CLASSIC STRAWBS - LYRICS
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Autumn
(Hawken)/(Cousins)/(Cousins)
Old School Songs
Heroine's Theme
(Hawken)
[instrumental]
Deep Summer's Sleep
(Cousins)
I sense Autumn coming on
The mist has hung low all day
Small birds gather on the wing
Preparing to make their way.
The trees begin to show
A trace of brown among the green
Bringing back the memories
That only you and I have seen.
I sense Autumn coming on
The sun sinking red and deep
The fires burning in the fields
As late Summer falls asleep.
The leaves begin to scatter
As the North wind calls their name
Folding gently back into
The silent earth from which they came.
The Winter Long
(Cousins)
Still waters flow
Sea breezes blow
Wild flowers grow
Abundant at your feet.
Soft falling snow
Warm candle glow
Flushed faces show
The pleasure when we meet.
Hold on to me, I'll hold on to you
The winter long I will always be with you.
Hold on to me, I'll hold on to you
I will be the one who will always see you through.
Benedictus
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
The wanderer has far to go
Humble must he constant be
Where the paths of wisdom
Distant is the shadow of the setting sun.
Bless the daytime
Bless the night
Bless the sun which gives us light
Bless the thunder
Bless the rain
Bless all those who cause us pain.
Yellow stars may lead the way
All diversions lead astray
While his resolution holds
Fortune and good will will surely follow him.
Bless the free man
Bless the slave
Bless the hero in his grave
Bless the soldier
Bless the saint
Bless all those whose hearts grow faint.
Tears And Pavan
(Cousins/Hudson/Ford)
Old School Songs/Fazz Music
Tears
(Cousins)
Where are the tears
That you should be crying right now
I see the world weariness
In your eyes
I hear your voice
Soft and sad
Yet your laughter rings
Like carillons of bells
In my ears
I feel your heart
Beat like the wings of the wild goose
I smell your love
On me
I can still taste the tears
That you should be crying right now.
Pavan
(Hudson/Ford/Cousins)
And when she lies in need of care and comforting
So as a child's toy she is caressed
And yet when cast adrift upon the changing tide
So as a ship becalmed she lies at rest
Oh darling go to sleep
For the night is young
There are many songs
Yet to be sung
Oh but I will sing them all to you
Before the night is through.
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.
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.
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.
New World
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
There's blood in the dust
Where the city's heart beats
The children play games
That they take from the streets
How can you teach when you've so much to learn
May you turn
In your grave
New world.
There is hate in your eyes
I have seen it before
Planning destruction
Behind the locked door
Were you the coward who fired the last shot
May you rot
In your grave
New world.
There is death in the air
With the lights growing dim
As those who survive
Sing a desperate hymn
Pray that God grants you one final request
May you rest
In your grave
New world.
Where Is This Dream Of Your Youth
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
Wake up one day, you're left alone
From now on you're on your own
The sands of time are running low
You'll have nothing left to show
The months slip by and change to years
Soon the twilight gloom appears
And then one day before you know
You'll have nothing left to show.
Where is this dream of your youth.
The pictures on the walls are shaking
They can hear the storm a-breaking
Storms may come and storms go
You'll have nothing left to show
They can hear the earth a-quaking
Buildings come and buildings go
You'll have nothing left to show.
Tomorrow brings another dawn
It might be better from now on
Before too long that day will go
You'll have nothing left to show
You'll have nothing left to show
You'll have nothing left to show
You'll have nothing left to show.
Where is this dream of your youth ?
Ghosts
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
Sweet Dreams
Go to sleep my babies
Don't you wake up
The stars will keep you company
So close your eyes
Old Uncle Moon will shine his dearest sweetest dreams
And hold you in your arms
Until the morning comes.
Night Light
Dark the night, not a sound
Damp and cold, frosty ground
Above your head the lion screams
To tear you from your moonlit dreams.
Damp with sweat, mouth is dry
Twisted branches catch the eye
Beside your bed the angel stands
You cannot touch his withered hands.
Guardian Angel
As the lion's eyes dance before me
They are kindly yet bloody red
I can see that he is smiling
But I cannot live inside his head.
There the needle stands before me
I climb inside it towards the light
Where the angel stands in glory
His sword of peace defends the night.
So the world is spread before
As I fly high on angel wings
But the angel is deceiving
For he is weeping as he sings.
Night Light (continued)
Early birds, morning breeze
Spinning leaves, sleepy trees
Gently tap the window pane
It's good to see the sun again.
