1. |
Crazy Birds
04:32
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We rise up with the midday sun
We sleep too much cos the work is done
And my papa says that this life is good
We got not much money but heaps of food
We bask our skin in the afternoon light
We’re eating all the sweet ripe fruit
And Ol' Brotherboy hangs a tyre from the tree
My sister goes first, she goes higher than me
We're watching the old crazy birds fly by
They're watching us back but we don't know why
We don't think we'll ever go back to town
The streets hiss and stink, we don't like living there,
'cause the neighbours do frown
And 'ol pumpkin head is still after me
But I bet he won't look near this river gum tree
And we dance round the fire with me old Uncle Ted
We watch him pour bad red wine into his head
And we wobble our bones until we must stop
The music is good but the dancing is not
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2. |
Spark
04:38
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I like to hear you talking
You tell me something good
And I like to be around you just with you
She used to sail the oceans
Stories and dreams to tell
And I think that that's fantastic, what the hell
And I thought that this would lead to something
And I love the stories that you tell
I like hearing about family
All the things they do seem wild to me
All those weird, wonderful people
When things are new life brightens up a bit
Your dad's out driving taxis
He sings Elvis Presley songs
He'd like to live at Gracelands before too long
And I thought that this would lead to something
And I love the stories that you tell
Hey I like hearing about your family
All the things they do seem wild to me
All those weird, wonderful people
When things are new life brightens up a bit
Let's walk out in the weather
Go rolling in the park
Do things that make us really happy
Do things that make us really spark
We could watch the olds go bowling
They stand tall upon the green
They laugh and they talk their heads off
I think you see what I mean...
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3. |
The Magician
05:32
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The magician dances merrily for me
Her pointy pointy shoes come a gliding across the lino floor
but there's no hint of any superstition, trickery or lies
Still we don't believe in magic and we're not about to try.
In she comes singing songs of magic bright and loud
And then she leads me by her sweaty hand
and moves me to the door
She shows me worlds that look outrageous,
a bright red colour in the sky
And now the clouds are closing over, must be time to come inside.
She warns you haven't kept that magic here at all
but you've arranged the world to turn around you, roundabout it goes
and you've got every gift available and every dream you'd hope to buy
but a gloom still hangs above this place, I can see it in your eyes
...the clouds are closing over, must be time to come inside.
The magician smiles her pointy face at me
Then disappears into the dusty streets, such a fancy way to leave
She does a triple somersault of love, a wave, a nod goodbye
I'm still trying to work it out you see
I can see it in your eyes
The clouds are closing over, must be time to come inside.
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4. |
Teteko (Aotearoa)
04:00
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These fields are plain
The power lines they make scars amongst the backroads
Past the corn and maize
They're frantic in the wind
If the sun shone then this would come to life
But the mist and the rain continue on
Outside it's pouring, pouring down it falls
Down by the river, out up in the hills
The family that lives there, they are fishing for eels
They've come farm the party for the old lady who died
She was Auntie to three of them, mother to one
Outside it's pouring, pouring down it fails
Just after midday, the tavern it is full
The walls lined with old folk
The Maori boys drink down the murky beer
It's an amiable feeling, there's no fights 'til after dark
And that's just family, that's all
Outside pouring, pouring down it fails
And that's just the family…
Outside it’s pouring.
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5. |
Wonder
04:18
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So many times he's walked along this most ordinary road
The memories that she left him with placed a fire burning on his load
She seemed a bit distracted, the nights were much too calm
And now he's realised much too late that there ain't nobody home
And she's gone
She walked into the living room, she stared down cold upon the ground
With a look that said a thousand things and all of them were bad
He trashed the room they lived in, the trashing made him feel quite good
It was the fury of the argument he just never understood
And she's gone
Where's she heading to
She's traveling 'long the road without me
And I'm all done with waiting for some dream to come back now
and that road is long, you can wander every day
Wonder every day of your life
He wipes the dust out of his hair, the glitter from his eyes
I guess there comes a turning point where grief turns to despise
He trashed the room they lived in, the trashing made him feel quite good
It was the fury of the argument he just never understood
And she's gone
Where's she heading to
She's traveling 'long the road without me
And I've been told so many times that if you walk until you drop
you'll find the Great Inland Sea
And that road is long
You can wander every day,
Wonder every day of your life.
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6. |
Slumber In Tumbleland
01:59
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Over by that tree
Is where the women go
They go there when they're feeling lonely
When they're feeling low
Slumber in Tumbleland.
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7. |
Albert Namatjira
05:50
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Hermannsburg Oh Hermannsburg
It was the Lutheran's good deed
Made the children orphans
And dressed them up in white clothes
A watercolour painting
Through melancholy eyes
The ghost gums, dirt dry river beds, the warm rain upon the ground
The assimilation dream
Albert Namatjira
Paintings for the white man
He painted purple mountains in the spirit of his land
There was drinking on the reservation
He was jailed in Alice Springs
He lost the will to paint and live
And he died a solemn death... back to the ground
His seven children died
From respiratory disease
They placed them all in unmarked graves
Somewhere near Alice Springs
And the dogs all chase the desert flies
Near the one drip water tap
The boys, they kick the brown dirt
Their strength is coming back...
