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The Journeyman

by Tom Fairnie

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    6
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1.
The Black Flag 04:36
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The Black Flag I saw the stars on that black flag, flying over me I was barefoot in this desert, cold sand under my feet I was swearing at no-one, and turning my rosary I was trying to understand what was happening to me I’ve been thirstier than this, in the heart of a bar I’ve been colder and colder, and colder by far I’ve walked alone but I’ve never, never been afraid But I can’t say why it feels like nothing gets heard Then I saw the lightning up yonder, like a white sign Saying beloved take care, I’ve got fire on my side You wanna try and betray me, well I’m gonna find out Confession and redemption that’s what this is all about But all I know in this world, is that there’s truth and there’s lies And we’re all dwelling right here, on the borderline And if it’s the black flag of heaven, flying over this Hell Then a sinner like me can be saved as well I heard a wild dog howling, raging at the moon Like it was guarding something, more precious than stones But there’s nothing here that anyone, would want to keep Just a promise that somewhere else there’s an innocent sleep But I’ll be cursed from here, to my dying day ‘Cause I believed the Devil, and what he had to say That faith was a rock, and if I walked a barefoot mile I could find it again, that I’d be reconciled Now I’m left standing here, on the bloodstained ground I’ve got a smile as narrow as twilight, and sand in my wounds There’s blood like water, but nothing’s gonna grow ‘Cause no-one here is ever gonna reap, what they sow And if the flag hung heavy, and the stars all fell There’d be nothing new under heaven, or over Hell And if we’re all lost, well some of us are free The black flag, the desert, the dog and me The black flag, the desert, the dog and me The black flag, the desert, the dog and me The black flag © The Black Flag words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie 31st January 2002
2.
Everybody's Got To Learn To Dance 04:23
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Everybody’s Got To Learn To Dance See the girl in the black dress And the boy by her side He’s followed her around the room With his eyes He puts his hand on her lower back For a dance He makes his move; he takes his chance Everybody’s got to learn to dance Everybody’s got to take a chance Everybody’s got to know the tune Everybody’s got to make their move, make their move He tries to find a winning phrase To make her smile Misses every opportunity By a mile She just wants this shy young man To hold her hand To make his move; to take a chance Everybody’s got to learn to dance... She asks him if he knows her name He whispers yes He wants to tell her everything He wants to confess How much he’d love to touch the skin Beneath her dress To make his move; to take the chance Everybody’s got to learn to dance... The game runs at its own pace The music fast or slow The heart beats to its own drum Loves metronome But we’ve all got to learn the steps To that first dance To make our move; to take our chance Everybody’s got to learn to dance... © Everybody’s Got To Learn To Dance words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie 1.9.01
3.
The Aleph 03:11
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The Aleph (with acknowledgement to Jorge Luis Borges) Heard my name in the pouring rain Stood and watched it running down the drain Held my breath on the Bridge of Sighs Called an echo but it came back lies Saw the marble on a step in Rome The strangest things can take you back home I lost my way in that blinding light But I found my way to you tonight Found my way to you tonight I heard a prayer like a dog in pain Swam a river in a desert plain Stayed the night in a palace once Stayed the night in a palace twice Stayed the night in a Spanish town Swam in the sea but I could not drown Made the guest at a wedding feast A bride in white and a bloody sheet Played some cards one night in France Learned to drink and how to take a chance I lost my way in that blinding light But I found my way to you tonight Found my way to you tonight Blood and water, tears and wine Memories take more than time They take the heart of yesterday And friends and lovers fade away But I wonder if they Stay young in photographs Stay young in old photographs I’ve walked down roads walked by Saint Paul The Virgin Mary and no one at all Played guitar like a Rolling Stone Been invited to an African throne Saw a woman and a dying child there Some of the past is so hard to bear I lost my way in that blinding light But I found my way to you tonight Found my way to you tonight Blood and water, tears and wine... I’ve met the son of an African slave Stood in silence at a soldiers grave Saw the light die on a battlefield Saw the truth where it was concealed Held you close in a foreign bed I made a promise but I never said And the wisest man that I ever met Said don’t remember what you can’t forget Don’t remember what you can’t forget Don’t remember what you can’t forget © The Aleph music by Thomas Yule Fairnie, words by Thomas Yule Fairnie & Robert McGregor Shields March 2001
4.
