1. |
Branch 553
04:46
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Verse 1:
[C] The ones’ who saw the action, they were [F] quiet enough
[C] The rest, many thought that [F] they were tough
[C] And memories of the war, they couldn’t [F] get enough
[C] Don’t you see?
Verse 2:
Hey there hippy, don’t you get smart
Do your job and pass me those old bart darts
My Bro and I, we’ve got this to and art
Don’t you see?
Chorus:
[G] Oooo, what I’d [F] give today
[G] To bow before those vets of [G] yesterday
[C] At the 553
Verse 3:
The major sauntered in, he didn’t have to walk too far
Sit his lovely wife, then belly up to the bar
A single and a double and a big old fat cigar
Don’t you see?
Verse 4:
Momma didn’t like it, She was clear enough
When poppa’d toss a few to many, then forget his stuff
But he’d bounce back, make sure we all had enough
Don’t you see?
Bridge:
[Dm] Then late at night
[G7] My memory brings into sight
[C] The ladies of [Am] auxiliary
[Dm] Made sure they were fed
[G7] Put ‘em all to bed
[C] Tended to their[Am] families
Verse 5:
One day in a ruckus I had a drunk cut off
Two days later, well I lost my job
But that’s okay cause I was moving on
Don’t you see?
Chorus:
Oooo, what I’d give today
To bow before those vets of yesterday
At the 553
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2. |
The Grandfather
04:44
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He melted at the innocence of the child's early days
On her road, on her road
Her heart giving sway to the swirls and whirls of play
On her road, on her road
Her thoughts to extend, wit's vessel to depend
On her road, on her road
Old mysteries to refine, new loves to define
On her road
I can feel you, I can see you
You take me places I don't really know
And I will find you, I will mind you,
I'll keep a light in the corner of my soul
He saw a fog roll in and take away her smile
On her road, on her road
With promises and grins that left her with its sins
On her road, on her road
She toiled through the haze and danced along her way
On her road, on her road
To grip the reins of life, to soothe the chafes of strife
On her road.
I can feel you, I can see you
You take me places I don't really know
And I will find you, I will mind you,
I'll keep a light in the corner of my soul
-- The Sligo Maid refrain --
I can feel you, almost see you
You take me places I don't really know
And I will find you, I will mind you,
I'll keep a light in the corner of my soul
He smiled when a thunder opened up her eyes
On her road, on her road
Warning of the win against a heartfelt out of spin
On her road, on her road
She settled to the comfort of a warm and peaceful stay
On her road, on her road
New mysteries to define, old loves to refine
On her road ...
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3. |
I Saw Your Face Today
04:25
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Verse 1:
[Em] I saw your [C/D] face today, [Bm] on my [D] display,
[Em] inviting [C/D] me to play as a [D] friend.
[Em] To check in [C/D] once in a while, [Bm] to tag your sweet sweet [D] smile,
[Em] Share all the [C/D] latest movies and [D]trends.
Chorus:
[CM7] But I can't [Bm] find you.
[CM7] You're not with [Bm] me.
[CM7] You're tucked in the [Bm] bed of my [Am7] memory.
[CM7] I can't [Bm] find you.
[CM7] You're just not [Bm] there
[CM7] There’s nothing [Bm] left for us to [D] share
Verse 2:
I saw your face today, beside a give-away,
It matched the blue dress you liked to wear
With just the cart to do, it's like I'd be with you,
I could take you everywhere.
Bridge by Kevin Kelly (© Kevin Kelly, 2017)
Time is a judged being with future and past
That unsuccessfully hides its face
Until it needs to haunt
I know you’re there
I can see your face
You book time with me, or you book my time with you
Two directions of an illusion and what of an end
For that is the only thing that does not exist.
Not for you, not for me in the tralfamadore of time that we call being
We cease to be in the moment but it never ends.
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4. |
Sarah's Rooms
05:36
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She lay in the brine of a sweat filled fever, there'd been trouble in spirit land
She saw a soldier, he was struggling, her lever-action in his hand
He took two steps in her direction, stopped, raised the sights up to his eye.
