This Asphalt Eden

Appears On:

In the liner notes to the 2004 reissue of The Slow Crack, Steve wrote this about the song:

"This Asphalt Eden" was a good song that fell prey to all the worst of the Eighties excesses - huge ridiculous drum machines, quantization (that means all the horn parts were moved into the ludicrous, "stiff" timing they have here - all done while I slept on the sofa. The boffins took over; hey presto, instant ruin). It was a shame, my first solo single and it was a (literal) stiff.


Lyrics (unofficial)

[rev. Jan. 13, 2012]

I walk alone
This asphalt eden I must have outgrown
Just flesh and bone
No indication, no way to get home
Now feel their hands, and their demands
And understand the way that it could have been

I remember myself as I wanted to be
When you walk past my cage I'm gonna set myself free
If it was obvious then, well it's just history
It's too late, it's too dark to see

They speak their names
They still walk in fire and can't feel the flame
They stake their claim
But this place was taken before trespassers came
Now feel their hands, and their demands
And understand the way that it could have been

If it was obvious then, well it's just history
It's too late, it's too dark to see