1. |
Drown
03:48
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DROWN
Dancing inside the flood,
Battered and buoyed by the tune that the currents sing.
Rapids boil your blood,
Pushing your pulse to a place worth remembering.
Swept down the big stream, you twirl and spin like a leaf.
Caught by the deep dream, pulled down to bliss or to grief.
CHORUS 1:
See me from the riverbank a smooth and tranquil blue,
Don’t be surprised were I to rise and drown the likes of you.
Whitecaps and sunshine
You see the sea through the veil of an inland bride.
Longing for coastline,
Blind to the unfeeling grasp of the hungry tide.
What’s down the gulf stream out of the range of the eyes?
Is life but a dream, broken just as you capsize?
CHORUS 2:
See me from the boardwalk, mama, glittering and blue,
You should learn how I can churn and drown the likes of you.
BRIDGE:
Hear the water’s voice and wonder does the ocean call?
Can you tell your passion’s thunder from a waterfall?
Carried to extremes, we all have poisons to purge.
Sometimes it just seems tempting to jump and submerge.
CHORUS 3:
See me from your airplane, mama, shiny, tiny, blue,
Make sure you know how I can blow and drown the likes of you.
Words and music by David Partridge
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2. |
Water's Never Far
03:51
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WATER’S NEVER FAR
Cross the border in a Honda in the sun
River and the sky an equal blue
On the road a while, this journey’s only begun
She hands back the passport – I am through
Crossing counties that have names I’ve heard in song
Bridges keep the highway smooth and straight
Signs along the roadside seem to nudge me along
Telling me I’m in another state.
Chorus 1:
Steel wheels, asphalt, rubber in between
Mile markers burn clicks away
I see towns and trees but water’s never far away.
Coming into Cleveland in a bit of rain
I can see the river’s not on fire
I begin to think I’ve been mislead by a song
Lured by dreams, driven by desire
Sun comes out and I turn south away from the lake
On the phone a voice I recognize
Signs along the river won’t prevent a mistake
Rocking boats don’t always capsize.
Chorus 2:
Steel strings, wood stage, human in between
Voices that raise the cafe
Rain drums on the roof and water’s never far away.
At the hotel again, watching CNN,
And water’s lapping at their doors
People curse the silt that feeds the land.
We’re living on a floodplain
Where the water has its way
You can’t hold back a river with your hand.
Chorus 3:
Steal hearts, share songs, life is in between
I drove home the next day
Eyes on road ahead but water’s never far away.
Words and music by David Partridge
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3. |
Footprints
03:41
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FOOTPRINTS
Morning comes and she is gone. Why? Well, I should know:
Nightfall leaves, upon my lawn, these footprints in the snow.
You know that there’s heartache in these indentations
Laid out in a row.
I say, ”Stay.” She turns away and says, “I have to go.”
Those fresh footprints look blue.
She longs for an evening fire; she’s drawn to my bed.
She must wake up somewhere else, reticence unsaid.
You know that I see her reservations in these
Flaws in fallen snow
She moves on, I’m left behind, just footprints left to show
What she already knew.
She has to be home by daylight;
Steady tracks tattoo the snow.
She’s alright knowing it’s not right;
She braves the cold for the glow
Does she know you already know?
Sunrise soon; she's restless, so she will move along
But come her blues, those pretty shoes re-autograph my lawn
You know I can see heartache each time her breath leaves
Frost upon my pane.
I cannot turn her away, reminding me again,
What a footprint can do.
Words and music by David Partridge
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4. |
Catch and Release
03:10
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CATCH AND RELEASE
You ran a little faster and you caught me
I’m not entirely sure it was your plan
I can’t say for certain that you sought me
But you’re a little swifter than I am.
And so, I’d like to know
Your true intentions please.
Is this catch and release?
You jumped a little further and you pinned me
I’m not opposed to being second best
You’ll have to be more careful or you’ll wind me
I feel my heartbeat hammer in my chest.
Again, can you explain
Your true intentions please?
Is this catch and release?
I don’t chase dreams anymore.
It should be clear that I’ve been
Caught on occasion before.
You cast a little further and surprised me
My pool is just not used to something fine
And now you’ve seen what my reaction would be
With something pink and pretty on the line.
I spin, you reel me in
With what intention, please?
Is this catch and release?
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5. |
Faraway
04:06
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FARAWAY
Halfhearted, half way there,
I'm half awake, half sane
And all the baggage that I bear
Is not in the belly of this plane.
I have scars from ancient angry nights,
New bruises from the street
And memories of the strength to fight
The winter wind and summer heat.
CHORUS:
I've been soul singed and dream drained,
Wished out and winded again.
I'm in need of the part that pumps hope to the heart
Like the face of my faraway friend.
The same pale lights and distant homes
From this same window seat
The same relentless hiss and drone,
The same faint odor of defeat.
As a child I dreamed of speed and space
With longing you could see.
