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| from Al Stewart - Sparks Of Ancient Light (2008) | |||||
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4:17 | 
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from Al Stewart - Between The Wars (1995)
I'm here sitting in the wreck of Europe
With a map of Europe Spread out in a hall of Versailles And every single nationality and principality have come for a piece of the pie I'm sitting in the wreck of Europe With a map of Europe And the lines and the borders are gone We've got to do this jigsaw puzzle It's an awful muddle But somehow we've got to go on Lawrence of Arabia is waiting in the wings He's got some Arab sheikhs and kings And we're in debt to them somehow Lawrence of Arabia has got this perfect vision Gonna sell him down the river There's no time for him now I think I'm gonna take a piece of Russia And a Piece of Germany And give them to Poland again I'll put together Yugoslavia and Czechoslovakia And hope that is how they'll remain Then I'll take a bit of Turkey Then a lot of Turkey This is all quite a heady affair There's Persia and Iraq to pick up And there's Churchill's hiccup And we can't leave it up in the air Woodrow Wilson waves his fourteen points around And says "The time to act is now Won't get this opportunity again" Woodrow Wilson has his fourteen points But Clemenceau turns to Lloyd George And says "You know that God himself had only ten" Today I'm carried by a league of notions (It's a league of notions) By a league of notions I don't think I quite understand (I don't think I understand) I only know from this commotion (From this commotion) There's a chance that we could turn The world in the palm of our hands (We can turn the world in the palm of our hands) Voices in the corridors of power Candles burning hour by hour Still you know that to the victors go the spoils Such a great responsibility to make it fair And there must be some reparations now And don't forget the oil Today I'm carried by a league of notions (It's a league of notions) By a league of notions I don't think I quite understand (I don't think I understand) I only know from this commotion (From this commotion) There's a chance that we could turn The world in the palm of our hands (We can turn the world in the palm of our hands) Pax vobiscum Wo-Oh, Pax vobiscum |
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5:50 |
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from Al Stewart - Time Passages (1978)
What if you reached the age of reason
Only to find there was no reprieve Would you still be a man for all seasons? Or would you just have to leave We measure our days out In steps of uncertainty Not turning to see how we've come And peer down the highway From here to eternity And reach out for love on the run While the man for all seasons Is lost behind the sun Henry Plantagenent still looks for someone To bring good news in his hour of doubt While Thomas More waits in the Tower of London Watching the sands running out And measures the hours out From here to oblivion In actions that can't be undone A sailor through the darkness He scans the meridian And caught by the first rays of dawn The man for all seasons Is lost beneath the storm And I should know by now I should know by now I hear them call it out all around Oh, they go There's nothing to believe in Hear them Just daydreams, deceiving They'll just let you down So what if you reached the age of reason Only to find there was no reprieve Would you still be a man for all seasons? Or would you just disbelieve? We measure our gains out in luck and coincidence Lanterns to turn back in the night And put our defeats down to chance or experience And try once again for the light Some wait for the waters of fortune to cover them Some just see the tides of ill chance rushing over them Some call on Jehovah Some cry out to Allah Some wait for the boats that still row to Valhallah Well, you try to accept what the fades are unfolding While some say they're sure where the shame should be falling You look round for maybe a chance of forestalling But too soon it's over and done And the man for all seasons Is lost behind the sun |
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from Al Stewart - The Originals (2000)
What if you reached the age of reason
Only to find there was no reprieve Would you still be a man for all seasons? Or would you just have to leave We measure our days out In steps of uncertainty Not turning to see how we've come And peer down the highway From here to eternity And reach out for love on the run While the man for all seasons Is lost behind the sun Henry Plantagenent still looks for someone To bring good news in his hour of doubt While Thomas More waits in the Tower of London Watching the sands running out And measures the hours out From here to oblivion In actions that can't be undone A sailor through the darkness He scans the meridian And caught by the first rays of dawn The man for all seasons Is lost beneath the storm And I should know by now I should know by now I hear them call it out all around Oh, they go There's nothing to believe in Hear them Just daydreams, deceiving They'll just let you down So what if you reached the age of reason Only to find there was no reprieve Would you still be a man for all seasons? Or would you just disbelieve? We measure our gains out in luck and coincidence Lanterns to turn back in the night And put our defeats down to chance or experience And try once again for the light Some wait for the waters of fortune to cover them Some just see the tides of ill chance rushing over them Some call on Jehovah Some cry out to Allah Some wait for the boats that still row to Valhallah Well, you try to accept what the fades are unfolding While some say they're sure where the shame should be falling You look round for maybe a chance of forestalling But too soon it's over and done And the man for all seasons Is lost behind the sun |
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| from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996) | |||||
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3:33 |
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from Al Stewart - Russians & Americans (1984)
Linda was killed last Saturday about fifteen blocks from where she lives
In a car crash, people gathered ‘round the graveside friends and relatives dressed in black Preacher mumblin' how she's bound to go to Heaven The service started at half-past ten, it was all over by eleven. They say it's God's to give, and God's to take away But why He happened to pick Linda on a Saturday night, no one could say Maybe it's just one of those things, one of those things. They found guy the who did it, he had the lobotomy and the chicken eyes And he gazed around the courtroom with a kind of vague surprise Reminded me of one of those Vikings with the long-handled swords The kind of guy even Joan Baez would not feel non-violent towards. Said he wasn't looking, maybe he had had a bit too much It was dark, it was raining, he didn't see the light or some such It was just one of those things, one of those things. I asked my local guru the situation and he gave me this reply While pointing a bony finger up into the general direction of the sky ’Get on with your own life, it is not ours to reason why’ Said he used to worry about it once when he was young, now he doesn't even bother to try. He left me with a feeling that what he said was basically sound Like a black hole in space or philosophy, useless but profound Just one of those things, one of those things. Tonight I'm gonna take myself down to my local cafe Gonna get smashed out of my mind, gonna waste myself away Gonna drink and drink and sink into that dark abyss I wanna be just like that Viking, I wanna know if ignorance is truly bliss. Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar It's just one of those things, one of those things. Oh, just one of those things. |
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from Al Stewart - The Originals (2000)
Linda was killed last Saturday about fifteen blocks from where she lives
In a car crash, people gathered ‘round the graveside friends and relatives dressed in black Preacher mumblin' how she's bound to go to Heaven The service started at half-past ten, it was all over by eleven. They say it's God's to give, and God's to take away But why He happened to pick Linda on a Saturday night, no one could say Maybe it's just one of those things, one of those things. They found guy the who did it, he had the lobotomy and the chicken eyes And he gazed around the courtroom with a kind of vague surprise Reminded me of one of those Vikings with the long-handled swords The kind of guy even Joan Baez would not feel non-violent towards. Said he wasn't looking, maybe he had had a bit too much It was dark, it was raining, he didn't see the light or some such It was just one of those things, one of those things. I asked my local guru the situation and he gave me this reply While pointing a bony finger up into the general direction of the sky ’Get on with your own life, it is not ours to reason why’ Said he used to worry about it once when he was young, now he doesn't even bother to try. He left me with a feeling that what he said was basically sound Like a black hole in space or philosophy, useless but profound Just one of those things, one of those things. Tonight I'm gonna take myself down to my local cafe Gonna get smashed out of my mind, gonna waste myself away Gonna drink and drink and sink into that dark abyss I wanna be just like that Viking, I wanna know if ignorance is truly bliss. Linda's in the cold ground, won't see her anymore Somewhere out on the highway tonight, the drunken engines roar It's just one of those things, one of those things. Oh, just one of those things. |
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| from Al Stewart - The Originals (2000) | |||||
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3:44 |
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from Al Stewart - Time Passages (1978)
Lucy worked a different club every day,
And though she put her mind to it, Her heart was never in it, She stayed around just long enough to get paid, She won't pass the time with you, she can't stay a minute, And all these changing faces never bothered her at all, They just existed like a back-drop or a pattern on the wall, Lucy looks like someone who is waiting for a call, She knows he'll come, but no-one else can hear at all, Lucy finds the dressing room and the bar, Hangs her clothes up, hopes tonight, The contract won't be broken, Well, they kick you round so much when you're not a star, Make you play all night just for a pittance or a token, But all these imperfections never bothered her at all, She says it sharpens your perception when your back's against the wall, There's something that enables her to rise above it all, To shrug it off, just when it seems to go too far, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel the pain comin' on inside, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel it now and you don't know why, You don't know why. The last time that I saw her she had given up the chase, Moved away to California, got a suntan on her face, She said that life was just another time another space, It's over now, she learned a lot, it's not a waste, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel the pain comin' on inside Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel it now and you don't know why, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel yourself reaching out inside, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel it now and you don't know why. |
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from Al Stewart - Essential (2003)
Lucy worked a different club every day,
And though she put her mind to it, Her heart was never in it, She stayed around just long enough to get paid, She won't pass the time with you, she can't stay a minute, And all these changing faces never bothered her at all, They just existed like a back-drop or a pattern on the wall, Lucy looks like someone who is waiting for a call, She knows he'll come, but no-one else can hear at all, Lucy finds the dressing room and the bar, Hangs her clothes up, hopes tonight, The contract won't be broken, Well, they kick you round so much when you're not a star, Make you play all night just for a pittance or a token, But all these imperfections never bothered her at all, She says it sharpens your perception when your back's against the wall, There's something that enables her to rise above it all, To shrug it off, just when it seems to go too far, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel the pain comin' on inside, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel it now and you don't know why, You don't know why. The last time that I saw her she had given up the chase, Moved away to California, got a suntan on her face, She said that life was just another time another space, It's over now, she learned a lot, it's not a waste, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel the pain comin' on inside Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel it now and you don't know why, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel yourself reaching out inside, Hey, hey, hey, I think you almost, feel it now and you don't know why. |
