"From Hunting Ground To City"

To Hunting Ground from City.
That's where my baby took me with her smile.
To Hunting Ground from City.
I never thought that I'd have to retrace those miles.
It's been a while since I've seen that smile
Appear upon her face
And now I find I'm slowly drifting back
From Hunting Ground to City.

To Hunting Ground from City.
Our daughters eyes they took us for a ride.
To Hunting Ground from City.
Cat's eyes sparkling, blue eyes in my mind.
We said goodbye under a drop of sky
We left her in that place
And now we find we're slowly drifting back
From Hunting Ground to City.

From Hunting Ground from City.
The journey down is sure to be a laugh.
From Hunting Ground from City.
At least we'll have each other to see it pass.
I've seen that line of broken minds
And I fear to join it's ranks,
But still I find I'm slowly drifting back
From Hunting Ground to City.

 "Stars Of Our Stars"

Stars of our stars.
Dreams of my dreams.
You come to me
Singing " The Stars Of Our Stars".

The stars of our stars
Came up the first day.
The moon did set.
The sun comes up.
And all the stars did disappear.

Stars of our stars.
Dreams of my dreams.
You come to me
Dancing to "The Stars Of Our Stars".

The stars of our stars
Came up the second day.
The moon did set.
The sun comes up.
And all the stars did disappear.

Times at night in the spill of light
You catch a glimpse.
You make a start with an eager heart,
But it always slips.
And then everything shifts.

Stars of our stars.
Dreams of my dreams.
You come to me
Trailing "The Stars Of Our Stars".

The stars of our stars
Will come up the third day.
The moon will set.
The sun comes up.
And all the stars will disappear.

"Notes Falling Slow"

My love swears that he is made of truth
I do believe him though I know he lies.
I've caught him creeping 'round darkened holes.
I've caught him staring at distant skies.

I would have seen it coming but I'm blind with age.
Too much time on the battle line.
Shut it all out just let the notes fall slow.

Slow.

My love lives inside a haze of gloom.
He fears today, what might come tomorrow.
Seeks the shadow, shuns the light.
Bleeds for knowledge, prepares for sorrow.

I would have seen it coming but I'm blind with age.
Too much time on the battle line.
Shut it all out just let the note fall slow.

Slow.

This ain't no depression, just notes falling slow.
An early snow and notes falling slow.
Do I have the strength to bear their passion?
An early snow and notes falling slow.

"No Long Journey Home"

This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no trip across the tracks.
This ain't no dead end street
There ain't no turning back.
This ain't no long journey home.

Another tale about an aging man,
A tried but twisted plot,
Another hero finding out that he's not.
Act one we watch the onion peel.
Act two the tragic flaw revealed.
In three we close our eyes as his fate's sealed.

This ain't no long journey home.

Here's a story about a once young girl
Whose life has turned to rot.
Thought she found her dreams but she had not.
Act one we see her bold and strong.
Act two we watch her fumble along.
In three we close our eyes as all goes wrong.

This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no trip across the tracks.
This ain't no dead end street
There ain't no turning back.
This ain't no long journey home.

A cautionary tale for all who come this way,

A warning writ in water.
Act one you'll see it all so clear.
Act two you'll watch it disappear.
In three open your eyes and stare down your fears.

'Cause this ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.
This ain't no long journey home.

 "He Will Call You Baby"

He will call you baby
But will he listen when you cry?
He will call you sweetheart
But always seem apart.
He will tear all your fences down,
Trample all into the ground.
He will call you baby.

She will call you honey
And leave you twisting in the wind.
She will call you darling,
Keep you stunned and wondering.
She will take you to another world
Where the winds of confusion swirl.
She will call you honey.

We should call them lucky
As they watch their babies dance.
Or maybe call them crazy
For even thinking they have a chance.
They will carry her as far as they can
Then abandon her once again,
They will call her baby.
They will call her baby

"Simon Keeper"

Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross.
Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost.

Gather 'round now people, I'm here to tell a tale
About a man who walks among you, a man you each know well.
My name is Simon Keeper I had a wife and three grown kids,
A job in the towers cooking the books for the shills that grease the skids.

Irony oh irony, you are a bitter fruit to eat.
Stripped of all your beauty your flesh is none too sweet.

Now I ain't the most honest man that ever worked a skim.
I was caught with my hand in the cookie jar and brother that was it.
Fifty-four and a big black mark upon my resume,
I found selling off what you don't own might earn you the time of day.

