Pierce-Turner-Small-Orchestra-Lyrics

PORCELAIN SHADOW 

I know how much he hurts inside 

And expect at this point 

He hardly even notices it 

‘Cept perhaps when he occasionally catches the pallor of his skin in the mirror 

When we talk my breath starts to take on his tempo 

And soon it feels to suffocate 

As we manner away around the fragile bond of our 

Porcelain shadow 

I find myself pulling away 

Afraid to succeed as I taunt and plead 

For if I open his heart 

The flood of tears and years of mystery could blow my cover 

And cut the thread I’ve come to know 

So I save myself and abort the rescue attempt 

Instrumental 

And we manner away around the fragile bond of our porcelain shadow 

I wonder ‘bout how far he can go with all this pain Inside his soul 

And his marital kamikaze trip 

Scary in potential 

He’s the jack LeLane of compromise 

Giving up all that’s dear 

So that she will go on lovin him 

But don’t he know that she would love him 

Anyhow, if he would just stand up for himself 

And what he wants 

She can’t be blamed for everything 

By his omission 

She’s come to believe she’s on a mission of success 

Still I fear to say what I fearlessly sing 

Instrumental 

So we manner away around the fragile bond of our porcelain shadow ( Page 2 below) 

That’s all over now 

I never did save the day 

Or blow my cover 

I tried but nothin was gained 

So now I wait for the ground to give 

On the sand where he lives 

I know what is ahead of him 

Still I fear to say what I fearlessly sing! 

Lyrics

Artwork David Stanley

Yogi With a Broken Heart 

He lay on the ground 

Where he usually found 

Heaven and breath from a far off sea 

But not anymore 

With the wave of a text 

He lay on the ground 

Like a corpse 

He’s a yogi with a broken heart 

He stood on his head 

At the edge of the pool 

Where he shone like ammonia man 

But not anymore 

A fortune he spent 

On the Columbian cartel 


She’s every single where 

She seeped through a hole in his brain 

He can’t get her out 

She lives in his head 

She’s burnt down his sanctuary 


In Washington square 

Not too far from here 

That’s where I heard the news 

I said how’s that boy 

I saw standing on his head 

At the edge of the swimming pool 


He was flyin so high 

With a brilliant third eye 

That was open so wide 

Everybody got in 

And called him a king 

That’s what did him in 

He started to believe them 


© 2012 Pierce Turner

Artwork Ronan McIntyre 

Snow 

The lines are down the roads are blocked 

The streets are covered in snow 

Ye have to stop cos nothing’s goin 

Ye have to let it go 

Sit right down in your favourite chair 

And put your feet up high 

You can’t feel guilty 

It’s out of your control 

It’s not within your grip 

Permission granted by the sky 

There’s no need to reply 

No one can accuse you 

Look outside there’s not a soul 

The lights have all gone dead 

The moon provides a silver glow 

Nothing’s gonna move 

Nothing’s gonna turn a wheel 

You can feel the pressure slippin 

Everyone feels the same 

No one can take the blame 

And the gun that was against your back 

No longer runs the show 

It’s buried deep beneath the snow 


Mondays rain 

Oh god i think i’m gonna fall 

Into a pool of mondays rain 

The movie’s done and i just 

Can’t nap again 

Coffee don’t work 

Got no appetite 

Everyone i call is gone 

Or coming 

Or will get back when 

They’re done with something 

Too early for this 

Too late for that 

My timeing is in-imaculate 

I think i’m drowning in a pool of mondays rain 

(He thinks he’s drowning in a pool of mondays rain) 

