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1. |
Mickey
04:32
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Mickey
©Kate Richmond
In a small black house by the railroad track
He lives alone and nobody minds him
I've never seen him free
When I'm out about he'll be there
Dead tree and a rusty chain
He lunges at me growling
I circle wide around, teeth gnashing, drooling, angry
And what makes one dog worth more than another?
A list of answers unfortunately.
And will he always be so unhappy?
Green meadows of childhood, those sweet green
meadows of childhood.
Who can blame him?
Now I don't know what it's like to be really cold
But I do know what it's like to be tied to a pole.
When I see him I cry
And as I walk away I set him free in my mind.
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2. |
Bird Heaven
05:51
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Bird Heaven
©Nick Craine
I remember what it was like
The cool December night was crawling over those hills
We were dancing under a full moon
Your Papa left the house and you left with him
So you took your dress and your pretty things
You took your heart 400 miles away from me
Yeah I can take it, I'm sure it won't be the last
I got lots of friends here now to keep me hangin' on
So take a ride now baby. I don't need no one to fake my way
Just give me one thing girl before you hook your trailer down
Where do those birds go when they die
Yeah tomorrow is another day, another day in the trailer park
The leaves are turning again and the winter starts
So you're leaving down to Peterborough to stay
Your Papa's got some work down there, gonna pull you through
We were standing in an empty parking lot,
holding hands by the crosswalk sign
Yeah down by that street lamp, a little dead birdy lay
We put him in a shoebox under a pile of leaves.
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3. |
Chester
05:58
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Chester
©Tristan O'Malley
Chester is weird. He sits at the back of the class by
the fire escape and just stairs out the window.
He never has his homework done, so Mrs. Kaufman
yells. Sometimes he crys and sniffs his nose.
None of us kids like him, 'cause he's to small for
sports. At recess he stands alone. He stands out there
by the fence and starres across at he factories. I think
he has a bad life at home.
Chester stands alone and stares across the fence,
a fragile little boy with no hope of defence.
We all have Kodiaks, with rock hard steel toes, 'cause
our parents had the cash so we got 'em. But Chester
wears Cougars with floppy red tongues, and I think
maybe he has a medical problem.
It's not my fault if that's the way he is; if I go over
to his side they'll call me geek. This is Grade 7, and
you've got to be strong. They'll kill you here if they
see you're weak.
Last week his mother died (and God knows where
his father is), so they asked us not to tease him for a
week at school. He stood out there by the fence and
stared across at the factory and suddenly I felt like a
fool. He wasn't staring at the plant but at the birds
above, and very softly I heard him talking. He knew
all their names, big words in Latin, and when he saw
me he turned and started walking.
The birds they fly and they are free
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4. |
Wallflower
03:37
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Wallflower
©Dave Withers
Here on this wall
I get my fill
I live alone
I get my fill
Here on this wall
my flowers grow
my flowers bloom
here on this wall
And even if you said
that you make flowers bloom too
Even if you said
you'd take me out of this room
I would listen
but I would not go with you
I would go
but I would not know what to do
I'm afraid I would fall
I'm afraid I would stay
here on this wall
Here on this wall
I dance this step
I dance alone
I dance this step
And even if you said
you'd dance all these songs with me
Even if you said
you'd dance around the room with me
I would want to
but I would not dance with you
I would dance
but I would not know what to do
I'm afraid I would fall
I'm afraid I would stay
here on this wall
Here on this wall
my flowers grow
my flowers bloom
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5. |
Presidente
05:05
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Presidente
©Michael O'Connell
This president, this president is sleepwalking again
My bicycle, my bicycle is locked against a fence
I am hitching a ride to Kingston
With a woman in a jar
She wonders if she's like the earth
I wonder if we'll get that far
The river runs, the river runs
I don't know if it ends
I cry from my bones
I cry from my bones
When my wise is eyed open
I am hitching a ride to Kingston
With a woman in a jar
I want to feel her like I feel the earth
She wonders if we'll get that far
She sat me down and told me of her rhythm, her
bleeding rhythm
She bleeds from her bones
She bleeds from her bones
When the white eye is wide open
I am hitching a ride to Kingston
With a woman in a jar
She knows she is of the earth
I wonder if we'll get that far
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6. |
Ethel
05:19
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Ethel
©Tristan O'Malley
I will back down from a fight
and when I'm with you
I'll give up all my rights
Lie down flat upon your floor
Wipe your feet and gently slam the door
You are all I need
You are there for me
to take away ambition
and kill my hopes and dreams
Tie my neck up with your rope
Make me run and watch me fall and choke
You are all I need
There is a sky and it burns a crimson red
While the sunlight is busy
cutting holes into the bed
I've got a jacket and I've got some cash
And this time I'm not going to ask
This time I'm not going to ask
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7. |
Unsuspecting Angry Woman
06:43
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Unsuspecting Angry Woman
©Michael O'Connell
This unsuspecting angry woman
asked for change
He reached into his pocket and he pulled out
all of his
silver
She said that's not what I mean, no
This unsuspecting angry woman
grabbed me by the shirt collar
she said "hey brother, what's this I hear
of a man who broke off his rib to make
me
in the days before fire?"
