Get all 12 Jack Flash releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Low Hanging Fruit, The Demise Of Pennywise, Verseday, Verseday (Instrumentals), Single Bed, Everything Is Changing, Room With A View, Still, and 4 more.
1. |
Control
04:55
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I’ve never been one to just bow to authority
I’ve always been one to question why I should
A uniform doesn’t mean that you practise honesty
And doesn’t guarantee your intentions are good
Who thinks like this? If everyone does
I wonder are we scared to mention this stuff
Or is it just a small percentage of us?
Who see the world without pedestals, where no-one is a level above
And if you look, you see the world covered in a very thin dust
And if we blow it off we start to see that everything’s fucked
So we let the dust settle like we’ve never been touched
Just to hide the fact we’re damaged goods
And that goes for the doctor, the cop or the model, the beautician
The writer, the actor, even the musician
See, everyone’s flawed, sealing the cracks
We put up walls from the floor to the ceiling and back
There’s no concealing the facts, if you see it you laugh
It’s like life is a theatre and everything you’ve seen is an act
So go and load that webpage up
See your favourite celebrity there with no make up
Shock horror that’s a normal girl’s face
I thought I told you that the world is a stage
I’m sorry mate, I’m just thinking aloud
In a world where the don’t want thinking allowed
I try and tell em
If we can’t trust the media
MP’s lie and the banks get greedier, well
Well then we have never needed each other more
We have never needed each other more
And if our teachers are teaching us
To keep quiet and just be obedient
Well then we have never needed each other more than now
And I sing
All your life they’ve been telling you to do as you’re told
Because the last thing the want is you to think on your own
In this game of control
You soon learn that everything is a scam
Deception has been around ever since there was man
Now, I’m not saying everyone has a sinister plan
But if you think everyone’s innocent, your head is in the sand
And it’s all part of being human
I know it’s hard, the good half and evil half of me are feuding
I’m stuck in the middle, feeling puzzled by a riddle
That should all be so simple but I can’t see a solution
Devil on one side, claiming he’s my brother
Telling me not to listen to the angel on the other
I only share that coz I’m sure you’ll relate
See, everybody’s going through all these emotional states
Coz we’re designed to but they’ll call you bi-polar and say
That your mind’s screwed and you should take 5 pills every day
But wait, mate, I’m only having mood swings
Surely that’s a condition of being human
A side effect of being alive
So why would you even prescribe anything I don’t need to survive?
See, someone’s benefitting if we’ve all gone nuts
Someone’s pocket’s bulging if we’re all on drugs
Now they’ve got us all addicted to the cure
But was something even wrong? I int sure
I’m sorry mate, I’m just thinking aloud
In a world where the don’t want thinking allowed
I try and tell em
If we can’t trust the media
MP’s lie and the banks get greedier, well
Well then we have never needed each other more
We have never needed each other more
And if our teachers are teaching us
To keep quiet and just be obedient
Well then we have never needed each other more than now
And I sing
All your life they’ve been telling you to do as you’re told
Because the last thing the want is you to think on your own
In this game of control
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2. |
Intimate Strangers
04:46
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We wake up and then I leave
You never make a cup of tea
And though we touch we never speak
We’re Intimate Strangers
We make love and then forget
The daylight brings us regret
Though we’ll do it all again
Like Intimate Strangers
Now I don’t fall in love coz someone is attractive
I don’t overreact all enthusiastic
Yeah she’s beautiful and that’s fantastic
But she’s been told by every person in here that has a dick
Imagine how boring a guy I would seem
If I walked up, thinking I was the guy of her dreams
Can I buy you a drink? I like your earrings, that type of corny shit
Instead I order drinks next to her but ignore the chick
And then I tap her on the shoulder and say
Excuse me, could you get out of my way
Now she’s thinking who’s this rude prick and how he’s got nerve
But she remembers me, don’t ask me how that all works
I just know an hour later, she’s hanging around where I’m at
Asking if it’s cool to take a picture wearing my hat
Now she’s saying I’m her brand new friend
And we both know exactly where this is going to end
We wake up and then I leave
You never make a cup of tea
And though we touch we never speak
We’re Intimate Strangers
We make love and then forget
The daylight brings us regret
Though we’ll do it all again
Like Intimate Strangers
And my love has never been for sale
But I’m, I’m setting up a stall I don’t care if I fall or if I fail
This intimate stranger might mean
Imminent danger
But it’s always worth the risk for her
It’s always worth the risk
Then in the heat of the moment she screams Flash