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3:18 |
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from Al Stewart - Between The Wars (1995)
Bad news over the great divide
Comes in from every side Still hope won't be denied There was always the Cause There was always the Cause Oh La Pasionara sang This day, no pasaran! It echoed out in Catalan There was always the Cause There was always the Cause Mariposa Late nights waiting on the via dolorosa Hold me closer Not long now, oh ma bella hermosa There was always the Cause Setbacks come at every turn New ways are hard to learn Tonight I saw Guernica burn There was always the Cause There was always the Cause Mariposa Late nights waiting on the via dolorosa Hold me closer Not long now, oh ma bella hermosa There was always the Cause Three years gone in the heart of Spain He brings home a quiet pain He'll never be that young again There was always the Cause There was always the Cause |
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2:56 |
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from Al Stewart - Orange (1972)
Oh I just came back from Haarlem
On the very last day of Autumn Made it through the customs, took the bus into town The flat looked cold and empty The chairs unused and dusty Just a few old letters and papers lying around The Dutch people were friendly You know they put me up and they fed me All along a tour of one night stands All my days and all my ways Are so confused I tell you right new I'm going to make it back to Amsterdam And you can feel fine anytime You choose to lose yourself for a while Bottle of wine In some back street cafe Or out on the street, there's a chance For you to meet anybody you please Taking the time To ease your blues away Fred was a crazy driver He took us at a hundred miles an hour Down a side street out of a traffic jam All my days and all my ways Are so bemused I tell you right now I'm going to make it back to Amsterdam Oh I just came back from Haarlem And the very thing I was wanting Was to find some way to let you know how I felt You can't say much in an evening If you know you'll soon be leaving There's not much time to talk, and it's maybe as well But I wanted to give you something Because you knew you really helped me So I've written you a song with a small West Indian band And though it seems some days that all my ways are Bound to lose I tell you right now I'm going to make it back to Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam Pah-pa-pa-pah |
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3:51 |
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from Al Stewart - Famous Last Words (1993)
Every evening
You come around here in your cloak of lies Half-believing I sit and listen as you offer up the prize Pick up your smile Just go faithless friend There is no pleasure waiting here for you Pick up your smile Just go faithless friend I don't see you any more as an angel of mercy Imitations Of the good life were your stock in trade Pale imitations You run for cover when the promise starts to fade Pick up your smile Just go faithless friend There is no treasure waiting here for you Pick up your smile Just go faithless friend I don't see you any more as an angel of mercy You play the game well You've got the knack Your hand in the till And the knife in the back Head for the hills Leaving them flat How come you treat Everybody like that? Spaced invader Of my privacy be on your way Tricky trader In webs of fantasy, the bank is closed today Pick up your smile Just go faithless friend There is no pleasure waiting here for you Pick up your smile Just go faithless friend I don't see you any more as an angel of mercy Pick up your smile Just go faithless friend There is no treasure waiting here for you Pick up your smile Just go faithless friend I don't see you any more As an angel of mercy Oh, an angel of mercy Oh, an angel of mercy |
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from Al Stewart - Sparks Of Ancient Light (2008)
One day you fell
Down from the sky You oversaw things Forgot how to fly You're an angry bird Walking in circles all alone Angry bird Now you don't belong You stagger round Don't like the air Don't like the ground Angry bird Walking in circles all alone Angry bird Radical penguins Led you astray You say that wings Are so passe You're an angry bird Walking in circles No way out Angry bird Now you say it's pointless You say you're cursed You fill the night with Sarcastic chirps You're an angry bird Walking in circles No way out Angry bird You're fallen in With the avian fringe That fill your head with Thoughts of revenge You're a bird In the moanly Pretty lonely Angry bird On the moonlight branches On a summer's night You can take your chances You could take flight Angry bird Walking in circles No way out Angry bird Your sun is sinking It's so absurd What were you thinking Angry bird |
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from Al Stewart - Zero She Flies (1970)
Anna, turns out the light
Sits down alone The echo of his foot on the stair Turning to stone No, he didn't take very much Just your flesh from the bone It's gonna be hard for a while Trying to get by On your own |
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2:54 |
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from Al Stewart - A Beach Full Of Shells (2005)
This is the day you disappeared
Your hand was steady and I know that your mind was clear You left a note up on the shelf Saying "I would rather be anyone but myself" You took a simple ride across the Great Divide You left the television on in your room Your friends were sad although they said "I told you so" You never really did fit into your skin The small annoying things you do All seemed so cute and entertaining when they were new This kind of honeymoon can't last I think you knew you wore your welcome out much too fast I was surprised to see you played the lottery Your winning ticket you won't need anymore You were in such a rush you never stopped to check Your jacket pocket on your way out the door This is your anniversary I'll light a candle in the window so you might see This is the day you had to go Good-bye then, this concludes your portion of the show |
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4:08 |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
Long before I ever saw
The frost upon your face I was haunted by your beauty And it drew me to this place I felt the chill of mystery With one foot on your shore And then and there resolved to go Where no man had before Chorus: Maybe I was snowblind But it seemed the wind spoke true And I believed its stories then As dreamers sometimes do In Antarctica In Antarctica Who knows what the powers may be That cause a man to go Mindless of the dangers Out across the virgin snow Seduced by this ambition I easily forget The hopeless quest of Shackleton The dreamlike death of Scott Chorus Maybe I was snowblind Perhaps it sapped my will But something of my innocence Is wandering there still In Antarctica In Antarctica In Antarctica In Antarctica |
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5:20 |
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from Al Stewart - Modern Times (1975)
When we came to the station all the trains were rusty
The doors were open and the windows broken in There was grass in all the cracks and the air hung musty The travel posters were flapping in the wind So we moved through the dust and gloom Playing waiting games in the waiting-room Lay our sleeping-bags out on the floor And on Sunday morning easy rider comes to me with apple cider Leaves me here without a place to go If I followed the coast road, I'd be home by evening The harbour lights still cut across the bay From the slot machine arcade the lights go streaming To the bikes outside the rock 'n' roll cafe Ah but you know those small town blues Are really too much to lose There's nothing really there to go back for And on Sunday morning easy rider comes to me with apple cider Leaves me here without a place to go Any railway station would be just fine, fine, fine To settle down and wash the cobwebs from your head Oh, if your situation's running dry, dry, dry Find a waiting-room beneath the stars to make your bed' Cause you know London can make your brain stall The streets get cold and empty on a rainy night So you duck into the subway station, you can hear the trains call They want to take you to the Earl's Court Road, but it don't seem right Cause it's na, na, na noowah On the juke-box, singing in the burger bar See the people's faces in the passing cars don't want to know And on Sunday morning easy rider comes to me with apple cider Leaves me here without a place to go You have the most appealing surface I have seen Bring it over here, lay it down by me Don't mean to make you nervous, I just mean To make you see, this is the place to be When we came to the station all the trains were rusty The air was empty and the platforms overgrown There were old tin cans and cats and the doors were crusted With mud and leaves and names carved long ago And the rails go on for ever in a silver trail to the setting sun You can follow them anywhere you want to go And on Sunday morning easy rider comes to me with apple cider Leaves me here without a need to know |
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4:58 |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
You've got a bad reputation
All over the street There's some indication You've been indiscreet Oh I know you can turn on the charm When you feel so inclined Whatever I do I can't get you out of my mind It's a sad situation I'm coming apart A clear invitation For trouble to start If I knew what it was that you did It's so hard to define But whatever it is I can't get you out of my mind Maybe I'm seeing What I want to see Trying to make you What you'll never be Perhaps it's just the simple fact You only want the things that you can't have Well I suppose somebody broke your trust Now I see you kicking up the dust I wouldn't be at all surprised If some of it got in my eyes You've got a bad reputation They're telling me so I've got a strong motivation To get up and go If I knew what it was that you did I'd just leave you behind But whatever it is I can't get you out of my mind I suppose this will come to a close It's just a matter of time But whatever I do, I can't get you out of my mind Can't get you out of my mind Oh no, whatever I do, I can't get you out of my mind |
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2:20 |
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from Al Stewart - A Beach Full Of Shells (2005)
When your little world has fallen apart
You'll be living on Beacon Street In a flat above a laundry It's warm and forgiving on Beacon Street Hundreds of paperback novels adorning your shelves Piles of CDs that are eager to please Still asserting themselves There's something in the morning light That is muted and soft down on Beacon Street Then a bar or two of classical music Will waft through the air Newspaper adverts will usher the future your way Indian teas and then take-out Chinese At the end of the day Shadows on furniture cast by the light of the moon You've got a fridge full of food You won't need to go anywhere soon When it's time to start again They will welcome you in down on Beacon Street Everybody needs a moment or two Now and then on their own |
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from Al Stewart - Bedsitter Images (1967)
The subway station's closed again
Sleeps beneath its veil of rain My footprints broken trail behind Steals the nightlights from my mind The dark deserted streets then clear Today has lived and died in here So I leave the chapel gloom To find the shelter of my tiny room But it's alright while the lights of the city shine so bright It's all right till the last winding train fades from sight Then alone in my room I must stay to lose or win While these wild bedsitter images come back to hem me in The paneled patterns on the door Chase shivering shadows to the floor Upon the pillow worn and thin The memories of hopes begin The carpet with its flowers in shreds Expires a foot before my bed The crack that won't return again Advancing through my broken window pane But it's alright while the lights of the city shine so bright It's all right till the last winding train fades from sight Then alone in my room I must stay to lose or win While these wild bedsitter images come back to hem me in The friends I've left back home all write With laughing words that warm my sight Saying "Tell us, how's the city life?" And I reply and say just fine And so you see I can't go back Until I either win or crack I'm standing in a one way street The stage is set The story incomplete But it's alright while the lights of the city shine so bright It's alright till the last winding train fades from sight Then alone in my room I must stay to lose or win While these wild bedsitter images come back to hem me in |
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from Al Stewart - Bedsitter Images (1967)
I could have gone to Cambridge with Lionel
