Ribbons
Let me take you by your hand
Let me hold your attention
And look in your eyes
Take the ribbons out my hair
Shake them loose
And let them blow away on the wind
When I saw you standing there
I felt so moved that I pretended
I didn't care
In the half-light
Your smile said "stay"
But I couldn't be sure
And so I ran away
Did I ever tell you the reason why?
Did I ever tell you
It's just that I was shy?
Below The Waves
It's quiet here
It's warm here
It's peaceful
It's dark
I am not lost
Not the way it was
Not the way you said
I am waiting
Far below the waves
I'm turning and turning
I roll with the tides
I am alone
(I am all alone)
I am whole
I am breathing
Far below the waves
I'm spark and I'm ember
And some kind of communion
I am not lost
This is all there is
This is all I am
I am waiting
Far below the waves
Little Tragedy
Oh, my dear, what have you done
There's blood upon your hands
Be quiet, come in and shut the door
And I will wash you down
Be careful not to wake no one
Don't want them all to know
About the little tragedy
That's happening below
You put them to a trial
And you put them to a test
You've taken with your right hand
As you're giving with your left
And now you come at dead of night
Like a lost Lady Macbeth
Looking for an absolution
And a place to rest
Legacy
Abandoned child, deserted room
In the dark smelling the dresses
Full of fading perfume
In the dead of night
There's stumbling in the hall
And the sound of breaking glass
As someone falls
See the child cry for shame
Turn away to the wall
And be somehow made to feel
That she's to blame
And it seems to me
A legacy of heartbreak and sorrow
Should nevermore be handed down
And taking it up in both your hands
You can dash it to the ground
Night rolls in
And the ghosts come down
They wave their arms
In their long white gowns
In the dead of night they call to you
And I have heard
Their sickly voices call me too
And they say - All is lost
And they say - All is pain
And if I can have my way
They'll be calling in vain
In the dead of night
You run along the shore
And test your voice against
The ocean's roar
Let it roll away with the tide
Bringing back all you ever were denied
When you've nothing more to fear
You've nothing to hide
And it seems to me
A legacy of heartbreak and sorrow
Should nevermore be handed down
And taking it up in both your hands
You can dash it to the ground
Northshore Train
Pale in the morning sunlight
the seabirds fly past the factory
The electric towers stand in lines
on the water's edge
Silhouetted comorant arched his wings
to dry them at low tide yesterday afternoon
In the midst of morning, five o'clock
sister drives me to the station
We talk and laugh as we wait
then embrace, then say goodbye
In silent, slow motion
I ride the train beside the ocean
In silent, slow motion
I ride the Northshore train from the sea.
Many words are in my heart
I'll never say
And feeling incomplete
I'm bound away
And a deep red is the colour of the air today
So we're riding through the hill town
(Watch the railway from your garden)
Rollercoaster river-train
Now I look to see if I see her
(From my window to the garden)
We're sailing past the house now
but I see the blinds are down
In silent, slow motion
I ride the train beside the ocean
In silent, slow motion
I ride the Northshore train from the sea.
I am a lonely traveller in time,
I'm counting up the years I'll never find
And oh so sad and heavy feels this heart of mine
Now we have come at last to the city
You can feels its weight upon the ground
And you wonder how to breathe
in an atmosphere of oil and noise
But this is where my father lives
though he was born beside the sea
In silent, slow motion
I ride the train beside the ocean
In silent, slow motion
I ride the Northshore train from the sea. |
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Gather All The Hours
One door opens, another closes
Frankincense and yellow roses
In a circle I will lay them
And I will dress in a gown of white linen
Bring me roses, bring me flowers
Gather all the hours
First will come the golden-haired child
And then the silver bird
Stand aside as the dark one follows
Who looks a lot like me
One day I walked through a hailstorm
The ice was falling on the ground
And when it had all come down
Then I knew what was lost and what was found.
In the moonlight, rise before me
Heal me with your hands - restore me
Sorrow sails on salty ocean
With hollow words for dead and buried emotion
Bring me roses, bring me flowers
Gather all the hours
First will come the golden-haired child
And then the silver bird
Stand aside as the dark one follows
Who looks a lot like me
One day I walked through a hailstorm
The ice was falling on the ground
And when it had all come down
Then I knew what was lost and what was found.
Lie beside me and watch the faces hover
See them take their places
(Softly glowing paper lanterns)
And the wind will blow them all away
Bring me roses, bring me flowers
Gather all the hours
Riversong
You said that
you don't like
walking in the rain
and talking to yourself
So you walk beside the river
Floating in the water
with my head under
I hear the fishes sing
and this is their song
The water may be deep
but you've got to jump in
You know there's no other way
to learn to swim
People are your sailing boats,
your stepping stones
To keep your perfect feet dry
as you cross the river
But you see you take more than you give
And get much more than you deserve
from the river
The water may be deep
but you've got to jump in
You know there's no other way
to learn to swim
All For You
It could be in your time
for it's all within your reach
Take it all in your stride
and it's for you
I see it there in your eyes
like a splinter of the sky
You should never hide your light
and it's for you
(taking it slowly for now)
Was a time of dark ways
closed the curtain on the day
And you said it could never change
(Yes you did)
Come the day when you find
you can leave all that behind
Then your light will truly shine
and it's for you
Living Memory
How can you ask me to believe you
When I know that you have lied?
You say the road is safe and even
And pretend that you are wise
But we have never come this way before
Does anyone really know
How far we can go?
(Does anyone really know?)
And in the name of Human Progress
You conspire to hide your greed
You are a bird who fouls the nest
As you take more than you ever need
But you and me -
We've really no place else to be
Does anyone really know
How far we can go
(Does anyone really know?)
Dancer
Wings of moths and robin's nests
Watercolours of the sea
All things treasured, beautiful
And all decayed
Faded china dancer
Paper skirts and painted curls
Close the curtains
On the window of your room
Welcome to your madness
Welcome to your lost domain
Perform your music-box ballet
In the cobweb and the debris
Of your dream
And every injustice
You've imagined or was real
You have catalogued and effigied
And enshrined
You make your small wax dollies
Carefully modelled
With a kind of emotion
Somehow very close to love
We took a walk in the sunshine
But you stayed in the shade
And danced your music box ballet
In the cobwebs and the debris
Of your dream
Rockabye Baby, you keep your eyes closed tight
Listen for the mermaids singing
In the cold and lonely oceans of the night
Blue and green glass bottles
Lying shattered on the floor
Violets falling
From your diary page
Faded rotten damask silk
The colours of the sky
Crumbles all away to powder
Under your touch
Deep inside your madness
The music box goes around
And around
In the cobweb and the debris
Of your dream
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