Jon Boden

Along the Old Straight Track

 

Along the old straight track

The mockingbirds are singing

The briar is snaking out

And the ivy stems are twisting

The earth is warm to the touch

The old clay pits are drying

There’ll be no turning back

Along the old straight track

 

The new sun burns our skin

The winter pallor is receding

The haze is setting in

And the warming sap is rising

Small insects fill the sky

And the skimming birds are feasting

There’ll be no turning back

Along the old straight track

 

And oh… we are not strangers to the road

Oh... we do not bear a heavy load

We do not fear what is behind us

 

We do not fear the storm

We do not fear the quaking

Our hearts are old and torn

We face endings without shaking 

Our boots are worn at the heel

And my leather bag is crumbling

But we leave what we lack

Along the old straight track

 

And oh… the wild dogs follow in our wake

And oh… each sunrise shows which path to take

We drink cold water from the river

 

Along the old straight track

The mockingbirds are singing

Along the old straight track

Along the old straight track

 

 

 

Into The Garden

 

Walking in the wasteland

When the world is undone

Won’t you take me by the hand

And come into the garden?

 

Wading through the columbine

Where the berries ripen

Step out into the sunshine...

 

Underneath the overpass

Lying in the tall grass

Won’t you take me in your arms again?

For when the sun is beating down

And everything is golden

The city walls have fallen down

So come into the garden

 

And the green is like an ocean

And the tide is rising

Ivy in the chimney stack

Nature brutalising

 

Pulling down the high rise

Climbing rose and honeysuckle prising…

open all the city’s pores

And letting in the garden

 

And the shade is like a memory 

Of when the nights were colder

Maybe we are older now

Oh but when the sun is beating down

And everything is golden

Love is opening up your heart again

And letting in the garden

 

Underneath the overpass

Lying in the tall grass

Won’t you take me in your arms again?

For when the sun is beating down

And everything is golden

Love is opening up your heart again 

And letting in the garden

 

 

 

Honeysuckle Halo 

 

Where… where the dunnock and her lover make their nest among the ferny brake

And the yellow swallowtails and tortoiseshells unloose their sails to dive and pirouette

Let’s go hiding in in the tangle of the briar as deep we can get

And oh… you taste like cherry wine

Your lips suspended above mine… with a

 

Honeysuckle halo

Hazy in the high noon sun

Lying where the lichens grow 

Like we lay when we were young

 

Well… it’s as well that we lie still amongst the shade beneath the burning sun

In a while we’ll travel on and find our way out through the waste when day is nearly done

Walking late into the night on paths where shadows creep and wild things run

But for now… we’ll lie like lovers do

All among the hidden world gazing up at you… and the

 

Honeysuckle halo

Hazy in the high noon sun

Lying where the lichens grow 

Like we lay when we were young

 

There’s a line upon your cheek, running deep for every winter in the wasteland

There’s a faultline in your heart for every child that went away

And I love you though your eyes are hard and distant as a warrior

And I love the way the shadows play upon your battle scars… and your

 

Honeysuckle halo

Hazy in the high noon sun

Lying where the lichens grow 

Like we lay when we were young

 

 

 

 

Cinnamon Water

 

Climb down to the river

Let your heavy burden fall

The sun is in a tyrant blaze

The parched earth to enthral

 

Take off your leather boots

Your fettered feet unbind

Take off your cloying travel clothes

And from the white earth climb

 

Into cinnamon water 

Through the roots of the willow tree

Deep brooding, slow moving

Cold river close and swallow me

 

As cold as solitude

As free as come-what-may

So cold it burns into your soul

And takes your breath away

 

The dust is washed away

Our clouded eyes revive

Breath deep into your aching lungs

And from the lost world dive

 

Into cinnamon water 

Through the roots of the willow tree

Deep oozing, transfusing

Cold river close and swallow me

 

 

 

 

Dream of the Ocean

 

How we dreamed of the ocean

When the red earth was cracked and the river ran dry

Under a neon blue sky

 

