Get all 19 Great Lake Swimmers releases available on Bandcamp and save 45%.
Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality downloads of Uncertain Country (Acoustic) EP, Uncertain Country, The Legend Of Bobby Bird (Art Bergmann Cover), Live At The Redeemer 2007, When We Last Shook Hands: Cover Songs Volume 1, Live In Ottawa At The 27 Club 2019-10-03, Getting To The Heart Of It / Where Are You / Thursday, Getting To The Heart Of It, and 11 more.
1. |
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It passes my eyes and stuns my senses
The outside world flows through these fences
They let out more than they take in
They bleed me out and I can’t staunch them
My mouth lets out more than it takes in
It leads me out and I can’t help it
It is nothing but a muscle flexed
A swirling sea of now and next
And the world was upside down, inside out
This whole time
Going the wrong way, north was inverted
The directions, the plan, got me turned around
I was on the right path, but couldn’t feel the ground
And so started the test, retracing all the steps
When was the first strike, which dances were learned
In an ever-changing suit retailored with patches
Of a life blind and careless, popping stitches
Un-being, un-happening, becoming untangled
Dulling the edges, and scaling transitions
Faith is a pattern composed by the wind
All movement, one movement, it reaches everything
And the real work is to be it, believe it
With each new set of eyes and the visions they provide
Be the taste, the warmth, the measure and the glow
By embracing it all and then letting it all go
The real work is never done, and has no clear beginning
And shows no result, no losing, no winning
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2. |
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So little space in the degrees in between us
Moving so fast, hardly anybody notices
Into a constant and restless dream
It’s written on my hands, and this is what I mean
A strand of hair, a certain hue
These are my hands, they belong to you
And how to talk you into believing in yourself
And how to get ready for the change in the weather
And how to pack all of the things for the trip
And what will you do, what will you do when you get there
A single frame passing on a screen
These are my hands, and this is what I mean
Hiding there, in plain sight
I see you in a certain light
I couldn’t smile when I needed to
But you were there when I needed you
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3. |
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Side effects
Side effects
They aren’t worth the help that you get
When you need all the help you can get
Friend in fair weather, you’re doing just fine
You are the one, and you’re there just in time
With your steak tartare and expensive red wine
I don’t know who you are most of the time
An empire of fiction made of your little squares
No end to your summer, and no end to theirs
The only real fire, the only true fact
Every act is a move, every move is an act
Side effects
Side effects
They aren’t worth the help that you get
When you need all the help you can get
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4. |
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Look at the names carved into the rocks
Look at the days when they were lit up
Brush of my hand and I feel their age
Years of radiance, years of rain
And the world stops spinning when you stop spinning
And sighs when you sigh, when you sigh
I’m coming home so leave the light on for me
I’m drawing over the luminous veil
And when I get in I will see you all there
I’m drawing on the great exhale
Uncertain ground, so I walk lightly
Translating names of lost families
Some body’s sleeping that you should not wake
Drifting whispers over damp clay
And the world stops spinning when you stop spinning
And sighs when you sigh, when you sigh
I’m coming home so leave the light on for me
I’m drawing over the luminous veil
And when I get in I will see you all there
I’m drawing on the great exhale
Wide open spaces, been asleep a long time
Coming up like old teeth, punctuating places
I’m coming home so leave the light on for me
I’m drawing over the luminous veil
And when I get in I will see you all there
I’m drawing on the great exhale
I’m soaring in on the great exhale
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5. |
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There’s a mark on my hand, put there by the land
There’s a mark on my hand, put there by the land
There’s a mark on my hand, put there by the land
There’s a mark on my hand, put there by the land
Can’t you see it’s in me, can’t you see
Can’t you see it’s in me, can’t you see
Can’t you see it’s in me, can’t you see
Can’t you see it’s in me, can’t you see
There’s a mark on the land, put there by my hand
There’s a mark on the land, put there by my hand
There’s a mark on the land, put there by my hand
There’s a mark on the land, put there by my hand
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6. |
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What sort of pressure, and what kind of force
Must there have been to drive you here
Was it uplifting, or was it deformed
Faulting and rifting, you folded
What does it feel like to fall
In slow motion despite it all
There’s no time to think it through
When we’re connected over the blue
Everything is moving so fast, and I am unlimited
Everything is moving so fast, I am unlimited
What sort of wisdom, and what kind of thought
Must there have been to scatter you
So far and random, your heavenly bodies
Still see the faint light in your eyes
What does it feel like to fall
In slow motion despite it all
There’s no time to think it through
When we’re connected over the blue
Everything is moving so fast, and I am unlimited
Everything is moving so fast, I am unlimited
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7. |
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The wire is mended, awaiting the deep
Out on the water we will be set free
Ready to receive
There could be a great glow if the conditions are right
Shot through with light
Moving fast through the swell of the night
I am alone, but not alone
I am here, but hardly at all
I am alone, but not alone
I am here waiting for your call
I contemplate the measure of the sea
I think about the work ahead of me
And figure it must be its own reward
And you would be right to call me wide-eyed
Heart open wide
I am alone, but not alone
I am here, but hardly at all
I am alone, but not alone
I am here waiting for your call
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8. |
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I was lost in the lakes
And the shapes that your body makes
That your body makes, that your body makes
That your body makes
And the mountains said I could find you here
They whispered the snow and the leaves in my ear
I traced my finger along your trails
Your body was the map, I was lost in it
Floating over your rocky spine