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8. |
Sky The Towel
05:03
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A strong and crooked fisherman
I met when I was young
He said, You need a heart of lion strength
To keep moving along
He said, And you've got your friends
Hear the things that they say
Share the best of times you've got
Don't let them fall away
And the nights are getting longer
the days are short and cold
Don't you ever sky the Towel my friend
Just stand up strong and bold
And keep singing strength in arms
Sometimes we have to make believe
Just shout aloud and smile
So much of this is witchcraft
It's right up there in the clouds
Just wake me when the southern cross
Turns over on it's side
When the mist has fallen round about
And the fire's gone to the ground
And don’t you ever sky the towel my friend
That's a long and lonely road
Don't you let the bastards bring you down
Just stand up strong and bold
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9. |
Penmon
05:15
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Someplace else they have a different understanding
And someplace else they watch the lava meet the sea
And in some far strange place they talk in ways I've never known
But my place, I don’t know where that might be
Someplace else the grass is looking cleaner
And they drink and they dance, 'cause every day is Mardi Gras
And they make love and they live life and they're jumping,
They're singing in ways I've never known
But my place, well it's laughing back at me
Somewhere else they know they're got the true religion
And in some small strange place they've got stories old and wise
And their land it is strong, it's fresh and alive
And the wind off the ocean belts down on the shore
But my place, well it's not my place at all
And someplace else, it's over the sea,
and it's up past the mountains,
it's something to see.
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10. |
Norman Young
03:54
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11. |
The Migrant
03:42
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And when it is Winter, the cold wind blows his hair
So he hangs around the station, the station is warm
This farmer from Turkey, well he's fled from his home
So he walks round the city and he walks round alone
But this migrant's not asking for favours, no
This migrant's not asking for favours this time
And this tired man he wants to rest
This tired man he just wants to rest for a while
It was a rotten ship journey, to get to this place
On a promise of rainbows, to escape from the war
He'll be sent to the mountains to work on the scheme,
It will turn all the rivers away from the sea.
But this migrant's not asking for favours, no
This migrants not asking for favours this time
He just whistles this soft tune, an old Turkish lament,
And he'll take what he's given, he's gonna work damm hard til it hurts
So he waits at the station, just looking around
A bit tired and regretful, he just wants to go home
But this migrant's not asking for favours, no
This migrant's not asking for favours this time
The tired man he wants to rest
This tired old man he just wants to rest for awhile
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12. |
Parish Pump
04:13
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In this simple small talk town
One sixty miles from anywhere
The wind kicks up a dust storm dance
The fat grain silos standing tall
The white folk here they're so intimate
They know each others every move
And each family's golden heritage
is steeped in pioneering deeds, and so
I don't care what you say to make me stay
Cos I'm leaving here tonight
The frilly smiles and the parish pump it's Anglican in every way
They don't see the drink as a problem here
though it's broken many a home
Across the road by the pale green house
It smells light with perfumed flowers
And underneath all the small talk
there lies a gun beneath every bed, and so
I don't care what you say to make me stay,
Cos I'm leaving here tonight
On my way to find a new adventure every single day
The seeming harmlessness of things
Belies a firm hard hand of bigotry
It floats among the dry north winds
And then rears its ugly head
but I don't care...
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13. |
Walk Me Home
03:51
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Walk me home
Past the broken fence by Auntie Puti's home
Stumbling along
So drunk we forget about those things that we fight about
out aloud out aloud
We're doing fine
It don't get much better than these late night walks
We don't know about how much stupid noise we make
or whether we will make it to next year
Things just seem to come and go
With you and me
Things just seem to come and go
With you and me
Things just seem to come and go
And then fly away with it
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Not Drowning, Waving Melbourne, Australia
NDW's music was haunting, evocative, brooding, sensuous and a million other words that excite people who type for a living. In record stores, you could usually find NDW filed under ambient or art-rock, ill-fitting labels if ever there were. Though they were often minimalist, they never made background music. Arty by comparison to other acts of the era, but they knocked out some glorious pop tunes. ... more
Not Drowning, Waving recommends:
The Revival Meeting
by My Friend The Chocolate Cake
What began as a sidestep from NDW became a full-on band of its own.
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The Wisdom Line
by David Bridie
David Bridie's latest solo album.
go to albumIf you like Not Drowning, Waving, you may also like:
Take the Next Illusionary Exit
by David Bridie
supported by 4 fans who also own “Circus”
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Paid Salvation
by A. Swayze and the Ghosts
Toothy rock & roll from this Australian group that puts a premium on buzzsaw riffs and herky-jerk, Devo-style vocals
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The Arizona band do right by post-hardcore on their immersive new LP, leavening untempered breakdowns with carefully-measured catharsis.
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featured on Bandcamp Radio Apr 9, 2013
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