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Ancient Greeks & Circus Freaks

by Intercontinental Music Lab

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1.
Overture 01:15
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2.
The Freeekshow 03:37
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Welcome everybody to the ring today The show is only 5 minutes away Ladies and gentlemen take your seats To witness all these remarkable freaks And oh… With the sound of the band still ringing We’ll be starting with the freak show, and the song that they’ll be singing (Chorus) We’re the circus freaks We’re here all week Come stare at all our misery When the lights go up And the circus starts Come laugh at us with all your hearts Well did you like the freaks? Yeah we want to know Put your hands together at the end of the show And don’t feel guilty if you laughed out loud They’re freaks and they love to entertain the crowd They say ‘oh… Sure it’s been a long long year for us But don’t go shedding tears for us This place is always here for us’ Chorus So many years spent alone Now so many freaks to call my own Hey guys, what’s new to dull the pain? Oh whatever, lets get drunk again And again And again Chorus
3.
The Story Of Chang & Eng Bunker 04:47
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Well I am Chang and you are Eng I’m not a man I am a men We’re called original Siamese Though technically we are Chinese I am Eng and you are Chang We’ve put on shows in every land (but not in France) We skip back flip and dance and run We don’t you come see us play badminton To you to me to me to you Coz we were born together Died still tethered Laughed more than cried together What else is there to do? I’ll stick by me, I’ll stick by you Tired of being shown around (like a clown from town to town) Now’s the time to settle down (and use our savings) Find ourselves a pair of ladies, ladies, ladies I long to be a simple man (a man a men a man a men) I found 2 sisters fair and true (uh oh) There’s one for me and one for you (but I don’t want one) Don’t be shy, I know you’re blue (I am shy) I’ll show you what you need to do In and out and out and in Coz we were born together Died still tethered Laughed more than cried together What else is there to do? I’ll stick by me, I’ll stick by you A few years on and everything is on the rocks We often come to blows and the sisters don’t get on 3 days at your house 3 days at mine I wish you’d stop all the gambling Yeah well you quit the wine Maybe we should be living separate lives These days there’s more downers than uppers Is the time now upon us to stop being brothers? Doctor says he can cut us He needs 2 yeses to go What you say Well I say no Coz we are Chang and we are Eng 4 arms 4 legs 2 heads 1 men 2 wives and 21 children Well if I could I’d live this life again Coz we were born together Died still tethered Laughed more than cried together We knew this day was coming, a day so blue You didn’t get up this morning now I can’t too The doctors here again He needs one yes to go But I said no Coz we are Chang and we are Eng
4.
La Salsa Des Immortelles 02:43
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C’est sur la musique de Dan Que je vous présente ces femmes Des trois vous connaîtrez Medusa Celle qui provoqua Athéna Mais attention ne négligez pas Celles qui font autant de dégâts Comme si une ne suffisait pas On en compte un, deux, trois On dit peut-être à tort Qu’elles avaient des aîles d’or Mais des serpents en chevelure Avec leurs grandes dents Quelle allure Fraternelles… mortelles Ces trois sœurs qui me font peur C’est sur la musique de Dan Que je vous présente ces femmes Vous connaîtrez Gorgone Medusa La plus connue des trois Une fille magnifique Au destin pourtant tragique D’un coup d’œil pouvait tuer Et comme ses sœurs pétrifier Eternelles… mortelles Ces trois sœurs quelle horreur Leur sang pouvait ainsi Ramener un mort à la vie A condition d’être pris Du côté droit, c’est inoui Osez … Regardez Au risque d’y rester C’est la danse des Gorgones Qui s’en vont et qui s’en volent C’est la danse des Gorgones Suivez-moi !
5.
Medusa 04:03
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The moment I heard of Medusa And the rules about how the boys couldn’t look to her Well I had to go take a good look for myself Employing all my talents for cunning and stealth One look at Medusa I sure could get used to her But is it worth all the risk For that stone heavy kiss Blood stopping kiss I hid for so long in her lair That I learned all the names of the snakes in her hair And you can call me perverted But despite all the dangers I haven’t been hurt yet One look at Medusa I sure could get used to her But is it worth all the risk For that stone heavy kiss Blood stopping kiss First and final Some folks fall for folks who’ve fallen Swollen hearts are often stolen I asked her reflection If love can be easy with cursed imperfections She says you think I’m alone here? When every last man that I’ve loved has been stuck here I looked at Medusa Now I’ve got to get used to her And it was worth all the risk For that first and final kiss Stone heavy kiss Blood stopping kiss First and final kiss Some folks fall for folks who’ve fallen
6.
The Blacksmith 03:49
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Working late again Lit by the fires of volcanoes beneath the earth And though my body’s lame My hands work possessed by the furies they’ve had since birth Because on the day I was born I was thrown from a mountain top I fell for days And days You know my woman’s gone What can you do when you lose to a stronger man And though I’m underground It still feels like I’m still falling down For days And days In the darkness In the coldness I feel That I’m beating time here While I’m beating the steel It feels like I’m still falling down For days And days And days And days And days
7.
The Stretcher 03:56
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(Metal!) Young traveler, you’re looking lost, tired and thin There’s always empty rooms here at Procrustes’ Inn The bed’s a little long, which I just can’t allow It’s quite a stretch but we can make it work somehow! A little short, a little long, don’t you agree? I’ll get my tools and we’ll adjust accordingly Get into bed, lay down your head, and close your eyes It’s mine to keep, just go to sleep So I can cut you down to size Your feet are tired and you’re running out of light (There’s something strange about this traveler tonight…) Athen’s your destination, Theseus your name Just lay yourself along this cozy metal frame! A little short, a little long, don’t you agree? I’ll get my tools and we’ll adjust accordingly Get into bed, lay down your head, and close your eyes It’s mine to keep, just go to sleep So I can cut you down to size If you want hospitality, well this is it I’ll take you in and make it all a perfect fit A little short, a little long, don’t you agree? Put down your things, and baby Come and spend the night with me
