No. 5

by Kirsty McGee

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  • Digital Album

    immediate download of 9-track album and bonus material in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.

    features the award-nominated video for 'bonecrusher' by phil davies.

    all proceeds from sales at this site go directly to the artist - thank you for supporting independent music.

    Buy Now  ₤7.99 GBP

  • CD gatefold package

    CD in gatefold sleeve, designed by mat martin. also features the award-nominated 'bonecrusher' video by phil davies.

    this purchase includes immediate download of 9-track album and bonus video in your choice of 320k mp3, FLAC, or just about any other format you could possibly desire.

    all proceeds from sales at this site go directly to the artist - thank you for supporting independent music.

    Buy Now  ₤10 GBP or more

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1.
03:53
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2.
02:25
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3.
03:46
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4.
03:35
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5.
05:33
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6.
03:42
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7.
04:00
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8.
04:07
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9.
05:09
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about

on october 10th 2009 kirsty mcgee & the hobopop collective performed and recorded a one-off show at contact, manchester. this album represents the band’s selections from that set and is presented here with no overdubs or repairs, exactly as the songs were performed on the night.

credits

released 15 March 2010
Kirsty McGee: Vocal, Guitar
Mat Martin: Banjos, Tenor Guitar, Banjo Uke, Vocal
Nick Blacka: Double Bass
Rob Turner: Drums, Junk
With Special Guests
James Steel: Electric Guitar
Clive Mellor: Harmonica
Christopher Cundy: Bass Clarinet, Saxello

Produced by Mat Martin
Recorded on location at Contact, Manchester by Barkley McKay
Mastered by Russ Hepworth-Sawyer for MOTTOsound
Artwork & Graphic Design: Mat Martin
Photography: Pauline Keightley
Video: Phil Davies
Live Sound: Ibrar Haque

tags

tags: acoustic americana folk folk indie hobopop songwriter Manchester

license

all rights reserved

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Track Name: Omaha
she was born on a farm way back in 57
got a free education up until the age eleven
her father drove a ford and her mother drove her mad
they would bicker and theyʼd squall about what the other had

he got drunk twice a week and they carried him back home
she never lied except on Sundays and on the telephone
she called her father and she told him what he didnʼt want to hear
he watched her crying in the rearview mirror

they donʼt make cars like they used to
they donʼt make many things good
so you pray to god...but you row for the shore
all the ones that you love are only bones and blood

she joined the circus with her eyes every time it passed on through
she hung out with the freaks and talked no colours, only blue,
and when the winds rose she watched the circus packing up
there was always room for Sally Ann in Marlowʼs truck

she built a fire on the ground and they danced around the flames
with the cheap tang of moonshine and he carved her name
on the back of his hand with a foldaway knife
she never washed that blade although she had it all her life

she met the love of her life in a broken down car
he had ivory ribs and a smile that stood ajar
grit-grey eyes and skinny blue jeans
you can wash that boy with water but heʼll never come clean

it gets a little hazy right about here
i lost her trail 2004
omaha
a house with nine doors
seventeen windows and a broken down ford
Track Name: Alibi Blues
i lost the right to pity on some dark city street
though when i spoke your name, the words were mighty sweet
well you can trust this city to mould you into its own
and when it's had the best of you you'll find the rest of you gone

oh find me the place where i belong
for i have travelled in between
the tall skyscrapers and the sea
for home is where iʼve never been

give me a train ticket and a few days to myself
iʼm on that train else iʼm fearing for my health
well you can trust that train to take you anyplace new
but when youʼre there what the hell are you supposed to do?

i found love in unexpected places
i found fear where i expected change
i found in you six million graces
i found my meaning in your name

i lost my map i followed the road so what do i care?
i donʼt need more than food and clothes and air
give me a train ticket and a few days out of town
but just donʼt mention settling down

(until youʼve found me the place...)

i keep thinking thereʼs a place thatʼs really rare
the trees are taller and the grass is greener there
oh wonʼt you lay me down so that i can see the sky
give me a few square feet where i donʼt need no alibi
Track Name: Last Orders
a heavy rifle magazine
find the name and scratch it clean
i'm waiting till the orders come

take the bullets from the sheaf
hide the papers underneath
till the orders come

slit the sky with flashing blade
beam as cold as lemonade
watch the insects in the light
they circle round and then ignite

wash your face before your hands
in the hollow of the sand
when the orders come

take good care and take good time
every breath a living wine
till the orders come

clouds move over, fine as lace,
so the colour leaves the face
when the orders come

punch the sky with bullet bright
on this sorrowful, bright night
flip your satchel by your side, hide

cross the ground, then thrust, then fly
leave them in the dirt to die
till the orders come
Track Name: Sandman
right before the you close your eyes
whispering your prayers
when the sandman blows your eyes iʼll be there

when you wake up in the night
sounds the second stair
that creaks under the careless foot iʼll be there

gather roses while you may
while the bloom is full
for the blossom soon will fade
and the bloom grow dull

