1. |
Tugboat
03:59
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The skipper had a stiff one, filled a flask for the road
Glanced out at the sunset alighting on the shore
Took him back to the Suez and the Gulf of Mexico
Sailed through the memories from a lifetime before
So he took to the channel with a crew of three
Kapitän was a lifer, known to go by feel
She was big and muscly, along the Reiherstieg
He hadn’t seen her coming, she was full of gasoline
Sing… of the Elbe’s soul, across her rugged skin
How a sailor’s heart can’t be reeled in
And one fine day that ship be gone again
A fortnight later they called him in
Superintendant said Reiner, won’t be warning you again
Carrying his new orders, held his chin up high
Back in his quarters, he hung his head to cry
Couldn’t sleep for the nightmares, everything was out of place
Couldn’t get out on the water, feel the wind on his face
Dozing off in retraining he heard his grandad cuss
Son, this world is a changing… gotta do what you must
Sing… of the Elbe’s soul, across her rugged skin
How a sailor’s heart can’t be reeled in
And one fine day that ship be gone again
The moon was on the water, night shift had gone home
Slipped the rope from the capstan, let her out into the flow
Cap’n stared into the darkness with eyes black as coal
Drifted under the searchlights and killed the radio…
Sing… of the Elbe’s soul, across her rugged skin
How a sailor’s heart can’t be reeled in
And one fine day that ship be gone…
Sing… of the Elbe’s soul, across her rugged skin
How a sailor’s heart can’t be reeled in
And one fine day that ship be gone again
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2. |
You Do It To Yourself
04:00
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It’s been so great to see you but I got too much on the brain
Don’t you know that I’ll be smiling when you come back around again
Now I can handle a lot of pressure though I can get a little stressed
Thank the stars for your friendship for when I’m not at my best
Oh brother, you do it to yourself
Yeah sister, it’s dragging you through hell
Hey brother, the thoughts are in your head
Hey sister, you do it to yourself
Standing in the line at the airport when the cel phone starts to ring
It’s the friend with the family, and the grip on everything
Says he wonders in these moments how he’s gonna make the turn
As I’m listening and reflecting I remember what I’ve learned
Oh brother, you do it to yourself
Yeah sister, it’s dragging you through hell
Hey brother, the thoughts are in your head
Hey sister, you do it to yourself
Now now now… see you gone and done it again
Whoa whoa whoa… letting all the bad vibes in
Now now now… see you gone and done it again
Whoa whoa whoa… letting all the bad vibes in
A hundred thoughts and calculations twinkle round me every night
Just for seeing them so clearly I start to wonder if I might
Find a way to float the figures so I can let go of the score
And release the over-thinking, get back into living more
Oh brother, you do it to yourself
Yeah sister, it’s dragging you through hell
Hey brother, the thoughts are in your head
Hey sister, you do it to yourself
Oh brother, you do it to yourself
Yeah sister, it’s dragging you through hell
Hey brother, the thoughts are in your head
Hey sister, you do it to yourself
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3. |
Tiny Stages
03:59
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Cranes… guard the harbour skies
Glisten at sunrise, an open road beyond
Back on tour I go, into the world I know
Behind the window… I hum along
Oh this life is full of changes
Tiny stages, railway stations
Minor, major turns
Moments sprung from rusty cages
Seasons cast on scribbled pages
Filled with things I’ve learned
Tonight… clamber from the train
I’m back in town again, so good to play for you
With the lights down low, the lonely curves of my soul
Come shining through… right on cue
Oh this life is full of changes
Tiny stages, railway stations
Minor, major turns
Moments sprung from rusty cages
Seasons cast on scribbled pages
Filled with things I’ve learned
The sound… that the silence makes
Soothes a gentle ache, those missing words are long, long gone
From this precious floor, along the walls and doors
The slice of time… slips away
Oh this life is full of changes
Tiny stages, railway stations
Minor, major turns
Moments sprung from rusty cages
Seasons cast on scribbled pages
Filled with things I’ve learned
Oh this life is full of changes
Tiny stages, railway stations
Minor, major turns
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4. |
Another Lost Day
04:18
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The right kind of time in the wrong kind of place
From the dragfoot floors to the lonely little space
Behind the slots that block the view as the buttons click away
It’s shaping up to be another lost day
The hero takes the bar where the asian cooking lays
When the lady walks in he finds another reason to stay
And send his loud and empty voice for another echo around the room
It’s shaping up to be another lost day
Yeah walking the lonely path
You just want to break the chain
Somewhere along don’t you realize
It’s all looping back again
The young crook rounds the corner as the light begins to wear
Runs as if he can make it then lets his hands into the air
As the cops land upon him, everyone will get their share
It’s shaping up to be another lost day
In the darkness comes the fumble as the lonely music plays
The search for answers stops to rumble and begins the come-what-may
I can finally watch no longer, all the souls for which I pray
Looks like it might have been another lost day
Yeah walking the lonely path
You just want to break the chain
Somewhere along don’t you realize
It’s all looping back again
There’s no reason to expect a change
No reason to give up hope
Then again what could I know, just been sitting here the while
‘Somewhere Over The Rainbow’ sings the poor man’s lullaby
Humming out of the corner with his fists a-swinging high
He’s just burning for another lost day
Yeah walking the lonely path
You just want to break the chain
Somewhere along don’t you realize
It’s all looping back again
Yeah it’s all looping back again
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5. |
Fortune Cookie
