1. |
The River Lately
05:05
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The River Lately
Have you been to the river lately?
You should see how high the water is now.
Last time, you couldn’t drown here
had you been trying.
(Alternate: Last time, you could have found
everything you've been hiding)
Waist deep and stepping up
Step up to higher ground
All those clowns making jokes about our lives
They never get to the punchline
You probably have it all figured out anyway
Don’t let that keep you from trying
Transparent as the air, you say with your mind
all that words can’t say for you
Should be easy to prove light is a frequency of thought
and thought a frequency of sound.
There are no short cuts where we’re going,
We’re going to have to play it through.
Knee-deep and stepping up
Step up to higher ground
With all those thoughts making noise all the time
Stick around for the punchline
You probably have it all figured out anyway
Don’t let that keep you from trying
Look at that full moon, feel it pulling on your dreams.
Everyone who’s ever lived has danced with it.
Foghorn sounds down the bay. Freighter comes around the bend.
May you know you are loved while you’re alive to pass it on
May you know how much of a part of it all you are
Hold on. Hold on.
With all those thoughts making noise all the time
Stick around for the punchline
I’m still waiting….
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2. |
War In Me
03:07
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War In Me
There is no time now
No time to be subtle or scared
On a one-way ride, we arrive
To see that we’ve already been there
To think we had it all
Had it all, had all just to let it go
Running for the wall
Just another war in me
About to see how real life can be
Just another war in me
Call me a relic
But you can’t say I was passing through
Got turned around, in the dark
Went looking for a trail to lead me to you
You’re the sound I make when I dream
Another soul who is more than you seem
Just another war in me
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3. |
The Story Begins
02:25
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The Story Begins
I just got broken, and you were radiant
And we knew each other only through our songs
I wanted to walk with you, but I was afraid to
Knowing how easily I fall in love
These days, I’m not lonely
And although you hardly know me,
know that I am your friend
You’re always moving the scenery around you
When you arrive, the story begins
Chorus
I’m good at a distance, but you need the real thing
You’re so real, you’re impossible to me
It’s a full moon again, first one since we met and
Your song’s been spinning in my mind on repeat play
Got a bottle of Mysteries I haven’t opened yet
Found it in the water. It was buried in the clay.
These days…
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4. |
Ghost Water
05:05
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Ghost Water
You could live on ghost water
Find your dreams in the wind, in the rain
Make a sail from the lives that you've saved
And you weren't even trying
Like a soul that came back again
Halfway here, just looking in
Like a soul that came back again
When you let go..
Sailing ghost water
Don't let go
I'm a bad vessel, and I know it
I'm tortured, I'm scared
I crack up in a storm
Left the passengers to row home alone
And I never really thanked you
Like a soul that came back again
Halfway here, just looking in
Like a soul that came back again
You could live on ghost water
Find your dreams in the wind, in the rain
Make a sail from the lives that you've saved
And you weren't even trying
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5. |
Barn Swallow's Dance
03:19
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6. |
The Cowardice of Kings
05:03
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The Cowardice of Kings
And the cowardice of kings comes out when you need him
At the moment of battle, the king has a crisis
He falls to pieces on the palace floor
cursing his counsel
The cowardice of kings comes in cruelty to the weakest
Go on, call him on it and you become his new enemy
You did nothing but ask a question.
Now your picture’s on the subway station wall.
We are innocent weapons.
You know we got played
Stick around, the weather will change
Stick around, the weather will change
The cowardice of kings makes everyone a traitor
Sees refugees as enemies and immigrants as invaders
Public dissent becomes a treasonable crime
We go back to the dungeon
We are innocent weapons
You know we got played
Stick around, the weather will change
Stick around, the weather will change
Oh. I never meant to leave your love
I’ve got to believe that love
Goes on
The cowardice of kings brings shame to the nation
When soldier and joker stand separate and hostile
Only after the first shots are fired
Do they know who they’re fighting
The cowardice of kings brings out the tyrant
The cowardice of kings brings out the tyrant
We are innocent weapons
You know we got played
Stick around, the weather will change
Stick around, the weather will change
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7. |
When I Fall Away
04:32
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8. |
Only in Summer
04:08
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Only In Summer
All he said was
She was pretty enough
To be a stripper
They used to say that back home
It never was a problem
He thought it was a compliment
Yeah, she walked away
But before she did she said
Man, you’re a disaster
Every scene you’re in needs editing
Before it goes to air
Long ago you used to be my brother
Long ago you used to be my friend
maybe we were born to find each other
when you were a child and
I was that flower
that bloomed with the early
rains every summer
the years roll by
and he learns a few things
he falls in love and he's happy
but time won’t let him go
and it breaks his heart open
there is sorrow for a while
there are similar stories
to the one you’re living now
there’s no way to know what can happen
and millions of ways
running through the maze
we keep going around
Long ago you used to be my brother
Long ago you used to be my friend
maybe we were born to find each other
when you were a child and
I was that flower that
bloomed with the early
rains every summer
then I was the child and
you were the clouds that
taught me to see
nothing’s forever
then you were the child and
I was the river that
sang to you softly
until you were sleeping
then I was the child and
you were the mountain that
gathered the rainfall and
filled up the fountain
then you were the child and
I was the forest where
you used to play until
your mother called for you
then I was the child and
you were the movement of
wind on the water that
brought us together
then you were the child and
I was that flower and
we knew each other
only in summer
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9. |
Dragonfly
03:45
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10. |
We Need Everyone
04:38
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We Need Everyone
You are always standing in the light
Rain and cloud, or moonless night
Folded up, just a little fire inside
You are always in the light
We need you now
We need everyone
Can't be us, if you're not around
We need you now
We need everyone
You have always been loved
You are always stepping through the door
Stepping in, turning around
And then you're leaving once more
You are always through the door
We need you now
We need everyone
Can't be us, if you're not around
We need you now
We need everyone
You have always been loved
You are always waiting by the well
Noonday sun overhead, the world under your spell
Asking for water when it's water you came to sell
You are always by the well
We need you now...
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MD Dunn recommends:
A magnificent album!
go to album
Come Up, Honey
by Hidden Roots Collective
A Canadian super-group. Four accomplished songwriters on one album.
go to album
FLAKE (2021 Remastering) & WINTERTIDE Holiday Bundle
by Don Ross
Dude's a legend, and he's a pretty good guitar player, too.
go to albumIf you like MD Dunn, you may also like:
The haunting new record from Canadian folk artist Avi C. Engel bridges old and new traditions with a minimalist approach.
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Sanguine but uplifting, the Toronto singer-songwriter's "transfigured" folk songs ponder existential themes with grace and wonder.
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when the poems do what they do
by aja monet
Poet aja monet explores Black resistance, love, and joy with musical backing by Chief Adjuah, Weedie Braimah, Samora Pinderhughes, and more.
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