1. |
Oggy's Tale
04:04
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He grew up in a rundown kind of town
Wasn’t much keeping him from death
The streets of Auburn, Maine remained his home
‘Til the army dragged him away like all the rest
Ironically, it seemed to give him life
‘Cause every mission out it was at stake
Took me back there 36 years later
And the whole damn war became real instead of fake
He’ll tell you he’s been lucky, but we’re the lucky ones
He’ll tell you he’s been lucky, but we are the ones
Some guy back at base camp told him about accountants
He said, “Gain—you know, they make a lot of money”
So he fought and thought: Well, I’ve never had any of that—
Got shot, bled lots, flew home and made my momma his honey
She’ll tell you she’s been lucky, but he’s the lucky one
He’ll tell you that he was lucky, but she was the one
So you know how it goes, he got married to my mother
Despite protests about a child and his religion
Had a couple more, I guess that’d be me and my sister
And he taught me all he’s ever known about Bob Dylan
Taught me about Van and Neil Young too
(On a Harvest Moon…)
So now we’re just waiting for him to retire
But God knows, that man, he loves to work
Over the years he grappled with a demon
But that final one has left that used to lurk
He’ll tell you he’s been lucky, but we’re the lucky ones—
He’ll tell you he’s been lucky, but we are the ones
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2. |
Yes, Please
03:36
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You’re like a bird up in the sky
You know the ones you study
You’ve flown right through my heart and back
You’re my best buddy
But where are you now?
Need you to soar to me
I took a picture when I went hiking
Of some birds playing along
They seemed to sing a melody you hummed once in a song
When you played that tune you wrote abroad
I almost died
But oh, god, I love the way you love me
But oh, god, I think I’m going crazy
I need to feel you now
Each figure gliding through the night is a ghost walk of you
A body imitation or is it my imagination?
I crave your height, envelop me
I’m dying to fly free
But oh, god, I love the way you love me
And god, I think I’m going crazy
Sometimes I can’t catch my breath
I’m dying to stay positive
But when I’m alone I grow sinister
With the rain and tears it was over
It was over
When I said yes to you
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3. |
The Rope
03:01
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You were walking
Through the stream
The rocks couldn't
Catch you in time
Just like the winter
I have a fountain
In my front yard
And it cries
Oh, how it cries
She went skipping
Down by the brook
It swallowed her bucket
And the whole earth—it shook
Oh lord, how it shook
She’s still not sure
If he’s up for more
Or less
Leaving the light
He covered his chest
Oh lord, he covered his chest
And oh lord,
I can’t let go of your rope
Oh lord,
Even though it chokes me
Because I can’t breathe
Without them
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4. |
The Kite and the Shore
03:25
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Oh your eyes are like the sea
Tossing and surfing the depths of me
His eyes were bright til they grew dim
Been four years since I saw him
Can’t recall days at the shore
We stuck to the east in those years before
Knew which birds would nest— the cawing crow
You wouldn’t live to see my children grow
When he was found, you lay in ground
I’m the kite and he’s the shore
Smiling as you did, when I soar
I’m too afraid of sea glass
You shared trade winds in the same state
But never met, how cruel is fate?
‘The hero’ never met ‘the one’
Except in my dreams of setting suns
When he was found, you lay in ground
I’m still the kite and he’s the shore
Smiling as you did, when I soar
I’m too afraid of sea glass
Now I know the loss of home
And what it means to build one
From a basement to the sky
Can’t believe I saw you die
No…I won’t let go
When he was found, you lay in ground
I’m still the kite and he’s the shore
Smiling as you did, when I soar
I’m too afraid of sea glass
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5. |
Traveling Song
04:03
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6. |
A Squall, A Plea
02:47
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She never handled busy well
But still was even worse
The walls smiled down and said, nice try
Right before they fell
She brushed her knees and stood up straight
Checking for a bruise
The search went on from dawn til dusk
When the sky warned her, it’s late
It’s too late for you to walk alone
Even if you think you’re fully grown
Beyond these mountains, lie other mountains
Beyond this sea’s a squall
The climb is only getting steeper
Before we take that fall
Before we take the biggest fall of all
He never handled selfish well
Selfless was even worse
Turned his gaze up to the church
And heard a gonging bell
He clasped his hands and knelt right down
Praying to a god
The plea went on from dusk til dawn
But he still left with a frown
Even grace could not wipe away that frown
He’ll wear it til he’s buried in the ground
Beyond these mountains, lie other mountains
Beyond this sea’s a squall
The climb is only getting steeper
Before we take that fall
But I will catch you
In my hands
Even if they’re stained
I will hold you
In my grasp
Until the desert rains
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7. |
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The Devil was into mischief
But the angels knew Richard too
If we prayed hard, would the devil lose heart?
