Lyrics - Julian Garner teaches the guitar in North Dorset and plays the classical guitar at a monthly event in Blandford Forum.

About the music

........................ LYRICS ................. The page to see the words behind the music of Open Play

The page to see the words behind the music of Open Play

These six lyrics are all taken from Julian Garner's legendary and still available Open Play acoustic album.

The Feet Hit The Ground lyrics are not shown here, but they are printed on the Your Good Self album inlay.

I Said What I Said is in no way autobiographical, except that Julian freely admits to supporting Aldershot Town Football Club. This may well be the first song ever to mention that team twice...or at all. And the last.

The lyrics to Move On were inspired by Sir Winston Churchill's quote: "If you're going through hell, keep going."

Given Time ... More or Less ... I Never Meant To Self-Destruct ... Vigil ... I Said What I Said ... Move On ...

GIVEN TIME
(from 'Open Play')

Given time, we could be the best of friends
Given time, I could drive you round the bend
But that is fine, let’s turn the corner, run away
It could be the wine but that’s the way I feel today

Lifted up by every wave
Crashing down but falling safe
Flying free to misbehave

Given time, I could make all the right mistakes
Then I’d learn and I’d begin to get the breaks
Just give me the time, ‘cos I’m not given to look around
I’m given to climb, and I need to know you’re there when I come down

Lifted up by every wave
Crashing down but falling safe
Flying free to misbehave

Pull me out
I’ve got my head stuck in some future cloud
You’ve got your feet stuck on the solid ground
And all the time from here to outer space
Would all be meaningless without your face

Given time I’d write another hundred songs
And if no one gets to hear them that wouldn’t mean that I was wrong
But tomorrow’s deal might be too good to remain true
When what is real can touch me now, and that is you

Lifted up by every wave
Crashing down but falling safe
Flying free to misbehave
That’s the way I feel today

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LYRICS

MORE OR LESS
(from 'Open Play')

The day the chaos reached inside his head
He tore up every rule from A to Z
Decided less is good and more is dead
And nevermore would life be quite so complicated

But when he gazed inside his simple dream
A gentle trickle flowed into a stream
He heard a whisper grow into a scream
As every single train of thought accelerated

From there, singing ‘less is more’
To here, where a mess is law
And chaos rules again

There must be less to life than this mad chase
And everything should have its time and place
And disregard the speed of the human race
And words like ‘fast’ and ‘big’ and ‘more’ are over-rated

But now he finds himself back at square one
But now he knows how not to come undone
Look at the sunshine, never at the sun
Let good and bad exist but don’t exaggerate them

And you will find the crucial move in this game of chess
Just as you’ve satisfied yourself that you could not care less
And you will tell the young where you went wrong
And waste your breath ‘cos they have their own expectations

From there, singing ‘less is more’
To here, where a mess is law
And chaos rules again

And if you’d idled more and contemplated less
Would you have had more fun or any less success?
You’ve seen the view from there and now from here
Nevertheless you’re none the wiser which is better

From there, singing ‘less is more’
To here, where a mess is law
And chaos rules again
Here, singing ‘less is more’
To there, where a mess is law
And chaos rules again

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LYRICS

I NEVER MEANT TO SELF-DESTRUCT
(from 'Open Play')
I never meant to self-destruct
I meant to go so far and no further
You had to build a viaduct
To hold the mid-air tracks of my fervour

I never meant to float away
I meant to lay the ghost I can’t show you
You had to let me have my way
Without the explanation I owe you

And I, who claim to believe only what I see
Confess I’m running wild fed by what I feel
A rage, a thing still untamed, far beneath the sea
My face, the way that I look, that’s not what is real

But I never meant to sell my soul
I meant to find the monster and damn it
You had to dig an endless hole
As I travelled to the core of my planet

I never meant to sink so deep
I meant to come back up if I lost you
You have to suspend disbelief
Is it worth all the trouble I cost you?

