Lush Life
Robert Wyatt / Gilad Atzmon / Ros Stephen Lyrics

I used to visit all the very gay places,
I used to frequent all the lively and vibrant venues

Those come-what-may places,
Those places where anything and everything goes

Where one relaxes on the axis,
Where one unwinds and takes a pause in life's journey

Of the wheel of life,
On the wheel of life, which symbolizes existence's cycles and ups and downs

To get the feel of life,
To experience life to its fullest

From jazz and cocktails.
From the rhythm and music of jazz, and drinks to calm the nerves

The gals (girls) I knew had sad and sullen gray faces,
The females I used to know had unhappy and dull looks

With distant gay traces,
With faint impressions of a better past

That used to be there.
That used to be a part of them

You could see where,
It was visible why and where

They'd been washed away,
They were rubbed out and taken by the current

By too many through the day.
Brought on by the demands and pressures of their daily routines

Twelve o'clock tales.
Stories that are only told late at night when no one is around

Then you came along,
And then you arrived

With your siren song,
With your irresistible melody and seduction

To tempt me to madness.
To provoke me to crazy actions

I thought for awhile,
For a moment, I believed

That your poignant smile,
That your moving smile

Was tinged with the sadness,
Had a touch of sorrow

Of a great love for me.
Representing a deep affection towards me

I guess (Ah, yes,) I was wrong.
I suppose that was not the case

Again, I was wrong.
Once again, I was mistaken

Life is lonely again,
Life has become solitary once more

And only last year everything seemed so sure.
But everything appeared to be so certain last year

Now life is awful again.
Currently, life has turned back to being unpleasant

A troughful of hearts could only be a bore.
A container full of hearts would be fetid and wearisome

A week in Paris might (will) ease the bite of it.
Going over to Paris for a week could reduce the impact of it

All I care is to smile in spite of it.
All I want is to grin in defiance of it

I'll forget you I will,
I'll make myself forget you

While yet you are still,
When you are still to be found

Burning inside my brain.
Ablaze within my mind

Romance is mush,
Love is a mess,

Stifling those who strive.
Suffocating those who put in the effort.

I'll live a lush life,
I'll experience a luxurious existence

In some small dive.
In some insignificant joint.

And there I'll be,
And that's where I'll locate myself

While I rot with the rest,
As I decay together with other folks

Of those whose lives are lonely, too.
Belonging to people whose lives are also unaccompanied

Lush life.
Luxurious living.