1. |
The Sailor Returning
03:47
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down the hill, down the hill,
down the hill
where the trees stand
leafless and still
there's a hole
that the garbage fills
there's a creek
my love's blood spills
what would you marry me for?
on the floor, on the floor,
on the floor
only inches away
from the door
lay a bride and her groom
and his whore
but titles don't mean much
anymore
what would you marry me for?
on the waves, on the waves,
on the waves
no one kneels to pray
or bothers to shave
free from pasts and futures
from masters and slaves
leave your heart on the hill
let it beat in its grave
what would you marry me for?
that's life, and it's life,
and it's life
you're sliced into the world
then carved down by the knife
like that bride and her groom
and my wife
i'm returning to sea.
i'll follow the creek.
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2. |
You Can Play
04:30
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i know it's hard, babe
boiling in the kitchen
i know it's hard, babe
digging in the sun
i know it's hard when
all your friends have hidden
when you're left their work
while they're all off to run
but while they're away...
YOU CAN PLAY with my heart
it's pretty cheap, but it's a start
kitten, tear it all apart
it's better than string
you can play with my heart
it's nothing good, but it's a start
leave it choking in the dark
with everything
you've got a lot
still, you're bored and cranky
you pass your time
just hanging up your clothes
you pass your time
complaining like you're aching
because you've got a lot
but you've got none of those
sweet things that stay...
WELL YOU CAN PLAY with my heart
it's pretty cheap, but it's a start
kitten, tear it all apart
it's better than string
you can play with my heart
it's nothing good, but it's a start
leave it choking in the dark
with everything
you love me now
but wait until you're hungry
when i can't feed you
we'll see how long that lasts
when i can't read you
we'll see whom you've married
you want the future
i'm a student of the past
but let's meet today...
SO YOU CAN PLAY with my heart
it's pretty cheap, but it's a start
kitten, tear it all apart
it's better than string
you can play with my heart
it's nothing good, but it's a start
leave it choking in the dark
with everything
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3. |
Cinderella's Ball
02:30
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Cinderella gave me a call. She said, "Dude! Get a date! I'm throwing a ball."
Half-asleep, I coughed and said, "Can't I stay in bed instead?"
But Cinderella hung up first.
Damn, man. That girl's the worst...
Then I remembered once I had a woman seven times as bad, who laughed with me, who scritched my beard, who kissed my mind and disappeared, then left no method to pursue - she didn't even drop a shoe!
But why does my mind wander there? It was years ago. I don't care. I put on my pants and tried to forget her - when through the slot there dropped a letter:
Hey there,
Long time, no see.
I wonder, do you remember me?
-xoxo
She's back in town? Alright. Legit. I'll try not to acknowledge it...
But I immediately called Cinderella again and said, "You didn't happen to invite my friend?"
"Who? Oh. Her. Yeah. I know her good. She's coming tonight, just like you should!"
My brain went cold, my throat was beating, and I started mapping out our meeting: one thousand stupid, spiteful schemes balanced on my ego's beams...
Yes, I'll show up with a girl on each arm! And they'll keep me up! And they'll keep me warm! And I don't care if frowns fall on their faces cuz I'll pick up new chicks at ALL the places!
All the while, I thought of the one who slipped in and out of the sky like the sun, who morphed like the rain into morning mist, who held tight then punched just like a fist...
Well, I'll grab the reigns of the right and the real... Yes, I'll tell her how I really feel!
Could I do it?
I'll never know.
I stayed in bed.
I didn't go.
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4. |
A Place to Park
03:07
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i'm having trouble seeing
past the people in my way
and i'm having trouble gripping
at the wheel
i'm having trouble with the girl
who loved me yesterday
she says that i've forgotten
how to feel
i'd love to make it up to her, but now's not the time to start, not while i'm looking for a place to park!
it's harder than i thought
to be a hero for the town
so often you're made villain
for the sake
or else you wind up no one
when nobody knows you're 'round
i couldn't be around
that was my mistake
i haven't found solid ground, i'm like the raven disappointing noah's ark, but you bet i'm looking for a place to park!
you're a real scholar
one who understands the world
and knows how everything
fits in its proper place
yet you hang there in your harness
fingers in a little girl
and seem bewildered
by the dirt across my face
i'm sorry if it bothers you, my feeling through the dark, but don't mind me, i'm just looking for a place to park!
honey, don't you come here
with your sorrows and your needs
you were right
when you hid our love away
i will never help you settle
i will never make you free
i'm only sticking 'round
until my turn to play
i've barely found my own, my love, so don't you even start if you're just looking for a place to park.
