1. |
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She makes me want to be clean
Come drink with us ‘till dawn,
You’ll see my good side, yeah, good side, yeah
We’ll hang out with the poet and the boy,
We’ll have some good times yeah, good times yeah
But she makes me want to be clean
Show my bright side always,
For my bright side to be real….
You know it’s not so far from the city to the sea,
We could wake up in the morning take the salt from the breeze
As the rays from the lighthouse reel my ship in,
Well, I know I won’t sink if this girl will swim
But she makes me want to be clean
Show my bright side always,
For my bright side to be real
Now the future’s looking brighter,
I’m not afraid of anything,
My head is clear, my time is mine,
I’ve got nothing to lose and nothing to hide,
But I like you and I don’t know why,
I like you and I don’t know why,
I didn’t ask you then, I haven’t asked you yet,
I couldn’t find the right time.
Walk me through the early morning empty streets,
And we’ll hang out by the bridge in the upside down city,
Listen to the dawn chorus by the Lee,
We’re looking good in water colours, you and me,
But she makes me want to be clean
Show my bright side always for my bright side to be,
She makes me want to be clean
Show my bright side always for my bright side to be…
She makes me want to be clean,
Show my bright side always for my bright side to be
She makes me want to be clean,
Show my bright side always for my bright side to be,
For my bright side to be real…
The future’s looking brighter,
I’m not afraid of anything,
My head is clear, my time is mine,
I’ve got nothing to lose and nothing to hide
But I like you and I don’t know why
I like you and I don’t know why,
I didn’t ask you then, I haven’t asked you yet,
I couldn’t find the right time.
Yeah, I like you and I don’t know why,
I like you and I don’t know why,
I didn’t ask you then, I haven’t asked you yet,
There’ll never be a better time.
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2. |
Gathering Wood
02:32
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Gathering wood
I’m gathering wood, branches and leaves,
I’m gonna build a fire for you.
I’m gonna climb that hill for all the valley to see,
Red and yellow chasing our blues away…
I’ve got my outsides out, I’ve got my insides in,
I’m a boy, it’s what we do,
But if I’m talking too much, without saying enough,
It never seems to bother you.
When your outside is in and your inside is out,
You know I’ve got a good word for you,
Before the last page is turned and our lesson’s been learned,
I hope you’ll find one for me too.
Well, I could do better with this wire and wood,
I think I could fool you though I’m not sure I should,
Instead I will try with word and deed
And all of the good, that’s left in me.
I’m losing pace, I’m not losing face,
I’m just fighting with a mood,
But if I lose my temper, I’ve got no excuse,
To ever raise this voice to you.
When your outside is in and your inside is out,
You know I’ve got a good word for you,
Before the last page is turned and our lesson’s been learned,
I think you’ll find one for me too.
I’m gathering wood, branches and leaves,
I’m gonna build a fire for you.
I’m gonna climb that hill for all the valley to see,
Red and yellow chasing our blues away.
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3. |
Seagull
02:56
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The voice of reason is out of tune,
With what you want and what you feel you must do.
Hang onto your high hopes,
Though your heart is heavy now,
You know you owe it to yourself,
And I know it will work out.
You are the seagull, who insists,
Hey, we can have a room with a view,
If we've got to live here,
Out on these windswept cliffs.
Fortune favours the brave,
Hop between the drops,
You know I've had to leave a lot behind,
To be happy with what I've got.
If you're under pressure,
Well, it hardly shows,
You've got a smile for every occasion,
And everybody knows,
You are the seagull, who insists,
Hey, we can have a room with a view,
If we've got to live here,
Out on these windswept cliffs.
You are the bluebell,
Who can and will,
Bring something beautiful,
To all our barren hills,
Don't forget what you are, for anyone.
You are the seagull and I insist,
You'll have a room with a view,
If you've got to live here,
Out on these windswept cliffs.
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4. |
The Cost Of Living
04:44
|
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|
The Cost of Living
I find it hard to get to sleep, harder to get up,
I sell too much of my time, it seems like everybody must.
Just to keep a roof over head, earn a bitter crust,
Am I some kind of fool to think there must be more for us?
It’s only 6 weeks to Christmas,
Already the end of Ramadan,
I know I should be able to fix it,
To be happy with what I’ve got and where I am.
This is not Fallujah
Not Jenin, not Darfur, this is not Ramallah,
No one here knows what we’re fighting for.
I’ve seen fragmented pictures, not unlike faces I have known,
Like a trailer for some film that should never have been shown,
But they are fighting in the old city there’s poison in the well,
We have no time for pity we are too busy with ourselves.
