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1. |
Bright Morning Stars
03:50
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Bright morning stars are rising
Bright morning stars are rising
Bright morning stars are rising
Day is a-breaking in my soul
Oh, where are our dear fathers?...
Some are down in the valley praying...
Some have gone to heaven singing...
Some have gone to heaven shouting...
Bright morning stars are rising...
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2. |
Bringing In The Sheaves
03:19
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Though it's way past harvest time, souls still toil and wagons rattle
Corn still stands in rank and line and defies us all
We can see it in our past, blood will out and join the battle
Though we work in different ways, we're bringing in the sheaves
Chorus:
Bringing in the sheaves, we're bringing in the sheaves
[Though we work in different ways, we're bringing in the sheaves]
Though we started from the land, some do choose to roam abroad
The hand upon the gliding plough is not for everyone
Changing seasons help us see that those who hear a different drummer
Though not in one harmony, are bringing in the sheaves
What lay dormant in the soil is wakened by the kiss of summer
So the fruit of yesteryear becomes the year's new corn
Every stem has at its core part of those who went before
In turn, they will be kept in store by bringing in the sheaves
In conclusion, bear in mind what example has begun:
What you do today in kind has power for everyone
True strong aims will pass along to our daughters and our sons
So may they. in years to come. be bringing in the sheaves
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3. |
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Of all the trees that grow so fair, old England to adorn
Greater are none beneath the sun than Oak and Ash and Thorn
Chorus:
Sing Oak and Ash and Thorn, good sirs
All of a Midsummer s morn
Surely we sing of no little thing
In Oak and Ash and Thorn
Oak of the Clay lived many a day or ever Aeneas began
Ash of the Loam was a lady at home when Brut was an outlaw man
Thorn of the Down saw New Troy Town (From which was London born)
Witness hereby the ancientry of Oak and Ash and Thorn
Yew that is old in churchyard mould he breedeth a mighty bow
Alder tor shoes do wise men choose, and beech for cups also
But when ye have killed and your bowl is spilled and your shoes are clean outworn
Back ye must speed for all that ye need to Oak and Ash and Thorn.
Ellum she hates mankind and waits till every breeze be laid
To drop a limb on the head of him that anywise trusts her shade
But whether a lad be sober or sad, or mellow with ale from the horn
He'll take no wrong when he lieth along 'neath Oak and Ash and Thorn!
Oh, do not tell the Priest our plight or he would call it a sin
But we've been out in the woods all night a-conjuring summer in.
And we bring good news by word of mouth, good news for cattle and corn:
Now is the sun come up from the south by Oak and Ash and Thorn!
Sing Oak and Ash and Thorn, good sirs
All of a Midsummer s morn
England shall bide till Judgement tide
By Oak and Ash and Thorn
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4. |
Rock And Row Me Over
02:52
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Oh row me o'er the river, I heard a young girl say
Oh rock and row me over, one more day
Chorus:
Only one more day, me Johnny, one more day
Oh rock and row me over, one more day
Only one more day, me Johnny,one more day
Oh rock and row me over, one more day
Oh row me to my lover, tell him I'll not delay
Oh soon well be in clover, one more day
My Johnny he's a rover. He says he'll sail away
He says he'll leave the river, one more day
Oh stay me love and tarry. Oh stay, don't go away
For it's you I long to marry, one more day
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5. |
Rolling And Flowing
03:01
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Chorus:
Rolling and flowing around these hills
I must take a rest but this river never will
Rolling and flowing to Cairo Town
Just give me time to lay me down
Boat's on the river, she can't come down
I believe into my soul that she is fast aground
Back her and slack her and bring her round
I'll get no time to lay me down
Oh, Rosianna, the bow line's low
Out on a sandbank on the Ohio
The roustabouts are pulling, they're pulling mighty slow
I'll get no time to lay me down
Oh them rich folks on the promenade
They twirl their parasols and they drink their lemonade
I've got hot steam to drink, smokestack for a shade
I'll get no time to lay me down
Load all this freight for a dollar bill a day
I'll buy a hat for Rosie then I'll drink the rest away
Captain, he told me "we must clear this bank today"
I'll get no time to lay me down
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6. |
Snap The Line Tight
02:54
