1. |
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Let my loved ones know I loved them
May the skies by wide above them
A mile above the sea
I was free when I was falling
When I heard the skies were calling
A mile above the sea
I could have climbed forever
But the sun was in my feathers
A mile above the sea
& I'll die with one eye open
in my fist a lover's token
A mile above the sea
May my pride be made your lesson
May the price be paid for freedom
A mile above the sea
Let my loved ones know I loved them
May the skies by wide above them
A mile above the sea
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2. |
Weeds (Live)
03:18
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At the side by the road, weeds are growing
right beside by the spot she lay -
growing red from the blood that was flowing
long since the time took her away
Right beside where she died, weeds are growing
like the flowers on a pop star's grave
and the people walked by
turned a blind bloody eye -
well, I'm sure they had another soul to save
Oh, her death, like her life, it was needless
& her mark on this world, soon to fade
& the world goes on turning regardless
& the weeds where she died will wither away
But I won't forget how she ended -
empty eyes and the August rain,
& the rain mixed with blood,
& the weeds, and the mud,
all the colours that combine to paint her pain
So I'll share with you now, while I'm singing,
what we lost when she passed away -
one less leaf on the tree,
one less droplet in the sea,
one less colour in a town so grey.
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3. |
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The boy that I loved lived in the suburbs,
I spent every school night at his place,
he smiled a lot and took me to the movies
& we wasted all our coins on the arcade
& dreamt of all the places we could live in
but the slots never paid,
so we'd order a Chinese and watch the football
& he said, "tomorrow'll be our day,
some day."
The boy that I loved loved fishing at the riverbank,
on warmer nights I'd sit and watch him wait,
I said, "You know, I'm really not a fisherman
but isn't there supposed to be a bait?"
He said, "People don't trust you doing nothing,
it's like you're the mirror to their vice,
but if you're at the river with a fishing rod -
well in that case, they don't look twice,
don't look twice."
Then one day was the last day I saw my friend
though I couldn't tell you how,
I hope he thinks about me now and then
as I sing about him now.
& once I made a bet with the boy I loved,
I told him it was bad of him to smoke,
he said, "If you understood, you'd be a smoker,"
& then he took a fiver from his coat,
he said, "Boy, call me when you're twenty
& if you've still not smoked I'll double up" -
five years later on I staggered out the Späti,
dropped a tenner in a beggar's cup,
beggar's cup.
Then one day was the last day I saw my friend
though I couldn't tell you how,
I just hope he thinks about me now and then
as I sing about him now.
But he was never far behind me
'til he moved on & I was grown -
the world he drew was how it seemed to me
'til I began to paint my own.
Now I've seen the world through every window,
don't need to see it all to see enough,
one day you're the world, the next forgotten,
but I will not forget the boy I love
boy I love.
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4. |
The Fountain (Live)
03:53
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love used to rush like a fountain
The city's a forest of stone, my dear
the city is a forest of stone
there once was a chorus of birds,
now there's a chorus of phones
The people are clever as whips, my dear
the people are as smart as a whip
love used to rush like a fountain,
now it only drips.
The lights are a million eyes, my dear
the windows are a million ears
but sing till your lungs' used up
and it's never enough.
victory arcs, public parks
ashen birds, weathered words
head in the sand, phone in the hand
cranes after cranes, midnight trains
rivers of cars, starless sky
oh, am I living a lie
The planet's as sick as a dog, my dear
the planet is as sick as a dog
we used to have a doctor,
we used to call him God.
love used to rush like a fountain...
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5. |
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My eyes saw only evil
While set within my head
Let flowers in bright colours
Grow above me when I'm dead
Let green things grow above me
When I'm gone, when I'm gone
Let green things grow above me
When I'm gone
My tongue spoke only hatred
While set within my head
Let songbirds flock the trees
That grow above me when I'm dead
Let green things grow above me
When I'm gone, when I'm gone
Let green things grow above me
When I'm gone
While set upon my body yet
My feet let nothing grow
Let flowers come back stronger
Where my footsteps laid them low
Let green things grow above me
When I'm gone, when I'm gone
Let green things grow above me
When I'm gone
While set upon my body yet
My hands did only wrong
Let all my works be washed away
All trace of me begone
Let green things grow above me
When I'm gone, when I'm gone
Let green things grow above me
When I'm gone
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6. |
Father (Live)
04:08
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I've never worked the soil with hands of black,
and I've never sat out fishing
as I waited for the dawn to crack -
So Father, with your stories
of a time long gone,
Father, oh father,
pass it on.