I know where I faultered, and I know how much it cost,
I cut the tree to count the rings and see how much I lost.
We’ve talked about everything, we don’t talk anymore,
We’ve all got our own worries; still I’d like to carry yours
This is not Fallujah
Not Jenin, not Darfur, this is not Ramallah,
No one here knows what we’re fighting for.
What do we know about problems?
When we still can, and do, make plans.
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5. |
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|
You’ve got to look in
(to look out for yourself)
Seven long years in a hollow tree,
Thinking how different things should have been,
Won’t help.
Seven more years, busying bar keep,
A thousand happy hours and not enough sleep,
Won’t help.
You’ve got to look in to look out for yourself,
Nobody, nobody, nobody else.
I was nervous like a caged bird freed
And I did not know what the creature needed from me.
Like a dumb dog on my own leash,
Yes, I dug that hole, now I can’t stay clean.
You’ve got to look in to look out for yourself,
Nobody, nobody, nobody else.
Hey,
What good would it be,
If I promised you more than our world would ever give
What good would it do?
To sit around moping, “boy, we’re owed way more than this”?
You’ve got to look in to look out for yourself,
Nobody, nobody, nobody else...
Seven more years looking over my shoulder,
Hiding in the past, when it’s high time I rolled over,
And coughed up the cobwebs and my worryings,
For seven long summers and all that they might bring.
You’ve got to look in to look out for yourself,
Nobody, nobody, nobody else...
Hey,
What good would it be?
If I promised you more than our world would ever give?
What good would it do?
To sit around moping, “boy, we’re owed way more than this”?
You’ve got to look in to look out for yourself,
Nobody, nobody, nobody else...
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6. |
Calling Out For Rain
03:31
|
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|
Calling out for rain
It’s like I’m trying to keep a storm at bay,
Quiet now, I cannot take this rest,
For fear I might have something stupid left to say,
When to bite my tongue and walk now might be best.
There’s a part of me that’s calling out for rain,
Wash me clean now in this time of test,
If you’ve got something, come on have your say,
But I have not found the right words yet...
Well, I’ve got you and it breaks my heart, when I’m like this,
Well, I’ve got you and it breaks my heart, when I’m like this...
I cannot drink this water, and I cannot breathe this air,
That calls to me in earnest, that calls to me in jest,
Saying show me the one who told you that this would all be fair,
Singing like a mocking bird, now boy, how good is your best?
Well, I’ve got you, to take my heart, when I’m like this,
Well, I’ve got you to take my heart, when I’m like this.
This will pass, but now it’s hard to see,
For the clutter, clutter, clutter, clutter in my head.
Come on, get up, now there are now scars you’ve not broken anything,
There for the taking, why won’t I reach?
When I’ve got you, to take my arm, when I’m like this,
When I’ve got you, to take my arm, when I’m like this.
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7. |
Kalamazoo
06:20
|
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8. |
Hanover St.
04:32
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9. |
The Circle is Complete
02:37
|
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|
The circle is complete
The circle is complete and I’m back where I started
Clipped wings and crowed feet now that you and I are parted
I hurt you more than anyone I know
Though I loved you more than anyone I’ve known
Red blood keep beating
I need your hot water bleeding on my winter window
Red blood I’ve been weeding,
But I can’t find the bad seeds that I must have sown
Well, the circle is complete
And I’m back where I started,
Clipped wings and crowed feet,
Now that you and I are parted
If this is what they call progress,
The time I wasted was better spent,
If this what they call progress,
I’ve got to get me to some place else,
I know that I won’t make their tests,
The time I wasted was better spent.
Red blood keep beating
I need your hot water bleeding on my winter window
Red blood I’ve been weeding,
But I can’t find the bad seeds that I must have sown
Red blood love is leaving
Without a good reason or a place to go
Red blood keep beating
I need your hot water bleeding on my winter window
The circle is complete and I’m back where I started
Clipped wings and crowed feet now that you and I are parted
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10. |
Tomorrow on the Train
03:52
|
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|
Tomorrow on the train
I wish that you lived in my town
Help me make sense of this mess
Or I wish that I lived in your town
Then I could be somebody, I could be somebody, I could be somebody else
But you’re always laughing at me
And my many varied mistakes
You say that you’re only laughing
Because we are just the same
Hey, I can sleep tomorrow on the train
That takes me out of your town,
I hope when I wake up that I won’t complain,
But I love having you around.
