Silence Is - Paul Heaton, Jacqui Abbott

When you’re staring a few inches from the wall

And you’re watching simple spider begin its crawl

It’s just a single thread he spins that' has to break his fall

And silence is the slowest dance of all

From the greenkeeper’s 'Good morning' to the birds (To the birds)

To the father at the funeral, stuck for words (Stuck for words)

There’s a part of us that’s confident, then a padded-out two thirds

Where silence is the slowest song of all

Silence is the cancer that wakes us in the morn

Turns our every sentence into weak-kneed and withdrawn

We wish to speak with everyone

But wish we’d not been born

Silence is the deadly dance

The reason spiders take that chance

Spin that web for flies and ants

Silence is the greatest dance of all

From the noise of New York traffic to Nepal

From Hindu-Buddhist peace to barroom brawl

From the CEO of supermarket to the wide boy on the stall

Silence is the waltz that grabs us all

From the friendly wave of postie over hedge (Over hedge)

To the two-fingered salute from brand new reg (Brand new reg)

It could be suicide, or window cleaner standing on that ledge

But silence is the dance that grabs us all

Silence is the cancer that wakes us in the morn

Turns our every sentence into weak-kneed and withdrawn

We wish to speak with everyone

Wish we’d not been born

Silence is the deadly dance

The reason spiders take that chance

Spin that web for flies and ants

Silence is the greatest dance of all

Silence is the mortal knife that cuts into our throat

Gets the punchline, slices up, turns us into the joke

Takes the uncorrupted, and wraps in vampire’s cloak…

Pacific Heights to Rio slums

To silence everyone succumbs

Across the world, the word is mum’s

Silence bangs the loudest drums

Silence bangs the loudest drums

Silence bangs the loudest drums

Silence bangs the loudest drums of all…

Silence bangs the loudest drums

Silence bangs the loudest drums

Silence bangs the loudest drums

Silence bangs the loudest drums

Silence is the cancer that wakes us in the morn

Turns our every sentence into weak-kneed and withdrawn

We wish to speak with everyone

Wish we’d not been born

Silence is the deadly dance

The reason spiders take that chance

Spin that web for flies and ants

Silence is the greatest dance of all

The greatest dance of all

The greatest dance of all

Greatest dance of all…