Twelve Days of Christmas

O Belle and Sebastian cantam uma música de Natal:



On the first day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
A partridge in a pear tree.

On the second day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the third day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fourth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the fifth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the sixth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the seventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eighth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the ninth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the tenth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the eleventh day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree.

On the twelfth day of Christmas,
my true love sent to me
Twelve drummers drumming,
Eleven pipers piping,
Ten lords a-leaping,
Nine ladies dancing,
Eight maids a-milking,
Seven swans a-swimming,
Six geese a-laying,
Five golden rings,
Four calling birds,
Three French hens,
Two turtle doves,
And a partridge in a pear tree!

The Model

Pra finalizar essa pequena overdose de Belle and Sebastian hoje temos The Model, segunda música do quarto álbum, Fold Your Hands Child You Walk Like a Peasant.



I will confess to you
Because you made me think about the times
You turn the picture on to me and Ill turn over
The vision was a masterpiece of comic timing
But you wouldnt laugh at all
And I wonder what the boy was thinking
The picture was an old collage of something classical
The model with a tragic air
Because without a doubt hed given up the fight
The ghost of somebody at his side

I will confess to you
Because I didnt think about the message
As I walked down the alleyway it was a sunday
And all my friends deserted me because you painted me
As the fraud I really was
And if you think you see with just your eyes youre mad
cause lisa learned a lot from putting on a blindfold
When she knew she had been bad
She met another blind kid at a fancy dress
It was the best sex she ever had

Ill send a dress to you
Because its needing badly taken in
But I was so embarressed when I missed your party
It was me that paid for it eventually
Because you know how much I wanted
To meet your friend the star of stage and local press
The dream of all the bowlie boys that hang around here
And Im no different from the rest
Im not too proud to say that Im okay with
The girl next door whos famous for showing her breasts

Youre not impressed by me
But its a funny way for you to tell me
A whisper in a choir stall
The man was talking about you simultaneously
Frankly, I let my heavy eyelids flutter
Because I have been sleeping badly lately
I know you were historical from all the books Ive read
But I thought you could be bluffing
And with this chance Ive missed I feel remiss
Its days and months before I see you again

A Century of Fakers

O Belle and Sebastian é tão genial, mas tão genial, que lançou um disco só com os seus b-sides (leia-se, músicas lançadas em EPs e não em álbuns), compreendendo o período de 1997 a 2001, chamado Push Barman to Open Old Wounds, um disco com 25 faixas todas,TODAS, espetaculares. 25 b-sides fantásticas num único disco não é pra qualquer banda. Belle and Sebastian não é qualquer banda.
A Century of Fakers é a nona faixa.



There are people going hungry every day
Theyve got nothing on their plates
And youre filling your fat face with every different kind of cake
And if you ever go lardy, or go lame
I will drop you straight away
Thats the price you have to pay
For every stupid thing you say

There are people going lonely, and theyll stay
Lonely fay into the year
Because youre making blinkers fashionable
And fashionably youll say
All is equal in love and war and
Im sorry, but Ive got some things to do
And you pretend to read a book youll never finish till the day

That the author dedicates it
To a century of fakers
They took your mould and they burned it on the fire in history today
Yeah, the author dedicates it
To a century of fakers
He was an anarchist, he tried his best but it wasnt good enough

Did I say I would see you soon?
Well Im sorry, but I just came off my bike
And my face is scarred
And chance has barred me seeing you tonight
I was over the other side of the city
And if the truth be known Id say
That you look great from there before you shaved your golden hair today

Everybodys trying to make us
Another century of fakers
They took you mould and burned it on the fire of history today
Everybodys trying to make us
Another cool decade of fakers
Another century of fakers

The Boy With The Arab Strap

E a overdose de Belle and Sebastian continua, agora com uma música do álbum The Boy With The Arab Strap, o primeiro que eu comprei em 1998 ou 1999, e o segundo da banda.



A mile and a half on a bus takes a long time
The odour of old prison food takes a long time to pass you by
When youve been inside
Day upon day of this wandering gets you down
Nobody gives you a chance or a dollar in this old town

Hovering silence from you is a giveaway
Squalor and smokes not your style
I dont like this place
We better go
Then I compare notes with your older sister
I am a lazy gett, she is as pure as the cold driven snow
She accepts my confession

What did you learn from your time in the solitary
Cell of your mind?
There was noises, distractions from anything good
And the old prison food
Colour my life with the chaos of trouble
Cause anythings better than posh isolation
1 missed the bus
You were laid on your back
With the boy from the arab strap
With the boy from the arab strap

Its something to speak of the way you are feeling
To crowds there assembled
Do you ever feel you have gone too far?
Everyone suffers in silence a burden
The man who drives minicabs down in old compton
The asian man
With his love hate affair
With his racist clientele

A central location for you is a must
As you stagger about making free with your lewd and lascivious boasts
We know you are soft cause weve all seen you dancing
We know you are hard cause we all saw you drinking from noon
Until noon again
Youre the boy with the filthy laugh
Youre the boy with the arab strap

Strapped to the table with suits from the shelter shop
Comic celebrity takes a back seat as the cigarette catches
And sets off the smoke alarm
What do you make of the cool set in london?
Youre constantly updating your hit parade of your ten biggest wanks
Shes a waitress and shes got style
Sunday bathtime could take a while

Get Me Away From Here, I'm Dying

O Koto, com sua perspicácia ímpar, fez um pedido que não posso negar, e praticamente já estava certo de aparecer por aqui. Mais uma do álbum If You're Feeling Sinister, pra deixar todo mundo criança feliz como eu.