His finger lightly caressing the trigger, itching for him to say goodbye
Hey Sarah, what's it gonna be,
Guns and ghosts in this here town?
Hey Sarah, you could use your money
To put me up in one of your rooms.
Now Sarah caught wind of a local prophet, hoping he could calm her mind
She brought him her troubles and some money, and he said leave this place behind
Move yourself west my little lady, hire the finest workers in the land
You're going need a big house for the fallen, for every soul wasted by your hand
Hey Sarah, what's it gonna be,
Guns and ghosts in this here town?
Hey Sarah, you could use your money
To put me up in one of your rooms.
She toiled away at her construction, thirty-eight years, tooth and nail
Rooms for the dearly departed, a project of massive scale
You can hear the folks outside complaining, every time they shoot some people down
More guns, no guns, it ain’t funny, how their arguments spin round and round
Hey Sarah, what's it gonna be,
Guns and ghosts in this here town?
Hey Sarah, you could use your money
To put me up in one of your rooms.
—Spoken Word—
Yah, any old room'll do.
I don't even need a bed,
just something to protect me from the gun-slinging antics of you living folk ...
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5. |
Sonny
05:48
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Verse. 1:
[Dsus2]What a man, what a daring man
[Gsus2]He made a journey from his harried land
To source the wonders, the gifts out there for all to see
And this took him to many foreign lands
Among the people, Giai’s sweet children
Living stories, and tales of love and woe and war and peace
Chorus:
[A]You know, that’s the way things ought to [Gsus2]go.
[A]A chance to live.
An even greater chance to [Gsus2]grow.
Verse 2:
On to a city and its hectic maze
Then to a prairie behind a horses mane
A life enchanted in the winds of an emerging world
But fate presented and he must engage
And this took him to an earthen grave
of torrid jungles and the trenches of a killing field
Chorus:
You know, that’s the way things often go
A chance to live
The toil it takes for us to grow
Bridge (a poem by Kevin Kelly):
The shell cracks
The sun beckons him
The beak affects the exit to
To a cold, where he will be wet, and weak, and wary, and alone
But kestrel and sparrow alight
And they have no guide, no tyrant
Not but nothing watches and wards
But what of that? I must away!
Verse 3:
The years progressing and he took a wife
For them a daughter, three sons a nestled life
A part-time writer he worked the forests and plowed the fields
And as it happened when new life began
An anxious whisper pointed to the end
In affliction, a stranded family watched him slowly die
Chorus:
You know, that’s the way things often go
A chance to live
A desperate chance for us to grow
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6. |
Dalton Lament
05:16
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Verse 1:
[Em]I remember our days up in [G]Dalton
[Em]A great place to start, [G]but not to end
[Em]I can see us sitting [G]in the back yard
[Am7]At the schoolhouse where we [Em]lived
Verse 2:
Now, I know you and you know me
Some say that we were more than friends
But I shouldn't have taken you for granted
You shouldn't have brought in your new friend
Chorus:
[G]I want to go [Am7]back there
[G]I want to turn this [Am7]awful thing around
[G]I want to sit in the [Am7]back yard
[CM7]Maybe listen to
[BbM7]Maybe listen to
[Bdim]To those Dalton evening [Am7]sounds
Verse 3:
I curse that one occasion
The day I took a thing or two
And the damn postal money order
And the gun I used to shoot you
Verse 4:
I was told told the cops, they came a'runnin
Searching for your body, high and low
From the rail stop out at Bolkow
To the money order I signed in old Chapleau
Chorus:
[G]Mama, I want to go [Am7]back there
[G]I want to turn this [Am7]awful thing around
[G]I want to sit in the [Am7]back yard
[CM7]Maybe listen to
[BbM7]Maybe listen to
[Bdim]To those Dalton evening [Am7]sounds
Verse 5:
I know there's a hole in this here building
For the slew of a Hangman's noose
And I can hear a pin drop in this Sudbury court room
I wonder how they'll cut me loose?
