Get all 26 Oli Spleen releases available on Bandcamp and save 25%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of The Mirror, Still Life, These Days Will Pass, A Memory of a Memory, Refugee, How Wild the Wind Blows, Out of The Dirt / Albatross, The Garden ~ Hollow Moon, and 18 more.
1. |
Out of The Dirt
03:23
|
|||
|
Deep in the soil
Where decay's fruits are ripe
Where things crawl and uncoil
And death nourishes life
The sun keeps on burning
The world keeps on turning
In cycles of death and rebirth
And out of the dirt blossoms burst
The seasons are seconds
That beckons the minute
Our body’s laid low
And we’re taken within it
Our flesh is so fragile
As our fate is fixed
Ashes to ashes and dirt
And out of the earth blossoms burst
There is no end or beginning
The world is a wheel slowly spinning
...around
When in our turn
We will cease and expire
Our body may burn
Be consumed by the fire
Our being to ashes
Our skin to mere soil
Our carcass dissolved and dispersed
I offer myself
As food for the flowers
I offer my meat
To it’s renewing power
To be flayed by the worm
Become soup for the soil
Turning my flesh into earth
And out of the dirt blossoms burst
For there is no end or beginning
When we’re taken under the ground
The world is a wheel slowly spinning
And everything comes back around
For there is no end or beginning
When we’re taken under the ground
The world is a wheel slowly spinning
And everything comes back around
...around
...around
|
||||
2. |
A Memory of a Memory
02:51
|
|||
|
It’s strange
Not to think of you alive
And yet I’m still here
Just getting by
Somehow
But it’s strange
Not to think of you alive
Yet I am still here
Just struggling on
Getting by
Day to day
Living life
It’s strange
Not to think of you alive
Because in my dreams
You still exist
And then I wake
To find you gone
But life moves on
The same
As every single day
My heart beats
The blood flows in my veins
And something drives me on my way
But it’s strange
Just to think your heart’s not here
Not beating as is mine
And that your mind
Is as dead as your eyes
And it’s strange
Not to think of you alive
You who gave me life
No longer here
No longer by my side
And you fade
Into the recess of my past
A memory of a memory
A worn out photograph
Nothing lasts
But it’s strange
Not to think of you alive
And yet I still remain...
I wake, I breathe
I feel the breeze
I walk the streets alone
...and you’re not here
|
||||
3. |
These Days Will Pass
05:05
|
|||
|
I don’t want to love
This time I’m not choosing it
It’s not worth the pain
And agony of losing it
Don’t want to give my heart
When I don’t know how long
You will be around
I’ve known too much hurt
My heart is still healing
But still I can’t help
All these things I’m feeling
I’m falling for you
But know my heart will break
When it hits the ground
These days will pass us by
And soon will come the time
When you will go away
I don’t want to say goodbye
Though I know you’re going to die
Some day
Some day
Better to have loved
Than not to ever knew it
Though it hurts me so
I’m glad we went through it
But now you are gone
And how can I go on
Now that we’re apart
And if I had the chance
Only to relive it
I would take it now
If you could only give it
Even though I knew
I’d be losing you
I’d go back to the start
Now our days have passed
And it broke my heart
To watch you slip away
But I must not ask why
I knew that you would die
Someday
Someday
"Do not weep for me
Only keep me with you
In the sky and sea
I will never leave you
Always in your heart
Always in your mind
And your memories"
Some times it hurts so much
Knowing you’re not here
But the love we had
Won’t ever disappear
Our time has passed us by
I knew all along
That you couldn’t stay
Now I’ll try not to cry
'Cause we all have to die
Someday
|
||||
4. |
Refugee
06:25
|
|||
|
Imagine you come from a place torn apart
Just looking for somewhere to make a new start
You’re doomed to your fate in these turbulent times
Your land and your loved ones are lost long behind
You wander the world with no home and no hope
And wonder each moment how you’ll ever cope
Your life is a desperate fight to exist
You struggle each day just to be
Imagine the life
Imagine the life of a refugee
Imagine your family crammed in a small boat
Adrift on salt water, the world set afloat
The fear that you feel as you sail from that shore
Away from a world that is ravaged by war
You cling to the raft like the threads of your past
And pray that you won’t drown at sea
