1. |
High Girders
03:58
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Late December, seventy-nine,
Dundee train, northbound line.
River Tay, a mile from land
High girders stand.
Storm is fierce, night is wild,
Front of the carriage: father and child.
Has him close, holds his hand,
High girders stand.
Lead me, be my guide.
Take me o'er to the other side.
When it's dark I cannot see,
Stay here with me.
Since Burntisland all is well.
Pace is steady, none can tell
In the darkness miles away
High girders sway.
Train steams on into the night
Boy holds to his father tight
How much longer none can say:
High girders sway.
Late December, seventy-nine,
Dundee train, northbound line.
Storm bears down upon them all
High girders fall.
Jan 2014
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2. |
Daisy
03:41
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The view from here is tremendous
It's amazing what you can see.
People far below us
Have no idea about you and me.
The world is far behind.
Oh, let's just take our time.
Daisy, can I take you out tonight?
Daisy, let's go walking when the moon is big and bright.
Your eyes still sparkle despite the fading light.
Daisy, can I take you out tonight?
The path to here was horrendous
But it's amazing what you can do
With some imagination
You can build your dreams and make them come true.
The world is far behind.
Oh, let's just take our time.
When you're still so high above
The place where you belong
Choose to do something you love
Feed the fire that burns to make you strong.
Jan 2014
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3. |
Day Job
04:32
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Don't give up the day job,
you've got to pay the bills somehow.
Don't give up the day job,
you need to live your life in the here and now.
Don't give up the day job,
it makes you smile, so why would you quit?
Don't give up the day job,
you're living the dream, so just get on with it.
Early morning, buzz buzz
Push snooze, back to sleep.
Can't stop yawning, get up
Stand up on your feet.
Find your mojo
Work your magic
Get into the groove.
Nowhere to go:
Climbed the ladder
Nothing left to prove.
Did you notice
In the rat race
The winners are still rats?
Did you see a
Smile on their face,
Did you notice that?
2013
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4. |
Way It Goes
03:11
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You spend so long on wondering why it is you're losing place.
Maybe you put it down to living life at such a pace.
Sometimes late at night you somehow start to feel alone.
That's just the way it goes.
Don't let it get you down when you're so frail.
Don't cry if you try but you fail.
When you hurt and the dirt really shows, they say
That's just the way it goes.
This is not quite how it's meant to be.
You can't see where you're going till
you know just you're coming from.
This is not the way it's meant to be.
Need a fundamental alteration don't you see?
In all the songs you sing you're crying out - you're all alone.
Believing everything till innocence is all but gone.
One by one your dreams are fading then there's nothing left,
but that's just the way it goes.
You hear the echo of a multitude of contemplations.
All the voices only lead to further complications.
All the things you do are reflections of the way you chose
- that's just the way it goes.
Through the smile, beyond these eyes,
Glimpse of truth beneath your disguise.
Through the mask, behind the lies,
Show the face that you'd rather hide.
2014
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5. |
Off The Cliff
01:58
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Trying to live up to what the people expect
trying to keep in with them or
you'll be going next.
You only worry about being OK,
Always making sure you've got the easy way.
You think you're in charge
but you really don't know
that the crowd you belong to is
deciding where you go.
You say you're living by yourself
but you're going off the cliff with everybody else.
They don't care if you fall,
They only want to get there - that's all.
Stumbling through the pieces of your broken life,
you feel the pain that cut you like a knife.
You were dashed on the rocks
and crushed by the tide,
but someone comes to meet you
and his arms are open wide.
You think you're in charge,
but you really can't see
that there's more to life than this
more than you can ever be.
You said you were living for yourself
but you went off the cliff with everybody else.
Now you've heard the voice
now you've heard the call
Now you've got the choice - that's all.
1993/96
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6. |
Well Worthwhile
02:28
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Don't you know you've turned my life around?
Used to be so lost, but now I've found
There's so many different ways to fall in love with you.
Baby if you want to leave, then go.
But if you got to stay, say so,
Though I need you near, I'm not gonna keep you here
You made the waiting well worthwhile.
Everybody's breaking up, making up, making out
they know what it's all about
Truth is that it's happenstance, pure blind chance, pure blind luck
Then you've got to make it work.
Things may not be what they seem:
All your dreams, all your hopes
Look like going up in smoke.
But you've got to reach down deep, take a leap, take a chance,
Take the floor for one more dance.
2001/12
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7. |
Cold Stares
03:45
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You're an arctic escalator, baby,
All you can give me is cold, cold, stares.
And I know you've been feeling low,
Thinking that nobody cares.
Just dropped by to let you know,
I'll be here to help you through.
And I see you've been hating me,
Well I've been loving you.
When I wake in the morning light
All I see is your smiling face.
And I feel like you're almost real
Nothing can take your place.
Dropped verse: As I walk through the city streets
I travel back in time.
And I lie to the passers-by -
My face says I'm doing fine.
I can't forget how we used to be
When we were starting out.
And I should, suppose I could,
If I can shake my doubt.
You give me cold stares, baby,
Chill me to the soles of my feet.
