1. |
War Torn & Freedom Worn
03:49
|
|||
|
Get me out of this place - these rivers are overflowing from the lack of grace
I can see it in your face that you’d be more than glad to up sticks to and leave this country behind
War torn and freedom worn, forlorn a dream unborn
I don’t want to wait a while till I can afford to ride away
I don’t want to wait until the lines are deep set on my face
I don’t to stay until the country crumbles into the waves
Cause it will collapse one day, if not today
Take me on the open road where hills mask the sunrise and sunset
Where my future doesn’t depend on how badly my neighbour does
Fate plays no part in this, if I want to exist then I will exist
There’s a world waiting on the horizon for us my dear
I’m seeing my calendar fall behind day by day
And I’m seeing the glory being stolen in an endorsed rat race
And I’m seeing the beauty layed out there for all to see
You and me, just pack our bags and leave because
I don’t want to wait a while till I can afford to ride away
I don’t want to wait until the lines are deep set on my face
I don’t to stay until the country crumbles into the waves
Cause it will collapse one day, if not today then when?
|
||||
2. |
Due South
02:20
|
|
||
|
Another journey south, my bag stowed away in the heart of this rumbling bus
My iPod is playing songs that make me think of us
Whilst the landscape flattens around me (I am fixated on my surroundings) I close my eyes and picture you, my love
Darling I am coming home
Before I left I cut my hair just the way you liked it, there ain't much there but I hope it still surprises you
Packed my favourite clothes plus a t shirt for you to keep reminding you of me when I'm not around
Darling I'm coming home
And when I leave again I know it'll be tough but please don't feel so sad, I'll be back before you know it, another t shirt in hand.
Don't say goodbye, because goodbye makes it seem as though we'll never see each other again, and that won't happen. Ever.
Tonight darling I'm coming home.
|
||||
3. |
|
|||
|
What would you have seen standing at the door to my dream?
Inhaling the smoke as it filtered through notches in the beams
Spreadeagled on the floor, hands held to tie time and restore
Some semblance to this scene that lay before
I lay before..
Find me an anchor, something to cling on to
Blind me tonight, Wake me when I'm through
A summer ends on the stereo, I captured the beat long ago
Kept it prisoner and there's no way I'm letting it escape
Though she strokes my hair, I can't say that I'm fully aware
Of who I am, of what state I am in
I like the state I am in
|
||||
4. |
Hand in Hand in Mexico
04:39
|
|
||
|
As beautiful as the rolling countryside is it doesn’t compare to the place that captured two months of my heart.
The muddy banks and the dry stone walls just don’t fill me with such a sense of adventure as I gained from the lonely deserts and dusty roads
I’ll never forget the country where I roamed and walked the paths of travellers past
Hand in Hand with the woman I love, I’d trade everything for just ten minutes more in the land where time never passed
The cacti that lined our trails became as comforting as roses in my mind
And the Bright Blue seas where we sailed away.. I will never ever forget the day when the seals gathered as one upon the rock…
On oasis in the dry desert, freakish mannequins in a tourist shop and tequila from a china pot we wondered the ground never to stop
But stop we did and I’m missing it please return to me that damn country where my favourite memories were forever cut
I’ll never forget the country where I roamed and walked the paths of travellers past
Hand in Hand with the woman I love, I’d trade everything for just ten minutes more in the land where time never passed
|
||||
5. |
|
|||
|
There are many things I choose to keep hidden in my closet
Or hard drive or memory stick - the 21st century equivilent
Most of it is junk, knock off sentimental crap,
Though occasionally a gem will gather dust somewhere at the back
I wrote a song I loved, Owen-esque melody and all
The melody was intricate, used the tuning of a fool
But the lyrics were too personal for the public domain
So I locked it up and hid it from cyber space
And I know it’s not good to fake reality
But thoughts do change we’ve all said things we don’t mean
And though this song will still be played on my guitar it’s for my ears only
My first unreleased number
Perhaps when I’m gone it’ll be my most famous song
Like that changes one for Tupac or his duet with Elton John
Honestly I can see why he didn’t release it in his lifetime
All his rapper friends might mock him for selling out to gay pride
And it’s the same with me but in a slightly different way
You see these words will hurt, at worse not worth the undeserved pain
I wrote them in a fit of rage, I don’t still believe what dare they say
Perhaps I was wrong to write them in the first place
So instead I wrote this one to lament the passing of a creation I loved
And if you ask me nicely I might play it very quietly
But more than likely you will have to wait for the rarities boxset.
|
||||
6. |
Window Shopping
04:42
|
|
||
|
This year my window has been a good friend
Told me stories of the outer world, told me things I'd never see
The colours of the leaves from amber to green to red gave me strength
Made me smile
Occupied my thoughts for a little while
I've seen these trees, everyday, every week. They never seem to sleep, but can you keep a secret?
That kind of comforts me
That life keeps on turning even without witnesses
The rotation of the earth is as sure a certainty that'd I'd ever need
We are nothing but that holds no problems
I've watched the birds, pass by and perch sometimes, then fade from my sight, please teach me how to fly.
The breeze encapsulates freedom far more than you'd expect
Rippling through the branches from one twig to the next
No direction no intention, just existing as an effect
Gentle yes, but no less a threat, but worth the risk perhaps?
I've felt its touch, I've heard its rush. The temptation of the move, will never leave me.
