1. |
By the water's edge
03:28
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By the water’s edge,
All her thoughts are out at sea,
The child in her arms belongs to he,
He who’s gone
Ev’ry storm is a pain in her heart,
Waiting for news that would tear her apart,
Of he who’s gone
By the water’s edge
She is not alone in her wait,
All the women share her fate,
By the water’s edge
Tears of joy from all on the shore,
The ship is home once more.
By the water’s edge
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2. |
Silver darlings
03:31
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Sunrise on the horizon,
Beyond tired and cold,
Dawn begins to brighten,
Homeward if this course we hold
'Til we roam again
Homeward,
Landward,
With our nets full,
Of the silver darlings
With only wood and nails,
Between us and peril,
With the wind in our sails,
And herring for the barrel,
'Til we roam again.
Homeward,
Landward,
With our nets full,
Of the silver darlings
Neptune and Saint Peter,
Bring us to the shore,
Bounty from the ocean
Harvest the sea once more
'Til we roam again.
Homeward,
Landward,
With our nets full,
Of the silver darlings
Homeward,
Landward,
Home
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3. |
Grace be brave
04:18
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Witnessing the wreck from her window,
Showed her mettle when facing peril.
With her father, she braved the storm
Little thought of fear or harm.
Survivors clamour for dear life,
On half a ship as if cut by a knife.
Grace be brave, daughter of the lighthouse.
A ray of hope, when all else fades.
Rowed a mile in a Northumbrian coble,
Was an act so selfless and noble.
They rescued four men and Sarah Dawson,
Too late for the vicar and her children.
Newspapers clamour for her story,
And bathe in her reflected glory.
Grace be brave, daughter of the lighthouse.
A ray of hope, when all else fades.
Eighteen were saved from the sixty-two,
Gifts and donations they did accrue,
From circus, Duke and even the Queen.
Such fuss, they could not have foreseen.
Artists clamour for her likeness,
Yet something faded from her brightness.
Grace be brave, daughter of the lighthouse.
A ray of hope, when all else fades.
Unwanted celebrity was hard to maintain,
The pressures of fame, proved a strain.
Already reclusive on her island retreat,
Her admirers became indiscreet.
Visitors clamour for a token,
Grace’s calm, forever broken.
Grace be brave, daughter of the lighthouse.
A ray of hope, when all else fades.
Grace be brave, daughter of the lighthouse.
Grace be brave, daughter of the lighthouse.
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4. |
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Hudson Lowe took his ship
To horizons far & wide,
As long as he was sailing,
He felt no need to hide,
Fighting for King & country,
God & honour ran through his veins,
Securing domains,
In campaigns,
With the insane.
Writing letters from quarters,
Beyond the sea,
From an island full of rats,
And devoid of trees.
The Emperor still conniving,
For an escape, that he was striving.
Hudson Lowe
So long ago
Played his part,
In this final act
The Emperor & his jailor,
Prisoners in time,
Six times met face to face,
In Longwood’s walls of his disgrace
The Corporal was waiting
For his final hour,
Using his power,
The Ferryman’s come.
Endless streams of blood,
In Europe's ground, Europe's soul.
This prison below the equator,
For them both, it would take its toll.
Where is the purpose,
Of rising through the ranks,
When your ship is stranded,
On history's treacherous banks.
Yet Hudson Lowe
So long ago
Played his part,
In this final act
Hudson Lowe
Long ago
Played his part,
Final show.
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5. |
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They took me from the harbour,
While I was still asleep,
Chained and gagged and bent and ragged,
Human turned to sheep.
In the days of impressment,
Flogging instead of caressment,
A captain cruel, an empire’s tool
... ship of fools.
Though the sails are torn,
The bow cleaves straight,
For the Equator.
Unto its fate.
The King's shilling will be my lot,
My fate's sailing, willing or not,
The wind's ailing and I've been bought.
The wind’s ailing, It's come to naught.
This coin of treason,
Was in my cup,
The pressgang thugs will never stop,
My love, the world's a station, cruel & dim,
Where is the truth & dignity,
How can this law be for the free?
The King's shilling will be my lot
They robbed me from my hometown,
And pressed me on their ship,
Forced to fight their dirty war,
Slave under their whip,
In the days of impressment,
No law forbade his arrestment,
Sailor’s freedom for what it’s worth,
Where is the justice on this earth?
In the days of impressment.
