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Acrobat Above the Sky (a concept 1985​-​2022)

by Bonbon Experiment

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1.
The Secrets 03:49
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Move so fast across the frozen lake What were you doing? Move so slowly down the shadowed street What were you doing? The secrets Play out in private No, that’s not right The secrets Play out in public Oh, that’s not right either What lessons have we learnt When we stayed after school Our hopes are being burnt When we stayed out after school When will we return? What will we learn? Didn’t want it to go this way Didn’t want it to seem so strange Didn’t want it to end this way Didn’t want to see how it was played Didn’t hide behind the curtain Didn’t peek and see what’s there I didn’t make you turn your head I didn’t run when I was scared When I went I went to play Why did I climb that way Why I looked in the sky I didn’t know that I would die I didn’t think it would end this way When I looked at the sky I don’t think I would want to die When I went out to play I knew it couldn’t end any other way
2.
Understand 03:34
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When someone calls shall I say I left you Shall I tell them why you broke my heart Will they understand we were only friends If there’s something more, it wasn’t on my part Notice you took the record of mine The memories it held do you remember The very first time we were more than friends You said it was chance, was the warmest December Talk for a while both scared to go further Could you understand what you’ve took away I waited for years to love just for hours You left me undressed with nothing to say How can I forget how can I understand When your names in the papers and I sleep alone What would you say if I didn’t wake one morning Would you understand you are on your own.
3.
Expectations of Life 03:00
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I was innocent Until found guilty I was a poor man Until I became wealthy I was a scientist Until I found God I was a believer Then one day I was not So much for my Expectations of Life So much for my Expectations of Life I was a good man Until I killed I was an honest man Until I shilled I was an optimist Right to the end I was a lonely boy Without a friend So much for my Expectations of Life So much for my Expectations of Life So much for my Expectations of Life
4.
Shine On 03:20
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Shine on-on Shine on Nathan dreamt of giant armies Marching across the land He was a boy with a bucket Making a castle out of sand Some say dreams are predictions Some say warnings too What if it’s a future erased Instead of a living truth? Shine on-on Shine on Something happened when he looked above Waiting for the clouds to part The sun at its highest Daylight eclipse about to start Aztecs and Incas saw the portents Sacrificed to a Sun Lord Western soldiers without warning Guns and cannons and the sword Shine on-on Shine on Capture the moment in a photo Seeing time laid skeletal Connecting to the last thing we said I said I was made of metal? Like ants in fear of shadows Tsunami memories send us high Seeing the world turn to flames in the valleys Reaching out to touch the sky Shine on-on Shine on
5.
Be My Animus 04:02
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Drive my ambulance Be my animus Drive my ambulance Be my animus I was always the last to be picked for the team They’re mean like that I was always the one who hadn’t a dream For no one asked I have lived in the centre of Hell and survived it Seen its wonder I have sat in the eye of the storm Around me nothing but thunder Drive my ambulance Be my animus Drive my ambulance Be my animus Before I took the pills There was light there Before I took the stills You were right there Drive my ambulance Be My Animus
6.
Susan 03:52
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Islands of make believe in place of reality, Seems we had the right idea after all Telling lies to your parents, Your future’s on hold whilst you find a way Deep inside the dark labrynth We Danced and drank and smoked….. You swept me up like a paper in the breeze And shared a secret of your own… Susan where have you’ve brought me? Susan make me high Susan what have you taught me? Susan make me high Some lives burn like fireworks Some lives drain like blood…. In the conjuring of your spells No chance I ever stood. Susan where have you’ve brought me? Susan make me high Susan what have you taught me? Susan make me high Casual friends The story ends The blinding light Of that one night Tightrope dreams Never done You Disappear Into the sun Susan make me high
7.
Petrichor 03:50
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By the side of the road There’s someone I know She is looking so fine And I would take her for wine Now everyone knows Its been one of their shows We’ll never forget Though we’re full of regret I’m back here again Staying out of the rain The storm it will pass And then I will ask What a way to go on Running shy of the sun Love in the storm Still keeps you warm I ADORE PETRICHOR NOW I KNOW THERE’S A RAIN-BOW
8.
