1. |
Sailortown
03:19
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Sailortown
Me and Elaine we’ve been hanging around in what was once Sailortown,
drinking cheap red wine by the light of the Belfast moon,
There’s nobody left here that works at the docks, it’s all urban renewal and apartment blocks.
Summer is fading, winter will be coming soon.
The walls in the city have a lot to say about the UVF and the IRA.
It’s cold by the river, but the sky is full of stars.
But these walls say nothing about who I am, when I’m singing in the garden at the Rotterdam,
doing ‘Brown Eyed Girl’ and ‘Whiskey in the Jar’
And I know they’re tearing it down, street by street;
Look out below, there goes the ground beneath your feet…
Elaine’s mother thinks I’m some kind of crook, she meets me at the door with a dirty look.
My welcome round there is starting to wear thin.
Cause I promised everybody I’d knuckle down, but my grades weren’t good enough this time round.
All my time runs out in the end.
And I know they’re tearing it down, street by street;
Look out below, there goes the ground beneath your feet…
Me I can’t wait to be rid of school, but Elaine’s got a place at Liverpool.
By the time September comes, she’ll be gone.
She says she’ll text me every day, but that’s something she feels she has to say.
She’ll call me once at Christmas, and then move on.
Me and Elaine we’ve been hanging around
in what was once Sailortown.
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2. |
Marion, That's All Right
03:57
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Marion, That’s All Right
Don’t waste your youth trying not to get old.
Don’t waste your hope on what you can’t control.
Don’t blow your rainbow for the pot of gold, Marion.
Don’t forget where you keep your smile.
Don’t let fashion twist your sense of style.
Go and look at the ocean every once in a while, Marion.
Cause even the stars can steer you wrong sometimes,
but that’s all right.
Too many friends is still not enough;
they’ll take your hand when the going gets rough.
If life is a party, strut your stuff, Marion.
And if you feel like you’re still confused,
behave as if you’ve got nothing to lose.
Free yourself - and be free of the blues, Marion.
Cause even the sunshine can make you cry sometimes,
but that’s all right
(that’s all right)
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3. |
Wake Up Holding Hands
03:08
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Wake Up Holding Hands
When she smiles, the sun comes out;
all the little birds remember the words,
and they start to twist and shout (hey hey).
Because she’s mine, it fills my cup.
The stars shine in a long bright line,
and my horoscope cheers up (hey hey).
Ooh, when you wake up holding hands,
with the one you love…
No matter where I roam,
if my brain makes me miss my train,
then her heart will bring me home (hey hey).
Ooh, when you wake up holding hands,
with the one you love…
In love the plan is to have no plan;
you close your eyes, and the big surprise
is you wake up hand in hand (hey hey).
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4. |
Electricity
03:33
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Electricity
The electricity is after me.
That doesn’t mean I’m paranoid.
It killed my grandfather in 1953,
it’s a fate I can’t avoid.
The electricity is after you:
It will come and find you in the end.
It sizzles in your ceiling and in your wall sockets, too -
whispers in your ear that it’s your friend.
Turn it off, turn it on.
When the lights come up, you’re gone.
You disconnected me a long time ago.
These sudden changes are bad for business.
The electricity stays awake.
It walks around your house all night.
Makes your alarm clock blink and your refrigerator shake,
fools you into thinking it’s daylight.
Turn it off, turn it on.
When the lights come up, you’re gone.
You disconnected me a long time ago.
These sudden changes are bad for business.
The electricity remembers you,
and all the promises you broke.
You see, you leave a static charge on everything you do;
first there’s a flash, then it all goes up in smoke.
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5. |
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All The Books On Your Shelf
All the books on your shelf
tell you nothing,
least of all about yourself,
and where you’ve been hiding
for so long, so long.
All the words of these songs
tear you open,
make you think you were wrong
in what you’ve been feeling,
for so long, so long.
You used to think your heart
was a dancer.
Crying yourself to sleep is no answer.
All the boxes of tears
in your hallway;
you’ve been moving for years,
and always been homeless.
Say so long,
so long.
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6. |
What Is Love To You
03:20
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What Is Love To You
If you won’t say yes, at least say no;
tell me how far you’re prepared to not go.
If you’ll never make this leap of faith,
you’ve got to let me know.
Cause we’ve been putting it off for quite a while,
driving up and down the Emerald Isle,
avoiding all the towns with your old flames -
you shake your head and smile.
What is love to you now, baby -
after all this time?
I know you always want to play this game,
the same feeling with another name.
But these restaurants and hotel rooms,
they start to look the same.
In the end, your freedom’s all you’ve got
to tell you who you are, and who you’re not.
And it never has to end in tears,
if you don’t get caught.
What is love to you now, baby -
after all this time?
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7. |
Cathy
03:41
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Cathy
You ended up where your mobile phone
was out of range.
Down in among these hills,
where the light is strange.
Somewhere there’s a meeting
you can re-arrange.
You put your case on the bed,
but you won’t unpack.
Stare at the wardrobe, and it
stares right back.
Sleep won’t heal your broken
heart attack
Cause you dream of Cathy, lying alone
in the room you painted, years ago.
