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Dick Greener
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Dick Greener

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GREATEST HITS LIVE - LYRICS

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Cut Like A Diamond

(Cousins/Cronk)

Old School Songs

I was born
In the calm before the storm
In the quiet hour of dawn
With the full moon in my eyes.

I was kissed
By the rolling river mist
That betrayed the lovers' tryst
A mysterious disguise.

Cut like a diamond
Sharper than steel
Sweet as the razor's edge
Before the jagged wheel.

I am lost
I have sold my heart at cost
On the bridges that we crossed
I have carved my name in stone.

Bitter wife
You have cut me like a knife
I could never take a life
That could never take its own.

I was born
In the calm before the storm
In the quiet hour of dawn
With the full moon in my eyes.
I will die
With the sun high in the sky
With the river rolling by
Far below the bridge of sighs.


Something For Nothing

(Cousins/Cronk)

Old School Songs

The question was survival
The answer was myself
I was on the inside looking out
You took me to the limit
But you only took yourself
You were on the outside looking in.

Something for nothing
Something for nothing
Was all you ever wanted from me
Something for nothing
Something for nothing
Was all you ever wanted to be.

You bit the hand that fed you
Ripped the fingers to the bone
You were scoring blood, when times were lean
While I looked on disgusted
Ashamed to be your friend
Thinking to myself what might have been.

Now the lone wolf beats a new trail
With scent of easy game
Howling at the full moon on his back
While his lover eats her heart out
To the bitter taste of failure
Hungry for the leader of the pack.


The Hangman And The Papist

(Cousins)

Old School Songs

The village square stands quiet with the curfew still in force
The streets are even clear of dogs and whores
Like some evil bird of prey the scaffold spreads its wings
The people build their fires and bolt their doors
The mayor is giving dinner to the officers and wives
His eldest son is learning how to fawn
The barrack block is hushed and tense, the soldiers drawing lots
Who will be the hangman in the dawn.

The lot falls on a young man who has served for but a year
His home is in the village close nearby
He shivers at the thought of what he's forced to do next day
He wonders who it is that has to die
The full moon casts a cold light on the gloomy prison walls
The papist walk his cell, he cannot sleep
He hears the waiting gallows creaking just beyond the door
He prays for he has no more tears to weep.

The day begins to break, the muffled drums begin to sound
A crowd begins to gather in the square
The presence of the hangman in his terrifying mask
Weighs heavy on the minds of all those there
The colonel reads the sentence which the papist knows by heart
He has failed to show allegiance to the King
His crime is thus with God himself, in His name he must hang
The papist, head held high, says not a thing.

The jailer binds his hands and puts the blindfold to his eyes
He leads him through the door before the crowd
The hangman sees his victim and the blood drains from his face
He sees his younger brother standing proud
The hangman tries to protest but is ordered to proceed
His trembling hands begin to take the strain
His eyes are blind with streaming tears, he cries for all to hear
"Forgive me God, we hang him in they name".


Ringing Down The Years

(Cousins)

Old School Songs

We met when you were still a girl
In nineteen sixty eight
You wore a white dress and a hat
I touched the hand of fate
Your sweet voice took my breath away
Your smile lit up your face
You still had both feet on the ground
I was out in space

That certain sadness in your eyes
The secret of your smile
I've carried all these memories
Down many's the weary mile
And every time I hear your name
My eyes moist up with tears
As every word you ever sang
Comes ringing down the years.

We sat and talked the whole night long
Of all our rights and wrongs
Of mutual acquaintances
We sang each other's song
You were with me when the morning broke
The birds refused to sing
They knew when they were beaten
They hid beneath their wings.

I was in a Cleveland hotel room
When they telephoned the news
I drowned my sorrow all night long
The Southern Comfort blues
The show went on to great applause
Choking back the tears
As every word you ever sang
Came ringing down the years.

I reached out for the hourglass
To turn it face about
But who knows where the time goes
When your time is running out
I know someday we'll meet again
And I know just what I'll find
You'll have taught the angels how to sing
Georgia - Georgia on my mind.


Stormy Down

(Cousins)

Old School Songs

The night sky hung so heavy
The wet road shone so bright
Reflecting back my headlights
As I drove on in the night
To Stormy Down.

I drew into a lay-by
My eyes were dark with strain
Turning up my collar
I walked out in the rain
On Stormy Down.

I was high on Stormy Down
Thinking of my friends below
But they had gone some other way
They did not want to know
About Stormy Down.

I thought I saw the devil
In the branches of a tree
It was just imagination
But he looked a lot like me
On Stormy Down.

The cold moon drew strange faces
On a slowly changing cloud
One looked like God the father
And I shouted right out loud
On Stormy Down.


Afraid To Let You Go

(Demick/Hudson/Willoughby)

Fazz Music

In the light of the morning after
There's no lover's laughter
Just a pile of clothes beside my door
In the street I can hear the rain
But in my heart there's only pain
I've seen you look that way before.

Oh I can't let you go
I'll find it hard to be without you
I want to feel you all around me
Hold on to you somehow
And I pray that you'll stay with me
I'm so afraid to let you go.

You watch the clock as you fix your make up
Turn around as you hear me wake up
But you can't look me in the eye
You grab your coat and start to run
'Cause you can't face the only one
Who makes it hard to say goodbye.


