Al Stewart - On The Border [compilation] (1999) by Al Stewart (보컬) on maniadb.com

The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghost moon sails among the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver on the border

On my wall the colours of the maps are running
From Africa the winds they talk of changes coming
The torches flare up in the night
The hand that sets the farms alight
Has spread the word to those who're waiting on the border

In the village where I grew up
Nothing seems the same
Still you never see the change from day to day
And no-one notices the customs slip away

Late last night the rain was knocking at my window
I moved across the darkened room and in the lampglow
I thought I saw down in the street
The spirit of the century
Telling us that we're all standing on the border

In the islands where I grew up
Nothing seems the same
It's just the patterns that remain
An empty shell
But there's a strangeness in the air you feel too well

The fishing boats go out across the evening water
Smuggling guns and arms across the Spanish border
The wind whips up the waves so loud
The ghost moon sails among the clouds
Turns the rifles into silver on the border

On the border
On the border
On the border

On a morning from a Bogart movie
In a country where they turn back time
You go strolling through the crowd like Peter Lorre
Contemplating a crime
She comes out of the sun in a silk dress running
Like a watercolour in the rain
Don't bother asking for explanations
She'll just tell you that she came
In the year of the cat.

She doesn't give you time for questions
As she locks up your arm in hers
And you follow 'till your sense of which direction
Completely disappears
By the blue tiled walls near the market stalls
There's a hidden door she leads you to
These days, she says, I feel my life
Just like a river running through
The year of the cat

She looks at you so cooly
And her eyes shine like the moon in the sea
She comes in incense and patchouli
So you take her, to find what's waiting inside
The year of the cat.

Well morning comes and you're still with her
And the bus and the tourists are gone
And you've thrown away the choice and lost your ticket
So you have to stay on
But the drum-beat strains of the night remain
In the rhythm of the new-born day
You know sometime you're bound to leave her
BUt for now you're going to stay
In the year of the cat.

Three mules came over a hill
They were dragging a cart
Creaking, it seemed to be falling apart
Laden with millions of dreams
It weighed more than they thought
They never noticed the wheels getting caught
They pulled on, staring ahead
With blinkered eyes and lowered heads
Hoping that all would be fine
I see them now
Time out of time

Ramsey and Stanley and Neville
Were the names of the mules
Each wore a bridle encrusted with jewels
And though a murmur of voices
Was rising behind
Each laboured on
And they paid it no mind
They pulled on with never a doubt
Past boulders and holes
Till the road petered out
And giving a snort they sat down
Waiting for somebody else to come round
And from this are our lives writ large
From the beach at Dunkirk
To Pickett's Charge
And it's hard to go back
after coming this far
Down the road

Three mules looked over a fence
At the field beyond
Green as a forest it shone in the sun
Into the stillness they broke
Like a stone in a pond
And kicking the gate down
They brayed at the ground
And pulled on tugging a dream
Out of a smile and into a scream
And tossed the damp soil all around
Until the whole field turned muddy brown
And from this are our lives writ large
From the beach at Dunkirk
To Pickett's Charge
And it's hard to go back
after coming this far
Down the road

Ah, but it's not very easy now being a mule
I don't believe you appreciate all that we do
Look at this long and unfortunate face
Try to imagine that you're in my place
This is my nature
And to it I have to be true

Three mules came over a hill
With a sorrowful air
Though we've been judged, they said
It's hardly fair
All that we did was for you
And the good of the cause
Then they went back to the sound of applause
They went back into the night
Where a sickle of moon
Left a trickle of light
And while we lay under our roofs
The whole night filled up
With the beating of hooves
And from this are our lives writ large
From the beach at Dunkirk
To Pickett's Charge
And it's hard to go back
after coming this far
Down the road

And from this are our lives writ large
And every day
Is Pickett's Charge
And it's hard to go back
after coming this far
Down the road

With your photographs of Kitty Hawk
And the biplanes on your wall
You were always Amy Johnson
From the time that you were small.
No schoolroom kept you grounded
While your thoughts could get away
You were taking off in Tiger Moths
Your wings against the brush-strokes of the day
Are you there?
On the tarmac with the winter in your hair
By the empty hangar doors, you stop and stare
Leave the oil-drums behind you, they won't care
Oh, are you there?

