Hard Earned Pay

Black Sheep Family
In The City
Hard Earned Pay
Summerdays
Sooner Or Later
Don't Run Away
Doctor Doctor
Up&Down Yo-Yo
Tomorrow Never Comes
Look Around
Mind waltz
However Much
2 Much Drinx
Girl From The Other Side
Just A Little Bit
Not My Fault
Silly Boy

Produced By Mani Z.
Recorded, mixed and mastered during August '97 at the Hansahaus Studios im Bonn by Mani Z.
All songs arrangd by Mani Z. and Grasis
All titles published by Hansahaus Musik

Artwork by Mani Wollner
Photos by Lutz Schmidt

Black Sheep Family
Hiho, Sister Mabel's coming in, she has earned a lot of money in the streets again. She's barely dressed up, nearly naked on two stiletto-heeled shoes. Hello, Sisters Rachel and Deborah, the babies of the family, "the terrible twins", they've been hanging around the whole day, terrorizing all the worthy neighbours. In a black sheep family, in a black sheep family, in a black sheep family I'm living, and a black sheep family that's my family. In a black sheep family, in a black sheep family, in a black sheep family I'm living. I don't care what the people are saying, damn it, fuck them all! Hiho, Brother Cecil's coming down, he has got a new rubber puppet uttering lewd sounds. He takes her with him everywhere he goes, introducing her as "Audrey". Oh well, Brother Jacob is here, the cocaine pope of town, he had made himself scarce. Now we are complete, babies, now we are prepared for a cup of tea. In a black sheep family... I don't care... . Father Reginald makes a speech and no one listens. Mother Gwendoline drinks her seventh bottle of wine. In a black sheep family... I don't care...

In The City
There's a place where I come from, and there´s a place where I belong. Each one of them besides the sea, no matter which is home to me. If only I can be alone in the city at night, in the city at night. Sometimes I travel when I sleep. My half closed eyes try hard to keep the sight of every street in mind, before I leave it all behind. If only I could be alone in the city at night, in the city at night. In every town you'll find a light, people dancing through the night. Voices shout an endless tune, while I take home the moon. If I could only be alone in the city at night, in the city at night.

Hard Earned Pay
Listen, here's your good-for-nothing. For you I'm out of work. Listen, here's your mad musician, for you I'm just a jerk. This is true and real ambition, I'm not wrong or bad. This is true and real obsession, music makes me mad mad mad. I've got my hard earned pay, I've got no regrets, got my hard earned pay. Hard earned pay, no material value, my hard earned pay. Since I was a little skinny boy the beat was beating all around. Electrified by tones and rhythm, fenced in walls of sound. This is true and real ambition, I'm not wrong or bad. This is true and real obsession, music makes me mad mad mad. I've got my hard earned pay... . I've got it made.

Summerdays
Then I saw her again, down in the crowd, dancing with somebody else. It was just like then, when the time stood still and the hot days of summer went by. Suddenly there she was again, the same as years before. There she was again, the same smile again drives you insane. When I saw her again after all these years, I heard her down in the crowd talking, talking to somebody else. So there she was again... . Everybody has got someone from the past that he better shouldn't see. Everybody has got a time that couldn't last 'cause it just shouldn't be. And when I saw her again down in the crowd, she was looking like somebody else. It was just like then, when the time stood still and the hot days of summer went by. And suddenly there she was again... . Everybody has got someone from the past that he better shouldn't see... . Everybody has got someone from the past and a time that just couldn't be. There she was again...

Sooner Or Later
I'm just a restless mind, no patient one. I'm rather aimless, but I'm moving on. I'm flying high too often lost in no-man's-land. I've got so many crash-landings, but I rise up again. You call me stupid dreamer, but there's one thing I'm ahead of you. I'll find what I'm looking for - sooner or later. I'll find what I'm searching for - sooner or later. I'm still on my way on to the sun, the mystery of tomorrow is turning me on and on. You call me stupid dreamer, but there's one thing I'm ahead of you. I'll find what I'm looking for - sooner or later. I'll find what I'm searching for - sooner or later.