I think I tried to raise a pound Just to see the University And find the scenes she hung around Is your mind a menagerie Perhaps, I mean it's hard to say A pterodactyl built its nest on me I'm feeling strange but quite OK On this beleeka doodle day Archimedes and his orchestra Loudly disapprove of life Got mad when I called them unmusical Tried to land me with a wife Out in San Francisco's wonderland The purple poet kneels to pray But I just hang around your city and I don't have anything to say On this beleeka doodle day I had a week once in Italy With Mike and Robin and some songs I had a girl once in Sweden but I haven't seen her for too long I drift down to the Cousins and The usual people were all there I saw a girl in the soft red light I smiled but she looked away On my beleeka doodle day I wrote a song just before the dawn And then I lost it now its gone I spent all day playing Monopoly It seemed to feel like getting on Sometimes I wonder how it feels to be Paul McCartney or the Queen I wonder how they'd feel if they were me I think its gonna start to rain On this beleeka doodle day Oh Jack the Ripper and Hippocrates They're out to get me in the end I think they'll find me by the ruined trees Without a candle or a friend Then they'll bring me to the wizard's cave Softly mould me into clay And lock me in with no telephone And laugh and throw the keys away On my beleeka doodle day So to Avril and I would like to give My thanks for lending me your room I stayed one night, ah but I had to go I think I'll maybe come back soon Of all the girls that I have ever known There wasn't one who didn't play They came and went just like the newspapers And left me here to find my way Through my beleeka doodle day |
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from Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat (1976)
The roof started leaking and the stairs were squeaking
There was water running down the walls So we took down the carpet, scrubbed down the parquet And the drains overflowed in the hall In the pub across the street it was two feet deep And the chairs were floating away In the Chinese store all the food was on the floor And they were wondering who was going to pay. But it's alright now, she said I'm a little bit tired, a little bit wet But it's alright now, she said Though I believe I have the Belsize Blues. Conrad's bistro, the nights a go-go With people talking over the flood And Jenny from the newsdesk is looking at her shoes Just to see is she's avoided the mud And Annie comes slowly with a pile of ravioli Fried chicken and a soup of the day Moving ‘round the table, she's a little Betty Grable In the way she's got her hair today. But I'm alright now, she said I'm a little bit tired, a little bit wet But I'm alright now, she said Though I believe I got the Belsize Blues. Philadelphia seems like a part of my dreams And I cannot believe that I held the sleeve of her coat But now the night is clear as a chandelier And the trees are turning the water into a moat. We finally got cleared and the neighbours disappeared We were sitting down for a rest When the TV blew and the lights all fused And the wine spilled all over her dress So I lit up a candle, poured up a brandy I was trying to get into a groove And I was kissing her on the chin when the roof fell in And I decided I was going to move. But I'm alright now, she said I'm a little bit tired, a little bit wet But I'm alright now, she said Though I believe I got the Belsize Blues. That's as far as it goes now Well, I don't suppose. |
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2:05 |
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| from Al Stewart - Between The Wars (1995) | |||||
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| from Al Stewart - Essential (2003) | |||||
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from Al Stewart - Zero She Flies (1970)
Hey, won't you come look at the sunrise
Peeping up into the blue skies Washing away the morning chill That hangs like a cloak over Black Hill |
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| from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996) | |||||
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4:00 |
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from Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat (1976)
You told the man in the Broadway Hotel
Nothing was stranger than being yourself And he replied, with a tear in his eye Love was a rollaway Just a cajole away Mist on a summer's day Nothing was clear Love was a smile away Just a defile away I sought it every way No-one came near You asked the man for a room with a view Nothing was said as he stared at his shoe Then he replied as he gave you the key Love was a rollaway Just an unfold away That's all there is to say No-one came near Alone in your room you hide As the night rolls by In the street outside And you feel over the words he said Till they turn to rain all around your head You're seeking a hideaway Where the light of day Doesn't touch your face And a door-sign keeps the world away Behind the shades Of your silent day. You made your home in the Broadway Hotel Room service came at the push of a bell And the man said as he put down the tray Love was a stealaway Just a reveal away I tried to find a way Nothing was clear Then as he turned away You asked the man to stay He was there all the day No-one came near |
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from Al Stewart - The Originals (2000)
You told the man in the Broadway Hotel
Nothing was stranger than being yourself And he replied, with a tear in his eye Love was a rollaway Just a cajole away Mist on a summer's day Nothing was clear Love was a smile away Just a defile away I sought it every way No-one came near You asked the man for a room with a view Nothing was said as he stared at his shoe Then he replied as he gave you the key Love was a rollaway Just an unfold away That's all there is to say No-one came near Alone in your room you hide As the night rolls by In the street outside And you feel over the words he said Till they turn to rain all around your head You're seeking a hideaway Where the light of day Doesn't touch your face And a door-sign keeps the world away Behind the shades Of your silent day. You made your home in the Broadway Hotel Room service came at the push of a bell And the man said as he put down the tray Love was a stealaway Just a reveal away I tried to find a way Nothing was clear Then as he turned away You asked the man to stay He was there all the day No-one came near |
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from Al Stewart - Essential (2003)
You told the man in the Broadway Hotel
Nothing was stranger than being yourself And he replied, with a tear in his eye Love was a rollaway Just a cajole away Mist on a summer's day Nothing was clear Love was a smile away Just a defile away I sought it every way No-one came near You asked the man for a room with a view Nothing was said as he stared at his shoe Then he replied as he gave you the key Love was a rollaway Just an unfold away That's all there is to say No-one came near Alone in your room you hide As the night rolls by In the street outside And you feel over the words he said Till they turn to rain all around your head You're seeking a hideaway Where the light of day Doesn't touch your face And a door-sign keeps the world away Behind the shades Of your silent day. You made your home in the Broadway Hotel Room service came at the push of a bell And the man said as he put down the tray Love was a stealaway Just a reveal away I tried to find a way Nothing was clear Then as he turned away You asked the man to stay He was there all the day No-one came near |
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| from Al Stewart - Zero She Flies (1970) | |||||
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5:38 |
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from Al Stewart - Russians & Americans (1984)
Late at night
When reality's failing and nothing is prevailing but the wind, I come to you Out of sight Like a fugitive trailing across a barren land, you let me in, you always do. My reason is caught by a sudden gust of lateral thought that sweeps me far beyond It's the opium of the night And the ocean of words that we throw in the air grow more absurd and nobody seems to care It's a refugee's respite. Cafe Society. Late at night (late at night) While the city lies sleeping and solitude is keeping me awake, I think of you Dim your lights (dim your lights) Oh, I want to sink deep in that river of oblivion you make, I need it too. Let me check-in my mind with my coat at the door ‘cause I want to go flying where I've never been before Some inviting dark ravine If the hand that you hold in the dead of the night is a little too cold, the body seems just right It's a Toulouse Lautrec scene. Cafe Society. (‘Excuse me, sir, are you a member ?’) |
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| from Al Stewart - The Originals (2000) | |||||
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| from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996) | |||||
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from Al Stewart - Modern Times (1975)
Sometimes it seems unimaginable
That you were ever any other way With your white rose face And your orphan clothes Embroidered jeans and silver chains You're a well known face in all the hang-out places It's where the lost souls congregate You sit all night, but you talk too fast I don't know what you're trying to say Oh Carol, I think it's time for running for cover, a-ha Believe me, you're everyone's and nobody's lover, a-ha You've got a one-way ticket for all your yesterdays I know your daddy said he'd talk to you But he never really found the time And your TV mother with her cocktail eyes could never really reach your mind So you fixed your star to a passing dream and took a cocaine holiday Now the years flow round you in a muddy stream And you need another place to stay Oh Carol, I think it's time for running for cover, a-ha Believe me, you're everyone's and nobody's lover, a-ha You've got a one-way ticket for all your yesterdays Reach down silvery ship from the stars I know you're there I know you'll understand me You can take me anywhere I know you must be there Well sometimes it seems impossible That the game could get that rough But the stage is set, the exit's barred And the make-up won't come off So you make your bow to the balcony You light another cigarette And the lights grow dim as the music starts And it's easy to forget Oh Carol, I think it's time for running for cover, a-ha Believe me, you're everyone's and nobody's lover, a-ha You've got a one-way ticket to all your yesterdays Reach down silvery ship from the stars I know you're there I know you'll understand me You can take me anywhere I know you must be there 백장미 같은 새하얀 얼굴에 쇠줄이 달린 요란한 청바지에 너저분한 옷을 입은 당신을 보면 전에는 그런 모습이 아니었다는 걸 때로는 상상조차 할 수가 없어 영혼을 잃은 사람들이 모이는 놀기 좋은 곳이라면 어딜 가나 당신을 볼 수 있지 당신은 밤새 앉아서 지껄여 대지만 모두지 무슨 말을 하는지 알 수가 없어 캐롤, 이제 그만 둘 때가 된 것 같아 정말이야, 당신은 만인의 연인이자 그 누구의 연인도 아냐 당신은 그 모든 과거로 돌아갈 편도 차표를 한 장 갖고 있지 아버지가 대화를 하겠다고 했지만 시간을 내지 못한 거 알고 있어 치켜 올라간 눈으로 TV만 보는 어머니는 당신 마음을 절대 이해 못했지 그래서 당신의 별을 스쳐 지나가는 꿈에 실어 약물에 빠져 지냈어 이제 그 세월들은 흙탕물이 되어 당신 주위를 흐르고 당신은 다른 곳을 찾아 봐야 할거야 캐롤, 이제 그만 둘 때가 된 것 같아 정말이야, 당신은 만인의 연인이자 그 누구의 연인도 아냐 당신은 그 모든 과거로 돌아갈 편도 차표를 한 장 갖고 있지 별들을 가르는 은빛 배를 향해봐 그 곳에 당신이 있다는 걸 알아 나를 이해해 주는 당신은 날 어디든 데려다 줄 수 있어 당신은 내 곁에 있어 줄거야 가끔은 어쩔 수 없이 힘든 상황이 닥치기도 하지 무대가 준비되고 출구는 막히고 꾸며낸 이야기도 아무 소용이 없거든 그래서 객석에 인사를 하고 또 담배에 불을 붙이지 그리고 음악이 시작되고 조명이 어두워지면 쉽사리 망각하고 말아 캐롤, 이제 그만 둘 때가 된 것 같아 정말이야, 당신은 만인의 연인이자 그 누구의 연인도 아냐 당신은 그 모든 과거로 돌아갈 편도 차표를 한 장 갖고 있지 별들을 가르는 은빛 배를 향해봐 그 곳에 당신이 있다는 걸 알아 나를 이해해 주는 당신은 날 어디든 데려다 줄 수 있어 당신은 내 곁에 있어 줄거야 |
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3:47 |
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from Al Stewart - Famous Last Words (1993)
If you hear a step upon
Your stair tonight If you see a shadow in The candle light It's only your imagination Leading you astray See her for a moment Then she'll slip away The ghost of Charlotte Corday She wanders down the hallway In a long black dress And lingers by the fireplace Like a faint caress Just what it is that brings her here No man alive can say See her for a moment Then she melts away The ghost of Charlotte Corday Stars in the window like a panoply Covering everything River of night Stars in the window See them shining for Anyone else, anyone else The clock ticks in the dark and now The night is still The air is like a murmur On the window sill All at once there's someone there That only you can see Seeking the forgiveness That will set her free The wind has taken away The words she wanted to say The sky is now turning gray The dawn is turning away The ghost of Charlotte Corday |
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| from Al Stewart - Live Indian Summer [live] (1981) | |||||
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| from Al Stewart - Live (1997) | |||||
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| from Al Stewart - Live (1997) | |||||
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from Al Stewart - A Beach Full Of Shells (2005)
Old jazz guys being interviewed
