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Amaryllis In The Sprawl Lyrics
Looking real pretty in her anorak
Between A1-11 and the railway track
Amaryllis has a dream of traffic cones
And a crumpled raincheck for the pleasure dome
She says, "Nothing is unbearable, nothing is unbearable"
Peering through the window at the greasy sky
And the complicated beauty of a river run dry
Everything connected to her pleasure and pain
She's gonna try it all once then do it all again
As if everything's a riddle to her
Everything's a riddle to her
All of history: slack demented poetry
Take a look at Amaryllis in the sprawl
And the Road-Kill Kitten wants to feel it all
Out around the ring road in the falling dark
Between the heritage center and the business park
Amaryllis thinking on the World and I:
The way the mud don't love you
And the trees don't cry
All of it's embarrassing
All of it's embarrassing
All of history lit up like a christmas tree
Take a look at Amaryllis in the sprawl
And the car park's freezing but the rain don't fall
Amaryllis moving through the shifting night
It's a temporary structure but it feels alright
The flesh of the city where it's got no bones
And everywhere's America and nowhere's home
And I dropped her off at Kidderminster
Dropped her off at Kidderminster
All of history: not all it's cracked up to be
Take a look at Amaryllis in the sprawl
And the electric eyeballs get to see it all
Isn't it delirious?
Between A1-11 and the railway track
Amaryllis has a dream of traffic cones
And a crumpled raincheck for the pleasure dome
She says, "Nothing is unbearable, nothing is unbearable"
Peering through the window at the greasy sky
And the complicated beauty of a river run dry
Everything connected to her pleasure and pain
She's gonna try it all once then do it all again
As if everything's a riddle to her
Everything's a riddle to her
Take a look at Amaryllis in the sprawl
And the Road-Kill Kitten wants to feel it all
Between the heritage center and the business park
Amaryllis thinking on the World and I:
The way the mud don't love you
And the trees don't cry
All of it's embarrassing
All of it's embarrassing
Take a look at Amaryllis in the sprawl
And the car park's freezing but the rain don't fall
It's a temporary structure but it feels alright
The flesh of the city where it's got no bones
And everywhere's America and nowhere's home
And I dropped her off at Kidderminster
Dropped her off at Kidderminster
Take a look at Amaryllis in the sprawl
And the electric eyeballs get to see it all
Isn't it delirious?
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i have been a Shriekback fan for a good 40 years or so now, and have found that as i listen through the lyrics of their songs that much is revealed about their politics, social consciousness, and personal histories (albeit some i’m sure are elaborations in the extreme). Amaryllis in the sprawl is one of those songs. As we meet “Amaryllis” ( which is a flower, and flowers are a running theme that follows the shrieks across many songs and albums) we find her as Barry Andrew’s lyrics show, to be an attractive woman in a somewhat difficult and frigid place. We learn she has only a crumpled rain check ( not even a full blown ticket, maybe even sold and used) to the Pleasure Dome and an anorak style jacket for warmth, and depending on your interpretation of the references, the jacket can be pricey ( maybe discarded by someone far better off than she,) and the pleasure dome imay be a palace or a social event center/club; either way, Amaryllis is not able to at this point enter it. While this kind of “being left out” may be a harsh reality, Amaryllis feels that even that ostracized reality is “bearable” and that she will continue to persist.
the chorus , which somewhat evolves lyrically over the song yet again reenforces the idea that this woman is neglected by society and an allusion to the “road kill kitten” doubles down here to show us just how removed from the rest of society, while still being a factor of that society, that she really is.
in the second verse we are given the insight that this woman is apparently home challenged, while recognising the challenges her life has presented her. the second verse ends with her perception that even the world she resides in has no concern for her, in that “The way the mud don't love you And the trees don't cry All of it's embarrassing”
the second chorus goes further to show us that even in a found shelter and an unexceptional evening that her life is cold and unforgiving.
the third and final verse talks about the way she seemingly came into the writers life as he appears to indicate that he has found her in a city, area that does not have shelter, or buildings (bones) and that even in her seeming freedom she has no place of her own ( where everywhere’s America, but nowhere’s home). he then “dropped her off in Kidderminster” and his assessment of the whole thing that this was all seen by the “electronic eyeballs” and that in his words is a “delirious” event. is Kidderminster a better place for her, the writer leaves this to the listener.
i think as you can see from the above analysis of the lyrics Amaryllis in the sprawl is a passionate, yet removed and somewhat distant empathy and understanding of Amaryllis’ existence. I’m not sure how Barry Andrew’s would find my interpretation of this rather tragic, yet powerful story, but in all honestly he has written such an honest account here that i suspect he would be glad to know that his lyrics have impacted his listeners, and that is in the end what i think Shriekback, and this song set out to do. and there you have it!