Don't Run Away
Don't run away, don't run away. It's okay, when you can't find sleep at night, when you turn the night into day, when you live as you can like a helpless man, when the sounds in your ears return. It's okay, when you don't live a rich man's life and dreams are everything you own. You're expected at home, but you want to be alone and the sounds in your ears still burn. Don't run away, don't run away. It's okay, when you're not everybody's friend, you're a stranger in your own town. You think you're right, but you've got to be polite and still the sounds return. Don't run away, don't run away.

Doctor Doctor
I see the seven seas dropping down my ceiling. I see the sky turning yellow, green and red. I see two big breasts waltzing down the highway. Son, don't tell me I'm out of my mind. I hear a million monks singing "I'm the walrus". I hear a million clocks ticking in my head. I hear all sirens roar, I can't ignore. It's not alright, it's not okay, what's the matter with me? Doctor doctor, make me well. Doctor doctor, get me sane. Doctor doctor, make me well. Won't you cure my little aches, make me well! I feel the hurricanes treating me like a plaything. I feel the gooseflesh growing on my skin. I feel like a rotten limousine waiting for the big crash. It's not alright, it's not okay, what's the matter with me? Doctor doctor... . I'm no hypochondriac and I'm no wailing fool. Can't you take me seriously in this bad world cold and cruel? Doctor doctor...

Up & Down Yo-Yo
Little Lady Suffragette has captured my heart reading me like an opened book page by page. Little Lady Suffragette reads Marquis de Sade, she used to put me into a golden bird cage. And when she lectures on her favourite theme, I've got to be quiet and I feel so green. I can't hear that chattering anymore! I feel good, I'm drowning in sorrow. Man, I'm going up & down yo-yo. I feel distance, I'm in a big jungle. Man, I'm going up & down yo-yo. Little Lady Suffragette has found a new toy. Sometime she'll throw it away and find some new one. Little Lady Suffragette, I'll be no good boy. She'll put me off, I've got no reason to go on. She's making me laugh, she's making me cry. She's making me an idiot, she sets me on fire. I'm a matriarchy victim on the run. I feel good, I'm drowning in sorrow. Man, I'm going up & down yo-yo... . Matriarchy victim, victim on the run... . I'd do anything to get free from her feminine chains. I'm degraded, I'm in the whirlpool of her moodiness waves. I feel good, I'm drowning in sorrow. Man, I'm going up & down yo-yo...

Tomorrow Never Comes
It's not a life for everyone to be left alone every night. It's not the easy way to wait another day. To say: tomorrow it will change. But tomorrow never comes to me. I know: I promised you to take you out. Tomorrow never comes. I said I'd never let you down. Tomorrow never comes. In the morning I'll take care of you. Tomorrow never comes. And all I have in mind is yesterday! It's not so dangerous to say what you think. It's just so hard to see what's the missing link. Maybe tomorrow it will change. But tomorrow never comes to me. I know: I promised you to take you out. Tomorrow never comes. ... Look in my eyes! What do you see? Don't turn around, come talk to me. I know it's temporary, please don't get me wrong. But tomorrow never seems to come along. I know: I promised you to take you out. Tomorrow never comes. ... But I won't give up the fight till I've found a way.

Look Around
Look around, a thousand eyes are watching you. Look around, nobody's saying a word to you. Look around, nobody on your side. Look around, a thousand eyes go by. Down - no you never gonna get me down. Down - no you never gonna get me down. Look around, a friend is not a friend. Look around, a girl is not a girl. Look around, a thousand words go by. Look around, a thousand eyes are closed. Down - no you never gonna get me down. Down - no you never gonna get me down (I might stumble and fall on the ground, my friend, but you never gonna get me down).

Mind Waltz
There are lots of things going through my head. There are lots of faces dancing through my mind. There are lots of people I have never met, but there is no such voice that could be so kind, to tell me where to go, where to look and where to find a little inspiration, a word, a hook or just a rhyme? As hours die in front of me before my very eyes I see, one thing I haven't got is time to spend and think it over again and again, and then maybe go and drink a glass of wine and rest a while on a cloud that passes by. I dream of something small but divine, a melody that'll make you smile. If only I could have it once and make it last forever! But all I get in the end instead is a whole lotta things going through my head.

