Jackie was one of the crowd
who hung out at the Cross Keys Hotel
She was a real bright kid,
thought I knew her pretty well
Beach parties at night
we ran down town in the day
till a boy in black leather
came and took Jackie away

We were all in The Keys one night
sitting, laughing and joking
Billy'd got himself a new job
Ros had given up smoking
I was crazy for Jackie
I was almost ready to say
when a boy in black leather
came and took Jackie away

He was standing at the bar
when I went up for a drink
Then he and she just started talking
I didn't know what to think
Billy pulled me into an argument
about the big bad world today
I looked up and a boy in black leather
was taking Jackie away

After that things began to get dull
I took up with Billy's sister Molly
but that got really kicked on the head
when she upped and went to college
I got to thinking about Jackie
and as Autumn moved into grey
I thought about a boy in black leather
who came and took Jackie away

Then this month I saw her
The girl I knew had all but gone
Tight jeans, mohair sweater
Her hair was chopped off peroxide blonde
I crossed the road towards her
thinking of something to say
when a boy in black leather walked over
and together they hurried away

I remember Johnny
Johnny come lately
I remember her shoes like a ballerina
A Girl called Johnny who
changed her name when she
discovered her choice
was to change or to be changed

I remember a Girl called Johnny
black as hell, white as a ghost
Don't talk about life and death she'd say
I've had enough of both
A Girl called Johnny who
was not scared
They would have torn her to pieces
but who would dare ?

I remember a Girl called Johnny
The train came to town - boy! She got on it
without looking back, with barely a word
If she said Goodbye well I never heard
But the noise goes on
the noise,the jazz
and the truth is in somebody else's hands
and the house that a Girl called Johnny built
is now just so much
ashes and sand

Written: Edinburgh March 1981
Appears: On "The Waterboys", "Best Of", "The Whole Of The Moon", "Live Adventures"

I heard a rumour of a Golden Age
and the stage is getting set
I heard a rumour of a Golden Age
and the stage is getting set
I heard a rumour of a Golden Age
in song, on screen and printed page
and all the world will be its stage
and the stage is getting set

I've seen the glow of a Golden Dawn
and the Dawn is coming through
I've seen the glow of a Golden Dawn
and the Dawn is coming through
I've seen the glow of a Golden Dawn
that all will wake to gaze upon
and though the night is hard and long
the Dawn is coming through

I've felt the wind behind my heels
and it feels good to me
I've felt the wind behind my heels
and it feels good to me
I've felt the wind behind my heels
my Soul fired up like catherine wheels
and I'm never gonna forget how it feels
and it feels good to me

I stood on the side of a shimmering sea
saw a Ship come sailing in
I stood on the side of a shimmering sea
saw a Ship come sailing in
I stood on the side of a shimmering sea
cried "Lord, I surrender", fell on my knees
and Love arose in the heart of me
and the Ship came sailing in

Written: Dublin January 1986
Appears: On "The Whole Of The Moon" single

Away, away, come away with me
where the grass grows wild and the winds blow free
Away, away, come away with me
and I'll build you a home in the meadow

Come, come, there's a wondrous land
for the hopeful heart and the willing hand
Come, come, there's a wondrous land
where I'll build you a home in the meadow

The stars, the stars, oh how bright they'll shine
on a world the lord himself designed
The stars, the stars, oh how bright they'll shine
on the home we will build in the meadow

Come, come, there's a wondrous land
for the hopeful heart and the willing hand
Come, come, there's a wondrous land
where I'll build you a home in the meadow

Written: Lyric : Cahn/Newman Music :Traditional
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"/"Fisherman's Blues Part Two"

Hold me before I go under
hear me before I drown
Sharpen your sense of wonder
listen to what I've found
Here we are again
two old lovers,two old friends...
Just when you need 'em
A devil was standing on my shoes
Somehow I know how to defeat him
since I tumbled into you
You taught me Love and Pain
and the unsung King of Ireland says the same thing...
Wherever you find it
The same thing
from the same old cause
I'm talking about the same thing
I cannot define it
The same thing
and it always was
It struck me sad and strange
- the only thing that ever stays the same is change...
And I dreamed I wandered
wayward as restless wave
spanning from here to yonder
most spectacularly saved
Dream and life entwined
The old day cracks and crumbles and it's fine...
To be in your company
Funny to be in your day
A miracle just to be with you
Glad to be going your way
Were these unfolding plans
designed or drawn by mortal hands ?
- Never !
...in a life of Sundays
would I have seen me here

Written: Galway December 1989/Spiddal January 1990
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

A man is in love
how do I know ?
He came a walk with me
and he told me so
in a song he sang
and then I knew
A man is in love
with you

A man is in love
how did I hear ?
I heard him talk too much
whenever you're near
He whispered your name
when his eyes were closed
A man is in love
and he knows

A man is in love
how did I guess ?
I figured it out while he was
watching you dress
He'd give you his all
if you'd but agree
A man is in love
and he's me

Written: Spiddal November 1989
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

How did he come here ?
Who gave him the key ?
It slipped into his hands
so secretly
And who put the colour
like lines on his face
and brought him here
to a pagan place ?

Who shot his arrow ?
How high did it fly ?
When he tipped it with poison
did he even know why ?
What unseen hand
brought him face to face to face to face
with all this and more
in a pagan place ?

Come into my parlour
Sail in at my shore
Drink my soul dry
- there is always more
Fly on my carpet
Look into my face
and see the heart of man
In a Pagan

Written: London - Ayr night train May 1983
Appears: On "A Pagan Place" and "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

I don't drink as much as I used to
because lately it just ain't my style
and the hard times don't hurt like they ought to They pass quicker, like when I was a child

And somehow I've learned how to listen
to a sound like the sun going down
In the magic that morning is bringing
there's a song for the life I have found It keeps my feet on the ground

The midsummer days ain't so heavy
- they just blow like a breeze through my mind And nothing appears in a hurry and it makes up for some old lost time

And somehow I've learned how to listen
to a sound like the sun going down
In the magic that morning is bringing
there's a song for the life I have found It keeps my feet on the ground

And somehow I've learned how to listen
to a sound like the sun going down
In the magic that morning is bringing
there's a song for the friend I have found She keeps my feet on the ground

Appears: Rodney Crowell on Karma To Burn, 2005

He who measures gain and loss,
When he gave to thee the Rose,
Gave to me alone the Cross
Where the blood-red blossom blows
In a wood of dew and moss,
There thy wandering pathway goes,
Mine where waters brood and toss;
Yet one joy have I hid close,
He who measures gain and loss,
When he gave to thee the Rose,
Gave to me alone the Cross.

Written: W.B.Yeats
Appears: On "Now And In Time To Be" and "Spellbound - The Best Of Sharon Shannon"

ain't no words for the things i'm feeling
ain't no tongue can tell
no name for the song my soul's revealing
and all is very well

All the things...
All the things she gave me

I wrapped them up in a big brown box
tied it with ribbon,
drove to the docks
checked my time
by the old town clock
all the things...
I saw the watchman
He was blowing into cupped hands
as he walked to the car
He said "Where do you think
you're driving to, son ?
All good folks are in bed
and the day's work is done"
I said "Well, I'm just looking
for someplace to burn
All the things...
All the things that she..."

All the things that she gave me
Where can I put them ?
Where can I hide them ?
All the things that she gave me
Where can I put them
where I don't have to see them ?

It's dark as hell here
this city's grown cold
The devil's in drag
playing poker with souls
The lots are all empty
and the last man's out
The moon's made of cheese
and God is a boy scout
When I go to sleep
I'll be dreaming about
All the things...
And then I'll dream about churches
with great tall spires
about cathedrals and candles,
chimneys and choirs
I'll dream about that place where I set fire
All the things...
All the things that she...

All the things that she gave me
Where can I put them ?
Where must I hide them ?
All the things that she gave me
Where can I put them
so I can keep them away out of my
life

Written: Aldridge Road Villas, London October 1982
Appears: On

i've climbed high with you
i've run dry with you
i've climbed high with you
i've run dry with you
how did i find you ?
how did i lose you ?
how did i find you ?
how did i lose you ?

always dancing, always dancing
never ever getting tired
always dancing, always dancing
never ever getting tired

millions of people
every one like you
millions of people
every one like you
i feel you move me
in such sweet silence
i feel you move me
in such sweet silence

always dancing, always dancing
never ever getting tired
always dancing, always dancing
never getting getting tired

i don't know where i
get all my tears from
i don't know where i
get all my tears from
i don't know where i
get all my tears from
i don't know where i
get all my tears from

always dancing, always dancing
never ever getting tired
always dancing, always dancing
never ever getting tired

underneath are the everlasting arms

Lindsay was my first love
she was in my class
I would have loved to take her out
but I was too shy to ask
The fullness of my feeling
was never made clear
but I send her my love
and a bang on the ear

Nora was my girl
when I first was in a group
I can still see her to this day
stirring chicken soup
Now she's living in Australia
working as an auctioneer
I send her my love
and a bang on the ear

Deborah broke my heart
and I the willing fool
I fell for her one summer
on the road to Liverpool
I thought it was forever
but it was over within the year
I send her my love
and a bang on the ear

The home I made with Bella
became a house of pain
We weathered it together
bound by a ball and chain
It started up in Fife
It ended up in tears
I send her my love
and a bang on the ear

Krista was a rover
from Canada she hailed
We crossed swords in San Francisco
We both lived to tell the tale
I don't know now where she is
Oh, but if I had her here !
I'd give her my love
and a bang on the ear

So my woman of the hearth fire
harbour of my soul
I watch you lightly sleeping
I sense the dream that does unfold
You to me are treasure
You to me are dear
I'll give you my love
and a bang on the ear

Written: Dublin April 1988
Appears: On "Fisherman's Blues" and "Best Of"

Billy and Eve
are getting ready to leave
their empty room
and their sad bare walls
They'll get burned but they don't care
they know what they'll do when they get there

Rose and Trudi
are hearing voices
telling them it's high time
high time they made their move
They'll get burned but they don't care
they know what they'll do when they get there

Me and Ruthy
we're late again
but our hearts are in
the right direction
We've been up together most of the night
convincing each other what we're doing is right
No sense in living something you don't believe
so we're all ready to leave
all moving on
to another kind of circus

Well the dawn it is howlin'
and the main frame shakes
I feel like I've been sleeping in
a cellarful of snakes
My wings have been clipped
and my shoes have been stuck with glue
Well if you'll be my enemy
I'll be your enemy too

I've got goons on my landing
thieves on my trail
nazis on my telephone
willing me to fail
They were all sent by somebody
Obviously you !
If you'll be my enemy
I'll be your enemy too

I've got a bucketful of Babylon
I've got a handful of lead
I'm gonna put them in a gun, man
and point it at your head
because you stole all of my friends and you
gave me the buffalo blues
If you'll be my enemy
I'll be your enemy too

From the slime on your tongue
to the nails on your toes
from the scales on your skin
to the stains on your clothes
you're gonna make me have to do something
that I do not want to do
but if you will be my enemy
I'll be your enemy too

My hands are tied
I'm nailed to the floor
I feel like I'm knocking
on the unknown door
A gun at my back
a blade at my throat
I keep on finding hate mail
in the pockets of my coat
I've been trying to grow
I've been cooling my heels
I've been working in the city
I've been working in the fields
And I can't get to sleep
and I can't catch my breath
I can't stop talking
and I look like death
but I will put right this Disgrace
- I will rearrange you !
'cause if you'll be my enemy
I'll be your enemy too
If you'll be my enemy
I'll be your enemy too
Be my enemy !

Written: St Mark's Road, London 1984/5
Appears: On "This Is The Sea" and "Live Adventures"

I woke up in the morning
stripped down my sheets
I put on my clothes, stepped into my shoes
tumbled into the street
The daylight was shimmering
and the ghost of a breeze
was rattling flagpoles
and whispering through the trees
"that was the river
this is the sea"

I went down to the station
I ran all across town
but the streets were all empty and the markets were closed
there was no-one around
I wandered like a phantom down alleys and passageways
heavy with history
I heard nothing but silence
silently saying to me
"that was the river
this is the sea"

Found myself at the highway
trucks thundering by
pillars and pylons
pointing away up at the sky
cars hissing like visions
bikes buzzing like bees
freight hurtling and moving
but not moving me
That was the river
this is the sea

I slipped into the cathedral
it was quiet and cool
the air was humming with incense
the windows were studded with jewels
there was a stained glass image of Jesus
shining in front of me
haloed and bleeding, surrounded by children
and shining in front of me
and as I walked out
I was still saying "that was the river"
I was still saying "this is the sea"

I went down to the harbour
stepped out in the rain
with a song in my head
and the blood pounding in my veins
I went down to the harbour
fell on my knee
for at the end of all roaming
I found You in me
That was the river
This is the sea

Written: London 1985
Appears: Unreleased

Girl sleeping on a mansion roof
under a wintery sky
Wrapped she is in furs and sable,
starlight in her eye
And what is the name of this creature ?
Where did she live and when ?
Who was she and why was it
that Peter Lake loved Beverly Penn

Four o'clock on a marble morning,
water pouring on her skin
In fever her life bursts open
and a hurricane blows in
When high from the dreams of this creature
a thief on a horse descends
It was dawn and it was december
and Peter Lake loved Beverly Penn

It was all of a windy day
and the sky was full of crows
when her lovely soul ascended
~ she just closed her heart and rose
And whither the soul of this creature ?
Tell me the story again
of scarves and songs and the skin of space
and how Peter Lake loved Beverly Penn

I would dive in a freezing river,
set fire to a hundred men
if I could for just one time
love somebody the way that he loved Beverly Penn

Appears: on This Is The Sea (remaster), 2004

Big lover when I feel your love flow through me
Big lover when I hear you whisper to me
Big lover when I feel you...
You are like every love I've known
spun into one - my mind is blown
You are like all my burned down dreams redeemed
You know what I mean !

Big lover when I feel your love flow through me
Big lover when I hear your heart speak to me
Big lover...
You are a mystery revealed
a treasure trove too long concealed
You are like all my torn down dreams redeemed
You know what I mean !

Big lover when I feel you love...
Big lover when I feel your love...

Big lover when I feel your love flow through me
Big lover when I hear you whisper to me
Big lover ...
You are like earth and fire to me
you are J.O.Y.
M.A.G.I.C.
You are like all my ripped down dreams redeemed
You know what I mean !

Big lover when I feel your love...
Big lover when I feel your love...
Big lover when I feel your love...
I'm alive !

Written: Ladbroke Grove, London February 1996
Appears: On "Love Anyway" CD Single

I have heard
the big music
and I'll never be the same
something so pure
just called my name

I have drowned
in the big sea
now I find I'm still alive
And I'm coming up forever
shadows all behind me
ecstacy to come

I have climbed the big tree
touched the big sky
I just stuck my
hand up in the air
and everything came into colour
like jazz manna
from sweet chariots

I have seen the big mountain
and I swear I'm halfway there
- You'll never get there
you'll never get there
you'll never get there
- But I will
I will always climb the mountain
because I have heard the big music
and I'll never be the same
Something so pure
has called
my name

Written: London 1983
Appears: On "A Pagan Place" and "Best Of"

I'm starting to see a bigger picture
I'm beginning to colour it in
I'm starting to see a bigger picture
I'm beginning to colour it in

My soul the sky, my heart a sun
my mind a world - my only one
My thoughts the people, the world around
My dreams the kings - or the clowns

I'm starting to see a bigger picture
I'm beginning to colour it in
I'm starting to see a bigger picture
I'm beginning to colour it in

The continents and the seven oceans
bound the range of my emotions
My time is long but not forever
My moods are the changing wind and weather

I'm starting to see a bigger picture
I'm beginning to colour it in
I'm starting to see a bigger picture
I'm beginning to colour it in

Colour it in !
Colour it in !

Written: Cashel - Kinsale - Rosscarbery - Dingle - Spiddal January 1990
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

What shall I give you
to make you take down your dress ?
What will I give you
to make you take down your dress ?
Show me where the party is
and we'll boojie to some quiet caravan
and as sure as my name's Billy Sparks
I'm your man

Where will I find you
when siesta comes ?
Tell me where will I find you
when siesta comes ?
Hasta manana by the sycamore tree
or were you just out someplace else
looking for me ?
And will I find you singing....

We're gonna dance the electric fantastic
We're gonna dance the electric fantastic
Go out and tell everybody that you know
brush your hair up in a big red bow
All we need is a bottle and a broomstick

Written: Portobello Road September 1982
Appears: On "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

Bleecker Street, Bleecker Street
Sure like to find you underneath my feet
You make me feel kinda cool and complete
My down home one and only Bleecker Street

They say Broadway can't be beat
and Fifth Avenue is pretty neat
but none of them big boys can compete
with my down home one and only Bleecker Street

I could be
in Hawaii
chasing waves
admiring the sky
London, Paris, Amsterdam...
But I'm just ecstatic
where I am

Life is sexy, life is sweet
in Manhattan's ninety-six degree heat
just pounding tar to my favourite beat
my down home one and only Bleecker Street

Written: Greenwich Village June 1992
Appears: On "Building The City Of Light" Promo-CD, USA

Well, Mister Saxman, how do you do ?
There's nobody here but me and you
You've been blowin' all night I know and you need your sleep
but before you go to bed, man, make me weep

You played a blues for your baby
now play a blues for me
You played a blues for your baby
now play a blues for me

Aw Mister Saxman, don't be shy
don't be complainin that your mouth is dry
I got a bottle of something right here in my coat
stone guaranteed to lubricate your throat

You played a blues for your baby
now play a blues for me
You played a blues for your baby
now play a blues for me

Now Mister Saxman I know you play your horn
like every shred of your soul was tattered and torn
You can make it sound like crying,
you make it sound like a full flood of tears
bring that thing over here
Let me hear you play it for the lost and lonely
play it for the tricked and misused
Let me hear you play it for every storm-blown disappointed soul
for every heart that's been abused
Let me hear you play it for all the women in the world
- and make it blue
And Mister Saxman play it for me
because I'm hurting too

You played a blues for your baby
now play a blues for me
You played a blues for your baby
now play a blues for me

Written: Dublin November 1986
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"/"Fisherman's Blues Part Two"

Blues is my business
evil follows me around
Blues is my business
evil follows me around
I'm a self serving son of a dog
here to bring you down

I've got thousands of names
way too many to tell
I've got thousand of names
way too many to tell
But don't you worry 'bout it baby
you already know me well

I'm at the east, west, north, south
all four corners of the globe
I'm at the east, west, north, south
all four corners of the globe
You better watch out where you're going
in case you meet me on the road

I'm the Dean of disaster,
the uncrowned King of crime
I'm the Dean of disaster,
the uncrowned King of crime
I'm an old past master
come around one more time

I took that old Ronnie Reagan
and I put him right on the top
I took that old Ronnie Reagan
and I put him right on the top
Laughed so hard
thought I'd never stop

Blues is my business
pain is my calling card
Blues is my business
pain is my calling card
Sure do love to hurt you baby
makes me feel like I'm a star

Written: Dublin 1987 / New York City 1991
Appears: On "Love Anyway" CD Single

I want to star in your life
and on the stage of your dreams
in your beginning and your end
and every place between
to open the door of your secret soul
steal in and stay forever
the streets of you heart are laid with gold
and we were born to be together

