SHORT STORIES
YOU LEFT ME CRYING
first girl i ever loved was everything
taught me to whistle and she made me sing
i’ve never been the kind to shout aloud
but something about her made me strong and proud.
i don’t know how it ended it’s been too long
she left me singing and i love that song
i hear the birds talking in the trees
their conversation brings back memories
of long summers and precious nights
her hair shining in the soft moonlight.
she left me memories of two souls flying
and you you you you you left me crying
you left me crying.
i’ve grown accustomed to being in love with you,
being close to someone who shared my breathing.
but now we can’t pretend here come those blues again
back from I don’t know when and you are leaving.
just when you think you’ve got the hang of it,
when your emotions and your senses fit,
something comes and turns it inside out
and you know love has finally found you out.
you said you’d leave me something
and you weren’t lying
and you you you you, you left me crying
you left me crying.
just like a wheel it goes and comes around,
just like a wheel it goes and runs you down.
just when you think it couldn’t get much worse
love takes a wheel and throws it in reverse.
she left me self-respect and a gift for trying
and you you you you you left me crying
you left me crying
WORRY NO MORE
if you need me come and see me
I will worry no more.
if you love me go and tell me
I will worry no more.
when you’re down and on a low note
and your lifeboat’s a man-of-war
just call me and I will hear you
I will worry no more.
there are those who will always love you,
there are those who will let you down
just listen with eyes wide open
you will know them by their sound.
when your dreams no longer flower
and your power blooms no more
just call me and I will hear you
I will worry no more.
it’s a hard world a pick a card world
what you deal is what you get.
i’ve been cheated but undefeated
though i bleed i am not beaten yet.
over mountains and stormy oceans
give your heart wings and let it soar,
and call me and i will hear you
and i will worry no more
AND THEY DANCED
she was foolish and he was crazy,
she was headstrong and he was lazy,
bad luck followed them both around.
sick and tired of the freezing city
they drove west where the trees were pretty,
green grass and somewhere to lay them down.
every night when the sun went down
they got in the car and they drove right into town
and they danced all night.
she was always gonna be somebody,
he was glad to be with anybody,
hard times waited behind the door.
deep down they knew it didn’t matter
whatever dreams might sink or shatter,
true love waited behind the door.
someday in a different crowd
they’d tell the barman to play the music loud,
and they danced all night.
she was the lover of the great dictator,
the night before she was to meet her maker,
made up and wearing her finest gown.
he promised her the world and almost made it,
her dreams of hollywood and glamour faded
game’s up the curtain was coming down.
she put the poison in her dressing gown
and while the russians were shooting up the town
they danced all night.
JEALOUS
i’m jealous of the sun that warms your face
that wraps itself around you in your state of grace,
i’m jealous of its fingers on your skin,
the way it lights your room
when you won’t let me in.
i wish i was the sun that lights your life.
i’m jealous of the rain upon your lips
that runs down your shirt and stings your fingertips.
i’m jealous of the way it soothes your brow,
the way it cools the places that i can’t go now.
i wish i was the rain upon your face.
i’m jealous of the moon that lights your eyes,
that falls upon your bed and runs along your thighs.
i’m jealous of the secrets that you share
up in your bedroom now i can’t go there.
i wish i was the moon upon your night.
i wish i was the moon. i wish i was the rain.
i wish i was the sun that lights your life.
GOOD WITH HIS HANDS
my father was a carpenter
he made things out of wood
and he made them strong and he made them good
he took me out on sundays to gather fallen trees
we’d find treasures in the bushes
and pennies in the leaves
he said they came from fighter planes
many years before
he said you needed empty pockets
setting out to war
i thought they came from heaven
i prayed it could be true
as he slipped another coin beneath his shoe
and i looked up and i saw his eyes
he was good with his hands but hopeless with lies
i saw him in the garden on the day she went away
he was watering the roses
and he hadn’t much to say
i asked where she was going
and he took me to the wood
he said this time it’s serious
i think she’s gone for good
i thought she’d gone to heaven
i prayed it wasn’t true
i had to fall in love before i knew
and i saw tears behind his glove
he was good with his hands but hopeless in love
she took away the life he knew
so he made one for himself
and he framed it and he kept it on the shelf
and she looked down his perfect bride
he was good with his hands but dying inside
ON ROSLYN BANKS
on roslyn banks she held me close
as the night came gently ’round
and through the trees a soft rain fell
and the silver moon looked down
she said it was the evening’s chill
that made her hold me so
but in my heart i knew it was
that i’d be gone tomorrow
the water sang a wishful song
i wished our hearts were one
she said why not if i would stay
and finish what i’d begun
but promise not what you can’t give
she begged me to confess
that i was sworn to another love
and could not answer yes
above these banks a brave man wept
and there addressed his pain
faced with defeat he made a vow
to try and try again
and as i kissed the sweetest lips
i searched for truth in vain
and fearing she might love me less
i lied and lied again
now roslyn banks are a memory
and she is far away
i pray she’ll hold me close again
at the close of some sweet day
YOUR FACE AGAIN
sometimes i don’t know where i am
sometimes i don’t know where i’ve been
i’ve been running around since you’ve been gone
you should see the state i’m in
i just want to see your face again
there’s gonna be snow there’s gonna be rain
but i might get too cold to feel the pain
this house is bitter
and the water pipes complain
but i just want to see your face again
no i don’t need a picture of judas
and i don’t need a picture of cain
to know how it feels to be out in the cold
wishing i could try that again
i’ve run right out of excuses
faced with un-shakeable facts
while you were putting the blame onto me
i thought i could do better than that
i said i can do better than that
there’s a face i know there’s some old friend
i watch them come and go
through my window pane
i can read any book i want
i can watch the cars in the rain
but i just want to see your face again
MAN IN THE MOON
i took a walk one night just to ease my head
i had a lot of things on my mind
a lot of words that hadn’t been said
i sat down on a cemetery bench
to watch the clouds roll by
seemed to be just me and the moon
and he seemed to be staring me
straight in the eye
was it the words in my head
looking for a little space
or did i hear a still small voice
coming from the big white face he said
i am the man in the moon let me be your light
i will listen til the sun comes up
all through the cold dark night
i am the man in the moon who do you want me to be
i’ll be your friend if you need a friend
bring your troubles to me
i know you’re gonna say that i must be crazy
that i gotta be crazy to believe
that there’s somebody up there somewhere
and he’s been talking to me
some believe in a god and a freedom of choice
i believe in the power of the light
and the power of the still small voice
cos when i needed hope and when i needed faith
i looked up to the brilliant sky
and that beautiful face
the sun comes up and everybody gets happy
giving thanks for a brand new day
i can’t wait til the sun goes down
and i hear my new friend say
you can be blue if you want to
talk about yourself just as long as you like
come to me if you don’t feel sunny
everybody needs a little moonlight
JUST LIKE AN ANGEL
seems like a long time seems like a long way back
you’re getting ready looking for something black
and you say you’ll be along
in your own sweet time
don’t ask me why i’m crying
you look just like an angel sometime
life can get ugly the sun can refuse to shine
bad luck and trouble follows me down the line
but you make it all make sense
in your own sweet time
you can call me crazy or blind
you look just like an angel sometimes
the optimist’s suitcase
was found by the railroad track
packed full of dreams
but no ticket and no way back
did he catch that outbound train
or did he find you just in time
don’t ask me why i’m crying
you look just like an angel sometimes
WHEREVER YOU GO
When the world is the last thing you want
And love is the one thing you need
When your sails are weak
And your strength is gone
I’m the wind that will give you speed.
