The Institute Of Mental Health, Burning Peter Hammill

It was the first day of July; no wind breathed in the sky when a pin-striped suit saw that the Institute of Mental Health was burning.

The Birds Peter Hammill

In a moment of weakness I embodied the sickness And when everyone winds me up I just can't wind down And the April rain soaks my jokes to a pulp The sun makes my eyes burn And it must be my turn To fly

Imperial Zeppelin Peter Hammill

Quick, the engines are turning, cabin lights are burning, now there's no returning.... We'll have love a mile above... Imperial Zeppelin, Imperial Zeppelin, Imperial Zeppelin!

Shell Peter Hammill

Turn a card, turn a page, the action sure to start, second-stage reaction to illogical thoughts on random lines – in a Borges dream we move toward the writing of lives.

Mental Retard Riverdales

Graduated Miskatonic U Now I work Gizmotic Institute Graduated Miskatonic U Now I work Gizmotic Institute Graduated Miskatonic U Now I work Gizmotic Institute Graduated Miskatonic U Now I work Gizmotic

Pompeii Peter Hammill

The golden dream, the seat of all decorum, a satellite to match the light of Rome; its silver children chatter in the Forum, the bath-house, and the brothels, and their homes about the latest fashions

Sign Peter Hammill

Oh, no-one knows where you've gone to In the pagan night And the neon reflections Spread cadmium white. You came here looking for something But this wasn't it, quite.

Skin Peter Hammill

There's a shiver down the spine of the body map... how come everything gets so physical?

The Comet, The Course, The Tail Peter Hammill

While the comet spreads its tail across the sky it nowhere near defines the course it flies, nor does it find its own direction.

Shingle Song Peter Hammill

You can see in the 1st light that's graced as dawn That there's nothing in my heart but pain As I stand, facing sea, knowing that you're gone All the elements rage to explain That I should really be on

Two Or Three Spectres Peter Hammill

"Hey, listen, baby, this band's got a lot of soul… if we can beat that out of them I see a disc of gold!

After The Show Peter Hammill

He made a bit of money, that's something you might like to know... He'll be drinking in the cafe on the corner after the show.

Tapeworm Peter Hammill

When I was a child they made me read Word-daggers of quiver and squirm Now in the stumbling dark I see I am A worm silently fruiting your garden My sister my child night casts ominous Meanings on the purity

Porton Down Peter Hammill

Won't hear a sound at Porton Down, The clear liquids keep their silence, Buried underground at Porton Down The fast form of the final violence.

Nobody's Business Peter Hammill

Look out through your dark hair, tell me the colour of your eyes when they're cool; look out through the dark ages and tell me what's covert, transfixing you.

Sleep Now Peter Hammill

So soon you'll be gone to that wide world – the tunes of adulthood calling little girls.

Lost And Found Peter Hammill

(Even the wolf can learn, even the sheep can turn, even the frog become at last the prince.)

Viking Peter Hammill

Looking out forward over the prow of our long ship, pulling our oars and listening to the foam; helmets and sheepskins salt-damp in the sea-mist: We're going home.

Energy Vampires Peter Hammill

Hunched in the corner of the dressing-room, trying to get back to the real...

Central Hotel Peter Hammill

I found myself lying on the balcony, Stripling terror, naked to the bone; The secret asteroid jungle nearly done for me - I saw it all just a moment ago.

Fogwalking (2006 Digital Remaster) Peter Hammill

Everything clumsy slow-motion, I look for the source. Buildings loom up like icebergs on collision course.

Fogwalking Peter Hammill

Everything clumsy slow-motion, I look for the source. Buildings loom up like icebergs On collision course.

Just Good Friends Peter Hammill

Drawing back the curtains, sluggish city daylight in the afternoon... here's that special silence, just before you walk out of the hotel room.

Dropping The Torch Peter Hammill

Our fingers lose their grip and the torch slips. The enemy for everyone is everyone, inside.

Crying Wolf Peter Hammill

You turn out the lights and sit alone, Trying to pretend that it's anguish, Start at the ring of a telephone, Throw down all your food at the banquet, Keep a close eye on all you own, While leaving it

Child Peter Hammill

I don't know quite what's happening and my eyes don't see too clear; all I know is I need you here, if only to shield me from the mood of the world and hold me and say it doesn't matter.... but I'm like

I Once Wrote Some Poems Peter Hammill

I once wrote some poems of stillness and silence, standing by rivers of reflected light: my thoughts were on being loved and yet unloved, too - I surrendered to the warmth of the night.

