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3 Wheels 9 Lives

by Thermal And A Quarter

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1.
Surrender 06:26
Stepping over, stepping light I'll discover, I don't need to fight The mantras chanted, the rite complete There're only ashes at my feet It's out of my hands now I'll hand over, I'll let go What's forever, I'll never know Give it all up, give it away Don't take it back, that's what they say And it's out of my hands now Worry, it's scary Too much care Losing my hair Trying to prepare For something I can't see or hear or smell or even know… There's only now Only this note Only this moment, take a bow Or should I surrender Is there chaos, is there a plan Random patterns for every man Invisible wires and a safety net Or only freefall space cadets, freefall And gravity always wins I know the G word, I know it well They say it'll keep me for going to hell Whatever works, makes you content Lets you deal with how insignificant, you are, we are, we all are And suddenly we're gone Worry, it's scary Too much care Losing my hair Trying to prepare For something I can't see or hear or smell or even know There's only now Only this note Only this moment, take a bow Should I surrender
2.
Three wheels, nine lives Ready meals, day by day I put my hand out, no need to shout I’m going green and public today Finding all the gaps in this black-and-yellow trap With city-breath blowing in my hair Don’t fire me I’m late, blame it on my fate This life, this life is so unfair Still got to pay the auto fare Money to burn at a shallow soiree Got to get the old wheels out of the covers tonight But the plugs are shot, and all I’ve got Is just one chance with her to make it right Called a no-show cabbie, just made me crabby All dressed up and nobody cares She didn’t bring it on, with my three-wheeler con This life, this life is so unfair Still got to pay the auto fare Meter Mele One-and-a-Half! So here I am, lost and alone In a shortcut, roach-bitten cabriolet Dead air on the cell, this is a party, a party from hell So I tell the man “stop, and ask for the way” Three or four gents, kindly souls all Get their hands on the vehicle and put on a scare I was relieved, my cards and cash called, This life, this life is so unfair Still got to pay the auto fare Meter Mele One-and-a-half!
3.
Noisy world, I am curled Safe and warm I’ll come to no harm Do I have to go, I know the flow Drive right along, with the radio song I can’t wait, to see her… My billboard bride Won’t be denied Immortal plastic armour hide My billboard bride Flashing on the side Together lover sanctified Maybe lady wrapped in candy I’m so tired of my own company Electric voice and freedom of choice Cold as ice and tired of nice You’ll be, you could be my consolation prize My billboard bride Won’t be denied Immortal plastic armour hide My billboard bride Flashing on the side Together lover sanctified I’ll make love to you Drive-by love is good Your face might change it’s true You’re just misunderstood My billboard bride Won’t be denied Immortal plastic armour hide My billboard bride Flashing on the side Together lover sanctified
4.
De-Arranged 05:13
We were safe, protected Wrapped up in our love Anything the world could say was twisted Just words we didn’t know the meaning of Just words we didn’t know the meaning of Is everything different now Is everyone changed Am I inside out Outside in Am I de-arranged What would it take to make us right When I don’t want to be believe that we went wrong What would it take to make me see That I’m broken inside And I need you… Lost in the stereotype I wear my stone face And I’m so sorry, so sorry Your storms are my grace And soon, so soon The crack will run with clean rain, clean rain Is everything different now Is everyone changed Am I inside out Outside in Am I de-arranged What would it take to make us right When I don’t want to be believe that we went wrong What would it take to make me see That I’m broken inside And I need you… Is everything different Is everyone changed Am I inside out Am I de-arranged
5.
Here or there is all very well But in between is where the time will tell Straight or late in a Crimson view Talking to the wind blowing all through you Jupiter burning in the sky Giant storms a lifetime away Here in the middle just a riddle why I’m here my love I’m half the way Half the joy may be half the way But the middle isn’t just one place It’s a whole ocean, an entire space And for years you can try to stay Right in the middle Get in the middle Get in the middle Get to the beginning of the center of the circle of the stars Get to the end of the edge of the box of the time Cards make a house, but love makes a home Man makes manners and in Xanadu a dome The image makes god and I make it real The sound makes music and I make it feel Start in the middle with everything main Then like Coltrane, go both ways at once Start in the middle with everything main Then like Coltrane, go both ways at once
6.
Birthday 04:43
