1. |
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The Itchen runs from Cheriton in to the big blue sea
and I walk along from Avington in to Martyr Worthy
And I’ve walked it all and in all its almost thirty miles in length
and all the way along it runs a barbed wire fence
Damson flies on either side racing round the river’s edge
there are water holes for water voles
among the water cress
A flash of Kingfisher and look a Little Dipper
there where the river bends
in the clover just over the barbed wire fence
‘Cause stretches of this river bank are parceled up for rent
you get a little wooden fishing hut and a little wooden bench
And after VAT and your license fee you pay a small percent
that goes towards the upkeep of the barbed wire fence
Oh but buttercup
yeah butter cup I’m coming up
oh buttercup
oh buttercup I’m coming up
yeah buttercup
yeah buttercup I’m coming up
yeah buttercup
oh buttercup I’m coming up
‘Cause the men that rent from the other men
do not give their consent
to outsiders and there’s a sign there to remind us at every 100 steps
It says ‘the penalty incurred will be your personal expense
in the event you should ascend
the barbed wire fence’
But I am I am a marching band
and I descend from coal miners and pearl divers
and I learned from them
If it’s a fishing line or a picket line
when there’s something to defend
you take no notice of the notice on the barbed wire fence
So one day my girl and me
we stumbled on to private land
and in to a life-like mannequin with a shotgun in his hand
Well I jumped out my skin and she just pushed him in
and as we ran from consequence
I kissed her up against the barbed wire fence
‘Cause buttercup
oh buttercup we’re coming up
oh buttercup
oh buttercup we’re coming up
oh buttercup
yeah buttercup we’re coming up
buttercup
oh yeah buttercup we’re coming up…
we’re coming up buttercup
oh buttercup we’re coming up
‘Cause the Itchen runs from Cheriton into the big blue sea
at Southampton waters
England’s borders
and where the BNP
will have us cordon off our neighbours
will have us cordon off our friends
oh but for me and my lover it’s just another barbed wire fence
and another
and another
and another!
Oh buttercup
yeah buttercup we’re coming up
ah buttercup
yeah buttercup we’re coming up
yeah buttercup
oh buttercup we’re coming up
ooh buttercup
oh buttercup we’re coming up
we’re coming up
we’re coming up
we’re coming up
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2. |
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I have travelled land and sea with this bullet between my teeth
To give you back the hell you’ve given me
See how far I’ve come to give you some
Of this little lick of lightning on the tip of my tongue
I’ve ridden bareback through a blizzard of sand
Had a great white eating out the palm of my hand so please!
I’ve turned every stone and every autumn leaf
With a full metal jacket between my teeth
I’ve drunk the lizard's blood of a medicine man (hey hey)
And I’ve held this feeling off for just as long as I can (hey hey)
But now here I am
I have travelled land and sea
to give you back the hell you’ve given me
I’ve eaten in a cell and in the presence of kings
Found mountains of nothing are incredible things
I’ve watched the night sky from the Cairo tower
Where I scrubbed myself clean in a meteor shower to see
If I could cleanse myself of all that’s been
But I still couldn’t get you out from under my skin
So I spent some time in the eye of a storm (hey hey)
Working for a family living in a honey bee swarm (hey hey)
I have travelled land and sea to give you back the hell
You’ve given me (hey hey)
You’ve given me (hey hey)
But every time the tightrope slacks
You come rushing back
Ah I hate it how you do that
And now they tell me I should be letting it go
Letting you deal the final blow
But I’m tired of them telling me so
‘Cause I’m tired of taking the hell you’ve given me wherever I go
How about you reap what you sow?
They tell you you reap what you sow
‘Cause I’ve travelled land and sea
Mountain-high and river deep
To give you back the hell you’ve given me
But when I go to speak
With a full metal jacket between my teeth I see
That all the while it's me it's been killing
And I spit it out like a broken filling
And I turn on my heels and I tell you instead
‘You’re so much smaller in life than you are in my head!’
