G Stands For - Go Betweens Top 40 Countdown # 7

Nearly there. I realised that this chart will come to an end t best part of a month before my much anticipated box set arrives. Anyway, here's the Top 10.

10. The Clarke Sisters (Robert)

'They had problems with their father's law. They sleep in the back of a feminist bookstore. The Clarke sisters. The elder sister keeps a midnight vigil. The middle sister she's not spiritual.'

Another magnificent Gothic song of Robert's from the Talullah period.

9.Streets of Your Town (Grant)

'Watch the butcher shine his knife. And this town is full of battered wives.'

The nearest thing the band ever had to a hit. Classic open riff. A love song of sorts to the band's hometown of Brisbane.

8. Dive For Your Memory (Grant)

'I'd dive for you. Like a bird I'd descend. Deep down I'm lonely. And I miss my friend.'

One of the band's most utterly beautiful songs.

7. Five Words (Grant & Robert)

'It starts with a birthstone. And ends with a tombstone. That's right. Cathedrals in London. Cathedrals in Rome. All stone.'

Back to the namer of this blog. Both sing a verse in this one so I suspect it's a joint composition though mostly Grant. From the magnificent Spring Hill Fair album which is where I first fell in love with the band. Quite a lot of Grant's compositions seem to focus on death in some way which is another reason amongst many why it's so sad that he himself succumbed to an early one.

6. Bye Bye Pride (Grant)

'A white moon appears
Like a hole in the sky,
The mangroves go quiet.
In la Brisa de la Palma
A teenage Rasputin
Takes the sting from her gin,

When a woman learns to walk
She's not dependent anymore
A line front her letter May twenty-four
And out on the bay
The current is strong
A boat can go lost.

But I didn't know someone
Could be so lonesome
Didn't know a heart
Could be tied up
And held for ransom.
Until you take your shoes
And go outside, stride over stride.
Walk to that tide because
The door is open wide.

Turned the fan off
And went for a walk
By the lights down on Shield Street.
The birds in the trees
Open their wings
He goes home again.

He dreams resistance,
They talk commitment,
Things change over long distance.
Took the shirt off his back
The eyes from his head
And left him for dead.

But I didn't know someone
Could be so lonesome
Didn't know a heart
Could be tied up
And held for ransom.
Until you take your shoes
And go outside, stride over stride,
Walk to that tide because
The door is open wide.

Little lies, they'll take your pride.
Until you take your shoes
And go outside, stride over stride,
Walk to that tide because
The door is open wide.
Stride over stride
Walk to that tide.
Bye bye pride.
Because the door is open wide.
The door is always open wide.
The door is always open wide.'

This whole thing needs quoting. Another hit that never was. Back to Tallulah and on towards the Top 5.