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1.
Prey 10:37
i. Prey Born amongst the slot machines In whining winds of chance The gamblers lay their tokens down In a rash and shambling dance For feathers and for fortunes For the one big winning streak They'll lie down in deception And they'll die in hide and seek Chances marked upon the boards The players wrestle odds Creating systems of belief From the staking of their gods At the table's head there stands the priest Luck and death's go-between The night watch passes slowly Until it strikes upon thirteen Breath is bated senses strain Thoughts upon a one track train The one arm dealer spins the wheels The rabbit's foot is stroked The gleaming eye sparks with desire Each hunger's fires are stoked On the turn of indecision On the churning of each doubt The gamblers bear their weaknesses And pray not to play Out The only certain statistic is That every player dies Both the ones they all look up to And the ones they all despise On the turn of fortune's weighted wheel On hopes bought from a tout In every game the same appeal On every lip a pout The gamblers lay their humanity down And pray not to play Out... ii. Overheard in Passing #1 (at the bar) 'So I says I got a roller' 'I feel a little faint' 'An' I says to 'im - you're jokin'! ' 'I'm afraid that I'm not well' 'The dice was just like creamy, see?' 'I - I - I'm going to pass out' 'Yeah, me throws was really smokin'!' 'This place is hot like hell...' 'Ere - you alright?'
2.
Crap Game 05:46
'Deal me death, deliver me, and grant me strength to fly' Says lucky James Amidst the games And tries hard not to cry The dealer smirks a winning smirk (The odds are on his side) And spins more cards from under deck (His wolfish smile is wide) The table top so sweetly green Is felt and soft seductive Casino's owner lights it well Temptation is productive The wheels are fixed the cards are stacked The big win an illusion The smoke that crawls around each head The tendrils of confusion Our Jimmy swims along the whims That pass for his ambitions With daydream daze Half-hearted plays the role of swift submission The dice are rolled the heart is cold The numbers replace judgement There's a limit on the stocks of gold And the dealer says it's spent. In the crap game world where all are hurled And made to stand within it The crap game mind informs mankind: 'To win is the top limit 'To win is the top limit 'To win is the top limit 'To win is the top limit... 'To win!'
3.
Drunk 12:02
i. Drunk He staggers through the corridors He's drunk again, he's drunk again And he can't identify the source Of this strange intoxication Perhaps he let his lips touch down Upon the sparkles of the wine Or lost his faith in the golden crowns That are proffered by the swine Chips with everything Days are deals A waking dream Where all he feels Are thoughts that hurt In a mind that reels In the corridors He's drunk and houndog howling And he can't identify the source Of this strange intoxication Chips with everything Days are deals A waking dream Where all he feels is hurt ...There's a window in the corridor It is cracked A pale light shows Pencil-beam thin It hangs in the dust Of the air And it draws him Draws Implores him So he wipes his nose Gets on his knees Peeks and he sees... TREES! Dreaming, dreaming; years of fears fallen away Flown on vision's wings A pillow-burst of feathers in spring breezes Yearnings realised Outside the artificiality of the closed Casino There is life, meeting of need Freedom... openness... From the depth of a place turned in upon itself Ever smaller and more bitter Could there truly be a knowing of life Eternally expanding and revealing more of itself? Then he's gathered up by drunken friends And the tables call him again Did he perceive sweet anything Is the dreaming now or then? Was the light in or out of that crack? Anyway, he staggers through the corridors And his drunken heart is roaring And he must identify the source Of this strange intoxication ii. Overheard in Passing #2 (in the boardroom) 'With the big push in recruiting...' 'And the new TV campaign' 'We should soon enlarge the profit' 'Thus increasing our domain' 'We can reach for new horizons' 'We can paint them on the walls' 'We can find final solutions' 'To our fear of curtain-calls...' iii. Play On! You can't get out! You placed your bets! It's time to play! Pay off your debts! There's no good in crying! No-one cares! Some win (most lose) That's equal shares! There's no point stopping! To question anything! Winning is life! The rest is nothing! Play on! Play on! You've got to play the game Keep your nose to the table You've only got yourself to bet To sell all you are able Play on! Play on! You can't let go of time! You've got to make your claim! You've got to keep your place! There's no choice but play on! Play on!!
4.
