1. |
Redhead
03:46
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I remember cornfields in ancient Egypt, sprinkled with my ashes
And being burned at the stake with a temptress in the Middle Ages
For coming too close to the flames of hell, held guilty as witches
It’s that provocative colour at the centre of desire which led to persecutions for centuries
Hey Ginger, beware
They’re not going to treat you right out there
Sooner or later they’ll be back again to bury your head
Bury the redhead in the playground sand
I can picture them easily, not pulling any punches
Hunting you down, setting their dogs on you as far as beaches
And after the wanton street stoning, you’ll be counting up the stitches
All of this I carry with me, as history unfolds and nothing ever really changes
Hey Ginger, beware
They’re not going to treat you right out there
Sooner or later they’ll be back again to bury your head
Bury the redhead in the playground sand
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2. |
New Rays
03:12
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He had taken an endless walk
Through the fogs of nostalgia
With little more to expect than the occasional sap rise
And cheap rebirth on shaving days
She had left town and he’d blown his chance
Ensued years of utter letdown
But then one day fate’s obscure reasons
Were finally matched by its rare luminous ways
New rays from an ancient sun
Never forgotten
Divine apparition
Culminating in a white room bathed in light
In pillow conversations slowly they entwined
Her golden curls, his copper hair
New rays from an ancient sun
Never forgotten
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3. |
The Crimson Flush
03:10
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Unexpected and uncalled-for
The ill-timed guilt prompt to sell my secrets once more
While her rosy cheeks could never betray
My own blushes instantly give me away
Dressed as a blatant crush
Here comes the crimson flush
Cruel implying I might crawl at her feet
Looking less like victory than defeat
Without even letting down my guard
In a second I find myself bare and disarmed
Too embarrassing a situation, so with all due respect
Will you please get off your pedestal or else swat me like an insect
Dressed as a blatant crush
Here comes the crimson flush
It’s here, it hasn’t missed a heartbeat
Cruel implying I might crawl at her feet
Looking less like victory than defeat
And yet met with a beaming smile
Yes, met with a beaming smile…
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4. |
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Grass-green
And your hair’s golden sheen
In the meadow you preen
Yourself, greeting the dawn
Goodbyes
Like escapes you devise
Witness life in full size
Mean you’re nobody’s pawn
No-one tells you where to go
And no-one needs to know
Or try to wrest your secrets
No-one tells you where to go
And no-one needs to know
Birds of passage travel light
Here now, then out of sight
Truant heart
Not too pure to act smart
Turn your life into art
Blaze in the wake of freedom’s call
The slipstream
Of a new self-esteem
Catches you and your dream
Now rid of the chain and the ball
No-one tells you where to go
And no-one needs to know
Or try to wrest your secrets
No-one tells you where to go
And no-one needs to know
Birds of passage travel light
Here now, then out of sight
Moonrise
Comes up as a poor disguise
For the loneliest eyes
That I’ll ever recall
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5. |
Last Chance Train
03:10
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Pavement microflora
We grow through cracks
Streetlight microfauna
We follow the same tracks
Aeons of time watch us pass
Stretched out, stretched out
Naked souls through prisms of glass
Hold out, hold out
Sunrise Anatolia
Day in, day out
Leap up, ballerina
Point foot, in line
Winning over wildest heart
Stranger, be mine
Evening breeze hints at fresh start
Junction gives sign
Ageless Manitoba
Further we ride
I turn to kiss Virginia
To the nearest station we stride
We’re off without any second thoughts
About the last chance train
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6. |
Astray
03:25
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Sir Privilege
Never reached the shore
On London Bridge
Mister Greed met the ghost of Thomas More
All he’s got is useless maps
No thoroughfare
Bottomless pitfalls, random traps
Old class warfare
Dream vessel sails
Before seizure
In search of tales
From a sweet hereafter
All we’ve got is useless maps
No thoroughfare
Bottomless pitfalls, random traps
Old class warfare
May the horizon
Hold out the promise
Of some paragon
Like a new Atlantis
We’re just left with useless maps
No thoroughfare
Bottomless pitfalls, random traps
Toy explorers led astray
Avidity’s dismay
Yields only gaps
Like some dark scheme under wraps
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7. |
Chew Up Spit Out
02:48
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Set your own rules, let the game begin
All eyes on you the second you walk in
The snakes you charm and the wolves you tame
Blood red varnish on your fingernails
Paying no heed and dismissing threats
Manimals end up caught in your nets
Any creature, your disposable pet
Any gender, your potential asset
Chew up, spit out
Insatiable flesh keeps calling your name
Come help yourself, what’s the pick of the day ?