Thirty years beyond their prime With memories of road shows From the Golden Age of Swingtime The piano player strikes a chord Leans forward on his stool And through they've all seen better days They've got that air of faded cool It's an entree of another world One of tailcoats and victrolas And one day they'll make TV shows On aging rock-and-rollers On aging rock-and-rollers Then came the kid with the red Colorama And the Watkins copycat echo chamber and the toothy grin With one hand glued to the tremolo arm While the singer moves around like an Elvis clone They really packed them in And every song was short and sweet, and every beat was fast And every paper in the land said rock-and-roll won't last You know it just won't last, it's such a rapid burn And it's a hard, hard, hard lesson to learn It's a hard, hard, hard lesson to learn Well what are you going to do when it's all over? What are you going to do right now? What are you going to to when it's all over? Will you get along somehow? I just don't know Feeling like I do right now Ask me tomorrow Red guitar, red guitar You know I really miss that red guitar Red guitar, red guitar You know I reallly miss that red guitar And you can write this on my tombstone That'll be my fate I'm a gradute of rock-and-roll Class of '58 '58, '58, I'm a graduate of the class of '58 Red guitar, '58, I'm a graduate of the class of '58 And there's no use analyzing these anthems that were sung Rock-and-roll's not good or bad It's just the sound of being young And it's a long long way from pompadours And doo-wop and payola And one day they'll make TV shows on aging rock-and-rollers One day they'llmakeTV shows on aging rock-and-rollers. |
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from Al Stewart - Bedsitter Images (1967)
The rain came down like beads
Bouncing on the noses of the People from the train A flock of salty ears Sparkled in the traffic lights Feet squelched soggy leaves across the grain I took my love to Clifton in the rain And all along the way Wanderers in overcoats with Collars on parade And steaming in the night The listeners in the Troubadour Guitar player weaves a willow strain I took my love to Clifton in the rain Jacqueline Bisset I saw your movie Wondered if you really felt that way Do you ever fear The images of Hollywood? Have you felt a shadow of its pain? I thought of you in Clifton in the rain |
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from Al Stewart - 24 Carrots (1980)
Across the western world
The fights are going down The gypsy armies of the evening Have lit their fires across The nether side of town They will not pass this way again So here in the night Leave your home it's time for running Out of the light I see the hosts of Mohammed coming The Holy Sister bars her doors against the East Her house has stood too long divided The uninvited guests are breaking up the feast She may not bid them leave again So here in the night Leave your home it's time for running Out of the light I see the hosts of Mohammed coming I dreamed I stood like this before And I'm sure the words that I heard then Were much the same It's just an old Greek tragedy they're acting here Held over by popular acclaim So here in the night Leave your home it's time for running Out of the light I see the hosts of Mohammed coming |
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from Al Stewart - 24 Carrots (1980)
Delia's gone
And the days they run so slow Here in the islands Delia's gone It's the only thing you know Here in the silence Fine rain combs the sand The first breath of winter across the land Try but you won't understand How she could slip right through your hands Delia's gone. Delia's friends no longer come to call What can they say now Delia's pictures are hanging on the wall You can't look away now Dream figures with moons for eyes Stare from under an alien sky Seem to watch as you pass them by If they should know, they won't say why Delia's gone. Delia's gone like a darkening of the sky A change in the weather Delia's gone like a moment out of time Maybe forever Lines of coffee cups on parade Soldiers for keeping the night away Soon, too soon, you'll be moving out There's nothing here to hold you now Delia's gone. Delia left Tony On a hot summer night She would not go for him and so He shot her down at sight Delia gone, one more round, Delia gone! |
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from Al Stewart - Live Indian Summer [live] (1981)
Delia's gone
And the days they run so slow Here in the islands Delia's gone It's the only thing you know Here in the silence Fine rain combs the sand The first breath of winter across the land Try but you won't understand How she could slip right through your hands Delia's gone. Delia's friends no longer come to call What can they say now Delia's pictures are hanging on the wall You can't look away now Dream figures with moons for eyes Stare from under an alien sky Seem to watch as you pass them by If they should know, they won't say why Delia's gone. Delia's gone like a darkening of the sky A change in the weather Delia's gone like a moment out of time Maybe forever Lines of coffee cups on parade Soldiers for keeping the night away Soon, too soon, you'll be moving out There's nothing here to hold you now Delia's gone. Delia left Tony On a hot summer night She would not go for him and so He shot her down at sight Delia gone, one more round, Delia gone! |
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| from Al Stewart - Bedsitter Images (1967) | |||||
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from Al Stewart - Famous Last Words (1993)
The sun is going down across the great unknown
Lights come on inside the towers made of stone A muffled drum plays out of sight and all alone Summer is over The city lies awake and breathes electric air The sailor in the bar dreams of a love affair Young girls seem to shimmer in fluorescent glare Summer is over It's a never ending show Faces come and go Like a river You're a rainbow wrapped in gray Shake the dust away Like a river But don't forget me Don't forget me now Oh don't forget me Don't forget me now It's a never ending show Faces come and go Like a river You're a rainbow wrapped in gray Shake the dust away Like a river The crowd is spilling from the video arcade The owner of the restaurant pulls down the shade The thunder of the trucks is like a cannonade But now it's over But don't forget me Don't forget me now Don't forget me Don't forget me now Summer is over Summer is over But don't forget me Don't forget me now Don't forget me Don't forget me now |
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| from Al Stewart - Down In The Cellar (2000) | |||||
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from Al Stewart - Zero She Flies (1970)
Shots split the night, a bullet lodged in his brain
He must have died instantly, he felt no pain A crowd quickly gathered to the feast of the gun Waiting for the ambulance and cops to come Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Sirens wail in the concrete Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Electric Los Angeles sunset, the sunset, the sunset, oh-o-oh Headlight lit the faces by the tabernacle door Gazing at the bloodstains on the damp sidewalk As the crowd turned to go, a man was heard to say "He must have had it comin' to him anyway" Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Blood wagon rolls through the dragnet Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Electric Los Angeles sunset, the sunset, the sunset, oh-o-oh Cadillacs roll through the smoggy perfume The buildings are choking on oxygen fumes Evangelists praying in rented rooms, in the afternoon Which way do the signposts read African eyes in the sunrise The gates of the city are rusted over and mouldering The violence of the evening decays into the night While shadows press like moths against the neon light Movie queues diffuse into the Cinerama haze While libertines read pornozines in street cafes Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm The madman swings in the pulpit Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Electric Los Angeles sunset, the sunset, the sunset, oh-o-oh |
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from Al Stewart - Essential (2003)
Shots split the night, a bullet lodged in his brain
He must have died instantly, he felt no pain A crowd quickly gathered to the feast of the gun Waiting for the ambulance and cops to come Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Sirens wail in the concrete Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Electric Los Angeles sunset, the sunset, the sunset, oh-o-oh Headlight lit the faces by the tabernacle door Gazing at the bloodstains on the damp sidewalk As the crowd turned to go, a man was heard to say "He must have had it comin' to him anyway" Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Blood wagon rolls through the dragnet Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Electric Los Angeles sunset, the sunset, the sunset, oh-o-oh Cadillacs roll through the smoggy perfume The buildings are choking on oxygen fumes Evangelists praying in rented rooms, in the afternoon Which way do the signposts read African eyes in the sunrise The gates of the city are rusted over and mouldering The violence of the evening decays into the night While shadows press like moths against the neon light Movie queues diffuse into the Cinerama haze While libertines read pornozines in street cafes Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm The madman swings in the pulpit Hm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm mmm Electric Los Angeles sunset, the sunset, the sunset, oh-o-oh |
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from Al Stewart - Modern Times (1975)
Elvaston Place, a run-down basement in South Ken
Hiding your face behind the railings in the rain Stony steps to a small grey herd of dustbins blinking in the sunlight Our yesterday lives crouched by the fireside In Elvaston Place. Holes in the lace, curtains, splintery window frames A small furnished space, we never knew the landlord's name Electric bar to warm your winter toes, evening paper for the bath mat Watching the face, happy beside me In Elvaston Place. The city's spreading like a stony tide across the countryside I live alone now in London town Cars and buses everywhere, they hide the sun and eat the air You need a friend when it gets you down. All the money that I've ever owned, I'd give it all tomorrow If I could lay happy beside you In Elvaston Place. Elvaston Place, I stopped to look at you today New whitewashed face behind the railings in the rain You once held a love of mine, she changed just like the weather The Kensington skies go on for ever In Elvaston Place. |
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from Al Stewart - Modern Times (1975)
Elvaston Place, a run-down basement in South Ken
Hiding your face behind the railings in the rain Stony steps to a small grey herd of dustbins blinking in the sunlight Our yesterday lives crouched by the fireside In Elvaston Place. Holes in the lace, curtains, splintery window frames A small furnished space, we never knew the landlord's name Electric bar to warm your winter toes, evening paper for the bath mat Watching the face, happy beside me In Elvaston Place. The city's spreading like a stony tide across the countryside I live alone now in London town Cars and buses everywhere, they hide the sun and eat the air You need a friend when it gets you down. All the money that I've ever owned, I'd give it all tomorrow If I could lay happy beside you In Elvaston Place. Elvaston Place, I stopped to look at you today New whitewashed face behind the railings in the rain You once held a love of mine, she changed just like the weather The Kensington skies go on for ever In Elvaston Place. |
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from Al Stewart - Sparks Of Ancient Light (2008)
There is an independent book store
the last one that remained all the othres you might look for have been eaten by the chains the soldier on on one cleans the windows panes and it was there I read the story so strange it must be real of a car in Arizona with Elvis at the wheel he is looking up the sky has something to reveal It is the face of Josef Stanhard being formed by drifting clouds above the sleeping Memphis mafia and unsuspecting cows This is a sign from god.... |
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from Al Stewart - Time Passages (1978)
And in the evening when the day goes down
She leaves the bright house lights Stands and watches with her coat pulled around As torches light the western skies Sometimes she thinks she knows him just too well Other times not much at all They live their lives in some familiar spell And catch each other when they fall Nothing lasts, well she knows, try to hang on When it's gone, you'll be burned Fashions and friends come and go Everyone travels that road in their turn She wants to go out where the day meets the night Far beyond these Midwest farms But she'll be with him till the day she finds A stranger lying in her arms |
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from Al Stewart - The Originals (2000)
And in the evening when the day goes down