The shape of the clouds the metamorphosis of the sky
Tells me time is turning but no-one could tell you why
I'm not afraid of progress I just wish at times it would slow down
And I could catch up, cause it's passing me by
Please don't let me be left behind
I see the colours turn, I see the leaves drop off, I see the branches snap
Window, you've been a good friend to me.
|
||||
7. |
Call of the Road
06:49
|
|
||
|
Is it wrong that I live my life in reminiscence?
Constantly searching for a way out, another exit..
A ticket across the sea, a pick up for me to breathe
A long sigh into the face of all those photographs and memories
A year ago today I flew away
On the crest of bad movies and food in a coloured tray
Landing down in palm lined avenues and shimmer on the bay
Feels like yesterday, godammit feels like yesterday
I can't escape...
Is it wrong that I hold on to my memories?
Like the old man held his boy as he coughed in his sleep
The books I read, they bookend lapses into tired dreams
I felt purity and happiness that this country just will not provide me
A year ago today I flew away
Past Los Angeles my mind skipped, an imagination in play
With sun beating down, a greeting found, this way my fucking cliche
Feels like yesterday, godammit feels like yesterday
But now I can't escape.
It doesn't matter how far I search for comfort in other places
It doesn't matter how many songs I write to grieve
It doesn't matter how much work I bury head under
The call of the road is still calling out to me
|
||||
8. |
|
|||
|
Repeat it again... I don't recall hearing this story
These imaginings past, oh lord all to familiar to me
Sink into my tea, shy my eyes to hide my expression
An anecdote will last, oh god, an entire duration
I despise such a wicked disease that distorts my memory such
that I might see meeting family as a chore
Oh take it back
Oh take me back
I don't want to lose who you were
If you could move on and leave this decaying house behind
Your memories might recover somewhat – or am I hoping for too much?
What if this persists, and one day you can't recall my face
I doubt I could stand to see you blank behind those eyes lost to the years
I despise such an ugly disease that tears apart memory lane
converts into a one way street from which bricks cannot be reclaimed
Oh take me back
Oh take her back
I'm losing who you were
I'm discovering your history as it destroys your future
A perverse reversing timeline
Spy the stunted clock and tick no further
A life stuck in rewind
|
||||
9. |
|
|||
|
Oh my dear, you have left me again
I'm expecting to see you turn up at the foot of my stairs any second now and I will hold you in my arms
If this was only true, and this was Hollywood, then I could stand this unanswerable calm.
Cause My Distractions are growing thin and I'm thinking more than I would like to think about the situation
It's only been a few hours but for me that's enough
Come home baby, please.
Now the festive season's over I'm forced to wave you goodbye,
Standing alone at the bus stop, your smile fading from my sight,
And the pictures don't help me as I write - they just remind me that you're not here now.
God I wish you were because my distractions are growing thin.
It's quiet now.
The TV makes no sound.
And as the distractions disappear I'm made to think of you.
And when I do, oh god... I start writing songs.
|
||||
10. |
Crumpled and Thrown Away
03:55
|
|
||
|
The sun is setting on this land
I've figured that much with this slight of tongue
I've proclaimed it from the rooftops and tried to understand to no avail
To no avail
I've been watching myself on camera screens
Not laughing or at a party but just doing my daily routine
And if I tried to run and hide they might just suspect me of something worse
of something worse
Indignation is scrawled across the pages
of our National journalistic brigades and
they complain about everything but the status quo
As if tinkering about will just help us now
and I've lost myself to my worries again
My mind is thinking about the state that we're stuck in
Just look away
Disengage your brain
Betray my intelligence just to survive
My contemporaries just want it all
For nothing they expect to be spoon fed the world
Helped along just for living and refusing to give back
well thats that
And it's assumed that we're here to support
each other and forget about our own self worth
and I one believe in myself just a little bit
only a little bit
If I tried to protest I'd just be shut down
If I tried to speak up I'd be run into the ground
If I tried to integrate I'd be told to leave this town by nationalists
Fucking pigs.
and I've lost myself to my worries again
My mind is thinking about the state that we're stuck in
Just look away
Disengage your brain
Betray my intelligence just to survive
I'm sick of this god damn place
And I'm ill from all these goddamn waifs
But slowly the world is turning into one big decay
Fraying at the edges, tears across the page
Graffiti in the corners and hearts left by the way
To be crumpled and thrown away, discarded
Well that's it.
|
||||
Sam Rodwell (ARCHIVED)
ARCHIVED
Now making music as Scrambled Limbs and Gandhi’s Hands
scrambledlimbs@gmail.com
If you like Sam Rodwell (ARCHIVED), you may also like:
Our Blood Is Red
by Luke James Williams
Emotive acoustic balladry from this UK musician with heart on sleeve and hushed arrangements.
go to album
In Our Nature (Album)
by José González
featured on Bandcamp Radio Sep 21, 2021
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Sep 21, 2021
go to album
Stay In The Shade
by José González
featured on Bandcamp Radio Sep 21, 2021
go to album
Teardrop (Bundle)
by José González
featured on Bandcamp Radio Sep 22, 2020
go to album
Michelle Stodart’s folk music captures hope in melancholy, addressing the transformational aspects of the most challenging times.
go to album
The tender UK psych folk on “Continuum” explores motherhood through song.
go to album
