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Lightning In The Dark

by Tom Fairnie

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  • Full Digital Discography

    6
    releases

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1.
Isn't That The Way 03:55
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Isn’t That The Way? All your daughters and all your sons And all their darlin’ little ones All the loving there’s ever gonna be Has to come from you and come from me Isn’t that just the way? What’s that you say? Isn’t that the way? If life’s a riddle then love’s a rhyme You get stuck in the middle and out of time It’s a lazy journey from cradle to bed Life is just where you lay your head Isn’t that just the way?… Through all our sins And all of our pride Where life begins Love will survive Every dollar and every cent All your money and passion spent Same old blood and the same old fires Gone on the same old heart’s desires Isn’t that just the way?… It’s a turning tide or a broken voice The pink or blue of Hobson’s choice The girls and the boys and the in-betweens Makes no matter to love it seems Isn’t that just the way?… © Isn’t That The Way? music by Tom Fairnie, words by Tom Fairnie & Bob Shields 17th August 2006
2.
If You Go West 03:48
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If You Go West If you go west; I go west Into the wild wilderness Through the rain And the driving snow White as the ghosts Of Idaho If you go west All my days; precious days Lost in lonesome hideaways Dirt road maps And gilded plans Are encompassed By the sands Of all my days I would hold you in my arms I would hold you ‘til I died Yes, I would hold you I my arms But I would hold you Must have lied Or false prophets testified In the west Fallen leaves; when I leave Covers every trace of her ‘n’ me But words don’t weigh The way some things do And one don’t hardly count Lest you get to two Fallen leaves I would hold you in my arms… If you go west… © If You Go West music by Tom Fairnie, words by Tom Fairnie & Bob Shields 10th July 2011
3.
Sleeping On The Streets Of New Orleans 05:09
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Sleeping On The Streets Of New Orleans I’m standing at the crossroads, where the crossroads used to be The crossroads got washed away to Memphis Tennessee She took away my geography and the better part of me Now I’m sleeping on the streets of New Orleans The devil is a sailor in the Gulf of Mexico His pitchfork is a waterspout with sulphur down below An’ saltpetre, brine and brimstone twisted head to toe And he’s sleeping on the streets of New Orleans The money took to higher ground and listened to the wind The Projects got abandoned; senorita she blew in She’s been the ruin of this old own; she done pure got everything And I’m sleeping on the streets of New Orleans Sleeping on the streets of New Orleans Who’s gonna save the shotgun shack when the mission house is gone? Who’s gonna read the gospel; is it Noah, Mark or John? And who’s gonna walk on this water with your father and your son? When they’re sleeping on the streets of New Orleans She was just an uptown Indian and she had a downtown beaux A Wild Bogacheeta woman and her brave young Navaho But both of them got washed away in some kinda quid pro quo They’re sleeping on the streets of New Orleans Well it's big but it sure ain't easy, swallowing this mud It's the wind of the apocalypse; the fire after the flood It’s Joanie on a pony with the pony spitting blood And I’m sleeping on the streets of New Orleans I’m sleeping on the streets of New Orleans Well Basin Street ain’t big enough to take this overflow We’re gonna’ need a handy man don’t want no sloppy Joe Silver Sam’s arising; dryin’ out on ol’ Skid Row He’s sleeping on the streets of New Orleans There’s Preservation Hall ‘n’ rosaries at Mardi Gras There’s tourists drinkin’ hurricanes in Pat O’Brien’s bar It’s business as usual on the Canal and Broad streetcar But I’m sleeping on the streets of New Orleans And you don’t need no Joshua to hear sweet trumpets blow There’s plenty on Napoleon at Tipitina’s swinging low Just build your levees higher and don’t say you don’t know That I’m sleeping on the streets of New Orleans I’m sleeping on the streets of New Orleans © Sleeping On The Streets Of New Orleans; music by Tom Fairnie, words by Bob Shields and Tom Fairnie 11th December 2011
4.
No One Knows The Night 04:46
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No One Knows The Night They made a road out of a river bed Snaked up the spine of Mexico A wounded trail where los hermanos bled Past candles that died long ago The air was dry as Deuteronomy Even our whispers turned to dust The bond of silence was you and me And tomorrow’s tomorrow was us No one knows the night, no one knows the night No one knows the night we spend apart No one knows the night, no one knows the night No one knows the night but a lonely heart They watch for lights below the timber line And listen out for moonless sounds Dark as remembering Ramona wine Drunk with her in many border towns Where she was warm as he was cold tonight El lobo howled into the wolf Lying alone, soft in her sacred rite El Corazon captures the truth That no one knows the night... They lit a candle to Saint Angeline In hopes the pain would disappear And prayed this dirt road altar light be seen He closed his eyes and she was near The stars and her were in propinquity The breath of night was smoke and pine Caressing all those secret memories He tasted her in dry Ramona wine No one knows the night... No one knows the night… No one knows the night we spend alone No one knows the night… No one knows the night but el Corazon © No One Knows The Night music by Tom Fairnie; words by Tom Fairnie and Bob Shields 4th December 2011
5.
Lightning In The Dark 03:29
