1. |
Falling Again
04:09
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You come around when my guard is down
You come to me when I’m naked
Sheets of lead, a barbed-wire bed
I close my eyes, I see you waiting
Half asleep half awake
You call my name
You seize my soul
Swallow me whole
And I’m falling again, falling again, falling again
By the light of day you fade away
You retreat back to the underground
I break free you have no hold on me
Until that slippery old sun goes down
Chorus
I’m going down, down, down, there is no ground
Down, down darkness gathers 'round
Down, down can't see tomorrow
Down, down, down to the bottom of the bottle
Down, down there is no ground
Down, down, down there is no ground
And I’m falling again, I’m falling again, I’m falling again
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2. |
Oh, Brother Mine
04:32
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There were junkies and burnouts, drunks on the skids
In the shantytown out by Devil Downs Bridge
You’d hide in the shadows of trash barrel fires
Eavesdrop on stories of dreamers and liars
You were older and wiser my ally, my foe
With a puppy dog smile and a ticking bomb soul
There was some kind of yearning, something inside
Tossing out breadcrumbs for trouble to find
Oh, Brother Mine, where can you be
You weave like a river that can’t find the sea
No drink is strong enough, no high lasts long enough
Your demons grab on and just won’t set you free
We would sneak through the attic, down into the barn
Across the back field, Dad’s guitar in your arms
I’d sit for hours at your feet while you played
When you sang “Wild Horses” couldn’t drag me away
Chorus
The big boys said, “We dare you!”
loaded once and spun
You watched Little Frankie take aim
A quick prayer to God, a shot of a gun
In the time that it takes for a scared boy to run
The stars were all rearranged
Found your bible on the floor, broken and torn
Wouldn’t say a word, wouldn’t tell what was wrong
I knew you were angry by the way that you smiled
I knew you were gone long before your goodbye
Chorus
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3. |
4 & Ever
03:35
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I put a secret in the ground
there where nothing grows
Scraped the bark off of the tree,
so no one would know
We’d carved our names with a 4 & ever,
4 & ever, 4 & ever, carved our names with a 4 & ever more
I put a secret in the ground
Where the water flows so slow
Threw our rings off Angel Cliff,
down to the swamp below
We’d said our vows with a 4 & ever,
4 & ever, 4 & ever said our vows with a 4 & evermore
Poetry and roses
Fade to thorn and threat
Haunted, broken rages
A kiss with a fist instead
I believed you when you said…nevermore
I put a secret in the ground
there where nothing grows
As your hands squeezed my neck
I found the dagger in your coat
I carved your stone with a 4 & ever,
4 & ever, 4 & ever carved your stone with a 4 & ever more
And I’ll carve your stone forever more
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4. |
Another Sparrow
03:41
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Another sparrow fell from the sky
The needle is narrow, the arm is wide
Licking the wound down deep in your soul
Trying to fill up the hole
Sinking in deeper, fueling the pain
Fearing the reaper, calling his name
Strike up a deal, pawned your halo of gold
Trying to fill up the hole
The water is cold, the cups are all broken
This is not home, the door is wide open
One foot says, “Stay” the other says, “Go”
They’re both trying to fill up the hole
You’ve lost control, nothing leftto give
Keep paying the toll, never crossing the bridge
How many times have you been bought and sold
Trying to fill up the hole
I was that sparrow that fell from the sky
Too full of sorrow to sing or to fly
Never did heal that wound down in my soul
“Till I stopped trying to fill up the hole
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5. |
Call My Name
04:56
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There’s a scent of you that lingers
Hints of lavender and rain
There’s a photo of the girls we used to be
Edges torn and stained
One day your father found my letters
The secret of our love betrayed
I stood shattered at the window
And I watched you walk away
Chorus: If you ever call my name out loud
If I ever hear the sound
I’ll find the fastest way I know
To get back to that God forsaken town
All our promises left broken
As we ripped out at the seams
All the gifts I ever gave you
Your sister gave them back to me
Word travels fast through narrow-minded streets
No one would look me in the eye
From the backseat of a greyhound
I whispered my goodbye
Chorus
I’m staring out beyond the pasture
My daughter’s hand tugs at mine
I’d never trade this life that saved me
But you still haunt this heart of mine
Chorus
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6. |
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I’ve got a pocketful of chirping birds, they go wherever I go
Got a head full of dreams, a tank full of gas
Big Mama Thornton on the radio
I used to walk for miles out on the range just to hear a discouraging word
Now I’m riding high with a genuine smile and a pocketful of chirping birds
I ain’t gonna cry no more at all
Ain’t lookin’ up waitin’ for the sky to fall
Don’t need the King’s horses or the the king’s men
I put myself back together again
Now I’m dancing in the pouring rain splashing in puddles like a child
I’ve open the gates, torn down the fence, I’m just lettin’ it all grow wild
I’m a little older, maybe a little wiser, something inside of me has changed
I’m twirling my arms up over my head dancing in the pouring rain.
Chorus
I’m shining from the inside out, limitless and free
I forgave him, I forgave her, then I forgave me
I took load after load to the Goodwill store, makes me wanna sing and shout!