Now I’ve travelled land and sea
To give you back the hell
You’ve given me
Signed sealed delivered
From now on it will be all down river
As I travel land and sea
I give you back the Hell
You’ve given me
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3. |
Captured
04:03
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Would you look at those headlines
crying out for attention
Oh yeah everythings a thriller
everyones a killer
when you’re looking in two dimensions
And on paper we’re a failure
but in the flesh we are all kings
I’m ruler of all that lies within
these layers upon layers of skin
And even when my eyes are closed
I am not in darkness ah ah
for the mind is a tardis
And this door opens to a memory
plays it back in slow motion
This one opens to a blank canvas
this one opens out onto the ocean
So put down the camera
no moment will be captured
Not every sentence needs a hammer
not every protest has a banner
So don’t give me who you’re trying to be
when I like the one you’re trying to hide
The one that gets me every time I’m
watching out the corner of my eye
And I guess that’s why the stillness
sounds above the words being said
I know the loudest noise I can make in my chest
is no match for the voice in our heads that says
“How do you live inside a moment when it ceases as soon as it comes?
oh ah ah when It’s over before it's begun?
And how come those mountains paths
we swore would never let us pass
are these grains of sand here in our hands?
Looks like nothing here was built to last”
So put down the camera
no moment will be captured
Not every sentence needs a hammer
not every protest has a banner
Has fear of dying become the disease?
Is it still alright just to live and breathe?
‘cause If you believe what you read then
every foot step climbs a ladder
every photo needs to flatter
every moment needs to matter
every protest needs a banner
Well let's lay out every coin we’ve got
you know every slot is a ballot box ah ah
And see Romina Ashrafi is history
but show me where's the dot on the line
when in defense of her dignity
she stood up to her father for the first time?
See resistance lurks beneath the surface
and it barely gets a mention
but when it catches it burns like a furnace
so you wanna be paying attention
Put down the camera
no moment will be captured
not every sentence needs a hammer
not every protest has a banner
not every footstep climbs a ladder
not every protest has a banner
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4. |
Brighton Stones
04:33
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Kneeling on my skin and bones
I’m seeing in the night
on the Brighton stones
I beg the sky for my life
I call up from the shore
until there is no more
no more that I can give
all there is is all there is
At dusk I watch the starlings
play charades against the sky
First they are an eel
then they are a kite
And then they are a wave
and then they are a whale
Yeah next they are a typhoon
and then they are a sail
And they turn into the tide
and they sail out of sight
and leave behind the Brighton stones
where I beg the sky for my life
‘Cause when you're out there living
you don't know just how much you want to live
It’s only when your body’s giving in
do you know how much more you have to give
But all there is is all there is
I close my eyes and make a wish
But I don't suppose I can dream up
anything as colourful as this
All that is is vivid
more vivid than a dream
And while it is just what it is
it isn’t always what it seems
So ride it like a wave
you gotta ride it like a whale
Sometimes it is a typhoon
sometimes it is a sail
Sometimes it is a love heart
sometimes it is a tear
sometimes it is a puff of smoke
and then it disappears
So close your eyes and make a wish
but don't look away too long
‘cause all there is is all there is
in a moment then it’s gone
And I‘d say nothing is forever
but maybe nothing really is
Maybe nothing is forever
quite like nothing is
But if anything’s for certain
it's that nothing ever is
and since everythings in motion
and all there is is all there is
Maybe next I'll be a wave
maybe next I'll be a whale
yeah next I'll be a typhoon
and then I'll be a sail
Maybe then I'll be a starling
shape shifting in the sky
high above the Brighton stones
where I begged the sky for my life
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5. |
Watercolour
04:38
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Too often moved
too forgiving
could never be accused
of not ever showing willing
But this is no place for a heart its colours overspilling
pack them all up with the stars and the dying art of living
Life sits here getting shorter as my paintbrush sits in water the ancient sunken shipwreck of some used to be explorer And lifeless is the water
in which the paintbrush steeps in its snow globe of a jam jar in to which each colour leaks In to a watercolour sky
on a watercolour night
I cry watercolour tears
from my watercolour eye
Lying in the still
my colours weep as willows greyish green and pale blue down my cheek and paint my pillow
Would you look at the
pounce ready energy
of that cat amongst the tall grass ? All tail and arse
Head down back arched
it teases to the last
and seizing its moment
it looks up from its dance to ask
“Where is the orange
flame in my eye?
that lightning yellow
it’s brilliant surprise?
