Get all 7 Douglas Kay releases available on Bandcamp and save 30%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Heist On A Bike, Volcanoes, Extras & B-sides, Lift, Last Touch, Into Your Head, and Of All The Towns To Sleep In.
1. |
Casablanca Face
03:55
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She had a walk straight from the 50s but a Casablanca face,
And I loved it when she came around my place,
Though she’d never fold her things.
She’d had a lover in the government and one in CND,
But she never talked her politics to me,
She never spoke of such things.
Sometimes she’d come around here late,
With a fifty in her hand and telling stories of some date,
She knew that I would let her stay,
I’d always let her stay, She’d kick around my place,
And the neighbours she would amaze,
When they saw her there, With that Casablanca face.
She was careless with the things she said, With what she’d let people see,
We grew careless together her and me,
She’d never cloak these things.
BRIDGE
CHORUS
Slinking in, in black & white, Making shadows in the night,
I tried to temper all of her extremes,
I knew it was not, All it seemed.
The last time that we might I’m sure, I almost saw her cry,
When I saw that Bergman twinkle in her eye,
Ooh, ooh ooh, Ah ah.
BRIDGE
’Til the morning came, Once again
Sometimes she’d come around here late.
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2. |
Thomas Gunn
03:25
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They call me Thomas Gunn, But it’s a name I gave myself,
Doing such a thing is just one privilege of wealth,
When I came to this town I knew nothing would be asked,
I knew that I could tuck away my past.
Took the Stuart Highway, It’s a road you don’t take twice,
Days out in the desert like some failing Jesus Christ,
Stopped to sleep at Alice, But that’s the first place that they swarm,
So I filled up and then kept pushing on.
I had to get out there, I knew they’d be coming…
The job had been a big one, But we’d all done big before,
And 80,000 dollars isn’t easy to ignore,
But there comes a point you know it’s too late to go back,
And at that moment someone always cracks.
I had to get out of there, Before all the shooting,
While they were distracted, I loaded the van and was gone.
This town is full of miners, And they’re all up for a fight,
And though I’ve been the sort to stay out drinking through the night,
I try to keep my head down, And fit in with all the rest,
Waiting for the day I can head west.
I need to get out there, ‘Cause I miss the ocean…
I wish that I had told her, What was going to go down,
Given her a chance to get some distance out of town,
I hope they haven’t got to her, ‘Cause she’s the one I love,
I hope she knows I did it all for her.
I need to get out of here, ‘Cause I miss my family.
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3. |
See It Come Down
05:25
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If the first place that you saw them, Was the last place you expected,
And the strange way that they beat you, Was an old way unexpected.
And the hardest thing of all, Is the moment once you fall,
And you’re waiting for what seems forever, Before you hit the ground…
See it come down just out of reach, Through the fear just try to breathe,
See it come down around your feet and take your speech.
So you’re tired well ain’t you always, Looking outside for excitement,
But the habits that you’ve taken, Are still with you and you can’t shake them.
But the hardest thing of all, Is the moment once you fall,
And you’re waiting for what seems forever, Before you hit the ground…
CHORUS
I hope you know no one else will come for you,
I’m sure you know that no one else will come for you, At the last minute.
So the last place you were spotted, Was by a hill-side off the A9,
With a strange man in a new car, That you’d stolen in the summer.
And the hardest thing of all, Was for us to see you fall,
And you left us lying like bits of paper, Blowing on the ground…
CHORUS (x2)
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4. |
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Better get up and get dressed, Oliver’s been spotted,
Loading up and heading west…
Two years now since he skipped, Two long years of searching,
Two years still one more trip, To right some others’ wrong.
I see a star I recognise,
Although its name I’ve never known,
And this feels nothing,
Nothing like home.
Six days drive but I’ve made Broome, Parked up by the hotel,
Watching over Ollie’s room…
But this thing feels like hell, And I don’t have the stomach,
To watch men piss themselves, Pleading for their lives.