Then she asks
What’s my name? And I say pass
And she says fail, but then we laugh
Coz details like what her name is remain a mystery
But I’ll remember that she was shaven like Mr T
The game’s anonymity and we play it religiously
We don’t say if we’re single, we are the same it’s like symmetry
So don’t make the mistake of thinking that I’m the player
This is two sided
Two strangers temporarily united
For a night of passion that we’ll both remember
Or at least the next time I see her, we’ll both pretend to
Don’t enter, hanging from her door handle
Karma Sutra, 124 angles
Every liquor bottle at the bar all sampled
People trying to ring my phone but it’s call cancelled
‘til
We wake up and then I leave
You never make a cup of tea
And though we touch we never speak
We’re Intimate Strangers
We make love and then forget
The daylight brings us regret
Though we’ll do it all again
Like Intimate Strangers
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3. |
Mayflies
04:56
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We might as well be mayflies
Coz their entire life only last for a day
We might as well be mayflies
Coz in the scheme of earth I guess we’re just the same
And since the time that we’re here gradually disappears
We should celebrate the minutes we have
4 and a half billion years that the planet’s been here
And we’ve only got a visitors pass
We might as well be mayflies
So I lay on the cold surface
While the nurse pulled the curtain closed, nervous, so nervous
Though, I still managed to make small talk
Er, ye, so how long you worked on this ward for?
But I should get an award for these acting skills
Coz my heart’s vibrating like a pneumatic drill
And in my brain I’m saying “it’s OK relax man chill
Visualise some wide open field and daffodils”
But what if I’m actually ill? I’m panicking
Could I have a pill, like Anadin, or Valium, or morphine
Or something stronger for me
She said I only have advice, just pause, breathe
And could you unbutton your jeans
Pull em down around your ankles and then straighten your knees
The machine for the ultrasound’s warmed up
Now could you show me where you found your lump?
We might as well be mayflies
Coz their entire life only last for a day
We might as well be mayflies
Coz in the scheme of earth I guess we’re just the same
And since the time that we’re here gradually disappears
We should celebrate the minutes we have
4 and a half billion years that the planet’s been here
And we’ve only got a visitors pass
We might as well be mayflies
So I’m clocking her facial expressions
Trying to work out if I’m in danger
Thinking if I get the all clear, shall I take her out?
She’s just felt my balls she’s not exactly as stranger
My male ego thinking stupid stuff, it might be ludicrous
But it’s better than thinking that this lump might be tumourous
Coz if it is, I’d lose the testicle probably but the question that haunts me
Has cancer spread through my body?
I don’t want to know
I saw my friend die in that way
And it was horrible
Now I find myself at this hospital
Wrestling with my thoughts, trying not to envisage
Myself in his shoes, working hard to block out the image
And is it selfish to think like this?
I’m all over the place
A cold sweat rolls slow down my face
While she says
Ok Mr Bradley, we’re finished here
There’s no problem, you’re in the clear
We might as well be mayflies
Coz their entire life only last for a day
We might as well be mayflies
Coz in the scheme of earth I guess we’re just the same
And since the time that we’re here gradually disappears
We should celebrate the minutes we have
4 and a half billion years that the planet’s been here
And we’ve only got a visitors pass
We might as well be mayflies
And I came out of that hospital
And the relief was astronomical
Coz I had spent the night before
Frightened for my life I thought
That this might be my final call
And I walked
Just to clear my head for a while
Must have been like 14 miles
Look at this enormous smile
Then I thought
Some people aren’t as lucky though
See I bet there was someone in the same hospital
With the same condition today that isn’t coming home
How fragile this life is
And for me to think like this
It took that style of crisis
And if you ask why I write this
It’s coz I need those reminders
To let me know that even when things seem so
Fucked up they’re still minor
See there’s birth and there’s death and there’s time in between
But in the scheme of the planet earth
We’re a speck just the tiniest thing
And it all just might be a dream
In the mind of a giant while he sleeps
Or we might be designed by machines
But since no-one knows what life means
I guess
We might as well be mayflies
And since the time that we’re here gradually disappears
We should celebrate the minutes we have
4 and a half billion years that the planet’s been here
And we’ve only got a visitors pass
We might as well be mayflies
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4. |
There No More
06:59
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He had it all, the perfect wife, job and kids
Living the dream but the dream wasn’t his
And amidst the routine he was living by
In his eyes, you could see he’d let his ambition die
If he tried he knew he could revive it
But that would mean him making sacrifices