Round And Round
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
I drew the blade across my wrist
To see how it would feel
Looked into the future
There was nothing to reveal
For we were just the product
Of the ever spinning wheel
Round and round we go
Round and and round we go.
Come and see me
When the screw has turned another turn
It's not that I'm confused
But I've an awful lot to learn
But I will be the one
To make you work for what you earn
Round and round we go
Round and and round we go.
After all it's just the revolution I despise
The dawn of revelations and the flower power prize
And I pity those poor children with no sunshine in their eyes
Round and round we go
Round and and round we go.
Hanging In The Gallery
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
Is it the painter or the picture
Hanging in the gallery?
Admired by countless thousands
Who attempt to read the secrets
Of his vision of his very soul.
Is it the painter or the picture
Hanging in the gallery?
Or is it but a still life
Of his own interpretation
Of the way that God had made us
In the image of His eye?
Is it the sculptor or the sculpture
Hanging in the gallery?
Touched by fleeting strangers
Who desire to feel the strength of hands
That realised a form of life.
Is it the sculptor or the sculpture
Hanging in the gallery?
Or is it but the tenderness
With which his hands were guided
To discard the unessentials
And reveal the perfect truth?
Is it the actor or the drama
Playing to the gallery?
Heard in every corner
Of the theatre of cruelty
That masks the humour in his speech.
Is it the actor or the drama
Playing to the gallery?
Or is it but the character
Of any single member of the audience
That forms the plot
Of each and every play?
Is it the singer or his likeness
Hanging in the gallery?
Tongue black, still and swollen,
His eyes staring from their sockets,
He is silent now, will sing no more.
Is it the singer or his likeness
Hanging in the gallery?
Or is it but his conscience,
Insecurity, and loneliness,
When destiny becomes at last
The cause of his demise?
Queen Of Dreams
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
Spoke the Queen of Dreams
I was Lord of the Forest
Walked within her paths
Sheltered within her bowers
Pine needles for my pillow
The dove my only true friend
I was Lord of the Forest.
Spoke the Queen of Souls
I was Lord of the Ocean
Swam beneath her waves
Sheltered within her shipwrecks
Precious gifts I bring you
From rusting hulls of the deep
I was Lord of the Ocean.
Spoke the Queen of Heads
I was Lord of the Mountains
Scaled her highest peaks
Sheltered within her valleys
Climb high upon my shoulders
I will show you the world
I was Lord of the Mountains.
I had no head for heights
But close my eyes to make the climb
Oh Queen of Dreams
Oh Queen of Souls
Oh Queen of Heads
It's time.
The Vision Of The Lady Of The Lake
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
The boatman rose to the sound of his heartbeat
Loud in the silent approach of the dawn
He glanced through the window at mist on the lake
Which hung like a shroud in the still of the morn
The silver cobwebs spun with the dew
Hung from the bushes in filigree splendour
And water lilies asleep on the lake
Were reflected so delicate, tranquil and tender.
The boat man sighed as he strode through the woods
To the place where his boat lay moored to a stake
The hollow sound as his footsteps echoed
Until the sound was lost on the lake
He cast off, poling the boat from the shore
Peering a head through damp clinging haze
He thought that he saw strange swirling shapes
A trick on the eyes that the mist often plays.
So intent was the boatman on crossing the lake
That he failed to notice the current that flowed
Leading his boat from familiar parts
He was firmly, yet somehow unknowingly, towed
All at once the mist seemed to lift
Sufficient to show the boatman a pool
That he'd never seen in the whole of his life
Unnaturally deep, black and silent, and cool.
The boatman's shirt clung to his back
He was sweating both from exertion and fear
He had the sensation that someone was watching
He felt the presence of somebody near
An invisible force prevented him moving
The strength of his arms was utterly sapped
The twisted bushes converged round the lake
Like a fish in a net he was trapped.
Suddenly out of the water before him
The wraith-like form of a maiden appeared
Clad in shimmering radiant robes
The maiden materialised as she neared
The hair which finely crowned her head
Was a halo of golden reflecting the sun
All of the beautiful women of time
Were formed all at once into one.
She handed the boatman the sword she was holding
Which flashed irridescent before his eyes
Excalibur surely was hardly a match
For a sword that simple description defies
The boatman stood transfixed by her gaze
Which reached to the depths of his very soul
To he who could conquer the evils of life
She offered herself as a whole.