She leaves the bright house lights Stands and watches with her coat pulled around As torches light the western skies Sometimes she thinks she knows him just too well Other times not much at all They live their lives in some familiar spell And catch each other when they fall Nothing lasts, well she knows, try to hang on When it's gone, you'll be burned Fashions and friends come and go Everyone travels that road in their turn She wants to go out where the day meets the night Far beyond these Midwest farms But she'll be with him till the day she finds A stranger lying in her arms |
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from Al Stewart - Famous Last Words (1993)
I feel as volatile as the weather
Over fields of Scottish heather The night before Hallowe'en You know I feel like A catamaran in summer The beat of a reggae drummer The flag of a brigantine This is the day when All of my dreams came true This is the day when All of my life till now Seemed oh so blue You know I feel like A plate of the earth in motion A storm on the Indian Ocean A shake of a tambourine This is the day when All of my feelings changed This is the day when All of my life till now Seemed oh so strange You know I feel like A bird of a different feather A trail that runs forever Though a forest of evergreen |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
His flying jacket still has her perfume
Memories of the night Play across his mind High above the fields of France A single biplane in a clear blue sky 1917, no enemy was seen High above the fields of France Oh she looks But there's nothing to see Still she looks Saying come back to me He tells her just remember me this way Fore here am I more true Than anything I do High above the fields of France Oh she looks Though he'll never come back And the letter that came Was bordered in black She'll find somebody else But not forget Leaving her regrets Like vapour trails of jets High above the fields of France |
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from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996)
His flying jacket still has her perfume
Memories of the night Play across his mind High above the fields of France A single biplane in a clear blue sky 1917, no enemy was seen High above the fields of France Oh she looks But there's nothing to see Still she looks Saying come back to me He tells her just remember me this way Fore here am I more true Than anything I do High above the fields of France Oh she looks Though he'll never come back And the letter that came Was bordered in black She'll find somebody else But not forget Leaving her regrets Like vapour trails of jets High above the fields of France |
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from Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat (1976)
With your photographs of Kitty Hawk
And the biplanes on your wall You were always Amy Johnson From the time that you were small. No schoolroom kept you grounded While your thoughts could get away You were taking off in Tiger Moths Your wings against the brush-strokes of the day Are you there? On the tarmac with the winter in your hair By the empty hangar doors, you stop and stare Leave the oil-drums behind you, they won't care Oh, are you there? Oh, you wrapped me up in a leather coat And you took me for a ride We were drifting with the tail-wind When the runway came in sight The clouds came up to gather us And the cockpit turned to white When I looked, the sky was empty I suppose you never saw the landing-lights Are you there? In your jacket with the grease stain and the tear Caught up in the slipstream of the dare The compass rose will guide you anywhere, Oh, are you there? The sun comes up on Icarus as the night-birds sail away And lights the maps and diagrams That Leonardo made You can see Faith, Hope and Charity As they bank above the fields You can join the flying circus You can touch the morning air against your wheels Are you there? Do you have a thought for me that you can share? Oh I never thought you'd take me unawares Just call me if you ever need repairs Oh, are you there? |
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from Al Stewart - The Originals (2000)
With your photographs of Kitty Hawk
And the biplanes on your wall You were always Amy Johnson From the time that you were small. No schoolroom kept you grounded While your thoughts could get away You were taking off in Tiger Moths Your wings against the brush-strokes of the day Are you there? On the tarmac with the winter in your hair By the empty hangar doors, you stop and stare Leave the oil-drums behind you, they won't care Oh, are you there? Oh, you wrapped me up in a leather coat And you took me for a ride We were drifting with the tail-wind When the runway came in sight The clouds came up to gather us And the cockpit turned to white When I looked, the sky was empty I suppose you never saw the landing-lights Are you there? In your jacket with the grease stain and the tear Caught up in the slipstream of the dare The compass rose will guide you anywhere, Oh, are you there? The sun comes up on Icarus as the night-birds sail away And lights the maps and diagrams That Leonardo made You can see Faith, Hope and Charity As they bank above the fields You can join the flying circus You can touch the morning air against your wheels Are you there? Do you have a thought for me that you can share? Oh I never thought you'd take me unawares Just call me if you ever need repairs Oh, are you there? |
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from Al Stewart - Sparks Of Ancient Light (2008)
In the center of the field
stands the favorite player The ball comes floating in They say a silent prayer for him Fifty yards away A minute left to go The reflex at his watch Oh, oh-oh-ohh He cuts into the right Gets past a defender A blur of blue and white The moment has suspended in time One man left to beat He can see the goalkeeper's eyes There's magic in his feet Oh, oh-oh-ohh And a single ray, of sunlight Reaches down to touch, the golden boy Seems to light his way, towards the net In his mind, he sees the headlines In the morning newspaper. This'll be a day, they won't forget Now he's on his own Completely in control of it all The shot comes flying in Headed for the corner of the goal Bounces off the post He watches as it falls, oh-ohh Everyone will say "He should have passed the ball" Now the crowd has gone The stadium is empty Several hundred times He will watch the replay on TV Many years from now When his name's recalled Everyone will say "He should have passed the ball" He should have passed the ball |
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4:24 |
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| from Al Stewart - Down In The Cellar (2000) | |||||
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from Al Stewart - Famous Last Words (1993)
I went floating down the street one day
With a song playing in my mind Hopping and bopping like a ricochet Bad news was hard to find There was a hint of syncopation Coming from the sidewalk and the street There was a glint of scintillation Hanging over everyone you'd meet And it makes me feel okay Like a big yellow tractor going mowing through a field of hay Like a genie on a table top surfing through the month of May I saw a world in the window of a knick-knack shop And I tossed it in the air A girl went by with a forget-me-not And she wore it in her hair There was a peak of pixillation And I never noticed it before There was a jump of jubilation And it seemed to promise more and more And it makes me feel okay Like a big yellow tractor going mowing through a field of hay Like a genie on a table top surfing through the month of May Oh she loves me and she loves me Better than I've ever loved myself She knows me and she loves me Better, now I want nobody else Oh she loves me and she loves me Better than I've ever loved myself She knows me and she loves me Better, now I want nobody else Percolating through the noonday sun With wings upon my shoes I was jumping about in front of everyone No dignity to lose There was a rush of animation Bubbling about inside my soul There was a rin-tin-tabulation coming It was so hard to control And it makes me feel okay Like a pig with a bucket full of truffles in a French cafe Like Louis Armstrong playing trumpet on the judgment day Like a flying boat captain with an amethyst lake below Like a winner of a marathon rolling in a field of snow Like a figure skating gigolo looking for a heart to steal Like a simulated orgasm suddenly becoming real Like a big yellow tractor going bowling through a field of hay Like a genie on a table top surfing through the month of May |
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from Al Stewart - Zero She Flies (1970)
In Gloucester Cathedral, on Saturday night
I came to your flower show, blown like a kite And I stood by the tombstones, and gazed at the lights On the altar And the horse-faced old ladies and tweedy-toned men Of county society they came and they went With pamphlets and leaflets of Christian events For the fall But ain't it all just like Jesus Crying in the rain? Ain't it all just Gethsemane again? Oh the half-a-crown programmes on sale at the door Were clutched in the teeth of the rich and the poor As they swayed in an undertone conscience-free Forward together And the outstretching hands of the swains of the Lord Sold the communing commuters the word With LPs of Mary and photos of God In the hall But ain't it all just like Jesus Crying in the rain? Ain't it all just Gethsemane again? Oh the flowers hushed the air as the columns advanced To the clinking of coins in a ritual dance On flagstones that ached for a chance of a chance Of escaping And the mystical statues looked down so depressed At the endless possessors becoming possessed And the costumed confessors who never confessed To the wall But ain't it all just like Jesus Crying in the rain? Ain't it all just Gethsemane again? Oh I saw a blue hair-rinse, I saw a black tooth I saw a false face in a telephone booth And the stark white-faced roses that screamed out the truth Of their dying And a walrus's dreams and a carpenter's love Absorbed like a hand in a great rubber glove And flown like a flag over battlefields Factories and all Ain't it all just like Jesus Crying in the rain? Ain't it all just Gethsemane again? Oh I dodged the collection box choirboy and out To the streets where the wind shook my hair with a shout And the dusty-faced daisies were blowing about So freely And Christ in the ruins was wandering again As he walked with the beggars and talked to the lame And danced with the children and sailors who came At his call But ain't it all just like Jesus Crying in the rain? Ain't it all just Gethsemane again? Ain't it all just like Jesus Crying in the rain? Ain't it all just Nazareth again? |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
We opened the door
To see the coming of the trains Across this land of plenty We suddenly saw The ghostly horses of the plains Their saddles empty Struck to stone beneath the moon These figures still remain Steal your chances someday soon You may not pass this way Again |
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from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996)
We opened the door
To see the coming of the trains Across this land of plenty We suddenly saw The ghostly horses of the plains Their saddles empty Struck to stone beneath the moon These figures still remain Steal your chances someday soon You may not pass this way Again |
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from Al Stewart - A Beach Full Of Shells (2005)
Gina in the King's Road, 1968
Blonde hair and eyeshadow, I hyperventilate Purple leather mini, legs up to there Don't you cast aspersions on my naugahyde affair And she can make you believe You're feeling almost sincere And every day's New Years Eve She's giggling in your ear And yet she's so hard to reach Although she's so close at hand I'm like a wave on her beach Sinking in the sand Everyone went out with her, everyone knew why No one ever stayed around, no one ever tried Now Gina drowns her sorrows, drinks away the night She's wrapped around some stranger, hanging on for life repeat chorus Now Gina in the King's Road, in a raincoat shimmering white Hands thrust in her pockets ike Julie Christie might Looks up into othe distance, puckers up her lips I don't stop to talk to her,we're just passing ships repeat chorus |
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from Al Stewart - Sparks Of Ancient Light (2008)
It's a good day
