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Lizzy Hardingham Lyrics

Orpheus

I am no Orpheus I should not follow you under

I should take time for pursuits that will bring me some joy

Here in this moment I promise these words I’ll remember

I am worth more than a puppet or even a toy

Now I am yearning for grapes in the field of a spring time

I am Persephone caught tween the light and the black

Now in this moment I promise this oath I’ll remember

I will gaze forward and not on the train on its track

Here I stand torn in two

If I stay I’ll forget I know

This sweet prayer that counters you

You’re not Hades yet, even though

Here in your company no one is gaining an ego

You send the messenger just to bring me bad news

Here in this moment I promise this protest I’ll remember

While there is breath in my lungs it is my choice to choose

I am no Orpheus I should not follow you under

Blue

You could have the silver dollars brimming from you purse

You could hold a potion that could cure any curse

You could have a needle to make a broken heart whole

But you’d still have the blues in your soul

You could spot the rarest bird up in the sky

You could know the answer as to how the bumble bee flies

You could be the force that sets the stone off to roll

But you’d still have the blues in your soul

Why do we fall?

How do we make sense of it all

Just think: we could be splitting the sugar from the cane

We could all be homeless, stranded in the rain

We could be a father and mother out of love

But the sky would still be blue up above

You could wield the waves with the magic in your hands

You could see the lighting make the glass out of the sand

You could summon lost things from the deepest darkest hole

But you’d still have the blues in your soul

You could sing the sweetest song we’ve ever heard

You could see the angels or fly just like the birds

You could be the teacher to whom we all enrolled

But you’d still have the blues in your soul

Why do we fall?

How do we make sense of it all

Just think: we could be a riding upon the river styx

We could be building for Hades, laying his bricks

We could be the worst things but when push comes to shove

The sky will still be blue up above

Yes we could be the worst things but when push comes to shove

The sky will still be blue up above

Dance With Me

That was the day that they walked to the top of the tower on their own

I lost my pack at the floor where a Wurlitzer played

I sat in a chair burnished gold for a couple of hours like a throne

Watching them waltzing on air made the fear in me fade

Leaving a trail of memories across the floor

A golden vignette framed everything that I saw

1 2 3, dance with me

4 5 6, they learnt the tricks of the trade in their day

But they’re fine, come dancing time

I watched from the sidelines, transfixed by the dance of the golden

Pairings of swans glided gracefully skimming the surface at midday

Swilring in cardies and corduroy slacks to the music they were beholden

Swaying through steps they learnt in their salad days

Turning in circles to wind back the clock on the wall

Nora and Iris and Albert were part of it all

1 2 3, dance with me

4 5 6, they learnt the tricks of the trade in their day

But they’re fine, come dancing time

Serenity comes to the ones who seek to empower

Dappled white hair of the ones dancing there in the tower

1 2 3, wont you dance with me

4 5 6, they took time just to learn the tricks of the trade

On that day they were so fine, they gave a Twirl for a little lost girl

Beauty engraved on this memory of mine, of dancing time.

King of The Boundless Deep

Oh the whale is free of the boundless sea, he lives for a thousand years

And he sinks to his rest ‘neath the billows breast, nor the roughest tempest fears

Oh the howling blast as it hurries past is music to lull him to sleep

He has seen the spray of his boisterous play as he dashes the king of the deep

Oh the rare old whale mid storm and gale

The ocean his home shall be

For a giant in might, where might is right

The king of the boundless deep

And a wonderous tale could the rare old whale of the mighty deep disclose

Of the skeleton forms of bygone storms and of treasures which no one knows

He has seen the crew when the tempest blew, shake down from the slippery deck

And stemming the tide with his glassy side and spraying the ocean with wreck

Oh the rare old whale mid storm and gale

The ocean his home shall be

For a giant in might, where might is right

The king of the boundless deep

The whale shall still be dear to me when the midnight lamp burns dim

And the student’s book is his favourite nook for they are all lit by him

From none of his tribe we could ‘er imbibe so blessed so useful a thing

But we’ll on land go hand in hand to haul him to ocean king

Oh the rare old whale mid storm and gale

The ocean his home no more

For a giant in might where the price is right

Laid on the ocean floor

Oh the rare old whale mid storm and gale

The ocean his home shall be

For a giant in might no price is right

The king of the boundless deep

Memorial For A Glacier

One night in winter when Mr Jack frost had departed, broken hearted

For his love had left his side

So Mr Jack frost left the town for he saw no reason to stay the season

Without his loving bride

There in the glow of the Greenland sun lay his love

Where once a tall glacier soared high up above

Now she's a speck in the waters that rise, how she swears

To drown all the people too blind and busy too care

Wallowing deeper than even the ocean she flows through, nowhere to go to

He wanders all alone

The kings in their throne rooms are laughing and burning their money, they think it’s funny

