallway echoes what I don’t say
Steps in the morning, then I fade away
You think you know but you only see
The part of me that I let you see

Windows are shut, but the world still moves
Hiding my truth, got nothing to prove

Maybe you’ve seen me standing outside
Maybe you glance and then pass me by
Stories are hidden behind my quiet eyes
Maybe you wonder but never ask why

Oh oh oh, you never ask why
Oh oh oh, you never ask why

Oh oh oh, you never ask why
Oh oh oh, you never ask why

Rosie’s got a talent for the find,
A bargain hunter with a sharp, quick mind.
She brought a little speaker to her room,
A tiny plastic ghost inside the gloom.
She says, "Hey Google, what time is it now?"
The circuit board responds, she tells me how.

She asks about the weather and the rain,
The morning news, the headlines and the pain.
She says it keeps her company at night,
A glowing circle cast in neon light.
She carries on a conversation there,
With shadows dancing in the empty air.

But I asked Rosie, "Do you turn it off?"
"What if it’s listening while you’re asleep?"
I asked Rosie, "Do you pull the plug?"
"What if the secrets are theirs to keep?"
(Oh, the secrets that they keep)

She laughed it off, said I was living in the past,
That nothing in this modern world can last.
But I keep thinking of the hum inside the wall,
Waiting for the silence, waiting for the call.
Is it just a circuit, is it just a wire?
Or are we feeding data to the fire?

What if every whisper is recorded?
What if every secret is exported?
Safe behind the static, in the grid,
What are we doing?
What have we done?
(What have we done?)

I asked Rosie, "Do you turn it off?"
"What if it’s listening while you’re asleep?"
I asked Rosie, "Do you pull the plug?"
"What if the secrets are theirs to keep?"

Just a little speaker...
On her bedside stand.
(Whisper: Are you listening?)
Rosie, please...
Turn it off.

First light edges past the glass
A gentle hush that doesn't last
I listen to a distant train
Remember how the quiet came

A coat hangs silent by the door
Familiar shoes upon the floor
The world outside is slow to wake
Inside it’s hard to know what breaks

Some nights I hear the hallway creak
Moonlight stretches down the street
Curtains moving just a bit
I lie awake and think of it

The floors are cold beneath my feet
A distant car drifts down the street
These quiet hours no one sees
Are heavy things I keep with me

Sometimes in the morning light
I hear the schoolyard come alive
Children’s laughter down below
I watch quietly from my window

There’s coffee cooling in my cup
Radio talking low enough
I wonder if they notice me
On the third floor, nearly unseen

I keep my words so small
Let tiny details tell it all
I learn to measure what I say
Hide the marks that never go away

You see me walking home every afternoon
Hands in my pockets in the heat of June
No one ever really stops to ask
If the smile I give is just a mask

Mm-mm, just a mask
Mm-mm

Neighbors listen through the wall
Footsteps echo in the hall
Turning faces to the light
Wishing things would be all right

There’s a secret on this street
Under whispers and retreat
But it’s easier to say less
Keep the silence, play along, I guess

You see me walking home every afternoon
Hands in my pockets in the heat of June
No one ever really stops to ask
If the smile I give is just a mask

Mm-mm, just a mask
Mm-mm

Mm-mm, just a mask
Mm-mm

Sometimes you hear a distant sound
A voice you can't quite figure out
You wonder if it's someone else
Or maybe just yourself

Shadows stretch across my street
Evening presses on my feet
Tired eyes and measured pace
Everybody has their place

Memories that slip away
Like leaves lost on a windy day
Another quiet promise made
To leave things just the way they stay

You see me walking home every afternoon
Hands in my pockets in the heat of June
No one ever really stops to ask
If the smile I give is just a mask

Mm-mm, just a mask
Mm-mm

Mm-mm, just a mask
Mm-mm

So tomorrow, I’ll walk the same old way
Hoping silence has something to say
Maybe someday someone will see through
To the story I never quite let through

Mm-mm, just a mask
Mm-mm

Sunrise paints the asphalt gray, another day, another fray
My spot's occupied, a sea of chrome, they've made this parking lot their home
I circle 'round, a growling beast, my patience dwindling, my temper increased
Each empty space, a cruel mirage, swallowed whole by their parking barrage

They steal my spots, they take my peace, my blood pressure starts to increase!
This neighborhood's a parking war, I can't take it anymore!
Every single car, a personal slight, I dream of a world bathed in pure light
Where every car has its own designated space, and I can finally leave this cursed place!

