FOREIGN CAPITOLS

A Cure For The Curse

Oh, once I was here

Awash in a sea

Waiting for the storm

You crawled out to me

Wanting to be near

The mouth of the war

No more dreaming allowed

You've got the maps and I've got the highway

We're somewhere we shouldn't be

In the guts of the night I go looking for sunshine

I'm waiting for you, dear

To come back around

There's no name in your blame game

So I keep hanging around

I've got a cure for the curse, dear

I got a fix on it now

There's no shame in your aim, dear

So why keep hanging around?

I'm waiting for a new year

Outdated for the sound

"Dude, i actually liked it. It started off kinda gay, but once the vocals kicked in it had kind of a Leonard Cohen feel, which was nice, and later it started rocking softly, like a mellow gin blossom groove. The guitar was stupendous."

Sunshine

You came in on a storm by the foot of the bed

Undressed my ambitions and left them for dead

The city was proud and the building lay bare

As you crawled from the sea and flowed through my hair

I saw death in your eyes as you stared at the sun

The laws made a mess and then gravity won

You fell into my arms like a star on the run

I held you at peace like I did every one

I sing songs about sunshine

You tell tales about air

I wait for the war and it’s not even near

I trace shadows with a finger when you’re no longer there

Then I forget what it is that I fear

Sunshine,

You've got me running out on daylight

You're the reason that I'm moving on

You're the reason that I'm counted out

You're the reason that I'm gone

ELEGY

A passed friend

I lost his love to dust

And quiet concern

His throat closed

Like a budding rose

No song to sing it back

Instead of cheating maps

I sat and slept and wept

Unable to repent for the singer’s bitter end

Scattered Diamonds (2007 - 2009)

1. You Get Carried Away

2. City Halls

3. No Winter

4. Seeing Stars

5. A Little respect (Erasure)

6. Hopeless, Not Serious

7. Waiting To Fly

8. Girls Night

9. House Fire

10. (Devil) Beyond The Sea

11. Romans

12. Follow Me Around

13. At The Bottom/Untitled Ballad

14. Seasons To Ghosts

15. Excuse Me For Not Dying

NOTES:

This is a collection of songs recorded between 2008 and the present. I'm sure there are a few more in hiding, but that's for another time. Most of these songs plea for a full band arrangement, but I am currently without musicians - hopefully soon I will find a remedy and breathe proper life into these limp skeletons. In any case, this is what is, and I hope you find enjoyment in them.

All songs written, performed and recorded by David Berkovits, except where noted.

1. You Get Carried Away: I started writing this song in the winter of 2008 - January, I believe. I had the basic chord progression and chorus, but shelved it because I couldn't find a suitable bridge. Well, it still doesn't have one, so I guess it's not meant to. I finally recorded it about a month ago.

2. City Halls: This is one of the oldest songs in the bunch. I wrote and recorded it at the very early stages of planning the 'A Secret Conspiracy Against The Blues' record. I actually wanted to have Scott lay down some additional vocals and include it on the record, as a sort of companion piece to 'Vulture Politics'. For some reason or another, it never happened, and the song never made it on the record. A shame.

3. No Winter: This is an instrumental I wrote and recorded right after my move to Tel Aviv. I was overjoyed by the sunshine and the thought of cheating winter. I left New York in August so I would finally have an entire year without winter. I recorded most of the tracks in a cafe near my apartment. Although the song is meant to be a celebration of the sun, it has a very cold, distant winter-y sound. I think I was letting go of some ghosts that were clutching pretty fiercely; trying to kill an old state of mind. I guess I still do that with my songs.

4. Seeing Stars: This song came about pretty quickly, because the melody is probably stolen. This is my attempt at writing a traditional, ageless love song. I really like it and I plan to re-record it someday soon. It got its start as an improvised little bit at the end of another song, but it quickly demanded more serious attention. I gave it some. It was originally called 'Hymn For Her', but I settled on its current name after listening to an evening's worth of Django Reinhardt. Additional Vocals: Valentina Meytina.

5. A Little Respect: This is an Erasure song. Always been one of my favorites. Tina and I had a bit of fun with this one. I confess: I sped up the recording a bit. Additional Vocals: Valentina Meytina.

6. Hopeless, Not Serious: This instrumental was supposed to have words. I planned on finishing it and including it on the 'A Secret Conspiracy Against The Blues' record. I remember recording this at Scholes Street, using Scott's keyboard. It was meant to be a tiny ode to Heath Ledger. I heard the phrase "the situation is hopeless, not serious" in a fantastic Billy Wilder film and it stuck like glue. I felt it was an appropriate title to honor the passing of 'The Joker'.

7. Waiting To Fly: This is one of my favorites. It was written and recorded in an hour. That type of magic rarely happens to me, so when it does I cherish it greatly. This song is 100% inspired by Neil Young's 'Expecting To Fly'. I really, really love that song... and the recording. I guess I had it stuck in my head that I wanted to record my interpretation of that song. Additional Vocals: Valentina Meytina.

8. Girls Night: This is a sound experiment. The title says it all. Some girls were over and I was on the balcony recording them. I treated the voices on the spot while adding some affected piano. I made a tweak here and there, and this is what became of it. I didn't tell them I was recording, so as to not spoil the fun.

9. House Fire: This song came about pretty quickly. Upon arriving to Israel, I decided to abandon my old perfectionist recording style and embrace swiftness and inaccuracy. I found a chord progression I liked and this song was born. I think it carries homesickness somewhere within - no, I'm certain it does. I tried to do a version with Tina singing, but for some reason it just didn't work out.