When your wishful boats run aground
And the low tides have turned you astray
When you’re lost in the storm
And you can’t be found
I will find you anyway.
Wherever you go I go too
For better or worse I’m with you
Let it be me you turn to
Wherever you go
From the crying blue of the night
To the crying blue of the day
There’s a line of hope
There’s a thread of light
That will follow you all the way.
WALKING TO THE LIGHT
over troubled waters we will build a road
over rocks and mountains
we will share the load.
through the days of sorrow
through the darkest night
we will go together walking to the light.
some reach for the bible
some reach for the sword
life is our religion love is our reward.
all the holy rollers looking for a fight
will they find salvation
walking to the light?
walking to the light walking to the light
will they find salvation
walking to the light?
many friends before us lost along the way
i still hear the chorus let our souls be saved
over troubled waters we will build a road
over rocks and mountains
we will share the load
when the world is falling
i will hold you tight
i’ll be your companion walking to the light.
many friends before us souls shining bright
stars to the left of us stars to the right.
THE PRIEST’S LETTER
as i walked one night where the ships come in
i saw someone walk before me
he was quick & slight though I bid goodnight
he had chosen to ignore me
i’d come to this place on the run from love
in the hope i might forget her
my attention turned to the running man
in his hand he held a letter
and he placed it there in the harbour wall
with the starsick sailors’ wishes
sealed in navy blue with a lie or two
and a million homesick kisses
as he turned to leave i could see the face
of a priest in agitation
did he fear for thee or the raging sea ?
was his plea repatriation ?
then i weighed my lot with the parson’s load
and the strain of one man calling
where his soul and my heart
had been cast in the dark
yet we watch the same stars falling
BACK DOOR MAN
tonight i’ll be your back door man
i’ll be eating right out of your hand
we’re made for each other like ostrich and sand
tonight i’ll be your back door man
i’m waving my family goodbye
they’re gone in the blink of an eye
all of your good time companions say ‘hi’
i’m waving my family goodbye
the ghost of my future’s returned
to reveal all the bridges he’s burned
and to gloat at the wishes he’s seen overturned
the ghost of my future’s returned
i’m taking my chances tonight
as my guardian angel takes flight
i’m lost in the dark and she promised me light
i’m taking my chances tonight
i’m hanging around your back door
cos i’ve nothing to lose any more
we’re made for each other like matches and straw
i’m hanging around your back door
HOME
up in her kitchen above the commotion
emily stands with her hands in the sink
and watches the sun go down over the westway
the sky and her hands an identical pink
four stories down in the west london traffic
jack turns the wheel on the last corner home
he’s tired of this journey he’s tired of this living
tired of the city that clings to his bones
and he’s home
emily waits for familiar footsteps
soft like an old song he taps on the door
she’s stared on these rooftops
for thousands of sunsets
and longs for the beating of waves on the shore
jack kisses her and she kisses him back
his eyes fall upon the small suitcase she’s packed
they’re not coming back home
they drive through the night
past the farms and the small towns
under the stars of a warm western night
the children are grown
and they’ve saved enough money
emily knows what they’re doing is right
jack holds her close in the seaside hotel
the beat of the ocean takes him away
back to the love and a reason for living
emily dreams of the sun on the bay
twenty five years they just left it behind
to save the love they took twenty five years to find
and they’re home
STILL
MY NIRVANA
I’ve been looking for something I just can’t find
To meet the demands of a troubled mind
Each time I find something to save my soul
Turns out to be another hitching pole
The tv offers you paradise
but you’ll miss it if you blink
And the man at the bar who knows everything
Just had too much to drink
And I’m wondering why
And I’m looking for my Nirvana
I’ve got friends I can talk to when I feel low
Friends who will show me the way to go
I’ve got books that will show me
the nature of fear
And why and what am I doing here
And the clock on the wall tells me time goes by
And I know every road leads home
And the eyes of my child
say we come to this world
And we leave again alone
I’ve done some things that I shouldn’t have done
And I’ve been some dumb places too
And all that I’ve learned if there’s anything left
I wanna do the rest with you
There’s a light in the east
there’s a light in the west
And I can’t decide which one I like best
The light of contentment and god’s forgiveness
Or the mercury glimmer of fame and success
We envy the young and the beautiful
And we envy the rich and the free
Then I look at my chances a billion to one
And I know I’m just lucky to be
Some people find truth in the beat of the drum
Or the endless beat of the sea
I don’t ask much just the heat of your touch
And to find the truth in me
DOWN TO THE RIVER
Just thought I’d call him up
To see if everything was ok
He said “I don’t feel like company
Don’t wanna see nobody today
Angel on my shoulder
don’t come round here anymore
I used to know about Angels
These days I’m not so sure.”
If had the chance again
I’d kick down the door
I’d say ‘Let me show you the sunrise
And a new tide on the shore
You say you know about angels
Did you feel his wings that day?
Were they cold and black
Did they pull you back
Down to the river to pray?’
Ah going down down down down
Down to the river to pray
Ah going down down down down
Down to the river to pray
You know she was no good for you
In spite of what she said
Even on the night they laid you down
She was in another man’s bed
Desolation angel walked with you on your last day
With a beat of wings in the chapel hymns
He stole your faith away
You would always keep your head
While others looked to blame
You faced disaster and success
And treated both the same
Angel on your shoulder
Lord of hopes and fears
Did he tell the truth did you ask for proof
As he washed away your tears
THE MAN IN EDWARD HOPPER’S BAR
It was a long cool September night
I was far from home and the money was tight
Down on the corner came a welcoming light
From an empty back street bar
The bar man smiled in a slow sad way
With a face unaccustomed to the light of day
He poured a coffee and he said “you’re ok
Take a five cent cigar”
I’m the man in Edward Hopper’s Bar
A couple walk in and they sit down
Bartender knows them and he pours a round
He looks like a man who knows this town
She looks like a movie star
They’re talking low she seems upset
Like he’s done something that she can’t forget
She checks her nails he lights a cigarette
In Edward Hopper’s Bar
And all i really want to do
Is baby get back home to you
Folks ‘round here are much too blue
In Edward Hopper’s Bar
Bartender says “Business is slow”
I guess it is I wouldn’t know
“Yeah this is where the nighthawks go
to Edward Hopper’s Bar”
first train home leaves at 5am
I guess I’ll just stay here ‘til then
And shoot the breeze with my barfly friends
In Edward Hopper’s Bar
DAYS LIKE THESE
There are days when all the world’s asleep
And I can’t feel the cold
Winter days when the snow is deep
And my glitter dreams unfold
And it’s days like these bring me to my knees
I give thanks that you are here
And today it’s only you and me
And sorrows disappear
There are times when I can’t go on
And the troubles seem too much
Lonely times when you are gone
And I can’t feel your touch
These are soul-less days
Lost and goal-less days
There might as well be rain
Til the day you are here with me
And the sun will shine again
There are nights that never seem to end
When my head can find no rest
Lonely nights when I need a friend
And my heart’s put to the test
But you’ll find gold with me grow old with me
And by the stars above
Tonight I’ve found faith in you
And salvation in your love
ALL I WANT
Take my hand take a bow
Take it all all the stars
Love you now love you now
Here we are in the light
In the love holding on
Shining bright shining bright
And all i want is you
To fall into my arms
Single girl never shy
Only scared of the ones
Who say goodbye say goodbye
It’s getting hard to find the time
To get back home you’ve got things
On your mind on your mind
Here we go don’t know where
