Five bar gates mark out unwanted days
On foolscap paper, line after line
They will contain you
Eat up your time
Rest in state
In blank, unreal space
A word is spoken under your breath
A sentiment I must have misread
Don’t you see?
That if the world should end
I am fallen yet I would not grieve for it
Do you know the world will end?
I am fallen yet I will not grieve for it
Sink into eleventh hour untruths
No time is left for righting of wrongs
I will betray you before too long
Go to sleep
World, defeat me
So too the open air
You will lead me
And I will take you there
I wouldn’t lie forever
I wouldn’t want to go
Do you know the world will end?
I am fallen yet I will not grieve for it
A drunkard counts down the days to death. Five Bar Gate’s chorus started life as a backing vocal on Straw but the tune was too strong to bury in the mix so I fashioned a new song around it. On a hard drive somewhere, the two songs co-exist, like one of those science fiction stories where your bearded alter ego crosses from a parallel universe. For me, Five Bar Gate is the soundtrack of Amber Gate, the short-lived but nevertheless special band I started with Dave Barbe. Dave was the drummer in Adam and the Ants and Bow Wow Wow, amongst others, and was a profound influence on me as a musician and a person. So I dedicate this one to him.
Next: I Do Not Believe In Dry Land