Safe inside their homes

But little they know of the vengeance that grows in the soul

Of the ice queen reduced to the rivers and oceans that flow

Soon she will rise like the eagle soars through the air

To drown all the people too blind and too busy to care

Jack’s all alone, separate from all he holds dear

Jack’s all alone, his time on the earth growing shorter every year

It’s never too late to appeal to the queen and her king

Now is the time we must stand up to shout and sing

For when Greenland is melting it’s our job to stop and repair

We are not people too blind or too busy too care

Rolling Down To Old Maui

It's a damn tough life, full of toil and strife, we whaler-men undergo

And we don't give a damn when the gale is done, how hard the  winds did blow

For we're homeward bound from the Arctic ground on the good ship, taut and free

And we won't give a damn when we drink our rum with the girls  of old Maui

Rolling down to old Maui, me boys, rolling down to old Maui

We're homeward bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui

Once more we sail with the northerly gale through the ice and wind and rain

Them coconut fronds, them tropical lands, we soon shall see again

For six hellish months we've passed away on the cold Kamchatka sea

But now we're bound from the Arctic ground, rolling down to old Maui

Chorus

Once more we sail with the northerly gale, towards our island home

Our whaling done, our mainmast sprung, and we ain't got far to roam

Our stu'n's'l booms is carried away, what care we for that sound?

A living gale is after us, thank God we're homeward bound!

Chorus

How soft the breeze through the island trees, now the ice is far astern

Them native maids, them tropical glades, is awaiting our return

Even now their big brown eyes look out, hoping some fine day to see

Our baggy sails, running 'fore the gales, rolling down to old Maui

Chorus

Shenandoah

Oh Shenandoah I long to see you, away you rolling river

Oh Shenandoah I long to see you

Away, I’m bound away, across the wide Missouri

Oh Shenandoah I love your daughter, away you rolling river

For her I’d cross our foaming waters

Away, I’m bound away, across the wide Missouri

‘Tis seven long years since last I’ve seen you, away you rolling river

‘Tis seven long years since last I’ve seen you

Away, I’m bound away, across the wide Missouri

Shenandoah I long to hear you, away you rolling river

Oh Shenandoah just to be near you

Away, so far away, across the wide Missouri

South Australia

As I walked out one morning fair, heave away haul away

Twas there I met mid Nancy Blair, and we’re bound for south Australia

And if there's one thing on my mind, heave away haul away

It's leaving Nancy Blair behind, and we’re bound for south Australia

In south Australia I was born heave away haul away,

In south Australia round cape horn and we're bound for south Australia

I tell the truth I'll tell no lie, heave away haul away

If I don't marry her, I'll die, and we’re bound for south Australia

Now as my wife stands on the quay, heave away haul away

The tears begin as she waves at me, and we’re bound for South Australia

In south Australia I was born heave away haul away,

In south Australia round cape horn and we're bound for south Australia

I'll drink one for the foreign shore, heave away haul away

And I'll drink one for the girl I adore, and we’re bound for south Australia

Now as we wallop round cape horn, heave away haul away

I wish to God if never been born, and we’re bound for south Australia

In south Australia I was born heave away haul away,

In south Australia round cape horn and we're bound for south Australia

In south Australia I was born heave away haul away,

In south Australia round cape horn and we're bound for south Australia

Harvester of Gold

Harvester of gold he cried, you’re counting down the days

Your mothers and brothers have all flown away

Harvester of gold he cried, brace our breeze no more

For with the first day of spring you shall sing on another shore

Gold shines on, gold will it shine when you are gone?

