STRAWBS & DAVE COUSINS - LYRICS
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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 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".
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 ?
Blue Angel
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
Divided
The gypsy girl stood quite alone
Her eyes were brightly shining
Her head was in the clouds
Where she had found the silver lining
And all the while the crippled boy
Was dancing with his lady fair
While I stood on the sidelines
Trying to make out that I wasn't there.
So loud the music grew and grew
With ever greater pain
I stepped back in the shadows
For I could not stand the strain
I tried to look, my eyes were blind
I tried to speak but could not find
The words to say.
They left me lying where I lay
I could not bear the light of day.
Treat me kindly dear blue angel
Deepest colour of the night
Be merciful, be gentle
For I have no strength to fight.
Half Worlds Apart
So I lay in half world dream state
Pressed like a flower in the pages of a half book
Words in softly spoken whispers
Steal through the silence of the blue veiled half light
The best of questions have no answers
The best of answers need no questions
Born on the quest for a wave of half peace
Acquired in a Dresden china cuplet
Bound in the chains of the half book binding
Half way to my half life.
Treat me kindly dear blue angel
Deepest colour of the night
Be merciful, be gentle
For I have no strength to fight.
So she lay in half museum
Pinned like a butterfly which failed to reach its half life
Tender moments left half spoken
Lost like an orphan in the pleasures of the dream state
A man of honour has no secrets
How can I be a man of secrets
Trapped in the web of the woven blue veil
Peering to find the angel weaver
Most sacred saviour of the silver lining
Half way to my half life.
Treat me kindly dear blue angel
Deepest colour of the night
Be merciful, be gentle
For I have no strength to fight.
At Rest
Sleep the sleep of peace my love
And I will let you be
I alone can comfort
I alone can set you free
I will be your healer
And give you back your pride
In times of need remember me
At rest here by your side.
When the hour of darkness comes
And time itself stands still
When voices from the future
Seem to come and go at will
I will be your servant
Your ever constant guide
When all is lost remember me
At rest here by your side.
The wisdom of the fool is such
That he alone is sane
So delicate the balance
That e'er the moon could wax and wane
I will be your teacher
And show you where to hide
When all else fails remember me
At rest here by your side.
Treat me kindly dear blue angel
Deepest colour of the night
Be merciful, be gentle
For I have no strength to fight.
I'll Carry On Beside You
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
Short is the time
Though eternity long
Life is but part of the journey
While you've the faith to carry on
I'll carry on beside you.
Steep is the path
But your feet have wings
Sharing the weight of your burden
While you've the strength to carry on
I'll carry on beside you.
Dark is the night
Yet the road shines clear
Lit by the souls of believers
While you can see to carry on
I'll carry on beside you.
Deep is the grave
May you rest in peace
Preparing yourself for the next time
While you still need to carry on
I'll carry on beside you.
Song Of A Sad Little Girl
(Cousins)
Old School Songs
She looks so frail beside you
As she wears her sick disguise
You say she'll soon be better
As you dry her tearful eyes
You tell her fairy stories
She tries to understand
She looks to you for comfort
And holds out her little hand.
But early in the morning
When the sun shines
Into her tiny room
She wakes up like a bird
And she's fine again.
You gently kiss her forehead
And from the room you creep
But you linger in the doorway
As she whimpers in her sleep
Her cheeks are flushed like sunset
And her head's an open fire
All night she turns and tosses
As her temperature gets higher.
But early in the morning
When the sun shines
Into her tiny room
She wakes up like a bird
And she's fine again.
The nightlight in the corner
Casts a soft and peaceful glow
Her face becomes much cooler
And her breathing much more slow
She dreams of clowns and princes
Sailing boats and trains
The fairies come by moonlight
To take away her pain.
But early in the morning
When the sun shines
Into her tiny room
She wakes up like a bird
And she's fine again.
She wakes up
Like a bird
And she feels fine.
Temperament Of Mind
(Wakeman)
Not available
[instrumental]