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1. |
Lunacy or Laudanum
04:09
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Her eyes shine with lunacy or Laudanum,
Our days pass with violence and boredom.
I would give my right arm for a dose of normality.
Its crazy by breakfast and madness by two,
Made the bed, dodged a bullet, walked the dog, had you.
Our lives seem to dance somewhere between heaven and hell.
Queenie, your fly just like Peter Pan,
Make love like Polly Adler can.
But Queenie, you smile just like your ship came in,
Bet more than we could ever win.
I love the fact my charm is wasted on you,
Walking round the bedroom like the ‘Wandering Jew’.
This aint the second coming, I aint another drop to give
Set it in stone sign the deal,
Get me the hell off of this here wagon wheel.
Do any thing baby but never hang that gilt on me.
But Queenie, you talk with the Devils tongue,
Swings just like Joe Lewis done.
But Queenie, you pound like John Henry did,
You cried like your Mamma said.
We argue over supper and dance until three,
This extreme way of life is gonna crucify me.
I love you and I hate you and I’m never quite sure which one.
Is there a chance that we survive until morning?
That fight in you is a trait worth admiring.
In a couple of hours we can start this whole game again.
But Queenie, speaks louder than dead poets do,
You got some Van Zandt in you.
But Queenie, I’m not sure how we win this war,
Or what the hell were fighting for?
But Queenie, swears harder than most sailors do,
Drinks like there’s a hole in you.
But Queenie, your just how the west was won,
You are the drawn and smoking gun.
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2. |
The Holy Trinity
04:53
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Born amongst illusion and the word of hope,
Liza found the bible and it helped her cope,
And she’d pray; to that God she’d pray.
Joseph learned to dance upon a roulette wheel,
Found comfort in the heartache every deck would deal
And he’d drink; to that God he’d drink.
‘May I join you’ was the first she heard,
She said ‘I’m just another soldier in the good Lords herd’
And he smiled, at her faith he just smiled.
The Holy Trinity
Is the best way for her to be?
Toned down, broke up
The Holy trinity
Is the best way for him to be?
Broke up, held down
Held down
The well-rehearsed sermon and the hollow tones
Powered by the gestures of the Holy Ghost
Remember he died, for our sins he died
Liza never asked but was certain to be told
If you always buy in you are certain to be sold
It aint cheap, but girl you need this
Tortured as a child by the needs of men
Jo was broken on the inside every now and then
And he would cry, but he would plan
CHORUS
He’d hear the hammers; feel the coal burn in him
Be driven by the passion in religious men
The hate grew, the years passed
So he trained up as a fighter in the Church street gym,
Found fire in the pain the Lord had given him,
And he’d swing, and he’d grow.
He and Liza got married by a man named Elvis,
And this aint the first time in a church since he began this crusade
It’s just one more Godly vow he’s made.
He would pray for suffering, horror and justice
She would pray for Jo and for him to end this
Three way split, there’s no stopping it
The first to die was padre from the Sailors rest
The cold steel of vengeance buried deep in his chest
And he bled; on that stage he loved he bled
You been out so long baby, where you bin?
To purge myself of sin, killing religious men
You know its wrong, but it feels so good
The Holy Trinity
Is the best way for her to be?
Toned down, broke up
The Holy trinity
Is the best way for him to be?
Broke up, held down
Held down
Pushed out, screwed up.
Drowned out, turned off.
Sworn in, cast out.
Dragged up, held tight.
Beware, beware that hopeful song,
The hope you buy won’t last for long
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3. |
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My friend is the tortoise that lives on the hill,
His tardiness worries me still.
When he set off first with his worrying pace,
It began their paradoxical race.
“Achilles you run with the pace of a train”
“And me oh so slow, that I never caught my name”
If were placed forever in this prefix of time,
Then your God given legs won’t run faster than mine.
Ad Infinitum, so on and so forth,
Run all you like you can’t catch me of course,
Or maybe you might if these sums do equate,
But if we don’t set off we can never be late.
Beware shell’ed friend I may catch you its true,
Be it one million miles or an inch nearer you
But our race and this rhyme they frequent the absurd,
Like the sceptre of kings or the monkeys typ’ed word
“In the finite space, of this field we are in,
You can’t set off till you come back again”
Dividing up all of this infinite space,
Won’t shorten, however this race.
Ad Infinitum, so on and so forth,
Run all you like you can’t catch me of course,
Or maybe you might if these sums do equate,
But if we don’t set off we can never be late.
Ad Infinitum, I’m slower than you,
Run all you like you could catch me its true,
Or maybe you wont my unconquerable friend,
If we run in circles were never to end.
Our hero may run on forever its true,
But that distance aint needed for me to catch you
Because space is a time no division can fill,
And my friend on the hill, he worries me still
Mathematics is the key to the catching of you,
And unless you can count there is nothing you can do
It been two thousand years since this quandary occurred?
