1. |
Prologue: The Curse
01:01
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I can't seem to die
Please don't ask me why
I remember being shot, stabbed, poisoned, drowned, hanged, vaporised
Every time I see the void of what lies beyond, I get spat back out in some new place and new time
My story is long and my journey lonesome
but I have found company with this motely crew
my ephemeral accomplices in this tale
My name is Shakes Fear and this is the Skeleton Gang.
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2. |
Wormsmeat
04:37
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CHORUS;
A plague on both your houses
Tomorrow, a grave man you will find me
A plague on both your houses
For they have made wormsmeat of me
Bacteria looks for a home
and you know it's not alone.
The facial orifices are so inviting.
Disease will wander in
and infections will begin.
The germs will find it all just so enticing.
Blood will spread them all around
everywhere that veins are found.
All over the body, germs will stay.
They're yellowing the whites of eyes
as kidneys will metastasize.
Where there's life, disease will find a way.
CHORUS
The victims of these sick persuasions
and biological invasions
start to exhibit symptoms oh most glooming.
Lethargy starts to take a hold
and they'll feel the deathly cold.
The microscopic force is all consuming.
They will cough and they will wheeze
as the crippling disease
spreads throughout the body with much haste
until their skin is going numb
and they'll finally succumb
to the deep cold black of death's embrace.
CHORUS
Now you lay them in the ground,
lowering the coffin down
about six feet underneath the earth.
Although they've left their life behind,
there's new purpose they will find.
Death simply prescribes a second worth.
Once their covered up with dirt
the ants and worms will go to work,
burrowing from earth into the flesh.
Although decay has started
on the dearly departed
the scavengers will think it's rotting fresh
CHORUS x 2
ALL LEAD VOCALS PERFORMED BY SHAKES FEAR EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED.
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3. |
Skeleton Boogie
03:45
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There's an ancient castle outside of town
where all the monsters go to get down.
Vampires and hags, goblins and ghouls.
The zombies and mummies were deathly cool.
One party goer stood out from the rest.
When it came to dancing, yeah, he was the best.
He could shake his tailbone like you never seen
'Cos a skeleton knows how to keep himself lean.
CHORUS
Shake, shake, shake that rib cage right
Skeleton’s gonna break it down tonight
Shake, shake, shake those knobbly knees
Rattle them all around if you please
Shake, shake, shake that bony behind
Skeleton boogie goes down your spine
He could take off his skull and juggle it around
Under his femurs and down to the ground
Twirl it around like a basketball
Throw and catch it, never let it fall
He shimmies so hard and he never quits
With no muscles it’s easy to do the splits
Pop the ball out of the socket
He’s got a skeleton key hidden in his pocket
CHORUS
The toe bone’s connected to the foot bone
The foot bone's connected to the ankle bone
The ankle bone’s connected to the leg bone
The leg bone’s connected to the hip bone
The hip bone’s connected to the back bone
The back bone’s connected to the shoulder bone
The shoulder bone’s connected to the skull bone
Now shake those bones about
CHORUS
Well the wolf-man was watching in the crowd
Watching those bones move all around
When the moon was full, the wolf-man crept
In the skeleton’s bedroom while he slept
He took those bones right out of the bed
Leaving him just a talking head
Now he watches the dancers, all on his own
Cos he’s a nobody with none of his bones
CHORUS x 2
ALL LEAD VOCALS PERFORMED BY SHAKES FEAR EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED
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4. |
Baker's Murder
03:46
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They found the baker’s body Monday morning
Blood was drying on the kitchen floor
The loaves that he was baking in the oven overnight were black
Smoke filled the room and out the door
There was not a soul in sight to see
but thirteen crows sitting in the old dead tree
His eyes were gone, empty in their sockets
His hands were picked clean right down to the bone
A rancid smell was mixing with the scent of burning bread
His body stiff and greyer than a stone
No one could have seen this awful crime
but thirteen crows sitting on a telephone line
TINKERER TAYLOR:
A Quaint little village
where nothing ever stirs
Everyone knows everybody’s name
SHAKES FEAR:
The baker was a peaceful man
who never done no harm
with friends like this who could be to blame?
