1. |
Crested Tern
02:38
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first thought of the day:
i wish that it could simply last forever so tomorrow never comes
in the morning we set sail
barring great catastrophe, an act of God
tomorrow we leave town
on a wanton sea
the smack and sting of the spray
tall ships battered by the squall
your legs on the harbour wall
you wait for the safe return
of the windswept crew of the Crested Tern
the captain was a hired hand
the vessel stood silent growing in a forest not that long ago
now there’s no way of turning back the arrow
it only points one way
wish i had never known
the smack and sting of the spray
tall ships battered by the squall
your legs on the harbour wall
as you wait for the safe return
of the windswept crew of the Crested Tern
long lives in their final yard
huge stones form the tidal guard
and you wait for the just return
of the time we lost facing down the storm
we wish the night would pass and just be over
may the morning hurry on
in the scrunched up early light
barring great catastrophe
we’ve come this far
we ought to carry on
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2. |
Starting Line
01:31
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circling high
keeping an eye
seeking out a moment to swoop down
biding our time
holding the line
hoping for a thermal to leave on
we are the birds of summertime in 1985
the asphalt weeps beneath the sun
we are only waiting on a sign
the thrill of the starting line
can you hear the gunshot rebounding?
we are the birds of summertime
the tracks laid out in white
we’re startled by a sudden sound
and as one we take to the sky
circling high
biding our time
can you see the sports ground receding?
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3. |
Golden Hill
02:01
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here’s a thousand dollar bill, honoured when my ship comes in
why now trust me any less than Tabitha, than Septimus?
I cannot afford these feelings
i arrived here with a job to do
but oh the need to seek out comfort
the cold of the dockyard stings
someone steals my purse away
swiftly on these timber lanes
and stumbling into a duel
i never meant to hurt you
I cannot afford these feelings
i arrived here with a job to do
but oh the need to seek out comfort
the cold of the dockyard cuts through and carries me along
a hand upon my shoulder
we can’t just live for now
we must look further on
and will it be enough, what we’ve done,
when viewed from a certain spot that today is merely a speck on that distant horizon but one day will be our lot?
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4. |
Alive
02:00
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the white noise ends
and then you notice it was ever even there at all
i start with little
but i tend to find nothing becomes something if you dare
i miss the crackle and the chatter and the scream
among these things
we’re in the mix
we’re in the dream
you feel that cosmos-weaving effort just to thrive
with all these things
we’re of a piece
we are alive
the hammer drops again
and where it lands is anybody’s guess
but then i’m only here because they promised me
mocktails, blue skies, carousels
i miss the crackle and the chatter and the scream
among these things
we’re in the mix
we’re in the dream
you feel that cosmos-spinning effort just to thrive
with all these things
we’re of a piece
we are alive
and it looks like rain again
but it feels like summer
the grey skies bear down again
but it’s warm just like summer
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5. |
Peggy in LA
01:57
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my memories may comfort me
but they were not made here
sunbathers at the poolside
what exactly do they fear?
windows close and we grow small
here it comes
i can’t believe we’re ready to depart
souvenirs strewn out across savanna
if i can live again in North Dakota
i’ll do that readily
the badlands call
the prairies speak of long before
my life became one thing
the Jamestown road
the Fargo snow
I hear Pembina sing
doors slam shut and hands grow cold
here it comes
i can’t believe we’re ready to depart
souvenirs strewn out across savanna
if i can live again in North Dakota
i’ll do that readily
the badlands call
if i can find again my old dakota
my friends, my family
i will return
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6. |
The Frame (2023)
03:04
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you've heard all my problems so here's a different story
line and heart then over
there never was much more than she said, he said, i said
lights down
exit stage left
but how do we believe in the way that it needs?
how do we believe?
blinded by the light of the projector on the screen
wrong-footed by flickers on a cave wall
getting off my head, getting out of my mind
just to be
just to feel free
just to be rid of the frame
I wish I could turn my songs into bright square pictures
then they'd work much better in bullshit Facebook feeds
I like rhyme and reason
and some enemies of the people
but how do we believe in the way that it needs?
how do we believe?
blinded by the light of the projector on the screen
wrong-footed by flickers on a cave wall
getting off my head, getting out of my mind
just to be
just to feel free
just to be rid of the frame
just to be outside the world
just to be alone
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7. |
Goldfinch
01:55
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from this close up
well i can see the brushstrokes and the streaks
this looks like nothing
but standing back, the double’s real
a bird appears an inch above the wall
a smudge of gold
a wing unfolds
the feather brown inscribed
we do all this to be forever the goldfinch taking flight
from way up high
a shadow falls
upon the fields, the fences and the road
it isn’t you
and yet it wouldn’t scrape the ground without you there
a smudge of gold
a wing unfolds
the feather brown inscribed
we do all this to be forever a goldfinch taking flight
cerulean meets cadmium
titanium reads white
we make these things
to keep ourselves
in the light
in the light
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8. |
Predecessors
01:55
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as if we we started off from nothing, worked this all out
we know you once were here but still can’t quite believe it’s real
you and i and everyone who lived
a broken line
a caravan of hearts
you and i and everyone who stepped into the water
a chain of hopeful out stretched arms
as if we did not need
plans drawn up, the groundwork laid
as if what we’ve achieved was unassisted by anyone
you and i and everyone who lived
an endless line
a caravan of hearts
you and i and everyone who stepped
into the water
a chain of hopeful outstretched arms
there i go
still thinking i could live in this mode for now and ever more
like i’ll never need anything that anybody else started off for me
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9. |
Diana Ditch
01:12
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I’ve got the slogans
I’ve got the stunts
I see a trend and run to the front
so i could be the vessel that you require
i’m empty but i’m hungry for endless power
i’m diana ditch
diana ditch
diana ditch
tonight
I’ve got the slurs and I’ve got the jibes
no principles but so much to hide
and i could tell the story you want to hear
if you feel like your potency’s disappeared
i’m diana ditch
diana ditch
diana ditch
tonight
for i would die in a ditch
before i’d switch
to doing anything right
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10. |
Fair Play
02:08
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mysteries
no guarantees
why don’t we just say that you’ve won?
since all control’s passed up to those who will not play fair
can we start again?
i mis-spelled my own name
i think that that was the start
of life falling apart
and not in a good way
no mere deshabille
i hate to kill the mood
i’m sorry if i spoiled your afternoon
pudding first then savoury
why don’t we just mix things right up?
since i played well but i came last
let’s not make a fuss
but can we start again?
i mis-spelled my own name
i think that that was the start
of life falling apart
and not in a good way
no mere deshabille
i hate to kill the mood
i’m sorry if it’s rude
but would you deal again?
i’m not keen on this hand
i cannot start from here
i’m sure you understand
i’d like another form
this one is clearly wrong
i need to start again
i promise it will not take very long
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11. |
Ivy
00:55
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reaching out but without knowing
spiralling
a way of holding on
like the ivy coiled around the branches and the twigs it found
without ever doing harm
that’s how i love you
hang on rewrite the rules
now we know that holding on is cool
used to think that this would fall
ivy topples brittle walls
turns out climbers insulate
snug like a wool coat
see the ivy coiled around the branches and the twigs it found
without ever letting go
well that’s how i love you
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