From the recording Sleepwalking Man + Waiting at Home (extended remix)
An upbeat post-punk/dance track inspired by early 80s hip-hop/new wave crossovers. American vocalist Tina Swasey adds to the Tom Tom Club or Rapture-era Debbie Harry vibe, but the spiky guitar is pure Gang Of Four. In contrast to the energetic music, the lyrics address feelings of paranoia and insomnia whilst waiting for a late night telephone call.
Lyrics
Waiting at home for the phone to ring, I read the writing on the wall
I feel my mind start wandering whenever I get a telephone call
Take the elevator down and step out into nowhere town
The neon signs they hurt my eyes and dance around like fireflies
Losing hours, losing sleep, losing things I’d like to keep
Losing fragments of my mind to autumn daylight savers time
Waiting all night for the phone to ring, I read the writing on the wall
Make me one with everything like the buddhist monk at the hotdog stall
Waiting at home for the phone to ring, I read the writing on the wall
I feel like Babylon’s last king waiting for a telephone call
Loss of hearing, loss of sight, comes from staying up all night
See yourself in magazines with visions of electric dreams
Change my mind, change my shoes, walking off those late night blues
Loneliness is somewhere here mixed with molecules of fear
Waiting at home for the phone to ring I read the writing on the wall
Feel my mind start wandering whenever I get a telephone call
[Bridge]
Waiting at home, waiting at home, waiting at home, waiting at home
Waiting at home for the phone to ring, I read the writing on the wall
I feel my mind start wandering whenever I get a telephone call
Take the elevator down and step out into nowhere town
The neon signs they hurt my eyes and dance around like fireflies
Losing hours, losing sleep, losing things I’d like to keep
Losing fragments of my mind to autumn daylight savers time
Waiting all night for the phone to ring, I read the writing on the wall
Make me one with everything like the buddhist monk at the hotdog stall