love lay me down

slay me with whispers

reassure me that it’s alright
i, i hit the deck
i hit rock bottom
but you saw me then you caught me
shining like a ray of hope swift like a turning sea
angel to comfort me
cradling my head in your hands
i looked up at the sun and the fog cleared i saw you

and i want you and that’s so terrifying

and i want you to help put out the fire
because i am an island
and you are the ocean
and all of my sadness taken by the sea

fall, i took a fall

i took it easy
on the surface i was perfect
but down
way down below i started believing
i deserved it
was i worthless?
sinking like a rescue boat
washing right over me
vessel is struggling
waving both my hands in the air
then the blindness of love
then your arms all around me

and i want so much to believe that i won’t disappear in the water

that i won’t always be swimming against the tide

1 taken by the sea

Written by –– Darren Hayes, Steve Young and Robert Conley

Produced by –– Darren Hayes, Justin Shave and Robert Conley
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / Control
it’s six o’clock and i’m wide awake and dreaming
i’m thinking back to a time before our separate lives
a time when i could make you mine
i made a promise i was never going to hurt you
i wrote a letter and divided all the words in two
half for me and half for you
now i’m sending out a searchlight
along latitudes and satellites

don’t give up
don’t give up
don’t give up on our love story
when you can’t go on
don’t give up
don’t give up
always dark before the morning
when you can’t go on
you’ll be a brave heart
i’ll be a lion’s roar
and love surrenders to win the war

in the silence i hear every word you’re thinking

like the shimmer of a far away and distant star
i guess love could never travel that far
no
and i can’t believe it’s come to this
all our secret codes and battleships

and i want to run away from this

but i’d never leave a sinking ship
no
without you in it there’s no point to our story
well i can’t believe it’s come to this
all our secret codes and battleships
no
without you in it there’s no point to our story
don’t ever let me go
no, no, no
dont ever let me go

2 dont give up

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Steve Robson

Produced by –– Steve Robson
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / Northern Sky
in my eyes
well your gaze always ends up there
there’s a touch of the insincere
but you can always tell i’m lying
fighting words
well nobody is keeping score
but we’re winning a cold, cold war
and i feel so cowardly

and now i love you, love you

only slightly less than i loved you, loved you
and it’s hard to confess but my nearly love is not real enough
to be the one
to be the one

in your touch
well your body can move in close
but my heart is a lonesome ghost
i’d never feel you anyway

and now i love you, love you

only slightly less than i loved you, loved you
and it’s hard to confess but my nearly love is not real enough
to be the one
to be the one
and now i love you, love you
only slightly less than i loved you, loved you
and my heart’s in a mess because my nearly love is not real
enough
to be the one
to be the one

3 nearly love

Written by –– Darren Hayes, Phil Thornalley and Mads Hauge

Produced by –– Phil Thornalley and Mads Hauge –– Co-produced by Darren Hayes
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / Universal Music Publishing Group / Dalmatian Songs
no
turn off the sun
take down the moon
for i don’t need them anymore
go
switch off the stars
and paint the sky black
love isn’t ever coming back

there’s no use in imagining a world without you

your love was like a drug i was addicted to

because there’s nobody else who can hurt like you hurt me
i don’t want to be lonely
and there’s no other way
there’s no joy there’s no meaning
just this hollowed out feeling
now all the love’s gone
and nothing grows here
and i just feel wrong
so black out the sun
and all that we shared will slowly disappear
there’s a hole where my soul used to grow
so just black out the sun

no
stop all the rain
and poison the ground
love doesn’t want to hang around
go
turn all the fruit into bitter wine
it was only sweet when you were mine

there’s an emptiness inside of me since you’ve been gone

all the world has lost its meaning all my colours run
the sun
now nothing compares
how could it even dare?
because now that love’s gone
i want to black out the sun

