1. |
Better Him Than Me
03:28
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Guess you were lonely at the time
'Cause you phoned me every night,
Just to make sure I'm alive
Only your lips and casket wine
Kept me off olanzapine,
Stilled these trembling hands of mine
If things were different don't mean much
There were lines we couldn't cross,
Minds I couldn't trust
Oh, so-and-so said such and such,
That gets thrown around too much
Where the hell does that leave us?
As I fall back and watch you fall in love
With just someone or other who ain't sharp enough
To know how to love you, covet you quite like you need
Still, better him than me
Better him than me
You disappear sometimes for weeks
Then I call you up to speak,
You pretend to fall asleep
Neglect can rust respect and trust
Collecting dust like broke antiques,
Our love grew weary then grew weak
As I drift off, I see you drifting away
With some moustache who ain't worth the time that it takes
To tell you I'm sorry, I wonder how sorry I'll be
Still, better him than me
Better him than me
And as I look back with hindsight, you're looking the same,
A face flushed with fury and a stare of disdain
Oh, if you really knew me, you knew what I'd turn out to be
Still, you're better off with him than me,
Better him than me
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2. |
Atticus
02:57
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Heave ho, Atticus
This ship's almost ashore
And the waves, they seem so mad at us
And I don't know what for
Good man, Tobias
Go up and trim the sail
There's few riches for the pious
No option here to fail
Oh, I see it rising
I see it rising
I see it rising
I...
Well hold on, Mary
In the winter I'll be home
Oh, god forbid this ship of mine
Don't splinter on the stone
Hold on, lover
It'll only be awhile
'Til you and I discover
Softer swells and one another
Oh, I see it rising
I see it rising
I see it rising
I...
Hold fast, Elijah
The bow is bound to break
Take that devil down inside ya
And try to pray, for heaven's sake
Well, I see it rising
I see it rising
I see it rising
I...
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3. |
Cynics
03:53
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Well I hung my sheets and stomped the streets
In a Richmond summer rain,
And I saw this girl who smiled just like you
Well I burned with regret, like my first cigarette
As you crossed my mind again
And I watched her pass in the polish on my shoe
See, there was a time when you were mine,
And the world was mine as well
But I've a mind as stubborn as a mule
And love, it waits at no man's gate,
It rings at no man's bell
And I boarded all my doors up like a fool
Well I guess this city turned us both to cynics
I guess it got the best of us somehow
If I could turn this wishing into whiskey
Well darling, I'd be drunk by now
There's someone new, he's not like you
He keeps it all inside
I'd sooner summon blood out of a stone
Ain't it strange how some things change
But others don't subside
I'm just terrified we'll both end up alone
Well I guess this city turned us both to cynics
I guess it got the best of us somehow
If I could turn this wishing into whiskey
Well darling, I'd be drunk by now
Oh darling, I'd be drunk by now
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4. |
St Philomena
03:55
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Kneel to pray before we eat,
Before we go to bed
My mother said, she said I had a saviour
But it seems my dreams have lost their way,
Bound for flame on judgement day
I pray that I get out on good behaviour
So baptise me, oh cleanse my soul,
Forgive me for the hearts I stole
It starts to take a toll as you grow older
Deliver me out of the hands
Of wolves in wool and sinner's plans,
Eternity's a burden I can shoulder
Oh, time has never stayed this slow
Oh, try to take me as your own
Oh, I was better off alone,
I was better on my own
Lord I'm coming home
Come on now, take me in,
Hear it howling in the blowing wind, I said
Come on now, bless my soul,
I fear I feel we're growing old, I said
Come on now, take me in,
If I die, oh let me live, I said
Come on now, bless my soul,
It's cold out here, oh don't you know, I said…
Oh, time has never stayed this slow
Oh, try to take me as your own
Oh, I was better off alone,
I was better on my own,
I was better on my own
Lord I'm coming home
Oh St Philomena,
How I prayed for a return,
Just learn that we have been forsaken
But with that big book on the shelf,
Maybe I'll convince myself
To share the loss, and bear the cross you've taken
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5. |
Get On
03:36
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You'll do me no harm, I got the psalms in my pocket
If you wanna get to heaven, son, you're gonna need a rocket
You wanna make the pearly gate before they start to lock it
Once they lock it, oh you won't get in
See, hell’s just heaven with the lights turned down
A few more fires we can dance around
And all my friends will be there anyhow
‘Cause I've always been a sucker for sin
You gotta get on, get to moving
Get on, before the night’s too cold
You gotta get on, get to moving
Get on, before we’re all too old
Get on
Well I was calm, then I was critical, but now I'm just inspired
Slow to go political but I'm getting f**king tired
Of the demon screaming freedom with her hair on fire
Saying kindness seals our fate
See, first we steal the land, and then we set the laws
Boundless plains with the fastened doors
Oh can't you see the irony, can't you see the flaws
Oh no we won't just wait
You gotta get on, get to moving
Get on, before the night’s too cold
You gotta get on, get to moving
Get on, before we’re all too old
Get on
I'm feeling like this life for some's a little out of reach
When your coffee and your scones cost you twelve bucks each, but
I'm not here to scold you brother, I'm not here to preach
I say to each their own
But if we gave a little more, spent a little less
You take out what you need but you leave some for the rest
And pay some more attention to the pounding in your chest
And maybe just skip those scones
You gotta get on, get to moving
Get on, before the night’s too cold
You gotta get on, get to moving
Get on, before we’re all too old
Get on
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6. |
High Horse
03:26
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Deep pockets, shallow souls
Silence bought, violence sold
And nought forgiven,
Lord I'm tired of these ways
That ain't living, that's just life these days
They taught you little but tortured smiles
Life's this riddle where the answer is lie
Oh, so lie down boy,
A high horse leaves a long way to fall
Your feet don't reach the stirrups,
It's clear your spirit's feeble as it's small
If we hold on,
Are things gonna change, son?
