QUEST Typed by Derek Martin (dmartin(at)isn.net). This file contains 8bit characters. 1. HOUSE ON HOUSE 2.58 2. THE CONCRETE BROTHERS 4.40 3. RHYTHM OF THE RAIN 4.36 4. NICKEL & WOOD 3.54 5. THE MAGIC OF LASSIE II 2.44 6. MARIA & THE ICEMAN 3.39 7. YELLOW PRESS 2.10 8. Y™P™LL™ 3.37 9. DAS BILD AM SONNTAG 3.00 10. TYPIST OF CANDY 3.54 11. FISHES 4.04 12. TEAR FALLS 3.14 13. THE SINGING TELEGRAM 4.00 14. TABLE TOWN 3.51 15. DE RODE VAAS 3.41 16. SOMETIME IN WINTER 2.50 17. KING OF BELGIUM 5.48 18. COLD GREY MORNING 3.37 19. STAY 2.39 20. POTATOE EATERS 2.04 TOTAL TIME 71.00 HOUSE ON HOUSE WERF, JULY 1987 She's building a house on my house With windows and doors and stones She's building a home I can't sleep because hammers They keep hammering nails Right through her floor Through my ceiling No, no more Here I fly Little boy fall down THE CONCRETE BROTHERS WERF, AUGUST 1987 Uncle Rinus, uncle William, Uncle Sas And my father Are working much harder These last years And the money disappears And the bookkeeper disappears In the smoke of his cigar A hopeless balance They buy a blue truck And hire a carpenter At the age of 50 my father Is taking driving lessons Because his back is almost broken By lifting too many stones He is doing the talking And the business Wearing a raincoat and a hat The Concrete Brothers go bankrupt He is standing on A new concrete floor He is talking to the workers In a strange voice And I am upstairs on a scaffold Doing my holiday work And I watch him RHYTHM OF THE RAIN WERF, JULY 1987 Talk about the weather The weather is fine And they say tomorrow It will be better Talk about a cloud The cloud is black And they say tomorrow It will be back It's the rhythm of the rain The weather forecast Is much more precise Much more precise Than it used to be It's the rhythm of the rain The weather, the town The rhythm and the rain NICKEL & WOOD WERF, DECEMBER 1983 They spread a rumour around That you will be home late tonight You bought a one way ticket To the heart of the city I've been painting the town In the company of strangers I'm on a one way street To the heart of the night It doesn't matter what they say I compare you with my old shoe That doesn't fit anymore Though it's not the size It doesn't fit anymore Now it's just the price I have to pay It doesn't matter what they say I've been waiting here all day And then I finally Put my arms around you It's hurting me and I'm so ashamed You're still the same Nickel and wood They spread a rumour around That you will be home late tonight You bought a one way ticket To that heart of mine It doesn't matter what they say They compare us with old shoes That didn't fit anymore Though it's not the truth I admit it once more After all these years We're still the same THE MAGIC OF LASSIE II WERF, AUGUST 1987 The highway ended and he got out His one good ear to the ground But where is the magic of Lassie Voice out of heaven said: 'Quarter past seven' The sand is running quickly Through an hourglass And time passes I've got a feeling That I've been away too long Think what it means to be an animal Crossing a highway All the channels are weak tonight Your hand is cupping The light of a match The printed roses on your dress And where is the magic of Lassie I've got a feeling That I've been away too long MARIA AND THE ICEMAN WERF, SEPTEMBER 1991 Thunder in the mountains Where the rainbows end I'm waiting for Maria at the riverbend Waiting for Maria and the Iceman dance Standing in the mountains At at riverbend Looking for Maria Where the rainbows end Looking for Maria and the Iceman dance YELLOW PRESS ARNOLD MšHREN STUDIO, SEPTEMBER 1981 The words in every written line Those words can never be mine You have no right to write them down Sometimes a woman on her own She takes the bottle when she's home I'll take my car for I won't drink Don't, don't talk anymore Please don't talk anymore In this apartment walls have ears Y™P™LL™ WERF, NOVEMBER 1990 Me kuljemme tiet„ joka