Count to four climb aboard
See you there see you there
DON’T GIVE UP
I’m the son of a homebreaker two timing lovemaker
Cheating & unfaithful wife
She made some mistakes got some unlucky breaks
But she gave me this beautiful life
She knew it was wrong but she taught me this song
And ‘don’t stand and fight just be smart & move on’
I remember the hurting when I thought she’d deserted me
My heart was breaking in two
Barely sixteen in a nightmare of dreams
And my father was suffering too
And he started drinking a friend came along
He said ‘ now don’t be foolish
be smart and move on’
Don’t give up don’t give in
When you’re offering love there are plenty of takers
And taking is what they do best
Though they took her & drained
Her her love kept returning
Her yearning heart strong in her breast
To those crippled & lovesick & heartbroken men
She kept on returning again & again
She moved to the city & never came back
Never holding my father again
She lived out her days in her own single bed
And I buried her close to her friends
Her need to be loved was an unending song
So she settled at last for a need to belong
SOMETHING NEW
He shuts the door on discontent
And wonders where the loving went
She doesn’t wait to watch him go
Is she trusting or indifferent
And meanwhile in another town
A woman’s heart begins to pound
His voice is soft he’s on his way
It’s time to draw the curtain down
He’s got something new
Now there’s no more blue
No more what to do with you
Her body’s tight her body’s tanned
She makes him feel like Superman
He isn’t young she doesn’t care
He’s Dorian Grey and Peter Pan
To each one’s life they bring a light
She knows he’ll never leave his wife
And that’s her one security
She’ll change her sheets but not her life
Inside the church of no regret
It’s all too easy to forget
The night man sweeps away the lies
And draws the veil on self-respect
And he too frightened to confess
Weeps while his indiscretion’s blessed
By priests who hold to the belief
What can’t be seen won’t cause distress
I’LL COME BACK
I wrote a letter the other day
Put down all the words I had to say
I told my love I was going away
There were things I had to do
I said I‘ve never seen the Taj Mahal
The Grand Canyon or the holy Nile
I could be gone for a little while
but I’ll come back to you
I‘ll come back I’ll come back
Then I’ll come back to you
It’s a beautiful world full of mystery
With an ancient and dangerous history
So send your farewell kiss to me
I promise I’ll be true
I wanna see shrines in the mist of a Chinese dawn
Blue whales rise on a white Christmas morning
Infinite acres of yellow corn
Fade into cornflower blue
We’re tiny voices in endless space
Our song is an echo of endless grace
I swear I’ll never forget your face
You’re always in my heart
I wanna see wild horses on a snowbound plain
Rain forests glisten with tropical rain
The eye of The Sphinx and the lion’s mane
Desert guardians in the dark
Then I got a letter on a lonely day
She said “go where you like that’s ok
There’s only one thing I want to say
Don’t come back don’t come back
do what you gotta do
Don’t come back don’t come back
I will not wait for you”
And here is the moral of my sad song
You don’t wanna be where you don’t belong
Cos something’s not right doesn’t mean it’s wrong
And most dreams don’t come true
Love is the chalice the holy grail
Everything else is just detail
Don’t wake up to find your ship set sail
And love slipped out on you
Won’t come back won’t come back
No matter what you do
Won’t come back won’t come back
Love won’t come back to you
DO YOU REALLY WANT MY LOVE
I see you sitting on the step
Tell me what you’re thinking of
You can’t forgive and you can’t forget
Do you really want my love ?
We had fields of green and gold
We had plans for dreaming of
Where have all those bright dreams gone?
Has the grass grown over love?
Blue the sea and blue the sky
Bright the sun that shone above
Did the sweetness pass us by?
Do you really want my love?
You don’t talk anymore
We don’t smile anymore
Do you love me anymore?
You my promise you my life
You my flesh and you my blood
Just the husband just the wife
Do you really want my love?
When you sleep you turn away
I turn to the stars above
Bring the answer bring the day
Do you really want my love?
Bring the anger bring the tears
Spare us both the velvet glove
Help me face my biggest fears
Do you really want my love?
We don’t touch anymore we don’t kiss anymore
Do you love me anymore?
HOW MANY DAYS
I rode along a country road at sunset
And I watched a full moon rise
I’ve seen the proof that there must be a heaven
In the sunset in your eyes
I stopped beside the road and on the radio
I swear I heard your name
I called out to you in the summer night
In my anger and my shame
How many days how many days
Til I feel the rhythm of a different drum
How many days how many days
Til the days that make the difference come
The stars are full of promises
The moon’s a good luck charm in every sky
But every good luck charm I ever had
The magic seemed to pass me by
If we were going nowhere
How come it’s such a long way down
And every road I travel on these days
Leads me back to my home town
THE POACHER
The Poacher came in the dead of night
When the weary moon slipped out of sight
He saw a girl on the edge of the wood
Sleeping sound and sleeping good
And a prettier girl he’d never seen
If he were a King she’d be his Queen
He whispered softly in her ear
“Oh tell me miss why you lie here?”
She woke with a start like a frightened Deer
And she asked “How long
Were you standing there?”
And he saw in her eyes the forest green
Oh if he were a King she’d be his Queen
“I rode with my Prince from the nearby town
And the hunters came and they shot him down
They left me to die from my wounded heart
And for seven days I lay in the dark”
And he saw in her eyes her pain and fear
A defenceless thing like a frightened Deer
He gathered her up in her tattered gown
And to his own house he carried her down
He laid her there in his own bed
And he washed her skin and he soothed her head
And he cried “My dear will you marry me?”
She answered “First give me wishes three”
“Just name any wish and I’ll make it true
I’ll do anything I’d die for you”
She looked up at him with her eyes so green
“If you were King would you make me Queen?”
He cried “My dear did I think aloud
For that’s one wish I already vowed?”
“For my second wish I would have your home
And if I married you everything you own”
Her gentle hands drew him to her breast
And he heard his voice as he answered ‘Yes’
As he lay at last in her loving arms
He swore no more would she come to harm
“For my last wish swear to the lord above
You will kill the man who killed my love
And in her tree-green eyes like a dream he saw
The beast he’d killed seven days before
And he went to the wood on the edge of town
And the Poacher wept as he lay down
IT’S ME OR ELVIS
I caught her out this morning
Singing something from the movie King Creole
There’s nothing strange in that you’d say
Just a piece of classic 50’s rock’n’roll
But i aint slept at all since she came home
With ‘ Live in Memphis Volume two’
And last night we made love to
‘A burning hunk of love ‘ and ‘Stuck on you’
I’m gonna tell her I’m gonna tell her everything
It’s me or Elvis Your lover or The King
She started out on Vegas stuff
But soon the early 70’s kicked in
Sleek black leather trousers, open shirt,
Jet black hair & perfect skin
And what about the 60’s?
We just can’t go on with these suspicious minds
On her ‘love me tender’ pillow
She’s cried herself to sleep for the last time
She says it’s just infatuation
“Don’t cry daddy, baby’s got the blues
“You can take me out tomorrow night
“Tonight I’ve gotta clean my blue suede shoes”
She said there’d never be another
She could never love no one but me
But I just found a one way ticket
In her drawer to Graceland Tennessee
DRAGONFLY
FOOL’S GOLD
The woman combed her yellow hair
Fixed her dress and stepped into the street
Behind her in the hotel room
Maria turns the bed to change the sheets
Suddenly a flash of light
Leaps out from inbetween the linen folds
Maria slides her hand along the sheet
Still warm and finds the fool’s gold
She steps up to the window
Just in time to watch the woman drive away
Her cell phone rings her boyfriend calls
To say the factory had no work today
She slips the ring upon her finger
– thinks: “My hands are starting to look Old”
But still there’s something beautiful
About the hand that wears the fool’s gold
A woman sits with yellow hair
Her husband asks her
“Where’s your wedding ring?”
