The Time Being | Steve Kilbey

ooh yessy yess yes a big thanky too all my sub-scribblers
workly workly
yess my pets bless my shivers and timber my whisklers
the beingo worky workly hardly hardy party hearty
ooh he love to nimble his little treasures buried chesty
sniffly sniffo snorty sneezey cough
my nosey wosey gone all numbly numbly
and my cheeky cheeks gone all rosey
silly soddy body mmm no car but hotte roddy
yes yes
my car is stopped but my clock is fast
too fasty fast for you -hoo
like a fire in the sunny son
daddy kilbey an’ his lil woofley wooflechoof
the magic woofle from calamahoofle in fact
ooh he laughy laughly bingle and bell
oh mirth on earth
he play ‘is lecktrick guitar dont ‘e ?
lisson ikin here ‘im
oh oh wotta byootifle songly songy song
oh stevlie sutch a manly manne such a mannish boy
oh stevlie w/ his lickle beardette a mo n all
stevlie steve fiddle and strum
stevlie steve sings but hes dumb
and burstin’ outta the barklied up treebies
like a batty old batley bat from hello hell helen ice
like a ratty up yer stovepipes
no rat or mouse or butt-a-fly or moff
oh yeah baybly nay-cha oh horny scorny brainy brawny
nod the olde fella the killa stebe kilvey
stebe kilvey with his base gittar
ohh its so base its a de-base guitar
a free-base guitar
ooh he loved ‘is blimmin drucks hmmm hmmm
oh he lover boy summertimes warm sulch-tree arvos
he reetch for natta-lee all freshly fresh from showery-wow!ery
shee may bee say oh king rood daddi-boy
oh darlin’ won
oh sweet baybee cheops
oh lover of mummies
oh daddie-rood
oh daddy-hood
oh con-jiggle flower bed
oh con-juggley vizzits
oh kissy sniffy kissy snippy moanie groanie moronie
oh stop writer
stopp nowe howe
musty mustly must stoppy loppy stop
must boom boom boom
lets go up to my toomb
pet teet mort
multiple options
y try?
no
know
or
oar
ore
awe
awww!
frack-shed
more for mummy?
yes please daddy-o!
more for children?
no thanks daddy-o
oh kay……!
humpffff
vo vo
bonk
hey
spiggot
hemisphere
select
sssssshhhhhh
christopher robbin’ is slaying his peers

persian aramaic and hebrew
i knew them once
i was able to do anything
a man a child
a woman a crone
a baby a corpse
is everything alive?
depends on what you mean by alive
the amoebae living their life a million times faster
the rocks a million times slower
we dont understand each other
what hope do we have of understanding other life-forms
nk reads the crystal bible
the phone rings
i know its ricki ringing
i shoulda said hiya ricki
but im still not following my hunches
im seeing the future
the power to heal is returning to me
thats right
i can channel something out there
chi or prana or light
this is a side effect of yoga and chi gong one presumes
my lemurian crystal is my familiar my wand my talisman
i am in love with it
last nite tired of the cough troubling my wife
i had her lie there in the moonlight
and using the crystal
i blasted and fought the malevolence behind the infection
everything is happening on every level
get that thru yer thick western head
there is no single accurate version
a disease, a cough for example
is a bacterial or viral blah blah in yer lungs n tubes
yes it is
is it only that?
is anything only one thing?
or does each object each being
extend across multiple fields for example:
physical
astral
spiritual
causal
mental
vegetal
mineral
etc
you fight an enemy on all battlefields, right?
my crystal and i
by dint of the sunlight and moonlight it has absorbed
by dint of the love i put into it
by dint of the trust and faith i have filled it with
this battery this cell this transformer
discharging it into my dear wifes irritated lungs
my crystal shot out its laserlike stream of lovelight
it feels like a cold point says nk
as i run the crystal anticlockwise around her
pulling the bastard spirit out
and clockwise
screwing a zillion volts of cosmic mojo n ooomph
its a joke i say
those things in there dont have a hope
she finished her antibiotics but still feels affected
so i gave the cough the fucking what-for
i could feel us both filling with light
like rivers filling when a dam gate is opened
the perpetual white cosmic light surrounds us
the golden energy and fire of the earth
the watery healing of the great ocean the Pacific
i rub my hands to produce heat
i lay them on
i feel it passing through my hands
into her
the thing hates it
the dark stupid vicious thing
the useless cough
what is it?
i dunno
i dont care either
but like all lies
it hates the light
it hates the warmth
it hates the love i have for my wife
it scurries away inside her
and i try to locate it and burn it
and dissolve it
eventually she stops coughing
not completely
but quite noticeably
today shes coughing a little
you cant expect a big miracle
you can start with a small one though
she agrees the coughs back is broken
it needs a booster shot i guess
i’ll try n zap the mother a littlemore today
believe me
everything is connected
there are consequences
it is worth being good
it is worth being kind
love really is all you need i guess
no
not just in a song
but for everyone

