Mike & The MECHANICS

Hits

(compilation)

(1996)

During the course of eleven years career,
M & Ms have had many success' in various parts
of the world and the tracks of this album
represent songs that have been major hits
in one part of the world or another.

1. All I Need Is A Miracle '96 ^5'42
Written by Mike Rutherford and Christopher Neil
Š1996 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.
2. Over My Shoulder ^3'37
Written by Mike Rutherford and Paul Carrack
Š1995 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.
3. Word Of Mouth ^3'57
Written by Mike Rutherford and Christopher Neil
Š1991 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.
4. The Living Years ^5'33
Written by Mike Rutherford and Brian Alexander Robertson
Š1988 Michael RUTHERFORD Ltd.
5. Another Cup Of Coffee ^4'19
Written by Mike Rutherford and Christopher Neil
Š1995 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.
6. Nobody's Perfect ^4'43
Written by Mike Rutherford and Brian Alexander Robertson
Š1988 Michael RUTHERFORD Ltd.
7. Silent Running ^6'15
Written by Mike Rutherford and Brian Alexander Robertson
Š1985 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.
8. Nobody Knows ^4'23
Written by Mike Rutherford and Christopher Neil
Š1988 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.
9. Get Up ^4'24
Written by Mike Rutherford and Paul Carrack
Š1991 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.
10. A Time And Place ^4'52
Written by Mike Rutherford and Brian Alexander Robertson
Š1991 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.
11. Taken In ^4'20
Written by Mike Rutherford and Christopher Neil
Š1985 Michael RUTHERFORD Ltd.
12. Everybody Gets A Second Chance ^3'59
Written by Mike Rutherford and Brian Alexander Robertson
Š1991 Michael RUTHERFORD Ltd.
13. A Beggar On A Beach Of Gold ^4'32
Written by Mike Rutherford and Brian Alexander Robertson
Š1995 VIRGIN RECORDS Ltd.

Total Time: 60:36

Mike Rutherford - Guitar & Bass
Clem Clempson - Guitar
Tim Renwick - Guitars
Allan Murphy - Guitar
Paul Carrack - Vocals & Keyboards
BA Robertson - Keyboards
Adrian Lee - Keyboards
Steve Pigott - Keyboards
Ian Wherry - Keyboards
Wix - Keyboards
Phil Todd Saxophone
Gary Wallis - Drums
Peter Van Hooke - Drums
Martin Ditcham - Percussion
Louis Jardin - Percussion
Paul Young - Vocals
Tessa Niles - Backing Vocals on "Over My Shoulder"
Katie Cassoon - Backing Vocals on "Over My Shoulder"
All Tracks Produced by Christopher Neil and Mike Rutherford, Except:
Track 1 Produced by Mike Rutherford
Tracks 7 & 11 Produced by Christopher Neil
Track 10 Produced by Christopher Neil, Mike Rutherford and Russ Titelman
Track 13 Produced by Nick Davis
Rob Eaton - Engineer
Paul Gommersall - Engineer
Simon Hurrell - Engineer
Nick Davis - Engineer
Mark Robinson - Assistant Engineer
Terry Irwin - Assistant Engineer
Shaun De Feo - Assistant Engineer
Jeremy Wheatley - Assistant Engineer
Geoff Callingham - Technical Assistance
Mike Bowen - Technical Assistance
Dale Newman - Technical Assistance
Geoff "Bisson" Banks - Technical Assistance
Patrick Steel - Photography
Barrie Lee Thorpe - Cover Illustration
WHEREFORE ART ? - Design
Michael Muller - Portrait photography
Thanks To:
Tony Smith
Carol Willis Impay - HIT & RUN MUSIC

1. All I Need Is A Miracle '96

I said "go if you wanna go,
Stay if you wanna stay"
I didn't care if you hung around me
I didn't care if you went away
And I know you were never right
I'll admit I was never wrong
I could never make up my mind
I made it up as I went along

And though I treated you like a child
I'm gonna miss you for the rest of my life

All I need is a miracle, all I need is you
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you

