Strawbs - Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios [compilation] (2003) by Strawbs (보컬) on maniadb.com

I - The Reaper
Cousins

The reaper stood before him in the room
His melancholy smile matched the gloom
He tried to rise but fell back where he lay
Tried to speak but stumbled as the sentence slipped away.

The room grew far away and strangely still
He caught the reaper's eye and felt a chill
He thought he saw his mother's smiling face
As sunlight filtered warmly through the yellowed curtain lace.

He thought back to the days when he was young
He heard the children's choir in which he'd sung
His letter floated softly to the floor
The reaper took his hand and led him gently through the door.

Aaaah …

II - We Must Cross The River
Cousins

Take my hand and I will lead you safely
There's no need to be dismayed
Though it's dark, there will be no danger
There's no need to be afraid.

If you wear the cross your wife once gave you
You will find that it is blessed
Should you find that you are growing weary
You may lean on me and rest.

We must cross the river
We must cross the river
We must cross the river together.

Old familiar friends have long been waiting
To welcome you when you arrive
Time is on your side now, do not hurry
You are one who will survive.

God is kind to those who seek salvation
Those who know no sense of hate
You will find him on the day of judgment
The God of love, the God of hate.

We must cross the river
We must cross the river
We must cross the river together.

We must cross the river
We must cross the river
We must cross the river together.

III - Antiques And Curios
Cousins

On the mantlepiece a china dog waits patiently
The faded velvet curtains are still drawn
The well worn tray of medal ribbons slowly gathers dust
The armchair's chintzy covers have been torn.

The photograph of Nancy on the honeymoon in France
The nearly finished letter underneath
The wheelchair that he never used, he always was too proud
Is folded in the corner by the wreath.

The choirboy's cassock hanging on the hook behind the door
The wooden box in which he kept his cross
The Coronation teapot that his mother always used
Helps to bring about a sense of loss.

Just a collection of antiques and curios.

IV - Hey, It's Been A Long Time
Cousins

Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again
Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again.

We met quite by chance, I thought she'd moved away
We never made love but were very good friends.

We were married secretly, her parents disapproved
For some reason or other they never made clear.

Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again
Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again.

We were in France when war broke out, we caught the first boat home
She gave me her cross when I went to the front.

I was hurt in Normandy, she didn't wait at all
I lived with my mother till she passed away.

Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again
Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again.

Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again
Hey it's been a long time, it's good to see you again
…

Cousins

Her hair the weeping willow at the water's edge
And from my windy crag above the moorland sedge
I see the willow fronds caress the ripples
I feel her nipples at my fingertips.

Her breasts are gentle snowdrifts in an open field
The supple fingered winter wind the grass concealed
And though the winter wind may be deceiving
I feel her breathing at my fingertips.

Her legs the spreading branches of the tree of life
The willow wand will bend before the woodman's knife
The tangle thicket parts before the forest fire
Her warm desire is at my fingertips.

Cousins

She looks so frail beside you as she wears her sick disguise
You say she'll soon be better as you dry her tearful eyes
You tell her fairy stories, she tries to understand
She looks to you for comfort and holds out her little hand.

But early in the morning when the sun shines into her tiny room
She wakes up like a bird and she's fine again.

You gently kiss her forehead and from the room you creep
But you linger in the doorway as she whimpers in her sleep
Her cheeks are flushed like sunset and her head's an open fire
All night she turns and tosses as her temperature gets higher.

But early in the morning when the sun shines into her tiny room
She wakes up like a bird and she's fine again.

The night light in the corner casts a soft and peaceful glow
Her face becomes much cooler and her breathing much more slow
She dreams of clowns and princes sailing boats and trains
The fairies come by moonlight to take away her pain.

And early in the morning when the sun shines into her tiny room
She wakes up like a bird and she's fine again
She wakes up like a bird and she feels fine
She wakes up like a bird and she feels fine
She wakes up like a bird and she feels fine.

