Wallpaper (Peter O’Doherty) - I was reading some poetry by the English poet Philip Larkin when I started writing Wallpaper. He had some extremely questionable personal views but wrote insightful, bleak and funny poetry about ordinary things which one commentator described as having ‘lowered sights and diminished expectations’. I shuffled together some of his opinions and phrases and put them against a back and forth 6/4-4/4 feel which resonated with the idea of a beautiful day for a storm and the dark/light tone of Larkin’s poetry. Reg’s electric guitars over my acoustics somehow echoed this approach.

Lyrics

Wallpaper
(Peter O’Doherty)
It was a gloomy house and no one ever visited
Not such a great place to grow  Running round in circles looking for the door
Divided frame of mind there must be something more
What a beautiful day for a storm
Like a picture only a quarter drawn
First comes boredom then comes fear
There’s no such thing as love  One more dull day nearer to the end
Just drift and drink with you my friend
What a beautiful day for a storm
Like a picture only a quarter drawn
Half trying to get out  Half trying to stay in The wallpaper is peeling
Try not to do your best  Just undress to ease your distress  Put someone else first you come off worse
That’s not something you need to rehearse
What a beautiful day for a storm  Like a picture only a quarter drawn  What a beautiful day for a storm  Like a picture only a quarter  Half trying to get out  Half trying to stay in  The wallpaper is peeling  Half trying to get out  Half trying to stay in The wallpaper is peeling The wallpaper is peeling