In The Turning Of Our Time 04:15
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In The Turning Of Our Time In the turning of our time If I could see you when the snow lies Down by willow bank and burn side I would taste you as the snow melts on my tongue In the turning of our time Or in the scented breath of sweet spring ‘midst the primrose and the columbine I would bind you as the blood unto the thorn In the turning of our time And if our time could turn again If our time could turn again Turn the stars to salt and sand Turn them back by heaven’s hand Turn the raven into dove Turn this longing into love In the turning of our time If I could hear you in the ash grove Where mavis song and leaves lie Loving words would find a pure and nameless voice In the turning of our time Or I might hold you as the day ends Curved within its slow and falling line A river stretching free from icy winter’s sleep In the turning of our time And if our time could turn again If our time could turn again Turn the stars to salt and sand Turn them back by heaven’s hand Turn the raven into dove Turn this longing into love In the turning of our time In the turning of our time © In The Turning Of Our Time words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie, Robert McGregor Shields & Martin Boland January 2002
5.
Wild Geese 02:40
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This is a song about a woman I met her in the old by and by Me and her in that bar room It was a dangerous mix of tequila and rye And I wish I’d known back then About all the lives I was gonna wreck I’d be in some kind of state of grace Instead of sitting here trying to forget Well, you know, she wasn’t so pretty And I didn’t think she’d mean that much to me But I knew she was somebody’s darlin’ She’s be someone’s best memory So this is a song for her And for that night we met She had a rose tattoo on her thigh Lord, do I regret Note: with acknowledgement to Robert McGregor Shields LYRICS Wild Geese I love you my loving darling Forgive me for what I’ve done I’ve done wrong once too often Now I’ve lost what I had found I lost the name I was given Paid the price for my crime Now I’m just another number Doing ten in a twelve by nine Take my heart now it’s broken Lost my sweetheart divine It was my one, my one and only temptation I had water but I wanted wine I close my eyes and we’re together I can taste the morning dew I hear bird’s call and responding Can you hear me calling you? I remember late one evening As the sky was growing dark I saw wild geese on the river Taking flight and heading north Take my heart now it’s broken Lost my sweetheart divine It was my one, my one and only temptation I had water but I wanted wine © Wild Geese words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie 2000  
6.
The Harbour At Symi 04:10
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The Harbour At Symi Sail in the morning On the warm sea Out of the harbour Come sail with me Come sail with me in the morning on the warm sea Out of the harbour Symi Swim in the water Come swim with me Mansion houses Overlooking the sea Come swim with me in the warm Aegean Sea In the harbour Symi Building boats, sailing the sea Calling me home, calling to me Symi The sun like honey Golden over me Turns to amber On a still blue sea Sun like honey, turning to amber on the sea In the harbour Symi Building boats, sailing the sea Calling me home, calling to me Symi Stars like windows In a mansion house The water still In the harbour mouth Windows like stars in the still dark sea In the harbour Symi © The Harbour At Symi music by Thomas Yule Fairnie words by Tom & Jane Fairnie April 2002
7.
My Little Radio 02:37
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My Little Radio I’ve got a little radio Plays a little zydeco A little fiddle then an old banjo On my little radio I got a little radio Bakelite and a little red glow It’s never gonna fadeo Not my little radio My little radio’s coming in loud and clear My little radio’s all I want to hear My little radio plays all night long My little radio sings this little song I got a little radio Grand Ol’ Opry Show On the waves from RKO To my little radio I’ve got a little radio Townes and Country Joe Hank Williams through the snow On my little radio My little radio’s coming in loud and clear… I’ve got a little radio Juliet to my Romeo Sweetheart of the rodeo She’s my little radio I’ve got a little radio Sunshine studio All the way from Tupelo To my little radio My little radio’s coming in loud and clear… © My Little Radio music by Thomas Yule Fairnie words by Thomas Yule Fairnie & Robert McGregor Shields 28th August 2003
8.
The Journeyman 05:08
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The Journeyman I’ve got no dreams and no descendants I just am what I am I’ve got no dependants I’m a solitary man And though I value my independence I keep all the friends I can ‘Cause every single road’s a penance To a journeyman But Jesus was a working man You try to do the best you can And do something good as well Drink a little wine sometimes Go out with the guys Spend some time in jail Get a kiss and go to jail Then you see the sky one night You watch the stars collide In the west, in the west In the west, in the west I’ve had friends that tried to love me And lovers I’ve barely known I’ve been familiar with plenty Nearly been close to some Oh but I envy you now baby With your momma to keep you warm On this cold and rainy highway I just want my daddy to take me home But Jesus was a working man... That sky is black with thunder And the thunder’s black as stone This cathedral roof I’m under Was built by a journeyman All the way from over yonder To the cold west and beyond But if I fell at this altar I know he’d take me home But Jesus was a working man... © The Journeyman words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie August 2002
9.
