There's blood upon the pavement, there's a scuffle on the ledge;
Sleek Mercedes prowl like sharks along the water's edge,
You can carry a gun or a lighted candle, box clever or box rough,
Violence doesn't need applause, indifference is enough.
Behind closed doors in Washington, in Geneva, or Milan
Shadowy figures chisel deals, as they have since Time began,
Seduction, purchase or discreet removal
They're all tricks of the same trade:
It's a trade that lines the pockets of those figures in the shade.
It's all a game of Russian dolls,
every motive neatly sheathed;
Painted faces and frozen smiles
cloak the daggers and the greed.
They do this for democracy, they're doing this in your name,
You can smile while they take their money, or you can smile while you take the blame.
You can throw a party or throw a bomb, cast a vote or cast a stone
If it makes you feel kinda helpless – don't worry, you're not alone.
It's all a game of Russian dolls,
Every motive neatly sheathed..
Painted faces and frozen smiles
Cloak the daggers and the greed.
It's crime without passion. It's a system with fixed rules
You smile while you're seducing, or you smile while you're being fooled;
You can carry a gun or a lighted candle, box clever or box rough,
Violence doesn't need applause, indifference is enough.
It's all a game of Russian dolls,
Every motive neatly sheathed..
Painted faces and frozen smiles
Cloak the daggers and the greed..
Sleek Mercedes prowl like sharks along the water's edge,
You can carry a gun or a lighted candle, box clever or box rough,
Violence doesn't need applause, indifference is enough.
Behind closed doors in Washington, in Geneva, or Milan
Shadowy figures chisel deals, as they have since Time began,
Seduction, purchase or discreet removal
They're all tricks of the same trade:
It's a trade that lines the pockets of those figures in the shade.
It's all a game of Russian dolls,
every motive neatly sheathed;
Painted faces and frozen smiles
cloak the daggers and the greed.
They do this for democracy, they're doing this in your name,
You can smile while they take their money, or you can smile while you take the blame.
You can throw a party or throw a bomb, cast a vote or cast a stone
If it makes you feel kinda helpless – don't worry, you're not alone.
It's all a game of Russian dolls,
Every motive neatly sheathed..
Painted faces and frozen smiles
Cloak the daggers and the greed.
It's crime without passion. It's a system with fixed rules
You smile while you're seducing, or you smile while you're being fooled;
You can carry a gun or a lighted candle, box clever or box rough,
Violence doesn't need applause, indifference is enough.
It's all a game of Russian dolls,
Every motive neatly sheathed..
Painted faces and frozen smiles
Cloak the daggers and the greed..
Contributed by giorgio - 2010/9/27 - 08:34
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Lyrics & music by Michel Griffin
Vocal harmonies by Maryline Dumont.
Album: Russian Dolls
A song about power, greed, deception and violence. Maybe one day we'll learn to live in peace, content with our lot. Till then, we're hostage to the greedy with the guns.
"The song began with its second line, which came to me as I was lunching with my wife in a sleepy little riverside restaurant in the north of Spain. I happened to glance out of the window and saw 2 Mercedes following each other like sleek sharks along the water's edge.
But I'd been wanting to write about the relationship between greed, power, violence and media-control for some time. The Russian Doll was a natural image, that came to me again by chance: the previous day I'd seen a lovely set of dolls at my brother-in-law's.
It took a long time to get the chorus as I wanted it. I finally finished the song in Yorkshire, 4 months after I'd begun it".