The little red hatchback, parked so deep, it's like they're counting sheep
While I'm out here, with my engine hot, praying for just one vacant spot
The SUV so wide and long, where did they go wrong?
They block the flow, they cause a jam, I'm losing my mind, oh, I am!

They steal my spots, they take my peace, my blood pressure starts to increase!
This neighborhood's a parking war, I can't take it anymore!
Every single car, a personal slight, I dream of a world bathed in pure light
Where every car has its own designated space, and I can finally leave this cursed place!

Is it too much to ask, a simple plea?
A little consideration, just for me?
I'm not asking for the moon, not for the stars,
Just a place to park my car!

Parking spaces... they're all gone...
Stuck in this endless parking dawn...
(Muttering) I hate them all... I hate them all...

Oh oh
Hm-mm

Oh my soul
I lost control
My house
But not my home
No way out
No way out

Sick software crawling inside
Behind my eyes
Ransomware locks up the room
A quiet gloom

Oh my soul
I lost control
My house
But not my home
No way out
No way out

Losing it
Losing it all
Away

Bedroom windows turning to slate
Nothing to celebrate
Doors won't open when I pull
Heavy and full
The garden grows inward today
Nothing to say

Maybe a fever
Maybe a dream
Maybe a lie

Oh my soul
I lost control
My house
But not my home
No way out
No way out

Losing it
Losing it all
Away

You came in with rain on your sleeves
Bought two Lucozades, dropped the keys
On a paper plate by the crisps
Said, "I’m not done, not like this"

Your laugh hit the back of the shop
Like a match in a cardboard box
I was fine till you looked my way
Now my name feels hard to say

And I, I keep it cool
But my hands betray the truth
Every time you turn around
My whole world tips loose

Car park halo
Don’t let it go
Car park halo
You make me glow
(you make me glow)
Car park halo
Stay in the frame
One little look
And I’m not the same

You drew a heart in the steam
On the glass of a warm machine
I saw my face in your eyes
Then it slipped right out of time

We talked trash, we talked plans
You grabbed my sleeve with your hand
Said, "Meet me where the buses hum"
Like we already know what comes

And I, I keep it cool
But my hands betray the truth
Every time you turn around
My whole world tips loose

Car park halo
Don’t let it go
Car park halo
You make me glow
(you make me glow)
Car park halo
Stay in the frame
One little look
And I’m not the same

If this is a bad idea
Let it be bright, let it be clear
I’ve been playing safe too long
With my heart in a carrier bag

So take my coat, take my last excuse
Leave me standing in your borrowed shoes
If I fall, let me fall your way
Let the whole world watch me sway

Car park halo
Don’t let it go
Car park halo
You make me glow
(you make me glow)
Car park halo
Stay in the frame
One little look
And I’m not the same

Car park halo
Car park halo
(you make me glow)
Car park halo

I found your note in my coat
Folded up small like a boat
Said, “meet me down by the store”
You knew I’d come back for more

Your name in the corner of my mind
Keeps showing up at the worst times
Like a song I never meant to know
Still, I hum it when I’m alone

And I was fine, I was fine
Till you called my name
Now the whole room tilts
Every time it rains

Paper cup summer
You spill, I spill
Paper cup summer
We’re not standing still
Hold me close, then run
Say you want me, then
Paper cup summer
We break, we bend

You left your shoes by the door
Socks on the tile, nothing more
Half a peach on the window sill
And that old lie of, “I will”

I tried to laugh it off
Tried to talk myself out
But your jacket on my chair
Made the whole thing loud

And I was fine, I was fine
Till you called my name
Now the whole room tilts
Every time it rains

Paper cup summer
You spill, I spill
Paper cup summer
We’re not standing still
Hold me close, then run
Say you want me, then
Paper cup summer
We break, we bend

If you stay, stay here
If you go, go now
I can take the truth
But I can’t take the doubt

One more look, one more sign
One more chance to get it right
Then your hand finds mine
Like it did that night

Paper cup summer
You spill, I spill
Paper cup summer
We’re not standing still
Hold me close, then run
Say you want me, then
Paper cup summer
We break, we bend

Paper cup summer
Don’t let it go
Paper cup summer
I already know

Wet pavement on the bus route home
Your hair still damp from the kitchen sink
Half-eaten toast on the counter plate
And the radio chewing through the rain
You said, "It's fine," like you meant goodbye
I watched the window turn to smoke

