The Matthews Baartmans Conspiracy

SLEEPWALKING
It’s September
And I think I’ve lost my way
I’m just stumbling through the day
Sleepwalking
It’s September
And much to my chagrin
Thunder clouds are rolling in from the west
And I’m sleepwalking
I’m sleepwalking
It’s September
And there’s a new normality
And now it’s settled over me
Sleepwalking
It’s September
Feels like nothing wants to move
I can’t seem to find that groove
I knew so well
And I’m sleepwalking
I’m sleepwalking
It’s September
And the sky above my head
Is an eerie shade of orange grey and red
It’s September
And my voice is being stilled
Now my mind is unfulfilled
It seems for now
And I’m sleepwalking
I’m sleepwalking
Sleepwalking
I’m sleepwalking
Feels like sleepwalking
Sleepwalking
Words: Iain Matthews.
Music: BJ Baartmans

THE CORNER OF SAD AND LONELY
I went searching for a friend
He was troubled and confused
And he’d gone out on the town the night
he first received the news
I found him sitting on a bench
With his head against the wall
A resigned look in his eyes and
showing no remorse at all
He said he’d spent he’d night before
In a neighbours back yard shed
With his feet against the door
A million questions in his head
As he watched me cross the parking lot
He thought to stand and walk
But the thought became too much
Just like a baby trying to talk
There was tension in his smile, agitation in the air
He had nothing much to say, as though I wasn’t even
there
But I’d seen that look before
And it never failed to hurt
When I found him waiting there at the corner
of sad and lonely
I got down to my knees
and put my palm against his chest
I asked him how he was
He said I’m not quite at my best
I asked him what he meant
He wouldn’t look me in the eye
I said I’ve come to walk you home
He said you’re not the first to try
I talked him into standing
and said, tell me who you are
Just to find out who was there
Inside that sack of bones and scars
And in a voice vaguely knew
But enough to recognize
He said Brother where you been so long
Did you come to say goodbye
Sometimes it’s not enough to know
And only just enough to care
To rise up from your stupor
In that cushioned easy chair
And when there’s nothing left to say
Just throw a cold eye on the facts
Some are gonna be ok
Some are never coming back
And though I’d seen it all before
It never failed to hurt
When I found him waiting there at the corner
Of sad and lonely
Of sad and lonely
Sad and lonely
Sad and lonely
Sad and lonely
Sad and lonely
Words: Iain Matthews.
Music: BJ Baartmans

ARE YOU A RACIST
Are you a racist
Do you have a hateful mind
Are you a racist
Or just inherently unkind
Do you hate all that you fear
Are your feelings crystal clear
Are you a racist
Are you a racist
Or just dwelling on the past
Are you a racist
And intolerant of caste
Is your heart upon your sleeve
Are you simply that naïve
Are you a racist
What you think and what you say
May come home to roost some day
If you don’t watch that nasty little tongue
Who you love and who you hate
Is ours to differentiate
What makes you think that you’re the chosen one
What makes you think that you’re the chosen one
Are you a racist
Are you rotten to the core
Are you a racist
Or just acutely insecure
Just what flashes through your head
Before your face turns hot and red
Are you a racist
You might wear a pinstripe suit
Or a pretty lipstick smile
When you stop me on the street to ask your way
You might think you’re being coy
In that perfect knotted tie
But it isn’t how you look
or what you’re saying
No it isn’t what you say
It’s how you say it
Are you a racist
Do you hang your colours high
Are you a racist
Or a pretty normal guy
It’s a slight genetic flaw
That leaves your mind exposed and raw
Are you a racist
What you think and what you say
May come home to roost some day
If you don’t watch that nasty little tongue
Who we love and who we hate
Is ours to differentiate
What makes you think that you’re the chosen one
What makes you think that you’re the chosen one
What makes you think that you’re the chosen one
Are you a racist
Words: Iain Matthews.
Music: BJ Baartmans

