1. |
Ralentisseur
03:25
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Up ahead is a speed bump
That is more like a road block
You say I’m going too fast
And that I should slow down
You see adrenalin kicks in
Every time that I try
I rely on my stupid luck
On this reckless ride
I’ve been charged with possession
Of vague intentions
But I always knew what I wanted
I still want it now
I’m a derelict songwriter
And when I take it slow
I start feeling like Sisyphus
Rolling a rock up a slope
It’s been a long ride
It’s been a rough ride
Rolling this rock on a high
I still fly in my daydreams
Imagine picking up speed
All that these bumps do
Is to lift me off my feet
Breaking the speed limit
Ignoring the signs
It’s easy to fly
So easy to fly
Breaking that speed limit
Ignoring those signs
Come on, let’s fly
One more time
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2. |
Fish Love
04:23
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Long story short
It will only take a minute
What do you know?
It’s already finished
Long story short
Let’s keep it brief
There’s one in love who gives
And one who receives
Long story short
Give or take a minute
Before you know it
It’s already finished
Long story short
It’s easy to see
I loved the part of me in you
You loved yourself in me
You fall in love and then you get up
You fall in love and then you get out (2x)
We said we loved the fish
That’s a fishy kind of love
We only liked the taste
That’s why we killed it in the first place
Love story short
It’s already finished (4x)
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3. |
Paper Plane
05:25
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There was a man at the foot of the bridge
They crossed and they found a place to dance in the dark
Hidden pleasure and he should have known better
When the lights went on and he was gone
She writes and her fingers are stained with blue ink
All of her letters unopened, unanswered
He moved into her house as a specter
She needs to throw him out but her heart won’t let her
Stone-scissors-paper is the name of the game
Where the stone crushes the scissors
Paper plane flies away
When the game is over, all that’s left is a stone
Oh, all that’s left is a stone
She writes these famous three words
Folds a paper plane
Lets it glide on the wind
As she whispers his name
Paper plane
Fly away
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4. |
Phoenix
03:44
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I am an arsonist, unsavory company
I’m a walking funeral pyre
Wish you’d come after me me, ask for a light
Give me reason to ignite
It’s not some kind of magic skill
Just a trick I picked up in ancient Greece
Instead of learning to be a stand-up philosopher
I was shooting the breeze
I am the phoenix, watch me rise
From the ashes of my desire
I hear you thinking: what a fool
Long after you’re gone I’ll be as new
Spent too much time reading controversial books
Henry fondling girls on skid row
Playing with fire in red-light mansions
You can still see the ashes glow
A pyromaniac, combustible company
About to burst into flames
Please com up to me, ask for a light
Give me reason to ignite
O babe, set me on fire
O babe, I’m burning desire
O babe, watch me rise
From the ashes of my desire
Watch me rise
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5. |
Right Foot Stomp
03:05
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Right foot stomp, left foot fail
Carry me down the homebound trail
North wind blow mighty strong
Road goes on and on
Loved one she don’t live no more
Sorrow cuts down to the core
Bites straight down to the bone
Follow that road alone
I must try to follow that road alone
I once nearly killed a man
Who told me it was all God’s will
I still regret I didn’t then
Does that make me a sinner?
Lord won’t you show the way
It seems that I have gone astray
On this road alone
Help me find my way back home
I must try to follow that road alone
Where can He be
Where can she be
No answer in these times of need
My simple faith is profound
I believe we’re homeward bound
I believe that I will find my way back home (2x)
Right foot stomp, left foot fail
Carry me down the homebound trail
North wind blow mighty strong
Road goes on and on (4x)
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6. |
Song #13
03:54
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There is a ghost in the house
It walks straight through the walls
It’s changing things beyond my control
I tried to stop it
But I can’t anymore
Now nothing is as it was before
I’m on fast forward
I am blundering on
When I look over my shoulder, the damage is done
Will you ever forgive me for the things that I do
Everything’s changing
And I’m changing too
Now I see you through different eyes
I get kind of lost in this trick of the light
You should know that I love you
I know that I do
But everything’s changing
And so are you
There’s a ghost in the house
I have seen it again
What if we catch it, cover it up and then
We’ll take it with us into the grave
Is that good, is it bad?
I cannot say
Everything’s moving and gathering speed
Feels like a trapdoor opened under my feet
Now I am falling and I don’t know how deep
Everything’s changing and the change frightens me
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7. |
Puncture It
03:23
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Copy-cat drives his truck into the crowd
And straight on to paradise
People pray find themselves longing for the time
That boys played pranks
And criminals robbed banks
There was an attack in a faraway war
Blood and screams all on-line
Everyone blaming everyone else
And in the end, who’s left to blame but ourselves
The latest news is a fact-free story
Sure to make the bullets fly
Until a stray hits the last man standing
And your screen splutters and dies
Bold headlines guarantee
The story only goes skin deep
Breaking news
Same old story
With a part that everyone forgets
Fear is inflatable
Pick up a pin
Puncture it
Take a pin and puncture it
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8. |
Bird's-eye View
03:24
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In my mind’s eye
I caught a glimpse
Soon slipped out of sight
And I’ve been looking all over the place
Ever since
Seven hundred and thirty six days
Of ups and downs
Every time I think I see a dot
My heart jumps up and hits the ground
All these switchback turns
You need to take to move on
Negotiating every high and low
Truth sets before it dawns
Lift this burden
Lift this body off the ground
Lift this heavy heart
Beyond the shadow of a doubt
I wish that I could sprout a pair of wings
I need a bird’s-eye view
I’d take off from this broken land
To come looking for you
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9. |
Broken Wing
06:15
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One April day I found a muse on my doorstep
Slightly crumpled and ever so sad
Like a bird with a broken wing
Her eyes all rimmed red
By and by she told me her story
How she’d been living in a cage
Confinement all she ever knew
Inside it was warm and safe
One day she found the door was open
She spread her wings and went looking for love
How in the world could she have known that love
Can be as cold as it can be warm
She made me laugh and she made me cry
And by mistake I made her sorrow mine
In November I stepped through a gate
Into the gusts of the fall
Back from her life into mine that by then
Seemed dim and cold
A song needs a muse
Isn’t that what they say
When you put her to use
There is a price you pay
When I put her to use
There was hell to pay
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10. |
Radio Waves
03:56
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My father opened his magic toolbox
Slipped into his private universe
Where he tried to fix some thing that was broken
Sometimes he only made things worse
Along those lines I try to fix things that are broken
By stringing words into verse
I use all of my skill but still
Sometimes I only make things worse
We use all of our skills, but still ...
Look at all those tubes and wires
In your broken universe
We all watch those monitors
For better or for worse
Some broken things cannot be fixed
There are no words for them
Try to think of them as notes riding radio waves
Tune in and hear them sing
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Diftong The Netherlands
Welcome to Diftong’s heartfelt songs!
In 2022, after six albums with poetic songs on the edges of
rock, country and folk, I decided the time was right to start something completely different: writing songs in Dutch. These Dutch songs will be released as single tracks and are accompanied by a blog (BOSGOD).
I sure hope that you enjoy my music and lyrics. Thanks for listening!
... more
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