I’m here with Alexander, fighting for an empire
Leaning on the general by my side
I’m here with Leonardo, taking on Firenze,
Dreaming of a body that learned to fly
And we are here
We have always been here
Watching from the shadows
Or hiding in the light
We are here
And we won’t be silent
Anymore
I am here with Owen, writing from the trenches
I am here with Turing trying to crack the code
I am in the prison where Wilde was tamed
Punished for the love that did not dare to speak its name
And time will tell, this is not your time
They haven’t heard your voice yet unless they read between the lines
But we are here
I am here with Ginsberg
I am here with Baldwyn
I am here with Harvey, trying to change the law
Throwing bricks at Stonewall
Mardi Gras in Sydney
Acting Up in New York
Dancing at Pulse
I am in the kitchen with my family watching TV
When I saw the grim reaper with a bowling ball
And I am in the change room when they beat me senseless
When they tried to shame us
We were there
You haven’t found your home yet, you haven’t found your tribe
We have always been here, we are waiting, you are loved
We are waiting, we are waiting, we are waiting, you are loved
We are waiting, we are waiting, we are waiting
[top]
I’m not sure where the shame begins
When they taught me not to be like them
I just took a breath and held it in
And learned not to let it go
I saw what happens when you walk with a swish
Heard what happens when you speak with a lisp
I just learned not to move my hips
And avoid every word with ‘s’
I was hoping that something could make me well
Or make it something I would outgrow
Maybe some doctor could make some pill
That could make all this wanting go
But you can’t fix me I’m not broken
I’m the way I’m meant to be
When you’re young you let the voices win
Learn to hate the love that you feel within
Learn to hate the sinner and you hate the sin
And you learn to hate your body ‘cause it did you in
Hoping that something could make me well
But you can’t fix me
I’m not broken
That’s how I’m meant to be
(da doo, doo doo, da doo, doo doo)
Sometimes that little boy’s still hurting
The one who cried alone
But he got big and he got certain
That he was never really wrong
You can’t fix me, I’m not broken
But sometimes that little boy’s still hurting
I was broken when I met you
I should have never let you in or got so close
But I thought your beauty and your wisdom
And our gorgeous little son would make me whole
Too young to be a father
Unfit to be a husband
Too stunted by the world to be full grown
And in my stupid youthfulness
I tried my very best to fill those roles
In a world that’s not so pretty
That I’m not so honest to
I thought I’d found some beauty and some truth
But like a suit that didn’t fit me
I swam around in someone else’s clothes
And the disguise hung from me loosely
So I cinched my belt and tried to grab a hold
Searching for some beauty and some truth
They say you don’t get over it
When someone breaks your heart like I did to you
And I’m not making some excuse
But the world broke my heart too
So I’ll face the ugly truth and just get on
I know you think that if I stayed
And if you hadn’t been betrayed life would be fine
But you can’t live a lie
Believe me – I’ve tried
In a world that’s not so pretty T
hat you’re not so honest to
I hope you find forgiveness
I hope you find some peace
I hope that you’re released from all this anger and this grief
I hope that you find the love that I could not give to you
I hope you find beauty and truth
What I wouldn’t give
For a burnt round of toast
And a cold cup of tea on the side
For a card bought by your mum A
nd a scribble that you’d written there inside
What I wouldn’t give to stop those Bunnings’ ads
Saying ‘tell your dad you love him with a drill’
They only remind me of things I can’t fix
And holes in my life I can’t fill
All Sunday waiting to hear from you son
Thinking of us on a father’s day gone by
What I wouldn’t give to tell you 20 times
To pick those towels up from the bathroom floor
What I wouldn’t give for a call at 3am
With a ‘Hey, dad, can you come and take me home’
What I wouldn’t give to hear your voice again
Even in another screaming fight
Silence reminds me of things I regret
And words said in anger and spite
For a hug you used to give
Before you grew and learned to pull away
To kick ‘round a ball with you
Read in the bath to you
Wipe off the mud from your face Y
our little hand used to linger in mine
Now all that I hold is a memory
Of father’s days gone by
I was an angry boy
Kicking out at an unfair world
And I learned to dim my light
Push down my feelings
Defend what’s buried
I’ll let it all out with you!
I want to break through the darkness
That kept me from shining through
I want to live proud and openly
Sing loud and hopefully
Do what I was born to do
I’ll stand here in my power
Let go of the fear and doubt from my youth
And I’ll let it all out with you
I was an angry man
Didn’t want to be the way that I am
And I learned to hide in work
Avoid the signs
Pretend I’m getting by
I’ll let it all out with you
Can I hold your hand in the park
And let them all see when we do
I want to kiss by the oak tree
And let the whole world see
I won’t be ashamed of the truth
Let go of the fear and doubt
Let ‘Em all see, this is all me, time to be free, let it all out with you
Let the hurt go, let the past go, let ‘Em all know, let it all out
Let it out, let it out, let it out now
Let it out, let it out
You’d better listen real close there’s gonna be a test at the end of this
I’ve been gathering songs all week and I put them into a playlist
So, I better play it again
Better play it again
Did you hear that bit where he said how it felt and how it is?