For going to sea Hanno the Navigator said to me. There's an open sky and a steady breeze Out beyond the Pillars of Hercules. Above the foam-kissed waves seagulls scream Up in the masts of our trireme And it's a good day For going to sea Hanno the Navigator said to me. Water Water From horizon to horizon All I see is water Steer beyond all maps and charts Down along the coast of Africa. The first Phoenicians on this beach, Where the monkeys gibber and the parakeets screech. Strangest women run wild down there, Covered head to toe in fur and hair. They fight like demons, Better let them be, Hanno the Navigator said to me. Water Water From horizon to horizon All I see is water When you pull close to your fire at night With your family framed in the candlelight, Safe inside these walls of stone In the only village you've ever known. The rain-soaked moon plays splintered crystal Shadows on your windowsill. Like sparks of light in the shifting skies, Our ancient ships go sailing still on Water Water When my sailing days are done I'll seek Poseidon's daughter. Oarsmen pull and curse and sweat Underneath this creaking deck. At night I hear their stories told, Strong through storms and weak for gold. Carthage stands like an azure pearl Here in the middle of the known world. And it's a good day For going to sea, Hanno the Navigator said to me. Water Water From horizon to horizon All I see is water. Water Water When my sailing days are done I'll seek Poseidon's daughter. It's a good day For going to sea, Hanno the Navigator said to me. |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
> According to the myths and legends
At the fringes of our memory Paris stole the queen of Sparta And carried her across the sea As they fled, he never dreamt That he held the world in his grip Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships From Mycenae comes Agamemnon And the Greeks of the city-states Laden with their bronzen weapons They're waiting at the Trojan Gates As the arrow flies and Achilles falls Does she raise the wind to her lips? Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships It's funny how the story lingers It's probably a myth of course A whisper in the ear of Homer Perhaps there never was a horse She could have turned the head of Paris With the gentle sway of her hips Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships Oh Cassandra, what did you know You who bring bad news wherever you go You had the gift to see the future From Apollo so it's said And he made no one believe you When you would not share his bed Oh Cassandra, what did you see As you walked the lonely road of your certainty Gazing at the ruined city That your warnings could not save Oh Cassandra, so still and so graveCassandra The Bronze Age kingdoms tumble The cities fade one by one The walls of Mycenae crumble The Dark Age has begun And the truth is lost in the ancient dust Yet the memory forever persists Of Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships Helen, the face that launched a thousand ships |
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4:39 |
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from Al Stewart - 24 Carrots (1980)
I can't deal with all this undergrowth talk
It just trips my feet and tangles up my thoughts You're trying to sell me your new faith Tell me why you'd do it And your hands are clenched And you're talking low With your eyes like flames Your voice like snow Someone dug a pit for you and you fell right into it. Tell me how the universe was meant to be Take another sip of your cola You be the colonel of the cavalry I'll be Francis Ford Coppola We'll go together through the jungle night 'Til the moon and stars fade out of sight Waiting for the dawn to come Here in Angola Here in Angola I can't remember how you got this way I can still recall you in a younger day The earnestness still drips off you like butter And you fling round words in a holy war And you look so vague, but seem so sure Don't you ever just want to break right down and stutter Tell me how the universe was meant to be Take another sip of your cola You be the colonel of the cavalry I'll be Francis Ford Coppola We'll go together through the jungle night 'Til the moon and stars fade out of sight Waiting for the dawn to come Here in Angola Here in Angola Ah, why don't you let it go Ah, you'd be too wise to know That time will get you anyway It's at your door today. I can't deal with these periscope views And the caveman scrawl that you call news Hey, why don't you make a not to cancel your next visit Well, I knew that things were getting out of control When you found your faith and lost your soul If there's something you'd rather die than compromise What is it? Tell me how the universe was meant to be Take another sip of your cola You be the colonel of the cavalry I'll be Francis Ford Coppola We'll go together through the jungle night As the moon and stars fade out of sight Waiting for the dawn to come Here in Angola Here in Angola Here in Angola Here in Angola |
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from Al Stewart - Live Indian Summer [live] (1981)
I can't deal with all this undergrowth talk
It just trips my feet and tangles up my thoughts You're trying to sell me your new faith Tell me why you'd do it And your hands are clenched And you're talking low With your eyes like flames Your voice like snow Someone dug a pit for you and you fell right into it. Tell me how the universe was meant to be Take another sip of your cola You be the colonel of the cavalry I'll be Francis Ford Coppola We'll go together through the jungle night 'Til the moon and stars fade out of sight Waiting for the dawn to come Here in Angola Here in Angola I can't remember how you got this way I can still recall you in a younger day The earnestness still drips off you like butter And you fling round words in a holy war And you look so vague, but seem so sure Don't you ever just want to break right down and stutter Tell me how the universe was meant to be Take another sip of your cola You be the colonel of the cavalry I'll be Francis Ford Coppola We'll go together through the jungle night 'Til the moon and stars fade out of sight Waiting for the dawn to come Here in Angola Here in Angola Ah, why don't you let it go Ah, you'd be too wise to know That time will get you anyway It's at your door today. I can't deal with these periscope views And the caveman scrawl that you call news Hey, why don't you make a not to cancel your next visit Well, I knew that things were getting out of control When you found your faith and lost your soul If there's something you'd rather die than compromise What is it? Tell me how the universe was meant to be Take another sip of your cola You be the colonel of the cavalry I'll be Francis Ford Coppola We'll go together through the jungle night As the moon and stars fade out of sight Waiting for the dawn to come Here in Angola Here in Angola Here in Angola Here in Angola |
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from Al Stewart - Famous Last Words (1993)
I was surrounded by a large hippopotamus
And nine of its friends who declared quite a lot of us Are feeling rather blue And we don't know what to do I turned away but the large hippopotamus Said that his pit of despair appeared bottomless Yet hippopotami Are not supposed to cry I said "My, my Other people's problems do get tedious by and by My, my You can never solve them no matter how hard you try." This brought a tear from the large hippopotamus Who said in a voice that was growing monotonous You cannot get the sense Of how it feels to be immense The sleek and the slim make fun of a lot of us And creatures who fly through the air sit on top of us Even in the pool We are faced with ridicule I said "My, my Other people's problems do get tedious by and by My, my You can never solve them no matter how hard you try." I came back as a large hippopotamus |
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| from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996) | |||||
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from Al Stewart - Orange (1972)
I can't understand
She let go of my hand And left me here facing the wall. I'd sure like to know Why did she go, but then I can't get close to her at all. Though we kissed through the wild blazing nighttime She said she'd never forget. But now morning is clear Its like I ain't here She acts like we never have met. Its all new to me Like some mystery It could even be like a myth. Yes its hard to think on That she's the same one That only last night I was with. From darkness dreams are deserted Am I still dreaming yet? Oh, I wish she'd unlock Her voice once and talk 'Stead of acting like we never met. If she ain't feeling well Well then why don't she tell 'Stead of turning her back to my face. Mmm, without any doubt She just seems too far out For me to return to or chase. Though the night ran swirling and whirling I remember her whispering yet. But evidently she don't Evidently she won't She just acts like we never have met. If I didn't have to guess I'd gladly confess To anything I might have tried If I was working too long Or have done something wrong Wish she'd say what it is I'll run and hide. Though her skirt it swayed as the guitar played Her mouth was watery and wet But now something has changed For she ain't the same She just acts like we never have met. Mmmm, I'm leaving today Gotta be on my way Of this I can't say too much. But if you want me to I can be just like you retend that we never have touched. And if anybody should ask me Is it easy to forget? Why its easily done You just pick anyone Pretend that you never have met. |
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from Al Stewart - Orange (1972)
It's Sunday afternoon and it's raining,
I m falling Colour sections, pastel blue, an empty church, a movie queue And I'm falling Watching you moving around Taking the time To get a proper look It seems as though I've never really looked at you Get up, put the kettle on, make us some tea I'm falling If we've got some biscuits left, please bring one for me, I'm just falling Spending the whole day in bed Wasting our time In such a gentle way We hardly need to say a word, it's just okay And already the sun has gone, and it's growing dark outside, I can see your face reflected in the red electric firelight, And our shadow is an embryo That slowly comes to life And as it moves across the wall It seems to feel the fire of living Growing stronger as it climbs To shiver in a blaze Across the ceiling And the soundless crash of the sea Fills the room with the scent of the breeze And the waves break over The beach of our bodies As you reach your fingers out to me Why don't we take the whole of next week off work, We're falling You can say you don't feel well, you caught a cold or something, We're just falling We can get out of town Taking the time To let it all work out The hour glass is turning, every second counts I'm falling I'm falling I'm falling Moving around inside a dream today Falling for you in such a special way |
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from Al Stewart - Live (1997)
Nothing that's forced can ever be right
If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And we bent our backs as slaves of the night She lowered her guard and showed me the scars She got from trying to fight Saying oh, you'd better believe it Well I'm up to my neck in the crumbling wreckage Of all that I wanted from life When I looked for respect all I got was neglect Though I swallowed the line as a sign of the times But dealing a jack from the back of the pack They said-You lose again Oh, I said, who needs it? Well don't get me wrong now I tried to get on With the jokers that got in my way And I put on a smile and I tried all the while to be straight But they just wanted more all the time and I'm sure That you know what I mean when I say That I'm sick of the touch and there's only so much you can take. Well nothing that's real is ever for free And you just have to pay for it sometime She said it before, she said it to me I suppose she believed there was nothing to see But the same old four imaginary walls She built for living inside I said oh, you just can't mean it Well there was never a doubt that she had to get out She was just looking around for a way In the pit of the night there was nowhere to hide any more She was out on a limb, she was reaching for things That she wanted, but just couldn't say And she had to be sure that she wouldn't get caught like before. Well nothing that's forced can ever be right If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And she may have been wrong, and she may have been right But I woke with the frost, and noticed she'd lost The veil that covered her eyes I said oh, you can leave it |
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from Al Stewart - Year Of The Cat (1976)
Nothing that's forced can ever be right
If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And we bent our backs as slaves of the night Then she lowered her guard and showed me the scars She got from trying to fight Saying oh, you'd better believe it. Well I'm up to my neck in the crumbling wreckage Of all that I wanted from life When I looked for respect all I got was neglect Though I swallowed the line as a sign of the times But dealing a jack from the back of the pack They said-"You lose again" Oh, I said, who needs it? Well don't get me wrong now I tried to get on With the jokers that got in my way And I put on a smile and I tried all the while to be straight But they just wanted more all the time and I'm sure That you know what I mean when I say That I'm sick of the touch and there's only so much you can take. Well nothing that's real is ever for free And you just have to pay for it sometime She said it before, she said it to me I suppose she believed there was nothing to see But the same old four imaginary walls She built for living inside I said oh, you just can't mean it Well there was never a doubt that she had to get out she was just looking around for a way In the pit of the night there was nowhere to hide any more She was out on a limb, she was reaching for things That she wanted, but just couldn't say And she had to be sure that she wouldn't get caught like before. Well nothing that's forced can ever be right If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And she may have been wrong, and she may have been right But I woke with the frost, and noticed she'd lost The veil that covered her eyes I said oh, you can leave it. |
