1. |
The Gardener
02:19
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The clouds roll in down the valley
Where the hills are green
And yellow flowers grow
And all the sea birds seem to know
That the weather is coming and it’s time to go
And I watch it all through my window
Outside there is a garden
On warmer days I tend to it
In the morning as I pull and plant
I realise it’s just like they said
Yeah suddenly it all comes back to me
That a garden had been foretold
And here it is
But where are you?
Are you amongst all that grows?
As I pull weeds
Well I wonder
Is it right to tear out life?
But I suppose all die to give another
The sacred breath
The holy light
In us all
In us all
And I am hopeful
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2. |
Winter Moon
03:25
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My darling rose
How I miss you
When you are not close
My glimmer of hope
Behind those eyes so dark and stormy
What is it you’re thinking of?
She marches with a silver shield
Her heart a brazen fire of gold
And though to me she’s still a child
She is a woman all the more
My winter moon
How I miss you
Will I see you soon?
You see my blood is your's
It was our Mother’s
And our Father’s blood before
She marches with a silver shield
Her heart a brazen fire of gold
And though to me you’re still a child
You are a woman all the more
And as you go into the world
Just carry one thing with you on the way
This blood we share means love oh sister
And love will never fade away
Love will never, never fade away
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3. |
Farewell
03:43
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Farewell
I’ll miss you something fierce
The place I grew
The love I knew
For all my dawning years
Sister don’t you cry
I see tears behind your willow eyes
Just promise me you’ll call
So I can hear you smile
Once in a while
See I’m going to a forest
Where the river’s black with sin
Gonna play my guitar there
Will you welcome me in?
Or spit me out again?
Father don’t you worry
Oh I’ll be back some day
See every child must go their way
But in my heart you’ll stay
Mountains will you miss me?
‘Cos I’ll be missing you
Your ridges blue
That tower true
Yeah I’ll be missing you
Lakes so pure and cold
Hills all laced with gold
Days that dawn with nature's song
And end with folded hands
In stillness stood
Now I see the city looming up ahead
It’s iron trees don’t bend in the breeze
Will you welcome me in?
Or spit me out again?
I see the big city just walk on by
Big city don’t you hear your people crying?
Big city just looks away
He says ‘Sorry I’m a little busy today’
Big city’s got lots of faces
Lots of faces in their office places
But big city's got no heart beat
But it’s got hearts beating on the street, beating on the street
Well, beating hearts begging for my money
And you know I think its kind of funny
‘Cos big city’s got a big economy
But it’s killing it’s own community
See I’m going to a forest
Where the river’s black with sin
And iron trees don’t bend in the breeze
Gonna play my guitar there
Will you welcome me in?
Or spit me out again?
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4. |
Love Together
04:14
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I sit on the misty mountain
Look down into endless green
The trees are whispering
Oh they say to me ‘Don’t leave’
‘This is where you’re meant to be’
Well I got you right here
And baby you’ve got me
We’ve got love together
And that is what we really need
Yeah love is what we need
We left it all behind
And what we brought along was
A pair of shoes
Some travelling blues
Four wheels and three guitars
Well we packed our bags
And hit the road
No plans for a destination
We’re vagabonds
Fast approaching is a storm
Well I got you right here
And baby you’ve got me
We’ve got love together
And that is what we really need
I’ve got no credentials
I’ve got no ID
I don’t have a home
And I sure don’t have no money
They say ‘If you’ve got love
Then you’ve got everything’
Well, baby I believe them
People will talk you know
I hear them say
What’s she doing
She’s too young
Married at twenty
Give or take
But I do know how to love
Oh isn’t that enough?
Seems to work for us
One day we’ll have our own home
Wooden, small and warm
And we can grow our food
On the wild lawn
And on the lawn are wild children
They look like us
We’ll teach them a little
But mostly they’ll teach us
We’ll teach them a little
But mostly they’ll teach us
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5. |
A View From Above
04:19
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Navigate my way
Through the mountains
Through the haze
Feeling far away
So very far
Float above it all
Everything’s so small
Clouds I could fall through
A river fall into
A river fall into
I don’t want to land
Can’t we just keep flying?
Up here it’s clear
It’s quiet in the cold thin air
The clouds are lined with gold
And down there far below
The people and their problems
Seem so small
The people and their problems
Seem so small
Is that the devil in a suit?
On his morning commute?
Whispering in a young mans ear
‘Son if you want power, Listen here’
And is that god kneeling by the creek?
Beside the poor, the lonely and the weak?