And Infinity is still, such a worrisome word.
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4. |
10,000 Miles
03:11
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Fare thee well I must be gone and leave you for a while
Wherever I may go I’ll return if I go ten thousand miles.
If I go ten thousand miles
Ten thousand miles aint so far to leave you here alone
While I lie, lament and cry I’ll not here my baby moan
Will not here my baby moan
That crow that is so black shall change his colour white
If I prove false to that girl I love, I shall turn this day to night
I shall turn this day to night
Don't you see that milk white dove sitting in the yonder tree
Lamenting for her own true love as I lament for thee
As I lament for thee
The rivers never will run dry nor the rocks melt with the sun
If I prove false to that girl I love till all these things be done
Till all these things be done
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5. |
Dragon
05:02
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There’s this old dragon on my back
Says this is this, and that is that
I promised that I’d take him home
He’s on my back yet all alone
See there’s this dragon on my back
His teeth are sharp, his will is gone
He whispers quiet into my ear
Tells me stuff I need to hear
Why is this dragon killin’ me?
And oh how
We used to laugh about it all the time…
And oh how,
We used to fight it out
All the time…
This is this and that is that
Get this damn dragon off my back
His snarlin’ makes no sense to me
He says he’s smart and that I am not
Then this damn dragon starts to cry
He muddles me when he’s around
His eyes do roll his wings do shake
It’s all that both of us can take
Somebody take this dragon home
And oh how
We used to laugh about it all the time…
And oh how,
We used to fight it out
All the time…
Why is this dragon killing me?
His fire is out and he is broke
Blunted claws and blackened throat
He shivers as he clings to me
He shivers as he clings to me
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6. |
Future Blues
03:30
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I can't tell my future, Lord, I can't tell my past
I can’t tell my future Lord, I can't tell my past
Seems like every minute sure gonna be my last; sure gonna be my last
Well the minutes seems like hours, hours seem like days
Well the minutes seems like hours, hours seems like days
Lord I wish my woman would stop her low down ways; stop her low down ways
Ah Lord I got me a woman she's five feet from the ground
Ah Lord I got me a woman she’s five feet from the ground
She's a tailor-made, aint no hand-me-down; aint no hand me down
Lord I got a woman she’s lightnin' when she smiles
Lord I got a woman she's lightnin' when she smiles
Five feet and four inches she's just good huggin' size; she’s just good huggin’ size
Oh I know you see that picture now Lord up on your Momma’s shelf
I know you see that picture Lord up on Momma's shelf
Well you know I'm gettin' tired of sleepin' by myself; of sleepin’ by myself
And ‘T’ it is for Texas, now and it's ‘T’ for Tennessee
And ‘T’ it is for Texas Lord, it's ‘T’ for Tennessee
God bless that woman she put a spell on me; she put a spell on me
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7. |
0 44
04:47
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It’s just me and that 0 44, It’s just me and that 0 44
It’s just me…
And that 0 44 as I stand in the shadow of my Grandfather before
Me was a crooked young man and a small piece of him that could not stand up
Straight to the fire and the angst of young
Men stand around me and jostle for a little more
Pride is a lost thing if you never learn to earn your keep
Its just me and that 0 44
Its just me and that 0 44
The lion and the old crows they chatter…
A thousand pines in the morning light
Stand by me…
Stand by me…
It’s just me, and that 0 44, It’s just me, and that 0 44
It’s just me…
And that 0 44, and a one eyed man with the strength of ten
Men have a habit of greed and of
Worth aint bought by the price of one
Shot by the pull of societies need to
Begin breaking all that’s good in this world until were
All made the same,
by the same cloth, by the same rules, by the same God, by the same choices
Its just me and that 0 44
Saved from the pull of the company men
It’s me and my 0 44 again, It’s just me and that 0 44
Its just me and that 0 44
Me and that 0 44, heard a thousand true words in my whispering
Crowds are sometimes not a comforting thing,
A thing that only hard work can bring
My spine is bowed but my back is straight as silent friends that never ask for nothing, never give under the
Strain is a blessing that we all need sometimes
Somewhere is a change you just gotta see it, coming around, its coming around, its coming around.
