1. |
My Little Town
02:27
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MY LITTLE TOWN
There’s a road runs straight through my little town
Half way down it there’s a picture house
Now they’ve turned it into a bingo hall
They don’t show films any more
And the road runs straight through my little town
The road runs straight through my little town
There’s a railway line in my little town
All the kids do is talk of getting out
Stand on the platforms on a Saturday
With the lights of the city shining far away
The pubs are empty until the Saturday night
Half past eleven you’re guaranteed a fight
What else can those poor boys do
But get blind drunk and act the fool
And the road runs straight through my little town
Through my little town
Far away
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2. |
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3. |
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BALLAD OF THE ORANGE TREE
Born in England’s low chalk hills
Where the river slides through the willows
I never knew how tangled grew the tree
Of my mother’s family history
Then one day the photograph emerged
My great-great-grandmother by the kerb
Of a backstreet somewhere in Reading
Her Irish features bold and striking
All I’d heard was rumour and hint
Of how they’d fled Ulster, her Catholic
Outcast for marrying a Protestant man
Who wore the dreaded Imperial tan
Sent to Raniket, my Great-nan’s birthplace
The army connection didn’t break
Three generations since have wed the gun
One of them was wounded at Arnhem
And now with great sadness I see
My cousin proud to be in the British Army
Luckily he's never been made to serve
On streets where she could never return
Nothing of her past now remains
Each Irish connection was sliced away
Our family grew on in a different place
Like an orange tree in a wooden crate
Staring at the photo here back home
My mother's every action seems to show
More and more of those hidden roots
As if a hybrid had produced old fruit
Four generations on here I stand
A false map of Ireland in my hand
Every time I try to trace back my tracks
Hurt and shame come hurtling back
Scraping back the soil in a barren field
I find a rusty gun stamped in with the heel
A family sown with King’s Shilling seed
But rooted in Thames Valley green
Then I read the Ballad of Ranger Best
And feel friendly fire burn at my chest
How can I avoid peeling back the skin
To taste what this bitter tree roots in
Bury the gun under the orange tree.
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4. |
These Three Rooms
03:45
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These Three Rooms
These three rooms are worn and badly lit
Decorated with paint inches thick
And behind curtains where the dust sits
The frames never made to fit
Stay with me through the night
Stay with me until the morning light
And you will see these three rooms shine
The carpets are dull and tenant-stained
Maybe they were brighter in better days
Now the lino slides across the floor
And the bathroom paper’s peeling off the wall
Forgive me all the poverty I bring
This cheap box, this bed and sink
Hold fast now like these plants that cling
To our windowsill as they twist and jink
Trust me when I say things will improve
That these are not our destined views
As these three plants outgrow this room
So this small flat will be outgrown too
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5. |
Man With No Name
04:07
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Man With No Name
You kick at the tyre of the tractor
That hasn’t moved since the snow last came down
You pull at the chain-link fence blow a dandelion over the sow
And wonder whose hand on your arm could lead you now
Well it’s the middle of summer and clouds cover the sun, you feel cold
You run for shelter, find your father with a halter and he’s staring at the ground
Oh why can’t I tell you why can’t I say
I feel like a man with no name
In a dark pantry a dog panting
tired from running under this August sun
On the kitchen table a dripping pheasant
shot down by a farmer’s gun
And you sat in your armchair
reading news of a war that had hardly begun
Whilst all the berries your wife picked in summer
turn blood red in the cup
And you told me I could break down the fences put around me
And set my own pace
Oh why can’t I tell you why can’t I say
I feel like a man with no name
Well your stepfather fell in that kitchen
and the dog sat and waited there all day
Whilst the silent river rolled on and on and the clouds
blew over the hills and away
So father and son two years later we stand
in this graveyard in the rain
If I could show you the answer written in stone I would
If I knew it I wouldn’t have to say
I feel like a man with no name
Oh why can’t I tell you ,oh why can’t I say
I feel like a man with no name
In an unmarked grave
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6. |
The Devil's Address
02:31
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The Devil's Address
I'm in heaven that's what the sign says
This bar's more like hell, everything painted red
Every once in a while a truck goes by headed north
Headlights shining across these fields of corn
If you want to find me
Post a letter to 'Happiness'
Mark it care of the devil's address
I started driftin' when I couldn't pay the rent
That mobile home was more like a shed
I spent every winter watching the rain
Turn that gravel path into a lake
Now I'm fine and dandy but I'm all alone