Let's build a ship and set sail
through seas of love we'll go
to unknown lands and hidden bays
and when there's no wind I'll blow
and when the waves get high and the broadsides fly
I will be your port in stormy weather
I'll rock your bow and show you how
we were born to be together

Written: All lands 1985 - 1999
Appears: Unreleased

Bring 'em all in, bring'em all in, bring 'em all in,
bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart

Bring the little fishes
bring the sharks
bring 'em from the brightness
bring 'em from the dark

Bring 'em from the caverns
bring 'em from the heights
bring 'em from the shadows
stand 'em in the light

Bring 'em out of purdah
bring 'em out of store
bring 'em out of hiding
lay them at my door

Bring the unforgiven
bring the unredeemed
bring the lost, the nameless
let 'em all be seen
bring 'em out of exile
bring 'em out of sleep
bring 'em to the portal
lay them at my feet

Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in,
bring 'em all in, bring 'em all into my heart
Bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in, bring 'em all in
bring 'em all in,bring 'em all in to my heart

Written: Minton House, Findhorn April 1994
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In"

I set my shoulder to a brand new groove
building the city of light
something wonderful on the move
building the city of light
I'm laying roots, planting seeds
building the city of light
grateful to give whetever it needs
building the city of light

I'm using my head, using my heart
getting the balance right
I've got the horse before the cart

I'm using bricks and sticks and stones
building the city of light
and sweat and soul and blood and bones
building the city of light
technology, imagination
building the city of light
trust, belief and dedication
building the city of light

I'm using my brains, using my balls
keeping the goal in sight
feeling at heart a part of it all

I'm writing songs, singing 'em out
building the city of light
I live the things I'm singing about
building the city of light
I'm working on myself and my "stuff"
building the city of light
I just keep going when the going gets tough
building the city of light

Facing my beast, facing my fears
loving the darkness bright
I'm like a mirror when the shadow clears

Got no politics, got no price
building the city of light
I don't need saved, I don't need advice
building the city of light
I don't need freed - I'm already free
building the city of light
all the answers I need are inside me
building the city of light

All may change in the blink of an eye
All may change in the blink of an eye

Written: Marine Cottage, Findhorn July 1994
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In"

Said Burlington Bertie to Accrington Stanley
"I do not like that Andy Pandy
He fancies himself as a regular dandy
let's take him down a stitch"

But unbeknownst to Accrington Stanley
and Burlington Bertie, Namby Pamby
was sucking a stick of cinnamon candy
and watching from a ditch

Said Namby Pamby to Andy Pandy
"Let us tell Mahatma Ghandi
that Burlington Bertie and Accrington Stanley
are up to dirty deeds "

Said Mahatma Ghandi to Namby Pamby
"You and I and Andy Pandy
must enlist the aid of Para Handy
- he's the fellow we need"

So away they rode, Andy Pandy,
Mahatma Ghandi and Namby Pamby
to the home of Para Handy
beyond the Western Wall

Said Para Handy to Mahatma Ghandi
"I'll summon the brothers Handy Andy,
Dandy Jim and Tony Pandy,
experts one and all"

Said Tony Pandy to Para Handy
"Me and Dandy Jim and Handy Andy
will bring you the head of Accrington Stanley
if it be your wish"

Said Mahatma Ghandi to Tony Pandy,
Dandy Jim and Handy Andy
"Bring me the head of Accrington Stanley
on a silver dish"

So Handy Andy and Tony Pandy,
Dandy Jim and Para Handy
sought the villainous Accrington Stanley
in the East and West

And Dandy Jim and Para Handy,
Handy Andy and Tony Pandy
caught the villainous Accrington Stanley
in his pants and vest

Said Accrington Stanley "You've caught me red handed.
I'm trounced and I'm trumped, I'm stumped and I'm stranded
but before you go and do something outlandish
grant me one request"

Said Para Handy to Accrington Stanley
"Make it quick and make it handy
In thirty seconds Handy Andy
will remove your wicked head"

Said Accrington Stanley "Before you count thirty
I'll swear on the grave of my great Aunt Gertie
the man you seek is Burlington Bertie
- remove his instead !"

But Para Handy and Tony Pandy,
Dandy Jim and Handy Andy,
Andy Pandy and Mahatma Ghandi
not to mention Namby Pamby
paid no attention to Accrington Stanley
and beheaded him
dead

Written: Hudson Street, New York July 1992
Appears: On "Glastonbury Song" CD Single

Bury my soul
where the dust meets the sea
Turn it loose in a lonely place
where a man can still be free
Make up my clothes and sheets in a ball
put them in the ground
Tell my children only truths
and teach them to be proud
Tell them dreams and miracles
and when the thunder starts
Bury my Heart

I'm born a travelling trouper
but I laid my wings to rest
Once I beat myself in vengeance
now I feather up my nest
There are flags in my backyard,
colours on my wall
I pay my servant well
but I make the bastard crawl
And I pretend no blessed evil
so I don't hear that thunder start
Bury my Heart

There's a lily in the valley
where I brought the news to Lo
I offered him my visions
but the heathen rose to go
So I drew my shining sabre
and I slew my sinning friend
A christian burial was all he needed
to make him whole again
Then I looked up way above me
and God rent the sky apart
Bury my Heart

We're God's chosen people
this and other truths I know
I put them into vicious practice
because my bible tells me so
And I drowned the noble savage
in the blessed holy water
I fired his filthy village
I civilized his daughter
There are liars in the world
who say we shame the blood of Christ
but killing is His mercy
and nits grow into lice
And all the gooks I napalmed
I did it in His name
and when the fools put me on trial
I shouted out "I'm not to blame
I did it for Him, I did it for Him,
I did it for Him - He made me do it,
He tore the heavens apart !"
Bury my Heart

Now I'm going to the wilderness
on a horse that I can trust
and I'll die where I fall
in the hot dry dust
And if you come to this place
remember this truth
that only the mountains live forever
only the earth endures
So will you bury my soul
where the dust meets the sea
And will you bury my Heart
At Wounded Knee

Written: London December 1981
Appears: On "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

Cathy so crazy 'bout all the latest fashions
sits in her empty room staring at the wall
she lives in a castle somewhere in the mountains
oh I wish that she was in love with me
in love with me

Watch her as she looks up from the pages of her paper
She tosses her head and slowly looks away
pours another measure from her half empty bottle
Oh I wish that she was in love with me
in love with me

Oh I wish that she was in love with me

Slowly she pours herself another picture
sinks down into her oldest saxon chair
looks up and crosses her heart out with all the debris
Oh I wish that she was in love with me
in love with me !

Words and music by Nikki Sudden
Complete Music Ltd

At long weary last
this game is over
The sins of the past
have fled from my shoulder
The sleep that I need
is all I ask
In thought and in deed
I have burned the mask
Here I am...
Here I am...

Enchantment is broken
I merge with the crowd
Oaths have been spoken
inside and out loud
Emerging from under
notions of god
In tears
and in wonder
I venture abroad
Here I am...
Here I am...

Can you walk a smithereen
Can you walk a smithereen
closer to me
Could you love a thimbleful
Could you love a thimbleful
harder for me

Encountered a loathly hag
Blood on the snow
She said "I've a burden to drag
and leagues to go"
I left her down by the seaside
in someone's hall
By dawn's empty light I cried
for no one at all
Here I am...
Here I am...

Can you walk a smithereen
Can you walk a smithereen
closer to me
Could you love a thimbleful
Could you love a thimbleful
harder for me

I swing between tears and wonder
I swing between tears and wonder
I swing between tears and wonder
I swing between tears and wonder
tears and wonder !

Can you walk a smithereen
Can you walk a smithereen
closer to me
Could you love a thimbleful
Could you love a thimbleful
harder for me
Harder for me

Written: London February 1998
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

i'm gonna look twice at you
until i see the christ in you

when i'm lookin through the eyes of love

"Bye Bye Shadowlands
The term is over
and all the holidays have begun"
Now she walks in fresh fields
her tracks are on the land
She is everywhere and noplace

Like a breath or like a wind
she moves among men
They would seek to hold her as a prize
But she is in the shadows,
the ocean and the sand
She is everywhere and noplace,
Her church not made with hands
Uncontained by man

She is in the head and heart
She is in the swing
She is in the seasons' stately slow procession
Across great seas she travels
up through rising lands
She is everywhere and noplace
Her church not made with hands
Uncontained by man

Isn't that a pretty sun
setting in a pretty sky ?
Will we stay and watch it darken ?
Let us stay and watch it darken
and together we will worship
the Goddess of the land,
her blessed and sacred Earth;
her Church not made with hands
Uncontained by man
This precious place
unmade by man

Written: London April 1984 / all lands 1991 - 1999
Appears: On "A Pagan Place"

Dublin is a city full of good times
Dublin is a city full of dance
Dublin is a city full of music,
poetry, sex and romance
but what it means to me the most -
Dublin is a city full of ghosts

Dublin is a city full of tricksters
Dublin is a city full of priests
Dublin is a city full of rumours
seventy two thousand at least
but what it means to me the most -
Dublin is a city full of ghosts

The ghosts of my joy, the ghosts of my tears,
the ghosts of my glorious dissolute years
the ghost of adventure wilder than words
the ghost of the night I first made love to her

Dublin is a city full of humour
Dublin is a city full of wit
Dublin is a city full of buskers
playing old Waterboys hits
but what it means to me the most -
Dublin is a city full of ghosts

The ghost of a fiddle
the ghost of a sax
the ghost of a sound that ain't never coming back
the ghost of a friendship, curdled and sour
the ghost of a time when I still had the power

Dublin is a city full of magic
Dublin is a city full of light
Dublin is a city full of wonder
Dublin is a city full of shite
but what it means to me the most -
Dublin is a city full of ghosts

Written: Kilmashogue, Dublin October 1993
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In"

Come live with me
and won't you be my love,
share my bread and wine
Be part of me, be the heart of me,
be mine

Come live with me
and won't you be my love,
let our dreams combine
Be wife to me, be life to me,
be mine

With these hands
I will build a roof to shield your head
and with these hands
I will carve the wood
for our baby bed

Come live with me
and won't you be my love;
let me love you all the time
Be mate to me, be fate to me,
be mine

I will try to do my best for you
I swear I promise you
I will cry for you
I will comfort you
my whole life through

Come live with me
and be my love,
share my bread and wine
Be part of me, the heart of me,
be mine

Appears: F & B Bryant on Karma To Burn, 2005

Corn circles
appearing all over the land
Corn circles
appearing all over the land
Nobody knows where they come from
nobody understands

Corn circles
mysterious symbols in the fields
Corn circles
mysterious symbols in the fields
No-one knows if they're phony
or maybe if they're real

Corn circles
Corn circles

Corn circles
is somebody playing a trick ?
Corn circles
pixies, witches, hoaxers
take your pick
Throw a few theories out there
see what sticks

Corn circles
Corn circles

Corn circles
patterns in the gold
Corn circles
pretty patterns in the gold
Like something out of the future
or something very old

Corn circles
Corn circles

"I had that Dalai Lama in the back of me cab once "

Written: Greenwich Village, November 1991
Appears: On "Dream Harder"

Here she comes
like rumbling drums
swinging her skirts
and talking in spurts
sailing high
in her ship of the sky
being found
broken on the ground

but when she sings
I hear the crash of angel wings
When she sings I hear the crash of wings

On Sundays she walks
on cut glass and rocks
On Monday she falls
from the sheerest of walls
On Tuesday she screams
black words in her dreams
On Friday she lies
and a part of her dies

but when she sings
I hear the crash of angel wings
When she sings I hear the crash of wings

Here she comes
like rumbling drums
She's swinging her skirts
She's talking in spurts
Now she's reading my books
Now she's giving me looks
as she slips and sways
through murmering days

and when she sings
I hear the crash of angel wings
When she sings
I hear the crash of angel wings
When she sings I hear the crash of wings

Here she comes
like rumbling drums
Here she comes
like rumbling drums
like rumbling drums
like rumbling drums

Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

I've had money
and I lost it
seen an ocean
nearly crossed it
I have been to another world
and I have returned
and for every high joy
a hard lesson learned
but when love comes tumbling down
I will wear a Crown

I've had power
I've used and abused it
tasted glory
I have wooed and refused it
tried to live in a sacred way -
I did and I did not
and for everything I lost
there's been something else I got
and when love comes tumbling down
I will wear a Crown

I've been up and I've been down
sometimes almost level with the ground
once in every hundred years I can
still remember who I am

Been in danger
tried to face it
saw a mirage
and for seven years I chased it
I'm not through with my changes
I've got a long way still to run
I'm gonna play this show
even if nobody comes
and when love comes tumbling down
when love comes tumbling down
when love comes tumbling down
I will wear a Crown

Written: Findhorn January 1998
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

You look just like General Custer
on the day of his last stand
heading up proud and glorious
singing this land is my land
sword by your side
map in your hand
heading up into the rain
singing this land is my land

Now I've seen your dust rising
lord, your horses smell !
I've seen you crossin across the bad lands
towing your line as well
I've watched you while you're sleeping
seen you filling up your can
singing as you work
that this land is my land

You're busting into my country
messing up my fields
playing games in my holy places
tearing the earth with your wheels
right now your star is ascending
and your head is busting with pride
but I wonder if Custer was still singing
this land is my land when he died ?

Written: England early 1985
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"/"Fisherman's Blues Part Two"

The dark man of dreams
the figure without any face
is taunting me
is haunting me
from his hidden place

The dark man of my dreams
killer of the hoping heart
is choking me
has broken me
since we did part

And until my awakening
I never felt
a single thing
But as winter turns to spring
I sense his loss
in everything

The dark man of my dreams
sentry at the slit of my soul
If I dare to ask
will you let me pass
or eat me whole

Dark man of my dreams
this information you keep
will it frighten me ?
enlighten me ?
or make me weep

Perhaps you feel like stepping in
don't fool yourself
you ain't him !
It's my projection,mine alone
you've got no business here
Go home !

The dark man of my dreams
I'm told I'm a lot like you
and if that means
what I think it means
I must be in your dreams too

Written: Ladbroke Grove, London February 1996
Appears: On "Still Burning"

December is the cruellest month
but this year for once my cheeks are warm
After long years in the wilderness
I'm ready for the storm
Let them throw all their cannonballs
let all their strong men come
I'm ready to go anywhere
through venom, sick and scum

December isn't always cold
This year she's mine and I know why
Somewhere a flower has to grow
for every flower that dies
I'm stricken with fever
but my heart is strong as steel
I'm ready to go anywhere
I can believe! I can feel!

December is a trusted friend
I always recognise her face
It's a plague of fools thrown aside forever
by her soft and silent grace
She is reckless as a mayday
gentle as a stone
and ready to go anywhere
to carry me back home

December fell deep in the bleak midwinter time
when Jesus Christ howled a saviour baby's howl
a primal truth as pure as ice
And though we crucified him on a cross
and dragged his words from prayer to curse
He was able to go anywhere
He was almost one of us

Written: Ayr December 1981
Appears: On "The Waterboys"

Here we are in a special place
What are you gonna do here ?
Here we stand in a special place
What will you do here ?
What show of soul are we gonna get from you ?
It could be deliverance, history
under these skies so blue
but if I know you you'll bang the drum
like monkeys do

Here we are in a fabulous place
What are you gonna dream here ?
We are standing in this fabulous place
What will you play here ?
I know you love the high life, you love to leap around
You love to beat your chest and make your sound
but not here man - this is sacred ground
with a Power flowing through
And if know you you'll bang the drum
like monkeys do

Here we stand on a rocky shore
Your father stood here before you
I can see his ghost explore you
I can feel the sea implore you
Not to pass on by
Not to walk on by
and not to try
Just to let it come
Don't bang the drum
Just let it come now
Don't bang the drum now
Do you know how to let it come now ?
Don't bang the drum now
Don't bang the drum

Written: London 1984
Appears: On "This Is The Sea", "Best Of" and "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

Down by old house
over the bridge
down through the dark streets
where we used to live
Out by the cornfield
and the sycamore trees
down to the water
will you come, Lassie please ?

Snow in the town square
December afternoon
Christmas lights
a crescent moon
A boy selling chestnuts
roasted and brown
dropping black cinders
that hiss on the ground
You and I stand like strangers
in our Hokusai clothes
like we come from some strange country
that nobody else knows
And to go where the wind blows
are just the words of thieves
so will you come with me, Lassie
will you come Lassie, please ?

There's a place there by the river
I never showed you before
but when I'm far away
that's where I go
Outside it's lamplight
high time we leave
Winter-a-borning
Will you come Lassie, please ?

The big blue sea between us
is thousands of miles
It's cruel I know
but you just have to smile
I'd be back for you
if I could just believe
that everything is right and pure
that everything is right and pure
that everything is right and pure
will you come, Lassie, please ?

I'm dumbing down the world
Yes, I'm dumbing down the world

And my head is held high
and the glint in my eye
and my arrogance rumbles before me

I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world

And my thoughts are banal
like a stagnant canal
and my sycophants shamble behind me

I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world

And my hour is come around, is come around !
Yes my hour is come around, it's come around...
Look around !

I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world

And my works are designed
to suck blood from your mind
for your energy feeds and sustains me

I'm dumbing down the world
Dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world
I'm dumbing down the world and I love it !

Written: London July 1999
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

you are an eternal being of love
you are the light of the world

The old men say
the earth only endures
You spoke truly
You were right

Written: Anon. Native American (Sioux) death song
Appears: On "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

I woke up in the morning
seven twenty-four
Drank a cup of coffee
stepped out the door
I said Goodbye
to my old best friend
I took a ride
to the old West End

I walked along Princes Street
my feet were hurting bad
as I squirmed inside my shoes
I was thinking about my dad
There was the bones of a song
beatin' around my head
Unless I remember it wrong
this is what it said :

Edinburgh Castle hugging the sky
Cold grey stone, humourless and dry
Sitting like a cork on top of the town
One of these days I'm gonna blow you down

I jumped on a bus
a trusty number 23
to the Royal Botanical Gardens
where a ghost was calling me
I saw a brace of weeping willows,
a burnt and withered land
I saw a man and a little boy
holding hands

I scanned the skyline
It was like the backdrop of a play
I never saw your heartless beauty
until I'd been away
As I was climbing up The mound
it struck me like a chime
I must have dreamed this scene
about a thousand times !

Edinburgh Castle hugging the sky
Cold grey stone, humourless and dry
Sitting like a cork on top of the town
One of these days I'm gonna blow you down

I found myself on Forrest Road
feeling pretty sore
This city once was mine
but it ain't mine anymore
And here's my old school, "Jingling Geordie's"
and I must confess
I couldn't step through that gate
until I'm better dressed

Back at Waverly Station
half dead on my feet
I got on board the four forty-four,
promptly fell asleep
I woke up in Queen Street
at my journey's end
I've got to say it's totally great
to be back in Glasgow again !

