1. |
River Poets
03:18
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River Poets
Don’t set your anchor down here
Dad called him the cowboy kid
River poets man these shore
Twisted dervish sends men out to their death
Their shoreline beat will not harm me
He’s immune to the warlocks and their freye
Pagan worship mans these shores
The twisted antler sends giants to their deaths
The Sun breaks through the trees
Turns flesh to stone
Sunrise like blood on the water
Sun sets blood on the water
During the great war our guild was disbanded
A generation of metallurgists lost their forge
The smelter’s coals burnt out with the sun
Blacksmith, turned poet, turned to shore
Their war and disease will not harm me
These waters keep our minds and bodies pure
River poets man these shores
Weary soldiers tread cautious through these hills
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2. |
Prairie Disaster
03:05
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Prairie Disaster
Prairie disaster, August nights darkened hue
Freezing rain torrents down Harvest moon, can’t break through
Prairie disaster, weighted crops broken blue
The old man sits up defeated; flax iced and rotted through
He wanders away through the storm and she
Needs him more, than anything worth fighting
She grips her nails around the brush
To paint the door, then lights the lamp
To lead him home, through the storm
Prairie disaster, at the mercy of their means
Beggin’ for seeds to sow anew—hands cracked and worn but kept clean
Prairie disaster, lightning struck the Burrow tree
The arid fields sapped the well fire broke the land unreservedly
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3. |
Shadows of the Rain
03:20
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Shadows of the Rain
Unlock the door before you go
So i’m not sitting here on the front porch waiting for you
To stumble home from the bar
Just like every other time
We end up breaking in
Breaking a window, breaking skin
Cause you locked the keys in your car
The way the sun warms up
In the early morning hours
gets through our days
Pulling back the shadows of the rain
She pleads for me to stay
But i’ll never give you up
Hoping every day
Pulls back the shadows of the rain
Alight the lamp before it snows
So we’re not sleeping here on a mattress
Waiting for cold
Shiver in a torn scarf
Just like every other time
We end up nuzzlin’ with a
Patched up blanket and entwined
Busted roof pining stars
Thieve the morning to
the unkindness of the ravens
Laughing, taunting against their
dancing reflections
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4. |
Canneberge
04:14
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Canneberge
These nights never get too cold
But let’s put another log on the fire
So when our house is full
The kids are here and the cookie jar is empty in an hour
We built this home
On happiness, tears, photographs and friendship
There is love holding up these walls
Laughter, love, hard work and nails built the East wing
So when we step outside we’re thankful
For our family and friends
We’d rather paddle the canoe than park our cars
I’ll put on some tea while you sit quietly and read
She sounds like happy. He smells like pine cones
Everyone is safe here; This is our home
Watching for the driveway through the trees
Jumping off the dock near the rocky shore of Athapap
Taking long walks through the bush
Jon is picking rocks, Ellie is picking wild berries
Jon’s ears don’t work so good
Lucky for him, Ellie has always preferred the quiet spaces to loud cities
Hear the loons from across the lake
Protecting their young with reckless abandon
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5. |
Darling Allison
03:43
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Darling Allison
Leaving tonight down the Grace Road
Taking my time, it's the only road home
Singing songs to the night, Darling Allison
Allison
Days turn to weeks turn to salt on the cheeks
Turn the driving lights off feeling reckless and mean
Singing songs to the night, Darling Allison
Allison
Allison,
The snow and the street lamp are so far from home
Tires burn up the roads feeling tired and cold
Her song, like the sun, rises up, keeps me warm
Singing songs to the night, Darling Allison
Allison
September get cold and the leaves turn to gold
Switch the summer tires out bring me home through the snow
Singing songs to the night, Darling Allison
Allison
Allison,
The snow and the street lamp is so far from home
Both windows rolled down,
Grass sticks up from the ground
The snowbanks recede,
Tell me I'm close to home
Singing songs to the night, Darling Allison
Allison
Slow down to turn off the road
The driveway is weathered and old
Park the truck by the boat
Call out to tell her I'm home
Singing songs to the night, Darling Allison
Allison
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6. |
Harder Stuff
03:01
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Harder Stuff
We'll be stuck here in this town
many years from now -- she'll come over again
just like every other time
she'll bring over homemade wine -- and we'll never put the bottle down
Roll the bottle to the floor
we both follow soon after -- as we break into the harder stuff
I sense a sandalwood bouquet
combined with wine; a Chardonnay -- and the legs never dissipate
Our shifts are staggered just enough
no one suspects a thing when we show up
We eat our lunches separately
the woman go upstairs, the men smoke in the mezzanine
We're both still living in this town
our friends suspect but they can't tell -- and she comes over again
Something's a little off this time
She smiles and says “I forgot the wine” -- I tell her fine
You could never let me down
She rushes through the door
We're both entangled soon after – as we break into the harder stuff
I sense confession on the way
she stops and starts then hesitates – thinking of simpler things
Not much changes in this town
Life is pretty rough in between the rounds--until she comes over again
Just like every small hometown, we’re burlin’ hard in pits of sand
Let’s roll that bottle again and again and again and again
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River Poets Alberta
River Poets is a folk-rock musical act featuring the Johnson brothers, Jo and Cabel Johnson. They write, record and perform Canadian-inspired songs and a catalogue of covers.
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