B i o g r a p h y (by Official site)
Mcneill's first musical memories are of her parents folk and old country records being drowned out by her older teenage siblings recordings of Pink Floyd, Supertramp, and Black Sabbath. The first cassette that she fell in love with(around age 5) was a Dolly Parton and Porter Wagner duets album borrowed from her mothers collection. She often lulled herself to sleep with its sad songs. One of her favorites was a morbid little tale of a girl who dies young , titled Jeanies Afraid of the Dark. Her favorite morning music was another of her mothers tapes-ABBA. To this she enjoyed dancing around in her Wonder Woman costume and playing air guitar while dreaming that she was either a powerful super hero or a pop star. At around 8 years old she got a horse, and spent every spare minute of the next few years hanging out in forests and fields with her new best friend. Birds, bees, coyotes, and the wind whistling through birch and poplar trees were the soundtrack to her prairie adventures . By high school she had developed a fondness for Gothic music and older art rock and punk bands. Sisters of Mercy, Velvet Underground, Siouxie and the Banshees, The Cure, Blondie were among those in high rotation as she experimented with photography, poetry, and contemporary dance. She continued her dance training at an arts college where she was exposed to avant guard composers, performance artists, jazz, and musical theatre. Inspired- she began to write sparse piano compositions for her dance pieces and to develop several multi media pieces. She lists Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, Laurie Anderson and Tom Waits as influences. During this period Wendy paid for her education by working evenings as a bartender in a live music club. The venue had a strong singer/songwriter culture and many characters well versed in the alt- country and folk traditions. While Woodie Guthrie, Leonard Cohen , Joni Mitchell, John Prine were frequently covered there was also a wide range of original material. These surroundings fostered her own fledgling songwriting and guitar playing. Winning a song writing competition awarded Wendy with the opportunity to record her first album, To Whom It May Concern , as well as her first major folk festival showcase. The critics enjoyed her percussive and unusual guitar style and she was labeled as, "a captivating performer" and "talented newcomer". At another festival, Wendy crossed paths with a French Canadian accordionist. She promptly fell in love with the accordion and added it to her musical mix. This in combination with years of performance experience has recently led one reporter to comment, "Every festival offers someone to discover, and for me that was Wendy McNeill, an Edmonton musician whose sharp-edged songs with accordion and guitar seem like dispatches from a post rock cabaret." Robert Everett-Green, The Globe and Mail McNeill has recorded 5 albums, contributed her music to indie films, dance and theatre productions, been showcased on numerous compilation cds, and toured in North America ,Europe, Brazil, and Japan. She no longer dreams of being a super hero or a pop star. She still likes Dolly Parton songs and hopes to dance around in a Wonder Woman costume again someday.
Restless Carnation When the Letter Came Holly O Living Was Wild Nemesis Such a Common Bird Treasure Beyond Longing Absolute Beauty
What's Your Whiskey, Baby
Your Truth
Sit back Could say many things And time is ticking Where we're at is an act And I sense that something's missing We're just like this song I only understand it three weeks after it's done I only risk looking at you when you're not looking at me I don't want you to struggle to say the right thing All I want from you is your truth Your truth so that I can give you mine So that I can give you mine too I could smile and ask you questions Not let you know what's really on my mind I could hold all the darkness back for you But what kind of favour is that to you Sit back could say many things And time is ticking Where we're at is an act And I sense that something's missing I could leave you to wonder about the lady And her pedestal I could be some empty doll Or I could show you how I'm ugly and I'm beautiful And you could show me how you're ugly and you're beautiful Cause I can be so many things many things And you can too so many things anything And I want you to tell me to tell me everything Everything anything everything 'Cause I want more Of your truth Your truth Gimme, gimme your truth Your truth And I'll give you mine And I'll give you mine too
When the Letter Came When the letter came it was soggy from the rain The ink was thin and running and I know the author was the same Cause I am he -- he is me -- we are they All handling problems in our own way He said I don't need a lecture to tell me where it's at, they are full of good opinions and I can Respect that, But I don't need their halos playing with my light Sure my lines aren't as smooth as they used to be But that's all right Are you gonne be like them he asked Are you gonna shut your door Because the sight of me is ugly Because I'm supposed to be more Do you think that I am crazy Do you think that I am naive Because these poisons are my passion Because I'm living in a dream I haven't got an answer, I haven't got a clue Whatever makes you happiest I suppose that's What you'll do Oh those past times keep me thinking Oh his present makes me say I could love you more than i've been doing I could judge you less than I know I say What could be the answer Could you whisper in my ear Another quote from the last book you read dear Could you whisper it in my ear Another quote from the last book you read dear
Sexy She was a white girl with red eyes She had a beautiful smile but rotten insides She could make a party with the toss of her head She never said what she felt just went where she was led She was sexy A body that was wanted She was sexy When she tossed her mind aside Fleeting thoughts of freedom were drowned by luxury No one cared who she was just for the armpiece she could be She lived in desperation for a fix to numb and catch her She thought it was comfort but all it really did was trap her She was sexy A body that was wanted She was sexy when her soul was kept confined Sexy wasn't anything she wanted Sexy that was all they'd ever known Was she sexy with her drug induced drawl? Was she sexy as she staggered down the hall? She sat in pain and solitude In the confines of her crystal room Thinking back on her broken bits of memories She rose to gaze into a mirror It didn't lie it showed Every line which she had done Every line which she had said Every line which she'd been given In the hopes of getting her to bed She was sexy A body that was wanted She was sexy when her soul was kept confined
Fall Girl I look into your eyes of blue The eyes through which oceans grew You're growing up, giving up, getting unstuck And I'm so proud of you When I think of how I let you down How when you needed me, I was rarely around But you were in my thoughts as I fumbled around You know that I can't be it all I can't be it all Even though I try, I can't be it all I can't be it all I wanna be your hero The chick that fears zero The one who beats the odds I wanna be your mom, your dad Erase all the nightmares you've had but Instead I'm just me And you're in my thoughts as I fumble around And I try to see it all But I can't see it all Even though I want to I can't be it all I can't be it all Although I have tried I don't know how many struggles for you ahead lie But I do remember some of the ones that you've passed by Now that sparkle has outdone the regrets And you haven't even felt a fraction of that spark yet, no I know that you will have it all You can have it all Anything you try You can have it all You can have it all You're a miracle in my eyes You're a miracle in my eyes Looking to your eyes of blue
*** Thanx a lot to Jose who helped me for this one ***
What You Need Fresh from dreaming I met him there We were talking He laughed when I told him I was scared He said, "Tell me what is it, baby, that you need" He said, "Tell me what is it, baby, that you need" Just a moment I need to figure that He said, "Don't bother I already know where you are at" I said, "Really? Well, then..." Would you please, be my eyes Would you please, be my eyes for a minute, huh Would you please, be my eyes 'Cause it's getting hard to focus I can't separate my future from the past He said "you think you're separate From everything livin' or dead You think you're different You live too much in your head Take a little advice from someone on the other side There's a way bigger thing going on here So relax and enjoy the ride Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello, hey, hey, hey Hello, hello, hello, hello, hello He said, "Tell me what is it, baby, that you need" He said, "Tell me what is it, baby, that you need" You know what it is, baby, that you need Why don't you take it Why don't you Why don't you take it
*** Thanx a lot to Jose who helped me for this one *** Part of the Problem I wasn't surprised when you burst Through the door crying For days your eyes were swelling You've got so many things on your mind I want to help But I know that I am part of the problem A need like yours is not so hard to understand For most mankind You need to keep your armour shined With other people's praising spit But sometimes that spit has acid in it And I know that that's part of the problem As you give and give and give And don't get back You give in And I know that that's part of the problem There are so many parts to the problem Can I stroke your temple Will you lay it in my lap Can I kiss your tears away Can I rub the knots from your back Cause I know that that's part of the problem And although I am part of the problem There is one more thing I want to say In the hopes of making you feel better Will you write to the raindrops Will you play with the animals Cause they don't have an opinion But they have so much to say Will you write to the raindrops Will you play with the animals Cause they don't have an opinion But they have so much to say They'll give and give and give Until you can give to yourself
She Prayed She sat on top of the hill That was so hard to climb And thought back on what it was like Whispers became shouts With the shifting of emotion Sureness became doubt Like the same of a favorite jeans She sat on top of the hill That was so hard to climb And she thought back on what it was like Love is not a promise, love is And life is not a promise, it just is And she prayed to understand this Yeah, she prayed to understand this She's got a view of the mountains And a sunset sky and the crows are crying As she's asking why and where And when she'll see him again But love is not a promise, love is And life is not a promise, it just is And she prayed to understand this Yes, she prayed to understand this Yes, she prayed to understand this
