1. |
Anchored to the Wind
06:00
|
|||
|
Your breath across the mirror evaporates
the spell
Ten Thousand Mile House
I guess it's just as well
I came windmilling across your threshold
To tickle the feet of dreams where they sleep
(Those ideas with the child-proof caps)
And make more promises than I can ever keep -
Soft glare
Wide load
Sheet of hail
Across the road
Swallows the dotted white line
And the rain sweeps in like a stiff-bristled broom
Brushing dandruff off the moon
With breathe out and breathe in these symbol words begin
Oh for a cup of tea
A welcome heat inside of me
I must throw these anchors to the wind.
So sleep softly little dream walls
Will fall around you when you wake
And breathe deeply little breeze tear
The rattled scattered walls that break
Into fragments tumble-diamonded in the
Ocean-exhaled streams
Carried in the claws of the hermit tiptoe
Running across the beach
Who's that bobbing on the ocean's broken seams
Seaweed tethers in their reach
Anchored -
Anchored -
And they say I need your hearth-fire like a
Dandelion needs a parachute.
[Interlude]
Time flies
Whet word
Hafted voice
Halfway heard
How there's else I know nothing to do
When the rain sweeps in like a stiff-bristled broom
Brushing dandruff off the moon
With breathe out and breathe in these symbol words begin
Oh for a cup of tea
To melt this heat inside of me
I must throw these anchors to the wind -
I must throw these anchors to the wind.
|
||||
2. |
Ithaka, Ithaka
03:52
|
|||
|
Ithaka, Ithaka, land of the grey-leaved olive groves,
Of the goat in the thicket and the brisk
Wind that blows over Ithaka,
Ithaka; silver-bellied fish, tell my lover so:
"Like the shuttle through the pick,
"Quickly back to Ithaka,
"Ithaka, go."
Black sails upon the wine-dark sea;
These were the ships that brought Ithaka home to me.
Ten years without her lord,
Vine-harvest and field-harvest stored -
I said, "Set no funeral feast on the board."
In vain our precious offerings we had daily burned.
But omens danced in the hearth-fire's smoke
As if in veils grey-eyed Athene spoke
Of weaving and spinning to be learned
For Ithaka, Ithaka, land of the grey-leaved olive groves,
Of the goat in the thicket and the brisk
Wind that blows over Ithaka,
Ithaka; silver-bellied fish, tell my lover so:
"Like the shuttle through the pick,
"Quickly back to Ithaka,
"Ithaka, go."
Black wings that clouded out the day -
No crow or vulture flew ravenous here as they
Tell them who pay me court
Amid the drunkard brawl and glutton snort:
Gather all of your mettle to my sport
This day the bride of Ithaka makes her final choice.
Ah thus I weave the pattern bold
Athene guide me conjure him of old
Let the soul of my summons be the voice
Of Ithaka, Ithaka, land of the grey-leaved olive groves,
Of the goat in the thicket and the brisk
Wind that blows over Ithaka,
Ithaka; silver-bellied fish, tell my lover so:
"Like the shuttle through the pick,
"Quickly back to Ithaka,
"Ithaka, go."
So now he sits before the fire,
Man of the wandered heart, fruit of our desire
The old returning dream -
Yet twenty years lie in between
As he spins out his storyteller skein
What of the days ahead? What perils of the heart?
Athene guide my only child
Hera, let my mind be reconciled
To the end of his story and my part
Calypso calms the wayfarer
Circe breaks the beast
Helen toppled empires with the loosing of her hair
The daughter of Aeolus drives
the storm-clouds thunder-fleeced
But Penelope has spoken with the magic of the
shuttle and the thread
Singing Ithaka, Ithaka, land of the grey-leaved olive groves,
Of the goat in the thicket and the brisk
Wind that blows over Ithaka,
Ithaka; silver-bellied fish, tell my lover so:
"Like the shuttle through the pick,
"Quickly back to Ithaka,
"Ithaka, go.
