1. |
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Hey love, we had a good run, I know.
Well, I’ll see you down Pirinoa Road
Hey honey, best resume this search, I know.
Well I’ll see you at the Burnside Church
You know, it’s funny. It’s just like Annie Hall
Our quirks got the better of us both (or maybe I was too young)
Just like some cruel nuptial I signed on the dotted line, it hurts
But then I see you at the Burnside Church
And promise me this one thing, babe: you keep those Binney birds up on their perch
And I’ll see you at the Burnside Church
See you at the Burnside Church
See you at the Burnside Church
See you at the Burnside Church…
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2. |
The Ticking Clock
04:27
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Did I hear? You found another one to carry you up the hill?
Or was it my mind playing tricks?
Did I tell you I met your brother in the street?
He was busy moving cities with his bare hands
Don’t go blaming that ticking clock inside every woman
It’s inside every man too.
Yeah it’s true, I found another one to carry me up the hill.
It ain’t your mind playing tricks.
Did I tell you I met your brother at the beach?
He was busy building cities with his bare hands
I won’t go blaming
I won’t go blaming
I won’t go blaming
I won’t go blaming
Don’t go blaming that ticking clock inside every woman
It’s inside every man too.
Don’t go blaming that ticking clock inside every woman
It’s inside every man too.
Don’t go blaming that ticking clock inside every woman
It’s inside every man too.
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3. |
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Hey, they’ve got a name for it: "to reconcile"
It might just be the richest word we have
Our histories and the novelty of new love
The one and only, and the here and now
Long distance, age difference
Oh oh oh
Hey, they’ve got a name for it: "to reconcile"
It might just be the richest word we have
What I called rites of passage
You called frescoes of the heart
You laid it on impasto, left me half a neenish tart
And straight through the skin like a tattoo
The marking of the marama moon
Oh oh oh
Why you’ll always be a ballerina
Though you always did stand on my toes
You see, when we first met, Astral Weeks was playing in my headphone
Hey, they’ve got a name for it: "to reconcile"
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4. |
Eggshell Breaking
07:24
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The eggshell is breaking
A new life hatching
Its universe was inside the egg
An opening flower
Needs a pin drop to view it
And we are witness to the newborn
So that the kid may fly
And may his eyes be wide
And may his love be live
And may his be the biggest bonfire (on New Year’s Eve)
And may we embrace his dream
And show him that through grey is green
The sooner we realise
That kid must fly
See how this moment can be reduced
Remember when you were airborne?
Corners breed busy minds when behind every turn
Lies a hidden universe
So that the kid may fly
And may his eyes be wide
And may his love be live
And may his be the biggest bonfire (on New Year’s Eve)
And may we embrace his dream
And show him that through grey is green
The sooner we realise
That kid must fly
Up and away…
So that the kid may fly
And may his eyes be wide
And may his love be live
And may his be the biggest bonfire (on New Year’s Eve)
And may we embrace his dream
And show him that through grey is green
The sooner we realise
That kid must fly
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5. |
The Concorde of Brooklyn
04:34
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I see you
The arc of you
Not far from where we once threw fate
A dart of paper
We’ll transcend on transparent wings
Your body stretched out one foot longer in flight
Lifted on a blue shimmer
Up on your sequined wings
Up on your sequined wings
My concorde of Brooklyn
The crisp air awaits us
The houses on the hills
Are blinking bright snakeskin
And the phosphorescence takes hold
As I climb into your saddle
We rumble and soar
Outta here
Up on your sequined wings
Up on your sequined wings
Up on your sequined wings
Up on your sequined wings
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6. |
Pier and Ocean
05:41
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I used to watch when the wind asked the curtain to dance
And I’d be the one to accept on behalf
Time is a ragged restless wind inside my heart
And it’s inviting me to risk it all for love
And I think I know the meaning of waiting on love
The pier to the ocean is the bridge in between
And, oh, we must all search for those primary colours (of hers)
So freely all the ships pass by
And with every one, the pier knows it’s tied
And I think I know the meaning of holding on
The true intimate transcends touch
The comfort that comes when silence removes all distance
And acting as both the pier and ocean
I want a love that extends above both trough and crest, is both bridge and the expanse.
And like the lighthouse, the lone lantern by the sea
At home in the dark, and daylight its purpose defeats
It shines so brightly as if wanting to meet
Its outstretched arm in the form of a light beam
And I think I know the meaning of the lonely stand
The true intimate transcends touch
The comfort that comes when silence removes all distance
And acting as both the pier and ocean
Our love extends above both trough and crest, is both bridge and the expanse
The true intimate transcends touch
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7. |
Interlude
04:10
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8. |
The Vernal Air
03:54
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Hey, didn’t I see you walking out in the vernal air?
Didn’t I hear you had a bad day? Well, hey, it’s OK
I heard you were down so long, your black dog was going grey
I heard you were down so long, your black dog was going grey
Well, hey didn’t I see you walking out in the vernal air?
Woo!
Let your senses come to you
Hey, didn’t I see you walking out in the vernal air?
