DISTANT SHORE
She shivered in the darkness
and tried to catch the wind
she knew that hell came after love
and thought that she had sinned
she wanted to be someone
and make the great escape
she can't be from this family
there must be some mistake
Chorus:
Every time I see your picture
I have to close my eyes
guilty feelings send me reeling
accusations fly
a ship of fear has carried me
and many souls before
sad the day I sailed away
from that far distant shore.
Whiskey breath, pray for death
blackness keep her safe
icy fumble, walls that crumble
screams that can't escape
leave your body lying there
like Jesus did before
you won't be coming back this way
for thirty years or more.
Chorus
As the days turn into years
my anger fades away
sentimental memories
slip into it's place
it's harder to remember pain
affection never shown
loving you is easy
a thousand miles from home
Chorus
FAITHLESS
The eagle flies above the sea
and beats it's wings
as if in warning
of a tide that's coming in
and won't be stopped
I hear it calling
there she stands alone
upon an empty shore
believing god will save her
from the darkness
only love can cure
chorus:
She's faithless I've been told
faithless I've been told
faithless I've been told
Amid the cups
so cracked and stained
where crowded ashtrays overflow
she gazes from a window
where she holds
her dreams of long ago
she was once a beauty queen
with hair of black
eyes of green
the years have taken everything
that might have been
chorus
Sundays when the church bells ring
she's first in line
to kneel and pray
when they pass
the plate to her
she's saving for a rainy day
fear and dollar hand in hand
it's hard for me to understand
she'll take it with her if she can I know
chorus
NO RETURN
There's a stranger in your house
but you don't sense a thing
Rome is falling
Berlin's gone
play your violin
close your eyes and look away
you don't want to see
turn your mind off float away
don't disturb your scene
Chorus:
On the road to no return
and the road is rough
fumbling blindly as we spin
'cause we can't find love
Virtual apples in your garden
they taste good to you
all are perfect all the same
isn't that a clue
we don't even know our names
or who we really are
when they speak there is no truth
lying is an art
Chorus
Money is the rosary
greed the sacred cow
trade our futures for today
cash our dreams in now
we have every thing we need
to keep us counting sheep
waiting for a prince to come
and wake us from our sleep
Chorus
LADY OF THE STREETS
Beneath a silent winter sky
the dark black veil of night
lifted and my eyes beheld
a vision bathed in light
she sang a song I'd heard before
I wondered was it true
as I reached to touch her hand
she faded from my view
Chorus:I'll bring her bread and roses
and lay them at her feet
she's saintly and she's holy
our lady of the streets
She needs a star to guide her
angels light the way
a child is born
on this December day
the snow has marked her coming
the moon has trined her soul
I pray for her to keep her faith
she walks her path alone
Chorus:I'll bring her ruby slippers
and lay them at her feet
she's saintly and she's holy
our lady of the streets
BRIDGE:
UT AD QUI PATIUNTUR IN TENEBRIS SCAPULAE DARIUNTUR (SCAPULIS SOUIS OBUMBRABIT)
(let those who suffer in darkness be given wings)
There's a house that's made for ladies
to shelter them from storms
from quiet assassinations
that desecrate the calm
I've searched for her for thirty years
I'm standing at her door
the tale I tell I know it well
I 'm the child she bore.
Chorus:I'll bring her candles burning
and lay them at her feet
she's saintly and she's holy
this lady of the streets
I'll bring her mystic visions
and lay them at her feet
she's saintly and she's holy
our lady of the streets
I Just Wanna Dance
I come from a place
that's a long way from here
I'm nobody's friend of a friend
talking 'bout nothing's not easy for me
I never learned how to pretend
the rules of a game
are a mystery
when you have never been shown
speak to me somebody
please say my name
I feel like a fool all alone
Chorus:
I'm not a loser
I'm just feeling shy
If you don't look my way
I won't catch your eye
I'm just a kind stranger
so give me a chance
baby I just wanna dance
I'm not really cool
I don't have much style
my clothes were a dollar a pound
I don't have the money to buy you a drink
but I'll dance you right off of the ground
beauty's a light that shines from within
only an angel
can see
if you'll be my partner
we'll glide 'cross the floor
while the band plays a sweet melody
Chorus
Foggy Dew
Down the hills I went one morn
a lovely maid I spied
down the hills I went one morn
she looked at me and sighed
