Songs

music & lyrics: EFF

box

you used your wings
 for shelter
and found out too late
that missing out
 on embarrassment
won‘t pay the wait

and every year
 the candles
burn without a cake
you chose the pond
 over the ocean
by mistake

be careful with that box 
pandora!
don‘t you dare come near!
hey! you forgot your box 
pandora!
you just can‘t leave it here!

you hear the word
you wear that shirt
you sneak a peek
you take the torch
you leave the porch
you kiss the freak

you close your eyes
you find those guys
you ride that ramp
you own the track
you break a leg
you get the amp

be careful …

if caution is a myth
and vice a plain invention
then ease is not a lie
seems they just forgot to mention

be careful …
oh! she forgot her box
she just left it here!

vocals: EFF
guitars: Strucki & LOUPOE
bass: LOUPOE
drums: Lars Riedel

music: LOUPOE & EFF, lyrics: EFF

steal away

jet lagged at jfk on a morning in spring
sitting right behind me waiting for a flight home to berlin
you got all worked up talking to your friend
about some “greedy refugees invading our fatherland“

“they’re cheating and robbing everyone and everywhere“
(miraculously you still had the money for long distance airfare)
so keen on stealing everything away from you
your suburban house and your fake LV speedy, too

i could’ve turned around
i could’ve yelled
i could’ve puked right into your lap yeah
i could’ve ranted and raved
at least i could’ve ruined your day
but instead i stole away

i can’t believe that anyone would want to take that bag of yours
or your alcoholic husband slowly losing consciousness
but you kept talking bullshit and you seemed so fucking serious
i think i’ve rarely found anyone so hideous

i didn’t try to tell you how to wake your brain from coma
or talk you into emigrating to oklahoma
i can’t decide who’s more pathetic, who’s the prick?
you and your verbal diarrhea? or me the gutless hypocrite?

i should’ve turned around
i should’ve yelled
i should’ve puked right into your lap yeah
i should’ve ranted and raved
at least i should’ve ruined your day
but instead i stole away

to all you people out there
with some love in your heart
and an operational brain yeah
do better than me
laugh in their face
or take them apart
but i urge you, i pray: 
don’t steal away

vocals: EFF
guitars: LOUPOE
bass: PET
drums: LD Lars

music & lyrics: EFF

liminal

and there you are, standing still
silent in the dark
and here i am, dancin’ round
tryin’ to catch a spark
i can’t be quiet cause i am
afraid to look into your eyes
and if i did i might see things
we’re so desperately tryin’ to hide

hang on just a little while
revel in ambiguity
savor all the meanings of a smile
transmitted to infinity
let’s linger in the liminal
where everything is possible
let’s gravitate and stop the talking
let flying be our normal way of walking

let’s linger in the liminal
where everything is possible
let’s gravitate and stop the talking
c’mon, baby, let’s fly

don’t come closer closer closer
don’t go deeper deeper deeper
let’s just linger
in the liminal

i promise not to be afraid
i give in, i shred the plan
i don’t believe in force of fate
c’mon let’s capture what we can

and others won’t understand
cause there’s no name for what we have
this odd unsettling land
where we can cry and laugh

vocals: EFF
all instruments and sounds: LOUPOE

music & lyrics: EFF

cure

(na na na)

i‘d walk along the muted corridor
in the dim light to the metal door
the weirdest place to live for anyone i knew
completely fucked-up and outrageously cool

(na na na)

i‘m gonna court you, you said and i said ok
you came up with this insane game and we began to play
you had made up your mind and i failed to comply
i knew that we‘d screw up but i didn‘t know why

and whenever they play the cure
we‘re back in your room, so messed up and so pure
and whenever i see this sickening shade of blue
we‘re tangled up again

(na na na)

i‘d put on the white shirt to fake innocence
you would brush up your lines for brilliance
we‘d argue our way in and out of love
in the creepy light from the lamp above

