Mike Batt with the London Symphony Orchestra: Schizophonia

(EPIC 4602082, Released in 1977)

Produced and arranged by Mike Batt.
The London Symphony Orchestra (and additional orchestra) arranged and conducted by Mike Batt

Track List

1. The Ride To Agadir
2. Berber's Prayer
3. The Walls Of The World
4. Insh'Allah
5. The Fires Of Rabat
6. It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time
7. Bouree
8. Railway Hotel
9. Voices In The Dark
10. Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Lyrics to all songs from that album

Ride To Agadir

We rode in the morning,
Casablanca to the west.
On the Atlas mountain foothills leading down to Marrakesh.
For Mohammed and Morocco
We had taken up our guns,
For the ashes of our fathers and the children of our sons,
For the ashes of our fathers and the children of our sons.

In the dry winds of summer
We were sharpening the blades.
We were riding to act upon the promise we had made.
With the fist and the dagger,
With the rifle and and the lance,
We will suffer no intrusion from the infidels of France,
We will suffer no intrusion from the infidels of France.

We could wait no more,
In the burning sands on the ride to Agadir.
Like the dogs of war,
For the future of this land on the ride to Agadir.

Though they were waiting,
And they were fifty to our ten,
They were easily outnumbered by a smaller force of men.
As the darkness was falling
They were soon to realize,
We were going to relieve them of their godforsaken lives,
We were going to relieve them of their godforsaken lives.

We could wait no more,
In the burning sands on the ride to Agadir.
Like the dogs of war,
For the future of this land on the ride to Agadir.

We rode in the morning,
Casablanca to the west.
On the Atlas mountain foothills leading down to Marrakesh.
For Mohammed and Morocco
We had taken up our guns,
For the ashes of our fathers and the children of our sons,
For the ashes of our fathers and the children of our sons.

Berber's Prayer

Spoken voice: Seoud Islam

The Walls Of The World

The sun is only shining like it always does,
But I never noticed it in the sky before.
And you don't need to worry, 'cause I need your love, my friend.
There's a strong kind of feeling when I know you're near
Nobody alive can take it away from me;
And I feel like I've known you for a thousand years
Bring it out into the light.

'Cause I think I'm gonna write it on the walls of the world,
So everyone will know today the love I hold for you.
I will write it on the walls of the world,
So that the sun won't fade away the words I say to you,
I love you.

And I know I'm not a loser when I'm on my own,
I could be miles away in another land,
And it keeps me together when I'm far from home,
I won't keep it out of sight.

And I think I'm gonna write it on the walls of the world,
So everyone will know today the love I hold for you
I will write it on the walls of the world
So that the sun won't fade away the words I say to you,
I love you.

Insh'Allah

Your time has come, Insh'Allah,
Your song is sung, Insh'Allah.
Though you may think it is easy
To laugh in my eyes,
Your time has come, Insh'Allah.

The Fires Of Rabat (instrumental)

It Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time

Don't ask me why I did it,
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
There were no other amusements or games to play
To pass the night away.
Don't ask me why I did it
I must have been lonely stupid or blind,
But I know that it seemed like a good idea at the time.

It was 3 a.m. in the casino
I was feeling like the Sportsman of the Year
So I blew a little money on the roulette wheel,
And I taught myself to play Chemin de fer.

Don't ask me why I did it,
It seemed like a good idea at the time.
There were no other amusements or games to play
To pass the night away.
Don't ask me why I did it
I must have been lonely stupid or blind,
But I know that it seemed like a good idea at the time

As the dawn came round on Monte Carlo,
I had lost the car and safe deposit key,
The country house in Switzerland was mine no more,
And the gendarme at the door said "c'est la vie!"

Don't ask me why I did it,
I must have been lonely stupid or blind,
But I know that it seemed like a good idea at the time.

Bourrée

(From J.S.Bach-Suite no. 2 in B minor)

Railway Hotel

We went to the room and we bolted the door,
The bass from the jukebox was coming through the floor,
And out through the walls we could still hear the roar of the trains.
Was this all the comfort we got for our sins?
No candles, no waiters, no soft violins?
A dirty electric convector plugged into the mains.

I had wanted much more for the first night with you,
But the railway hotel was the best I could do.
I knew the Savoy would have suited you well,
But the best I could do was the railway hotel.

Away in the sky were the lights of a jet,
Burning in the night like a slow cigarette.
The lamp in the street threw a soft silhouette on the wall.
And though it was crumbling and rundown and dead
A chair and a sink and an old single bed,
The love we began and the things that we said, I recall.

I had wanted much more for the first night with you,
But the railway hotel was the best I could do.
I knew the Savoy would have suited you well,
But the best I could do was the railway hotel

Voices In The Dark

My eyes are open,
My feet are off the ground.
My ears are aching,
My head is full of sounds.

It's no joke
When you're floating in the night
That starts at the left and continues to the right;
Begins at the back and continues to the front;
Starts at the bottom and continues to the top;

All I can hear is Voices in the Dark,
I can get to sleep at night no more.
All I can hear is Voices in the Dark,
I can get to sleep at night no more

My hands are shaking,
I can't put out the light.
So tired of waiting,
Can't sleep at all tonight.

It's no joke
When you're floating in the night
That starts at the left and continues to the right;
Begins at the back and continues to the front;
Starts at the bottom and continues to the top;

All I can hear is Voices in the Dark,
I can get to sleep at night no more.
All I can hear is Voices in the Dark,
I can get to sleep at night no more

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood

Baby, do you understand me now,
Sometimes I feel a little mad.
But don't you know that no one alive can always be an angel.
When things go wrong I seem to be bad.

But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.

Baby, sometimes I'm so carefree,
With a joy that's hard to hide.
And sometimes it seems like all I have to do is worry
And then you're bound to see my other side.

I'm just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.

Baby, do you understand me now,
Sometimes I feel a little mad.
But don't you know that no one alive can always be an angel.
When things go wrong I seem to be bad.

But I'm just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.

I'm just a soul whose intentions are good,
Oh Lord, please don't let me be misunderstood.