killer
listen away to church music
oh you clever devil
oh you still sprightly venerable player
your hands run over pianos guitars bass
your words range from the stupid to the stupendous
your old and ugly one minute
the next youre a bloomin’ youngster
no body no body knows you
none of them none of them
nobody knows me no no no
not even you
oh youve gone mad
killer yesterday you badger mr ricki my-me
jokerman jokerman sing to the nightingale tune
oh killer you such an olde joker ha ha ha
boy sometimes he not laughing tho
no one laughing killer
you go too far
can you help yourself?
i am serious when i should be laughing
i am laughing when i should be serious
i am not mad but i get the urge to rant and rave
i pretend to be a fan
(in a choked up aged prep boy east coast nasal style)
hey ah ricki ah you mind if i uh join ya here
uh been a big fan man
i got yer 1991 demos man and i uh saw ya play
in poughkeepsie to 5 people
and i uh i wont bother you now but could ah you…
A) let me jam with you guys tonite…ah come on dont be a ….
B) come talk to my wounded/dying/fucked up/imaginary nephew?
C) take me round all the guy hotspots in san fran
D) ask anton to dedicate a song to me and my wife
E) let me share that joint
F) fuck my girlfriend….we both love you guys
G)let me n my buddies in dressing room
H) give me some guitar parts or drums…no not picks or sticks though!!
I)lend me a hundred bucks for a sandwich
J) introduce me to the randy war-holes
K) produce me n my group for nothin’
L)tell joel im having his love childe
M)arrange for us guys to open for yas in london or new york
N) get me a few beers from the band room
O)check out my myspace videos dude…..NOW!
P) reveal personal and private things if i do but ask
Q) be more like the olde days when i liked you guys better
R)….
actually was gonna do all the alphabet
but ran outta steam n enthusiasm
ah thats too bad…..

domes bubble n burble
gurgling drainpipe rainwater water colour fade
city-zens dressed in hierophantic frantic purple patches
underground connexions
offices filled with coloured paper
arrowmint steno-secs
bosses like a phantom
take down a letter….any letter
wanders wanders wanders
yes thats ok im intercom
i am your dream
i am a voice on your radio
i am reduced to these words
i am innnocent in this criminal strip
i am incoherent while asleep
nobody knows me like this
aside you see
all characters have their aspects attributes and weaknesses
your aspect is western
your attributes are science and medicine
your weakness is spiritual ignorance and pride
your heliports are equipped with neuro-soothe
your magnetoriums are filled with filings
your alethiometer is spinning baby starr
daughters of a revo-lution
the heralds of the damn-aged eras
the architects of spaces and light
the wooers of enemy boys
the skies produce hover-kraft and jet pak junkies
the future ha ha ha ha ha ha
still the same old old school fools
pulling the strings n opening doors angel
crack me up it does
i shoot fire
i smoke ice
i drink hook
i sniff disdainfully
i lock in like a missile
to you whom are my destined explosion
and onwards as the residue settles
and the darkness filters life
and in some cellar where a worm plots downfalls of great men
and in a crowd where someone touches you up
and in a graveyard and its suddenly night
and a lonely figure standing in a convoluted fluted window
surveying the wreckage of some modern disaster
weeping and gnashing of teeth
someone famous bit the Dust
a kinda angel in a dump like this
useless cables and pipes flapping in the wind
the antarctic calls me down down down
under the ice
the fumes and the twisted spiral balconies welded in pain
and frosted and glassed labs where we discover a secret
a secret a secret
jab crack sock locke crabbe boone swoon
i cannot reveal more here
no more no more
thats the secret
there is no more than that
which you clever thing may have all ready de-duced
recriminalised
bound and fettered
a sad bad sacred bird encaged
listening to the joyful songs in the trees
beware!

