1. |
Crooked Tree
05:36
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Crooked Tree
Give me a crooked tree any day
Pulling life from dirt and broken bone
Songlines scribbled under bark
Drawn in sand and scarred on stone
Give me the bone nasal tones of barely moving lips
Vowels so flat there’s hardly room to breathe
A thread of desert song
Winding high and falling, floating on the breeze
Give me the secrets of the land
Dirt and sweat and wood smoke
A splash of colour in the dark
Opal fire locked in ancient stone
Give me a crooked tree any day
Taut and twisted, strong and lean
There’s beauty in every line
Like man of the land, a crooked tree
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2. |
How I Left You
05:18
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How I Left You
And so we bump and roll along
A different track, another song
A wayward turn against the tide
The bones of our love set aside
You ache for what we used to be
Say time has spent our destiny
So sure you’ve been misunderstood
But darling, I’ve never been this good!
A pebble for the memory
A seashell full of mystery
A feather for the night bird’s cries
A pocketful of fireflies, I’m coming home
A thousand days like this with me
The ragged breath of a haunted sea
The dizzy stars of a summer’s eve
I’ll pack them up and you’ll believe, I’m coming home
I’m standing on the shore, knowing there is more
We’re changing every day, I feel so far away
And so we bump and roll along
Some things go right, some go wrong
We keep the mystery inside
We live our love against the tide
I’m coming home, I know you know
In my restless heart, I left you long ago
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3. |
Against the Tide
04:38
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Against The Tide
How she danced!
Climbed to the top, sang to the night
How she sang!
To the bright shining stars, and down to the dark swelling tide
“I wanna live!
I’m alive, and riding the pain
And it smiles
Hard as diamonds, and I just wanna shine again”
If we knew!
That life was so brief, we’d have made time to weep
Tears, how they’d fall!
Slide down your face to a pool on the floor
You could swim through the weeping, right out the door
Float in the moonlight, and dream of a new life
How we’ll live!
In a house by the sea, you’ll sing and I’ll play violin
And we’ll swim through the weeping, guided within
Float in the moonlight, against the tide, out of this life
Swim through the weeping
Against the tide, out of this life.
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4. |
Second Line
04:19
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Second Line
The march goes forward down the main boulevard
The crowd goes quiet when the band moves past
There’s a line by the corner seven people deep
Everybody wonderin’ how the kingpin will sleep
Roll out the carpet! Strike up the drum!
Bang on the tambourine, the kingpin is gone
We better second line, but don’t go too near
The order is a-changin’, a new scene will be here
They say there’ll be a show down, who’ll be next in line?
Who’ll sleep with the kingpin, who’ll be left behind?
The brother in his pinstripe, the lover in her hat?
Hollow with her grievin’ in a long black Cadillac
The wife she knows already she can’t win the game
It’s blood, lust or nothin’, she only got his name
His mother in a string o’ pearls, she never miss a step
The king’s reign is over, she want all she can get
We better second line boy, show ‘em how we feel
Dance with the ladies, the kingpin ain’t here
We better second line, but leave the rest to me
I’ll go get the story, I’ll see what I can see
There’s a crypt in the old church with a heavy armed guard
All the bodies buried there, near the old graveyard
There’s ‘gators in the water, snakes in the drains
Stand back and watch boy, see who take the reins
Some say his brother, some say his wife
My money’s on his mother, she been in this game for life
She got poison in the cocaine, lethal in the smack
A dagger in her stockin’, so don’t you turn your back
She’s the queen of the scene boy, now everybody know
We better second line, we’ll make a real good show
We better second line boy, she’ll build a solid scene
The order is a-changin’, here comes the queen!
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5. |
Stuck in Limbo
04:16
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Stuck in Limbo
Maybe I’m mistaken, maybe there’s a line
Maybe there’s a way that we can gather and define
This love of mad proportion, impossible taboo
Or relegate the vision to a rare and heightened view
No, we’ll never speak of it.
It’s gone - like the moon after sunrise
And the only thing I’ll keep with me
Is the soft shine of your eyes
But that’s ridiculous!
Get me out of limbo, I’m going nowhere fast
Losing all sense of time, no future here, no past
My love is stuck in limbo.
No, we’ll never mention it.
It’s gone - like the sun in a total eclipse
And the only thing I’ll keep with me
Is the cool touch of your lips
But that’s ridiculous!
Just get me out of limbo, my heart’s split at the seams
Can’t stitch it back together, it’s all caught up in my dreams
My love is stuck is limbo
No, we’ll never speak of it.
It’s gone - like stars on a cloudy night
And the only thing I’ll keep with me
Is the way you held me tight
But that’s ridiculous!
Get me out of limbo, help me find the key
My heart is locked in limbo, trying to get free
My love is stuck in limbo
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6. |
High On Your Pony
04:42
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High On Your Pony
The sun’s falling west and the clouds are on show
I’m walking in Newtown, it’s all shine and flow
Got a song in my head with an easy-go rhyme
And the rhythm is kicking in, six-eight time
Riding high on my pony tonight
Riding high tonight
Maybe a new song to take home and play
Just get to the bridge, now I’m feeling my way
So I’m stepping it through and dancing the beat
I smile like a queen, I‘m the queen of King Street
Riding high on my pony tonight
Riding high tonight
Then something comes clashing and thundering through
Here comes the king and he’s playing for you
My six-eight is gone, and I’ve lost that swing
I might be a queen, but he is the king
Riding high on his pony tonight
Riding high tonight
Well there goes my song, but what can you do?