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Got a halibut boat and the opening is over
The fish just weren t bit1ng, our catch is way down
We're salvagers now, there's logs that are waiting
We pull em off shore and we sell them in town (and we'll)
(Chorus)
Snap the line tight, haul them away
Snap the line tight, she's rocking, she's free
Snap the line tight, haul them away
And slide them off into the sea
How many thousands of acres of forest
Lie scattered and heaped by the wind and the tide
Well the companies cut them and boomed them and lost them
And left them forever to rot where they lie (so we'll)
She's a six foot thick hemlock half sunken in sand
Got to dig out a hole to pass the line through
Wrap it around and when she's tied and ready
Then stand clear away and signal the crew (to)
It's thirty-six hours we've been without sleep
Got to boom them by dawn if we're making this tide
It's a five-hour haul with a nor-wester blowing
And a starboard side swell for a bloody rough ride (so we'll)
And our back deck's a mess of anchors and peaveys
All sliding and tangling, cable and chain
And we're in the middle with chokers and tie poles
To wrap the logs tight so they're not lost again (so it's)
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7. |
Across The Bridge
02:26
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Across the bridge where angels dwell
Across the bridge where angels
Across the bridge where angels dwell
Children play
Beyond the place where time is still
Beyond the place where time is
Beyond the place where time is still
Night is day
(Chorus)
Close your eyes in fields of wonder
Close your eyes and dream
Close your eyes in fields of wonder
Close your eyes and dream
Ahead where home awaits the heart
Ahead where home is waiting
Ahead where home awaits the heart
All is near
Beyond the place where heaven lies
Beyond the place where heaven
Beyond the place where heaven lies
Peace is near
(Chorus)
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8. |
They're Taking It Away
03:57
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(Chorus)
Oh, they're taking it away, they're taking it away
They are taking all the good things, you can hear the people say
And they'll take it all tomorrow if they don't take it today
From the poor and sick and helpless they are taking it away
Oh, our government's elected in a democratic way
A-whining at the cost of all the things they have to pay
And the bully-boys in Canberra, you can hear the bastards say
To hell with paying taxes, pull the safety-net away
If you're down upon your luck and need to keep the wolf at bay
Just don't rely on welfare or the dole to pay your way
For the rich, they have decided not another cent to pay
You can whistle for your supper, for they've taken it away
If you're battered by your husband and you need a place to stay
You'd best get down upon your knees and quickly learn to pray
For the Women's Centre's phone was disconnected yesterday
And there's no-one left to talk to, now they've taken it away
If it's ever your misfortune in a hospital to stay
You'd best not be impatient for a bed on which to lay
For your health ain't worth the taxes that the wealthy have to pay
And the beds were too expensive, so they've taken them away
So if you've health and wealth and wisdom, stop and spare a thought today:
For those who don't, and those who can't, there is no other way
Or we might as well give up the ghost and join the USA
For there won't be any difference when they take it all away
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9. |
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(Chorus)
Hammer it, weld it, roll it to and fro
Cleveland steel is of the best
I'll have you all to know
Forge it, cast it, mould it how you like
Neat as a Geordie Hinney bird
And tough as a Yorkshire tyke
There's men that work below the ground
Where daylight never comes
And some grow food upon the land
And only get the crumbs
There's men work on the assembly lines
Wishing their time would fly
But give me the lads who roll the slabs
And bounce the sparks up high
The cold North Easter on the Gare
Will freeze your very soul
Then it's the open hearth tor me
Or where the ingots roll
Where thunder shakes the walls about
And trembles all the floor
And sparks jump out of the soaking-pit
And sweat runs down galore
Take iron by the wagon-load
And burn it till it's white
Then blast it through with jets of gas
Until the mixture's right
Then shovel in your lumps of lime
And set the sky aglow
Then add some spit and lots of sweat
And make the steel to flow
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10. |
Shallow Brown
03:00
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Oh I'm bound for to leave you
Shallow, oh Shallow Brown
Oh I'm bound for to leave you
Shallow, oh Shallow Brown
Bound awav tomorrow
Get my traps in order
Shipped on board a whaler