4 black out the sun

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Carl Falk

Produced by –– Carl Falk –– Co-produced by Darren Hayes
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / BMG Chrysalis
i know you keep your silence
i know that secret better than you
sometimes all the matters of the heart
are the chaos and the cowardice that keep us apart
i know you want to shut down
i know you think we’re better alone
sometimes all the words are unsaid
but you listen to them argue every night in your head

just breathe in and out

because all i want to do is just talk talk talk to you
please hear me out
because all i want to do is just talk talk talk to you

i know that you’ve been pushed down

i know you think we’re better as two
sometimes well the miracle of love is meaningless
and clumsy like the beating of a heart

just breathe in and out

because all i want to do is just talk talk talk to you
please hear me out
because all i want to do is just talk talk talk
calling out
got to hear an echo got to get to you
when i’m walking out
all i want to do is just talk talk talk to you

well you can hide away your feelings

and burn your bridges in the dark
but i know you want to break through
but we’re worlds apart

5 talk talk talk

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Carl Falk

Produced by –– Carl Falk –– Co-produced by Darren Hayes
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / BMG Chrysalis
love
you’re in pieces
there’s no one left to lay you down or say it’s okay
on the worst night
of the worst year
though we might fall we’ll go out punching

you hit me like a subway train

and i will never be the same
and darlin’ i’ll follow you down to the ground
even when you fall apart
i’ll pick up your bloodstained heart
and darlin’ i’ll follow you down to the ground

in the gutter
we are starless and blind to dreams
but we can dream each other
to a new day where the good guys always win
and heaven still means something

love
when you’re in pieces
there’s no one left to dry your eyes

6 bloodstained heart

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Carl Falk

Produced by –– Carl Falk –– Co-produced by Darren Hayes
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / BMG Chrysalis
you and i
we got splintered
cut in two like earth and the sky
i say a prayer in the distance that my faith in love will survive
my friends tell me i should look around for somebody new
but they don’t know you
they don’t understand the gravity i’ve fallen into
because i still feel you

because you bring me love

you lift me up
every time we kiss it’s like god walking into the room
forgive me love
i can’t give you up
every time we kiss it’s like god walking into the room

can i make a confession?

i’m lighting candles for you and i
i pray for a love resurrection and all the things we lost in the
fire
my friends tell me i should look around for somebody new
but they don’t know you
they don’t look into your eyes or tremble like i do
every time i see you

because you bring me love

you lift me up
every time we kiss it’s like god walking into the room
forgive me love
i can’t give you up
hand upon the bible your love is survival i tell you
i’ve never felt this before
my sadness falls to the floor
you look right in to me like god walking into the room
like it’s meant to be

you and i we were splintered

cut in two like earth and the sea
i say a prayer that in the distance my faith in love will bring
you back to me

7 god walking into the room

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Justin Shave

Produced by –– Darren Hayes and Justin Shave
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / Control
if you want something broke you better give it to me
i’ve got a way of disappointing that you wouldn’t believe
i can take a good intention and turn it on its head
i can make you pray to god and wish we’d never met

nobody knows where this razor has been

if you want something broken better give it to me

because i can make you hurt

i can take you down so low i’ll make you want to cry
i can make you say goodbye
i can make you hurt
i can take you down so low and then you’ll know that maybe
you’d be better off when i’m not around

you’d be better off with somebody else

so put me back on the shelf
see i’m the kind of person who can barely be loved
i solve every equation with a push and a shove
now that i love you i’m afraid it’s too late
if you get too close i’ll only push you away

i was better lost before i was found

i’ve got a history of misery so baby listen to me
put me back on the shelf and give this pain to somebody else
yeah