The glaciers made you, and now you’re mine
Floating over your rocky spine
The glaciers made you, and now you’re mine
I was moving across your frozen veneer
The sky was dark but you were clear
Could you feel my footsteps
And would you shatter, would you shatter, would you
And with your soft fingers between my claws
Like purity against resolve
I could tell, then and there, that we were formed from the clay
And came from the rocks for the earth to display
They told me to be careful up there
Where the wind blows a venomous rage through your hair
They told me to be careful up there
Where the wind rages through your hair
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9. |
Still (Live 2019-10-03)
03:37
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I’m still tuning myself to the great key
I’m still, I’m still
I’m still mining for light in the dark wells
I’m still, I’m still
I’m still a frequency swaying, a leaf in the wind
I’m still, I’m still
I’m still searching for whispers in between yells
I’m still, I’m still
I’m still swimming in harmony
I’m still dreaming of flight
I’m still lost in the waves, night after night
I’m still an arrow un-shot, fixed in a bow
I’m still, I’m still
I’m still a fire un-lit, ready to go
I’m still, I’m still
I’m still loaded and waiting
With anticipation to fly
I’m still studying the patterns in the night sky
I’m still a note that’s un-played, ink on a page
I’m still, I’m still
I’m still a cry in the night, lonesome and high
I’m still, I’m still
I’m still tuned to an instrument
Of greater and unknown design
I’m still looking for direction, some kind of sign
I’m still tuning myself to the great key
I’m still, I’m still
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10. |
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Something like a storm coming in
So many parts of larger things
And a change in atmosphere
I have been expecting you
Expecting you
Tie it with a piece of twine
I promise you it will be fine
Buried in yourself so deep
Pray the lord my soul to keep
My soul to keep
Can you hear me clearly now
Hello in there and how are you
I’ve been waiting patiently
Singing little melodies
Something like a storm coming in
So many parts of a larger thing
And a change in atmosphere
I have been expecting you
Expecting you
You’re in a place of safety now
You are with your mother now
Such a pretty place to live
And I’ve got a lot to give
A lot to give
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11. |
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I have visions of a different world
To restart, begin again, at the root
And reinvent love in a different place
And move at a different pace
Love is our only weapon, our only defense
For the ballad of bullets, and uncommon sense
Affection is the sharpest blade
A psychic kiss across the waves
And there could be a different world
When the rattler slips from his old coat
There could be a different world
A new light on a new skin
Oh I have visions of a different world
To restart, begin again, at the root
And reinvent love in a different place
And move at a different pace
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12. |
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I’ve been talking with the wind a lot
Throwing words out that I’ve kept too long
We breathe the same way when we’re drawn
I know I have a friend in it
Ah, your fingers weave above the trees
Ah, the talking wind, the turning leaves
As you left, a force to fly on
Left a fragment to be played upon
Fallen and grown new, the wind restored
It went right through
I stood in its way and became it
Ah, your fingers weave above the trees
Ah, the talking wind, the turning leaves
Ah, your shoulder blades among the waves
Ah, you fly away, and dissipate
The wind makes sound instead of words
And I think I understand
Neither needs to explain, in turn
It cries out, and I understand
Ah, your fingers weave above the trees
Ah, the talking wind, the turning leaves
Ah, your shoulder blades among the waves
Ah, you fly away, and dissipate
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13. |
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You look at me with uncertainty
You look at me with urgency
You look at me with a fear in your eyes
Like you’re about to fall away
But don’t be afraid to change your colours now
I’ve known you all summer, and you rose above it all
I see you hesitate to fall now
But it’s a pretty good view from down here, too
And when the wind takes you, it takes me, too
When you change colours, I change mine, too
Try not to think, and I will try, to
When you let go, I will let go, too
I knew you when you were green and strong
You were like a feather on a wing, so long
You know I will miss you when you are gone
But don’t be afraid if you just can’t hang on
‘Cause when the wind takes you, it takes me, too
When you change colours, I change mine, too
Try not to think and I will try, too
And when you let go, I will let go, too
The cold air is pushing hard on you
I know what you’re saying; I can feel it, too
You’ll go through changes, and I’ll go through them too
Don’t be afraid now, don’t be afraid
‘Cause when the wind takes you, it takes me, too
When you change colours, I change mine, too
Try not to think and I will try, too
And when you let go, I will let go, too
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14. |
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The line runs through like a train in a book
Or metres underwater, ending with a hook
It sways in the air when there’s wind enough to lift
Fine ones are boundaries when there is a rift
I’m just pulling on a line, on a line
Oh I’m just pulling on a line
I’m just pulling on a line, on a line
And sometimes it pulls on me
The line, it inks across the freshly fallen snow
Where only those embracing coldness would go
It whistles and it whispers, and sometimes it howls
It sings to me sweetly from trees and in vowels
I’m just pulling on a line, on a line
Oh I’m just pulling on a line
I’m just pulling on a line, on a line
And sometimes it pulls on me
The line, it writes itself across the dark sky
In the electric flashes, ending with a sigh
It weaves itself into a fabric so true
And flows just like the river, graceful and blue
I’m just pulling on a line, on a line
Oh I’m just pulling on a line
I’m just pulling on a line, on a line
And sometimes it pulls on me
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Great Lake Swimmers Toronto, Ontario
Tony Dekker’s music spans two decades as the lead singer and songwriter of Great Lake Swimmers. Over eight albums, multiple EPs, live shows and reissues, the Toronto-based group with a revolving cast of players has established itself as a beloved indie folk act in their native Canada and beyond. Great Lake Swimmers was shortlisted for the Polaris Prize and nominated twice for the Juno Awards. ... more
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CARLO
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