1. |
A Stranger To Your Heart
04:05
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A STRANGER TO YOUR HEART
Drifting thoughts like clouds hanging free
Wish I could understand
This detachment I feel
You make me sad
Constantly
There’s no benevolence
As far as I can see
And I wish I knew where to go
Point me anywhere
I don’t need to know
A stranger to your heart
Strained sincerity
What we had has now gone
And I feel bereaved
And time holds no favours
for me no more
Like solid ice that needs to thaw
Needs to thaw
A stranger to your heart
Strained sincerity
Unsure where it went wrong
And why it has to be
A stranger to your heart
Strained sincerity
Unsure where it went wrong
And why it has to be
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2. |
Is That What They Say?
04:31
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IS THAT WHAT THEY SAY?
Dear Mother and Father
I got your letter today
And I know you’ve been worried
With me being so far away
But it was something I needed to do
As you know
Kicked that can around too often at home
You tell me Denver’s been quiet this year
And Sissie drinks too many beers
Is that what they say?
Is that what they say?
Well I’m still trying to make it
but the audience can be tough
Think I told you about Betty
She understands me and that’s enough
And Betty’s mother has shrunken
With the years
You’ll see the pain on her face
But you’ll never see her tears
You tell me Frank has come out gay
To me it doesn’t matter anyway
Is that what they say?
Is that what they say?
Dear Mother and Father
I think I’ve got things just right
I’ve got less fear of death
And more hope than I did for life
Stevie has finished doing time
Can’t even remember her crime
Is that what they say?
Is that what they say?
And if you can’t forgive you can’t love
I’ll tell God above
And tell him how I feel
If he’s real
Of course he is
Dear Mother and Father
It’s been so long since you were took
And I imagine these things you’d say to me
If you could
I’m not as foolish as I use to be
If there’s such a place as Heaven you’d see
That’s what I’d say
That’s what I’d say
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3. |
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THE LAST TRAIN FROM BALTIMORE
The train pulls out the station
And I leave the platform once more
My name is Thomas Wilson
I use to drive these trains from Baltimore
And I sit and I stare and I wonder
If on that fateful night
I could have done something more
Young kids playing on a railway line
That’s what young kids do I was told
Don’t pull away from me
Hold me as I sleep
As that moment plays itself out once more
Why did it have to be?
The hand that fate dealt me
The guy who drove the last train
From Baltimore
Trampled by those memories
Like water gushing from a river strong
Papers asked if I fell asleep
A good story is a good story
Who cares if it’s wrong?
Don’t pull away from me
Hold me as I sleep
As that moment plays itself out once more
Why did it have to be?
The hand that fate dealt me
The guy who drove the last train
From Baltimore
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4. |
Kathleen
03:46
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KATHLEEN
It's plain to see, the sun won't shine today
But I ain't in the mood for sunshine anyway
Maybe I'll go insane
I got to stop the pain
Maybe I'll go down to see Kathleen
A swallow comes and tells me of her dreams
She says she'd like to know just what they mean
I feel like I could die
As I watch her flying by
Ride the north wind down to see Kathleen
The stars hang high above, the oceans roar
The moon is come to lead me to her door
There's crystal across the sand
And the waves, they take my hand
Soon I'm gonna see my Kathleen
Soon I'm gonna see my Kathleen
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5. |
Moon and June
03:39
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MOON AND JUNE
You used to make me laugh
But now you make me cry
I wonder where it went wrong
And the reasons why?
The Moon and June
have lost their tune
You use to sing my song
We use to get along
How can something that seemed so right Now be so wrong?
That honeymoon
Has lost its groom
Sometime that sky,
the one that we all reach up for
Is just a little high
And it’s a long way
From which to fall
We use to kiss goodnight
now all we do is fight
Bickering like children
No logic or insight
Once “Mills and Boon”
Has become “High Noon”
Sometimes I cry about
Who we were before
Did we have good times?
Or is it painful to recall?