Dreamt of cool tidal water

Black mud to paint on our skin and fresh cockles to eat

Where the zephyr blows sweet

 

We dreamed of spindrift days and

Cool salty breezes

Of white sails on crested waves

Of leaving the wasteland behind

 

But how they dreamed of the ocean

The children the clung to the stories we’d told

Like a thing they could hold

 

Like the dream was a promise

Like the promise was waiting around the next bend

Like a seed they could tend

 

They dreamed to make it real

We dreamed to hide

Their dreams were wounds to be healed by

Leaving us behind

 

So now we dream of the ocean

And we dream of the children on the other side

Across the water so wide

 

And we follow their footsteps

Shallow marks in the dust at each turn that we make

Every step that we take

 

 

 

 

Under the Bough

 

Under the bough

Under the green leaves lying

 

Under the sky

There in the deep green hiding

 

Under the soil

Hark to the new growth forging 

 

Merciless toil

Yield to the catch-weed claiming

 

Under the bough

Under the bough 

Under the bough

 

 

 

 

Lay My Body Down

 

I want to lay my body down

I want to let the warm earth hold me

And feel the summer’s heat among the meadowsweet and feverfew

Until the climbing bindweed makes a winding sheet for me and you

 

Why do we keep fighting on?

Holding back the comfort that is never gone

For it’s growing all around

Why don’t we lay our old bones down

 

I want to hold you in my arms

And let the world around us fall away

We’ll pledge a lovers’ oath and lie both underneath the spreading bough 

And with a ivy twist and hemlock kiss renew our wedding vow

 

Why do we keep fighting on?

Holding back the comfort that is never gone

For it’s growing all around

Why don’t we lay our old bones down

 

This is a moment to be glad

This is no time for mindless holding on

Let’s join the summer heat among the meadowsweet and feverfew

And let the climbing bindweed make a winding sheet for me and you

 

 

 

 

 

Flash Flood

 

Red sun, baked earth 

Rising through the thick wine of the dream time

Waking on barren turf

 

Sight clears, the clouds boil

The dust flies into dry eyes then you realise

Soon now the heavens will fall

 

And the tears of the sky fall warm as any blood

Peace turns to drums, dry earth turns to mud

 

In the flash flood, torrent sound

Wide eyed and tongue tied as we slip-slide up to the higher ground

In the flash flood, dam break 

Heavens are thundering, mountains are crumbling 

Somewhere the slumbering earth bones shake

 

Storm cloud rising  

Deep root prising

 

And the tears of the world fall warm upon my skin

Clouds thundering by like the sky’s caving in

 

Falling and free like a fountain and felling them all with dead thud

Slicing a wound in the mountain and let it bleed out with the red mud, gash blood…

 

Flash flood, landslide

The sky is a troubling sight in the thunder-light 

This is the night when the wild pack ride

 

Flash flood, torrent sound

Wide eyed and tongue tied as we slip-slide up to the higher ground

 

 

 

 

 

Walking Song

 

The mistle thrush is in her nest

The swallows throng on the cable wire

Bright phoebe hastens to her rest

And paints the sky with crimson fire

 

When the day is done and the night comes on

And the evening shades come creeping back

You can find your way at the close of day

Walking on the old straight track

 

The flowers droop their weary heads

The screech owl calls her hunting cry

From the trees the wild eyes peep

But you and I must walk on by

 

 

 

 

 

Come Out Wherever You Are

 

Come out, come out wherever you are

Running in the shadows

Under the evening star

Dancing in the hollow

 

We see you in the moonlight flitting

In and out like moth wings beating

Don’t be cautious, don’t you run away

 

We could make ourselves like shadows

Swap our voices for their echoes

Underneath the leaves where phantoms play

Turning turn and turn about

 

Come out, come out wherever you are

Running in the shadows

Under the evening star 

Dancing in the hollow

 

All their voices, all their faces

Shrouded in the hallowed places

Flicker in the corner of your eye

 

