THE FACTS OF LIFE 2019

THE FACTS OF LIFE is a record of songs I wrote some 10 years ago, but which I have revisited, re-edited and re-mastered this year as a means of processing major change in my life.  There are 15 tracks in the record. 

SIDE ONE of the album consists of 7 conventional pop songs building up to rapture and denouement. These are songs that are often wildly, unabashedly about love and the positive side of relationships.

SIDE TWO of the album – also 7 songs – delves deeper into the more complex, and sometimes darker side of love and relationships, exploring a range of emotions: sadness, disappointment, anger after a breakup, but also lust, desire, and yearning.

And then of course there’s the BONUS TRACK, which is an alternate version of the track E.M.P.T.Y.

To listen to the album in the order of the tracks, scroll down and start from the very last track up.

Enjoy .

15 – E.M.P.T.Y.  (Lovesick La-La-La Mix)

“E – M – P – T – Y without U!!  L – O – N – E – L -Y without U!!  Wanna run all the way to where U R, I can’t stand even a minute we’re apart!  L – O – N – E – L – Y without U!  E – M – P – T – Y!!!  It’s like you’ve kidnapped my heart… and I’m here barely breathing.”

 

14 – WAITING

“Let me be the one to tell you all the routes to take. Let me be the place your tired wings will lead you to. Let me be the stone that paves the path under your feet. Only say you’ll be mine always, and I’ll be waiting…”

 

13 – THE FACTS OF LIFE

“These are the facts of life. No one’s gonna soften the blow. Seal up those cracks inside before they start to show. Some people won’t like who you are. Most people won’t understand. Takes so much more than just two fists to make a man.”

 

12 – GLOWING

“It’s 2 a.m. The streets are silent. The city is glowing. The night is young. An empty square. Two lovers embracing. The sound of footsteps. The metro still runs. I’ve nowhere to go.  Is it tomorrow? Or is it today? I’m sorry, but I don’t know.  Let’s dance.”

 

11 – MISTAKEN

“Wish I could say how and why it was over. When did I know that you and I just weren’t meant to be? That baby, you were poison to me? Wish I could say it’s a fairytale ending. Why am I here, waiting, always waiting? But you never know how things could go. These are things you just don’t know.”

 

10 – NIGHT

“The night is too dark for us to swim in the bay. Out there only sea creatures play.  The stars are too bright for us to lift our eyes above. Down here there is only earth. The sea is not sea, it is ablaze with blue fire. Turtles climb ashore from this pyre. By the thousands they come from the dark and the deep to lay their eggs at our feet.”

 

9 – WATER……

“On the boat that day, we sat by each other. Your hand was barely touching mine. And I asked you then, but you stared at the water… “Was it all a waste of time?” Then we took our tops off and lay in the sun. “So I heard you love him now, is it true?” And we passed these screaming cormorants. I thought the water was so blue.”

 

8 – MASOCHISTIC

“Why are we bent on being masochistic? Wanting something we just can’t have? Craving this sad, sadistic torture we bring upon ourselves? Why are we bent on being masochistic? Building castles with broken glass? Choosing battles that we can’t win just to feel alive?”

 

SIDE TWO begins from here on up.

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With this track, SIDE ONE is complete. 

7 – RISK

“Time just stops when I’m with you. You don’t know this and I don’t want to tell you just yet. But somehow we’ve become more than friends. You didn’t notice, but I’ve known it for some time. It’s in the way we stare at each other. It’s in the way we talk when we don’t talk…”

 

6 – URBAN

“This year’s Spring is just too cold, baby. This year’s rain like drops of ice.  I’m wrapped up, but I’m still cold, baby. Won’t you take me in your arms?  Everything shines so silver-white, baby.  ‘Cos I’ve got you by my side.  The city’s shining so silver-white, baby. Won’t you hold me close to you?”

 

5 – …THIS

“And after it’s all over, we lie awake giving thanks.  The universe was born here, right where we lie. The one true religion is …this, my love. And nothing can surpass this feeling, inside.”

 

4 – MORNING

“Sunlight strikes the edge of the bed, our feet are softly touching.  Pigeon coos outside the window… mmmm…no, not yet.  Kitty clambers over my body, touches nose to my nose. Cradled between you and kitty… mmmm… no, not yet.”

 

3 – 兩個人

“渴望你永遠地，永遠地在我身邊，這是我內心深處的心願！不論乾坤倒轉，雷雨風霜，我們都會珍惜一切！”

 

2 – E.M.P.T.Y. 

“E – M – P – T – Y without U!!  L – O – N – E – L -Y without U!!  Wanna run all the way to where U R, I can’t stand even a minute we’re apart!  L – O – N – E – L – Y without U!  E – M – P – T – Y!!!  It’s like you’ve kidnapped my heart… and I’m here barely breathing.”

 

1 – MAGIC

“I believe in MAGIC, magical experiences…like dinners in the desert, with only stars above. I can hear you laughing… ‘cos I’m so impressionable. Don’t you under-rate it, the power of romance.”