1. |
Three Danish Galleys
06:14
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Three Danish Galleys
Three galleys come sailing to Porlock Side
And stole them away a new wed bride
Who left my true love, lying dead on the shore
Sailing, out and away
I never shall see my dear, home no more.
Then up to her stepped the Danish King
And her he would wed with a golden ring.
The bride she made answer her tears between
I never will wed with a cowardly Dane.
Then out of the galley they tossed the bride
And laughed as she drowned in the cruel tide.
There came three small galleys from Porlock Bay
They fought with the Danes for a night and a day.
They fought til the decks with blood ran red
And every man of the Danes was dead.
Three galleys come sailing to Porlock side ...
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2. |
Flowers in Autumn
06:26
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Flowers in Autumn
She was young and in service
He worked with his hands
But when their eyes met
They were held with invisible bands
To a rock on the hillside
Together they’d go
And gaze to their distant dreams
Over the boats moored below
But the townsfolk knew he was made
Of golden thread
And flowers would spring, winter or summer
Wherever he’d tread
Flowers in Autumn, flowers in autumn
Wherever he treads, they said
Spring flowers, sweet flowers in autumn
Then news of the war came,
They couldn't agree
When he joined with the other lads
And shipped off to sea
Only rumours returned
All young men were lost
The war and the ocean
Took a terrible cost
The townsfolk knew nature’s call
Had less of a song
But she scanned the horizon
He couldn’t be gone
Then one night,
Washed up on the tide
A raft, with a man, barely alive
They just couldn’t leave him
Did what they could
She knew through his silent eyes,
Something was good
She took him out walking
As his strength slowly grew
To a rock on the hillside
Over the haven she knew
But time came, the townsfolk
Started to talk
Of flowers that spring, winter or summer
Wherever he’d walk
Flowers in autumn, flowers in autumn
Wherever he treads, they said,
Spring flowers
Sweet pretty primrosy daffodil flowers
Sweet flowers
In Autumn
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3. |
King of Rome
03:30
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The King of Rome
In the West End of Derby lives a working man, says
“I can't fly but my pigeons can.
And when I set them free,
It's just like part of me
Gets lifted up on shining wings.”
Charlie ‘udson's pigeon loft was down the yard
Of a rented house in Brook Street where life was hard.
But Charlie had a dream,
And in 1913
Charlie bred a pigeon that made his dream come true.
There was gonna be a champions' race from Italy.
“We got out the maps, all that land and sea,
Charlie, you'll lose that bird.”
But Charlie never heard,
Put it in a basket and sent it off to Rome.
On the day of the big race a storm blew in,
A thousand birds were swept away and never seen again.
“Charlie, we told you so,
Surely by now you know
When you're living in the West End there ain't many dreams come true.”
“Yeah, I know, but I had to try,
A man can crawl around or he can learn to fly.
And if you live round here,
The ground seems awful near;
Sometimes I need a lift from victory.”
I was off with my mates for a pint or two
When I saw a wing flash up in the blue.
“Charlie, it's the King of Rome
Come back to his West End home,
Come outside quick, he's perched up on your roof.”
“Come on down, your Majesty,
I knew you'd make it back to me.
Come on down, my lovely one,
You made my dream come true.”
In the West End of Derby lives a working man, says
“I can't fly but my pigeons can.
And when I set them free,
It's just like part of me
Gets lifted up on shining wings.”
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4. |
Rosemary's Rosy Doorway
05:51
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Rosemary's Rosy Doorway
Rosemary’s Rosy Doorway
Was the first sight that she saw
As her proud father carried her through
To show his child to the people he knew
In the small village
At the end of the road
A long way from the town
A tiny cottage
At the end of the road
A long way from the town
Rosemary’s rosy doorway
Was the best ever sight that she saw
As her worried father carried her on
Back from the convalescent home
Through the small village
At the end of the road
A long way from the town
A tiny cottage
At the end of the road
A long way from the town
Rosemary’s rosy doorway
Was the grand welcome home she saw
As her proud husband carried her through
Waving to all the people she knew
In the small village
At the end of the road
A long way from the town
A tiny cottage
At the end of the road
A long way from the town
Rosemary’s rosy doorway
Was the best welcome home she adored
As she proudly carried her daughter on
From maternity ward, back to their home
In the small village
At the end of the road
A long way from the town
A tiny cottage
At the end of the road
A long way from the town
(Bridge)
But the town spread closer
And rich men got richer
They wanted a weekender
In the quaint little picture
Postcard village they found
An easy drive from the town.