I've never felt the taxman at my back,
never set a foot down
on the wrong side of the track -
But still, I need a helping hand
to carry me along,
Father, oh father,
Pass it on
In my times of trouble
Pass it on
And though your figure leaves a shadow,
though your arrows leave a scar,
though your hand is heavy
your heart is always true
Father, when I drink,
I drink to you,
Father, when I drink…
I've never watched my woman giving birth,
never fed my children
from the labour of the earth -
But some day I in turn
might raise a daughter or a son,
Father, your wisdom
pass it on
Father, for the children…
And though there's pain in all your body
and there's holes in what you knew -
Despite the cost you've paid,
be proud of what you've made,
Father when I drink,
I drink to you
I've never worked the soil with hands of black
and I've never sat out fishing
as I waited for the dawn to crack -
So Father, take some courage
from the lessons of this song:
Everything I get,
I'll pass it on.
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7. |
Brother (Live)
03:19
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Sometimes the words just come
Some'll take a lifetime to reach your tongue
But I'm in love, I'm in love
with your silence, your silence
O Silent Brother of mine
Sometimes your silences are wise, sometimes clever,
Sometimes they rush behind your eyes like a river
O Brother, your silence is a sea
and I will swim in it forever
Sometimes our tongues grow thin,
Sometimes we don't know where or whether to begin
But I'm in love, I'm love
with your silence, your silence
O Silent Brother of mine
Sometimes your eyes are twenty-one, sometimes a thousand,
Sometimes I can't look at you for all the pain inside them
O Brother, your silence is gold
and I will share your treasure island
Sometimes my voice it breaks as I remember
All the times we were here and not together
But brother
Your silence is a sea
And I am waiting at the harbour
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8. |
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I read the story of a killer, I couldn't put him down.
He had a mother like mine, he came from my own hometown.
Well I give my devils a page, ‘cos I was born to write,
but the world was his stage, with his devils in the spotlight.
When the shooting was done, he put one through his head,
and I couldn't help think that he'd gone for the wrong kind of lead.
See I have known hatred, and that weighs heavy on my mind,
but ask what's my poison: pencil over pistol any time.
One thing I know about Jesus is he was half man,
and I know that this killer was made by God's own hand.
When the Lord met the devil, he said, "No, I wouldn't, but I could," -
when I feel my knuckles I remember I can be a force for good.
I read about a man who took a dozen women with him when he died,
and I could run from our likeness ‘til I've got nowhere to hide.
I can run from my shadow but darkness is stuck to my feet,
and it's only on the page that a man and a monster must ever meet.
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9. |
Now and Then (Live)
03:29
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I'm like you I know the weight of not belonging
I’m like you god knows I've built myself a cage
So if the black dog's back
and hanging around
we might as well give him a name
Boys don’t cry and no one likes to be a burden
I’ve got other ways to see that you’re in pain
Like the fires out in your eyes again
You smile but you’re drifting away
I can't sit here watch you dissolve yourself again
But now and then
Now and then
Now and then
you make the world a little less heavy
I'm like you I've been dreaming bout that river
I'm like you god knows I wouldn't tell a soul
And staying away from that place
is a war I wage every day
Don't you know
You're my anchor
I'm your anchor
You're at odds with a zealous mind
Dying gods won’t leave you alone
but that sound when you lean with the wind
it’s the still small rattle of home
You’re appalled by your evergreen body
I'm trying to call, won’t you pick up the phone
And listen in when you cover the mirror
For the still small rattle of home
Rattle of home
Now and then I know the weight of not belonging
Now and then you let me see that you're in pain
Now and then you make the world a little less heavy
Please don't go I'm not ready
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10. |
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Bring me oil and fire and timber
Bring the wine and let it flow
Let us freeze this night in amber
For I must go the only way I know
The only way is up and onwards
For I have made the road my home
So let us sing and love like drunkards
And then I'll go the only way I know
I cannot see without your wisdom
But there are nights to face alone
And in that dark I'll dream the kingdom
And then I'll go the only way I know
When I leave you, bless my going
When I fall, return my bones
For I must heed what winds are blowing
And I must go the only way I know
I raise a glass to the soil that bore me
That held me fast and let me grow
And never closed the path before me
So I could go the only way I know
So here's a song to sound in heaven
And here's a prayer to carve in stone
May your flame not fade for spreading
And may you go the only way you know
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11. |
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Oh we rose to higher powers
we beat a different drum
What is done can never be undone.
And hearts are full of anger,
And our lungs are filled with dust,
what about us?
what about us?
All your shining houses
will burn beneath the sun
What is done can never be undone
All your crooked towers
will turn to rocks and rust
what about us?
what about us?
Oh, we suffered forty blows,
but we were singing as we rose
Oh, we were singing as we rose,
but we suffered for what we chose
And there was music in our lives,
as sure as the sunrise
As sure as the sunrise,
Our song never dies
And if music be my therapy,
if music be my rock,
then play
and if music be the death of me
if music be my death,
then play
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Jem Bosatta Berlin, Germany
Jem Bosatta draws from the well of tradition to create stunning new songs that inspire & challenge audiences in his adopted hometown of Berlin.
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