Dust On Dust 03:47
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Dust On Dust In the corner of the graveyard Where blind priests hide their wine The coldest of the angels Cries tears of turpentine And gives a compass reading Which no one will believe They’ve got no faith in science And all it can conceive And in a corridor in the distance Where the dirt lies in decay It gathers and remembers A dustbowl far away And a wind that came from God’s mouth And through a Preacher's eye To where tables beat out double-deals And beds creak to deny And at the edge of every silence Where the sea takes its last breath In the moment of its stillness You can hear the sound of death But it's just an echo from the past And Sinbad knew its name It's curled inside your footprint And it was whispered once in shame And for every shard of glass That cuts us to our bone A stained and broken window Leaves Sebastian on his own With arrowheads and bleeding Red dust across the floor To a saint in silence meeting With a blonde behind the door And from her mouth to the cradle And then across her breast Her lover's making crosses Their union has been blessed Upon a bed of ashes They’re lying in disgrace Ashamed for eating apples But exalted by the taste But like some kind of circus And like some kind of fool The beast is being tamed By a whip and by a stool And then the world returns to ashes The same as it always was When no one dreamed that chaos Was gonna be the cause But if the order came for everyone To draw that fatal breath At the moment when the sea was still And holding on to death He was courting that cold angel And kissing her white lips Sebastian was drawing blood With just his fingertips And there would be a cloud of anger To come and fill the void A vacuum of disbelief Conceived by Doctor Freud And the case for uncertainty Would be proved beyond a doubt And Schrödinger’s little cat Would finally be let out...yeah © Dust On Dust words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie 9thApril 2001
10.
Rolling Home 03:37
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Rolling Home From Fisherrow to the Neuk o’ Fife Fishermen and fisherwives All depend upon the silvery shoals To turn silver into gold Silver into gold On the cold November sea Sailing round the Isle o’ May Where the silver herrin’ go To turn silver into gold Silver into gold So set the course and set the sail Look for the Dog Star to trail Catch a rolling tide home The winds will take you there The waves know just where There’s a rolling tide home Rolling home In the mussel beds on the back sands In the salt water wi’ calloused hands They fill the creels ti’overflow In auld Fisherrow Auld Fisherrow And fishwives aye ca’ their men For being faithless ower again But their hearts aye ebb and flow Tae auld Fisherrow Auld Fisherrow So set the course and set the sail... A Newhaven bride wrapped in her shawl Waves the men folk away to trawl The herrin’ harvest from the sea Tae bring tae yon quay Tae bring tae yon quay And on the sea they’re all your friends The winds, the waves and the fishermen But the best friend in all the sea Will bring you to yon quay Bring you tae yon quay So set the course and set the sail... © Rolling Home words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie 1969 & November 2001
11.
Fall Alone 03:02
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Fall Alone I think I might forget your name babe If I could just recall a trace Of the plan I misconceived babe A memory without a face In the footsteps of our parting And in the silence of our lies Broken sand maps our footprints Under the bruise of tortured skies A stone can skip on the water Water can wear down stone You can cry as much as you want to But your tears will always fall alone And in the taste of spindrift darkness Broken bones are blown ashore To be shaped again by moonlight Into the word that went before I may never walk that shoreline Pebble, stone, sand and reed Do you remember the taste at all babe Of a second birth and a salty seed A stone can skip on the water… Like the memory of an ocean A distant maelstrom grinding sand Turning me in that whirlwind Into the dust of another man Then I turned back towards town babe So much smaller I recall I heard the tide that was your heartbeat In that midnight water fall A stone can skip on the water… © Fall Alone music by Thomas Yule Fairnie, words by Thomas Yule Fairnie & Robert McGregor Shields March 2002
12.
When It Gets This Late In The Evening (with Christine Sparks) 05:36
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When It Gets This Late In The Evening When it gets this late in the evening And you wonder how it got this dark It’s cracked blue and your glass is empty Just a whisper of bourbon and ash The room is quiet as Sunday And cold as a father’s curse When it gets this late in the evening And there’s a rumour it might get worse When it gets this late in the evening And the drinks are getting low Your friends, well they’re all leaving They got somewhere else to go You’ve spent the whole night standing At the dark end of the street But when it gets this late in the evening There’s no one left to meet You’ve sang your last blue song Your voice gave up its ghost So you whisper like a deathbed confession And say goodnight to the host You just need something to believe in Someone to be a friend ‘Cause when it gets this late in the evening Just want to make it to the end When it gets this late in the evening You wonder how it got this wrong Was it the crack in the glass The bourbon or the ash Or the minor chords in the song Or the minor chords in the song There are lovers in the darkness And they’d let you take it all For just a moment without sadness They’re crying down the hall There’s a Bible you’ve been reading And there’s a bottle by the bed When it gets this late in the evening You’re blowing smoke rings for the dead © When It Gets This Late In The Evening words & music by Thomas Yule Fairnie 26th March 2003

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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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