Quiet laughter - joy begotten

Out of sight but not forgotten

A ragged dance beneath a starry sky

Turning turn and turn about

 

Leave your toying, leave your roaming 

Leave the shadows, leave the gloaming

Come out where the starlight fills the air

 

Step into the silent meadow

Catchweed, campion, vetch and yarrow

Now revealed, the secret world laid bare

Turning turn and turn about

 

Come out, come out wherever you are

Running in the shadows

Under the evening star 

Dancing in the hollow

 

 

 

 

The Path is Winding

 

The path is winding

The path is winding down

The path is winding down to 

The end of the world

 

The sun is climbing

The sun is climbing up

The sun is climbing up to 

The roof of the sky

 

And if I should close my eyes

Would I see what I want to see?

Would the clouds roll in across the sky

And carry you to me?

 

And if I should close my eyes

Would it be as I want it to be?

Would time fold in upon itself

And carry you to me?

 

The cart is rolling

The cart is rolling down

The cart is rolling down till 

The axle breaks 

 

The flower is opening

The flower is opening wide

The flower is opening wide till 

The petals fall

 

 

 

 

Last Mile Home

 

On the last mile home

Where the ocean meets the flat lands

You can hear the low swell moan

On the last mile home

 

Our home is in the ocean

Or on the far side of the water

Where the laughing children play

When the last birds have flown

I take your arm 

When footsteps falter

You take my hand

When I feel that I’m alone

 

On the last mile home

Where the ocean meets the flat lands

You can hear the low swell moan

On the last mile home

 

The sunset is behind us

Our shadows in the foreground

The mudflats stretch away

Towards the distant foam

I hear your voice

Like you’re singing to the children

As if you’re really here

As if I’m not alone

 

On the last mile home

Where the ocean meets the flat lands

You can hear the low swell moan

On the last mile home

 

On the last mile home

Where the ocean meets the floodplain

You can hear the low swell moan

On the last mile home

 

 

Moths In The Gas Light

 

People coming, coming from the over-pass

They come running, running through the shattered glass

Under the constellation of Orion

Their feet are beating like a drum

The city swallows the setting sun

The ties that bind come undone

 

The flames are dancing on the city wall

The sirens call you to the carnival

 

I’ll see you when the lights come on

At the carnival tonight

Come marching to the siren song

Like moths in the gas light

I’m going to see you again

I know it’s gonna be alright

We’re gonna dance in the flame

Like moths in the gas light

 

It’s so funny to be walking down this street again

Don’t know how but I know, I know we’re gonna meet again

Under the constellation of Orion

I smell saltpetre in the air

The fumes are clinging to my hair

The silent watchers turn to stare

 

I don’t know if you really feel the same

I don’t know if you even know my name, but

 

Ch.

 

I walk through streets where only dull things are

I’m looking for a neon guiding star

Under the constellation of Orion 

 

I don’t know if you really feel the same

I don’t know if you even know my name

 

Ch.

 

 

 

 

Afterglow

 

High above the city

Sun sinking low

Pinpricks in the darkness

Carnival below

 

See them caught up in the undertow

The rabble rip tide turning 

Iridescent in the afterglow

Down where the barrels are burning

 

Cloud cover red

Cloud cover blue

Star burst up ahead

Rain down on you

 

Maybe you're caught up in the undertow

The rabble rip tide turning

Iridescent in the afterglow

Down where the barrels are burning

 

Running down the hill

Dust in my eyes

Sink down to the city mile

Watch the rabble rise

 

Now I’m caught up in the undertow

The rabble rip tide turning

Iridescent in the afterglow

Down where the barrels are burning

 

And they’re burning so bright

As they roll down the city mile

I’m blinded by the light

Drums beating all the while

 

Now I see the parade

Come marching through

Masked silhouettes come swirling then

I see you

 

Dancing in the half light

Frozen in time

We reach out across the crowd

Your hand touches mine

 