her eyes did shine like diamonds bright
and sparkled like the dew
she smiled and said
you're the boy I'll wed
I'm to meet you in the foggy dew
Droop your heads ye roses red
as the weeping willows dee
you should droop your head in shame
before a maid so sweet
I asked her if she'd marry me
beneath the skies of blue
she smiled and said
you're the boy I'll wed
I'm to meet you in the foggy dew
Down the hills I went one morn
a singing I did go
down the hills I went one morn
she answered soft and low
she said if you'll be my true love
I'm sure that you'll prove true
and close in my arms
I will roll your charms
we'll be hidden in the foggy dew
Holiday Romance
I've never been the same
since I went down to Rio for a good time
saw you in the mirror
I knew you were the wrong kind
I reached for my cigarette
you stood there with a light
it seemed so innocent
ships passing in the night
Chorus:
If you're afraid to fall
you'll never learn to dance
you'll never have a
HOLIDAY ROMANCE
Sunrise with a stranger
could you be a sicko or a saint
heat outweighs the danger
come on baby let's do it again
be my pleasure partner
for just another night
tomorrow I'll be out of here
on the morning flight
Chorus
Made no promises
didn't get your number or your name
I want to get to know you
wondering if you're feeling the same
did I miss my chance
by playing it too cool
guess I'll never know
if I was just a fool
Chorus
Naked and Small
Saying goodbye
don't mean a thing
we've already parted
I'd been gone
for so many years
before this thing ever got started
Chorus:
Night after night
you'd turn to the wall
leaving me out in the cold
naked and small
with no blanket at all
was warmer than trying to hold you
Garden of silence
where nothing will grow
dead are the seeds that we planted
no more surprises
it's death in disguise
as everything's taken for granted
Chorus
Don't ask me to stay
my train leaves today
I need to be out on my own
the sad words you said
spin around in my head
and I'm so scared of being alone
Chorus
THE GATE
It's quarter to ten
I'm all alone again
I think I'll wander over to The Gate
the smallest pub in town
no room for sittin' down
every pint's a fifteen minute wait
Chorus:
I really love the way
you make your fiddle play
all the things that a shy boy just won't say
guitar is ringing
harmony you're singing
makes me feel alive for today
Elbows everywhere
the smoke gets in your hair
it's so thick you can cut it with a knife
my eyes are gettin' stung
I need an iron lung
I'm sure it's taking ten years off my life
Chorus
Rita's lookin' rough
I think she's had enough
her eyes are rolling back into her head
she can't help being cursed
by that wicked camel's thirst
she'll be living pickled when I'm dead
It's quarter to two
I'm lonely and I'm blue
tonight I think my luck has turned around
Rita's not so shy
she's giving me the eye
and telling me her husband's out of town
Chorus
All lyrics © October Browne 1995- 2011
SONG OF O
IS IT STRANGE YOU CAN CHANGE YOURSELF BUT YOU CAN’T CHANGE ME
CHECK IT OUT FROM THE START WHAT YOU GET IS WHAT YOU SEE
LOST IN TRYING TO BE THE LADY IN YOUR FANTASY
IN THE MIRROR THERE WAS NO ONE LOOKING BACK AT ME
I TRIED TO RHYME WITH A LINE IN YOUR POETRY
HERE SHE IS IN YOUR TOWN WITH HER SUITCASE IN HER HAND
THINKS SHE’LL STAY A WHILE
YOU KNOW SHE SAILED HERE FROM ANOTHER LAND
YOU GIVE GOOD PHONE BUT HER MONEY’S KINDA GETTING LOW
YOU’RE LOOKING SCARED ARE YOU NOT AFRAID TO LET IT SHOW
WHAT IS IT YOU WANT FROM HER?
I DON’T THINK YOU KNOW
SHE’S COME A THOUSAND MILES
TO LAY HER HEAD DOWN IN YOUR SWEET ARMS
SHE’S SO TIRED
PLEASE JUST HOLD HER AND PROTECT HER FROM ALL HARM
A STRANGER IN THIS TOWN NEEDS MORE THAN JUST A PLACE TO REST
SHE FEELS WEIGHT DOWN BY A HEART THAT’S FUL OF EMPTINESS
PLEASE DON’T YOU LEAVE HER ALONE X 3
IN THIS DARKNESS
The Banks of Sweet Thyme
Bring me primroses that bloom in the springtime
Gather me fruits that grow red on the vine
Summer has passed me and autumn grows chilly
As I stand on the banks of sweet thyme
Sing to me softly like the clear throated starling
Songs of the maidens that come from the sea
I do believe ‘twas the song of the siren
That took my young lover from me
He dressed in his finest and boarded a black ship
Bound for the indies he sailed from the shore
But the course was uncharted and the crew and the captain
Never were seen anymore
I’ve always been true to my dark handsome lover
Never known anyone’s kiss
I’ve never known love like the love of my sailor
Lost to the sea’s dark abyss
Bring me primroses that bloom in the springtime
Gather me fruits that grow red on the vine
Summer has passed me and autumn grows chilly
As I stand on the banks of sweet thyme