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from Al Stewart - Live Indian Summer [live] (1981)
Nothing that's forced can ever be right
If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And we bent our backs as slaves of the night Then she lowered her guard and showed me the scars She got from trying to fight Saying oh, you'd better believe it. Well I'm up to my neck in the crumbling wreckage Of all that I wanted from life When I looked for respect all I got was neglect Though I swallowed the line as a sign of the times But dealing a jack from the back of the pack They said-"You lose again" Oh, I said, who needs it? Well don't get me wrong now I tried to get on With the jokers that got in my way And I put on a smile and I tried all the while to be straight But they just wanted more all the time and I'm sure That you know what I mean when I say That I'm sick of the touch and there's only so much you can take. Well nothing that's real is ever for free And you just have to pay for it sometime She said it before, she said it to me I suppose she believed there was nothing to see But the same old four imaginary walls She built for living inside I said oh, you just can't mean it Well there was never a doubt that she had to get out she was just looking around for a way In the pit of the night there was nowhere to hide any more She was out on a limb, she was reaching for things That she wanted, but just couldn't say And she had to be sure that she wouldn't get caught like before. Well nothing that's forced can ever be right If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And she may have been wrong, and she may have been right But I woke with the frost, and noticed she'd lost The veil that covered her eyes I said oh, you can leave it. |
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4:25 |
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from Al Stewart - Live (1997)
Nothing that's forced can ever be right
If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And we bent our backs as slaves of the night Then she lowered her guard and showed me the scars She got from trying to fight Saying oh, you'd better believe it. Well I'm up to my neck in the crumbling wreckage Of all that I wanted from life When I looked for respect all I got was neglect Though I swallowed the line as a sign of the times But dealing a jack from the back of the pack They said-"You lose again" Oh, I said, who needs it? Well don't get me wrong now I tried to get on With the jokers that got in my way And I put on a smile and I tried all the while to be straight But they just wanted more all the time and I'm sure That you know what I mean when I say That I'm sick of the touch and there's only so much you can take. Well nothing that's real is ever for free And you just have to pay for it sometime She said it before, she said it to me I suppose she believed there was nothing to see But the same old four imaginary walls She built for living inside I said oh, you just can't mean it Well there was never a doubt that she had to get out she was just looking around for a way In the pit of the night there was nowhere to hide any more She was out on a limb, she was reaching for things That she wanted, but just couldn't say And she had to be sure that she wouldn't get caught like before. Well nothing that's forced can ever be right If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And she may have been wrong, and she may have been right But I woke with the frost, and noticed she'd lost The veil that covered her eyes I said oh, you can leave it. |
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from Al Stewart - The Originals (2000)
Nothing that's forced can ever be right
If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And we bent our backs as slaves of the night She lowered her guard and showed me the scars She got from trying to fight Saying oh, you'd better believe it Well I'm up to my neck in the crumbling wreckage Of all that I wanted from life When I looked for respect all I got was neglect Though I swallowed the line as a sign of the times But dealing a jack from the back of the pack They said-You lose again Oh, I said, who needs it? Well don't get me wrong now I tried to get on With the jokers that got in my way And I put on a smile and I tried all the while to be straight But they just wanted more all the time and I'm sure That you know what I mean when I say That I'm sick of the touch and there's only so much you can take. Well nothing that's real is ever for free And you just have to pay for it sometime She said it before, she said it to me I suppose she believed there was nothing to see But the same old four imaginary walls She built for living inside I said oh, you just can't mean it Well there was never a doubt that she had to get out She was just looking around for a way In the pit of the night there was nowhere to hide any more She was out on a limb, she was reaching for things That she wanted, but just couldn't say And she had to be sure that she wouldn't get caught like before. Well nothing that's forced can ever be right If it doesn't come naturally, leave it That's what she said as she turned out the light And she may have been wrong, and she may have been right But I woke with the frost, and noticed she'd lost The veil that covered her eyes I said oh, you can leave it |
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from Al Stewart - Love Chronicles (1969)
'Oh I come from Pittsburgh to study astrology,'
She said as she stood on my instep, 'I could show you New York with a walk between Fourth Street and Nine.' Then out of her coat taking seven harmonicas She sat down to play on a doorstep saying 'Come back to my place I will show you the stars and the signs' So I followed her into the black lands Where the window frames peel and flake And the old Jewish face behind the lace Even now trying to get to see what's cooking Just John the Baptist in the park getting laid thinking there's no-one looking And its eighty degrees and I'm down on my knees in Brooklyn Her house was a dusty collection of rusty Confusion with landings and tunnels And leaning bookcases and spaces and faces and things Where twenty-five Puerto Ricans, Manhattan Mohicans And Jewish-Italian Pawnbrokers Lead their theatrical lives in their rooms in the wings While outside in the black lands The violent day runs wild And the black and white minstrels run through the crazy Alleys while the cops go booking And ruthless toothless agents sneak around and there's no-one looking And it's eighty degrees and I'm down on my knees in Brooklyn And oh, I'm back in the city again You can tell by the smell of the hamburger stand in the rain She spoke of astrology while muttering apologies For coffee that tasted of hot dogs I said 'That's OK, mine was cold anyway, and just grand' Then she lay on the bed while the radio fed Us with records and adverts for cat food And I looked at her, holding my thoughts in the palm of my hand And outside in the black lands The evening came and went And the bums in the street begging money for one last drink Are hanging round the liquor stores trying to get a foot in And the girl from Pittsburgh and I made love on a mattress with the new moon looking And in the cool evening breeze I was down on my knees in Brooklyn |
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| from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996) | |||||
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| from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996) | |||||
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3:33 |
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from Al Stewart - 24 Carrots (1980)
Indian summer, the shops are shuttered and the crowds are gone
The souvenir sellers are moving on Like summer lovers Indian summer The earth is cracked beneath the midday sun You've dragged your shadow round these streets too long There is no cover Come stay, we'll live gazebo lives And let the world outside pass us by Right here in our Arabian Nights Until the Northern Lights cross the sky There is no other Indian summer, the storm that drove you here is far behind What keeps you waiting on this beach tonight It's long been over Come stay, we'll live gazebo lives And let the world outside pass us by Right here in our Arabian Nights Until the Northern Lights cross the sky There is no other Come stay Right here |
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from Al Stewart - Live Indian Summer [live] (1981)
Indian summer, the shops are shuttered and the crowds are gone
The souvenir sellers are moving on Like summer lovers Indian summer The earth is cracked beneath the midday sun You've dragged your shadow round these streets too long There is no cover Come stay, we'll live gazebo lives And let the world outside pass us by Right here in our Arabian Nights Until the Northern Lights cross the sky There is no other Indian summer, the storm that drove you here is far behind What keeps you waiting on this beach tonight It's long been over Come stay, we'll live gazebo lives And let the world outside pass us by Right here in our Arabian Nights Until the Northern Lights cross the sky There is no other Come stay Right here |
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from Al Stewart - Essential (2003)
Indian summer, the shops are shuttered and the crowds are gone
The souvenir sellers are moving on Like summer lovers Indian summer The earth is cracked beneath the midday sun You've dragged your shadow round these streets too long There is no cover Come stay, we'll live gazebo lives And let the world outside pass us by Right here in our Arabian Nights Until the Northern Lights cross the sky There is no other Indian summer, the storm that drove you here is far behind What keeps you waiting on this beach tonight It's long been over Come stay, we'll live gazebo lives And let the world outside pass us by Right here in our Arabian Nights Until the Northern Lights cross the sky There is no other Come stay Right here |
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| from Al Stewart - Bedsitter Images (1967) | |||||
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from Al Stewart - Seemed Like A Good Idea At The Time (1996)
I'm running away on a day like today
Nothing you say could cause me to stay. Jackdaw (jackdaw) Leaving by your back door Should be gone by now Should be gone by now Should be gone by now. Don't try to follow, just leave it alone The trains have all left now and the station is closed. Jackdaw (jackdaw) Leaving by your back door Should be gone by now Should be gone by now Should be gone by now. It's five in the morning and it's rainy and cold Just go back to sleep now and you won't see me go. Jackdaw (jackdaw) Leaving by your back door Should be gone by now Should be gone by now Should be gone by now. |
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3:31 |
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from Al Stewart - Between The Wars (1995)
Now I've got my payment
For the service that I gave They've given me my ticket To this place beyond the grave I suppose it's kind of funny I suppose it's kind of sad Thinking back on all the times we had But it's kind of hot and smoky In this ante-room to Hell And I won't make up a story 'Cause you know the truth so well It's much too late to worry That we never had a chance And when Joe the Georgian gets here We will dance, dance dance When Joe the Georgian gets here We will dance We all set off together On this sorry ship of state When the captain took the fever We were hijacked by the mate And he steered us through the shadows Upon an angry tide And cast us one by one over the side But it's kind of hot and smoky In this ante-room to Hell And I won't make up a story 'Cause you know the truth so well It's much too late to worry That we never had a chance And when Joe the Georgian gets here We will dance, dance dance When Joe the Georgian gets here We will dance There's Kamenev, Zinoviev Bukharin and the rest We're sharpening our pitchforks And we're heating up the ends We've got a few surprises For the mate when he appears I hope he likes the next few million years And it's kind of hot and smoky In this anteroom to Hell And I won't make up a story 'Cause you know the truth so well It's much too late to worry That we never had a chance And when Joe the Georgian gets here We will dance, dance dance When Joe the Georgian gets here We will dance |
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4:13 |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
I was watching TV late last night
