Chris Cutler once said he could never understand why Peter Blegvad wasn't hugely successful and famous. Me neither.

Child then

I could run before I learned to walk,
Tore the tongues out of my shoes so they wouldn't talk -
I was a child then.
Seven years at a private school
Only taught me how to play the fool -
I was a child then,
But I would do the same again.

My counsel is my own to keep
And yes, my conscience lets me sleep.

My sisters would behave like trees,
Whispering of mysteries
That were beyond my ken.
Midnight out by Crater Lake
Wondering which pill to take -
I was a child then,
But I would do the same again.

Take another backward leap
And yes, my conscience lets me sleep

If I'd known then what I know now
I'd have done it anyhow.

I never thought at forty-five
I'd still be alive.

Sold my soul for the highest bid,
Feel no remorse for what I did -
I was a child then,
But I would do the same again.

My counsel is my own to keep
And yes, my conscience lets me sleep.

Bee dream

Each of us has in our soul
A portion of eagle, a portion of mole
One soars in the sunlight, one snores in a hole

The mountain, which looks like a prop,
Is black at the bottom and white at the top
Soldiers surround it with twine
I have to cut through it to claim what is mine

The summit is marked by a tree
My double in uniform challenges me
He says, Is the tree mine? I say, Tap it and see.

So he drives in a platinum spout
He turns the tap on and all this jelly comes out -

Royal jelly, which I had stored in this tree
In an earlier lifetime, when I was a bee
Yeah, I'm a king bee, though my wings be furled,
And my kingdom is not of this world.

My home page.

Last updated: 14th January 2000