The Switch - Cliffside Sessions Lyric Book

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The Switch Lyric Book Cliffside Sessions

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Full song lyrics for the debut album - Cliffside Sessions - of Australian roots band The Switch

Transcript of The Switch - Cliffside Sessions Lyric Book

Page 1: The Switch - Cliffside Sessions Lyric Book

The Switch

Lyric Book

Cliffside Sessions

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McGuire, Campbell,St Ledger,Bird

Sallie’s Farm

In a clearing in a valley there’s place where we call homeAnd every humble dwelling is its owners private zoneAnd when we choose get together no one ever feels aloneEverybody has their own song but we all can sing along and we allGather round the bonfire of the tales that we all spinAnd nobody is judged and everybody wins

Take time to be who you are on Sallies FarmIt’s time to be on who you on Sallies Farm

The sheep will knit you jumpers from the wool off their own backThe cows will give you yoghurt if you read them KerouacBut the hens prefer to lay their eggs on a Jackson PollackPlay Charlie Parker to the pumpkins they will jump out of the patch into the potOnto the fire warmed by the sense we played our partAnd every single element becomes work of art

Make time to be who you are on Sallies FarmThere’s time to be who you are on Sallies Farm

The bees are gettin’ busy with the flowers and the treesAnd all the birds are following each others twitter feedsThe bubbles from the fishes mouths throw thoughts between the reeds andThe worms are all dig the things that we can’t use or we don’t need and the soil they till Becomes a place where we plant all our ideas And some may bear fruit quickly others take 100 yearsCoz everything of quality is worth the effort and the timeIt’s the substance that’s important not how bright its surface shines

You’re time to be who you are on Sallies FarmNow’s the time to be who you are on Sallies FarmThere’s time to take things slow on Sallies Farm There’s time to make things grow on Sallies Farm

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger

The FugitiveMist rising over the valleyMoon coming over the ridgeWatching for the headlightsComing up over the bridgeClouds at the top of the mountain now they’reCovering the houseCovering my tracks And keeping questions out

I’m pretty sure I’m pretty sure that the gull is on the wingI’m pretty sure I’m pretty sure that they won’t add up a thingI’m pretty sure I’m pretty sure that they won’t wise to my sting ...and I’m pretty sure there’s room here

For just me and my thoughts and there isNo-one here so no-one can be caught but if troubleFinds me here then there’ll be no-one left to trust so I willJust be here in the stillness and the dust

Tiny drops of water Suspended in the airConfuse the situationSwallow up my fearSo I can entertainA fugitive ideaObscure the truth just enoughMy conscience is quite clear

I’m pretty sure I’m pretty sure that the gull is on the wingI’m pretty sure I’m pretty sure that they won’t add up a thingI’m pretty sure I’m pretty sure that they won’t wise to my sting ...and I’m pretty sure there’s room here

For just me and my thoughts and there isNo-one here so no-one can be caught but if troubleFinds me here then there’ll be no-one left to trust so I willJust be here in the stillness and the dust

...and I’m pretty sure there’s room here

For just me and my thoughts and there isNo-one here so no-one can be caught but if troubleFinds me here then there’ll be no-one left to trust so I willJust be here in the stillness and the dust

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger, Bird

Centre of the Universe

He always knows where he isHe’ll never lose sight of this

He needs no GPS He knows his east from his west

He knows a planet from a starDo you know who you are...he does

He knows where we come fromAnd why the sun shines on

But I am at the centre of his universeAs the earth revolves around the sun

And we evolve in unisonHis mind is in the stratosphere

But his heart remains with me here

He says we can be sureOf all the laws of NatureAnd what applies up there

Applies everywhere

The sun, the planets and he Have coalesced with me

Locked in the heart of starsIs everything we are

And he is at the centre of my universeAs the earth revolves around the sun

And we evolve in unisonHis mind is in the stratosphere

But his heart remains with me here

The sun, the planets and he Have coalesced with me

Locked in the heart of starsIs everything we are

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger

The FloodWe’d made promises to each otherThat she never intended to keepNow we’re watching her mood starting to changeYou can’t see below her surfaceAs the skies continue to weepAnd the atmosphere turns sullen and strange

