1. |
Shadows
07:09
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2. |
Exile
05:52
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3. |
Heroes
05:26
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4. |
Betrayed
04:16
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You always wanted to fly
We never asked ourselves why
With fire in your belly and light in your eyes
You stood on the ramparts and stared at the sky
And asked us to follow you down
The world in the palm of your hand
You marched us to far distant lands
You told us we needed to help make a stand
For freedom and justice under your command
No cause was too big no hope was too grand
But under your statue of clay
Your feet and your legs they gave way
You chose your friends badly you backed the wrong side
And there is the end we all payed for your pride
It was there that you gave us away
And we really thought you would lead us away
From the grey of our life here to find better days
And only with your words could we feel this way
And with you we’d all want to stay here today
We’re lost and we’re broken we’re left on the road
It’s littered with heroes crushed under their load
Your words lie in heaps they no longer sound bold
We’re no longer willing to be bought and be sold
In pursuit of another fool’s gold
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5. |
River
06:04
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A D A
As we head on slowly upwards to the distant mountain snow
D A D E
With no thought about tomorrow, hopes are rising as we go
A D A D
There’s the twisting silver river we can follow all the way
D E A
Out here we’re just living for the day
D A D
Ch. Far above the silver river is the winding road we ride
D Fshm E
As it races through the canyon far below
D A A E(Afl) Fshm E
As we hold on to each other and let fate be our guide
D E A
Watch the glory of the sunset on the snowy mountain side
2. As we rise out from the valley light is bright and air is thin
Far away from smoke and squalor and all the city’s din
We're reaching for another world, we’re reaching for the sky
So blue above the mountain as the river races by
3. Today’s the day, this is the way we’ve waited for so long
This is the land we’ve hoped to see remembered in our songs
And breathe its air in freedom by the silver river side
And once again find freedom long denied
D Bm Fshm E Bm E
Br. The moment’s come to cross this stream for ever
D Bm E
And once again reclaim our land forever
jjk
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6. |
Fold
05:39
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In this ancient valley, in this fold of land
My mother’s father’s father’s farm still stands
Set down to pasture in this rich red Devon soil
All the turning seasons it has stood here
I will remember now and forever I will keep their memory here ‘til morning
Lit by the stars tonight I’ll walk upon these lands
Until the sky is streaked with dawning
Hard rain and burning sunshine winter gloom and summer sun
The seasons slowly turned the days around
I’m tracing the blazing stars across the darkest skies
I hear the foxes bark and screech owls calling
My mother's father’s fathers knew nothing of the life
That fills my head with cares each waking night
Hard men but honest, grinding toil a daily round
Rising at dawn again each morning
They spent all their lives here three brothers on this land
Gave it all their dreams and hopes of glory
Until the war it came and they all marched away
Three brothers killed in just one July morning
In this ancient valley, in this fold of land
The list of the fallen here still stands
Hard by the pastures in this rich red Devon soil
All the turning seasons it has stood here
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7. |
Repentance
05:28
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Deep in this valley far from my home darkness it spreads all around
Owl call and twilight, towers of trees, fingers of mist on the ground
I see you there in the shade of an oak clothed all in black and your face
Hidden deep in the shadows wrapped in your cloak under your curls and your lace
There you were standing alone
Still in this place like a stone
Why do you come here - why to this place for the lonely and lost and forlorn
You said is it self pity, fear or disgrace or is it your soul that is torn
You know now you’ve come here you cannot escape until you have heard what I say
Here you will suffer and hear you will learn the price for your deeds you must pay
For you there is no other way
Your journey will start here today
Your path it will take you on far from this land through forest and deserts of stone
In cold bitter days when the wind from the north chills you right through to your bones
As darkness and hunger, as pity and scorn crowd in your path as you go
Remember these days because only then you will reap all the seeds you have sown
For only in this way you’ll learn
And hard is the lesson you’ll learn
So lay you down slowly in this lonely place on leaf bed on pillows of stone
Sleep now a while here and gather your strength for soon you will travel alone
And as you journey remember these words will save you from darkness and fear