"Like the arrow to the hit,
"Swiftly home to Ithaka,
"Ithaka, go."
|
||||
3. |
||||
|
At Tintagel among the stones
the robin sings anew,
And the heart of the day's eye
is brimm'd with tears of dew;
From the mountain peaks
To the tall pine speaks
The wind, calling out: "Hush, hush!"
But Merlin in his velvet room
will never feel its touch.
All summer long the crystal streams
begg'd tribute from the clouds
For the armies of barleycorn,
that brazen joyous crowd.
Now the apple tree,
Immodestly,
Bends down, stretching out her root;
But Merlin in his velvet room
will never taste her fruit.
In Avalon the sacred oak
raises naked arms on high;
Like the heart of a bold king
they break against the sky.
From the sea-bound caves
To the bitter waves
The wind flashes jaws of white;
But Merlin in his crystal tomb
will never feel their bite.
|
||||
4. |
For Weena
04:42
|
|||
|
In the hot summer dawn I stand
Where other times I stood
To see the Palace of Porcelain,
Beacon-like, beyond the wood;
Now the valley we travelled through
Lies smoking like a brand.
You perished in the night;
The fire was kinder than their hands.
I'll stay no longer here
Among the angels and the ghosts.
These shadows hold no fear
Any more; they cannot steal what I have lost.
Across a rift of a million years
My heart reached out to you,
Gentle stranger; perhaps you loved me too.
They greeted me like some marvell'd god
A thunderstorm had brought;
But I'm a man from another time,
Exiled by what time has wrought.
Frail and pretty as Dresden dolls
The human race has grown;
Of that alien company,
With you I was not so alone.
I'll stay no longer here
Among the angels and the ghosts.
These shadows hold no fear
Any more; they cannot steal what I have lost.
Across a rift of a million years
My heart reached out to you,
Gentle stranger; perhaps you loved me too.
You danced beside me and took my hand,
Bewildered by my wrath.
Precious matches I sacrificed;
The flames would make you clap and laugh.
For my pockets you picked flowers:
Yellow, white, and red.
That was another time;
Now those flowers are brown and dead.
I'll stay no longer here
Among the chimneys and the streets.
These shadows hold no fear
For me now, but marvels wondrous to meet;
I'll scatter footsteps across the years
As restless spirits do.
(Gentle Weena, perhaps you loved me too.)
|
||||
5. |
Joiry's Gifts
05:13
|
|||
|
Jirel, Jirel, Jirel, ah Jirel. . .
Shrive me now though where I fare
God's eye never strays
Saddle not the swift dark mare
Beg me no delays
By this armour that I wear
He who thinks me soft and weak
More than kisses, this I swear --
Shrive me now, I cannot speak
Nevermore shall Joiry fall
Though you break her gates and crack her walls
Joiry's pride shall not be crossed
Though Joiry's soul be the cost
Never fear shall turn my course
Offer up my tender kiss
Vengeance mine, but not by force
Do you dare take Joiry's gift?
Whisper of despair inane
Black seed swallowed whole
Like a sin without a name
Borne upon my soul
Splendid in the tarnished light
Hated white-split grin
No clean hell of God's domain
Yields the prize I win
Nevermore shall Joiry fall
Though you break her gates and crack her walls
Joiry's pride shall not be crossed
Though Joiry's soul be the cost
Never fear shall turn my course
Offer up my tender kiss
Vengeance mine, but not by force
Do you dare take Joiry's gift?
Jirel, Jirel, Jirel, ah Jirel. . .
Long's his wailing in the night
Shattered sleep apart
Long's the weapon turned to strike
Its wielder to the heart
Shrive me not, for where I fare
God's eye never strays
Mercy drives me back again
Down the secret way...
Nevermore shall Joiry fall
Though you break her gates and crack her walls
Joiry's pride shall bargain twice
Though Joiry's soul be the price
Demon, can you know this force,
Human-warm and fire-swift?
