"Velvet Belly"
instrumental

"The Jeweller"
The jeweller has a shop on the corner of the boulevard
In the night, in small spectacles, he polishes old coins
He uses spit and cloth and ashes
He makes them shine with ashes
He knows the use of ashes
He worships God with ashes
The coins are often very old by the time they reach the jeweler
With his hands and ashes, he will try the best he can
He knows that he can only shine them, cannot repair the scratches
He knows that even new coins have scars, so he just smiles
He knows the use of ashes
He worships God with ashes
In the darkest of the night
Both his hands will blister badly
They will often open painfully and the blood flows from his hands
He works to take from black coin faces, the thumbprints from so many ages
He wishes he could cure the scars
When he forgets he sometimes cries
He knows the use of ashes
He worships God with ashes

"Ivy and Neet"
instrumental

"Meniscus"
instrumental

"Tears"
instrumental

"Tarantula"
I'm living but I'm feeling numb, can see it in my stare
I wear a mask so falsely numb, and I don't know who I am
Despite the worlds inside of me, thwarting me away
I've noticed in other eyes, time's closing in
But when the thunder breaks, it breaks for you and me
Tarantula, tarantula, tarantula, tarantula
The future's looking rather grim, strange black tide
Decisions lie with stupid men, alone with my life
That choking and the hype in me, expecting me to fall
But only if I'm threatened will the tables turn
But when the thunder breaks, it breaks for you and me
Tarantula, tarantula, tarantula, tarantula
My world's under a sentence of death, I was born underground
But when the pressure gets too much for me, I bite

"My Father"
My father always promised us that we would live in France
We'd go boating on the Seine and I would learn to dance
We lived in Ohio then, he worked in the mines
On his dreams like boats, we knew we would sail in time
All my sisters soon were gone to Denver and Cheyenne
Marrying their grownup dreams, the lilacs and the man
I stayed behind the youngest still, only danced alone
The colors of my father's dreams faded without a sound
And I live in Paris now, my children dance and dream
Hearing the ways of a miner's life in words they've never seen
I sail my memories of home like boats across the Seine
And watch the Paris sun as it sets in my father's eyes again
My father always promised us that we would live in France
We'd go boating on the Seine and I would learn to dance
I sail my memories of home like boats across the Seine
And watch the Paris sun as it sets in my father's eyes again

"Come Here My Love"
Come here my love
This feeling has me spellbound
Yet the storyline, in paragraphs, laid down the same
In fathoms of my inner mind
I'm mystified, oh, by this mood
This melancholy feeling that just don't do no good
Come here my love
And I will lift my spirits high for you
I'd like to fly away and spend a day or two
Just contemplating the fields and leaves and talking about nothing
Just layin' down in shades of effervescent, effervescent odors
And shades of time and tide
And flowing through
Become enraptured by the sights and sounds,
In intrigue of nature and beauty
Come along with me
And take it all in
Come here my love

"At First And Then"
instrumental

"Strength Of Strings"
"Billy, Billy, we just had a baby"
In my life the piano sings
Brings me words that are not the strength of strings
Fiery rain and Ruby's cooling sun
Now I see that my world has only begun
Notes that roll on winds with swirling wings
Brings me words that are not the strength of strings
When I'm feeling high, or I'm feeling low, or there is no change
Somehow days keep melting into the night
And there's always high on the cosmic range
I am always high, I am always low, there is always change
Hear the strings are bending in harmony
Not so far from breaking on the cosmic range

"Morning Glory"
I lit my purest candle close to my
Window, hoping it would catch the eye
Of any vagabond who passed it by
And I waited in my fleeting house
Before he came I felt him drawing near
As he neared I felt the ancient fear
That he had come to wound my door and jeer
And I waited in my fleeting house
"Tell me stories," I called to the Hobo;
"Stories of cold," I smiled at the Hobo;
"Stories of old," I knelt to the Hobo;
And he stood before my fleeting house
"No," said the Hobo, "No more tales of time;
Don't ask me now to wash away the grime;
I can't come in 'cause it's too high a climb,"
And he walked away from my fleeting house
"Then you be damned!" I screamed to the Hobo;
"Leave me alone," I wept to the Hobo;
"Turn into stone," I knelt to the Hobo;
And he walked away from my fleeting house