8.
Interval 00:48
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9.
I Can't Give You Anything But Love 03:47
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I put my ciggy out & roll one with my tongue Ah, don’t you fear me ‘Cos I’m strange & serpentine But that don’t endear me To the Coney Island mermaids tonite I – I can’t give you nothing but my love Smoke me like a human cigar [suck] ooooo Love – I mean it from the top of my skull To the very very tip of my stump I crawled into your room & slithered in your trunk Ah, don’t you hear me When I’m screaming in the night Ah, Sarah believe me I’m not called ‘The Pillow Man’ for monkeyshines If you feel a chill in the pit of your soul Allow me to throw you a bone ‘Cos – I can’t give you nothing but my love Can’t give you nothing but love Or I can’t give you nothing at all No I can’t give you nothing at all Nothing nothing nothing, no! Ah I can’t give you nothing at all No I can’t give you nothing Behold the smoke entwined vap’rous midnight skies I crawled this eldritch land – the sawdust & gloom In this sorry caravan of losers & fools Always dreaming of you – & only dreams of you oh oh I – I can’t give you nothing but love Play me like a human guitar Love – like a poison in my nicotine veins I love you babe
10.
Really Tall People 03:16
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I look up to really tall people They look down on me Addie and Harold had a normal looking boy In unpresuming Alton, Illinois Thus was born the world’s tallest man He had an overactive pituitary gland Overactive pituitary gland By the age of 8 he was over 6 feet It wasn’t too long before he had the record beat Robert Wadlow the world’s tallest man He had an overactive pituitary gland Overactive pituitary gland Overactive pituitary gland (Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh…) I look up to really tall people They look down on me Almost 9 feet at the age of 22 A shoe embassador of goodwill too Finally died in the state of Michigan He had an overactive pituitary gland Overactive pituitary gland (Oh oh oh) I wanna know how tall you would have grown If you hadn’t got that blister on your toe An infection you’d been able to withstand He had an overactive pituitary gland Overactive pituitary gland Overactive pituitary gland (Oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh oh…) I look up to really tall people They look down on me
11.
If You Close Your Eyes 03:19
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Hi there you may not have heard of me But I’m Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Man They don’t try to get too close to me They don’t think that anybody can I’m not like other guys you see That much is pretty obvious But hey there, I was just thinking That if you close your eyes If you have another drink and then you’ll see That if you close your eyes Maybe you’d love a freak like me Hey there I caught the show the other night The greatest show on earth or so I’d heard There was something I could recognize in you Forgive me if I don’t have the words I think I saw you in row 13, aisle 5 Yes that’s where I am every night So hey there (hey there) I was just thinking That if we close our eyes If we have another drink and then we’ll see That if we close our eyes Maybe you’d love someone like me Maybe you’d love someone like me
12.
Captivated 03:57
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I’m captivated We’re in the spotlight You move gracefully, lazily You purr for me you’d kill for me And I’m in rapture Emerald jewel eyes Burning stripes of fire Yearning desire for love I mother you You smother me Do these scars I bear show you care? I’m captivated We’re in the spotlight You move gracefully, lazily You purr for me you’d kill for me And I’m in rapture Your eyes glow green with jealous fire, displeasure My lover, will die Your killer affection Rip flesh from bones Steel bars enclose my soul Tyger! Tyger! burning bright In the forests of the night, What immortal hand or eye Could frame thy fearful symmetry? In what distant deeps or skies Burnt the fire of thine eyes? On what wings dare he aspire? What the hand dare sieze the fire? Emerald jewel eyes Burning stripes of fire Yearning desire for love I’m captivated We’re in the spotlight You move gracefully, lazily You purr for me you’d kill for me And I’m in rapture
13.
Ordinary Bones 03:26
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I’m the side-show of the world, even the Aztecs would laugh If they’d been cursed by chance to see me With all the words in the world, men would struggle to describe me But it doesn’t stop them from trying And they keep trying However sweet you sing There’s a hole in everything These are ordinary bones You can’t give them away You can’t give them away Down the old Gothic Hall, even empathy was bald And no one even thinks that I’m human I don’t know where to turn, and everybody yearns For a sight or a strand of this long-haired, long-held grief Now you’re dancing with the freak No good will come of this If I could dance my heart to sleep I’d be slipping away I’d be slipping away The rule of this blood It is cruel and without luck I am the end of the line Even the child that we made In the darkness of that cage Knew enough to head for the sun Now my whole life’s turned to wax Under finger-printed glass But these are ordinary bones They keep giving away They keep giving away
14.
Denouement 01:30
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about

This album entered a new world for the IML. By opting for two themes at once we stood the chance of getting completely mixed up but oddly there turned out to be lots of consistency. We knitted the tracks together with a short story for the first time (though there was a beautiful spoken word track on Superheroes of the Sea). This album contains some of the heaviest and some of the most sensitive moments from the group yet.

credits

released December 1, 2009

Album artwork: Tim Donderevo, Album wrangler: Barney Brown, Layla Vandenbergh, Album mastered by: Tim Donderevo

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Intercontinental Music Lab Cambridge, UK

Since 2008, the Intercontinental Music Lab has produced eight albums. They’ve all been made in the same way. We came up with a concept or theme for an album, then asked people to choose subjects around that theme and compose some music. The theme for our first album was science. The theme for our latest album is Spielberg. Enjoy! ... more

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