Mike Cardy

FRANK CONVERSATIONS 
  
I don’t mind I said if the man calls my name         I don’t mind I said if the man calls my name 
I heard a man died a tube in his vein     He didn’t see it coming when he went there again 
Had a dirty conversation with the devil himself      Took him out to Venus on the back of an elf 
  
I don’t mind I said if I don’t get a ride          I don’t mind I said if I don’t get a ride 
I heard a girl saying she was good for a night    She’d heard it all before  was a good one all right 
Had a frank conversation  with a man she don’t know           Took him out to Venus with a second class blow 
  
I don’t mind I said if we celebrate the night       I don’t mind I said if we celebrate the night 
There’s lots of smiling people. They’re all doing their deals while a greaser’s throwing bog laps in his hotted up wheels 
Has an open conversation  with a couple of chicks       Took them out to Venus  with white line fix 
  
The man keeps talking but he don’t see me     I only see his face on my colour TV 
A frank conversation but I’ve had it before      Truth is I don’t want to have it no more 
  
I don’t mind I said  if the man calls my name    I don’t mind I said  if the man calls my name 
I’ve had a good lot    I’ve seen all the sights     I’ve dined with the man and I got through it all right 
A dirty conversation but I had the last word    He’s coming back tomorrow for a while so I’ve heard 
  
  
EVENTUALLY 
  
Did you ever see me coming?  Did you ever call my name? 
Did I answer with a question?  Did I play your silly game? 
Did I offer consolation?   Did I get the question wrong? 
Did I write an ode to friendship or an anthem drinking song? 
Did I question all your motives?   Did I push my point of view? 
Did I raise the bar a bit too far to suit the likes of you? 
Did I use the candle wisely  or burn it at both ends? 
Did I time it right to set my sights and get there in the end?  
  
Can I hear the rustling shadows?    Can I smell the quarter moon? 
Can I face the thought of leaving or the thought of breaking through? 
Can I dance a light fantastic?    Can I breathe the salty air? 
Can you give me twenty cents to phone someone who really cares? 
Can I coin a phrase of wisdom - a lesson for my sons? 
Can I feel their touch without so much as a heartbeat of the young? 
Can I take a lot of chances with some money that I lent? 
Did I time it right to set my sights and get there in the end?  
  
I don’t know what I’m saying. I don’t know what to do. 
I don’t know what the score is. I don’t know my point of view. 
I don’t know about the future - just a bit about the past. 
I’m just a little crawler in a world that’s bloody fast. 
  
Got a race car in my driveway - does a hundred in a flash. 
But I’m too scared to drive it cause I can’t see past the dash. 
Got a house with sixteen bedrooms  but I live on my own 
So I tried to get a girlfriend on the sex talk telephone. 
They said I mustn’t ring her. She’s really not my friend. 
It just the business that’s she’s in – not a shop for lonely men. 
So I relived all my memories    just in case I forget. 
Gotta time it right to set my sights   and get there in the end 
  
Did I wave the flag at Suvler? Did I think of horror days? 
Did I show them that the things they did  are important to us A’s? 
Did I follow in the footsteps of the men who went before? 
And try to understand the fruitlessness of bloody war. 
Did I hear voice that whispered “Have you come to take me home? 
I’ve got a girl in Bunbury   and she’s waiting all alone.” 
Is the message in the bottle or is it spirit that I send? 
Did I time it right to set my sights and get there in the end?  
  
Did I hear my country calling?   Is it time to come inside? 
Is it time to think of home again and wonder why they died? 
  
  
WATERED DOWN WHISKEY 
  
Sometimes you get lucky Sometimes it's just fate    You say don't give a sucker an even break 
You save all your whiskey and save all your wine    You don't need no friends to have a good time 
  
They say when you gamble  the things that you risk      Are often the things that you’ll really miss 
You tell about good times but never the bad     You know about the things that you used to have   
  
Well the people keep saying they’re really not sure     Sometimes behind one is just another closed door 
And the wine and the whisky is still watered down     You might think you should smile but all you've got is a frown 
  
So heed me you artists   it's not what you think    The spirit you seek might not be in the drink 
Take all of your wisdom and all of your pain     And ask all your friends to come back again  
  
And the people keep saying they’re really not sure     Sometimes behind one is just another closed door 
And the wine and the whisky is still watered down     Tonight you might find you're alone in this town 
  
  
MEMORIES 
    
I’ve got this funny feeling that I’ve been this way before 
A memory’s just back there in my brain 
I’ve seen that house with the iron roof and the red wrought iron door 
Behind that hedge and the lead light window pane 
But I’m wondering how my mind could see  a place I’ve never been 
Wondering how I recognise some place I’ve never seen.     How could it be? 
  