"Inch Blue"
instrumental

"I Want To Live"
I've gathered all my lifetime memories of you
My lusty sentiments that made life seem true
I'm rather selfish and I mean to be unkind
And you can't imagine what it does to me inside
But where am I, I want to die
I want to live, I want to die
If I were someone I would like to be a fool
No one would know me, and I think that would be cool
I'd paint a picture of my life upon your wall
And use the colors that have made life seem small
But where am I, I want to die
I want to live, I want to die
But you've got a way of understanding me
And I just call it one of your mysteries
But you know you've got to stay close to me, close to me
But where am I, I want to die
But where am I, I want to die
I want to die, I want to give
I want to die, die die die die, die die die die

"Mama K (1)"
instrumental

"Filigree & Shadow"
instrumental

"Firebrothers"
In the valley where the moons and lovers play
Live two children who were born on Saturday
One was dark, one was fair
Fathered by the hawk, mothered by the mare
Stranger children you have never seen
Brothers of the forest and the sea
One was land, one was air
And they kept the fires burning there
In a golden vessel and silver vase
Kept them burning in the strange enchanted place
Kept them burning to the sky
For they knew someday the sun would die

"Thais (1)"
instrumental

"I Must Have Been Blind"
Here I am believin' words again
Here I am tryin' to find your love again
Here I am down on my knees again
Prayin' for a love that we used to know
Both of us know how hard it is to love and let it go
Both of us know how hard it is to go on living that way
When so few understand what it means to fall in love
And so few know how hard it is to live without it
Lord I must have been blind, oh, I must have been blind
Lord, I must have been blind
Ah, to hold something real, and not believe it
To live in her life, and never trust it
To give all you know and never feel it
To hold back each day until it dies away
Both of us know how hard it is to love and let it go
And both of us know how hard it is to go on living that way
When so few understand what it means to fall in love
And so few know how hard it is to live without it
Lord, I must have been blind, I must have been blind
Lord, I must have been blind, Yes, I must have been blind

"A Heart Of Glass"
instrumental

"Alone"
Alone, with too much generosity
A theatre mask of hostility attracts
Assaults occur, infrequently
And those who come, to conquer?
Need strength
But damage accumulates
Still moving him to tears
Retained a sense of humour
Retain a sense of humor.
Retain a sense of humor.
Return the sense of humor.
Retain a sense of humor.

"Mama K (2)"
instrumental

"The Horizon Bleeds And Sucks It's Thumb"
instrumental

"Drugs"
And all I see is little dots
Some are smeared and some are spots
Feels like a murder but that's alright
Somebody said there's too much light
Pull down the shade and it's alright
It'll be over in a minute or two.
I'm charged up...Don't put me down
Don't feel like talking...Don't mess around
I feel mean...I feel O.K.
I'm charged up...Electricity
The boys are making a big mess
This makes the girls all start to laugh
I don't know what they're talking about
The boys are worried, the girls are shocked
They pick the sound and let it drop
Nobody know what they're talking about
I'm charged up...I'm kinda wooden
I'm barely moving...I study motion
I study myself...I fooled myself
I'm charged up...It's pretty intense.
I'm charged up...Don't put me down
Don't feel like talking...Don't mess around
I feel mean...I feel O.K.
I'm charged up...Electricity.

"Red Rain"
Oh Maria..

"Thais (2)"
instrumental

Notes:
Postcard and Poster
Promo released by Vertigo. The first lp has a b/w picture of Vaughan Oliver with a poster of "It'll End In Tears" behind him. The second record jacket contains artwork.  The cover, front & back, is the cover of the "Come Here My Love"/ "Drugs" single.  The artwork is the same size as the 10" single surrounded with a white border. Inside are 9 12" by 12" pages of the Filigree & Shadow inner sleeves and a equal size of cardboard for backing.  There are two sets of the sleeves. One set is the credits. The other set contain the lyrics for each song corresponding to the side. The remaining sleeve is a silver colored page with white border with This Mortal Coil: Filigree & Shadow in the bottom left-hand corner.
Entered UK Indie Chart 11/10/86. Spent 16 weeks in chart & peaked at number 2