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LYRICS

BLACK CROW

BLACK CROW

Black Crow (2012)

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Side 1

1. Stealth 3.37
2. Montréal 5.04

​3. My Mind's a Mess 3.25

4. Living on the Fringes 4.12

5. Black Crow 4.04

6. Beautiful Blue 4.25

 

Side 2

7. She's Doin' Time 3.03

8. Cast Iron Promises 3.56

9. Pemulwuy 6.44

10. Amateur Man 3.48

11. Delicate Bird 4.58

12. The Ghost of Your Dreams 3.43

1. Stealth

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Clothed in silhouettes

Of forlorn shades

She was the jewel

Of our daring escapades

Rolling in the dust of

Fear and imminent demise

I grew to love

That which I depised

Oh, I won't become you

Lifelines are too hard
To come by

To be wasted on you

There were contrasts of love

Frayed edges and tempered steel

The only ones who knew the truth

Were those who forgot to feel

Lonely in the rushes

Born again out on the trail

Gowned in night

Stealth never fails

Oh, I won't become you

Lifelines are too hard

To come by

To be wasted on you

Crawling in the dirt

Drowning in the sand

Walking on the ocean

Crying in your hands

Flickers of razor romance

In and out of white light

Of a junkies solitude

Livin' night to night

 

Oh, I won't become you

Lifelines are too hard

To come by

To be wasted on you

When the thrill was gone from stealin'

I knew we was in trouble then

Balacing a fine line on

The tip of a ball-point pen

Nights when you would look at me

Through those big black eyes

Your emaciated face fading

In the moonlight

Oh, my mother

Why couldn't we pretend

That we knew who my Daddy was

And that you had a friend?

I can remember how I ran
When you stopped breathing

And now I know why,

​Because those that neglect to live

Don't know how to die

Oh, I won't become youu

Lifelines are too hard

To come by

To be wasted on you

 

3. My Mind's a Mess

Lonely always takes it's time

Lonely always takes it's time​, Sweet Lord

All these changes, taking their toll on me

Stolen all the pieces I could find

Stolen all the pieces I could find, Sweet girl

But my melody has broken harmony

All of my beacons are lighted

And the world;s been laid to rest

I couldn't speak so I shouted

And again I digress​

My mind's a mess

Honey, please, don't count on me

Honey, please, don't count on me, Have mercy

I got my sandals, but I don't know where my carpenters at

​All of your dreams and lullabies

All of your dreams and lullabies, Sweet girl

Weave their magic, but a miracle

Is hard to defiine

All of my beacons are lighted

And the world;s been laid to rest

I couldn't speak so I shouted

And again I digress

My mind's a mess

I need to get out of my brain

I need to get out of my brain

Damn straight

Detach my hippocampus

And catch the morning train....

 

​​

​​​5. Black Crow


When I was a young man

Farming for ideas

Workin' the land that

Brought us food and brought us tears

My father once said to me

Don't run the sheep too fast

The stress will kill 'em from the inside

And the lamb will be too tough

Black crow sittin' on my grave

Black crow sittin' on my grave

The world don't know how to behave

When I was a teacher

Teaching rushed ideas

Young people came to me

With the desolation tears

"My folks can't love each other

So they don't know how to love me

So that's why I been swearin' at you

And pluggin' in my ears"

Black crow sittin' on my grave

Black crow sittin' on my grave

The world don't know how to behave

When I was a gleaner

My grandmother said to me

"Life for young people

Is harder that it's ever been"
I said " you lived through a depression

Wars and disarray

Surely we got it easier?"
She said "I meant what you heard my say"
 

Black crow sittin' on my grave

Black crow sittin' on my grave

The world don't know how to behave


When I was a rambler

​I saw a funeral Pyre

A Loatian monk for 80 years

Lived and died in the same Wat

A man told the tale

And welcomed us to feast

And people smiled as they turned to me

And a soul was released

 

Black crow sittin' on my grave

Black crow sittin' on my grave

The world don't know how to behave

2. Montréal

Montréal, you got it all

But you don't got me

Montréal, you got it all

But you don't got me

You got your street poets

N'yer dirty jokes

N'yer got your chemistry

But Montréal, you got it all

But you don't got me

The cold wind is blowing the leaves around

As August rushes and the sirens sound

September has come to take the summer away

But my dreams are intact for another day

Romance is lost in these hostel beds

The knives are blunt, the bartenders a bastard

And I tipped him 2 dollars today!

My shows are broken and my spirit is fading

And the girl of my dreams is drifting away

 

Montréal, you got it all

​But you don't got me

Montréal, you got it all

But you don't got me

I've been to Vancouver

I've been to Jasper and Calgary

​I've been to Vancouver, I've been...