Harvester of gold he cried, those wings are wearing thin

No time to address this big mess we’ve got you in

Harvester of gold he cried, you’re time is at an end

Your fellow man barely can call himself a friend

Gold shines on, gold will it shine when you are gone?

Harvester of gold he cried, what torture have you seen?

The smoking gun’s nearly won this sorry scene

Gold shines on, gold will it shine when you are gone?

Harvester of gold

McClennon Babies

A wise old tale says these babies three

Were left on the moors for the wildlings to be

McLennon and McLennon and McLennon makes three

This begins the tale of McLennon babies

One dark December the winter winds did blow

Three starving children with no mother's milk to flow

With only beggars’ rags and no better to know

Frozen on the ground were McLennon babies

I tell the tale like my mother told me

And she from her mother before

Fables fade away like a whisper on the wind

And howling heard deep within the moor

As time remembers deep in Devon that night

Crying was silence by ashy grey sight

Ruby red spheres in the dazzling moonlight

Came to the rescue of McLennon babies

Crimson eyes and silken fur were gathered all around

To herald to beginning of a life of man and hound

Nowhere could a father or a mother be found

Thus began the raising of McLennon babies

I tell the tale like my mother told me

And she from her mother before

Fables fade away like a whisper on the wind

And howling heard deep within the moor

Days and weeks and years flew by in the company of beasts

No bakers bread or butchers’ bones or baptism of priest

In the ways of the wildings the McLennons did feast

But soon would come a turning for McLennon babies

From four legs to two, they must rise

They'll always have those crimson eyes

But the day it came when they strolled right into town

Mary McLennon didn't recognize her McLennon babies

I tell the tale like my mother told me

And she from her mother before

Fables fade away like a whisper on the wind

And howling heard deep within the moor

Cheshire Man

The Cheshire man sailed into Spain for to trade the merchandise

And when he arrived out from the mane a Spaniard he espied

Who said look here you English rogue, what fruits and spices fine

Our land produces twice a year that though has not in thine

The Cheshire man ran to his hoard and fetched a Cheshire cheese

He said look here you dog behold- we have such fruits as these

Your fruits are ripe but twice a year as you yourself did say

Such as I present you here our land brings twice a day

And then into a passion flew, his rapier took in hand

The Cheshire man kicked up his heels saying though art at my command

Never let a Spaniard boast while Cheshire men abound

Lest they should be taught the cost to dance a Cheshire round

Never let a Spaniard boast while Cheshire men abound

Lest they should be taught the cost to dance a Cheshire round

Magpies

We weave a song like a magpie gilds gold, we steal the words of the bold

We tell a tale like a magpie builds a nest, we take the pieces from the rest

Shining in the sun is a chance for something new

So I’ll reach out my hand take it from you

Dazzling rhythms and sparkling tunes, tempting us in to certain doom

Where words are the treasures sparkling out of site, and painting a picture in the night

Glistening in the light is a word so pure and true

So I’ll reach out my hand and take it from you

Taking all the best from everyone you find, paving the way the best you can

Leaving fumbled footprints from crafting something new out of the old you have to hand

Grasping at stories with claws so thick and strong, praying and hoping for a song

Piecing together an old forgotten phrase with melodies so sweet you could almost say