Oh, you wrapped me up in a leather coat
And you took me for a ride
We were drifting with the tail-wind
When the runway came in sight
The clouds came up to gather us
And the cockpit turned to white
When I looked, the sky was empty
I suppose you never saw the landing-lights
Are you there?
In your jacket with the grease stain and the tear
Caught up in the slipstream of the dare
The compass rose will guide you anywhere,
Oh, are you there?

The sun comes up on Icarus as the night-birds sail away
And lights the maps and diagrams
That Leonardo made
You can see Faith, Hope and Charity
As they bank above the fields
You can join the flying circus
You can touch the morning air against your wheels
Are you there?
Do you have a thought for me that you can share?
Oh I never thought you'd take me unawares
Just call me if you ever need repairs
Oh, are you there?

And I think of you now
As a dream that I had long ago
In a kingdom lost in time

In a forest of evening
The archer is bending a bow
And I see you bring him bread and wine

Down the legions of years
The invaders have taken this land
And bent you to their will

And the memories fade of the ancients
And all that they had
Though the magic lingers round you still

Oh, who would walk the stony roads
of Merlin's time?
And keep the watch along the borderline

And who would hear the legends passed
in song and rhyme?
Upon the shepherd pipes of Merlin's time

The rain came down like beads
Bouncing on the noses of the
People from the train
A flock of salty ears
Sparkled in the traffic lights
Feet squelched soggy leaves across the grain
I took my love to Clifton in the rain

And all along the way
Wanderers in overcoats with
Collars on parade
And steaming in the night
The listeners in the Troubadour
Guitar player weaves a willow strain
I took my love to Clifton in the rain

Jacqueline Bisset
I saw your movie
Wondered if you really felt that way
Do you ever fear
The images of Hollywood?
Have you felt a shadow of its pain?
I thought of you in Clifton in the rain

What if you reached the age of reason
Only to find there was no reprieve
Would you still be a man for all seasons?
Or would you just have to leave
We measure our days out
In steps of uncertainty
Not turning to see how we've come
And peer down the highway
From here to eternity

And reach out for love on the run
While the man for all seasons
Is lost behind the sun

Henry Plantagenent still looks for someone
To bring good news in his hour of doubt
While Thomas More waits in the Tower of London
Watching the sands running out
And measures the hours out
From here to oblivion
In actions that can't be undone
A sailor through the darkness
He scans the meridian
And caught by the first rays of dawn
The man for all seasons
Is lost beneath the storm

And I should know by now
I should know by now
I hear them call it out all around
Oh, they go
There's nothing to believe in

Hear them
Just daydreams, deceiving
They'll just let you down

So what if you reached the age of reason
Only to find there was no reprieve
Would you still be a man for all seasons?
Or would you just disbelieve?

We measure our gains out in luck and coincidence
Lanterns to turn back in the night
And put our defeats down to chance or experience
And try once again for the light
Some wait for the waters of fortune to cover them
Some just see the tides of ill chance rushing over them
Some call on Jehovah
Some cry out to Allah
Some wait for the boats that still row to Valhallah
Well, you try to accept what the fades are unfolding
While some say they're sure where the shame should be falling
You look round for maybe a chance of forestalling
But too soon it's over and done
And the man for all seasons
Is lost behind the sun

I was making my way through the wasteland
The road into town passes through
I was changing the radio stations
With my mind on you
Oh your friends call you "Lily Paloma"
But that's not the way that you are
It's too much of a gentle misnomer
For a shooting star

But you and me baby
I saw you there
Straight away I knew
There's really no hiding
I'll tell you right now
What we're gonna do
We'll go collecting the days
Putting the moments away
You're on my mind like a
Song on the Radio

I remember the first time I saw you
Alone in the dark with a drink
With a candle flame burning before you
And your thoughts closed in
You were staring out into the distance
Not seeming to hear what I said
Why did you put up such resistance
Like all the lights are red