Shipped on board a whaler
Masters gonna sell me
Sell me to a Yankee
Sell me for a dollar
Great big Spanish dollar
Cross them Chile mountains
Pump them silver fountains
Love vou well my Juliana
Love vou well my Juliana
Oh I'm bound for to leave you
Bound away tor St Georges
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11. |
My Lady Of Autumn
03:31
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(Chorus)
My lady of autumn, sing me your song
Play me your tune, tell me l'm wrong
Tell me you don't mean the things that you say
Tell me that we'll find a way
Your eye clear as winter, your touch fresh as the Spring
Your way like the summer free as birds on the wing
But the seasons are changing, it's time you were gone
But the colours of you will go on
The fields that were golden are changing to brown
The leaves that were green tumble to the ground
And the warmth of summer makes way for the snow
I know it's time you must go
For the light it is changing, the sky's overcast
Winter is here now, autumn is past
And deep in this dark world some warmth I must find
Though it's winter in the valley it's still autumn in my mind
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12. |
Hillcrest Mine
02:20
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Down in the mines of the Crowsnest Pass, it's the men that die in labour
Sweating coal from the womb of the pit, the smell of life they savour
And in that mine. young man, you'll find a wealth of broken dreams
As long and as dark and as black and as wide as the coal in the Hillcrest seam
(Chorus)
And I say you don't go, say you don't go down in the Hillcrest Mine (x2)
Cause its one short step, you might leave this world behind
And I say you don't go, say you don't go, down in the Hillcrest Mine
I've heard it whispered in the light of dawn, that mountain sometimes moves
That bodes ill for the morning shift and you know what you're gonna lose
Don't go, my son, where the deep hole runs, turn your back on the mine on the hill
Cause if the dust and the dark and the gas don t get you then the goons and the bosses will
Well son, I'm gonna open up, I'm gonna have my say,
You'll get no peace from the Hillcrest mine 'cept the peace of an early grave
Go out and work for the worker's rights, go work for the worker's needs
Don't stay down here to toil for your butt, to be tool tor the owner's greed
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13. |
The Magpie
03:15
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The magpie brings us tidings of news both fair and foul
She's more cunning than the raven, more wise than any owl
She brings us news of the harvest, of the barley, wheat and corn
She knows when we'll go to our graves and how we shall be born
(Chorus)
One's for sorrow, two's for joy
Three's for a girl, and four's for a bov
Five for silver, six for gold
And seven tor a secret never told
Devil, devil. I defy thee
Devil. devil, I defy thee
Devil, devil, I defy thee
She brings us joy when from the right. grief when from the left
Of all the news that's in the air. we know to trust her best
She sees us at our labour, she mocks us at our work
She steals the egg from out the nest and she can mob the hawk
The priest he says we're wicked tor to worship the devil's bird
But we respect the old ways and we disregard his word
We know they rest uneasy, as we slumber in the night
And we always leave out a little bit of meat for the bird that's black and white
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14. |
My God, He Is A Rock!
02:29
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(Chorus)
My God, He is a rock in a weary land, a weary land, a weary land
Mv God, He is a rock in a weary land, shelter in the time of storm
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter One when the Lord God's work had just begun
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter Two when the Lord God read the bible through
Stop. let me tell you 'bout Chapter Three when the Lord God died on Calvary
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter Four when the Lord God lived among the poor
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter Five when the Lord God brought the dead alive
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter Six when he went to Jerusalem. be healed the sick
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter Seven when the Lord God died and went to heaven
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter Eight when the Lord God stood at the pearly gate
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter Nine when the Lord God changed the water to wine
Stop, let me tell you 'bout Chapter Ten, well, the Lord my God he's a-coming again
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15. |
Molasses
03:02
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Oh, the African man cuts the sugar cane
Oh, molasses!