Imagine the life
Imagine the life of a refugee
А я иду по неизведанной дороге. Куда же мне идти, куда же мне бежать? Откуда ж мне искать подмоги? Я иду по дороге. Горизонты темны и пусты. О Боже, о Боже, о Боже…
So you want your red rivers of blood
You want to see streams in the gutter
Seeds of hatred and death
That you sow with each breath
The bile that spews forth
With the lies that you utter
And can you imagine the suffering you cause
From your places of power, you mongers of war
How can this not haunt you when you go to sleep
How can you still live with the suffering you wreak
And can you imagine how hard it must be
Can you not sympathise, have you no empathy
Are you not a human with the humanity
To imagine the life of a refugee
|
||||
5. |
The Garden
03:44
|
|||
|
Once I dreamed of a garden
Whose fountains brimmed with wine
Whose emerald hills and pastures rolled
With fruit on every vine
Whose swans were white as ivory
Whose harvests ripe and sweet
For all around these beauteous grounds
Exquisite things to eat
With the wine came inspiration
And the food enriched my soul
A great future stretched before me
And I ran and reached each goal
And my soul was high on dreaming
And my heart knew only love
A great future stretched before me
And the sky was bright above
But now the soil is poisoned
And the fountain swims with blood
And the swans' necks lay all broken
Amongst the rotting food
And the sky is thick with darkness
And the plants know only night
And have wilted in the winter
At the dying of the light
For my soul is cold and wretched
And my heart knows only hate
And has hardened to a boulder
Of a tremendous weight
Now the poison’s my addiction
I have frightened all my friends
My soul was once a garden
But all summers have to end
|
||||
6. |
Hollow Moon
05:01
|
|||
|
I gaze upon a hollow moon
And doubt all I held dear
A dark cloud is descending
And this world is filled with fear
We’re set adrift upon a sea
Of everybody else
And who of us knows how to play
The cards that we’ve been dealt
So could it be this is the flood
These are the final days
We dredge the remnants from the mud
Of what hope may remain
The failings of the fathers
Soon will suffocate our sons
Oh let the deluge wash and cleanse
The earth of all we’ve done
What have we done
The hate and fears of all the years
Spread like a blood disease
Hate to divide and conquer
Fear to bring us to our knees
No end to this creeping terror
People fighting fear with fear
No finest hour, just gravest error
All hope slowly disappears
As we manifest this misery
And make all hell break loose
Oh lead me to the hanging tree
And fasten round the noose
We manifest this misery
Oh take me to the hanging tree
I gaze upon a hollow moon
I gaze upon a hollow moon
I gaze upon a hollow moon
|
||||
7. |
Thundercloud
05:52
|
|||
|
When seas rise to meet the mountain
And the heat becomes too great
Will we find a future fountain
Will we find it’s all too late
Will we still believe the liars
Who sold their souls to fuel the fires
Will we find our new horizon
What will we find is our fate
There’s a thundercloud coming
Getting darker, drawing near
And there's no place to go running
So we'd better face our fears
This world will burn
This world will freeze
This world will bring us to our knees
Cause there’s a thundercloud coming
And there's sure
There’s sure to be a storm
When seas rise to meet the mountain
And the heat tears you asunder
And there’s nothing but the deafening sound
Of crashing waves and thunder
But the will to live still fills you
With a burning, yearning hunger
Will we find our new horizon
Or will we all be sucked under
Will the earth still go on living
Will some animals survive
And will these species seize the planet
After we have long since died
Or will we drag this whole world with us
Like a ship that’s sinking fast
And although we know we’re drowning
We keep clinging to the mast
There’s a thundercloud coming
Getting darker, drawing near
And there's no place to go running
So we'd better face our fears
This world will freeze
This world will burn
Past the point of no return
'Cause there’s a thundercloud coming
And there's sure
There’s sure to be a storm
Oh let's go, us two together
Alone into the waves
To face this final great adventure
From which no one will be saved
We will make light all around us
Let there be no shadow cast
Only light from this bright burning boat
As we’re clinging to the mast
|
||||
8. |
Albatross