'Cause you and me baby
I saw you there
Straight away I knew
There's really no hiding
I'll tell you right now
What we're gonna do
We'll go collecting the days
Putting the moments away
You're on my mind like a
Song on the Radio

I don't know what it was that was painful
But sometimes it's there in your face
There are times when you just look disdainful
Of the human race
Ah, but then on the wings of emotion
We circle each other in flight
Till together we roll like the ocean
In its bed at night

'Cause you and me baby
I saw you there
Straight away I knew
There's really no hiding
I'll tell you right now
What we're gonna do
We'll go collecting the days
Putting the moments away
You're on my mind like a
Song on the Radio
You're on my mind like a
Song on the Radio

Pandora comes today
As she dazzles and she dances
You find hope and lose yourself again
She never stays the same
She changes moods like summer thunder
Still you look for sunlight through the rain.
And when she laughs you see danger
She can be cold like a stranger
And you try but you won't change her anyway
And I can see how she makes it
It's a game and still you take it
It's a spell until you break it, you must stay
And lose yourself again.

Pandora takes the time
To tell you stories of her past
Thet everybody knows just can't be true
The reason and the rhyme
Are twisted 'til you can't believe her
Still you keep pretending that you do.
And when you try to get to her
And you tell her you've seen through her
She'll just say you never knew her anyway
And you still let her fake it
It's a game and still you take it
It's a spell until you break it, you must stay
And lose yourself again.

Pandora comes today
The warning signs flash in her eyes
The old familiar feelings rise again
The pleasure and the pain
Are like two colours run together
Still you can't go on too long this way.
If it's a game you can't win it
I don't know why you stay in it
You could leave her any minute, any day
It should be easy to shake it
But you just can't seem to make it
It's a spell until you break it, you must stay
And lose yourself again.

Before the phone hits the receiver
You're halfway to the door
The voice said 'get out while you can,
There's just ten minutes, nothing more'
Time only for the essentials
Better gather them and run
The false name inside the passport,
The gold bars and the gun
And once again they've come out of the past
And though your mind is cool your heart is beating fast
You've been through it all before
Each time you wish a little more that you could ask

What do you want from me?
What do you need from me?
There's no rest for the running man
Why can't you let him be?'

It's a long and twisting journey
From the sweeping northern plains
To the outcrops of the jungle
Bowed beneath the tropic rains
In the customs hall the officer
Takes you to one side
And his eyes reveal no feeling
As you hand over the bribe
And once again you've bought a little time
And once again you're fading out of sight
Still the fox is growing older
As he calls over his shoulder to the night:

What do you want from me?
What do you need from me?
There's no rest for the running man
Why can't you let him be?

Here, come over here
Beneath a sympathetic moon
We'll sit and talk over old times without a fear
Another beer, from the cafes of the night
The tumbling rhythms of guitars ring loud and clear

One by one they've nailed the others
But you always got away
What it is that keeps you just that step ahead
No one can say
In one last raid the agents
Of the dawn break down the door
Of a house where you were standing
Maybe just an hour before
And still the thread continues to unwind
You take the hidden roads that only you can find
And should they come upon your tracks
There's just a question hanging back you left behind

What do you want from me?
What do you need from me?
No rest for the running man
Why can't you let him be?

What do you want from me?
What do you need from me?

Meet me at the station underneath the clock
Carry an umbrella, no need to talk
The man in the homburg, hiding in the fog
Will be watching
Get yourself a ticket, go through the gate
At seven forty-five precisely, don't be late
If anybody follows don't hesitate
Keep on walking

And take the night train to Munich
Rumbling down the track
After half an hour in the restaurant car
Look for the conductor
And there will be a stain on his tunic
A paper underneath his arm
Then you'd better pray that he doesn't look away
Or you'll never, never, never come back.

When you get the paper take a look inside
On page twenty-seven there's a photo of a bride
Underneath the story of a man who died
In Morocco
Memorize the article word for word
The man in the homburg understands the code
Make sure the conversation isn't overheard
They're around you

And take the night train to Munich
Rumbling down the track
After half an hour in the restaurant car
Look for the conductor
And there will be a stain on his tunic
A paper underneath his arm
Then you'd better pray that he doesn't look away
Or you'll never, never, never come back.