I want, I want my birthday To be a space and not a time Are we there yet? Can this air This chair That space downstairs Can they be my birthday Can I open the gifts of my eyes And be in my birthday Sing nonsense songs And run all day Eat what I like It’s all a game let’s play I want, I want my birthday To be a space and not a time Are we there yet? Can I open the gifts of my eyes And be in my birthday Time only makes you old Time only draws the lines Time’s something on a clock, love And space is what defines Space is what defines I want, I want my birthday To be a space and not a time Are we there yet?
7.
Some folks never get hitched Some get a few along the way Some find too many Just can’t seem to give it away Some stay married forever And hate every minute they're in Some lose the love of their lives Before their lives begin Love life, No strife Seems so rare All smiles High fives Just an ordinary affair Some men want taken women And the mistress never gets her man Married men envy bachelor boys Footloose and free Some pick the best from the worst And stay with the one who cares But soon the best can’t be told from the worst And yours is an ordinary affair Love life, No strife Seems so rare All smiles High fives Just an ordinary affair
8.
It’s terrible trouble Oh it’s terrible trouble Look any which way It’s terrible trouble There she goes now There she goes now You’re ready to explode But she’s going anyhow Try to make it easy… You’re tied up inside You’re screwed up inside You’re screaming ‘why me?’ Nowhere to hide Try to make it easy… I know it's a-where you’re coming from Maybe you should smoke some You've got to take a different view See what you’ve become Try to make it easy… I won her heart fairly I’m not an also-ran Don’t you think it might be Part of a bigger plan Terrible trouble Oh it's terrible trouble What will they all say? It's terrible trouble Try to make it easy... I know it’s a painful mouthful But don’t take it so hard You really can be too careful Just give us a start
9.
Sweet time, memory Coming back home Cool, clear, slow and cloudy Watching Bangalore flowers Simple, smiling, windblown Sipping Southie coffee By my side, I’m not alone Around Bangalore flowers Everywhere this land I go I’m weary, I’m worried, I’m craving Back on the road, up the plateau For this bearable lightness of being * She’s a flower, a Bangalore flower She’s got me in the zone She’s a flower, a Bangalore flower She’s got me in the zone No up-market paint job, no cover-ups She keeps me on the phone Flower, Bangalore flower She’s got me in the zone Days, minutes, hours Going to the shows Talkies, music, first-day covers With Bangalore flowers Pulp fiction in the green Stories intertwine Times change, brand-new scene Still, Bangalore flowers Everywhere this land I go I’m weary, I’m worried, I’m craving To be back on the road, up the plateau For this bearable lightness of being * No poster on my wall No stuck-up intellectual Just a Bangalore flower No high-fly Barbie doll No need to have it all Just a Bangalore flower
10.
If the blues is a bottle, then I’m not getting very far If the blues is a bottle, then I’m not getting very far You can keep all your whiskey, Just give me back that old shiny guitar If the blues is a sinner, then why am I standing high and dry If the blues is a sinner, then why am I standing high and dry Is anybody here gonna save me Or do I really really have to cry If the blues is a woman, then I want some more If the blues is a woman, then I want some more If the blues is a woman, then I really want some more If the blues is made of sorrow, then why does it smile on me If the blues is made of sorrow, then why does it smile on me I’m a brown man from a strange land But it sure is the colour of my misery
11.
Sad Moon 03:58
Sad moon Old moon You hide your smile tonight Caught in a web of city light The stars are gone The stars are gone The cow she jumped That holy heifer of the heavens It was her best bet To chew through the net But the stars They did not return. Sad moon Old moon You hide your smile tonight Caught in a web of city light The stars are gone Your friends are gone And men have grown so tall so tall To reach out and touch your constant face But the telling of this tale, it had to fall To a child in a moment of grace Sad moon Old moon You smile again so bright Caught in a web of city light On one small friend You can depend For a song and a story tonight
12.
For the Cat 05:03
Eyes closed fingers poised Flowers strung about Adonis The words below go around the sun The Cat, always deep, always fun A quiet calm in a wild world A friendly voice, a seeker’s curse A faraway look and a searing vision The Cat, he sang his simple verse Ch: I think I heard him right, I heard him young The patterns still a desert haze Before the moulds are made and the lines are strung Before grown-up good sense betrays The Cat; and all the stories sung So ask the questions even if You have no answers Tell your wide-eyed tales For the Cat, he never made the sale He loved his dog, he got on a train A stranger in a known land The words they stuck and the tunes remain The Cat, he took another stand Ch: But he sure could dance He sure could dance You know the Cat always lands on his feet Watch him move… Ch: All the stories sung You know the Cat always lands on his feet, mm mm mm Even in the moonshadow The Cat says it's all right It's all right...