I never had any time
And I never had any call
But I went out of my way just to hurt you,
The one I shouldn't hurt at all
I thought I was being cool
Yeah, I thought I was being strong
But it's always the same old story
You never know what you've got 'til it's gone

If I ever catch up with you
I'm gonna love you for the rest of your life

All I need is a miracle, all I need is you (all I need is a miracle)
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you (all I need is a miracle)
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you

And if I ever catch up with you
I'm gonna love you for the rest of your life

All I need is a miracle, all I need is you (all I need is a miracle)
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you (all I need is a miracle)
All I need is a miracle, all I need is you (all I need is a miracle)
All I need is a, all I need is a,
All I need is you ( all I need is a miracle )

2. Over My Shoulder

Looking back over my shoulder
I can see that look in your eyes
I never dreamed it could be over
I never wanted to say good bye

Looking back over my shoulder
With an aching deep in my heart
I wish we were starting over
Oh, instead of drifting apart

Everybody told me you were leaving
Funny I should be the last to know
Baby please tell me that I'm dreaming
I just never wat to let you go

Looking back over my shoulder
I can see that look in your eyes
Tearing my heart over and over
I never wanted to say goodbye

I don't mind everybody laughing
But it's enough to make a grown man cry
Cause I can feel it slipping through my fingers
I don't even know the reason why

whistle

Every day it's a losing battle
Just to smile and hold my head up high
Could it be that we belong together ?
Baby, won't you give me one more try ?

3. Word Of Mouth

Now the world is getting older
There's a few things to be said
Do you believe the things they told you
Do you believe the things you've read

There's a rumour on the corner
But it's always been denied
Cause they don't want you any wiser
You're just toeing the party line

From the west side to the east side
From the north side to the south
You'll never get bad information
If you believe in the word of mouth

Look out for those who still want to hang on
Look out for those who live in the past
Get out and listen to the whisper
Because the times are changing fast

From the west side to the east side
From the north side to the south
You'll never get bad information
If you believe in the word of mouth

You don't believe the information
You don't believe it when it's denied
So when you're reading explanations
You have to read between the lines

From the west side to the east side
Through the windows I'm looking out
You'll never get bad information
If you believe in the word of mouth

4. The Living Years

Every generation
Blames the one before
And all of their frustrations
Come beating on your door

I know that I'm a prisoner
To all my father held so dear
I know that I'm a hostage
To all his hopes and fears
I just wish I could have told him
In the living years

Crumpled bits of paper
Filled with imperfect thought
Stilted conversations
I'm afraid that's all we've got

You say you just don't see it
He says it's perfect sense
You just can't get agreement
In this present tense
We all talk a different language
Talking in defence

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

So we open up a quarrel
Between the present and the past
We only sacrifice the future
It's the bitterness that lasts

So don't yield to the fortunes
You sometimes see as fate
It may have a new perspective
On a different day
And if you don't give up,
And don't give in
You may just be OK

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

I wasn't there that morning
When my father passed away
I didn't get to tell him
All the things I had to say.
I think I caught his spirit
Later that same year
I'm sure I heard his echo
In my baby's new born tears
I just wish I could have told him
In the living years

Say it loud, say it clear
You can listen as well as you hear
It's too late when we die
To admit we don't see eye to eye

5. Another Cup Of Coffee

And she pours herself another cup of coffee
As she contemplates the stain across the wall
and it's in between the cleaning and the washing
That's when looking back's
The hardest part of all

And she always did her best to try and please him
While he always did his best to make her cry
And she got down on her knees to stop him leaving
But he always knew one day he'd say goodbye

Where are your friends
Where are your children
Is this your house
Is this your home
Does nothing ever last forever
Does everybody sleep alone

And he tears the business tags from his old suitcase
As he packs away the pieces of his life
They all love him but they always try to change him
That's what happens when a girl becomes a wife

And she pours herself another cup of coffee
As the pictures leave a clean space on the wall
and it's in between the leaving and the loving
That's when looking back's
The hardest part of all

Where are your friends
Where are your children
Is this your house
Is this your home
Does nothing ever last forever
Does everybody sleep alone

Don't look back
Don't give up
Pour yourself another cup

6. Nobody's Perfect

It must be hard
being an angel
when the devil in your hears
wion't set you free
it must be hard
being an angel
when the world has let you down
imperfection all around

Hey look at me
it must be hard
it must be hard
it must be hard.