Sister Sister, how come you won't admit, That you're beautiful and that you're sick, That you're an addict well at least driven to fit, You got the power there so how come you can't find it. How many tragic accidents did it take For you to bury every fiber of your faith. How many tragic accidents did it take For that part of you to die. And what can I give to you that could counter The offers you took in sister and if I could change everything would it be enough To change your mind. And let your tears fall down. Let your tears fall down like they need to, sister. You're living your life on somebody else's clock And you realize that its stealing every precious second that you've got And you think that your smile is convincing but its not. How many tragic accidents did it take To bury every fiber of your faith. And what can I give to you that could counter The offers you took in sister and if I could change everything would it be enough To change your mind. And let your tears fall down. Let your tears fall down like they need to, sister. Cause they soon will. Sister, how come you won't admit, You got the power there so how come you can't find it. How many. You got the power there so how come you can't find it. Sometimes Sometimes I don't see things as clearly As I would like to see I keep moving without a purpose to shield me From all the blows that aching people throw And all the tears I never let myself show Sometimes I walk the line between growth And familiarity Not understanding why I have to choose a side The funny thing about decisions Is that as you're making them you never know What the next bend in the road might expose You could find yourself surrounded by Something or somewhere that fear Might have stopped you from going to If you'd known That's why sometimes when I don't see things As clearly as I would like to see I keep moving knowing that a purpose will find me Because there's moments like these And moments like these Are all that really matter
Such a long time Well her face seemed genuine As she asked how I was doing But I felt a stiffening in my spine As her eyes strayed from what i was saying We used to lock ourselves away Swallowed up in conversation and bottles of wine But now there's just awkward silence Broken up by the stagnant phrase I haven't seen you in such a long time Oh her mouth still looks the same As it speaks my name But there's a distance in her tone that haunts me Chills me reminds me Of Alberta's landscape in November Knowing there's months more to come Where I can run toward the horizon But not feel the warmth of the sun That burns my eyes with its beauty As it reflects from the snow Can burn me at the same time As it chills to the bone Once upon a time I clung to pretending ‘Cause what I wanted most was a Hollywood ending Now I see in her what it is I'm missing Silence can speak volumes if I care to listen A long walk through this winter has triggered my admission Oh it's been a long time But her mouth still looks the same As it speaks my name Oh there's a distance in her tone that haunts me Chills me reminds me Of Alberta's landscape in November Knowing there's months more to come Where I can run toward the horizon But not feel the warmth of the sun That burns my eyes with it's beauty As it reflects from the snow Can burn me at the same time As it chills to the bone
Hold Me Hold me Oh, precious one Until the sun comes back again And handsome Hold me Oh, precious one 'Cause I'm wrapped around your finger But you don't mind So... So, hold me Oh, precious one Until the sun comes back again And handsome And handsome 'Cause I'm wrapped around your finger But you don't mind You're waiting for my insights To come out and play So, hold me Oh, precious one Until the sun comes back again And handsome And I'll hold you, oh Till, till, till, till we could be two
*** Thanx a lot to Jose who helped me for this one *** What's Your Whiskey, Baby? Hear a knock at my back door Hesitate as it scrapes the floor Wondering what it could be this time Wanna see, so I reach for light Then I saw light If I could take back everything I've done What would I repeat and what would I run from If I could take back everything I've done What would I repeat and what would I run from It was like whiskey Oh, so smooth and power Consumed me like a good groove And water like love and wind Like a dollar needing it more Twisted my mind to sin What's your whiskey, baby Do you know What's your whiskey, baby Kick you high and then kick you low What's your whiskey, baby There's no shame in saying so What's your whiskey, baby Is it your lover, is it your job Someone's opinion that you lean on Is it a preacher, is it a soap Maybe a six pack to help you cope Is it a lie, is it the net That busies your brain, so you can forget You think you are one But you are just one of You think you are one But you are just one of What's your whiskey, baby Do you know What's your whiskey, baby Kick you high and then kick you low What's your whiskey, baby There's no shame in saying so What's your whiskey, baby I don't have to pretend right now But I've done that a lot, I know I can't fight that I lied a lot Lived in fear of all I got Thinking I had to be so strong Thinking I was all alone I thought I was one But I was just one of I thought I was one But I was just one of If I could take back everything I've done What power What would I repeat and what would I run from Give me water If I could take back everything I've done For a dollar What would I repeat and what would I run from Hear a knock at my back door If I could take back everything I've done Hesitate as it scrapes the floor What would I repeat and what would I run from Wondering what it could be this time I wanna see, so I reach for light You think you are one But you are just one of
Such a Common Bird Such a common bird I am a lone wolf A beauty and a beast Both hunter and hunted Soft tongue and sharp teeth I toned from my travels Yet raw from this road As I drink from storm puddles And the stories I'm told Help me figure this out Help me figure you in You're a shadow to me That I echo when I sing Help me figure this out Help me figure you in To this simple little melody I have seen angels They were sleeping in gutters They were standing in bank lines They were jumping from towers They were calling like seagulls But nobody heard Such a beautiful message From such a common bird We want freedom for ourselves But we can't give it to each other We want peace beween nations Yet we battle with our lovers We're blinded by billboards And trying to get ahead Choking on ambition And the words left unsaid All the words left unsaid From a simple little melody I am a lone wolf A beauty and a beast Both hunter and hunted Soft tongue and sharp teeth I toned from my travels Yet raw from this road As I drink from storm puddles And the stories I'm told Help me figure this out Help me figure you in You're a shadow to me That I echo when I sing Help me figure this out Help me figure you in You're a shadow to me That I echo when I sing Blue skies Trial by flight and trial by fire Such tempting invitations take me higher and higher The cauldron is boiling and there's a message in the scent Says get your shit together, you're the next ingredient So don't tell me that it's pointless That my voice won't be heard Don't tell me grin and bear it Cuz I know that that's absurd Don't tell me that it's risky and that I might get hurt Don't tell me what is pointless Good bye big blue skies The eclipse of this moment feels like a sigh I'm having second thoughts Because this road isn't easy but I can't just sit there and let it go by I could be a joker and you could be a thief We could speak of our intentions but we both know talk is cheap Don't tell me where you go to when you close your eyes Don't tell me where you go to just take me there this time One time before i say good bye big blue sky I have roots and branches Encased within my ribs With one deep inhalation I could draw you in Will you build yourself a condo Right next to my heart Where you can come to visit While we are apart? Julien A drifter set in motion This tale of love and devotion Reluctant locomotion so wild From a tattered and weakened state He chose to liberate Crossed the line into reason broke laws Julien just began one day Got arrested for holding a sign And trying to speak his mind He used his power they used force He said 'we're all of one family' Then demanded equality They slammed his head on the concrete we cried Julien my dear friend ciao I have often been told Of scoundrels and so and so's They trade their life for a pot of gold true crime But other folks I have seen Not blinded by guilt and greed They understand what they really need they shine Julien was one of them Now it's alright I'll still fight for you ciao From this throat that I'm singing through The shade of my love is blue Even the air reminds me of you today Rich with humility A thick possibility Coats my skin with the smell of this prairie storm You're in this storm aren't you Julien? You're in this storm aren't you ? Black Angus You say you are quiet because you lack food I delight in your entree and watch as you chew Now that your steak must be well on it's way Through ten feet of intestines you still have nothing to Nothing to say I made you the offer to speak of your thirst But your smirk was enorous and your hands well rehearsed You were blue with the moonlight and wet with compari Said 'we've only got a month so let's get busy' You were so gentle a decade ago As I nursed you with spirits at 18 years old Now I'm a woman and i've traveled too I would like to be more than some charm that you use You've studied religions, traveled the world, Collected artifacts, collected girls Wish I was your brother, so that we could hang So that I could know you You beautiful beautiful thing A kiss to your left cheek a kiss to your right I move to your third eye and you pull away Where does your god live? Where do you go? You said god is in everything except my clothes You are a player and I am a flirt But I am looking for better I want to go deeper I want to know more You're writing a fairytale and in it is truth She is an old hag that's toothless and bruised The twist in the tale is in her last request She says give me a sugarcoat when of me they ask She is your daughter, she is your muse She's in your drawings and she is in you And I know you love her I know you do You beautiful Beautiful Thing
All aboard All aboard this lord driven ford Take me where you want to go I could sit like this forever In your belly at 110 Just like the princess and the pea Something is messing with my sleep Through the layers somethings calling So i choose to speak my mind Twist it all up into rhymes Other times i take off driving All aboard... I hear the ticking of a clock Feel the cold rush of a gun cocked Some are dying some are dancing As i look around this world I am the luckiest of girls The wonder of it has me shaking All aboard... My mother called me some kind of bird Wish i could remember her exact words Because she said it all so fondly Now as i flip and as i flail Tossing feathers in the air I hear a voice say fly....fly... All aboard this lord driven ford Take me where you want to go I could sit like this forever In your belly at 110 Everyday Heroes Air thick with history tourists and chicory Buildings are gorgeous shells of what used to be I'm looking for something beyond architecture Something bold and daring that's when I met her She worships the maiden of the French quarter Same look on her face as Joan six centuries before her She's a poet, a Mother, a fighter, a freak A tacky renegade in Mardi Gras beads An everyday hero Stumbling away Every day hero Makes me say Fierce eyed beauty you're so brave Wish you fortune wish you grace An eight year old busker is tapping away Hopes his feet will carry him to New York someday He's the youngest of six and his momma prays That he'll be her savior her little lamb An everyday hero Making a wage Everyday hero Makes me say Fresh faced beauty you're so brave Wish you fortune wish you fame Three cheers for everyday heroes hey hey hey Three cheers for everyday heroes hey hey hey Three cheers for everyday heroes hey hey hey In a city settled by artists and thieves And others that fit in that category I can't say much about it cuz I didn't stay long Took a New Orleans left before I knew it the day was gone Filled with everyday heroes filled with everyday heroes hey hey hey...