But now we’re caught up in the undertow

The rabble rip tide turning

Carried away in the afterglow

Down to where the barrels are burning

 

 

 

Bee Sting

 

The pageant parade

Is pulling me away

Out into the dark streets

Where the shadows play

 

I can still see you moving through the chaos unimpaired

But I am still caught up in the moment that we almost shared

 

But now I am carried by the the swirling crowd

Like flotsam in the stream

The touch of your hand it lingers on my skin

Like the sting of a honey bee

 

But the night has just begun

Nothing ventured nothing gained

Now that I’ve seen you once I know I’ll see you again

 

Your eyes were like diamonds

In the celestial crown

Turned Sapphire in the afterglow

Of a star burst raining down

 

I saw you laughing in the carnival with all your friends

I know this kind of hunger is the kind that never ends

 

But now I am carried by the the swirling crowd

Like flotsam in the stream

The touch of your hand it lingers on my skin

Like the sting of a honey bee

 

But the night has just begun

This is what it’s all for

Now that I’ve seen you once I know I’ll see you once more

 

Yes the night has just begun

The fuse lit by a spark

And now that I’ve found you in the afterglow

I know I can find you in the dark

 

 

 

Wrong Side of Town

 

Come down Orion

Let your bugle sound

I need something to rely on

Orion won’t you come down

 

The rats are running down the street

I know I’m on a losing streak

I see the lights I hear the sounds

But I’m always on the wrong side of town

 

Come down Mira

Put your red dress on

Midnight is getting nearer

I see you clearer 

Now that you’re gone

 

The smoke towers rise all in a row

Shifting in the afterglow

I see the light I hear the sound

But I’m always on the wrong side of town

 

The sky burns red and blue

The sirens call me to the underpass

 

 

 

 

All The Stars Are Coming Out Tonight

 

Though the fog is clinging to the wasteland where the broken factories lie

And the clouds are lined up like an army in a coronation sky

All the stars are coming out tonight

 

Though the moon is shrouded by the yellow fumes that cover it from sight

And the mist is writhing in the quarter light and frost begins to bite

All the stars are coming out tonight

 

See Cassiopeia pass –

Orion, Jupiter and Mars and

All the stars are coming out tonight

 

 

When the northern skies ignite

I’ll be blinded by the light

Orion, Jupiter and Mars and

All the stars are coming out tonight 

 

Though the wind is howling and the 

 the warning curfew bells begin to chime

Though the gloom is rising and the Sages promise rain at any time

All the tribes are coming out tonight

 

Lock your doors and draw your curtains people of the law abiding kind

Come you vagabonds and platinum blondes come rise, come seek and you shall find

All the tribes are coming out tonight

 

Down to where the darkness slides, where mud and shadow circumscribes 

For all the tribes are coming out tonight

 

When the northern skies ignite

I’ll be blinded by the light

Orion, Jupiter and Mars and      

All the stars are coming out tonight 

 

 

 

 

Fires of Midnight

 

Full moon high above the city mile

So bright the night is hard to reconcile

The drums are still beating

The moments are fleeting and they

Scatter at every turn

But somewhere near the fires of midnight burn

 

And oh, all that is scattered will return

With the full moon shining clear

And oh, I hear their voices at every turn

Somewhere near the fires of midnight burn 

 

Kerosene scent in the cold night air

Frost glitters in the gas lamp glare 

Voices are singling, bells jingling as the

Dancers leap and fall in turn

Somewhere near the fires of midnight burn

 

And oh, all that is scattered will return

With the full moon shining clear

And oh, I hear their voices at every turn

Somewhere near the fires of midnight burn 

 

 

 

Dancing In The Ruin

 

See them wearing black hoods and sharing stolen cigarettes

Jumping higher across the pyre - flaming silhouettes

Look at them gather round, drinking the liquor down

Raising their voices in harmony

Enter the ring of fire, through the razor wire

Follow the melody

 

Take a chance don’t you glance back in front of the glorious rabble 

 

