1. |
The Nuremberg Defense
04:38
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Their force amassed upon the hill
Awaiting our designs
Ten thousand faces in stark relief
A single enemy line
We took our orders valiantly
Executed their decline
And the stake in our broken and bleeding hearts
Was the Nuremberg Defence
Such ordinance did we dispense
Our grubby hands were tied
The weight of history manifest
As every last rank died
Our guilty palms they begged the charms
Of exoneration’s bride
And the stake in our broken and bleeding hearts
Was the Nuremberg Defence
We marched upon a fallen man
We never asked his name
He appealed to our humanity
While shouldering the blame
Our crimes were immaterial
The judge’s claws were tamed
And the stake in our broken and bleeding hearts
Was the Nuremberg Defence
He looked me right between the eyes
As I drew my dagger down
Too late I felt complicity
In this fading form I’d found
In vain I tried to stem the flow
But it drained into the ground
And the stake in his broken and bleeding heart
Was the Nuremberg Defence
Yeah the stake in our broken and bleeding hearts
Was The Nuremberg Defence
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2. |
Under The Sea
04:11
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There’s Damocles in the tavern
He sings an endless melody
He punches far below his heavy weight
He’s the very first last man you turn to
When the very last order’s called
He’s fishing in pockets for everybody’s change
He says his one and only true love
She lives on the other side of the bar
As he drinks away his masquerade
He sends her a message in a bottle
But he can’t steal her heart away
And all his sorry scars they’ll never fade
Cut off your nose to spite your face
But you can’t wash blood with blood
So hold me down under the sea
A beauty no-one shall replace
‘Cause you can’t wash blood with blood
So hold me down under the sea
Harbour sharks they are a-circling
And the ragged sails are high
As he plots a course right through her broken heart
But his anchor’s far too heavy
As he sits there staring at the floor
His quest it died ‘ere it could even start
Cut off your nose to spite your face
But you can’t wash blood with blood
So hold me down under the sea
A beauty no-one shall replace
‘Cause you can’t wash blood with blood
So hold me down under the sea
‘If every body is a temple
Keep the spirits safe outside’
Over his dizzy head these words would hang
There was no message in the bottle
It was in the bottom of his glass
‘I’ll drink to that’ the old man sang
Cut off your nose to spite your face
But you can’t wash blood with blood
So hold me down under the sea
A beauty no-one shall replace
‘Cause you can’t wash blood with blood
So hold me down under the sea
Just hold me down under the sea
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3. |
'Til My Dying Day
05:53
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A cold morning broke as she moved through the fair
Stole the silence from every last blackbird
Her bonny complexion raised more than a smile
His wings cut through the air to acquaint her
She asked him “Pray what occupation have thee
aside from your preoccupation with me?”
He said “Everyone works for the man in this land
But my undying service I give thee for free”
And he said “Maybe I’ll never dance in your light
Never kiss you goodnight
But I’ll fight for your heart ‘til my dying day”
In a town full with bragards, you trust none with your life
But she warmed to his quick Highland fling
Taking leave of all sense, she leapt out in the dark
Like a flower too early for spring
He stopped his old wagon in the heart of the square
And he begged for her fair hand in marriage
She fixed him a glare like a loaded gun
They held up the town with their carriage
And he said “Maybe I’ll never dance in your light
Never kiss you goodnight
But I’ll fight for your heart ‘til my dying day”
They climbed to the foot of the mountainside
They gazed up at the fells and the hollows
He saw conquest in each magisterial crag
She saw only the fields that were fallow
He said “I know a sweet refuge in the rocks and the tors
All your burdens will I gladly carry”
She cried “Just leave me here whilst I know the way home”
‘Chased her shadow back down through the valley
And he said “Maybe I’ll never dance in your light
Never kiss you goodnight
But I’ll fight for your heart ‘til my dying day”
They came in the night with no warning sign
He was loaded with rejection’s arrows
She moved through the fair in the cold dawn air
As her troubadour he swung from the gallows
And he cried “Maybe I’ll never dance in your light
Never kiss you goodnight
But I’ll fight for your heart ‘til my dying day”
“Maybe I’ll never dance in your light
Never kiss you goodnight
But I’ll fight for your heart ‘til my dying day”
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4. |
Reassemble My Heart
03:42
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They locked her high above in a tower
It was overlooking the gallows tree
They had a family priest and on a moveable feast
Well he swallowed the surviving key
They told her the reach of each and every ambition
Must terminate there with her maiden name
You should’ve seen her grieve for the prince of thieves
His advances they would all defame
I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
If it’s bleeding over you
I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
If it’s broken in two
I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
If it’s bleeding over you
Now levitation never was his strong point
But on the old oak beyond the tower
Well there his eyes caught sight of a hangman’s might
He drew the leash suspended by its power
She said “We’ll be damned for such a desecration”
But common sense succumbed to rare desire
And this old hanging rope it was their only hope
He lassoed a noose around her spire
I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
If it’s bleeding over you
I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
If it’s broken in two
I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
If it’s bleeding over you
He climbed the keep and he begged her for to haul him in
But every sight it was trained for to shoot them down into the night
She never feared their fire, because in each cross wire
There were two minor stars shooting into the light
I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
No I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
If it’s bleeding over you
If it’s broken in two
No I don’t wanna reassemble my heart
If it’s bleeding over you
If it’s broken in two
If it’s bleeding over you
If it’s broken in two
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5. |
Heart And Soul
05:13
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You can talk to me
I’ll treasure every word
Even though you’ve broken up my world
I just need you to know
I’m always here for you girl
And my love is unconditional
And I’m watching us fall
It tears me apart to take it all
And I wish you could know
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
Remember times at the beach?
