Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK
The comforts of mainstream culture, celebrated.

Sometimes it’s so hard not to take it to heart
When I’m left feeling stupid when I’m meant to be smart
Well, I’ve made up my mind
I’m going to leave it behind
And I’m not going to fake anymore

I don’t want to be rash, or be acting in haste
A mind’s such a terrible thing to waste
But I’ve had enough
Of this pretentious stuff
And I’m not going to fake anymore

So I’ll appreciate the mainstream without irony
The common denominator’s alright by me
I’ll get all my culture from celebrities
I’ll kick back and live vicariously
I’ll be the happy fool
I won’t care if you think I’m cool
And I’m not going to fake anymore

When trying to get it right it’s so easy to lose sight
And chase an ideal you so want to be real
Well, I’m not going to fake anymore
Self image is such a bind
It’ll sap all of your energy and monopolise your time
Giving all that you’ve got to be what you’re not
Well, I’m not going to fake anymore

So I’ll watch Premiership football and reality TV
If I feel like it I’ll play the lottery
I’ll vote on X-Factor and love BGT
Buy my clothes on the high street, drink regular tea
No guilty pleasures, no sacred cows
Quoting books I’ve not read, I’m beyond all that now
I’ll be affected by marketing like everyone else
Including those who think they’re not
But for now I’m just going to end
Trying to impress people who aren’t my friends
I’ll be the happy fool
I won’t care if you think I’m cool
And I’m not going to fake anymore

Of course, there’s always a chance I could be wrong
Well in that case, I’ll just write another song
I’ll be the happy fool
I won’t care if you think I’m cool
And I’m not going to fake anymore

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK
This one didn’t have a chorus until the very last minute.  The original concept was a series of related verses leading to a final conclusion, but once I actually recorded it the need for a more developed chorus section became apparent.
The second verse is a reference to some I encountered in the trans scene who seemed to treat crossdressing as a mission of conquest to demonstrate to their tomboyish girlfriends how to more closely resemble the perfect women they wished them to be, with predictably awful results for all concerned.  The third verse describes a scenario familiar to anyone who has lived in anywhere vaguely rural, where wealthy urbanites will arrive in pursuit of a Dornford Yates idea of country living with nought but contempt for any locals failing to fit the fantasy.

Never belonging, always passing through
What people say never matches what they do
Seems like everyone’s deluded except you
But how would you even know if that’s not true?

Dressed up to our true ideals
The golden image of the inner self
Scavenged costume and painted cake
So unwitting of our teenager mistakes
You despaired of the girls we saw
In their combats and boots
How can they so waste their femininity?
You so wanted to guide them
But I would have been them

Life as a tourist
Searching for the world supposed to be
On a spinning lump of stone somewhere far from home
I will be the perfect me, wait and see

City boy achieves his dream and buys his place in the country
But the locals won’t indulge his fantasy
He complains about the lack of respect
They show for their rustic heritage
Lord of the Mock Tudor Manor, knight of the Vorsprung Durch
And they hated him and mocked his name
And rightly so, because who’d like such a man that would patronise
But are we guilty of just the same behaviour?

Life as a tourist
Searching for the world supposed to be
Life as a tourist
Searching for the world supposed to be

On a spinning lump of stone somewhere far from home
I will be the perfect me, wait and see
On a spinning lump of stone somewhere far from home
I will be the perfect me, whatever I most want to be

Life as a tourist
Searching for the world supposed to be

Life as a tourist

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK

A vicious cycle.

Born out of passion so was he
Conceived accidentally
That his life was a mistake they made sure he knew
And they made him very grateful too
As he spawned into disgrace
He learned to always know his place
Never show his sorry face
Punish the sad unrighteous child.

He learned to keep well out of sight
Never question what was right
Not hear the noises in the night
(p.t.s.u.c.)
And as he grew to be a lad
He was beaten whenever he was bad
Repented that he’d made them mad
Punish the sad unrighteous child.

Though it hurt he understood
They did it all for his own good
Bastions of great parenthood
(p.t.s.u.c.)
And as he grew to be a teen
He learned to forget things he’d seen
Never get caught in between
Punish the sad unrighteous child.

As he grew to an adult
He never held his folks at fault
Rationalised each fresh assault
…..
‘Cause through the bruises, cuts and stings
He knew he owed them everything
All they’d sacrificed for his upbringing
(p.t.s.u.c.)
And when one day he took a wife
And they in turn brought forth new life
He brought it up as best he knew:
Punish the sad unrighteous child
Punish the sad unrighteous child
Punish the sad unrighteous child.

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK
Inspired by a gay stalker I once had.

I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more
I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more
You’re round here every afternoon
You’ll drive me crazy if you don’t stop soon
I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more

Whatever it is you’ve got for me I don’t want it
Take it to some other place to flaunt it
Your pestering’s driving me insane
Get it into your stupid brain
That I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more

(chorus)

Whatever it is you’ve got to say I won’t hear it
I don’t want to know, I don’t want to listen, clear it
Your voice grates hard on my inside
It makes me dream of homicide
I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more

(chorus)

Whatever it is you’ve got for me I won’t look at it
Put that ugly thing away before I slam a book on it
I’ve told you loads, I won’t tell you more
Please stop knocking on my door
I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more

I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more
I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more
Not tomorrow, not today
Not at all, go away
I don’t want to hear your macho mouth no more

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK
Written at a time I was trying to avoid getting caught up in t-shirt politics, this was my catch-all anti-bigotry song.  It originally had a more profane title, but now I prefer the simple bluntness of “Idiot”.  