Cigarettes and you A Victoria bar Kat's guitar A seagull, a soldier, And a four second phrase All this is nothing Leaves me wanting a smoke But I quit those too The cigarettes and you Played loves me loves me not With the petals of a daisy In a confetti lined crop I tripped over maybes I took a fall Now I'm busted wide open Need something to mend me This time I'm not joking I need something to mend me I need something to mend me Pin my wings back Held by this halter Teeth glow white in the black light Disco drips down our shoulders But I cannot play I'm just watching today I can't dance, I can't play I'm watching today I need something to mend me I need something to mend me I need something to mend me As I walk this line A Victoria bar Kat's guitar A seagull, a soldier, And a four second phrase All this is nothing Leaves me wanting a smoke But I quit those too The cigarettes and you
La Vie en Rose
( Edith Piaf Cover )
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens Un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche Voilà le portrait sans retouche De l'homme auquel j'appartiens Quand il me prend dans ses bras Il me parle tout bas Je vois la vie en rose Il me dit des mots d'amour Des mots de tous les jours Et ça me fait quelque chose Il est entré dans mon cœur Une part de bonheur Dont je connais la cause C'est lui pour moi Moi pour lui dans la vie Il me l'a dit, l'a juré pour la vie Et dès que je l'aperçois Alors je sens en moi Mon cœur qui bat
The Sparrow Cent quinze sur la rue de Belleville dans Paris Marks the spot where I was not born But the myth persists because my life was chaotic A street corner birth from an Italian whore Anetta Giovani Millard, my mother, Wandered the bars and the fairgrounds She had a fling with a circus performer Then left me with pap, who soon handed me down Sometimes things get heavy Sometimes it's too much Now in the care of a kind brothel Madame Grandma Gassion did the best that she could This upbringing had not made me sentimental When a boy signalled a girl I figured she should At sixteen years old, I was a mother By seventeen, I was on with my life When little Marcel died of meningitis I started singing because I could not cry Lewis Leplais was the club owner He coaxed me on stage with a "la môme piaf" I was the rage a heartbreaking beauty But I broke for real, when they found him dead And they had the nerve to consider me a suspect Sometimes things get heavy Sometimes it's too much Stretch just a bit further See how far I can go This will be life to the fullest Rich, ‘cause I am the sparrow Some people think I was unsympathetic Because in my notes I rarely spoke of the war Pardonnez-moi, I was a little bit busy Seeking out safety and lusting for more More, more, more Sometimes it's too much My list of men looked like a phonebook What can I say It was tragic and fun I had my last at fourty-seven He was twenty years fresher I like them young Nineteen sixty three I recorded my last song Ailing I was brought to the coast My present love and a couple of others Reasoned with me as I feared I might roast Oh mon Dieu Sometimes things get heavy Sometimes, it's too much Stretch, just a bit further Guess, this is my time to go Please, won't you pray to Saint Rita To take care of her sparrow
Little Piece Of Heaven If I tried to say everything around me If I tried to be everything I dream Then I just might have a little piece of heaven Then realize this life got everything And nothing to do with me When I get stronger and angry 'Cause there's so many things beyond my control Maybe I don't have all the answers 'Cause this is not my business to know So if I let go I just might find a little piece of heaven Alright This sunshine behind every cloud This beauty in the biggest asshole There are people that'll let you down But it doesn't matter If you let go Just throw with the change A little piece of hollow You're away I said if I tried to say I said if I tried to be If I let go I just might find a little piece of heaven Tonight
The Wonder Show
Restless Nothing like a belly full of stitches to let you know you're alive Nothing like the leash of limitation to make you want to try Nothing like a dodgy fortune teller to rush the next good bye Nothing like a naive girl whose wide sad eyes say why Why why why Some of this was in April Most of it was in the spring But some of it will be the autumn too What a chill that recognition brings Yes some of this was in April Most of it was in the spring But some of it will be the autumn too What a chill that recognition brings Hug me touch me hold me down Until i can't resist Because i have been so restless restless And i am tired of it Just like these crazy nations history repeating Hot tempered and inflated self defeating Hand over foot digging for something to believe in A bite to the back of my neck bliss is fleeting I look at children and i wonder I smell the flowers and i smile If today could be tomorrow Then i have done alright so far Nothing like a careless thought To put a sparkle in the eye That sparkle is the thing i fall for every time Because I am such a magpie I, I, I Hug me touch me hold me down Until I can't resist Because I have been so restless restless And I am tired of it I'm so tired of it
Carnation
A single white carnation Sailed through the air hit the ground Behind it was laughter And envy and joy in the sound Of passion and power For the star of the hour Least noble of flowers Lays at her feet like a clown Just a step up from a weed So common so hardy A stranger to the fame And other ridiculous things A practical type Like the fellow that threw you Who shuffles away And exits the theatre alone A single teardrop Softens the crease on his face One of many hard living has shaped "oh baby" he cried "why couldn't i ?" "oh baby" he cried "why?" "but look at you now, i guess i've done right" So the carnation man picked up his bottle And melted back into the night She was succesful The newspapers claimed A pheonix from ashes But what they never said was She longed for a call From the man she hardly knew at all She folded her kerchif(sp) And answered the dressing room door To flashes of light and armfuls of flowers "just put them over there" she said "with all of the others" But a ghost caught her eye As the usher walked by A crumpled carnation Fell through the air hit the ground
Holly O' She walks around the corner Her heart small and tight as the ass in her jeans She is a nail biter Fuelled by fire and comic book scenes She thought art held the answer But the moments of insight made the questions get larger She knew this town held treasure But the map was confusing started feeling like pressure Hey you What do you know Sweet holly sweet holly sweet Holly O' Hey you Where will you go Sweet holly sweet holly sweet Holly O' She says she's not worried of being alone Her mind gives her more than her lover Has no desire to travel back home The big smoke nurtures more than her mother A three legged dog hobbled across her path Part polka part freak show She studied she laughed As she thought about how he'd arrived at that state Was it genetics or some weird twist of fate No collar no master How she could relate Hey you What do you know Sweet holly sweet holly sweet Holly O' Hey you Where will you go Sweet holly sweet holly sweet holly O'
Living Was Wild Ankle length petticoats and whale bone corsettes Both clothing and symbol of the supposed weaker sex Denied an education and a decent wage I saw how it withered my mother and i refused to grow old that way My family called me lazy and a foolish child I never let their phrases phase me Out where the living was wild I set out to make some gravy As a single lady out staking a claim I got laughed at , pushed over, and shoved down the lane So I weighed my options--got me a crib on "the line" And let those fellows call me 'baby' as long as they could pay me fine I felt like I was crazy The Klondike too wild My calculating eye turned hazy Out where the living was wild I hoped my stamina could save me Dame fortune soon shone down on me In the shape of diamond tooth lil and Georgia lee Those 4th street parties and all the energy they took We replenished ourselves telling stories The ones that'd never make the books Diamond tooth lil, she saved Georgia' s hide When like so many other demimondes , she was crushed by some guy Gave her one sharp piece of advice as she wept 'Don't make him glad you were something he got rid of, Make him wish you were something he'd kept' A single piece of wisdom it was a pearl From a slightly jaded golden dreamer Out where the living was wild Both cursed and loved the rush that freed her Georgia lee, she went to invest money well With the wisdom that she'd gained from blanche cascaden and mrs. Belle Soon she had some places and she taught me how To double my money and branch out beyond the title of a good time girl My family called me lazy and a foolish child I never let their phrases phase me Out where the living was wild I made me a tone of gravy Now I don't mean to suggest it was an easy float to the top I worked hard for almost every nugget I got And when I speak of loss I mean I lost a lot When I speak of loss I lost a lot
Nemesis
I watch them come i watch them go Some quickly some slow They drink their coffee eat bread Read the paper shake heads --they say "how can they do that " "no better then rats" What's that the pot calling the kettle black And all the while the sun is rising The mills of god grind slowly Through this land of the high and the holy Sharp witted but not clear Focused in on the snows of last year Eyes of amber feet of lead Loves nectar soon dead Will you change it the last words said And all the while the sun is rising Slowly deeply i will be the change i want to see It's not easy but i will be the change i want to see She wears a pendant around her neck But it hasn't penetrated her heart yet Where's justice what's law The first witness the last draw Suddenly there wad a pain in her chest Where the emerald finally settled to rest A tear washed things clear There's only one of us here And through us the sun is rising Though circuitous and obscure The feet of nemesis how sure There's a rumble there's a call Come one come all There's only one of us here Slowly deeply i will be the change i want to see It's not easy but i will be the change i want to see
Such a common bird I am a lone wolf A beauty and a beast Both hunter and hunted Soft tongue and sharp teeth I toned from my travels yet raw from this road As I drink from storm puddles And the stories I'm told Help me figure this out Help me figure you in You're a shadow to me That I echo when I sing Help me figure this out Help me figure you into this simple little melody I have seen angels They were sleeping in gutters They were standing in bank lines They were jumping from towers They were calling like seagulls But nobody heard Such a beautiful message From such a common bird We want freedom for ourselves But we can't give it to each other We want peace beween nations Yet we battle with our lovers We're blinded by billboards And trying to get ahead Choking on ambition And the words left unsaid All the words left unsaid form a simple little melody I am a lone wolf A beauty and a beast Both hunter and hunted Soft tongue and sharp teeth I toned from my travels yet raw from this road As I drink from storm puddles And the stories I'm told Help me figure this out Help me figure you in You're a shadow to me That I echo when I sing Help me figure this out Help me figure you in
Treasure I feel like I have been looking so long so long my dear Hello's, goodbye's brave face, deep sigh so long So long my dear Your initials traced on glass Care of my fingers and my breathe oh oh oh Your heart your fire weak kneed I'm wild so gone so gone my dear You're a corner stone it's true so easy to sink into ou ou ou I hope to be the same for you Such a treasure to dig into ou ou ou
Beyond Longing