Playing games in the sand
And the smiles on our faces, hand in hand
Remember times at the shows?
How you wanted to know
All the dreams that we could dream, and where we could go
And I’m watching us fall
It tears me apart to take it all
And I wish you could know
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
I’m begging you please don’t let me go
How could you leave me on my own?
I’ve never felt love like this before
I’ve never wanted anyone more
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
The pain in my heart, the love in my soul
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6. |
Cadogan 129
04:49
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Good people all attend to me I pray, both young and old
The most dreadful tragedy to you will I hereby unfold
Of a murder staged aboard a train in 1864
For want of the price of gold in a jewellery store
Now Thomas Briggs, a corporation clerk, his journey homeward bound
From Fenchurch Street to Hackney Wick habitually was found
Franz Muller a German tailor, on his brow the mark of Cain
For a chain of Albert Curb, Briggs he was slain
He kept coming like a freight train
And with his A-game
He stole the very last ticket from the man
Who left his soul in Cadogan 129
With a black top hat and a gold chain
Abel couldn’t beat Cain
It was the very first murder of a man
Who left his soul in Cadogan 129
The engine driver and the stoker found Briggs dying on the line
So they laid him down in the tavern on Cadogan Terrace 129
Now the German pawned his plunder, he set sail for Americay
For this chain of evidence would Muller pay
Inspector Tanner did a steamer board, with his sergeant New York-bound
Tracing Muller’s bloody tracks with extradition’s hungry hounds
They dragged him back to London Town, and the jury did decree
For to raise him high on Newgate gallows tree
He kept coming like a freight train
And with his A-game
He stole the very last ticket from the man
Who left his soul in Cadogan 129
With a black top hat and a gold chain
Abel couldn’t beat Cain
It was the very first murder of a man
Who left his soul in Cadogan 129
“All you that in this condemned wretched hole do lie
Prepare you for tomorrow, for tomorrow you will die
Watch all and pray beseech I thee, the hour is drawing near
That you before the hand of the Almighty must appear
Examine well yourselves and in good time you will repent
That you may not into eternal burning flames be sent
And when St Sepulchre’s chiming bell tomorrow tolls
May the Lord have mercy on your soul”
He kept coming like a freight train
And with his A-game
He stole the very last ticket from the man
Who left his soul in Cadogan 129
With a black top hat and a gold chain
Abel couldn’t beat Cain
It was the very first murder of a man
Who left his soul in Cadogan 129
And may the Lord have mercy on your soul
May the Lord have mercy on your soul
May the Lord have mercy on your soul
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7. |
The Gallows Tree
04:07
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Come and follow me to the hanging tree, to a fate now I resigned
Where the ivy climbs in double time, many footholds can I find
Any alibi would satisfy, my senses all at sea
But I won’t implicate or obligate from atop the gallows tree
Heavy winds may thieve your autumn leaves, heavy storms will I arraign
Early birds may turn against their worms, never I against your grain
Endless love confess with no duress beyond the third degree
I’m your devotee, and it’s all for thee, from atop the gallows tree
Your roots entwine every tale and rhyme, every branch I beg to climb
And your timbers groan, they rattle bones, a suspension so benign
So a prayer for all the airs inspired will be your rosary
But Hail Mary’s beads, they’ll never seed from atop the gallows tree
No redwood spire could raise such ire, no weeping willow catch my tears
Nor ebonies in minor keys, to me themselves endear
Now events may make us once relent around the mulberries
But all this forestry it’s mere debris when you’re atop the gallows tree
On this weathered rope I hang all hope and I pray on bended knee
For to swing beneath this mortal wreath , such a perfect penalty
I’ll countenance your wayward stance if you’ll seal my destiny
My soul will soar for ever more from atop the gallows tree
My soul will soar for ever more from atop you, gallows tree
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8. |
Lay Me Down
04:18
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You travelled far over land and over sea
From a factory far away in China
You reached my door long before I turned the key
And every day I needed more and more
I held you with me everywhere that I was going
I fell in love but all the while you were making other plans
Come on and lay me down, throw your loving arms all around
Break my heart as you lay me down, with the ferryman singing ‘Golden Brown’
He’s knock-knocking on my door
A mad obsession, I couldn’t put you down
As tough as nailing jelly to a dartboard
My best friends said you would only bring me down
I was dying a happy man
The hours flew way past stupid o’clock in the morning
And in never-ending tears for days later I would drown
C’mon and lay me down, throw your loving arms all around
Break my heart as you lay me down, with the ferryman singing ‘Golden Brown’