His mobility vehicle is wired for you
You can dance to Elvis and join in his song
The king of King Street’s rockin’ rolling along
Riding high on his pony tonight
Riding high tonight
The beauty of Newtown is anything goes
Just ask the king, he’ll tell you, he knows
You can do anything you wanna do
Just make it in four-four, and be-bop-a-loo
Riding high on your pony tonight
Riding high tonight
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7. |
Syrian Winter
04:30
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Syrian Winter
Snipers above me, tunnels below
On the battle-scarred streets, there’s nowhere to go
Running on empty, no tears to cry
This is our last stand, we all came to die
That’s the rule – Battle is cruel – But I’m jihadi cool
I learned from my bedroom, the power of nasheed
New Nike trainers with shalwar and kameeze
A cool black standard to sign our new ways
Our own Armageddon, the whole world ablaze
That’s the rule – Struggle is cruel – But I’m jihadi cool
No water, no fire, no food for the day
A handful of bullets and a busted AK
No plan, no comfort, no brother beside
No path to glory, no jihadi bride
I’m a fool – Battle is cruel – No jihadi cool
A Syrian winter, a dark frozen pool
We’re lambs to the slaughter, jihadi fools
Mama I’m bleeding, I’ve no one to hold
Fallen from grace, foolhardy and cold
That’s the rule – Battle is cruel – No jihadi cool
Life is a thread on an old wooden spool
Spinning and twisted, hardened and cruel
Abandoned and desperate, empty within
Standing on a rooftop, going with the wind
I’m a fool – Battle is cruel – No jihadi cool
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8. |
Rhyme and Reason
04:13
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Rhyme and Reason
Some days I got my poetry on
Some days I got my tunes
Some days I got nothing to wear
Those the days I might need you
Some nights I drink the melody
Some nights I taste the chords
Some nights I got no appetite
Those the nights I could be yours
Still I feel you there
Waiting for your time
If I’m lost in why or wherefore
You’re the reason, you’re the rhyme
Sometimes I almost touch you
Sometimes you’re out of range
I’m a deer before the spotlight
I’m a penny waiting for change
Some days are full and shiny
Some days are dark and sparse
And sometimes I get the picture
It’s the space between the stars
Still I feel you there
Waiting for your time
If I’m lost in why or wherefore
You’re the reason, you’re the rhyme
But can you reach us all?
Or do I have to share?
Is your light for everyone?
Are you alone out there?
I wear you like a costume
You write me like a ghost
I feed you all my secrets
My character exposed
You’re the angel in the detail
You’re the devil on a pin
The breath to hold my monkey mind
When the world comes crashing in
Still I feel you there
Waiting for your time
If I’m lost in why or wherefore
You’re the reason, you’re the rhyme
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9. |
Against the Tide (Alt)
05:35
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Against the Tide (Alternate version)
How she danced!
Climbed to the top, and sang to the night
How she sang!
To bright shining stars, and down to the dark swelling tide
I wanna live!
I’m alive, and riding the pain
And it smiles
Hard as diamonds, and I just wanna shine again
If we knew!
That life was so brief, we’d have made time to weep
Tears, how they’d fall!
Slide down your face to a pool on the floor
You could swim through the weeping, right out the door
Float in the moonlight, and dream, of a new life
How we’ll live!
In a house by the sea, you’ll sing and I’ll play violin
And we’ll swim through the weeping, guided within
Float in the moonlight, against the tide, out of this life
Swim through the weeping
Against the tide, out of this life.
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10. |
Into Eternity
03:44
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Into Eternity
St Stephen’s at sunset, a walk through the churchyard
Find a quiet corner among the old graves
Think of those shipwrecks with no one surviving
A rusted iron anchor the only thing saved
Into the twilight a clear voice is moving
A shock of bright hair, a silvery smile
A spindle of a tin man with a parlour guitar
Strapped to his back, travelling style
And the stars burst and the strings break
A heart stirs and our nerves quake
We all just want to feel free
So tonight we breathe into eternity
It’s so quiet here in the middle of town
Shadows of tombstones grow all around me
In the fading light, so quiet tonight
Nestled in the arms of a Moreton Bay cradle
We sing till the stars come shining
He cries for love, I yearn for freedom
To cut all the ties that bind me
And the stars burst and the strings break
My heart stirs and our nerves quake
We all just want to feel free
So tonight we gaze into eternity
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Bronwyn Eather Sydney, Australia
Born in Tasmania, Bronwyn Eather came to Sydney to study acting, following almost a decade of pioneering work as a field linguist in Arnhem Land, in the remote north of Australia. 'Brave Old World' is her third release, following 'Against The Tide' 2017 and 'On The Bones of Love' 2015. ... more
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