On the streets down below 

The umbrellas move slowly 

Avoiding a clash 

With the other fellows 

Soaking feet 

The bicycles swerve around 

The backed up gutter 

And the funeral procession 

Travels through our brains 

To another dimension 

With no known corpse 

For tommorow to sustain 

I don’t want to do 

Anything else this week 

That i don’t want to do 


Artwork David Stanley 

Last whole week was filled 

With hollow arrangements 

And other nil- do’s 

It’s today alone-it’s known 

But it don’t stop it from growing 

I’m under it’s spell 

Drowning in a well 

And with knowing tommorow 

Will give the all clear 

I sucumb to the trance 

Of this sullen winter air 


(He thinks he’s drowning in a pool of mondays rain)Will give 

the all clear 

I sucumb to the trance 

Of this sullen winter air 


(He thinks he’s drowning in a pool of mondays rain) 


It really should be working 


I can’t understand why not 

Everything is perfect 

Yet everything is lost 

I’ve sorted out the problem 

And left myself with nothing 

Yet i owe somebody something 

Something i don’t have 

All you christian brothers 

Try to understand 

I hate to make you angry 

I hate to let you down 

I want to hold my hands up high 

And sway before the lord 

But you think i’m the devil’s child 

Some kind of pervert 


Everything’s in place 

My wife does all the cooking 

And i provide the bread 

Yet tears well up inside of me 

When i say all is well 

I know i’m goin to lose it all 

Before the truth i tell 

Artwork Adeola Thompson 

But if i tell the truth 

I’ll be an outcast 

This is what torments me 

I’m not that kind of man 

But if you would accept me 

The way the lord has made 

Then none of this would be necessary 

If you tell the truth than i’ll be an outcast 

This is what torments me 

I’m not that kind of man 


You won’t catch any effect 

I saw the book 

Lying face down on an open page 

You pulled away to a quiet place 

I need to pay attention 

Come sit with me in the garden 

Don’t stay on your own 

I know I can blind 

Caught in a thousand tasks 

Juggling out of time 

Juggling out of time 

But what good would it do 

If I found the egg 

Hatched in an empty nest 

It’s quiet now, too silent 

I can hear the pictures on the wall 

The TV shouts but no one listens 

I hear you think above everything 

Hold my hand it’ll be OK 

Many are shot 

Many in pain 

But life is not perfect 

For anyone or anything 

Clever words 

They mean nothing 

I hate their sound 

As they come stalling 


Unless I’m true 

And break down and find out what’s eating you 


Unless I’m true 

And break down with you 

Take my jacket trousers and shirt 

Ironed and hanging in the wardrobe 

Take your brand new leopard skin blouse 

We’re spending too much time within the confines of 

this house 

Artwork Adeola Thompson 


Artwork David Stanley

I’m Never Down for Long 

You know me 

I’m never down for long 

Whatever has befelled me 

Is for me to know and never let on 

I’ll take my own poison 

It’s all that I deserve 

I’ll always be sorry 

For losing my nerve 

I lost all my courage 

When push came to shove 

I couldn’t let go 

Or break my word 

People expect me 

To keep a brave face 

It’s my reputation 

The one that I’ve earned 

I live in a mansion 

Anemic and white 

Holding on to nothing 

For no one’s dear life 

You may spot a crack 

If you look back some 

But you know me surely 

I’m never down for that long 

It’s only a scratch don’t let on 

I’m never down for that long 

The heat of her heartbeat 

Has gone forever more 

Never to return 

But I’m never down for long 


Artwork Mario Quintana

Honestly You Boys 

Just let her tell you a little of what to do 

If you do she’ll look after you 

It’s her nature 

She’s a herder, and once she sets you up 

She’ll leave you alone 

Contentedly she’ll mind the door 

And if you get in trouble, she’ll say 

Honestly you boys 

You boys 

And shake her head 

Forgetting every word that you said 

While defending your position 

At first it might throw you 

When you hear how quickly she concludes 

But she’s just as quick at changing her mind 

And joking ‘round to amuse 

Ye get the drift? 

