1. |
Alone
03:26
|
|||
|
When you’re sitting in a sadness that feels deeper than the bone
And you carry around a heart that’s as heavy as a stone
These times when all the trouble can make you grateful just to be… alone
Other times you revel in a rhythm that you know
Complete with all the fixins of a life on the go
It don’t mean you’re near the edge for learning how to get by… alone
And I get some time together with the folks I know and trust
And we’ll drink and talk forever ‘bout the things affecting us
Some words and some habits they ain’t never gone away
But we live with at the end of the day
Yeah I’m glad to be a part of this tragicomedy called life
And for the hand-me-downs and hand grenades that taught me how to fight
Cause I learned to find the happiness when it’s hard to find the light... alone
Well I ain’t too proud to witness the storms passing through
And I’ve lost the shame of slipping into a deeper patch of blue
It’s just the darker part of it, that sometimes we better face… alone
And it don’t mean you ain’t happy in the company of friends
That you ain’t getting those warm feelings just to hang with them again
So many people living in the corner of your mind
And you’re with them from time to time
So rest your guarded caution, your radar in the night
You won’t receive an e-mail when you get the balance right
It’s a brave new world upon us, be glad you know to be… alone
|
||||
2. |
Shots of Light
04:20
|
|||
|
Look in the mirror, check my hair
Pocket my key and take the stairs
Down to the street
I see the markings of despair
On the sidewalks and in the square
It don’t look good
But there’s a glimmer in the pall
Under the writing on the wall
The shots of light
While I wonder where the lines are
How much more there is to take
Never so hard to draw the beauty
Never been so much at stake
In the disrupt of times like these
We can get lost among the things
That might be true
Behind the mask that blocks your face
All this fear wants to erase
The happy you
While I wonder where the lines are
How much more there is to take
Never so hard to draw the beauty
Never been so much at stake
How to change the tune
How to leave your room
How to make a case for your survival
Telephony pings
Online shiny things
Tired of just being happy I’m alive
Underneath all the bricks and bones
Everyone longs to have some hope
To pull them through
At the end of Main Street in the dark
Where the kids drink in the dark
They’re doing shots of light
While I wonder where the lines are
How much more there is to take
Never so hard to draw the beauty
Never been so much at stake
|
||||
3. |
I'm Over Here
03:54
|
|||
|
I’m Over Here
©2020 Morgan Finlay
Every time you close your eyes
You get what I’m playing
Your lips are moving with my lines
It’s almost like you’re singing
You can see it’s really me
Working hard to spit it out
And you can see just how it feels
But humming in the background…
Well I’m over here
Choking on these words
Hoping for a hand to open
Yeah I’m over here
For better or for worse
You know I’ll give everything to you
Even after all this time
All these years of running
You could say I found my line
And still I ain’t seen everything
There’s days I can’t believe it’s true
So many people listening
Tonight I’m playing just for you
But back there in the distance…
Well I’m over here
Coming through the lines
Soundtrack to your tangled process
Yeah I’m over here
Tapping on your mind
Trying to be good enough for you
You took the country road
And came down for my show
Your faith is plain to see
Cause I’m over here
Waiting just outside
Watching from out in the open
Yeah I’m over here
For better or for worse
You know I’ll give everything…
Well I’m over here
Choking on these words
Hoping for a hand to open
Yeah I’m over here
For better or for worse
You know I’ll give everything to you
|
||||
4. |
Too Soon For Sundown
03:35
|
|||
|
We’re taking turns a-starin’ down at the floor
As you tiptoe through the process of putting butter on your toast
Bedraggled and bewildered are two ‘b’s that we share
While last night’s empty barrels are lingering in the air
Too good to be true… if such a thing could ever be
Too much time to fix on every screw that’s a-shakin’ free
Too ready to run down such a winning bet
But it’s too soon for sundown to come down yet
The other night you asked me if we would share some kin
Which set me right to wondering ‘bout the shape I’d be in
Rephrasing and reframing into the night no end
While this youngster is needing just to be held again
Too good to be true… if such a thing could ever be
Too much time to fix on every screw that’s a-shakin’ free
Too ready to run down such a winning bet
But it’s too soon for sundown to come down yet
Cause it don’t take a chainsaw to cut us to the quick
A lazy little word or two with tone will do the trick
Those triggers that we talk about in the calm and the cool
Look a lot like decorations when we start to talk like fools
Well there’s been some problems, sad to say so
Those little rough notes, they come and they go
Cause if I’ve been one thing, more than one time or two
It’s a hell of a challenge for a fine gal like you
Too good to be true… if such a thing could ever be
Too much time to fix on every screw that’s a-shakin’ free
Too ready to run down such a winning bet
But it’s too soon for sundown to come down yet
|
||||
5. |
Try To Remember
03:40
|
|||
|
Roll around in my bed
The sound of the gentle thunder
And the little voice in my head
The one that never surrenders
Watches your silhouette
Carved in the Basque sun