However Much
However much I rack my brain, I don't understand you. However much I squeeze my heart, I can't get rid of you. However much I lose my head, I won't change your mind. However much I drink and booze, I've got you left behind. You'll never catch me with my head in the snow. You'll never catch me lying deep down below. You'll never catch me staying down on my knees - my world is grey and blue. However much you doubt my love, my aim is true. However much you console me now, it doesn't help, I've lost you. However much I feel the pain, I can't separate from you. However much I look ahead, I won't be the same without you. You'll never catch me... my world is grey and blue, show me a way back to you.

2 Much Drinx
Oh boy, I did it again. Oh boy, I woke up in my clothes again. Oh boy, this is not my house. Oh boy, this is not my bed. Everytime I go out with my friends, I stay up late and I get too much drinks inside my head - inside my head. Oh boy, I did it again. Oh boy, I'm sorry 'bout the things I said. Oh boy, this is not my life. Oh boy, this is not my wife. Everytime I go out with my friends, I stay up late and I get too much drinks inside my head - inside my head. Can someone get me out of here? I don't want to live this way no more. Someone get me out of here, don't listen to the words I say. Too much drinks inside my head, too much drinks inside my head...

Girl From The Other Side
In the middle of the 80's suddenly she came around. A girl from the other side, from a city with a greek sound. She was tough, she was big, with a vision of an eastern man, but it's hard to live a life here on this side, even if you think you can - 'cause it's different. Things got tougher when she met someone from the under- ground. From a city of greeks, but hey, with a whole different sound. One black one white, everyone with a vision of her own. Now the mess was big, but hey, she should have known - 'cause it's different here on this side. She's a girl from the other side, where the grass is greener, the houses are bigger, where the winters are cold and long. She's a girl from the other side, thinking that she's gonna find her way - what if she is wrong? Everyone has the right to find his way, but some are ready and others like to go on a holiday - 'cause it's different here on this side. She's a girl from the other side...

Just A Little Bit
Take a look at this girl, she doesn't know what she wants. If she wants to go out and play with her friends again. Or if she'd rather stay in her room to be alone, just sit there, watch the sky and dream. She says: "I need a little bit, little bit, little bit time, time to think it over. I just need a little bit more time!" - Just a little bit time, just a little bit to think it over, just a little bit time. Take a look at this girl, she doesn't know what she'd rather be. An astronaut, maybe working on a paper moon? Or if she'd rather go and build her own little house, with pancake ceilings and a white chocolate door. She says: "I need a little bit, little bit, little bit time... . Sometimes she definitely knows what she wants and she says it all the time. Sometimes she definitely knows what to do, but she can't choose, lemon or lime? She needs: Just a little bit time...

Not My Fault
It's not my fault, when there's too much smoke in the air. It's not my fault, when you think that I'm unfair. It's not my fault, when you can't find the way to the phone. It's not my fault, if tonight you sleep alone. Listen to the sounds you hear inside. Let them take you back where you felt right. It's not my fault, when you think that I'm too cold. It's not my fault, that you once had it all but now it's all sold. It's not my fault, that the things are not going the way they should be. It's not my fault, when your eyes are open but you still can't see. Listen to the sounds... . Don't let the anger take over your head. Think of the things that you shouldn't have said. Think of the time we had, don't be sad, turn back the wheel, till you feel the way it was before. It's not my fault, when a good thought turned out wrong. It's not my fault, when the distance is too long. It's not my fault, when you throw it all away. It's not my fault, when you're another one today. Listen to the sounds... . Don't let the anger...

Silly Boy
They forbid me talking. They forbid me to go out. They forbid me laughing. I'll do it again, do it again, right! "Show some good behaviour!" "Don't be late, don't be a fool!" "Be a paragon of virtue!" I wanna be bad, wanna be bad now! I wanna make it in my own way. Don't get it right, don't get it left, I'll get it straight ahead. You can't put me down, you can't make me surrender. You can't put me down and break me, even though I'm a silly boy. "Go to school, be honest!" "Go to work and be upright!" "Do it hard and shut up!" I don't wanna be, don't wanna be that! "Be a worthy citizen!" "Say always 'yes' and don't say 'no'!" A real model of duty - I don't wanna be, don't wanna be that! I wanna make it in my own way... . You can't put me down... even though I'm a silly boy.