LYRICS // Stealing Your Smile (1995)

This was written after the year I lived in the US for a few months. I stole a little from some classic Americana - Jack Kerouac's 'On The Road'. As best as I can remember, the lines about 'God's empty chair' and the 'movin' from one falling star to another...' were either taken wholesale or borrowed and adapted. After a while, the origins of how a song was written become misty. For some reason, the theme of the song seems to cover the 'artist with God complex' idea.

I wasn't too sure about the melody when it was originally written, but The Zamora did it justice when it came to turning it into something more than some scraps on a page. The recording can be dowloaded here.

The picture was taken by Jayne Routley at what turned out to be The Zamora's last show, at The Lift in Brighton. I was handed a plastic skull that was lying around behind the bar somewhere and, delighted at the prop, grabbed myself a Bowie moment (he famously kissed a skull on stage during the 'Diamond Dogs' tour).

Stealing Your Smile

Lounging around in God's empty chair,
Tryin' to figure out how to wear my hair.
I never believed that I'd been unfair,
But then I don't think you'd ever cared.

Days of pain are yet to come,
Still you send your burnin' sun.
Send it to me to char my fun,
The light from your eyes burns no-one.

I get confused and hung up,
Movin' from one falling star - to another,
Till I drop.

I need to spend some time on my own,
Need you to crawl back under your stone.
Stay in the dark until the time is right,
For us to join forces and fight.

Head held high as God's only peer,
Knowing now there's nothing to fear.
Checking out that the coast is clear,
I dare you to come near.

I get confused and hung up,
Movin' from one falling star - to another,
Till I drop.

I can only hope, if you cannot cope,
I can only hope to steal your smile.

I can only hope, if I've enough rope,
I can only hope to die awhile.

I get confused and hung up,
Movin' from one falling star - to another,
Till I drop.