Now the longing has a darker face;
The earth comes flying up at me.
Repeat Chorus
Taste adventure North and South,
Slightly sour in your mouth.
Every ticket bears your name,
Every airport feels the same.
Has the distance left its mark?
The running lights, the punctured dark,
The dark.....
Repeat Chorus
Words and music by David Partridge
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6. |
My Time In The Light
04:09
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MY TIME IN THE LIGHT
Tell the truth and don’t pause to disguise it
Very few will even recognize it.
Plain, unvarnished doesn’t catch the eye or
Draw the crowd that loves the shiny lie more.
CHORUS:
I’ve been chosen and I have been discarded
Dragged out of and turned back into the night
But when I land back on the pavement where I started
I’ve brought back something from my time in the light.
Turn around and though you may regret it
Very few have managed to forget it
So pack it up, you’ll have to take it with you,
This new scar where someone used to kiss you.
Repeat CHORUS
We’ve sustained some damage: a face or a hand or a heart
But where the aching will end, a wisdom will start.
Tell the truth and don’t you dare disguise it
Or soon you’ll lie and fail to recognize it.
Small reminders of the ones you don’t win
Are bumps and pools upon a highway of skin.
Repeat CHORUS
Ridges and curves of random design
You show me yours and I’ll show you mine.
Words and music by David Partridge
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7. |
Angry Words
04:12
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ANGRY WORDS
Angry words on the wire
Tattered tempers on the phone.
If I believed every word you said, sitting in this room alone. When I break the connection
With a word said in haste,
Just a twist of the sweetest lips leaves a bitter taste.
I can't hear her voice. I don't like the tone.
Hanging on for nothing but...
Angry words on the wire–
What a cruel game to play.
Just how ruffled can my feathers get before I'll fly away?
Like a mallet of the handle;
The receiver hammers down.
My heart stops when the cradle rocks,
Died in anger born of sound.
I can't hear her voice. I don't like the tone.
Hanging on for nothing but...
Angry words on the wire,
Accusations on the phone.
You know I smiled when I first dialed,
Sitting in this room alone.
I can't hear her voice. I don't like the tone.
Hanging on for nothing but...
Words and Music by David Partridge
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8. |
I'm Not Over You
03:24
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I’M NOT OVER YOU
I don’t dream about the future anymore
All my dreams are wound around the past.
I can’t get untangled from the days before
The one that was our last.
I’m surprised when I wake up that you are gone.
I’m surprised that I wake up at all.
All that I recall is how you lifted me,
The ride before the fall.
Chorus:
I’m not over you, I have tears to cry.
I don’t have a clue how to say goodbye
I’m not through being blue.
I’m not over you.
Once the sun was gentle and the clouds were gauze.
We wore temperate weather on our skin.
Now my face is ghostly but it’s not because
The fire went out within.
Just before the dark, you packed your pictures up,
Wrapped them in your clothes and closed your case.
My twilight awakening was quite abrupt
With shadows on my face.
Repeat Chorus
You were gone, we agree,
When you stopped believing me
So the trick is not the knowing why.
I’m a fool, you are free,
I’m left with an extra key.
Goodbye, goodbye, goodbye.
Repeat Chorus
Words and music by David Partridge
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9. |
In The Room
04:20
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IN THE ROOM
There’s some sad song on my radio
Twist that dial ‘cause I don’t want to know
I need one that’s not so blue
Not so doleful, sweet and soulful
Give me the glow that I get when I set eyes on you.
Chorus:
It’s like petals on fingers
It’s a scent that floats like a tune
It’s the sun and the rain
That you know made them grow
When the flowers aren’t in the room.
There’s a woman weeping on TV
Some folks watch; it doesn’t work for me
Heartache’s heartache either way
Tears of laughter’s what I’m after
Give me the glow, just a smile at the end of the day
Repeat Chorus
You know I’m pretty sure it’s molecular
Yes it all goes back that far
And for all our deeds we’re just flowers and weeds
On the remnants of a star.
You and me have history of our own
Past and future seeds we’ve sewn and thrown
Love’s worth something either way
Bloom and blade in sun or shade just
Give me the glow that can warm in the cool of the day.
Words and music by David Partridge
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10. |
Disappear
04:11
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DISAPPEAR
I've been thinking maybe I could build a spaceship
With rusted tin and old discarded wood
I'd navigate with string
And bent shower curtain rings
That rattle on the fuselage. Then maybe I could
Disappear
I wish they'd offer me witness protection
Though I have not seen evidence of crime
Unless you count the part
Where you conspired against my heart
Though that's something that I didn't know at the time.
Disappear
There are too few questions I can answer
But they keep asking all the same
No revelation dawning
Beyond this thirst, this longing
To just go back from whence I came.