Chorus:
[G]Lord, I want to go [Am7]back there
[G]I want to turn this [Am7]awful thing around
[G]I want to sit in the [Am7]back yard
[CM7]Maybe listen to
[BbM7]Maybe listen to
[Bdim]To those Dalton evening [Am7]sounds
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7. |
Retirement Song
03:07
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8. |
This Only Day
03:52
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Verse 1:
[G/D] My roadmap lost its [Am7] cities.
[G/D] My events gave up on [Am7] time.
[G/D] Most [Am7] new things I’m presented
[G/D] They don’t shine [Am7].
Verse 2:
There were people in my world.
I wonder where they are?
Their names I’ve long forgotten.
It’s my mind’s scar.
Chorus:
[D] I appreciate you being [Cmaj7] with me.
[D] I just wish I could [Cmaj7] stay.
[D] You make everything so [Cmaj7] easy
On this [F#dim7] day, this only [G/D] day
Verse 3:
Let’s walk out in the courtyard
Gee it’s nice to feel the air
I bless myself too often
Sitting in this chair
Bridge:
[Cmaj7] Take me to the mountains.
Won’t you [D] take me to the [Dsus4] sea?
[Cmaj7] Take me to a party.
Would you [D] like to dance with [Dsus4] me?
We’ll [Cmaj7] twirl and swirl above the clouds [D] right up to the [Dsus4] moon,
Or [Bm] until you take me by the hand and [Am7] tell me that it’s time to go back [G/D] home
© Michael C Kelly, 2017
I dedicate this song to Gail who strength allows her to see every day as an only day.
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9. |
Motion's Mystery
02:16
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Verse 1:
[Em]There's a point in the [D13]cosmos
[D9]There's a point in the [Em]sea
[Em]There's a point on the [D13]dance floor
[D9] Motion's myst[Em]ery
Chorus:
I know, I know
The dancer sways in a breeze
I know, yes I know
Life's expression of free
Verse 2:
Hands flow in reflection
A sensual liturgy
Mirrors blur to her rhythm
Motion's mystery
Chorus:
I know, I know
The dancer sways in a breeze
I know, yes I know
Life's expression of free
Bridge:
Witness emotion, you're drawn to her space
Your sense's elation, it's life's state of grace
Verse 3:
Moves ever so slowly
Forms expression with ease
Add a beat's excitation
Motion's mystery
Chorus:
I know, I know
The dancer sways in a breeze
I know, yes I know
Life's expression of free
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10. |
The Drive Thru
02:58
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Verse 1:
Most mornings he’d navigate an old familiar road
Squinting through the sunshine on the dew
He’d take his place in the parking lot - the shop would open soon
with a barista’s invitation to a brew.
Chorus:
But now he turns down his radio
The wicket’s getting near
He’ll tap his card, and let the coffee slide
No touch, no talk, just hi and bye, he knows he must comply
But all he wants to do is go inside
Verse 2:
He recalled a kid in saggers, barely covering up his rear.
What was he doing up so dog-gone early?
And who were those seniors? Why were they still holding hands?
He answered with an urge to hug his bride.
Chorus:
He turns the radio down some more
The wicket’s getting near
He’ll tap his card and let the coffee slide
No touch, no talk, just hi and bye; he knows he will comply
But all he wants to do is go inside
Bridge:
He missed those coffee conversations
The table talk with people he held dear
In the safety of his friends, he’d meet them til the end
Present in their sadness and their cheer
Verse 3:
(Ah yes) he missed his old friend Freddy, wondered how he got along
With the diagnosis newly handed
He hoped deep down he’d come around, he hoped he would survive
To chat once more on the coffee benches
Chorus:
He turned off his radio
To a barista’s smiling eyes
Then taped his card, and let the coffee slide
No touch, no talk, just hi and bye; he knows he will survive
But all he wants to do is go inside
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