Nobody's perfect
all of the time
nobody's perfect
we are what we are
there's no perfect reason
and no perfect rhyme
for most of the time
that's what we're looking for.

Gentlemen gentlemen please!
can you please support the notion
of what I'm saying here
that the person here in question
muyst be an angel here on earth
if they can't see a human being
for what a human bein's really worth
gentlemen please!

Nobody's perfect
all of the time
nobody's perfect
we are what we are
there's no perfect reason
and no perfect rhyme
for most of the time
that's what we're looking for.

It must be hard
being an angel
it must be hard
when the world has let you down
it must be hard
being an angel
it must be hard.

Nobody's perfect
all of the time
nobody's perfect
we are what we are
there's no perfect reason
no perfect rhyme
most all of the time
that's what we're looking for...

The living years is already on these archives ...

7. Silent Running

Take the children and yourself
And hide out in the cellar
By now the fighting will be close at hand
Don't believe the church and state
And everything they tell you
Believe in me, I'm with the high command

Can you hear me, can you hear me running?
Can you hear me running, can you hear me calling you?
Can you hear me, can you hear me running?
Can you hear me running, can you hear me calling you?

There's a gun and ammunition
Just inside the doorway
Use it only in emergency
Better you should pray to God
The Father and the Spirit
Will guide you and protect from up here

Can you hear me, can you hear me running?
Can you hear me running, can you hear me calling you?
Can you hear me, can you hear me running?
Can you hear me running, can you hear me calling you?

Swear allegiance to the flag
Whatever flag they offer
Never hint at what you really feel
Teach the children quietly
For some day sons and daughters
Will rise up and fight while we stood still

Can you hear me, can you hear me running?
Can you hear me running, can you hear me calling you?
Can you hear me, can you hear me running?
Can you hear me running, can you hear me calling you?

Can you hear me running (can you hear me calling you?)
(Can you hear me) hear me calling you?
(Can you hear me running) hear me running babe?
(Can you hear me running) hear me running?
Calling you, calling you

8. Nobody Knows

There is nothing wrong with me
there's nothing wrong with you
maybe we're just blind to see
each other's point of view.

Nobody knows what we had.

You could do much better,
you could do much worse than me.
I could have walked right out on you
there was nothing stopping me

Nobody knows what we had.

We were running of passion
we were running out of time
there's a face to fit the future
there's a face to fit the crime.
Now the truth is on the table
and the ghost is plain to see
there's nothing wrong with you or me.

I won't live in your world,
you can't live in mine
We don't hate each other darlin'
we just gave up trying.

Nobody knows what we had.

Maybe I'm not crying
maybe I don't mind
But it hurts just knowing
your children won't be mine.

Nobody knows what we had.

9. Get Up

Do you remember how we used to say
Nothing could ever stand in our way
Well it's no use pretending things are still the same
'Cause we're no longer ahead of the game

Well I've already gone through it all and it's true
If you want to survive there's just one thing to do
Chorus:

Get up ! and do something
Get up ! and take control of your life
Get up ! and do something about it
Don't ever make the same mistake twice
Just like a flyer high above the ground
I'm on a tightrope, afraid to look down
Well I'm almost approaching the point of no return
Sometimes I wonder if I'll ever learn

Well I've already said that you ought to be proud
Listen, talking is cheap oh but action speaks loud
Chorus
All of this time you've been learning to crawl
When you're down on your knees you've got nowhere to fall
Get up !