Oh starry starry night
where are you taking all the light? Now look me in my
watercolour eye and tell me did you really fight it?
i mean did you really try?!”
I grieve
chasing falling leaves
saying what you really mean and and other dying breeds
And how can I keep
this colour in my cheeks
when nobody bleeds
as deep a red as me?
Too often moved
too forgiving
could never be accused
of not ever showing willing But this is no place for a heart its colours overspilling
pack them all up with the stars and the dying art of living
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6. |
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I bumped into friend of mine in the council line back in spring time
she said “I didn’t think I’d see you here
didn’t I hear you were hitting the big time?”
And heads turned to faces
as she said “we heard you were going places.
Does Emma know you’re back in town?
she’s not herself when you’re not around”
And I feel the urgency like a push on a beat
to be who she wants me to be
though I’m dead on my feet
And I see Orion rising
and drawing his bow over Cannery Row
And I feel like crying ‘cause I’m tired
and laughing cause I’m not alone
I feel like crying ‘cause I’m tired
and laughing cause I’m not alone
Tell Emma I’m home dry
that I’ll come by soon enough
and give her my love
tell her my minds made up
Tell Emma I’m home dry
that I’ll come by soon enough and
give her my love
We were still waiting in the council queue
when I asked her “So what's new with you?”
she said “I’m still doing the radio show but I’m
down on my luck if you really wanna know
I had a boyfriend half Jamaican
he was deported
all very hush hush
He was born here worked as a labourer
received a letter… something about Windrush
Now I have a boyfriend in Jamaica
and his baby in my arms
and I feel like crying ‘cause I’m tired
and laughing ‘cause I’m not alone.
I feel like crying ‘cause I’m tired
and laughing ‘cause I’m not alone”
I said “Look at us all standing in queue!
Don’t they know who they’re talking to?
We are many and they are few
and I wouldn’t let it get the best of you
Don’t you forget we’ve come this far
Don’t forget who we are!
We are The People people
We are The People people
We are The People people
and we are the people people”
She strokes the forehead of her infant
and lays a finger on the fence
It gives a little and she turns to me and says
“...It’s good to see you my friend
we’re not as young as we were then...
could we do it all again?
It’s good to see you my friend
We’re not as young as we were then...
Could we do it all again?”
And I said “Remember when Emma
climbed the roof top to stop the diggers?
and those policemen chased her all night
around the chimneys in a cherry picker?
And we cheered her on from the rigging
handcuffed and singing…
“Singing voices rising higher
Weave a dove into the wire
In our hearts a blazing fire”
(We are the people people)
“Singing voices rising higher
Weave a dove into the wire
In our hearts a blazing fire”
Tell Emma I’m home dry
that I’ll come by soon enough
and give her my love
tell her my minds made up
Tell Emma I’m home dry
that I’ll come by soon enough and
give her my love
And then meet me on Friday
behind the Costa that used to be the Library
The girl that works there says it’s likely
that if I ask nicely
she can get keys from the Old Town Hall
for the empty municipal swimming pool
Put out a call to Paddy and Maria
tell them ‘Tea urn. And a speaker’
‘Cause this is what we call divide and rule
Maybe you want less and I want more
maybe you are against what I am for
But before we take our sides
let’s ask each other why
We try and squeeze inside
these boxes that don’t fit us right
When we could stand our ground
let them know we won’t be pushed around
We could take up space and let them
know who owns this place
Yeah let’em know who’s who
Let’em know who they’re talking to
We are many and they are few and I
wouldn’t let it get the best of you
Don’t you forget we’ve come this far
Don’t forget who we are
We are The People people
We are The People people
We are The People people
and we are the people people
“Singing voices, rising higher
Weave a dove into the wire
Singing voices, rising higher
Weave a dove into the wire
Singing voices, rising higher
Weave a dove into the wire”
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7. |
Here Comes Your Song
08:55
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They’re eyeing me these hammers and strings
like ‘well where the hell have you been?’