Next it was a letter from my darling one,
"what's yours is mine, what's mine is mine",
Sealed with a hug and kiss.
One by one my children closed their lives to me.
Lesson learned on Daddy's knee,
"give no quarter to the weak".

Irony oh irony, you are the polar seed of truth,
You grow upon the open plain the faithful you uproot.

Kicked around 'bout a year living hand to mouth,
Then one day tryin' to bum a light I felt my will give out.
Sat right down on the corner, started prayin' a little too loud.
Left my troubles far behind
When I saw them emptying their pockets out.

Irony oh irony, you are a treacherous son of a bitch,
Pretending not to care about the heights you'll never reach.

Now I won't start in preaching 'bout reaping what you sow,
This is the story of a half-hearted man,
Half honest as they go.
But sit on down and rest a spell I've got another tale to tell.
About a lost young man in a far away land whose life is just too easy to sell.

Jesus was a carpenter he died nailed to a wooden cross.
Irony oh irony upon me it is never lost.

"The Slide"

Jesus, sweet Jesus if you're listening
Can you pass me to your pa.
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so cruel and demanding
With his love.

Darling, sweet darling keep whispering
I'll find you through this din.
Sitting and watching,
Two flames busy dancing
To our love.

Grab on to this moment, inhale it
And hold it inside.
Savour its sweetness,
Yearn for the slide.

Jesus, sweet Jesus if you're listening
Can you pass me to your pa.
I'm having a hard time understanding
Why he's so discriminating
With his love.

I SAW YOUR SHOES

(?)
[New song]
Transcribed by T.V.Roosmalen

I saw your shoes by the kitchen door
and I knew I missed you
I saw your shoes by the front door
and I began to miss you more
I saw your shoes on the landing
and lord I knew I cared
I saw your shoes pretty baby
and I longed to have you there.

I saw your shoes by the record player
and I wished you'd call me
I saw your shoes by the tv set
I prayed you'd call
I saw your shoes by the couch
and I longed to feel your touch, babe
I saw your shoes pretty baby
and I had to have you there.

I see your shoes by the shower stall
and I begin to wondering
I see your shoes by the bedroom door
and my hearts starts pounding.
I see your shoes at the foot of the bed
and I start laughing
I see your shoes, pretty baby,
but most of all I see you.

FIVE ROOM LOVE STORY

(Michael and Margo Timmins)
[First released as B-Side to `A Horse in the Country']

I met her in a church on a Sunday evening
not late on Saturday night
She sang Ave Maria
a little flat and out of time
but that's what drew me to her
so that's alright
As she placed a nickel in the basket
that I held before her
I asked her to be my wife

And there's one cardboard heart
for every time you said "I love you"
A painted star for every secret that we shared
A dried lima bean and small plastic birds
because you cared

I hear their talk and I watch them swap
their old black and whites
Bitter and beaten
they talk of life's cheatin'
like old boxers comparing scars

All I remember is a smile at the top of every working morning
and a shoulder always willing and able
and all those nights that we'd spend just sitting
and talking around our kitchen table

And there's one cardboard heart
for every time you said "I love you"
A painted star for every secret that we shared
A dried lima bean and small plastic birds
because you cared

Five rooms made stronger by the breaking and the healing
of the two hearts they protected within
Now one heart left aching
just piecing and painting
these walls with the memories of all that is real

And there's one cardboard heart
for every time you said "I love you"
A painted star for every secret that we shared
A dried lima bean and small plastic birds
because you cared

And there's one cardboard heart
for every time you said "I love you"
A painted star for every secret that we shared
A dried lima bean and small plastic birds
because you cared

SAD TO SEE THE SEASON GO

(Michael Timmins)
[First released on the "30-Hour Famine" benefit album]
Transcribed by Jason

Go Hollow boned and feathered she fell to him,
wriggling perdition she plucked
from deep within
Feasted high on flowering branches
the fruit of his heart
he gave willingly for her song
From fresh wounds were gathered
thick sheaves of love
He lay open palmed to her world:
she stretched in arched abeyance,
holding thunderclap and starlight in one mind

Sad to see the season go
I'll miss the crackling of the air,
the loss of all I know
Sad to see the season go

Indian corn and the bitter taste of envy in the air
Mired now in cyclic decay. The nag of conquest
Skeletal arms embrace a withering world

Sad to see the season go
I'll miss the crackling of the air,
the loss of all I know
Sad to see the season go

Locked here these dreams of you,
imperfect dormant seeds
There is a dignity to this solitude,
a sparkling ambiguity
both liquid and solid at one time