last nite i played a private function on outskirts of melb
it was a lotta fun
mr ricki played too with me
he was nervous tho
i wasnt
i hadda good time
i let people sing their fave tunes
i danced with my guitar under the taup
i sang in the hot dark
later i smoked on a verandah overlooking swimming pool
surrounded by the gently vibrating bush
i sat and talked to the locals
we had vegan banquet
we had local hydro
we had nice reception
we had mother energy drinks n vodka
we tune under the moon
balmy times in my life
well paid everything considering
nice people
nice b and b where i stayed
as i check in the the older but still nice owner-lady
says
what kinda entertainer are ya?
of course i come back with perennial
oh im a male stripper
the lady looks me up n down twice
ok she says what times that party startin’?
yeah wow a nice interlude
which we played by the way
now im at mel airport
waiting to go home
n start back on church for litle while
first will take doodles for a dippy dip dip
i hope
if my plane doesnae crash….
aaaaaarghhhhh!

blah blah fucking blah
kids yellin’ at me
band yellin’ at me
friends yellin’ at me
cars beeping and indicating and givin’ me the finger
i get lost in a tunnel
i came out at wrong spot
i argue n argue in my hoarse n horrible voice
i hate this i hate that
i trip up n fall down
i get angrier n angrier
rude rude rude
people hangin’ off me everywhere
people ignoring me
people in my fucking face
people in my car park
people in my seat on the bus
people in my coffin n grave
phone ring ring ring
hello
bullshit bullshit
goodbye
yeah yeah yeah
sure
everybodys in pain
everybodys acting
everybodys got an idea bout what i should do
everybody all together now
phone rings
hello
rhubarb rhubarb
goodbye
no u-turn
no standing
no stopping
no mobile phones
no ulterior or anterior mo-tives
i am so tired of that person writing me 20 emails a day
please
dont ever write to me again
can it be any plainer?
do you need to decipher this?
dont ever write to me again
by me i mean me
by ever i mean as long as im alive
by dont i mean DONT!
by write
i would include all communication
any means whatsoever
(i have no wish to have anything whatsoever to do with you!)
by again i mean
i hope you never contact me
im tired im angry im emotional
please stop it or im gonna send it all on to my lawyer!
meanwhile its a hot cold day night
the church are arent this n that
blather blather much malarkey
buy my new products
arent i clever i did this n i wrote that
non plussed?
me too
is it me or am i crazy?
help me out then
i gotta nasty cold or new moania i cant tell
im irresponsible
im ranting
im hot and bothersome
im gonna getcha and you aint gonna like it
im already gone
im just going on n on
im wasted here
im no one but im everywhere
is this the catch?

no cat
no panther
you were sleeping
you were lying naked
like marilyn
like anyone
anyone sleeping really
sleeping sleeping sleeping
so tired you were
so tired oh god
you were so tired
tired of being tired
showbiz huh
agent waffle
audition slime
preview jitters
2nd day jinxes
contract spasm
manage a smile
opening night yawning in paris
hounded by camera
cramming a script
gossip fodder scratched up n bad
bullshit lies n innuendo
pressure
inner and outer
the other side
the other side starts to call
a pressure on you to depart
dream of a train leaving a station
last drinks gentlemen
eat up
its closing
the door
door between the 2 places at once
you fall asleep
new york was it?
was it even important
who saw it coming
the invisible draft that never said nothing
7 pages in a sydney newspaper
one inch= 20 thousand children who die in congo war
per month
people weep and mourn
the world of sadness
yet you sleep and sleep
how strange to never wake up
how strange to sleep and sleep
do you ever think of us as you dream
when you wake up on the other side
will the sun be shining
will the stars gone before you
be showing you the ropes
the lie of the land
the perfect sea
the gentle rain
the theatres full of applause
films about films
the lights
the action
all the more
the more the more
not the more or less
forever
or not
who can tell?