They burn so bright they leave us in a rosy hue

So I'll reach out my hand and take them from you

We’ll reach out our hands and take them from you

Floorboards

Hello I am the ground neath your feet

I have been keeping the dirt from your skin

Now that your children are all grown and gone

Maybe we can sit and reminisce but where to begin

The holes in my back tell a story

The cracks in my armour today

Are battle scars of yesterday's glory

Of 12 years of family fray

Sand lacquer and varnish are all that I need to be new

Sand lacquer and varnish will rob me of memories with you

Goodbye to the soot stain that’s under the chair

That you pretended not to have seen at the time

Goodbye to the heels that did pierce in my back

No more shall you see the remanence of whiskey and wine

The holes in my back tell a story

The cracks in my armour today

Are battle scars of yesterday's glory

Of 12 years of family fray

Sand lacquer and varnish are all that I need to be new

Sand lacquer and varnish will rob me of memories with you

Goodbye to the chips that your little ones made

Battered and bruised yet I was the place that they played

Goodbye to the times that I soaked up your tears

While the world would span around you I was the constant that stayed

The holes in my back tell a story

The cracks in my armour today

Are battle scars of yesterday's glory

Of 12 years of family fray

Sand lacquer and varnish are all that I need to be new

Sand lacquer and varnish will rob me of memories with you

Christmas Common

Every year come December time, I know I’ll shed a tear

Swapping scores down the memory line for the brightest of the year

Now I know without a doubt last year I saw a blip

Happy memories simply running out, slipping through my fingertips

Last year I could use a little light

Driving over Christmas Common late last night

When the bed made of nettles was covered in snow

And the magical moments their faces did show

And the fountain of St Agnes with music did flow

Just when I needed it most

Stained glass windows framed a friend of mine in beaming holy light

Christmas bells they began to chime singing ‘O Holy Night’

Last year I was down, I took the blows

Driving over fields I saw the light on the snow

When the bed made of nettles was covered in snow

And the magical moments their faces did show

And the fountain of St Agnes with music did flow

Just when I needed it most

Last year I fell in to the abyss

Freezing falling stumbling in the dark, save me from this

When the bed made of nettles was covered in snow

And the magical moments their faces did show

And the fountain of St Agnes with music did flow

Just when I needed it most

Denim Steel

First love is like your first pair of really good jeans

First love is like learning what they mean

To be unbending, to not need mending, learning how to thrive

To hold you close now, and then somehow last you through to forty-five

‘Cus that first love is denim steel

And that first love is learning how to feel

First love is like feeling the seam start to go

One, maybe two, maybe five years at the most is how long you’ve got left you know

The hem is fraying and what needs saying, you’re both afraid to say

‘Cus it’s fading, the colour’s shading as blue turns into faded grey

‘Cus that first love is denim steel

And that first love is learning how to feel

Though they still fit and the fit is still good you’re older and stronger and wise

And though you’ve changed, life has been rearranged, comfy was good at the time

And these new jeans, though they’re smart and stiff and clean

The old ones will always be on your mind

‘Cus that first love is denim steel

And that first love is learning how to feel

Fisherchild

As I walked out one summer’s morn on purpose to meet my bride

Twas there I saw a pretty maid, come rowing down the tide

“Good morning to you young fisherman” she cried “what’s brought you here”

I said “I am fishing for a lady gay right down the river clear”

So he’s boldly walked up to her there and kissed her both cheeks aside

And taken her by her lily white hand and rowed her down the tide

Now she’s down on bended knee crying “pray sir pardon me

For thinking you a fisherman who sails the briny sea”

He’s launched his boat up to the shore crying “mam your pardon is lent”

And in each other’s arms embraced until they gave consent

“Now go you to my father’s hall where married we will there be

And you shall have a fisherchild to row you on the sea”

Yes you shall have a fisherchild to row you on the sea

Jumping Waves

Waves crash onto the sand

And tidal forces are always at hand

I can’t stop them coming

And you, well you know there’s no sense in running

When you can jump when the wave rolls around

You can jump- lift your feet from the ground

You can rest for a while til maybe a smile can be found

And maybe no more waves will roll around

Some think the moon pulls her weight

Others think it’s only fate

But I can’t stop them rolling over

‘Cus you can strong and you can stand tall and there’s no way that wave will be bowling you over