Edinburgh Castle hugging the sky
Cold grey stone, humourless and dry
Sitting like a cork on top of my town
One of these days I'm gonna blow you down

Written: New York November 1992
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In"

Ever to be near ye
where you bide or where you stray
to comfort and to cheer ye
be your fortune what it may
Hearken now and hear ye :
I'd be happy night and day
ever to be near ye
Happy I'd be night and day
ever to be near ye

Ever to be near ye
neither rocks nor current rife
ever need to fear ye
from the stress or from the strife
Couthily I'll steer ye
through the stormy sea of life
Ever to be near ye
through the stormy sea of life
ever to be near ye

Ever to be near ye
good and bonnie as ye are
who could not revere ye ?
In your circle or afar
none there is to peer ye !
Oh, for better or for worse
ever to be near ye
Oh, for better or for worse
ever to be near ye

Written: Words by Robert Burns (1759 - 1796)
Appears: On "Sunflowers"

Lord hold me
in your everlasting arms
Enfold me
in your everlasting arms
Let striving cease
that I may come to rest
in perfect peace,
renewed and truly blessed

Lord bathe me
in your everlasting Light
Lord raise me
in your everlasting Light
Awake my mind
that I may understand
and come to find
the truth of Who I Am

Above the silvery bay
a bird rose on the breeze
then swooped as if to say
You too may fly with ease

Lord lift me
in your everlasting love
Home swiftly
in your everlasting love
I'll go to where
a temple stands upon a hill
In silence there
I'll wait upon your will
Lord lift me
in your everlasting arms...
In your everlasting arms

Written: Findhorn May 1994
Appears: On "Still Burning"

every breath is yours, beloved
every breath is yours
every breath is yours, beloved
every breath is yours i give myself to you, beloved
the self that i thought i was
i give myself to you, beloved
the self that was mystified and lost

every breath is yours, beloved
every breath is yours
every breath is yours, beloved
every breath is yours

who is it moves in me, beloved ?
whose hands and feet are these ?
who is it moves in me, beloved ?
whose heart beats ? who breathes ?

every breath is yours, beloved
every breath is yours
every breath is yours, beloved
every breath is yours
every breath is yours

To break your heart into rubble
is what I'm here to do
I've got nothing but trouble, babe
in store for you
I've got one eye fixed on the main chance
one hand behind your back
and you just stumbled blind, babe
right into my track

And that's when you fell so low
Everybody takes a tumble, don't you know ?
That's when you fell so low
Pick yourself off the floor before you go

There's vengeance in my belly
slime on both my shoes
and everything bad that you ever heard
about little old me is true
My trigger finger is itchy
my humour is black
and you just stumbled blind, babe
right into my track

And that's when you fell so low
Everybody takes a tumble, don't you know ?
That's when you fell so low
Pick yourself off the floor before you go

Now the devil drives a hard bargain
preacher burns his hands
fireman makes a sermon
lord surveys his lands
Huck Finn just went out for sticks
he ain't coming back
and you just stumbled blind babe
right into my track

And that's when you fell so low
Everybody takes a tumble, don't you know ?
That's when you fell so low
Pick yourself off the floor before you go

Faces start-a shining
flags begin to sway
Would you believe I came a long distance
to be with you today
Your crooked partner
he just got the sack
and you just stumbled blind babe
right into my track

And that's when you fell so low
Everybody takes a tumble, don't you know ?
That's when you fell so low
Pick yourself off the floor before you go

Written: Revenue Club, Dublin February 1986
Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

I am sad my little sister
hi-o-hu-o-ho
Pity me my little sister
hi-o-hu-o-ho
Low my prison, low and narrow
wanting wisp of thatch and rope
'Tis not this my cause of sorrow
but the loss of my own daughter

I am sad my little sister
hi-o-hu-o-ho
Pray for me my little sister
hi-o-hu-o-ho
Low my prison, low and narrow
cold spring water seeping through
'Tis not this my cause of sorrow
but the loss of my own daughter

Written: Scottish Hebridean Traditional (Isle of Barra)
Appears: On "Is She Conscious?" E.P.

I wish I was a fisherman
tumbling on the sea
far away from dry land
and its bitter memories
casting out my sweet line
with abandonment and love
no cieling bearing down on me
save the starry sky above
with Light in my head
and you in my arms

I wish I was the brakeman
on a hurtling, fevered train
crashing headlong into the heartland
like a cannon in the rain
with the beating of the sleepers
and the burning of the coal
counting the towns flashing by
in a night that's full of soul
with Light in my head
and you in my arms

I know I will be loosened
from the bonds that hold me fast
that the chains all hung around me
will fall away at last
and on that fine and fateful day
I will take me in my hands
I will ride on the train
I will be the fisherman
with Light in my head
and you in my arms

Written: New York - London November 1985 / Dublin January 1986
Appears: On "Fisherman's Blues", "Best Of", "Live Adventures" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

Further up, further in
Further up, further in

I dreamed the wind came to my house
these are the words fell from his mouth
"The King you seek you'll find him true
but only if he rides the road with you"

Further up, further in
Further up, further in

I was sent to the war, stripped of my power
gagged and imprisoned in a tall dark tower
I must have cried for an age or more
till I saw through tears and I found the door

Further up, further in
Further up, further in

I stepped aboard a ship that flew
It took me wherever it wanted to
Far above land, far above sea
the Dreamer and the Doer agreed to agree

Further up, further in
Further up, further in

High on a cliff, in georgeous clothes
a madman danced on the balls of his toes
Forgetting myself I fell at the feet
of the greatest Fool I ever did meet

Further up, further in
Further up, further in

The stars were bright and magic afoot
On the summer wind rose the sound of a flute
I saw the musician, my heart knew Him well
What happens next, no rhyme can tell !

Further up, further in
Further up, further in

We came to the end of the world one day
A dolphin swam in a sheltered bay
I paid to the King what it was I owed,
put my face to the wind, and my foot on the road

Further up, further in
Further up, further in

I find I've wandered far from home
but home is in me wherever I roam
I thought I was an hour or a year behind
but the hours and the years are only time

Further up, further in
Further up, further in

Written: Dublin July 1989
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

Gala hangs from the window frame
dressed in black and white
Her face is colourless
in the moonlight
She turns around and her lips move
but the words just drop away
She leans on the back of a chair
and her arms begin to sway
She and I can hear voices
talking in the room next door
saying things we used to say
that we don't believe in any more
We've seen too many castles crumble,
made too many mistakes
Who could have known that one house
could hold so much heartbreak ?
Then the clockbell rings,
the wind blows in
Gala makes for the door
Her eyes blaze,
her hands are shaking
She opens her mouth and roars
"Gala doesn't want !
Gala doesn't need !"
She claws at her face with her nails
till it bleeds
She runs downstairs in her poor bare feet
She's too woman to cry or go down on her knees
Then her mother is there
and her voice is soft
as she pulls Gala close
She soothes Gala's cuts
and gently chides
and Gala knows
that Gala needn't worry
No, she needn't be afraid
for there are sailors on the sea tonight
in ships that God made
Look ! They cast out a line
with a heave-two-three-four
and they sing as they pull
our lost souls aboard

Written: Edinburgh 1981
Appears: On "The Waterboys"

Do you see them coming through fields of snow ?
Do you see them riding through fields of snow ?
One rides for a woman who has no name
One rides for a king
And one just rides and rides and rides and rides
for the Girl in the Swing

They race like phantoms in the Belmont light
Can you see them follow the Belmont light ?
They ride through places where the walls are white
and the noble voices of women sing
They raise up their throats and they sanctify the night
with a song
for the Girl in the Swing

You just asked me, do I know what love is ?
Well, sure I know. Sure I know what love is
It's the thief of my sleep,
a boy and his dog,
a red rubber ball,
these old foolish things,
a rain that falls a long long way from home
It lives
in the Girl in the Swing

Written: Westbourne Park,London July 1982
Appears: On "The Waterboys" and "The Whole Of The Moon" 12" single 1985

If you're traveling in the north country fair,
Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline,
remember me to one who lives there
She once was a true love of mine

If you're travelling in the snowflake storm,
where the rivers freeze and summer ends,
see for me if she's wearing a coat that is warm,
to keep her from the howlin' wind

See for me if her hair is hanging low,
if it rolls and tumbles all the way to her breast
See for me if her hair is hanging low
for that's the way I remember her best

I'm wondering if she remembers me at all
Many times I've often prayed
in the darkness of my night
in the brightness of my day

So if you're travelin' in the north country fair
where the winds hit heavy on the borderline
remember me to one who lives there
for she once was a true love of mine

Appears: Lyric by Bob Dylan, Special Rider Music on Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

I dreamed myself from the sultry plains
to the old green square back in old Maybole
Rode the wind up to Stornaway,
paused at the peak, pacified my soul
Caught the bus in the faery fort,
made it to the mansion on the Boyne
See, I've come around to the ancient ways
I took a tip from the buddha boy

I just found God
I just found God
I just found God where He always was

We came down from the hill of dreams
Bernadette, mother earth and you and me
Through Carraroe, down the wildwood side,
blinding our eyes in the shallow seas
Drank fire with the king of the blues,
plugged in to the medicine way,
took a long last look at Crazy Horse
Push now for a golden age

I just found God
I just found God
I just found God where He always was

Found myself on the roof of the world
just-a-waitin for to get my wings
Strange angel in the changing light
said Brother you forgot one thing
My heart beat from the inside out
So lucky just to be alive !
Can you tell what I'm talking about ?
Any day now the sun's gonna rise...

I just found God
I just found God
I just found God where He always was
I just found God where He always was

Written: Greenwich Village November 1991
Appears: On "Dream Harder" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

I first played the pyramid stage back in nineteen-eighty-four
Karl and Kev, Barv on bass and Antoman made four
I stayed up all night, wide awake, wearing a mile-wide grin
digging the three day city and all that grooved within

Played a storm in eighty-six, felt like we were kings
fiddle bows and mandolins, sure bust a lot of strings
We played "Purple Rain", "Medicine Bow" and "The Healing Has Begun"
I climbed the Tor at the break of dawn just to salute the sun

And I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall
I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall, walking tall
I'm goin back to Glasters
can't go any faster
I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall

Next time was eighty-nine with the Raggle Taggle band
We were jamming jigs and reels in a backstage transit van
I wore a wedding suit, sang "When Ye Go Away"
Sharon Shannon's accordion was the soundtrack of the day

And I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall
I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall, walking tall
I'm going back to Glasters
can't go any faster
I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall

Five years later I returned - a different man of course
guested with the boy McNabb and the mighty Crazy Horse
Cranked up the red Les Paul, let the bastard rip
I'm coming back next year for sure - I might even be hip !

And I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall
I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall, walking tall
I'm goin back to Glasters
can't go any faster
I'm goin back to Glasters walking tall

Written: Findhorn September 1994
Appears: On "Building The City Of Light" CD Single and "Glastonbury Festival - A Celebration"

One fine day
I'm going back to Love
I'm going back to where I'm from,
where I belong
Yes I am

One fine day
I'm going back to Love
I'm going back to the High Land
where I began
Yes I am

And on that day
I'm gonna take my place
I'm gonna tell the news
of how I made it through

And in that hour
I'm gonna claim my power
I'm gonna shine and stand
in who I really Am

One fine day
I'm going back to Love
I'm going back to where I'm from
where I belong
Yes I am

One fine day
I'm going back to Love
I'm going back to the High Land
where I began
Yes I am !

Written: Findhorn January 1995
Appears: Unreleased

We are going to Paris
in a ship with red sails
As the storm gathers slowly
we eat fish heads and snails
The mate jumps up, throws down a line
to man overboard for the ninetieth time
and then he says with a wink
sometimes I think I've been doing this forever

We are going to Paris
in a ship called The Marlene
There are signs in the sky at night
that the captain says he's seen
I keep books under my pillow
and read them before I sleep
strange places I go to
strange companies I keep

We are going to Paris
we are one and thirty strong
I can feel it in the air
we'll be there before long
The wind howls cold like a man insane
Insane !
We are going to Paris
it rains and it rains

Written: Ayr 1978
Appears: On "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

I'm staring at a stranger in the mirror
he's looking like a ghost in human form
that used to be my head
but the occupant has fled
Lord, where's the good man gone ?

My eyes are like two troopers in a foxhole
I'm doing things I used to know were wrong
I've hurt all my friends
and I'll do it again
Lord, where's the good man gone ?

There's a woman, Lord, somewhere in this city
I've got to put her in my song
I'm treating her unkind
and I don't mind
Lord, where's the good man gone
and is he coming back ?

Written: Dublin November 1987
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"/"Fisherman's Blues Part Two"

Drop your guns
and hear the news
The war is won
and we've called a truce
The key is found
and the circle complete
and the higher ground
is beneath our feet

Like the turn of a page
or a change of gear
a brand new age
is already here
and even while
men pursue their doom
a magical child
is kicking in the womb

I'm preparing for birth
I'm not the only one
I'm a part of the earth
I'm a drop of the sun
I'm in step with the stars
I'm in league with the land
I'm a functioning part
of the Master's plan !

Written: Glastonbury October 1990 / Dublin June 1991
Appears: On "Dream Harder"

The widows are weeping and wailing
There's an almighty run on the bank
The rose deck'd coffin
is ready to roll
Has anybody here seen Hank ?

He'll be sure to be wearing a stetson
He's as long and as thin as a plank
He's got a fistful of charm
and a gun beneath his arm
Has anybody here seen Hank ?

He ain't in the back of a limo
and he ain't back home in his bed
He ain't in jail and he ain't out on bail
He ain't getting out of his head

I don't care what he did with his women
I don't care what he did when he drank
I want to hear just one note
from that lonesome old throat
Has anybody here seen Hank ?

Written: Dublin 1986/87
Appears: On "Fisherman's Blues"

The mountain is steep, the ditches are deep
the task in hand is making us weep
but here's a promise I intend to keep
Seed it in your mind
and say it each night before you sleep
We will climb
Higher in time

You've got a head full of trouble and a ship to build
You believe you won't make it but you know you will
You feel you need your cup refilled
well, fill it out of mine
We'll drop the defences, pool our skill
and we will climb
Higher in time

I've been to the bottom and I've been on the train
I've slept in the gutter with my head in a drain
I've been brutally proud, I've been mortally shamed
but this is not a crime
I'm just learning my friends that it's all in the game
and we will climb
Higher in time

Written: London September 1985
Appears: On "The Whole Of The Moon" and On "Too Close To Heaven"

I'm easy to love
but I'm harder to hold
down through the world
my story is told
I'm a-weaving and a-winding down
every road in every town
I'm tumbling through the years
Higherbound

I'm as young as a child
I'm as old as the wind
Days are my miles
and the moon is my twin
My head is in the stars
my feet are on the ground
I'm tumbling through the years
Higherbound

I'm as constant as stone
I'm as fickle as flame
My song is a riddle
so is my name
I'm the coat of many colours,
the four quartered heart and the crown
I'm tumbling through the years
Higherbound

I built a Mansion on the Boyne
I sowed a Rose of Mystery
I've been a fish upon a coin
complete I'll never be
I'll meet you on the mountain
when the mountain time comes around
I'm tumbling through the years
Higherbound

Written: all lands 1986 - 2000
Appears: Unreleased

"Just let me tell you what a liar will do
He's always comin' with something new
He'll steal your heart with false pretensions
makin' out like he's your bosom friend"
(Rev Isaiah Shelton 1927 "The Liar")

He lives in a waste
void of culture and taste
his eye on a prize beyond
His every word
is in the right place
but his word is not his bond

His face is comely
his heart it bleeds
yet it's but a mantle he has donned
Mark him only
by his deeds
for his word is not his bond

I'd love to take him
out of his room
and gently break him
I'd love to see him dance !

His protege deals
in confusion and fog
Of power he is fond
Wheels within wheels -
like master, like dog
His word is not his bond

I'm trying to swim
but I'm caught in the shallows
and I sense that I've been conned
Deliver him
....to the gallows !
His word is not his bond

Written: On tour, England October 1997
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

How long will I love you ?
As long as stars are above you
and longer if I can

How long will I need you ?
As long as the seasons need to
follow their plan

How long will I be with you ?
As long as the sea is bound to
wash upon the sand

How long will I want you ?
As long as you want me to
and longer by far

How long will I hold you ?
As long as you father told you
As long as you are

How long will I give to you ?
As long as I live to you
However long you say

How long will I love you ?
As long as stars are above you
and longer if I may

Written: Spiddal November 1989
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

I've got a hard road ahead of me
and a battlefield behind
I've got a heavy load on top of me
that's mine and only mine
I can't go running to nobody
solicitating help
I gotta walk a mile and then a mile
and walk it by myself
Ain't no ride on offer
Ain't no easy way
Damn these blues, grease my shoes,
speed me on my way

Lord, how many songs till I get home ?
How many songs till I get home ?
How many rights ? How many wrongs ?
How many songs till I get home ?
Distance unidentified...destiny unknown
How many songs till I get home ?

The devil came to dinner
said he'd been shipwrecked
spit was forming at his mouth
and running down his neck
He beat upon the table
he piped upon a pipe
He cursed in broken english
then he tried to pick a fight
He summoned me to side with him
said I had no choice
When he left I smelt his breath
and I recognized his voice

Lord, how many songs till I get home ?
How many songs till I get home ?
How many rights ? How many wrongs ?
How many songs till I get home ?
Distance unidentified...destiny unknown
How many songs till I get home ?

From the High King of Glory
to the lone abandoned child
everybody has a story
everybody walks a mile
I've told you mine already
I'll tell you just one more
about a son of ancient Israel
You heard his name before
He was suckled in a stable
nailed upon a cross
Before he died he gave a cry
and this is what it was...

Lord, how many songs till I get home ?
How many songs till I get home ?
How many rights ? How many wrongs ?
How many songs till I get home ?
Distance unidentified...destiny unknown
How many songs till I get home ?

Written: Spiddal November 1989
Appears: Unreleased

I am not here, I am not home
so won't you leave your message on the telephone?
Leave your number and the time you called too
and when I come back home, I will get back to you

Appears: on This Is The Sea (remaster), 2004

I know she's in the building
I can feel it in my guts
Somewhere within these four walls
is the woman that I love
The sweetest wild adventure
hangs within my grasp
She's eternal, she's alive
and I've found her at last !

I've left her notes and poems,
pinned them on the board
I listen for each step or voice
that passes by my door
I can feel the raw excitement
bursting in my chest
I can feel my longing hands
on her firm and supple breast

Shifting within my thoughts dance
inevitably to you Love
I'm enslaved and I'm entranced
by all you are and do Love

It'll soon be time for dinner
I know just where she'll be
Ah, but I'll wait here because maybe she
will come and call on me
She knows the room by number
She knows who waits unseen;
King Pan, inflamed with joy and love
for her, his elfin Queen

Written: Findhorn April 1994
Appears: On "Bring'Em All In"

Although we are parted
and our loved ones are brokenhearted
and a chapter ends
I'll keep your picture near
I'll keep your memory dear
and I'll meet you in heaven again

All the secrets we keep
all the words we don't speak
things that's hard to say between two men
but like the meeting of two rivers
all will be delivered
when I meet you in heaven again

Some say it's over - as if there is no more
but death is not an ending - death is but a door
Some call it the end of the road - but they've got it all wrong
the end is a beginning
and the road is long

So I'll work as hard as I can
I will use my heart and my hands
I won't waste a single day he sends
And when it's gone
on that golden Dawn
I will meet you in heaven again

Written: All lands 1986 - 2000
Appears: Unreleased

I've been in the storm for you
blew my horn for you
was reborn for you
I handled a thorn for you
I was torn for you
I was warm for you
And here you go leaving me
deceiving me
and it's grieving me
I've been in the storm for you
I was scorned for you
and reborn for you
So why can't you love ?
Why can't you love ?