People flock to the village tavern
The gossip and the rumors start to fly
Perhaps he owed someone a lot of money
Perhaps the killer ran off with his wife
Little do they know that waiting just outside
that thirteen baker’s murders shows
thirteen groups of thirteen crows
a hundred and sixty nine crows with hungry eyes
ALL LEAD VOCALS PERFOMED BY SHAKES FEAR EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED
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5. |
Schrödinger's Blues
06:03
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I'm sitting in my driver's seat
on a cold and foggy night
In the middle of the narrow bridge
To blind you with my high beam lights
You swerved right through the guard rail
With an almighty crash
You car starts sinking in the bog
It hardly made a splash
I’ll drag you out, put you in my car
We're going to take a little drive
I promise you this one thing, man
You won’t make it out alive
I warned you once, man,
Because I never warn twice
The way you treat your lady
I don’t think that's very nice. no
She’s my friend you know
I don’t know what she was thinking
She told me how you beat her
when you start to drinking
Make yourself comfortable
I’ve got you a surprise
I keep my promises man so
you won’t make it out alive
You're not much of a talker
You don't make conversation
As the street lights pulse above us
On the drive to our destination
I could have sworn I've seen that car
In my rear view twice before
Maybe I'm being being paranoid
of the long arm of the law
Stay under the radar
I’ll keep it under fifty five
Tape is rolling in the deck telling you
‘You won’t make it out alive’
Soon you'll be where you belong
you can lie down and relax
In the big vacant lot
Down by the Railroad tracks
I’ve quite enjoyed your company
But I must leave you now
You’ll get what you deserved
Six feet in the ground
No one sees or hears you
You never could survive
I promised you, you son of a bitch
You won’t make it out alive
ALL LEAD VOCALS PERFORMED BY SHAKES FEAR EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED
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6. |
Vast Empty Sky
04:12
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Left my home planet at age of sixteen
to seek out adventure and wealth
Saw many worlds and I shook many hands
but I still wound up by myself
Alone in my craft with no power or thrust
Life support is running low
I look for a planet to land for the night
But the radar has nothing to show
CHORUS
If anyone’s out there to hear my call
I’m lost in the heavens and can’t land at all
My mayday cry receives no reply
Alone in a vast empty sky
I’ve stowed away in freighters before
with only the clothes on my back
Found some odd jobs and bought my own ship
to fly through the infinite black
I fear it’s too late as my cabin starts
getting colder and harder to breathe
A distant sun bathes my console in light
and the stars will sing me to sleep
CHORUS
Drifting away to peaceful rest
I'll draw my harmonica with my last few breaths
I'll close my eyes, there are worse ways to die
than alone in a vast empty sky.
CHORUS
ALL LEAD VOCALS PERFROMED BY SHAKES FEAR EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED
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7. |
The Soup Job
04:26
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I can be a little bit strange sometimes,
there's method in my madness, reason and rhyme
Don't be afraid, I mean no harm
If you should fall victim to my charm
Skulk front the speakeasy to the nunnery the third
Heat’s been sniffing ‘round so don’t you say a word
They’d love to get their hands on me, hundred buck reward
If you don’t see me out the back, you can be assured
CHORUS
Prowl around like an alley cat
Carrying a baseball bat
Hand resting on the bonafide
Colt peacemaker by my side
Prowl around like an alley cat
Carrying a baseball bat
Hand resting on the bonafide
Colt six shooter by my side
I’ve got a job worth all the dough you need
Won’t be easy though, not a simple deed
There’s a safe on twelfth. We can crack it like an egg
Jimmy Peterman limps on his wooden leg
Smith stands out the front, tommy in his hand
Legs waits in the car, go on my command
If the job is clean there’ll no casualties
but if you see fuzz, fire as you please.
CHORUS
Prowl around like an alley cat
carrying a baseball bat
Hand resting on my bonafide
Colt six shooter by my side.
If you've got nowhere else to go
get a crew, find a safe to blow.
If you're good, you'll have an easy time
the soup job is the perfect crime.
ALL LEAD VOCALS PERFORMED BY SHAKES FEAR EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED
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8. |
Drills & Engines
03:55
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I tumble down the rabbit hole
to see what I could see.
Into the darkness and the dank
through the roots and weeds
until I finally came to rest.
What do you suppose I found?
There's an ancient factory
deep beneath the ground
CHORUS
Do you want to, do you want to
do you want to drill a hole?
Do you want to, do you want to
do you want to drill a hole?
Earthmen pulled the minecarts
filthy as could be.
One of them handed me a pick axe
and said these words to me
TINKERER TAYLOR;
You'd better get to work now.
We always need more hands.
Many fall down but very few
return to the sunlit lands.
SHAKES FEAR, TINKERER TAYLOR;
CHORUS
Lower down I dug for
how long I don't know.
