3.7. Searchlight (1988 Crysalis) 3.7.1. News From Heaven |
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3.7.1. News From Heaven
By the mountainside, by the ocean blue
Where the struggle broke my heart in two
River of millions flow downstream
A golden highway to the sea of dreams
But now you're here
I feel no fear
I can't believe
The news from heaven
You close your eyes
On a world inside
A spark of life
On a wire from heaven
Morning comes, turn on the light
Deceive the day, delay the night
Ideologies come, ideologies go
A waste of words, and endless flow
But now you're here
I feel no fear
I can't believe
The news from heaven
You close your eyes
On a world inside
A spark of life
On a wire from heaven
Wire from heaven
In the state of a miracle
State of a miracle
I watch this miracle unfold
In the state of a miracle
State of a miracle
Far north of a soul
Great people come, take the stage
Famous moments vanish without trace
Trees grow tall, fields grow wheat
Woman grows older, man grows weak
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
3-85
3.7.2. Every River
You ask me to believe in magic
Expect me to commit suicide of the heart
And you ask me to play this game without question
Raising the stakes on this shotgun roulette
Every river I try to cross
Every hill I try to climb
Every ocean I try to swim
Every road I try to find
All the ways of my life
I'd rather be with you
There's no way
Without you
But you came to me like the ways of children
Simple as breathing, easy as air
Now the years hold no fears, like the wind they pass over
Loved, forgiven, washed, saved
Every river I try to cross
Every hill I try to climb
Every ocean I try to swim
Every road I try to find
All the ways of my life
I'd rather be with you
There's no way
Without you
3-86
3.7.3. City of Lights
I arrived in the city of lights
Enchanted ballrooms where I lost my life
I've closed my eyes
On your fairground smile
Seedy heroes and silver tills
Sinking suns on a sea of thrills
I place my bets
Trading with stranger in silhouette
There's a sadness
There's a joy
There's a place
There's a song that will never die
Forever
I drink your health, son of the earth
Passing ships in the modern death
We're all still fired
Old emotions still burn inside
On solid ground, round the mother tongue
A tower of hope, a joyful sound
You take your time
A hand of aces in a pack of lies
(Chorus)
I found my song and I started to sing
Took me away on an olden wing
So far from home
Standing so lonely but not alone
In this empire of ache and rhyme
Lovers and best friends are running blind
I grasp your hand
Is this the only world I understand
(Chorus)
3-87
3.7.4. Eirinn
What makes me walk through Ireland's shrines
And Ireland's holy shores
To see a country crucified
Your beauty crowned in thorns
A as I watch the wondrous cross
That's been hewn down and severed in two
There's something here
That draws me near
To wear the green for you
To see you there blood brother Gael
The face, the tongue my own
Many places in my own country
Could not make me feel more at home
Laughter and music through the night
Your freedom in the dark
Tonight I swear I'd gladly wear
The green next to my heart
From the long and rolling Antrim hills
Through the wilds of Donegal
The songs of history are sung
Every stone on every wall
But here in our land how can we stand
And wash our hands of shame
When the sins of generations fall
Across the green like rain
Here one world window opens wide
And demons they show face
Some of your men have taken seeds of truth
And planted fields of hate
This way has never won a war
And I fear that when the harvest comes
You'll see your freedom fall on stoney ground
And the green overgrown
3-88
3.7.5. Tir a' Mhurain – Land of Maram Grass
Tir a' Mhurain
Tir a' Mhurain
Tir a' Mhurain
Trobhad is coisich rium
Ri taobh a' chuain Is seallaidh mi dhuit
Tir a' Mhurain
Failte gu mo dhan
Siol is meas nam bard
Am foghar bha feitheamh orm
Bho an la a bha mi og
(Chorus)
Failte gu mo thir
Eilean geal an iar
An t-ait a chi gach tuigse is firinn
Glaiste 'na mo chridke
(Chorus)
Failte gu mo chainnt
Is i dh'ionnsaich mi 'nam phaisde
Canan uasal mor nan Gaidheal
Mar bhratach dhomh gach la
(Chorus)
Is ged a dh' fheuch iad ri cur as dhuinn
Chi mo theaghlach cnoc nan linn
Is ged tha ar canan leoint le stri
'S an tir seo bidh i beo
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
Land Of Maram Grass
Land Of Maram Grass
Land Of Maram Grass
Come and walk with me
By the side of the ocean
Let me show you
The land of the maram grass
Welcome to my song
To the seed and the fruit of the bards
To the harvest that's been waiting
Since the days of youth
(Chorus)
Welcome to my landscape
The pure and unspoilt western island
To the place that will always find
It's meaning and truth
Locked away in my heart
(Chorus)
Welcome to my language
The one I learned as a child
The huge dignified language of the Gael
That stands like a banner
For me daily
(Chorus)
Although they tried to destroy us
My children will see
The landscape of generations
Although the language
Has been wounded in its struggle
In this land, she will live on
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
3-89
3.7.6. World Appeal
How can we close our eyes
Watch our world break down and die
How can we let it be
Slaves to world economy
How can we be like wood
Watch our world cry out for food
How can't we start to see
A glimpse of world simplicity
World appeal
World appeal
This is our planet
Let it heal
The earth, the rain, the air, the seas
This is our future
Let it breathe
The hands of wealth are tied
Men of power run and hide
But we're players you and me
In the game of world duplicity
(Chorus)
3-90
3.7.7. Tear Down These Walls