“I must have lost it washing up
You know you can’t trust me with Anything”
Across town on a liar’s ring
Maria swears to honour and to hold
Bound to him by poverty
And promises and fool’s gold
WITHOUT LOVE
you know i’m sorry for what i’ve done
you know it’s crazy what i’ve become
without love your sweet love
bring it back – back home to me
i’ll give you all i’ve got to give
if i can’t have you i don’t wanna live
i said some bad things i lost my mind
saw a life without you but i was blind
dew like diamonds on morning grass
now it’s just cold rain on broken glass
THE SOUND OF HALLELUJAHS
“how you doing now ?”
the broken traveller cries
“we are the weak we are the wise
where’ you going now ?
can i ride along with you?
temptation’s strong and we are few
it’s the way of the faithful the path of the weak
we sing or we pray
cos we’re frightened to speak”
it’s the sound of hallelujahs
“how you doing now?
i see you woke up in the dirt
no shoes and someone else’s shirt
you can talk to me
i see there’s trouble in your eyes
you’ve seen the young and hypnotised
and the road that they ride is a ribbon of dreams
and their world is as wide and as flat as their screens”
are you listening now
as he sings his father’s song ?
the flesh too weak the tide too strong
see him sail away on the mississippi mud
tempted by fate and tainted blood
and the song that he sings
is a hymn that will speak
to the ones who seek heroes
in the lost and the weak
DRAGONFLY
silver wings from the blue
crash and burn, cut in two
free to fly foreign shores
free to die for your cause
born in grief raised in chains
blind belief fear no pain
learn to fight learn to hate
life is war death is great
the world is your enemy god is your king
and if it’s his will you’ll destroy everything
is your faith so correct
it requires no respect
for the good and the pure
and the wrongs they endure
those who live and let live
knowing life is to give?
they’ve a right to belong
ride the bus sing their song
you crash into satellites
blood on your wings
you’re jealous of sunlight
and other god’s things
the sun shines for everyone
peace is a blessing you earn
burn dragon burn
UNTIL I HOLD YOU ONCE AGAIN
it’s time to put your red dress on
see how beautiful you are
now the night is almost gone
you will be my falling star
as the shadows turn to gold
and our tears to morning rain
leave a promise i can hold
until i hold you once again
i watch you brush your yellow hair
run your fingers through the sun
my body aches to touch you there
but time is short and you must run
i know that others see your face
the eyes and mouth that i adore
and wish that they could take my place
until i hold you close once more
a mother’s arms are safe and sure
a mother’s arms are soft and pure
this kind of love no man will know
i’ll still love you when you go
i know you’ve got your work to do
there’s broken hearts for you to mend
i know the pain that men go through
and those who only need a friend
and when you close that hotel door
what happens there i’ll never ask
i will only miss you more
until i hold you close at last
LIZZIE LOVED A HIGHWAYMAN
poor lizzie loved a highwayman
she gave him all a young girl can
and in return he gave her widowhood
from the bell at hempstead born to trade
the butcher’s axe and the butcher’s blade
and his childhood bride the picture made complete
but lizzie’s mother understood
that boy would come to nothing good
an apprenticeship in bone and blood
won’t lead my girl to motherhood
but didn’t he look fine in church today
in his buckled boots and his fustian coat
and his feathers blue and grey
young richard joined the gregorys
all essex boys the lowest thieves
they robbed both rich and poor for greed & gain
they broke into their homes at night
regardless of their means or might
they’d rape or scald or set alight
those poor souls who put up a fight
no honour bound those desperate men
they shot both enemies and friends
they sold their souls for liberty and gold
and lizzie’s dreams of home gave way
to cold nights in a forest cave
to a husband who she couldn’t keep
who killed his friend and ran away
on a stolen coal black mare called bess they say
by a full moon’s arc he rode to york
two hundred miles away
with the bounty high he changed his name
he poached the deer & the horse & game
and left his father to take the blame to gaol
til one day the landlord’s bird he blew
the landlord cried “dick i know you”
and again the drunk his pistol drew
crying “let me charge and i’ll shoot you too”
from his prison cell he sent a note
to his brother and inside he wrote
“find men who’ll stand good witness to my name”
but he wouldn’t pay the postage due
and the letter fell to one who knew
the writing of the one whose fame
had brought the turpin house to shame
but didn’t he look fine in court today
in his buckled boots and his fustian coat
and his feathers blue and grey
dick turpin paid five men to mourn
in new coat & shoes stepped out at dawn
like a gentleman he bowed along the way
he stepped up to the hangman’s gate
and felt his leg begin to shake
he stamped the fear and with his friend
the hangman half an hour he spent
and with a proud and noble air
he leapt from that three legged mare
and for a while he dangled free
his feathers kissed by morning air
but mother didn’t he swing well today
in his buckled boots and his fustian coat
and his feathers blue and grey
they buried turpin’s body deep
but when the town was fast asleep
the bodysnatchers stole his corpse away
an angry crowd, friends to his fame
in preservation of his name
saved him from the butcher’s blade
and laid to rest the highwayman
they gave his ring and handsome clothes away
and another woman’s tears fell on
his feathers blue and grey
VALENTINE
last night she dreamed he was her valentine
blood roses bloomed on the edge of her bed
she felt the sheets tighten around her waist
as he leaned closer stroking her head
last night she dreamed she rose to meet his face
she felt his lips as they touched her skin
softly the rain tapped on the window pane
softly his arms gathered her in
don’t go
lonesome she wakes walking the kids to school
there on the newstand she looks in his eyes
“secret film found a soldier’s last moments”
for the price of a newspaper watch a man die
out on patrol shot by americans
a tragic mistake that no one expects
the pilot is named he came from idaho
retired with promotion his country regrets
last night she dreamed he was her valentine
blood roses bloomed as he sank to his knees
softly he cried “who needs an enemy
i should have listened when you called out to me..”
AND JESUS WEPT
the moon is slowly sinking the final moon i’ll see
my head is tired of thinking there’s just the rosary
an empty place at table
and my mother’s eyes are wet
the hand of god came down last night
and jesus wept
if i’d been a captain they would have sent me home
but i am just a private condemned to die alone
the firing squad’s been drinking
it’s a dawn they won’t forget
the hand of god came down last night
and jesus wept
sound the drum for their young precious years
but no glory will shine on my poor mother’s tears
a soldier’s good for fighting
that’s what my father said
and if the man’s not fighting
he might as well be dead
shame has drawn the curtains
and the neighbours won’t forget
the hand of god came down last night
and jesus wept
i got the shakes on tuesday i cannot go i said
they sent me down on wednesday
by thursday i was dead
i fought for king and country
two years without regret
the hand of god came down last night
and jesus wept
we all fall in the cause of the free
when the sun sets on england
will you think of me?
