Get all 9 Pat Wictor releases available on Bandcamp and save 15%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of FLARE, Waiting For The Water, Non-album Tracks, counterpoise, This is Absolutely Real:Visions and Versions of Phil Ochs, Living Ever-Lovin' Live, Sunset Waltz, Heaven Is So High...And I'm So Far Down, and 1 more.
1. |
The Scorpion Departs
04:20
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Sailors climb the tree, up the terrible tree
Where are my shipmates have they sunk beneath the sea?
I do not know much, but I know this cannot be
It isn't really, it isn't really, tell me it isn't really.
Sounding bell is diving down the water green
Not a trace, not a toothbrush, not a cigarette was seen
Bubble ball is rising from a whisper or a scream
But I'm not screaming, no I'm not screaming, tell me I'm not screaming.
Captain will not say how long we must remain
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
It's all the same.
Captain my dear Captain we're staying down so long
I have been a good man, I've done nobody wrong
Have we left our ladies for the lyrics of a song?
That I'm not singing, I'm not singing
Tell me I'm not singing
The schooner ship is sliding across the kitchen sink
My son and my daughter they won't know what to think
The crew has turned to voting and the officers to drink
But I'm not drinking, no I'm not drinking
Tell me I'm not drinking
Captain will not say how long we must remain
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
It's all the same.
The radio is begging them to come back to the shore
All will be forgiven, it'll be just like before
All you've ever wanted will be waiting by your door
We will forgive you, we will forgive you
Tell me we will forgive you
But no one gives an answer not even one goodbye
Oh, the silence of their sinking is all that they reply
Some have chosen to decay and other chose to die
But I'm not dying, no I'm not dying
Tell me I'm not dying
Captain will not say how long we must remain
The phantom ship forever sail the sea
It's all the same.
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2. |
There But For Fortune
04:22
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Show me a prison, show me a jail,
Show me a prisoner whose face has gone pale
And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why
And there but for fortune, may go you or I
Show me the alley, show me the train,
Show me a homeless man who sleeps out in the rain,
And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, may go you or go I.
Show me the whiskey stains on the floor,
Show me the dunken man as he stumbles out the door,
And I'll show you a young man with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, may go you or go I.
Show me the country where bombs had to fall,
Show me the ruins of buildings once so tall,
And I'll show you a young land with so many reasons why
There but for fortune, go you or go I
There but for fortune, go you or go I.
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3. |
Lincoln Park
04:27
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As I went out one evening to take the evening air
I was blessed by a blood-red moon
In Lincoln Park the dark was turning
I spied a fair young maiden and a flame was in her eyes
And on her face lay the steel blue skies
Of Lincoln Park, the dark was turning, turning
They spread their sheets upon the ground just like a wandering tribe
And the wise men walked in their Robespierre robes
Through Lincoln Park the dark was turning
The towers trapped and trembling, and the boats were tossed about
When the fog rolled in and the gas rolled out
From Lincoln Park the dark was turning, turning
Like wild horses freed at last we took the streets of wine
But I searched in vain for she stayed behind
In Lincoln Park the dark was turning
I'll go back to the city where I can be alone
And tell my friend she lies in stone
In Lincoln Park the dark was turning
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4. |
Knock On The Door
05:35
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In many a time, in many a land,
With many a gun in many a hand,
They came by the night, they came by the day,
Came with their guns to take us away
With a knock on the door, knock on the door.
Here they come to take one more,...One more.
Back in the days of the Roman Empire,
They died by the cross and they died by the fire.
In the stone coliseum, the crowd gave a roar,
And it all began with that knock on the door
Just a knock on the door, knock on the door.
Here they come to take one more,...One more.
The years have all passed, we've reached modern times,
The Nazis have come with their Nazi war crimes.
Yes the power was there, the power was found,
Six million people have heard that same sound
That old knock on the door, knock on the door.
Here they come to take one more,...One more.
Now there's many new words and many new names,
The banners have changed but the knock is the same.
In the War on Terror with right on our side,
I wonder who knows how many have died
From a knock on the door, knock on the door.
Here they come to take one more,...One more.
Look over the oceans, look over the lands,
Look over our leaders with the blood on their hands.
And open your eyes and see what they do,
When they knock for your neighbor they're knocking for you
With a knock on the door, knock on the door.
Here they come to take one more,
Knock on the door, knock on the door.
Here they come to take one more,.... One more.