In the street in the bar, in the trees, in the air, and in me
Just me and that 0 44
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8. |
The Dead and Me
03:49
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The ghost of Polly Adler sat on my marital bed
Teeth as black as coal and lustful eyes
What she whispered made my hair turn white
Then she flew off into that failing light
I swear the ghost of Polly Adler sat on my marital bed
The ghost of Sigmund Freud told me to find myself
Sing just a what I saw when I go drinkin’
So I sung him a tune I been a workin’ on lately
With a tear in his eye he confessed he couldn’t save me
I swear the ghost of Sigmund Freud left me weepin’
The ghost of Jackson Frank was in my room last night
He said son you gotta walk before you crawl
We shared a bottle of knob creek two bottles of wine
He said it’s all in the words son and never the rhyme
I couldn’t have written this tune without the ghost of Jackson Frank
The ghost of Billy Hogg was in my thoughts today
The cold hard truth of war was in his eyes
He said would you and the brothers mind playing a tune for me
Sing about whiskey, women and blasphemy/depravity
The ghost of Billy Hogg was in my thoughts today
The ghost of Errol Flynn sat in my easy chair
He said tights and facial hair is all you need
I said listen man the moustache ill do
But wearing tight pants I’m afraid is all you
I swear I saw the ghost of Errol Flynn sat in my easy chair
I said the ghost of Barry White ate all my Goddamn chicken wings
I mean I love the guy but there’s things you just don’t do
So we had words and it didn’t end well
I said listen Barry does this look like a hotel
The ghost of Barry white ate all my Goddamn wings
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9. |
Drinkin' Song
05:50
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I’ll make, I’ll make you forgive me
And I’ll drink; I’ll drink to that
I’ll make, I’ll make you love me
I’ll drink; I’ll drink here with you
I’m Jonah, I’m Jonah here
And I’m swallowed; I’m swallowed whole
I shuffle, I shuffle in
Let the ruckus and the revelry begin
Let’s take all the fire in the whiskey
And burn out the heartache in me
We will drink till the bottle is empty
Are all of my brothers with me?
They will not, they will not prosper
And I’ll drink; I’ll drink to that
I’ll swear, I’ll swear I will find you
In all of this whiskey and rhyme
We will tip our hats to the old and the weary
We will tip our hats to the young and the free
Raise your glass to the bold and the humble
Are all of you brothers with me?
I’ll drink to that, I’ll drink to that,
I’ll drink; I’ll drink to that.
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10. |
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My hands are bound I’m tied again
Honoured by the fall of men
There are the brave that live to die
There are the kings who live to lie
A heart of tin and one of gold
One man bought, another sold
I plead the ship to sail on by
And leave me with my ropes and I
These ropes that hold me straight and true
They could hold you
One hawk one wren, trustworthy men,
Two brothers hold the reigns of them,
The best of me will up and leave
Step from their chests and let them breathe
The hawk and wren will share the throne
These ships will take my good men home
The soured and the sweetened thoughts
Will honour why all good men fought
I plead the ships to sail on by
And leave me with my ropes and I
CHORUS
My wheels will drag this Prince around
And they’ll all hear that deathly sound
I’ve killed a million men you see
One hawk, one wren, these ants and me
I’m bound by love and fate and fear
And history shall find me here
I pray those ships to sail on by
And leave me with my ropes and I
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11. |
Jerusalem/I Will Survive
06:19
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12. |
The Lover and the Thief
05:58
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13. |
Josephine
04:43
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14. |
Murder Ballad #4
08:22
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I didn’t kill no Jacob Reed
My love will vouch for me
I found him by the back door drowned in red
Single gun shot to his head
The wingtips would gather like crows upon a line
Decide the round and time
Jacob always loved to chase the green
Greedy like a fire with a taste for gasoline
We grew up through the lanes of 49
Hitting like a freight train fuelled on cheap girls and wine
And I’m bound to leave before I’m bound to stay
For the killing of my friend and the bribe I would not take
Oh I’d trade my life for his
Lord I never wanted this
Lord I never wanted this
I didn’t drown poor Liza Grey
I knew her back in 49
They found her on the banks of Franklin Bay
How she got there only her poor soul can say
I’m bound to leave before I’m bound to stay
For the killing of that girl and the choice she could not make
Oh that sweet girl I’ll miss
Lord I never wanted this
Lord I never wanted this
I wait below in darkness for a while
Until I hear her shifting weight
I show myself my baby tries to scream
She screams to late
I’m bound to leave before I’m bound to stay
For the killing of that girl and the love I could not take
Oh I leave her with a kiss
Lord I never wanted this
Lord I never wanted this
I didn’t burn down father’s house
I haven’t seen him in a year
He clawed and screamed for Coraline
Through the burning smell of blackened flesh and pine
I’m bound to leave before I’m bound to stay
For the killing of that man and the love he could not give
I wont trade my life for his
Lord It’s all he had to give
Lord It’s all that he could give
I didn’t kill poor Jacob Reed
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The Life and Times of the Brothers Hogg England, UK
The Life and Times of the Brothers Hogg are Darren Capp, Simon Huxford, Nena Mager and Craig
Steer.
They hail from North East Lincolnshire, and have been performing their own original brand of Americana infused folk and bluegrass since 2012.
The band are known for their soaring harmonies, foot stomping rhythms, immersive storytelling and melodious poetry.
... more
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