I want to send you postcards
From all of my broken paths
With faded seventies photos on the front
Bad jokes in bad writing on the back
But you’re cheating at scrabble
That’s not a real word
But I know better than to argue with a girl
I’m drunk on your fire escape Carroll St. 3am
I’m hoping the sun takes his time coming around again
Hey, I can sleep tomorrow on the train
That takes me out of your town,
I hope when I wake up that I won’t complain,
But I love having you around.
I wish that you lived in my town
Help me make sense of this mess
Or I wish that I lived in your town
Then I could be somebody, I could be somebody, I could be somebody else
|
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11. |
||||
|
If you find me in Morocco
I prayed to St. Anthony
“Help me find my way”
It seemed a lot to ask
But now I think I’m doing okay
If you find me in Morocco, I’m just hiding from the wind,
I’m gonna walk to Santiago and wash away my sins
I’ll be singing for my supper in New York in the fall
Living with people who don’t know me at all...
Your day’s been long and hard,
Well mine’s been pretty soft,
Rest your feet a while,
There is no need for small talk,
Cos you and me we’re good friends
And I know that means a lot
It keeps my blood warm
As I head off on my walk
If you find me in Morocco, I’m just hiding from the wind,
I’m gonna walk to Santiago and wash away my sins
I’ll be singing for my supper in New York in the fall
Living with people who don’t know me at all...
Or I could stick around my town I’ve got my people here
But I cannot keep my secrets and I need somebody near
I could never sleep in London always waiting for some train
That never seems to take us nearly far enough away
If you find me in Morocco, I’m just hiding from the wind,
I’m gonna walk to Santiago and wash away my sins
I’ll be singing for my supper in New York in the fall
Living with people who don’t know us at all...
So I prayed to St. Anthony help me find my way
It seemed a lot to ask but now I know I’m doing okay
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12. |
||||
|
When a plan comes together
I can’t read your map now there’s a pretty good chance we could be lost,
Still I like this twisted road, our hopeless navigator’s sworn will lead us through the rocks,
One more song then, till we find the right road,
One more of my bad jokes, then it’s back to the radio
Where, I love it when a plan comes together
It wasn’t funny then, in truth it’s not that funny yet
She said your trying to make me laugh, makes it trying to b your friend
But I am not that worried I think we’ll get there in the end
No, I am not that worried, I think she’ll get it in the end…
One more song then, till we find the right road,
One more of my bad jokes, then it’s back to the radio
Where, I love it when a plan comes together
I love it when a plan comes together
May the light that shines on me fall down on you,
New faces and new places seem so small without you
Still, I love it when a plan comes together
I love it when a plan comes together
We love it
We love it...
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13. |
70,000 Words
02:49
|
|||
|
70, 000 words
There are only 70, 000 words in this book on your language
I don’t think I will need them all for you to understand me
But
I can’t dance, it’s true, I hate to dance, it’s true,
I would not dance, though I would gladly dance with you,
I’ve been outside, I forget these games
And still something in your dark eyes has brightened up my ways
Now I’m conjugating verbs and thinking hypothetically
I’ve got the past, present, future mastered, what more do you want from me
But
I can’t dance, it’s true, I hate to dance, it’s true,
I would not dance, though I would gladly dance with you,
This town has sheltered ships under every flag ever flown
Spanish sailors and Dutch traders, Chinese and Huguenot
Some come bearing sunken treasures, some wearing ragged clothes,
Well, I am happy that you travelled to call my city home
But
I can’t dance, it’s true, I hate to dance, it’s true,
I would not dance, though I would gladly dance with you,
You whispered to your friend
“You said, he’d be more eloquent”
But I cannot find a word to say in any language yet,
Should I stay or should I move,
Which would I more regret, when you are smiling at me now and for a moment I forget
That I can’t dance, it’s true, I hate to dance,
It’s true, I would not dance, though I would gladly dance with you,
But I can’t dance, it’s true, I hate to dance, it’s true,
I would not dance, though I will gladly dance with you…
|
||||
Niall Connolly Brooklyn, New York
"Terrific. Disarming and beautifully crafted folk-pop. Connolly is a witty storyteller and a not-to-be-missed
songsmith."
- The Chicago Tribune
"Among the most vibrant, poignant, and authentic indie folk artists in New York City."
-No Depression
... more
Niall Connolly recommends:
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Richard McGraw is an excellent live performer and intricate lyricist in the vein of Cohen, Dylan and Cave before him. Here, he offers an album of stunning covers and one damn good original too.
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