It’s a game that’s fairly playable 

It’s a saying that’s fairly sayable 

And it’s not a lot to give for what you get 

And on Sundays when you need someone to hug 

She’ll forgive your indiscretions and let you off the hook 

And if you get in trouble, she’ll say 

Honestly you boys 

You boys 


Artwork Ronan McIntyre

PORCELAIN SHADOW 

I know how much he hurts inside 

And expect at this point 

He hardly even notices it 

‘Cept perhaps when he occasionally catches the pallor of his skin in the mirror 

When we talk my breath starts to take on his tempo 

And soon it feels to suffocate 

As we manner away around the fragile bond of our 

Porcelain shadow 

I find myself pulling away 

Afraid to succeed as I taunt and plead 

For if I open his heart 

The flood of tears and years of mystery could blow my cover 

And cut the thread I’ve come to know 

So I save myself and abort the rescue attempt 

Instrumental 

And we manner away around the fragile bond of our porcelain shadow 

I wonder ‘bout how far he can go with all this pain Inside his soul 

And his marital kamikaze trip 

Scary in potential 

He’s the jack LeLane of compromise 

Giving up all that’s dear 

So that she will go on lovin him 

But don’t he know that she would love him 

Anyhow, if he would just stand up for himself 

And what he wants 

She can’t be blamed for everything 

By his omission 

She’s come to believe she’s on a mission of success 

Still I fear to say what I fearlessly sing 

Instrumental 

So we manner away around the fragile bond of our porcelain shadow 

That’s all over now 

I never did save the day 

Or blow my cover 

I tried but nothin was gained 

So now I wait for the ground to give 

On the sand where he lives 

I know what is ahead of him 

Still I fear to say what I fearlessly sing! 


Artwork Natalia Kunachowicz

He’s the guy she adores 

He’s the guy 

He’s the guy she adored 

He’s the guy she 

He’s the guy she adored 

And now she wonders 

If the day will come 

When she’ll see the sun once more 

In the calm of a cowboy evening 

As the cowhands contemplate 

The river gently passes by 

Heading towards the blue speckled sky 

The campfire throws a glowing light 

On the spur mans silver heel 

And she wore her black clothes unintentionally 

For her world about to fold- unmentionably 

And she held the picture close like a bible 

For these men had passed into history 

And soon her world so precious 

Would fill its own picture frame 

She wondered what it meant 

Then stared inside again 

She almost crawled inside 

To be finished with her pain 

She held it to her bosom 

And took comfort once again 

Listening to their silence 

And wondering what they thought 

Time had brought them nearer now 

She could almost hear them talk 

She could almost hear them breathe 

Soon she’d hang beside them 

On that wall full of memories 

In the calm of a cowboy evening 

As the cowhands contemplate 

The river gently passes by 

Heading towards blue speckled sky 

The campfire throws a glowing light 

On the spur mans silver heel 

She feels them getting nearer now 

With her empty boots to fill 


Artwork Mario Quintana 

Jaimee Young (inst.)

About The Artwork and the album “Songs For a VeRRy smaLL ORchesTRA” 

While writing these songs Pierce began to notice that music and song were becoming devalued by bad Radio, downloading and liberal free burning. His own 

house was littered with CD’s that been burned for him by friends, and because he got them for nothing, they were treated like nothing. So He decided to try 

amplifying the value of each song by attaching visual art to them, figuring the bigger the energy surrounding each song, the best chance for them to be taken 

seriously. Hopefully as seriously as he had taken them while writing, arranging and recording them. And it could be a two way street-the song can attach to the 

art and amplify that in return. 

That’s when he noticed the credentials for one of the people that pledged towards the making of his album was John O’Connor Director and Dean from the D.I.T in 

Dublin. When approached with the idea John loved it and immediately set up a curriculum with a group of senior art students to produce art inspired by Pierce’s 

songs from the album. 