kiermurtelee Yl”sp„in kuin savu p„„mme p„„ll„ Kunnes vihdoin nojaamme Talon sein„„n T„„ll„ h„n kerran kirjoitti laulun Suzannelle Min„ ja yst„v„ni Hollanista Purjehdimme y”ll„ Ateenasta Laivan penkill„ me Kaksi pyhiinvaeltajaa Ja saavuimme saarelle Miss„ aasit eiv„t koskaan Kohtaa kuolemaa Kun y”p”ll” laulaa Se syd„men murtaa Kun y”p”ll” laulaa Se syd„men murtaa Aah syd„men murtaa Huoneessa istuu lintu Vapaana kuin laulussa Ja kun menemme ulos se L„htee ja lent„„ L„pi puiden oksien Granaattiomenoita mukanaan Ja se putoaa alas kuin kuu mereen Niin kaikki katoaa DAS BILD AM SONTAG (AS USUAL) WERF, OCTOBER 1983 Houses Tattoed by warfare Holes in houses That once were homes Silence Trees stand in silence As usual They speak of different times Time's passing by They know Time's passing by Streets are deserted As usual Everyone stays inside Das Bild Am Sontag is lying As usual papers lie on the street Time's passing by I know Time's passing by Holes in houses That once were homes TYPIST OF CANDY WERF, FEBRUARY 1986 One key of her typewriter is 4 And the sign of the percent She says that it looks like The face of a former boyfriend She once typed a whole page Of those little noughts and fours And one big X at the bottom Meant 'over' of course With a backbone of candy She's sitting behind her machine Her eyes are as bright As the stars in the sky And they're green Tap tap tap tap With one finger On the same key I know it's the key of the dollar She's looking at me Don't think that it's easy Don't think that it pleases me In big hands of people Who want it all My typist of candy You're feeling so sad and so blue And where is that pretty girl I once knew She taps the whole paper black And she gives it to me My typist of candy There's only one questionmark key FISHES WERF, MARCH 1994 Too many fishes in the sea Too many eyes looking at me Why am I turning Why are they already gone Too many rivers in this town Too many eyes looking down Why am I turning Why are they already gone Too many heartaches in this world Too many rivers turn into mud Why can people be so cruel What might have happened Between us did not Too many fishes in the sea Too many rivers looking at me Why am I turning Why am I already gone Too many heartaches in my town Too many eyes are looking down Why can people be so cruel What might have happened Between us, did not TEAR FALLS WERF, JANUARY 1992 She's walking through a field With a light in her hand I'm watching her face Another land The tear falls, tear falls down The car is driving from the land To the sea I'm looking at her face She's looking at me The tear falls, tear falls down The car is moving through the streets Of the town In the heat of the morning I'm looking around In Tear Falls Town The tear falls, tear falls down Sentimental fool, can't you hear me I am watching you, can't you see me In Tear Falls Town The car is driving through the Field in my hand I'm watching a face in another land The tear falls down THE SINGING TELEGRAM WERF, FEBRUARY 1986 Oh when, when will I see you On a river, on a highway In a boa or in a car In a town where no one is sleeping Doesn't matter where you are Oh when, when will I see you On a highway in a car On a river in a boat In a town where everyone is sleeping Doesn't matter where you go Oh when, oh when will I see you TABLE TOWN WERF, FEBRUARY 1992 In the Rainbow Room The lights are going down I sit beside her in a corner Table Town Where the bottle's falling down Behind her I'm here in time Fortunetelling man You always look into my eyes You say the same thing In a corner Table Town The ice is melting It starts raining I'm here in time Tuesday in a Table Town Why I'm here beside you Why I feel like I've known you For a long time I will never know, I will never see My fortune's told I'm here in time I'm here in time In Table Town DE RODE VAAS WERF, NOVEMBER 1990 Hier in Athene Het uitzicht nog altijd hetzelfde De kamer is anders dan toen Vijftig jaar later Ik denk