Lighter than breath, right here, right now, I’m shining from the inside out
Chorus
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7. |
Happiness
03:24
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Happiness
Happiness is just a cloud, hangs around for awhile
Then blows through town
You can’t lock it inside, stuff it in a jar
Or ride the tail of a shooting star
Can't always be cheerful, comfy and strong
Some little birds get lost in the storm
Gotta spread your wings, fly from the heart
And know that the morning light will follow the dark
I was raised up poor, nine mouths to feed
Sometimes hungry but never in need
There was music in the kitchen fire in the stove
And something like love used to knock at the door
Can't always be cheerful, comfy and strong
Some little birds get lost in the storm
Gotta spread your wings, fly from the heart
And know that the morning light will follow the dark
When I’m feeling low and down
I just want to paint the whole town blue
Sadness is just a cloud, hangs around for awhile
Then blows through town
You can’t lock it outside, or pack it up and move it
You’ve just gotta strike a minor chord
And sing right through it
Can't always be cheerful, comfy and strong
Some little birds get lost in the storm
Gotta spread your wings, fly from the heart
And know that the morning light will follow the dark
Follow the Dark (X3)
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8. |
Break The Stones
04:42
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I break the stones. Swing a hammer all day. Days like weeks, little pay
Pay all goes to the company store. Black book says still owe more
In the bamboo shack where I was born, Mamma’s screams were silenced
By the boom of blasting rock ringing in her ear
Eyes a ‘water from dust and wind, arm’s aching from hammering
She whispered Krishna’s name and dried my tears
Chorus (Starting w “She broke”)
No matter rain or scorching sun like her shadow I was bound
To the fumes of cooking tar and the heaps of gravel
I asked her once where’s this road go? She said “Somewhere, I suppose
Tethered dreams are all I know of travel".
Chorus (Starting w “She broke”)
The years were crushed and chipped and rolled melted into asphalt
Now my own child’s wrapped in hide to scare the cold
Nights when I’m too tired to stand another mother lends a hand
We live, we breed, we die on this endless road
And yet we laugh and yet we sing
And yet we dare to dream of better things
Chorus (Starting with "We")
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9. |
Blue, Blue Bird
03:42
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Blue, Blue Bird
A blue, blue bird,
Sings a song so grey
She understands
I've lost my way
It's so hard to see the sky
so hard to read the signs
When the rain won't fall
and the sun won't shine
The band is still playing
Tender and slow
Spin me and twirl me
or just let me go
Chorus
Instrumental break
I 'm on your arm
She's on your mind
I ask for truth
you ask for time
Chorus
Sing, sing, sing little blue bird
Show me, oh, show me the way
Should I spread my wings
And take to the air
Or can I believe
There’s a place for me here
…where Chorus
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10. |
Now That You Have Gone
02:17
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Who’s gonna tell me stories
Who’s gonna sing me songs
Who’s gonna kiss my pretty little cheek
Now that you have gone, Mama
Now that you have gone
Who’s gonna tuck me in my bed
Who will wake me in the morn
Who’s gonna hold my tiny little hand
Now that you have gone, Mama
Now that you have gone
The river will tell you stories
The wind will sing my songs
The rose will kiss your pretty little cheek
Now that I have gone, darling
Now that I have gone
The stars will tuck you in to bed
You’ll wake with the birds in the morn
But I’ll still hold your tiny little hand
Long after I’m gone, darling
Long after I’m gone
Hush, little baby
Don’t you cry
Mama’s gonna sing you
A lullaby
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11. |
Lac Megantic
04:55
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Forty seven names read out one by one
Ages ranged from four to ninety three
St Agnes Church overflowed, people in the street
A quiet voice behind me said, " I hope God found a seat".
My sister lived above her shop on Rue Frontenac
Peacefully asleep beside the railroad track
Over in the café the dance ended with a waltz
The band ordered one more beer… their last, last call
No one saw it coming, sparks flying from the wheels
Eleven thousand tons of runaway oil and steel Brakes let go, train came loose. No one to slow it down ‘Til it jumped the track and ripped a hole, in the heart of our town
They led me to the crater that was once my sister’s home
There was nothing left at all except a few charred stones
I showed the policeman the corner by the stairs
“If you’re looking for her bones her bed was right there”
Tankers full of crude oil, a pipeline on wheels
So much more explosive than the label revealed Brakes let go, train came loose. No way to slow it down ‘Til it jumped the track and ripped a hole, in the heart of our town
Numbness turned to sadness, her remains never found
I put those black stones in an urn and let my tears fall down
I cry for my Marie and all the lives we lost
I cry for Lac Megantic as we pay the human cost
Of tankers full of crude oil, pipelines on wheels
Driven by the bottom line and back room deals The tracks are worn, but profit’s high, no rules to slow it down ‘Til it jumps the track and rips a hole, in the heart of our town.
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12. |
The Sky Is High
04:02
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Today the sky is high
Today the sky is blue
Mountaintops came out to play Chased the ghosts and the mists away
Windows flung open
Red robes hung to dry
Prayer flags snapping
Gold against the sky
Across the meadow
On a sunlit rocky pile
A lone violet lifts up her face and smiles
Today the sky is high
Today the sky is blue
Today my broken bulldog heart
Forgot to think of you
Rainy days will come once more
Fat clouds will rub their bellies
Across the valley floor
And in those thin dark hours
I’ll dig you from the dirt
Nights drag like broken wings
Nights still hurt
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Ruth Hill Maine
Singer, songwriter, storyteller Ruth Hill crafts moving, authentic, and sometimes hard-hitting songs with powerful imagery and beautiful melodies. She accompanies herself expressively on guitar and banjo, but it’s when she opens her heart and sings from a place of depth and compassion that you are compelled to lean in closer. ... more
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