And I try, sometimes I cry
But I know it's you I need.
My soul's so sore
Hurting like I can't explain.
And I'll sing about anything
To try to make it right again
Winter 1999
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8. |
Where Is The Love?
03:33
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The poor get poorer the rich get richer;
the powerless are oppressed
and the rest, well they don't care no more.
They see the sadness in the eyes of
the child in the picture
in the news story, yet, they still forget
because they don't really care.
They say it's not really fair.
Tell me, What's going on?
What's gone wrong?
Where is the love now?
The sad get sadder the smiles disappear;
They say God's far away
but nobody's thought to pray
because they don't really know.
Their lives are full of emptiness,
their hearts are full of fear.
"Stick with the crowd
so you don't get left out",
because you don't really know
why you're feeling so low.
The world is moving faster, no time for waiting here;
You're caught in a rush,
you're crushed and broken
and forced into a mould.
The deceiver's working overtime,
the end is getting near.
Temptation strikes again, and then you fall
because your heart has grown cold.
1993/95
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9. |
Two Kinds Of Blue
05:20
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Got me a feeling, I just don't know what to feel.
My head's so mixed up; I don't know what is real.
Went to the doctor, said, "Doc, what can you do?"
He said, "Son, all you need to know is there is two kinds of blue".
"The first is a teardrop, the second is a scream."
"I know you've been crying, but don't you lose your dreams."
Moving on now, you know I'm feeling better
Then she hit me with her 'Dear John' letter.
She says, "I've been thinking I'm not the one for you".
Leaves me wondering about these two kinds of blue.
"The first is a teardrop, the second is a scream."
As we say goodbye, I lose another dream.
2000
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10. |
When You Sleep
02:43
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When you sleep, will you dream?
Will you cry, will you scream?
Will you wake to find you're all alone, again?
Don't hide from the sky,
I know you can fly.
Don't cry, don't cry.
Can you tell me the answers,
can you sense when I say
that I'm searching
I'm moving away?
Will you stop me from drifting,
will you hold me so tight
that I can't run for cover,
that I can't leave the fight?
Oh . . . do something new
you need to change your ways
Time won't wait for you
Today I heard the news
You said you fear the blues
You want to choose
A new way to believe in what you know.
Don't turn from the son
Say you hate everyone
Don't run, don't run.
1997/98
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11. |
Walking Down The Road
03:24
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Walking down the road to loneliness,
Stumbling through the streets of fear.
Trying to find the right way,
just living to get out of here.
This journey goes on and on, day after day.
Can't see where it's going to end,
too busy just losing my way.
Walking on the wide road, going with the flow.
This is the way to a good time, this is the way to go.
All we hear is,
"These avenues lead to the same place".
And the fear is a failure of communication.
Take your chance now,
"It could be you but who's to say.
So live by your feelings,
still looking for the real thing".
It's all coming to an end in the
middle of the crossroads of doubt.
The dream has faded and I still can't get out
of this little cell they call my soul,
and I'm locked inside of me.
Doing wrong, can't do right;
need somebody to set me free.
Standing waiting for a sign I hear a call from behind.
Wake up, turn round this lost soul's just been found.
1994/95
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12. |
Harder I Work
03:38
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You say it's a coincidence, you think that it's a fluke:
I'm just sitting pretty, but take a closer look.
People say I'm lucky, I suppose it's true,
But I've got a secret that I'll share with you:
The harder I work, the luckier I get,
The more I remember, the less I forget.
This journey is long but it's not over yet,
The harder I work the luckier I get.
You know you can learn all along the way
It means you can earn much more than you're paid.
Just take it all in, but don't take it to heart,
Take it all in and make a new start . . .
So when you see somebody doing really well
Stop to think before you speak, before you give them hell.
Jumping to conclusions is a dangerous sport
Do it once too often and you're bound to get caught.
2013/2015
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13. |
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Once upon a time I had a simple life
A fishing boat, a dog and a wife
A son and daughter, we lived by the water
We had no worries in our simple life.
When the weather was right I would pack my net
Kiss farewell to my Juliet
Down to the shore, off once more
Out on the waves, see what I get.
O'er the waves
O'er the sea
O'er the waves
Oh, a simple life for me
Oh, a simple life
Then one morning a man came by
Smiled as he passed and caught my eye
We sat together, enjoyed the weather
Talking about work and the simple life.
He said, "Maybe I could share some tricks I know,
Help your fishing business grow:
Buy more boats, hire more men
Catch more fish, make more profit
Be your own boss: kick back and enjoy life more..."
I thanked the man and took his card
Wished him well, said, "Don't work too hard"
Back to my net, and Juliet
My children, dog and simple life.
My son said, "Dad, that man had style
The two of you sure talked for a while.
Did he offer money, or say something funny?"
"You're right both times son", I said and smiled.
"He made me an 'offer I couldn't refuse'
But I did, and told how it was in my shoes.
He had to go, but I'll let him know
If I ever tire of the simple life".
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Ed Muirhead Dundee
old-fashioned songwriting, new-fashioned roots, folk songs & tunes.
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