Versions

Version	Length	Source	Availability
Studio [1]	4:02	Australian Easy single.	Moderately rare. Not available new.
Studio [1]	4:02	Mutations album.	Moderately common. Available new in CD and digital form.
Studio [2] Demo	4:40	1993 12 Demon Flower Roughs T2 Cassette.	The Vault digital download at True Believers, 23 November 2014.

Recommended Version.

Commentary

“The Trade Off” is my personal favourite b-side of the “Demon Flower” era.

Lyrics

Hiding from the tempers of a mud slinging stone
Clinging to the branches of your self esteem
May as well settle in
All your life support systems are down

Well there’s no escaping from the silence of yourself
You’d love to dump your prospects onto someone else
Torn between survival and the safety of a bad attitude
When you’re feeling pretty clued in (?)

So you fly away
You’ve got to fly away
You’ve got to search for a sign on the endless horizon
There’s a rhythm running deep inside your mind
Oh yeh

When the cackle’s (?) getting cold, there’s chaos in the key
The tourist which just stole your place is smiling at you
The nest is soaking, the way is open, there’s nothing to lose
But tonight you’ve got to choose

So you fly away
You’ve got to fly away
You’ve got to dig deep into your wild imagination
There’s an empty place for wonderers to find
Oh yeh

I’ll keep you thin, keep you dressed for the occasion
If you crumble under pressure, make sure nobody’s looking
Strain your eyes to see through a cloud of self delusion
Still you believe in illusion

So you fly away
You’ve got to fly away
You’ve got to let your mind wonder, you’ve got to blow your grief away
You’ve got to do something now and it may not be today
Oh yeh