The maiden vanished before his gaze
Leaving him clutching the sword in his fist
The hairs on the nape of his neck seemed to stiffen
A creature approached him from out of the mist
It was powerful, huge and yet stupid indeed
For it held right back and failed to attack
The boatman struck at its small stupid eyes
And it crashed to the ground and lay on its back.
Without a warning the sky seemed to blacken
As though the sun were in total eclipse
The boatman crouched low as a vast eagle swooped
And a horrified cry escaped from his lips
It strutted before him with pride in its bearing
Admiring its talons both vicious and cruel
Taking advantage the boatman struck fast
And the eagle slid to the depths of the pool.
The terrified boatman tried moving his boat
But his pole had grown roots in the watery deep
The bank grew alive with the coils of a snake
And all you could hear was its slither and creep
It cast an envious stare at the boatman
Slid into the water and swam to the boat
He stood hypnotised by its green jealous eyes
As it came from the water and coiled round his throat.
As its coils tightened slowly his breath came in gasps
As he choked so he lifted the sword in despair
As the snake was still gloating he severed its head
And in death the snake's coils thrashed wild in the air
The boatman wiped the sweat from his brow
His heart was pounding as never before
His eyes like a lizard's tongue darted around
Not daring to rest for a minute or more.
An involuntary shiver went up his spine
As he heard the sound of eerie howls
A wolf appeared on the banks of the pool
Saliva dripped from its loathsome jowls
Hatred smouldered deep in his eyes
Which glowed like coals from Hades fire
It seemed to grow as it crouched and snarled
And watched as the boatman began to tire.
It was almost as though the wolf had learned
For it did not attack as the others had done
But bided its time until the moment was right
And sprang as the boatman stared into the sun
But the boatman too had learned to hold back
And holding his sword as though a knife
He plunged it deep into the wolf's heart
Then fell to his knees and prayed for his life.
As he felt a hand on his shoulder he whirled
To find the maiden by his side
She smiled and the world seemed to open before him
He tried to speak but his tongue was tied
You must plunge the sword deep into my heart
Lest I should crumble into dust
She offered the boatman the meaning of life
And love, if he could but conquer lust.
She bared her breasts before his eyes
The boatman still was stricken dumb
He flung the sword back into the water
Back to the depths from which it had come
The water around him began to boil
The maiden began to wither away
His boat was swamped as the creatures arose
And evil lived for another day.
Sheep
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
July the fourth in the market town
Farmers have come for miles around
Bringing their wives and children.
A farmer stands with his youngest son
Watching their sheep driven from the pen
The slaughterhouse is waiting.
Look they're turning back
They're frightened
Dogs are snapping at their heels
Jumping on each other's backs
Hear their squeals.
The young boy stands looking quite dismayed
How can they know they're just animals
Come pull yourself together.
The farmer tells him to look inside
Row after row of raw carcasses
Their blood runs in the gutters.
Listen to their silly bleating
Farmer beats them with his stick
Milling by the open door
Don't be sick.
The young boy
Takes a look around
See people watching blankly
And he pities them
For they too
Look like sheep
And he tells himself
When he grows up
When he becomes a farmer
He will just plant seeds of love
He will just plant seeds of love
He will just plant seeds of love
And he will harvest peace.
The Life Auction
(Cousins/Hawken/Lambert)
Old School Songs
Impressions Of Southall From The Train
(Cousins/Hawken)
Row upon row
Of drab colourless houses
Bowing low
Before high rise blocks
Varicosed housewives
With sweaty armpits
Scrimping and scrubbing
Their husbands' socks
A limp polluted flag
Flutters sadly in its death throes
While crippled trees in leg irons
Wearily haul themselves
Through another diluted acid day.
The Auction
(Cousins/Lambert)
The vultures stood outside the gate
Quite unaware that fate
Is unaware to those who wait
In vain. Their pride
Betrays the means of their destruction.
Take my rings and trinkets bright
But leave my eyes which give me light
My tongue which gives me leave to speak
The rest is yours and welcome.
The wolves will suck the bones they bought
Those over which they fought
Their elders always having taught
Them envy. Their greed
Explains their total lack of conscience.
The auctioneer is seldom lost
Our paths have sometimes crossed
But he has never failed to count the cost
Of passion. Desire
Is the whole point of his existence.
Now you have given cause to bleed
You join the wolf pack as you feed
But now you find yourself in need
Of comfort. But peace of mind
Has no home for the loveless.