Tear down these walls
They keep raising for you
In the slipstream of luck and democracy
A victim of chance and geography
I reap and I sow the face of the earth
While big guns play games with the land of my birth
I walk these hills and I sail the seas
I've weathered the storms of history
Created to live, created to share
With the fish of the sea, the birds of the air
Tear down these walls
All men were born the same
You came here with nothing
But naked and a name
A name
Tear down these walls
They keep raising for you
I'm not too hot on Dukes or Earls or Graces
But I love respect and exalted places
Give me the people with sod on the knee
The higher the monkey climbs the more he reveals
Tear down these walls
All men were born the same
You came here with nothing
But naked and a name
Tear down these walls
All men were born the same
You came here with nothing
But naked and a name
A name
Tear down these walls
They keep raising for you
Tear down these walls
They keep raising for you
Tear down these walls
They keep raising for you
3-91
3.7.8. Only The Brave
Twelve o'clock at night
Streets of many corners
The lunar river winds
Down the closes and the lanes
The night skips the sleeping years
And re-awakes the memory
Takes me along the way
To the places of the heart
The days of summer came
Days of many heartache
Not to love is not to live
Not to live is not to feel no pain
So unlock this heart of stone
Teach me the ways of mystery
In the places were they say
Only the brave can walk alone
You took me through this town
And you took me to the moment
That makes angels lose their wings
And makes poets lose their wonder
But I have found in you
A love line pure and lasting
May your heart hold true
And your nights run long
3-92
3.7.9. Siol Ghoraidh – The Geneology Of Goraidh
Clann mo theaghlaich
Clann mo theaghlaich
Clann mo theaghlaich fhein
Clann mo theaghlaich
Clann mo theaghlaich
Clann mo theaghlaich fhein
Ochd deug seisreach
Air raontainn Aird a' Mhorrain
Na fir a' treabhadh
An la a thainig na Sleitich
Siol Ghoraidh
Mac Ruairidh
Clann Raghnaill
Clann Dhomhaill
Linn gu linn
Ainm gu ainm
Air an sgiath seo dh 'Uibhist
'S mi beo an drasd
Clann mo theaghlaich
Clann mo theaghlaich
Clann mo theaghlaich fhein
Dubh dath na fala
A dhoirt 'na tuil gu talamh
Saighead claidheamh
Tro chairdeas corp an Udail
Siol Ghoraidh
Mac Ruairidh
Clann Raghnaill
Clann Dhomhaill
Linn gu linn
Ainm gu ainm
Air an sgiath seo dh 'Uibhist
'S mi beo an drasd
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
Linn gu linn
Ainm gu ainm
Air an sgiath seo dh 'Uibhist
'S mi beo an drasd
Eighteen teams of horses
On the field of Aird a Mhorrain
the young men were ploughing
On the day the Sleat people came
The geneology of Goraidh
The sons of Ruairi
The sons of Ranald
The children of Donald
The children of my own family
Generation to generation
From one name to another
My time is now
To walk this corner of Uist
Black was the colour of the blood
That flowed like a flood to the land
The arrow, the long sword
Through the generosity of the Udal people
The geneology of Goraidh
The sons of Ruairi
The sons of Ranald
The children of Donald
The children of my own family
(Chorus)
(Chorus)
3-93
3.7.10. That Final Mile
We grew up in the spaces
Where the four winds blow
We left these glens and valleys
Traitors to the plough
We thought we knew the answers
thought we had it made
We kissed down in the city
Swore we'd never change
We grew up young
And we played the years
Held out for love like it was fire
Now I can't wait any longer
Down that line
Going to walk with you
That final mile
Today there's gold an your finger
Today you're dressed in white
Today we stand alone together
Proud of you for life
Now the hurt is gone
Now the doubt is gone
I'm walking down
A clearway to your heart
3-94
3.7.11. Smalltown
Tell me where oh where has summer gone
It hasn't come this year
You always cry when swallows fly
With doubts in search of dreams
He's a working man
Can't you understand
And he sweats for a mans release
But you've seen the lie
In the children's eyes
As heroes turn to tears
Tell me how
This life won't let you go
Tell me how
This same old fool
Keeps coming back to you
It's the same old scene it's always been
Men flex muscle fast
And men pull punches after hours
When the moments spell is cast
So you take your chance
At the smalltown dance
Where romances is up and gone
It's Friday night
You're another man wife
And you waltz that lie till dawn
(Chorus)
Tell me where oh were has summer gone
It hasn't come this year
You always cry when swallows fly
They confirm your darkest fears
When a bottle strikes
Down one mans life
And his children's lives as well
The full moon pulls you
Many times
To the outer edge of hell
(Chorus)
3-95
3.7.12. Precious Years
It's all over now, no more summers in heaven
After World War Two wed and a life of ups and downs
I see it now, precious even on paper
A young man and his bride and someone to make time stand still
But now I know and I don't want to believe it
Where does it leave you now
That the precious years are gone
All things remain to ignore and outlive you
From the man in the moon to the greenhills outside your door
Alone you came so alone you must go now
There's no mountain on earth can ever outlive your soul
But now I know and I don't want to believe it
Where does it leave you now
That the precious years are gone
I know you well, you'll be nothing but grateful
Never let it be said they were spent in thoughtless ways
Warm winds blow 'cross the ties that bind forever
For a place in the sun and for the hearts of love a home
But now I know and I don't want to believe it
Where does it leave you now
That the precious years are gone