The boatman rose to the sound of his heartbeat
Loud in the silent approach of the dawn
He glanced through the window at mist on the lake
Which hung like a shroud in the still of the morn
The silver cobwebs spun with the dew
Hung from the bushes in filigree splendour
And water lilies asleep on the lake
Were reflected so delicate, tranquil and tender.
The boat man sighed as he strode through the woods
To the place where his boat lay moored to a stake
The hollow sound as his footsteps echoed
Until the sound was lost on the lake
He cast off, poling the boat from the shore
Peering a head through damp clinging haze
He thought that he saw strange swirling shapes
A trick on the eyes that the mist often plays.
So intent was the boatman on crossing the lake
That he failed to notice the current that flowed
Leading his boat from familiar parts
He was firmly, yet somehow unknowingly, towed
All at once the mist seemed to lift
Sufficient to show the boatman a pool
That he'd never seen in the whole of his life
Unnaturally deep, black and silent, and cool.
The boatman's shirt clung to his back
He was sweating both from exertion and fear
He had the sensation that someone was watching
He felt the presence of somebody near
An invisible force prevented him moving
The strength of his arms was utterly sapped
The twisted bushes converged round the lake
Like a fish in a net he was trapped.
Suddenly out of the water before him
The wraith-like form of a maiden appeared
Clad in shimmering radiant robes
The maiden materialised as she neared
The hair which finely crowned her head
Was a halo of golden reflecting the sun
All of the beautiful women of time
Were formed all at once into one.
She handed the boatman the sword she was holding
Which flashed irridescent before his eyes
Excalibur surely was hardly a match
For a sword that simple description defies
The boatman stood transfixed by her gaze
Which reached to the depths of his very soul
To he who could conquer the evils of life
She offered herself as a whole.
The maiden vanished before his gaze
Leaving him clutching the sword in his fist
The hairs on the nape of his neck seemed to stiffen
A creature approached him from out of the mist
It was powerful, huge and yet stupid indeed
For it held right back and failed to attack
The boatman struck at its small stupid eyes
And it crashed to the ground and lay on its back.
Without a warning the sky seemed to blacken
As though the sun were in total eclipse
The boatman crouched low as a vast eagle swooped
And a horrified cry escaped from his lips
It strutted before him with pride in its bearing
Admiring its talons both vicious and cruel
Taking advantage the boatman struck fast
And the eagle slid to the depths of the pool.
The terrified boatman tried moving his boat
But his pole had grown roots in the watery deep
The bank grew alive with the coils of a snake
And all you could hear was its slither and creep
It cast an envious stare at the boatman
Slid into the water and swam to the boat
He stood hypnotised by its green jealous eyes
As it came from the water and coiled round his throat.
As its coils tightened slowly his breath came in gasps
As he choked so he lifted the sword in despair
As the snake was still gloating he severed its head
And in death the snake's coils thrashed wild in the air
The boatman wiped the sweat from his brow
His heart was pounding as never before
His eyes like a lizard's tongue darted around
Not daring to rest for a minute or more.
An involuntary shiver went up his spine
As he heard the sound of eerie howls
A wolf appeared on the banks of the pool
Saliva dripped from its loathsome jowls
Hatred smouldered deep in his eyes
Which glowed like coals from Hades fire
It seemed to grow as it crouched and snarled
And watched as the boatman began to tire.
It was almost as though the wolf had learned
For it did not attack as the others had done
But bided its time until the moment was right
And sprang as the boatman stared into the sun
But the boatman too had learned to hold back
And holding his sword as though a knife
He plunged it deep into the wolf's heart
Then fell to his knees and prayed for his life.
As he felt a hand on his shoulder he whirled
To find the maiden by his side
She smiled and the world seemed to open before him
He tried to speak but his tongue was tied
You must plunge the sword deep into my heart
Lest I should crumble into dust
She offered the boatman the meaning of life
And love, if he could but conquer lust.
She bared her breasts before his eyes
The boatman still was stricken dumb
He flung the sword back into the water
Back to the depths from which it had come
The water around him began to boil
The maiden began to wither away
His boat was swamped as the creatures arose
And evil lived for another day.

Cousins-Hooper

Blue skies above me
I've someone to love me
To take good care of me forever.

Through all that time can send
We'll make it to the end
Just you and me, my friend, forever.

Oh weeping willow
Please share my pillow
So that the clouds will billow forever.

And I don't have to bend
We'll make it to the end
Just you and me, my friend, forever.

The gypsy woman who sold me her heather
She told me its good luck would last me forever
(Forever, forever).

We've got our lives to spend
We'll make it to the end
Just you and me, my friend, forever.

And I don't have to bend
We'll make it to the end
Just you and me, my friend, forever.

Through all that time can send
We'll make it to the end
Just you and me, my friend, forever.