10. A Time And Place

There's a time and a place
For you to make your mark and show your face
There's a place in time
When you must step outside the line

So understand what I mean
There is a time and place for you to have your dream
But here and now may not be
The time and place for you and me
You and me

It's the finest line
A missed opportunity or the perfect time
You must not despair
You'll recognise it when you're there

So understand what I mean
There is a time and place for you to have your dream
But here and now may not be
The time and place for you and me

The time and place for you and me
There's a time and there's a moment you will see
Don't lower your expectations
There are no limitations
There's a time and place for you and me

So understand hard as it seems
There is a time and place for you to have your dreams
Though here and now may not be
The time and place for you and me
You and me

11. Taken In

Taken in, taken in again
Wrapped around the finger of some fair-weather friend
Caught up in the promises, left out in the end
No pride, taken for a ride
You say I'm the only one when I look in your eyes
I want to believe you but you know how to lie

And if you say you understand I don't believe it
And when you reach out for my hand I don't believe it
And if you say you take the blame I don't believe it
And if say that nothing's changed I don't believe it, don't believe it

Taken in, taken in again
Someone saw me coming, a fool without a friend
There's one born every minute and you're looking at him

And if you say you want me near I don't believe it
And when you're holding back the tears I don't believe it
And when you swear that you are mine I don't believe it
And it's your heart that's on the line I don't believe it, don't believe it

Taken in, taken in again
Wrapped around the finger of some fair-weather friend
Caught up in the promises, left out in the end
No pride, taken for a ride
You say I'm the only one when I look in your eyes
I'd love to believe you but you know how to lie

You say you want me near I don't believe it
And when you're holding back the tears I don't believe it
Oh, there's one born every minute, you're looking at him

Taken in, taken in again
Someone saw me coming, a fool without a friend
I want to believe you, oh
When you say you understand
When you reach out for my hand
Oh, I wish I could believe you
Taken in, taken in again

12. Everybody Gets a Second Chance

A single failure
A little slip
A misdemeanour
A little trip
Does this condemn me
Lock me away?
Before you turn the key
I have one more thing to say
To make amends
Maybe be friends
Chorus:

Everybody gets a second chance
The Circumstance to say I'm sorry
I'd like to tell you in advance
Take my chance and tell you
I'm sorry too
A little stumble
A little fall
Inconsequential
Nothing At All
Now there was someone
I heard him say
That the best laid plans
Sometimes go astray
So don't be surprised
If I offer you no alibis
Chorus:

Everybody gets a second chance
The circumstance to say I'm sorry
I'd like to tell you in advance
I'll take my chance and tell you I
Take my chance and tell you
I love you ( 2 Choruses with slight variations )
Everybody wants a
Everybody needs a
Everybody gets a second chance

13. A Beggar On A Beach Of Gold

I didn't know when I was lucky
Discontented feeling bad
Filled with envy
For possessions other people had

I found my pride had always hurt me
Fought the world to gain control
Not realising
I was sitting on a beach of gold

Oh lord I'm a poor man
With all the riches I can hold
I'm a beggar
And I'm sitting on a beach of gold

The problems I encountered
Gave me strength helped me sustain
To know the pleasure
First I had to cure the pain

When I was searching for solutions
I found the answer lay in me
I'm a drifter
But I'm drifting on a silver sea

Oh lord I'm a poor man
With all the riches I can hold
I'm a beggar
And I'm sitting on a beach of gold

I didn't have courage
My life was as dark as night
When alone in the darkness
I saw the brightest light
Let the light shine down

Are you out there now on empty
Feel you've nothing left to give
Sick of trying
Have you lost the will to live?

Don't be drowning in the shallows
With the beach so near at hand
Hear the voice say
Stand up get up
And join me on the gilded sand

Come and join me on the beach
With all the riches I can hold
Cause I'm a beggar
And I'm sitting on a beach of gold

Oh lord I'm a poor man
With all the riches I can hold
I'm a beggar
I'm sitting on a beach of gold

My children my salvation
The father to this man
They're my teachers
Playing on the golden sand

With my family all around me
I've all the riches I can hold
I'm a beggar
Sitting on a beach of gold

Oh lord I'm a poor man
With all the riches I can hold
I'm a beggar
Sitting on a beach of gold