I changed what I wear for you
and my hair for you
and I cared for you
I gave up my share for you
I went bare for you
said a prayer for you
And here you go blaming me
shaming me
defaming me
I've been in the storm for you
I was shorn for you
and reborn for you
So why can't you love ?
Why can't you love ?
And oh, don't you know...
Oh, don't you know
what will happen, what will happen
if you do ?

Written: Spiddal February 1988
Appears: On "Sunflowers"

i've lived here before in days of old
i recognise these buildings in my soul
i know each winding road
and every rise
is friendly and familiar to my eyes

i've lived here before i do believe
i have rejoiced in these fields and i've grieved
i can feel it in my blood
that i belong
to this strange and stony rock i stand upon

yet i cannot put a name upon it
i cannot place the time
nor see the land as it once was
nor tell which house was mine
no i cannot put a name upon it
which was where and when
yet here i am
a perfect stranger
home again

there's confusion in my head as i depart
but a singing, ringing, soaring in my heart
for beyond all time and space and doubt
i know
i've lived here before
long ago

I want you babe, I don't want nobody else
I want you babe, I don't want nobody else
If you don't want me, then I don't want myself

I need you babe, I need you, need your help
I need you babe, I need you bad, I need you, Lord I need you, need your help
If you ain't there baby, I ain't gonna need myself

I'm hurting for you babe, I'm hurting like hell
Yeah, I'm hurting for you baby, I'm hurting like hell
If you ain't hurting for me too, I'm gonna hurt myself

Written: Dublin, March 1987
Appears: on Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

Where will I wander and wonder ?
Nobody knows
but wherever I'm going I'll go
in search of a rose

Whatever the will of the weather
and whether it shines or snows
wherever I'm going I'll go
in search of a rose

I don't know where it's found
but I don't mind
as long as the world spins around
I'll take my time

I may follow the fellow who fiddles
I may put on a merchant's clothes
but wherever I'm going I'll go
in search of a rose

I don't know where I'm bound
Oh, and I don't care
As long as the world spins around
I'll be there !

I'll savour the softness of summer
I'll wrap up when winter blows
and wherever I'm going I'll go
in search of a rose

Written: Dublin November 1987
Appears: On "Room To Roam" and (extract) on "Best Of"

Iona sweet Iona
island out of time
Your lost child is returning
his shadow close behind
Anger in his breast
black dog in his mind

I feel like an island of rage
in a vast sea of peace
like a worm in a cathedral
like a beggar at a feast
Columba heal my black heart !
Let my nightmare cease

Lace upon the window
patterns on the sheets
three ships in the distance
horsemen in the street
Lord God fit me
to be your hands and feet

Written: Iona October 1992
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In"

Is she conscious
Is she really wide awake
Is she conscious
of her beautiful mistake
Is she conscious
as she moves among the crowd

She's got the world upon a piece of string
She's got the world upon a piece of string, it's so
He was ugly and she was beautiful
He was ugly and she was so....

Is she conscious
Is she asleep or just afloat
Is she conscious
of the letter that she wrote
Is she conscious
of the muzak in her ears

The Queen of Sheba could have shined her shoes
The Queen of Sheba could have shined her shoes, it's so
He was ugly and she was beautiful
He was ugly and she was so....

Is she conscious
as she sways across the room
Is she conscious
of the weeping of the moon
Is she conscious
as she leaves the door ajar
Is she conscious
as she gets into the car

I don't even want to say her name
I don't even want to say her name, that's all
I want to sing it from the toppest top
I want to sing it from the toppest top, that's all
The Queen of Sheba could have shined her shoes
The Queen of Sheba could have shined her shoes, it's so
He was ugly and she was beautiful
He was ugly and she was so....

Is she conscious
of the chauffeur as he drives
Is she conscious
as the ambulance arrives

Written: London November 1997
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

Of my body England is the spine
the backbone and the trunk
My shoulders span the mighty Tyne
London sprawls across my rump
Cornwall my crooked ancient leg
Wales two hands held apart
Scotland is my dreaming head
Ireland is my heart

Written: Spiddal November 1988
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

Can I believe my ears ?
Is this really you
pacing the floor with one eye on the door
watching the winners go through ?
Why do you hang back now ?
Why'd you hesitate ?
You know fires don't burn
for he who waits
Out of all the people
that I ever knew,
if one should have made it
it should have been you

I know who I'm looking for
but I can't believe my eyes
The sight of you with your head hung low
is a sick sad surprise
Why do you hang back now ?
Why'd you hesitate ?
How dare you throw it all away then tell me
"Aw man, it must have been fate"
Out of all the people
that I ever knew
there had to be one I could believe in
and it should have been you

A gift that dies is a tragic thing
and it happens all the time
but a gift that's wasted, thrown to hell
is the worst of crimes
I saw you hang back now
I watched you hesitate
You're a well respected man but bullshit !
You could have been great

Out of all the people
that I ever knew
There should have been One !
And it should have been you

Written: Aldridge Road Villas, London August 1982
Appears: On "The Waterboys"

It's all gone
so send the rain

Written: London February 1998
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

It's gonna rain
It's gonna rain
A time is coming when you're
gonna have to taste your pain

It's gonna break
It's gonna break
from the cities of the poor
all the way to your front gate

You're golden
You're so high
You're beautiful
- but you're a lie

It's gonna crash
It's gonna crash
like a feather in a landslide
like a piece of trash

It's gonna fall
It's gonna fall
It's gonna tumble, crumble
wasn't built to last at all

You're golden
You're so fine
You're beautiful
- but you're out of time

It's gonna burn
It's gonna burn
How will you eat your words
when it comes to be your turn ?

It's gonna rain....
It's gonna rain....

Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

I'm still looking
for the Jack Of Diamonds
but it's so hard
living through every card in the pack
There are too many Spades to dig with
There are too many clubs to get hit with
and I've got fifty four hearts
to get all broken up with


Words of "Jack Of Diamonds" by Los Haward
Reverb 2 Music

Now he's brought down the rain and the indian summer is through
You'll be dancing down the country in the morningtime if I know you
You ain't calling me to join you and I'm spoken for anyway
but you'll be killing my heart
when you go away

Shall we gather by the river for to hear the lovely thunder crash ?
Shall we sail now in your speeding bonnie boat here and gone like a splash ?
You will see me, small, receding, mouth hung open, words I cannot say
You'll be killing my heart
when you go away

Mike Rogers left his whisky and the night is very very young
I've much to say and more to tell - the words will soon be spilling from my tongue
I'll rave and I will ramble, I'll do everything but make you stay
You'll be killing my heart
when you go away

Written: Dublin February 1987
Appears: on The Best Of, 1991 & Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

King Electric motor on
the King is dead, the King is gone
The King is in us
Let his song play on !

I was cutting a dash down Bleecker Street
the sewers were steaming underneath my feet
I looked down MacDougall 'bout half a block
said to myself that's where you come from
I got a vision right there and then in my mind's eye
you in your finery strolling by
hands on your hip and your guitar case,
sound of the future blowing in your face

King Electric motor on
the King is dead, the King is gone
The King is in us
Let his song play on !

I stepped down the stairs, ventured through the door
sound nearly blew me clean to Singapore
Black man child waltzing 'cross the stage
squeezing guitar, singing "Purple Haze"

King Electric motor on
the King is dead, the King is gone
The King is in us
Let his song play on !
Play on !

I remember back home many moons ago
I had a front room band, you should have heard us blow
We was rough as a dog, loud as sin
with a lead guitar player name of Davy Flynn
He could play with his teeth, upside of his head
he could make that thing ring like a-raising the dead
You were his idol, you were his man
I didn't get it them Davy, now I understand

King Electric motor on
the King is dead, the King is gone
The King is in us
Let his song play on !

'Cause you were just too early, I was just too late
You were just too fine, you were just too great
You were just too real, you were just too true
This world wasn't beautiful enough for you

Written: Greenwich Village November 1991
Appears: On "Love Anyway" CD Single and U.S. and Japanese versions of "Still Burning"

Once upon a time, a time, a time, a time, a time, a time
I lived here
Once upon a time, a time, a time, a time, a time, a time
I lived here
Laid my head on a pillow of sky,
kissed the wind, heard it sigh
Once upon a time I lived here

In the power of a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream
I loved here
In the power of a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream, a dream
I loved here
Fell heart and body, soul and mind,
left all other worlds behind
In the power of a dream I loved here

The hour is come, is come, is come, is come, is come, is come
to leave here
The hour is come,is come, is come, is come, is come, is come
to leave here
I'll take whatever is mine to take
free my heart before it breaks
The hour is come to leave here

Written: Spiddal August 1990
Appears: On "Sunflowers" and "Rare, Precious And Gone" CD Single

Once in my lifetime I intend to see
the Ladder ascending in front of me

I've been searching without
I've been searchin within
Up, down, all around, roundabout
here and there, out and in

Because once in my lifetime I intend to see
the Ladder ascending in front of me

I have a come a long way
over oceans and hills
I'm weary and unwhole
and I need my cup refilled

Once in my lifetime I intend to see
the Ladder ascending in front of me

Written: London May 1985
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"/"Fisherman's Blues Part Two"

I was talking to John
he was dressed all in black
He was learning he said
to never look back
Bells in his ears
he turned and disappeared
I'd known him for years
Where'd he go ?
With a head full of snow
on the late train to Heaven

Augustus my friend
dressed in velvet and scarf
He's purging himself
He's refusing to laugh
Pale as the moon
his words fill the room
He'll be travelling soon
Where's he bound ?
Higher ground
on the late train to Heaven

I whispered to you now
but I didn't mean a word
It was just a small madness;
pretend you never heard
Pretend you're here with Larry
Pretend you're here with Lee
Pretend you're with anyone but me
I didn't come with you, I'm gone
and my seat's waiting on
the late train to Heaven

Written: Westbourne Park, London October 1982
Appears: On "A Girl Called Johnny" 7" single

I'm learning to love him
to love and forgive
I'm learning to trust him
to let the man live
I'm learning to see him
to see who he is
I'm learning to love
the beauty he is

I'm learning to love him
to love and forgive
I'm learning to trust him
to let the man live
I'm learning to hold
his life in my hands
I'm learning to love
me just as I am

Written: West End Hotel, Orkney July 1994
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In"

Such a sad procession
winding down the lane
What a strange impression
was branded on my brain
A band was playing endless mindless
It was like a hooligan's lament
It was dumb but it was timeless
I still wonder what it meant

But whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me

"Behold the lights of London"
the skipper said as his hands shook,
his aura eaten by his jealousy
and all the drugs he took
He said "This is the real world, Buddy
Toughen up your ass or it'll break"
I said "I'm not your buddy, Buddy
and your real world is a fake"

And whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me

The D.J. took his vengeance
as the wedding guests arrived
There was malice in his handshake,
quicksand in his eyes
As he slunk across the courtyard
from far-off I heard a horn
Somewhere in the bleak mid-distance
something beautiful is born

And whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me

I stumbled down a street of shadows
a black hallelujah split the night
anarchists and priests were playing stripjack
underneath the crude lamplight
I came upon a weeping soldier
he said "I'm all washed up now hush !"
But when I glanced across his shoulder
he held the royal flush

And whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me

I'm still here, I'm still breathing
I'm who I thought I was or just about
I'll be walking down this boulevard
until my legs give out
Thoughts like storms and seas are raging
I know it is a matter of degree
but it's not the world outside that's changing
it's me

And whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me
Whatever needs to happen
let it happen, let it be
through all I am protected
grace is effected over me




On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

Written: Findhorn - London November 1997
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

There's a man that I know
in trouble, afraid and in need of a friend
Please, Lord, let me feel holy again

Am I hurting myself
or am I low as I can bend ?
Please, Lord, let me feel holy again

I've spread my wings and I know many things
but knowing isn't real
I know you're walking with me
I know you're talking with me
but how long, Lord, before I can feel ?

If I've got a long way to go
I'll use every minute that you send
Please, Lord, let me feel holy again

Written: Dublin, April/May 1987
Appears: on Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

Calling down the Lion of Love
use me
Calling down the Lion of Love
use me

So much to say, so much time and space
I'll state it loud and clear, mark and make my case
I'll put it into rhythm, sculpt it into rhyme
wrap my secrets in a melody, fire it at the fortress of your mind
And if after all I sing, you don't believe a thing
that's all right...we've got all night !

Calling down the Lion of Love
use me
Calling down the Lion of Love
use me
Use my heart, use my hands
Use me any way you can
Calling down the Lion of Love
use me

So much trouble in the world and so much pain
We've heard it all before and we'll hear it again
But I dare you to imagine the world transformed by love
Open up your mind's eye, let the pictures come
Imagine that it's real... what does it look like, how does it feel ?
Hold this vision, bring it down, spread it around

Calling down the Lion of Love
use me
Calling down the Lion of Love
use me
Use my rhythm, use my voice
I've had the vision and I've made my choice
Calling down the Lion of Love
use me

Written: Pine Ridge, Findhorn December 1992
Appears: On "Lion Of Love"

Every face I see is a stranger
Every step I take I see danger
I must have walked one thousand miles on my own as I roam,
lost and lonesome and a long long way from home

The man I used be has disappeared
I haven't heard him laugh for a hundred years
My courage has abandoned me, my spirit too has flown, and I'm alone,
lost and lonesome and a long long way from home

There is light at the end of the road I am told,
peace in the valley and a city of gold
I must be facing backwards because all I can see
is a storm-black rain cloud falling on me

All my dreams have been broken
Oaths and prayerwords have been spoken
There's nothing in this godalmighty world will soften up my heart of stone
I'm lost and lonesome and a long long way from home

Written: Dublin, August 1986
Appears: on Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

Though I try
hard as I can to fly free
that lonesome old wind keeps blowing me

I would stay
where your loving warms me night and day
close to thee
but that lonesome old wind keeps blowing me

You say this time
I must be out of my mind
Oh and I'm sure it's true
But that old wind is bending me
that old wind is sending me
and letting go is all I know how to do

Sometimes
there's a small boy in this head of mine
whispers "let it be"
but that lonesome old wind keeps blowing me

Your say I'm cruel
and you call me a fool
Oh yes and I agree
but that old wind is driving me
it wrestles and it writhes in me
and alone is all I know how to be

And when I fall
burst and broken, barely fit to crawl
hand to knee
that lonesome old wind keeps blowing me

Written: Dublin December 1986
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"/"Fisherman's Blues Part Two"

I'm sitting in my bedroom
overlooking Findhorn Bay
Cluny Hill in the distance
summer on the way
Blue skies and sailing boats
like a picture in a book
I can't believe I got here
or how long it took

Living one step at a time
putting one foot in front of the other
it sure feels right
Healing on my mind
been a long way
been a long way to the light

I'd made it to Manhattan
built myself a nest
I meant to get right back to doing
exactly what I do best -
plugging in an electric guitar
and leading a band
Well...if you want to give God a laugh
tell him your plans !

Summer in the city
wilting in the heat
buzzing up and down to Bearsville
and back to Hudson Street
I learned meditation
and how to visualize
Just breathing, being still
never felt more alive

Living one step at a time
putting one foot in front of the other
it sure feels right
Healing on my mind
been a long way
been a long way to the light

I spent the fall in transit
circling the moon
like a cat on a hot tin roof
like a fiddle without a tune
I found what I was searching for
in Mrs Caddy's book
I had to go there straightaway
and have myself a look

I flew into Scotland
anticipation in my bones
the old country welcoming me
like a prodigal coming home
I knelt and kissed the tarmac
in the wild Atlantic rain
felt the fiery Gaelic blood
rising in my veins

Living one step at a time
putting one foot in front of the other
it sure feels right
Healing on my mind
been a long way
been a long way to the light

I spent the night in Glasgow
flew to Inverness
I found the Place and at the first
I was not impressed
Nobody said hello
the faces left me cold
Back then how was I to know
all that would unfold

I entered the Sanctuary
heard the voice of a girl
sending out a circle of Light
clear across the world
I shuddered in the power
like a seedling in a storm
I've been searching for this place
since the moment I was born

I flew back to New York City
singing the big city blues
the sand of Findhorn Bay
still clinging to my shoes
I tried to re-start my life
but the life I knew was gone
I had to let go everything
but that's another song !

Living one step at a time
putting one foot in front of the other
it sure feels right
Healing on my mind
been a long way
been a long way to the light

So I'm sitting in my bedroom
overlooking Findhorn Bay
Cluny Hill in the distance
summer on the way
I'm watching the sailing boats
bobbing to and fro
Time to hit the road
the only way I know...

Living one step at a time
putting one foot in front of the other
it sure feels right
Healing on my mind
been a long way
been a long way to the Light

Written: Santa Fe December 1992 - Findhorn August 1994
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In"

Behold the flashing waters,
A cloven, dancing jet,
That from the milk-white marble
For ever foam and fret;
Far off in drowsy valleys
Where the meadow saffrons blow,
The feet of summer dabble
In their coiling calm and slow
The banks are worn for ever
By a people sadly gay
A Titan, with loud laughter,
Made them of fire and clay
Go ask the springing flowers,
And the flowing air above,
What are the twin-born waters
And they'll answer Death and Love

With wreaths of withered flowers
Two lonely spirits wait,
With wreaths of withered flowers,
'Fore paradise's gate
They may not pass the portal,
Poor earth-enkindled pair
Though sad is many a spirit
To pass and leave them there
Still staring at their flowers,
That dull and faded are
And if one should rise beside thee,
The other is not far
Go ask the youngest angel,
She will say with bated breath
By the door of Mary's garden
Are the spirits Love and Death

Written: W.B.Yeats
Appears: On "Dream Harder"

So you crashed the plane
and there's hell to pay
I'm making it plain
I love you anyway

You made a fool
out of me today
I'm breaking the rule
I love you anyway

You threw the blame
what a role to play !
My story's the same
I love you anyway

You dealt the blow
and you burst the ball
I'm letting you know
I love you most of all

Magic we chase - only to find
it comes from a place higher than mind
higher than dust but only just
it hangs on the cusp

I can hear you scream
like a branded slave
It's only a dream
I love you anyway

You've got a war to wage
chief to obey
foe to engage
I love you anyway

You hunker down
feeling small
judging the clown
I love you most of all

I picture you with the eye of my mind
a portrait in blue, unravaged by time
beauty undimmed and through your pale skin
the beauty within

So you beat the child
sent him away
beauty defiled
I love you anyway

You tricked the King
cut him where he lay
Unthinkable thing
I love you anyway

You held the jewel
and you let it fall
Prince of a fool !
I love you most of all

Over the wind, under the hill
wing upon wing, Love over will
When the Big me meets the Big you
the things we will do !