13.
Aerodymanic 05:12
I am speed I need to lead The questions are forgotten Snatched away forgotten Second wind in my hair Racing the shadows with watering eyes Under the Rain Trees In between falling leaves Between dreams I’m aerodymanic I’m totally ecstatic My music’s eclectic My mind’s electric I make them all, I make them all so frantic ‘Cause I’m aerodymanic Maybe I will Remember today Maybe I still Forget to say Please and thank you But this love this fierce pride Of staying up on two wheels to ride Somewhere in my middle ear They said it would always be clear I’m aerodymanic I’m totally ecstatic My music’s eclectic My mind’s electric I make them all, I make them all so frantic Cause I’m aerodymanic Muscle and balance I’m above the street Just a bruise away If I’m not fleet Long afternoons Short roads for me Alone I may be But I’m in good company I’m aerodymanic I’m totally ecstatic My music’s eclectic My mind’s electric I make them all, I make them all so frantic Cause I’m aerodymanic
14.
Ho-Hum 04:12
15.
Origami 06:44
Grab your biggest problem By the words it can be written with Put it down Put it down On the coloured paper Don't save it for later Put it down. Now your fingers Can delicately fold and crease And quietly release The wonder Hidden in the paper So fine… I looked at you and thought Just how am I going to find Some words tonight I should've Put them down And got them just right. Then I could watch your eyes Grow wide open green surprise Unfold this heart of me From some silly origami So fine... The paper is the door The paper is the window Welcome to the fold There’s such a long way to go Just take this paper heart and remember All the places you’ve been in my mind We used to know how to make A paper swan Is it gone… Oh to be young again Can you keep up with this geometry The shape of all our memory So go ahead, and fold me Into your silly origami, so fine Hold me, fold me, love me Now your fingers Can delicately fold and crease And quietly release...
16.
Chameleon 06:27
I don’t have the time There’s water in my hourglass And the sand is in my eyes I don’t have my mind There’s flickering lights in my head And my reasons are all lies Today is just the same old same old Too many teeth behind those smiles And I don’t care about the stories told If it means more, more, more, More frequent-flyer miles More secretary smiles More… * I’m dangerous, I’m your best friend I’m a colour-blind chameleon I’m moving up, I know what’s going down I’m just an urban Super human The consumer and the consumed… I don’t have the reasons I lost them in the fire Of my ambition to be Something, somebody not me I don’t have a saviour I’m too smart To be taken in by Your prayers and your incense and that round-trip to heaven Today is just the same old same old Too many teeth behind those smiles And I don’t care about the stories told If it means more, more, more More frequent-flyer miles More secretary smiles More… *
17.
Dangerous mind, so clever so cool Above it all, a madman, a fool A wisp of the will, an opera phantom Singing of sheep while pulling the wool Silence! I shout, I try to be still Show me your papers, your license to kill Have you no respect, no love, or no wall? The murk deepens, the clear water is still I am I am I am I am I am A dangerous mind am I am I am I am I A dangerous mind… Have faith in science, and ask for no proof Have a reason for god, then make him aloof Find a way, a path, a narrow dotted line Souls for sale, and bottle the immortal wine Dangerous mind, crying for war A babe in the woods with an old Bowie scar A moment of peace, a figment of fortune A time to bide, but no bridge too far I am I am I am I am I am A dangerous mind am I am I am I am I A dangerous mind…
18.
It’s early, it’s late We’re playing with fate We’ve given we’ve given we’ve given it all Halfway up we go and twice as far we fall We’ve Googled and froogled and inveigled and wheedled We’ve mingled and sidled and played the second fiddle So now, tell us, tell us, tell us Who do we, who do we have sex with? Who do we, who do we have sex with? We’ve tried all the other stuff Hope the bed is big enough Who do we, who do we have sex with? Who do we, who do we have sex with? If we push, we’re pushy And if we’re chill we’re lazy We work, work, work and we make ‘em all friends When they pick up their phones they sell us dead ends All our buddies think we’ve gone from ‘what da’ to agenda And our long suffering families want to put us in the blender So now, tell us, tell us, tell us Who do we, who do we have sex with? Who do we, who do we have sex with? We’ve tried all the other stuff Hope the bed is big enough Who do we, who do we have sex with? Who do we, who do we have sex with? They’re all in bed Pillow talk will get you ahead Sing the same songs But it’s not your nicely rounded diphthongs That get the gongs… Who do we, who do we have sex with? Who do we, who do we have sex with? We’ve tried all the other stuff Hope the bed is big enough Who do we, who do we have sex with? Who do we, who do we have sex with?
