Get all 5 Harry Stafford releases available on Bandcamp and save 35%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of We are the Perilous Men, Juniper Sunday (extended re-mix), Bone Architecture, Gothic Urban Blues, and Guitar Shaped Hammers.
1. |
Walk among the Spectres
02:58
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Somebody better catch me though I don’t believe you can
I’m the king of all the plans I’m the master of all moves
You know you had your chance, but you kicked it in row Z
I’m always just one step ahead and you’re looking at my dust
I’m a CCTV shadow, you just can’t make me out
You know you saw me there, but it’s too dark to be sure
An outline in the smoke where there’s barely any light
A ghost inside the cabin I’ll suck the air out of the plane
I can walk amongst the spectres, ‘cos we all look just the same
Last to arrive and first to leave I didn’t catch you name
I can walk amongst the spectres, ‘cos we all look just the same
I’m the king of all the plans I’m the master of all moves
I’m hiding in the ether to fast and blink you lose
Somebody better catch me though I don’t believe you can
I can walk amongst the spectres, ‘cos we all look just the same
I thought I was invincible, I thought I could get away
Now I’m not so fast, as my escape plan hits a wall
The king of all the plans , the master of all moves
Listen to my story you’ll want to hear it all
I can walk amongst the spectres, ‘cos we all look just the same
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2. |
Stanislaw
03:02
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Hey Stanislaw?
You got me sold on the machinations in your soul.
Hey Stanislaw?
You wanna share wild scheming plans from your soul?
Hey Stanislaw?
I can hear the slow engines whirl in your soul.
Hey Stanislaw?
You wanna share wild scheming plans from your soul?
(Stanislaw) He gets out the house.
He’s going (to the store) to buy a pick.
He’s going to lift up all the pavements.
underneath lies the golden sands . . . Stanislaw!
Stanislaw you’ve dug a mighty hole.
From where I am it looks like a grave
The situation I guess demands it.
Sous les pavés, la plage . . . . Stanislaw!
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3. |
We are the Perilous Men
04:11
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Suffocating forest in darkness
Sinking mud in wooded mess
Divine light snuffed right out of me,
There in the gloom is the poet.
Through me you shall pass into the city of Woe
Where the wasps and hornets sting you slow
Bedewed with blood and mixed with tears,
The insects crawl into your ears
Led by the hand of Virgil,
Down as the day’s departing
and the air broke brack with shadows
We are the perilous men.
The wolf is curst and eats itself,
The naked and the blasts of hell
By the lake on fire fed by the Styx
Buried upside down with legs like sticks.
Through me you shall pass into the city of Woe
Where the wasps and hornets sting you slow
Bedewed with blood and mixed with tears,
The insects crawl into your ears
Led by the hand of Virgil,
Down as the day’s departing
and the air broke brack with shadows
We are the perilous men.
(Oh,) Gloomy Forest (on) to limbo,
Lust, greed, avarice, and lust
Heresy, thuggery pandering thieves.
Onto the frozen lake of ice
last, I see Judas rope in hand,
and Brutus and Cassius in the evil land
Let me have men who are fat,
Sleek and soft not ears of bat.
Led by the hand of Virgil,
Down as the day’s departing
and the air broke brack with shadows
We are the perilous men.
Everyone here is a Greek or chosen,
Hell is for ancient stinking Romans,
Where are the petty islanders?
He turned to me and said.
‘There ain’t no English here’
‘Look into the 10th circle’.
Led by the hand of Virgil,
Down as the day’s departing
and the air broke brack with shadows
We are the perilous men.
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4. |
Unreal thing
03:33
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I’ve seen it all . . . It’s written tall
It’s etched out the velvet in the masque ball
And yes, it’s true . . . Your eyes like glue
Are stuck together in a form of voodoo
You’re welcome to the real thing?
But it’s an unreal thing man.
Get in the car . . . Tequila bar
Much better than the antics of a rock star
Further than . . . The real thing man
confused me with the man who gives a damn?
You’re welcome to the real thing?
But it’s an unreal thing man.
You’re laying low . . . A lucky throw
An object in the sights of your cross bow
A passing truck . . . Ain’t that some luck
Confuse me with another barroom schmuck
You’re welcome to the real thing?
But it’s an unreal thing man.
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5. |
On the Edge of Music
03:09
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I woke up in Berlin
Just escaped from Stirling
A tame rat in my ear
A cat piss in my beer
I bared my soul the night before
Upon a stage no exit door
The crowd had eyes like ray guns
Rabbit-like I froze in fright
“Kill me where I am!” I said
Five hundred eyes take aim
A trap door, on a scaffold
A blindfold and a post
I’m on the edge of Music, I’m on the edge of noise I’m on the edge of music, it stalks me like a sniper
The next night it is worse
I start to slur my words
I start to speak in tongues
And everybody gets it
This guitar is matchwood
I should burst in flames
I lie upon a well-lit stage
No shadow there to hide
I crawl towards the end of time
crazed by my soul’s thirst
Standing naked, end it now!
Extinct like primal man
I’m on the edge of Music, I’m on the edge of noise I’m on the edge of music, it stalks me like a crack shot
Finally, a breakthrough
My anguish has subsided
I’m lying by the roadside
I still have legs to walk
I shake an insect gate
Out of this chasm town
I hitch a ride with sisters
take mercy on my wretchedness?
Aren’t you the disgraced?
Aren’t you the cancelled?
Are not you the very state of everything that’s dead? Fucked?