Lay me down, throw your loving arms all around
Break my heart as you lay me down, with the ferryman singing ‘Golden Brown’
He’s knock-knocking on my door
He’s knock-knock-knocking on my door
You gave me love, a thousand sparks, to keep this fire burning
But something’s tearing up my heart, I just can’t sleep
Oh won’t you lay me down, down, down
Just lay me down, down, down
Just lay me down
C’mon and lay me down, throw your loving arms all around
Break my heart as you lay me down, with the ferryman singing ‘Golden Brown’
Lay me down, throw your loving arms all around
Break my heart as you lay me down, with the ferryman singing ‘Golden Brown’
He’s knock-knocking on my door
He’s knock-knock-knocking on my door
He’s knock-knock-knocking on my door
C’mon and lay me down
C’mon and lay me down
C’mon and lay me down
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9. |
Tearing Down The Roses
05:27
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As she moved through the fair to Executioner’s Square
And the crowd disappeared in the dusk
As the old city walls gave a heave, took their leave
And the troubadour betrayed their trust
As they severed his withering frame from the beam
With the mourners collapsing in floods
As she turned the remains of two dead flowers
Fell into the shadows underneath the Gallows Tree
I’m tearing down the roses from your grave
I’m dancing with a soul they’ll never save
Two dead flowers, we fell into the shadows
Underneath the gallows tree
She set a course for the tomb in the gathering gloom
And she rued all the chances spurned
And she saved any prayers that remained while the devil
Waited ’til her back was turned
Now that old hanging tree, it came down in the night
And the roses they drowned in the storm
And the mortal remains of two dead flowers
Fell into the shadows underneath the gallows tree
I’m tearing down the roses from your grave
I’m dancing with a soul they’ll never save
Two dead flowers, we fell into the shadows
Underneath the gallows tree
The angels couldn’t roll your stone away
And even though your name now I betray
I can’t tell this gallows story on my own without you
Two dead flowers, we fell into the shadows
Underneath the gallows
We fell into the shadows
Underneath the gallows tree
Two dead flowers
I’m tearing down the roses from your grave
Two dead flowers, we fell into the shadows
Underneath the gallows tree
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10. |
Peggy Gordon
04:19
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Oh Peggy Gordon, you are my darling
Come sit you down upon my knee
And tell to me the very reason
Why I am slighted so by thee
I’m so in love, I can’t deny it
My heart lies smothered in my breast
But it’s not for you to let the world know
A troubled mind can find no rest
I dun put my head to a cask of brandy
Such is my fancy to declare
That when I’m drinking, I’m seldom thinking
Or wishing Peggy Gordon was here
I wish I was in a lonesome valley
Where womenkind cannot be found
And pretty birds they change their voices
With every moment a different sound
I wish I was away in Ingo
Far across the briny sea
And sailing over the deepest ocean
Where love nor care ever bothered me
Oh Peggy Gordon, you are my darling
Come sit you down upon my knee
And tell to me the very reason
Why I am slighted so by thee
Oh Peggy Gordon, you are my darling
Come sit you down upon my knee
And tell to me the very reason
Why I am slighted so by thee
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11. |
Reason And Rhyme
05:26
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We get along, we feel alright, there’s sunlight in my eyes
Then heaven stops and hell begins, we’re going back in time
But I won’t let you go
I see the sorrow in your eyes, when the day begins
Every tear and little lie, as we fight to win
Why, I'll never know
But it's ok, it's ok
Just walk on out the door and go away
It's alright, it's alright
We've had our time, our reason and rhyme
You know I love you so
Sooner now the storm will break, the leaden clouds will pass
Fresh beginnings we await, as we're torn apart
Please keep this in your heart
I will love you far beyond, all the hurt and pain
I will keep these open arms, though our feelings change
So please now, let me go
’Cause it's ok, it's ok
It's alright, it's alright
We've had our time, our reason and rhyme
You know I love you so
We've had our time
We’ve had time, we've had our reason and rhyme
We’ve had time, we've had our reason and rhyme
It's gonna be alright
It's gonna be alright
It's gonna be alright
It's gonna be alright
It's gonna be alright
We’ve had our time
We’ve had our time
We’ve had our time, we had our reason and rhyme
It’s gonna be alright
It’s gonna be alright
It’s gonna be alright
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Slim London, UK
Slim's new LP is a barn-storming folk-rock romp through tales of love, loss, booze and madness. With big productions, there's everything from americana, celtic folk, country balladeering, and even a gospel choir thrown in for good measure there'll be a full tour to come and of course, a fair few 'Gallows Tree Tales' to tell. Visit www.slim-music.com to keep in touch and join the Facebook page!:o) ... more
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