1. |
Crow Hill
03:30
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We were born in second place
And we like it here just fine
Arthur’s Seat is calling
But I know that you are mine
I wish that I could think
The end is just the start
But I watch the ambulance go
And feel it in my heart
Floating in the sky, it’s not our day to die
But we got time to kill, sitting on Crow Hill
Looking down below, it’s not our day to go
But we got time to kill, sitting on Crow Hill
We can see the beach from here
Where you shouted at the sea
Tried to hold it back
And I knew you were the key
We listen to the wind
It makes me want to cry
We watch the ships roll in
And I know we have to try
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2. |
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I swam around the world
Started in Japan
Rippled across the Pacific Ocean
I do the best I can
I swam around the Cape
Through the stormy seas
I felt your love in the dark of the water
Do anything you please
I felt my body swell
Fill with energy
I did a dance with the whales and the dolphins
Knew it had to be
I travelled round the coast
Caught a sight of land
Tried to decode all the light from the lighthouse
Taste the grit of sand
I broke along the shore
Landed at your feet
I kissed the wash all the way to the shoreline
Never felt so sweet
And returned to the ocean
To start again
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3. |
The Hole in My Heart
03:14
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The lights were all too bright
When they wheeled me into surgery
And I counted down from ten
I felt it in my veins
A cold and lonely honesty
As they checked my date of birth again
Cos you filled the hole in my heart
Yeah you filled the hole in my heart
The voices were all too loud
When I woke up from infinity
And I felt my heart go boom
My blood was warmer now
As it raced around my arteries
Happy as it travelled on
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4. |
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Fifty million miles in the dead of night
A canopy of stars is the only light
I can hear your signal now but everyone is gone
No one here to listen as I try to sing this song
Baby all I need is a single spark
Cos my battery is low and it’s getting dark
Thousand morning kisses from a distant sun
You know I’ve got a marathon left to run
Storm on the horizon turning red skies into black
This is just a one-way trip and I’m not coming back
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5. |
The Shortest Day
03:33
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The sun didn’t rise today
Snow is on the ground
Frozen in the air
Birds don’t make a sound
Get out of bed, get out of bed
Get up and face the day
Heaney said
We can summer anywhere
Do what we want
If we winter this out
But not this time
On the shortest day
The world didn’t turn today
I floated into space
Silence all around
Moonlight on my face
Come on and breathe, Come on and breathe
Come on and save the day
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6. |
Put the Gun Away
03:01
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Hey boy, put the gun away
And sit down here
Next to me and read this out loud
Our crime is on the way down
Given time you can turn yourself round
Hey there, tie that rope to me
And let’s dive down
To the core below what we know
Hey now, throw that knife away
And relax, boy
Burn the books until we feel warm
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7. |
Lost Transmissions
03:29
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When the dog ran away
And the snow came to stay
I can see all the tears on your face
That the signal-to-noise washed away
Lost transmissions and forgotten codes
We spent years getting high with our ghosts
But we should’ve known that there’s always a cost
And now those transmissions are lost
When we drove down the road
And the image just froze
I can see all the blood on your hands
Start to fade as the microwaves flow
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8. |
The Water and the Sand
02:46
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The lighthouse on the shore
Will burn forever more
We sit here on the sand
And hold each other’s hand
I’m tangled up in you
It’s all we ever do
The ocean and the land
You’re tangled up in me
For everyone to see
The water and the sand
The birds return each year
To nest below the pier
We watch them fly away
We’re changing every day
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9. |
The Language of the Rock
03:32
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We used to run everywhere we went
We used it up till our time was spent
The universe is singing its own song all around
Just close your eyes and touch the ground
If we can slow the ticking of the clock
We can learn the language of the rock
We watch the hills everywhere we go
They breathe a word only they can know
Every million years is a blink in someone’s eye
Just taste the air and hear them sigh
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10. |
A Planet Without a Star
02:49
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Kicked out of your home
The second you were born
Drifting through the lonely sunless places in between
Time to come on home
No matter where you are
A planet without a star
I’ll find you in the dark
My planet without a star
Come orbit next to me
We’ll build a galaxy
Sunlight on our faces and we’re dancing cheek to cheek
Come on and feel the heat
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11. |
A Chaos of Bees
03:50
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When I sit down to die
Sun too bright in the sky
A chaos of bees and the cars glinting down below
And my mouth is too dry
And I don’t know what’s going on
And the hammer in my head goes on and on
And I can’t walk away
No I can’t walk away
And I can’t walk at all
When I lean on your hand
And I struggle to stand
The scanner will find all the damage inside but I
Don’t know where I will land
And I don’t know what’s going on
And the shaking in my hands goes on and on
When I wake the next day
And the light is too grey
The blood in your brain’s trying to kill you he says and then
Tries to shrug it away
And I don’t know what’s going on
And the flicker in my heart goes on and on
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12. |
We Find Our Patterns
03:27
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Watching you dance, there in the dark
Over and over, we left a mark
Shapes in the sand, lit by a flame
Out of the darkness, I hear your name
We find our patterns, in the skies above
We find our patterns, in the ones we love
We tell a story, and fall through time
I found my pattern with your hand in mine
Down by the shore, all on your own
I heard your music, dropped like a stone
Shapes in the air, sound of the sea
Into the future, I know we’ll be free
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Doug Johnstone Edinburgh, UK
Doug has released four solo records, as well as four albums with Northern Alliance and one as The Ossians. He's also the drummer in the Fun Lovin' Crime Writers, a band of writers, and has had thirteen novels published.
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