The CITY

Music and lyrics by Emily Coyle and Grant Staines

Life’s a bad hand and I’ve been dealt my game
Oh - a child of the Queensland, where the king’s a fool 
But we must love him, just the same
But we’re too hypnotised by paradise and suburban dreams to realise
The trouble that would come our way, when Daddy dared to disobey

He said “Listen to me, this city is not what it seems, 
This city is broken and mean, and it’s coming for us, bearing down from above, 
So run, run for your life, run to survive, run from these city lights. 
Oh, these lights

So run, run for your life, run to survive
Run from these city lights, these lights

VERSE TWO

Life’s a grand hand, when you rule the game
I’m the king of the Queensland, rigged the vote so it stays that way
Make no mistake I’m on the take; keep my people fed with cake, 
Keep my methods on the down and low, so they wont ever know that all the Kings men 
and their stepford wives, have all been hypnotised, 
By my nightly news of lies, I televise each night at five

I said “Listen to me, I’m your majesty, don’t doubt my authority
Now don’t you worry about how this all came about or I’ll make you run, run for your life
And if you compromise my perfect crime, I’ll turn out these city lights, these lights”

So run, run for your life, run to survive
Run from these city lights
VERSE THREE

Life’s a straight hand when the stars align
For the council of the queen who shone the moonlight on your crime 
Watch them clutch their crowns, as the cards come down
And all the bags of cash we found won’t get you out of this one … of this one …

Well it’s bad news for the coalition of the criminals and the politicians
Fitzgerald’s come to town, he’s gonna bring these self-appointed Sirs
Down to their knees, begging please, please, oh, begging please … 
Please, wont you let me 
Run, run for my life, run from my crime
Run from this paradise
Please let me run, run from these
City lights 

 

THE CITY

EMILY GRANT

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THE CITY

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THE CITY is inspired by the government corruption in Queensland, Australia during Grant's youth and the impact it had on his family.

Grant's Dad was sacked from the State Power Company and charged with disobeying a direct order in a state of emergency after refusing a direction to cut power to businesses unwilling to cooperate with the corrupt

THE CITY is inspired by the government corruption in Queensland, Australia during Grant's youth and the impact it had on his family.

Grant's Dad was sacked from the State Power Company and charged with disobeying a direct order in a state of emergency after refusing a direction to cut power to businesses unwilling to cooperate with the corrupt Government’s demands.

Subsequently, after months of targeted intimidation, alienation and violence from Police and the community my family were forced to flee to Western Australia.

It would take over 20 years for his Dad to clear his name.

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Turning Around


 
Music and lyrics by Emily Coyle and Grant Staines 
 
 
Everyone keeps asking me
How I wish my life could be
And I retell my legend tale
But it seems fake and old and getting stale
'Cause somewhere along the line
I awoke to find
The means to my dreams
Had made me slave to the grind
 
The lessons of my life
Haven’t found me yet
I should have learned by now
But still I forget
How the disappointment felt
To let you down my friend
To let myself down
 
But I’m not starting again,
I’m just turning around and walking back down
This foolish road I found,
So long ago
 
So long ago

Behind Closed Doors


 
Music and lyrics by Grant Staines and Emily Coyle
 
Why does she not stop crying?
Every night it’s the same thing, dragging her
under-neath it all, it’s just not logical.
We all can see she has it all
 
The truth is, her money, her beauty and her society
It never saved her from tragedy
 
How can you stop believing?
Why are you questioning everything?
You’re the one, who brought us here on
Bended knee, you promised eternity
And a faith that parted seas
And now these waters, are drowning me
 
The truth is, it broke him, it tore him apart and crushed his heart
But how could he lead them, when his faith was bleeding, was bleeding away
 
Look at them gazing lovingly
Inspiring jealousy, in all who see
But underneath her dress
Lies the bruises of his forced caress
And when she looks at him
Its nothing more than fear and loneliness
Its true, you know it, c’mon confess it
We do assume to know, what goes on
Behind closed doors 

Fold

Music and lyrics by Grant Staines and Emily Coyle
 
This song is decided to Patricia Stafford, my Grandmother, whose story this is, Grant.
 
Daddy lost our pub in a poker game
Sold to the gentleman in his cigar haze
Well a kinder man might have felt some shame
But you paid your debts in those days
 
While Daddy’s playing deuces wild
Mother calmly showed me how to bathe the child
Then she left me with her sons to raise
I was twelve years old, in those days
 
Roof top to the bottle tops
He gambled off the whole damn lot
Slammed it down with a double shot
Generations of working hard
And he lost it all on a deck of cards
Oh Daddy, what have you done
 
Well he paid his penance on the railway line
He laid those tracks ‘til he was sixty nine
And I slowly watched my childhood die as I worked all day
Just to stay alive

Roof top to the bottle topsHe gambled off the whole damn lot
Slammed it down with a double shot
Generations of working hard
And he lost it all on a deck of cards
Oh Daddy, what have you done
 

Dead in her high heels


 
Music by Emily Coyle and Grant Staines
Lyrics by Emily Coyle
 
 
She didn’t wander far enough
Wasn’t lost for long enough
Didn’t dream big enough
Didn’t scream loud enough
Didn’t struggle hard enough
She just wasn’t strong enough
Didn’t know, didn’t know
When enough’s enough
 
The found her in her high heels
Her stockinged thigh suspended high
The signature trail of a broken nail
Scratch sniff, dead stiff
Her favourite tune frozen on her lips
 
The found her in her high heels
Left for dead, in her high heels
 
Mascarared pain in sequinned rain
But somehow she looks just the same
And tragic thoughts burn this corps
A conscience walks with no remorse
 
The found her in her high heels
Left for dead, in her high heels
 
And there she stood in her mothers shoes,
Swimming in her fancy clothes
She said when I am old, I will wear these shoes
And I will never take them off coz I won’t have to
 
The found her in her high heels
Left for dead, in her high heels