You use to make me smile
But it’s been a while
Maybe we should take a break
and finish this in style
“Jumping the broom” to burst balloons
Someday we’ll know
Which way the river flowed
And what was meant to be
Embracing life’s mysteries
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6. |
Cracks
03:09
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CRACKS
Hannah walks down streets and avenues
Figuring she had nothing to lose
And made her way to the port
Lost her job down at the Woolworths store
Too many cigarette breaks
And boys who called
And one day the till was found short
Her mother took the phone call
Her father drank more booze
Hannah wasn’t even asked if it was true
I guess they thought their little girl
Was way beyond rescue
Just another crack
She had fallen through
Hannah walks down streets and avenues
Uncertain which one she’ll choose
So much a thing as nought
Now she sits in her car out of view
The curtains look shabby in the old bedroom
And the house she thought was big
Now looks small
Many years since they closed
The Woolworths store
But the sky looks the same
As the day she walked
Distressed, lifeless and bruised
She sees her Mother weeding flower beds
Her Father died from booze
Hannah doesn’t even know what’s true
They gave up on their little girl
Hannah gave up on them too
Just cracks that people can fall through
Hannah walks down streets and avenues
Does it really matter which one she’ll choose
So much a thing as nought
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7. |
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THE WRONG SIDE OF SADNESS
I was never one to compromise
Until I saw the passion in her eyes
I’ve been on the wrong side of sadness
For too long
Maybe that’s why I wrote this song
She was the girl from
Dylan’s North Country
At least that’s what she told me
And who am I to say if she’s right
Or if she’s wrong
One more bar tale to pass along
She said say a prayer for me
Then she walked out with some
Guy from Tennessee
And I feel like I’ve been
Hung out to dry
And I don’t know why
I was never one to take good advice
Something’s I should have sacrificed
But when you are on
The wrong side of sadness
You can get it wrong
That’s why sing this song
So say a little prayer for me
Or leave me alone and let me be
And if I only knew what she had in mind
Was she ever that kind?
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8. |
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STRANGERS ON A TRAIN
She’s awoken from her sleep
The guard shouts out ‘Tickets please’
Pulls up the blind, takes in the view
Frost on the window, morning dew
I wonder who she is and where she goes
No-one knows
I wonder what it is she’s looking for
She’s looking for
Are we the same?
Strangers travelling on a train
With no place to go
Does she ever smile?
A million stories behind sad eyes
But just one life
He looks up from his magazine
I wonder if he’s what he seems
A creased old suit, a frayed cuff
Just like him in need of love
I wonder who he is and where he goes
No one knows
I wonder what it is he’s looking for
He’s looking for
Are we the same?
Strangers travelling on a train
Qith no place to go.
Sitting alone, a million stories left untold
But just one life
And this train knows where it’s going
This train knows where it’s been
Its path marked out before it
Unlike those travellers it’s carrying
Are we the same?
Strangers travelling on a train With no place to go
Mile after mile
A million stories lost in time
But just one life
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9. |
Hearts and Minds
03:15
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HEARTS AND MINDS
She sits there waiting
Wondering if this time
He’s gone too far
Make up covers the bruises
Bums a cigarette from
The singer at the bar
And if someone could
Just take the time
Show compassion however small
She would probably find herself
And get a one way ticket
Back to Santa Paula
Hearts and minds never align
Emotionally she’ll know
She’ll never walk
Does he think its fine?
Every time
He promises her ‘No more’
She sits and wonders
Where it all went wrong
Been here before
One more coffee
But it’s not the drink
That keeps her up to four
And if someone
Would just take her hand
Give her love, however small
She would probably find herself
And pick herself up from the floor
Hearts and Minds never align
Her head tells but her heart ignores
Whiskey is fine
But it plays with his mind
His imagination it roams
And he knows that without her
He’d never last a day
He’d climb the walls
And she knew he was trouble
But her heart had no say in that call
Hearts and Minds never align
Her head tells but her heart ignores
Whiskey is fine
Until it plays with his mind
His imagination it roams
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10. |
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LIVING SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE
There are so many reasons for me to stay
And one would be if you just looked my way
Oh I’m sitting across this room
Feels like a million miles away
And I guess it just won’t be my day
Well the band stopped playing about 1 or 2
And I really can’t recall
Those songs I thought I knew
I pass a freight train on my way home
Slowly on the move
And I’m tempted to board it
Just to try something new
They say time my friend
Should be my own to spend
But it feels wasted and misused
Time and again
When I thought it was my friend
It reminded me I had something good to lose
Well I spend my today’s
Complaining about yesterdays
And it won’t make tomorrow a better day
I feel I’ve been living someone else’s life
And I wish for once I could just get it right
A man that I knew said
‘There’s nothing you can’t do
But if you don’t feel it nobody else will’
And I’ll sleep through the day
And the sun don’t shine my way
And I wonder if it ever will
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11. |
The End Of Summer
04:10
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THE END OF SUMMER
I don’t want to live forever
But it would be nice to have some more time
Do those things I always wanted to
Leave this world with a smile
I don’t know if we get a second chance
Each day could be the last dance
Is it the end, the end of summer?