I met this man with a stranger’s eyes   Yet I felt I knew him well 
And his voice gave me a sense of coming home 
Well he looked at me with the look of someone seeing I could tell 
An old friend who once had left him there alone 
And when he smiled I knew right then that I had seen his face before 
Like an old familiar stage where once I’d played a music score.  But who was it for? 
  
I can’t explain the way it feels when I  get this sense of mine 
And I’m wondering if there’s  a force some where 
Moving memories down the line.   Making up time 
  
So if you see an old oak tree with a strange familiar lean 
Or a child who thinks it’s fine to say hello 
Don’t be alarmed or think you’re seeing the world in a stranger’s dream   
It just that you don’t know the things you know 
Who knows what  or why it is   or how those feeling’s grow 
A sense of having been before is a sense of comfort known.   A welcome home 
  
  
  HOME 
  
No one on the bus now. We’re sitting here on our own. 
Had some time for thinking. Spent three days on the road. 
Been a while since I have been there - but now I’m going home. 
  
Left home in a hurry. Went to live out on the street 
Thought I knew it all you know when I was seventeen 
I thought my folks were crazy. Left one night while they’re asleep 
  
Front gate hinge was missing - house looked pretty much the same 
Front door lock was open. Seven years I’d been away 
Hello there I’m home Mum.  Yeah I missed you too. Gee you hair’s gone grey 
  
Glad I’m home Mum   Wipe away those tears 
  
Meet your grandson John Mum. Just last week he turned five 
A real little boy Mum. Always getting into strife 
Looks a lot like you Mum with curly hair and hazel eyes 
  
I know it’s been a while - seven years is a long time 
I know it’s been a while - seven years is a long time 
Can we leave the past behind Mum - come back into your life? 
  
  
PAPER MACHE GIRL 
  
It might have been the fact that I was drinking.  I can’t   recall now and it’s really got me beat 
I made my way home from the club where I go.  I remember when the cab drove up my street 
I know the time was somewhere in the morning  A TV   bloke was selling things to make you fit
A few minutes a day and all your fat will go away   A grand is cheap when you think of the benefits      
  
I recall her hair was blonde and she had an accent.  It was Irish – no it was Danish – or maybe a Scot 
But I remember that she danced with a grace and elegance that made the others dancing turn and stop 
I spoke to her and asked about her travels.  Her eyes lit up whenever she talked of Rome 
She told me that she had come to find a bloke somewhere to love but she hadn’t and now she was going home  
  
We talked and laughed and chatted there for hours.  I knew that she was someone good for me 
So when she gave me her name and said to call her again I couldn’t believe that love had finally come to me 
She wrote her name and slipped it in my pocket with her number so we could meet another day 
Then I kissed her just once and after that she was gone. Well I caught the cab whistling all the way    
  
Well I’m sad to tell you now, and I know you won’t believe it 
But the coat I wore was lying on the floor 
And when my mum growled and said get yourself up out of bed 
I rolled and moaned and slept some hours more 
  
So while I slept my mum did all my washing and when at last I woke the tragedy hit me then 
Mum said she didn’t see the note the girl had slipped inside my coat but she was sure that it would work out in the end 
Now the girl I met is just a paper mache. Forever just a girl inside my dreams 
A paper Mache girl who could have changed my lonely world instead of being a blockage in mum’s old washing machine  
  
  
I USED TO CARE 
  Used to think that I could make a difference.  Used to think that I could make a change 
Glass half full was always my opinion. Now things have changed and I don’t feel the same 
  
Hang in there and things will work out better.  “Never give up”  used to be my point of view 
“My life is good”  I’d say upon reflection “And I hope your life has been good for you too” 
  
But the blokes I thought would be there when I stumbled 
The friends I thought would give a helping hand 
Have all turned out to be somewhat self-centred 
Well I used to care - now I don’t give a damn 
  