I'll make the time
if you name the day
trouble or shine
I love you anyway

I think of you
as a child of clay
Whatever you do
I love you anyway

Written: Marine Cottage, Findhorn February 1995
Appears: On "Still Burning" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

Will You take me slowly
Will You lead me all the way
Will You sing me Your songs until
I am ready for the Love that kills

You have known me in the sheets and folds of many lifetimes
You were there when I was made
And I will speak to You in the language of dreams until
Love comes my way
Love that kills

I will ride on a dolphin
rain in my face
wind in all of my sails
There's a shadow hard on my heels now
but I'm still trying
I'm still trying to get to the place
where all of life's rivers overspill
I have come a long way
and I need my cup refilled

So when You come for me slowly
When You come knocking on my door
When the soul sings and the man is still
I will be ready
I will be ready
Yes I will be ready for the Love that kills

Written: Westbourne Park, London / Ayr August 1983
Appears: On "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

Ain’t you hard to beat
after all this time,
still standing on your feet – somehow -
way beyond your prime?
Well, love will shoot you down, will shoot you down
Love will shoot you down, will shoot you down

You believe you were The One
but it was only grace
and when your hour is done
and somebody takes your place
love will shoot you down, will shoot you down
Love will shoot you down, will shoot you down

Time, old Time, King Time is moving back and forth
like a backlit dancer on a pale white horse

On a mad racecourse
in a hungry land
you will be forced
to play your secret hand
and love will shoot you down, will shoot you down
Love will shoot you down, will shoot you down

Fate is driving like a vigilante through the crowd,
hot coals on his feet, bullets on his brow

Power will spit you out
grief will leave you stunned
A camera will pick you out
a thief will cock the gun
and love will shoot you down, will shoot you down
Love will shoot you down, will shoot you down

Time, old Time, King Time is moving back and forth
like a backlit dancer on a pale white horse

Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

You can't spend all your life
sitting on a cloud playing your twelve string
You can't spend all your life
sitting on a cloud playing your twelve string

Who could make this day again
this lucky lucky day again
that was just a day again
until you touched it

Get yourself a pedal steel player
there's money in the cabaret business
Get yourself a pedal steel player
there's money in the cabaret business
You can't spend all your life
sitting on a cloud, playing your twelve string
You can't spend all your life
sitting on a cloud laying your twelve string

Who could make this day again
this lucky lucky day again
that was just a day again
until you touched it

Don't put that song on your album
You don't need no sax in the band !
Don't put that song on your album
You don't need no sax in the band
Get yourself a pedal steel player
there's money in the cabaret business
You can't spend all your life
sitting on a cloud playing your twelve string

Who could make this day again
this lucky lucky day again
that was just a day again
until you touched it

Wake up ! Gotta make a change
You gotta dress like one of The Levellers
Don't put that song on your album
You don't need no sax in the band !
Get yourself a pedal steel player
there's money in the cabaret business
You can't spend all your life
sitting on a cloud playing your twelve string

Who could make this day again
this lucky lucky day again
that was only a day again
until you touched it

Written: London October 1998
Appears: On "Wearyland EP" from Japanese version of "A Rock In The Weary Land"

I can't sleep
I can't get my breath
I can't stop talkin'
and I look like death
The madness...
The madness...
The madness is here again !

My hands are tied
I'm nailed to the floor
I feel like I'm knockin'
on the unknown door
The madness...
The madness...
The madness is here again !

Now the wrecker busts loose
he's swinging a chain
shouting out something
that sounds like my name
The madness...
The madness...
The madness is here again !

Can you feel it ?
Can you feel it coming ?

I am walking in the last rays of the setting sun
whistling a hangman's tune with head held high,
swinging my gun
I say this little boy is angry
I say this little boy is mad
This little boy comes to destroy, stone eyed, hard faced,
in swathes of vengeance clad

And the black cock crows
and a dead wind blows

In my wake are seven women who tried to steal my soul
In my belly six wild wolves curse and howl
from their foul hole
I say no earthly will may stop me
I say no earthly will may try
No earthly will may halt the spill of blood from wounds
and tears from grieving eyes

And the black cock crows
and a dead wind blows

Below me burn the city lights like fires of pearls and jewels
I'm climbing down the city walls, unseen, unfussed -
the sentries must be fools
I say all pleasantries are over
I say all pleasantries are past
My enemies you pimps and thieves prepare to meet
your nemesis at last !

Written: London March 1998
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

Ask the man on the mountain
which way to run
Whichever you choose
will be the right one

'Twas a prince of an evening
and the moon hung low
I was feeling like Mordred
when he struck the last blow
My sword hung poised
at the High King's throat
He begged for no mercy
but sang as he spoke :

Ask the man on the mountain
which way to run
Whichever you choose
will be the right one

Twelve crooked jurors
snuck in for the kill
Six smelt of poison
and six of pigswill
The Chief said "we've got him boys
cradle to crust !"
Last time I looked
they were sucking my dust

Ask the man on the mountain
which way to run
Whichever you choose
will be the right one

Spare a thought for the wrecker when the big day comes
Or pour salt on his heels as he runs, as he runs
The play is only staged for a glimpse of the Guest
behind the fancy dress

Each one's a healer
Each one's a saint
Each one's a saviour
There ain't no-one who ain't
Each one's a Buddha
Each one's a Fool
Each one's a scholar
at the very same school

Ask the man on the mountain
which way to run
Whichever you choose
will be the right one

Written: Marine Cottage, Findhorn March 1995
Appears: On U.S. version of "Still Burning"

There’s a day for the king in his counting house
There’s a day for the fool at the wheel
There’s a day for the ships to go slouching south
and a day for the man with the wind at his heels
a day for the man with the wind at his heels

There’s a day to ride thumb on a thunderhead
There’s a day to make fantasy real
There’s a day to deny and a day to decry
and a day for the man the wind at his heels
a day for the man with the wind at his heels

Sing one for the clown in his wintermind
Sing one for his loathesome ordeal
Sing one for the deed and the fate entwined
and sing one for the man with the wind at his heels
one for the man with the wind at his heels

Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

Martin Decent came to play
came to play, came to play
on a bright and winter's day
turned his coat in the morning

Martin Decent spoke out loud
spoke out loud, spoke out loud
told his tale to the listening crowd
turned his coat in the morning

Ate his greens and his rhubarb raw
chewed his bread with a vigorous jaw
wrote down all he heard and saw

Martin Decent sang along
sang along, sang along
lent his voice to the childrens' song
turned his coat in the morning

Told a few little lilywhite lies
hid the truth behind his eyes
nobody knew he was in disguise

Martin Decent danced and laughed
danced and laughed, danced and laughed
struck a pose for a photograph
turned his coat in the morning

Martin Decent went back home
went back home, went back home
slept like a log in a bed of his own
then he turned his coat in the morning

Written: London early 1998
Appears: Unreleased

There's a black wind blowing
a typhoon on the rise
pummeling rain
murderous skies
I'm gonna take my books
I'm gonna wear my coat
I'm gonna find my scarf,
wrap it around my throat

And you can come with me
through the driving snow
We're gonna ride on up to
Medicine Bow

I spent too long
with my face in the floor
There's a man in my head
but he isn't me anymore
I'm gonna find me a ship
stowaway on a boat
I'm gonna burn all the words and letters and cards
that I ever wrote

And you can sail with me
where the current flows
We're gonna move on up to
Medicine Bow

I'm gonna change my colours
throw away all my things
stop my squawking
grow some wings...

Well I will not sleep
and I will not rest
I'm gonna put my soul
and my will to the test
I'm gonna tug at my tether
I'm gonna tear at my lead
I'm gonna test my knowledge
in the field of deeds

And you can run with me
fast as we can go
over the hill to
Medicine Bow

The night is dark
and the night is still
but over on the shadowy
side of the hill
fires are burning
I can see them glow
I can feel the Light
coming up from Medicine Bow

And you can come with me
through the rain and snow
Tonight we dine in
Medicine Bow

Written: St Mark's Road, London 1984
Appears: On "This Is The Sea", "Secret Life", "Live Adventures" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

Let me tell you the tale of Medicine Jack
he went out in the woods and he never came back
Equipped with a stick and a big old sack
he went too close to the railroad track

You know what they say about Medicine Jack
he lived his life in a rolldown shack,
the wind a-screeching through the cracks
and the sound of the trains from the railroad track

Well here's the truth about Medicine Jack
He painted his face and his whole shack black
He went up in the woods and he never came back
He must have got too close to the railroad track

Did you see him on that fateful night ?
Did you see his grizzly face in the torchlight ?
Did you see him crawling down among the trees
and getting scabs on his hands and knees ?
Did you see the demise of Medicine Jack
his pitiful face still painted black
just a spit and a stride from the rolldown shack
down on by the railroad track ?
Don't turn your back on Medicine Jack !

I was thinking about the ghost of Medicine Jack
On starless nights when the sky is black
I can hear him singing those deadman's blues
and whistling down by the railroad track

Written: St Mark's Road London January 1985
Appears: on This Is The Sea (remaster), 2004

If I get to heaven before you do
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along
I'll be there watching, mother for you
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along

Mother when the train
mother when the train comes along
I will meet you at the station when the train comes along

If my eyes see the glory before yours do
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along
I'll be there watching father for you
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along

Father when the train
father when the train comes along
I will meet you at the station when the train comes along

If my feet touch the homeland before yours do
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along
I'll be there watching brother for you
I will meet you at the station when your train comes along

Brother when the train
brother when the train comes along
I will meet you at the station when the train comes along

Now if you see God's Country before I do
will you meet me at the station when my train comes along ?
Will you be there watching sister for me ?
Will you meet me at the station when my train comes along ?

When my train
when my train comes along
Meet me at the station when my train comes along
When my train
Sister when my train comes along
Will you meet me at the station when the train comes along ?

Written: Words and music Traditional (Additional lyrics : MS)
Appears: On "Live Adventures" & Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

I want a miracle
nothing less,
no consolation,
no second best
I want all of my dreams
to come true
and the miracle that I want
is you

Appears: on This Is The Sea (remaster), 2004

Good morning Mister Customs Man
how do you do today ?
I ain't got much in my bag
but I guess you're gonna check 'em anyway
You're always hunting and searching
and looking for something
What it is you will not say

There's no false bottom in my suitcase
no surprises in my clothes
No bootleg liquor in my bottle
nothing but holes in my coat
but still you're hunting and searching
and looking for something
What it is God only knows !

I've got a woman back in London
treats me like a king
I know three girls down in Dublin
who love to dance and sing
(the only trouble is)
they're always hunting and searching
and looking for something
they call the real thing

Now I can see Mister Customs Man
you're a busy cat
and it's really such a shame
you don't have time to stop and chat
For all your hunting and searching
well I'll tell you something...
It's under my hat !

Written: Anthony Thistlethwaite
Appears: On "Aesop Told A Fable", Anthony Thistlethwaite

Excuse me Mister Powers,
what do we plan to do today ?
Yes excuse me Mister Powers
what do we plan to do today ?
"We're goin down to forty-third street sonny
to hear those blues boys play"

It's midnight Mister Powers
where are we gonna boogaloo ?
Yes it's after midnight Mister Powers
where are we gonna boogaloo ?
"We're going to Kingston Mines boy
to boogaloo with Sugarblue"

Oh gentle Mister Powers
what will the morning bring ?
Oh gracious Mister Powers
what will the morning bring ?
"Oh we're goin down to church, child
to hear them gospel women sing"

I wonder Mister Powers
why is the preacher jumpin up and down ?
I wonder Mister Powers
why is the preacher leapin up and down ?
"He's just touching Home, friend
and what he's lost has just been found"

Tell me Mister Powers
what is the meaning of all this ?
Please tell me Mister Powers
what is the meaning of all this ?
"It means ain't God a good God
and all the glory is His"

Thankyou Mister Powers
you sure put the power in me
Oh thankyou Mister Powers
you sure put the power in me
"Think nothin of it, Buddy
the best things in life are still free"

Written: Albuquerque - New York flight January 1993
Appears: On "The Return Of Pan" CD Single

Mother Cluny rock me in your womb
Mother Cluny rock me in your womb
Take the fear and pain I feel
and turn them into tears that heal
Mother Cluny rock me in your womb

Mother Cluny suckle me at your breast
Mother Cluny suckle me at your breast
Tend the seed that love has sewn
in the temple of my flesh and bone
Mother Cluny suckle me at your breast

Mother Cluny forge me in your fire
Mother Cluny forge me in your fire
that I may shed this dead old skin
that I may light the fire within
Mother Cluny forge me in your fire

Mother Cluny clothe and send me forth
Mother Cluny clothe and send me forth
to be present at the birth
of the new Heaven, of the new Earth
Mother Cluny clothe and send me...
clothe and send me forth

Written: Cluny Hill College, Findhorn November 1993
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In" CD Single

When the sound of the crowd gets too damn loud
and the pain all around starts pulling me down
and doubt and distress put my faith to the test
I take a deep breath
and I turn inside
to my Beautiful Guide

When the voices of fear are churning in my ear
and the tricks of my mind are making me blind
and an old foe arrives in a brand new disguise
I close my eyes
and confide
in my Beautiful Guide

He's right here, right now
even as I sing
How did I find Him ?
By turning within

When I'm in the dark night and I can't find a light
and the outlook is grim and the chances are slim
and I've played my last throw and I've tried all I know
I let it go...
and He decides
my Beautiful Guide

Written: Dublin December 1993
Appears: On "Building The City Of Light" CD Single

My boat struck something deep ;
nothing happened
Waves, water, silence
Nothing happened ?
Perhaps everything has happened
and I'm standing in the middle
of my new life

Written: Poem by Juan Ramon Jiminez (Spanish 1881-1958)

Draw in close lady bride
take a look at my dark side
I can't show this to anyone
but you my close and intimate one

My dark side
My dark side

You've got my trust and that's a fact
but please be careful how you act
Drop the jury, leave 'em home
I won't be judged - only known

My dark side
My dark side

I may resist and I may fight
but I couldn't pass here without your light
Don't withdraw, don't disengage
Hold your fire when you touch his cage

My dark side
My dark side

Love's alive in your cheeks
Please don't die when he speaks
Only love can walk between
the parts that fear and need to be seen

All my defences and all my ploys
are to protect a little boy
I can't show him to anyone
but you my close and intimate one

My dark side
My dark side
My dark side
My dark side....

I've been hurt
but I'm alright
because underneath
there is a Light !

Written: Ladbroke Grove, London September 1995
Appears: On "Still Burning"

My Lord, what a morning
My Lord, what a morning
My Lord, what a morning
when the stars begin to fall...
when the stars begin to fall !

Written: Written by Okun, Corman and Belafonte
Appears: On "Is She Conscious?" E.P.

My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
Yes my love is my rock in the long low weary land

None of this moves me
I should be weeping but it only hurts when I yawn
I let it blow through me and it's gone

I'm dressed like a scarecrow
stripped of all my power as if some judge in judgement said
"Off with his greatcoat and his head !"

My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land

Meaningless movies
on the screen behind the band that's blowing, throwing shapes
Half of the music is on tape

My mentor and champion
is busy tilting at the windmills of his stately home
The demon he's grappling is his own

My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land

His letter lies open
His accusations flow like poison from his every word
My heart would be broken but for Her

The fag-end of winter
I'm in shock, I'm on the ropes, I don't know what's to come
She plucks the splinter from my thumb

My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
My love is my rock in the long low weary land
Yes my love is my rock in the long low weary land
In the weary land...

Written: Ladbroke Grove, London March 1998
Appears: On "A Rock In The Weary Land"

Fair is my Morag, my maiden, my Morag
my tender young Morag that lives in yon glen
I dream of my Morag, dream-wander wi' Morag
where leaps the brown burn from the mist on the ben
where leaps the brown burn from the mist on the ben

Sweet as hill water, cool waters, hill waters
my maiden, my Morag, asleep in yon glen
and cool as the water, like the rush of a river
comes this dream to my hot heart, parch'd dry as the plain
this dream to my hot heart, parch'd dry as the plain

For fair is my Morag, my maiden, my Morag
my lovely young Morag that lives in yon glen
and dreaming of Morag, dream-wand'ring wi' Morag
I hear the stream sing again beneath the cold ben
I hear the stream sing again beneath the cold ben

Written: Traditional (Additional lyrics : MS)
Appears: Unreleased

The nectar flowed for seven days
seven sweet days
as if a cloak of warm, loving emotion
urgent, thrilling
enveloped and intoxicated me
And in the centre
a huge pumping ball of fire
My heart

Love has changed my life
Love has changed my life

Nights I lay awake
pinned and thrilled to my bed
In sanctuary I sat rapt
super-alive, listening
At work I thrived
tired but not tired
alert, compassionate, driven
and Love the driver

Love has changed my life
Love has changed my life

Yes, Love was the lord of all this
and Love Aflame the nectar
and Love Unconditional -
the trigger, the initiator
The nectar flowed for seven days
then river-like sped underground again
leaving me the same, but not the same
empty, but not empty
unchanged, but changed

Love has changed my life
Love has changed my life
Love has changed my life
Love has changed my life
Yes

Written: lived Cluny Hill College, Findhorn December 1992 / written London January 1996
Appears: On "Rare, Precious And Gone" CD Single

I've burned my bridges
and I'm free at last
All my chains
are in the past
The New Life starts here

The day is wide open
the sky is blue
The world is a miracle
and so are you
The New Life starts here

My papers arrived
stamped and complete
All previous despatches
are obsolete
The New Life starts here

I can see my way so clear
Rejoice for the New Life starts here

There's a war in the Gulf
but it ain't in my head
I just declared a state
of peace instead
The New Life starts here

Tempters and tricksters
banging at my door
I'm not fighting with them
anymore
The New Life starts here

Generals, Presidents
how do you do ?
I can make it
with or without you
The New Life starts here

I can see my way so clear
Rejoice for the New Life starts here

Are you under the Mercy ?
Are you under attack ?
Are you going forwards ?
Are you going back ?
The New Life starts here

Are you coming to grips ?
Are you coming apart ?
Are you listening to fear
or to your heart ?
The New Life starts here

Citizen, criminal, child,
woman and man
the keys to the kingdom
are in your own hands
The New Life starts here

Mock the devil
Make him sweat !
He hasn't won the battle yet
The New Life starts here

I can see my way so clear
Rejoice for the New Life starts here

Written: Dublin April 1991
Appears: On "Dream Harder"

There's nothing down here I believe in
except you, yeah you
And there's nothing to me that's even sacred
except you, yeah you

You're the one that reacheth me, the one that I admire
Every time we I think of you I feel like I'm on fire
Nothing matters to me and there's nothing I desire
except you, yeah you

There's nothing 'round here I care to try for
except you, yeah you
Nothing down here to live or die for
except you, yeah you

There's a hymn I used to hear in the churches all the time
Made me feel so good inside, so peaceful and sublime
And there's nothing to remind me of that old familiar chime
except you, yeah you

I used to run in the cemetery, laugh, sing and play when I was a child
and it never seemed strange
Now I just pass mournfully the places where the bones of life are piled
something has changed

I'm a stranger here, no one sees me
except you, yeah you
Nothing anywhere seems to please me
except you, yeah you
Nothing hypnotizes me or holds me in a spell
Everything runs by me like water from a well
Everybody wants my attention, else they got something to sell
except you, yeah you
Oh, I'm just loving you!