Running Wild

God only knows what they are doing

Jumping through the flame

Laughing through the pain

Dancing in the ruin

 

In the factory the walls in tact but the roof is gone

Stars are shining through twisted pylon statues 

Everyone is here

Light up the Catherine wheel, gunpowder rocket squeal

Sending sparks up into the night

Maybe you’re near me now, hear my silent vow

Here in the quarter-light

Feel the rhythm of madness beating the heart of the glorious rabble

 

Running Wild

God only knows what they are doing

Jumping through the flame

Laughing through the pain

Dancing in the ruin

 

Running Wild

God only knows what we are doing

Passing in the dark

Catch a falling spark

Dancing in the ruin

 

 

 

Burning Streets

 

Take my hand

Close your eyes we’ll go

Running through the burning streets

 

You and me we were

Meant to be here now

Running through the burning streets

 

I don’t need anything but you

If you’re ready to run

Then I’m ready too

We haven’t got time on our side

So come with me running through the burning streets

We’ll find a place to hide

 

Leave to world we know

Lets be bold lets go

Running through the burning streets

 

Cling to what we’ve found

Find the higher ground

Somewhere deep in the burning streets

 

I don’t need anything but you

If you’re ready to run

Then I’m ready too

We haven’t got time on our side

So come with me running through the burning streets

We’ll find a place to hide

 

 

 

Yellow Lights

 

Yellow moon, lamp-light haze

Plastic bags, look like flowers growing

In the yellow light

Sirens serenade

Through the broken heights of the cityscape

The world is ours tonight

All bathed in yellow light

 

Gas lamp flames, dying low

Neon flickering

While the oil drum embers glow

You wear a crown of the Pleiades 

Your hair is dancing in the cold night breeze

The world is ours tonight

All bathed in yellow light

 

Shuttered windows, nailed down door

You find an opening

Where someone has been before

We climb inside of the silent room

Stand side by side in the musty gloom

The walls have closed in tight

Blocking out the yellow light

 

Tear the chipboard from the mantelpiece

Reveal the fireplace behind

Kindle fire with faded magazines

And all the wood that we can find

And soon the room will fill with yellow light

 

Yellow light fills the room

Flames are dancing, in the gloom

 

And now I see you in the ember glow

No time for words no time for games

We dive deep into the undertow

While the world outside goes up in flames

 

Breathing slows, heart beat calms

The one I love, she is lying in my arms

I touch your hand in the yellow light

You murmur low in the city night

 

You’re like a star, shining on

Through the dark hours

But in the morning you’ll be gone

We lie so close in the yellow light

Your skin is gold in the the ember light

Bathe in the yellow light

Bathe in the yellow light

Bathe in the yellow light

Till the cold light of the dawn

 

 

 

Aubade

 

When the dawn begins to creep

And the light begins to peep

And the morning sky lark begins to sing

Just as the day is dawning

 

I will raise my drowsy head

Climb up from the make-shift bed 

That once we shared for a little while

Before the day came dawning

 

Oh the place is warm where once you lay

Before usurping dawn and prying day

Came to steal my love away

Just as the day was dawning

 

When the grass is wet with dew

In the pavement peeping through

And the sky is fading grey to blue

Over the red sun rising

 

I will walk these lonely streets

Out to wear the city meets

The hills that climb high up to the dawn

Under the red sun rising

 

And now the songbirds sing from every spray

As retreating clouds go skimming on their way

Night time dreams melt into day

Under the red sun rising

 

And now I turn to watch the brightness grow

Stare into the blinding sun because I know

I’ll see you in the afterglow

Under a red sun rising

 

 

 

 

We Do What We Can

 

Reapers in the whitened harvest

Beggar on the hill

Doctor, lawyer, preacher

Swallowing a bitter pill

 

Pilgrims on the road to glory

Hear the cynic’s drowning cries

Redemption’s dream forsaken

Drifting in the clearing skies

 

From the fool to the wise man

From the floodplain to the dam

When hard times come knocking 

We Do What We Can

 