Ooh! Get me away from here I'm dying
Play me a song to set me free
Nobody writes them like they used to
So it may as well be me
Here on my own now after hours
Here on my own now on a bus
Think of it this way
You could either be successful or be us
With our winning smiles, and us
With our catchy tunes and words
Now we're photogenic
You know, we don't stand a chance

Oh, I'll settle down with some old story
About a boy who's just like me
Thought there was love in everything and everyone
You're so naive!
They always reach a sorry ending
They always get it in the end
Still it was worth it as I turned the pages solemnly, and then
With a winning smile, the poor boy
With naivety succeeds
At the final moment, I cried
I always cry at endings

Oh, that wasn't what I meant to say at all
From where I'm sitting, rain
Falling against the lonely tenement
Has set my mind to wander
Into the windows of my lovers
They never know unless I write
"This is no declaration, I just thought I'd let you know goodbye"
Said the hero in the story
"It is mightier than swords
I could kill you sure
But I could only make you cry with these words"

If You're Feeling Sinister

Acho que quando eu ouço Belle & Sebastian pequenos coraçõezinhos saem de dentro do meu ouvido. Acho que essa semana vai ser dedicada só ao B&S.



Anthony walked to his death because he thought hed never feel this way again
If he goes back to the house then things would go from bad to worse, what could he do?
He wants to remember things exactly as he left them on that wednesday
And if there is something else beyond, he isnt scared because
Its bound to be less boring than today
Its bound to be less boring than tomorrow

Hilary walked to her death because she couldnt think of anything to say
Everybody thought that she was boring, so they never listened anyway
Nobody was really saying anything of interest, she fell asleep
She was into s&m and Bible studies
Not everyones cup of tea she would admit to me
Her cup of tea, she would admit to no one
Her cup of tea, she would admit to me
Oh but her cup of tea, she would admit to no one

Hilary went to the catholic church because she wanted information
The vicar, or whatever, took her to one side and gave her confirmation
Saint theresas calling her, the church up on the hill is looking lovely
But it doesnt interest, the only things she wants to know is
How and why and when and where to go
How and why and when and where to follow
How and why and when and where to go
How and why and when and where to follow

But if you are feeling sinister
Go off and see a minister
Hell try in vain to take away the pain of being a hopeless unbeliever

When she got back, her spirituality was thrown into confusion
So she got a special deal on renting
From the man at rediffusion
Look at me! Im on tv
It makes up for the shortcomings of being poor
Now Im in a million pieces, picked up for deliberation
By the people listening at home
By the people watching on the telly
By the people listening at home
By the people watching on the telly

But if you are feeling sinister
Go off and see a minister
Chances are youll probably feel better
If you stayed and played with yourself

I Know Where The Summer Goes

É difícil escolher uma música do Belle and Sebastian pra colocar no post, são tantas espetaculares que fico numa dúvida cruel, mas resolvi escolher I Know Where The Summer Goes, que é um B-Side:



I know where the summer goes
When you're having no fun
When you're under the thumb
I know where the summer dwells
If your underarm smells
And your kitchen looks like hell

I know where the summer goes
If you're scraping a pot, and your head is hot
Put your head down, put your thumbs up girl
With the smell of hot desk
And the glitter of your step
He was right, he's the upcoming guru of the city
No one told the city councillors

I know, you can tell me again
I've got my mobile phone
Full of silicon chips
No one likes a smart arse
But I've seen a pattern emerge
I will race you up the hill
Where the boy who made records out of postcard messages
And flowering cherries rain on kids like you

Look twice at the kid with the crimped
And overheated hair
They ran a book on his looks
Odds on was the noble pose and
The denim hard riff of the Irish Troubadour
But the boy came from nowhere to
Steal the hearts of lassies in the lavvies of the club tonight

Fox in the Snow

Esse é mais um desses vídeos que só se vê no youtube, uma pequena jóia que jamais veríamos numa MTV. Não faço a menor idéia da procedência do vídeo, só sei que são verdadeiros fãs do Belle and Sebastian.



E como brinde hoje um vídeo da própria banda Belle and Sebastian tocando ao vivo no Brasil no Rio (como que eu gostaria de ter estado lá):



Fox in the snow, where do you go
To find something you can eat?
Cause the word out on the street is you are starving
Don't let yourself grow hungry now
Don't let yourself grow cold
Fox in the snow
Girl in the snow, where will you go
To find someone that will do?
To tell someone all the truth before it kills you
They listen to your crazy laugh
Before you hang a right
And disappear from sight
What do they know anyway?
You'll read it in a book
What do they know anyway?
You'll read it in a book tonight

Boy on the bike, what are you like
As you cycle round the town?
You're going up, you're going down
You're going nowhere
It's not as if they're paying you
It's not as if it's fun
At least not anymore
When your legs are black and blue
It's time to take a break
When your legs are black and blue
It's time to take a holiday

Kid in the snow, way to go
It only happens once a year
It only happens once a lifetime
Make the most of it
Second just to being born
Second to dying to
What else could you do?