Drift through the days In a sun kissed haze and embrace them Time is a cycle But repeatedly reliving memories does not please us The shimmer of nostalgia Is a lie that I find so pleasing Even for the truth of the moment I don’t think I would trade it As I lie on the hill And I smile at the sky I’m asleep in the grass And I pray, time, don’t pass me by I remain amazed At the memories that I’ve made in my short time That I’ve been able appreciate In a turbulent and unrelenting life Following the footfalls of the night before When I went for a walk to the cemetery Where I spent my childhood days by the graves With a bird book, bottle of beer and my best friends And as I lay there, underneath the stars Soft grass pressed beneath my spine And I breathe in, that sweet mountain air I just closed my eyes

[Singing]: Well I’m coming back home For those lies I told Sick of being around All these faces that I was sold Though I’m finding new ground For my roots to take hold I’ve been haunted at night By the skeletons in my soul Oh no, oh no And I asked you to come So I could share some food I’ve been waiting around So I can be right here with you Yes I’m haunted by ghosts Do they haunt you too? And I’ve wasted my time Just hiding from the truth Oh no, oh no Well I’m blinded by headlights In this toxic city sphere And I’m lying with my back in the grass Staring far to forget my fears Oh I stare to the skies But I can’t see a single star All this pollution of light I don’t even know why we try To get away from here So I’ll drive in my car And I’ll burn up the earth Put some distance between Where I am and where I was before I’ll follow the ghosts Who have haunted these highways and roads Coz they’ll guide me through hell And bring me back on home The ghosts that guide me home The ghosts… So I’ll whisper your name To those ghosts of the highway And they’ll know what you’ve done And sing you songs of praise Coz they’ll know that you saved me And dug me out my shame So I will go driving with you by my side Today, today Oh I’ll follow the ghosts Who have haunted these highways and roads Coz they’ll guide me through hell And bring me back on home And I’ll whisper your name To those ghosts of the highway And they’ll know what you’ve done And sing you songs of praise Oh no… [Spoken word]: Under the blackened, smog filled skies a critical mass of humanity seethes and writhes through an urbanized life of noise and industry and struggles for social capital and recognition and wealth. In an endless race for success, property and privilege we are blinded to the warnings and the ghosts which swim around us in an attempt to guide us through our cluttered and violent urban existence. We are blinded by headlights in our own habitat as monsters on top of the food chain as we bleed for material gain and higher status in a luxury driven lifestyle riddled with brand names and celebrity scandals and terrible cinema. Our basic needs such as the need to eat and the need for transportation have turned into endless marathons as a contest to determine “who is the fasted”, “who is the richest”, “who is the most up to date”, “who mates with the most fickle, artificial, sculpted, stupid members of the opposite and of the same sex”? Meaningless statements, meaningless questions which have come to define our existence. In the space of three generations we have witnessed a shift from a culture of survival, a culture of strength, a culture of labour to a culture of personal gain, a culture of violent competition, a culture of material predators – but the defining characteristics of our species remain intact and consistent – the human species is unpredictable, corruptible, arrogant and driven by greed. As we burn those that we swore to protect in our individual quest to become a symbol of wealth and power, we kick aside those who failed to join the race for property, privilege and status to be won. The deadbeat lowlife lazy excuses for humans that stalk the dive bars, filthy takeaways, piss stained alleyways and the endless godforsaken hovels and tunnels and hideaways which litter our beloved, urbanized home of the cityscape. These forgotten humans that pose an inconvenience to our projects of gentrification and dirty our monumental concrete jungle of progress and success, that can be seen pressing their faces into their hands in misery or attempting to swallow the last drops of vodka from some rich student’s refuse from a party the night before. The people that we call our private security companies to come and remove from our suburbs because they represent the poverty that we loathe and are scapegoated for all the nations’ problems – perceived as no more than irredeemable criminals who must pay for an endless slew of crimes of social degeneration and degradation, while we sit safely in our homes with our flat screen TVs and the latest smartphone firmly gripped in our fattened hands of luxury. These are the ghosts of our age – a forgotten and despised people who could not keep up with the violent and relentless competition which drives our endless march of progress. What will become of them, no one cares. They are the ghosts. Phantoms which we tell our children don’t even exist.

[Instrumental]

A little blue eyed angel That stormed into our lives We were going through changes You made it all alright A heart full of courage A heart full of love You couldn’t hear anything Yet you lived so hard A little ray of sunshine A spirited explorer Everything you gave to us Will stay with us forever Oh, oh Pearl When you played in my study When you climbed on the bed The love that you gave to us Will never leave, never leave us Every day we were treated By your limitless spirit In this life you were joy and love You lived it to the fullest Oh, oh Pearl