in unmarked graves in flanders
lie 300 boys and men
killed un-loved and frightened
by those they thought were friends
a nation’s guilty secret is this generation’s debt
the hand of god came down last night
and jesus wept
SINGAWAY
one man singing in empty space
he sings of love and god’s sweet grace
a better life and a better place
where no man sings in empty space
two men singing for company
like boats adrift on the loneliest sea
drawn by the light and the harmony
singing a song that will make men free
three men singing at my front door
songs of freedom and songs of war
i clap my hands and i cry for more
we’ll sing you a song if you’ll make us four
sing away for maria
sing away in the wilderness
sing away sweet and clear
sing away – sing away
one man singing beneath the sun
he sings the tears of the motherless son
drawn to the light and the chosen one
one man singing for everyone
MARTHA WENT DOWN TO THE WELL
(THE BOWES TRAGEDY)
martha went down to the well
to where her love lay sleeping
his coat was torn his skin was pale
his face was stained from weeping
she woke him up with a tender kiss
and asked why he was grieving
he said “They’ll never let us be
and so i must be leaving
for your true love i’m leaving”
“oh tell me love why you must go
what have i done to hurt you?
what is it here that grieves you so
and why can’t my love hold you ?”
he closed his eyes and he saw his father’s
face so red from screaming
“ that working girl won’t be your wife
that’s just a poet’s dreaming
and a young girl’s idle scheming”
she walked him home and on the way
his sister she lay waiting
“you callous boy – you selfish boy
your mother’s heart is breaking”
to martha then she raised her hand saying
“you must go and leave him
he’s the apple of his father’s eye
and you are far beneath him
go stupid girl and leave him “
all that night he stayed away
and six nights more was missing
they found him on the windswept moor
death’s icy hands around him
they brought him to his father’s house
on silken sheets they laid him
and with his failing breath he prayed
for martha to come see him
and death’s cold hands to free him
then martha uninvited came
to where her love was lying
an orange for his milk white skin
and comfort in his dying
his sister sat at his death bed
and would not let her near him
but with his final breath he sighed
“i’ll hold you close come evening”
and only she could hear him.
she stumbled through the empty streets
and heard the death bell tolling
weak with fear and blind with grief
she gave in to the falling
a passing stranger caught her there
“i hear death’s angel calling
and life by grief is freed from me
and my poor heart is broken
since my sweet love was taken”
martha went down to the well
to where her love lay sleeping
his coat was torn his skin was pale
and she lay down beside him
in bowes churchyard on a stone
their names obscured by weather
where love and death has bound them so
they lay at last together
their true love sealed forever
THE PRIEST
The wind blew through the chapel door
the priest lay sleeping still
His prayer book stained with whisky lay
where his last bottle spilled
The coloured glass threw red and yellow
patches on his skin
Yellow for the tears of Christ
and blood red for his sin
Temptation’s vandals left their mark
inside the sleeping man
toxic dreams like poison spread
across his inner land
A traveller passing saw his light funereal and dim
And like a ghost returns to where he died
he wandered in
‘wake up priest’ the traveller cried
‘i am a hungry man
I rode a hundred miles today
this god-forsaken land
Bring me bread and bring me wine
i see the whisky’s done’
The priest threw out a trembling hand
and bid the stranger gone
‘i will not leave’ the traveller cried
‘i have returned to you
Do you not know your altar boy
some thirty summers through ?
You gave me faith you touched my lips
you soothed my bloodshot eyes
And now i’m back a broken man
to talk of truth and lies’
‘no neither one you’ll get from me’
he gurgled in his tweed
‘I need a drink’ the curate rasped
‘i don’t know what you need
What faith i had is broken now
my dreams are drowned in wine
And as for truth that bitter fruit
lies withered on the vine’
The traveller shook the ragged man
the dust and fleas dispersed
‘you mean my life has been a lie
and with your blessing cursed?
And those i’ve loved have been deceived
my father’s hopes my mothers’ fears
The faith of lovers ill-conceived
my brother’s bruises undeserved
Dreams all built on drifting sand
visions cast on broken wings
How can a young child understand
when magic dies and time’s bell rings’ ?
The stranger squeezed the fragile priest
until his face turned red
‘What is the point in your dull life
if all belief is dead’ ?
‘no point at all’ the priest said
‘life’s as futile as you think
If I can’t provide the answers
and you can’t provide the drink’
The wind blew through the chapel where
the priest was lying still
Down the road a stranger ran
his face ashen and ill
Above the door he’d carved these words
‘consider this a sign
Break the bread, heed the word
but beware the holy wine’
BIRMINGHAM HOTEL
i will sleep tonight in a stranger’s bed
i will lay my head where a stranger’s head
never heard your voice or the words you said
and i wish i was with you again
goodnight you birmingham ladies
and goodnight you birmingham men
i remember so well how we danced til we fell
will we sing all the sad songs again
in a seaside town we talked all night
i kissed your face you held me tight
and you said everything would turn out alright
and i wish i was with you again
with fools and magnificent failures
our old unreliable friends
i remember so well how we danced til we fell
will we sing all the sad songs again
the sunlight flies through the passing trees
i wish you were riding this train with me
when i close my eyes it’s your face i see
and i wish i was with you again
goodnight you birmingham ladies
and goodnight you birmingham men
the toreador is sleeping next door
and the bullring is silent again
WILLIAM BREWSTER DREAMS OF AMERICA
william says to mary we’re strangers in our land
mary says to william will i understand
but what about the children
we’ll give them what they need
give them truth clothes and shoes
and something good to eat
through the fens in darkness
from boston they set sail
two miles out at scotia creek the expedition failed
the english captain robbed them
and turned the ship around
and working for the king’s own coin
the catchpole took them down
mary took the children patience love and fear
she bore them to god’s calling
god didn’t call them here
she’d take them to the new world
a new life waited there
with passage on the mayflower
william turned to prayer
oh say can’t you see by dawn’s holy light
dreams of america
innocent pilgrims drawn from the night
to dreams of america
of those who sailed from devon’s shore
barely half survived
from disease and deprivation
and broken hearts they died
leaving just four women to fifty youths and men
but william slept with no regret
said he’d do it all again
after seven years of hardship mary had passed on
patience was a weak child she’d follow before long
love & fear bore children and william held them dear
his legacy that man be free lived on in love and fear.
they sailed by the moon the first giant leap
dreams of america
on star spangled oceans to faith’s righteous sleep
dreams of america
ALL THIS LONGING
ANGELINA’S COMING HOME
Voices shatter on the high glass ceiling
The sun burns off the early morning rain
Mothers wave to damp-eyed children leaving
And Angelina’s waiting for a train
The ticket master dreams of lonely places
That he’s intent on visiting some day
He tries to read the journeys on their faces
But Angelina gives nothing away
She ran so fast and she ran so long
But she’d forgot what she was running from
Last night she called her mother on the phone
Angelina’s coming home
Swallows nest inside the station’s arches
Safe beneath their glass and iron sky
But sunlight never shines upon their feathers
And there’s no wind to speed them where they fly
Tired of the eyes of men upon her
Weary of their whispers and their lies
Romance has lost its hold on Angelina
She stares into her mobile phone and cries
THE HEART OF ANN LEE
From Manchester town she was driven away
Tortured and tormented day after day
Married by force by her father betrayed
Scars on the heart of ann lee
Her father a blacksmith with brethren in fire
Blind to her will he condemned her desire
To a bed lain with embers of love unrequired
Fire in the heart of ann lee
Freed from the prisons of impotent men
Four children taken before they were ten
Her womb was their shroud and their making her sin
Scars on the heart of ann lee
Ann lee was crazy – Crazy with love
Ann lee was crazy – Crazy with god
Raised by the angels their breath was her balm
From beating and stoning they kept her from harm
On her flight to America oceans they calmed
Peace in the heart of ann lee
When the shakers of Lebanon joined in the fight
War all around them they fought for the right
To swear no allegiance except to the light
The light in the heart of ann lee
On the blazing horizon the feet of her lord
Her mother and father ann daughter of god
In forty eight years all she kissed was the word
The word from the heart of ann lee
FOR THE SEEDS OF LOVE
in the cathedral of the trees beneath a starry sky
where every light looking down
on the kingdom of the clowns
is an ancestral eye
and the whispers on the breeze
are the voices of my race
and the man in the moon
who sings an ancient tune
has my grandfather’s face
crack the ice upon the lake
sing the songs of yesterday
all the stories written then
will be written out again
in a more familiar way
i sit and watch the children play
kicking up my childhood dirt
my mother’s voice in dust remains
and the blood within these veins
stained my grandfather’s shirt
and you who hold the seeds of love
from the gardener’s hand
songs of love written then
will be written out again
for new hearts to understand
my father’s breath against the frost
the scent of apples from our tree
bittersweet the taste of youth
on my lips these are the truth
of the song i sing to thee
find the nest steal the egg
until I know my right from wrong
now the bird is on the wing
the melody she sings
is my grandfather’s song
you who would protect the seeds
that are not yours to own
a selfishly protected root bears only bitter fruit
let the seeds be sown
with your self-appointed trust
look, your hands are full of dust
let the seeds be sown.
