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The tall tales and short stories session

by Al Roberts and a handful of nothin'

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1.
Alias in wonderland Don’t eat your shipmates when you’re stranded on an island Don’t ask the natives for a recipe Sooner or later comes down to human nature They’ll all have contracts with the BBC Wait for the cavalry to save the day And take an alias in wonderland, if you’ve got nothing better planned Make your dreams suit their demands and take an alias in wonderland Don’t shine a light in the eyes of your redeemer Don’t push too hard in case the walls fall down They’ll tell you Gabriel blew his horn for freedom That’s just old Satchmo playing way down town And kimosabe blows himself away Chorus Locked in the cowshed here’s some good advise Step in it once, why not step in it twice Don’t sell your soul unless you’re sure to make a profit Throw away your crutches and we’ll all fall down Don’t pay your bill relax you’re on vacation Stand by the sea and watch the fishes drown
2.
Live in a sunny day Let the darkness shine and blind you. Let that coldness warm your face Let the chill that will surround you, feel like a lover’s soft embrace, Feel like a lover’s soft embrace It’s all in your mind only you can right it It’s all in your head only you can fight it You’ve got to live in a sunny day, live in a sunny day, live in a sunny day. In the sleepless nights you’re drifting, ‘til a stillness starts to ease The heavy weight your soul’s been lifting, floats like pollen on the breeze Floats like pollen on the breeze You can make it, you can take it , you can turn it round to see The skies are bluer, now is newer, the truth is truer It all will be, it all will be. See the panic fly and hover, like a hummingbird of calm Amidst the worries and the bother, safe in the centre of the storm Safe in the centre of the storm.
3.
Wake up and dream Come out of your shell baby, don’t be afraid. There’s a great big world for you to explore, so what are you waiting for? Step out of your skin baby and rattle your bones. There’s more to see than these four walls and what if tomorrow calls This world is rough and tough, it’s heartless and mean But you’ve got to wake up if you want to dream. Everyone is screwed up baby, why haven’t you guessed No one on earth knows what it’s all about. You’re not the odd one out. This world is rough and tough, it’s heartless and mean But you’ve got to wake up if you want to dream. We are who we pretend to be, so let’s start playing The oxygen we breath is free, so start inhaling.
4.
The day everyone said no. The grass turned green The trees grew high The sound of birds filled the sky And we were standing lined up ready to go On the day everyone said no. The killing stopped, so did the pain The blood was gone, washed with the rain And we were given a chance to watch the seed grow On the day everyone said no And who would cease the rule of peace All greed and hate were overcome We stood to watch the rising sun And we were standing lined up ready to go On the day everyone said no.
5.
Sugarproof 03:04
Sugar-proof A married man in a mongrel hotel far from home A lonely girl sees him at the bar and gives the dog a bone Turns up the heat and sits too near Adds a gin to his order of beer Sugar-proof, you may be pretty but your not the one the one for me Yes I’m sugar-proof, you’re bright lights your big city but your not the one the one for me She’s so witty she makes him laugh he doesn’t feel alone And she’s so pretty, he reaches out and turns off the phone Flirts and to his surprise falls headlong into her whirlpool eyes His wife at home, in bed, alone, hoping he’s ok The kids are hard to settle when their daddy’s away, when their daddy’s away it’s after midnight, she kisses him and hands him her room key he hold’s her tight like she was his wife and now he’s lost at sea put’s the key back in her hand put’s his feet back on dry land
6.
Yes please 03:12
Yes please I won’t forget that cash can’t buy me you I won’t forget that it could make me blue I won’t forget that it’s just paper to spend And it can leave a man without a friend But I will make it sing and dance for me And I will make it grow on every tree And I will spend it like a wise man should And I’m guessing it will feel so good. Yes please I want the money Yes please I wanna try Yes please I want the money, there’s so much I want to do before I die And we will live our lives the way we will And we won’t worry about another bill And we will take our time and live and learn And tomorrow won’t be our concern Chorus We could live in debt and worry day to day Maybe money doesn’t have that much to say We could live on fresh air and sleep beneath the trees But I’m no fool I prefer as life of ease.
7.
A Word on the wind It drops you through the cosmos, then throws you out to sea And swallows you like Jonah’s whale It’s heavier than Tolstoy and lighter than a thought and stranger than the tallest tale Love is not a word on the wind, a cheap song to sing when you’re drunk and stupid Love is not a thing you can own and it can’t breathe alone and you knew It starts with one small raindrop and before you see the tide it’s 2000 leagues above your head It puts you in a bubble and floats you on a breeze then butters you like fresh baked bread And you knew, you knew, you knew for so long You think the world will stop still you’re waiting for a sign, to let you know it’s here to stay And how much will it cost you and how much will you lose Well all you are is all you pay.
8.
A good song 02:51
A good song She should have punched him harder She should have broke his jaw like he broke her heart And because her trust was poisoned For a while she fell apart Your lover may do, your best friend may do But a good song won’t let you down The government may do, the whole world may do But a good song won’t let you down. He cast his vote for the big man It cost him his job, it lost him his home And as the words of that liar derailed him For a time he felt alone, I hear a melody, holding caressing me It’s just some words and a tune A song can stay in your head Sheding its light in the gloom They’d come too far to go back The border control turned them around They were two steps away from salvation And for a while they just lay on the ground For a while they just clung to the ground.
9.
If the music stops. He’s been waiting downstairs Clean shirt on, sipping beer She’s in the bathroom in tears She’s gonna tell him something he won’t hear He turns to look at the clock, we’ll be late what’s keeping her Why’s the bathroom door locked. She shouts through that she doesn’t care. Another night, another fight. If the music stops keep on dancing If the music stops keep on dancing To him it’s so long ago To her it seems like yesterday He slept with someone and so can she believe a single word he’d say The words came fast, but didn’t last. If you listen hard you’ll hear the rhythm in your head She took advise from a friend Sometimes its best to pack your bags and walk Than live with lies and pretend, maybe he can only talk the talk So take your cue and waltz on through
10.
That’s my dad. He could fix anything, well that was understood Need something making, he’d make it out of steel or wood. He was always so precise, only got electrocuted twice. That’s my dad. He was contented in a world of discontent Didn’t always mean what he said but he said what he meant. After some philosophical beers, he said “You live your life between your ears” That’s my dad He loved his wife and his family He loved nature and Beethoven too We only saw eye to eye the older we both grew I know he was just a man and for that I love him too He wont be happy at all, ‘cos we spent too much money on his funeral That’s my dad.

about

Recorded live, (and mixed and mastered) in two days with some backing vocal overdubs. Engineered by the wonderful Ste Zdrenka. This was a "keep it simple" production. All songs written by Al Roberts

"It drops you through the cosmos, then throws you out to sea, then swallows you like Jonah's whale. It's heavier than Tolstoy and lighter than a thought and stranger than the tallest tale." (Word on the wind)

credits

released August 13, 2015

The band being Al Roberts on lead Vocals, BVs and acoustic guitar, Dave Wycherley Drums and BVs, Mattie Baxter bass and BVs and Tony Hayes square neck dobro slide and banjo,BVs. Big thanks to the handful of nothin' boys. Cover by Firefly Johnson the third.

This recording is dedicated to Alan James Roberts 1938 -2015

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Al Roberts England, UK

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