And I, who contradict everything I say
My head, drunk on ideals, bursting at the seams
Take heart that you would trust what I can’t explain
And that is worth so much more than these crazy dreams

And I, who contradict everything I say
My head, drunk on ideals, bursting at the seams
Take heart that you would trust what I can’t explain
And that is worth so much more than these crazy dreams

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LYRICS

VIGIL
(from 'Open Play')

Give and take was how they played the game at first
They did their best till it was time to do their worst
Now he’ll scratch her back if she should scratch him first
It’s cut and thrust as hot blood spills and egos burst

And we’ve all a little madness in our minds
I’ll read yours if you will read mine
And we’ve all a little therapist inside
I’ll be yours if you will be mine

Secrets haunt the faces that they hide behind
The same unspoken fears that hurt all humankind
Join me on a vigil for the warning sign
I will be your painkiller if you’ll be mine

‘Cause we’ve all a little shiver down our spine
I’ll heed yours if you will heat mine
And we all have fruit that withers on the vine
I’ll feed yours if you will eat mine

Join me on a vigil for the warning sign
If I could be your witness maybe you’ll be mine
Join me on a vigil for the warning sign
I will be your painkiller if you’ll be mine

And we’ve all a little magic if we dare
Weave your spell and I’ll create mine
And we’ve all a little medicine to share
I’ll take yours if you will take mine

You be my magician, I’ll be yours in time
And I’ll be your physician if you will be mine

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LYRICS

I SAID WHAT I SAID
(from 'Open Play')
Well I said what I said
And I’m living to regret it
There’s a voice in my head
And it’s yelling at me telling me “Forget it.”
But I’ve already said it

Well I went with my instinct
I was effing I was blinding
If you figured I was innocent
Well, now I’ve let it out you see my vile side
Well, so much for the quiet life

Told my boss he was a tosser, right in front of everyone in the pub
Told my girl that I was still in love – with Aldershot Town Football Club
Then I quit my band and said “Without me you won’t get far.”
And they all told me where I could put my new guitar

Well I said what I said
And I’m living to regret it
There’s a voice in my head
And it’s yelling at me telling me “Forget it.”
But I’ve already said it

Well it’s close to the bone
But I didn’t mean to break it
And it’s too close to home
But my open door says come on in and take it
Why grin and bear and fake it?

Told my boss he was a tosser, and it seems it must have been news to him
And I put the game before the girl, now I think you know the trouble I’m in
Showed my finger to the singer and the drummer, what a bummer of a day
Now I’m stone cold sober standing here on my own to play

Well I said what I said
There’s no point in a denial
There’s a space in my bed
I got the sack but my guitar’s not lying idle
Though all my songs are suicidal

But I said what I said
If I hadn’t I’d be edgy
And a voice in my head
Would egg me on till I was feeling rough and ready
To deliver something deadly

Told my boss he was a tosser, right in front of everyone in the pub
Told my girl that I was still in love – with Aldershot Town Football Club
Then I quit my band and said “Without me you won’t get far.”
And they all told me where I could put my new guitar

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LYRICS

MOVE ON
(from 'Open Play')

Move on, survival’s a prize for the strong
So if it’s hard to take another pace, move on
Move on, daylight shows where you belong
So if your hand is lost before your face, move on

Don’t be the one who falls astray
Then can’t imagine living any other way

If you’re travelling through hell
Be sure to travel well
It’s no place to make your bed
No time to lose your head
It’s time that you were moving on

You’ve gone down where the nights can be long
But only until you hear the voice that calls you on
Move on, your heart beating slow to the song
Soon you will feel the sun, that day will come, hold on

And you’ll forget what you went through
So don’t you give in to this life that isn’t you

If you’re travelling through hell
Be sure to travel well
It’s no place for looking down
No place to stay around

If you’re travelling through hell
Be sure to travel well
It’s no place to make your bed
No time to lose your head
It’s time that you were moving on

It’s time that you were moving on

All lyrics © 2006 Julian Garner

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LYRICS