Distant figures on the mountain

Whispers on the breeze

False prophet warnings

Heralding our disease

 

Take the seeds out to the garden

Sow them in the soil

Split the wood we gathered

Happy when we toil

 

 

 

 

Going Down to the Wasteland

 

Going down to the wasteland

Going down where the wild dogs go

Where the raven feeds and the blind man leads

And the oil black rivers flow

 

Going down to the wasteland

When the village is wrapped in sleep

To the broken town where the sirens sound

And oil black shadows creep

 

Going down through the wild wood

When the evening shadows fall

Prying eyes from the factory

But the night fog covers all

 

And the old ways hide under bush and briar

And the old walls glisten with razor wire

Hear the beating heart of the fool who seeks the devil’s hand

 

Going down to the wasteland

Going down where the wild dogs go

Where the raven feeds and the blind man leads

And the oil black rivers flow

 

Smell the fires of the city

Where dreamers lie like burnt out cars

Try to keep to the shadows

For the wild pack prowl in the underpass

 

And the mud is thick with ash and oil

Four rivers meet and the waters boil

Hear the beating heart of the fool who seeks the devil’s hand

 

Going down to the wasteland

When the village is wrapped in sleep

To the broken town where the sirens sound

And oil black shadows creep

 

 

 

Days Gone By

 

Lying on the motorway this morning

I thought I heard a distant thunder rolling

So I lay so still on the motorway

‘Til the cavalcade come screaming passed

like hell hounds in my ears

 

It was over in a moment

The wind like a tornado

The sweet perfume of petrol like a lover’s parting kiss

Then I closed my eyes on the motorway

And dreamed about the days gone by, boys

I dreamed about the days gone by

 

Lying on the motorway this evening

The gypsies came up close while I was sleeping

So quietly down the motorway

Pulling their possessions in the cover of the night

 

They two had seen the whirlwind

The shining black procession

Screaming passed like Gods ascending through a tarmac sky

So they hid themselves by the motorway

And dreamed about the days gone by, boys

They dreamed about the days gone by

 

And what were they doing those people from the government?

Burning sacrificial gasoline to keep the dogs at bay?

There are shadows in the hedgerows

And strange lights from the slip roads

So we huddle on the motorway, boys

We huddle on the motorway

 

 

Penny for the Preacher

 

The preacher is there for his children

He will drive the dogs from the wasteland

He remembers things we’ve forgotten

He will lead us to bread and water

 

Liar, liar, house on fire

Burnt your hands on the funeral pyre

Grief, grief, beggar man thief

Hiding in the water

 

Think he is a good man

Penny for the preacher

Seems like a good man

Penny for the poor

But these day’s it’s not easy to be sure

Think he is a good man

Penny for the preacher

Hope he is a good man

Penny for the poor

But who can tell a good man from a bad man

When a preacher man comes knocking at your door

 

There is a path in the darkness

There is a stone in the forest

There is a strength in our weakness

There is a sluice in the flood plane

 

Liar, liar, house on fire

Burnt your hands on the funeral pyre

Grief, grief, beggar man thief

Hiding in the water

 

Think he is a good man

Penny for the preacher

Seems like a good man

Penny for the poor

But these day’s it’s not easy to be sure

Think he is a good man

Penny for the preacher

Hope he is a good man

Penny for the poor

But who can tell a good man from a bad man

When a preacher man comes knocking at your door

 

 

Dancing in the Factory

 

The news was on the church house door and all over the valley

A storm cloud brewing in the east and wild fire in the cities

 

And all night long the hammers rang

And those who could were leaving

And those who stayed have gone to ground

And talk is harsh and fleeting

 

And all that I can think about is wood smoke in the valley

Kisses in the fall-out shelter, dancing in the factory

That closed so long ago, and no-one ever goes there now

 

We cling to words like children and seek for hidden meaning

Long after sense has ceased to be and reason is receding

 