I never asked you If you thought there was more If it gets better beyond the black and the white Our limited sight and perspective of colour Now i'm hoping there's more I'm hoping I have a photograph Of you in cat eyed glasses and a sunhat Thin arms and face smiling That was the summer now it's the fall Everything is changing and i wonder where you are And are you happier now Happier now? Your smile lives in your girls Your art is in this world I think of our rain soaked waltz and i'm laughing Your smile lives in your girls Your art is in this world Listen - beyond longing is laughter Happier now beyond longing is laughter Happier now beyond longing is laughter
Absolute Beauty
The violet lining of a thunder cloud The smell of it as the rain pours down It gathers bits of brokeness Shards of glass, leaves and sticks Like a ringing bell like a jewelled fist Like souls i know and what they confess There's a beauty in this While crying for better i've been spared the worst Never dealt with more than existential thirst A one up, a pot shot, a gimme gimme all you've got How can i be shocked when the shark bites I've been swimming with steak in my pockets all my life People kill each other i can understand it Just spend 3 hours stuck in a mall or traffic Neurotics getting worshipped while the heroes work the fields The shadow of the glamour trumps the magic of the real Oh it's getting murky down here Where is the beauty That was just a question and this is just a song In a big old world full of folks done wrong Brave hopes, big dreams and failed attempts But sometimes a promise does get kept And there is beauty in this Absolute beauty
A Dreamer's Guide to Hardcore Living
Stop Won't you come over We'll have a cup of tea And you can tell me all the things That you seem to believe And perhaps pass one or two Onto me You say for every horror There's a million acts of kindness But I'm haunted by an image And now I'm racked with doubt and shyness Oh please stop You are an ocean You tempt and nourish me With all of the things that make me want to live Mud-lusciously The feeling lingers or is this a dream Philosophy is a forest More tangled up with time Your company, a bolt, a blaze That burns the deadwood to the ground Oh please stop, stop, stop, stop Stop Building A Castle Left, right, left was the pace of my steps As I wrestled with a riddle that was making my mind twitch It was spring in November, air was full of regret I said think, baby think, baby how can I change this Do do do do… I saw a woman on the church steps by the side of the street She had coins in her cup, a child's hand on her cheek I said think baby, think baby, how can I change this Took the long way home then went to sleep restless But I dreamt of a castle rich and bright And everyone in it was filled with light Do do do do… You'll never know the answer if you stop trying Like bobby said “if you ain't busy living your busy dying” Whoever told you it's pointless, well they're lying And if that who is you, then you should change your mind Start building a castle, don't sit and cry ‘Cause heartache is a hassle and it's a waste of time So start building a castle, don't sit and cry ‘Cause heartache is a hassle and it's a waste of time So bless the genies and the meanies And the everyone in between'ies All the comings and the goings Of the fathers and the thieves All the preachers and the teachers All the girls dying to please All the movers and the shakers The ones with scratches on their knees Start building a castle, don't sit and cry ‘Cause heartache is a hassle and it's a waste of time Lutetia She is so soft on this summer morning Church bells ring, her dogs are yawning Warm breeze carries last night's feeling Wine, music, red river dealings She is ghosts of grandmothers and kings Nine million clowns and pretty things She is torment, she is strife She is beauty, she is spice She cries for the animals, sings for the boys Dirt road charity, stone in her voice She cries for the animals, sings for the boys Inhales disparity, chokes on the choice She cries for the animals, sings for the boys Dirt road charity, stone in her voice Inhales disparity, chokes on the choice Cries for the animals, sings for the boys She cries for the animals, sings for the boys Dirt road charity, stone in her voice Inhales disparity, chokes on the choice Cries for the animals, sings for the boys She is ghosts of grandmothers and kings Nine million clowns and pretty things She is torment, she is strife She is beauty, she is spice Ask me no questions I walked in the garden and what did I see Fresh blood on some feathers and an old coyote Smiling and growling, looked straight in my eyes Said “ask me no questions, I'll tell you no lies” Oh where did you come from, how long will you stay Like a curious cat, I kept firing away He had a great story, that much I could tell He said “I am from heaven and I am from hell” “For decades and decades I've hunted and roamed But I go incognito no shape of my own Sometimes I am human and rather well known Sometimes I'm the whisper on your nights alone” I'll say, can you see It's not about hope It's not about truth Don't be naïve Just come dance with me I'll keep you safe Give you all you can take I'll make you happy I spun on my heal and I ran toward the street He was so close behind me I could feel his heart beat I turned round to face him but he took to the sky And a dozen old blackbirds started to cry They said “Ask him no questions, he'll tell you no lies” They said “Ask him no questions, he'll tell you no lies” Crossing Hearts/Cutting Threads Talk to me babe, you know I'll listen Talk to me babe, you know I care Talk to me babe, you know I'll listen Talk to me babe, you know I care Talk to me babe, you know I'll listen Talk to me babe, you know I care Talk to me babe, you know I'll listen Talk to me babe, you know I care Will is the bullet, want is the gun Shame is the bandit and the cop that he runs from The rebound the trip, turns into a skip Over a stone, a tree, a cloud, falling From checkers to chess, wishlist to guest A game is a game is a game, I guess You can read yourself wise, yet in the living go blind To stones and trees, and clouds, falling Tell me what it's like when no one's watching Tell me what it's like when no one's there Talk to me babe, you know I'll listen Talk to me babe, you know I care Talk to me babe, you know I'll listen Talk to me babe, you know I care Crossing hearts and cutting threads Crossing hearts and cutting threads Tell me what it like when no one's watching Tell me what it's like when no one's there Tell me what it's like when no one's watching Tell me what it's like when no one's there Tell me what it's like when no one's watching Tell me what it's like when no one's there Tell me what it's like when no one's watching Tell me what it's like because I still care Faith and the Long Haired Man So I walk Just to see Though I fall so easily I said “wind take me” Let the dark dogs that nip at my heals Miss my company ‘Cause I see So much trouble And I feel So much pain Do, do, do, do, do, do you too A phantom touched me in the winter The chill clung with me through the spring I was raging for love half defeated Then you held my hand Said I feel so much trouble And I see so much pain So take me Take me Do, do, do, do, do, do I do, I do Do, do, do, do, do, do I do, I do So we walk Just to see So we walk The Sad Sssad Story of Rosa Rabbit & Sasha Snake Back in a land Where cliffs meet the sand Stone mingles with clover A young rabbit was caught Foot pinched under a rock No way back to water Along came a snake Altering fate With some kindness and leverage So slither and scales Met with whiskers and tale And the story unfolded Well look at us This is so new We're from two different worlds But I swear I love you Sasha said “promise me something You'll never leave me here behind ‘Cause this is already something And I need you by my side” Spring turned to summer, and summer to fall Rosa's colours were changing and the wind seemed to call But Sasha was tired and chilled to the bone Winds offered him nothing but a longing for home Well look at us What shall we do? We're from two different worlds But I swear I love you Rosa said “I know I promised you something But I cannot stay here by your side Our home has turned into something A place where dreams and fear collide” As she hugged him goodbye They both started to cry So he held her tighter He was crushing her chest She began to resist Then he coiled still tighter Wrapped fully around Snake pulled rabbit back down To their lair by the water Said “I don't mean disrespect For I love you my pet But you are a liar” Rosa's very last breath A faint whisper at best Nobody heard her But her heart slowing down Transformed into a sound Like when fire meets water Fluttered into the air Through the forest the words “We both deserved better” Fluttered into the air Through the forest was heard “We both deserved better” Maybe Maybe is the kind of word that saves things A relief for those who crave wings She lives the things that I am dreaming It's in the air she's breathing It's what carries her away Away, away, away, away, away Maybe will you turn around and face me I want to rest my eyes on, “could be” I want to know that things can change Back Stairs For once in his life he dropped the charade She was gorgeous and glowing, a sweet serenade He could have gone up but he opted to stay He could see the gates of glory but the devil had his tail Imagine that She said, could it be you by the back stairs She said, could it be you by the back stairs Imagine that Could it be you He should have gone up, but he opted to stay Along with the devil, he swaggered and swayed She thought she could see him, could it be true? He thought she was waving, she was just grasping for a clue Could it be you by the back stairs Could it be you by the back stairs Could it be you by the back stairs Could it be you by the back stairs He should have gone up He should have gone up He should have gone up He should have gone up By the back stairs White Horses Green was the colour of the ocean waves on that day Green was the colour of the ocean waves on that day Green was the colour of the ocean waves on that day Green was the colour of the sea That cast it's glow up and over me The shade of hope, I reminisced Swallowed hard, laughed then made a wish Gold was the colour of the sand Reflecting light, sliding through my hands There was a rumble, I saw white White, white, white horses White horses White horses, white horses Don't leave with my heart White horses, white horses Don't leave with my heart Green was the colour of the ocean waves on that day Green was the colour of the ocean waves on that day Green was the colour of the ocean waves on that day White horses, white horses Don't leave with my heart White horses, white horses Don't leave with my heart Park Benches Perched on a park bench, exotic bird Strumming and cooing to the breeze and the earth With half open eyes and a smile on your lips Sun kissed eyelashes and a bag full of tricks Timid enticer with truth you transfix Spellbinding children and bored homeless drifters They cautiously gather tugging at sleeves The spark sets them swaying, grinning and clapping Caught up in the same breath that's shifting the leaves Skimming over park benches and into the street Fly, fly, sweet little songbird With your chipped nail polish and you words to the wise Call, call, everyone's someone With a heart that craves dancing and a wish in their eye With a heart that craves dancing and a wish in their eye
For The Wolf, A Good Meal
Our Time I held part of the story And you held a part of it so We laid back, wanted and wanting To free fall Down to the river, molten and gold Both of us counting, one, one Led to the river, fed by the lull Struck by the balance, calm, calm, calm You who You who Wild eyes stripped of distraction Brought back to the moment through fire and ice Shell shocked our finish cracking Reluctant surrender We fell through the stars You who You who Hello, hello, hello Our time Pearls and sunshine Our time Rubies and rain Our time An axe and a forest Kept us all guessing Choices, choices, choices You who You who Hello, hello, hello You who You who Down through the river You who You who And into the stars You who You who Our time You who You who Our time Kept us all guessing