Tender surrender from your willing prey
Make up your mind, is it take-away ?
Chew up, spit out
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8. |
Grateful As Fire
04:09
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I owe you
For the incandescent hours
Among the scents of all the flowers
You grew
I walk through
Every garden that you conjure
From an eden undercover
For two
Every step I take
This ravaged heart feels new
Long overdue
Laid bare to you
I praise you
For that pretty desperate venture
When the saved became the saver
Didn’t you
I saw you
Trade my days of blood and thunder
For sweet nights in technicolor
Deep hue
And as time elapses
I tend to take my cue
Only from you
It makes sense to
I owe you
For revealing all the splendor
Of that complex human nature
How true
And this lucky reprieve breath
Is due to you
I have as few
Regrets as morning dew
Grateful as fire
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9. |
The Vulnerable Almighty
04:32
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Emily leaves out the strict necessary
Such is the eminent dignity
The superfluous that she keeps
Is the only remedy
For mediocrity
Semi-detached and half-wise
She’d rather get caught by surprise
Leading her life with no answer
Mere acceptance, to be
The vulnerable almighty
The princely nature of creating beauty
Must be an inner necessity
She feels genuinely
Bound to remain free
As platonic anarchy
Semi-detached and half-wise
She’d rather get caught by surprise
Leading her life with no answer
Mere acceptance, to be
The vulnerable almighty
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10. |
November Daughter
04:58
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A walk down the lane strewn with dead leaves before dark
She seemed to carry out the remnants of her life into the park
That same old damp wind every birthday
The usual thick fog in her way
Until luck whispered in the air
Broke the curse and felt like fate’s hand stroke through her hair
Whatever pain years accumulate
The warmth of a chance encounter could easily alleviate
Cold-sensitive creature she had nowhere to go
It took a shivery posture and one glance for the stranger to know
He reached for her hand and suitcase
Led her to a cosmic fireplace
Somewhere the cold would not penetrate
A shelter made of trust that grief could not infiltrate
That day luck whispered in the air
Broke the curse and felt like fate’s hand stroke through her hair
November daughter
Autumn flower
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11. |
Breathtaker
07:15
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Chiselled as two Grecian sculptures
With feline grace you stage a female duo tonight
Your palms meet like facing mirrors
Foreheads touch, a secret mimesis for my sight
Choreographic breathtaker don’t stop
Stir my imagination, bend, stretch and hop
The senses maze in your glamorous manner
A foreplay
Regal poise and grand composure
You draw her gaze, pull her body to yours in assumed might
She stoops down enough to conquer
Her hands enslave your slender ankles in subdued light
Choreographic breathtaker don’t stop
Stir my imagination, bend, stretch and hop
The senses maze in your glamorous manner
A foreplay
Wrists and arms belt your trim figure
Ineffably sweet, you meet her insistence with delight
The breath on your neck lets you surrender
The sumptuous swell of confidence flies you to new heights
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Sweet Gum Tree Angers, France
Sweet Gum Tree is musician Arno Sojo's psych-pop / art-rock project. He's played a hundred shows in eight countries and collaborated with such luminaries as Isobel Campbell, Heather Nova, Earl Harvin (Tindersticks) or Marty Willson-Piper (The Church). Embodying a distinctive kind of elegance, he cultivates his own aesthetic in a beautiful collision of the intimate sphere and the wide open space. ... more
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