If you jump when the wave rolls around

You can jump- lift your feet from the ground

You can rest for a while til maybe a smile can be found

And maybe no more waves will roll around

I know you think that you might fall but I’ve got no doubt

You can always take one more, and then get up from the floor

‘Cus the tide will go out

If you jump when the wave rolls around

You can jump- lift your feet from the ground

You can rest for a while til maybe a smile can be found

And maybe no more waves will roll around

And maybe no more waves will roll around

Shallow Brown

Fare thee well I’m bound to leave you, shallow shallow brown

And I pray it doesn’t grieve you, shallow shallow brown

I am bound to be a sailor, shallow shallow brown

Gonna ship on-board a whaler, shallow shallow brown

Gonna cross that stormy water, shallow shallow brown

Like a lamb unto the slaughter, shallow shallow brown

Fare thee well to old Virginia, shallow shallow brown

Fare thee well my Juliana, shallow shallow brown

Fare thee well my Juliana, shallow shallow brown

Follow Her Down

Come all you bold sailors where ‘er you may be

For now we will sing of your time on the sea

The fiercest for which no one would thank

Are hugging the poles like a cold icy blanket

Yo ho, follow her down

Yo ho, follow her down

Captain Diaz was the first of his kind

Searching the sea for a new land to find

Setting a course for the cape of good hope

The toughest of journeys the shortest of rope

Yo ho, follow her down

Yo ho, follow her down

500 years it would take to find land

Going one knot beyond the preceding man

Crunching as your boots stepped ashore

In search of a south they had ne’er seen before

Yo ho, follow her down

Yo ho, follow her down

When the ice melts oh how waves do entrance

The ripples of sunlight beginning to dance

Growing the green from deep in the blue

And cycles of cycles are bound to ensue

Yo ho, follow her down

Yo ho, follow her down

Jesuit Barrells

The candle burns through it all

The flame it grows bright and tall, bright and tall

And down below the saviour’s soldier

Crept in light and ever bolder, so much bolder

Thirty-six Jesuit barrels, it’s too late to turn and run

But thirteen modern men wont be at it again

They’ll blow this whole place to kingdom come

Two young guards sent on the rounds

Weren’t prepared for what they found

They took him down in chains and shackles

There was barely time for another battle

Several men fled on a whisper

But Catesby turned back into the fray

While James had found his plan he hadn’t found his man

So they lived to ride on for another day

They crept through behind the closed door

Through the shadows of the law, oh of the law

And on their heads lay a price,

Each brother bled for their Christ, oh for their Christ

Catesby led the march of the martyrs

Where every man was hanged for his crime

And they paid in blood to have their names in the mud

And their fight will fan the flames for all of time

Oh yes their fight will fan the flames for all of time.

