THE FERRYMAN'S CURSE - LYRICS
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In The Beginning (instrumental)
(Cousins/Cronk/Bainbridge)
Sony ATV Music
The Nails From The Hands Of Christ
(Cousins/Cronk/Bainbridge)
Sony ATV Music
The old church doors were open
She walked in stone alone
Standing by the altar
She checked her mobile phone
Her parents left together
They upped and passed away
They left her with their vinyl
She played albums every day
She looked up at an icon
A young man on a cross
He looked just like Bruce Springsteen
He could have been the Boss
The window in the chapel
Was some kind of a rose
The ancient smell of incense
Was getting up her nose
She walked off down the old canal
Tracing footprints of the dead
"What the hell is Jesus?"
A graffiti slogan read
She found a junk shop bargain
Competitively priced
He told her they were kosher
The nails from the hands of Christ
The nails were bent and rusty
As if to make a point
She looked them up on Google
And rolled herself a joint
She didn't see the young man
Quiet before the fire
He looked on in bewilderment
As the music took her higher
He danced the nails around the room
Her endearing poltergeist
He placed them in her bedside drawer
The nails from the hands of Christ
People make excuses
In the innocence of youth
To all intents and purposes
We all disguise the truth
She hunted high and low
To find her precious nails
A guilt lives on within us all
When everything else fails
She thought of all the many things
Her parents sacrificed
In her heart she holds her treasure
The nails from the hands of Christ
The Song Of Infinite Sadness
(Cousins)
Sony ATV Music
Nobody knows where the song came from
The song of infinite sadness
Perhaps it came from Babylon
I hold you to the heavens
Your soul will speak to me
As you leave
The longer the wait
The softer your words become
Nobody knows who wrote the song
The song of infinite sadness
Perhaps he carved his name in stone
Two songbirds fly in silence
Two songbirds share a voice
With one tongue
The sun gods awake
The songbirds will sing once more
Two lovers torn apart
A heart that beats alone
One heart shared between two lovers
The song of infinite sadness
Nobody knows who sang the song
The song of infinite sadness
Perhaps he lives within us all.
The Familiarity Of Old Lovers
(Cousins/Cronk)
Sony ATV Music
The familiarity of old lovers
As intimate as thieves
A secret to be treasured
The guest who never leaves
The unlikelihood of wearing
Micky Mouse high heels
I don't remember you that tall
But that's the way it feels
The familiarity of old lovers
The secret rendezvous
The members club in Chelsea
No-one ever knew
The uncertainty of knowing
Whether it could last
It might have done, but who knows
It's buried in the past
The familiarity of old lovers
Much later, quite by chance
The lunchtime drink in Soho
We cut a merry dance
Regrettably we parted
So your way - I went mine
We stayed in touch whatever
Somehow it worked out fine
Now you've got a new man
I really wish you well
Who ever knows what might have been?
I won't ever tell
The familiarity of old lovers
It never ever leaves
A secret to be treasured
Through years of make believes
When The Spirit Moves
(Cousins/Cronk/Bainbridge)
Sony ATV Music
Let us live for love
Love is what we need
We will find our true friends
When the spirit moves
Let us live in hope
Hope is what we need
We will find the new way
When the spirit moves
Let us live for peace
Peace is what we need
We will rest forever
When the spirit moves
Have you heard the news?