Weeks turned into centuries
like ashes into snow
SHAKES FEAR;
Until I found a cavern
something had been there before.
I looked into its yellow eyes
and then I thought no more.
CHORUS
CHORUS x 2
ALL LEAD VOCALS PERFORMED BY SHAKES FEAR EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED
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9. |
St James' Infirmary
08:06
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SHAKES FEAR;
I went walking down by old Joe's bar room
Down on the corner of a square.
The Bar staff were serving their drinks as usual
and the usual crowd happened there.
On my left sat Big Joe Mckeddie
and his eyes were bloodshot red
and he turned and faced all of the people
and these were the words that he said
TINKERER TAYLOR;
Folks, I went down to St James Infirmary
I saw my baby there
She was stretched out on a long white table
So sweet, so cool and so fair
GANG;
Let her go, let her go, God bless her
Wherever she may be
She could search this whole wide world over
never find a sweeter man as me.
CON MAN;
When I die, bury me in straight laced shoes
A box back coat and a Stetson hat
Put a gold piece on my watch chain
So my gang'll know I died standing pat
BUTCHER BASSIST;
I want the judge, jury and the police chief on my hearse wagon
Let them all be dressed in black
I want thirteen men going down to the graveyard
But only twelve men coming back
TINKERER TAYLOR;
I want my wake to be at the open bar
Three chorus girls to sing me a song
Put the Skeleton Gang on my hearse wagon
They'll raise Hell as I roll along
SHAKES FEAR;
Now folks, that's the end of my story
So let's all raise our glasses of booze
and if anyone should ask you what's wrong with this gang
GANG;
We got the Saint James Infirmary Blues
SHAKES FEAR;
Let her go, let her go, God bless her
Wherever she may be
She could search this whole wide world over
never find a sweeter man as me.
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10. |
Dr. Skinner's Surgery
04:06
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In the cobbled streets of London Town
In a surgery deep underground
you'll find the good doctor, now gone bad
the curious and howling mad
Doctor Skinner
GANG; CHORUS
Doctor Skinner’s Surgery
Doctor Skinner's Surgery
Doctor Skinner's Surgery
Have you ever wanted an extra pair of hands
or eyes in the back of your head?
I know of a Doctor who can lend a hand
with a little help from the dead
The doctor does it for the love of science
But it’s taken him down a peg
You won’t be paying through the nose
But it could cost an arm and a leg
CHORUS
He's friends with the local hangmen
He helps some men escape the noose
He promises their sins will be forgiven
if he puts them to good use
Don’t ask too many questions
So he goes out with a shovel at night
where an unsuspecting donor
will meet their awful plight
CHORUS
Ever wondered what's in the back of your mind?
He’d love to pick your brain
A simple lobotomy procedure
to relieve your memories of pain
Black smoke rises from his chimney high
As he goes to work each night
You’d better stay away from there
or you’ll catch your death of fright
CHORUS
ALL LEAD VOCALS PERFORMED BY SHAKES FEAR EXCEPT WHERE OTHERWISE NOTED
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11. |
Epilogue: The Void
02:48
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I'm so tired of this cycle, it never ends
Death stalks me, tracks me, but it will never have me
I can only rest my eyes when I'm asleep
It feels as though I'm being dragged, thrashing, under the surface
but I can never drown
Is this some kind of gift? Or am I cursed?
How did this even start?
So many lifetimes, I can hardly remember them all.
Am I being rewarded for my actions? Or punished for my crimes?
Do I keep returning for a purpose? Is there some unfinished business?
Or am I some kind of cosmic plaything?
I've seen good people suffer and die. Monsters in the shape of men.
I've worked deep beneath the earth, a secretary to a mad doctor,
a village detective, a cat burglar, an interstellar deckhand.
I am always welcomed, but I never belong.
But wherever I go, I always find my friends
different places but always the same faces.
I don't care if they're coincidences, guardian spirits or something else.
They're the only company I have.
I hope I discover the reason behind all this soon before it becomes to much and my mind caves in on itself.
Maybe it already has.
Until next time, this is Shakes Fear, accompanied by his Skeleton Gang, signing off.
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Shakes Fear & the Skeleton Gang Brisbane, Australia
Shakes Fear & the Skeleton Gang are South East Queensland’s hottest horror-blues quintet. Immortal, time travelling hobo, Shakes Fear, is joined by his atrocious associates, The Skeleton Gang, to form a combination guaranteed to get your bones rattling. ... more
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