Nathan's Giant Trampoline (Pt.1 & 2) 06:23
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If God had meant man to fly He’d have given him the wings of a fly If God had meant man not to dream He wouldn’t have invented the trampoline For every Icarus that burned There was another who watched and learnt His grandparents were born before the Wrights Yet would end up on long distance flights And though Nathan was wracked with doubts It didn’t mean he couldn’t bounce Higher and higher into the sky A dreamer who would pretend to fly And when he got into space Where gravity has lot its race He swam against the stellar tide And looked down upon mankind Nathaniel on his trampoline Flying high as all his dreams An acrobat above the sky For he knew we meant to fly Before he’d come back down to Earth He’d speak to the whole universe And let them know before he died That at least one young boy had tried.
9.
Interstitial Tension I 02:32
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10.
Acrobat Above the Sky 04:24
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Why is everybody looking up Aren’t they all busy enough The world turns as it always does Night into day without a fuss The wind is still, the sky is clear Going up with nothing to fear Higher and higher with the sun on his face Out of the air and into space Once he’d thought of it he had to try He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky Nobody asked and he doesn’t know why He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky Each time he comes back down to ground And springs back faster than the speed of sound The earth is so small seem from on high Soon he’ll have bounced above the sky He wonders what will happen there? With the air thin and no wind in his hair He jumps one more time until he’s free So far above no-one can see. Once he’d thought of it he had to try He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky Nobody asked and he doesn’t know why He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky Once he’d thought of it he had to try He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky Nobody asked and he doesn’t know why He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky Once he’d thought of it he had to try He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky Nobody asked and he doesn’t know why He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky He is an Acrobat Above the Sky
11.
Speaking to the Alien Presence Without a Translator Making the Hand Signal for Love 03:15
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12.
Interstitial Tension II 03:05
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13.
Not Falling, You're Floating 04:02
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I once was young like a new star Now I’m older and too many false starts Grown up in darkness Emerging in sunlight Blinded by the sunshine Craving the moonlight Now you’re not falling, you’re floating away Now you’re not falling, you’re floating away Step into silence Hear your scream Into the void Where you’ve always been Blind in the shadows Of the night Step into darkness Providing the light Now you’re not falling, you’re floating away Now you’re not falling, you’re floating away
14.
Mother of Pearl 03:25
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Drama, rewinds, Drama, uptight Painting, gloom Painting, daylight Mother of Pearl Cold to skin Reflecting Who I Am Within Beast will know Beast will hide Something grilled Something fried Something new Something lost Never the price Always the cost If I said I will pay you Would you use the locks I will show you the secrets Of the box Drama, rewinds, Drama, uptight Painting, gloom Painting, daylight Beast will know Beast will hide Something grilled Something fried Something new Something lost Never the price Always the cost Dramatic ending Life extending Mother of Pearl Cold to skin Reflecting Who I Am Within

about

As a child Nathan "dreamt of giant armies" - his childhood impacted by secrets- he went chasing love and getting high - throughout it all he was drawn to the sky - he felt that's where he should be. Bouncing off a giant trampoline he went higher and higher as the world watched on until finally he became an acrobat above the sky communing with an alien presence before he began to fall back down - except he was floating away.

The 41st Bonbon Experiment album is a concept - an idea first mooted in 1985 and which has come to fruition in 2022. Over 50 minutes across 14 sparkling tracks, a story is told, but each song is its own little world - musically varied, lyrically playful, and sung with conviction. Includes the prev. released single "Be My Animus" and a new version of 1985's "Understand."

Available free to stream or to download to get a lyric sheet.

credits

released September 3, 2022

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Bonbon Experiment Manchester, UK

Bonbon Experiment is the main musical project of Adrian Slatcher. He records for the online label BDM Recordings. 2022 is 40th anniversary of his music making - his 40 albums are being reissued with new artwork - and his 41st album, Acrobat Above the Sky is now available ... more

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