Everywhere you’ve been becomes
a photograph.
You’re incomplete and she’s
the other half.
She sends the lawyers for
your autograph.
And you dream of Cathy lying alone
in the room you painted, years ago.
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8. |
Face the Facts
02:43
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Face The Facts
There are people in love,
in every single scene -
in the books and in the movies,
and in all the magazines,
and you’ve been coming around
to the notion you’re alone.
It’s time to face the facts now, darling -
you’ve never really been a rolling stone.
If you look outside your window,
there’s a sky for every day;
some are red and some are blue,
and some are nasty shades of grey,
and you’ve been coming around
to the notion you’re alone.
It’s time to face the facts now, darling -
you’ve never really been a rolling stone.
You’re filling spaces in your bed
with all the heroes from the paperbacks you’ve read.
And that’s the thing about a throne -
you have to sit on it alone.
There are people in love
everywhere you’ve been, and you say:
‘They’re all born to lose,’ but you know
you’ve gotta be in to win.
You won’t be swimming around
in the ocean on your own.
It’s time to face the facts now darling -
you’ve never really been a rolling stone.
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9. |
Do the Up, Do the Down
03:51
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Do The Up, Do The Down
Here it comes, the chance you’ve been waiting for so long,
you thought it had passed you by.
Face your doubts, the fear you’ve been coping with, it’s wrong,
it doesn’t serve you.
And every time you feel proud, your silver lining finds a cloud.
CHORUS:
You do the up, do the down,
knocking at the door of the world,
you’ve been watching the trains leaving town.
And you can’t believe it, you can’t believe it at all:
They’re sending in the clowns again.
Hard times, they’re stacked up like the plans at Heathrow.
You could bring them in four at a time.
You used to think that by now you’d be somebody’s hero,
but you should know by now,
there’s only so much give you can take. For every ladder, there’s a snake.
CHORUS
Everybody gets the blues. But you get ‘em right down to your shoes.
They tell you to keep your feet on solid ground. That kind of talk just kicks your heart around.
Grab a hold, you’re craving that deep attraction,
You hope that it’s out there.
Blow hot and cold - the world is full of cheap distractions
That come with a price tag.
And they may love you, but do you need it? If this is a warning, do you heed it?
(you can’t even read it)
CHORUS
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10. |
The Stars Wish On You
02:14
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The Stars Wish On You
When the flowers shake in the wind,
and the night closes you in
and your back is to the wall…
When autumn falls so hard,
and you’re a leaf in your own backyard,
there’s a number you can call.
I’ll be there,
til the broken moon turns blue,
the stars wish on you.
All the shadows from your past
press their noses to the glass -
all out of doors looks in at you.
I’ll be there,
til the broken moon turns blue,
the stars wish on you.
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11. |
Last Go Round
04:55
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Last Go Round
You caught my eye on Queen Street,
and I thought this town was worth a damn.
I lifted up my load, and on Friday took my pay.
That was my generation - still in memory of the war,
knowing what the sacrifice was for.
And it made me strong, till old age came creeping on.
Now I’m on my last go round.
Now all the long lost daughters,
and their kids all come around.
To see the old man slipping, before they put him in the ground.
I worked my nights and days, to get them out into the world,
now here they are, home again.
I suppose they thought I probably wouldn’t mind,
now I’m on my last go round.
When I left school, I was only fourteen. I hit the night shift straight away.
I thought I’d never see the daylight again, my love.
And now you mop my brow, and you hold my shaking hands.
The Twelfth goes by my door, and I don’t even see the bands.
My marching days are over, put my shoes under the bed;
take me to Queen Street instead.
When your hand was in mine, and the colours they were fine.
Now I’m on my last go round.
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12. |
The New Rock & Roll
04:42
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The New Rock’n’Roll
I go to your party, and I don’t know a soul,
and I feel all out of place, like a knife in a sugar bowl.
But hell, I made it anyway.
I didn’t pass an audition, I just walked in out of the rain.
All these graduates are talking about World War Three;
I saw the movie of the last one, it didn’t look too bad to me.
But hell, we won it anyway.
I didn’t have to lift a finger, I let John Wayne do it for me.
So is the new rock’n’roll on the printed page?
I used to read and write, but now I live and learn.
I realised you’ve only got so much energy to burn,
and you should start right away.
You should say what you mean, and mean everything you say.
So is the new rock’n’roll on the printed page?
By the time my voice had broken, there was nothing to say;
I had learned all of the chords, Before I even had a song to play.
But hell I played it anyway.
And I was still too late for the Resistance Cabaret.
So is the new rock’n’roll on the printed page?
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13. |
West Strand Visions
04:51
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Anthony Toner Belfast, UK
An independent singer songwriter and guitarist, based in Belfast.
Anthony Toner recommends:
Superb songs - always arresting and haunting work, recent album 'Plz stay bb' is his best work yet - and there's more to come.
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A gifted writer, player and producer, Matt's 'Lessons of War' is a fascinating collection of collaborations - but he has a great back catalogue, too - and new songs due soon...
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Here in the Pitch
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On her fourth album, Jessica Pratt blends up 60s pop and bossa nova into a spooky mix of soft psychedelia.
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