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9. |
An Everlasting Spring
05:18
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Say goodbye to the powder
Welcome in the melting evening
Venture out from your shelter
To receive the warmest greeting
And each and every songbird sings
In an overflowing everlasting spring
Such a hurried hibernation
In aching anticipation of what the new season may bring
We’re flicking coins over shoulders
And keeping secrets from parents
And each and every songbird sings
In an overflowing everlasting spring
And on my own, I would never have known
To listen out for that guiding tune
Our love deserves a season of melody and new shoots
And each and every songbird sings
In an overflowing everlasting spring
And each and every songbird sings
In an overflowing everlasting spring
Call me silly, but I’m in love. I cannot help it. I fell in love with a woman and it feels like we have known each other for years, even though we just met last night. We snuck out at 11 p.m., when the moon was out. All the streets had been blocked off from the parade. We walked in the middle of the road. We pretended the streets were lined with thousands of people, all celebrating that we had met one another. You picked up a piece of tickertape and waved it round like a young ballerina. Down at the waterfront, we read alternating lines of poetry, cemented into the pavement. We held hands. We kissed. I’m not religious, but it is in the hands of the gods. Some things you learn from love that is never meant to last. Maybe that is not love. But sometimes, that is all we have. At least for one night, I was an act of love.
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10. |
Awake O Sleeper
03:54
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Whose gentle hand doth braid the river down?
Tis the same hand that scatters the darkness in this tourist town
The angel asked me up to the ridge of love
And the townspeople cried come down, I said “Never!”
Awake O Sleeper
The day it breaks like bread
So lift your head
For the day breaks like bread
Whose gentle hand doth braid the river down?
Tis the same hand that scatters the darkness in this tourist town
The angel asked me up to the ridge of love
And the townspeople cried come down, I said “Never!”
Awake O Sleeper
The day it breaks like bread
So lift your head
For the day breaks like bread
We pray in circles, in silence
We try to be disciples
Together we can handle the weight of that title
In an old Bible I plaited the ribbons like rivers
Of red, blue, and yellow down the spine
Whose gentle hand doth braid the river down?
Tis the same hand that scatters the darkness in this tourist town
The angel asked me up to the ridge of love
And the townspeople cried come down, I said “Never!”
Awake O Sleeper
The day it breaks like bread
So lift your head
For the day breaks like bread
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11. |
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So, so the story goes
Up at Mt Zion Station
How could we not draw near to You
As we lie on our backs under the Southern Cross
Oooo
Down, down into town
We hit up the Savemart
A pair of boots for me and a summer top for you
Thinking ahead through a Wellington winter
How else can we get through, other than by purchasing ahead of time reasonably priced clothing?
In the back of the ute
We were soaked through in You
Droplets running down our backs
And still, there’s so far to go in what it means to know that
Your beauty transforms every space...
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12. |
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Back when I was young
My father and I picked black doris plums
He’d sit me on his shoulders as I reached for the highest one, and
He’d say: “I’ve got my shoulders under you love. I’ve got my shoulders under you love. I’ve got my shoulders under you love.”
I was restless!
The other day we were down around Oriental Parade
Just past the marina where my dad kept the boat he sailed across the Strait
He made it all the way!
He was reckless!
Robbie and I were thinking about heading up to the lake (Lake Taupō). We were thinking bout how there ain’t no place higher than your daddy’s shoulders, there just ain’t no place.
We stood near to the whale’s tail
The one carved not from salt, but sweat
More like the one that hangs around my neck.
And Robbie said: “Close your eyes. I've got a surprise for you. I
Know there's something you've been wanting to do for ages.”, and he
Led me to the sand. It was a beautiful day.
When we reached the water's edge, he said: “Are you ready? Are you
ready for your surprise? 1, 2, 3 Open your eyes!”. It was the most
beautiful thing I'd ever seen!
Now, I don’t know how many of you have seen a hot air balloon
Land on a pontoon? That's what I thought.
So I started swimming out and I free-styled and I duck-dived and I
climbed up the little ladder and into the basket, and there was
our friend Daisy (she flies hot air balloons in real life).
So I said: I’ll put my arms around you, I'm glad to see you, see, I was coming
up for air.” And she said: “I’ll put my arms around you, see, I’m glad to see you,
I was coming down from thin air.”
We were breathless! We were breathless!
And I got a taste of plum
And I felt the same breeze in my face that took my dad across the Strait
And I saw St Christopher set in greenstone.
And as we rose up above on the shoulder of pure love
I heard God say to his children:
“I’ve got my shoulders under you, Love. I’ve got my shoulders under you, Love. I’ve got my shoulders under you, Love …
And that’s about the story of a hot air balloon landing on the
pontoon down on Oriental Parade.
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Matthew Pickering Wellington, New Zealand
Matthew Pickering is a multi-instrumentalist folk-pop artist – think finger picking in alternate tunings,
stories put to
song. He released his debut full length album, The Burnside Church, last year. It’s been described
as intelligent, personal, honest, and Wellington-centric. His new album, Up at the Bunkers, will be out in October.
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