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5. |
First Snow
02:55
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First snow on the autumn ground
covers grass where she once lay down
blanket of white, grass out of sight,
Where did she go, tell me first snow.
First snow cover my mistakes
cover the past with your lovely flakes
perfect white sheet, beneath my feet
I hurt her so, cleanse me first snow.
First snow down you dart
cold as the winter, cold as my heart,
fall from the sky, please tell me why
I let her go and lost her first snow.
First snow down you fall
I feel your heartbeat, I hear you call
So I'll lay still, fall if you will,
with autumn I go, Please hurry, first snow.
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6. |
City Boy
04:35
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I'm just a city boy, Born and bred
It's a city life I've led
My pasture was a street
I've never climbed a tree
But that's all right with me
'Cause I'm a city boy
I'm just a city boy, Born and raised
From these rooftops I have gazed
Where the grass was made of steel
I've never plowed a field
Until the pavement starts to peel
I'll be a city boy
I'm just a city boy, Born and grown
That's all I've ever known
Where the lights would greet the dawn
There's a factory for a farm
Sure the city has its charm
When you're a city boy
I'm just a city boy, Born and bred
It's a city life I've led
My pasture was a street
I've never climbed a tree
But that's all right with me
'Cause I'm a city boy
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7. |
I'm Tired
02:22
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Sometimes I feel that the world isn't mine
It feeds on my hunger and tears on my
And I'm tired, Yes, I'm tired
Every face on the street is as cold the air
As hard as the pavement moves 'neath my feet
And I'm tired, Yes, I'm tired
Sometimes I stop and ask myself
Oh why should I be so alone
It comes and it goes and nobody knows
For they're blind with a pain all their own
So I start out again with a smile on my face
To hide all the empty and search for a friend
And I'm tired, Yes, I'm tired
Sometimes I stop and ask myself
Oh why should I be so alone
It comes and it goes and nobody knows
For they're blind with a pain all their own
So I start out again with a smile on my face
To hide all the empty and search for a friend
And I'm tired, Yes, I'm tired
And I'm tired, Yes, I'm tired
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8. |
Celia
04:02
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When the wind from the island is rollin' through the trees
When a kiss from a prison cell is carried in the breeze
That's when I wonder how sad a man can be.
Oh, when will Celia come to me?
I still remember the mountains of the war
Sierra Madre and the Philipino shore
When will I lie beside my Celia 'neath the trees?
Oh, when will Celia come to me?
So many years were stolen, so many years are gone
And the vision of my Celia make dreams to dream upon
Each hour is a day filled with memories.
Oh, when will Celia come to me?
I wake each morning and I watch the sun arise
Wonder if my Celia sleeps, wonder if she cries
If hate must be my prison lock, love must be the key
Oh, when will Celia come to me?
The guns have stopped their firing, you may wander through the hills
They kept my Celia through the war, they keep her from me still.
She waits upon island now, a prisoner of the sea.
Oh, when will Celia come to me?
When the wind from the island is rolling through the trees
When a kiss from a prison cell is carried in the breeze
That's when I wonder how sad a man can be.
Oh, when will Celia come to me?
Oh, when will Celia come to me
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9. |
The Trial
02:51
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Outside the cats are scratching, Inside the doors are latching
On the room, the greedy gloom, the trial is revealed
Police are six feet deep, with switchblades in their teeth
So no one leaves and they all believe
This is absolutely real, yes, it's real
And the Sergeant says, "Are you ready, boys?
Get ready, boys.
Aim... And Fire...
Order in the court, People ready for the sport
They squirm and squeak and lick their beaks, and grease their feathers down
Everybody rise, Judge is here with bathroom eyes
A Grizzly bear, he hugs his chair
And the greedy gavel pounds, yes, it pounds
And the Sergeant says, "Are you ready, boys?
Get ready, boys
Aim... And Fire...
In the dungeon he falls, writing appeals upon the wall
And the priest in prayer is not even there, so precious is his time
To the stake he's tied, the swallows sing, the triggers slide
He bids goodbye to the watery sky that plunges from his mind, from his mind
And the Sergeant says, "Are you ready, boys?
Get ready, boys
Aim... And Fire...
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Pat Wictor Brooklyn, New York
Grounded in rural blues and gospel traditions, Pat Wictor's lean, poetic songs and expressive guitar playing are seasoned with jazz, pop, improvisational surprise, and philosophy. He first gained attention as an acoustic lap slide guitarist, and a sought-after collaborator and session musician. His evolving projects push his own musical boundaries ever outward ... more
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