lørdag 28. mai 2011

4. I Watch the Boats

And here is the final one.



Soda Fountain Rag - I Watch the Boats by sodafountainrag



I watch the Boats is a song about me and the view from the windows of my apartment (which I will move from shortly). I think it’s Bergens best view – and with the old borrowed binoculars I look at the boats going to and from Bergen harbour. The binoculars were once borrowed from our first bass player Lars (BinocuLars! nei?ikkje?), they were once his grandfather’s. 




I Watch the Boats

The summer night is friendly and warm
A pirate telescope (only on loan)
I watch the harbour
This boat is called “The Crystal”

You say I never leave my place
I stay inside for days and days
I’ll sell my shoes
I’ll sell my coats
And stay inside and watch the boats

I’ve waited long for my secret boat
It’s like the bus in Ghost World (only it floats)
And when I see it
I guess I’ll know for sure

You say I never leave my place
I stay inside for days and days
I’ll sell my shoes
I’ll sell my coats
And stay inside and watch the boats

Then sail away
Be gone one day
You never heard
I never said a word
When I am gone
Will you be mad?
I didn’t know
I used to make you feel glad

You say I never leave my place
I stay inside for days and days
I’ll sell my shoes
I’ll sell my coats
And stay inside and watch the boats

3. The Train to Heaven


03 - The Train to Heaven by sodafountainrag


The Train to Heaven is the title of a TV-series that I used to watch in the late 80s or early 90s, or rather it is the direct translation of the Norwegian title. The lyrics are not really related to this, but I think it was about an orphan boy in South America somewhere who wanted to take the train up to heaven to see his parents again. Does anyone else remember this series?


The Train to Heaven

He used to watch TV in the 80s
Dreaming everyday to do as they did
To take the train up to heaven
Or at least to Oslo, then to Madrid

The window seat is free
The sun is not to be seen
We’re going fast, but
But never fast enough
This train will take him home
The next train follows
One day he’ll never get there
No train goes far enough!

He does believe he is not running away
He’ll tell you that he’s running towards!
To take the train up to heaven
Or to Barcelona or Camden

The window seat is free
The sun is not to be seen
We’re going fast, but
But never fast enough
This train will take him home
The next train follows
One day he’ll never get there
No train goes far enough!

And if you see him:
He doesn’t want to be known
He doesn’t want to hear where you’re coming from
And if you see him
His wish is simple, so
Just ignore his face
Keep to your own place
And most important:
Shut up!
Dudududududududududududududu
Shut up!
Dudududududududududududududu

The window seat is free
The sun is not to be seen
We’re going fast, but
But never fast enough
This train will take him home
The next train follows
One day he’ll never get there
No train goes far enough!

2. Ferry

02 - Ferry by sodafountainrag




Ferry is a song about my childhood trips to the cabin in the mountains. The big goal was to manage to get up early enough to catch the ferry from Kvalvåg to Kvisvik at 8.40 am. In 1992 this ferry was replaced by Krifast (two bridges and an underwater tunnel). There is one huge (deliberate) mistake in the lyrics: “cake” is not really cake – this would not be the proper thing to consume whilst on the ferry, but I couldn’t come up with a proper English word for Svele


Ferry

It’s summer time already
And vacation time already
And everyone should get into the car

The Orion is ready
And your dad is driving steady
And the town is shrinking fast somewhere behind

But almost before the trip really starts
There’s a pause that I really, really like
There’s coffee and there’s cake
We know how to spend this break
On this boat, on this ferry
What’s the time?

08.40, 08.40!
The ferry leaves at 08.40!
Pack your bags and don’t be late
This boat will never ever wait

The most important part
Before a quest like this can start
Is to decide what to bring and what to leave

You have a little suitcase
That you pack in a slow pace
To ensure that all your stuff is there

The teddy bear of course
And a book and a pen
You almost forgot
The game boy you borrowed from your neighbour
That would be really sad!

08.40, 08.40!
The ferry leaves at 08.40!
Pack your bags and don’t be late
This boat will never ever wait

In 1992
The ferry was replaced by
Some bridges and a long, black
Underwater tunnel
No coffee is consumed
No cake is ever eaten
Except in secrecy
In the backseat of the cars, at

08.40, 08.40!
The ferry leaves at 08.40!
Pack your bags and don’t be late
This boat will never ever wait

fredag 27. mai 2011

1. Go Bus Baby Go




01 - Go Bus Baby Go by sodafountainrag

Go Bus Baby Go

Surely you trapped her
She’s longing more and more to leave
And not with another
Solitude knocks out your company
But how do you leave
When you don’t want no one to follow?
Pay cash, and then let the driver take you
To a less crappy tomorrow

You want her to stay
To hide her away
I told her to go
But you do not know
You can search hi’
You can search lo’
She’s thinking
Go Bus Baby Go!

You want her to stay
To hold her hand
You’ll keep her safe
From all that you can
You can search hi’
You can search lo’
She’s saying
Go Bus Baby Go!

What an adventure!
Snow falls outside the window
And all the streetlights
Follows her on her flight
She reads books by Jim Carroll
She feels no sorrow
Leans back whilst the driver takes her
To a less crappy tomorrow


This first song, Go Bus Baby Go, is based on an idea I got when travelling on the bus from Lillehammer to Bergen one easter holiday. The title is an homage to one of the really early Manic Street Preachers demos – a song that later became Motorcycle Emptiness. Two people in the whole world have figured this out by themselves – good boys! 

Øst-vest Xpressen going between Lillehammer and Bergen. For those of you who enjoy the feeling of the ass going to sleep. The bus is clearly in need of romanticising. 





torsdag 26. mai 2011

The Transport EP

So, here's the deal: do not try to buy the transport EP from the arctic nutter page. People have tried to order it, but get no response. I have tried to contact the guy, but no response. For Quite Some Time Now.
The solution is of course to upload it here, so I will do that shortly.

The Secret Gig

Hello all!

Last weekend Soda Fountain Rag played a secret gig in an apartment in Bergen. It was great fun, a lot of nice people and good feedback. Played with 3 other bands, among them these girls. Really hard name to remember, but they had organ riffs that reminded me of Murder City Devils. Also it was new bass player Stian's first gig - yeah!