I'd trade it all for Montréal

But you don't got me​

Wherever you go the drunks are the same

No patience, no brains, fucking stupid - delirously mundane

If I had some money, I might just join them

But instead in the morning I'll slam the door to hurt their brain

And the static of frustration passed by

And I can see the lasting effects in your eyes

And your tears of desolation turn me to the bar

But I'm not tipping this wanker, I'll smuggle my own!

 

Montréal, you got it all

But you don't got me

Montréal, you got it all

But you don't got me

You got your street poets

N'yer dirty jokes

N'yer got your chemistry

I'd trade it all for Montréal

But you don't got me

I've got quicksilver daydreams in my mind

Townes has taught me something about time

If this is a failure, maybe we'll turn it around

Damn it all, we're headed for Melbourne town​


Melbourne town, we're coming back down

Toronto was just a fling

Melbourne town, we're coming back town

Where convicts forget to sing

You gotcha traffic woes, your second-hand clothes

And dickheads just the same

Melbourne town, we're coming back down

We love your filthy streets

 

 

 

 

4. Living on the Fringes

​​​

A clean, well lit street is little companion

For one living amongst it's ruin

The city-scape is a triumph, a modern wonder

A catastrophe of disparity

For those living on the fringes

Of the Canadian dream

Backbackers, bums, addicts and family rejects

Line the concourse daily

As everyone seeks to be noticed

In the their own uber-friendly way

I like it here but I cannot love it

As so much is, swept away

Everyone works hard for their appartments,

Condo's, health and doorways

It's difficult to distinguish the fashion from the non-fiction

As society breeds

A generation that can't fend for itself

With drugs and vanity

I like it here but I cannot love it

As so much has gone astray

I'm passing through, I just a gleaner

It's not even my place to say

There's a lifetime of reasons why I've come here

But I can't remember what they are today

As everyone seeks to be noticed

With their cardboard signs and expensive clothes

I look at my five hundred dollar watch

And I realise it's, time to go

 

​​

6. Beautiful Blue

I love you

So much it's unkind

Like the world's gonna end

Stars colide in my mind

And I don't wish

I don't wish to lie

But my darlin'

I'm sure gonna try

It's just me

Me and you

What we got ourselves into?

Beautiful blue

I won't cry for you

You won't cry for me

We've carved it in the walls

My darlin' little Queen

And if the thief of morning

Comes to steal out dreams

We'll sew the curtains as one

With strong thick seams

It's just me

Me and you

What we got ourselves into?

Beautiful blue

Love me two

Two life-times tonight

And give me three

Of your nine lives

I've gotta get myself a gun

To shoot the sun out of the sky

Forever in my arms

Forever in the night

It's just me

Me and you

What we got ourselves into?

Beautiful blue ​​

7. She's Doin' Time

Oh, my girl

She's so fine

She's so fine

She don't bother me

She's doin' time

When she first came into my life

Man, she treat me so wrong

Wouldn't let me ramble, wouldn't leave me alone

Always wanting me to stay at home

When we went ramblin' around this land

She just got in my ear

So when we went to rob a bank

I suddenly had an idea

 

Oh, my girl

She's so fine

She's so fine

She don't bother me

She's doin' time

I said to the teller, if you could just do

One thing for me

Don't give me any money and I'll spare your life

If you say it was her and don't mention me!

 

Oh, my girl

She's so fine

She's so fine

She don't bother me

She's doin' time

 

 

 

 

 

9. Pemulwuy


Mythical in records

Like a ghost

A Bidjigal warrior of the Darug

West of the Sydney coast

A blemish in his left eye

A left foot deformity

It was said by his people

This made him a clever man who could see

 

Pemulwuy lived peacefully

With the English for over a year

Until there was a murder

Of a Darug, by a bullet- not a spear

Pemulwuy tracked down a game-keeper

McIntyre, of the colony

And as with Darug law, he speared him

As common law should be

He was branded a murderer

By men who could not understand

He headed for the hills

An outlaw in his own land

He knew his country intimately

And a fire began to flame

This injustice may never be destroyed

But 'Man Of The Earth' was his name

Oh, passing over

He led his people in raids

Against any who came to claim

A mercenary outlaw

Setting fire to the English name

He fought them with bushfire

As the settlers held their breaths

No, they didn't see it comin'

As many burnt to their deaths

To the British he became

The ultimate enemy

He was shot many a time

But he still managed to flee

A cold sense came over

That as long as he survived

The colony was in danger

So he had to die

Word passed around

All along the Hawkesbury

From Campbelltown to Parramatta

That even convicts would be set free

If they brought in some game

Of a black with one good eye

It seemed that they'd become

Guided by the blind

Oh, passing over

And still the conflict resumed

Pemulwuy branded a beast

A murderous primate

Defending his family

The Darug began to believe

He couldn't be killed by foreign lead

Until June 1802

Pemulwuy was shot dead

Warrior of the Darug

Protester for 12 years

Captured twice, escaped once

As both sides faced great fears

Would we still call him an outlaw

As the settlers once did?