19.
Won't Stop 05:12
I draw a line in the sand And you hate me I make a face in the water And you drown me I carve a God from cold stone And you bury me But I Won’t stop. I open your eyes to the colours And you blind me You hear my voice in the darkness And you strangle me I give you a taste of tomorrow But it never comes for me But I Won’t stop. Small, we are so small And it boggles my mind That your mind Could be smaller Cold, in the end it’s so cold And all we have Is the time And a spark From the fire… I draw a line in the sand And you hate me I make a face in the water And you drown me I carve a God from cold stone And you bury me But I Won’t stop.
20.
I remember so well I forget too easily But the tracks of memory Are so freely Burned with pain I forgot the words I bury the meaning I keep a dry heart But the tears keep coming It was something you said It was a little thing but it fed The spinning wheel in my head And a part of me was dead It was something you said The letter in a bottle Washed up on my beach It was a picture Of water, of love So out of reach So far so near My fingers grab Dancing in the light I’m wound up so tight It was something you said It was a little thing but it fed The spinning wheel in my head And a part of me was dead It was something you said
21.
Simply Be 05:18
If the ground is a hard place Stay above it If the sky is full of rain The trees will love it If the journey takes too long Don’t forget to enjoy it And if you don’t get Where you’re going Don’t you worry about it And if you don’t get Where you’re going It’s where you got to be If your time has not yet come Don’t be late If your story’s not been told Don’t believe in fate If you think you haven’t got enough Why don’t you eat, eat what’s on your plate And if it only takes a minute Don’t you let it wait And if it only takes a minute Don’t you let it wait If your time has not yet come Don’t be late If your story’s not been told Don’t believe in fate If you think you haven’t got enough Why don’t you eat, eat what’s on your plate And if you don’t get Where you’re going Don’t you worry about it And if you forget Where you’re going It’s where you simply be
22.
I bite my lip and watch the parade It’s a long line from the stockade There’s twenty-four spangled horsemen It’s like there never was a better charade And on the top is the dubyaman He’s sitting mighty pretty, feeling groovy He’s never been called to the flush line He’s all left feet but how does he do the boogie Mighty strange and vaguely deranged I’m fighting the rising bile In the wreck of my mind is the sorry starship Carried me over every jungle mile It’s late in the evening and the hooter girls Are flashing in the corner of my screen As I jack into another download whirl Oh brother just where have I been Flying fingers tremulous and free free Tapping on the plastic menagerie Why does it always get so clear When the cricket song dies of morning fear Mighty strange and vaguely deranged I’m cruising the jet speed high And the blinkety blink of the magic line Is hypnotizing cauterizing and very alive In every song and every spin Is the pattern of the older lie All I do is watch the river flow The river flow the river flow Mighty strange and vaguely deranged I’m burning out it’s very cool I’ll have to do this again with the balls of light Get moody blue and play the fool
23.
One small breath One small word One small man One small space Can be everything In a tired world One small glimpse One small truth One small cry One small change The leaves they turn And slowly I learn It’s such a big deal Oh a pretty balloon Blow it up make the steal We’re all in We’re all in And there’s no getting out I’m such a big man Take a look at my shadow I’ll make my last stand It’s all right It’s all right ‘Cause suddenly I know How One small time One small kindness One small light One small darkness Can be everything In a tired world We made a big splash But the well ran dry We smoked the big cash Light it up Light it up At least we didn’t lie And it’s One small breath One small word One small step One small love That’s everything In this tired world
24.
Don’t stop me Because I’m going anyway Don’t stop me You know I’m going anyway I’m going to that special place You know it’s not so far away Where the state has no name You can’t hear me I’m not speaking your words You can’t hear me ’Cause I’m not speaking in your words I live in that, that special place You know we’ve cut it up with our swords Where the state has no name Where the state has no name Borders like boulders thrown In a laughing God’s game Where the state has no name The dice fall in unkind spots In a land of polyglots Where the state has no name Where the state has no name You can’t love me I’m not from where you are You can’t love me I’m not from where you are My DNA is mine, I’m a lonely fish Happy as can be in my Petri dish Where the state has no name
25.
Grab Me 04:49
