The Songs of Carl Cleves
01
All alone
02 You and I
03 The rose of Kordofan
04 Eclipse of the sun
05 The Bethlehem Bellringer
06 Party at my house
07 The money-go-round
08 A Resting Place
09 Baby Blue
10 Little Fox
11 Mabo
All songs ©Carl Cleves
All
Alone
All
alone, up here in my room
I'm at home inside my cocoon
All by myself
A snail inside a shell
I could go out and chase my blues
Hit the streets in my brand new shoes
Find a mama to light my fuse
But
I stay at home,
up here in my room
On my own,
me and my perfume
All by myself
Me and no one else
Listen to the voices that are talking in my head
Seeing people's faces that I've never met
I could go out and chase my blues
Hit the streets in my brand new shoes
Find a mama to light my fuse
But I stay at home
inside my cocoon
All alone
I croon my little tune
All by myself
A snail inside a shell
We
caught a train from Sydney to Taree
We hitched a ride up into the hills
The night was black when we came upon the shack
There was no turning back
You and I came from far away
Time flew by, there was so much to say
You were shy when I kissed you on the bed
And we made love like newly-weds
We moved north after a year of courting
To study music seriously
All through summer we were singing and cavorting
We never felt so free
Wide-open spaces and forgotten places
Setting ablaze all the colours of the land
Guitars give wings to the words that we sing
From Freo to Queensland come dance to the band
You and I will go a long way
We will fly each and every day
Clear or cloudy sky we'll fly a long way
Higher than high we will fly
The years go by and the hills get steeper
There's new grapes on the vine
Harvest your heart and the song grows deeper
Like vintage wine
You and I we've come a long way
We can fly each and every day
Clear sky we'll fly a long way
Higher than high
Wide-open spaces and forgotten places
Setting ablaze all the colours of the land
Guitars gave wings to the words that we sing
From Freo to Queensland come dance to the band
You and I we've come a long way
We can fly each and every day
Clear sky we'll fly a long way
Higher than high we will fly
She
was born beneath the desert sky
The fairest girl in all of Kordofan
He was a shy boy who plucked his lyre
A nomad in a camel caravan
A father's promise must be kept forever
A silver necklace, a golden ring
They knew that they were born to be together
And every evening he would sing
My rose of Kordofan
In the darkness of the night
You are my shining light
The devils rode in on white horses
And set the huts on fire
No pity, no remorses
They left a funeral pyre
They took his uncle in the middle of the night
Pulled his nails and broke his bones
They found him in the morning light
Amongst the scorpions and the stones
His mother blessed his heart
Said you must leave now
A young man's life's not worth a thing
She held him to her breast
'Son, don't you grieve now
May your song give you wing'
My rose of Kordofan
In the darkness of the night
You are my shining light
For 7 days and 7 nights
They marched across the frozen peak
When they saw foreign lights
They were too weak to speak
They told them you must hide
Wait for the guide
In a room below the floor
They squeezed them side by side
They shook with fright
With every knock upon the door
They told them you must wait
Behind this gate
Never knowing what's in store
Don't speculate
Upon your fate
Until you reach a safer shore
The sea was rough
There was no roofing on the boat
The waves came crashing in
He knew the end was near
He shook with fear
But the song sang deep in him
My rose of Kordofan
In the darkness of the night
You are my shining light
He held onto a tyre
So many drowned but he was found
Through fences of barbed wire
He now sees desert all around
They cannot send him back
They cannot free him
They don't know what to do with him
Another refugee loses his sanity
Just a song that no one sings
Oh what a price to pay to be free?
You lock a man away and throw the key
The days and the months and the years go by
A rose slowly wilts and dies
Why
do I feel afraid
And pray that my destiny would wait?