Frozen god without remorse,
Do you dare take Joiry's gift?
|
||||
6. |
Jumpstretch
04:23
|
|||
|
Running running bright plain mane-toss and sweet regret where the rivers flow like me warm earth of station-deck cold metal sun ring-chime of years woven now into one fabric of always from birth until death and I compass all time in one alien breath
Empty open inside feel all the secret paths only gods can know like me ripples spread out from velocity swell pale fragrant glimmer of gravity well atoms ignite in their hydrogen dance and I take it all in in one alien glance
Fallen falling down slow down to Chanur's hall and Geran no that was long ago like me scattered and patterns and thought's quickened pace the jaws of the hunter-ship snap into place anchor me Tully for here I must stand where you pin me to now with your alien hand
Kura Kita Iji all spirals twist around down gravity where they have to go like me stretching cold corridor eaten inside red lights and time dump and vector and Pride wake up you sleepers put time and space by and you'll learn all the truth from one alien's lie
|
||||
7. |
Annwn
04:24
|
|||
|
I've got to get out of Annwn
I can't stand the score
They broke my heart in Annwn
So broke that it won't pay no more
I've got to get out of Annwn
I've got to get out of Annwn
I've got to get out of Annwn
Real soon
I went down to the station
I asked the station master there
He said, "The only train out of Annwn
"Goes straight back to Nowhere."
I've got to get out of Annwn...
"And when the whistle-dogs are howling
"On down that lonesome track,
"The only train out of Nowhere
"Is the train that brings you back."
I've got to get out of Annwn...
Them whistle-dogs said, "Honey,
"You do all what ye will,
"But the only road out of Annwn
"Is everywhere uphill."
I've got to get out of Annwn...
So I went back to Annwn
You'd think that I would learn
The only thing to be learned in Annwn
Is which way the wind will turn
I've got to get out of Annwn...
|
||||
8. |
Broken Knife
03:38
|
|||
|
Maybe hate is right and love is the cause
Tell it to the paranoid walls
Maybe it's the wind kicking up from South Adrilankha
Like she does.
Funny all the truth your shoes never find
Scrub across the Dragon's hide
Trying to convince that Morganti mirror
In her eyes.
CHORUS:
The days the Paths of the Dead cough up
Between the shoulder blades and the klava cup
Leave you with a soul like the blade of a broken knife
Hold onto your soul like the edge of a broken life
Sorry to the dirt, you happen to be,
Just like a bone in the teeth
What they gonna do when the Cycle fails to crumble
At their feet?
Herth'll eat the sun and spit out the stars
So it isn't simple at all
Maybe took the quick-killing aching bright resurrection
She was
CHORUS
No no she doesn't wanna talk about it.
No time to blink at
Kelly think fast
Teckla don't fly
Phoenix on the hunt now
Jhereg oughta jump out
Break open the scab
Lady Fate is tight and lunges the toss
Yeah you've got the pair by the balls
Lately winning's been kicking down in
Adrilankha's jaws...
CHORUS
No no she doesn't wanna talk about it.
|
||||
9. |
Friend I Never Knew
04:34
|
|||
|
"Find him out."
No.
You find yourself another stooge.
Why should I dance to your tune?
They come to me in their own time.
Outsider walk the thin line.
Justice has no friends.
Friend I never knew even now
Thinking of you:
The hard words
Your shifting face where
Truth fails -
The small details
Of necessary betrayals ...
"Choose."
No.
I'm only here to draw one line.
Where does your innocence lie?
Not in some alibi's pay.
Guilt knows no planet or race.
Justice takes no sides.
Friend I never knew even now
Thinking of you:
The hard words
Your shifting face where
Truth fails -
The small details
Of necessary betrayals ...
"The truth."
Oh no.
Where do your orders come from?
There are no referees here
In this game of strike-or-die.
We play or pay with our lives.
Justice? Don't make me laugh.