Hand on plough
Sweat on brow
He tilts his head
And smiles up at me
He tilts his head
And smiles up at me
Morning light
Reach straight for me
Dance along the glassy sea
Rivers lit like ribbons tied
So much beauty I could cry
So much beauty I could cry
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6. |
Every Kingdom
05:21
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Look out from the tower
Over all you can see
That was your kingdom
And you were our queen
I’d wait by the driveway
Counting down your return
Afraid I might lose you
If I prayed the wrong words
But every kingdom must fall
Well time is a giver
And time is a thief
For all that we lose
We surely must grieve
And grief is a friend
We don’t know ’til we meet
She walks alongside us
’Til we find relief
But every kingdom must fall
I have lost friends
Lovers and dreams
Out of these trembling hands
Have fallen many things
But inside is a fire burning faint but long
It purges
Then it urges me on
Though every kingdom must fall
And words cannot be undone
But all things can be made new
In every sorrow a song
It won’t be long
Though the space in between now
Seems to far to reach
At times I’ve imagined
A bridge in between
And If I could be water
That’s what I would be
Stretch my arms out to reach
Both shores beyond me
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7. |
Crying Woman
04:18
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Waves fold
Many shades
Many shadows blue
Roll to my feet
But never touch
Can I jump into you?
You whisper things to me old friend
This tired soul needs to hear
Though the years have changed me
I feel young when you are near
Sometimes it feels good to cry
Standing on your own
Oh to get a little release
You’ve got to let a little sorrow go
I am sitting on a plane
The woman next to me
Pretends she’s looking out the window
Down on a Southern scene
Trembling against the glass
I imagine all her tears
Falling to water the valley
Should I console her
Or leave her there?
‘Cos sometimes it feels good to cry
Standing on your own
Oh to get a little release
You’ve got to let a little sorrow go
We need each other
We’re not meant to walk alone
But sometimes it feels good to cry
Standing on your own
Crying woman
You gotta let a little sorrow go
Crying woman
We all gotta let a little sorrow go
You’ll pull yourself together
You’ll get up and you’ll move on
Well you’ll cry again another day
But you’re never really all alone
That’s what I wanted to say to you
Crying woman sitting there
If I’d had a pen
I would’ve written it down somewhere
I bet you thought that nobody there
Even knew your name
But I saw it written on your ticket
I still remember to this day
I saw it written on your ticket
I still remember to this day
Crying woman
You gotta let a little sorrow go
Crying woman
We all gotta let a little sorrow go
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8. |
Autumn
04:17
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Autumn is coming
The wisest of seasons
Filling her arms with a harvest to store
Though she knows that a hard winters’ coming
Spring will follow
Of this she is sure
Autumn she brings about changes
And all of these changes
I must learn to embrace
‘Cos I cannot turn the gold back to green
I cannot halt time or decay
No I cannot halt time or decay
Winter is here now
The sun swinging low
Dragging her heels ‘cross the cold empty sky
I can’t remember last time I felt sure
But seasons draw circles
And so must I
Oh Seasons draw circles
And so must I
I asked you to teach me
To trust you when I could not see
Why did I ask such a thing?
‘Cos now I can’t see you
And boy it gets dark in my head
Without your light shining in
Will I see you again?
Will I see you again?
I ache for the river
That’s bent like an arrow
Where the hillside erupts
Into colour divine
If I could go back
I would sit at your feet there
I would drink all your colours like wine
I would drink in your light
I would drink in your light
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9. |
Slow Train Creek
04:46
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Up in the mountain glen
Where the creek rolls by
Like a slow train
With nowhere to be
The leaves on the Aspens dance
Weightless and free
Like nobody’s watching
Nobody but me
All is not well
In this world we’re living in
But it all seems so right up here
In the mountain glen
Oh let me forget my sorrow
If only for a day
Like I’ve got nowhere to be
I want to sing out what I’ve been holding down
Like nobody’s watching me
Nobody but you
Nobody but you
All is not well in this world we’re living in
But it all seems so right
Up here in the mountain glen
All is not well in this world we’re living in
But everything’s alright up here in the mountain glen
I’m sitting on the porch
Writing this song
And I’ve got nowhere to be
And Ramona’s dancing
She’s dancing next to me
Like nobody’s watching
A child so free
Like a child should be
There is peace in the slow train creek
And the Aspens fluttering
There is peace in the evening light
And in good company
So much peace in a child’s face
When she know’s
She’s safe and free
I used to know that peace
But it left me
To serve another woman
Now I wait
Return to me
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Holly Arrowsmith Auckland, New Zealand
‘Spare, subtle, approachable and utterly beautiful, anchored by a voice that pulls you close and cancels the noise
outside.’
/Stephen Thompson- NPR MUSIC
Born in the heart of the American desert, in Santa Fe, New Mexico and raised in the mountains of Southern New Zealand, Holly Arrowsmith is a strong forerunner in New Zealand’s current folk revivalist movement.
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