Appears: Lyric by Bob Dylan, Ram's Horn Music on Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

Once I was cherished, treasured as a prize
Guardian angels flew upside my head, peacocks danced behind my eyes
A brass band played a serenade on my parade, my splendour was adored
Now I'm nobody's baby anymore

I've stepped out on highways that were studded with jewels
I rode into the City of Kings on the back of a mule
I kissed riches, strode tall in my britches, I knew esprit de corps
Now I'm nobody's baby anymore

I've had love and I've had love
too much or not enough
Both the famine and the feast
have gone to make my beast

I went to the river and I sucked the river dry
I swallowed Eden whole, I rolled and smoked the sky
drank my skinful, slaked my thirst, from shore to barren shore
Now I'm nobody's baby anymore

Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

Man looks up on a yellow sky
and the rain turns to rust in his eye
Rumours of his health are lies
Old England is dying

His clothes are a dirty shade of blue
and his ancient shoes worn through
He steals from me and he lies to you
Old England is dying

Still he sings an empire song
Still he keeps his navy strong
and sticks his flag where it ill belongs
Old England is dying

"You're asking what makes me sigh now
what it is makes me shudder so"
Well, I just freeze in the wind
and I'm numb from the pummeling of the snow
that falls from high in yellow skies
where the well loved flag of England flies
where homes are warm and mothers sigh
where comedians laugh and babies cry
where criminals are televised, politicians fraternize
journalists are dignified and everyone is civilised
and children stare with heroin eyes
heroin eyes, heroin eyes
Old England !

Evening has fallen
The swans are singing
The last of sunday's bells is ringing
The wind in the trees is sighing
and old England is dying

Written: London October 1984
Appears: On "This Is The Sea", "Best Of" and "Live Adventures"

I fired an arrow made out of will
and watched as it flew beyond a green hill
I followed its trail with a song in my head,
the stars for my cieling, the earth for my bed

On my way to the big Light
On my way to the big Light

My thoughts exploded like flowers in May
With the eye of my mind I saw a great day
I climbed a dark tower, took it by stealth
With every idea I invented myself

On my way to the big Light
On my way to the big Light

In a hungry hour in an unlit land,
heard by no ear I made my demands
The tables were cleared and the ashes were swept
Rome was rebuilt in a day as I slept

On my way to the big Light
On my way to the big Light

I can still see the bones of the ships of the sun
in the slow ebbing tide when the battle was won
Afraid of nothing, scared of no man
I did not die and I know who I Am

On my way to the big Light
On my way to the big Light

And no son of Adam, no daughter of Eve
will be able to stop me when I'm ready to leave

All love to the Love
All flame to the Fire
All wings to the Wind
All that lives - Higher !

Written: All lands 1983 - 1999
Appears: On "I Come At The Sound Of Your Laughter" : Ainars Mielavs

I'm on my way to Heaven - don't you want to go ?
I'm on my way to Heaven - don't you want to go ?
I'm on my way to Heaven - don't you want to go ?
Yes, I want to go !

We've got the keys to the Kingdom - don't you want to go ?
We've got the keys to the kingdom - don't you want to go ?
We've got the keys to the Kingdom - don't you want to go ?
Yes, I want to go !

We're going up to the Holy City - don't you want to go ?
We're going up to the Holy City - don't you want to go ?
We're going up to the Holy City - don't you want to go ?
Yes, I want to go !

A Golden Age is coming - don't you want to go ?
A Golden Age is coming - don't you want to go ?
A Golden Age is coming - don't you want to go ?
Yes, I want to go !

I'm on my way to Heaven - don't you want to go ?
I'm on my way to Heaven - don't you want to go ?
I'm on my way to Heaven - don't you want to go ?
Yes I want to...
Yes I want to...
Yes I want to go !

All aboard this train !

Written: Words and music Traditional (Additional lyrics: MS)
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"

I've heard this script before
I know this turn of mind
You think that you're the one
to bring the change she's trying to find
But what you're selling she don't need;
she already got it free
Your boat struck something deep
now you're trying to save the sea

You ain't Sir Galahad - she ain't your blushing bride
You ain't the wayward son come back to turn the tide
You ain't the saviour king foretold and prophecied
You're just one of many rescuers trying to get by her side

She put her hand around the flame
more times than you can tell
The best thing you can do for her
is to pass and wish her well
She ain't dying on her feet
or hanging on your every word
The pain you're sensing is inside you
you're just thinking it onto her

You ain't Sir Galahad - she ain't your blushing bride
You ain't the wayward son come back to turn the tide
You ain't the saviour king foretold and prophecied
You're just one of many rescuers trying to get by her side

I've heard your presentation and it's time for me to go
The train is waiting at the railway station
and there's much that we don't know
I've a secret in my keep and I'll tell you if you ask
but I know that you can't really speak till you remove the mask

Now I can see you're using all you've got,
all the power that's in your hands
You're pulling favours, casting them up
Money flies at your command
You talk hard but you don't listen
You look long but you don't see
But what bothers me most about you, my friend
- you remind me too much of me

You ain't Sir Galahad - she ain't your blushing bride
You ain't the wayward son returned to turn the tide
You ain't the saviour king foretold and prophecied
You're just one of many rescuers trying to get by her side

Written: Findhorn December 1994
Appears: On U.S. version of "Still Burning"

The mountain sure is steep
and the road beneath my feet
is the toughest thing I have ever climbed
But I know I will succeed
I will find all the strength I need
if I take it one sweet step at a time

Just one sweet step at a time
One sweet step at a time
It's-a gonna be a mighty long way still
but I'll make it, yes I will
One sweet step at a time

Written: New York January 1993
Appears: Unreleased

Open to the world
open to spirit
open to the changing wind
open to touch
open to nature
open to the world within
open to change
open to adventure
open to the new
open to love
open to miracles
open Beloved to You

Open to learn
open to laughter
open to being blessed
open to joy
open to service
open to saying "Yes !"
open to risk
open to passion
to peace and silence too
open to love
open to beauty
open Beloved to You

Written: Taos, New Mexico December 1992
Appears: On "Still Burning"

Come with me on a journey beneath the skin
Come with me on a journey beneath the skin
We will look together for the Pan within

Close your eyes, breathe slow and we'll begin
Close your eyes, breathe slow and we will begin
to look together for the Pan within
within...

Swing your hips, loose your head and let it spin
Swing your hips, loose your head and let it spin
and we will look together for the Pan within

Close your eyes, breathe slow, we'll begin
Close your eyes, breathe slow and we will begin
to look together for the Pan within
within...

Put your face to my window,
breathe a night full of treasure
The wind is delicious,
sweet and wild with the promise of pleasure
The stars are alive and nights like these
were born to be sanctified by you and me,
lovers, thieves, fools and pretenders
and all we've got to do
all we've got to do
all we've got to do is surrender

Come with me on a journey beneath the skin
Come with me on a journey beneath the skin
and we will look together for the Pan within

Close your eyes.....
Close your eyes....
Close your eyes, breathe slow, we'll begin, we'll begin,
we'll begin, we'll begin, we'll begin to begin...

Written: St Marks Road London 1984/5
Appears: On "This Is The Sea", "Live Adventures" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

peace of the glancing, dancing waves
peace of the white sands
peace of iona
peace of the singing wind
peace of the stones
peace of iona

peace of the crying gulls
peace of the humming bees
peace of the noontime stillness
peace of the dreaming hills
peace of the breath of angels
peace of iona

peace of the saints and seekers
peace of the monks and druids
peace of the resting place of kings
peace of the ruins
peace of doves in the belltower
peace of iona

peace of the glad heart
peace of the rested mind
peace of my lover's pots and potions
peace of her healing hands
peace of her lazy laughter
peace of iona

peace of the unseen
peace of the spirit
peace of iona
peace of the unseen
peace of the spirit
peace of iona

It's not personal
You didn't let me down at all
No, it's not personal
It's how the world goes round is all

I've got some loving but it ain't for sale
I'll give it free to you, my friend
Somewhere further down the trail
I'll be pulling out again

But it's not personal
Don't let it underneath your skin
No, it's not personal
I'm only breathing out and in

I'm just moving on
because the groove is gone
I'm just stealing down the line
and it's fine

Woke up this morning, I was all alone
Instead of her I found a note
I guess my bluebird just came home
for these are all the words she wrote :

It's not personal
You didn't let me down at all
No it's not personal
It's how the world goes round is all
It's how the world goes round...

Written: Ladbroke Grove, London May 1996
Appears: On "Still Burning"

I'm preparing to fly under my own steam
I'm preparing to fly into a dream

I'm in love all over again
I'm head over heels
I can't even begin
to tell you how it feels
She lives on a rock,
surrounded by light
She's young and she's wild
and she's treating me right

I'm preparing to fly under my own steam
I'm preparing to fly into a dream

I shed some weight,
changed my address
I haven't felt so great
since I first went west
I've got brilliant intentions,
unthinkable plans
I've got sparks and electric shocks
exploding in my hands

I'm preparing to fly under my own steam
I'm preparing to fly into a dream

I'm back in the saddle
I'm out in the clear
I've got no regrets
I've got nothing to fear
I battled my demons,
came out on top
I'm gonna love you as hard as I can
and I'm never gonna stop

I'm preparing to fly under my own steam
I'm preparing to fly into a dream

Written: Manhattan November 1991
Appears: On "Dream Harder"

Who's the man with the potion
dressed in velvet and gloves
causing grief and commotion
talking 'bout love ?
What on earth is he thinking ?
Where on earth has he been ?
Why do I feel like I'm sinking ?
What does it mean ?

Let's walk through the jungle
Put your arm in my arm
and should this ground start to crumble
we'll come to no harm

I once had a coat I was proud of
I wore that coat a long time
Just when the music got loudest
I left it behind
I could pretend that I'm dreaming
but one thing I just can't see
Who on earth am I meaning
when I say me ?

Let's walk through the jungle
Put your arm in my arm
and should this ground start to crumble
we'll come to no harm

What's around the corner ?
What's around the bend ?
What's around the corner ?
What's around the bend ?

Questions upon question upon questions
crowding round the side of my bed
Here are just a few of the best ones
adrift in my head
Who's driving this airplane ?
Did I live hard enough ?
Is it gonna rain
and how well have I loved ?
How well have I loved ?

Let's walk through the jungle
Put your arm in my arm
and should this ground start to crumble
we'll come to no harm
Lean on me if you stumble
'neath the bright shining stars
and though the whole world may crumble
we know who we are
we know who we are

Written: London May 1996
Appears: On "Still Burning"

There was three ould gypsies came to our hall door
They came brave and boldly-o
and the one sang high and the other sang low
and the other sang a raggle taggle gypsy-o

It was upstairs, downstairs the lady went,
put on her suit of leather-o
and there was a cry from around the door
"She's away wi' the raggle taggle gypsy-o"

It was late that night when the lord came in
enquiring for his lady-o
and the servant girl she said to the lord
"She's away wi' the raggle taggle gypsy-o"

"Saddle for me my milk white steed
My big horse is not speedy-o
and I will ride till I seek my bride
She's away wi' the raggle taggle gypsy-o"

Now he rode East and he rode West
He rode North and South also
until he came to a wide open plain
It was there that he spied his lady-o

"How could you leave your goose-feather bed,
your blankets strewn so comely-o
and how could you leave your only wedded lord
all for a raggle taggle gypsy-o ?"

"Well what care I for my goose feather bed,
for my blankets strewn so comely-o ?
Tonight I lie in a wide open field
in the arms of a raggle taggle gypsy-o"

"How could you leave your house and your land ?
How could you leave your money-o ?
How could you leave your only wedded lord
all for a raggle taggle gypsy-o ?"

"Well what care I for my house and my land ?
What care I for my money-o ?
I'd rather have a kiss from the yellow gypsy's lips
I'm away wi' the raggle taggle gypsy-o !"

Written: Words and music Traditional.
Appears: On "And A Bang On The Ear" single and "Room To Roam"

Everything is rags
and there's nobody to blame but me
and it would be so easy
if there was no one to hurt but me
But now everything that I do
coming out of me will just tear through you
In and out of you
up and down your life like a curse
Cast by the only Son of Rags
who would wrap you up in all the finest tatters
Though he wanted nothing more, my loved one
than to wrap you up in joy
but it'd never be with me
- You and I are like two worlds
not meant to collide
Death to each other
in the unravelling of time
So how do you..how do you...
how do you...how do you like it ?
What kind of...what kind of...
what kind of dream would you call it
to have one foot in Eden
one foot in Hell
to be always numb
plagued by demons
summoned by angels
at the same time endlessly ?
But I will
burn me
right out of this place
I will lay you down to sleep
so when you awake
I'll be gone and
You
will remember
Nothing

Written: London January 1983
Appears: On "A Pagan Place"

Everything is rags
and there's nobody to blame but me
and it would be so easy
if there was no one to hurt but me
But now everything that I do
coming out of me will just tear through you
in and out of you
up and down your life like a curse
So that when the sun bursts
when the rain falls
when the wind blows
I rip through your heart
On a horse called Nightmare, bucking and spitting
I ride through your house
In the home of Bluebeard
blood flows as red as any flag
Death cries "Victory is mine!"
Laughter echoes
and Death just claps his hands
And then Time stands still,
castles fall,
lightning strikes a tower announcing chaos
Sunday's child scales the walls of paradise
then dives into Darkness
a fool playing God with one foot in Eden,
one foot in Hell,
blindness in his brain,
and fever in his eyes,
lies on his tongue
still saying "this is just a dream"
But I will
burn me
right out of this place
I will lay you down to sleep
so when you wake
I'll be gone and
You
will remember
Nothing

Written: London January 1983
Appears: On "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

Cry baby boy, not tears of joy
the one you held is no longer your toy
She's got her new boots
and her make up on
You can call her your friend
but never 'lover' again
She's made it clear as air that this affair
is at an end
So what are you doing holding on ?

Can't you see
she's rare, precious and she's gone
She's rare, precious and she's gone

She was soft in your hands, now she's shattered your plans
I'm sympathetic but you've got to understand
You tried to squeeze her
into someplace she just don't belong
She was being sincere when she breathed in your ear
as long as there were stars in the night sky
she'd be near
Even angels get it wrong !

Won't you see
she's rare, precious and she's gone
She's rare, precious and she's gone

It's a subtle trap
seeing guilt in her mind
but she ain't taking your crap
this time
Boy, you're out on a line...

She's a queen among women, a child among queens,
the finest thing that you lovesick eyes have ever seen
She's a rose without a thorn
She's a peach, she's a prize,
a gift in disguise
She's graceful and colourful
and when she grows she'll be wise
but most of all my friend she's gone
Gone, gone, gone...

She's rare, precious and she's gone
She's rare, precious and she's gone
Yes, she's rare, precious and she's gone
Rare, precious and she's gone
Gone, gone, gone...

Written: Lotts Lane, Dublin March 1986
Appears: On "Still Burning" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

Well rattle my bones and shiver my soul
Throw me headfirst in a big black hole
Tie me in rags and paint me blue
I'm falling in love with you!
All right, you'd better beware
We're gonna rock all night
We're gonna get hurt baby but I don't care

'Cause I'm new into town and I'm rambling around
I got my head in my pocket and my nose on the ground
I'm low-down, loathesome through and through
and I'm falling in love with you!
All right, you'd better beware
We're gonna rock all night
We're gonna get hurt baby but I don't care

'Cause I'm new into town and I'm rambling around
I've got a gun in my pocket and my head on the ground
Everything you heard about me is true....
Woooooooooo.....

Written: Dublin, February 1986
Appears: on Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

Your face is like the moment when
the sexist hero traps the slippy villain
with the weasel face
You don't have to speak
- your expression is the truth that your words don't say
and the truth won't go away
In many dark corners
I have asked myself about this;
did you do it out of malice
Did you fall or were you kissed ?

Would you ask your friend
with the cowboy jacket and the boots up to his knee
would he shut his mouth for me ?
I've heard just enough
all I want to hear about pipes and drums
and how little time it takes the klutz to come
The golden gift of silence
is I don't have to hear him speak
So would you get him out yourself
before I put you both back in the street

Now the story shifts
and we see a young man standing in the wings
too old before his time
Collecting grey hairs, he's proud and he's scared
and he says he doesn't care
- how can he be so blind ?
So how did you corrupt him ?
You must have got him where it counts
Now he's so numb he's ready to freeze
and I'm ready for the Monkeyhouse !

Written: Edinburgh 1981
Appears: On "A Girl Called Johnny" 12" single

When I left my home and my family
my mother said to me
"Son, it's how many Germans you kill that counts
Go set your country free"
So I packed my bags and I brushed my cap
and I walked out into the world
Seventeen years old,
never kissed a girl

I took the train to Voronezh
- that was as far as it would go
Exchanged my sacks for a uniform,
bit my lip against the snow
I prayed for Mother Russia
in the summer of '43
and as we drove the Germans back
I really believed God was listening to me

Then we howled into Berlin,
tore the smoking buildings down,
raised the Red Flag high,
burnt the Reichstag brown
I saw my first American
- he looked a lot like me
He had the same kind of farmer's face,
said he came from some place called Hazard, Tennessee

When the war was over
my discharge papers came
Me and twenty hundred others
went to Stettiner for the train
"Kiev!" said the Commissar
"from there your own way home"
But I never got to Kiev
We never came back home
The train went north to the taiga
We were stripped and marched in file
up the Great Siberian road
for miles and miles and miles and miles
Dressed in stripes and tatters
in a Gulag left to die
all because Comrade Stalin feared
that we'd become too westernized !

I used to love my country
I used to feel so young
I used to believe that life
was the best song ever sung
I would have died for my country
back in 1945
but now only one thing remains
- the brute will to survive

Written: London April 1982
Appears: On "A Pagan Place" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

I dreamed about Jimi Hendrix
he came back for one day
was born weeping out an egg the midwife said
and straightaway began to pray
with lifted head
He spent the early hours
communing with the morning stars
And then he came over to my house
where he tried out my guitar

He was young and black and beautiful
big eyed, perfect skinned
and he played my guitar like a lightning storm
like twirling feathers in the wind
He could make it sound like the end of the world
a train, the prow of a ship
He could squeeze it slow and masterful
like a secret kiss on lovers' lips

Together we strolled in sculptured gardens
passed a sleepy afternoon
Maids were darting back and forth
from a window came a violin tune
Angels dressed as nurses toyed with playing cards
Looters, sprung from prison filled the yard
A yellow sun hung low and yawned and as it dipped
Jimi stood up straight, grinned
and shook his velvet hips

Calling himself "King Electric"
in the evening he went wild
played on a dozen stages in the clubs of New York
lit the city end to end
wired it up, fired it up
scarved, bejewelled, long legged, snake limbed,
athletic, driven, dangerous
He made all Manhattan shake
He made every street and sidewalk quake
His stratocaster caused the mighty Empire State to vibrate
His whammy bar caused shock-eyed punks from Hackensack and Yonkers
raised on speed-metal and rap to enter trance and levitate
He played "Purple Haze" in Pyramid
"Voodoo Chile" at Sin E
"Up From The Skies" and "Stone Free" in King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
He did a forty-two minute karmic rising future shock "Star Bangled Banner" in the back of CBGB'S
He stopped every clock in New York State
and every heart that heard him
and Time Itself was beaten and confused and fell lamblike under the spell of his fabulous
flashing fingers
He played an encore at The Bitter End
- a heartburst "Little Wing"
Even the waiters cried
and then we fell outside
and in the dusty dawn of Bleecker Street
a sweet rain fell
and Jimi died

Written: Manhattan July 1991
Appears: On "Dream Harder"

I stood upon the balcony with my brand new bride
The clink of bells came drifting down the mountainside
when in our sight something moved
- lightning eyed and cloven-hooved
The Great God Pan is alive !

He moves amid the world of men in disguise
It's possible to look into His immortal eyes
He's like a man you'd meet any place
until you recognize that ancient Face
The Great God Pan is alive !