Animal (Krig to Elyse) You crawled up from the gutter You say you've seen the light Now you want to live life better Your sentiment is rather trite You say that you've learned your lessons But lessons they take time Meanwhile there are so many temptations Have a look at some of mine I loved her like a daughter She told you she's my slave After everything I gave her That thing still won't behave She's an animal An animal You ought to hear my story But I haven't got the time To offer a contrition For the way I spend my time To make you see my angle You'd have to step inside My palace of illusions Where there's nothing you can hide My little animal I grant people their wishes The first couple of times And I expect compensation Only asking for what's mine Before we go much further Before I let you go You know you really don't deserve her There's something you should know You're still an animal An animal I collected her the same way That the sea collected me And she'll do the same I tell you Just you wait and see She complains of feeling empty She's always wanting more I told her that I know the feeling What's she think I took her for But her appetite is ravenous for one so young and thin She's on the hunt for more than all the treasures in my den She's an animal An animal An animal An animal I think she's gonna leave me I guess I'll let her go But I've given her so much You know she really owes me more I think she's gonna leave me I guess I'll let her go But I'll need a new distraction This much you have to know ‘Cause I'm an animal
Flick of the wrist (Eddy's wish) Stone skipped over water rippled out like time Threw for every year he'd been here Over thirty times Rings glistened in the twilight Shifted through the mist So easily shattered With a flick of the wrist “Thank you , thank you, thank you for this Would you, could you, show me all that I've missed?” “I get what you're asking Can you say it again Did you mention forever Something about dreaming” “I get what you're asking Can you say it again Did you mention forever Something about dreaming Something about dreaming” Stone skipped over water rippled out like time Threw for every year he'd been here Over thirty times Rings glistened in the twilight Shifted through the mist So easily shattered With a flick of the wrist
Picking up pieces (Cora leaving Krig) Glory can come from devotion So I did that, so I did that But duty can be a bitter potion Know I did that, know I did that Lonely steps, my first away But I did that, but I did that Cold as the blade that cut my roots away Now I would throw my body to the ground If I thought it would change things Give me some kind of reason For why you want me crawling around Picking up pieces When these aren't my pieces I used to be one of those girls That would skip down the street I used to be one of those girls That would I would throw my body to the ground If I thought it would change things Give me some kind of reason For why you want me crawling around Picking up pieces When these aren't my pieces I used to be one of those girls That would skip down the street I used to be one of those girls That would
Black/white Fate held the opposite to all of his finest decisions One storm, and the rush of it Cracked his ship and he felt himself sinking Sharp, bright, flashes of light and the roar of the waves overhead "It's alright" a voice in the night It said, "follow me, follow me, follow me Follow away, no need to go back, no need to go back now Away, no need to go back, no need to go back now " Up where the sun shone his love disbelieving Shed tears in the ocean while rowing and grieving "You can't just have vanished, you were so close to shore Was there a siren in the waves that tore you from home Wish you could come back, wish you would come back now Wish you could come back, wish you would come back now" "What happened" he said, "have I collided with stars I feel such confusion, don't know where we are And what are those strange jewels that fall from above They fill me with longing like the shadow of love I need to go back, I need to go back now I need to go back, I need to go back now" "Hush now my darling I've built you a garden Relax and enjoy it, you are bound here by nothing Let my necklace entice you, pearls round a silk strand It cuts straight through their centre like darkness through man Black, white everything is alright You've been caught in a grand twist of fate Black, white everything is alright Just call me your favorite mistake Black, white Black, white Black, white Black, white Beyond all reason (Eddy's farewell song to Cora) A most violent paradise Tumultuous and free Hot tears shaped the clouds above And held everything we'd seen In the woods there was a bird whose song made you blush And there was also a clock But it never struck While we were out wandering Open to anything Audacious and dreaming There was no logic to our promises So I'll take this for what it was Beyond all reason Beyond all reason Close my eyes, words fill me like music Truth comes to light Strange voices say 'do it' Close my eyes words fill me with music Truth comes to light Strange voices say 'do it'.... Close my eyes, words fill me like music Truth comes to light Strange voices say 'do it' While we were out wandering Close my eyes, words fill me like music Truth comes to light Strange voices say 'do it' It was beyond all reason In the woods there was a bird whose song made you blush
Eddy (Why Don't You Put Your Gun Down?) (The seaweed soldiers reveal eddy's secret) What are these words that are surrounding me I swear the seagrass is talking to me It speaks my name so lovingly I've heard this song before Like stars in the night Their voices soft and light The twinkle started slowly shifting to a roar It was the call of soldiers Was the call of pain It weakened his defences Calling out his name Eddy, why don't you put your gun down Eddy, why don't you put your gun down A flash of light and a burst of flame He relived the battlefield again He shook as memories filtered into him His orders, open fire Don't talk to me of mercy Justice is my aim For every one I kill I'll do it in her name Oh God, I showed no mercy Justice never came Revenge could not revive her And now their blood is my shame Eddy, why don't you put your gun down Eddy, why don't you put your gun down I fought for so many reasons I fight for so many reasons Why don't you put your gun down Eddy, why don't you put your gun down Through drowning lips we prayed for miracles 'Cause twenty is just too young to have to go Now we are prisoners of the sea Reliving birth through battle like a dream Our first source of destruction Vengeance and a gun We all lost someone Eddy All had come undone But when you saw us dying Something in you snapped Although we are the fallen You're the one whose trapped Eddy, why don't you put your gun down Eddy, why don't you put your gun down Eddy, why don't you put your gun down Eddy, why don't you put your gun down...
Lions and lambs (Elyse to Cora) Come away From the roar and the shake Like this planet spinning We each take our chances turning Say that it's natural Life is a battle We're so the same Lions and lambs Ready to kill Ready to fall Is this so real Is this so real Is this so real Come away From the roar and the shake Is this so real Come away From the roar and the shake It's like this planet spinning Come away From the roar and the shake... We're so the same We each take our chances turning
Toss it away (Mary speaks) They come back, they come They come back One by one The ace of spades is what I drew that day It said a circle of salt would keep the wolves at bay So I chased the ocean for fifty six days And I fell in love fifty six ways Moving around for awhile Oh I've been moving around for awhile The king of diamonds, he crossed my path Fresh from the water and smooth like sea glass Said "I don't care about your future I don't care about your past Just come over here, I'll help you relax" Moving around for awhile Oh I've been moving around for awhile So, I'll keep moving around for awhile Oh I've been moving around for awhile The queen of hearts, she was my next guest Jewels in her eyes and mint on her breath She told me all my secrets Put her hand on my chest Said "toss it away, it'll all come back Toss it away, it'll all come back..." And they come back, they come They come back One by one
Grey eyes (Cora about Elyse) She turned her head so slow As she told me I should go I loved to look into her grey eyes But now it seems they haunt me every night It's all too much this first to last And it all flew by so damn fast She said "I fought a good fight" I know you fought a good fight I held her head and I kissed her cheek I combed her hair and I rubbed her feet I tried to smile, but she saw through Those grey eyes never missed a clue She said "I fought a good fight I fought a good fight And you can fight a good fight without me Go and fight a good fight" Now I wish that I could see Now I wish that I could see Now I wish that I could see... All those grey eyes saw in me
Giver (Cora to all) Apologies to those of you that are eternal sunshine But it seems so ostentatious, don't you trip on shadows sometimes While crumpling the notions and tossing them away And going through the motions and seizing the day I want to know what you mean when you say you're a giver I want to know what you mean when you say, I care See I found myself a mother, she helped me take a stand But she was on a mission, left before I landed I know that this world is a strange one Nothing is quite as it seems A king rich from trickery rules here And seems to have killed a true queen I want to know what it takes to remain a giver I want to know how to stoke my faith in man Chimeras and sweet nothings sinking in the sand When I try to grasp them they dissolve in my hands Belief is superstition, magic, and religion -half blind Disbelief an endless question, emptiness, despair The river that's between them is the safest place to swim Never mind the rapids, we're already half in I want to know what you mean when you say you're a giver I want to know how it feels to be so near That doesn't seem to be the way it is today It could surely help me if I heard you say Giver! Away, away, away All these wishes (Mary from the shore) Bursts of white blossoms were appearing On the surface of the sea Each one a Lilly scented whisper Whose essence said that she Would soon get what she wanted That her dream would come to pass She pulled her gaze from the horizon As she heard a violent splash All these wishes All this time Kept me guessing Is this why On the rocks a fish lie gasping Strapped to its back a tattered map She picked her way through stands toward him One step forward Two steps back All these wishes All this time Kept me guessing Is this why
