"AVERAGELY HYSTERICAL is another state of mind, but not as contradictory as for CONFUSED AND HAPPY. The idea came from the week preceding the cycle, in which hormonal decompensation acts on the nervous system of us women and causes a depressive phase during which we are not very master of our reactions."*
* taken from Carmen Consoli - What I feel, F. Guglielmi - GIUNTI Edition 2006
I survived this last ordeal
so after all I can be proud
of being a woman with a capital W
I certainly treasure
what you’ve taught me
and I can definitely say
that I am a woman with a capital W
that I am a woman who’s got what it takes
W as in wilful dupe
How long did I put up with your scheming ways
W as in wilful dupe
How long had you been plotting behind my back
It was a bitter pill to swallow
and nobody knows
your despicable methods
better than I do
I buried my foolish infantile idealism
and can now declare
that I am a woman with a capital W
that I am a woman who’s got what it takes
W as in wilful dupe
How long did I put up with your scheming ways
W as in wilful dupe
How long had you been plotting behind my back
W as in wilful dupe
how long did you slip and slide beneath my sheets
Kiss me again Judas
Until I have breath in my body
until I get my reward
until I have breath in my body
until I get my reward
until I have breath in my body
until I get my reward
Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me, Kiss me
W as in wilful dupe
W as in wilful dupe
W as in wilful dupe
I rarely smile
Especially lately
I realize just by looking at myself
That I’m not the same person anymore
I reluctantly participate
In formal rituals that are beneath contempt
I put up with the seductive words of people
Preaching what they do not practice
Let me be absolutely clear any resemblance
Let me be absolutely clear any resemblance
Is not purely coincidental
It is not purely generic
Believe me…..
I reply vaguely
With sincere and polite detachment
To the languid nauseating
Altruism of convenience
I gradually adapt
To subtle moral blackmail
I notice just by looking at you
That I find you sufficiently
Despicable
Let me be absolutely clear any resemblance
Let me be absolutely clear any resemblance
Is not purely coincidental
It is not purely generic
Believe me…..
Let me be absolutely clear any resemblance
Let me be absolutely clear any resemblance
Is not purely coincidental
It is not purely generic
Believe me…..
Believe me…..
My sweet Love don’t say a word
I am all too distressed by your anxiety
Since I discovered I am your second-best
I have been feeling ashamed about the thoughts I had
About what I wanted to do and didn’t
About how I wanted to kill you
I could smell it
As you sank into her lips
You prayed it wouldn’t stop
As you lost yourself in her lips
You hoped it would not be short-lived
My sweet savage love that was what you were looking for
In the rubbish and waste of human kind
Sometimes the conflict between sacred and evil wears me out
That hammering pulsation of unhealthy pleasure
For what I wanted to do and didn’t
For what I wanted to inflict on you
I could smell it
As you sank into her lips
You prayed it wouldn’t stop
As you lost yourself in her lips
You hoped it would not be short-lived
not short-lived
not short-lived
not short-lived
And all this just to say that
I paid my dues to the full....
Between one page and another of a randomly chosen book
I was slowly killing time it was September already a few far-off voices and
absent-minded Autumn on the other side of the windows
I almost hoped you wouldn’t come
I almost believed that I wouldn’t miss you and yet I was waiting for you
Taking my mind off things seemed rather easy
I thought I could put up with your indifference
looking for useless excuses and remedies
You were the sore point, it was you sugary sweet Autumn it was you
I made a cold appraisal of my limits
reckless gestures and frequent sacrifices
it was late and my eyes were burning I was staring at the ceiling
my unmade bed
I almost hoped you wouldn’t come
I almost believed that I wouldn’t miss you and yet I was waiting for you
Taking my mind off things seemed rather easy
I thought I could put up with your indifference
looking for useless excuses and remedies
I thought I could smother my impatience
You were the sore point, it was you sugary sweet Autumn
You were the sore point, it was you sugary sweet Autumn
Sugary sweet Autumn… (x 4)
Autumn
Sugary sweet Autumn…
In fact it looks like the dead of night
Yet another eclipse from one heartache to the next
Down here in hell you age and the air burns
Down here in hell we change route more often
No blissful certainty nor trace of touching
Compassion...
