BETTER THAN THEM
(Sullivan) 1984

This is our town, this is Friday night
Dressed in our rags and our rage and our best
Piercing eyes looking for something - anything, anyone.
Stare across the floor as they begin to dance
Missing all the rhythms and the chosen right steps
And we laugh and we drink in our corner again
We're better than them
Divided we were born, divided we live
Divided we fall, divided we die
Still we tell ourselves over and over again
We're better than them
With our hunger and our hatred, we all walk this town
With our fear and our weakness - just holding on
With our doubt and our emptiness and this cold, cold frown
We've got to be so important, we'll put the whole damn world down
And we build the walls that we can hide behind
And our finest weapon is our poisoned pride
Here in this town where the jealousies burn
We're watching you
'Cause truth is only what we need it to be
To bring us survival through each and every day
When nowhere is safe and nowhere is home - just be cool
And what was she wearing and what did he say?
Who goes with who and what did they do?
We tell ourselves over and over again
We're better than them , we're not like them




INHERITANCE
(Sullivan/Heaton) 1988

Mother, Father, I'm doing OK
On the other side of the country, far away
And though I know the things that you want to hear me say
Sometimes these things are hard
Mother, Father, I am your son
Right down to the long thin pointed face
And this muddled up and twisted tongue
And now I find that I'm doing
All those things you would have done
Sometimes these things are hard
Ch: So do I thank you? Do I curse you?
These tracks stretch out before me - the ones you left behind
What I want and what I feel - it's yours, yours, not mine

Mother, Father, all those battles that have been
And the long, long silences that lay in between
Please don't try to tell me all those were in vain
Sometimes these things are hard
We line up at the wedding in rows of deep set eyes
In our finest formal dresses and proper suits and ties
Like a family of Munsters in a really bad disguise
Ch: So do I thank you? Do I curse you?
These tracks stretch out before me - the ones you left behind
What I want and what I feel - it's yours, yours, not mine