I’m on the edge of Music, I’m on the edge of noise I’m on the edge of music, it stalks me like a crack shot
I think of those who’ve gone, who couldn’t come along?
What they could have been, can’t be the best for them, do everything much faster, do everything much slower.
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6. |
Get Outside
03:06
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Gm
Are you going to tell me what’s the secret of your soul?
. . are you standing by while I set myself in motion?
C
There’s plenty more who want it, but they don’t know how to get it
Gm
Hold my hand and follow me we have to get outside
Don’t get me mistaken for somebody in the storm
Far but close among a crowd, and out of consciousness
Shop keeper, broken speaker, the depths of this mine sweeper
been waiting years please magistrate release me from the case
Chorus
D7 Cm
There’s plenty more who want it, but they don’t know how to get it
D7 Gm
Hold my hand and follow me we have to get outside
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7. |
Rules of the House
03:06
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As I navigate . . . around . . . life’s perilous curves,
I have a gut, gut feeling . . . that I gotta have some rules.
Get organised!
Don’t make excuses!
Get some goddamn manners!
Life ain’t fair
Keep your big mouth shut!
Don’t talk about the past!
I gotta live in the present.
Don’t argue with idiots!
Accountability!
Take a long, long walk!
Be excellent not perfect.
Be kind to pricks.
Don’t put your stuff in landfill!
Return that Album!
Campsite rules
Buy a goddamn round?
Rules of the House (these are the)
It seems to me . . . that I’m . . . wasting time,
I have to accept . . . things are turning to soup,
I made a long, long list, I bought a flash gismo, I just persist, I made a manifesto.
Rules of the House (these are the)
Keep your house in check . . . As you . . . slide away
I have to accept . . . I’m turning to soup!
Rules of the House (these are the )
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8. |
Torch Girl Amore
03:27
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See my baby dressed in black, moving to a new soundtrack.
Tall and nimble outstretched hands, sharpened talons she has plans.
She‘s a shadow in the night, someone gone by morning light
She was near and gave me hope, along a narrow high tightrope
(spoken)
She was here not quite a year,
She lives in a darkened atmosphere
(Chorus)
Torch singer, amore, torch song, torch girl,
Where did you go as my life unfurled?
Torch singer, amore, torch song, torch girl,
Living by night with underground sight . . .x2
See my baby dressed in black, moving to a new soundtrack.
Tall and nimble outstretched hands, sharpened talons she has plans.
She‘s a shadow in the night, someone gone by morning light
She was near and gave me hope, along a narrow high tightrope
(Chorus)
Torch singer, amore, torch song, torch girl, . . . etc.
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9. |
Long Shadow Man
03:13
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I gotta tell you about long Shadow man
Creeps out of the hills like he’s gotta plan
He Cracks rocks to let you know he’s coming
Signifying more than someone loudly drumming
It’s a sound that eats you from the core
Cos he can slide right under your door
He’ll hold your breath a hand entwine
Like hagfish slime or a graveyard, mine
LONG SHADOW MAN
The time and place is never clear
Ancient cowboy buccaneer
A whisp of dust and leather limbs
A long, long list of pseudonyms
He piles stones he lives in bones
He hot wires and telephones
Passing time refectory
Crossing off names in a directory
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10. |
Faces in your World
03:26
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All the lives that spin
Let the next one in
It’s having sold
the faces in your world
A million eyes that see
What you’ll never be
Bring it back a while
Or leave it in a pile
If we were words we’d rhyme
But since we’re out of time
All the lives that spin
Let the next one in
It’s having sold
the faces in your world
A million eyes that see
What you’ll never be
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11. |
The King of all Moves
05:35
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Dead on the slab, that’s what they call me, I see everything clear
But on this side How did I get here, gonna retrace my steps
If I can, if it’s right, I’ll get out of this mess, I’m gonna do it all a new
I can move, my toes my nose, and it goes, gonna jump right offa this slab.
Oh, this hurting, the pain’s the boss, it’s a wound that won’t heal
I’ve lost teeth I’ve lost toes; I have scars in my brain
It’s a long shot a long time a long day in the grave when you’re the boss of the moment
I’m in deep, I’m in far and I’m reaching for air Because I’m the King of all moves
Oh, babe I’ve been broken, this time’s a terminal road
I’ve been hit, by a car and a train and a truck, I am the master of luck
It’s a long shot a long time a long day in the grave when you’re the boss of the moment
I’m in deep, I’m in far and I’m reaching for air Because I’m the King of all moves
Can’t you see, I’m in disguise, everyone is a foe
But come with me, we got nowhere, but we can go anywhere.
There’s a place I know it’s seemingly low, let’s get down with the flow
Be the boss of the moment the king of all moves, flip a coin and you choose
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Harry Stafford Manchester, UK
Harry Stafford is guitarist and singer of post-punk-blues-Gothic-rockers Inca Babies. The incas were formed in Manchester UK., in the 80s. In 2015 he decided to release some solo material that echoes his love of Blues Piano and barroom ballads. But 30 years with the incas meant it wasn’t going to be as musically simplistic as that. Guitar Shaped Hammers and Gothic Urban Blues are the result. ... more
Harry Stafford recommends:
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Here are are some of Marco's best recordings, plus some i have collaborated on with him, enjoy.
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A work of considerable power and subtlety. Certainly a grower but I was hooked on first listen and it seems to improve on subsequent plays. Well done to everyone involved and good luck for the future, hopefully a long and successful future.
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Brilliant from start to finish. Would love a vinyl copy.
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