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5. |
Tommy Two Chord
06:51
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the festival left everybody bored
the grounds were small, they'd all been explored
when like a bush set burning by the lord
there came a handsome boy with a couple of pretty chords
it was the finest song they say they ever saw
and it was t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tommy two chord!
for all he's known, he's known best for this quirk
for all his work, he's never done much work
he just stands there suavely sweating through his shirt
while the sun shines high behind this city's murk
he knows no consequence, he keeps no law
he's just t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tommy two chord!
a wanderer, a poet with no poem
scraping planet earth with a stolen comb
to find a girl to charm back to his home
and once he's got her there, he's gone again to roam
but she'll remain, his floor swept with her jaw
singin' t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tommy two chord!
he met one on her knees. she seemed... alright
she was like that before he met her most of last night
neither made a move, but neither put up a fight
and they fell together, two snowflakes in flight
don't ask her how her knees have got so raw
you know it's t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tommy two chord!
O LOVER! you say now it appears
you have found the cure for all your made up fears
so you remove yourself from me, you change your gears
to bless his flaking image with your ears
but you deserve a man who cannot sing a flaw
a real man like t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tommy two chord!
he took my mandolin, he took my song
and he wasn't as good but they listened twice as long
but half the world swears half the world is wrong
and who prefers the honest to the strong?
who wants to hear those ice caps thaw?
not while we've got t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tommy two chord!
he taught me: just two chords make the world get wet
he taught me: pretend like you don't care and the world gets wet
he taught me: don't sing about the rain and the world gets wet
he taught me: leave before they're bored and the world stays wet
all stutter in infatuated awe
for t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tommy two chord!
o i wish i could be like him! i won't lie
i'm a cryptic, apocalyptic kind of guy
but sunshine on the swamp just makes it dry -
i mean, i'll never ease her pain! i just make her cry
so i give up! i'll join the great hurrah
for t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-t-tommy two chord!
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6. |
Little Sparrow
08:40
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come all ye fair and tender ladies
be careful how ye court young men
for they're like a star on a summer's morning
first, they appear
then, they're gone
they'll tell you stories and you'll believe them
when they declare their love so true
and then they are off to court some other
and there's all the love
they saved for you
do you remember our days of courting?
how i would rest my head against your breast?
you could make me believe by the side you awoke on
that the sun really rose
in the west
now i wish a was a little sparrow
that i had wings, that i could fly
for i'd fly to the arms of my once-true lover
and there i'd be
content to die
but i am not some little sparrow
i don't got wings, i can't fly
i have to sit and sing in sorrow
i have to sing
my troubles by
and if i had known before i courted
i never would have courted none
i'd lock my heart in a cage and leave it
on the pavement
to crust in the sun
now come all ye fair and tender ladies
be careful how ye court this man
for i'm like a star on a summer's morning
first, i appear
then, i'm gone
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7. |
Harriet
02:41
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you gave your heart to some idiot
he used it like a towel
after swimming in pools full of lady juice
while you just sat there and scowled
the carpet was dry
or the carpet was wet
either way, you didn't notice,
harriet
i met you alone on your battlefield's
blackened, barbed plateau
and you said no one talks quite like i do
when i said, "like smoke, we flow"
but soon like jelly
we're bound to set
jiggling under the sun,
harriet
then like a child in the coatracks, you disappeared
right as i got used to you
asking me to tear down the fence
or at least, to give you a boost
but you had to ask
if you were pretty yet
o how was i to answer,
harriet?
zeus came down from his sky with your frown
and he gave you his arms and his mouth
and he gave you his heart like an idiot would
as you fled suddenly to the south
life is a joke
i never did quite get
and i guess you're the jester,
harriet
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8. |
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there i was sitting
my mandolin tunin'
with my buddies, Britain
and the European Union
when the Union said, "Britain!
What's that on your face?"
and Britain rushed to the washroom
flushed with pomp and grace
(We went to bed angry, my Honey and I. She wanted to hang me, but I wanted to die! And in a bed like that, nobody wins; you sleep in opposite gutters, no one grazes the pins...)
i wish i were back
at the thinkers' salon
with Slavoj Zizek
and Alain de Botton
o how they'd load me up
with such tweetable quotes
then i'd be someone to follow
then i'd be something of note
(My Honey once told me I was her first pick. But when she sold me? That's when everything clicked! I'm number one, alright: first step in the plan to trade me up for a car and a rugged young salesman...)
the widow's just famous
for being rich
but can you blame us
for watching this
when she's got such opinions
from race to minimum wage?
she says, "What's the problem?
I'm paid pretty swell for my age!"