And a scene transported me Long gone figures came back to life In a documentary Though I saw them dance for joy I was sad I missed that show If I had a time machine I know just where I'd go I was born too late to see Josephine Baker Dancing in a Paris cabaret Born too late to see Josephine Baker She must have been great in her heyday Now some they stand out from a crowd Even at an early age I suppose that her call was loud 'Cause she just lit up the stage You can put on all that gloss And still not have to feel What's inside will come across And only real is real I was born too late to see Josephine Baker Dancing in a Paris cabaret Born too late to see Josephine Baker She must have been great in her heyday I'm sometimes trapped by the close confines Of the age I'm born into Though there were others worse than mine Well, I miss what I can't do Join the feast of Ancient Greece See Alexander's Library Maybe clink a champagne toast With a jazz age dancing queen I was born too late to see Josephine Baker Dancing in a Paris cabaret Born too late to see Josephine Baker She must have been great in her heyday In black and white film you can't mistake her She must have been great in her heyday |
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3:07 |
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from Al Stewart - A Beach Full Of Shells (2005)
When I get even more old than I am now
I'll have a house overlooking the water I'll read all the books that I never got 'round to And pile my suitcases up in the corner The lights of the city they blink off and on again Names in my memory are there, then they're gone again Albums of photographs spread on the floor again I'll spend my evenings with Katherine of Oregon I'll fill my garage up with things I've no use for Obsolete knick-knacks that there's no excuse for I'll turn my back on the world's grand illusions Take my delights in the simplest amusements The lights of the city they blink off and on again Names in my memory are there, then they're gone again Albums of photographs spread on the floor again I'll spend my evenings with Katherine of Oregon I'll wear my clothes with their colors all clashing They'll be so old that they'll come back in fashion I'll sit on the beach with my paper wrapped luncheon I'll enjoy being the ancient curmudgeon The lights of the city they blink off and on again Names in my memory are there then they're gone again I'll have a jukebox and play Lonnie Donegan And I'll spend my evenings with Katherine of Oregon |
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4:25 |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
Dreamed I was the King of Portugal
In a big four poster bed Noble tapestries from wall to wall And a crown upon my head Bells ring and servants bring The jewels and the robes For the night to begin Would you love me forever If I had everything Would you love me forever If I were a king Then it seemed that I was travelling Through the granite hills of Dao With a vineyard spread in front of me In a carriage headed south Night came with the skies aflame And all that I saw Was all mine to claim There are those that can tell you What your fantasies mean But I don't feel the need to Understand everything |
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6:08 |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
When the cock crows
And the wind blows And the primrose of dawn Is at your windows Moving through the deep You chase dreams across your sleep Scarecrows, waiting at your door In the last days of the century Leaning from your balcony You said this is how it's meant to be Can't you feel it in the air See that light come shining down All the way to chinatown See it come from miles around Reflecting everywhere You wore black clothes You quoted shakespeare You still make me shake When you get this near You look like a still from Cecil B. DeMille When I saw you waiting at my door In the last days of the century Leaning from your balcony You say changes come so rapidly You can feel them in the air Whoever you pretend to be You must face yourself eventually In the last days of the century Who knows who we were In the last days of the century Leaning from your balcony You said this is how it's meant to be Can't you feel it in the air See that light come shining down All the way to chinatown See it shine from miles around Reflecting everywhere |
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4:15 |
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from Al Stewart - Between The Wars (1995)
Party hat and satin dress
Silver paper curled in her long black hair Tapping one small elegant shoe in time Oh, the way she plays with them Smile at one, then dance with another Pretty soon they're forming up a line And she's laughing, laughing into 1939 Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939 Oh, the party draws them in It breathes and moves To a life its own In its arms it's gathering all time From the dark he watches her Moving in and out of the bobbing crowd If she even notices, she gives no sign And she's laughing, laughing into 1939 Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939 For tonight is New Year's Eve Uncork your spirits and welcome it in Who knows what it's got up its sleeve Can't wait for it all to begin Stand by the girl with the purple balloon The look in her eyes just lights up the room In the corner of her smile She'll be seeing you soon Under a mistletoe moon Out on to the balcony Come the King and Queen And the crowd go wild He's a little bit nervous But that's just fine And they're laughing, laughing into 1939 Oh, laughing, laughing into 1939 |
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3:55 |
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from Al Stewart - Last Days Of The Century (1988)
He walks into the room
He's got a briefcase like a bomb A smile on both faces And he calls it aplomb He wants a bite of your apple Hands you back the peel He's fresh out of law school He's got a license to steal When he offers his advice You can guarantee For several hundred dollars an hour He will see just how many complications Your life will reveal He's fresh out of law school He's got a license to steal He's an ambulance chaser A waver of papers He loves to mix with the movers and shakers He's taking from them He's taking from you Lawyers love money Anybody's will do Just take it He's poking his nose into people's despair When tragedy strikes he will always be there Looking so cool His greed is hard to conceal He's fresh out of law school You gave him a license to steal We've got seven hundred thousand attorneys at law Nobody can tell me what we need them all for We should throw them in chains Chastise them and rebuke them If it doesn't work We ought to take 'em out and nuke 'em Blow a lawyer to pieces It's the obvious way Don't wait for a thesis Do it today Take him to the court of no final appeal When you're fresh out of lawyers You don't know how good it's gonna feel |
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from Al Stewart - Love Chronicles (1969)
Mr. Willoughby, whose only luxury is the sugar in his tea
Teaches history at High Worthington School His clothing has remained unnoticeably plain His common room technique suitably restrained, though maybe too cool Work done in the summery sun, see the cricket ball fly Intently, like a strange demented bird towards the sun Considering its flight, he pauses for a while Ah, but Mr. Willoughby, we've never seen you smile Tell me how come? Ah well, sometimes it must get lonely Ah, but it's life and life only "Maurice," said Renee, "Why didn't you say that you'd be so late The supper that I made is ruined again. Is there anything you'd like?". "No, nothing", he replied Standing by the stairs, not looking in her eyes, so stupidly male All dark and lying in bed, "You've been with her again" She blurts out, then turning on her side begins to cry At first he doesn't stir but then mumbling his words He reaches for her hand, she shivers, but doesn't take it away Ah, for sometimes it does get lonely Ah, but it's life and life only Oh Smithy Smithers-Bell; clerk from Clerkenwell On the beach at Bournemouth thinks he very well May be next year in France Inspired for a while, he decides to risk a smile at Mr. Willoughby Who passes, polishing his glasses, studiously averting his glance Renee, several deckchairs away, wonders if they would be better While Maurice is with the kids out in the sea And I was feeling small, sitting on the wall Looking at them all and wondering who will I be? Ah, but sometimes it does get lonely Ah, but it's life and life only Ah, but it's life and life only Ah, but it's life and life only Ah, but it's life and life .. |
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2:47 |
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from Al Stewart - Between The Wars (1995)
Paul Gervaise picks up the Herald
And sees the face of Zelda Fitzgerald She's part of the scene Of life between the wars The tropic sun is sticky and warm And it bakes the head of Somerset Maugham Who is writing a scene Of life between the wars You're waiting by the hotdog stand In the onion air As the ball flies through the park Violet and Vita run Through the streets of Paris Their laughter floating through the dark A fog that fell is swallowing London Coco Chanel came back with a suntan To brighten the scene Of life between the wars There will be a pint of milk And a Hovis loaf At the end of every street You can hear a silver band on the radio And it makes the grocer tap his feet The King is leaving Buckingham Palace It's all too cold He'd rather have Wallis They're part of the scene Of life between the war |
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6:00 |
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from Al Stewart - Time Passages Live [live] (1973)
Oh come away from the day, here I stay
Living on the bottom of the sea Down metal snake corridors steely grey Engines hum for nobody but me No sound comes from the sea above me No messages crackles through the radio leads They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be Oh mariners spare a thought when you pass Those who live the submarine life Far in the deep sonar eyes never sleep Hiding like a shadow in the night Jet planes nose through the clouds above me They look for radar traces of me to see They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be Wonder what the stars look like Coming out tonight Tell my girl she must be strong She sits and waits all night long Just looking for a better day She'll have to find another way to go No memory, tell me what's wrong with me Why am I alone here with no rest And now the name of the ship's not the same How long has it been "Marie Celeste?" Now there's nobody from the crew left Five hundred years supply of food just for me They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be |
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5:49 |
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from Al Stewart - Time Passages (1978)
Oh come away from the day, here I stay
Living on the bottom of the sea Down metal snake corridors steely grey Engines hum for nobody but me No sound comes from the sea above me No messages crackles through the radio leads They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be Oh mariners spare a thought when you pass Those who live the submarine life Far in the deep sonar eyes never sleep Hiding like a shadow in the night Jet planes nose through the clouds above me They look for radar traces of me to see They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be Wonder what the stars look like Coming out tonight Tell my girl she must be strong She sits and waits all night long Just looking for a better day She'll have to find another way to go No memory, tell me what's wrong with me Why am I alone here with no rest And now the name of the ship's not the same How long has it been "Marie Celeste?" Now there's nobody from the crew left Five hundred years supply of food just for me They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be |
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from Al Stewart - The Live Radio Concert [live] (1980)
Oh come away from the day, here I stay
Living on the bottom of the sea Down metal snake corridors steely grey Engines hum for nobody but me No sound comes from the sea above me No messages crackles through the radio leads They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be Oh mariners spare a thought when you pass Those who live the submarine life Far in the deep sonar eyes never sleep Hiding like a shadow in the night Jet planes nose through the clouds above me They look for radar traces of me to see They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be Wonder what the stars look like Coming out tonight Tell my girl she must be strong She sits and waits all night long Just looking for a better day She'll have to find another way to go No memory, tell me what's wrong with me Why am I alone here with no rest And now the name of the ship's not the same How long has it been "Marie Celeste?" Now there's nobody from the crew left Five hundred years supply of food just for me They'll never know, never no never How strange life in dark water can be |
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