And last night I had a dream that I was making a machine
that it was really something
And a surge of adrenaline
comes kicking in
‘Cause here comes your song
here comes your song
here comes your song
here comes your song
And the good thing about this song
is there’s very little it relies upon
This one’s fresh out the factory
doesn’t take battery
No this song radiates like it was infrared
and automatically plays itself inside of your actual head
whenever you’re alone and feeling blue
So right on cue
Here comes your song
Here comes your song
Here comes your song
Here comes your song
And it’s conducted to lift you to ground you
Instructed to wrap itself around you
to lift you to ground you
Instructed to wrap itself around you
‘Cause I wish I could have been
that extra skin
Wish I could have fought back the unkindness
and kept it from going in
Easier than knowing all I can do
is hold you
Somewhere in the future that’s somewhere in the background
as the past engulfs you
And along that old mistrust holds strong
Sitting right there on your shoulder waiting to say
“I told you she’d go wrong”
But you see a song is a string of events
that must be enacted in sequence
Fall roughly at the right time and in the right place
or risk an irretrievable fall from grace
See even a sound wave has a void to face
‘cause between the notes there’s always the space
in which ten untrained fingers take ten little leaps of faith
... or is it eight?
between the black and the white there is always the grey
And I don’t suppose I’m gonna play this right but I’m gonna play it anyway
‘Cause it’s like we say ‘it's them not you that was the weaker’
and I’m willing to bet they’re not perfect either
So what d’you say we give this all the middle finger?
And you march yourself right up to that speaker and you go get ‘em
And that’s right darlin yeah you tell em…
That here comes your song
That here comes your song
That here comes your song
That here comes your song
That its your name it’s calling
And it wants to dance with you ‘til morning
Here comes your…
Here comes your song!
And its programmed to keep you from falling
and it wants to dance with you ‘til morning
See what i’m trying to say is that I’ve got you
but if you’re wanna worry yourself away
then I can’t stop you
But incase you forget I’ve built this to remind you
and incase you lose yourself in the dark
I’ve built this to find you
So when you’ve punished yourself for everything you ever did
and set fire in your head to all the hopes you had but hid
when you were just a kid
To everything and everyone you ever loved but left
in your quest to go quietly missing
Presumed dead I guess
And when you’re finally satisfied that you’re barely alive
and you’re left to quietly slip away
safe in the knowledge that everybody else was saved
And here in this hell only you and the pain must remain
lying there entangled like a pair of rags in the rain
And that’s how it ends
That’s the story of you as fate intends
and it’s all going perfectly to plan
Except from that strange sound you can hear
just above the ringing in your ears
There it is again shifting rippling raising up like a mast
A deliberate sound like footsteps on glass
And there bold as brass and clutching this message
Undeterred it emerges from the wreckage and says
“I’m looking for Alison. Has anybody seen Alison?
I’m looking for Alison. Has anybody seen Alison?
I’m looking for Alison. Does anybody know Alison?”
And in disbelief you raise your head a fraction from the curb
to watch it offer you the love you’d told yourself you didn’t deserve
And maybe that’s when you’ll remember me lying here next to you
wishing I could just shake you and shake you and break through
that shatter proof glass you keep me behind
go back in time and give those mother fuckers a piece of my mind
But I know I can’t and I know you won’t
and it just lifts you up to a kind of chest for you to rest your your head upon
and you ask it “who are you? what planet are you from?”