While Pierce was writing the songs in Manhattan (his second home) he communicated regularly with the Dublin classroom by skype. Pierce sat in his kitchen 

while he was projected on to a screen in the Mountjoy campus. The Students then emailed their work to New York. Throughout this whole process, Pierce emphasized 

the need for security with the songs and wouldn’t let the students have recordings until they knew him and could be trusted not to throw the recordings 

around by sharing. They started off with just the lyrics (Pierce trusts and believes that if you ask people not to burn or share the songs that they might honour the 

request, it is printed on the sleeve notes of the album also) coupled with Q and A’s on the Skype calls they were able to apply their own imagination to the songs. 

One Student - Mario Quintana- ended up designing the album cover and has created a short film animating the cover art. All in all this cross Atlantic collaboration 

is a small miracle of modern technology, further light is shed upon the marriage of diversity brought about by the internet. Music may be suffering an age of trial, 

but maybe there is a future home somewhere like this! Obviously prints can be made of the art also and hopefully be collectible thus broadening the experience 

of each piece and enlarging the imagery, increasing its value, a necessary action in this world of throwaway, where the shelf life of a great song or print is fleeting. 

View a Video of this song from the album “ Yogi with a Broken Heart” with Pierce and Philip Glass: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFao4dJltCg 

Rolling Stone review of Tibet house benefit 2011 @ Carnegie Hall “Early in the night, composer Phillip Glass introduced Irish singer Pierce Turner, who sat at the 

grand piano and performed the soaring, Bowie-reminiscent “Yogi with a Broken Heart.” 

NY Times review of the same event: “A piano playing Irish songwriter with tinges of opera and Joni Mitchell sang his “Yogi with a Broken Heart” joined by Mr. Philip 

Glass on keyboard.” 

This is very short note from me. 

I was born a long time ago and I remember nothing of the experience at all. You would think one would remember such a life altering experience, but no! Not a 

bit of it. I was in Wexford Town at the time, an ancient harbour town in the south east of Ireland. Foreign lands flowed through the drains, and before long I was in 

Germany playing Jazz and Soul music, starting again! After that I sold everything and went to New York where I found out that I was Irish, started again. I became 

a punk and a new waver and wrote for dancers and films, ran out of steam, cleaned toilets in Brooklyn, and started all over again! As a singer songwriter –toured 

Manhattan-toured the World- 

Lost my Parents, lost my girlfriend, found my wife, moved to London started again. 

After seven studio albums and seeing the advent of computers, mobile phones, the Internet and the horribleness of Aids, and the need to fill the great big hole 

left in the wake of lost friends. I have come to this album after a seven year hiatus, afresh I start all over again, renewed, reinvigorated, no wonder I remember 

nothing of my first day on Earth. I write this where I was then though, starting all over again! 

I ask you dear friend, for the sake of music, please don’t burn or share this CD. 

Thank you Pierce. 

A short description of the songs by me. 

He shone like ammonia man that young Yogi, heart broken he fell back and landed in his old world of pain. Permission granted by the sky to put your feet up and 

listen to the silent snow, there’s no need to reply. He crawls back into the womb on a dark rainy Monday and finds humour in his self pity. He’s avoided the change 

all his life but it still wasn’t working, now he must lose everyone by doing it even though he owes them nothing, ironically they believe in the same things, including 

intollerence. When someone you know is feeling low you can say fancy words like “many are shot, many in pain, life is not perfect for anyone or anything” but they 

won’t catch any effect unless you break down too. 

She’s never down for that long, she would rather live in pain than change what you see in her. Honestly you boys, you will never learn! It’s as delicate as porcelain, 

as fleeting as a shadow, I know what lies ahead of him, I know what’s wrong, still I fear to say what I fearlessly sing. In that painting, all those dead cowboys, the 

guy she adores might as well be in there too, for he is gone also, she sees herself upon the wall soon. 

I ask you dear friend, for the sake of music, please don’t burn or share this CD. 

Thank you Pierce. 

All Lyrics © 2012 Pierce Turner 

Lyric Sheet produced by: Document, 

info@document.ie, 051 563 006, 087 652 7768

Pierce-Turner-Small-Orchestra-Lyrics

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