SONGS FROM THE CLIFF – LYRICS

SWIRLING LEAVES


When I saw the leaves swirling around

In the park of St. George’s Town

Someone said it’s a sign of trouble, watch out

Someone said it’s a sign of trouble

If I had a girl for one more day

I would travel down to St. Bay

Put me on that painful road

Dear Lord, put me on the road to St. Bay

If I had one more bullet to shoot

I would look for that evil jerk

Put a gun into his mouth,

Put it in, put a gun into his mouth

If I had just one more meal

I would go for the Brussels grill

Have ribs and a blond beer, dear Lord

Have ribs and a blond beer

If I had one more cigarette

I would smoke it with my dear dad

Tell him about those swirling leaves I saw

Tell him about those swirling leaves

If I could listen to just one more song

I would like to hear Senór

The one sung by Dave Rawlings

And then you could start throwing dirt on me

THE LAST ROCKET


Open the backdoor of the rocket

And attach the loading ramp

Here’s a selection from the planet

Load it in and put the clamp

Put in a bucket of water

from the mountain creek,

Put animals and herbs

Put raw honey and milk

The last phase of the procedure

Just before you lock it

Make sure there’s no human

in the last rocket

SUGAR


Early morning, you get up like a bird

when you know you’ve got your sugar

Long distance is getting close

when you know you got your sugar

A tiny coat can keep you warm

when you know you got your sugar

Dirty words won’t reach your heart

when you know you got your sugar

Up a hill you’re easy going

when you know you got your sugar

Down the hill you don’t feel fear

when you know you got your sugar

You’re cruisin’ with a heavy load

when you know you got your sugar

Stable confidence is always around

when you know you got your sugar

But one day an old pipe burst

and all the water’s gone

Broken vehicle lies dead on the road

Oh, the time has come

Old tanker disappeared in the sea

and all the fuel’s lost

Vile wind blew straight in your sugar

and all the sugar’s gone

SISTER


Sister, where are you going in those cowboy boots

You can’t focus on your feet

and you’re swinging like a tree without roots

It’s sad to see your beauty so misused

Your lover and your owner

he’s a fault that we’ve produced

All your brothers are staring straight to the floor

and all the sisters already walked out the door

Some faces you see once but remember for the rest of your life

Like a girl with cowboy boots

Tryin’ to walk a straight line

All your brothers are staring straight to the floor

and all the sisters already walked out the door

POVERTY


To hell with poverty

Constant lack of everything

You start to worry with the first daylight

Worries wake you up in the night

The calendar looks cruel

And you look like a fool

Flour is low

The cow is weak

Vouchers won’t come before the next week

You try hard to reach the shore

While uniforms knock at your door

And you drink the cheapest beer

To overcome your fear

I hope that day is somewhere on a way

Hallelujah, waiting for a long time

I’ll pack my sack and sail away

Hare Krishna Hare Rama, long time

Jesus I’ve been waiting for a long time

But the poor man died on his last ride

They’ve found him huddled by the river side

Cause being poor is hard for any father

who needs to feed his children and their mother

And it’s the same old beast

South, west, north and east

I hope that day is somewhere on a way

Hallelujah, waiting for a long time

I’ll pack my sack and sail away

Hare Krishna Hare Rama, long time

Jesus I’ve been waiting for a long time

A FIELD OF ROSES


Last night I dreamed a field of roses

Last night I dreamed you got it all

We were riding healthy horses

While policemen were waving from their cars

And I could forget those years of coldness

If we could spend the time that’s left in honesty

Promise me you’ll never go astray again

And I’ll do my best to believe

I prayed the 15 prayers of St. Bridget

365 days in a row

And last night I dreamed a field of roses

Last night I dreamed you got it all

And I could forget those years of coldness

If we could spend the time that’s left in honesty

Promise me you’ll never go astray again

And I’ll do my best to believe

IN THE END


It’s one of those phases

when history comes to collect the debts

It’s time to find out

who of all the prophets was the most accurate

in the end, in the end

The driver’s trying to keep to the line

The crowd is scared

and the conductor got high

As your lovely face

and warm embrace take me far away

in the end, in the end

Though I’ve never seen darker clouds

just as long as you’re in my arms

You’ll be alright

As long as you’re in your arms

Alright, as long as you’re in your arms

The backpack with food for final days

is running out

and the water is almost gone

Now we understand that love and hate

are all that’s left today

In the end, in the end

Though I’ve never felt stronger winds

just as long as I’m in my hands

I’ll be alright

As long as I’m  in my hands

Alright, as long as I’m in your hand

LONG RIVERS


Long rivers, long rivers,

they will never tell a word

about a heavy load they’ve been dragging

to the other side of the world

Long rivers, long rivers,

They won’t tell a word

About broken hearts, broken dreams,

heavy drinking, shedding tears

and heavy thoughts on the way to the last bridge…

They won’t tell…

Long rivers, long rivers,

they can swallow anything

wash off all kinds of suffering

and spit it out in a distant sea

Long rivers, long rivers,

They won’t tell a word

About broken hearts, broken dreams,

heavy drinking, shedding tears

and heavy thoughts on the way to the last bridge

Long rivers, long rivers,

They won’t tell a word

About the wicked world

that was too cold to calm them

and did nothing to stop them

on their way to the last bridge.

ROW, ROW, ROW


Come on, sugar, pack it up

It’s all over here and the boat’s already in the dock

They’ve been fooling us for 4 years in a row

And I hear that whistle blow

Now we’re off that land

and we row, row, row against the waves of poverty and woe

While we were sailing all wet and cold

new faces came on board

But I can’t get rid of the feeling that I’ve seen them somewhere before

I’m afraid to give myself a chance to hope and believe

‘Cause I haven’t see them rowing  with me

Row, row, row against the waves of poverty and woe

Come on, sugar, pick your town

Tell your mother and your father that we won’t be around

We’ve been drinking rain for 4 years in a row

And I hear that whistle blow

And now we’re off that land and we

row, row, row against the waves of poverty and woe

DO WE STILL FEEL PROUD?


Turn the lights on, lift the curtain

after a long, long night I want to be certain

that no one with sticky hands comes close to the switch

Get the ropes ready, sharpen the stakes

after the long, long night we can’t afford mistakes

I don’t want to see a silver-tongued man

close to our banks

But do we still feel proud,

with our right hands on our hearts

or do we have doubts?

Do we still feel proud,

with these same hands

in wrong drawers

or do we have doubts?

Never turn off all the lights

or pull the curtains all the way

Always have a dose of doubt

you might regret it some day,

especially after the Homeland War

and the spilled blood

But do we still feel proud,

with our right hands on our hearts

or do we have doubts?

Do we still feel proud,

with these same hands

in wrong drawers

or do we have doubts?