FOURTEEN MONTHS
It’s been fourteen months since we shut the door
I told my agent ‘pull the tour’
I’ve watched my friends give up the ghost
But you know what’s haunting me the most
That no-one batts an eye at it
It’s been fourteen months since I called it quits
It’s been fourteen months just you and me
Trapped in this insanity
I sold my guitars, pawned my phone
That’s not what makes this house a home
The kids are feeling it the most
It’s been fourteen months now post to post
Call it lockdown
Rage and rant
Just call it anything you want
A call to arms for what it’s worth
Me, I call it hell on earth.
It’s been fourteen months and sixteen days
Since I last stepped onto a stage
I’ve put aside my resume
And tried to curb that urge to play
I’ve listened to my innermost
It’s been fourteen months now post to post
It’s been fourteen long uncertain months
We’ve seen the future, felt the crunch
I’ve had fourteen months to sink or swim
Explore my feelings from within
My mind is numb, my nerves are toast
It’s been fourteen months now post to post
Call it lockdown
Rage and rant
Just call it anything you want
A call to arms for what it’s worth
Me, I call it hell on earth
It’s been fourteen months but I see the light
And a truly wondrous sight
Been through the portal, now it’s closed
Where all my frailties were exposed
My smile has given up the ghost
It’s been fourteen months now post to post
C’est la vie and adios
It’s been fourteen months now post to post
Post to post
Post to post
Words & music: Iain Matthews

I’VE GONE MISSING
I’ve gone missing
Though I’m right here by your side
I’ve gone missing
As though my tongue’s been gagged and tied
Now my mind’s been taken hostage
And my soul’s been crucified
Now the shutters have rolled down and I’ve gone missing
I’ve gone missing
I just realised today
I’ve gone missing
I’ve stashed the jokes and moved away
It all started with a doubt
And now my head’s in disarray
I’ve packed up all my sorrows and gone missing
There’s a Hooded Falcon carving lazy circles in the sky
In his universe of blue he knows no borders
I’m like Christopher Columbus in uncharted waters
And I’m sailing away
Sailing away
I’ve gone missing
still my keys are by the door
I’ve gone missing
It seems I’ve lost that smooth rapport
I’m out walking off the blues
Blues like I’ve never felt before
Now it’s raining in my heart and I’ve gone missing
I’ve gone missing
I can’t talk about it now
I’ve gone missing
But I’ll find myself some how
I’ll be home before it’s dark
Before the saints come marching in
But my world just gets so small
When I go missing
There’s a seven forty seven painting vapours in the sky
Slowly turning to the west on captains orders
I’m like Christopher Columbus in uncharted waters
I’m sailing away
Sailing away
I’ve gone missing
I know you’ve read it in my eyes
I’ve gone missing
It’s such a cruel compromise
I wonder what it takes this time to find that path again
For now I’m right here by your side
But I’ve gone missing
I’m sailing away
Sailing away
I’m just sailing away
Sailing away
Words: Iain Matthews.
Music: BJ Baartmans

WRITING OFF THE BLUES
I’ve found a way to ease my mind
And leave these wasted days behind
This idly flowing stream of time
I’m writing off the blues
I’ve shaken off my discontent
And found a way to circumvent
All that it was and what it meant
By writing off the blues
I’ve found the path to compromise
It’s such a simple exercise
I’ve cancelled out the lows and highs
I’m writing off the blues
I’m writing while I’m walking off the blues
I’m walking and I’m writing off the blues
I’ve found a way to concentrate
Embrace the things I’d love to hate
Forget the things I need to lose
By writing off the blues
I’ve found a simple place to start
A way of speaking from the heart
A beam of light, a tiny spark
I’m writing off the blues
I’m writing while I’m walking off the blues
I’m walking and I’m writing off the blues
The perfect gift I can’t refuse
I’m writing off the blues
I’ve walked the walk
I’ve paid my dues
Now I’m writing
And I’m walking
I’m writing and I’m walking
Walking off the blues
Words: Iain Matthews.
Music: BJ Baartmans