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Lightning In The Dark Build my gallows an’ build them high Makes a long time climbing before I die I want the chance to stare in his eye They gave me bars but I can see between To a dusty yard and a long gone green They call that freedom, if you know what I mean I’d drown my sorrows but the whisky’s gone I’m sober as a judge, baked as a bone On a dry county line that I pledged upon Where they trailed me down when I broke free I’d drank all the whisky in Tennessee I don’t drink water, no, you know what I mean I mean an empty chamber and a foolish heart There’s more than one way to break apart There are endings here, don’t know where to start I spent my time looking for a spark An’ finding a lady when I was lost But I burned those bridges before I crossed I paid the price and made my mark But all I got was lightning in the dark I was dressed to kill so the story goes I lost a hand, won a dead man’s clothes I got the finest shoes walking on Death Row It’s a gambler’s vice that only losers see I called him blind but the Devil saw me So I called him out, oh you know what I mean She’s a dancehall diamond built to lie A rumour spread in another man’s eye She was the reason that he was glad to die And just for good measure I set her free A judgement and a sentence fell on me I’ll see them both in Hell, you know what I mean I mean an empty chamber and a foolish heart... © Lightning In The Dark music by Tom Fairnie, words by Bob Shields & Tom Fairnie 27th March 2017
6.
The Only Things I Ever Cried About 04:24
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The Only Things I Ever Cried About Looking down the roadway Trying to find my own way Back home, along the road I've been See the same old places Kicking over traces Of the past, and all that I have seen Some girls I might have known and loved Some boys, I might have been so tough Some friends I would've never let cry But some things you just can't untie And you might want to know Where did those old times go? Well I don't know but they're hard to live without And I'd do anything Just to have them back again They’re the only things I ever cried about Oh they're the only things I ever cried about Feels like someone's lying I can't face the truth for trying To forget all the things that I've done wrong I hope to God I'm given A chance to be forgiven A choice, along the road I’m on Some words I might never have used Some lips I might’ve better refused Sometimes I should’ve said goodbye But some things you just can't untie And you might want to know Where did those old times go? Well I don't know but they're hard to live without And I'd do anything Just to have them back again They’re the only things I ever cried about Oh they're the only things I ever cried about © The Only Things I Ever Cried About music by Tom Fairnie, words by Tom Fairnie & Bob Shields 2012
7.
Better Times 04:45
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Better Times I remember we were bound for glory I remember better times Everyone had their story An' a buddy could spare a dime I loved you like a brother I loved the trains and the wine The cheaper the better Oh I remember better times When you heard that whistle blowing She was coming to a bend The train would get to slowing And you could help some other friend And you could treat him like a brother You could share the bread and the wine But he could be the Devil Just jumping trains to Perdition's line There'd be one man with a Bible An' gamblers at his feet He'd raise Cain and Abel An' those boys would start to cheat And they'd fight just like brothers They’d fight in Jesus' name And all of the others Betting on who would win And there’d be a story about a woman That every one could share We’d all remembered loving her And combing her long black hair Some would call her sister She was everything and more She was a mother A sweetheart and a whore When the train could go no further We’d jump the rails and run Looking for a job that had no worker Was the hardest work we ever done And those nights were cold and lonely You could die just tryin' to keep warm Dreaming of glory And that woman's loving arms I remember we were bound for glory I remember better times Everyone had their story An' a buddy could spare a dime I loved you like a brother I loved the trains and the wine The cheaper the better Oh I remember better times © Better Times words & music by Tom Fairnie 2001
8.
Give Me The Good Times 05:25
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Give Me The Good Times I had a ring made from silver I had a ring made from gold The silver ring slipped from my finger The other one got sold Now I fight bare and I fight dirty I fight my fair weather friends I fight them all; ten a penny Any man the Devil sends Give me the good times I’ll the take the bad times Give me a woman; give me a gun Give me just one silver bullet I will show you how it’s done You spend some time getting nowhere You’re just movin’ dirt around When you’re gone who’s gonna remember None but the few friends that you found You leave some blood; leave some money Leave more friends than enemies Before too long they’re gone with you Takin’ all their memories Give me the good times... You can’t rise if you don’t show willin’ But you can make a house out of dirt Every piece of land came from killin’ The sons of Cain inherit the earth You can’t grow gold; can’t sow silver A drop of rain is the only thing You can’t hold water in your fingers Slips away like a dime store ring Give me the good times... © Give Me The Good Times words & music by Tom Fairnie 13th July 2014
9.
Lightning All Over Sunnyland 02:22