04:15
|
|||
|
When you've killed the thing you loved
When you learn that loss
Wear its weight around your neck
Like an albatross
Carry it from day to day
Keep it at all cost
Let it be your burden
Like you’re burdening your cross
This load weighs heavy on me
As leaden as my heart
Which once was light and carefree
Before it tore apart
And plunged into this darkness
An eternal graveyard shift
Alone on a cold ocean
My boat was set adrift
Now I can't fight against this plight
I’m much too tired to row
Soon you will see me sinking
That's when I'll be good to go
My hull is worn and rusted
Where regrets like limpets grow
As my albatross, an anchor
Wants to drag me deep below
This load weighs heavy on me
As leaden as my heart
Which once was light and carefree
Before it tore apart
And plunged into this darkness
An eternal graveyard shift
Alone on a cold ocean
My boat was set adrift
But perhaps I can reverse this curse
Maybe it's not too late
Oh lift me from this darkness
Show me this is not my fate
Let the bird not be my burden
Let my life unfurl and fly
As in the dawn of a new morning
Rustling wings take to the sky
|
||||
9. |
Dying to Live
03:03
|
|||
|
Now I know that life’s too short
And now I see the pain I caused
With this internal war I fought
And now I wonder why
I ever wanted to die
And as I face toward my end
I only want to live again
And if I get a second chance
This time I will not let
This life pass me by
Because I’m dying to live again
I’m dying to live again
I’m dying to live
For years I just lived to die
Not knowing for what or why
I'm living this life of fear
But now it’s becoming clear
That this world is suffering
And this life is pain
But given the chance
I’d live it all again
'Cause I’m dying to live again
I’m dying to live again
I’m dying
…to live
When we are young
In the morning of our lives
We ascend toward the light
We do not fear the night
But as evening slowly closes in
Too quickly we descend
Toward darkness
…to the end
You close your eyes that final time
And realise 'this is how I die
What was that life I’ve left behind?'
These are the thoughts that cross your mind
I’m dying to live again
I’m dying to live again
I’m dying to live
I’m dying to live again
I’m dying to live again
…I’m dying'
|
||||
10. |
Still Life
03:34
|
|||
|
I’ll paint a still life
A still life
There is still life in me yet
Just to capture light and fill life
With what light I can reflect
To preserve a frozen moment
To remember, not forget
In a riot of radiant colour
With the paint all wild and wet
When once my dreams would yield the freshest fruits
As flowers once would bud with blossoms bright
Until a blight descended and took root
Those dreams faded in the darkness
As my heart gave up the fight
I’ll paint a still life
A still life
There is still life in me yet
I don’t want to live an ill life
Of missed chances and regret
Though I’ve been put through the mill
I still stand, this sun has not set
So let me paint a still life
There is still life in me yet
And while these fruits lose freshness every day
As every day I grow a little older
Still there is worth and wisdom in decay
Oh see my still life ripen
Watch it blossom bright with mould
If my fate has not unfolded
And my path is still not set
I can find a way to will life
To the place I need to get
I must nurture life, not kill life
Free my soul of every debt
I’ll paint a still life
A still life
There is still life in me
|
||||
Oli Spleen Brighton, UK
A solo artist since 2012, Oli Spleen started making music way back in 2003 with his first band The Flesh Happening.
Oli Spleen recommends:
Spleen are a five-piece alternative, post-punk, queercore group from Brighton UK, with electro / disco influences and Gothic Sensibilities.
go to album
Pig Miracle Day
by Pink Narcissus
PN, 2008-2019.
go to albumIf you like Oli Spleen, you may also like:
Here She Comes-a-Tumblin'
by Birdeatsbaby
supported by 6 fans who also own “Still Life”
Immerse yourself fully in the night, but be careful not to get lost in the dark.
go to album
Wednesday's Child
by Hana Piranha
supported by 5 fans who also own “Still Life”
go to album
Live EP from this shuffly, shambly, inventive folk-jazz outfit features two originals and two covers.
go to album
HYPNOTICA - Composition for Theremin and Electronic Music Synthesizer
by The Night Terrors
A truly original blend of haunting electronics and gothic drama mirroring the complex and unknowable nature of human emotions.
go to album
