1. |
Dark River
03:54
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When I feel that loneliness
I take a train down to Shoeburyness
I will leave what I possess
For your land of emptiness
From the marshland’s boggy chill
Further on down by the rill
Coming through a foggy swirl
I can hear my Essex girl
She’s calling me
From the land to the sea
From the town of East Tilbury
To the lady of Leigh
Oh Leigh I love you
Where the fresh and briny meet
Creek and gutway dyke and fleet
Saltmarsh and German Sea
Powerlines and industry
Little gull and merlin bird
Whistle wind and whisper word
Fly into your mystery
Sing your lowland history
And ferry me
Down the estuary
From
Fort and field and factory
And the oil refinery
Broken shell and tarnished pearl
Essex girl my Essex girl
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2. |
Down On Deptford Creek
03:56
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The water’s rising with the tide
That comes in twice a day
The city streets are always near
But now we drift away
From muddy beds we’re lifted up
In boats that crack and creak
It’s time to strain the ropes again
Down on Deptford Creek
And though the wind is blowing low
And though my light is weak
I’ll see a moving picture show
Down on Deptford Creek
And when the tide begins to turn
And go back to the sea
A mossy wall shows velvet green
That used to be the quay
Where bigger boats had once come to
When Ha’penny Bridge was raised
Unloading cargo from afar
Back in the older days
Below the rumbling dockland train
Down in the waters bleak
I see the ages ebb and flow
Down on Deptford Creek
And when the sea has left the scene
It leaves a shallow flow
Where duck and wader, gull and grebe
And heron come and go
To pick among the rank remains
For filthy foraged fare
In tangled twine a Christmas tree
A broken office chair
Up on a rung my fisher-king
Above the sea-birds’ shriek
Surveys the silver in the stream
That swims in Deptford Creek
A flash of blue, a dip, a dive
A tiddler’s in its beak
I hope that I’ll see you again
Down on Deptford Creek
I hope that I’ll see you again
Down on Deptford Creek
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3. |
Essex Girl
04:06
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When I feel that loneliness
I take a train down to Shoeburyness
I will leave what I possess
For your land of emptiness
From the marshland’s boggy chill
Further on down by the rill
Coming through a foggy swirl
I can hear my Essex girl
She’s calling me
From the land to the sea
From the town of East Tilbury
To the lady of Leigh
Oh Leigh I love you
Where the fresh and briny meet
Creek and gutway dyke and fleet
Saltmarsh and German Sea
Powerlines and industry
Little gull and merlin bird
Whistle wind and whisper word
Fly into your mystery
Sing your lowland history
And ferry me
Down the estuary
From the town of East Tilbury
To the lady of Leigh
Oh Leigh I love you
Fort and field and factory
And the oil refinery
Broken shell and tarnished pearl
Essex girl my Essex girl
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4. |
Middle Saxon Town
04:26
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Middle Saxon Town
Way back in 1833 the navigators came
To cut the earth and lay the first railways
It was a feat of human workmanship
Of the most stupendous kind
George Stephenson he showed the world the way
The Metro and the District put more steel into the ground
And settlers came searching for a dream
To leave the dirty city, paradise was almost found
They built their houses on the village green
And now it doesn’t have an east side
West side, middle side or back
And the roads go round forever
Where it used to be a track
There’s a little bit of Roman,
Norman, underneath the ground
I’ll try to tell the story of my middle Saxon town
Up high upon a hill a famous school has done it’s trade
From little boys great leaders there are made
But we never wore that uniform, school fees were never paid
Cos we only followed T Rex, Mud and Slade.
And when it rained the water ran down gutters and down drains
Into the brook, just like a poisoned vein
Beside that little river cows once drank and folk would dream
But we never saw a fish swim in that dirty stinking stream
It doesn’t have an east side
West side, middle side or back
And the roads go round forever
Where it used to be a track
There’s a little bit of Roman,
Norman, underneath the ground
I’ll try to tell the story of my middle Saxon town
Where I grew up to be a man
In the heart of Metroland
Then I went back to the city of stone
Where my dad had his first home.
The old shops and the businesses that stood on our parade
Have struggled and no longer trade today
The cinemas and swimming pools are mostely swept away
The neat and new is fallen to decay.
And as folks sell up new neighbours come from countries far away
To weather and a welcome cold and grey
For everyone there is a rising price they’ve got to pay
For a place to live and love and work and pray.
Still it doesn’t have an east side
West side, middle side or back
And the roads go round forever
Where it used to be a track
There’s a little bit of Roman,
Norman, underneath the ground
I’ve tried to tell the story of my middle Saxon town.
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5. |
The Fields beneath
03:25
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There are fields beneath our feet
Just below where we now stand
On this busy avenue
Once an apple orchard grew
You can drive or fly away
To the country far away
But I’ll stay and I repeat
There are fields beneath our feet
In the night I fly around
And see the lights shine far below
From a grubby bit of town
That I call my home
But once upon a country time
All the lights were in the sky
‘cept the lanterns moving slow
‘cross the fields beneath
For a moment all is still
And we’re almost all alone
But it isn’t quiet yet
Distant wheels still roll along
Now the sirens break the spell
And the city foxes yell
Life is never oh so sweet
There are fields beneath our feet
You can drive or fly away
To a country far away
But I’ll stay and I repeat
There are fields beneath our feet
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6. |
Long Time No See
02:50
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It ain’t so long since winter came
Now spring is in the air
Through summer sun and summer rain
We had no time to share
The leaves were green
The leaves went gold
Now all those leaves are gone
I had to live without you
And I tried to move along
Long time, no see
I was loster than a rooster up a tree
Now the time has passed
And so it has to be
Long time, no see
I have been a travelling
Down old Hank’s lost highway
I have been to Luckenbach
And now I’m back to stay
I’ve been a while a wandering
This big old country wide
I lost a little Charlie Rich
But I kept my Charlie Pride
Long time, no see
I was loster than a rooster up a tree
Now the time has passed
And so it has to be
Long time, no see
January’s snowing
February’s rain
March with breezes blowing
April sun again
May’s a land of flowers
June’s got dancing leaves
Long lost lonely hours
Now are bringing in the sheaves
Long time, no see
I was loster than a rooster up a tree
Now the time has passed
And so it has to be
Long time, no see
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Alan Tyler London, UK
Alan Tyler is the lead singer of English country rockers The Rockingbirds. He has also released albums withThe Lost Sons Of
Littlefield, The Alan Tyler Show, and as a solo artist.
El Tapado is his new solo album, released on Hanky Panky Records in January 2018.
... more
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