And it says “Oh you know me Alison. Come on.
I’m your song! I’m your song! Yeah I’m your…
Yeah I’m your song.
And now that i’ve found you. I’m gonna wrap myself around you”.
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8. |
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I woke this morning full of this song
So I’m writing it watching you sleep on and on
‘Cause there’s more to this now than just turning me on
And I need you to be strong Thompson
Cause when I ask you “is this love?”
You say “has it ever been anything but?”
But by now I know you well enough
To know that you're dangerous
And Thompson you gotta know me by now
I'm a whole in the ground Im a rain cloud
See even now
I'm looking around for a way out
Can you hear me? No? Can you hear me now?
Hold me in the air put me to your mouth
What about now? No? Sometimes better when I go and
Stand in the cold with my head out of the window
I can hear you just about but I can’t understand
Pull your heart from your chest and bring it as close as you can
Closer come on closer still
Oh come on I’ll come in from the window sill
I’m listening
No man is an island
Hold me to your lungs and scream relief into the silence
Is there anybody out there?
Are you the one?
Thompson I awoke in the night
To find that I need you on side
That I need you more than I realised
More than I care to admit sometimes
‘Cause last night you and a pumped up moon
Collapsed down on my chest like a burst balloon
And while for me it's a half light that fills the room
Seems like wherever you are it rains diamonds on neptune
Asleep in your cave at the ends of the ocean
Where even the waves turn in all backwards and broken
And from deep in your mouth with it’s jaw dropped open
Only breaths come and go like words unspoken
And for a moment you stir
But for only a moment
And then you’re gone in a beat
The spell unbroken
And left here afraid of the dark you’ve chosen
I cram it all into words until the vowels split open
And it’s like I'm holding on a line
Calling into a delay watching it all just getting
Further and further away
Is there anybody out there?
Are you the one?
Can you hear me?
Can you hear me now?
I woke this morning full of this song
So I’m writing it watching you sleep on and on
‘Cause there’s more to this now than just turning me on
And I just needed to tell someone
Copyright Ruth Theodore 2020
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9. |
Hold On Me
04:09
|
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I thought I’d be free the day
you emptied your arms of me
but you see I’m starting to suppose
that you never let me go
‘Cause I’ve been in the throws
of a sound wave
now i’m coming up to breathe
and It looks like you’ve always been right
always right about me
Looks like you've always been right
always right about me
That I don't want to be saved! nah
‘cause I’m in love with the waves
And I've kept you waiting too long
And you can be sure
that I’ll come back for more
‘cause if I am a wave
well then you must be my shore
‘Cause for what feels to me like an eternity
you’ve had your hold on me
yeah you’ve had your hold on me
You’re just a part of me
like those marks you leave
when you’ve had a hold of me
when you’ve had a hold on me
I go down to the sea
and let it wash over me
I don’t know why but I feel the pull of the tide
stronger on when I’m on my own
So when I say ‘the armor is
caving in and becoming bone’
It’s just my way of saying
I’m nearly ready to come home
It’s just my way of saying
I’m nearly ready to come home
‘Cause for what feels to me like an eternity
you’ve had your hold on me
yeah you’ve had your hold on me
You know I’ve starting to believe
I have the marks you leave
written all over me
yeah written all over me
So come on take a hold
Come on take a hold
Won’t you come on and get me?
or just let me
let me
let me
Let me go!
‘Cause you have your hold
yeah you have your hold on me
You have your
hold on me
You have your
hold on me
You have your
hold on me
You have your
hold on me
You have your hold
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Ruth Theodore UK
'Original folk voice' Ruth Theodore signed to Righteous Babe Records USA, is described as 'one of the UK's most exciting
artists'.
Her highly acclaimed new release is the fruits of another collaboration with Tony and Grammy award winning US bassist/producer Todd Sickafoose and percussionist Mathias Kunzli.
linktr.ee/ruththeodore
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