With my ticket at the gate
I wish that the plane would be delayed
Don't be sad, don't let my tears
Make you angry, make you mad
It was only an eclipse of the sun
And life's just begun
Every mountain is made low
The tallest tree comes falling down
Waves of tears will flow
King and queen must lose their throne
It's time to say goodbye
It's too late to question the reasons why
There's a knot we can't untie
A feeling we just can't rectify
There was a time when our hearts
Beat to the same chime
It was only an eclipse of the sun
And life had just begun
Every mountain is made low
The tallest tree comes falling down
Waves of tears will flow
King and queen must lose their throne
An
ancient church in Bethlehem
A target in a battle of men
Stands on the ground where Christ was born
Trapped inside the eye of a storm
Soldiers move from door to door
Mortar fire, it's all-out war
Army tanks patrol the street
They treat civilians with conceit
Oh
Jesus, please, help Palestine
Turn all that blood back into wine
Oh Turning Wheel, Divine Design
Please bring peace to Palestine
Samir
Ibrahim Salman
Fulfills his task the best he can
Each day at dawn he tolls the bells
While all around the army shells
He
walks across the Manger Square
For thirty years he's lived near there
A simple man who spends his time
In quiet prayer at Jesus' shrine
Upon
the roof a sniper aims
His bitter heart with hate inflames
Samir walks slow, his back bent low
And is struck down by the bullet's blow
For
many hours Samir lay there
Bleeding on the Manger Square
No ambulance permitted near
And so the bell ringer died here
An
ancient church in Bethlehem
The bells of peace won't chime again
The people now all live in fear
Grieving wails are all you hear
Oh
Jesus, please, help Palestine
Turn all that blood back into wine
Oh Turning Wheel, Divine Design
Please bring peace to Palestine
When
I was just a little baby
I already was a-rockin' in my cradle
Mama said: "look at that crazy kid.
Oh no! We haven't seen the end of it.
Can't keep that boy from going off!"
Can't keep that boy from going off!
Come join the party at my house
Brother
Luc and cousin Kate
Well, they stayed home to procreate
But I lost my cool and burned the treaty
When Jacques Brel left for Tahiti
Soon I strayed from place to place
With a steel string guitar in its case
And my pack on my back
With a map on the track
All night boogie at the chicken shack
Big
Bill Broonzy slammin' on the guitar
Bill Black's combo picking out the bass line
The one and only mister Macaroni
Blows fire from a saxophone
Look at them women jiving on the dance floor
Waiting for you to come messing with the decor
You start shakin' 'till you can't take no more
Are you ready? One two three four
The
pharaoh in Egypt plucked his lyre
While the mummies set the crypt on fire!
From the Delta to Chicago
Muddy Waters worked his mojo
But now the kids don't care for blues
They wanna dance with hip hop shoes
Western Swing and Country, oh no!
All we want is doof and techno!
Nat
King Cole and Rock my soul
Feel like I'm knocking on heaven's door
I just can't control my feet
I'm on heat with the beat
Xango,
Exu, Orixa
Were the mighty Orix
Who travelled from Nigeria
To Cuba, Haiti, Jamaica
For many years they kept it hidden
In sacred drums that secret rhythm
So if you're tired of doing waltzes
Dance the mambo, rumba, salsa
I
walk the beach in Honolulu
I'm in a bar room in Hong Kong
But not for long you come along
And ask me for a Hottentot song
Mabo, Cravo and Zimbabwe
Dim Dim, you will go a Long Way
If
you're feeling sore and stiff
You don't need to burn a spliff
All you need is an afro riff
Mbaqanga, Pachanga
Pop-Makossa, Kwasa Kwasa
Jit, Juju, Fuji and Marabi
Pachanga,
Mbaqanga,
Makossa, Kwasa Kwasa
Jit, Juju, Fuji and Marabi
Baaba
Maal, Fela Kuti,
Youssou, Franco and Salif,
Tabu Ley, Sam Mangwana,
Papa Wembe, Jimmy Cliff
Baaba
Maal, Toure Kounda,
Pepe Kale and Salif,
Tabu Ley, Chico Cesar,
Tina Turner, Jimmy Cliff
Benga,
Chimurenga,
Kalindula, Marrabenta
It's
6 in the morning, I jump out of bed
Make me a strong cuppa coffee, I got a big day ahead
I'm a man on a mission, my time is worthwhile
I'm gonna get rich and I'll do it in style
I want it now! I want it now!
I want it now! I want it now!