Used to think hard work would be rewarded.  Loyalty was a thing earned with respect 
Do good things and good things always happen but it seems you never know now what you’ll get 
  
  
PENNY WHISTLE CAFÉ 
  
It’s a hard thing to carry but you know I’ll always do my best 
Maybe I look a little different but I’m not that far from all o’ the rest 
The goal’s still waiting if I can only make up the time 
Cos sooner or later it’s a thing I’m gonna leave behind 
  
Seven days later I was standing on the boards near a train 
Watching for the carriage that was taking me away from this pain 
A face looked out and said “Tell me when you’re ready to ride” 
My jaw must of dropped because he smiled back said “Surprise” 
  
It seems kinda useless I just can’t get a break 
Everything I do just leaves me holding the cake 
The time has come for me to give it away 
Penny Whistle Café   
  
Over and over I keep telling myself that it’s true 
He can’t do it for me   nowhere near as much as I need him to 
A lotta time wasted just  trying change some life long ways 
Its hard and its tiring but it’ll help me to the end of my days 
  
It seems kinda useless I just can’t get a break 
Everything I do just leaves me holding the cake 
The time has come for me to give it away 
Penny Whistle Café   
  
  
MICHELLE 
  
Got a new bike with chrome spoked wheels      The guy that sold it said it was a steal 
Former owner  didn’t use to ride.   Washed it once a week until the day he died 
Only owned it cause he liked to play    Now its mine for me to ride away 
  
Took it driving down the Old Coast Road     Saw a cop but I was driving slow 
Felt a big grin come across my face       As I pushed her out to test her cruising pace 
Well you wouldn’t guess what the policeman did     Set up a camera near old Australind 
Well it’s just my luck they would lay that trap    But they didn’t get me - I saw the headlights flash 
  
I met a lady when I stopped for fuel     She was kinda friendly and I was too 
Got to talking ‘bout the time of year     And how the weather was really clear 
Said she was heading down to Busselton      And she’d be happy if I tagged along 
  
I asked her name and she said Michelle     I told her mine and then we got on well 
But it made me think about the Beatles song     I started humming as we walked along 
Jesus Christ she said you’re all the same    I wish I’d never got that awful name 
I wish I got a dollar every time some ass    Sang that song to me to try and make a pass 
Well I give you my name and you sing that shit    So I’m gonna leave now cos I’m  sick of it 
  
Doesn’t really matter if you got a new bike       Or you dress up to be a fashion tyke 
Or talk real smooth cos I know too well      When you meet a girl and her names Michelle 
Forget all about that old Beatles song     If you are thinking you might get along 
Cos she’ll just turn and say “You can go to hell”      If you start on singing that tune Michelle” 
  
  
(IT’S TIME THAT YOU) CAME HOME 
  
I went looking for my brother - was a job that I had to do 
I’ve come to take you home now - your time here boy is through 
Our Mum has cried enough now and Dad just sits alone 
I know you fought for country but it’s time that you came home 
  
I watched you work the fields from the day that you turned ten 
Dad always said the work you did was good as any men 
But fifteen was too young lad to war for you to go 
I know you fought for country but it’s time that you came home 
  
The things I saw at Suvler no man should have to see 
I don’t know how you stood it lad it shook the best in me 
You can’t head to the Western Front your luck might not go on 
I know you fought for country but it’s time that you came home 
  
The rain is staying off now your marching’s nearly done 
The ground seems so much harder when your nearly 91 
You walk there with the diggers remembering your foes 
I know you fought for country and I’m glad you made it home 
  
  
THE BAR 
  
He’s sitting in a bar drinking beers with a shot    
Alone with his thoughts and the things he’s running from 
Another please barman. Make it a double and I wont complain 
Well the bar is full of people who are there all alone   
With their fears and their dreams and their mobile telephones 
They see the world going crazy   
And they hate the things that they can’t change  
Joanne’s cleaning tables with a dish rag smile    
Looking at the people and their clothes and their style 
They’re all wearing faces to hide the way they feel      
The diamonds are all glitter but the tension is real                 
  
