1. |
Hummingbird
03:05
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News of you, fell from the blue
On an Autumn day
With golden hues and morning dew
You had flown away
A hummingbird forgot the words
In Boca Chica bay
It’s the place to go when you don’t know
What to do or say
The buzzing noise that you enjoyed
Has quieted down
I just hear whispering sounds
Now
We surf the waves and explore the caves
In our imaginary stay
White sand blows through turquoise coves
The bird that hummed went astray
The buzzing noise that you enjoyed
Has quieted down
I just hear whispering sounds
Now
News of you, fell from the blue
On an Autumn day
The hummingbird has flown away
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2. |
Routines
03:53
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The routines that were there before
Ain’t the routines any more
A glass lies broken on the floor
Spilled wine flowing under the door
Where did you go
I don’t know
Where did you go
Remember that time when we drank too much
The night the willow fell
The earth got muddy in the pouring rain
We toppled in the wishing well
The howling wind and a tolling bell
Where did you go
I don’t know
Where did you go
Routines that were there before
Ain’t the routines any more
Waves break higher on the shore
Mountains ain't so cold more
Where did you go
I don’t know
Where did you go
Found an old photo hidden in the loft
The six of us so young
The sea, the sand, the blue sky up above
The colors faded from everyone
Where did you go
I don’t know
Where did you go
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3. |
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Tall tales have been told but I’m telling you
That this one will surely not fail
To flabbergast you, confound and astound you
For I was saved by the tail of a whale
I’d been traveling to Mexico ‘cross the Pacifico
With a fiend who posed as a friend
We were sailing together through rough and fair weather
But he secretly schemed to bring me to an end
We scrapped and I struck him, he fell to the waves
They consumed him and made him their own
The ship got damaged my body was ravaged
And I was left stranded, lost and alone
I thought “Who knows where we will go?
The love inside us should grow
Who knows where we will be?
The love will help us stay free
I know it’s you and me, for now”
The vessel was sinking and I got to thinking
That this day would be my last one
She tilted and bubbled into the sea belly
And I was left helpless, adrift in the sun
Embraced by the ocean, sea-sick with motion
The sharks were circling when
Up from the deep a giant whale leaped
And he spouted to greet me and then
He spoke to me gently in Whalish I guess
Which somehow I could understand
He moved his huge body and swam alongside me
Brushed his pectoral fin ‘gainst my right hand
He sang “Who knows where we will go?
The love inside us should grow
Who knows where we will be?
The love will help us stay free
I know it’s you and me, for now”
He said you are in trouble, you’re trapped in a bubble
Caught by the tumultuous blue
But I’m here to save you, I ask nothing of you
Roll onto my tail, I’ll bring safety to you
So, I laid on the tail of the giant blue whale
And was taken to Limba Baloo
It’s an island unknown, windswept, overgrown
Where nobody lived except me and Maloo
Maloo is the whale and this tale I regale
Of the whale who set sail with me on his tail
We sang “Who knows where we will go?
The love inside us should grow
Who knows where we will be?
The love will help us stay free
I know it’s you and me, for now”
It took a long time I sang songs and thought rhyme
But eventually a ship neared the shore
I boarded for Mexico but that was fifty years ago
Now I’m old and I don’t wanna go there any more
So that was the story of me and Maloo
And my wondrous life on Limba Baloo.
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4. |
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No, that’s not the way we are
No, that’s not the way we are
I had worked for more
Baked bread for us all
Heard stories of the light
Sang songs throughout the night
No, that’s not the way we are
No, that’s not the way we are
Love waits in us all
Sometimes trapped behind a wall
And it will filter through
Though the dark resides there too
Choir section
No, that’s not the way we are
No, that’s not the way we are
The shadow and the light
Jousting for the right
And each day we decide
Who won the duel last night
No, that’s not the way we are
No, that’s not the way we are
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5. |
Fish and Stars
02:17
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I would like to have stood on the shore
To see the first fish crawl
And the stars are too big to imagine
The distance between them so daunting
I’m sure there are aliens
And maybe they live here with us
But if they are clever enough to be here
I don’t think they’d let us see them
Maybe we’re in a simulation
A cosmic game for godlike fish
The evolution from the nuclear explosions
At the centers of stars long dead
As we swim in a bowl
And the alien fish watch us
Should we proclaim our brilliance?
