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Random Chants

by John Lyle

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1.
I'd Only Be Different 02:59
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I’d Only Be Different I got up in the morning and went to the well To drink of the water that’s clear as a bell But my mind wasn’t thirsty, I powdered my hands Nobody was looking to see where I stand I’d only be different if I weren’t the same Only clouds can pass the time I’d only be different if I weren’t the same There is no other kind I followed a shadow through mountains of sleep To gardens of splendour where hummingbirds weep In the land of the ocean I’m holding at bay With the wind at my back I can hear someone say I’d only be different if I weren’t the same Only clouds can pass the time I’d only be different if I weren’t the same There is no other kind I was destined to listen for what can’t be heard For the call of the wild in the song of a bird There is somebody waiting to plunder my arms In the still of the night I will come to no harm I’d only be different if I weren’t the same Only clouds can pass the time I’d only be different if I weren’t the same There is no other kind
2.
Bad Weed 03:00
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Bad Weed Infinity and eternity went walking for a while Way up on a mountain back to back in single file They had some bad weed in their pockets in a early morning rain They didn’t know what they were doing but they were doing it again They were doing it again Infinity and eternity were hanging by a thread Running round in circles since they’d lost the Grateful Dead They had been following Garcia through the frozen braids of time Until the ending of his mission threw their karma out of line Threw their karma out of line, yes it did Infinity and eternity, how could they go so wrong Sacrificing everything for women, wine and song They had some bad weed in their pockets in the early morning rain They didn’t know what they were doing but they were doing it again A life is made of lessons as the wise ones like to say But their heads are full of sawdust and their feet are made of clay They had bad weed in their pockets in the early morning rain They didn’t know what they were doing but they were doing it again They were doing it again
3.
My Heart it Ached Like Diamonds 02:51
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My Heart it Ached Like Diamonds When they left me with the reefers I knew it was a sin But I never thought they’d find me From the places I had been I was moving like a bullet Through the loneliness of time I was aging like a glass of summer wine Oh, my heart it ached like diamonds And my vision was a wall There was nothing I could carry I could use to break my fall Oh, my heart it ached like diamonds I could hear the angels sing They were serenading something Only endless love can bring Endless love oh endless love Endless love where can you be Are you hiding in the beauty Of the face in front of me Are your poses made of paper Is your purpose out of hand I guess I’ll have to see you when I can
4.
Heavy is the Head 03:00
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Heavy is the Head Sleeping without wonder through The pounding curse of dreams Everything was hunger on The page of a tragic scene You were everybody and I was a complete unknown Dancing in a circle to the Music of a shattered bone We met in the foothills on The banks of an empty lake You were going nowhere as The head of a rattlesnake We lingered for a moment in the Absence of the Great Unknown Then I had to go back to Where I’ll always be alone Heavy is the head that Wears a phony crown It’s a hot potato when You want to put it down You can slander your name All over the place, you can Swear you wrote Chantilly Lace But heavy is the head that Wears a phony crown
5.
Curtain Call 02:15
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Curtain Call Baby I don’t know for certain What lies hid behind the curtain Of the backdrop of the scenes That we call life I’d like to keep pretending Our story has no ending And that no one can steal our copyright We’ll be all alone together baby Stranded here forever And never have to play a closing Night time, night time, was my time Baby, we can do the writing We will censor any fighting And every scene will be a warm embrace We’ll have sunshine through our story As we cut time in the quarry And find our way to every secret place Hidden in the mirror We take to make things clearer On our journey to the center point of Space time, space time, was our time In a world of love and laughter Baby, what could there be after What could there lie hidden from our sight We could have a bed of roses Spend our time in striking poses And everything we do would be alright The reviewers would be raving We’d just stand there waving Goodbye to all the things that we called Life time Life time was our time
6.
The Thing About the Blues 03:15
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The Thing About the Blues The thing about the blues They never tell you to your face It’s always running through you But you can’t keep pace The thing about the blues They never talk about in school I found out for myself The time I broke my mother’s rule The thing about the blues Is that it’s not a thing at all It’s the darkness of a shadow On a prison wall The thing about the blues It don’t mean anything at all But the tears behind their eyes When the rain begins to fall The thing about the blues Is that they always go away Never coming back after They’ve gone to stay The thing about the blues When all the loneliness is gone You can pack up all your cares and woes And put them in a song
7.
The Rest of Your Life 02:52
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The Rest of Your Life What would you give me For the rest of your life If I told you it was gone Apples and oranges and The remnants of a song What would you give me For the rest of your life Just to try and get along All precious moments and The sense that you belong Across the endless space We can but wonder why What we’re about to face Is more than meets the eye What would you give me For the rest of your life With a measure that is true You’re only waiting for The world to start anew Across the endless space We can but wonder why What we’re about to face Is more than meets the eye What would you give me For the rest of your life that Would take your breath away And leave you standing where We all must go to stay
8.
It Helps You Sleep 02:19
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9.
The Blood of Someone New 03:03
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The Blood of Someone New They had to close the hospice In the darkness of the dawn When death and devastation Spread their wings and sang their song All the love in heaven Was nothing they could use And they were howling for The blood of someone new All the love in heaven Was nothing they could use Nothing that could help them Overcome what they would lose Outside the storm was raging And the moon was turning blue And they were howling for The blood of someone new They say the sweetest music Is the music never sung Playing on the heartstrings When the heartstrings are unstrung All the love in heaven Was nothing they could use And they were howling for The blood of someone new All the love in heaven Was nothing they could use Nothing that could help them Overcome what they would lose Outside the storm was raging And the moon was turning blue And they were howling for The blood of someone new
10.
Wild Winds 03:54
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Wild Winds Turn out the light And open the shade We’re getting ready For a fools’ parade Turn to the left And turn to the right Turn into something Like the pale moonlight Wild winds I don’t mind to say Blow me away Wild winds Have come out to play Saving nothing for a rainy day Travel the road You can carry the load We’re going nowhere If the truth be told You can drown in the rain And you can melt in the sun It’s the top of the morning When the day is done Wild winds I don’t mind to say Blow me away Wild winds Have come out to play Saving nothing for a rainy day
11.
Insanity Man 03:00
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Insanity Man Insanity Man is in the garden with the tulips Gently running through the ribbons of your hair. When I opened up my eyes, you can imagine my surprise When I looked and couldn’t find you everywhere. In the question on the wall you posed beneath a waterfall, Drowning but you didn’t seem to care I closed my eyes to dream, I drifted up the stream, Where I was, I didn’t know but I was there. The hand that fell from heaven in the garden by the river Where the wind was warmly breathing in your hair Came to lift you lift you up forever Way beyond the stars there never was A morning when you couldn’t mend the tear In the veil you always wore through the times we were at war When you laughed I didn’t think that it was fair. I closed my eyes to dream, I drifted up the stream, Where I was, I didn’t know but I was there. And you are you and you are you A plastic rose, a dandelion You can have your choice,I just don’t care. If you’re ever back this way why then, Why not stop in and laugh again About the times you used to ask me where Our love would be in ten years time If only I could read your mind And what I saw were things that we could share. I’d close my eyes to dream, I’d drift up the stream Where I’d be, I wouldn’t know but I’d be there.
12.
Hey Now Old Buddy 03:34
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Hey Now Old Buddy Hey now old buddy When are you gonna stop Watching those old movies Pretending you’re a cop Directing traffic While the women lose control Dragging the river for The body of your soul Hey now old buddy You’re not needed anymore All the scenes you had to play Have washed up on the shore Like Little Caesar With a lily in your hand You combed the desert Trying hard to understand And now old buddy The hour is getting late You’re at the window with No way to pay the freight My heart is open I have come to take you home No one can tell you what It means to be alone