Gather them now keep them close to your heart - know love it will conquer all fear
Only love it can conquer your fear
Only love it can conquer your fear
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8. |
Home
06:25
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There’s a hard rolling breeze on the ocean tonight
There’s no soft silver moon on the sea
We sail on in fear until we see the light
That will tell us we’re home and we’re free
Though we’re out tonight on this dark stormy night
There’s a light there that’s shining so free
So our ship it can slip safely home from the gales
To save us at last from the sea
Our masters are hard men who’ve been out so long
And lost all their sense long ago
They’re feared in all ports from the from Bund of Shanghai
To the alleys of Valparaiso
Our mast is it broken our sails are all torn
And most of our rigging has gone
From hard work from flogging we’re tired and forlorn
We’re nothing but just skin and bone
Though we’re out tonight on this dark stormy night
There’s a light there that’s shining so free
So our ship it can slip safely home from the gales
To save us at last from the sea
Our rest it was little our days they were long
Our food not enough for a child
And only the ration and our sad old songs
Brought us oe’r the oceans so wild
From our wives and our children we were pressed so the crown
Could have men for their ships of the line
All the years now have passed they’re just strangers and ghosts
And I’ll hardly know they are mine
Though we’re out tonight on this dark stormy night
There’s a light there that’s shining so free
So our ship it can slip safely home from the gales
To save us at last from the sea
So now as we tie up and crowd on the deck
I fear what is waiting for me
I fear I know nothing but salt wind and sand
And the harsh bitter song of the sea
Though we’re out tonight on this dark stormy night
There’s a light there that’s shining so free
So our ship it can slip safely home from the gales
To save us at last from the sea
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9. |
On the road
04:58
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In the soft gentle evening light
Far from home, somewhere out of sight
On the road
Travel on, last light of the day
No-one there to see me on my way
Quite alone on the road
Never fear as you go on your way
You will find another kind of day
Never let your soul get cast away
On the road
Holding steady............................
Always ready for another story to unfold
On the road
Dogs are barking..................................
Sirens calling.......................................
White line’s holding the steps that I put down
On the road
Never fear as you go on your way
You will find another kind of day
Never let your soul get cast away
On the road
On the road we’re marching down the line
Keep the beat here to another time
With a broken staff, without a dime
On the road
Evening star, in the western sky
Distant mark - wishing you could fly
High above, me as I step on the road
Staying here, keep what you can hold
Taking back your residue of gold
From the road
Never fear as you go on your way
You will find another kind of day
Never let your soul get cast away
On the road
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10. |
I really do miss you
03:58
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I set out to find for you
The perfect song - it never flew
It got its feet stuck in the glue
I’m left here with a stanza stew
Ten thousand words they will not do
I’ve nothing but an IOU
How can it be so hard to do
To say that I miss you
I’m left here with the poet’s curse
I’ve all the words I have no verse
And surely there is nothing worse
A patient left without a nurse
It should not be a mystery
To tell you what you meant to me
But I am lost - I can’t break free
And say how I miss you
I’ve rifled through the hallowed pages
Written down through all the ages
Penned by all the grizzled sages
That ever drew a poet’s wages
I’ve searched through treasure troves of rhyme
All stuck in aspic or quicklime
To try to find those words sublime
To say how I miss you
Barrow loads of similes
Roam within my head so free
But still now I cannot see
The meaning that’s eluding me
It haunts my dreams in wee small hours
My inner peace it is devoured
The bottom of my barrel’s scoured
I haven’t got a clue
A matter of simplicity
I know it surely ought to be
To write down what you mean to me
To let it fly, to set it free
I must accept that it won’t come
There is no holy grail for me
So maybe I will simply say
I really do miss you
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Alan Courtney England, UK
I've decided to collect here all my solo recordings from 2002 onwards, when I left my job and started to work for
myself.
I was born and raised in Devon, but have lived the last 40 years in Malvern. I've played folk music in clubs, sessions, festivals etc since the age of 15.
I played in rock n blues, then folk bands Malthouse Passage and Set em up Joe. I've recorded many albums showcased here
... more
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