LOOKING FOR JOHNNIE RAY
She leans in a doorway
the tears stream down her face
Watching the highway lights
And the man who upset her
well she knows he’ll forget her
And those all too few and tender nights
And the guard on the beat crosses over the street
And he asks her if she is ok
She says “i’m tired of hard men
with walls all around them
And i’m looking for johnnie ray”
He asks her for coffee she says “you mean coffee?”
He smiles and he points down the street
The soft moonlight glistens sad eyed she listens
“Did i just hear a heart skip a beat?”
They sit over coffee he speaks to her softly
In a strong and a vulnerable way
And she looks in his eyes
thinking ‘that’s some disguise
I was looking for johnnie ray’
“All i want is a guy who’s not too tough to cry
Who’ll stay up when the nights are too long
If he wants to play hero let him be like DeNiro
Not scared to own up when he’s wrong”
They walked home in the rain
and he sang that refrain
She’d heard johnnie sing so many times
They stand on the step she was tired of regret
So she kissed him and asked him inside
He put ‘look homeward angel’
on her worn out dansette
And they danced all the darkness away
She looked in his eyes
and when he asked her why
She said “i’m looking for johnnie ray”
THE DROVERS ROAD
She came from the west with her pencils and paint
He came from the east with his Spanish guitar
She drew portraits of ladies and sinners and saints
To sell in the market and trade in the bar
She came down the drover’s lane
deep in the wood
Where the feet of the old ones
had trampled the moss
At rest by her fire in the twilight he stood
The guitar on his back made the sign of a cross
Down the drover’s road where the rovers drove
Their cattle to market their ponies to town
She lay there all night in his arms
Til the moon came sailing down
Her hair was as black as the sloe in the hedge
Her eyes were as deep and as brown as the oak
He put down his guitar and he sat on the ledge
She unbuckled her boots
and in a soft voice she spoke
“I eat when i’m hungry i drink when i’m dry
I walk when i’m ready i sleep when i can
If you sing me a love song let it end with goodbye
For i won’t give my heart to a travelling man”
Then he sang her a love song as blue as the night
As sharp as the nails and as soft as a lamb
Of a girl with the hands of a painter in light
Of the deep holy night and the love of a man
“i eat when i’m hungry i drink when i’m dry
i walk when i’m ready i sleep when i can
i’ll sing you a song with no word of goodbye
and will you give your heart to a travelling man”
THE SHORELINE AND THE SEA
If you love me let me know
Don’t just close the door and go
And if you shed a tear for me
Turn your face and let me see
I want to hold you oh so much
I need love that i can touch
Love that will wash over me
Like the shoreline and the sea
I knew a man who lived alone
I met him by my fireside
He watched the dying flame and moaned
“I can’t recall when last i cried
I know i had a lover once
She used to come and go with me
And we were happy in the dance
Like the shoreline and the sea”
I’m not asking for the moon
Its light is all i need
And i’m not asking for the sun
Just let it shine on me
I knew a girl whose heart was broken
She brought it out to show to me
Her hands were warm her lips were cold
She sat all day and watched the sea
Oh save me from a fate so cruel
Speak your mind be straight with me
Love be constant love be true
Like the shoreline and the sea
IF I SHOULD FALL FROM YOU
If i should fall from you
Too weak to hold onto
Don’t let me slip or lose my grip
We made this trip for two
If i should fall from grace
Where no one knows this place
Don’t let me go down below
Save me and show your face
If i should fall from grace
When morning brings the day
and you dreamed i went away
Don’t mope about don’t scream and shout
Just come right out and say
You dreamed i went away
Your story’s my story now
Your journey’s my journey if time will allow
If i’m the one you need
don’t shout the odds with me
Don’t make me guess or feign dis-interest
Say you more or less agree
If i’m the one you need
If i’m the last to know
I’ve let your feelings go
If i’ve been blind don’t be kind
Just speak your mind i’ll know
If i’m the last to know
THE REDCLIFFE BOY
Thomas waits for the van to come
in the house that he was born in
Redcliffe shines in the milk white sun
of a misty Bristol morning
“Stop your dreaming Tom” his mother cries
“you’ve got your flask and your pork pies
you’re a working boy i’ve a home to run
and we can’t eat words and we can’t spend rhymes”
and the van is late some time to dream
over Redcliffe’s golden spires
Thomas waits for the van to come
And in his eyes are fires
the van arrives with the laughing boys
their cigarettes and their chatter
Tom fills his overalls with poems
their foolish talk doesn’t matter
they talk of football they talk of girls
cars and bars and fashion
Tom’s alone in his troubled head
with his poetry and his passion
and a tram line track like a lightning bolt
from the consecrated ground
throws sparks in the veins of the Redcliffe boy
and draws the bright stars down
wake up Tom the foreman shouts
i don’t pay you for thinking
you can go to church on a sunday boy
monday is for working
Tom swings his pick in the frozen earth
his city’s renovation
Hitler’s bombs stripped the pretty stones
of romance and fascination
but Tom goes where on the spiral stair
the ghost of a poet wanders
eclipsed by his death his final breath
in Redcliffe’s tower still thunders
the sirens scream and the spotlights glare
at Tom on Redcliffe’s spire
his mother cries and the vicar begs
“Tom don’t climb any higher”
as he scatters poems on the heads below
a voice at his shoulder speaks
“It’s a good life Tom don’t jump don’t run
this way is for the weak”
and he stares in the face of the Redcliffe boy
the fiery truth in his eyes
“It was bad love, drugs and stupidity
and it’s history that lies “
“Come down come down you Redcliffe boy
come down into these arms
we were foolish then and we’re foolish now
and we let you come to harm”
Tom looked around for the Redcliffe boy
but his ghost was laid in the stone
and the words that he said
filled his heart and his head
and Tom came down alone
SHADOWS ON THE WALL
when you were young and precious
daddy’s little girl
with your mother to protect you
from the strangers in this world
there were monsters in the moonlight
there were faces in the clouds
but she’d hold you in her sweet strong arms
and she’d call your name out loud
and dad would make his fingers
into birds and animals
funny shadows on the wall
now you lay in bed for hours
you wanna sleep but you just cry
and you ask yourself what happened
and you ask yourself why
it’s like everything is useless
it’s like everybody’s gone
and you lie there feeling helpless
what’s the sense in going on
and you wake up with the terror
and inside the burning ball
and shadows on the wall
now the doctor says he’ll help you
your daddy said that too
and you just want to please them
the way that pleasers do
but deep inside you know it’s time
to break free of those chains
don’t take the pills don’t take the shit
don’t play their grown up game
and know that I’m beside you
if you run or if you crawl
they’re just shadows on the wall
you fought for independence
you fought for love and truth
for the freedom of your children
to enjoy their strength and youth
it was you who stood beside me
in the dark night of my soul
that little girl grew up to be
the one who made me whole
the hands of those who love you
make cradles when you fall
and shadows on the wall
VICTOR JARA
Stained by the light of a blood-red sun
Dragged from the hill where the soldiers come
A trail of crimson bleeds to black
He scratches the lines in the stadium
That he hides in a shoe
Lines on the lips of 5,000 men