She’s coming she’s coming downShe’s howling hear the soundShe’s rising rising above the groundSwallowing our memoriesOur past will be drowned

We all loved her for so longBut tonight she’s an angry bitchCreeping up to strangle us in our sleepWe never thought she’d turn on usBut tonight she flicked the switchHer tender tendrils dragging us into the deep

She’s coming she’s coming downShe’s howling hear the soundShe’s rising rising above the ground

She’s coming She’s coming inShe’s soaking under your skinShe’s raging spreading silt and sinLeaving behind the scars of everywhere she’s bin.

We couldn’t see it comingWe forgot her darker sideShe was always gonna follow her own willAs she carves a swath of nightmaresHer true nature won’t be deniedWe won’t trust her but we’ll love her still

She’s coming she’s coming downShe’s howling hear the soundShe’s rising rising above the groundShe’s coming She’s coming inShe’s soaking under your skinShe’s raging spreading silt and sinLeaving behind the scars of everywhere she’s bin.

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger

Yo Vivo Para Ti

Wake up wake and tell me what you see¡ábre tus ojos! Díme que ves.Is the world not beautiful ¿no es hermoso para ti?Is it transient as the moon is?As capricious as your love for me

Too long you have haunted meEn mis sueños tu estás siempre allíCan you not see I have crossed time to be here with you?Yo vivo para ti Yo vivo para ti

Despierta. Dime quién eres.Díme lo que quieres ¿tu me quieres quizás?And I’ll live in your memoryAnd I’ll live on in your mindVivo en su alma I have traversed time

Too long you have haunted meEn mis sueños tu estás siempre allíCan you not see I have crossed time to be here with you?Yo vivo para ti Yo vivo para ti

(spoken)A través de muchas vidasA través el tiempo mi amigoY aunque el mundo ha cambiadoHe permanecido con tigo

Yo vivo para ti Yo vivo para tiéste es mi sueñoéste es mi deberYo vivo para ti

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger,Bird

Open SesameEver since we all began

To work and think and dream and planThe effect of the ascent of man

Has coloured how we understand

We chase the positivityBut sadness really holds the key

It acts like open sesameTo unlocking creativity

To proclaim the end of historyOr that our nature’s just to be happy

Is to mistake our own humanityAs an expression of divinity

Day in day out every day is just like any other dayI’m ok you’re ok and we should all just seize the day

Every cloud has a silver lining but only if you are soul miningIt’s hard to see that the sun is shining when the clouds get in the way

Action is its own reward but I’ve got a life I can’t affordThere’s bills to pay, promises to keep no wonder I can’t get no sleep

I have to prove my own success while still attaining happinessI eat I drink I sleep I play and this is how I seize the day

Dedicated to Gil Scott Heron (April 1949 - May 2011) “Unique”

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger,Bird

Story Gentle

There’s a story in my head even the pillows of my bed Whisper regrets and accusations of the things I did and said.There’s a film upon my wall, screens the moments of my fall

From the grace of truth and consequence, an endless loop which gives me pause To re-imagine retrospectively who I should and shouldn’t be

My better angels tearing pages from my diary and re-writing them for me

There’s a novel on my shelf authored by my self-effacing selfThe dialogue of my character are the words of someone else

There’s the same scenario plays upon my old pianoMy fingers play pneumonically as I’m trying to let go

And re-imagine retrospectively who I should and shouldn’t be My better angels tearing pages from the score, re-composing them for me

This vessel floating in my bath sails on the waters of my pastBut the storm subsides and the water calms at last

There’s a flag upon the mast that billows in the breezeThe dye has been recast and my mind can rest at ease

And find some truth through exploration of these fears and these mistakesThe acceptance of the sea of troubles that every one must face

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger

Welcome You Back

You looked so beautiful tonight, just rightLike I could see your reflection before the rejection and the time we lost our way ‘cause you got caught up with a brand new lover and you left me on the shelfAnd the girl that I’d known all of my life was suddenly someone else