The barman wanders over  wiping glasses with a towel     
“I think you’ve had enough he said  I think you have somehow 
I wouldn’t want to see you driving homeward in the state you’re in”    
“What State is that”  he said “aint I in WA. 
I think that’s where I am”  he said  “least I was yesterday”      
“That’s pretty quick!” the barman laughed – 
And gave him one more beer with a grin   
He sees a lady sitting on a stool across the floor    
Drinking milk and Baileys and looking a bit bored 
He smiles and says “Gidday. Can I buy you a drink?”    
“No thanks” she says “It isn’t quite what you think”      
  
He drinks his beer and leaves his change upon the bar     
“Buy yourself a drink” he says “and thanks for being cool” 
He walks up to the lady and says “it’s not all caviar!!”     
She nods her head and smiles and says “Yeah I know that’s true” 
  
 “Time” calls the barman      “We have to close the doors.     
Thank you all for coming” he said “and please come back some more. 
There’s a few cabs waiting outside to keep you out of the rain.” 
He turns on all the lights and hangs the mats across the bar     
She smiles at him and says “You know I really like this part” 
When your  work is done and we can close up and go home again.” 
Her husband smiles back and says “I’m really glad you’re here.   
Thanks a lot for waiting. Jo’s just closing off the beer” 
They douse the lights and lock the door She holds on to his arm 
Her head against his shoulder Feels the comfort of his warmth   
  
  
HIGH HOUSE BLUES 
  
Hang no posters   clean those walls        The band don’t play round here no more 
Scene’s kinda lazy and I miss those days       The high house blues and the purple haze 
  
Front man singing with a whiskey growl      You can take a short trip  but never leave the house 
You can go travelling in a hundred ways      Through the high house blues and the purple haze 
  
Carrying a load down a city lane      The 4 x 12’s had a lot of weight 
But the bottom end shuffled  right across the door     Crept up and hit you  as you passed the door 

  Long hair curled but it wasn’t tied     But the T shirts were and the flares were wide 
Velvet hats with a satin braid      Through the high house blues and the purple haze 
  
Sit down lay back   don’t cross the line      I heard a number called but it wasn’t mine 
The old Vaux viva seemed to know the way     Through the high house blues and the purple haze 
  
Take a trip back and have a look around       We all learned a lot about someone else 
The people and the passions  the riffs and the plays     The high house blues  and the purple haze 
  
  
REVOLUTION 
  
I can hear the sounds of a revolution      All the kids are crying out to make a change 
There’s a business man and he’s talking about pollution     
We’ll do something when we can see     What it’ll do to the economy  
We’ll only set the targets, Get rid of this muck     When we know that our companies’ profits are up       
  
I can hear the sounds of a revolution     All this PC stuff has gone a bit too far 
People say all they want is a fair solution 
Let the kids be kids   we grew up okay    Are things all really so different today? 
Don’t mess with the Santa or the golliwog man     A toy is a toy in a little kid’s innocent hand 
  
The world’s gone crazy     I’ve heard it said      The things people do make you shake your head 
What happened to the old style common sense?     Watch out for the splinters from that fence 
  
I can hear the sounds of a revolution      People say that the man went a bit too far 
Now he turns to us seeking absolution     
Why’d he do it? No one can say      I wonder will he live to fight another day 
A crazy old man with a crazy intent       Trying to defend now a war that he cannot defend 
  
  
THE WORKERS LINE 
  
Form a line there boys form a line with your mates  
Form a line and hold up the flag 
We’ll keep up the fight   ‘till they treat us right 
Form a line and hold up the flag 
  
Said the factory man I’ll look after you boys      If things start getting tough around here 
You’ve worked bloody hard you’re like one of me own   You’ve stuck by me for twenty long years 
But the profits were sinking and the boys they were thinking that maybe the pays would be cut 
Then I came here today but they sent me away with a  Nothing but a “Go home we’re shut” 
  
We know times are tough   but our wants are few    A roof over our head and a warm plate of stew 
And the books that we need to send our kids to school    Form a line there boys form a line 
  
Seems loyalty and mates have gone out of the gate    When you think about profit and loss 
They’ll do what it takes for the profits they makes and not worry about people like us 
So for twenty long years we gave our blood sweat and tears To help them to build up the show 
And all that we get for all of that sweat Is a kick in the guts when we go 
  


SMILIN' ON THE INSIDE