Up there’s a star I recognise,
Although its name I’ve never known,
And this feels nothing,
Nothing like home.
Oliver steps on the street, Sees me sitting waiting,
Glances down towards his feet, We’ve both had enough.
Up there’s a star we recognise,
Although we’re miles away from home,
And this is somewhere that,
I’ve never known.
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5. |
All Through The Night
03:28
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This doesn’t look like my front door,
And he doesn’t look like my friend,
But he’s saying, On him I can depend.
And how I got back here, I just don’t know,
But now that I’m standing, It’s on with the show.
I watch them as they are leaving,
Never knowing that it’s for good,
Til it’s too late,
To do what I should.
He no longer holds me, All through the night,
But I’m quite convincing, When I tell everybody
I was right.
And how I got back here, I just don’t know,
But now that I’m standing, It’s on with the show.
The days go on clinging together,
Trying to repel the weeks,
But they’re failing, To do what they seek.
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6. |
The Flag
03:32
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The flag blows, As the darkness stretches out and yawns,
The night grows, And will keep us company,
Until the dawn…
And the dry grass waits the spark,
To illuminate the dark,
And clean things up again.
The hill flames, As the truck just rattles down the road,
And old names, Are just burned away, burned away, burned away,
Like paper scrolls…
CHORUS
You say we will stand to defend this land,
You say we must stand to defend this land,
But why should we stand to defend this land
(it’s just the place that I was laid on),
And why should we stand to defend this land,
And clean things up again…
The flag blows, As the darkness stretches out and yawns.
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7. |
Once I'm Gone
03:55
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Once I’m gone there’s nothing,
So don’t ask me to invest,
Once I’m gone there’s nothing,
So don’t ask me for redress.
Takes enough time keeping all these things in my head,
Takes enough time keeping all these things in my head.
When you go there’ll be nothing left,
Just a handful of rumours ‘bout an early death,
When you’ve gone there’ll be nothing left,
Just a handful of rumours ‘bout an early death.
All our days no turning,
It’s just head down moving on,
Day to day fires burning,
As they’ll still do when I’m gone.
BRIDGE
CHORUS
On the way no stopping,
So I’ve no time to sit in,
Once you’ve gone I’m leaving,
And I’m leaving all my sins.
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8. |
The Date
03:41
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Well she’s finding herself funny, And that’s good news for him,
All it took was a bottle of Sancerre, A tonic & a gin,
Though he didn’t want to meet here, It’s the worst bar in town,
Things are looking up, It looks like she’ll go...
And nobody gets younger, Dancing up on tables after dark,
No-one gets any younger, Saving themselves for the spark,
But when it’s there the Devil cares, And time is on your side,
So go on take it…
So he’s still talking running, Like she can’t see he’s fit,
It’s a good job she decided to get drunk, Given all his shit,
But she’d not been out in ages, So she figured she would go,
And if he’d just shut up, She’d probably take him… (home)
And nobody gets younger, Dancing on tables after dark,
And nobody gets younger, Saving themselves for the spark,
But when it’s there the Devil cares, And time is on your side,
So go on take it…
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9. |
Lift
04:13
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You’ve got to get yourself ready,
You’ve got to get yourself set,
You’ve got to get yourself prepared,
For the finest guy, You’ve ever met.
You ought to find yourself a lover,
Or you ought to find yourself a friend,
You ought to find yourself someone,
Who’ll stick with you, Until the end.
No use watching your life pass on by,
When you can go out and get high.
Lift it up again, Lift it up again oh baby,
You know that we’ll be there beside you,
Lift it up again, Lift it up again oh baby,
You know that we’ll be there beside you.
You know these times aren’t easy,
You know that nothing seems straight,
But you must know things won’t get better,
While you sit around, And bitch and moan and wait.
BRIDGE
CHORUS
(You know that you can find somebody…)
Who’s going to drive you home, Who’s going to guide you home,
When you need it, Be beside you all the way,
All the way back home, To where you belong.