It’s humbler to be told, isn’t it?
We don’t all learn the same way
Or in equal measure
We are little humans, dreaming large
Convinced it’s all about us
We will come and we will go
We will forget and be forgotten
The cycles will turn
The dust will blow and our shallow tracks will be no more
Let’s be happy while we can, starfish
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6. |
Her name was Nectarine
02:43
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Her name was Nectarine, face like you’ve never seen
She worked the night shift as a pole dancer
She ended up in this strip club, it’s a story lacking in love
The questions you pose she will not answer
She has pride
She has strength inside
She is wise
Behind those hazel eyes
Her name was Nectarine, she took it from a movie scene
A Persian criminal was smuggling contraband
He hid it in wooden crates, covered with nectarines and dates
The surface was sweet but beneath there lay sleight of hand
She has ideas
And she has no fears
But she’s in arrears
Though she will not shed any tears
Any tears, any tears, any tears
Her name was Nectarine, would have made a wondrous queen
But she strips nights to make ends meet
At home her glitter falls away, she wipes the makeup from her face
She stares in the mirror and sees beyond this rundown street
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7. |
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Spiderweb in the lamplight
A warm glow emanates from the shadows
A sheltered alley on a hazy night
Wet cobblestones, reflective windows
Four a.m. and I can’t sleep
An insomniac strolling the streets
I took pills and I counted sheep
My mind kept twirling, swirling above the sheets
I watched the news before bedtime
I really shouldn’t have, you know how those images remain
I hope for peace but that’s just a dream
And while awake the nightmare spreads itself like a stain
She’s tucked away in the lamphead
Oblivious to the fear she instills
Creating art from silken thread
Sometimes reaching from lamp to windowsill
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8. |
Looking through a window
04:32
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I am looking through a window
Thinking about circadian rhythms
Sleep is slim-pickings for worriers
Flooded with sounds from outside
Echoing around on the inside
It’s noisy in here
It’s noisy in here
I am looking through a window
A dachshund dons a blue coat
What I see maybe not what you see
We are both awake but when we look
We see a different blue
It’s colorful in here
It’s colorful in here
I am looking through a window
A rose floats its scent towards us
The perfume puts me back in the eighties
And sails you to a cafe in Nice
We have our own memories
There’s sweetness in here
There’s sweetness in here
Sight and sound and the sweet sense
Sight and sound and the sweet sense of being here
I am looking through a window
A raindrop bends a sycamore leaf
It ricochets on to my eyelid
I blink and you might think I’m crying
But it feels so good
It’s warm in here
It’s warm in here
I am looking through a window
It’s open and I taste the fresh air
The coffee and the toast are delicious
I am fortunate to have this time
To sense this beautiful world
It’s tasty in here
It’s tasty in here
Sight and sound and the sweet sense
Sight and sound and the sweet sense of being here
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9. |
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I’ll never be this young again
Today this year is at an end
Tomorrow I’ll be round the bend
I’ll never be this young again
Tomorrow I’ll move one year on
A higher number, another song
The steps are short, the road is long
Tomorrow I’ll move one year on
The news is rough, so I close my eyes
Muffle my ears, dress in disguise
Learn to separate truth from lies
The natural joy cut down to size
Some people shine like summer sun
Others drain the world of fun
I resolve to join the sparkling ones
Bake bread without leaving the trail of crumbs
It’s just a choice. A change of mind
An idea, a feeling inside
Powerful enough to turn the tide
The force of love transforms the ride
I’ll never be this young again
Today this year is at an end
Tomorrow I’ll be round the bend
I’ll never be this young again
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10. |
Rustling Leaves
03:07
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Leaves were blowing on the ground
Cold in the park I was looking down
I glanced and saw you wearing that frown
We heard each other through the rustling sounds
I smiled you smiled we talked a while
On a bench by the lake on the lonely mile
People strolled by in single file
Our conversation rolled along in style
Chorus
Your flock flew south and left you behind
Loneliness forced you to stay inside
The way to this bench is hard to recall
But getting up is step one
In recovering
From a fall, from a fall, from a fall
But getting up is step one
In recovering
Our fingers brushed our faces blushed
The rustling leaves were gently hushed
You said I’m feeling kinda flushed
We blindly glided through the daily rush
[Chorus]
Leaves were blowing on the ground
Cold in the park I was looking down
I glanced and saw you wearing that frown
We heard each other through the rustling sounds
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11. |
Back from the Ledge
03:34
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I wandered there while sleeping
Stared into the darkness
At the edge, on the ledge
My toes curled down
I got too close to it
I saw desolation,
Nothingness, everything lost
Deserted, worthless
Wordless, Nothing is too big
A sound
From the void, I saw a bleakness
I would wish on no one
I’d start again just to forget
Though I cannot.