One Colour More One Colour More You were with me when my eyes first opened you were with me when my soul cried more With your sweet promises all smoke and mirrors Kept me hanging on 'cause I believed it So I put my faith in things forsaken These battled beauties crawling onto dusty shores Whispering reason and more I swore I would not fall to pieces This time around But swearing is for crooks and preachers Again a copy paste, i'm tired of robot A broken wing A frosted branch A final word A twice struck match Good for something But not like before A shift in purpose One colour more One colour more So I put my faith in things forsaken These battled beauties crawling onto dusty shores In Bocca al Lupo The damp air carried the smell of musty cotton And burning sugar The red moon over the brackish dark water Whispered danger Oh, in bocca al lupo Oh, crepi il lupo La Merica won't you please, please won't you be A place that loves music and the man that made me These docks are a war zone, such ferocity I wonder if we should have left dear Sicily Again a copy paste, i'm tired of robot I am steel reeds, gaskets & kidskin gusset I'm gleaming green Set in Circassian walnut He crafted me with love And I am his best shot At getting out of the shipyards And starting his music shop Oh, in bocca al lupo Oh, crepi il lupo His eyes grew nervous, his touch grew rough I think it troubled him that no one liked our melodies much The French swore for waltzes, the Irish jigs and reels A choppy sort of fusion was demanded by the Creoles He was such a brave man with eyes of amber Thick black hair and a barrel chested swagger But sfortunato was his hand Even the best accordion can't save an unlucky man La Merica won't you please, please won't you be A place that loves music and the man that made me These docks are a war zone, such ferocity I wish that we had never left dear Sicily Have you ever had to say goodbye from a distance Knowing it was forever in one sharp instant I slid out of his arms and crashed to the floor As the cops burst through the party and tore the men through the back door Three hundred Italians were rounded up that day As an officer was shot and an accusation was made Some were tried, then acquitted But a mob still insisted it was them that did it They broke into the prison shouting "someone will pay!" My sweet maker was among the innocent lynched that day Oh, in bocca al lupo Oh, crepi il lupo La Merica won't you please, please won't you be A place that loves music and the man that made me These docks are a war zone, such ferocity I wish that we had never left dear Sicily La Merica won't you please, please won't you be A place that loves music and the man that made me These docks are a war zone, such ferocity Crepi il lupo Owl and Boy I met a boy just like me He couldn't fledge feathers, had no family Although he had two legs and human teeth His eyes were wild like a prairie beast's Again a copy paste, i'm tired of robot We owls are swifter than the children of men Every week of our lives takes a year for them By my calculations that made us both eight I said "aren't you a little short in the beak to migrate?" Who who Hatchlings are born helpless and weak Depending on our parents to help us feed When something happened that kept my folks away While struggling on my own, my feather growth was delayed "Time waits for no one" the elder birds said And as the nights grew colder my flock flew away "time waits for no one" the boy nodded his head And said a similar thing had happened to him He said he'd come from a land far away Which was why he spoke differently than other kids I'd heard play Described for me a city that was gritty and black Where the roofs were damp and the gutters had rats The Society of Waifs and Strays Had gathered up his gang and shipped them away From the hunger and the hazards of the dead-end streets To where the food was plenty and the air was sweet in Canada Who who He said: "will you stick by me, can I call you friend? Though these folks are fine I don't feel like one of them" I said I would stick by him, as he knelt by my den I told him all I'd learned of borrowed homes and adapting Who who Athene cunicularia, that's my family name Or burrowing owl as they say on the plains We're built for flight but we live on the ground In other creatures burrows which we have found We cozy them up with twigs and grass But none of this offers protection if the owner comes back Gophers are fine, snakes are mean I think the badger is the deadliest thing that I've seen But your human situation is worse it seems You never know what kind of animal they will be You can't be too quick to call one friend or enemy Who who When one is the runt of the litter Or the new kid on the hectare You've got to analyse the obstacles and dangers And then do them one better Take me for example, I work a bit each day On my imitation of a rattle snake The language of one's predator is a handy thing to know The mastering of it is how I've saved my tail up till now Life here holds amazing things Even without a set of parents or a pair of wings You ask "what can this prairie bring?" I say "anything, anything, anything" Oh Canada Will you stick by me can I call you friend In this land of grasses as vast as the ocean If we stick together through thick and through thin We can forage a future Two orphans in Canada Oh Canada Papusza and the Crows I fell in love with her among harps and violins Attracted by her songs and the books she'd hidden Her family brought the woods alive with thirst for living But feared written words and cursed her for her reading This passion, self taught Along with local lessons she bought Stolen chickens is how she managed to pay And as she snapped their necks, she prayed Again a copy paste, i'm tired of robot One crow sorrow, two crows trust Whomever is my maker tell me this much How can what I love so much be wrong Are not words on paper as pure as words in song One crow worry, two crows war Three crows run child Before they reach your door This crow's seen it all before So I warned them two times more All the birds were praying for the Gypsy children To blend into the forest so the pale men can't reach them "snow fell thick as leaves" as we watched their shadows Looking past us in the trees As if the stars might guide them Porraimos, the Devouring 500,000 gone, more running We're alone on this longest road Papusza, don't you see, beware of the gadjo! One crow danger, two crows truth Three crows, enough luck to pull the family through She wrote all of their suffering down And hoped a sympathetic ear may be found My darling was delighted to meet Ficowski Felt he understood her nature and poetry But two hearts in the right place don't guarantee A happy ending, can't control what is to be One crow sorrow, two crows joy Three crows a promise Four crows a ploy This crow has seen it all before I had to let her take her fall They called her mahrime, traitor No longer one of their daughters No longer a part of The water that wanders My words were used against my wishes The Great Halt left my people stranded If this is how it's going to be Then bury me My words were used against my wishes The Great Halt left my people stranded If this is how it's going to be Then bury me My words were used against my wishes The Great Halt left my people stranded If this is how it's going to be Then bury me standing, standing, standing My words were used against my wishes The Great Halt left my people stranded If this is how it's going to be Then bury me standing Civilized Sadness – March 16,1988 lament I can't show you the border On a man-made map On the ridge of our mountain we had four seasons I really miss that Pages Blank pages Fell from the sky And we all went running over Thrilled by the surprise Testing Testing Then it fell from the sky First it smelled like sweet apples First it smelled sweet Life is a lottery It favours the quick Memory is elusive Runs away, away, away with it Again a copy paste, i'm tired of robot I hear her singing to the plums and the grapes See her nimble hands sewing cotton and lace Bags which would protect fruit from bees All of these things I carry with me My sister's smile, my father's poetry But I know that I will never inherit My mother's trees J'Arrive A La Ville (Lhasa de Sela Cover) Moi aussi Moi aussi J'arrive à la ville Pour y verser Ma vie Je monte la rue Comme un géant Ça c'est la ville Et ça, c'est ma vie Moi aussi Moi aussi J'arrive en fuyant Je suis encore Loin devant Si la ville me cache On ne me trouvera pas Je ne sais pas qui (Je ne sais pas qui) Je ne sais plus (Je ne sais pas quoi) Moi aussi Moi aussi J'arrive les mains vides Au sud du nord Au nord du Sud J'ai un passé Mais je ne m'en sers pas Le futur sera mieux Tellement mieux que ça T'en as pas marre de copier coller tout ce qui bouge! Moi aussi Moi aussi J'arrive à la ville Moi aussi Moi aussi J'arrive à la ville Je monte la rue Comme un géant Ça c'est la ville Et ça, c'est ma vie... When the Strangest Weeds Take Hold All I ever wanted for my baby Was to have a better life than the good Lord gave me To turn my back on the Motherland, that's fine We Spirit-Wrestlers have strength and faith But I never thought we'd sail so far away I feel the sea in me, I'm wavering Again a copy paste, i'm tired of robot Oh, we'll do the best we can do Continue west brave pacifists we'll help each other through Oh, we'll do the best we can do When we reached the other shore I felt steadier Then by rail we all felt better, yet still My son would not calm down Now this thought haunts me We'd come so far so fast Perhaps his nature was shaped by the ceaseless motion of our path Oh, how is a woman to sooth All these restless souls as they're adapting Oh, we'll do the best we can do While the men work "out" we'll work in and do the planting I have been working my fingers to the bone But I can't replace that his father isn't home Sometimes, like I promised We're together and he shines But it's never soon or long enough for a young man's time line I know why you're so sad boy I can feel it in me too Would you let me sing a hymn with you I know why you're so sad boy I can feel it in me too But those men aren't talking sense to you Those men aren't talking sense to you I remember how it sounded when we were 4,000 strong But now we're scattered like the gravel from the road we walked here on And the pressure's crept into us like a tale so often told We're like the earth once it's been broken and the strangest weeds take hold (We're like the earth once it's been broken and the strangest weeds take hold) (All I ever wanted for my baby was to have a better life than the good Lord gave me)... I had to turn away when he asked me that question 'Cause I know what the Sons of Freedom do I know everything I couldn't tell him what it was that he needed me to say 'Cause he who lives by the sword has cut all hope away Oh, what is a mother to do When there's no tenderness left in the seed she planted Oh, I don't know what I can do Seems this prairie has made a wolf of you This prairie has made a wolf of you September Yes, it was simpler then The time before we thought we knew better We tripped along the riverbank Copper trails, fists tucked in our sweaters The leaves and wild grasses Were weakened by the chill in the breeze Still summoned up the fortitude To tickle us on the backs of our knees Our lives Tangled roots sucking the ground In September We slipped Laughed so hard that we fell down Do you remember Again a copy paste, i'm tired of robot A decade's worth of promises Settled in the crease of your cheek Your eyelids, an accordion That folded and lulled you to sleep And your dreams were full of miracles And colours that we'd never seen It left you feeling curious With a hint of longing Our love Tangled roots sucking the ground In September We slipped Laughed so hard that we fell down Do you remember Yes, it was simpler then The time before we thought we knew better We tripped along the riverbank Copper trails, fists tucked in our sweaters Wide the Wonder – Wild the Hunger Wide the wonder Wild the hunger Wide the wonder Wild the hunger Such a forward and back dance you do Wide the wonder Such a forward and back dance you do Wild the hunger Such a forward and back dance you do The wonder Such a forward and back dance The hunger Such a forward and back dance you do Wide the wonder Such a forward and back dance you do Wild the hunger Such a forward and back dance you do Wide the wonder Such a forward and back dance you do Again a copy paste, i'm tired of robot I wrote for the horses that burst from the sea Whose pounding hooves raced like my heartbeat I wrote for the wanting, I wrote for the need I wrote for the wind what it gifted me Wide the wonder Wild the hunger Wide the wonder Wild the hunger Wide the wonder Wild the hunger Eyes like the sea I felt them melt through me Until all I could see was Precious Such a forward and back dance you do The wonder Such a forward and back dance you do The hunger Such a forward and back dance you do Wide the wonder Such a forward and back dance Wild the hunger
Hunger Made you brave In This Part of the World Tonight