He works in the sun and he works in the rain
Oh, molasses rum!
Then he loads it up on a wooden ship and he sends it off on a northern trip
(Chorus)
Singing, oh molasses, oh molasses rum
Oh, molasses, Old New England tea
It killed my grandpa, killed my pa
And it sure as Hell is killing me
Singing, oh molasses, oh molasses rum
When they fought the war for the colonies…
They fought it over New England tea…
When Old King George put a tax on it the colonies nearly took a fit…
In the time of the nineteen-seventeen war...
Molasses sitting on the Boston shore...
When they pumped it in it was twelve degrees, a long cold night in a Boston freeze
In the morning it was forty-two...
Molasses vat split clean in two...
Two million gallons covered the bay, twenty-six people drowned in the flood that day
My Grandpa, he died cutting cane...
My Pa went down in the great brown rain (of)...
But I won’t go in a pool of blood,
No I won’t drown in a black-strap flood
Still, I’ll go down to molasses, oh molasses rum
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16. |
Waltzing With Bears
04:40
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I went up the stairs in the middle of the night
I opened his door and I turned on the light
To my surprise, there was no-one in sight
For my Uncle Walter goes dancing at night
(Chorus)
He goes wa-wa-wa-wa, waltzing with bears
Raggy bears, shaggy bears, baggy bears too
There's nothing on earth Uncle Walter won't do
So he can go waltzing, wa-wa-wa-waltzing
So he can go waltzing, waltzing with bears
We bought Uncle Walter a new coat to wear
When he came home it was covered in hair
Lately, we've noticed several new tears
I'm afraid Uncle Walter's been waltzing with bears
We tried hard to make Uncle Walter be good
And do all the things that we said that he should
But I know he'd rather be out in the wood
I'm afraid that we'll lose Uncle Walter for good
We begged and we pleaded, "Oh, please, won't you stay?"
We managed to keep him at home for a day
Then the bears all barged in and they took him away
Now he's dancing with pandas, and he can't understand us
And the bears all demand at least one dance a day
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17. |
Sleep On Beloved
02:45
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Sleep on beloved, sleep and take thy rest
Lay down thy head upon thy saviour's breast
We love thee well. but Jesus loves thee best
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
Until our shadows from this earth are cast
Until He gathers in his sheaves at last
Until the twilight gloom is overcast
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
Until made beautiful by love divine
Thou in the likeness of thy Lord shall shine
And He will bring that golden crown of thine
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
Until we meet again before the throne
Clothed in the spotless robes He gives his own
Until we know as we have known
Goodnight, goodnight, goodnight
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Forty Degrees South Sydney, Australia
A Sydney folk group known from 1988 for their powerful impact when singing unaccompanied traditional
songs.
Strong individual singers, the interplay of their combined voices makes for a distinctive sound.
Sea shanties and other songs of maritime and industrial history and union songs feature large in their repertoire, songs with a robust quality that tell of real people, their lives and work.
... more
Forty Degrees South recommends:
Yarri Of Wiradjuri
by John Warner / The Roaring Forties
John Warner's songs and verse story of the great flood that destroyed Gundagai in 1852 and the heroism of Wiradjuri man Yarri. An amazing story told with powerful lyrics and haunting melodies.
go to album
The People Have Songs - Volume 1
by Various Artists
The joy of a folk singing session with songs performed by Sydney folkies at the legendary Glengarry Castle hotel sessions including members of Forty Degrees South.
go to albumIf you like Shore Leave, you may also like:
LEFT/FOLK VI: The World As It Is
by LEFT/FOLK
Proceeds from this excellent new darkambient/neofolk comp from LEFT/FOLK goes to benefit American Near East Refugee Aid.
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Songs of my land
by Chiyomi Yamada
Ancient Japanese folk songs are presented with Western folk-pop arrangements to haunting, elegant effect.
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Dakota Blue Moon
by Jackson Harden
Gorgeous acoustic Americana from North Carolina, stripped-back and sublime.
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An stunning debut that explores Greek folk tradition through a dreamy musical ecosystem.
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