aan het licht Licht door een vaas en het rood Ik zeg zeg Hier in de hal van het gele hotel Aan het plein Sprak ik een donkere vrouw Stijf in een stoel Maar haar mond sprak van Eiland, geliefde, jeugd Ik zit hier, maar m'n hart Ik zeg zeg Pieter, Pieter kijk eens door het glas Ik zie een eiland in een rode zee Pieter, Pieter kijk eens door het glas Zoals een vogel Valt een gele maan in de zee Hier in een boot naar het eiland Zo vlakbij Athene Hier in de zee ligt een vrouw Voet in het water en Zij heeft nog altijd mijn tenen Dwars door haar middel, de zon I zeg zeg Kijk eens door het glas SOMETIME IN WINTER WERF, MARCH 1994 Sometime in winter I gave my heart to you Sometime in summer I gave it back to you Sometimes October I fly It's the turn of the season, goodbye Sometimes October I fly And I die, I die, I die KING OF BELGIUM WERF, JULY 1990 And now the King of Belgium is dying He's lying on the street And how the Queen of Holland Is crying The teardrops on her feet Because the King of Belgium Is fighting The knife in his hand And how the Queen of Holland Is trying To save a piece of land And her face is a spectacle-rose That blooms When it's love at first sight And now the King of Belgium Is swimming He's drowning in the pool And how the Queen of Holand Is waving She will reign as well as rule And she stands at a corner And says 'You're the King The King of my heart' In the land of milk and honey It's always sunny In the land of milk and honey There's a lot of money And now the King of Belgium Is dying He's lying on the street And how the Queen of Holland Is crying The teardrops on her feet And she stands at a corner And says 'We will never, never part' And she takes his hand And breaks his heart COLD GREY MORNING WERF, AUGUST 1987 Once on a cold grey morning A working man was killed He was building a bridge Across the canal He was standing on iron Wet because of the rain He was slipping and Slowly falling down And his eyes could see the town All the houses were upside down And the sounds of The horns of the cars And the bikes went by Slowly falling Through the chimney of a boat And no one ever saw him again Daidaidadaidaidodauh On a cold black night The rain is falling down A woman on a bike Is crossing the bridge All at once a stranger Is sitting behind her back His arms around her waist His hands still on fire Are cupping her breasts Dance with me, Lady I'm falling Into the water... STAY WERF, JANUARY 1986 The words of this song are improvised during the recording and will make no sense on paper THE POTATOE EATERS WERF, FEBRUARY 1986 Who puts the food and the light On the table tonight Who puts the sole and the shoe On the table tonight Who puts the food and the light On the table tonight Who puts the sole and the shoe In the bowls tonight ABOUT QUEST Some songs on QUEST were especially written and recorded for B-Sides of NITS singles, and are not to be found on any album. Other songs fell asleep during rehearsals and recordings in the WERF studio and woke up years later in a different shape. Some are still dreaming in this 'House of the Sleeping Beauties' MUSICIANS ON QUEST HENK HOFSTEDE vocals . guitar . keyboard on all tracks ROB KLOET drums . percussion on all tracks except 9 ROBERT JAN STIPS piano . synthesizers on all tracks except 7.9 MARTIN BAKKER standing bass . bass guitar on 11.16 PETER MEURIS violin . percussion on 11.16 JOKE GERAETS standing bass . bass guitar on 1.2.3.5.10.13.18 MICHIEL PETERS vocals . guitar . bass guitar on 4.9 PETRA LUGTENBURG vocals on 10.13 LIEVE GEUENS and SASKIA VAN ESSEN vocals on 2 PIETER BON vocals on 15 FRITZ HAUSER percussion . stones on 6 ARTHUR SCHNEITER stones on 6 SEPPO PIETIKŽINEN voice on 8 translation lyrics of 8 TOM TELMAN 'Who puts the food and the light On the table tonight' ENGINEER PAUL TELMAN All songs composed by HOFSTEDE, KLOET, STIPS/HOFSTEDE except 4.7 by HOFSTEDE/HOFSTEDE and 9 by PETERS/PETERS All songs produced by NITS All songs published by NITSONGS