Your cobblestone pirouettes
But I’m not so sure it’s safe to go there
Just in case you forget
Well try to remember
Just in case you forget
Well try to remember
Why do the questions last
Hidden underneath the pillow
And would you say you can’t be asked
When everything else is settled
What is and what isn’t passed
Present as your curves and colours
Sitting on the summer grass
You leaned into me and you said:
Just in case you forget
Well try to remember
Just in case you forget
Well try to remember
Awaken to a quiet room
Could have slept like that forever
Little whisper now did you forget
Well how the hell could I ever
|
||||
6. |
Famous Last Words
04:24
|
|||
|
One month so far and who knows more to go
Finally my cool is slipping from my control
Funny memes and pretty things have lost their power to entertain
Yeah the curve is indeed flattening— the waves of my brain
Watching the news now for just a little too long
Fell asleep again with the Google on
Following the numbers ain’t leading me to feeling good
No idea what part of me was thinking that it somehow would
I’m gonna get up, wanna get a get up, gotta get a get up
Monday has come and the boss is on the Zoom
Gotta watch them keywords with Alexa in the room
Between all these machines, I feel like some my screws are coming loose
And I’d take a good long look at things— but right now I just can’t see the use
Circles in the kitchen yeah I’m cleaning again
Wax on, wax off till I’m shedding layers of skin
Holding down the fort has got me floating slowly downwind
It’s a good thing this sense of humour is holding on— through thick and thin
I’m gonna get up, wanna get a get up, gotta get a get up
Now that lunch is finished, it’s one o’clock once more
Already dreading the long night that’s a-lyin’ here in store
There’s nearly nothing left in the world that I ain’t already seen or heard
I got a fishtank of energy with a reservoir of time to burn
Type this on the list of my famous last words
All inside and no blue sky makes Jack a dull bird
I’m looking round for a charge, under these last few stones
If nothing else I’d call this proof that we shouldn’t be left alone
|
||||
7. |
Old Habits
03:53
|
|||
|
Lately I’ve been taking stock of things
Seeing what the cat drags in
Throttle down on the suffering
To let more good climb in
Over the years you stop a-wondering
Done things for far too long
You know you better be a-changing
But the timing’s always wrong
Old habits
Yeah the ones that gonna save ya
Are the ones that gonna let you down
Old habits
Yeah you think you got ‘em handled
But I think you oughta look around
I used to love a funny cigarette
Still do from time to time
Find me loose-lipped and rambling
A-letting go my mind
Never saw it as a problem
To Cheech out and loosen up
Somehow I reached the next level
I get high without that stuff
Old habits
Yeah the ones that gonna save ya
Are the ones that gonna let you down
Old habits
Yeah you think you got ‘em handled
But I think you oughta look around
I’d often pin it on intensity
That I was a lonely fool
A little too headstrong to follow
A little social rule
Ever since I started listening
I hear what other people say
I’m drawing more out of living
For stepping out of my own way
|
||||
8. |
Reason and Rhyme
03:51
|
|||
|
To all my friends and neighbours, I got a song to sing
About this fabulous species, thinks they know everything
So listen up close, it won’t hurt but it might sting
But we just can’t say right now
So come on out creatures, you the humbled and the bruised
There’s a spot on the curb for each of us fools
We’ll be ready to stand when we get the new rules
But we just can’t say right now
Ain’t nothing so simple, when you shovel into it
We’re building up from the rubble, or we’re at the top of the split
We’re blowing out little bubbles, or we’re in a pile of shit
But we just can’t say right now
The saints of the sinners lost some of their shine
And their guilty companions been abandoned in time
It’s a slap-back from the founders of reason and rhyme
Oh the truth comes out in the end
Yeah we’re hammered with headlines, as we’re speeding along
We’re so convinced we’re right, we’ve forgotten what’s wrong
If you ask me compassion is the sign of the strong
Oh the truth comes out in the end
Now my fellow conscious citizen, take a seat on the stand
In the name of your honour, you can raise your right hand
Now tell us all again, how you’re doing all that you can
Oh the truth comes out in the end
From the one life I’ve lived, comes one thing I’ve learned
It’s that we ain’t gonna change, unless something starts to burn
With the luck of the ancients, we’ll all make the turn
And we’ll carry through somehow
Take control of the arms, that’s connected to your heart
Take the moment the guts find the courage to start
A little breakdown be the shakedown, make your feet do their part
And we’ll carry through somehow
So long to the old way, bonjour reality
The right to think different is the mark of the free
What a beautiful conundrum, cut out for you and me
And we’ll carry through somehow
|
||||
9. |
Automatic
04:44
|
|||
|
do you need time
do you miss the world
do you miss hope
like it misses you
do you want love
do you want to know
do you want truth
like it wants you
automatic cannot hear you
automatic doesn’t care
automatic in the background
automatic is never there
automatic owns the outcome
automatic knows the score
automatic in the bedroom
automatic begs for more
have we got time
have we any questions
have we still hope
is there any use
have they got love