(na na na)

and though we never kissed (yeah we never kissed)
i swallowed all the things i‘d missed
dizzy taste of million ways to thrive
promise of everything

and whenever they play the cure
we‘re back in your room, so messed up and so pure
and whenever i see this sickening shade of blue
we‘re tangled up again

and whenever i see you today
it seems the phantom pains have gone away
oh i wanna get a glimpse again of our wicked joy
but i can‘t find that girl no more and you‘re not that boy

but whenever they play the cure
we‘re back in your room, so messed up and so pure
and whenever i see this sickening shade of blue
we‘re tangled up again (so young and so untrue)

(na na na)

vocals: EFF
guitars: LOUPOE
bass: PET
drums: LD Lars

music: LOUPOE & EFF, lyrics: EFF

the key

you told me: this mornin’
the sun had just come out
you had this peculiar dream
you thought you woke up
but you saw me right there
as weird as it may seem

my eyes asked for somethin’
you couldn’t quite understand
we seemed so far apart
but then for some reason
you knew that you had the key
to a chamber in my heart

and when you tried it the door sprung open
but you didn’t find a room
you found a palace
full of colorful balloons, yeah

hundreds and thousands
pouring out flying happily
hundreds and thousands
of balloons (breaking free)

and when you finished
i didn’t know
just what to say to you
i felt some tickling
i felt some rumbling
and all knew was: it was true

and then i giggled
cause they were squeakin’ and squeezin’
deep down in my chest
i was laughing out loud
with hundreds and thousands
on their merry quest

and now every time it’s just the three of us
me, your guitar and you
i see balloons floating out of my heart
and out of yours, too, yeah

vocals: EFF
guitars: LOUPOE
bass: PET
drums: LD Lars

music & lyrics: EFF

garden

here in this garden i can
wander with my hands loose
in here the trees and dreams grow
and there‘s no need to choose

i see tenthousand colors
here‘s where my eyes glow
the tough are healed by the gentle
the past has let go

in here the seconds turn to moments
no redundance
i am struggling to learn
how to bear its full abundance

rich are the owners
lucky, too
and i am blessed cause i got you

here all the words have meaning
and every step counts
although the paths are endless
this garden has bounds

in here i trade my things
for wisdom and peace
and when the times turn quiet
here is where i will cease

vocals: EFF
guitars & bass: LOUPOE
drums: Lars LD

music & lyrics: EFF

buckle not

he said the au-pair‘s back in moscow
and the villa‘s too big now
he just met carl on the airplane
he‘s no longer with bain

he said he‘s landing that project
he‘s got the financials rechecked
and that he trains his back muscles
and that the son just went to brussels

he likes to swim in the lake
and selling now‘s a big mistake
and though the interest is low
he expects his assets still to grow

he said all this and much more
while i was trying to ignore
that my hands were clenching this drink
and really all i could think was

buckle not! don‘t expect applause
from those who stayed (hey, hey) because

where the lawn is much greener
and is cut so much cleaner
by some magic machine
people like to intervene
and give you clever suggestions
in the absence of questions, so buckle not…

i tried to say that i‘m happy
though the payment is crappy
that we only have today
and that our life can be play

and that success is just a bluff
and being present‘s hard enough
but my hands were clenching this drink
and really all i could think was

buckle not! …

where all efforts are restless
and conceit is best practice
where your doubts will earn you pity
from that steering committee
where no struggles exist
you won‘t be missed

vocals: EFF
guitars & bass: LOUPOE
drums: Lars Riedel

music: LOUPOE & EFF, lyrics: EFF

hair

take your time
get ready for me
i‘ll drink your excitement
with my rooibos tea
your kind little heart
is on the way to me
i‘ll be in the shower when you come
just wait for me and see

i‘ll bait you first
with a gracious smile
oh build up the thirst
well this might take a while
then i‘ll mock you on the fly
and let silence take care
and when you turn away to cry
i‘ll grab your hair
and then i‘ll rip it

it always takes some time
for you to recoup
if i moan about how bad i had it
i get back in the loop
i offer a biscuit
i knit you a skirt
i tell you some bullshit
oh you get over the hurt