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6. |
Sir John's passage
06:21
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Sir John set out to sail and in his mind he would not fail
a 1000 books and provisions
for a crew paid well for the vision
On the Erebus and Terror toward Greenland and Baffin Bay.
Looking for fair weather to cross Lancaster Sound
chorus
We are sailing forth for glory
changing the map of the world
we will find a new path to the orient
and surely others will follow us into history
the trouble arose
as the early summer froze
at Beechy Island where we lost three
we were locked in tight
On King William, two years we spent
one by one we dropped off the map
chorus
Moored to an ice berg
lungs full of fluid
the lead cans breached
and madness descends
Chained to a frozen
domain and its suffering
as we drop off the map
The worst was yet to come as we came undone
we walked toward the Back River
hundreds of miles
not fit for kings men
walking in this wilderness
in their maddened state
and bellies full of ache.
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7. |
Sindbad & the Whale
04:04
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به دریا میره
سفر در کشتی
از این جزیره
به اون جزیره
تا میرسه به
جزیره ای که
آروم نداره
آروم نداره
چه وقت خوابه
نهنگ بیداره
به قایق برگرد
وقت فراره
during the reign
of Harun al-Rashid
Sindbád embarked,
on board a ship
bound for Bassorah
passed from isle to isle
And Shahrazad
perceived the dawn of day
and ceased saying
her permitted say.
came to an island
as it were a garth
of the gardens of Paradise.
For this island
whereon ye stand
is no true island,
but a great fish
a-middlemost of the sea
A reworking of :
https://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/b/burton/richard/b97b/complete.html#section714
The Book of The Thousand Nights and a Night,
Translated by Richard F. Burton -1885
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8. |
East India Company
03:50
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Lyrics: East India Company
Sailing & Searching
across the sea
for spices, slaves and lemontrees.
As long as the wind
is my friend
I can reach that distant land
Across the equator
sooner or later
we all will be working
for the East India Company
I give you one
If you give me two
make a profit for the crew.
Coconuts for stock & trade
As long as the market is being paid
From Amsterdam to Lissabon,
to Zanzibar and on and on
Fighting and trading
without a care
we'll venture out
to where we may dare
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9. |
Island of light
04:51
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Painted the harbour
of st Thomas
catching the light
that moves on the sea
from the colour of the dawn
you can tell
if rain will come.
I'm drawn to set up
cloth & brushes,
Speaking with my
paint
Island of light
Island of light
When I was 11
my father sent me
to Paris
To learn,
learn from the world
paying his dues
but painting my blues
When I was 16
Came back to St. Thomas
To work in my father's firm
As I was roaming
on the island shore
I took another turn
To Venezuela
island of light
island of light
How to catch
the light I see
reflected on the waves
from these waters
where colours
giving us sight right through time
Island of light
(painting the waves)
Island of light
(lifting the hue)
Island of light
(looking through mist)
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10. |
Brendan's brother
02:17
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Brendan's brother
Come sail with us to distant lands
to seek out unknown shores
we aim beyond the mighty waves
where no one's gone before
Brendan can you tell me,
when we'll be turning back
this journey feels like ages
and we are loosing track
The season's right to catch some wind,
we leave from the bay of Clare
our boat is filled we things we need
so join us if you dare
You went out from the Bay of Clare
and took a Western course
The forest tells me your mast is strong
that can stand the mighty force
waiting for the sun or waiting for the rain
coming down from glaciers
or up from the flattened plain
Brendan I am your brother
don't forget me yet
the wood that will carry you,
came from the forest bed
I am his son and so are you
I travel through the woods
while you have chosen for the sea
I hope it brings you good
our father he is waiting still
on any news from us
the tales of all this travelling
will arouse his wanderlust
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11. |
Oronsay
04:05
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Was it love of sailing,
Or fear of flying?
You took this ship.
The man who fell,
to Earth
Oronsay,
Oronsay,
To the rise and fall.
Was it Stardust?
Quicksand from which,
Dreams are woven,
Or fear of losing,
Your wits.
The man who sold,
the World
Was it a way,
In your eyes
Or in the papers?
Oronsay,
On the Oronsay,
To the rise and fall.
Did you dine,
At the Captain's Table?
Cross the pacific,
And follow the sun,
Come back again,
To where you begun.
Reborn as a Black Star.
Oronsay,
On the Oronsay,
To the rise and fall.
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