ALL THAT GLITTERS
This world is plagued by venom and hate
Spite and malice, venom and hate
Still we close our eyes and bear the weight
But how much more can this world take
How much more can this world take
We fill our minds with fear and doubt
Angst and panic and fear and doubt
Til the trail goes cold or the money runs out
What is all this fear about
That fear is driven by greed and lust
Desire and longing, greed and lust
Til we lose all track of the we and us
Whatever happened to belief and trust
Just hold it there, let’s call a truce
Get it all out, and turn it loose
Let’s raise the volume, raise the roof
Now didn’t that feel good
Tell the truth
Our belief is plagued with sorrow and pain
Tears and grief, sorrow and pain
Til we set a new course and start again
If things don’t change we stay the same
Yeah we stay the same, we tow the line
And trust that all will change in time
We hold our tongues ‘til life reminds us
All that glitters is not gold
Just hold it there, let’s call a truce
Get it all out, let’s turn it loose
Raise the volume, raise the roof
Now doesn’t that feel good
Tell the truth
As daylight fades behold the stars
Venus, Jupiter, Saturn and Mars
And far beyond this life of ours
There’s worlds we cannot fathom
This world of ours it rattles and shakes
Groans and shudders, shimmies and quakes
We’ve quarried her hills and drained her lakes
But still she keeps on giving
How much more can this world take
Now I’m not saying I’m better than you
I’ve got my faults and frailties too
But this little round ball of green and blue
Is all that really matters
Just hold it there, let’s call a truce
Get it all out, let’s turn it loose
Raise the volume, raise the roof
Now doesn’t that feel good
Tell the truth
This world is plagued by venom and hate
Spite and malice, venom and hate
Still we close our eyes and bear the weight
But how much more can this world take
How much more can this world take
How much more can this world take
Words: Iain Matthews.
Music: Iain Matthews & BJ Baartmans

HERE’S LOOKING AT YOU
I open my eyes and what do I see
The shadowy dream figures running from me
And I think to myself
Now my day has begun
I open my heart and the light surges in
The joy and the grief and the wages of sin
And I look at myself
And my place in this world
We pass on the street without making a sound
We gaze straight ahead or we stare at the ground
And I think to myself
What a strange little world
As the day rushes in then releases its grip
My faith in mankind is beginning to slip
My sense of it all is at odds and askew
But as Bogey would say
Kid, here’s looking at you
We question the will to breathe in and breathe out
Understandable, given the turmoil and doubt
As we ebb and we flow
Through a magnetic world
When the stars reappear with the dimming of light
I surrender my thoughts to the stillness of night
And I say to myself
Let a new day begin
As the day rushes in, then releases its grip
My faith in mankind is beginning to slip
My sense of it all is at odds and askew
But as Bogey would say
Kid, here’s looking at you
I open my eyes and what do I see
The shadowy dream figures running from me
And I think to myself
Now my day has begun
Words: Iain Matthews.
Music: BJ Baartmans

LOW IN THE WATER
Sitting low in the water
Are you a fool or just a creep
Low in the water
I watch you turn the other cheek
There’s so much distance
Between the truth and what you preach
And you sit so low in the water
Sitting low in the water
Is that your spirit in disguise
Low in the water
Caught in your hornet’s nest of lies
From my perspective
I see the devil in your eyes
When you sit so low in the water
Sitting low in the water
You’re not so easy to detect
Low in the water
Just take a moment to reflect
Low in the water
You’re getting harder to predict
Low in the water
This must be how you get your kicks
Sitting low in the water
From your perfect little view
Low in the water
You’re still preaching to the few
Your light has faded
That’s who you are, that’s what you do
When you sit so low in the water
Sitting low in the water
Turn off your noise and float downstream
Low in the water
Your fake veneer has lost its sheen
I beg your pardon
There’s little doubt in what you mean
And you sit so low in the water
Sitting low in the water
You’re not so easy to detect
Low in the water
Just take a moment to reflect
Low in the water
You’re getting harder to predict
Low in the water
This must be how you get your kicks
Sitting low in the water
I watch you making all that fuss
Low in the water
Your situations serious
The truth is fleeting
There’s no more options to discuss
When you sit so low in the water
You sit so low in the water
You sit so low in the water
You sit so low
Words: Iain Matthews.
Music: Iain Matthews & BJ Baartmans

IS THIS IT
Is this it
Is this where the story ends
Has it gone verse, line and chapter
Or does everything depend
On just how the world keeps turning
Or where the rainbow ends
Is this it
Or can a sequel still be made
Where we all learn to play the game
Ad dance the masquerade
Will our planets still collide
Revealing all that we became
Or is this it
Fires are raging, cold winds blow
They say you reap what you shall sow
I have my fears I must admit
Some days I feel like this is it
Is this it
Or was it just another ride
Will I catch you on the rebound
See you on the other side
Or are you from the school of thought
That once we’ve upped and died
Then this is it
Fires are raging, cold winds blow
They say you reap what you shall sow
I have my fears I must admit
Some days I feel like this is it
Is this it
Is that what I heard you say
Is it the closing of a chapter
Or the dawning of a day
Will we cross the Rubicon
Or turn and walk away
Or is this
Words & music: Iain Matthews