In this part of the world tonight Through the shadows there's a bell that's ringing In this part of the world tonight There's a growl and the softest sigh In this part of the world tonight There's a child, and I see her dancing As she pivots her face toward me She's kicking at stars and laughing In this part of the world tonight There's a bear weightlessly lumbering Through the steps of a twice dead girl And the promise of a different world In that part of the world tonight There's a river and a mother crying Sees wind messing with the reflection Not the message that the stars are sending "Sorry for your troubles friend But life gives and it takes Like all the beasts and elements You need to learn to play Even the hearts of galaxies Have black holes at their base But timeless is love's offering You're going to be ok" In this part of the world tonight A man accepts its failings In this part of the world tonight A fear becomes a friend In this part of the world tonight Strange shapes whispering "freedom" He abandons the strain of striving Opening arms and breathes in
Laelaps What's this paradox the one that always wins chasing the one that can't be Caught white hot Like the plot sewn by Gods and Kings You are such a beast With your snapping jaws And your shining teeth You said yes fox, I see you in me You were protection, I was retribution Faster then the wind and tougher than the seasons You were golden and I was crimson Both duty bound beyond our own reasons Laelaps Laelaps Laelaps This type of battle is less skill than vice Even the greatest victor pays the heaviest price It's "cadmean" like the name I was given Before being turned to stone and tossed to the heavens With Laelaps Laelaps Laelaps
What's this paradox the one that always wins chasing the one that can't be Caught white hot Like the plot sewn by Gods and Kings You are such a beast With your snapping jaws And your shining teeth You said yes fox, I see you in me
This Hope When you walk the wire It's quite a view and I've seen plenty Round and round, a crooked waltz The wheel of time This hope Is a different kind of heavy This hope Is a thing I can't define When I think I know the reasons And the part I'm going to play A twist kicks at conviction And yanks the ground away Then like a puppet on a string Swinging Let go of it Just go for it This hope It is a thing with feathers This hope, A song within the storm Calling you
The Binding Of Fenrir All the folks had gathered to see what was in store another test of my strength, a new chain had been forged But something in its shimmer made me sense a trap A strange sort of shiver crept up my back It was roots of stones, and step of a cat Breath of fish-strange things like that I said I won't fight that There's something tricky here I won't fight that Let me be very clear I won't fight that Won't step into this one alone I'm needing one brave act That's what I'm asking here Just one brave act I need a volunteer to be a sort of guarantee Place your hand here, please The only one to offer was my trusted friend From him the only nourishment that I'd been given But his step was heavy and his touch was light His eye unsteady and he reaked of fright The deal was sealed, the fetter placed And as I feared this chain won't break But no, I won't bite back Resist a little longer Won't bite that But still I wonder what sort of wolf should I be to one that betrays me They locked me up in a desolate place His hand in my stomach, their sword in my face And as I howled and cursed them A river flowed from my spit It was Expectation And I would deliver it They prophesied that I would bring death and calamity But they were doomed by what they couldn't see By their own deeds through their mistreatment of me So a word of advice: If you want to keep your monsters at bay Don't school them with cruelty that they'll feel compelled to repay Someday a great poet will say "Everything that lives is holy" And what was done to and through me nothing but a story I said I won't bite down I said I won't bite down I said I won't But here we are My mother was a giant and my father a trickster But I wasn't raised by them, not their nature Wish you wouldn't paint me with the same old brush I didn't even care for my siblings much My brother was a snake, my sister a Helcat But blood is thicker than water, you proved that My brother was a snake, my sister a Helcat But blood is thicker than water, you proved that I said I won't bite I said I won't bite I said I won't bite I said I won't bite I won't bite I won't bite I won't bite I won't bite Raw!
What Would It Take Beauty - more than a pretty face I felt it leave - a light erased So I looked low and I looked high Around all the spots we loved to hide I want to be the one That will step in and shelter you I want to be the one But I don't know what I should do This time is softer than the tide suggests As we gather around and place our bets A pull to the left - a push to the right It's a mixed up battle in the air tonight Eyes half open and hearts shut tight I want to be the one That will step in and shelter you I want to be the one But I don't know what I should do What would it take Come on, baby, I won't break I want to give it - will you take Raw power I promise that Lean in I've got your back So come on, baby, I won't break I want to give it - will you take Raw power I promise that Lean in I've got your back I've got your back I want to be the one That will step in and shelter you I want to be the one But I don't know what I should do
The Robin's Request All for a little while A lifetime in a day Beyond the waves Before the crave Between the "this" and the "they" Can I paint you a picture With the dirt from my wings And the damp of the storm clouds Charged rumblings I know you want to run back But there is no back I know you want to run back But there is no back I know you want to run back But there is no back There is no back All of the little things Must fuse to make things richer What seems like the end Is just starting again What are dreams Without sunshine To tend them So shall I paint you a picture With somebody's words I can paint you a picture With somebody's words
How Fortunate We Are Shadows fold In shifting light Crease and soften Like youth's wild eyes Warmth upon my shoulders Coolness beneath my toes Stepping light and carefree Humming as I go Shadows fold in shifting light Aren't we the lucky ones today Today Like a million pennies shining Copper in the grass The dew kissed through with sunrise A smile upon my lips Shadows fold in shifting light Aren't we the lucky ones today How fortunate we are How fortunate we are blue brought out the sparrows Mauve brought out the bats Dusk brought out the laughter Night owls, and tree rats Soon the winged and feathered creatures Are fed and out of sight Now it's just the crickets peppering the night How fortunate we are How fortunate we are How fortunate we are How fortunate we are Sweet Taking our time Like the ivy vines We climb Up Through the tree line To full on open sky Fresh is the feeling Sea salt and promises breathed in Full moon echoing Everything silver rimmed Everything shimmering Everything silver rimmed Everything shimmering How fortunate we are How fortunate we are Now night Starlight Now night Starlight Now night Starlight Now night Starlight Now night Starlight
FIRST THERE WERE FEATHERS Roam First there were feathers Then a whispered word Roam I knelt next to something It was strange and it sang subversion I rose out of something It was wild Like a resurrection I failed to roam today I failed to roam I failed to roam today I failed to roam I failed to roam today I failed to roam I failed to roam today I failed to roam Roam Language Of The Birds It's deeper than a fairytale In Europe and in Asia North and South America The Arctic and Australia They walked with them in dreamtime They were softened and were led Through the long call of creation And the echoes of the dead They learned the language of the water They learned the language of the earth They learned the language of the feathered ones How they could cure or curse May be Maybe So they called it out And when they called it out They shaped the message into words When they called it out A symbiotic shout Connected the last with the first When they called it out The stories brought about A wild wisdom wrapped in verse But then a falling out Division cutting out The language A curse The language of the birds The language The language of the birds The language Language of the birds The language What can cure can curse The language of the birds But it could be the reverse The language of the birds What can cure can curse The language of the birds But it could be the reverse
Is There Anyone Out There Is there anyone out there... Once in a while Things line up just right The time, the speed, the light And I hear a sound that will stick with me for the rest of my life But those voices are everywhere All the time, the more than human Some say that if we could perceive Even a fraction of these conversations We'd never feel lonely again We'd never feel lonely again Swift, As One Designed For Flying So much of us you can't understand Even if you held us in your hand A monomorphic anomaly Shades of black and brown is all you'd see Yes, your vision is poor and your heart is slow You're featherless yet you think you know What freedom is, so on you go Only yours, the tale worth telling While I live on the wing And die on the wing as one Designed for flying To eat on the wing To sleep on the wing And while I sleep I'm dreaming Of parties where we feasted well Above deltas, lakes through tails of storms Much higher than the martins go Two thousand strong We soared and dove To play on the wing To mate on the wing As ones designed for flying We drop our feathers one by one A slow renewal is preferred by some A full moult would leave us too undone Even we, the nearest to the sun We pair for life, this you may know But once we raise our young we go Our separate ways, subsaharan days Ten months of twelve are travelling To live on the wing To thrive on the wing As ones designed for flying To drink on the wing To sleep on the wing And while I sleep I'm dreaming A unihemispheric sleep Fuelled by light and acetylcholine A slow wave stream of things I've seen And all the things worth having I've lived longer now than most I'm growing tired, but I can boast If all the miles were added up I'd have been six times to the moon and back I've lived on the wing I'll die on the wing As one designed for flying I sing on the wing I dream on the wing And while I dream I'm flying Albatross A man with a message stumbled into town Clutched at the arm of the first soul he found His face was haggard and his eyes half crazed And his voice like a chilled growl from the grave He said, "I can't go back to make the change I see that angel fall again and again As the arrow from my crossbow tore through its chest Can you see this albatross around my neck" He said, "Will my fall down bring in a new light" He said, "Will my fall down bring in a new light" Each drop of blood from that feathered coat Was the beat of a drum, a musical note Then I was pierced by a force I had failed to see As that creature's story soaked into me She said, "Will my fall down bring in a new light" Will my fall down bring in a new light For sixty years she had soared with the winds Around the Southern globe again and again Below fourty degrees where there is no law below Fifty degrees where there is no god She said, "Will my fall down bring in a new light" Will my fall down bring in a new light Two hundred thousand years your kind have been While fifty million marks the years we've seen Your time here is just a drop in the bucket While mine is the ocean and the clouds above it Your kind try to harness everything Why must you be so reckless with the thirst you bring When we lower our heads in disbelief You think it's 'cause you're a master But it's 'cause you're a thief She said, "Will my fall down bring in a new light" She said, "Will my fall down bring in a new light" Will my fall down bring in a new light Will my fall down bring in a new light Some say those birds carry lost souls home I still can't explain my need to shoot it down But everyday since her questions cursed I am "What moves you to take just because you can" Prometheus, Please Prometheus, please What were you thinking Prometheus, please Prometheus, please