So the life he’d built his future around
Was slowly beginning to crumble to the ground
He worked in an office block now
In a well paid job for a college drop out
Got paid, came home to his beautiful wife
He’d had girls but only ever loved 2 in his life
See, there was another woman he longed for
An old flame he craved to light once more
And deep down he resented his partner
Coz she’d never understand the affection he harboured
Now and again he’d act worried and anxious
And his mask of happily married man slipped
And he would tell her work got him stressed out
But each lie he told provoked her next doubt
Like tell me where you go every Thursday
Shit, come on now, you know I have to work late
Despite whatever excuse he said
He would continue visiting another woman’s bed
Now as a wife, she’d made certain vows
Like if they had a problem, they’d work it out
But, she’d been palmed off too often
So now she had to know if they did have a problem
And so she followed his car to find out
To see what he really did on his Thursday nights out
He left work on time then he got into
A car and drove a hundred yards to a hospital
Immediately she thought the worst
Like whoever he is cheating on me with must be a nurse
And he’s getting her from work, but then she just froze
When he stepped out with flowers and baby clothes
Unable to accept what she saw
She put the car in reverse and the pedal to the floor
And drove to the first place anywhere
And for every tear shed in her life she cried 20 there
If the father of her own 3 seeds
Had an illegitimate fourth, she knew she’d leave
And so she went home grabbed the kids and packed
And left a letter saying she’s never coming back
When he returned to an empty house
He found the letter and read it out
It said “how could you lie to me, you two faced fraud
You broke my heart so I can’t be there no more”
I’ll be there no more
Said I’ll be there no more
He called her everyday for 2 weeks
He couldn’t eat or drink and he would lose sleep
Then on the fifteenth day she came home
Saying no apology will make this heartache go
So don’t bother with an explanation
Do yourself a favour, save the breath you’re wasting
He just stood and said let me talk
Coz you need to hear this before you walk
When I was 17 I met my first love
And we was together for 5 years and a month
And every single day of that time was so passionate
I decided to ask to be the one she’d get married with
And the very night I planned on asking it
She was hurt in a car in an accident
Some drunk run red through a traffic light
And that left her brain dead and paralysed
And now she’s on life support
So yeah I still love her just not like before
But it’s so hard to leave when the nurse says
The only time she smiles is on a Thursday
And the worst part of the story is this
She was 8 months pregnant with my kid
So on the anniversary I play the new dad
To recognise the child that we almost had
And she said
I’m sorry, I didn’t understand
But you, you are my man
And I don’t want you to be shared
Promise me you will be there
Said I’m sorry, I didn’t understand
But you are my man
And I don’t want to share
Tell her, you won’t be there
And she told him the things you hold on to are what’s gonna define you
And you won’t truly be happy as long as you live if you don’t learn to put them behind you
But on the day you said I do, you made a choice
To be with me, now we’ve had 3 boys
And built a life here that you can’t jeopardise
I’ll get over the fact you told me a set of lies
If you can promise me absolute honesty
Never go back to see her and move on with me
He took a look at here and replied
I can’t go on with out you in my life
So I’m willing to try for my family’s sake
But my final goodbye is gonna have to be made
So he went to the hospital sat and kissed her
Let go of her hand leaned over and whispered
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
After 24 hours of arguing
Explaining, apologising and bargaining
They began to hug then hold hands
But the make up was delayed when the phone rang
Good evening sir
I spoke to you on the ward, I’m the senior nurse
Now, I apologise in advance OK
But I have to say tonight she passed away
He dropped the receiver in disbelief
Flashed back to when he kissed her cheek
And told her no longer could he come up and visit
He knew then that’s when she had given up on living
He turned to his wife and switched
And screamed the blood is on your hands you bitch
Your ultimatum has cost a life
You are not my lover, you are not my wife
His voice stained with hatred
She stood adjacent
He explained that she was only a replacement
Her eyes drowning as tears poured
He walked away saying I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
I’ll be there no more
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Jack Flash London, UK
Jack Flash, known offstage as Rob Bradley, is a versatile artist based in West Yorkshire. With a sound grounded in hip-hop, he’s evolved his craft by seamlessly blending rap with raw, stripped-back acoustic elements. He’s celebrated for his insightful storytelling, astute social observations, and the distinct razor-sharp wit characteristic of his Northern British roots. ... more
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