Friend I never knew till here and now
Looking at you:
The hard words
Your shifting face where
Truth has failed -
The odd details
Of necessary betrayals
Forgiven,
Not erased.
|
||||
10. |
Slave Girl Blues
03:49
|
|||
11. |
Was That You?
04:54
|
|||
|
There's hardly a day when I'm not driving over the River
And under the flight paths that pattern the sky like a weaver
But most of the time these threads wires and tassels unwind
Sight out of mind.
So as I heap-sorted my deadlines and how to explain
Was that you overhead taking off on that plane?
Was that you? Was that you?
Does my message come through?
Do you sometimes stop moving
And feel this way too?
Like a green wire twisted
With brown white and blue
In a hard insulation of sound?
(Peel back the illusion, see what you have found.)
But in my confusion
I forget to leave the ground.
There used to be nights when I'd wake to the roar of the streetlight
And a train's blue whistle told me it was midnight.
Then all of the masks that time forces terror to wear
Came up for air.
As I struggled to stop these thoughts boiling around in my brain
Was that you passing through on that sad midnight train?
Was that you? Was that you?
Does my message come through?
Do you sometimes stop moving
And feel this way too?
Like a green wire twisted
With brown white and blue
In a hard insulation of sound?
(Peel back the illusion, see what you have found.)
But in my confusion
I forget to leave the ground.
Now some of these rooms have a pretty good view of the city
And some of them throw in a view of the world for free.
Let the register days flip like pages under your thumb,
And pick me just one
Where you chopped up the lettuce or bent up from fixing a drain -
That was me that you heard driving by in the rain.
Was that you? Was that you?
Does my message come through?
Do you sometimes stop moving
And feel this way too?
Like a green wire twisted
With brown white and blue
In a hard insulation of sound?
(Peel back the illusion, see what you have found.)
But in my confusion
I forget to leave the ground.
|
||||
12. |
Lullaby in Red
06:15
|
|||
|
Oo...
Oo...
Now the Moon is peeking out from behind the olive tree;
(Sleep tenderly my fair and faery child.)
Now Saguaro Blossom steals her kisses from the bat.
(Range across the sky upon the backs of grey-white mares.)
Oo...
On the hill they circle dance in solemn company:
Unicorn and jackalope and laughing coyote.
Frond to frond the dancing palm repeats my melody,
Dropping gold and silver dates and magic tambourines.
Cloud to cloud the shadow cats yawn and stretch and play,
Bat at moths and falling stars till the Dog Star barks them home.
Feel the twilight wheel beneath us, rock the gentle hours;
Feel the ocean breakers pound on a beach so far away.
In the morning, golden doves will bring you wondrous things:
(Sleep tenderly my fair and faery child.)
Silk sheets, red as coals,
Paper bossed with cardinals,
Ruby shoes, carnelian rings,
Crimson zils with scarlet strings,
Claret wine, blushing rose,
Secret books and grown-up clothes --
Oo...
Oo...
Oo... Oo....
|
||||
Nancy Louise Freeman Phoenix, Arizona
If you like Nancy Louise Freeman, you may also like:
Fragile as Humans
by Emily Barker
Australian singer-songwriter explores self-examination, loneliness, and post-pandemic malaise through delicate, empathetic folk pop.
go to album
Big, emotive pop songs with expansive instrumentation and heartrending vocals.
go to album
featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 30, 2024
go to album
The Toronto-based sextet make moody, cinematic sounding music that blends psych-folk and post-rock.
go to album
Mind, Man, Medicine
by The Secret Sisters
The Alabama duo's fifth album exults in dusty Americana, showcasing rich vocal harmonies alongside blissful folk instrumentation.
go to album
More contemplative folk from the Minnesota singer-songwriter, sustained by raw full-band arrangements and philosophical lyrics.
go to album
Irish singer-songwriter Oisin Leech's acoustic folk music is characterized by its muted beauty and intimate, solitary quality.
go to album