about

Andrew Darlington's review of:

‘RANDOM CHANTS’ by JOHN LYLE

John Lyle would only be different if he wasn’t the same. His bruised voice is a strange addiction. You take a hit, you need a regular fix. Even doing a sweet three minutes of tight group waltz-time he’s still a wry groan away from the shadow on a penitentiary wall. He’s a gasp away from asphyxiation off the grid. He’s a leaky dam, aggravating ripples in gravity where love dies in dishonesty. He emotes low-down tales as intimate as poems, as rich as diamonds, with kneejerk rhythms and a rattlesnake bite. Songs about the guy who swears he wrote “Chantilly Lace”… you KNOW what I like! Or the old buddy watching TV cop movies, in which he’s dragging the river for the body of his soul. He sings about a pocketful of ‘Bad Weed’, and running around in circles ever since he lost the Grateful Dead. He lets the words spill out, or pitchforks them in. Just don’t step on the “Heavy Is The Head” boogie backbeat. “The Thing About The Blues” nudges the MGs with Chris Nole’s Booker T organ, as John hits a smooth guitar groove, with nifty instrumental interplay around the reflective “The Rest Of Your Life”, or the solo “It Helps You Sleep” where infinity and eternity hang by a thread. Co-writer Diane Williams adds vocal harmony to “The Blood Of Someone New”. There’s also a hidden track (on the special edition) which reignites ancient loss and love beyond death. When John Lyle wraps up all your cares and woes he infiltrates them into the remnants of a song, with strength in its differences. He doesn’t necessarily know what he’s doing, but he’s doing it again.


BY ANDREW DARLINGTON

Andrew Darlington is a major poet and writer on music and culture. You can find more of his work at andrewdarlington.blogspot.com.

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released January 18, 2020

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John Lyle Sechelt, British Columbia

The lyrics for most of the songs appearing in these albums are available in book form: "The Kindest Lies: the Lyrics of John Lyle", published by Leaky Boot Press (June 28, 2013).

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