1. |
Ishihara
03:50
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I wish it weren’t so
But there’s something you should know
We should stop before we go
This should stop before it grows
If your blood’s not red to me
Then I won't see you bleed, and
I won’t know what you need
I’m scared I won’t know what you need
There are things I do not see
Things right in front of me
Signs and symbols I can’t read
Kaleidoscopes confusing me
It’s only black and white I know
In monochrome; my soul
Don’t know what your signals show
But I know how this story goes
I think I’m colour-blind
I just can’t see the signs
Can’t read between the lines
I’m sorry for my staring eyes
As they fail to recognise
I wonder what I’m missing here
Because these clues aren’t coming clear
If I don’t see the deepest blue
How will I sound the depths of you?
Scared that I won’t comfort you
I’m scared that I won’t comfort you
I think I’m colour-blind…
My eyes can’t choose the red from green
My tongue tastes bitter same as sweet
My hand feels rough the same as smooth
My heart can’t tell the false from true
You say you see red, white and blue
But I’m missing every cue
I think I’m colour-blind…
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2. |
Wild Angelica
04:28
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We brought the living, brought our ghost
Crossed a bridge; took that road
We walked on white sands by the sea
Found your boat bound for the Hebrides
We watched the light turn slow upon the ridge
Until the mooring lines were caught and we were stilled
You’re wild Angelica
(that’s what they say)
We saw you dancing
We saw you sway
Wild, wild Angelica
(that’s what they say)
We felt your healing
When we were grieving
The anchor chain tears at the keel
Line’s end escapes a spinning reel
When cords slip loose; a knot must end
And rope unwound will break just like a thread
You’re wild Angelica…
When summer comes, Angelica
We’ll build a house
We’ll build a house that holds
In winter storms, Angelica
We’ll bide our time
We’ll hide ‘til time grows old
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3. |
The Swell and the Sway
04:25
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The rain falls straight, not like the ocean spray
The breeze still bites, but salt-less blows away
The sun still shines, but only from the sky
It casts no rainbows here through sea-mist to my eyes
The gulls don’t chase; no selkies come my way
I’m run aground, from sea to shore displaced
They made me leave my love, they made her sail away
Our time was done, they said, so lost on land I wait
It feels so strange to stand on solid ground, without the swell and sway
Like a babe torn from the cradle, I just cannot rest this way
I miss the ocean’s ebb and flow, how she carried me away
I’m so weary of this harbour, I miss my love each day.
I worked the line; Oban to Castlebay
‘Lord of the Isles’; she never missed a day
Star of the fleet, pride of the Hebrides
I know that boat the way she knows the sea
It feels so strange to stand on solid ground…
My tears fall straight, not like the ocean spray
The breeze still bites but salt gets blown away.
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4. |
Joensuu
04:15
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The weather here is cold my friend, and all the days are short
The silver trees have lost their leaves, I’m glad of the winter coat I brought
The sunlight here is thin as ice, new forming on the lake
Every scene a dull grey-green that darkens into slate
The women of the town museum celebrate their crafts
The old kirk spire looks from on high, on people as they pass
And they pass
All the people pass
The old Kirk still looking down
As they pass
I went inside and signed my name, read the writing on the wall
An ancient verse, a memory test, I almost heard the Angel’s call
They had a carving of the parents, so tender with their babe
Their faces long with worry drawn; like they already knew his fate
On days like these I feel the same, that shadow stalks us all
But we wrap up tight on winter nights, button up: try to stand tall
To stand tall
Try to stand tall
Button up our winter coats
Try to stand tall
I’d rather be a door-keeper and only stay a day
Than restless roam outside your home and wander with this ache
Even a sparrow finds a place, where she can rest her wings
I’m homeward bound where peace is found, that’s where my soul can sing
And I’ll sing (as the people pass)
Every day I’ll sing (try to stand up tall)
I’ll know I’m homeward bound (until I rest my wings)
Every day I’ll sing
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5. |
Johnny Blue's Well
03:32
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The gate latch metal slaps behind us
Creosote air, the wind in our hair, blowing
Carefully packed, rages intact
We are never, never going back
The long hill, heat spills on Tarmac
Burnt feet, sweat beads, souls aching
Come on now John, the job’s nearly done
And we are never, never going back
The chocolate melt, rung bells of summer
Plastic cheese pieces* ripen… sour
Tupperware smells at Johnny Blue's Well
And we are never, never going back
Wings whirr, sick stirs inside me
The tickled neck of black clegg** plugging me
Drawing my blood; oh Jesus, this sucks
Come on John, I think I'm going back home
Come on John, I think I’m going back home
Come on John, I think I’m going home.
* ‘Pieces’ is a Scottish expression for sandwiches.
** ‘Clegg’ is another name for horse-fly. They have a nasty bite.
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Fergus McNeill Glasgow, UK
Fergus McNeill is an award-winning, singer-songwriter based in Glasgow. He has written a lot, and released a little, either in his own name or, in collaboration, via 'The Wayward Puritans'.
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