A story begun without knowing the end
Though it’s hard to sing when he sings of pain
The singer raises his voice again
“Venceremos – Venceremos”
Six men chosen and six men die
Six stars fall from September skies
The hands that worked in freedom’s fields
Make the sign of a cross one last time
Santiago – Santiago
His conviction his legacy
For the men of the fields and the factory
He sings their silence he sings their dreams
In his last breath he sings their victory
Victor Jara – Victor Jara
A heart of earth stopped by a fascist gun
Joe Hill knew he wasn’t the only one
It takes more than a gun to kill a man
They shot him down but his song goes on
Victor Jara – Victor Jara
THE BITTER WIND
The sweetest girl he ever saw
Walked by his house one day
The sun that fell upon her face
the way she walked with ease and grace
He swore that he would take his place
beside her arm in arm
She turned her head and caught his eye
And fire shot through his veins
And in that single moment then
he heard her vow to be his bride
He heard her whisper where and when
he saw it in her eyes
But like a ghost she hurried on
She spoke no word and then was gone
a crimson cloud passed through the sun
He watched her fade her cloak of red,
the wind blown leaves cried in his head
‘your darling will be yours’ they said ‘
but you must win her heart’
He waited out upon the moor
As from the church she came
Another walked beside her there
he held her hand and kissed her hair
To see them so he could not bear
the voices cried ‘revenge’
To Tavistock he walked that day
And bought himself a gun
To win her heart he tried in vain
the wind implored him ‘try again’
But she just laughed, he cried the rain,
they stole away the sun
He waited out upon the moor
The sky turned black his anger roared
and from the church he watched them walk
His pistol cracked the man fell dead
he put the gun to her sweet head
He shot her, then to his own head
he fired two more rounds
But by his hand he could not die
He grazed his head and lost an eye
Into the water leapt in vain
but drowning would not end his pain
They brought him back and healed his wound
that they might stretch him well
To Exeter they took him down
The judge pronounced him fit to hang
His pleas of madness eased no blame
his mother cried the family shame
On Dartmoor still none speak his name
but for that bitter wind
That cruel and bitter wind
SAIL AWAY NO MORE
Tears are falling tears of rage
Our sad story on every page
Tears of longing tears of grief
Sail away no more come back to me
Birds are flying east winds blow
See me crying every time you go
Heartsick sailors called to sea
Sail away no more come back to me
Like a boat on a sea
Far away from land and safety
Like a leaf from a tree
Shaken loose and blown away from me
Widows grieving silent men
Brave hearts broken never beat again
One man missing drifting free
Sail away no more come back to me
THE DREAMED AND THE DROWNED
THE DREAMED AND THE DROWNED
Billy left her on a Monday saying he was called to sea
Betsy said “A month come Sunday He’ll come back and marry me”
All the Sundays Betsy waited but no sign of Billy came
In her belly grew a baby, child of her and Billy’s shame.
Billy’s gone to far off places
Seen abroad in foreign towns
Betsy sees her neighbours’ faces
Billy’s with the dreamed and drowned
Months go past and Betsy’s growing, superstition runs amok
‘See that girl her sin is showing she will bring us all bad luck’
Betsy fell and Betsy tumbled, took no guidance from above
Billy’s sin a sailors promise, Betsy’s sin a maiden’s love.
Billy sailed to far off places
Betsy’s banished to the moor
See their cruel and pious faces
Damn her to the devil’s shore
Weeks she starved and weeks she thirsted, weeks she scoured the jealous sea
Crazy-eyed she cried to travellers “He’ll come back and marry me”
One white cross to mark her passing one white headstone bears her name
‘Here lies Betsy sweet and helpless’ did she die for love or shame?
Billy sailed to far off places
Betsy jumped without a sound
Star light on their sweet dead faces
Heaven weeps the dreamed and drowned
Years she lay upon the hillside, un-remembered and un-mourned
Earth protect her skin’s cold beauty, a coffin for her child unborn
Til one day a homesick sailor by fate or chance revealed her face
And built a monument to honour those who by love court disgrace
Billy sailed to far off places
Betsy lies in honoured ground
Now the shame’s gone from their faces
Heaven bless the dreamed and drowned
MR RAIN THE TAILOR
Mr rain the tailor
Looks down on the sailor
Makes him a coat of water
And an orphan daughter
Mr sun the weaver
Sees the colours leave her
Soothes her like a mother
Weeping for her lover
Blame the rain blame the rain
Blame the rain blame the rain
Mr moon the dreamer
Draws his coat around her
Throws the stars to please her
Spins a tale to ease her
Wrap him in clouds
Tie him in rainbows
Put him in a boat take him home
He made his family proud
Went out a hero
Beautiful boat take him home
Mr rain the tailor
Looks down on his sailor
Makes a coat of grieving
For the ones he’s leaving
Beneath a rainbow’s awniing
Sailors come to mourning
The sun the rain the dreaming
Weave a shroud for evening
THERE’S A TRAIN
There’s a train there’s a train
Come to take me to the one i love
There’s a train there’s a train
Come to take me to the one i love
It’s homeward bound and bound for glory
And the engineer
knows everybody’s name
Every station is a chapter in your story
And every love song is
the rhythm of that train
There’s a train there’s a train
Come to take me to the one i love
There’s a train there’s a long black train
Come to take me to the one i love
And the steam is the breath of every life
And the engine is the beat of every heart
Let the porter be your guide
show your ticket and just ride
And your destination
is the place you start
It’s black and white remembered
When the lovers kiss goodbye
It’s the lonely whistle in the darkest night
It’s the coming home of loved ones
And the soldier’s tearful eye
It’s the journey that will
lead you to the light
FOR YOU
I’ve never danced but I know I could
Or broke the law but I know I would
For you my love
Long ago and far away
This child would give his Christmas day
For you my love
This kind of love breaks hearts and bones
But I don’t care I’d break my own
For you my love
The earth will crack and waters flood
But all that counts is flesh and blood
And you my love
When all we have is washed away
And all i want is one more day
With you my love
I’ve been blind too blind to see
That in the end it’s only me
And you my love
I’M LEAVING YOU
I can’t tell you why
No I can’t tell you why
The time has come for leaving
Now it’s time for me to fly
I can’t tell you when
No I can’t tell you when
I made my mind up to go
Down that road again
Yes I’m leaving you
Yes I’m leaving you
I can’t tell you how
No I can’t tell you how
I made this big decision
And I’m leaving now
I can’t tell you who
Is going to see me through
It really doesn’t matter
Now I’m leaving you
I can’t say for sure
Just what I’m leaving for
All I know for certain
Is I don’t love you anymore
I can’t tell a lie
No I can’t tell a lie
I won’t be coming back again
It’s time to say goodbye
THE CURSE OF MEMORY
There used to be a lily in the field
the field above the stream that ran the mill
i gathered up the lily for a girl
and industry has gathered up the field
up the field (up the field ummmm)
there used to be a giant sycamore
that spread it’s faithful branches over me
the first time that a young boy tasted love
oh lead me from the curse of memory
the places that i’ve known
come back to visit me
and all the girls i’ve loved before
look back to see
to some it is god’s grace
to others a disease
the curse of memory
the curse of memory
there used to be a place for us to hide