But I’ll welcome you back tonightI welcome you back tonightWelcome you back tonightAs we watch the band and we sing alongI give you my trust... please keep it this time

I didn’t know that I was just supposed to let it slideAnd separate the lies from the truth of who you really areYou scared the hell out of me ‘cause who you used to be just wasn’t in sightNow are you really O.K.? Because it seems that way in this hazy stream of light

So I welcome you back tonightI welcome you back tonightWelcome you back tonightAs we watch the band and we sing alongI give you my trust... please keep it this time

You and me are family and families fightBut when morning comes around all’s forgiven in the broadness of daylightMaybe it took some time to see that neither one of us was rightBut now we sing along forget what went wrong and hold each other tight

And I welcome you back tonightI welcome you back tonightWelcome you back tonightWe watch the band and we sing alongAnd I give you my trust... please keep it this time

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger

Light Heart Dark Soul

I see you laughing and I see you smileAnd I see you playing the clown !What worries is me is what nobody seesWhen your friends just ain’t aroundI’m not the only friend you’ve gotWho’d spend a lonely nightSingin’ songs and drinkin’ away the pain‘Til the steely morning light

I suppose you may never take the chance To tell us how you really feelSo you hide your truth behind a smileBut your eyes find it hard to conceal And It scares me to think that sometimes You feel that you can’t make it throughAnd you hurt so bad after love went wrongAnd you rest all the blame on you

‘Cause you’ve got a light heart but a dark soulAnd you swim in the deep and you hide in the holeAnd you have many reasons you won’t to let it showBut hold on hold on hold on cause I won’t let go.... I won’t let go

You may try to embrace this new way to beBut it breaks my heart to see How we just pretend it will work itself outWhen the truth is we’ll never be freeWhen you think of all the mistakes you’ve madeAnd all of the friends you let downAnd all the regrets of the path not treadAnd you’re feeling like you’re gonna drown

And It hurts when you tell me that sometimes you know that you won’t make it through‘coz I see your beauty and I feel your painAnd I don’t want a world without you

‘Cause you’ve got a light heart but a dark soulAnd you swim in the deep and you hide in the holeAnd you have many reasons you won’t to let it showBut hold on hold on hold on cause I won’t let go...I won’t let go

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger, Bird

Weary World100 dollars for

Periwinkle shoesIs one way to treat The mean red blues

Bright coloured stockingsOn the limping little girl

So shines a happy thoughtIn a weary world

The time flows through flame trees Upon the unseen breeze

Spreading its pollenMaking people sneezeIf you watch the clock

The time will not unfurlSo seems realityIn a weary world

Terror chills by the fire at nightWaiting for the first dim rays of predawn light

Still Reeling from the memories of paradise

Little black dog waitingBeside the sky blue wall

Be prepared to talk to himBut don’t through him his ballAlice has her heart shaped cure

Mine is etched with swirlsSo we find a remedy in a weary world

Terror chills by the fire at nightWaiting for the first dim rays of predawn light

Still Reeling from the memories of paradise

Water laps onto the faceOf a thirsty childCreates an oasis

Where thoughts are running wildSharing the future

Of a laughing little girlSo shines a good deed in a weary world

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McGuire, Campbell, St Ledger

Wisdom Table

view the scene from the kitchen window40 years of keeping time

beating out the rhythmic wisdomthe tempo of a lone man’s life

give the space a life; an animus and all the objects a spirit too

to give him purpose a raison d'êtrea life long list of work to do

make all the junk around surround youafter all it’s all you deservebuild a prison of detritus

you’ll never leave cause it’s all that youall that you deserve

you don’t have the nerve

he... just... won’t... concedehe... just wants... to make... believe

still, his stories of diving for pearlsmade deep impressions upon the girl

the words and music are tattooed upon her soul

they sit with her at the wisdom tableas she reflects on his elaborate fable

when he has passed into the nether world

she looks she sees him standing over things a man attached to everything single piece

of metal, wood and paint and plasticthe trappings of his life’s dis ease

view the scene from the old tyre swinghanging from the mango treehe’s exactly where he left off

when she leapt off at seventeen

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