1. |
Long Trip
04:21
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I hear shots ring out over Lime Street on the warmest day since July,
and there’s gossip on the Jiffy Cab dispatch as houses burn in the night.
You snuck up on me, in the park on the swing.
You said you liked to see my happy; you liked to hear me sing.
Well it’s been a long, long trip around the sun, and I wonder what have I done?
I wouldn’t trade my soft heart for any other, no,
I wouldn’t give up what keeps me kind.
But in giving heat to lovers and neighbours, comes a coldness that creeps up inside. So creep up on me sweetheart on account of the tenderness.
Let me swing through my struggles, and sing out my heaviness.
Well it’s been a long, long trip around the sun, and I wonder what have I done?
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2. |
Nature Man
05:09
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He’s too young to be this tired – feels a little uninspired.
He’s gonna go away.
Living free so why does he feel like he’s missing anything real?
He says, “My money ran out again. I might need to take a break from the women”
He’s gonna go, cause he needs a new connection.
Away, away, away.
Pack his bag up, he’s got some good boots,
he’s got an ax for wood, got a gun that shoots.
Grow his hair long, and learn about foraging,
plaid and denim the only clothes he needs – he’s gonna be a Nature Man.
Leave his family and society,
and anyone who ever loved him – he’s gonna be a Nature Man.
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3. |
Root Rot
03:54
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Well there was a time when I sang my mind without thinking that heads would ever turn. Whatever I felt, however I dealt was my only concern.
And so I sang it out, without any doubt, never minding what I was not. And my audience grew and soon I grew too – I grew aware of what they might have thought.
It was root rot -- I was drowning in my pot. It was root rot, and my nerves were shot.
Well it was hard to pull myself up out of soil that I’d grown so fond of. I’d been there so long that I’d forgotten song and I told myself, “Well, maybe this is love.”
But it wasn’t love I’d found, just saturated ground. I never knew that water would do be wrong. And given time to dry out, all of these words filled my mouth and melody came creeping up behind.
It went, “Root rot -- I was drowning in my pot. Root rot, and my nerves were shot.”
And now all of this is whistleless, without ribbons bells or any bows. But I’m wanting to say it and I’m needing to play it and I don’t care if you think I’m writing weak prose.
So here it goes – I am a rose, I’m a rose in winter window.
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4. |
Enough
03:31
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They told me when I was a young girl, “Your Daddy, he’s an Indian.
Just like his mother before him and her father was the legendary Louis John.
Well you’ve got Aggy’s cheekbones on you,
you’ve got Maggie’s blood running on through.
So lace up your big black boots and roll your sleeves up past your elbows.”
I learned that there were others just like us –
from the valley to the coast, up the Great Northern Peninsula.
You knew, and the whole town did too,
but you bit and you learned to hide your tongue.
Though he never said it verbatim, Joey never mentioned us in the Terms Of Union. So everybody grew up thinking and believing that the island and big land had no Indians – huh.
Time’s brought change and some of us can now lay claim
to what we’ve always lived or known.
But policy, and rules & regulations,
have pushed us backwards and divided homes.
And now they’re telling us what we’ve always known – is that we were too much and now we’re not enough. We were too much and now we’re not enough.
You’re wrong – you couldn’t be more wrong. We are who we are and we’ve been here all along.
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5. |
Homonyms
03:50
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Well I thought that I could be of use to you.
Not as I had become used to being used.
Not taken held or deployed as a means to accomplish,
but to be some state of being with a purpose for your little heart.
And I tried to say that I was far too tender
to be some temporary service to render.
But then you spent all those nights in my bed
and you were always so eager to come on over.
And I could again try - I could try to talk
but it’s bound to only come out sounding cocked and scare you off.
And it’s not about being an old jealous git
but about needing some love in return for all that you give.
Oh cause I dole it out like the river throws trout
at a line overflowing with worms.
And I’m wearing thin and can’t help but begin
to feel the burn of being used; of being used by you.
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6. |
Little Boy Blue
03:18
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A boy with the blues, what does he give you?
Records and eggcups, flowers in cubes,
a little black notebook to put all of your songs in
and a ride home – safe but alone.
She took me down to where you would be found
with thoughts of some other someone in mind for me
but as we were the only two sober
you caught my eye and you got my time.