Birthday Special Peter Hammill

I've got something to say, and it ain't the usual sort of sob-story that you hear every day. I've got something to ask, and I know that now's the time, now all the rooms of the party are dark.

Candle Peter Hammill

Look at the candle, as it's life is bought, as the wick just rolls of and dies; look at the wax-drops as they cease from their goal and the game they were playing loses its joy and the youth which they

Solitude Peter Hammill

Silently I rest in the tall green grassand look steadily upwards.Birds sing ceaselessly around me,and the blue of the sky surrounds me strangely.Out here, life is at its essence,and watches the world with

Not For Keith Peter Hammill

He'd have laughed in my face if he saw it get mournful, he'd pull me up short and say "Life carries on" in that gentle way of being cruelly scornful... now he's gone.

Open Your Eyes Peter Hammill

I was sitting in the dance-hall, but my mind was far away so when the usherette walked over I didn't know quite what to say. I tried to look cool but I knew that I blew it somehow.

The Spirit Peter Hammill

Such distance to the tips of the fingers, The ganglion loom jerks inside; The body grows steadily stranger But the spirit won't be denied.

Stranger Still Peter Hammill

Stranger still in another town, How normal to sit out the dance, Eating the good meal by myself, Toasting the empty glass; And they're already setting out The next place, Already forgetting about the last

Sitting Targets Peter Hammill

We can talk about it in the car; We can talk about it with the drive. Keep your eyes on the road up ahead, (Don't forget what we said about) Staying alive.

A Perfect Date Peter Hammill

You're a sucker for the punch and the telegraph bells are ringing; now it's coming to the crunch as you stumble on the Jaffa Gate.

Vision Peter Hammill

I have a vision of you, locked inside my head; it creeps upon my mind, and warms me in my bed...

Golden Promises (2006 Digital Remaster) Peter Hammill

Besieged in the battlements of Babylon, still looking for the hat-peg to hang your head upon - now you've found a place you think is Avalon: you can talk to anyone here.

Golden Promises Peter Hammill

Besieged in the battlements of Babylon, Still looking for the hat-peg to hang your head upon - Now you've found a place you think is Avalon: You can talk to anyone here.

People You Were Going To Peter Hammill

So you get back to your own flat Because the atmosphere in there Is so bad you can't bear it. And the people you were going to America with Just left on the dawn plane Without you, Without you.

The Spirit (2006 Digital Remaster) Peter Hammill

Such distance to the tips of the fingers, the ganglion loom jerks inside; the body grows steadily stranger but the spirit won't be denied.

Sunshine Peter Hammill

Oh, suddenly things begin to come clear in my mind as I look into the land laid bare by your eyes; E-S/M attractions are working behind my thought, I can't help my feelings, the way that my emotions are

Losing Faith In Words (2006 Digital Remaster) Peter Hammill

I just can't see why you can't see what I mean, but I can't make things any plainer, the words get in the way - is that quite what I mean?

Losing Faith In Words Peter Hammill

I just can't see why you can't see what I mean, but I can't make things any plainer, the words get in the way - is that quite what I mean?

Jargon King Peter Hammill

He prescribes the subject He proscribes outsiders His terms have a golden ring. He wants to find some order Quantifying chaos In words that all the children sing.

Nadir's Big Chance Peter Hammill

I've been hanging around, waiting for my chance to tell you what I think about the music that's gone down to which you madly danced – frankly, you know that it stinks.

Again Peter Hammill

I stretch my hands Clutch vacant laughter In silence and sweet, sweet pain Without demand But with a longing For what will never come again I smell your perfume On the sheets in the morning It linger like

Summer Song (In The Autumn) Peter Hammill

Summer song in the autumn, for you didn't catch the colour of the falling leaves. So many words have been spoken which you didn't understand and so couldn't believe.

You Hit Me Where I Live Peter Hammill

There was something in the conversation, ancient languages were breaking through; I was falling for infatuation – how about you?

Re-Awakening Peter Hammill

If you catch me running along by the sea, with bare feet in the sand, then you'll know I am dreaming my life out in a way you won't understand.