beneath the starry blanket of the sky
but now the red brick soldier’s closing in
the golden days mount up
and wave goodbye
wave goodbye
time heals everything they say
i disagree
wherever there’s regret
the pain will always be
save it for your photographs and diaries
the curse of memory the curse of memory
THE BOUNDARY STONE
Oh no I can’t go down
I can’t go down the river
Oh no I can’t go down
I can’t go down to Rivertown
My Rowland he’s a handsome boy
His eyes are bright and bonny
He’d meet me at the stones at night
With vinegar and money
His mother’s sick his sister’s weak
His father died quite early
Some say it was the Tailor’s cloth
Some say it was the barley
It’s two months since the sickness came And the minister decided
The village would be quarantined
And villagers divided
And when the faithful meet in prayer They’ll stand beside the river
Protected by the open air
Apart from one another
But Rowland cried he could not stand From my love to be parted
He’d sooner die at the Devil’s hand than wither brokenhearted
And so at night across the stream that marked the village boundary
Rowland came out of the dark and in his arms they found me
Each day I walk the widow’s path and past the graves of Riley
A child for each day of the week a husband for a sunday
And when the faithful meet in prayer their numbers are not many
I hide behind the boundary stone and search in vain for Rowley
My Rowland was a handsome boy his eyes were bright and bonny
BROKEN DOWN NIGHT
this old night is broken down
the moon is a boat that is sinking fast
and the stars are spinning round
out of control and too dim to last
once i had you here to hold me
blue nights without an end
but you bought my dreams and sold me
to this broken night without a friend
through the night i’ll still be here
trying to mend what i can’t control
precious thoughts and bitter tears
a piece of my heart and a fragment of soul
i know the leaves that fall in autumn
don’t break the hearts of trees
for the spring returns a blossom
filled with promises and memories
such a night it is hard to be strong
without you here beside me it goes on and on so long – so long
come tomorrow you’ll find me
wasted and washed up
on morning’s shore
all around the weeping sea
for lovers to leave and return no more
i am guilty of my weakness
i didn’t mean to be unkind
but without your love there’s darkness
and the night is broken and i am blind
ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT
All through the night she holds me
From fear and harm she keeps me
She is the light above me
She is the one who loves me
All through the night
All through the night
All through the day she’s with me
Her gentle arms around me
With her sweet voice she saved me
And with her trust she made me
All through the day
All through the day
All through my life i’ll love her
And there will be no other
She is my breath my breathing
She is my heartbeat beating
All through my life
All through my life
All through the world she’s near me
When i am sick and weary
When all the world can’t heal me
She’ll comfort and conceal me
All through the world
All through the world
DAVEY JOHNSON
davey johnson wets his hair
takes himself to the county fair
sees his jenny waiting there
waiting for davey
davy works the carousel
the big wheel & the hounds of hell
all to pay the rearing fees
of a racing pony
in the field behind the gate
fourteen hands and born to fly
davey’s pony stands and waits
for the days of glory
jenny leans on the switchback steps other girls just wear her out
they’re all gum and cigarettes
making out & make-up
jenny’s father canters down from the house upon the hill
seeing davy rears around, draws up his horse in anger
“the gypsy boy’s no good for you”
jenny takes her lover’s arm
“he’s from the wrong side of the track, that boy will come to nothing”
davy smells the chestnut mare
her sweet breath upon his face
for three years the ribbons’ won
with jenny’s father on her
for three years no one came close
davey felt the hunger burn
he took the insults and the jeers
and dreamed of the winning
davey brings his cob aroud
a finer pony none had seen
reins trimmed & stirrups raised
and shining like copper
” look there, the gypsy boy!”
jenny’s father calls aloud
“the pony doesn’t make the man.
he’s gonna get a hiding”
as the starter fires his gun
davey’s horse is flying
moment’s later davey’s won
and jenny’s father’s raging
jenny runs to her golden boy
he pulls her up on his pony’s back
he ties the ribbons in her hair
and rides to her father
“Your daughter’s hand will be my prize. keep your garlands and your gold.
the only wrong side of the tracks
is the side that’s losing”
HE LIVED FOR HIS COUNTRY
He lived for his country
but now he lives alone
His blood is English
he’s England’s flesh and bone
He worked 60 years for a piece of this soil
The rich and the greedy grow fat on his toil
He lived for his country
but now he lives alone.
He’s gathered the flowers
that grow on his sweetheart’s grave
He tells her his thoughts
in the silence that ends every day
He told her the day that the children left home
he tells her their news on the few times they phone
He says “why did you leave me to miss them alone?”
He’s gathered the flowers that grow on his sweetheart’s grave.
I picked up the paper
that lay on the street where he fell
The crowd drifted off
in the distance the ambulance bell
Some thought they might know him
he had a familiar smile
Like an old friend or relative
no one had seen for a while
I thought I read “Loneliness – Nation’s disgrace”
“Old soldiers and heroes are dying without trace”
But I read of the cost of un-winnable war
And the hospitals closing their doors to the poor
I picked up the paper that lay on the street where he fell.
He lived for his country and now he lives alone.
JENNY’S WAR
The soldiers came from across the sea with battleships and guns
There was no one here to fight them jenny
And not a place to run
Word came help was coming soon
for now we’ll bide our time
We’re poor Atlantic islanders
They’ve bigger fish to fry
They’ve mined the beaches all along they’ve mined the bottom field
What few cows we had left this spring
Half of them are killed
They’re blown to smithereens now
I saw the bull explode
I was out this morning in the tractor jenny
To scrape him off the road
They’ll take us down to the schoolhouse
They’ll lead us one by one
Don’t forget your pills jenny
Don’t want no bastard son
don’t want no bastard son
We want nothing of this bloody war
on our bleak and barren soil
I knew there would be trouble jenny
Wherever there is oil
Did you see the soldier’s sandaled feet their old and rusty guns
Their heart’s not in the fighting jenny
But there’s no place to run.
The ministers and generals dream
of empires overthrown
Why can’t they play their games in peace
And sort it out at home and leave us folks alone
CINDERELLA MAN
Give me one more chance
Open up the door
If we aint got love
What are we fighting for
Won’t you let me in
Won’t you let this monkey dance
I won’t let you down
Now my aim is true
And my will is strong
I put my faith in you
I won’t let you down
If you give me one more chance
I’m the Cinderella man
They will build you up
Then they’ll cut you down
Yesterday’s applause is a hollow sound
As you watch your dreams
Slipping through your broken hands
And it’s dog eat dog
And it’s eye for eye
Those fair-weather friends
Never say goodbye
But I’ll show them all
If you’ll give me one more chance
When you fall so far
It tears you up inside
But I kept my faith and I kept my pride
I can take the blows
They don’t hurt after a while
Cos the biggest hurt
Is in my baby’s eyes
And I feel her pain
Every time she cries
Give me one more chance
To make my baby smile
LYRICS
REG MEUROSS
Short Stories
Still
Dragonfly
All This Longing
The Dreamed and the Drowned