A man on an island, but with ancestors from foreign lands
Despairs of the fate of his people
Invaded by faces and colours and words he can’t understand
He spits out testosterone
He has warrior blood in his genes
Too bad it never made it to his brain
‘Cause there ain’t no courage to be seen
Could it be he’s a racist?
Could it be he’s just frightened?
What he is is an idiot
Everything else is just a symptom.

And all he sees around is Queer Folk
He wonders what’s the world coming to
By force of personality he’s decided more lesbians
Than any other agent could do
He knows all he needs to know
The papers spell it all out so clear
Perverts and homos and lifters and freaks
Had better never show their faces round here
Could it be he’s a homophobe?
Could it be he’s just frightened?
What he is is an idiot
Everything else is just a symptom.

Standing in the safety of his self-importance
Dividing the world into Them And Me
God forbid things might be more complicated
His Dad always taught him
He knows what’s right and what’s wrong
The right’s in the mirror, the wrong’s over there
And bullying makes a man strong
Could it be he’s a bigot?
Could it be he’s just frightened?
What he is is an idiot
Everything else is just a symptom.

Could it be he’s frustrated?
Could it be he’s just frightened?
What he is is an idiot
Everything else is just a symptom.

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK
I originally wrote the main hook line for this, “Everybody wants to be somebody (else)”, for a poem called “The Clique” back around 1997.  I found it again in my old notebook around 2011 and developed it into the funk jam that became this song.  

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK
Dedicated to a number of generous and selfless individuals I have known over the years who would think nothing of bending over backwards to help and be there for others, wonderful positive people who deserve permission to kick back and indulge themselves without feeling the need to apologise.

On the town every night
The life and soul of every social gathering
No time for yourself
Pleased to help, aim to please
Such noble thoughts as these to you come naturally
No time for yourself
Spread yourself so thinly, always giving more
A constant stream of people coming to your door
Make time for everybody
But never think to make time for yourself

Life’s a blast, it never ends
So many great friends and boundless energy
No time for yourself
Work all day, play all night
It’s alright, you wouldn’t want it any other way
But, now and then, find yourself.
Sample everything, retain what feels right
Taste the thrill of victory without a fight
Make time for everybody
But remember everyone includes yourself.

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK

I write the songs that no-one ever hears
Mine is a face that no-one would revere
My voice is loud but barely makes a sound
My light is brightest when nobody’s around

I don’t seek celebrity
Plasticised identity
Constrained creativity
Rather be a falling tree

My colours change with shadows and sunbeams
My mind’s a chaos of nightmares, thoughts and dreams
My mood is shifting and volatile at times
My skin is patterned with unique fractal lines

I don’t seek celebrity
Plasticised identity
Constrained creativity
Rather be a falling tree

I don’t seek celebrity
Plasticised identity
Constrained creativity
Proud to be a falling tree

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK
It bothers me that so much in life that claims to be about personal freedom and expression actually amounts to pressure to pick a side.

It’s been said so many times it has to be true
You can never have your cake and eat it up too
Well that may be so but I’ve still got to try
I want to have my cake, eat it, taste it, share it, love it
I don’t want to choose
I don’t want to choose
I don’t want to choose

You’ve got to hold fast, pin your colours to the mast
Don’t change your game, stay the same as when they saw you last
Am I a boy or a girl?
How do I fit in this world?
Am I rich or poor, black or white, do I give up?
I don’t want to choose
I don’t want to choose
I don’t want to choose

Do you think that I’m sick ’cause I don’t deny the feelings I have inside?
Do you think I’m a freak ’cause I don’t want to find a safe place to run and hide?
Do you think I’m a coward ’cause I don’t want to fight for your ignorance?
When did freedom become such a dirty word?

The world isn’t black, the world isn’t white
They try to tell me that it is but I know it isn’t right
It’s a world of many colours, so much wonderful stuff
One life per person really isn’t enough
I don’t want to choose
I don’t want to choose
I don’t want to choose

Do you think that I’m sick ’cause I don’t deny the feelings I have inside?
Do you think I’m a freak ’cause I don’t want to find a safe place to run and hide?
Do you think I’m a coward ’cause I don’t want to fight for your ignorance?
When did freedom become such a dirty word?

Songs From The Age Of Human Error by Kerry JK
 

If having all the answers means no longer asking questions
Then wisdom’s not all it’s crack up to be
Smelting down the infinite for a sword and shield of truth
In a citadel of desperate certainty
Never let fear of being wrong confine you in any way
What’s a little confusion amongst friends?
I hope the age of human error never ends

Self-consciously defending a guilt-edged silver throne
No empire ever rose that never fell
But the path of human progress is no game of zero sum
And superiority suits no-one well
Never let position of privilege confine you in any way
Pride loses more than it defends
I hope the age of human error never ends

Fantasise of what we might be
Realise it’s not wrong to dream
It never is to late to make amends
I hope the age of human error never ends

If you dream about tomorrow you must pay for it today
And those dreams about tomorrow may still up and fly away
While the cost of never living is to simply never try until you die
Better to have failed and tried again
I hope the age of human error never ends

Never let fear of anything confine you in any way
It never is to late to make amends
I hope the age of human error never ends