1. |
From Dusk Till Dawn
04:45
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From Dusk Till Dawn
V1. Glamour girl
Anointed with pearls
Hair twisted in curls
From her golden crown
Down to the hem
Of her red silken gown
She has ‘it’, whatever ‘it’ is.
V2. Stops the room
A glittering fire
For all to admire
Freely drips with charm
She smiles sweet and
Lightly touches his arm
He’ll do whatever she asks.
Like the crystal clear martini
She draws up to her lip
Life’s twisted sweet cacophony
Swallows her with one sip.
She’s in the prime of life
So she should enjoy it while she can
April flowers bloom
But loose their blossom soon
Who could begrudge her a thing?
Laugh like your winning
It’s the beginning
I’m told
Dance through the twilight
Let your flame burn bright till dawn.
V3. Black turns grey
Of this she knows
Her night will close.
Pretty dress is torn
Cracked heels and her painted
Face looks worn
She reminisces alone.
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2. |
The Jazzman
05:09
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The Jazzman
He steps to the stage,
His face is set and sure,
His weapon is his horn and he’s out to war.
The crowd hush and still,
As the tension starts to grow,
He throws back his head and he starts to blow.
With every note he builds a tower
Intricate and flawless,
Sublime.
Weaving stories out of space and time
The light reflects, connects, subjects
And we can all forget.
The players get in line
Dueling for the crown
Show them you are weak and they will cut you down.
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3. |
Here In The Quiet
05:15
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Here In The Quiet
I love to be,
Here in the quiet,
Here in the peace with you.
Sitting in the garden, walking through the park.
Trying to still my mind and just be.
Breathing in the night sky, your face lit by the moon.
Remembering those sweet days, such sweet days.
I love to be,
Here in the quiet,
Here in the peace with you.
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4. |
Life On Land
07:37
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5. |
Veteran
05:23
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Veteran
V1.
Alone again.
The walls feel like they are caving in.
And the emptiness is stifling
And you can’t begin
To even think about rising again.
An eternity spans a single cycle
Of the ticking hand.
No friends to see, another day left unplanned;
This is your lullaby,
On your pillow as you
Softly lie.
V2.
Alone, again.
A brand new dawn, a contemporary truth,
The deification of beauty and youth.
Like flies around a pretty flame
You hear the adulation cries again
But it’s not for you
Or your peers log departed
For they’ve forgotten you and the debt they started.
So now this is you defiant protest cry
The sweet and bitter
Goodbye.
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6. |
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What Got Lost Along The Way
We two friends may turn old and grey,
Time will pass and slip away.
Of all those things that get left behind
I’ll hide a treasure in my mind.
Don’t lament the passing day
Or what got lost along the way.
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7. |
Refugee
05:43
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8. |
Ellington Said
05:43
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Ellington said;
“Music was his mistress.”
And her demands are not slight,
She’ll pull you from your bed at night
A whispered melody to write.
Harmonies that intertwine your dreams
Like ivy threatening to choke the tree,
She’ll make your body ache in pain
But you still want to get up and play again.
In your triumphs she’ll let you bask in an ethereal glow
Then crush you down with a stifling blow.
She’ll take all your money and your space for thought,
Make you put off all tasks that you ought to do
Until you’ve wrought what’s in your mind and in your hands.
You shout at the phone to stop ringing;
It’s obscuring the melodies you’re singing.
You’re trying so hard you feel like crying
From your very soul these notes you’re prying.
At worst she’ll make you selfish and alone,
At best she can heal a nation’s hurt
So you see beauty through the scars
And all else falls
Still.
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9. |
When The Snows Fall
05:01
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When The Snows Fall
V1. He keeps her picture by his bed
And hangs on every word she ever said.
He works his day thinking of her
Dreaming dreams, desperate schemes he waits:
“Perhaps in June we’ll stay beside the sea,
It’s pleasant there, they have a fair and fresher air.
Maybe Christmas we’ll pick out a tree
And decorate with coloured bows and mistletoe.”
Chorus
When the snows fall, she says she’s coming back.
He still can’t believe she’d ever want to leave.
V2. The years recede like shifting sand.
His hopes a desert of false plans.
Deep down he should give up the cause
But without her he knows he’s lost.
In the park he wanders with his thoughts,
Sits quietly, he’ll get a pet for company.
Maybe someone else will come along
To hold his hand, just for a while, so he can smile.
Chorus
When the snows fall, she says she’s coming back.
He still can’t believe she’d ever want to leave.
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10. |
Be Kind
04:51
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Be Kind
Be kind, be kind.
The leaves fall so quickly to the ground without a sound.
Be kind, be kind.
She was the first one to flower and first to fall.
Gentle face smiling from the mantelpiece
A flicker of memories from another life another place:
Scraped knees, climbing up apples trees
Fireworks fizzing to the ground
Misty mornings on the way to school
Weekend trips to the swimming pool
Warm salt breeze on a summer stay
The family outing to another wedding day.
The children will keep on playing,
The people still catch the bus to work.
Even the sweetest memories slowly fade,
I really wish you could have stayed.
Be kind, be kind.
The leaves fall so quickly to the ground without a sound.
Be kind, be kind.
You don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
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11. |
The City
06:48
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The City
Dawn
Hear the dull rumble of the city rising
Cold arteries of iron and brick
Pumping the people
Towards the bloodless heart of it.
Blue collars dozing, white collars posing
Shoulder to shoulder with the hipster, the fraudster, the clumsy tourist.
A babble of bird-like tongues waiting for the train,
The sizzle of slow-rolling traffic driving through the rain.
Day
Duelling raconteurs in the Square Mile hustling
Electric money moves and shifts
It barely even exists
Making fortunes blossom and fall.
Lunch in green spaces, quaint little teashop places.
Young executive trying to impress the smirking waitress in the short black dress.
Historic monuments beneath ghettos towering,
Like shiny grey urban orchids flowering.
Dusk
Out comes the West End crowd for dinner and drama
Strutting along the Soho streets
Where the pedestrian is king
And all traffic bows down to him.
Sirens wailing, harshly regaling
The hopeful loners and the boozers, the clubbers and the weary drug users.
Twittering of birds singing ceaseless in the night,
Kept awake by the gaudy neon light.
This is the fabric of my city;
The bold, the bad and the pretty.
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Joy Ellis London, UK
Joy Ellis is a pianist, singer and composer based in London. She has toured all over the world playing jazz. Past gig highlights include Ronnie Scott’s, the London Jazz Festival, and No Black Tie Jazz Club in Kuala Lumpur. She was recently selected as one of fourteen emerging artists to work with Mercury-nominated singer ESKA on a composition residency in Manchester. ... more
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