8 hurt

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Steve Lironi

Produced by –– Darren Hayes and Justin Shave
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / Control
what if i told you that your time was up
that as every second passes there’s a moment gone
in 23 hours the sun was going to set forever
would you hug a little tighter would you let go first
would you focus on love and then forget the hurt
live in the moment or wish your life away

how would you spend your last night on earth

would you kiss your enemies
say sorry first
would you take enough time to say your last goodbyes
all the little battles that you never won
all the music and the opera never sung
emotions that were silent all these years

you can’t smell the roses when you’re gone

you can’t smell the roses
no it’s not a rehearsal
you only get one life to make it right
you can’t smell the roses when you’re gone
so live every moment like it’s the last night on earth
because this is the last night on earth

what if i told you that i had regrets

i would trade in all my happiness for one last kiss
for a minute or two lying by your side
what if i chose the road nobody walked
if i honoured all my promises with empty talk
if i knew back then the things that i know now

i would tell you that i love you that we all get low
there are peaks and there are valleys but you’ve got to know
a second chance, it rarely comes around

if i could have my time again

i would make sure you knew just how i felt
because i went away for much too long
and the seasons changed without me

9 roses

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Walter Afanasieff

Produced by –– Walter Afanasieff
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing
i don’t want love and i don’t want anybody else, anybody else to
either
i don’t want faith and i don’t want to start another war
a kingdom for my crowd of believers
did i lose my calling?
did i lose you?
don’t lovers always get what they want?

i made a stupid mistake and my world crashed down all around me

i made a stupid mistake and i threw it all away
i threw it all away
i got lazy, on the wrong side of love
now i’m searching every face in the crowd for you
for you

i don’t want a stain and i don’t want your love upon my hands
but i don’t understand what i’m leaving
i don’t want to pray but i don’t want forgiveness from above when
none of this was of my believing
did i choose to fall down?
did i lose you?
don’t lovers always get what they want?

i’ve been walking around with my head in the dirt

i’ve been stripped of everything that ever made me come first
i’ve been lonely
i’ve been searching the crowds for you
i got lazy
on the wrong side of love
i was stupid
sold my kingdom for a war with you
with you

you don’t want love and you don’t want anybody else to either

10 stupid mistake

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Robert Conley

Produced by –– Darren Hayes, Justin Shave and Robert Conley
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing
i don’t know how i’m supposed to feel
without my tiny little pills
sudden emotions i have awoken
i’m wet behind the ears
to find myself in such a cruel, cruel world

nobody gets me
nobody gets me
nobody gets me like you
everyone left me
everyone left me
everyone left me but you

now you’re the only one

the only one
the only one who gets through
and when my hope is gone
i’m feeling numb
the only one i let through is you
you
you get me through
you
you get me through this cruel, cruel world

it’s been a battle for too long

all my happiness has gone
kindness erases
a city of strangers
deep down in my bones
all i want to do is crawl back home to you

11 cruel cruel world

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Brian West

Produced by –– Darren Hayes and Brian West
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing
tie me up against the mast and shield the sunlight from my eyes
for i no longer can resist the haunting of her cries
they call me from the jagged rock
it was the sweetest melody
like gold and honey dripping from the fingertips of god
i feel the wind against my face from the flapping of her wings
i feel the black and silky tenderness all choking me

but i can almost taste happiness

it’s such a long way off
but i can almost feel your embrace
above the siren’s call

now it’s not beautiful or pure

but it exists beyond the shore
it struggles to be heard above the screeching of her call
beneath my feet a rumbling
a hundred demons clambering
they chase away my harmony and make love afraid to call
they grow forever restless and as our ship sets out to sea, no
they will not be silenced
never for you or me

and i’ve seen a hint of it

this happiness
this bliss
just knowing it exists i know that i must try
and i’ve caught a glimpse of it
one moment just one kiss
from the corner of my eye
of better days gone by