A martyr, a hero or a father

Who just done what he had to did...

 

​​

 

​​11. Delicate Bird

From tree to tree

'Mongst Autumn leaves

The mountain breathed

Her soliliquy; a love was born

We were 12 years old

You were brash and bold; my elder

When you touched my hand

My hourglass ran harder

 

Then the day of the hunt

With a pellet gun

Shooting cans had replaced

The sandpits of our dreams

You were playfully smirking

Aluminium was lurking, on the fencepost

As we rained down with lead

My heart pound in my head; I loved you the most

Darting amongst the

Boughs and beams

Two Willy​-Wag-Tails

Nesting in the trees

We watched them wonder

And curious love; we grew older

You touched my hand, we fit

Like a glove; your head on my shoulder

Now you stare at me

Like a stranger this day

Your voice shakes like a bird

As you fear to say

The boy you once loved

Has faded to dust, is lost and gone

The innocence we had,

The life I could have led; an unwritten poem

With no malice or thought

I raised the gun high

You watched me with

Confusion in your eyes

I fired three shots

You told me to stop; I reloaded

But man-hood had given me this

Barrel and stock, so I owned it

A little black and white bird

Fell with haste to the ground

And immediately I'd lost

What I had found

You let go of my hand

Your face fell to the ground

And you began to cry

It was then that my delicate

Little bird fell from the sky

It was then that my delicate

Little bird fell from the sky

It was then that my delicate

Little bird fell

From the, sky

We were 12 years old,

​You were brash and bold​

When you touched my hand

Our love grew old​

8. Cast Iron Promises

​​

Take these cast iron promises

Teach them how to burn

This solitary haze

Never ceases to amaze

Me of the things I've unlearned

Words that don't exist

Perigrinate through my time

Parlez vous, Francaise do you?

No, but I will speak my mind

My anger violates my charms

And I though I'd come so far, my love

Evil intended ideas

Present themselves as fear

I must go find

The music entwined

With the choir of my soul, I can't hear

 

Chairs that stand so tall

My legs can't reach the floor

This Irish bar

That is lit by stars

Of poets slipped through the cracks in the floor

My demons reveal themselves as strangers

I thought I'd left the danger behind, my love

I don't need any guilt

Nor, do I need mime

I just need you

And myself to glue

These dreams together in time

 

10. Amateur Man

 

We've picked up the broken things

Swept them out the door

We've searching through the fragments

Of broken glass on the floor

Well we've tried I guess

But we never seem to clean up this mess

I've been walking through this forest

Looking at the forest floor

Searching for all the shiny things

You don't want any more

I don't want a bolt of lightning

But a clue would be nice I guess

Ooh, we've been sleeping

In different beds

I know I'm a fool

But Jameson clears my head

I went looking for an epiphany

A broken dream of some kind

I found a Salvation Army

With some martyrs in a line

One looked at me for a quarter

Saving for a bottle and a piece of mind

One held up a sign with some faded black ink

It said 'our ears are filled with water'

And that we're about to sink

He tried to tell be something

But I didn't wanna hear what he had to say

Ooh, we've been sleeping

In separate beds

I know I'm a fool

But loneliness makes my bed

I been walking through this forest

Looking at the forest floor

I can tell that you love me

But do you need me anymore?

I know you like a challenge

And I can be the very best!

I find it most amusing

When the steam comes out your ears

But sometimes you surprise me

With spontaneous tears

I can't claim to be a genius

But can you cope with an amateur man?

Ooh, well we're back

In the same bed

I know I'm a fool

But I'm the best man you could ever get

I know I'm a fool but

You and me were meant

I know I'm a fool, but I love ya

...More than eggs

 

 

12. The Ghost of Your Dreams

Flirting with your mind

I hold the goblet of your soul

Our dreams intertwined

My porcelain doll

Sanctity and grace

Your gaze of perfect truth

I wind my way amongst

The droplets of your youth

Slowly, surely

I dart to

The shadows of your mind

Lovely, roses

Guiding beauty,

So fine

Blue silver

Shining in your hair

I won't be here in the morning

Lonely in the throes

Of our strange love

I won't be here in the morning

Music hangs on the wall

And rises through the cracks in the floor

And lingers as smoke

In my mind

My spirit stands at your door

As though I should call

My name into

Your dreams

I only, wasted

Your golden

Beauty, on time

As Jesus cries his tears

As honey

In the moonlight

Blue silver

Shining in your hair

I won't be here in the morning

 
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