At sea on a ship in a thunderstorm
on the very night the Christ was born
a sailor heard from overhead
a mighty voice cry "Pan is Dead!"
So follow Christ as best you can
Pan is dead - Long live Pan !

From the olden days and up through all the years
From Arcadia to the stone fields of Inisheer
Some say the Gods are just a myth
but guess Who I've been dancing with...
The Great God Pan is alive !

Written: Arcadia, Greece June 1990
Appears: On "Dream Harder" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

This is my country
these are my fields
Yes this is my country
and these are my fields
Once the widest river flowed
and the wildest flowers did grow
till we tied up the land
in a ribbon of steel

Bring me my horses
my drums and my wheels
I say bring me my horses
my drums and my wheels
I'm gonna drive them into the sea
the last place on Earth where I still can be free
since we tied up the land
in a ribbon of steel

Now I'm sick and I'm weary
and I long to be healed
I'm sick and I'm weary
and I long to be healed
My spirit is broken and sore
and it ain't got no home in this world anymore
since we tied up the land
in a ribbon of steel

Written: Somewhere in Britain 1984
Appears: Unreleased

You go yours
and I'll go mine
the many ways we'll wend
Many days
and many ways
ending in one end

Many a wrong and its curing song
many a road and many an inn
Room to roam but only one home
for all the world to win

So you go yours
and I'll go mine
and the many many ways we'll wend
Many days and many ways
ending in one end

Written: George MacDonald
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

What a sad procession
winding down the lane
What a strange impression
was branded on my brain
A band was playing Endless Mindless
- it was like a hooligan's lament
It was dumb but it was timeless
I still wonder what it meant
But whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

My gambles and illusions
though patently absurd
left me so hungry
I had to eat my words
I sat down and wrote a letter
to the snake who occupied my mind
It said "I've come to love you better
in the mellowing of time"

And whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

"Behold the lights of London"
the skipper said as his hands shook,
his aura eaten by his jealousy
and all the drugs he took
He said "This is the real world, Buddy
Toughen up your ass or it'll break"
I said "I'm not your buddy, Buddy
and your real world is a fake"

And whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

I stumbled down a street of shadows
A black hallelujah split the night
Ten thousand versions of a lie
exploded into light
I came upon a weeping soldier
He said "I'm all washed up now hush
Everything I fought for and believed in
has been vilified or crushed"

But whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

I'm still here, I'm still breathing
I'm who I thought I was - or just about
I'll be walking down this boulevard
until my legs give out
Thoughts like storms and seas are raging
I know it is a matter of degree
But it's not the world outside that's changing
It's me

And whatever needs to happen
Let it happen, let it be
Through all I am protected
Grace is effected over me

Written: Findhorn November 1997
Appears: On "Is She Conscious?" E.P.

It is a wide
world we travel
and our paths rarely cross
and our time
together
will soon be at an end
So come we'll share
more than time
we'll put our cares
far behind
for who knows
when we two may meet again


It could be months
it could be years
until we find each other
once more standing here
until then my friend
I have a wish for you
Many hearts
to keep you warm
Many lights
to guide you through the storm
and may the Saints and Angels watch
over you

Written: Dublin January 1986
Appears: On "Live Adventures"

Let me see the savage
I want to see the savage coming crashing through your face
I want to be there when the savage comes
I want to be there when the savage comes
When your savage earth heart
cuts through

I want to be a witness or a victim to your spell
crafted in lightning, dressed in shadows, clear as a bell
I want to be there when the savage comes
I want to be there when the savage comes
When your savage earth heart
cuts through

Will you lay all of your deepest, wildest secrets bare ?
Will you let all of those rumbling Old Gods take rage ?
I want to be there when the savage comes
I want to be there when the savage comes
When your savage earth heart cuts through

Then I was take smoothly by the vulture of the soul
the hideous strength that numbs the tongue
Oh and he led me, poor shivering cinder through the fields of hell
to doubt my friends and to hate myself
but when my savage earth heart cuts through...
when my savage earth heart cuts through...
When the savage earth heart cuts through...
and the vulture
of the soul...
laid waste

Written: August 1982
Appears: On "The Waterboys", "Secret Life" and "Live Adventures"

seek the light
find the light
feel the light
be the light

The President's feelin' real upset
he hasn't passed his budget yet
he hasn't even broken sweat
send him down to Waco
send him down to Waco

His promises are wearing thin
and his golden glow looks more like tin
but he's still smirking cheek to chin
send him down to Waco
send him down to Waco

They say even great men have their flaws
but this one wouldn't know what greatness was
if it bit him up the Arkansas
send him down to Waco
send him down to Waco

When he got in I sure was glad
but I just seen through his smooth facade
He ain't Bush but he's pretty bad
send him down to Waco
send him down to Waco

He dropped the missiles on Iraq
to get his image back on track
He can't bring the dead civilians back
send him down to Waco
send him down to Waco

His wife who never received a vote
seems to be the one who really steers the boat
This isn't serious - this is a joke
send him down to Waco
send him down to Waco

When the Mississippi took a twist
he got out there with his publicist
but there's one photo-op he missed
send him down to Waco
send him down to Waco

Who knows what the future holds
but whatever way this thing unfolds
for the good of his soul
send him down to Waco
send him down to Waco
Send him down to Waco
Send him down to Waco
Send him down to Waco
Send him down
Have him take a look around
Take the kids
see the sights....
History !

Written: New York City April 1993
Appears: On "Wearyland EP" from Japanese version of "A Rock In The Weary Land"

Sensitive Children
seeing things you don't
Sensitive children
walking where you won't
You can't contain her
just love her to the bone

Strange little alien
acting like she don't belong
Strange little alien
dancing to a different song
You can't control her
just love her hard and strong

Child of the unseen
deep as the sea is blue
Child of the unseen
she isn't made like me and you
Just use your heart
and love her through and through

Sensitive children
wise beyond their years
Sensitive children
open to a world of tears
Give them your love
before they disappear

Written: Kilmashogue, Dublin October 1993
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In"

She is so beautiful
I've got no words to describe
the way she makes me feel inside
I'm flying solo,
as free and as light as a bird
yet I'd lay my wings down in a moment
to guard and comfort her

She is so beautiful
light-filled, loving and wise,
laughter dancing in her eyes
All my road is before me
and I never did plan on a wife
yet she's the most beautiful soul
I ever have met in this life

For she is like a song
She is like a ray of light
She is like children praying
Like harps and bells and cymbals playing
and she is like a wind
moving, soothing, bringing joy
and here am I
destroyed

She is so beautiful
I don't know what I'm going to do when I leave
except grieve

Written: Pine Ridge, Findhorn December 1992
Appears: On "Bring 'Em All In" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

She tried to hold me
She tried to hold me
She didn’t know
love is letting go

She said ‘I’m looking for perfection’
as she strode in my direction
She cast her mantle round me,
said ‘I’m completed since you found me’
She executed her enchantment
secreted me in her encampment
With diversions and pretences
she dismantled my defences

She tried to hold me
She tried to hold me
She didn’t know
love is letting go

She told me I was unrealistic
and then she went ballistic
in her powder blue pajamas,
me some flotsam in her drama
She said “love’s what I believe in”
but inside she was seething
with a cyclone raging under
like she was skin surrounding thunder

She tried to hold me
She tried to hold me
She didn’t know
love is letting go

I made it to the stairwell
in the street I muttered farewell
with a driving wind agin me
and shame exploding in me
It took me six years to begin again
to feel secure in my own skin again
for she lingered like uranium
like a demon in my cranium

She tried to hold me
She tried to hold me
She didn’t know
love is letting go

All this was long ago now
and if I knew then what I know now
I’d have deployed a little patience
I’d have laughed at all her stipulations
but I was young and I fumbled
a boy-fool whose castle crumbled
I couldn’t save her
though I forgave her

She tried to hold me
She tried to hold me
She didn’t know
love is letting go

Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

She's all that I need
and that's all

Written: Spiddal 1990
Appears: On "Room To Roam" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

in silent fellowship
in silence we sit
in the morning gold

I'm alone, I'm in bits
got no home, got no hits
but it's cool
since I found my School

Got some style, hit my stride
got me a smile about a whole world wide
Feeling cool
since I found my School

Child Of The Wind
Mr Vulnerable
Dark Music
Open-Heart House
Tree Of Stars

I'm alive, I'm intact
I survived, it's a fact
life is cool
since I found my School

Three Sevens
Mr Rock And Roll
Secrets
The Thing I Lost
Tree Of Stars

I'm alive, I'm intact
I survived, it's a fact
life is cool
since I found my School

Written: Ladbroke Grove, London June 1996
Appears: On "Love Anyway" CD Single and U.S. and Japanese versions of "Still Burning"

I dreamed I saw you sailing in
upon a sleek white schooner
You were skimming over the shallow seas,
coming into harbour,
healing on your brow
in the hard, fateful, brand new
twenty-first century

The cargo you were carrying
was richer than riches,
golder than gold and yet more real than real
and the light that came a-flashing
from the new born babe in your arms
was a pealing of thunder, a cannonball flying
a sun exploding, Dawn in the heart of me

I stood there on the shoreline
looking out over to sea
and I watched your white sail
sparkling on the horizon
You were coming into harbour
healing on your brow
in the hard, fateful, brand new
twenty-first century

Written: London 1984
Appears: on This Is The Sea (remaster), 2004

Flashman's in the belfry
he's shouting as loud as he can
Samson's up all night again, talking about himself
- what a wonderful man !
And I'm just wild about Ronnie
and Ronnie's just wild about me
I saw him selling winter coats on the Portobello Road
I thought I bet he wishes he was really working
for the NME

When the gang came down here again
and they're phoning up Australia and they're scaring all my friends
and they all just want to look like Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine
Some of my best friends are trains

Steven's in a sweat
- he just can't read Kerouac books
and Robin's all excuses,
says he can't much but he does look
He goes up to the playfair
He goes down with the stars
He goes wild of a weekend
in a girlfriend's car
And he calls me from Chelsea and he says it's such a thrill
I don't believe a word but he keeps me talking till...

The gang come down here again
and they're phoning up Australia and they're scaring all my friends
and they all just want to look like Richard Hell and Tom Verlaine
Some of my best friends are trains

And did you ever have one of those days
when the world is wide open and you can do anything
and you can go anywhere and you don't have to think
about who you'll offend every time that you even blink
I'm going to the station where a big red train
is waiting to take me to the country again
and you'll call from Yonkers but why should I care
It'll ring and ring for days and days but I won't be there...

When the gang comes down here again
and they're phoning up Australia and scaring all my friends
and they all just want to look like Hell and Verlaine
Some of my best friends are trains

Written: Westbourne Park, London October 1982
Appears: Unreleased

Seven o'clock in the morning
and I'm riding the overnight train
I've got ten tons of luggage
but I left it behind when I came
I look at my watch
it says September seventeen
and we're riding through someplace
where I've never been
and I'm waving through the window as we go
Somebody says
what are you waving at ?
But what do I have to lose...
somebody might wave back

Seven o'clock in the morning
and I'm carrying bags under my eyes
I've been awake all night
counting the hours to sunrise
Drawing patterns on a table top,
I lift my gaze and my mouth just drops
There's someone waving in the window at me !
And I say Hey there
what are you waving at ?
When he says
What do I have to lose...
somebody might wave back

Written: Ledbury Road, London August 1982
Appears: On "A Pagan Place" and "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

Call her Ruth because she knows her Christ
Call her Sandy 'cause her heart is like ice
You can call her whatever you wish
nothing can change the person she is

Call her Maria though her real name's Eve
Don't slam the door or you'll wake her as you leave
You can tell by the pictures on her wall
she never really knew you at all

Everywhere I look is like looking in a waste
I can't see any courage or hope in your face
You say there's no point searching anymore
because whatever I find I'll have found before

I must be looking for something fantastic
All this reality gets such a test
Take what you're given, I'll take my time,
you in your small corner and I in mine

Written: Ayr 1978
Appears: Unreleased

Something that is gone
Something that is gone
Something that I had just yesterday
but where I must have laid it
I really couldn't say
Something that was right
but now is wrong
Something that is gone

Something that I lost
Something that I lost
Something that I cradled in my hand
Something rather special
that pertained to all my plans
I'm left here wondering what on earth it was
Something that I lost

Something that I missed
Something that I missed
I've looked all around my room
but it's not here
How can a thing of permanence
so swiftly disappear ?
Something is the cause of all of this
Something that I missed

Written: Hiatt on Sunset Hotel, Los Angeles November 1989
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

Here is the smell of seafood pie
a broken tower on the open sky
a chain of islands rolling west
in sight of the house where we are guests

A rambling old river twists through the fields
ancient names imprinted on shields
Gifts arrive for a baby girl
born a queen at the end of the world

Furious music from an open door
The sound of feet beating on a stone floor
Always the wind, always the form
of an Elder God, hooved and horned

The head of the mountain lost in a cloud
a country woman, soft and proud
Into the bay the horses swirl
for we come to the sea at the end of the world

Written: Baile na mPuc,County Kerry remembered in Dublin December 1989
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

I shall wear a crown
I shall wear a crown
when it's all over
when it's all over

I shall see His face
I shall see His face
when it's all over
when it's all over

I shall wear a crown
I shall wear a crown
when it's all over
when it's all over

I'm gonna put on my robe, tell the story
of how I made it over
I'm gonna put on my robe, tell the story
of how I made it over
I'm gonna put on my robe, tell the story
of how I made it over
soon as I get Home

Written: Lyric by Roscoe Corner, Bridgeport Music
Appears: on Fisherman’s Blues (remaster), 2006

Man gets tired
Spirit don't
Man surrenders
Spirit won't
Man crawls
Spirit flies
Spirit lives when man dies

Man seems
Spirit is
Man dreams
Spirit lives
Man is tied, bound, torn
Spirit is free
What Spirit is man can be !

Written: London 1984 or 1985
Appears: On "This Is The Sea", "Best Of" and "Live Adventures"

man gets tired
spirit don't
man surrenders
spirit won't
man crawls
spirit flies
spirit lives when man dies

man seems
spirit is
man dreams
spirit lives
man is tethered
spirit is free
what spirit is man can be

now we tread the fresh fields,
the higher grounds and the summer slopes
that man may someday climb on
now we tread the fresh fields
the higher ground and the summer slopes
that man may someday climb on
we're on the heels of Rimbaud
we are in the swing
chandelier-like dancing
and we feel everything
high on the wine of life
high on the wine of life
untethered and free
untethered and free
what spirit is man can be

Appears: on This Is The Sea (remaster), 2004

Spiritual thought
spiritual life
spiritual city
spiritual wife
spiritual work
spiritual war
spiritual people
spiritual law

Hey Ho sk'doodle-addle-o
Spiritual City gonna watch you grow
Hey Ho sk'doodle-addle-o
Spiritual City gonna watch you grow

Spiritual call
spiritual tie
spiritual seeker
spiritual high
spiritual need
spiritual thirst
spiritual beauty
spiritual birth

Hey Ho sk'doodle-addle-o
Spiritual City gonna watch you grow
Hey Ho sk'doodle-addle-o
Spiritual City gonna watch you grow

Spiritual child
spiritual man
spiritual power
spiritual land
spiritual love
spiritual rage
spiritual vision
spiritual age

Hey Ho sk'doodle-addle-o
Spiritual City gonna watch you grow
Hey Ho sk'doodle-addle-o
Spiritual City gonna watch you grow

Blood of the world, Mother of mine
gonna see you rise higher in time
Blood of the world, Mother of mine
gonna see you rise higher in time
Blood of the world, Mother of mine
gonna see you rise higher in time
Blood of the world, mother of mine
open your eyes and let 'em shine !

"Everybody's born to do a certain thing
and if you're dead jammy you find it.
And if you're good at it just keep doing it
until you're fed up then do something else.
You're here to make babies and look after the place.
You know ?" (Billy Connolly)

Written: Dublin May 1991
Appears: On "Dream Harder"

The lights are on in Standun's and a spell has been broken
The roadside teahouse door is wide open
A sign on the wall says "American also spoken"
as spring comes to Spiddal

The village girls go walking by without their coats
The Irish gaelic college is alive again with folk
Farmers gather talking, freed from winter's yoke
as spring comes to Spiddal

A towerist with a telescope
and a funny looking German bloke
and a billy goat
all invoke
the summer soon to bloom...

On a soft and fresh Atlantic air a mist of pollen floats
On Galway Bay I spy a gaily painted fishing boat
There's a rustle around the boreens and a song on every throat
as spring comes to Spiddal

Written: Spiddal March 1988
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

What is between the star and the sea ?
A bird as bright as a bird can be
What is between the bird and me ?
Only a star, only the sea
Only a star, only the sea

Written: Dublin January 1990
Appears: On "Room To Roam"

Come away human child to the water
Come away human child to the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand

Where dips the rocky highland
Of Sleuth Wood in the lake
There lies a leafy island Where flapping herons wake
The drowsy water-rats
There we've hid our faery vats,
Full of berries
And the reddest stolen cherries

Come away human child to the water
Come away human child to the waters and the wild
With a faery hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand

Where the wave of moonlight glosses
The dim grey sands with light,
Far off by further Rosses,
We foot it all the night,
Weaving olden dances,
Mingling hands and mingling glances
Till the moon has taken flight;
To and fro we leap
chasing frothy bubbles,
While the world is full of troubles
And is anxious in its sleep

Come away human child to the water
Come away human child to the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
For the world's more full of weeping than you can understand

Where the wandering water gushes
From the hills above Glen-Car,
In pools among the rushes
That scarce could bathe a star,
We seek for slumbering trout
And whispering in their ears
Give them unquiet dreams;
Leaning softly out
From ferns that drop their tears
Over the young streams

Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal chest.

For he comes, the human child to the water
He comes, the human child to the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
From a world more full of weeping than he can understand

Written: W.B.Yeats
Appears: On "Fisherman's Blues" and "Now And In Time To Be"

It’s a strange arrangement
I don’t claim to understand it
I know I created it
but I never planned it

It’s a strange arrangement
and I’m not proud
Well perhaps a little ashamed
if ashamed is allowed

At the death of the year
in a crucial hour
I exchanged the power of love
for the love of power
The invisible captain
must be laughing out loud
I feel as if I’m wrapped inside a
cloud within a cloud

It’s a strange arrangement
and it’s fascinating to see
which way the worm turns
especially when the worm is me

Runaway child
I wish you were here
The weather is uncommonly mild
for this time of year
But it’s no cause for pity
and it’s no reason to weep
Worse things can befall a man when he’s
in his bed counting sheep

It’s a strange arrangement
an accommodation deluxe
I’ll send you a postcard
when I’ve had enough

Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

We're sailing in a strange boat, heading for a strange shore
We're sailing in a strange boat, heading for a strange shore
We're carrying the strangest cargo
that was ever hauled aboard

We're sailing on a strange sea, blown by a strange wind
We're sailing on a strange sea, blown by a strange wind
We're carrying the strangest crew
that ever sinned

We're riding in a strange car
We're following a strange star
We're climbing on the strangest ladder
that was ever there to climb

We're living in a strange time, working for a strange goal
We're living in a strange time, working for a strange goal
We're turning flesh and body
into Soul

Written: Dublin August 1986
Appears: On "Fisherman's Blues", "Best Of" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

If you're thinking of leaving tomorrow
If you're planning on closing a door
If you're cutting your ties
and shutting your eyes
on all the good that's gone before
I won't say a word to dissuade you
and I have no truth to make you see
For I'm long since through with talking
and you're long since a stranger to me

If you're humbling yourself before your maker
If you're preparing for yourself to take a bow
If you're cleansing your soul
and attending your woe
heading for the heartland in a plough
I won't say a word to dissuade you
No I will not disturb your reverie
For I'm long since through with talking
and you're long since a stranger to me

Your eyes are full of promise
and your winter coat is warm
Your house is fine and your vanities are like mine
You're the perfect port in any storm
And your hair is the colour of morning
and your trust comes absolutely free
and your soul is as high as Mount Etna
but your loving is a stranger to me

Written: Dublin January 1986
Appears: Unreleased

Strawberry man on top of the hill
out of your van on lager and pills
placing your girth slap bang in my way
I hear what it is you're trying to say

Stop the world !
I want to get on
I've a story to tell
and if I don't tell it pretty soon it will be gone

Strawberry man fighting your war
I'm wandering what the hell are you for ?
The sound of your drums is one bum boogaloo
Still your message comes thundering through

Stop the world !
I want to get on
I've a story to tell
and if I don't tell it pretty soon it will be gone

And when he's feeling glum
he looks just like his mum
And when he's feeling sad
he looks just like his dad
just like his dad...