Just me and the sparkle of the tarmac road
Thousand miles behind me, wife's in another man's bed
Thousand miles ahead before I'll ever rest
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7. |
Prodigal Son
02:28
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PRODIGAL SON
I WAS DRIVING WITH THE WINDOWS DOWN
ROUND THE STREETS OF MY HOMETOWN
PAST THE GARAGE THAT BURNED DOWN LAST FALL
NOW IT’S JUST SOME BLACKENED WALLS
AN OLD MAN WAS SHOUTING AT ME
‘AIN’T SEEN YOU ROUND HERE SINCE ’73
MUST BE THE PRODIGAL SON’
I GOT MARRIED BACK IN ’69
WE HAD TWO KIDS BUT WE BARELY SURVIVED
THEN ONE DAY I ROLLED THAT OLD FARMER’S TRUCK
SEEMS LIKE I STARTED ON SEVEN YEARS BAD LUCK
NOW I’M DRIVING WITH MY EYES TIGHT SHUT
‘COS I CAN’T BARE TO LOOK AT WHAT I LOVED
THERE’S A HOUSE ON THE CORNER OVER THERE
THAT’S WHERE SHE LIVES NOW, HELL I DON’T CARE
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8. |
Black Tin Barns
03:35
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BLACK TIN BARNS
There's an old dirt track and a muddy stream
There's a wide open field that's surrounded by trees
There's an old tin barn that's falling down
That's where I rolled in my sweet baby's arms
Oh country tracks won't you take me back
To the farms and the black tin barns
Now all I can do is sit and stare
Across these fields at trees so bare
All around there's only sticks and stones
Cos' nothing been planted so nothing grows
When I was young how I used to dream
Of you girl in these fields of wheat
But now the wind's torn everything up
All that I am left is this handful of dust
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9. |
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WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET
I WAS BORN WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET
I LEARNT TO PLOUGH AND I LEARNT TO REAP
THEN I WENT TO THE UNIVERSITY
AND I LEARNT ALL THE WORDS THE RICH MEN NEED
OH MARY, OH MARY,
WILL YOU WAIT FOR ME
WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET
WE LEFT THE PORT AT DEAD OF NIGHT
THE FULL MOON ON THE SAILS DID SHINE
WE PASSED THROUGH LANDS OF ICE AND SNOW
TWO DIED BELOW, THEIR BODIES FROZE
THEN I FOUND A PLACE IN AMERIKY AND CUT BACK THE TREES
AND A SNAKE IT BIT INTO ME
THEN I DREAMT I WAS DELIRIOUS
I DIDNT KNOW WHAT TIME OR YEAR IT WAS
AND I THOUGHT I SAW YOU IN YOUR WHITE GOWN
TRIPPING ACROSS THAT EMPTY GROUND
BUT IT WAS JUST THE WATER OF THE FLOOD
AS IT ROSE AROUND MY HOUSE
AND I WAS DEAD...
OH MARY WILL YOU WEEP FOR ME.
WHERE TWO RIVERS MEET.
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10. |
Room 22
03:46
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ROOM 22
STANDING AT THE WINDOW LOOKING NORTH
THROUGH THE POWER-LINES AND THE RAIN AS IT FALLS
IT FEELS THE SAME AS THE DAY WE BOTH STAYED
IN THIS HOTEL ROOM ON THAT SUMMER'S DAY
SAME ROOM SAME VIEW STATION VIEW
ROOM 22
NOW THE HILLS ARE COVERED WITH SNOW
THERE'S JUST BARE TREES AND CROWS
I REMEMBER US WALKING AROUND THIS TOWN
WITH YOU UNTIL THE SUN WENT DOWN
IT'S THE SAME ROOM THE SAME VIEW
ROOM 22
THEN YOU GOT MARRIED SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE
MAYBE I'VE PASSED BY YOU ONCE OR TWICE
BUT TONIGHT ALL I HAVE IS THE MEMORY OF YOU
AS I STARE THROUGH THE POWER-LINES AT THE VIEW
IT'S THE SAME ROOM THE SAME VIEW
ROOM 22 WITHOUT YOU
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11. |
Road is a River
03:20
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THE ROAD IS A RIVER
The road is a river and my windows are full of steam
That woman I remember walking across these muddy fields
The road is a river its taken us all away
Far from these fields of straw
These empty barns in the rain
The road is a river
Yes the road is a river
The road is a river and maybe one day it will bring her back my way
In a car of chrome and silver
It’ll slide through these fields of rain
And we’ll float away
The road is a river….
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12. |
The Factory
03:05
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THE FACTORY
MEN ARE RIDING ACROSS THE WINTER FIELDS
BYCYCLE LIGHTS SPARKLING IN THEIR CHROME WHEELS
WORKING DUSK TO DAWN IN THE FACTORIES
WHOSE LIGHTS SHINE THROUGH THE TREES
OH CAN'T YOU SEE, CAN'T YOU SEE
THE FACTORY
NOW THOSE MEN THEY ONLY RIDE IN THEIR DREAMS
THE FACTORIES ARE GONE, ONLY FIELDS OF WEEDS
AND THOSE MEN HAVE GRANDSONS WITH COMPANY CARS
YOU CAN SEE THEM OUT RACING AROUND THE BYPASS
BUT TEN MILES OUT OF TOWN THERE'S A SCRAPYARD
WHERE FIFTY YEARS HARD LABOUR IS FALLING APART
IF YOU STARE INTO THE RUSTY CHROME YOU'LL SEE
THE GHOSTS OF MEN POLISHING HEADLIGHTS AND POURING LEAD
MEN ARE RIDING ACROSS THE WINTER FIELDS
BYCYCLE LIGHTS SPARKLING LIKE A CHAIN OF PEARLS
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13. |
My Father's Trees
02:48
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MY FATHER'S TREES
WELL NOW I'M PUSHIN FORTY
AND ALL MY LUCK'S BEEN SPENT
I WISH THAT I COULD GO BACK
TO THE PLACES THAT I LEFT
I WISH THAT I COULD BE
I WISH THAT I COULD BE
SITTIN' UNDER MY FATHER'S TREES
PLANTED THEM IN '63
NOW THEY'RE SO BIG AND TALL
BUT THE ROAD HE PLANTED THEM BY
IT AIN'T A ROAD ANY MORE
NOW THERE'S A LINE OF CARAVANS
PARKED IN THE WAY
AND THERE'S A LITTLE KID SITTIN' IN THE SHADE
WISH I COULD BE JUST LIKE HIM...
JUST WATCHIN THE CLOUDS GO BY...
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Shaun Belcher Nottingham, UK
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