Colne River Chorus

Every Friday when the week is wearing thin

A group of players take the stage

The Colne River with its tune invites them in

To join the chorus for a page

But the players bow their heads when one of their number is gone

The Colne River dims its lights while the chorus sing this song

He’s taken away

He’s taken away

Every Tuesday in that blue and velvet room

Selected players will return

To dance, make merry to his rock and roll tune

Until it’s someone else’s turn

But the players hush their tones as the family dons black

The Colne River room is silent with what it lacks

He’s taken away

He’s taken away

One voice from the chorus is gone too soon

But the players strike a chord to remember how he played

The Colne River holds him now, so we’ll sing while he’s laid

He’s taken away

He’s taken away

Berries

All but the evergreen shed their skin with the snow

Dancing orbs litter our scene, for all England has ceased to grow

I wonder all day long how you stay so strong

The holly and ivy weather the storm

When nature is lifeless and dead- the berries live on

Silver maple and cottonwood, winter’s frost couldn’t abide

But holly and ivy, steadfast they stood. While all England was tucked up inside

I wonder all day long how you stay so strong

The holly and ivy weather the storm

When nature is lifeless and dead- the berries live on

Safe and sound ‘neath flickering flames we imitate the way that they glow

Hung around socks with embroidered names, for all England they put on a show

I wonder all day long how you stay so strong

The holly and ivy weather the storm

When nature is lifeless and dead- the berries live on

Twankidillo

Here’s to the life of the jolly blacksmith, the best of all fellows

The man at the anvil and the boy blows the bellows

For he makes his bright hammer to rise and fall

For the old cole, the young cole, the oldest cole of all

Twankidillo, dillo dillo dillo dillo dilllo

And a pair of green pipes made from the green willow

Here’s to the life of the pretty girls, the ones that I love best

For they carry fire deep within their breasts

For they make my bright hammer to rise and fall

For the old cole, the young cole, the oldest cole of all

Twankidillo, dillo dillo dillo dillo dilllo

And a pair of green pipes made from the green willow

If a gentleman he calls his horse for to shoe

No he won’t make deliance with one pot or two

For he pays our bright hammer to rise and to fall

For the old cole, the young cole, the oldest cole of all

Twankidillo, dillo dillo dillo dillo dilllo

And a pair of green pipes made from the green willow

Here’s to the life of royalty, our sovereign the queen

And all the royal family that there has ever been

For she makes our bright hammer to rise and to fall

For the old cole, the young cole, the oldest cole of all

Twankidillo, dillo dillo dillo dillo dilllo

And a pair of green pipes made from the green willow

Nana Was A Suffragette

You never knew my nana, she died four years ago

She lived in that old folks home in Moss-side you know

I would go on Sundays, sometimes took the kids

I was always so proud of what she did

Nana was a suffragette, almost the last alive

Nana was a suffragette at over ninety-five

She sang votes for women, it’s just the beginning

You aint seen anything yet, ‘cus nana was a suffragette

When I was young I carried this old photo of my Nan

Tackling a worker from a Clarion van

You’d never think it of her, she was always frail and ill

But on that day she emptied all the women from the mill

Nana was a suffragette, only five feet tall

Nana was a suffragette even took on city hall

She sang votes for women, it’s just the beginning

You aint seen anything yet, ‘cus nana was a suffragette

The proudest day in Nana’s life was when the vote was won

The paper’s said it’s over but Nan had just begun

Her women’s committee went on to better things

To tackle the union and their wedding rings

Nana was a suffragette, never thought to fail

Nana was a suffragette, even spent the night in jail

She sang votes for women, it’s just the beginning

You aint seen anything yet, ‘cus nana was a suffragette

Now I am standing with a college degree

And my kids have more options than Nana could foresee

But if you think we’re satisfied then take a look around

There’s lots of angry women who won’t let Nana down

Nana was a suffragette, it’s as if she’s still alive

Nana was a suffragette and their voices will survive

She sang votes for women, it’s just the beginning

You aint seen anything yet, you aint seen anything yet

You aint seen anything yet, ‘cus nana was a suffragette

She sang votes for women, it’s just the beginning

You aint seen anything yet, ‘cus nana was a suffragette

Blind Beggar's Daughter

There was young beggar and he lost his sight

He had but one daughter, most beautiful bright

“Can I seek my fortune, dear father” said she

And favour was granted to pretty Betsy

She’s set off for London as I’ve heard her say

Arrived in the Bloomfield the very same day

And when she came upon there unto my Lord’s house

So handsomely admired was pretty Betsy

Oh, she had not been long there but one knew her name

He was a young Lord, a-courting her came

“Your pockets I will be lined with jewels” said he

“If you will but love me, my pretty Betsy”

“Im all for to do it, I am willing” said she

“You must first ask the father of pretty Betsy

My father is every day to be seen

He’s called the blind beggar of Bethlem Green”

“If you’re a blind beggar’s daughter you won’t do for me

A blind beggar’s daughter my lady can’t be

A blind beggar’s daughter my lady shan’t be”

So scornfully turned from his pretty Betsy

Then up spoke a young squire with riches enough

If she’s a blind beggar’s daughter, she’ll never the worse

The he’s dropped all his guineas right there on the ground

Dropped til he’s dropped ten thousand pounds

Dear honoured father I’ve dropped all my store

Dropped all my riches, I can’t drop no more

Just grant me your daughter, she’s all that I need

And I will be married to pretty Betsy

Billy and Betsy to church they did go

Billy and Betsy they cut a fine show

Most beautiful creature that e’er I’ve seen

Was the blind beggar’s daughter of Bethlem Green

She was the blind beggar’s daughter of Bethlem Green

Musician's Fear

Some fear death will catch them in a moment when they’re looking away

Some fear their lives will be snatched just like a sunrise seizes the day

But I wont be scared when it’s time to go

And I’m sure that I will know

There’s not a song in the nib of my pen or a lyric I never did send

Or a song in my heart or a tune that I started again

I’m happy going in the comfort of knowing that I left my best song behind

Maybe it’s true that I’m scared of things like taxes and my student debt

But if a bus came and ran me over tomorrow I wouldn’t forget

The words that I wrote on the back of this ticket today

‘Cus I know that they could be better someday

Like the song in the nib of my pen or the lyric I never did send

Or the song in my heart that’s the tune that I started again

I’m happy going in the comfort of knowing that I left my best song behind

I will take his hand and follow his path

‘Cus I know I wont give a fig if I’ve given my last

Song in the nib of my pen or the lyric I dared to send

Or the song in my heart that’s the tune that I finished again

I’m happy passing leaving one thing worth lasting

I’m happy going in the comfort of knowing that I left my best song behind

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