12 the sirens call

Written by –– Darren Hayes and Carl Falk

Produced by –– Carl Falk –– Co-produced by Darren Hayes
Published by –– Sony ATV Music Publishing / BMG Chrysalis
credits
All songs mixed by Robert Orton
at Metropolis Studios, London UK
Assisted by Xavier Stephenson
All songs mastered by Bob Ludwig at
Gateway Mastering in Portland, Maine U.S.A
Tracks 4,5,6 and 12 ––
Recorded by Carl Falk at Kinglet Studio
in Stockholm, Sweden except for Track 6
recorded by Carl Falk at The Village in LA, USA
Lead and background vocals by Darren Hayes
except on Track 12 where Ana Bylund sings
additional background vocals
All instruments by Cark Falk except:
Track 4 –– Violin Mattias Bylund,
Viola Irene Bylund
Track 5 –– Violin Mattias Johansson,
Cello David Bukovinszky
Track 6 –– Violin Mattias Johansson,
Cello David Bukovinszky
Track 12 –– Violin 1 Martin Bylund,
Violin 2 Mattias Johansson, Viola Irene Bylund,
Cello David Bukovinszky
All strings arranged by Battias Bylund except
on Track 6 strings arranged by Carl Falk and
Mattius Bylund –– All Strings recorded and
edited by Mattias Bylund at Studio Elevator
Nobody, Gothenburg, Sweden
Track 2 ––
Recorded by Steve Robson at Northern Sky
Studios in London UK
Lead and background vocals by Darren Hayes
All instruments by Steve Robson
Track 3 ––
Recorded by Phil Thornalley and Mads
Hauge at Swamp Studios in London UK
Lead and background vocals by Darren Hayes
All instruments by Mads Hauge and
Phil Thornalley
Glockenspiel by Phil Thornalley
Tracks 1 and 10 ––
Recorded by Robert Conley at The Attic studio
in Darren’s house in London with additional
recording by Justin Shave at Studios 301,
Sydney Australia
Lead and background vocals by Darren Hayes
Keyboards and programming by Robert Conley
Additional keyboards and programming by Justin
Shave
Studios 301 sessions ––
Recorded and engineered by Michael Morgan
and Aaron Davidson
Guitars by Steve Young
Bass by Lee Novak
Drums by Terepai Richmond
Live strings see Studios 301 String Sessions credits
Tracks 7 and 8 ––
Recorded by Justin Shave at The Attic
studio in Darren’s house in London UK with
additional recording by Justin Shave, Michael
Morgan and Aaron Davidson at Studios
301 Sydney Australia
Lead and background vocals by Darren Hayes
Keyboards and programming by Justin Shave
Guitars by Steve Young
Bass by Lee Novak
Drums by Terepai Richmond
Live strings see Studios 301 String Sessions credits
Track 9 ––
Produced by Walter Afanasieff
Programming by Adrian Bradford
Engineered by Tyler Gordon at Wallyworld
Studios in Studio City U.S.A
Lead and background vocals by Darren Hayes
Track 11 ––
Recorded by Brian West at The Gymnasium
studios in Hollywood CA, U.S.A
Lead and background vocals by Darren Hayes
Programming, engineering and all instruments
by Brian West
Studios 301 String Sessions ––
Recorded and engineered by Michael Morgan
and Aaron Davidson at Studios 301 in
Sydney Australia
Strings arranged by Larry Muhoberac
Strings contracted by Coralie Hartl
Additional arrangements by Justin Shave
Violins i ––
Phillip Hartl (String Leader), Askar Nurlanov,
Maja Verunica, Fiona Ziegler, Emma West,
Thomas Dundas
Violins ii ––
Benjamin Li, Ursula Nelius, Rachel Westwood,
Anna Albert, Petra Chaplin, Dominique
Guerbois
Violas ––
Anne-Louise Comerford, Sandro Costantino
artwork and design
Designed and illustrated by
John Gilsenan of iwantdesign
Photographs by Ellis Parrinder
Additional photographs by Cameron McNee
and Maggz Appleton
management
Cathy Oates –– Original Matters
legal
Mark Krais for Bray and Krais –– Additional
work by David Orwell for Brett Oaten Solicitors
accounting
Mark Boomla for Prager and Fenton UK
thank you
This album would not be possible without the
contribution, guidance and generosity of so
many who helped to realise my vision. When
people ask me about this album I will always say
that it was built by a village. I am but one part in
its construction. To all those who assisted in the
journey from being lost in the middle of the
ocean to the safety of distant shores I thank you.
For Richard, my lionheart.
d a r r e n h a y e s .c o m
C & P Powdered Sugar Productions 2011
Licensed to Universal Music Australia