He's coming back
Right on time
On a one way track
When you see his face
Look him eye to eye
"Padremio Padre"
Crowds will multiply
Revelations speaks
Of the King of Kings
Wait and see
What tomorrow brings
It may bring sunshine
It could bring rain
It may bring pleasure
But it could bring pain
Let us all belong
Belonging at the start
We will find a welcome
When the spirit moves
Let us all be strong
Strength will be our freedom
We will be beside you
When the spirit moves
Let us be together
Togetherness is strength
We will be united
When the spirit moves
Let us sing together
This song is where it starts
We will be uplifted
When the spirit moves
The Ten Commandments
(Lambert)
Sony ATV Music
There's a new religion
And it's hot off the shelf
Where the congregation
Have to worship themselves
There's no fire and brimstone
But there's an inglenook
Where you can take communion
From a TV cook
There are Ten Commandments
And you can please yourself
If you keep or break them
You're still condemned to Hell
If you've a dollar in the bank
And that will see you through
But if your neighbour has a dollar
Well then you'd better get two
We can't negotiate a contract
A package to suit your claim
You'll get no justice in that sense
'Cos nobody's ever to blame
There's a high priestess
She knows the spice of life
She's only skin and bone
But she's a football wife
They take an altar to the terrace
So we can name our saints
You're given fifteen minutes
With karaoke brains
You'd better choose your friends
Very carefully
If they can help you network
Well they're no use to me
Take what you want
Not what you need
We used to have that problem
Now they're a dying breed
The Reckoning (instrumental)
(Cousins/Bainbridge)
Sony ATV Music
The Ferryman's Curse
(Cousins/Bainbridge)
Sony ATV Music
The boatman lived in a stone-built house
Three score years and ten on earth
His wife was younger by several years
They lost their only child at birth
Father raised the house with his bare hands
Mother toiled the fields by day
He never spoke of the lady of the lake
The brush with death which caused him sway
The boatman made an honest living
Along the river's south-side bank
Family gatherings, household trips
From time to time the river grew dank
One such day when the river was foul
The boatman took his wife to town
Breathing heavy on the journey home
Fever struck as the sun went down
The sickness raged for several days
The doctor rambled in despair
The old priest read the sacraments
Decay and death hung in the air
A coin for the mouth of his dying wife
Was duly placed beside the bed
A knock on the door on that moonless night
The boatman feared the word had spread
A stranger stood on the front porch step
Stovepipe hat and long black coat
"I come from the other side" he whispered
"I carry souls in the ferryman's boat"
The ferryman growled, "I've come for your wife"
The boatman said, "She ain't dead yet"
The ferryman raged, "I need her now,
It's time that you repaid your debt"
The boatman tried to make the peace
The ferryman spat and cursed and swore
As evil speaks as evil must
He called the boatman's wife a whore
"You lusted for my daughter fair
Betrayed her in a mire of sin
You married, knowing of her fate
Time has come for the reckoning"
The boatman said "No debt is due"
The ferryman's rage could get no worse
"It was me who caused you suffering
The still-born child of the ferryman's curse"
"I ain't yet put the coin in her mouth"
The boatman said with rising fear
"That job is mine" the ferryman said,
And slashed the boatman on the ear
The ferryman held a wicked knife
Razor sharp, serrated blade
Stabbed at the boatman's arms and face
Terrifying were the screams he made
The boatman reached for his Bible
To shield him in the violent fight
He reached for a log from the open fire
And set the ferryman's hair alight
The ferryman fell to the floor in agony
Dropped the knife on the boatman's bed
The boatman stabbed him in the gut
The screams died as the floor turned red
The boatman sat beside the bed
Holding his young wife's tiny hand
Her eyes opened wide as the fever left
He gently stroked the wedding band
She sat up slow, looked all around
Bared her pointed teeth and smiled
Flung herself in the boatman's arms
"I am with child, I am with child"
They dragged the ferryman to his boat
Placed the coin in the deadman's mouth
They silently rowed to the other side
The ferryman's curse was the boatman's prize
Bats And Sparrows
(Cousins)
Sony ATV Music
Swallows come a-swooping down
The day begins to cool
Veering through the olive trees
Defying every rule
Circling at breakneck speed
To splash into the pool
Steep climb to the temple steps
Is worth it for the view
Dragonflies, butterflies
In every shade of blue
Ruins on the mountainside
Where cypress trees once grew
Outside the old taverna
Laughter everywhere
Smell of outdoor barbecues
Hanging in the air
Bats take on the night shift
Gently brushing through your hair
The village centre comes alive
Multi-coloured light
Fiesta in the churchyard
Fires burning bright
Children leaping through the flames
Make wishes in the night
Garlands for the fire
Rosemary and sage
Bats replace the swallows
Shadows on the page
Ladies in their finery
Insensitive to age
The ancient village weaving loom
Still used every spring
Great-grandmother learned to weave
Before she learned to sing
To Irene I sang goodnight
What pleasure it would bring
We Have The Power
(Cousins/Cronk)
Sony ATV Music
We can try to find the answers
We can estimate the cost
We can count our many blessings
In the friends that we have lost
We can leave the crowded city
Break out on the open road
The child has long been growing
From the seed our father sowed
We have the power within us
To move mountains if we try
To change the course of rivers
Or the colour of the sky
We have the power to give life
Or to take it if we choose
Ours can be the answer
Make or break it, win or lose
It's in our hands
Be positive in conflict
Make victory complete
Give our former rivals
Honour in defeat
Watchful of our actions
Being sure to care
True to all our promises
Making time to spare
Spring is scarce remembered
Autumn just a name
The leaves will soon return back
To the earth from which they came
Ours is but a short life
From the moment of our birth
When our ashes scatter
To the corners of the earth