have they any purpose
have they been true
are they shaken loose
automatic wants to reach you
automatic on the phone
automatic needs your digits
automatic is not alone
automatic to the rescue
automatic in the air
automatic has a secret
automatic is everywhere
|
||||
10. |
Just Think It Instead
04:26
|
|||
|
Child, I can feel that you’re scared
There’s a chill in the air
Though the sensors should know we’re home
It’s true, there’ll be light after dark
Every piece has its part
Every part has its line of code
Little one, close your eyes
You’re safe and warm tonight
Mommy and daddy are here
Ready to hold you
Little one, you can let go
It’ll all be fine tonight
We’re listening in on you
Child, when your feelings must show
It’s OK ‘cause you know
Other humans have feelings too
So sing me a song from your head
Or just think it instead
Sometimes that’s the best you can do
Little one, close your eyes
You’re safe and warm tonight
Mommy and daddy are here
Ready to hold you
Little one, you can let go
It’ll all be fine tonight
We’re listening in on you
And you will fly to the farthest stars
And every dream can come true
Child, when it all gets too much
Every screen knows your touch
Just reach out and take back control
The watchers… trust in them to be fair
When you don’t look they’re not there
There is nothing that they don’t know
Little one, close your eyes
You’re safe and warm tonight
Mommy and daddy are here
Ready to hold you
Little one, you can let go
It’ll all be fine tonight
We’re listening in on you
|
||||
11. |
Back Then
03:49
|
|||
|
I met the old me on the stairs
He somehow knew to meet me there
The crushing silence on the train
We ride again
I couldn’t say but I assume
You would have loved this little room
I let my heart fall to the floor
I need it no more
Rain off the ocean hits the trees
The trail is empty but for me
Some time ago let go the sun
When things came undone
Of course you’re with me everywhere
I run my fingers through your hair
For losing you I’m not to win
Let sadness begin
As now I look back on the end
Sometimes things don’t make any sense
Or well they don’t but then they do
Time passes it’s true
We let the story write itself
And now the box is on the shelf
Though losing touch is nothing new
Back then I had you
|
||||
12. |
||||
|
I walk from the front porch, on down to the stream
Let the sun on my shoulders shake the doubt from the seams
In an age of connection, we’ve been living the dream
Like we thought it would always be
Now I sit here and ponder how the party’s gonna end
If the link to each other is gonna break or gonna bend
How the key to the future is being dropped in our hands
And it’s all up to you and me…
And these seven billion little points of light
I run with these feelings, as the current takes hold
The wind in the blue sky says I’ll never grow old
It’s amusement and wonder that charges my soul
And holds me inside the flow
Well your weather predictions say it’s more of the same
And your status quo status is the name of the game
You can hide in the shadows where you take all your blame
But you can’t shake the subtle glow…
Of these seven billion litle points of light
It’s the pressure of opportunity
Take a good long look around…
Up in the darkness, in the dancing of the stars
As you strain to consider how we made it this far
Does the truth of our smallness help you out of control
Or remind you of anything..?
If you’re over the worst part and you’re ready to fly
If you sit on this park bench and you just wanna cry
These are confusing times, friend… but it’s just you and I
Who can turn around everything…
With these seven billion little points of light
Yeah these seven billion little points of light
All these seven billion little points of light
|
||||
13. |
The Trail of Hope
02:06
|
|||
|
Son, what you doing with them oars?
Getting set for when the tide comes in
Gonna row away from these troubled waters
To a little somewhere I’ve never been
I’ve seen where the mountains meet the ocean
I have held the future in my hands
All the angles of the great wide open
Are telling me something I think I understand
Lo the rocks and cliffs, they’re still standing
While setbacks and suffering come and go
They say a curse in time could bring a blessing
But if I stand here all day, I’ll never know
Keep riding
Keep riding
Keep riding the Trail of Hope
Keep following
Keep following
Keep following the Trail of Hope
|
||||
Morgan Finlay Hamburg, Germany
Become a Patreoner to support my work!
www.patreon.com/morganfinlay
Werde ein Patreoner, um meine Arbeit zu unterstützen!
www.patreon.com/morganfinlay
If you like Morgan Finlay, you may also like:
Johanna Samuels writes introspective and empathetic songs that explore authenticity with lovely, low-key pop melodies.
go to album
The musical project of Canadian actor Kaelen Ohm is filled with jazz, R&B, and folk influences.
go to album
This debut from the Paris-based American artist showcases his genre-fluid sound.
go to album
Hideaway EP
by John Mark Nelson
Beautiful folk-derived songs on the new EP from John Mark Nelson center yearning melodies and gentle arrangements.
go to album
Danielle Durack's emotional music is both gentle and steely, moving from intimate bedroom pop to powerful rock in the blink of an eye.
go to album
Darkly dramatic synth-pop with airy vocals that paint a grim but still hopeful portrait of our present day.
go to album
This Melbourne group craft irresistible bedroom pop with bouncy synths and soft vocals that sweeten serious subject matter.
go to album