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10. |
Man I Wish I Was
03:27
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I’ve watched them all come out the woodwork,
Treated them all with disdain,
I’ve sat and watched the big boys lumbering into the fray again,
I’ve set myself above it,
Like a cloud ready to rain…
And you sit crying, While I’m craving the applause,
’Cause I’m not the man I wish I was.
I’ve spoken to them men I thought,
Were unfit to lace my boots,
I’ve limited the damage and killed rumours off right at their roots,
I set up my defences,
With a gun that always shoots…
And you sit bleeding, While I justify my cause,
’Cause I’m not the man I wish I was.
I’ve stood alongside equals and discovered,
I was something less,
I’ve stood up on the stand and sworn that I was ready to confess,
I’ve been laid on the train tracks,
Like a damsel in distress…
And I am breaking, While you point out all my flaws,
’Cause I’m not the man, I wish I was.
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11. |
The Artist
04:11
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He was the worst kind of artist, Precious and morose,
And had a strange pre-occupation, With Capt. Scott and Oates,
He said that they’d been lovers, And he swore that he’d seen proof,
But no-one thought he ever told the truth.
He had a cabin in the mountains, Through winter there he’d work,
He’d boarded up the windows, And lined the walls with furs,
He sculpted by an oil lamp, ‘Cause he’d shut out all the light,
He longed to sense that long Antarctic night.
Time had shown him early on it wouldn’t take a side,
It had neither its favourites or its foes,
Though sometimes it would flatter and often be polite,
To time we’re all just Ordinary Joes,
Joes.
His mother’d been a dancer, His father trod the boards,
Together round the world, Taking high culture to the hordes,
They’d agreed they’d take him, When he was old enough to know,
It wasn’t fair to leave the boy at home.
CHORUS
But one night in the southern skies, A plane propellor froze,
As the pilot lost control, The plane came down into the snow,
Weeks on they found the two survivors, Who’d set off for help,
Just miles from town the dancer and the actor fell.
||: Am | Am | Em | Em :|| Dm7 | C | G | G ||
He began work on his masterpiece, His story it would tell,
A full scale Terra Nova, With the captain at the helm,
They came from miles around to see, The wonderous bronze boat,
And when they stopped he wandered out like Oates.
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12. |
This Ship
01:27
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If this ship’s going down, I want to see all hands up on deck,
I want to see everybody, Working this old wreck.
If this ship’s going down, I‘m going to take everyone with me,
I’m going to take everybody, Down into the sea.
If this ship’s going down, I‘m going to put holes in all the rafts,
I’m going to see everybody, Go down with this craft.
If this ship’s going down, I want to see all hands up on deck,
I want to see everybody, Watching this old wreck.
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13. |
You Shone
02:59
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When you walked, You shone,
But in a moment, You were gone, gone.
But it’s still there,
Yes it’s still there,
And it is coming,
Around again, Again.
When you walked, You shone,
When you walked, You shone.
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14. |
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Now the leaves,
Have deserted their trees,
Just as you,
Were deserted by me.
But surely this can change,
For I will make amends…
On Christmas Day, On Christmas Day,
On Christmas Day, On Christmas Day.
Trees stare out,
From cold sunken eyes,
Just as you,
Stared out right through my lies.
But when the choirs sing,
And Christmas bells will ring,
Wherever I may lie,
To you I will fly…
For Christmas Day, For Christmas Day,
For Christmas Day, For Christmas Day.
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Douglas Kay UK
Singer-songwriter Douglas Kay (“thoughtful & passionate songwriting” Scotland On Sunday) has spent the past two decades
touring the globe playing on bills alongside the likes of Billy Bragg, KT Tunstall, Colin Hay & Amy MacDonald.
With 6 albums to his name (the latest released Nov 2021) his captivating, folk-tinged songs have gained critical acclaim and airplay worldwide.
... more
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