I cannot.
I saw everything through a different lens
Distorted through this different lens
The isolation on the ledge
I try to lose this feeling
This feeling
The darkness crept inside my mind
Sent tentacles hunting for the core
Infected while on the ledge
But I’m fighting
I am fighting
To be at peace, I wish this
For all the restless souls
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12. |
Astronauts
02:57
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It’s a new morning and half the world’s yawning
A comet is coming for our pale blue dot
Nobody worries and everyone hurries
Checking their diaries for a vacant slot
We’re walking like zombies in cool Abercrombies
Sucking up tiktocks on our pale blue dot
The crash is a comin’, distraction is dumbin’
And we are not worried; we already forgot
We are distracted
We are dazzled by the shiny ones
Ignoring the knowledge we have gathered
Let’s be guided by what we know
Dismiss those who just wanna put on a show
They are killing us all and what’s worse, we all know
We’re under the watch of trained astronauts
Floating above us wondering why we’re so dumb
They have the vision, we are in prison
They open our cages but we just will not run
We are distracted
We are dazzled by the shiny ones
Ignoring the knowledge we have gathered
Let’s be guided by what we know
Dismiss those who just wanna put on a show
They are killing us all and what’s worse, we all know
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13. |
Born in a meadow
03:32
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Born into a meadow
Broad horizons flowing every way
No glimmer of shadow
Sky gleaming, it’s a radiant day
The slate is clean, the sheet is clear, clear, clear, clear
Lamblike innocence is all that’s here, here, here, here
Grown into a suburb
Friends, family, community
But moldy culture and rotten apples
Stain the canvas, taint the unity
The lamb is subdued and the wolf will rise, rise, rise, rise
The lions are few and the lamb not yet, wise, wise, wise
These days you find yourself just pondering
Feeling used, confused, and left wondering
When did the seams begin to fray?
How did all that time fritter away?
Photograph of my school
In the paper took me back to those days
The lightness of naivety
All we did was simply run and play
The web begins with a single thread, thred, thread, thread
And we weave our lives from the skins we shed, shed, shed, shed
These days you find yourself just pondering
Feeling used, confused, and left wondering
When did the seams begin to fray?
How did all that time fritter away?
Born into a meadow
Broad horizons flowing every way
No glimmer of shadow
Sky gleaming, it’s a radiant day
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14. |
Grandpa was a gambler
01:59
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Grandpa was a gambler,
Betting on the horses
Made a bet each day
He went to the race-track
Or down to the betshop
It was an addiction
Although he called it fun
He died penniless,
Funding his obsession
Aiming for the win
Wasn’t ‘bout the money
Although it would’ve helped
He called it his hobby
It drained him of his pay
He had a system
A foolproof way
But it didn’t work
Like all the other systems, there ever have been
He died in another world,
Back in seventy two
A long while ago
Back then things were different
People didn’t know
About the addiction
His friends were like it too
He was a character
Loved by all his family
His friends all loved him too
They held nothing against him
Lost his wife at fifty
He was always jolly
He made life a party
He was a worker
Came from poverty
The temptation of a better life
Drew him in, pulled him under
He had a system
A foolproof way
But it didn’t work
Like all the other systems, there ever have been
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Roger Hammond Amsterdam, Netherlands
Based near Amsterdam. I write, play guitar, sing and record. I try to write interesting lyrics and occasionally I think they are. A lot of the songs end up with a calm sound and emphasize the vocals and acoustic guitar. My early influences were Paul Simon, Tom Waits, Jethro Tull, David Bowie, Pink Floyd, Chopin, The Beatles, Elvis Costello, Otis Redding and a ton more along the way ... more
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