He's been back! To the crack! He's tried bribes Attempted equal cleverness with unknown great outside - Once he shouted 'Open Sesame!' (The silliest thing he tried) - But he didn't get an answer, so he cries onto the baize He's been back! To the crack! He's tried whispers, Pushed through it like notes into a bottle - Once he shouted 'Help me, someone!' (Pain was at full throttle) - But he didn't hear an answer, so he cries onto the baize One day, on his way Going back to the crack He saw all the others Like him, in their lack And his heart moved to pity So he cried for them all As he sat by the crack In the glass in the wall Then he said to the shining To a hope beyond earning 'If you're there and you hear us, Please comfort this yearning - We are many, and lost - We have gambled on fortune And we can't meet the cost I am sorry and wretched With a heart full of rape But if someone can hear me - Please - Help us all to escape...' Then he scattered his tokens in the dust on the floor Tore up the cards and rubbed out his score He stopped trying to gamble, to buy his way out Turned his back on the fruit-machines' clatter and spout But he didn't understand the answer, so he cries And he cries Onto the baize
5.
Stranger 04:56
The ripple went round 'Stranger in town - ignoring the Management - bit of a clown...' And he come tipping tables And he come without cash And he come without credit No gambling trash The fact is Stranger Action and word The fact is Stranger Truth is preferred The Casino is shaking since the Stranger occurred The ripple went round 'Joker in play - forget the tables - hear him today...' And he talked to the pimps And the cheats and the whores And he talked about daylight And he opened the doors The ripple went round 'Stranger about - the Management hate him But his game's got some clout...' And he spoke about freedom And life beyond winning And the management scowled But Our Jimmy was grinning But he had no commitment To the Management cause And he stayed quite indifferent To insult or applause Then the bosses got Stranger for good And for sure The tables were turned back - They showed him the door The crowds disappeared When the bouncers got mean And they dragged him away To be wiped from the scene Then they mopped off their brows With a sigh of relief The Casino was saved From the one they called 'Thief'
6.
i. A Matter of Policy There now follows a policy statement from the Management: 'Many gamblers have been disturbed by the one known as "Stranger", or "Thief", who has recently been amongst us spreading vicious rumours about the insolvency of the Casino. He also made several scurrilous comments to do with the inefficacy of gambling as a means of securing the jackpot. We, the Management, have taken steps to deal with this trouble-maker, and can assure you that we are now back to business as usual. Do not lose faith in your money. Under no circumstances attempt to leave the Casino without cashing in your chips. So far as the Management are concerned the course of action pursued in the case of "Stranger" can be regarded as a legal precedent, and will be meted out to anyone foolish enough to attempt to emulate him...' ii. Beyond that Door Lucky Jim staggered through the corridor His heart torn apart with grief By the window lay the bouncers' victim The body of the 'Thief' His head smashed through the window pane As they'd thrown him out of play There was blood on the glass But the glass was smashed And there shone the light of day Lucky Jim bowed his head and wept For the light and the pain were despair Then he opened his eyes to the grass and the skies But the Thief was no longer there About to step out through the broken frame The gambler heard the Thief call his name: 'The Casino is falling, its days at an end For I came when you called me, And now I call you Friend - You will come this way one day I'll be here when you do I have opened the doorway But not just for you... Now I send you to find Those lost in their gambling The deafened and the blind If you fall by the tables If you're cut by the cards If they say you've been stealing If you're shot by the guards If you're flattened by tumblers If you're crushed by the wheels I'm before you I'm with you And remember I know I know how it feels I know how it feels...' iii. Overheard in Passing #3 (bouncers on the door) 'The punters 'ave got restless, it seems one of 'em escaped! There's got to be a clampdown, unless the crud gets aped...' 'It seems to me that one who's free is the beginning of a trend - It's too late now to disallow, the punters 'ave a friend... 'Oo knows - 'tween you 'an me, I might even 'ave a go myself...'
7.
Instrumental

about

Tracks 1 to 6
Words: Geoff Mann
Music: Clive Nolan

Recorded at Thin Ice Studios, May-June 1992.
Engineered and Produced by Clive Nolan and Karl Groom.
Cover Design and Artwork: Peter Labrow
Sleeve Concepts: Peter Labrow, Geoff Mann and Andy Labrow
Jim played by Andy, Thief played by Peter

Originally released in 1992 by SI Music, Holland.
Re-released in 1997 by Verglas Music, England.

Track 7 (previously unreleased)
Recorded 1993 as prospective follow-up to Casino
Music: Clive Nolan

credits

released January 8, 1992

Vocals: Geoff Mann
Keyboards: Mike Stobbie, Clive Nolan
Guitars: Sylvain Gouvernaire, Karl Groom
Bass: Jon Jeary
Drums & Percussion: Brian Devoil, Paul Flynn
Backing Vocals on 'Stranger': Eileen Ruthford
Harmonica on 'Stranger': Simon Forster
Bouncers: Cliff Orsi, Patric Toms

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Twelfth Night UK

Twelfth Night are an English progressive rock band of the 1980s, reformed between 2007 and 2012 and again in 2014.

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