Check out this a-ha song "Cosy Prisons"

[Will N. Dowd]

This song is from their 2005 album called Analogue. I was listening to it a couple days ago and thought wow this song sums up most guys feelings about life in North American culture! It is an extremely dark but beautiful song about living a sheltered but bland life and how it could be so much better elsewhere. Even the title sums it up so well, most of us in North America live in a cosy prison without even realizing it I think. It really made me think and draw a comparison to living here and being happier abroad. The lyrics and music just go brilliantly together. It sounds like it was written about a woman, but still works for guys. I hope others agree with me after reading the lyrics and then listening to the song. It was not a single, and has no video, but search it on you tube, their are several live performances.


"Cosy Prisons"

Take a moment if you dare
Catch yourself a breath of air
There's another life out there
And you should try it

Dead ends hide on every street
Look before you place your feet
Cracks and fissures keep the beat
And you're inside it

Every thought you never dared to think
Every mood you always knew would sink
Every line you spoke out loud in a jest
All the time you took to be your best
Soon forgotten

The sun must never touch your skin
It could expose the dark within
You're paranoid about the paranoia

And panic hits without a sign
You worry about it all the time
Every perfect moment is a hidden warning

Cuz everything makes your pretty head spin
And nagging thoughts are starting to sink in
With everything this way it's better to forget
Than end up in a place with something to regret

Your transatlantic shopping spree
Your health forever guarantees
Organic -bio-life's a breeze in cosy prisons

But hiding out in a salad bar
Isn't gonna get you far
and bottled wine is vinegar tomorrow

Everything around here makes your pretty head spin
Its piling up high and you're back where you begin
Moments you have tried so hard to forget
Are promising to 've been the best one's yet

Everytime you shut your eyes it appears
Everytime you trace your steps back here
None of your convictions have the same old ring
No doubt you found a place for everything
In cosy prisons

So if you're careful
You won't get hurt
But if your careful all the time
Then what's it worth?

Listen to it here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=za2CyexYO9Y

3 other songs from the Album that have nothing to do with happier abroad, but are even more beautiful, similar in style to cosy prisons. I can listen to them over and over again and never get tired. They are simply so beautiful, timeless, and tender. I hope you like them as much as I do.

My favourite "Birthright"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6iin4SAdiiU

2nd favourite "A Fine Blue Line"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FeQzTMweNwQ

3rd Favourite " Holyground"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riGnAOUINao