Music for the Knee Plays

This page contains the lyrics of the songs on `The Knee Plays` as sung/spoken on the album.
For additional lyrics see The Knee Plays page.



Tree (Today is an Important Occasion) [Knee Play 1]
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Today is an important occasion.
She thinks that she must wear the right clothes.
The right combination of clothes - will make her lucky.
But there are specific kinds of luck - and different kinds are are needed - for different occasions:
'A blue dress for intuition'
'The grey shirt and maroon slacks - for making strong statements'
'The navy pullover - and her woollen skirt - for discovering mystery'
She thinks of what she wore - on a similar occasion - like the one she will be involved in today.
Particularly a similar occasion - that was successful for her.
She lies on the bed - and imagines herself in a variety of outfits.
She quickly narrows - the range of possibilities.
She tries them on - in a few combinations.
The striped shirt - and corduroy slacks.
The red dress.
She leaves the house - the outcome - is certain.


The Sound of Business [Knee Play 3]
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They were driving south on the highway
Their business was in another town
Bigger than the town they were driving from.
Business took place during office hours in both towns.
This drive was considered business
The feeling of passing other cars was also considered business
A feeling of business being done.
The feeling of drifting slowly through a field of moving vehicles.
This was the REAL speed - the speed of business.
Not the numbers on the speedometer.
One of them was playing with the radio
Slowly changing the channel from one station to another
Sometimes listening to both channels at once.
On one channel a man was talking to another man on the telephone.
The other channel was playing oldies :
'Gone for Good'
'Listening Wind'
'Puzzle Power'
'Beechwood Serenade'
'Sunshine and Sugar'
'Golden Windows'
'Taste of Believing'
'Carnival Girl'
'Love Walks Away'
'Wishing Well'
'Knew You Could'
'A Face Like That'
'Dark Highway'
'Shakin Venus'
'Coloured Wheels'
'Visit Me Quick'
'Lonesome Money'
'School of Heartache'
'Painted Smiles'
The sound of business being done.


Social Studies [Knee Play 4]
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I thought that if I ate the food of the area I was visiting.
That I might assimilate the point of view of the people there.
As if the point of view was somehow in the food.
So I would make no choices myself regarding what food I ate.
I would simply follow the examples of those around me.
I would study menus very carefully,
Making note of important differences and similarities.
When shopping at the supermarket
I felt a great desire to walk off with someone else's groceries
So that I could study them at length
And study their effects on me.
As though if I ate their groceries I would become that person; until I finished their groceries.
And we might find ourselves going to the same places.
Running into one another at the movies
Or in a shopping mall.
Reading the same books.
Watching the same TV programmes.
Wearing the same clothes.
Travelling to the same places.
And taking the same pictures.
Getting sick at the same time.
And getting well again simultaneously.
Finding ourselves attracted to the same people.
Working at the same job.
And making the same amount of money.
Living identical lives - as long as the groceries lasted.


(The Gift of Sound) Where the Sun Never Goes Down. [Knee Play 5]
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Not everyone notices
As things drift slowly in and out of focus.
Being in the theatre is more important than knowing what is going on in the movie.
The sound in the theatre is very loud.
It builds up beacause it can't get out of the theatre.
The actors talk.
We can still hear what they said a minute ago.
This happens in any closed room - sound never leaves it.
If someone goes out to get some soda or popcorn.
Some conversations escape as they leave and enter the lobby.
When the movie's over.
And everyone leaves the theatre.
The accumulated sound leaves with them
And spreads out across the parking lot
To become forever part of the landscape
The film is a gift to the surrounding community.


I've Tried [Things to Do] [Knee Play 9]
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Number 1 Try to (walking quickly) be
Number 2 Count to ten, smile, count to ten
Number 3 Big Shoes
Number 4 Watching big shoes
Number 5 Buying things and spending money
Number 6 Counting things
Number 7 Inventing facial expressions
Number 8 Parking
Number 9 Fixing things
Number 10 Writing letters
Number 11 Studying maps, inventing street names
Number 12 Scraping the garden
Number 13 Putting the garden in the house
Number 14 Pointy things
Number 15 Bumpy things
Number 16 Broken things
Number 17 Finding the bank
Number 18 Finding the window
Number 19 Writing a book
Number 20 Finding the book
Number 21 Little houses
Number 22 Counting the houses
Number 23 Drinking things
Number 24 Watching other things
Number 25 Putting houses next to bumpy things
Number 26 Shaking things next to other things


In the Future [Knee Play 12]
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In the future everyone will have the same haircut and the same clothes.
In the future everyone will be very fat from the stachy diet.
In the future everyone will be very thin from not having enough to eat.
In the future it will be next to impossible to tell girls from boys, even in bed.
In the future men will be 'super masculine' and women will be 'ultra-feminine'.
In the future half of us will be 'mentally ill'.
In the future there will be no religion or spirtualism of any sort.
In the future the 'psychic arts' will be put to practical use.
In the future we will not think that 'nature' is beautiful.
In the future the weather will always be the same.
In the future no one will fight with anyone else.
In the future there will be an atomic war.
In the future water will be expensive.
In the future all material items will be free.
In the future everyone's house will be like a little fortress.
In the future everyone's house will be a total entertainment centre.

In the future everyone but the wealthy will be very happy.
In the future everyone but the wealthy will be very filthy.
In the future everyone but the wealthy will be very heathly.
In the future TV will be so good that the printed word will function as an artform only.
In the future people with boring jobs will take pills to relieve the boredom.
In the future that no one will live in cities.
In the future there will be mini-wars going on everywhere.
In the future everyone will think about love all the time.

In the future political and other decisions will be based completely on opinion polls.
In the future there will be machines which will produce a religious experience in the user.
In the future there will be groups of wild people, living in the wilderness.
In the future there will only be paper money which will be personalised.
In the future there will be a classless society.

In the future everyone will only get to go home once a year.
In the future everyone will stay home all the time.
In the future we will not have time for leisure activities.
In the future we will only 'work' one day a week.
In the future our bodies will be shrivelled up but our brains will be bigger.
In the future there will be starving people everywhere.
In the future people will live in space.
In the future no one will be able to afford TV.
In the future the helpless will be killed.
In the future everyone will have their own style of way-out clothes
In the future we will make love to anything, anytime, anywhere
In the future there will be so much going on that no one will be able to keep track of it.