Is there the slimmest chance that there's a tunnel
Dug with cans and cutlery and keys
No more malingering
I'd crawl under everything
I’d Hide inside the earth until decay and disease
Disappear
Words and music by David Partridge
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11. |
Lost On The Midway
03:21
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Lost On The Midway
Early in the springtime I heard about the fair ---
Dancing dice & flavoured ice & sweet sensation there.
I heard about the gypsy and the glowing crystal ball ---
The shadow of her hands would dance
Like flames across the wall.
But when the summer tapers off, the carny nights are cool
And you’re lost on the midway like a fool.
I took her, even though she was uneasy at the start.
I promised her spun sugar, cherry glaze shaped like a heart.
And then I saw the dancing girls with sequins on their skin.
I drew her to the dances that the sequins shimmer in.
But not until her hand pulled free did I know it was cruel
To be lost on the midway like a fool.
Ask the plaster gypsy, fortunes for a dime.
One too many two bit thrills in too short of a time.
When you’ve played the arcade, it shows in your face
And when you ride the roundabout,
Your dreams spin into space.
And when the magnet bites the fish,
The prize stays in the pool
And you’re lost on the midway,
Like a fool on the midway,
Oh, you’re lost on the midway just like a fool.
Words and music by David Partridge
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12. |
It Was Autumn
03:08
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IT WAS AUTUMN
Slipping into a memory,
Some tenderness for the ache
Too much dreaming can make you spin
Like leaves into the lake
But golds and reds at the water's edge
Don't seem to make me blue
'Cause it was autumn when I first saw you.
Every time that I take a step
I hear that crumbling sound.
Too much dreaming can crack you like
The chestnuts on the ground.
A touch of frost & the summer's lost
But still the sun streams through
And it was autumn when I first saw you.
BRIDGE:
When there's frost on the pumpkin,
There's a chill on the town
But there's grain in the silo
when the wheat stalk is brown.
Slipping into a memory,
Got some bruises to ease.
Too much dreaming can empty you
Like wind in weary trees.
August dies in September skies
But still, the sky is blue
And it was autumn when I first saw
Oooo, when I first saw
It was autumn when I first saw you.
Words and music by David Partridge
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13. |
What The River Has Seen
04:23
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WHAT THE RIVER HAS SEEN
On the river today there’s a lone soul out sailing
I stand almost motionless arms on the railing
Sails go slack and bow. I’m rudderless now.
There’s a current below and a light at the summit
I stand on the bridge where a lost soul might plummet
Too strong or scared to die, I choose to walk by.
CHORUS 1:
I came down to call on the river
Ah, but needless to mention, it paid no attention to me
It just murmured and rolled, with its stories untold, to the sea.
I’d be content to dream half of what the river has seen.
On the river today the wind seems to be weeping
Its voice in the treetops could keep you from sleeping.
Eaves dropping again, I thought it was rain.
But when I reach the window, I see I’m mistaken.
I lean on the sill now that sleep is forsaken.
I hum the river’s tune and waltz with the moon.
CHORUS 2:
I came down to call on the river
Ah, but needless to mention, it pays no attention to me
It reflected and lapped, all its secrets intact ‘til the sea.
I’d be content to dream half of what the river has seen.
Every time that the waves dip and dance glistening
Drenched in moonlight or bright sun
How I wish I could be someone that you love.
CHORUS 3:
I came down to call on the river
Ah, but needless to mention, it pays no attention to me
As it faltered and rose, with its tales undisclosed, to the sea.
I’d be content to dream half of what the river has seen.
Words and music by David Partridge
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14. |
A Little More Than Me
03:27
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A LITTLE MORE THAN ME
I dreamed that I could sing like Randy Meisner.
I dreamed I could compose like Gershwin could.
I dreamed that I could play like Pinetop Perkins
And coax some magic from the wires and wood.
If I could act like Phillip Seymour Hoffman,
I would not act the foolish way I do
REFRAIN: If only I could be
A little more than me for you.
If I could write as well as William Wordsworth
Define the soul with paper and a pen,
If I could paint the way that Paul Gauguin did,
I'd prob'ly never watch TV again.
If I could dance like Kelly or O'Connor,
I wouldn't stumble through the way I do
REPEAT REFRAIN
Aretha & Corman & Frances McDormand
And Lowell George, that's how I want to be.
I worship, I covet but much as I love it,
I cannot find the John Coltrane in me.
I wish I could direct my life like Altman
Or see the best the way that Capra could.
I'd love to make things move like Harryhausen
And breathe life into clay and wire and wood.
If I had my own rhythm like Bo Diddley,
I'd beat it 'til the dancers all turned blue
REPEAT REFRAIN x2
Words and music by David Partridge
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POSTCARD COMETS Nova Scotia
POSTCARD COMETS is the nom-de-tune of songwriter David Partridge. A seasoned singer, composer & producer, David uses classic
song forms to blend acoustic, electric and electronic elements and a focus on strong lyrics.
Based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, his work draws liberally from rock, folk, soul and country. But regardless of the inspiration, the execution is always in service of the song.
... more
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