They said a rosary or two
[And the prayers were answered
At least so it seemed
The Devil plays dirty
But Richard plays mean]
The Devil pushed him on a car
Richard got a Cadillac
One tank of OPEC, twenty-five bucks a crack
He sold it back
The Devil thought 3k was fine
Richard should settle for less
But Richard left town, Philadelphia bound
The Devil wasn’t at his best
The Devil was mighty upset
When Richard took accounting on
‘Richard’s a jerk, lets put him to work’
But he still found time for fun
The Devil had a trick up his sleeve
When Richard decided on law
I’ll have him learn junk, I know he will flunk
The Devil also lost on that draw
The Devil thought what can I do,
To bore him to death and to boot?
But then came Simone, to distract him some
Simone outdeviled him too
And the prayers were answered
Come judgment day
And the Devil’s headache
Ain’t going away
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8. |
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He lives in the east but he’s from the west
So of the Scots, he’s the best
What a voice, a whole thing to say
But he also got them bills to pay
He takes a check from the bottom mile
I miss that man, it’s been awhile
Been too long, too long, too long
Which is one of the reasons I’m singing this song
With a longtime lover, without a wife
He’s waited for her his whole damn life
He loves Paine and any gal who reads him
Prefers the rain in the summer season
Got deep roots in the din of folk
Introduced me to that devil’s spoke
That one meeting changed me good
Not sure that he knew it would
He takes a check from the bottom mile
I miss that man, it’s been awhile
Been too long, too long, too long
Which is one of the reasons I’m singing this song
Picturing him down at the Oak
Whiskey in hand and nearly broke
Telling his story, telling it true
Cause that’s the ballad of Alan, new
He takes a check from the bottom mile
I miss that man, it’s been awhile
Been too long, too long, too long
Which is one of the reasons I’m singing his song
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9. |
The Corner Room
03:16
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Sometimes in sleep
You come to me
You’re slow, deliberate
Then, all at once
You’re at the door
We go
Near the bottom of the hill
The church stares at us and
I fumble for my feet
And of course my words, my words…
Usually, you leave earlier
Counting the days
Then I count the days
Counting, counting, counting, counting
It’s been a thousand days
Since you…
Lamplight lifts up your shadow
And I wish I could
Step outside my body
Put the track on pause—
Take you home
and listen to her
in the corner room again
But we couldn’t stop the future, no.
Your shine was already fading…
Sometimes in sleep
You come to me
But too often, not
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10. |
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Took a thousand years
Took a thousand years
For the weeds to bend
And the windows shake
I’m always running and I’m always late
I don’t want to say the sun rose for me
But I move, I move, I move, I move
And every time she stands up I do too
Took a dying house
Took a dying house
To lean its way into the lake
While the heron bends and the heron waits
Lake weeds grow from the muck to the sky
In time, in time, in time, in time
So every time they go I stay behind
[In the wind, in the weeds, I know
I know she falls in the wind, in the weeds,
I know, I know she falls in the
Wind in the weeds and a tickle my knees
And a dry my shirt on a line in the breeze
I don’t want to say the sun burns for me
But I see, I see, I see, I see
And everything she falls on I believe]
Took a wink of her eye
Took a wink of her eye
To send me back to the overgrown shore
Give my boat to the weeds I don’t need it anymore
I’m gonna sit with books that I read before
But didn’t get, didn’t get, didn’t get, didn’t get
So every time they ask I’m not ready yet
Took a thousand years
Took a thousand years
To plant my feet in the knee high grass
For the wind to come but it too shall pass
So I try to pay attention when I got the time
And the mind, and the mind, and the mind, and the mind
But she comes and goes and with her goes the light
I wanna see myself turning into
Something like the weeds in the wind
Like the weeds in the wind
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11. |
The Flowers of May
03:18
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I was a little girl
Dancing in mother’s pearls
In the bright flowers
Oh, the flowers of May
He was a little boy
Full of life, full of joy
We were naïve and coy
In the flowers of May
We were just little ones
When we found his grandfather’s gun
And we fired it into the sun
When they found us
Under the creek bridge
Crying, too scared to speak
‘Cause we’d shot out the sun
Couldn’t blame anyone
Look at what we’d done
The sky came tumbling down
With the shot blast, what a sound
We never turned around
Once we ran away
They closed the cemetery gates
Once I came back ten years from that day
The flowers were red, red as they were in May
Oh, the flowers of May
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Sammie Francis Portland, Maine
Sammie Francis grew up in Maine and has been writing and playing music locally for over 10 years. She is primarily a high school English teacher, but otherwise enjoys writing music and listening to Laura Marling. Her latest album, 'The Kite and the Shore', was released in September of 2013. ... more
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