I
want a ticket to ride on the money-go-round
The money-go-round, the money-go-round
I don't care if the world's coming down
On the money-go-round, the money-go-round
Oh
why does that woman spend so long in the shower
I should have been at work well over an hour
Out on the freeway, into the subway
Reading what the finance papers say
I
want a ticket to ride on the money-go-round
The money-go-round, the money-go-round
I don't care if the world's coming down
On the money-go-round, the money-go-round
Money
like honey attracts all the girls
Perfume, champagne, parties and pearls
I pick and I choose whom I wine and I dine
I sure have a really good time
Call
me on my mobile if you need some advice
Always remember, all things have a price
There's money in timber and there's money in fish
And there's money in music if I had my wish
I want it now! I want it now!
I want it now! I want it now!
The world may end but money won't
Have
we not met before?
You ask me for a light
Yours seems a face I know
Behind the glasses and the spite
I
don't believe it's you
You've always been my loss
You look so frail and haggard
Like Jesus on the cross
You
show the markings on your arms
Like badges from the war
And tell me all the reasons
That you're really doing this for
Some
may give you praise
Some will tell you lies
You want to believe
But you're not satisfied
You
wander every shire
Like a pilgrim who has sinned
You travel like a fire
Hounded by the wind
You
knock on people's door
Tears run down your face
You beg them "All I ask
Is a resting place"
You
find shelter from the cold
A guest in someone's prison
Then you pack your bags and go
Before the sun has risen
On
Thursday morning Blue was born
In a Mullumbimby paradise
But that one day of joy turned to so much pain
When on Saturday they took Blue away
Baby Blue
They
took you to the hospital
Though you never really had a chance
Only the state has power over life itself
So they operate 'till they laid you in your flower bed
They changed lines 'till there were none left to chart
Only your heart
Baby Blue
So much pain you went through
Baby Blue
"She';s
so young, such burden to carry", they said,
"It';s their first born child"
And daddy has been waiting so long
For you to arrive
Baby Blue
Ocean Blue
You
were too young to speak a word
But everywhere your call was heard
You were the love that brought us all together
In the darkness shone your light
Soon Blue Healers multiplied
Someone prayed, someone cried
Someone held you through the night
And all of us were touched inside
Magnet of love, radiant prince
We like to thank you for the gift
Baby Blue
So much love around you
Angel Blue
Out
on the ocean we are scattering your ashes
Too soon it'll happen to us all
We will walk through that lonesome valley
Listening for your call
Baby Blue
Ocean Blue
Blue
Puddles
on the frozen river
Hear the cracking of the ice
Is this a time for playing
Testing out the ice?
Nightfall
Throws a veil of mist
And I am calling you
Come home little fox, come home
Come home little fox, come home
Steadily
step, you've come this far
Don't turn back now
The river is wide and so exciting
Traps you easily
It traps you easily
Come home little fox, come home
Come home little fox, come home
Come home little fox, come home
Still
is the night, ill wind blowing
Where can you be?
Morning light, cold and lonely
Where can you be?
Springtime
It won't wait for you
Soon the woods will bloom
And the birds will nest
Come home little fox
Put my heart at rest
Come home little fox, come home
Come home little fox, come home
Come home little fox, come home
Come
home little fox
Come home little fox
Come home little fox, come home
When
Captain Cook came to Australia he named it vacant land
Terra Nullius was the word for robbery
And so a country was built on a lie
'till there was one man who took a brave stand
Mabo Mabo
Eddie Koiki Mabo
For
30 years he struggled, his wife Nettie by his side
She was the flame of his Murray island home
They spied, they tried, denied his name
But now they fear him when we all cheer him
MABO MABO
Eddie Koiki Mabo
Eddie
faced the Queensland state, the government of the land
Lawyers, guns nor money, could hold Eddie back
He fought from nowhere to the highest Court
He used the law to open the door
Mabo MABO Mabo MABO
Eddie Koiki Mabo
Eddie
died before he saw his precious dream come true
He took his last breath in his darling Nettie's arms
Five months went by 'till the judges decided
That even a black man has rights to his own land
Mabo MABO Mabo MABO
Eddie Koiki Mabo
They
defaced his grave, they spread lies, they made a 10-point plan
"Nothing for the mob and everything for the man"
But truth's not decided by democracy
If justice is fairness why not share it with us?
Mabo MABO Mabo MABO
He
gave the people the people inspiration MABO
To end racial discrimination MABO
Justice, reconciliation MABO
He is the hero of our generation MABO
Eddie Koiki Mabo