She wants to take back the night
She wants to take back the night
I read somewhere that a people
living in darkness will see
a certain light.
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8. |
Baile
03:54
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Baile
©Sheila Gruner
El otoño, el otoño
el otoño y la primavera
se vive, se vive
se vive y se muere
se saben los colores
¿qué es esta guerra?
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9. |
Molly
04:41
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Molly
©Dave Withers
She took it down from the shelf
saw the picture of her self
when the man within the frame
was her father
However many years ago
a wind began to stow away the treasures
and time will kill and race
and turn another page
but it won't retrace
Molly you miss your dad
that you never really had
Molly you miss your dad
who called it off
Molly you miss your dad
And even in this pretty frame
his picture fades
Even in your memories
he goes away
every day he goes away
Molly you miss your dad
that you never really had
Molly you miss your dad
who called it off
Molly you miss your dad
Every day he goes away
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10. |
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The Heartbreaking Tale of Whatsisname
©Tristan O'Malley
Sometimes I feel like a bass player
in a country and western band
My job gets so repetitive
And my role is very bland
Pedal steel gets a solo
and the guitarist gets all the dames
The drummer gets to wear a ten gallon hat
and I get called "whatsisname"
And I'm a loser with a Fender
strapped faithfully by my side
I've never even seen a real live horse
or let alone tried to ride
The Grand Ol' Oprey doesn't look so fine
from the curtain wing of the stage
They always stick me over here
so I don't get in the way
There's a tear in my beer
'coz they jeer and they jeer
Because I pluck the big fat strings
And nobody ever calls me "Cowboy" or "Tex"
They just call me "whatsisname"
And I'm a loser with a Fender
strapped faithfully by my side
I've never even seen a real live horse
or let alone tried to ride
And I go root, 5th...
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11. |
Hole in My Bucket
00:43
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Hole in My Bucket
©Kate Richmond
When I'm with you
there's a hole in my bucket
When I'm with you
My bucket's full of holes
'Coz when I'm with you
There's a hole in my
bucket
A hole full of buckets
Because I'm water
And you know how to run
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12. |
Kelly Like to Spin
02:50
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Kelly liked to dance beneath the light
Kelly liked to spin around in the night
Kelly like to dance down the midnight track
but she never came back
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13. |
Counting Sheep
06:33
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Counting Sheep
©Nick Craine
Emily lives next door
at 13 years old her shirt is torn
the dog on the porch is asleep
The scent of a man carries on through the sheets
She packs up her bags, hides the key
And hitches a ride to Sudbury
Waits tables from 9 to 3
Heads back to her room at the Royal Eddie
counting sheep
counting sheep
Tuesday calls for rain
An indoor wedding, the church was plain
her two children play house on the floor
she's never been in love before
counting sheep
counting sheep
Emily lives next door
at 13 years old her shirt is torn
the dog on the porch is asleep
her father gets up and begins to weep
and the radio played a tune
song sung blue
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14. |
Save Yourself
04:24
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Save Yourself
©Harri Palm
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Black Cabbage Guelph, Ontario
Black Cabbage are an eight-piece band from Guelph.
If you want ready-made comparisons try: Sly and the Family
Stone get picked up by The Band hitching along the 401; the Pogues challenge Parliament to ice hockey on a frozen lake in the Canadian Shield; Ani DiFranco and Michelle Shocked take David Lowery and Daniel Lanois out on a double date to see the Rheostatics and the Bourbon Tabernacle Choir.
... more
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