What were you thinking Prometheus, please As the flames know Grief can be deeper If you take till you choke Yes, grief can be deeper Ghosts in the forms of Glaciers and seabirds Calls from coral to coal Fire, you've done me wrong, why Prometheus, please What were you thinking (why) Prometheus, please As the waves roll Lost languages keeper As the vultures they coast on Winds that are meagre Fed by what is left Not killers but seekers Through our failed tests Fire, we've done you wrong, why Prometheus, please What were you thinking (why) Prometheus, please Oh Prometheus, please What were you thinking Yes, your gift could ease But also bring suffering When we took the lead, you know We would take everything Could you not see that We'd fuel our own ending Fire What were you thinking Fire What were you thinking Prometheus, please (could it be easy) What were you thinking Prometheus, please (could you let deeper in) Prometheus, please (could you go easy) What were you thinking Prometheus, please (hear what we're offering) (Prometheus, please) As the flames roll (could it be easy) What were you thinking As the flames know (could you let deeper in) As the waves roll (could it be easy) What were you thinking As the flames know (hear what we're offering) Please Please Please Please The Innocents Into Rumble And Roar One night as I went strolling out I sat down by a white washed door A tear comes roaming to my eye When I thought of my poor mother, dear Rumble And Roar Beneath the birch trees and the dappled light Blacker than the bears on a moonless night Millions of years in the making if conditions were right Call it coal, peat, heat and pressure A new system ignites, alright Dynamite, flash of light, rumble and roar Life is tough, so dig it up, tunnel and bore My father spoke to ravens and my mother to stones That's how I overheard their childhood secrets Hunger and cold Get back Dynamite, flash of light, rumble and roar Life is tough, so dig it up, tunnel and bore Dynamite, flash of light, rumble and roar Life is tough, so dig it up, tunnel and bore Two Catholic mothers birthed twenty-six souls No heat or running water Just wood for the stove When you give, give, give You expect you might get And if it weighs on your conscience Then you pray to forget Get back Dynamite, flash of light, rumble and roar Send them down in the ground, digging for more Husbands and sons all black lunged and soar But winters are long and hunger's a whore Get back Dynamite, flash of light, rumble an roar Life is tough, so dig it up, tunnel and bore Dynamite, flash of light, rumble an roar Life is tough, so dig it up, tunnel and bore The end justifies the means Is an argument that always left me queasy Just like the sound of machinery Has always made me Uneasy Wind On Wings There's a trick I learned as a child When all of my difficult emotions lessened As I imagined how The press of cooling air might feel Against a bird's wings But my deepest relief doesn't come from imagining I can feel what the rook feels Know what the rook knows Instead, it's slow delight In knowing I cannot More ways to listen More ways to try More ways to witness More ways to fly Four Chambered Heart It could have been their voices Like trails from a star You know they have to sing through darkness To hold course and avoid harm Could have been the ache of freedom The push and pull of tired wings Could have been the warm pulse beating Twice the sugar through their veins Four chambered heart Less efficient, but more art Four chambered hearts Not born the way of mammals Hard shell chipped by trembling beak But when the light and hunger hit you You met a mother's need to feed Then the thought of flying And a map that others owned Hundreds of millions of years trying And the hollowing of bones Through those Four chambered hearts We're so different, but not this part Four chambered hearts Alright, alright Four chambered hearts Another vision, another spark Four chambered hearts Melody Of One Snow floats around A swirl of flakes that sting my skin Close my eyes and draw the iced air in Strange lifelines A million whispers in this wind I exhale a cloud And the next tale begins The roots are shallow on the taiga trees Because the soil is so thin To survive the cold they alter themselves With a thing called hardening Reminds me how I've cloaked me heart And the different ways of living Of stone eyed souls trading glory for gold Because we're void of our true story Ice, fire, bone, birch Antler, root, stone, church... Fur rippled like river water Over the muscles of the running mother As her hooves pounded the ground Soon her muscle was meat And her skin a sheet And her soul horizon bound Fur rippled like river water Over the muscles of the running mother As her hooves pounded the ground Soon her muscle was meat And her skin a sheet And her soul horizon bound Fur rippled like river water (Part) Over the muscles of the running mother (Of the river) As her hooves pounded the ground (Part) Soon her muscle was meat And her skin a sheet (Of the river) And her soul horizon bound Marvelling over how much one is like another The give and take as we shift into each other Marvelling over how much one is like another The give and take as we shift into each other The melody of The melody of One It's A Reckoning On and on and on the sparrow goes On and on an on our histories linked they follow But even they it seems will have to go That tough and tiny sentinel What will it take, it's astonishing What will it take, the growth, the vanishing What will it take, such force, then nothing What will it take, consequence, commodity What will it take, dominion over all we see Take, take, take... She said, "You have to be the voice for those that haven't got one For the fading and the gone It's not solutions that you lack here It's the will to get them done See me Feel me Step by step through the footprint of our great acceleration Is the great cost, the great loss The silence and the thinning In just fifty years almost seventy percent of the planets wild vertebrates have disappeared Fish, reptiles, mammals, birds Even that dear little sparrow that's been following us into villages and cities for ten thousand years Have disappeared It's a reckoning What will it take Serpent, spectre, sparrow, spy Calling from the earth and sky Raise your voices, "hit the brake For hell is a truth that is learned too late" Chimera, griffin, shisa, sphinx You are more lion than you think Your pulse, a puzzle with hidden links Much deeper than convention The scale is tipping, soon comes the jolt The feather forced to drift and float As the heart falls further toward the throat of the crocodile Extinction It's a reckoning What will it take It's a reckoning Who Shall Bell The Cat Who shall bell Who shall bell Who shall bell the cat I wonder, is it you Fall In Love With Everything It made such a sweet sound It was sun kissed like a seraph As it fluttered to the ground But in a flash, the cat upon it Broke its wing and tossed it round Blind thrill, no glory That bird had come so far From the heart of Scandinavia on its way to Africa Now stone eyed and mute A mangled lifeless toy For some fat cat to enjoy I thought about the wild things The battles and the might have beens Free will versus hard wiring Are we a soul's call for better Or just instinct, grasping feathers Are we a soul's call for better Or just instinct If science proves what prophets And the poets put in rhyme Beyond the boundaries of our knowing And the limits of our time Would we say the system's broken Would we recognize our crimes Would we step outside our notions Would we cast aside our pride Are we a soul's call for something better Or just instinct, grasping feathers Are we a soul's call for better Or just instinct Are we a soul's call for something better Or just instinct, grasping feathers Are we a soul better Instinct Her voice was such a sweet sound The sun shone in her eyes, causing her to frown She said, "You know, folks won't save (folks won't save) What they don't love" (what they don't love) And now that's all I'm thinking of Folks won't save what they don't love And now that's all I'm thinking of As, as I As I fall in love with everything I fall in love with everything I fall in love with everything And the alarm bells are ringing And the songbirds have stopped singing After The Rain The sun awakes another day And I am given reasons A feather found by mirrored ground A song, a quenched thirst, freedom Heart parched and broken like the clay For each one now gone or leaving My rage grew heavy like the rain Now dry river beds are heaving Washed past the race to know The need to claim tomorrow I call it back to me All the pointless beauty And I breathe easy Breathe easy Breathe easy Breathe Swallow, Dear Swallow She was a traveller, sharp tail and wings Delayed from her voyage by the gifts that love brings Ignoring the cool and diminishing light And the calls from the shadows as her family took flight Swallow, dear swallow, don't waste too much time There's a high price to freedom if the winds are not right Swallow, dear swallow, she pushed and she tried But fresh into her journey had to rest for the night The roof tops were grey and dusted with snow All the sheltered spots taken by pigeons and sparrows "Over here", cried a voice, she arced back to see A glimmering statue with a tear on his cheek Swallow, dear swallow, you can stay here tonight I'll be your shelter and the view is alright Swallow, dear swallow, fell in love at first sight Nestled into his neck and asked, "Why do you cry" It's all that I see, lovely Such heart that it breaks mine, lovely I see them working through the night and the day Trying to scrape out a living on the pennies they're paid Down there is a seamstress sowing ribbons and bows While she and that child in the corner are so hungry and cold Swallow, dear swallow, shall we launch a plan Pluck out this ruby, fly fast as you can Down through her chimney, she can't afford fire This jewel red as her fingers should keep them safe for awhile Soon back from the errand, the bird shook a bit From the joy of the giving and the effort of it The statue was smiling, looked deep in her eyes Said, "Perhaps we can do the same with these sapphires The next couple of nights" But how will you see, lovely Such heart, how you break mine, lovely But swallow, dear swallow, she couldn't resist Without his beautiful eyes, she could still have his lips So swallow, dear swallow, delivered each prize First to a young girl then a poet saving their lives Swallow, dear swallow, it's past time you should go I feel that you're shaking and winter is long But swallow, dear swallow, had made up her mind There's no way she was leaving when she could be his eyes All that I see, lovely I'll share with you now, my lovely So over the city she fluttered and flew Gathering stories and tips on where to bring his gold to Many spirits where lifted with the help of their gifts While statue's finish grew dull and swallow grew thin Now fly, my dear lovely You'll die if you stay here, lovely Swallow, dear swallow, knew this was no lie Rested on statue's shoulder and whispered goodbye Oh swallow, dear swallow, I'm glad that you've changed your mind I know I've kept you too long from your path to sunshine But she didn't answer, just fell to his feet And at that sickening sound, his heart skipped a beat Then broke with such force, it knocked them both toward the street But the angels take pity on dreamers and fools And the ones that share treasures, they've stumbled into A chorus of voices soon filled up the night And a warm summer breeze bathed them in a strange light It's all that I see, lovely Such heart that it breaks mine, lovely City workers took statue and the swallow they found Tossed her into the rubbish and melted him down But his cracked heart stayed solid, so they threw it away Into the very same pail where dear swallow was laying Swallow, dear swallow, I'll no longer weep I know that death is just the wise older brother of sleep Swallow, dear swallow, sweet lover of life Let's go sing with the angels of how hard we tried Lovely, lovely...