10. (Devil) Beyond The Sea: This one also came in a flash. I had been wanting to write a song based upon what I call a 'prom night chord progression'. Finally, it happened. I planned to record a slow, quiet version of this, but once I hit record, things changed. Every track was recorded in 1 take. This was the quickest song I've ever committed to tape and I like it quite a bit.

11. Romans: I can't exactly remember the origin of this song, but I think it was Scholes Street. I was playing with the verses and chorus, but had no real structure. I vividly recall riding the L Train and piecing the song together. By the time I arrived in Brooklyn and picked up my guitar, it was done. Thomas helped with the 'oh oh oh' intro melody. I think this song drove him especially nuts.

12. Follow Me Around: This is the newest song to date. It came together quite nicely and I really like it. Has a jazzy type feel and I enjoy the way the chords fit together. This song could benefit from a loud, raucous rendition. It was originally titled 'Night Swarm'.

13. At The Bottom/Untitled Ballad: Dunno about this one. I guess it's my club song. I barely remember this one being built. I like Tina's Tarzan-like vocals. The 'Untitled Ballad' ended up being reconstructed and called 'Seeing Stars'. I'm quite aware that the lyrics are nonsense and that my voice is off, but it came about completely spontaneously, and there's charm in that. A germ of an idea appeared and I followed it. I'm glad I have a snapshot of the embryo, so to speak. Additional Vocals: Valentina Meytina.

14. Seasons To Ghosts: This is one of my favorites and it dates back to early 2007, if not sometime in 2006. Largely inspired by John Lennon. I've been trying to capture a 'ghost folk' sound for a while, and this song is a good example. It's got lots of breathing room, it's pretty, it's haunting and not quite there. I hope to re-record this with a bigger arrangement someday. Additional Vocals: Valentina Meytina.

15. Excuse Me For Not Dying: A song about how difficult it is to let go of something... even if that thing is killing you. Kinda of a menacing nostalgia, if you will.

Follow Me Around

Your eyes catch a surface

Follow me around

With a killer's smile

A new pair of perspectives

If you look into the sun

You might learn not to stare

But the cost of the loss

Is more than what was there

From the sheets that I've bedded

Comes the moment that you've dreaded

I come clean in the morning

When the night's been beheaded

FOLLOW ME AROUND

Untitled

You wanted the quiet life

You got a job

& found a wife

Threw your hands in the air

You wanted a better plan

You got wrecked

& sun-tanned

Left the old house crumbling beneath crooked wood

Is it too much to ask for this one last dance?

Is it too late to dream about sleeping alone?

I know, I know

I should’ve known, I should’ve known

That my mind is made up of troubled, little songs

When you wanted a blackout

All you got was a black eye

When you wanted a garden

All you got was a plague

When you wanted to stop wanting

Your fears came out hunting

And trapped you beneath the weight of the word

Is it too much to ask to have the last laugh

When my bones are not funny and the joke has grown old

Is it too late to try and make it worthwhile

When I know what I know

Just because I was told

You are a fault line

A walking calamity

A slack surgeon’s hand

Unguided by destiny

You are a smoker’s breath

Chained to a habit

Tied to a fence

Pulled apart by two carrots

You are a quitter

A coward, a thief

A liar, a lunatic

And all in-between

You are a cursed glance straight into the sun

& my mind is made up of troubled, little songs

Day for Night

I didn’t have the right

To say it was all right

When I caught you sleeping shifts

And trading day for night

Foreign Capitols
[For The Quiet Life]

After us, the flood & whatever useless words hang from my mouth

Lover, are you going to leave me high
For the Quiet Life?
Another takes me back to where I was
In the Quiet Life

All of these Sharks circling my sea
This city wasn't built for speed
Towers to the sky for miles & miles
Baby, you're alive so well

All of these Sharks armed heavily to the teeth
The city won't sleep & so you won't let me
Build towers to the sky for miles around
You're not alive & well

(When you say that you're sorry, honey don't you blink an eye)

The aging collapse of futures & pasts
Has placed our love into cold winter hands
Still I want you to know
That I want you to know
I want you to know
How I want you to fall into me

We were married in a fever of a dream
We were married in a fever

The snow will come soon
I will come to
The nights will consume
Spring will come too
The seasons bloom for you
So I will bloom too
The seasons bloom for you

Don't make me a loss

I know which way the $$ goes
I know which way the body folds
I know every way you're taking me
I know how things will always seem

(All rise)
As the $$ spends your life
(All rise)
As the $$ lets you down
(All rise)
As the $$ digs your grave
(All rise)
As the $$ never saves

I know which bed is safe to tame
I know which lie could bring the end
I know where the $$ spends
I know every thought that's in your head

We dream of foreign cities
Then we dream of walking away
No, I didn't see it coming
Sunday's just another day
The armies have armed & gathered
Now we just wait patiently
You're not the one I'm after
The one I'm after is after me

In dreams they watch us slip into sleep
Surveillance on & cutting in deep
There is no hope
There is no dream
The careful eye sees everything

I can't call this dreaming so I guess we're awake
I can't say it's real so I guess that it's fake
I can't call it freedom so I guess that it's death
I can't fall asleep in a prisoner's bed

Goodbye & goodnight they've captured our lives
The Devils will roam & the Angels will hide
As memories fade into morning light
I wake up from a sleepless night