Grace Darling

(Cousins)

Old School Songs

You have been my lighthouse
In every storm
You have given shelter
You have kept me safe and warm
And in my darkest nights
You have shone your brightest lights
You are my saving grace
Darling I love you.

You have been the pilot
Who guides me home
You have been the my rock
As on the seven seas I roam
And when I was becalmed
You were the strength in my arms
You are my saving grace
Darling I love you.

And when I found my back
Was torn and broken on the reef
You sailed your tiny boat
Across the dark seas of my disbelief.

You have been the anchor
And I the chain
Straining as we hold ourselves
Together in the rain
I have found you ever there
My constant keeper's daughter fair
You are my saving grace
Darling I love you.


The River

(Cousins)

Old School Songs

I made a sideways motion
Turning a new leaf
The single minded miner's girl
Was there to share my grief
I shivered in the butter wind
Three times the cockerel crowed
I waited for the river
But the river did not flow.

An autumn turned to silver
Winter turned to gold
The weatherman said dress up
Oh but I did not feel the cold
Kids waited with toboggans
As I sheltered from the snow
I waited for the river
But the river did not flow.

I will drink the milk from you breasts
Meld myself to you
Collect the valley lilies
The worshippers once strew
My body aches with hunger
Yet your belly has to grow
I waited for the river
But the river did not flow.


Down By The Sea

(Cousins)

Old School Songs

Maybe you think, a lot like me
Of those who live beside the sea
Who feel so free, so I surmise
With their comfortable homes, and wives
Who end up drinking tea together
In the afternoon of their lives.

They build their homes upon the seashore
The quicksand castles of their dreams
Yet take no notice of the North wind
Which tears their building at the seams.

In their dismay and blind confusion
The weeping widows clutch their shawls
While as the sea mist ever deepens
The sailors hear the sirens' calls.

And in the maelstrom sea which follows
The lifeboat sinks without a trace
And yet there still remain survivors
To bear the shame of their disgrace.

Last night I lay in bed
And held myself
Trying to remember
How it once was with you
How your hands were softer.

Yesterday I found myself
Staring into space
Rather like the sailor
In my own home surroundings
I'm not sure I know me.

If you were me what would you do
Don't tell me I don't need you to
It won't help me now.


Lay Down

(Cousins)

Old School Songs

By still waters I lay down with the lambs
In pastures green I made peace with my soul
And I cared not for the night
While my guiding star shone bright
By still waters I lay down
I lay down.

Lay down, I lay me down
Lay down, I lay me down
Lay down, I lay me down
For my soul.

At the roadside I took toll of my times
In dirty streets I found peace for my soul
May the merciful be right
Are you ready for the night
At the roadside I lay down
I lay down.

Lay down, I lay me down
Lay down, I lay me down
Lay down, I lay me down
For my soul.

In deep sorrow I took flight with the sun
From mountains high I gained strength for my soul
I proved stronger than the test
When my spirit came to rest
In deep sorrow I lay down
I lay down.

Lay down, I lay me down
Lay down, I lay me down
Lay down, I lay me down
For my soul.


Part Of The Union

(Ford/Hudson)

Fazz Music

Now I'm a union man
Amazed at what I am
I say what I think
That the company stinks
Yes I'm a union man.

When we meet in the local hall
I'll be voting with them all
With a hell of a shout
It's out brothers out
And the rise of the factory's fall.

Oh you don't get me I'm part of the union
You don't get me I'm part of the union
You don't get me I'm part of the union
Till the day I die, till the day I die.

As a union man I'm wise
To the lies of the company spies
And I don't get fooled
By the factory rules
'Cause I always read between the lines.

And I always get my way
If I strike for higher pay
When I show my card
To the Scotland Yard
This what I say.

Oh you don't get me I'm part of the union
You don't get me I'm part of the union
You don't get me I'm part of the union
Till the day I die, till the day I die.

Before the union did appear
My life was half as clear
Now I've got the power
To the working hour
And every other day of the year.

So though I'm a working man
I can ruin the government's plan
Though I'm not too hard
The sight of my card
Makes me some kind of superman.

Oh you don't get me I'm part of the union
You don't get me I'm part of the union
You don't get me I'm part of the union
Till the day I die, till the day I die.


Hero And Heroine

(Cousins)

Old School Songs

Hero's face was gaunt and tanned
His sail was set in search of land
His life-raft, solely by him manned
Was guided by the tide
Heroine wore fleecy white
She beckoned like some saviour bright
Shipwrecked sailors in the night
Were bid welcome to her side.

Where one man's search must surely cease
The irresistible white fleece
Led Hero in search of the peace
That she alone could offer
Thus he knelt before her feet
Wary lest their eyes should meet
He knew his life was incomplete
For he had yet to suffer.

Enticing Heroine, so calm
Took Hero firmly by the arm
Told him that she meant no harm
That she alone could save him
Hero could no longer speak
While realising he was weak
His life increasingly grew bleak
For all the love she gave to him.

While storm clouds gathered high above
The heroine he grew to love
Turned slowly to a snow white dove
And spread her wings to fly
Crushed and broken in the end
Hero watched his soul ascend
Knowing that he was condemned
To sail all alone to die.


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Lyrics © Copyright stated copyright owner.
All rights reserved. Reproduced by permission of copyright owner.
Please do not reproduce these lyrics elsewhere without express permission.