But words have torn this world apart

And left us stooped and pleading

We shovel dust and hide our hope

And wrap ourselves in dreaming

 

And all that I can think about is wood smoke in the valley

Kisses in the fall-out shelter, dancing in the factory

That closed so long ago, and no-one ever goes there now

 

Tonight the curfew bells ring out across the shrouded valley

And all the candles flicker out and shadows claim their quarry

But I will take the blackthorn path across the parish boundary

Where ivy and barbed wire entwine and leaves fall all around me

 

And maybe I will catch the scent of wood smoke in the valley

Find kisses in the fallout shelter, dancing in the factory

That closed so long ago, and no-one ever goes there now

 

 

 

Beating the Bounds

 

Dressed up in our Sunday best

Canon Davis leads the rest

Like last year and the year before

Who remembers what it’s for?

 

But the solemn march proceeds

Over pavements over-grown with weeds

And everybody’s Sunday best

Has seen better days to say the least

The mayor’s robes are torn and creased

And Abraham Brown is whistling Brittania

 

Pleasantries are much the same

So many years so little change

And no-one thinks to question why

And no-one looks you in the eye

 

Passed the long neglected cars

Rusting in suburban yards

Wearing ceremonial frowns

Round the village up and down

Bless the people, beat the bounds

While Abraham Brown is whistling Brittania

 

Pause a while by Nine Elms Reach

For Ahab Smith to make his speech

Fuel the hatred, stoke the fear

Same as he does every year

 

But then a different voice descends from

A rusted old Mercedes Benz

A ragged girl of twenty-one

Sits laughing in the winter sun

And we’re the figures of her fun

And Abraham Brown is whistling Brittania

 

Sat behind the broken wheel

Soft-top gone nothing left to steel

Broken shades upon her eyes

Oblivious to cloudy skies

 

Laughing at her own regrets

Smoking homemade cigarettes

One man’s parade is another’s farce

The emperor’s clothes revealed at last

Our innocence like Eve’s has passed

And Abraham Brown is whistling Brittania

 

The pride of man’s a brutal thing

And fragile as an insect’s wing

The bubble burst, the march resumed

Half muttered outrage salves the wound

 

And as we leave I turn to see

The scourge of our society

Crowned in her audacity

The wielder of cruel mockery

I think she maybe smiled at me

While Abraham Brown was whistling Brittania

 

 

The Pilgrim’s Way

 

Up beyond the bypass

Overgrown with weeds

Across the moor and thorny dale

The forgotten footpath leads

 

Ancient willows snarled and bent

The metallic scent of rich decay

Through alder glade and mossy bank

The silent pilgrim makes his way

 

For where the briar is knotted hard

And elm and ash the old ways guard

There his lover’s bower is found

Where starlight flecks the cold, cold ground

 

 

April Queen

 

Sweet wrappers in the whirlpool

Plastic gems in dappled light

Cellophane like precious pearls

Aluminium shining bright

 

Trinkets I bring to my sweetheart

Among the leaves so green

Build her a throne like a magpie’s nest

Crown her the April queen

 

Plastic bags in green and gold

Coiled around the willow roots

Broken glass that shines like fire

Rusted cans and leather boots

 

Dressed in rags and shining things

Dystopian eyes and vagabond lips

Tin foil braids and plastic rings

With thimbles on her fingertips

 

 

When The Walls Come Tumbling Down

 

Black crow sitting on a dry stone wall

Wondering just how far we’ll fall

Make or break too close to call

When the walls come tumbling down

 

Scarecrow standing in a flooded field

He won’t beg and he won’t yield

Make or break his fate is sealed

When the walls come tumbling down

 

When the walls come down

When the sirens sound

When the walls come tumbling down

 

Don’t you hear the beggars knock

See the preacher tend his flock

Key is turning in the lock

As the walls come tumbling down

 

When the walls come down

When the sirens sound

When the walls come tumbling down

 

Down, down, when the walls come tumbling down

 

 

Don’t Wake Me Up ‘til Tomorrow

 