I really wouldn't ask if there was anybody else
But I now you've got the knack of taking care of yourself
And they don't know your face so there won't be anyone
Looking for you
When you get to Munich we'll be waiting in the car
Don't look around, just walk straight out
If you don't show, I'm sorry for the pain
I caused you

Upon the night train to Munich
Rumbling down the track
After half an hour in the restaurant car
Look for the conductor
And there will be a stain on his tunic
A paper underneath his arm
Then you'd better pray that he doesn't look away
Or you'll never, never, never come back

Nothing that's forced can ever be right
If it doesn't come naturally, leave it
That's what she said as she turned out the light
And we bent our backs as slaves of the night
Then she lowered her guard and showed me the scars
She got from trying to fight
Saying oh, you'd better believe it.

Well I'm up to my neck in the crumbling wreckage
Of all that I wanted from life
When I looked for respect all I got was neglect
Though I swallowed the line as a sign of the times
But dealing a jack from the back of the pack
They said-"You lose again"
Oh, I said, who needs it?

Well don't get me wrong now I tried to get on
With the jokers that got in my way
And I put on a smile and I tried all the while to be straight
But they just wanted more all the time and I'm sure
That you know what I mean when I say
That I'm sick of the touch and there's only so much you can take.

Well nothing that's real is ever for free
And you just have to pay for it sometime
She said it before, she said it to me
I suppose she believed there was nothing to see
But the same old four imaginary walls
She built for living inside
I said oh, you just can't mean it

Well there was never a doubt that she had to get out
she was just looking around for a way
In the pit of the night there was nowhere to hide any more
She was out on a limb, she was reaching for things
That she wanted, but just couldn't say
And she had to be sure that she wouldn't get caught like before.

Well nothing that's forced can ever be right
If it doesn't come naturally, leave it
That's what she said as she turned out the light
And she may have been wrong, and she may have been right
But I woke with the frost, and noticed she'd lost
The veil that covered her eyes
I said oh, you can leave it.

Paul Gervaise picks up the Herald
And sees the face of Zelda Fitzgerald
She's part of the scene
Of life between the wars

The tropic sun is sticky and warm
And it bakes the head of Somerset Maugham
Who is writing a scene
Of life between the wars

You're waiting by the hotdog stand
In the onion air
As the ball flies through the park
Violet and Vita run
Through the streets of Paris
Their laughter floating through the dark

A fog that fell is swallowing London
Coco Chanel came back with a suntan
To brighten the scene
Of life between the wars

There will be a pint of milk
And a Hovis loaf
At the end of every street
You can hear a silver band on the radio
And it makes the grocer tap his feet

The King is leaving Buckingham Palace
It's all too cold
He'd rather have Wallis
They're part of the scene
Of life between the war

His flying jacket still has her perfume
Memories of the night
Play across his mind
High above the fields of France

A single biplane in a clear blue sky
1917, no enemy was seen
High above the fields of France

Oh she looks
But there's nothing to see
Still she looks
Saying come back to me

He tells her just remember me this way

Fore here am I more true
Than anything I do
High above the fields of France

Oh she looks
Though he'll never come back
And the letter that came
Was bordered in black

She'll find somebody else
But not forget
Leaving her regrets
Like vapour trails of jets
High above the fields of France

She said "Don't you think we're going downhill?
And I would hate it to be run-of-the mill"
Oh love me or leave me but please don't deceive me
For if you do, I'll know, believe me
I want you to know I don't want you to go anyway
And yes I was doing alright up until now
I'm beginning to think you should have listened to Al

She picked up her things and said "let's be friends
For all the good and the bad things have their ends"
Then she went lazily leaving me crazily
Wandering lost, the night was hazy
And everyone else looking sure of themselves but not me
And yes I was doing alright up until now
I'm beginning to think you should have listened to Al

Oh she left me the keys and a dozen LPs
A phone bill warning left for the morning
And I left the dark on a seat in the park feeling very strange
And yes I was doing alright up until now
I'm beginning to think you should have listened to Al

You should have listened to Al
Oh, you should have listened to Al