It’s one thirty o’ clock in the morning Woke up late last night If that isn’t right To start the blues bar Then the sorry girls are winning the fight Feeling mighty high and low Just like I did some crooked lines Funny because I’m clean and dry Never needed any joy juice to get high I play in a cool smart rock n roll band It’s like the only thing that makes it go round Been everywhere but the big time lover Somewhere this ruby yacht ran aground Grab me by my fingertips and take me off this page Dance me to the ground it’s lover-ly How lots of chocolates can mystify the mage I’m just about to shake my cage Losing my mind with the daily wage I get home early, shut off my head And fire all my synapse slaves It’s pleasant and even mildly euphoric Oh these after-burner polychrome waves Rise up with the sorry sunlight That bleeds all over the floor The shadows shrink as I pour my first drink It’s a Boost in the mug with no happy encore Grab me by my fingertips and take me off this ride Dance me to the ceiling it’s lover-ly How honest work can crucify my pride I’m just about to set aside A modicum of love and a paisa-worth of bromide
26.
Clean Up 04:36
Can we save this fragile world We shout, we sing, we wave, we stand to be counted With our new cars, new phones New plug-and-play Steel-and-glass duplex And that burning desire to be green and grounded It’s taking too long, and time’s running out We still don’t understand what this is about Is this somebody else’s problem Another tired case of us and them Or is it time, time, time, to Clean up Clean up this gig The holes we dig Are our very own Time’s up Time’s up today Too late to pray Now we are alone Wise up Don’t you see the sign Mother Earth, she’s got time Bury the whole race After all, a short phase Give Her a million years and She’ll be just fine Do we see Do we see our world As something we borrow from our children We go with the flow Love the status quo Do we really know How quickly we can be forgotten It’s taking too long, and time’s running out We still don’t understand what this is about Is this somebody else’s problem Another tired case of us and them Or is it time, time, time, to Clean up Clean up this gig The holes we dig Are our very own Time’s up Time’s up today Too late to pray Now we are alone Wise up Don’t you see the sign Mother Earth, she’s got time Bury the whole race After all, a short phase Give Her a million years and She’ll be just fine Are we gonna clean up, clean up? Do we know that time’s up? Are we gonna wise up, wise up? We’ve got to see the sign
27.
Sorry for Me 05:29
Dear Sir, We wish to inform you That the last date To pay your tax is through Now you have to wait For your inevitable fate And all we want Is all you’ve got Is that so much to ask? Where are you my number man I thought you knew the bigger plan The way you make those figures dance A mystery ballet a calculated romance You spoke so eloquently I know, I know, you’re so sorry for me… Oh lady, Won’t you reconsider This is the last time I promise forever Can we try another rhyme I’m sure it is no crime And all you want Is all I had Is that so much to ask? Where are you my mystic friend Are you reading another strange godsend The way you drew those pentagrams The sun and the stars were your anagrams You threw some magic dust And promised us bites of the upper crust I know, I know, you’re so sorry for me… Dear Lord, Do you really listen To bruised knees And donations I have given Is there some larger fee To get your blessed decree And all you want Is all I am Is that too much to ask? Where are you my holy brother Is it another sheep that you deliver The way you twist that guilty knife In my greedy guts and my sorry life I thought you were heaven sent And now I really do repent And I know, I know, you’re so sorry for me…
28.
Under the table and over the counter I feed you, I grasp your greasy fingers The goddess of riches, yes you have found her But the stink of your lust, it lingers Uncommon Wealth is the denominator You divide your spoils by one I may be common, I may be the giver Now I'm going to get a gun Kickbackistan! Let the games begin Kickbackistan! Let the shame begin Porky players line up Let the lions feed We the rabble, rise up We will watch you bleed And fling our funny money Funny money! It starts with the license for learners At eighteen was I soiled with your touch It never ends, from PM to preachers Uncommon wealth, it's never too much Uncommon Wealth is the denominator You divide your spoils by one I may be common, I may be the giver Now I'm going to get a gun Kickbackistan! Let the games begin Kickbackistan! Let the shame begin Porky players line up Let the lions feed We the rabble, rise up We will watch you bleed And fling our funny money Funny money! Common are these games, these games of wealth Common is the shame this country has felt Often we have run, hands on our face Uncommon wealth, and a common disgrace Kickbackistan! Let the games begin Kickbackistan! Let the shame begin Porky players line up Let the lions feed We the rabble, rise up We will watch you bleed And fling our funny money Funny money!