Catch the last turn in the light
Before it slips behind the estate
You looked so calm, I nearly lied
Like I always do to keep the shape

Static everywhere we go
Static in the afterglow
Catch the last turn in the light
We were close, then out of sight
Static everywhere we go
(static everywhere we go)

The doctor’s note on the sideboard shelf
Your boots by the door in a careful row
Mum kept asking if I’d eaten yet
I said, "Yeah, I had some," and let it go
The stairwell smelled of wet wool coats
And someone’s TV through the wall

Catch the last turn in the light
Before the street goes colourless
You leaned on change like a bruised-up coin
Small, cold, and still half spent

Static everywhere we go
Static in the afterglow
Catch the last turn in the light
We were close, then out of sight
Static everywhere we go
(static everywhere we go)

I thought you’d ring from the corner shop
Or laugh through the crack in the front door
But evening came with its usual face
And the kettle sang for one more
Now every room keeps your outline
In the steam on the glass, in the drip, in the grime

Static everywhere we go
Static in the afterglow
Catch the last turn in the light
We were close, then out of sight
Static everywhere we go
(static everywhere we go)

Spit in a tube for a discount price
A glimpse at paradise
A key to what’s inside
Nowhere for your secrets to hide
She’s got a map of where she’s been
Tattooed on her skin
But the legend’s in a code so mean
Yeah, the message is obscene

And the email pings, the future sings
Oh, what ugly, lovely things it brings!

Oh, Katie regrets that she had her DNA done!
Unzipped her life for a bit of fun!
Found a king in her family tree
Now he’s texting her for a royalty fee!
Oh, Katie regrets that she had her DNA done!

Turns out she’s 2% ancient fly
Compound eye
And 5% from a frozen sea
And a cousin in Dundee
He’s got her nose and her taste for gin
Says, “Hey, cousin, let me come on in!”
Now her inbox is a crying shame
A genealogical claim

And the data drifts on a digital sea
Oh, who the hell is she supposed to be?

Oh, Katie regrets that she had her DNA done!
Unzipped her life for a bit of fun!
Found a king in her family tree
Now he’s texting her for a royalty fee!
Oh, Katie regrets that she had her DNA done!

Helix, spiral, breaking free
What’s inside of you and me?
Data mining, fate designing
No use whining, no use whining
23 and me, and thee, and everybody

Oh, Katie regrets that she had her DNA done!
Unzipped her life for a bit of fun!
Found a king in her family tree
Now he’s texting her constantly!
Oh, Katie regrets…

“Turns out grandma knew a duke… or was it a cook?…
It’s all in the book…
98% neanderthal…
gimme a call…
haplogroup blues…
oh, Katie lost her shoes…
in the gene pool…
she broke the rule…”

Floorboards creak at half past two
And I just know it's you
Putting those teaspoons on the counter
Just like you always do

You haunt my house
Keys still clinking, a hollow sound
You haunt my house
Your shadow stretches, never quite around

I left your coat there in the hall
Hoping it wouldn't fall
But this morning, looking out the window
There was no one there at all

And I thought I had packed you away
With the dishes and the photographs
But you keep finding your way back

You haunt my house
Keys still clinking, a hollow sound
You haunt my house
Your shadow stretches, never quite around

Maybe I keep the radio on
Just to hear less of you
It still plays to an empty room
And leaves me here with the truth

You haunt my house
Keys still clinking, a hollow sound
You haunt my house
Your shadow stretches, never quite around

In a little cottage where the roses climb,
Lived young Bessie in a quieter time.
No web to surf, no screens aglow,
Just fields and skies and a gentle flow.

But Bessie dreamed of voices new,
A signal strong, a world askew.
So she grabbed her trusty CB gear,
Ready to shout and make it clear!

Voices crackled, codes unknown,
“Ten-four,” they said, through static blown.
She heard “roger” and thought, “Oh my!
That’s an invite — I’ll give it a try!”

She tuned her ears, then took a breath,
Ready to leap, no fear of death.
With trembling hands, she pressed the key—
And spoke her call out loud and free:
 
Hey ho, Roger me rigid!
Bessie’s first words on the radio gigged!
Hey ho, Roger me rigid!
A cheeky call that got folks big grins!

The airwaves hummed, then burst with cheer,
As Bessie’s voice rang far and near...

Hey ho, Roger me rigid!
Her call went out, the crowd was big!
Hey ho, Roger me rigid!
A southern girl and her radio gig!

Laughter echoed through the night,
As Bessie’s words took flight...