03:58
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How the early times were a hustle and a haze
Money weren’t for nothing and the downs would last for days
Had to bang on my guitar, as if I had something to prove
And if I ever thought of giving up I heard a voice say ‘no can do’
I could always hear the rumbling, feel the pulling on my chain
A notion of deliverance be winding through my brain
My boosters clicked to turbo, as I climbed back into my groove
And from the back seat come a little voice a-whispering ‘do what you do’
Grabbed a fortune cookie from the big glass bowl
When I tell you what it said to me, your eyes are gonna roll
Good luck was around the corner, wise man make careful moves
And these words sparked the fire in the chambers, and I punched on through
That big block is stronger than it appears
Hardened muscle built from all these years
So take a good long look around and drop it into gear
Now there ain’t no sense in moaning every time you miss a turn
Count yourself lucky for another chance to learn
Why this and that keeps happening, ain’t for you to understand
So get on off the ropes and start swinging, like you can
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6. |
Your Shadow
03:53
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Tick of the clock
The corner of the eye
Watches the time go
Follow the birds
Fall across the sky
To where the wind blows
Suddenly there
Stealing across the ground
I saw your shadow
Not ‘cause I’m sad, for sad reflections
All of what’s passed helped me to carry on
Over the hill
I found an open plain
Upon a breathy ridge
The flick of the flame
Charring that remained
Has helped the bed grow
What’s not all great
Was not all hurt
And not all true
Not ‘cause I’m sad, for sad reflections
All of what’s passed helped me to get along
Whatever it’s worth, for all of what I’ve learned
I need to thank you
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7. |
Slip & Fall
03:34
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Steindamm on a Thursday when the shouting breaks the night
The stand-arounds slide apart and slip away from sight
The kebab stalls, the betting halls… he runs to make the turn
The PENNY drunks are muttering when’s Gunni gonna learn
Slip and fall… slip and fall
A gentle breeze in Blankenese, sun twinkling in the wind
Micha’s on his knees in the bonsai trees, chest pains come again
Highlight reels of business deals that swept him to the top
The empty feel of the spinning wheels pushed him near the drop
Slip and fall… slip and fall
Nobody’s born immune
Wonder what you’re gonna do
When the ball rolls over you
The keeper of the privilege holds the first and final words
While every other syllable struggles to be heard
Sisters, brothers, neighbours, lovers… the way the web is spun
So much to lose, so much to gain, a hundred ways to come undone
Slip and fall… slip and fall
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8. |
Little Calm
04:00
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Through the sparse and still trees
In the white and the grise there’s a silence that helps me breathe
Deafening grind of the gears
In the space between the ears I can tumble through all my fears
Oh oh oh
Wishing that I’d feel it, pushing to pull through it
Oh oh oh
Hoping that I’ll see it, long enough to get it
A little calm before the fight
In the bold of the night every fiber stretches to feel
Alive and broken in
Across the palm’s tender skin is a steely grip on the wheel
Oh oh oh
Wishing that I’d feel it, pushing to pull through it
Oh oh oh
Hoping that I’ll see it, long enough to get it
Hurried words and grey lines
In the flesh around the spine there’s a tension that’s grounding me
The thoughts of the monkey brain
Around the world and back again… the confusion is easy to see
Oh oh oh
Wishing that I’d feel it, pushing to pull through it
Oh oh oh
Hoping that I’ll see it, long enough to get it
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9. |
The Shape I'm In
04:44
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Early Sunday morning, to the snow falling in the street
Gently pulling me from rest
Lying there just listening while my thoughts get in the way
And the tension grips my chest
All the little voices, how they get under my skin
Coming in sideways, looking strong for the shape I’m in
Drift along the Alster on the rails of Kennedy Bridge
Wonder quietly where this all will go
Everything’s changing just like it always did before
In all the ways you just can’t know
All the little voices, how they get under my skin
Coming in sideways, looking strong for the shape I’m in
A pair of harbour seagulls up there turning in the wind
Getting high above the park
Softly interacting with this crazy world I’m in
Till the daylight takes the dark
All the little voices, how they get under my skin
Coming in sideways, looking strong for the shape I’m in
All the little voices, how they get under my skin
Coming in sideways, looking strong for the shape I’m in
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10. |
Celtic Tiger
03:55
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On a lonely night in a Franken town
Was my life forever changed
By a twinkling eye as I played my songs
For the ear of my Ivy
Did the weeks and months from that night give way
And the hours on the phone
How the thrust of fate led me to the day
I took the hand of my Ivy
Then I brought her up to the castle wall
Where we sat under a tree
A more perfect moment I cannot recall
In the hold of my Ivy
All ye friends and strangers here be gathered round
By the stage and down the halls
As we raise our glasses to the fortune found
I draw a pull for my Ivy
Now I run the miles of this ragged road
With my vision ever clear
Of the fairest lady back on Hanse shores
See my sweet little Ivy
Oh the troubles of the day, how they burn the light away
And the dark come a-withering through
Gives her fire to light the night, keep the calm and bring the right
Makes me strong and brave anew
Though I’m blessed to walk with so many good friends
None could love me more than she
Such a lucky man have I now become
To guard the heart of my Ivy
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Morgan Finlay Hamburg, Germany
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