Don’t think that it’s faraway don’t think it
Don’t think that it’s faraway don’t think it
Don’t think that it’s faraway
I can see your house from here
In fact between one circle and another
I searched for your methylene blue eyes
Down here in hell perpetual suffering
And delight
Down here in hell a harsh and inflexible
Sentence is served
In these infernal depths doubt spreads
No blissful certainty nor trace of touching
compassion…
Don’t think that it’s faraway don’t think it
Don’t think that it’s faraway don’t think it
Don’t think that it’s faraway
I can see your house from here
I confess I did it on purpose
I intended to hurt you
I may seem somewhat stupid to you
Certainly immature
For all the times I instinctively felt the need to hold you
For all the times I seriously felt
I could erase you from my mind
Erase you from my mind
Erase you
Based on no logic whatsoever
I admit I felt secure
In my papier-maché shell
I acted so that
I would not appear incoherent
For all those times when I tried not to indulge you
For all those times when I seriously believed
I could erase you from my mind
Erase you from my mind
Erase you
Based on no logic whatsoever
No logic whatsoever
Fiery caresses
That enviable savoir-faire
Oh so sweet, intense and brutal !
What noble poetry
in your bank account
Oh father, lover, master !
In sickness and in health
Till death us do part
Dizzy passion
Oh my insatiable beast
In your warm and welcoming harem
In sickness and in health
Till death us do part
Make me your geisha
Make me your humble servant (x 2)
Make me your geisha
Your geisha (x 4)
Deaf merciless mermaids
made the sad announcement
as the setting sun flooded
the deserted roads
dark omens
power games experienced first-hand
or by men armed with romantic ideals
whatever the reward
it will never be right
We will be ready to celebrate victory
and joyfully drink a toast amongst the ruins
few will be able to release themselves from poverty
and be happy about the glory however infinite
The sharp echo of mermaids
cuts our open wounds
we waited helplessly for the enemy to attack
(and) perhaps for the last time
power games experienced first-hand
or the irreparable damage of wasted childhood
who will pay for this
whoever carries the signs
We will be ready to celebrate victory
and joyfully drink a toast amongst the ruins
few will be able to release themselves from poverty
and be happy about the glory however infinite
winners and losers
we will rebuild everything
winners and losers
I watched her hands insolently teasing an artificial rose
And the way she concealed her embarrassment
was so sweet
as she talked about her misfortunes
smiling ironically and keeping her eyes lowered
I watched her hands folding and unfolding
Between the embroidery of the tablecloth
I could hardly stop myself from
Grabbing hold of them, attacking her pain
The taste of a frugal meal mixed with the odour of incense
Memories dulled by time
Although she was no different from many, many other people
She was special.....special
I watched her hands elegantly
emphasizing her opinions
with unexpected resemblance
symbiotic intuition friendly zeal
The taste of a frugal meal mixed with the odour of incense
Memories faded by time
Although she was no different from many, many other people
She was special.......special
I let myself be seduced by her obsessions
I let myself be seduced by her obsessions
I let myself be seduced by her obsessions
First light of day
I sang in a low voice as I waited for you and it wasn’t the first time
My eyes followed you around
On the table, among yesterday’s leftovers and the empty chairs
Something in the air suggested
That basically there was no real hurry
And as I toyed with the idea of coincidences, I gathered signs
Tell me what I overlooked
That missing link is the source of all uncertainty
Tell me what escaped me
First light of day
Tolerating prejudice and gossip requires a supreme effort
Something in the air suggested
That basically there was no real hurry
As I toyed with the idea of coincidences
Tell me what I overlooked
That missing link is the source of all uncertainty
Tell me what escaped me
That missing link is
The bottomless pit that devours and gives nothing back
Tell me what escaped me
That missing link is
The bottomless pit that devours and gives nothing back
Devours and gives nothing back
I met her a number of times when she was rather drunk
They called her the Countess of Misery
Because of her arid disposition
She was desperately lonely
On the threshold of sixty