Strawberry man at the end of the day
your and your band need somewhere to stay
Take my car keys, keep my shoes
One day I may need a favour from you

Stop the world !
I want to get on
I've a story to tell
and if I don't tell it pretty soon it will be...

Written: Kilmashogue, Dublin October 1993
Appears: On "Still Burning"

I'm gonna suffer for you no longer
I'm gonna suffer for you no more
I'm gonna write you out of my life
and shut the door

You tried to drive a wedge between me and my friends
You pushed me to the edge time and again
I've been living in your shade since I can't remember when
Now I'm bringing this charade to an end

I'm gonna suffer for you no longer
I'm gonna suffer for you no more
I'm gonna write you out of my life
and shut the door

There was subtlety and skill in your manipulative ways
You chipped away my will so you could make me stay
You soothed me with your voice until I obeyed
but I'm making my own choice from today

You used the tongue of love like a boxer uses fists
You contained me like a glove or a creeping cloak of mist
You guaranteed the stars but there always was a twist
Now I see you as you are - Egotist !

I'm gonna suffer for you no longer
I'm gonna suffer for you no more
I'm gonna write you out of my life
and shut the door

I've got a ticket in my hand and I must be moving on
but I want you to understand that from the moment I am gone
I release and let you go - you owe nothing now to me
I'm not angry anymore - I'm free !

I'm gonna suffer for you no longer
I'm gonna suffer for you no more
I'm gonna write you out of my life
and shut the door

Written: Dublin April 1991
Appears: On "Dream Harder"

On a day of days
I stood and gazed
over the western sea
I was completely dazed
wide-mouthed and amazed
when a mermaid called to me

Oh-wo-oh-wo-oh
Oh-wo-oh-wo-oh-wo
My sunny sailor boy

Like a man in a dream
for an age it seemed
I stood as still as a stone
while the creature sang
and her melody rang
like a memory calling me home

Oh-wo-oh-wo-oh
Oh-wo-oh-wo-oh-wo
My sunny sailor boy

Then the sea and the wind
and the shore did spin
and though my resistance was strong
all the stars of space
filled the mermaid's face
as she captured my will with her song

Oh-wo-oh-wo-oh
Oh-wo-oh-wo-oh-wo
My sunny sailor boy

Somehow I spoke
The enchantment broke
I rubbed my eyes open wide
Like a dream she was gone
- all that remained was her song
borne on the ebbing tide

Oh-wo-oh-wo-oh
Oh-wo-oh-wo-oh-wo
My sunny sailor boy

Written: Spiddal November 1989
Appears: Recorded by Tramps and Luka Bloom

I'm a child in the guise of a man
I'm a man in the hands of a child
and I'm driving as hard as I can
just trying to make up some miles
I've been out on this road so long
my edges are starting to curl
but I'll sleep when the first flush of Dawn
softens the rim of the world

After all this time I'm still on the line
with a case to prove and a public to move
After all my turning this fire is still burning
and I'm back on show
with a mile to go
with one more mile to go

Her fire was a fire of rage
Under her skin it spread
It festered and blew for an age
then burst from the coils of her head
She cast up a tower of tears
but beauty broke it back down
I stared at the wreck for years
then woke up one day and found

After all this time I'm still on the line
with a case to prove and a public to move
After all my turning this fire is still burning
and I'm back on show
with a mile to go
with one more mile to go...

Step on the gas and kiss the wind
over the pass and peel that skin away
Follow the lover out and in
some other Lover coming in to stay
I never meant to go to sea
I always meant the sea to come to me

I'm a child in the guise of a man
I'm a man in the hands of a child
and my Lover is in the Hands
that carry me over the miles
My Lover is in the car
My Lover is in the road
My Lover is in the stars
that melt as the Dawn explodes

And my Lover is in the wind
blowing down the line 'tween your heart and mine
And my Lover is in the Voice
that whispers clear
in my guts and ear
even when I do not hear

Written: London - Atlanta - Toronto December 1995 - March 1996
Appears: On "Still Burning"

Blues are falling like showers of rain
but I don’t feel like crying
Death is abroad this day
but I don’t feel like dying
I learned how to sustain myself
how to sustain myself in storms

Her tongue was like a scythe
and all her bones were haunted
A scapegoat for her life
was all she ever wanted
I learned how to sustain myself in storms

Sir Bedivere slept in the field
his armour strewn around him
curled foetus-like beneath his shield,
still weeping when we found him

I teetered on the edge of doom
degenerate and broken
She sucked the poison out of my wounds
and spoke the great unspoken
I learned how to sustain myself in storms

His monstrous ego, whipped and driven
raged beneath his clothing
The compliment he paid was given
not with grace but loathing

Deliverance is at the gate
with arms and gold in store
She apologises for being late
but I don’t need her anymore
I learned how to sustain myself
how to sustain myself in storms

Scoured and stripped of all pretence
shorn of all illusion
I offer nothing in my defence
- you may draw your own conclusions
I learned how to sustain myself in storms

Appears: on Book Of Lightning, 2007

You're tenderfootin' baby
you're tenderfootin' baby
you're tenderfootin' baby
when you should be ballin' around
You're tenderfootin' baby you got your tender feet
flat back on the ground

Yeah, you're tenderfootin' baby
places that you don't belong
You're tenderfootin' baby, baby, baby
places that you don't belong
You better run baby
when you hear this song

You're tenderfootin' baby
doin' things somebody like you ought not to do
You're tenderfootin' baby
doin' things mama never told you to
I'd be on the train baby if I was you !

You're tenderfootin' baby
turnin' the lights down low
In the morning someone will be leanin' over you
and sayin' I told you so
because you will be hurt
by what you don't know

Written: Dublin September 1986
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"/"Fisherman's Blues Part Two"

Something inside of myself is torn
and I can hardly stand
I can feel those precious years
slipping through my hands
Lights have failed, I'm in the dark
imprisoned inside of myself
but then you hold me
and I wouldn't be anybody else

I'm thinking of the ships of my sailing days,
not long gone I know, but they feel lifetimes away
Wires are cut, I'm disconnected
feeding back inside of myself
but then you hold me
oh and I wouldn't be anybody else

You made me thrill, you made me whole
and I thank you for your presence full of soul

Now when I come home with my face all worn,
my voice in shreds and my pride in rags,
when I'm sick of my work and I look like dirt
and I feel like shutting down blinds and packing up bags,
when there's no pill will console me
and no drug will free me from myself
that's when you hold me
and I wouldn't be anybody else

Appears: on This Is The Sea (remaster), 2004

These things you keep
you better throw them away
Turn your back
on your soulless days
Once you were tethered
now you are free
Once you were tethered
now you are free
That was the river
this is the sea

If you're feeling weary
maybe been alone too long
or else you've been suffering from
a few too many plans that have gone wrong
and you're trying to remember
how fine your life used to be
running around banging your drum
like it's nineteen-seventy-three
Well that was the river
this is the sea

You say you've got trouble
You say you've got pain
You say you've got nothin to hold on to
nothing to trust, nothing but chains
You've been scouring your conscience
and raking through your memory
scouring your conscience
and raking through your memory
But that was the river
this is the sea

I can see you wavering
as you try to decide
You've got a war in your head
and it's tearing you up inside
You're trying to make sense
of something that you just don't see
You're trying to make sense now
and you know you once held the key
But that was the river
this is the sea

Now I hear there's a train
It's coming down the line
It's yours if you hurry
you've got still enough time
and you don't need no ticket
and you don't pay no fee
You don't need a ticket
You don't pay a fee
That was the river
this is the sea

Written: London 1984
Appears: On "This Is The Sea" and "The Whole Of The Moon"

This land is your land
This land is my land
from the Aran Island to the Liffey water
from the Gouganebarra to the Antrim Highlands
This Land was made for you and me

Written: The chorus of the famous Woody Guthrie song, with Irish place names added by Steve Wickham in place of the American names in the original.
Appears: On "Fisherman's Blues"

this light is for the world
this light is for the world

send out from this wooden frame
a beacon made of holy flame
like a bridge across the morning sky
from candle to the hills of high

this light is for the world
this light is for the world

send it out with sword of fire,
with cymbal, drum and angel choir,
music in the heart of it
proclaiming that the lamp is lit

this light is for the world
this light is for the world

bring it down from where the light is born
deep into the world of form
loving, blessing, healing as it shines
in darkened places, darkened minds

this light is for the world
this light is for the world

Space is always getting bigger
time just keeps moving on
Take your finger off the trigger
you ain't gonna shoot that gun

Roads are always leading somewhere
dreams are always being dreamed
The black cloud on the horizon
it's not as big as it seems

Oh and you may believe it or not
but hear what I say
This old ship of ours is bound
for better days

Cowards will always try to rule you
cheats will always tell a lie
Don't you ever let them fool you
just let them pass on by

Luck is always being lucky
fate is always being fate
There's really no need to hurry
you ain't gonna be late

Oh and you may believe it or not
but hear what I say
This old ship of ours is bound
for better days

Age is always getting older
youth is always being born
Put your arm around my shoulder
and keep your lover warm

Written: Spiddal May 1990
Appears: Unreleased

I'm the three day man
It's three days too long
Everything is in its right place
but something is wrong
Time is on wheels
and my lips shake
You have to live
with every decision that you make

But that doesn't mean I'll be your slave
It doesn't mean you're here to stay
It doesn't mean we're friends for life
You know I want you
you know I love you
but I'll never need you any way

Sixes and sevens
Oh, how it rains !
Sleep is a station
Life is a train
People snatch instinctively
for whatever crutch they need
but I promise not to abuse you
if you don't abuse me

And that means I'll never be your slave
It means you're not here to stay
It means we're not friends for life
You know I want you
you know I love you
but I'll never need you any way

Written: London November 1981
Appears: On "The Waterboys" and "The Secret Life Of The Waterboys"

I'm too tired to deceive you
I can't pretend there's nothing wrong
Who'll be the first to say it -
that the thrill is gone
and we'll never get it back

And when we talk of old acquaintance
and speak like two strangers all day long
the only four words that I hear
are the thrill is gone
and we'll never get it back

And when evening drops like curtains
and "goodbye" hangs on and on and on
I don't need the ghost of sleep and dreams to tell me
that the thrill is gone
and we'll never get it back

Written: London October 1982
Appears: On "A Pagan Place" and "Live Adventures"

Time
space
And the bride's bed
Time
space
and the bride's bed

(I haven't been the same since the fire
started burning in my soul)

Written: London July 1996/Early 1998
Appears: On "Wearyland EP" from Japanese version of "A Rock In The Weary Land"

All your trouble will be over, so will your pain
you are gonna see those blue skies bursting right through the rain
The higher you climb, the lower you fall
You got too close to heaven, that's all

Now in the morning you can cry all you want to
- we'll spend the whole day weeping
Right now I want you to lay down your weary head
and let me see you sleeping
You've been walking around baby, inflamed and ashamed
feeling like you're one inch tall
You got too close to heaven, that's all

You're way too hard on yourself baby
- you got some pretty basic things wrong
You wouldn't believe me if I told you why I wrote you into this song
You're looking at your heart baby, and you're calling it black
but like Icarus and like Saul
You got too close to heaven, that's all

Now I know this hurt you're feeling - I've felt these same things too
I've got spaces way down deep inside of me that are just the same as you
You wanna wrap your arms around your head, turn out the lights
and roll yourself into a ball
You got too close to heaven, that's all

Are you blinded by the brilliance ?
Are you dazzled by the Light ?
Why is it I see nothing but emptiness in your tired beaten eyes
that once were bright
I know you just can't help but run when you hear that sweet voice call
You got too close to heaven, that's all

I walked a mile for you baby
so won't you smile for me baby ?

Written: Dublin July-September 1986
Appears: On "Too Close To Heaven"/"Fisherman's Blues Part Two"

We've all come down to Thurles
armed with tent-poles and guitars
to have the craic and ceili
underneath the summer stars
We're up from Cork and Kerry
and we're down from Donegal
from every end of Ireland
for the Feile one and all

From every end of Ireland
we're here to let it rip
to go kissin', drinkin', smokin', dancin',
trippin' down in Tipp

There's Paddies, Eileens, Bridies, Fergals,
Dympnas, Seans and Tims
O'Kelly's, Cooneys, Mooneys, Murphys,
Morans and McGinns
And if you close your eyes and listen
you can hear the legends sing ;
the ghosts of Nicky Rackard,
Jimmy Doyle and Christy Ring

From every end of Ireland
we're here to let it rip
to go kissin', drinkin', smokin', dancin',
trippin' down in Tipp

We'll cheer yer man Costello
'cause he's such a dacent bloke
and we'll laugh with ould Van morrison
when he tells us all a joke
We'll waltz with Nanci Griffiths
and we'll pogo with The Pogues
We'll freak-out with The Wonderstuff
and then we'll all take off our clothes

From every end of Ireland
we're here to let it rip
to go kissin', drinkin', smokin', dancin',
trippin' down in Tipp

When all the music's over
and all the bands have gone
and silence comes a-creepin'
in the Tipperary dawn
I'll make a solemn promise
and I'll whisper it to you
I'll meet you at The Trip To Tipp
in nineteen ninety two !

From every end of Ireland
we're here to let it rip
to go kissin', drinkin', smokin', dancin',
trippin' down in Tipp

Written: Words by Mike Scott, Leo Moran and Davy Carton Music Traditional/Moran and Carton
Appears: Released on 'b' side of Sawdoctors single "The Hay Wrap"

There's trouble down yonder and I don't wanna go
there's trouble down yonder and I don't wanna go
there's trouble down yonder and I don't wanna go
I don't wanna go
I don't wanna go
I don't wanna go down there

There's dyin' down yonder and I don't wanna go
there's dyin' down yonder and I don't wanna go
there's dyin' down yonder and I don't wanna go
I don't wanna go
I don't wanna go
I don't wanna go down there

Written: Anonymous
Appears: On "Wearyland EP" from Japanese version of "A Rock In The Weary Land"

Your love feels like trumpets sound
I said your love feels like trumpets sound
Your life is like a mountain
Yes your life is like a mountain
and your heart is like a church
with wide open doors
and to be with you
is to find myself in the best of dreams
Your love feels like trumpets

Your love feels like high summer
I said your love feels like high, high summer
Your life is like an ocean
Yes your life is like an ocean
I want to dive in naked,
lose myself in your depths
I want to be with you
to find myself in the best of dreams
Your love feels like trumpets

Please don't wake me
no don't shake me
I want to be with you
when being with you is the same....
the same as Being you

Written: London March 1984
Appears: On "This Is The Sea"

It's over the mountain and over the main
through Gibralter tae France and tae Spain
Put a feather in yer bunnet, a kilt upon yer knee
Enlist, bonnie laddie and come awa' wi' me !

Twa' recruitin' sergeants come frae the Black Watch
tae merkits and fairs some recruits for to catch
but a' they've enlisted is forty and twa'
so 'list, bonnie laddie, come, come awa'

It's over the mountain...

Oh laddie dae ye ken o' the danger you're in
if yer horse breaks his leg or yer midden fa's in
Yon greely old fermer, he widna' pay yer fee
so 'list, bonnie laddie, come awa' wi' me

It's intae the barn and oot o' the byre
Yon greely auld fermer thinks you're never tired
It's a slavery job of lowly degree
so 'list, bonnie laddie, come awa' wi' me

It's over the mountain...

Oh laddie dae ye hae a sweethert at hame ?
If she kens you're afraid, will she no' be ashamed ?
You'll be back at her breest in no time at a'
so 'list, bonnie laddie, come, come awa'

It's over the mountain and over the main
through Gibralter tae France and tae Spain
Put a feather in yer bunnet, a kilt upon yer knee
Enlist, bonnie laddie and come awa' wi' me !

Written: Words and music Traditional. (Additional lyrics MS)
Appears: Unreleased

I'm caught between two great waves
breaking against my soul
Yeah I'm caught between two great waves
and I'm wondering which way to roll

My once proud and handsome ship
is listing like a wreck
Fear has laid his grip
like a traitor around my neck

I'm caught between two great waves
breaking against my soul
Yeah I'm caught between two great waves
and I'm wondering which way to roll

The killer in my mind
is giving me no peace
Angels get behind
I think I gotta face the beast !

The pressure's coming down
closing around me like a wall
I don't know why or how
but I can't move at all

I'm caught between two great waves
breaking against my soul
Yeah I'm caught between two great waves
and I'm wondering which way to roll

I'm almost like The Fool
teetering on the brink
but he's unconcerned and cool
I'm convinced I'm gonna sink

I'm caught !
Yeah I'm caught !
Caught between two great waves
breaking against my soul
And I'm wondering which way to roll...
which way to roll
which way to roll...

Written: New York City February 1992
Appears: On "Building The City Of Light" CD single

i sacrifice my power on the altar of your love
that it may be born again on another world

in this library i could lose myself
transports, gateways on every shelf
dark words, bright words of ice and fire
as if an angel did descend and use the writer as a pen
for here are 'avalon of the heart'
'flight into freedom'
macdonald's 'lilith' and 'fantastes'
lewis's 'perelandra'

i sacrifice my power on the altar of your love
that it may be born again on another world

come friend, let us climb the winding flights of stairs
through the narrow door into the chamber bare
a single candle burns as we seat ourselves
words take form in our minds and repeat themselves :
"my beloved and i are one
my beloved and i are one
my beloved and i are one
my beloved and i are one"

i sacrifice my power on the altar of your love
that it may be born again on another world

out here on the tower the air is cold and clear
the stars and moon are bright above us
a night wind whispers in our ears
and it loves us
and though your body weary is
in this grand canyon state of mind
if high stream of dreams and truth be told
and our intentions be entwined
then from these high flung tower walls
let healing grace and blessings fall
over all this cracked and broken land
from northern crag to southern down
from universal hall to camden town
from city square to village green
from parliament to housing scheme
from iona to the hill of dreams

i sacrifice my power on the altar of your love
that it may be born again on another world