on the balcony
in the film
i mean
that film they made
they used your song
remember
and on the balcony it was summer
oh it was always summer
some a summer
the bodysurfers
the wetsuits hanging over the fences
their blond hair under the outside shower
and the leafy shady places down the path
and the garden where we smoked dope and played mah jongg
a kind of pavillion
a kind of a afternoon
a kind of an obscured sun
and the spiders n worms under the planks
and the sound of a far away radio
and the love lonely songs it emitted
and the cars that sat parked in the drive
and the letters yet to be delivered
advice i never heard
exuse me did you leave this behind
splinters of it all
bits and blobs
dobs and knobs
blows and shows
empty bottles
sandy soil
weeds
ants
cig butts
bits of paper
a key
a dead birdling
a rock
a stone
a blade of grass
a drop of water
smell of rain
smell of lightning
smell of food cooking
drizzle
stop

sitting up here at timbos place
looking out over trees and clouds and blue skies
down below they fiddle with drums
it could be sweden up here on this balcony
pines ferns leafy evergreens
oaks and elms and natives
all react to the wind in their own characteristic way
the clouds today are simply stupendous
i can hardly tear my eyes away from em to write these words
the size of small mountains
the clouds proceed with deliberation across the blueness
an empty hammock swings in the wind
a very scandanavian afternoon
hint of distant storm
trees stretch in all directions
lemons gleam in lemon trees
the pools undulate under the breezes
women read magazines in the shade
dad rolls a smoke
the children laugh somewhere indoors
a bird sings so sadly out there
like a morning from my own childhood
like an echo in echo
machinery hums
civilization murmurs beyond the wall of trees
the clouds frown down at me
the clouds are onto me
on top of me
these clouds with their agonizing slowness
these clouds with their water from where
above me casting shadows
thrown into the murk of the past
red roofs
red flowers
white flowers
white clouds
blue sky
blue blues

yessaday morning
me n evie go to pharmacist
he says
i can sell ya whatever ya want
but nothing gonna help yer throat
so you should just shut up all day
(i have paraphrased him a little)
family has lovely swim at bondi
natalie swimming like a dolphin
evie like an otter
aurora wades around
the woofle eventually gets in n she loves it
we all eat sno cones on the boardwalk
nk= grape
ek =red raspberry
lil sk =red raspberry
ak=fairy floss
big sk = bubblegum + pineapple
hey says evie …howcome you get 2 flavours, dad?
me: cos i bloody well paid for em!
meanwhile the woofle does the “nakey” dance at the showers
olde ladies fainting with pleasure
as the chubby little woofle bounces around sans clothes
family stops in to organic cafe
owner says sorry
no food for you….ive run out!
me n nk swear we’ll never go there again…
we go instead to a lovely jewish joint
where we have felafels n chips
all the time
i no talky talky
everyone has advice
whisper says pharmacist
dont whisper says jlk who comes to babysit
dont drink says some
conjac or red wine say others
finally we get to gig
nk comes backstage for a while
talk to ricky
mick harvey etc
finally after much anticipation
i hit the stage
i do my songs with much gusto n little voice
yes i channelled dave mccomb
and many triffids people
including his big brother john
say
yes yes the passion
you had the passion
then encore
i come on n do field of glass
ten minute doors-y epic
i go fucking nuts
you AINT never seen me like this
i channel mccomb , morrison n any other bloke
going nuts on a stage
DADDY DADDY HE DONT UNDERSTAND
WHACK!
DOGGIE DOGGIE HE DONT UNDERSTAND
WHACK! WHACK!
i finish in a pool of sweat n shredded (wheat) voice
the normally restrained marty casey gives me a hug
jill n graham say well done
alsy n rob like it
ive made it
julian n james the triffs #1 fans give blessings
nk comes backstage
wow!
i told ya darlin’ you aint never seen me sing like that
a conversation ensues
in which nk says something like
she wants to take me home and “discuss” my performance
all the way home in cab she holds my hand
and giggles
looking at me all starry-eyed
ok i gotta do more gigs like this i think
get home doodles n woofle all safely asleep
and then nk …..

and then i wake up today
1st day of new church album
hmmmmmm
hard to change gears
ok
onward n upward
sk