Because it was you - little boy blue. Yes it was you that I leaned into
from the passenger seat of your car while the radio played Alice Cooper.
Despite the nerves, you took me back to yours.
We came so close I could hardly see.
Well maybe I’ll call ya, put on the kettle.
You can come by for tea, baby come by for me.
Because it was you – little boy blue. Yes it was you that I leaned in to
from the passenger seat of your car while the snowplows circled us in the dark.
It was you – little boy blue.
Oh the sheep’s in the meadow, and the cow’s in the corn.
Wake up gorgeous it’s Sunday morning.
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7. |
Exit Sign
04:13
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I see you sat beneath the exit sign - I’m up on stage and you’re on my mind.
I see you sat beneath the exit sign – I’m up on stage and you’re in my sightline.
I see your silhouette at the back of the bar
and I can still remember how you feel in the dark.
You’ll steal a cigarette when I put down my guitar,
put your arm around me and see how things are.
I nearly called you bout a dozen times, saying come over baby for a bottle of wine.
I nearly called you bout a dozen times but something inside said no don’t try.
Cause we both know how that story ends – two hungover lovers trying to be friends. But I can’t deny when your eye meets mine
I wanna be with you baby til the morning light.
And oo! It’s the same old dance, the same old song.
And oo! But a different dress – whose gonna put it on?
Who is gonna put it on? Me or you – whose gonna put it on?
But if we relapse, is it such a crime? To do what we want when we’re in our prime?
Two repeat offenders doing time in the arms of each other where it feels right.
Because there are days when I don’t know which way to turn, how fast to go.
And anxiety’s got me by the throat but it feels good in your winter coat.
And oo! It’s the same old dance, the same old song.
And oo! But a different dress – whose gonna put it on?
Who is gonna put it on? Me or you – whose gonna put it on?
Baby don’t tell me I’ve got it wrong – who, whose gonna put it on?
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8. |
Pornos
03:18
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You make me wanna make pornos.
I can’t help it, want the world to know.
I can’t help it, want the world to see
all that we do with just our bodies.
You make me wanna make pornos.
They don’t know hot.
And what we’ll do when we record,
that industry’s never seen before.
That industry it’ll shut right down,
businesses closing in every town
because us two and our pornos.
Let’s revolutionize what they’ve commercialized.
You make me wanna make pornos.
I can’t help it, want the world to know.
I can’t help it, want the world to see
all that we do with just our bodies.
You make me wanna make pornos.
They don’t know hot.
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9. |
Clowns
03:42
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I was liking my time with you.
I was into all the sexy shit we’d get into.
Baby I can’t believe how much I trusted you,
doing things I swore I’d never do.
And even without the buzz, what we had felt older than it was.
I never even thought we’d even come this far.
I thought just one night was all we are.
But we stood the test of lust outside of the bar,
watching the sun rise from the graveyard.
But you fucked it up, and now your name is mud.
You give em inch and they run a mile.
We both know you were never my style to begin with.
You took my hand and danced to Cathy’s Clown.
It’s got me wondering - who is the clown now?
Are you laughing? Am I clown?
Or, should I be laughing at you little clown?
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10. |
Only The Road
04:35
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“Til the sky falls down, til the sky falls down”
– that’s what I had vowed, til the sky falls down.
But we wore each other out.
Two dull blades before a thinning crowd.
Oh honey, we wore each other out.
And where are you, where are you now?
Where are you, tell me, where are you now?
“Out on the road, like the snow on the bow”
Well, only the road made you happy anyhow
and I only want happiness for you baby right now.
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11. |
Lullaby
02:18
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Go to sleep, time to rest. Try to remember the very best of your day.
And if you struggle to recall what made you smile, let me remind you:
The sound of the river, the look of the leaves as they catch the sunlight above your feet as you lay looking at the sky, eating a good snack by my side.
It won’t always be this good – there will be days you wish you could keep sleeping.
But take a moment, close your eyes, and we’re at the river and I’m by your side.
I’m by your side, I’m by your side – it’s okay to cry, I’m by your side.
I’m by your side, you are enough, you are enough, you are enough.
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John St. John'S, Newfoundland and Labrador
Dreamy and dreary Indigenous led folk rock grandchild of country and pop.
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