Is it the end of a beautiful day?
My life been full of memories
And it makes me sad one day they’ll be gone
I don’t know if we’ll ever meet again
All I know is I’m so proud I was your friend
Is it the end, the end of summer?
Is it the end of a beautiful day?
Two lovers walking in the rain
Children laughing innocently playing
The whole world each and everyone
And it will be sad when it’s gone
Is it the end, the end of summer?
Is it the end of a beautiful day?
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12. |
When The Morning Comes
04:19
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WHEN THE MORNING COMES
I got the last train to the next city
Turned my phone off – I began to feel free
I’ll guess I’ll be alright
When the morning comes
I had a notion it would end this way
There was nothing here to make me stay
But I’ll be just fine
When the morning comes
When the morning comes
I’ll be way out of sight
No-one or nothing can stand in my way
When the morning comes
Don’t you give up the fight
And maybe I’ll meet you halfway
I took a wrong turn down a one way street
Got my fingers burnt but it felt so sweet
Hey I’m gonna be alright
When the morning comes
There was a moment it crossed my mind
And then I realised I’m just doing fine
Being cruel to be kind
When the morning comes
When the morning comes
Those troubles will be out of sight
Forgotten like a book I’ve thrown away
When the morning comes
Gonna drink till I’m tight
Join me if you find out where I’m staying
When the morning comes
I’ll be way out of sight
Nothing can stand in my way
When the morning comes
Don’t you give up the fight
And maybe I can meet you halfway
When the morning comes
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13. |
Desert Hearts
06:44
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DESERT HEARTS
I’m watching the sand storms blow
From my front porch
Where will they be tomorrow?
Does anybody really know?
Desert hearts in the wilderness,
Emotions blowing in the wind
Feel I’ve lived more than one lifetime
Will I ever get to see you?
I’ve been down so many times
You can take all my money
But you won’t get my pride
You live on that mansion on the hill
Have you ever heard
The story of Jack and Jill?
Well mister I’ve seen your face before
Weren’t you the guy
Who wanted to build that wall?
Peace love and understanding always wins
They’re gonna get you one day
I’m sure they will
And I don’t know where they went wrong
Why these things have to be
I always thought that I was strong
Could never see this misery
I’ve been asking too many questions
All of my life
And I still don’t know the answers
What is wrong and what is right?
There is a world outside my door
A place that so many people ignore
And I’ve been thinking of an old friend
I wish that she was here
Life is full of memories to me most are clear
There was a girl I used to know
She broke my heart but I never let it show
I’m watching the flowers grow
From my front porch
Where will I be tomorrow?
Does anybody really know?
Desert hearts in the wilderness
Emotions blowing in the wind
Feel I’ve lived more than one lifetime
Will I ever get to see you, again?
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14. |
Troubled Man
03:45
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Troubled Man
Trouble Man
Whole worlds against you
They don’t understand
Can’t anyone make you see?
How good your life would be
But all the world sees is this troubled man
Troubled Man
How do you sleep?
One day so strong
The next so weak
Can’t you feel your mothers pain
Or are you happy to remain a Troubled Man
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John Jenkins Music London, UK
Jenkins’ influences include the likes of Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney & Wings, artists whose songbooks have
continuously broken new ground.
As a member of his own James Street Band, along with performances with The Persuaders and Come in Tokio, John has shared stages with the likes of Elvis Costello, Chris Difford (Squeeze), Echo and The Bunnymen, The Beat and Jarrod Dickenson.
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