credits

released March 1, 2012

Credits – Tracks 1 - 20

All songs © 2012 Thermal And A Quarter

Guitars/Vocals: Bruce Lee Mani
Bass: Prakash K N
Drums: Rajeev Rajagopal
Vocals on Sad Moon: Priya Mendens

Recorded at Taaqademy Studios, Koramangala, Bangalore by Niranjan Shivaram
Mixed by Thermal And A Quarter and Niranjan Shivaram
Mastered by Donal Whelan at Hafod Mastering, UK

Credits – Tracks 21 - 28

All songs © 2012 Thermal And A Quarter

Guitars/Vocals: Bruce Lee Mani
Bass: Prakash K N
Drums: Rajeev Rajagopal

Mighty Strange – recorded live at the Bangalore Palace by Niranjan Shivaram. Featuring Maarten Visser (Tenor Sax), Matt Littlewood (Soprano Sax), Jason Zacharaiah (Keyboards), and Shalini Subramaniam/Priya Mendens/Sherin Jacob (Backing Vocals)
One Small Love – recorded live at the Purana Qila, New Delhi, by Niranjan Shivaram. Featuring Ravi Kulur (Carnatic Flute)

Mixed by Thermal And A Quarter and Niranjan Shivaram.
Mastered by Donal Whelan and Hafod Mastering, UK.

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Thermal And A Quarter Bengaluru, India

"Thermal And A Quarter (TAAQ) is on the vanguard of the Indian Rock Scene" - NPR, USA

Founded in 1996, TAAQ is an eclectic, irreverent (but usually relevant) band that considers itself and its music as bastard children of the world. At home everywhere, belonging nowhere. Always true, tight, intense and ready to laugh.
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