(My Honey decided she would love me still. She said, "Have me brided?" And I said, "I will!" But apparently those are all the wrong words, so she went looking for them. And I'm still waiting for her...)
yes, here i am sitting
again on my rump
shaking a mitten
at Donald Trump
because Donald told me
my costume don't fit
o may he slip like a tongue
back down the american pit
(My Honey returned with a basket of fruit. She said, "Y'know what I learned?" I said, "Shoot!" She said, "I learned everything that you'll never know." I didn't know whether to kiss her or tell her to go...)
young soldiers keep waging
their wars in the east
and here i am aging
in the west like a beast
my tusks grow longer
my belly gets full
but when we're dead
what's the difference in our skulls?
My Honey was hungry. I brought her some food. She suddenly stung me! She said, "DON"T BE RUDE!"
I said, "HONEY! For once in your life, could you give me some clues? Because I understand you like I understand the news."
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9. |
Earhart
03:22
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my mother was an incongruous mess
held me like a shotgun to her breast
never let my blasted body rest
if a man's not a hassle he's a threat
but sometimes i drink and lose a bet
and other times i guess i just forget
if all things must fall down
or fall apart, i know
i'm tumbling, i'm crumbling
o love, i'd better go
it is 1927... i feel fresh
adventure in my bones, music in my flesh
i'll sing you something pleasant by request
on this plane i guess i'll climb and blow away
but the sun still shines above the clouds so grey
and if i'm back in time, we'll catch buddy holly play
i promise
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10. |
We Can and We Can't
02:58
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i could be a father to her children
but i can't forge the chains that make her wife
i could be her heartless husband's fill-in
but i can't be the thing that saves her life
for you know what i am
a singer, a sailor
a seeker of songs
a seer of seas
and when i'm on land
i feel like a failure
get me some chaos
get me off my knees
WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT
she could be the only one i play to
but she can't be the shoveler of my feed
she could be the angel that i pray to
but she can't be the devil that i need
for you know what she is
a dancer, a danger
flames on her feet
a sword in her belt
spreading her pain
to any old stranger
in her kingdom, this country
where everything's felt
WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT
each of us are decks that need some shuffling
each of us just chips we're bound to lose
for love is luck and luck is nearly nothing
and nothing's not quite something you can choose
and how could it be
we were ever lovers?
was there a truer
promise to chant?
and is it correct
we can ever recover?
the wind answers thus:
WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT / WE CAN AND WE CANT
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11. |
Love Is a Train Station
04:44
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in my heart, there's a tunnel
in that tunnel, there's a train
takes my blood through the darkness
to that white, final light in my brain
and it keeps me alive and thinking
but for what? i can't explain...
but Love is a train station
and who knows where we'll be taken?
Love is a train station
so meet me there
i'll be waiting
this bench just keeps me sitting
where the strangers are giving me the eye
i need to find a new direction
but the thought of moving makes me cry
and my ticket tells me that i'm traveling
but it won't give a good reason why...
but Love is a train station
and who knows where we'll be taken?
Love is a train station
so meet me there
i'll be waiting
and every time i look out the window
i hope i spy someone like you
because i'm locked up in my tower like rapunzel
but i'd let my hair down
if a prince would just pass through!
before you, i was a child
my face a mess, my boots too big
you cleaned me up, and then you scalped me
made me a man who wears a wig
so knowledge is a crashing rocket
so faith is a leaky oil rig...
but Love is a train station
and who knows where we'll be taken?
Love is a train station
so meet me there
i'll be waiting
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12. |
Go On Go On
03:41
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if you gotta leave
then i guess you gotta leave
i won't block the door, love
i'll just sit here
i've tried to understand
everything that you believe
all i've learned for sure
is that your spit's clear
and you'll go on without me
and i'll go on without you
let's go tell the family
and slip into the void
om
this mirror that we smashed
this sink where we spat
this moonlight where we stood
dumb and naked
remind me that tonight
i've got no clue where you're at
are your lovers any good
or do you fake it?
(don't answer that)
and you'll go on on without me
and i'll go on without you
we're all condemned to be free
living in the void
om
i'm afraid, afraid to love
afraid to know that i
might have to sweep things up
before they've settled
do we want to dance?
or do we wanna die?
who can tell? the heart blows steam
off like a kettle
and you'll go on without me
and i'll go on without you
and you'll go on without me
and i'll go on without you
and you'll go on without me
and i'll go on without you
i will turn myself into a tree
i will grow into the void
om
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Alex Rake and the Leaves Mission, British Columbia
Alex Rake is a songwriter, poet, and playwright from the Fraser Valley and the Leaves are his friends.
They yell and improvise all over troubadour songs.
linktr.ee/alextherake
Contact Alex Rake and the Leaves
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