1. |
Into the Wild
03:52
|
|||
Into the wild we found ourselves cast
wearing wide eyes and only skin.
I had a dream we both ran through the dark;
as it comes in I move by your breath.
Keep our heads a steady weight
even if we wield heavy thoughts.
All the lines may bear witness on our face
the sweet songs of our loves and our faults.
Yesterday, the grieving wind the rain.
Of all the woes we've writ, composed,
they are only our old sorrows.
|
||||
2. |
Jude
03:36
|
|||
I remember you staring back at me
Into the crowded space of the El Rocco Room
Sing me your sweet songs
All our faces were illuminated
I remember you were smoking a joint at Patty L's
Then into the quiet space of your brother's place
Sing me your sweet songs
My darling, sweetheart
Only the cat had witnessed our dance
We sat together listening to Conor Oberst
To love and to be loved*
It came to me in the goddamned loveliest melody*
At my friend, Chi's house
I'm falling in love again
I had learned to read some famous books
but my darling I'm still sifting through pages
O love to begin to fathom your mind.
*Re-contextualised lyrics referring to a song from 'Lifted' (2002) by Bright Eyes.
|
||||
3. |
Wood of the Trees
04:33
|
|||
So did you find
the cradle in my arms?
A field of flowers
grew in your eyes
When you shook at night
just crying
Oh my darlin',
I should think
to remind myself
of how the water
caressed the shore
Darlin' we've
lived with the seasons
the song of the sea
the wood of the trees
Whether a seed
finds it place
All the wild can do
is wait
Was I a man
who could form a plan
When the sun went down
I was straight in bed
With a leaf of bread
upon my fingertips
I was crying
for a dream
And mama's sweet poetry
The flowers withered
in the kitchen sink
Whether a lonely heart
finds it place
all a good heart can do
is live
|
||||
4. |
Raven
04:25
|
|
||
I wanna tell you something like, "Gosh you look good."
I wanna hold your books and stir sugar in your tea, yeah
Man, I keep holding my tongue and biting my lips
Could I have this dance?
You know, I'm not so good but I'll give it a try
And if you would give me a chance
We could be like the best part in a good book
I searched doggedly for my hearts iron will
Are we still taming wild beasts with our heads caught in the jaws of our desires?
The day I'm over my grand ego, I'll have something worth saying
But please have some more tea
You know I once penned down some grand ideas like,
"If I'd have a heart attack, at least I'd die knowing I had you in my life."
I want to build a sailing ship and cast off
Papa, I wanted to hold up a ladder straight into the heart of it
when i heard you were leaving without a word or 'goodbye'
So if you follow your own path then where will all the people have gone?
Hey do you know my father?
He's like a raven and a writing desk
|
||||
5. |
|
|||
I'm still laughing
We are here
At dusk the hours creep
And you can hang out
with some wolves down the street
If you're calling me out
then I follow the sound
I'm telling long, long tales
And he's growing some long hair
Me, I followed the sound
I am the iron curtain over your eyes
O let me out
We are moving parts
turning
That was last year's
moon.
|
||||
6. |
Goodwill
04:44
|
|
||
You once wish you had a man to lean on to, sometimes
Sometime, a man may lean upon you
sometimes
*Time hangs so dreadfully
All day, every minute I want to work it away
To keep myself from feeling blue
An inactive sort of drifting feeling that can't be described*
Last night I kissed you in my mind
You were only an arms-length away but I didn't reach for you
Except in my mind
Last night I sat and listened to some ailments for some hours before bed
It's awfully exhilarating
especially when you feel blue
A feeling that still can't be described.
*I wonder how you're feeling?
Blue or not feeling anything at all
Just drifting
It's hard either way isn't it?*
I once thought o I can't cheerfully so I shan't talk at all
But I carried out long-winded conversations in my mind
for practice
Last night in my mind there was a kiss
Silent like a moth
A quiet fluttering resting on your lips, my darling,
to wish you good will through the night
*these words originally appeared in a law book I was reading. It had a case study of an English woman who wrote letters to her lover in Australia. They were suspected of being involved in murder of the woman's husband. But I wasn't really interested in that. Rather, her beautifully worded letters to her secret lover captured my attention and I have used some of her phrases and re-contextualised them and now they carry new meaning. If anyone ever comes across this book, could you please get in contact with me so that I can credit this woman's words properly in future pressings of my album because I lost the original source material.
|
||||
7. |
Return the Fire
03:36
|
|
||
8. |
Bump in the Night
06:30
|
|
||
There was a time
things quietly stirred
In the back of my mind
and in the black of the night
Across the bed
rose the hair on my head
And all of a sudden
the wind swept the cloud
high and dry
as the shriek of the creatures
go bump in the night
I woke in the night
I woke with a fright
With the black of my eyes
I peered across the bedroom
And all of a sudden
you with your arms outstretched
as the shriek of the creatures
go bump in the night
We had better watch our steps
We had better hold our breath
|
||||
9. |
Catherine
03:39
|
|
||
Catherine, will you fuck me tonight?
Stars were out when it got dark
Darlin' we're the same
walking around house and haunt
Why are you crying?
The water runs deep where it ain't wide*
With the voice that I got
man, i told you
Catherine,
sweetheart, in your eyes
stars were out when it got dark
Darlin' we're the same
walking around house and haunt
Why are you crying?
"Love grows up from the ground"**
With the voice that you got
yeah, you told me
* a reference to a song from Have One on Me (2010) by Joanna Newsom.
** a lyric from a song Jude wrote called, 'Love Grows up from the Ground'.
|
||||
10. |
Writer of Writ
02:27
|
|||
Every night I'll make love to you
so we won't forget how our pens
found the words
I want to do it right
Remove your suit of armour
Yeah, I became a singer of song
You know?
"Don't be scared to live like that"
The artist wrote it down so he would not forget
I played old chords worn out by pop stars
Living with the culture and shit
I gave them money
And late at night
When you had shut your eyes
For the moon, the sea yonder
met the sky
Do you really know where your sorrow should go?
I became a writer of writ
When all around I saw people living
What the fuck was I doing?
|
Slow Ships Sydney, Australia
From nocturnal odes to lilting hymns, Slow Ships draws on themes from the natural world, memory, creatures and places,
family trauma, self & cultural identity, ultimately weaving
narratives of love, unfolding, and the juxtapositioning of inner and outer worlds.
"Sublime" - Lachlan Wyllie, Chiefly Sounds.
“Deep, personal storytelling” - Maia Bilyk, FBi Radio 94.5FM
... more
Streaming and Download help
If you like Slow Ships, you may also like:
Bandcamp Daily your guide to the world of Bandcamp