They've always been this way, son
Is it how they're gonna stay?
They say nothing ventured means nothing lost
Not to mention they stabbed holes in the box,
Oh, you should be grateful you can even see outside
And that dangling carrot
That's just salad for the wealthy and the white
If we hold on,
For change that's coming
If we hold strong,
Are things gonna change, son?
Or are we bound to bow, boy
Raise the flag, throw in the towel, boy
Or finally stand our ground?
If we take a look, and take a lesson
(And hold on, and hold on)
And tame mistakes from all the guessing
(And hold on, and hold on)
If we count our luck, and count our blessings
(And hold on, and hold on)
You can hold on, you can hold on
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7. |
Watermark
03:29
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When I met her
She was headed some place south-west
And I should've let her
I couldn't breach my house arrest
She said we're too clever
To ever coexist or coalesce
I thought I knew better
But she knew best
Oh, she's like flooding rain
And I never saw the weather change
Two years together, four more apart
But I've still got a watermark
Well, I hear she married
Some circuit judge out near Adelaide
And her sister Sally
Said all of the groomsmen dressed in suede
Oh, but she still carries
Some sort of semblance of a flame
She took all of me except my name
Oh, she's like flooding rain
And I saw it in her eyes as she drained away
Two years together, four more apart
But I've still got a watermark
Well she's got a son now
And this Sunday he'll be three
And her husband's hair's brown
But that boy's as fair as fair can be
His cheeks red as sundown
And his eyes are as clear as sea
You can't tie his tongue down
Guess he sounds a lot like me
Oh, he's half flooding rain
And the other half's too scared to change
Downtrod, down here in the dark
Just scrubbing at this watermark
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8. |
Cold
03:39
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He keeps all his sleepless nights
In the bags under his eyes
And he asks if it's alright
If I leave after we're done
And so I gather up my pride,
Throw my shirt over my shoulder
And his last scorn in my side
He says he's waiting on someone,
He's waiting on someone
But I take solace in the fact
That his past is checkered as the blanket
That he drapes across his back
As he turns away to sleep
And that boy's a stiff old drink
You always wonder why you drank it
And it burns more than you think
Still that burns all I keep
Oh, that burns all I keep
Don't grow cold
Don't grow cold on me
I'm cold enough for both of us, so,
Don't lose your hold
Don't lose your hold on me
I'm twice the fool I knew I'd be
Well I wonder if I need him
Maybe I'm just smitten
By the grass that's so forbidden
On his side of the fence
I'm a feather in his cap
I'm the fresh notch on his bedpost
And the thing that hurts my head most
I feel a chance
Oh, I swear I feel a chance
Don't grow cold
Don't grow cold on me
I'm cold enough for both of us, so,
Don't lose your hold
Don't lose your hold on me
I'm twice the fool I knew I'd be
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9. |
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Been waking up mornings,
Bolts in my throat
Think I've done all the talking,
Now I just sit and croak
Seems only appropriate
To try feed you a smile,
But I keep on choking
Let's get away for awhile
Lover, I'm pleading with you,
I just don't know what to do
Gonna get in your car,
You know it isn't too far
Gonna drive towards the calm,
See if the world still holds calm
And I know you've gotta work,
You ain't getting no help
But I can pay your way, at least for a few days,
So don't worry yourself
Lover, I'm pleading with you,
I just don't know what to do
I don't talk to those people anymore,
That's not why I'm going
I don't talk to those people anymore
Just need a chance to get home,
But life keeps on going,
'Til we're all set in stone
You tell me you're busy
Think I already knew
Punching in, clocking off,
Dressing down, scrubbing up,
Doing what you've got to do
And I know I can take it,
Though I'm thinner than ply
Cities just shake me,
But I can just shut my eyes
Lover, I'm pleading with you,
I just don't know what to do
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10. |
Fourteen Days
02:21
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Darling, I was married when I met you
And I guess I should've told you at the time
But I knew that girl since school,
And I was such a fool to make her mine
Darling, I was young and I was fickle
Oh, love was just a trickle, until you drown
I took her fear for love
But she'd love you just enough to keep you around
Oh, fourteen days of pouring rain
With a shiver I can't shake
Come hell or high water, I pray that I taught her
Love ain't a given, it's all give and take
Well darling, I was sober 'til I met her
So how'd I get here drinking like a fish
Oh, our love was longer,
And stronger than the wall that broke my fist
And darling, I was wise and she was wily
Oh, something in her eyes gave her away
And I just pray that she learns before her
Body returns to the clay
Oh, fourteen days of pouring rain
With a shiver I can't shake
Come hell or high water, I pray that I taught her
Love ain't a given, it's all give and take
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The Northern Folk Melbourne, Australia
The Northern Folk are a unique collective of eleven songsmiths and instrumentalists, wielding a brand of tightly woven alt- folk magnified by massive arrangements and colourful indie-pop sensibilities. With two charismatic vocalists, they defy the odds to avoid overcrowding- in sound, if not on stage- creating songs that deftly move from poetic lyricism to horn-saturated eruptions. ... more
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