and again you‘ll stare at me
with your needy eyes
i can‘t wait to see, ha!
your surprise
running down your chin
there‘s a hot little tear
can‘t control my grin
when i grab your hair
and then i‘ll rip it

one day you might find
some dignity for you
don‘t know whether that‘s ever gonna happen
but even if you do

i‘ll just say oops
i didn‘t mean to
i didn‘t mean to
mean
i mean
i just can‘t stand you getting in my hair

vocals: EFF
guitars: LOUPOE
bass: PET
drums: Lars LD

music: LOUPOE & EFF, lyrics: EFF

sisters

1

hi there
guilt and shame
hi there my twin sisters of hell

i greet you sister g.
i hail you sister s.
my favorite sisters from hell

while you’re knocking at the backdoor
i’m putting up the front-yard sign again:
this soul’s for sale

2

just a thought too much
and there’s sister g.
she takes me in her suffocating arms and i make her feel at home

just a word from them too much
and there’s sister s.
she strokes back my hair with her toxic comb

oh lucky me with two beloved sisters
who smell trouble and come running
i never feel alone

3

[Loupoe speaking]

4

oh lord help me when i feel ashamed for loving you
when i can’t see beneath the surface
when i become shallow and afraid

oh lord help me when i’m guilty of guilt
when i can’t trust anyone
when our innocence is betrayed

oh lord help me greet my beloved sisters
invite them in, feed them well and show them ́round
and then show them to the gate

vocals: EFF
guitars: LOUPOE
bass: PET
drums: LD Lars

music & lyrics: EFF

in time

if i hadn‘t gone with you that day
i wouldn‘t have heard
if i hadn‘t listened
i wouldn‘t have been spurred

if I hadn‘t had the heart
i wouldn‘t have lost the fear
if i were still scared
we would have stayed here

if we hadn‘t left
i wouldn‘t have scraped the sky
if i hadn‘t grown
i‘d still be miserable, or would i?

if i hadn‘t gone that day
i‘d still be miserable, or would i?

delusions of causality
are we crawling in a circle?
are we climbing up a path sublime?
or are we just sinking deeper in time?

if i hadn‘t gone with you that day
i wouldn‘t have understood
if i hadn‘t figured it out
i wouldn‘t have done what i could

if i hadn‘t been eager
i wouldn‘t have meddled
if i hadn‘t tried and tried
i wouldn‘t have settled

if i hadn‘t given in
i wouldn‘t have learned to cry
if i hadn‘t mourned
i‘d still be miserable, or would i?

vocals: EFF
guitars & bass & sounds: LOUPOE

music: EFF & LOUPOE, lyrics: EFF

loophole

I

at the bottom of your thinking
at the end of all good reasons
there‘s a loophole to the dark

you‘re still holding off
but you can take my hand
when you‘re ready to embark

II

turn your head slowly
and take your first step
on the ice

dare to look beneath the surface
bear the gaze of all those frozen faces
don‘t think twice

III

beyond the icy threshold
the sum of all your fears and all your longings
will make you squirm and blush

calmly take another step
feel your pulse
allow your blood to rush

IV

move on surely towards the breach
hear the black blood trickle
quietly watch the wound

if it gets too hard reach for your pocket
to find some chocolate
i promise the bleeding will stop soon

V

i can‘t get you to the other side
you need to walk alone
along your lane

but i put chocolate
in your pocket
one for the road one for the pain

vocals: EFF
sounds: LOUPOE

music & lyrics: EFF

yield

all those bodies
feel the reeling
take up their stories
take up their breathing
let it creep inside
let it move and tear you
yield and abide
forget they‘re not you

all this mess
the odd and the frizzy
yield to distress
yield to the dizzy
yield to imperfection
put on the nose
suck your abjection
lose your pose

all this past
the pulse and the pace
let it pass
in intercellular space
yield to abrasion
lean into grime
bear witness
to this one needlepoint in time

we‘ll fade
we‘ll dwindle
we‘ll be gone
all we can do is yield
and burst into song

vocals: EFF
sounds: LOUPOE