right before the morning light
creeps soft upon the sill
when the shadows chase the night i never will

when your voice is softly heard
singing in the morning air
but the note does not ring true iʼll be there

right before you sleep at night
closing up the blind
in the windowʼs black embrace if you find

the face of a lover long-forgot
forgotten eyes, forgotten hair
forgotten words that stretch like salt iʼll be there
Track Name: Bliss
if bliss was a place
it would be in your arms
to find ourselves again
skeleton to skeleton

with nothing in between us
but the beating of our bosoms
and the light on our faces
from the fire and the candles

love and fire
theyʼre one and the same
lift you to the heavens
only to drop you down again

oh the blistering heat
of a loverʼs embrace
can bring tears to your eyes
leave you devastated

and home is where it feels right
home is where your heart is
and my heart is the one place
i think only you can touch

and your touch
is as light as any zephyr
the summer breeze
couldnʼt touch me so tender as you

when the heat of your arms
and the strength of your skin
the fire in your eyes
melt me again

well iʼll rise like a phoenix
and iʼll fall like a moth
or iʼll crumble into ashes
in the strength of your touch

if bliss was a place
it would be in your arms
to find ourselves again
skeleton to skeleton

with nothing in between us
but the beating of our bosoms
and the light on our faces
from the fire and the candles
Track Name: The Last To Understand
you can't put a price on love
you can't put a price on shame
and there's no charge for compassion
or for calling on god's name

and the ripe fruit by the roadside
doesn't charge the bird to eat
you don't have to pay a penny
for the ground beneath your feet

you can't charge for hailstones
and you can't charge for rain
for the dust-winged sparrow's shallow song
no profit and no gain

for the life we're given
nobody has to pay
for the shadows at the water's edge
at the ending of the day

so i guess i'm just the last one to understand the joke
i'm standing here so patiently when all the rest went home
i must have slept right through because today when i awoke
all the birds who sang so sweet to me were flown

so i'm standing to my ankles
in the dust of my misgivings
between the living and the dead
only the dead can make a living

and i'm fool enough to try to sell
what others give away
they set the price so high
only a fool like me will pay
Track Name: Stonefruit
i wish to god that i could tell
all the ways i mean you well
to boldly speak out loud, not care who's hearing

i found some kind of hidden law:
stonefruit has a bitter core
and i cannot speak my wonder without fearing

i search and search and cannot see
the simple path in front of me
that leads me to the simple truth i'm seeking

like there's some other place that i
in ignorance perhaps slipped by
on the road that i've been taking

i wish to god i would not waste
the bountiful and the pleasing taste
of the gracious food that's placed upon my table

it's not so easy to ignore
stonefruit has a bitter core
and i find that i'm not able

i wish to god that it was so
that i could stand to never know
the promise of the sun upon hot sand

i've lived a life of lucky bliss
the gentle hand, the open fist
the open fist and the gentle hand

but we rise together out and down
the joyless sting and the barren ground
oh, won't you tell me what you want - i'll do it all

i search and search and cannot find
in weariness my peace of mind
the brittle light too bright, the summer sky too tall
Track Name: Dust Devils
iʼve got you over my skin
canʼt tell you what a state weʼre in
i chase you here chase you there
in the corners and under the stairs

iʼve got you under my nails
everything i do seems to fail
like the god of falling apart
everything tastes of you

iʼve got you inside my shoes
as thick as blue suede
iʼve got a coat made from you
you are my lampshade

iʼve seen you outside in the sun
your hair is grey like the moon
you leave your hair in my room
everything sounds of you

dust devil in pale blue
shaking hands with the tiles
and itʼs one of your smiles
that i see in my mirror ball

dust devil and moonshine
neither your fault nor mine
but itʼs the curve of your spinning smile
that returns in the dead of night

dust devil in pale blue
the fur of yesteryear
everything smells of you
youʼre spent like a magazine

iʼve got you over my skin
godʼs arms, what a state weʼre in
i chase you here chase you there
in the corners and under the stairs
Track Name: Faith
easy, i say, easy
you donʼt want to miss the spring
there are things you do
and things you donʼt consider
like settling down before you ever saw a thing

there were birds inside the supermarket
i saw the dawn, forget its pride
i saw angels on the water and on the waterside

easy, i say, easy
see her curve around the buildings in her shift of yellow silk
you wouldnʼt ride that train
unless you knew that train
was headed for the city with its honey and its milk

and you say youʼll go and then you go
you can trust a lying man to tell the truth
even these days

you say you will and you never do
i can trust no one like i trusted you
and i lost my faith in so many ways

easy, i say, easy
will they take from you the spring?
if iʼm to lose you like i lost you before
am i to lose everything?

there were birds inside the supermarket
i saw the dawn, forget its pride
i saw angels on the water and on the waterside

and you say youʼll go and then you go
you can trust a lying man to tell the truth
even these days

you say you will and you never do
i can trust no one like i trusted you
and i lost my faith in so many ways