Lyrics: I Need New Words / Tongue-Tied | clivejames.com
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Tongue-Tied

(I Need New Words)

by Clive James and Pete Atkin

As recorded for Secret Drinker (1974)

I need new things to tell her
That won't seem so awkwardly shy
I'm pretending to be strong and silent
So hard that it's violent
And plainly a lie

I need new words to fight with
That win me far more than a smile
A sentence that glitters and dances
For my steely glances
Miss out by a mile

I hear the wits' winning ways all around me
Sweet nothings that ring the right bell
But their ease with a phrase is beyond me
Nipped in the bud, dried in the well

I need a gift to give her
That talks for me when I'm not there
And explains how the poems that start out
By eating my heart out
Are lost on the air

'I Need New Words' (While The Music Lasts, 1967)

I need new things to tell her
That won't seem so awkwardly shy
I'm pretending to be strong and silent
So hard that it's violent
And plainly a lie

I need new words to fight with
And win me far more than a smile
A sentence that glitters and dances
For my steely glances
Miss out by a mile

I hear the sounds winning hearts all around me
Sweet nothings that ring the right bell
But the sounds that astound are beyond me
Nipped in the bud, dried in the well

I need a gift to give her
That talks for me when I'm not there
And explains why the poems that start out
By eating my heart out
Are lost on the air

I need some way to tell her
That the matter with me is the art
While I kid that I'm calm and collected
I'm breaking apart