Don’t wake me up the blind man cries

Spare me your prophesies and your school boy lies

I can see well enough when I close my eyes

Don’t wake me up ‘til tomorrow

 

For I have dreamed a thousand dreams

And seen a thousand sorrows

Don’t wake me up ‘til the grey cock crows

Don’t wake me up ‘til tomorrow

 

The preacher’s men were back last night

New sermons on the common

And Sarah James’s only son

Has left to join their summoning

 

I saw her kiss her boy goodbye

The villagers all standing by

To watch the child they never new departing

 

And the leaves are turning brown again

And whitethorn blossoms on the lane

And everywhere the quiet shame

Of hopelessness is dawning

 

For I have dreamed a thousand dreams

And seen a thousand sorrows

Don’t wake me up ‘til the grey cock crows

Don’t wake me up ‘til tomorrow

From Bramwell down to Blind Man’s Copse

And in the fields above us

The earth is flecked with grey and white

Paper blossom in the coppice

 

And here and there the books still burn

The fire consumes, the pages turn

We strive like Titans to unlearn

And dream of winter’s solace

 

For I have dreamed a thousand dreams

And seen a thousand sorrows

Don’t wake me up ‘til the grey cock crows

Don’t wake me up ‘til tomorrow

 

Don’t wake us up the sinners say

Don’t take these foolish dreams away

There’ll be time enough come judgement day

Don’t wake us up ‘til tomorrow

 

 

 

Under Their Breath

 

The flowers in the valley all bloomed today as one

And the people of the parish woke to find

That summer was out walking like he’d never been away

And all the world was in a joyful mind

 

And the sun in the valley was golden

And the people on the road were

 

Singing under their breath

Songs of sadness

But singing nonetheless they were

Singing under their breath

Songs they had forgotten long ago

 

The old walls of the factory came tumbling down today

And the children of the valley went to see

And old men stood pondering and folks began to talk

Of what had been, and is, and is to be

 

And the sun through the ruins was golden

And the people of the valley were

 

Dreaming under their breath

Only modest dreams

But dreaming nonetheless the were

Dreaming under their breath

Dreams they had forgotten long ago

 

Many fires on the hillside were lit last night

And the hearts of men were all blazing at the sight

All manner of things were thrown upon the pyre

We watched them burn ‘til dawn

And the children of the morning were

 

Grieving under their breath

Not forgetting

But maybe letting go a little

Grieving under their breath

For things that they had lost so long ago

 

 

Has Been Cavalry

 

I cut the grass again today

The diesel’s getting low

I don’t know how much longer it will last

And I could hear the neighbours say

It would serve him right to get a visit from the government, oh

But I don’t see things their way

And I won’t play along with the games they’re playing

 

‘Cause you see one flood and you’ve seen them all

They’re not all that they’re dressed up to be

They strut their feathers in the dust bowl parade

Then they line up in the has been cavalry

 

I went to church again today

The preacher was welcoming

I smiled through my disbelief and prayed

And I watched my words soar heaven-bound

And a light was growing in my eyes

 

Bute you see one God and you’ve seen them all

They’re not all that they’re dressed up to be

They strut their feathers in the dust bowl parade

Then they line up in the has been cavalry

 

I met a pretty girl today

She said she was an angel

But I know she is the gypsy’s daughter

She said we could run away

Run into the wasteland

Find the places where no one ever goes

And her eyes they shone like forest fire

And the dogs were running in the wasteland

 

But you see one love and you’ve seen them all

They’re not all that they’re dressed up to be

They strut their feathers in the dust bowl parade

Then they line up in the has been cavalry

 

And the rain is coming down

Making silver ribbons on the sodden ground

People say you can see blood in the puddles

Blood in the puddles

But I just see the rain

I only see the rain

 

‘Cause you see one flood and you’ve seen them all

They’re not all that they’re dressed up to be

They strut their feathers in the dust bowl parade

Then they line up in the has been cavalry