Sadly wrapped in garish ostrich feathers and vulgar-looking metal jewellery
Written on the wall of her house
Countess of Misery
Sooner or later life
Pays off its debt
Countess of Misery
Sooner or later life takes you by surprise
In her eyes lay the constant fear of the passing of time
And she would have given anything to have the elixir
Of long life
She was desperately lonely
On the threshold of sixty
Sweetly engrossed in glorious memories steeped in powder, blusher and ‘rien ne va plus’
Countess of Misery
Sooner or later life
Pays off its debt
Countess of Misery
Sooner or later life takes you by surprise
Without asking permission
Without prior warning
Countess of Misery
Her mind in hibernation since the age of twenty
Victim of the century’s deceptive
Pursuit of the icons of beauty
And cosmetic surgery
Countess of Misery
The mind doesn’t change
Countess of Misery
The mind doesn’t change
Countess of Misery
The mind doesn’t change
Countess of Misery
The mind doesn’t change
Burn at the stake heretical witch
And your ashes will be scattered on the wind
Burn at the stake hysterical witch
And bad luck will never again be spread by your hands
May your voice be silenced forever
I don’t think I can put up with this agonizing lament
Now the flames are drying your tears
And you will no longer set your eyes on our innocent children
You have time for your last curse
Or your last prayer
Amid thousands of gestures to ward off evil
I don’t think I can put up with this agonizing lament
And bad luck will never again be spread by your hands
And bad luck will never again be spread by your hands
And bad luck will never again be spread by your hands
In any case…….I have already …….. set aside
resentment……….the kind that wears you down,
the anger and contempt……. towards that
mean man who carries on unchallenged and now……
talks, contaminates the eye………. dominates the will
combines greed …….. with ingratitude and I
pick up the pieces of ……..my shattered……..values
In any case ... I have already... set aside
the need for clarity and…. truth,
that sense of vengeance... towards that
mean man who like a cancer in the heart ... is damage,
contaminates the eye... dominates the will
plots and combines ... greed... with ingratitude
and I pick up the pieces of ... my plundered... values
left to be gobbled up by hungry rats in poky.. basements
. . . . . .
That mean man... is damage
that mean man...
that mean man... is damage
that mean man...
Laughs and contaminates the eye... dominates the will
plots and combines …..greed ... with ingratitude
and I pick up the pieces of ...my devastated...values
That mean man... is damage
that mean man... is damage
that mean man... is damage
that mean man...
In any case…….I have already …….. set aside
resentment……….the kind that wears you out
By Francesco Barbaro with the advice of Federico Guglielmi
Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, New York(September 2008)
CD_1
Lyrics and music by Carmen Consoli except: Besame Mucho by Consuelo Velasquez, L’ultima preghiera by Carmen Consoli and Massimo Roccaforte
Carmen Consoli voice recording by Gianluca Vaccaro at Due Parole Studio, Catania
Remixed by Gianluca Vaccaro at Due Parole Studio, Catania
Mastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, New York
L’uomo meschino (unpublished) produced by Francesco Barbaro
Artistic production: Carmen Consoli
Recorded and mixed by Gianluca Vaccaro at Due parole Studio, Catania
Studio assistant: Salvo Noto
Ed. Mus. Universal Music Italia srl - Emi Publishing Italia srl, except Besame Mucho Ed. Mus. Southern Music srl, L’Uomo Meschino Ed. Mus. Universal Music Italia srl - Narciso Records srl
CD_2
Lyrics and music by Carmen Consoli except: Besame Mucho by Consuelo Velasquez, L’ultima preghiera by Carmen Consoli and Massimo Roccaforte
Produced by Francesco Virlinzi
Artistic production Carmen Consoli and Francesco Virlinzi
Recorded by Todds Vos and Dario Caglioni at “Cantinone”, S. Gregorio, Catania
Mixed by Pino “Pinaxa” Pischetola at Stonehenge Studio, Peschiera Borromeo, Milan
Arranged by Carmen Consoli and her band, except Anello Mancante arranged by Carmen Consoli and Dario Caglioni, Geisha arranged by Carmen Consoli, Leif Searcy and Roberto Baldi, L’ultima preghiera arranged by Carmen Consoli and Roberto Baldi
Pre-production assistant: Maurizio Nicotra
Pro Tools® and sound editor: Roberto Baldi
Ed. Mus. Universal Music Italia srl - Emi Publishing Italia srl, except Besame Mucho
Ed. Mus. Southern Music srl
Remastered by Ryan Smith at Sterling Sound, New York (September 2008)