And their money started
To tear out the heart
Of the village she called home
Rosemary’s rosy doorway
Was the last sight that she saw
As the medics hurriedly stretchered her through
Into the dark night lit with flashes of blue
In the small village
Out on the main road
Just at the edge of the town
A tiny home left
By a busy main road
Swallowed up by the town
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5. |
Nine Pairs of Eyes
04:15
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Nine Pairs of Eyes
A stowaway from Italy
Came here from New York
And found hard work
He took his new born family
North and Picton bound
Fishing in the Sounds
A giant spout by his sardine boat
Shook Joe Perano’s sails
When he calmed he saw a future
Hunting for the whales
Nine pairs of eyes
Scanning the Strait for signs of their prize
Three boats away
Chasing through the waves to find their prey
To keep a family a whale dies
Nine pairs of eyes
We set up on Lookout Hill
Watching the waves below
For a humpback’s blow
Then down the track and to the chasers
Hope five tonnes or more
And the engines roar !!
We’re firing 14 pounds of death
Then air and lines in our spoil
We tow ‘em into Tory Channel
To flense and boil for oil
In ‘62 thousands were taken
by Russians and Japanese
From Southern Seas
So few were left that bitter winter
You wonder if whaling pays
And you wait ... for days
In ‘64 we couldn’t pay
When Orca’s boiler failed
Now Conservation wants our eyes
Still spying for the whales
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6. |
The Notch
06:22
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THE NOTCH
You lean on the back of a chair
Through glass, a 000 yard stare
We’re not looking out for a sail
But the spout of a humpback whale
And the men run down the trail
The tiniest cut in the wood
Didn’t do the whale any good
A chair roughly made from an old packing case
A notch in the side to show who won the chase
Or a mark if the whale escaped
Our shelter slowly grew
As the bitter winters blew
Chairs from an old wooden crate
Make a perch to lookover the Strait
And the whales swim past their fate
The tiniest cut in the wood
Didn’t do the whale any good
A chair roughly made from an old packing case
A notch in the side to show who won the chase
Or a mark if the whale escaped
An old Captain Cooker
Became our best mate
And tussles with Suzie
Would lighten the wait
And once, in a beery state
The loneliest winter of all
After decades up on the hill
Thinking of times that had past
As the numbers are fading fast
Have we just seen our last?
The last cut in the wood
Didn’t do the whale any good
A chair roughly made from an old packing case
Just one more notch to show who won the chase
Or a mark if the whale escaped
We hope we’re not too late.
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7. |
One Word War
07:54
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ONE WORD WAR
The glint of the silver cigarette case
Exchanged with a man like me
A pause in the daily grime and blood
Then friend, back to enemy,
Bodies in pain and pieces
You can’t guess who’ll live on
A bullet true or missing
Is just a toss of the devil’s coin.
One shot
And heads or tails will fall
One word
About the terrible War
He would never say any more
Black and brass, barrel and bullets
Me job to pick off the Hun
In the sights a lad like me
One shot ... and I’m alone,
It could have been anyone given a gun
In trench or skeleton tree
Nerves on edge, for years on end
Then home but never free
We marched off under skies of blue
To foreign fields of green
Turned boggy brown, and bloody too
Now just a museum scene,
Green grass came back while friends did not
Those young men sent to Hell
Now graves fill with silent stories
They would never tell
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8. |
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THE DAY THE BANK CLOSED ITS DOORS
For years it stood in the centre of town
Drawing folks in as they walked up and down
A castle to commerce, centre of trade
With unnatural high windows all etched nice and neat
Stone pillars and carvings commanding the High Street
A cathedral where now there are none come to pray
[Chorus]
The day the bank closed its doors for the last time
The day the bank closed its doors x2
This town was once a thriving old place
The focus of folk who lived miles around
But the highway drove by, and took trade away
There were still plenty of sheep to shave
But the stores are all closed thanks to Pak n Save
And the old hotel sign starts to peel and fade
[Chorus]
The station was the place for folk coming and going
Now windowless trains rumble by without slowing
Past the old village school, now childless and still
[Bridge]
This Town Lost its heart and soul
The day all those doors closed
Though the name lingers on
So many have gone.
Just letters on a plate by the speed limit sign
A word on the map by a big yellow line
The town struggles on, while the world hurries by.
[Chorus]
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9. |
Nigel Parry New Zealand
Soulful Folkiwi Music
"..rapidly becoming an established player.., bringing his strong, mellow voice and sympathetic guitar sounds to songs old and new, traditional and his own compositions.”
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