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Lightning All Over Sunnyland Robert Johnson at the crossroads Howling Wolf is at the door Muddy’s in the water And John’s sleeping on the floor Mississippi John is hurtin’ But he ain’t gonna’ hurt no more Blind Lemon’s in Jefferson Doin’ what he did before Gary Davies in the pulpit Leadbelly’s on the lam Preacher on the pavement Looking like a prodigal son Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee Are down on the farm Bessie’s wailin’ An high-tailin’ Never meaning no body no harm Blind Willie’s down in Statesboro’ John Lee’s off the hook Henry’s gone fly-fishing W.C.Handy wrote that book There’s Lighting all over Sunnyland But it ain’t no fluke The weather’s stormy It’s blue Monday Anywhere that you care to look © Lightning All Over Sunnyland words & music by Tom Fairnie November 2001
10.
A Quiet Life 05:40
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A Quiet Life Well he took a bottle to the juke box Didn’t even play the song They’d heard it all a thousand times No one ever sung along And you might want to linger there Laugh at those broken lives But love and lies and hopeless fights Ain’t worth drawing knives So go pick a fight somewhere else In someone else’s town And be satisfied with another bruise On your heart from one more round Well if you can’t find trouble in a bar like that You ain’t looking hard enough You want to share the pain and memories Buy a drink and ask about love But if what you wanted was to fight someone Well there’s plenty who’ll get tough But if all you wanted was a quiet life If all you wanted was a quiet life If all you wanted was a quiet life Go on home; you’ve had enough The band was safe behind that chicken wire Carousing those good old boys Playin’ I Ain’t Ever Satisfied And shooting up the noise So take a drink to kill the taste of love An’ curse those thirteen stars For one more soul who’ll never rise again In one more southern bar So go pick a fight somewhere else In someone else’s town And be satisfied with another bruise On your heart from one more round Well if you can’t find trouble in a bar like that... He was looking for A Satisfied Mind As the darkness and the smoke Turned his eyes toward a blood red dress And a cold memory awoke But he was a stranger in a stranger’s bar And never more alone Than the mocking ring of a final round And the breaking of the bones So go pick a fight somewhere else In someone else’s town And be satisfied with another bruise On your heart from one more round Well if you can’t find trouble in a bar like that... © A Quiet Life, music by Tom Fairnie; words by Tom Fairnie & Bob Shields 17th April 2018
11.
The Winter Of 72 03:19
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The Winter Of ‘72 They say the coldest winter Was the winter of seventy two And that was only half as cold As the night I lost you Big Lake was frozen over With ice as deep as sin Now sleeping there’s a maiden And a cold; cold heart within Well I traded gold for silver And lost more than I gained For avarice and fortune Are seldom pre-ordained Rings fell from your fingers Like snow too soft to hold Your smile grew ever colder As a flake; a flake of gold And all the boats in Portland Harbour Were held there by the storm You could burn White Mountain Forest But you never would get warm And the sea gave one last warning Spread it far and wide Said there’s a faithless girl in Portland And I want her; I want her for my bride The easy smile of summer Lies tender on her lips Pale as waves of moonlight Riming silver ships Her heart is frozen over With sin as deep as ice Sealed within a locket Silent tears; winter cries And all the boats in Portland Harbour... © The Winter Of ‘72 music by Tom Fairnie, words by Tom Fairnie and Bob Shields 10th February 2014
12.
Liberty 05:50
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Liberty You are the fire that bled The ghosts from the forest dead The slender poem you offered me You are the burning web The arc of passion’s thread You are the line that wounded me A land with no history No magic, no mythology Between heaven and the sea An elemental place No pentagram, no cross No foundling babe, no loss Beyond the perfect pain it cost Borne by our grace You are the coin of night Spent in the darling light The silky falling folds of the sea You are the salted tide Running from the cut inside The healing face I needed to see But if you could be anything If you could be anything If you could be anything you want to be If you could be anything If you could be anything If you could be anything for me Be my liberty You are the unseen cast Bringing all these things to pass A spirit wind blowing free The amber moment still The black field, the burnt mill Tempered skies to set us free A land with no history No magic, no mythology Between heaven and the sea An elemental place No pentagram, no cross No foundling babe, no loss Beyond the perfect pain it cost Borne by our grace You are the unbroken line The star, the cardinal sign Held by a breath of gravity You are the morning blest With holding the unborn dust The dead and you and me But if you could be anything... © Liberty music by Tom Fairnie; words by Tom Fairnie & Bob Shields 18th May 2014

about

This CD was recorded in Austin with Grammy nominated producer and engineer, Merel Bregante, and features musicians who have played alongside Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Willie Nelson and a host of others. The original songs are a mixture of Americana and Celtic, which Merel christened Celticana.

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released December 9, 2022

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Tom Fairnie Edinburgh, UK

I live in Edinburgh and I'm a singer songwriter. My style of writing cuts across Americana, folk, country and blues and I try to write melodic, accessible songs that make the best use of my guitar skills to provide sensitive uncluttered arrangements.

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