I’ve been trying to tell you something but he said it better than me
So, I’d better play it again
If we were the circus you’d be the juggler and I’d be the clown
If we were a crossword I’d be the cryptic clue to one down
If this were the 80s I’d put it down on a mix tape
And you’d better play it again
Better listen real close there’s gonna be a test at the end of this
Every time I go walking I play it and you’re keeping me company
I play it real loud in my headphones, it’s like you’re inside of me
And I’d better play it again
Better play it again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again and again
I made you a playlist
There’ll be a test at the end of this
Gotta be smart
Gotta be cool
Gotta study hard
Gotta win
Gotta play football
Gotta be hard
Gotta be open
Gotta speak up
Don’t be outspoken
I’m making a mess of everything that I do
I can’t wait to finish school
And I’ll get there when I’m done
When I’m not so young and dumb
When I’m speaking from my truth instead of tripping on my tongue
I know the world don’t owe me anything
One day I’ll find my voice and I’ll learn to sing
‘til then I’d
Better be tough
Better be funny
Better better your best
Better make more money
Better your friends
Better your health
Better find a better half
Better save
Better better yourself
I’ll get there when I can
When I’m an older wiser man
When I get my stuff together, instead of stuffing up the plan
Aaaaaah-ah, ah – Aaaaaah-ah, ah
When I was younger, I thought the older me would work this out
But that was one more thing that young dumb kid was wrong about
Still I’m
Still underpaid
Still overworked
Still overwhelmed
Still thinking I’m still not good enough
Still showing
Still healing
Still here
Still growing up
I’m making a mess of everything I do
Spend my whole life getting schooled
When I’m not so young and dumb and full of dumb ideas
Not young and dumb and full of dumb ideas not young and dumb and fun and full of dumb ideas not young and dumb
Moving through your garden
Moving to your room
Move into your arms
Moving next to you
I have been moved
And I never thought that I could move like that
I might be lying still but it’s moving through me fast
I am vibrating
As I am waking
Stumbling, falling, shaking I am moved
I might be standing still but it’s moving through me fast
I have been moved I have been moved
Look at how you moved me
I am walking
I am walking out with pride
I am running
Before I run out of time
When my life was stuck
I just moved my body let the rest catch up
When my mind was fixed
I might be flying still but it’s moving through me fast
I don’t want to hear another song about another woman hurt by a man
Something catchy where he’s calling her ‘bitch’, ‘Jezebel’, ‘baby’ or ‘tramp’
I don’t want a drinking song that makes alcoholism sound fun
Something all the drunk guys can drink to while everybody else sings along
I don’t want to give them an anthem and let them think we understand
I don’t want another song about another woman hurt by a man
When Johnny Cash sang Cocaine Blues about shooting a woman down
It was hot and the beat was killer, and it seemed to really catch on
When Aretha sings about RESPECT
When Nina sings about Release
When Madonna’s expressing herself
When girls are just having fun with Cyndi
When Stevie is singing her Dreams
When Running Up The Hill with Kate
When Dolly works 9 to 5
When Gaga was Born This Way
When Tina is Proud
When Janis is loud
When Beyonce serves Lemonade
When Chrissie is touching herself
When Taylor is shaking off hate
And when all of the songs that are yet to be written find stages where she can play
May I do a better job of shutting up so I can hear what she’ll say
Don’t give some bastard an anthem and let him think we understand
No one’s heart breaks like Patsy’s and my heart.
No one else falls to pieces.
No one goes walking alone after midnight.
There are no other crazier minds.
I should’ve known when you turned the cards slowly
I should’ve stopped and I should’ve looked, I should’ve heard, I should’ve seen
You had leavin’ on your mind.
And it’s fatally flawed ‘cause you listen to techno and I like to listen to Patsy Cline
Is it that you like to dance and I like to get my heart broken?
No one knows how to stand by their man.
No one’s singing my song.
Nobody left here who wants to play house they all packed up their lives and went home.
And nobody else had a dream so elusive.
Nobody’s heart breaks like Tammy Wynette’s does, except maybe mine.
And I feel like a radio station in Nashville that’s playing this pain all the time.
You won’t tune in to the static I’m sending, you think I’m out of my mind.
And I feel like an aeroplane that’s losing the battle with gravity and insanity.
And it’s fatally flawed ‘cause you don’t even know who Patsy Cline is.
But is it that you like to dance and I like my heart broken?
Never leaving this couch
Never drinking again
Until Saturday night
Then never mind what I said
Fuck, it’s good to be alive
There’ll be bloodshot eyes
There’ll be too little sleep
I’ll be up all night
With immoderate needs
Might feel a little sorry tomorrow
But if I left now I’d regret it more though
Fuck, it’s good to see…
The hole in the roof
At The Curtin hotel
Where you swung from a heater
Til both of you fell
When we sang karaoke
Like a Prayer out of tune
We drank all the cocktails
You spiked with the mushrooms
Fuck, it’s good to be here
To be in love
To be inspired
To be with you
To be alive
